NGDRS is a system of regional data repositories, developed in conjunction with existing state agencies and private organizations. Each repository contains unique geologic information, primarily - but not exclusively - related to its locale. The data is in a variety of forms, ranging from digital well logs and seismic reflection data tapes, to paper and film records to rock core and cuttings at other centers.

Petroleum and mining geologists and engineers have conducted detailed studies of the nation's subsurface for most of the 20th century. But many areas that were once centers of drilling or mining activity are now undergoing urban development or have been placed off limits to exploration and production, making further acquisition of geologic data very difficult and at times, impossible. The geoscience data obtained to date represents a vast and irreplaceable trove of information which the nation cannot afford to lose. Future generations of geoscientists will need these data to address the energy, environmental, and natural disaster challenges of the 21st century.

The repository system is an integrated network rather than a single, centralized facility, built upon existing data centers, both public and private, located throughout the United States. Shell Oil Company, for example, deeded its core repository in Midland, Texas to the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas-Austin. The Midland collection is part of the national repository network. The metadata for the NGDRS, however, is stored at a central facility in Houston at offices of The Information Store, Inc.

An AGI survey of domestic oil, gas, and minerals companies, as well as universities and existing data repository centers indicated widespread support for NGDRS. Many companies, including international corporations and independent domestic petroleum producers, indicated a willingness to contribute geologic data to a national repository system. In addition to corporate data centers, a variety of public and private organizations maintain regional geoscience data collections. In the past, many of these organizations received financial support - directly or indirectly - from oil and gas companies. Support for these facilities, however, has decreased or in some cases been terminated in the last few years. The NGDRS can ensure that these data are not lost.

Much of the geologic data is entering the public domain for the first time, becoming available to the entire geoscience and engineering community. The NGDRS serves as an important source of information for private companies and university researchers as well as state and federal agencies in addressing a broad range of issues, including:

• Environmental planning
• Water resource management
• Energy and mineral resource exploration
• Earthquakes and other geologic hazard mitigation
• Site Screening for municipal, toxic, and nuclear waste disposal
• Highways, bridges, dams, and utility siting and design
• Supporting the needs of university-based research

DOE has provided funds for the NGDRS since 1993 to cover the costs of the feasibility study and several pilot projects. DOE support has also been used to partially cover the cost of transferring data from the private to the public sector. Companies are donating the data at no cost to the public sector. Repositories at state geological surveys and universities are handling the costs of long-term preservation. The DOE money ensures that the transfer takes place by providing support for prioritizing, cataloging, and indexing the data. The DOE funding is also heavily leveraged by industry, the states, and academia.

A product of the NGDRS Phase II was a directory of existing geoscience data repositories, documenting the current holdings of geoscience data in the public and private sector. The directory, organized alphabetically by and within state, contains contact information and information about the data holdings. An appendix contains a cross-referenced matrix of broad data types (geophysical data, drill-hole data, field/pool information, maps and location information, and other) by geographic areas of holdings and media, providing a fast look-up table that allows users to determine which data centers have the specific data types to meet their needs.

The NGDRS Metadata Repository is a central data processing facility consisting of the information technology components (hardware, software, network), the geosciences databases, the GeoTrek software and services required to operate the NGDRS supercatalog.

Yes. The NGDRS is an open environment for all users. It is designed and oriented primarily with geoscientists and engineers in mind. However, anyone can access the system by requesting a "token". This token is not used as password to block or control what individuals access the system, rather, it is used to help monitor overall system usage in order to project the needs for supporting the NGDRS.

The NGDRS charges no fees to the users at this time. Its operational support primarily comes from government and industry funds and subscriptions charged to the commercial organizations that advertise data using the system.