Maryland Geological Survey

MGS Programs

Environmental Geology & Mineral Resources

contact: Dale Shelton (dshelton@mgs.md.gov)

MGS Home | Coastal & Estuarine Geology Home Page | Hydrogeology & Hydrology Home Page | Geologic Features Home Page

Looking southeast from Dan's Mountain (Allegany County)
into the Potomac River Valley (photo by David Brezinski, 12/96).

Vision:

We are dedicated to being leaders in the earth sciences through scientific excellence and responsiveness to the needs of the citizens of Maryland.

Mission:

• Conduct investigations and surveys of the geology of Maryland to assess economic and land resources, and environmental hazards.
• Convey geologic information using state of the art technology to:
  • Promote public awareness and education.
  • Provide objective scientific information to policy makers.
  • Share findings with the scientific community.

Online Topics:

• Environmental Geology & Mineral Resources Online Publications:
  See our list of free, online publications.
• Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership
• The History of Natural Gas Exploration and Production in Maryland
• Resource assessment and geohazard mapping in Charles and Prince Georges counties
• National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program in Maryland
• Maryland's Seismic Network

Current And On-going Projects:

• Maryland Geological Survey is a member of the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership.  More information about the carbon dioxide sequestration can be found in the Adobe PDF document Potential for Geologic Storage of CO2 in Western Maryland – Phase I Studies (3,600kb).
• Geologic and geohazard (sinkhole) mapping in Frederick Valley in cooperation with the Maryland State Highway Administration.  Follow this link to view a summary of this project in PDF format
• Earthquake monitoring and preparedness in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Maryland Emergency Management Agency.
• Resource assessment and geohazard mapping in Charles and Prince Georges counties in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (United States Department of Agriculture). For additional information see http://landslides.usgs.gov.
• The free pamphlet "A User's Guide to Karst and Sinkholes in Western Maryland", is available from Western Maryland Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Council, 18450 Showalter Rd., Suite 111, Hagerstown, MD 21742-1383, Voice: 301/733-2973, Fax: 301/733-7643, toppers@starpower.net
• Digitizing the geologic and physiographic maps of Maryland in partnership with Towson University.
• Digitizing 7.5-minute quadrangle geologic maps and water-well wireline logs, and surface/subsurface mapping in the Earlville quadrangle (Eastern Shore) in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey STATEMAP Program.
• Digitizing 7.5-minute quadrangle geologic maps along the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries in cooperation with Coastal Zone Management.
• Outreach Activities: Maryland State Fair, Sideling Hill Exhibit, Maryland Science Center, Scouts, Public K12 Schools and Universities, Earthquake kiosks, National Science Teachers Association, public inquiries and web site development.
• DNR Assignments: Education Matrix Team, review of permit applications.
• Maintenance of Publications Office and Library.