IGS Web site - Log-On to Iowa's Geology
by Joost A. Korpel and Lynette S. Seigley
Do you have an interest in Iowa’s geology? Are you a teacher looking for earth-science information for your class? Are you a researcher looking for detailed stratigraphic information on Iowa? Is that a geode you found in your back yard? Planning to visit Devonian Fossil Gorge and want to learn more about it? Information on these topics and others can be found on the Internet through the Iowa Geological Survey’s (IGS) World Wide Web site at www.igsb.uiowa.edu.
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| Figure 1. IGS web site. |
The IGS web site (Figure 1) was introduced in March 1995 to make a wider array of geologic information directly available to all levels of potential users, from school children to consulting geologists. Visitors can find maps, photographs, general interest articles, technical abstracts, databases on geology and water wells, lists of available publications, geographic information system coverages, and information about IGS staff, programs, and services.
A popular section of our web site is the Browse Area, which contains well illustrated, general information about various aspects of the state’s geology. Here, web users can find articles from past issues of Iowa Geology on topics including fossils, minerals, landscape features, state parks, Flood of 1993, meteorites, glacial history, and water resources. Maps include the 1998 bedrock geology map of Iowa, as well as state maps of landform regions and surface relief.
More advanced users will appreciate the Natural Resources Geographic Information System (NRGIS) Library. This remarkable "library" is a collection of more than 1,500 specialized geographic databases, known as coverages or themes (such as rivers, lakes, counties, and state lands). Originally, the NRGIS Library was developed to improve access to and utility of natural resources data by DNR staff, to help make better decisions about the management, development, and protection of Iowa's natural resources. Now this extensive database is available to everyone via the Internet. The NRGIS Library web page is organized so that users can locate GIS data and associated documentation quickly and determine its applicability to their needs. All of the GIS coverages, including county boundaries, county roads, rivers, lakes, towns, and township/range/section lines, can be downloaded and viewed using a variety of commercially available GIS software. For users new to GIS techniques, there are links (under the "Help" prompt) to free software such as ArcExplorer® that can be used with our coverages to introduce you to using GIS information (Figure 2).
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| Figure 2. This map was created using ArcExplorer® and GIS coverages downloaded from the Iowa Geological Survey’s NRGIS web page. |
A new area of our web site is Databases and Applications for users with specific geologic data needs. Over the years, the IGS has developed many databases with valuable geologic information. Formerly accessed only through staff or by visiting our office in Iowa City, these databases are now available to anyone, anywhere, through the World Wide Web. Now linked are the Geologic Sample Database ("Geosam") and the Iowa UTM Coordinate Calculator.
Geosam is used to retrieve geologic, hydrologic, and well construction information on Iowa wells (Figures 3 and 4). The database can be searched by township, range, and section; owner name, county, topographic map name (7.5’ series), or by a unique "W-number." Scanned images of well logs for all counties should be available by July 1999 (see Figure 5 for an example)..
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| Figure 3. Example of a well record for a specific site in Linn County. |
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| Figure 4. Records summarizing site geology, water production, and construction data for over 55,000 wells drilled in Iowa that can be retrieved from the Geosam database. |
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Figure 5. Portion of a well log. |
The Iowa UTM Coordinate Calculator is a technique that converts a legal land description (i.e., township, range, section, and quarter-sections) to a central point location expressed in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates, which are commonly used for Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping. Latitude and longitude are also calculated for the UTM point. This application only works for sites located in Iowa.
The Geologic Studies area of the web site highlights past and present investigations at the Iowa Geological Survey. Information is available under the categories of economic geology, environmental geology and hydrogeology, mapping, paleontology, stratigraphy, and structural geology. Examples of projects include the monitoring of groundwater quality around earthen manure-storage facilities, watershed studies of nonpoint-source pollution, the Cretaceous greenhouse world, the Manson Impact Structure, and the Midcontinent Rift in Iowa.
If you’re not sure where to begin, try the search engine located on the first page of the web site. For example, type in "fossils" for a complete listing of articles on the web site that discuss fossils.
We encourage you to visit our web site often. If you have comments, questions, or additional information you would like to find, please e-mail our webmanager@igsb.uiowa.edu or contact any of our staff listed in the directory (click on "Introduction to the Iowa Geological Survey") -- Organization and Staff.
Log-on and happy surfing!