AZGS selected to build national data network

AZGS will receive nearly $750K [6-18-08 update - we requested $750K but NSF will only be able to provide about $650K total] from the National Science Foundation over the next 3 years to build the Geoscience Information Network (GIN) as the project manager on behalf of the nation's state geological surveys and the USGS. The project is funded under the NSF INTEROP initiative to build interoperable data networks in scientific communities.

I'm writing this from the Geoinformatics 2008 conference in Potsdam, Germany hosted by the GeoForschungsZentrum, where I announced the award a few minutes ago in my talk to the group.

Just before my talk, Ian Jackson of the British Geological Survey and leader of the OneGeology consortium, announced that the Europe Commission will fund a complementary effort among 27 European national geological surveys and their partners (OneGeology-Europe), to build a continent-wide data network. The EC funding is 3.6 million euros. The OneGeology consortium now has 79 nations that have signed the protocols to create a digital global geologic map at 1:1 million scale as the first step in building global spatial data infrastructure.

OneGeology is a partner on the AZGS project with NSF and AZGS/GIN is partnered with the OneGeology project. What this means is we will develop common standards and protocols across the nation, and now around the world, for seamlessly linking digital geoscience data.