GMC puts formation tops data online

The Alaska Geologic Materials Center has added subsurface depth data for the tops of Alaska rock formations to its Google Earth rock inventory, accessible from the GMC website. GMC staff compiled the information from data provided by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and the U.S. Geological Survey.

By double clicking on a well location displayed in Google Earth, it is possible to pull up the formation top picks for the well and also see what rock cuttings, core and other materials from the well are available in the GMC inventory. The GMC, located in Eagle River, holds a major archive of Alaska rock samples and stores an almost complete collection of core and drill-cutting samples from oil and gas wells drilled in Alaska and on the Alaska outer continental shelf. The collection at the center also includes numerous microscope slides from well samples and many thousands of rock samples from the mining industry.

The formation information is also available as lists in PDF and Microsoft Excel format on the GMC website, accessible via the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Services website at www.dggs.alaska.gov.

—Alan Bailey