Geoscience data preservation

Arizona is one of 35 states building a catalogue of geological and geophysical data and samples. The preliminary inventory of in-house AZGS data and materials is mostly complete and is being compiled for submission to the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program at the USGS. We will also make it available via the AZGS. [right, USGS]

A second component of our effort is to identify geoscience data and samples in agencies, organizations, and companies across Arizona, especially that which may be vulnerable to being lost or discarded.

At the state geologist’s annual meeting earlier this week, John Steinmetz from the Indiana Geological Survey and Tammy Dickinson from USGS reported that the beta test version of the National Data Catalogue is already populated with information on 400 collections from state geological surveys, the USGS, and BLM. That number should skyrocket as most of the states wrap up their initial inventories and submit their results to the digital catalogue.

A second year of the cooperative project will get underway late this summer with 28 states, including Arizona, developing metadata for each of our collections to make the catalogue a dynamic discovery tool. We expect to use the national catalogue as one of the discovery tools for the digital Geoscience Information Network that AZGS is building with USGS and the international consortium OneGeology.