Promote the establishment of federal policy and funding related to the preservation, archiving, access, and use of geological, geochemical, and geophysical samples and data, which will provide opportunities for state geological surveys to facilitate data preservation responsibilities.
Members are appointed by the AASG President. The Chair will be a sitting State Geologist, appointed by the AASG President. The AASG President may appoint an Honorary Member to co-chair the Committee. The chair may create subcommittees to act on specific tasks.
Areas of responsibility include federal legislation, regulations, and initiatives relating to energy, mineral, and water resources and in certain instances key state or international legislation, regulations, and initiatives relating to energy, mineral, and water resources.
- Federal and State
- Monitor and promote the establishment of data preservation policy with federal agencies and Congress and work with appropriate legislative and agency staff to develop appropriations associated with Energy Policy Act authorization of Data Preservation.
- AASG
- Serve as an information resource on data preservation policy to the AASG membership.
- Alliances
- Promote the establishment of good data preservation practices to the geological profession.
- Federal and State
- Draft a letter of support for data preservation that describes the need and goals for appropriation to be circulated for signatures among all stakeholders (Steinmetz working with IPAA and AGI)
- Communicate regularly with Tammy Dickinson (USGS data preservation program coordinator) to establish policy and funding. (Steinmetz)
- Communicate regularly with other federal agencies and congressional staff members. (Committee)
- Promote importance of data preservation to federal legislators during liaison visits and in respective states. (Committee)
- Assist the USGS in a new poll of state geological survey holdings. (Committee)
- AASG
- Prepare promotional materials to raise the visibility of the AASG's data preservation policy. (Committee working with Texas BEG)
- Keep the AASG membership informed about late developments in establishing federal policy and funding. (Steinmetz)
- Serve as an information resource on data preservation policy to the AASG membership. (Committee)
- Alliances
- Work with other agencies and trade groups such as IPAA to get the word out on the importance of funding the data preservation appropriation. (Committee)
- Write informational articles for professional trade periodicals
- GSA Geology and Public Policy newsletter (Steinmetz) - Completed September 2006: Steinmetz, J.C., Preservation Policy: Progress toward a National Distributed Geoscience Materials and Data Repository System. Geological Society of America, Division of Geology & Society Newsletter, Summer/Fall 2006, p. 8-11.
- AAPG Explorer
- Geotimes
- AGU's EOS
- Science
- SME News
- Possible Others
- Present papers at professional scientific meetings
- GSA annual meeting - October 22-25, 2006, Philadelphia (Steinmetz, Gundersen, & Dickinson have an abstract accepted)
- AAPG annual meeting - April 1-4, 2007, Long Beach (Steinmetz, Dickinson, Gundersen, & Pierce have submitted an abstract)
- AGU western meeting - December 11-15, 2006, San Francisco (Dickinson, Steinmetz, Gundersen, and Pierce have submitted an abstract)
- AIPG - September 23-28, 2006, St. Paul (Dickinson attended this meeting and met with the AIPG Executive Committee)