Annals of Library Science and DocumentationVol 29(2), 70-75

EARTH SCIENCE DATA ACTIVITIES IN INDIA

Some Indian agencies engaged in the field ofearth science are' developing computer-aideddata bases. While discussing their activities,emphasis has been given on the need of propercoordination and standardization.

1. INTRODUCTION

Earth science tries to reconstruct events of thepast from the imperfect and limited recordscontained in rocks. It also helps us to predictsuch hazards as earthquakes, landslides, highfloods, volcanic eruption, etc., for which betterknowledge of geological phenomena is required.Earth science also has very importan t economicaspects. We depend on it for all our mineralresources including ground water and energy.Minerals playa vital role in industrialization andnational economy.

The recent developments in the generation,collection and analysis of earth science datacalls for the acquisition of greater volumes ofinformation than were required and readilyrecordable previously. In order to assimilatethese necessary data, computers have beenemployed for storage, retrieval and analysisas an essential preliminary step to data inter-pretation.

2. INTERNATIONAL COORDINATIO~-I

Some international organisations are actively.associated with the problems of earth sciencedata activities and provide guidelines, standardsand advice wherever possible.

a) The Committee on Data for Science andTechnology (CODATA) has a Geo-science Advisory Committee. The role

70

DIPAK KlThrlARNAGInsdoc Trainee 1980-82

of the Committee may be summarised asfollows:

- Development of a general programmefor CODATA activities in the geosci-ences, mainly at the national level.

- Coordination of application and evalu-ation of selected information, particu-larly computer computer - related tech-nology:

Arrangemen t of special CODATAworkshops, seminars and short-term con-sultations in response to evaluated data.

b) The Committee on Storage, AutomaticProcessing and Retrieval of GeologicalData (COGEODATA), a specialist groupof International Union of GeologicalSciences (lUGS) is responsible for ful-filling the following objectives;

- To assess computer-oriented informa-tion technology and to promote itsworldwide application to the manage-ment and interpretation of geologicaldata.

- YO facilitate the collection, compila-tion and communication of computerprocessable geological data.

,To promote general awareness of

data ana other information resources ingeology, and

To provide advice and training assis-tance within the scope of COGEO-DATA'S objectives and activities.

Ann Lib Sci Doc

EARTH SCIENCE DATA ACTIVITIES

The scientific work of COGEODATA islargely done by following Working Groups andTask Groups:

i) Working Group on Selection and Cap-ture of Geological Data.

ii) Working Group of Data Structure andData Managemen t.

ill) Working Group on Data Display.

iv) Working Group on the Application ofRemotely Sensed Data.

v) Working Group on the Communicationof Geological Data.

vi) Task Group on Exchange of Geochemi-cal Data.

vii) Task Group on Retrospective Data Basesin Petrology.

viii) Working Group on a World Index ofGeological.Data Sources.

ix) Working Group on Educational Acti-vities.

India is a member of COGEODATA andactively participating in its programmes andprojects.

c) International Geological Correlation Pro-gramme (IGCP) Project 98 ha~ madegrate strides forward in the more specia-lised area of resource analysis. The pro-ject looked into the use of computer inresource studies and issued guidelines forthe establishment of energy and mineralresource databases. It also examinedseveral resource analysis techniques andhas made recommendations as to whenand how to use each technique.

With the help of these and other publica-tions, many Indian organisations in the field ofearth science committed themselves to storesome or all of their geological data in some formof machine readable database.

Vol 29 No 2 June 1982

3. EARTH SCIENCE ACTIVITY IN INDIA

Systematic geological activities started in Indiawith the formation of the Geological Survey ofIndia in 1.851. The scope and objectives of theSurvey in the formative years were limited toprospecting for minerals for the then East IndiaCompany. The Survey progressively enlarged itsactivities to cover many fundamental and severalother applied objectives. Now the Survey hascovered all aspects of earth science, i.e. geo-physical and geochemical surveys, geotechnicalinvestigations, environmental studies, mineralexploration, geohydrological and glaciologicalinvestigations, marine geology, photogeologyand remote sensing, geochronology, funda-mental and applied research, etc.

With the attainment of Independence in1947, the Union Governmen t recognised theneed for proper assessment and exploration ofthe mineral raw materials to implement thenational policy of development of basic indus-tries. Till independence the GSI was the primeorganisation engaged in earth science activitiesin India.

The growth of activities in differen t fields ofearth science, necessitated the establishment ofseparate organisations to carry out specialiscdaspects of work. The following organisationshave come into beging because of this necessity:the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), Oil andNatural Gas Commission (ONGC), CentralGround Water Board (CGWB), Mineral Explora-tion Corporation Ltd. (MECL), Coal India Ltd.(CIL), National Geophysical Research Institute(NGRI), National Institute of Oceanography(NIO), Indian Institute of Geomagnetism etc.Besides these, the State Departments of Geo-logy, Geology Departments of universi ties,liT's, and other government bodies, publicsector organisations, autonomous/private insti-tutions, societies/associations are also activelyworking in the field.

Thus the proliferation of earth scienceorganisations after independence have beengenerating huge data which calls for propercollection, analysis, interpretation and dis-semination to individual scientists, decisionmakers, planners, entrepreneurs, etc. in a con-venient form.

71

4. IMPORTANT INDIAN ORGANISATIONSON EARTH SCIENCE DATA

41. Geological Survey of India, Calcutta (1851)

The activity of the Survey covers all aspects ofearth science. The huge volume of data collectedduring field and laboratory investigations is re-corded in unpublished reports and the analysisand interpretation of the data is presentedthrough various series of GSI publications. Thesedata can be broadly catagorised as follows:

Data on geophysicsData on geochemistryData on petrologyData on marine geologyData on engineering geologyData on environmental geology & geo-

morphologyData on glaciology & geohydrologyData on stratigraphy & palaeontologyData on structural geology & tectonicsData on mineral investigationsData on geochronology and isotope

geologyData on photogeology and remote sens-mgData on mineral physicsData on geothermal energy

A Data Coding & Retrieval Unit was set upto design and develop computer-based data .re-trieval system in collaboration with the NationalInformatics Centre (NIC) of the ElectronicsCommission.

The following data files are being developed:

mineral investigationgeophysicalgeotechnicalmarine geologycoalresources survey & inventorymanpower

The programme for the generation of com-puter files has been developed by the NIC on

72

NAG

the HP - 1000 minicomputer. The system isunder test operation to effect necessary modi-fication.

42. Indian Bureau of Mines, Nagpur (1948)

It works for systematic development of mineralresources and conducts geological, mining, bene-fication and other related techno-economicfield studies and applied research on mining -geological operations. It also engages in apprai-sal and exploration of mineral deposits in-cluding ore dressing investigations and ana-lysis of ores and minerals.

It maintains data on the technical and eco-nomic aspects of mineral deposits:

Mineral resources categorized accordingto reserve, grades, chemical composi-tion, geology, nature of deposits, di-mensions, and status of exploration

Temporary closures of minesProduction (quantity and value) ofdifferen t minerals categorized accord-ing to grade

Mineral production (quantity and values)by state and mineral for differentsectors

Categorization of mines according toproduction by mineral and sector.

Stocks of different minerals at year endand by State and grade at variouspoints such as mine head, rail head,port, etc.

Data on mineral consumptionData on mineral based industriesDirectory of mining leases & licencesRevenue from mining industryMarket prices of mineralsMetal production

The huge data collected are presented indecumentary form through various series ofIBM publications.

Indian Minerals YearbookQuick Release to the Mineral Statisticsof India (Monthly)

Mineral Statistics of India (Half-yearly)Quarterly Bulletin: Mineral StocksForeign Trade in Minerals & Metals

Ann Lib Sci Doc

EARTH SCIENCE DATA ACTIVITIES

Index Number of Mineral Prices inIndia (1930-1980)

Bulletin of Mineral Statistics & Informa-tion (Monthly)

In order to achieve the objective of pro-viding easy and quick access to the large volumeof data for compilation and dissemination, onefficient computer based data storage andretrieval system is being developed by IBM.The micro-processor system (mini-computer)comprises a CPU with 52 K bytes of memoryand is served by 4 floppy drives, a Dot MatrixPrinter, Visual Display Unit (VDU), and 2 off-line data entry devices.

43. Oil and Natural Gas Commission,Dehra Dun (1956)

The Commission is responsible for oil andnatural gas exploration and has carried out geo-logical surveys, geophysical sruveys, deepdrilling and estimation of recoverable oil andgas and its production. It has accumulatedvast amounts of data on various aspects ofoil exploration in both offshore and onshore.

Geophysical exploration dataData on well loggingData on core analysisData on wettability studies of coreData on capillary pressure on coreData on geological and chemical as-pects of wells

Data on well productionData on petroleum and gas reserveestimation

To handle such huge and complex data,the ONGC has installed an IBM 370/145computer with a core capacity of 512K and 4disk drives and 6 tape drives. It also has aHoneywell - 400, a TIOPS and GEODATAcomputer. The Commission has been workingto build a comprehensive Computerised Petro-leum Data Bank (COPED) which will coverthe following aspects:

analysis of users needsdesigning of scientific and technicaldata files for storage and retrieval

Vol 29 No 2 June 1982

data collection and standardizationdeveloping codes for recording datacreation, maintenance and updatingdata files

data processing and analysismanagement information systemdocumentationdata dissemination

Data for 500 oil/gas wells is stored in mag-netic tape for reservoir modelling studies.Honeywell-400 computer with a tape driveand 2K bytes memory is used to support thedata activities. A software comprising about adozen COBOL prog:ams has been developedand tested successfully.

44. National Geophysical Research Institute,Hyderabad (1962)

The Institute carries out basic and appliedresearch in exploration geophysics and in-vestigates the earth's interior through seismic,geomagnetic, electric, geochemical and palaeo-geophysical studies. It is also conducting air-borne surveys.

It maintains data on different aspects ofgeophysics:

Seismological dataAcromagnetic dataGeophysical prospecting dataRock mechanics dataGravity & isostasy dataGeophysical instrumentation data

PDP-ll/40 computer is used for meetingthe compu tational requirements. It regularlybrings out Bulletin Observatories Data.

45. National Institute of Oceanography,Panaji (1966)

It functions as the national oceanographicdata centre and maintains data pertaining tothe Indian Ocean. They are:

Data on physical oceanographyData on chemical oceanographyData on biological oceanographyData on geological oceanographyData on oceanographic instrumentation

73

Cataloguing of data from various stationsare transferred to the punch cards for storageand dissemination.

46. Coal Mines Planning & Design Institute,Ranchi

CMPDI is a subdivision of holding company,Coal India Limited which was set up in 1975to organise the production of coal, long andmedium - term planning, research, develop-ment, detailed engineering design, etc. in theareas of:

Data on boreholesHistory sheet of drilling of boreholesLithology of boreholesAssay data on samplesIdentifying optimum thickness of coalstrata or the desired grade.

The CMPDI is setting up a big computerbased geodata bank for coal and lignite de-posits in the country. Four broad areas havebeen identified for application of computer-based geodata bank system. These are:

retrieval of geological drilling, labo-ratory analysis and other data

drawing of contour plots and geologicalcross-sections

quality and reserve' estimation of coalseams, and

management information system

47. Central Ground Water Board,Faridabad (1972)

The Board carries out systematic hydrogeo-logical survey, exploratory drilling and detailedwater resources evaluation surveys throughwater balance projects in various parts of thecountry. It is also responsible for ground waterdevelopment and management.

It maintains data related to geohydrologyand groundwater:

Observatory well dataSoil data (for grain size, porosity, etc.)Water level dataGeophysical data for ground water ex-ploration

74

NAG

Hydrochemical dataAquifer samples data

The data is recorded in Technical report,Basic data reports, Water supply report, Hydro-geological survey reports etc.

48. Indian Institute of Geomagnetism,Bombay

The Institute deals mainly with terrestrialmagnetism and atmospheric electricity. TheInstitute has collected data from magneticobservatories all over the world:

Terrestrial magnetic dataMagnetic field dataAeronomyAtmospheric electricity data

I

The Institute has access to the computerfacility at the Tati""Institute of FundamentalResearch. Punching and verification of dataon cards are carried out at the Institute withIBM and ICL key-punch machines and a veri-fier.

5. NEED FOR COORDINATION

Mineral resources/reserves data are very muchhelpful to decision makers and planners tochalk out planning strategies for furtherexploration and exploitation of minerals, theirconservation and optimal utilization, and exportand import. The planners need a completeintegrated picture of national mineral resourcesdata.

At present a number of agencies are engagedin this field to collect and store data in theirown coding format to build up some sort ofdata base for effective retrieval and dissemina-tion of information. Now, the time is ripe toevolve a standard for data coding to achievedatabase compatibility and the ability to ex-change data among the agencies.

The Natural Resources Division of theDepartment of Science and Technology hasformed a working group for coordinatingmineral resource data bases in our country.The ultimate aim is to coordinate data basesmaintained by different agencies under themineral resource sub-system of NISSAT.

Ann Lib Sci Doc

EARTH SCIENCE DATA ACTIVITIES

REFERENCES

[1] Baxter, G Sand Horder, M F: Data-banks and databases in geology. Journalof Geological Society 1981. 138(5),573-74. [4]

[2] Cargill, S M and Clark, A L: Standards [51for computer applications in resources;conference held as part of IGCP project98, Kenya, 1977. Journal of the Inter-national Association of MathematicalGeology 1978, 10,405-642. r6]

f3] Clerk, A L and Cook, J L: Internationalresource data - International resourceanalysis. In Geoscience Information - a

Vol ~9 No 2 Jun.- 1982

state of the art review. Proceedings ofthe International Conference on Ceologi-cal Information 1st, London, 1978.Broadoak Press, Sussex, 1978, 107-126.

COGEODATA Newsletter.

Kapoor, S K and Nag, D K: Geosciencedata storage and retrieval system in GSI.In IASLIC Conference, 13th, Waltair,1981,61-64.

Sastri, V V: Towards establishment of acomputerise d petroleum data bank (CO-PED) of the Oil and Natural Gas Commis-sion of India. Library Science with a Slantto Documentation 1978, 15(1),24-:18.