Report On Coal Resource Evaluation Studies PDF Download

The Resource Data Evaluation subtask of the US Department of Energy (DOE) base program represents an Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) initiative to promote the integration of geographic information system (GIS) technologies with other ongoing and planned EERC research in the areas of resource utilization, remediation, land use planning, and regulatory and policy assessment. Significant demand for GIS-based information already exists for energy resource evaluation, interpretation of remote sensing data, environmental assessment at the state and local levels, and use in strategic planning. The objective of this task was to determine the appropriate platform and approach upon which to develop GIS applications for optimizing resource evaluation and integrating this information with related areas of interest. Activities associated with Task 7.2, Resource Data Evaluation, were conducted primarily during the first half of the project year. These activities included tasks associated with the development and implementation of GIS databases and construction of digitized files for research pertaining to energy studies. As previously noted, database design was undertaken for two EERC projects: 1) coal occurrence in Bowman and adjacent counties in the Fort Union Coal Region of southwestern North Dakota and 2) energy resource utilization concerns for selected sites in Alaska.