USGS and Association of American State Geologists Host Workshop on Data-Preservation Techniques

By Brian Buczkowski September 2009 [revised November 2009]

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In mid-July, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP), in collaboration with the Association of American State Geologists, hosted a workshop on techniques for preserving geoscience data. This 2-day workshop, which brought together data-preservation specialists from the USGS and State geological surveys, served as a forum for sharing successful cataloging and data-management practices and provided education and information on implementing data-preservation standards at the participating surveys.

Above: Workshop participants on the steps of the Indiana Geological Survey. Photograph courtesy of the Indiana Geological Survey. [larger version]

Hosted by the Indiana Geological Survey at Indiana University, Bloomington, the workshop provided participants with opportunities to give presentations about their data-preservation strategies and projects involving data and sample management and to discuss improvements. John Steinmetz of the Indiana Geological Survey and Frances Pierce of the USGS in Reston, Virginia, co-organized the event. Steinmetz began the workshop with an overview of the NGGDPP, detailing its origin, current goals, and future directions. Pierce then spoke about the reasoning for holding the Geoscience Data Preservation Techniques Workshop, its role within the larger scope of the NGGDPP, and how workshop attendees can participate in the nationwide data-preservation program by applying for grants and using tips from successful proposals to the NGGDPP.

Further presentations by USGS personnel included management of physical collections from Betty Adrian of the USGS Core Research Center in Denver, Colorado; best practices in data preservation from Brian Buczkowski of the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts; an introduction to the National Digital Catalog from Sky Bristol of the USGS Geographic Information Office in Denver; and a description of the National Geologic Map Database from Dave Soller of the USGS in Reston. An overview of the workshop is posted online at the Geoscience Data Preservation Techniques Workshop; the complete program, along with PowerPoint presentations from all of the speakers, can be downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/2022/6471.

For more information, please visit the USGS NGGDPP Web site.

National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program USGS

Geoscience Data Preservation Techniques Workshop Workshop Web site

Proceedings of the Geoscience Data Preservation Techniques Workshop Workshop Proceedings

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September 2009

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cover story:
Geophysical Survey Aids Virgin Islands Tsunami-Hazard Assessment

Drop in California Sea Otter Numbers

Geologic Mapping of Massachusetts Seafloor

USGS Maps Faults Offshore of Los Angeles

Beach Sand and Stomach Aches

Workshop on Data-Preservation Techniques

September 2009 Publications List