Developing a Regional Paleontology Geodatabase – 350 Million Years in the Making

Article by Amanda Charobee and Meghan Thompson, GIS Specialists
Glen Canyon NRA / Intermountain Regional Geographic Resource Division
for Park Paleontology Newsletter, Fall 2024

Currently, no standardization for paleontological resources information exists between park units. Each unit functions as their own ‘island’, designing databases to fit their current needs and often building them as extensions of previous versions, resulting in the collection of different information at varying levels of detail—potentially in multiple formats as software changes. Assuming a unit had developed a previous database, each update could result in either more robust data collection or a culling of more robust data. While losing data is never ideal, data that needs specialized training can compromise data quality if the collector lacks the necessary training. The databases’ required data fields may be incorrect, or, in the case of open fields, the paleontology database underperforms due to inexperienced personnel having difficulty following a robust database’s standard operating procedures.

Top: Volunteer Paleontologists surveying Lake Powell's Cliffs. Bottom Left: Tritylodontid bonebed discovered during pilot field data collection. Bottom Right: James Wesley Powell mega-block with Eubrontes and Grallator Tracks.

Photos by Andrew Milner.

This situation is exacerbated as paleontology trends and fossiliferous rocks do not stop at park borders. Localities provide information about the paleo-environment and ecology on both small and large scales. We need all our paleontology databases interoperable to better analyze trends. This includes ensuring all parks collect comparable data in comparable formats and software. As software “sunsets”, or goes out of use, and the National Park Service (NPS) changes providers, different park units use what is available to them, switching when they have the time and resources. One unit’s database may collect identical information but cannot integrate with another unit’s data that uses different formatting. For instance, NPS museum databases are going through a transition that needs to be accounted for. Existing paleontology databases aren’t guaranteed to “talk” with the service wide museum databases starting in August 2024. Improving interoperability and integration is essential for the resource management. Additionally, some parks units have not yet found the time and resources to begin paleontology resource management. This situation is not unique to the NPS: DOI agencies across the board are faced with this same conundrum.

So, what is the solution? Many parks partner with our sister agencies and local paleontologists to survey our paleo resources. This creates a wealth of information waiting for the NPS to curate in a meaningful way for researchers, interpretation, and resource management needs. The Intermountain Regional Office, in collaboration with the NPS Paleontology Program and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (GLCA), began development of a paleontological resources geospatial database and standardization to provide the framework for regional data integration. Integrating and standardizing the existing data provide a solid, scientific foundation for park project compliance through predictive modelling as well as new insights into the distribution of paleontological resources, institutionalizing paleo protection and management in the future. Development began by partnering with GLCA staff, working through their existing data, and completing fieldwork with them and a team of external paleontologists. This project aims to build a new authoritative dataset for the management and provision of data, as appropriate, to support park staff, researchers, and the public.

The database’s fields are largely decided. Both NPS GIS specialists, with their rangers in mind, and paleontology experts were consulted throughout the database’s conception. Feedback from the Alaska, Intermountain, and Pacific West regions continues to guide standardization with special thanks to Colorado National Monument, Grand Canyon National Park, Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Yellowstone National Park, and their partners. The database consists of eight feature classes and three related tables to collect survey tracks, fossil localities, prospecting areas, collected specimen information, photo storage location, and monitoring data. Entries for approximately 742 localities in GLCA were cleaned, checked, and imported into this new database with more than 1,000 associated photos and 45 monitoring records at nine individual sites. Many of these sites are new to GLCA as they were found either in internal USGS files dating back to 1928, as part of the USGS packrat midden sites, or part of paleontology surveys conducted over the past year.

Enterprise Portal Web-Map of GLCA with randomly generated paleontology localities.

NPS image.

Field collection is a large part of this project. The regional dataset incorporates new entries as localities are identified. Unfortunately, not all parks are equal in internet and cellular connectivity and not all data collection software is usable offline. During the initial testing in March 2023, NPS staff and volunteer paleontologist in GLCA used Avenza software to document fossil track sites. Avenza is a field data collection/ GNSS software that works in an offline environment and is known for being user-friendly. 72 localities were discovered on this trip including the bone fragments of tritylodontid mammaliaforms from the Early Jurassic. Volunteers provided valuable feedback that ultimately dropped Avenza to a means of last resort as the program is difficult to pair with ESRI products, which dominate NPS GIS software. Data collection is available in offline usage using ESRI FieldMaps and Survey 123 software.

Flow Chart depicting field data entry application using GNSS software/hardware during piolet field data collection using Avenza.

NPS image.

The regional dataset is hosted on Portal for the NPS, a secure server for sensitive GIS data. ESRI Web applications and dashboards were developed to show preliminary statistics and conduct analyses on the paleontology data. Ultimately, we want parks to have control of their data, which they will feed into the regional dataset; allowing parks to explore trends within their region and more localized area to better provide an interpretive experience for visitors. The unique needs of each park necessitate a customized approach to the web application development. To address this, the project team works closely with each park to understand their specific requirements. This process involves detailed consultations with park staff to identify their distinct needs, including data management, analysis, and visualization preferences.

Not all park units collect the same data or the same quality of data. This is complicated by parks having different geology, taxonomy, threats, and ecology. While units like GLCA worry about the fluctuation of water levels, others like Colorado National Monument worry about rockfall hazards. Accounting for this array of threats is challenging and requires the database to be flexible. The regional database is designed to be “open” with branch versioning. This allows each park unit to maintain their current database should they not want to migrate to the new schema; and all data will be maintained in NPS portal with access based on curated groups. Additionally, tailored web applications will be designed within the main ESRI web application for each park unit to meet their unique needs, incorporating features that enhance their ability to manage and interpret their paleontological data effectively. This bespoke approach ensures that the final tools are not only functional but also optimized for the unique challenges and opportunities of each park, thus providing more precise and actionable insights. The development process will involve iterative feedback and adjustments to refine the applications, ensuring they are fully aligned with the park's operational workflows and research goals.

Web application for database query and analysis of regional paleontology geodatabase.

NPS image.

Today, the project is in the process of expanding the existing geodatabase by integrating additional parks across the Intermountain Region, beginning with those that have extensive geospatial paleo locality data including Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Colorado National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Zion National Park with discussions underway with several other parks. Additions to the geodatabase also include the Potential Fossil Yield Classification (PFYC) developed by the BLM and paleo resource information collected by state geologic entities such as the Utah Geological Survey. Several other significant issues we’ve encountered and are in the process of addressing include photo storage, data entry methods, access, and reconciling park and scientist needs.

The evolution of the paleontology geodatabase project has been a critical step toward active management of paleontological resources in parks across the United States. The establishment of systematic data collection standards and the creation of a comprehensive dataset will increase the accessibility of information while promoting good data collection and management practices. Our ultimate goal is to develop a comprehensive dataset that encompasses all 74 parks in the Intermountain Region with documented and confirmed paleontological resources. We hope the collaborative nature of this project encourages participants to share in natural resource stewardship and protection by collecting, organizing, and maintaining paleo localities locally and throughout the region.

Related Links

• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (GLCA), Arizona and Utah—[GLCA Geodiversity Atlas] [GLCA Park Home] [GLCA npshistory.com]

• NPS—Geologic Time

Fossils and Paleontology