THE NATMAP DIGITAL GEOSCIENCE DATA-MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The National Mapping Program (NATMAP) is a major geoscience initiative , conceived in 1988 by the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), aimed at increasing the level of geoscientific mapping in Canada through multi institutional and multidisciplinary projects. The methodology used to accomplish this goal includes multiparameter synthesis of geoscience i nformation, and promotion of digital information management and proces sing standards for geoscientific maps and compilations. The initial NA TMAP projects are the Shield Margin (Manitoba and Saskatchewan) and th e Slave (Northwest Territories) each having a duration of 5 years. The Shield Margin Project is designed to generate new perspectives of the Flin Flon-Snow Lake Belt and its sub-Paleozoic continuation. The Slav e Project will attempt to provide solutions to a number of issues that are essential to improving the understanding of the metallogeny and t ectonic history of the Slave Province. For each project a digital geos cience database will be created containing information from a variety of sources including written and map reference material, raw and deriv ed products from existing GSC/Provincial databases, digital field geol ogy, and the results of analysis and interpretation. Information in ma ny different data structures including text, point, line, polygonal, a nd raster, will be incorporated. By implementing a digital geoscience database project, participants are able to benefit from rapid distribu tion of information, computerized map production and revision, compute rized analysis, and manipulation of all types of geoscience data. At t he end of the projects the digital database will serve as a data archi ve. Development of a system and standards for incorporation of digital field data and existing analog geological information into the databa se for analysis, comparison with other data sets, and subsequent map p roduction is essential for realization of the benefits of a digital ge oscience database.