Geoscience Reference
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inevitable for the geological surveys to mark the reference locations of all known
geologically interesting landforms and to select those that need legal protection to
be preserved.
14.4 Discussion
Before and partly parallel to the development of the geological database and
documenting system, some previous methods were applied and tried in various
geological mapping projects. These methods were developed mainly by
programmers, and the aim of the documentation was different. With the collabora-
tion of the Geological Institute of Hungary, a research project was initiated.
Exploration wells were drilled in order to find a safe location for the low and
intermediate level radioactive wastes in Hungary (Balla
2004
). For the on-site
borehole documentation, handheld PDA and an XML-based data collecting appli-
cation was used in this project (Gyalog et al.
2004
).
Although at that time the XML format was quite modern, the database structure
was rigid, and when the documentation was over, the data were not easily accessi-
ble for the geologists. Much of the effort spent on the input of the observed data was
futile. On the other hand, a quite usable, user interface was developed to query the
borehole data in an Internet browser (Gyalog et al.
2005
). This interface was
designed to query only a thin segment of the overall database, but this part—a
simplified stratigraphic column of each well—was the most significant in some way
(e.g.: enabled the correlation between the borehole data and the medium scale
geological maps).
Despite the deficiencies of the results, it was an important step to apply and try
preliminary documentation systems and user interfaces. It is futile to believe that a
database structure for “all use” can be created. The database can be considered
perfect when the stored data can be accessed easily and there are no redundancies in
it. The users of a geological database also vary. Basin modellers search for the
lithological data, while the palaeontologists are interested in the fossils.
The nature of the geological field observation is quite unique. The range of
observation is usually limited because of time, weather and terrain conditions. The
details of the described geological formations are limited to the eye and loupe
range, and the number of collected samples is often limited by the physical
condition of the collector.
The edification in the previous borehole documentation and querying system was
that the documenters should not spend their time picking data from pre-defined lists
and fill data fields which are not or hardly accessible later. The time consuming on-
site documentation will lead to the simplification of the geological description, and
thus to a decreasing scientific value. The pre-defined—often very long—drop-down
lists on a data recording interface can also lead to the same result.
The digital representation of the database is usually only a question of the GIS
background. If the financial conditions allow it, one can use several kinds of
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