The collection of 50,000 paper well logs, dating back to the 1960's, represents three generations of well schedules; the original version (1966) contained uncoded information about a well and a brief lithology and a hand-drawn location map, and data has been electronically recorded, excluding the lithology description; the next version (1977) became the GWSI data file, and was designed using codes with an accompanying explanation and only the coded lithology information has been stored electronically and not the lithologic descriptions; the third version (1987) is more user friendly than earlier versions.
This collection of well logs (well schedules) that contain lithology information or lithology logs, is stored and maintained by the United States Geological Survey Northborough office, in Massachusetts. The office is involved in work related to ground water studies among other projects. The well log collection consists of 50,000 paper records and electronically stored data, including the Ground Water Site Inventory, known as GWSI, which includes thousands of wells in the New England area.
It would be beneficial to have the well logs scanned as tiff images, as part of an interactive database (GIS); the USGS Northborough office is heading in this direction and they have an individual on staff who is developing an interactive program to link well information with groundwater basins and surficial geology. In addition, the USGS Northborough office has a random assortment of physical collections and some derived/indirect geoscience data that needs to be consolidated and made part of a database.
