METAMORPHIC PROCESSES AND DATA PRESERVATION: REWORKING OLD STUFF TO TELL NEW STORIES

Vast investments have been made in the collection of data and samples that languish in the deep dark corners of offices and agencies. These were once “essential” assets for the advancement of scientific understanding of the earth and its processes. Many of these resources cannot be collected again due to physical landscape changes or cost. However, these resources can be preserved to be investigated with modern technologies to advance new understanding such as reanalysis of old cores with hyper-spectral techniques for critical mineral content, or text mining scanned documents to inform machine learning algorithm development. We continue to explore new ways that historical information can benefit society and how we may best leverage these information resources.

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) played a pivotal role in establishing the case for the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (The Department of the Interior - U.S. Geological Survey), resulting in the establishment of the Program by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. AGI has also been central in advocating for investment in the preservation of geoscience materials for reuse and educating geoscientists in recommended practices for preservation. Here I present several examples of the value that historical research assets can provide to new understanding, and how society can benefit from the re-use of these resources.