COMPILATION OF ISOTOPIC AND FOSSIL AGES FOR THE SIERRA NEVADA AND ENVIRONS, CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA

The California Geological Survey (CGS), in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey and other geoscience practitioners, is in the process of a multi-year effort to compile and categorize all available Sierra Nevada isotopic and fossil geochronological data, that have been collected and published. This work is part of a Digital Earth Science Atlas of the Sierra Nevada which will be a professional-level earth scientist atlas published in ArcMap GIS and PDF formats. In creating and compiling a spatial GIS database, we have recorded the different ways previous authors have reported the spatial location of their data (e.g., coordinates, maps, geologic units), in addition to the dating methods used, and the authors’ interpreted age and uncertainty.

This geochronological database is only one component of a larger Sierra Nevada Atlas geologic project that may serve as a central reference and tool to facilitate future research. When completed, the database will be searchable by author, location, type of dating, and rock type. The plan is to make the database publicly accessible within the next 2 to 3 years and allow for periodic updates by the CGS as new data become available.