A State Survey's Experience with the National Geothermal Database System: Lessons Learned to Improve Data Discovery, Access, and Stewardship

State Geological Surveys in the U.S., in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey, have thousands of databases, directories, and 85,000+ geologic maps that collectively constitute a national geoscience data 'backbone' for research and practical applications. Much of this data has been at-risk in its current format or difficult to access. Organized by the Association of American State Geologists (AASG) with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS) has been able to make large quantities of geothermal-relevant geoscience data available to the public by creating a national, sustainable, distributed, and interoperable network of data providers. State Surveys or their equivalent have been instrumental to the success of the NGDS, but many have not had previous experience developing the necessary resources for credibility, sustainability, and interoperability beyond their area. The Geological Survey of Alabama (GSA) was no exception; here we expand upon some of the lessons the GSA has learned throughout this process, including a vision of a path forward. A major challenge that had to be overcome was the disconnect between interoperability requirements for the content models and the research interests of scientists providing the data. This was overcome by open and direct dialogue between the content developers and content providers. Although the iterative process could be frustrating at times, the result is a robust and thoroughly tested content model for geothermal data. This content model will provide an excellent starting point for other geoscience data content models. The greatest challenges the GSA encountered during the NGDS project were lack of standardization of our own data resources; lack of documentation; unknown quality of data; and lack of provenance of data. Moving forward, the GSA now has a model for stewardship of data, including what information and metadata should be collected to ensure future interoperability and discoverability.