Collaborative Research: Elements: Linking geochemical proxy records to crustal stratigraphic context via community-interactive cyberinfrastructure

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

Collaborative Research: Elements: Linking geochemical proxy records to crustal stratigraphic context via community-interactive cyberinfrastructure This project integrates two data systems which take different approaches to digitally describing the Earth’s geologic history. Macrostrat characterizes the bulk properties, spatial distribution, and age relationships of crustal rocks. The Sedimentary Geochemistry and Paleoenvironments (SGP) project compiles sample-derived proxy measurements that record information about the prevailing conditions at specific times in the past. Unifying these two approaches to understanding the “rock record” allows the site- and time-specific information carried by geochemical proxy records (e.g., water chemistry, temperature, atmospheric composition, nutrient levels) to be compared more precisely across scales and through geologic time. Aligning Macrostrat and SGP increases the operational effectiveness of both data systems: Macrostrat provides a sophisticated contextual and age modeling framework to surround SGP geochemical data, while the SGP consortium directs a large and active community of contributing researchers towards expanding the Macrostrat column dataset. These new capabilities support new science and provide geochemical data to the public. The reach and impact of Macrostrat’s advanced cyberinfrastructure for describing the Earth’s crust would be improved by integrating a wide collaborator base. SGP has a novel consortium structure that effectively engages the effort of many researchers, but it lacks an effective age model to align measurements in geologic time. This project combines these approaches by 1) linking SGP samples to Macrostrat units and columns, 2) building new web interfaces for stratigraphic column visualization and entry, and 3) engaging the SGP community in capturing columns that contextualize geochemical datasets. New API data access endpoints and websites will provide access to large volumes of well-structured and harmonized stratigraphic and geochemical data. A new column-entry web application allows broad participation in stratigraphic data collection, curation, and use. Contextual records, once compiled, will sustain new research approaches that integrate bulk and proxy-based rock measurements. This award by the NSF Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure is jointly supported by the Division of Research, Innovation, Synergies, and Education (RISE), the Division of Earth Sciences (EAR), and the Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology Program within the NSF Directorate for Geosciences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.