Welcome to the NGDS Website

The National Geothermal Data System (NGDS) is a DOE-funded distributed network of
databases and data sites that collectively form a system for the acquisition, management
and maintenance of geothermal and related data. Much of the risk of geothermal energy
development is associated with exploring for, confirming and characterizing the available
geothermal resources. The overriding purpose of the NGDS is to help mitigate this up-front
risk by serving as a central repository for geothermal and relevant related data as well as a
link to distributed data sources. By helping with the process of assessing and categorizing the nation's geothermal resources, providing strategies and tools for financial risk assessment, and by consolidating all geothermal data through a publicly accessible data system the NGDS will support research, stimulate public interest, promote market acceptance and investment, and in turn support the growth of the geothermal industry.

Access to distributed data will be provided through the portals of partner data sites
that includes, but is not restricted to the NGDS web site. A desktop application (Geothermal
Desktop) will provide both user-based data management as well as access to the NGDS data network. Users of the NGDS system will include federal and state agencies, researchers, decision makers, the public, educational institutions, the geothermal industry and financial institutions. The NGDS is being designed using and adapting existing technology as well as emerging informatics standards, specifications, and protocols to ultimately be able to handle the full range of geoscience and engineering data pertinent to geothermal resources. It will be an easy to use system that will provide resource classification and financial risk assessment tools to help encourage the development of more geothermal resources by industry.

Major participants in the NGDS to date are: Data Access Project (Boise State University),
Energy & Geosciences Institute (University of Utah), Great Basin Center for Geothermal
Energy (University of Nevada, Reno), Geo-Heat Center (Oregon Institute of Technology),
Stanford Geothermal Program (Stanford University), Southern Methodist University Geothermal Laboratory, Arizona Geological Survey and Association of American State Geologists (Arizona Geological Survey, lead), Geothermal Resources Council, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The Geothermal Energy Association is collaborating with the NGDS to insure that it meets the needs of the geothermal industry. Other key geoinformatics systems that will be working with the NGDS team to share and develop technology and tools and participate in standards development and adoption include: Geoinformatics for Geochemistry (GfG; www.geoinfogeochem.org ), CoreWall (www.corewall.org ), US Geoscience Information Network (USGIN; usgin.org), and the IRIS Data Management System(www.iris.edu/hq/programs/dms).