Maryland Department of Natural Resources

MGS NGGDPP Grants

CURRENT NGGDPP GRANTS

The National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP) is administered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). NGGDPP grants fund several activities pertaining to the preservation of geologic collections and the compilation of mineral resources information for 35 critical minerals

Currently, the MGS is completing its thirteenth NGGDPP grant. The original grant cycle (September 1, 2021 – August 31, 2022) was extended to August 31, 2023, due to ongoing challenges and delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. MGS did not submit an NGGDPP proposal in Jan. 2022 (for the subsequent grant cycle) in order to complete work on the thirteenth grant. Tasks in the concluding grant include:

Preservation of Drill Cuttings and Core from 2018 Guilford Storage Facility Salvage

  • Remediate (repackage, reinforce, relabel) cuttings/core containers*;
  • Complete a detailed inventory and records for ~600 boxes of drill cuttings and ~100 boxes of core;
  • Identify/confirm borehole identifiers (IDs) and coordinates;
  • Create and submit updated metadata to the National Digital Catalog (NDC)** for respective cuttings and core collections;

*MGS purchased the supplies to replace and/or remediate containers for this collection independently
** The National Digital Catalog has been renamed the Registry of Scientific Collections (“ReSciColl”) of the NGGDPP (https://webapps.usgs.gov/rescicoll/index.html) (https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/4f4e4760e4b07f02db47dfb4 )

Inventory of Paper Geophysical Logs

  • Design data inventory tables;
  • Complete a detailed inventory of geophysical logs in paper format;
  • Identify/confirm borehole IDs and coordinates to the extent feasible;
  • Consolidate and systematically organize paper collection components;
  • Create and submit metadata to the ReSciColl;
  • Create an MGS collection webpage and interactive geophysical log mapper.

Critical Minerals Resources Data Compilation and Preservation Activities

  • Participate in a two-day critical minerals virtual workshop;
  • Provide geospatial representations and descriptions of areas with potential to host critical minerals;
  • Provide summary descriptions of borehole data contained in select MGS publications;
  • Submit relevant data and NGGDPP-compliant metadata records to the ReSciColl;
  • Develop a long-range strategy for critical minerals relevant data preservation at MGS.

UPCOMING NGGDPP GRANT

MGS submitted its fourteenth National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP) grant application in October 2022, and was notified in February 2023 that the proposal will be fully funded, subject to finalization of the grant award and start date.


SUMMARY OF NGGDPP GRANT ACTIVITIES

Please click on the links below to view Final Technical Reports (FTRs) which document the tasks completed during each NGGDPP grant cycle.


Data Preservation Inquiries

For more information regarding MGS NGGDPP grants and associated activities, please contact:
Heather Quinn – 410-554-5522, heather.quinn@maryland.gov or Anthony Resinger – 410-554-5541, anthony.reisinger@maryland.gov