DGGS releases Alaska Highway data

Alaska’s Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys has announced the release of airborne electromagnetic data and total field aeromagnetic data for about 3,045 square miles of land along the Alaska Highway from Delta Junction to the Canadian border.

“This is an important corridor where we could hope to see development of a natural gas pipeline, a railroad extension or other infrastructure,” DGGS Director Bob Swenson said. “Minerals section chief Laurel Burns has done a great job managing this project and acquiring a geophysical data set that will provide important information to those laying the foundation for potential development projects that could benefit the economy of the region and the state.”

Stevens Exploration Management Corp. acquired the data under a DGGS contract — the configuration of the electromagnetic data acquisition maximized information about near-surface materials, such as sand and gravel; conductive overburden; and the location of potential geologic hazards, such as permafrost and near-surface faults. DGGS says that the data could be used in planning future development in the area and as a source of critical information for bedrock geologic mapping.

All of the data are available to the public for the cost of reproduction from DGGS (phone 907 451-5020). Order forms and location maps are available on the DGGS web site (http://wwwdggs.dnr.state.ak.us).

And after May 30 the materials will be also available for inspection at the Alaska Resources Library and Information Services, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99508 (Phone 907 272-7547); and at the Alaska State Library in the State Office Building in Juneau, weekdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

—Alan Bailey