FACILITATING STUDIES OF REGIONAL STRATIGRAPHIC CORRELATIONS

The National Geologic Map Database (NGMDB, https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/) is a Congressionally mandated national archive of geologic map and related information. Its mandate includes supporting the geoscience community by facilitating the development of science and technical standards. Stratigraphy and stratigraphic correlations across regions of the United States are relevant to the mandate because the standardization of stratigraphic definitions and their formal publication underpin geologic mapping. Therefore, as part of the NGMDB's science support responsibilities, the project has been collaborating with State Geological Surveys to fund studies through Cooperative Agreements ("Coops"). Each Coop is intended to address local and regional stratigraphic nomenclature issues within a State, and between adjacent States. The goals are to: (1) support reexamination of each State's stratigraphic column(s), (2) encourage scientific discussion among States that may lead to changes in nomenclature and/or agreement on stratigraphic equivalence across State boundaries, (3) facilitate publication of changes in stratigraphic nomenclature and detailed descriptions of the geology, and (4) support development of long-term management of stratigraphic information that will benefit future research and applications.

NGMDB's initiative to fund these Coops began in 2020. Currently, twelve Coops are underway or will soon begin. The Coops involve more than 30 State Geological Surveys. The majority of the Coops address stratigraphic issues in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, including Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments in the Mississippi Embayment. Information is available at https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/stratres/strat_coops. Plans for new Coops are now being developed, with a likely focus on Quaternary stratigraphy in the midcontinent.