Oilfield Glossary
http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/Default.cfm
The Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary provides definitions and illustrations of oilfield terminology. The definitions are described as being for the technical generalist and expert alike -- more detailed than a dictionary, but more concise than an encyclopedia. Users simply enter a word, and choose a particular discipline such as drilling, geology, well testing, or search in all areas. Other limitations include searching a part of a word, a whole word, within a definition, or those that include illustrations. Results contain a brief informative definition that includes related words and links to other keywords within the definition itself. Those interested in similar topics should find the site easy to use, informative, and helpful. [JAB]
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Guide to Mostly On-Line and Mostly Free US Geospatial and Attribute Data
http://libinfo.uark.edu/GIS/us.asp
The University of Arkansas Library offers the Guide to Mostly On-Line and Mostly Free US Geospatial and Attribute Data Web site. The main page contains a list of every state and related links to available geospatial and attribute data. For example, Wisconsin contains over twenty sites from a variety of sources such as the US Geological Survey and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Besides the state-specific sites, additional national aggregations of data are provided near the end of the page. Although a brief description of each data set may be helpful, the site does a good job of providing a single location for locating information that can still be somewhat difficult to find. [JAB]
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USGS Geographic Data Download
http://edc.usgs.gov/geodata/
The US Geological Survey Geographic (USGS) Data Download Web site contains a large selection of downloadable digital elevation models (DEM) in various formats. Visitors will find links to 1:250,000 Scale Digital Elevation Models, 1:24,000 Scale Digital Elevation Models, 30 Meter Resolution National Elevation Dataset, 1:2,000,000 Digital Line Graphs, 1:100,000 Scale Digital Line Graphs, 1:24,000 Scale Digital Line Graphs, 1:250,000 and 1:100,000 Scale Land Use Land Cover, National Land Cover Data, and National Hydrography Dataset. The site provides examples, status maps, user guides, and other information about each data set, making it a great overall resource for these helpful topographic models. [JAB]
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Earth Impact Database
http://www.unb.ca/passc/ImpactDatabase/
The Earth Impact Database is provided by researchers at the Geological Survey of Canada. The Web site offers a crater inventory that contains the craters name, location, latitude and longitude, diameter, age, and whether it is buried or drilled. The table can be sorted by crater name, diameter, or location, and can even be viewed in a printer friendly format. Another feature of the site is the crater image archive, which contains similar information but includes a link to various aerial graphics of the craters such as Landsat images. Many other informative links are provided culminating in a very interesting and informative Web site. [JAB]
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NIST Data Gateway
http://srdata.nist.gov/gateway/
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) maintains the new NIST Data Gateway Web site. The Gateway provides easy access to NIST scientific and technical data that cover a broad range of substances and properties from many different scientific disciplines. Users can choose to search by keyword, property, or substance name and is completed within the dozens of NIST databases with titles such as Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Structure Index. Results provide a link to the database or databases that contain the item searched. This unique data retrieval system does a good job of allowing easy access to the vast amount of information that the agency has available. [JAB]
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National Strong-Motion Program Data Sets
http://nsmp.wr.usgs.gov/data.html#NSMN_data_sets
The US Geological Survey National Strong-Motion Program (NSMP) Data Sets Web site contains three informative and helpful digital data compilations. These include the Digitized Strong-Motion Accelerograms of North and Central American Earthquakes 1933-1986, which is a collection of 1,477 three-component station recordings from nearly 500 earthquakes. The second is the National Strong-Motion Network (NSMN) Accelerograms data set that has time series data recorded by NSMN stations for selected earthquakes since 1989. Lastly, there is the General Earthquake Observation System (GEOS) Accelerograms, which has recordings collected by the NSMP GEOS project for aftershock studies, long-term deployments, and short-term experiments. Each can easily be accessed via the main site and contain updated information from as recently as an April 22, 2003 California event. [JAB]
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Assessing Ground-Water Vulnerability to Contamination: Providing Scientifically Defensible Information for Decision Makers [pdf]
http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/circ/2002/circ1224/
A new report from the US Geological Survey has been made available entitled Assessing Ground-Water Vulnerability to Contamination: Providing Scientifically Defensible Information for Decision Makers. The report provides a look at the common approaches used to scientifically determine the factors controlling the vulnerability of groundwater resources to contamination. The introduction states that it also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches as sources of scientifically defensible information for the water-resource management decision-making process. Viewed online or downloadable, the freely accessed publication covers everything from methods and examples to conclusions and references. [JAB]
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The Community of Science Funding Opportunities
http://fundingopps2.cos.com/
The Community of Science (COS) Funding Opportunities Web site describes itself as the most comprehensive source of funding information available on the Web, with more than 23,000 records that represent over 400,000 funding opportunities, worth over $33 billion. Users can search the database, which is updated daily, by simple keywords, sponsors, locations, requirements, citizenship, funding type, and much more. Other helpful features include being able to save and track searches and the ability to submit a funding opportunity of your own. The easy-to-use search features and time saving potential of the site make it a must visit for any researcher or other seeking critical funding sources. [JAB]
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