Open AccessThe Dirt on the Great Lakes
Author(s) -
Showstack Randy
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/00eo00215
Subject(s) - geological survey , silt , dirt , glacier , square (algebra) , geology , scale (ratio) , geologic hazards , surface mining , archaeology , mining engineering , hydrology (agriculture) , geography , physical geography , landslide , cartography , geomorphology , coal , paleontology , geometry , mathematics , geotechnical engineering , coal mining
Over the past 1.8 million years, glaciers have deposited a thick coating of mud, clay, silt, sand, and gravel over four states in the Great Lakes region of the United States.While farms and cities have sprouted there, the lack of knowledge about what underlies the surface has left geologists and planners with less than adequate information that could help with decisions about land use, water resources, and sustainable economic growth, and contribute to a better understanding of geological and environmental hazards. Now, these four states—Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio—have come together with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to propose to Congress a 17‐year, $187 million program to produce detailed, three‐dimensional surficial geologic maps (1:24,000 = scale) and derivative products of nearly 10,000 square kilometers in 17 areas identified as high priority.