Paper: Open Access to Geoscience Data at the NGDS in the U.S.
NGDS user testing (source: DOE GTO)
Alexander Richter
5 May 2015
An academic paper was recently published covering the impact of the new U.S. National Geothermal Data System and its open access features.
According to the paper’s abstract: the U.S. National Geothermal Data System’s (NGDS – www.geothermaldata.org) provides free open access to millions of data records, maps, and reports, sharing relevant geoscience and land use data to propel geothermal development and production in the U.S. Since the NGDS is built using the Geoscience Information Network data integration framework the system is compliant with international standards and protocols, scalable, extensible, and can be deployed throughout the world. NGDS currently serves information from hundreds of the U.S. Department of Energy’s sponsored development and research projects and geologic data feeds from 60+ data providers in all 50 states, using free and open source software, in a federated system where data owners maintain control of their data. This interactive online system is opening new exploration opportunities and shortening project development by making data easily discoverable, accessible, and interoperable at no cost to users.
The document, written by M. Lee Allison , Stephen M. Richard , Kim Patten , Christy Caudill-Daugherty , and Arlene Anderson from the Arizona Geological Survey and the US DOE
