Kentucky Geological Survey FY2022 Geologic Data Preservation Project

Rock Core Document Scanning This project aims to scan 15 cubic feet of paper documents, consisting mainly of core descriptions and logs, associated with most of the 2,888 rock cores in our collection. The subsurface information available through this collection is not easily accessible as a non-digital collection and is not inventoried in any database to know what information is available. If funded, we will centralize the collection, organize the files by call number, inventory the document types available per core, and scan each document at 400 DPI for online dissemination. Dye Trace Data Kentucky Geological Survey houses the dye trace database for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. These data are critical to understanding and mapping karst aquifers, developing and protecting karst groundwater resources, and investigating and mitigating groundwater contamination and geohazards such as sinkholes and karst flooding. The existing available dataset of dye tracer test results was made public beginning in the mid-1990s and was cutting edge at the time. Unfortunately, it has not been updated much since then, especially concerning conversion and maintenance as digital geospatial data, and now falls behind current FAIR data practice standards. To bring this dataset up to modern standards and improve its overall useability, this project aims to develop precise metadata and improved attribute data for this geospatial dataset for use by the public. Victor and Todd Fife – Data preservation of natural arch locations in Kentucky Natural arches provide evidence for landscape evolution and determining the geologic history of an area. Monitoring the stability of natural arches can also be related to anthropogenic structures such as bridges. Victor, and his brother Todd, Fife have documented over 1,000 natural arch locations in Kentucky. Most of these locations are in western Kentucky near Mammoth Cave National Park, but they also have documented locations in eastern and central Kentucky. Many of these locations are accessible and will be shared with the public via Kentucky Geological Surveys website. Most natural arch locations on private land will be kept confidential. The Fife’s would like to preserve their data with the Kentucky Geological Survey, whose mission is to compile geologic information across the state. If funded, we will hire one student employee for 6 months to organize and scan paper documents and digitize locations in ArcGIS Online project. Additions and Improvements to the Kentucky Mineral Resources Information Map Service This project aims to process 646 geological cross-sections, drill core logs, drill profiles, mine property maps, and previously confidential reports on the mineral potential of the Western Kentucky Fluorspar District before adding them to the Kentucky Mineral Resources Information Map Service maintained by the Kentucky Geological Survey. Tasks will include indexing each file to attribute various information, identifying location information for each file, cross-checking each file with existing files. Project results will enhance accessibility for the public to essential mining data in Kentucky, especially in the fluorspar district.