The USDA Forest Service is developing a set of corporate, relational databases in which to store, analyze, report on, and display through GIS technology, the data collected by its field-going and research personnel.
Lithology includes bedrock and surficial materials, texture, and weathering.
Simplified relational structure diagram for the geology portion of the Terra database. The development of Terra also required establishment of corporate data standards and protocols for geology, as well as for the other disciplines. As one would expect, the process for making changes to the standard type-tables becomes increasingly rigorous as the regional scale of their application increases. Metadata forms also must be filled out before any site or map-unit data can be entered. Terra's metadata include project name, field protocols, methodologies, sample designs, examiners, and references.