FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact David Applegate: (703) 379-2480
March 7, 1997 E-mail: govt@agiweb.org

AGI Awarded DOE Grant for Data Preservation Project

ALEXANDRIA, VA. -- The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the American Geological Institute (AGI) a $1.5 million grant to implement Phase III of the National Geoscience Data Repository System (NGDRS). The funds will be used to develop an electronic catalog of metadata and to begin transferring geoscience data from industry to public-domain repositories within the new system. The majority of data contributed to the NGDRS will become available to the public for the first time. Much of it is unique and of great value to researchers and industry alike.
AGI initiated the NGDRS project to develop a process for capturing and preserving data that were in jeopardy of being destroyed as a result of the downsizing of the domestic oil industry. Companies that were shifting their exploration operations overseas no longer needed the vast amounts of whole core, drill cuttings, seismic reflection data tapes, paper records, and other material that had been collected. These data continue to be in danger of being lost forever despite their value to research, environmental remediation, and future resource development.
"Creation of the National Geoscience Data Repository System is the largest scientific data rescue operation in the history of the nation," says AGI Executive Director Marcus E. Milling. "The data truly represent a national treasure. Working with industry, AGI and the Department of Energy are taking steps to assure their preservation and future access."
Both industry and the scientific community will be able to apply the data to assess a host of activities of benefit to society: protecting the environment, reducing risks from earthquakes and other natural hazards, managing water resources, disposing of nuclear wastes, and developing natural resources.
With the DOE funds, efforts to establish the data repository now move into a third phase. During Phase I of the NGDRS project (1993-94), AGI surveyed petroleum and mining companies and determined that they were willing to donate vast quantities of data to a geographically distributed, national repository system if one were established. Phase II (1995-96) of the project established indexing and cataloging standards, and determined the cost of creating and operating a system of geographically distributed data repositories. Pilot projects evaluated the feasibility of the system for different types of data. A directory of existing repositories has been prepared and is slated for release this summer.

DOE funding for the Phase III component of the project will provide for (1) a coordinated and orderly transfer of significant volumes of geoscience data from the private sector to public-sector repositories, and (2) improved access to the data. The initial transfers will focus on core and cuttings that, due to their bulk, represent the largest storage costs for industry and are, therefore, the most vulnerable to disposal. Eventually, seismic data and paleontological collections will be included as well.

DOE funds will also be used to develop a digital listing, called a metadata (data about the data) catalog, that will provide access to information about the existence and characteristics of data in the repository system. Corporations will not only donate data but will provide funds to endow their continued curation and access. AGI will act as a clearinghouse to manage the relationship between data contributors and the receiving data repositories.

The NGDRS project has been widely endorsed by the geoscience community and the petroleum industry. The American Geological Institute is working to ensure that funding for this project exists in future years and that other federal agencies involved with geoscience data support the effort. Last August, AGI convened a Washington workshop on geoscience data preservation to broaden support for NGDRS and to focus attention on other data issues.

AGI is a nonprofit federation of 30 geoscientific and professional associations representing more than 80,000 geologists, geophysicists, and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in mankind's use of resources and interaction with the environment.

More News | AGI Home | About AGI | GeoRef | Education | Geotimes | Govt. Affairs | Member Societies