The State of Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) received a $222,431.71 Project Grant award from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation program (CFDA 15.814). This grant will fund three subprojects to preserve physical geologic samples and digital geophysical data collected across Maryland, and generate new geochemical data on critical mineral resources.
The first two subprojects will inventory, consolidate, and preserve washed rock chip/sediment samples from subsurface drilling (drill cuttings), as well as digital geophysical borehole logs and Chesapeake Bay seafloor geophysical survey data. The third subproject will prepare 50 existing rock samples for geochemical analysis by USGS to support understanding of critical mineral resources in Maryland. All project deliverables, including detailed inventories and metadata, will be made publicly available through online registries and the MD DNR website to promote access and use of these important geoscience data and materials.