Welcome to the NGDS Website
The National Geothermal Data System (NGDS) is a DOE-funded, distributed network of databases and data sites. 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 gateway for geothermal and relevant related data as well as a link to distributed data sources. Assessing and categorizing the nation's geothermal resources and consolidating all geothermal data through a publicly accessible data system will support research, stimulate public interest, promote market acceptance and investment, and in turn the growth of the geothermal industry.
The NGDS is being created through an award to a consortium of academic institutions and being populated with data by these institutions and Southern Methodist University Geothermal Laboratory (and their associated partners) and Association of American State Geologists (Arizona Geological Survey, lead). Major participants in the original consortium are: Geothermal Data Exchange (Boise State University, lead institution on the award); Energy & Geosciences Institute (University of Utah); Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology and University of Nevada, Reno; Geo-Heat Center (Oregon Institute of Technology); and Stanford Geothermal Program (Stanford University).
Goal of the NGDS
The NGDS is being designed as an open access platform. The NGDS is a distributed system and this means all data does not come from one site. On the other hand, a distributed system is not about merely providing links among sites as this forces the user to jump around in an attempt to find relevant information. What is required is metadata sharing among the linked sites so data can be easily discovered and downloaded in compatible formats and easily aggregated by the user to meet their particular needs. The NGDS must make it as easy as possible for the users within the realistic framework in which we will be working. This approach provides the user with multiple data access points into the system and from any specific point the ability to find data of interest, including individual nodes on the system. This is accomplished through the NGDS Catalog (a standards-based listing of the data holdings from all NGDS partners) and tools to make searching the catalog intuitive and easy, in particular the development of web services. The technology of data sharing will change with time - hence the system will have to be adaptable. Presently, the system will focus on the development of the NGDS Catalog and selected web services that make it easier for users to find and/or work with data.
Please contact Walter S. Snyder for more information (
wsnyder@boisestate.edu)