The National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP) Strategic Plan of 2020 calls for the creation of a “variable-scale, national, integrated 2D and 3D geologic-framework model that enables the seamless construction of geologic maps within user-defined regions of interest across the United States by the year 2030” (USGS Open-File Report 2021-1013*). Congress recently directed NCGMP to “bring together detailed national and continental-resolution 2D and 3D information produced throughout the [U.S. Geological] Survey and by federal and state partners.” In response NCGMP instituted the US GeoFramework Initiative (USGI).
A seamless, integrated, 2D geologic map database does not exist for the Nation; no National-scale 3D compilation exists at all. These digital databases are necessary in support of resource management, critical mineral assessment, water quality modeling, infrastructure development, and geoscience research. The National Geologic Synthesis (NGS) project was created as part of USGI to produce these data by coordinating with the branches of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program and assembling a set of unified products from those contributions.
NGS Tasks
The NGS Project sub tasks
NGS Data Portal
Data repository of individual components of the growing National geologic synthesis
*Link to USGS Open-File Report 2021-1013: Renewing the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program as the Nation’s Authoritative Source for Modern Geologic Knowledge
Sub tasks of the NGS Project
National Bedrock Geology
National 3D Geology
3D Sedimentary Basins
National Quaternary Geology
- Overview
The National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP) Strategic Plan of 2020 calls for the creation of a “variable-scale, national, integrated 2D and 3D geologic-framework model that enables the seamless construction of geologic maps within user-defined regions of interest across the United States by the year 2030” (USGS Open-File Report 2021-1013*). Congress recently directed NCGMP to “bring together detailed national and continental-resolution 2D and 3D information produced throughout the [U.S. Geological] Survey and by federal and state partners.” In response NCGMP instituted the US GeoFramework Initiative (USGI).
A seamless, integrated, 2D geologic map database does not exist for the Nation; no National-scale 3D compilation exists at all. These digital databases are necessary in support of resource management, critical mineral assessment, water quality modeling, infrastructure development, and geoscience research. The National Geologic Synthesis (NGS) project was created as part of USGI to produce these data by coordinating with the branches of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program and assembling a set of unified products from those contributions.
NGS TasksThe NGS Project sub tasks
NGS Data Portal
Data repository of individual components of the growing National geologic synthesis
*Link to USGS Open-File Report 2021-1013: Renewing the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program as the Nation’s Authoritative Source for Modern Geologic Knowledge
- Science
Sub tasks of the NGS Project
National Bedrock Geology
Accessible, up-to-date information about the Nation’s bedrock geology is necessary to support infrastructure development, natural resource management, mineral assessments, water quality, and earth science research. The National Bedrock Geology task will construct a continuous digital geologic map of pre-Quaternary rocks and deposits across the United States at National scale, to fulfill the USGI...National 3D Geology
Water, energy, mineral resource assessments, and hazard and land-use assessments are central to the USGS mission and increasingly rely on subsurface information and 3D geologic models. There are also many emerging societal issues in which 3D geology becomes increasingly relevant, including assessment of brackish groundwater resources, unconventional oil and gas plays, geothermal systems...3D Sedimentary Basins
Detailed analysis and modeling of 3D basin architecture is a critical tool in the assessment of water, energy, and mineral resources, as well as paleoclimate and paleotectonic reconstructions. Sedimentary basins are of particular interest because they are repositories of economically important byproducts of sedimentary processes and are commonly rich in subsurface data. Due to the importance of...National Quaternary Geology
Quaternary geologic deposits represent important reservoirs of hydrologic, aggregate, and other resources and preserve a record of landscape evolution and the distribution and frequency of geologic hazards. These deposits are cataloged in thousands of geologic maps produced over many decades, but many are inconsistent with their neighbors, decades out of date, only available as static... - Data
- Publications
- Web Tools