IMPLEMENTATION OF A TEAM-BASED WORKFLOW AND MULTIUSER ARCSDE GEODATABASE FOR INTERNALLY CONSISTENT 1:24,000-SCALE GEOLOGIC MAPPING OF BOONE, KENTON, AND CAMPBELL COUNTIES, NORTHERN KENTUCKY

The Kentucky Geological Survey has devoted resources to map the surficial geology of Boone, Kenton, and Campbell Counties in northern Kentucky, partly in response to the high rate of urban development. Past work has focused on production of 7.5-minute quadrangle maps, although the ultimate goal is to generate high-quality, internally consistent, county-wide geologic maps. Although the 7.5-minute quadrangle has served as a cornerstone for mapping, problems can arise when using this as a boundary, including edge-matching and inconsistent delineation of geologic units among multiple geologists. In order to alleviate these conflicts, KGS has introduced a team-based mapping approach. The major surficial features, recognized from past and preliminary mapping, include the Ohio River Valley, the Licking River Valley and associated paleochannel, the Kentucky River paleochannel, and the residual soil along ridgetops and mantling colluvial slopes. Rather than mapping by quadrangle, as is traditional, each feature will be mapped individually by one geologist. For example, the Ohio River Valley covers parts of 14 quadrangles, but will be the responsibility of one person. With the potential for inconsistent distribution of terrace generations, this tactic will effectively remove any potential errors that can occur between multiple geologists working in separate quadrangles covering the same feature. Because of the team-based mapping approach, an organized relationship of digital data management is necessary. Therefore, we have implemented a multiuser, versioned geodatabase using ArcSDE to allow simultaneous and compatible editing of the same geodatabase. ESRI Collector for ArcGIS will be used for field mapping and data collection. This allows for dynamic, real-time synchronization of field data among mappers at different locations, or offline mapping and data collection with delayed synchronization in areas of poor cellular coverage. The data are hosted via ArcGIS Online, and backed up to local servers nightly. The team-based digital mapping workflow should eliminate common mapping inconsistencies, and the data management practices in place will organize a complex project covering a large area, encourage communication and feedback between mappers, and guide data collection efforts as mapping progresses.