THE ALASKA EARTH MODEL: DEVELOPING, DELIVERING, AND MAINTAINING INTEGRATED GEOSCIENCE DATABASES AND EARTH SYSTEM MODELS FOR ALASKA

Research by the U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program in Alaska integrates geologic, petrologic, geochemical, structural, and geophysical data to provide a framework for understanding metallogeny. Investigations are focused on ore deposits through regional, site-specific, and topical research to evaluate mineral resource potential and the geologic controls on ore deposit formation, localization, and evolution. Data from multiple statewide databases, including a digital geologic map database, form the basis for many of these endeavors. These Alaska databases provide an essential and adaptable foundation for documenting the mineral endowment of Alaska and, thus, for guiding ongoing and future geologic mapping and other Mineral Resource Program research throughout the state. As an example, the USGS has produced numerous GIS-based assessments of critical mineral potential across Alaska by integrating and evaluating relevant minerals-related data. These assessments and the maps that they produce are inherently adaptable and scalable, and they are useful to a broad range of stakeholders. More broadly, though, the statewide geoscience databases provide an opportunity to develop a comprehensive Earth systems approach to understanding natural resources across a large, complex, and dynamic region because of the fundamental and diverse Earth science information that they contain. The Alaska Earth Model, which integrates and analyzes relationships between a wide variety of data, may serve as a useful template for developing, integrating, and analyzing similar geoscience databases for the conterminous United States.