Online Databases and Other Internet Resources for Earth Science

Citation

Smith, A.G. (2008), "Online Databases and Other Internet Resources for Earth Science", The Electronic Library, Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 757-758. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470810910765

2007‐2008 is Electronic Geophysical Year – eGY – underlining the importance of digital data in earth sciences. Dr Venkataramana, a Consultant Geophysicist based in Chennai, explores the wealth of earth sciences data available online.

Although, a lot of earth sciences information is available on the internet, it lies in databases rather than in general web resources. These are part of what is sometimes misleadingly called the “Hidden Web” – data that are not covered by the conventional search engines, and where subject‐specific knowledge of resources is required.

The introduction gives a very brief overview of the information resources on the internet: the move to digital information, open access, etc. then surveys earth sciences resources on the internet. The author makes the point that although online access has opened up information, earth scientists often require access to older journals, so that initiatives by publishers and others to retrospectively put their journals online are important. The range of material is impressive, and includes specimen collections, chemical analysis data, groundwater data, etc.

The bulk of the work is a directory of earth science databases, organised by subject area: geochemistry, geophysics and environmental studies, marine sciences, palaeontology, geology and geomorphology; with a separate section on polar resources (appropriate in the International Polar Year, 2007‐2008). There are useful annotations, highlighting the datasets available at each site. The descriptions and links appear to be up‐to‐date, although inevitably in some cases the specific URLs have changed.

The guide leads to such fascinating sites as the Fossil Record Electronic Database, which gives locations and maps of the collecting points of fossils in New Zealand and nearby – so a user can search for fossils collected by New Zealand's “dinosaur woman” Joan Wiffen, and see a topo map of exactly where she collected them.

There is a title index of the resources listed – given the large number of these, it is a pity that there is not a detailed subject index.

The work concludes with the interesting observation that most of the databases that are available are provided by developed countries – countries such as India and China have gathered extensive earth sciences data, but have yet to make it freely available.

There is no associated web page, which would be a useful way of making updates available in the changeable world of the internet. The value of a printed guide to internet information resources is always questionable. Would a user be better off at a directory service specialising in earth sciences, for example the earth sciences section of Intute (www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/earthsciences/)? Possibly so, but an advantage of the present work is that it is dealing with resources which are relatively stable, and the author has been able to bring a significant amount of personal knowledge to the selection and evaluation of the resources. Consequently, this is a useful tool for any information professional who is searching for earth science information on the internet.