Research Projects

Indiana Geologic Names Information System

Status Start Date End Date Locations
completed Jan 1, 2018 Dec 1, 2019 All Counties
Director: Nancy Hasenmueller
Other Researchers: Barbara Hill, Clayton McGuire, Rebecca Meyer, Gary Motz,
Funding: Indiana University - Indiana Geological & Water Survey
Issue: Many geological repositories include large amounts of stratigraphic data. One problem faced by managers of these archives is locating correct stratigraphic nomenclature to complement their data. The Geologic Names Committee (GNC) of the Indiana Geological and Water Survey (IGWS) is addressing this problem by developing an online database of geologic names officially recognized by the IGWS.
Objective: The database facilitates labeling stratigraphic data in IGWS digital and paper archives, aid IGWS researchers in locating current geologic nomenclature for their publications, and provide web-based access to IGWS geologic nomenclature to a broad spectrum of users from academia, industry, government, and the general public.
Approach: The GNC, with assistance from the IGWS technology and photography and imaging personnel, focused initial efforts on entering current Paleozoic nomenclature into the database and designing web-based access to these data. The database and website allow users to access information about specific units by searching on a formal stratigraphic name, abandoned name, or miscellaneous unofficial name such as “Indiana Limestone” (the Salem Limestone, Mississippian). Options to select units by specifying system(s) and stratigraphic rank(s) allow users to retrieve data for more than one unit and view the data in alphabetic or stratigraphic order. The web display shows IGWS nomenclature for the selected unit(s), names of equivalent units, miscellaneous and abandoned names, and applicable higher-rank stratigraphic terms for each of the five Indiana areas delineated in the Midwestern Basins and Arches Region (COSUNA Project) to emphasize geographic changes in rank, lithic term, and assignment to higher-ranked units.
Products: The website is available at https://igws.indiana.edu/IGNIS/search.cfm. The IGWS GNC plans to continue development of the database and website to better serve users and maintain compatibility with the GEOLEX database developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. An interactive stratigraphic chart showing Paleozoic rock-unit names in Indiana is being updated at the website. The chart will link to each individual rock-unit web page and to the AAPG COSUNA regions 11-15. The IGWS references cited on each rock-unit web page are linked to the IGWS Bookstore. Unit name histories, reference sections, lithologic descriptions, and correlations are being added to the database. Project metadata, additional photographs and images relating to stratigraphic units, a section describing the economic importance of each stratigraphic unit, and a web-based search mechanism that will link Indiana stratigraphic units to correlative units will be compiled. Publications: Hasenmueller, N. R., Hasenmueller, W. A., Hill, B. T., Eaton, N. K., Radhakrishnan, P., Daniels, M. S., and Rohwer, P. D., 2009, New horizons for the Indiana Geological Survey’s Geologic Names Database and Web site: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 41, no. 7, p. 98; Geological Society of America Web page, https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2009AM/finalprogram/abstract_162753.htm, date accessed, June 19, 2015. Hasenmueller, N. R., Hasenmueller, W. A., Hill, B. T., Daniels, M. S., Rohwer, P. D., Eaton, N. K., and Radhakrishnan, P., 2010, The Indiana Geologic Names Information System, in Foote, D.J., ed., Navigating the Geoscience Information Landscape: Pathways to Success: 2009 Geoscience Information Society Conference Proceedings, v. 40. Hasenmueller, W. A., Hasenmueller, N. R., Eaton, N. K., and Radhakrishnan, P., 2009, The Indiana Geological Survey’s Geologic Names Information System: Indiana Geological Survey Web page, http://igs.indiana.edu/IGNIS/Search.cfm, date accessed, June 19, 2015. Hasenmueller, W. A., Hasenmueller, N. R., Daniels, M. S., and Rohwer, P. D., 2011, New search options for the Indiana Geologic Names Information System: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 43, no. 5, p. 630; Geological Society of America Web page, http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2011AM/finalprogram/abstract_193550.htm, date accessed, June 19, 2015. Hasenmueller, N. R., Hasenmueller, W. A., Motz, G. J., and Daniels, M. S., 2016, Linking the Indiana Geologic Names Information System to complementary geological databases: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 48, no. 7, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-277940; Geological Society of America Web page, https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2016AM/webprogram/Paper277940.html, date accessed, December 30, 2016. Hasenmueller, N. R., Hasenmueller, W. A., McGuire, Clayton, and Meyer, R. A., 2017, The Indiana Geologic Names Information System: Indiana Geological and Water Survey Web page, https://igws.indiana.edu/IGNIS/search.cfm, date accessed, January 2, 2018.
Benefits: The site provides web-based access to IGWS geologic nomenclature to a broad spectrum of users from academia, industry, government, and the general public.