Accessibility of geotechnical earthquake Engineering data and the need for data storage and dissemination standards

Ease of data access and data standards are two issues critical to the success of GIS technology when applied to earthquake hazards research problems that require geotechnical engineering and related data. Efforts to reduce data accession costs and to streamline the data exchange process will result in short-term cost and time saving and will add long-term value to the data sets themselves. Such efforts might include centralized data centers, standardized data base designs and formats, cooperative efforts to fill data gaps, and standardized distribution methods and media.