Omo river project data-management system: an appraisal

The large amount of data accumulated during a regional reconnaissance geological and geochemical survey in southwestern Ethiopia was stored and processed by computer. An open-ended, combined fixed- and free-format data-recording system was devised for field use and for subsequent addition of laboratory data. The data were typed on to magnetic tape and loaded through editing programs on to a System 2000 data base which, after correction, contained about 10 million characters. Maximum user control for access purposes was obtained by collection of the data into keyed repeating groups indexed to field station numbers. Processing included use of immediate access by teletype for presentation, limited statistical treatment, amendment of user-specified data, batch processing for organized report writing, and for creation of numerical data files for subsequent plotting and statistics.The unified data-collection system served to even out disparities between the backgrounds and interests of different observers. The main advantage of using System 2000 has been the ease and rapidity of retrieving soft data related to the significant results of hard data processing, particularly where applied to relationships between different fields of geological information. For compilation, rapid retrieval of organized data, notably for specified areas, has saved much time and labor. The major shortcoming has been the time required for initial data preparation prior to loading and for identification and change of incorrect data accepted for loading by editing programs. This drawback was due mainly to the fact that the data-recording procedure was devised before design and testing of the data base. This system should be adaptable for similar projects provided that the data-recording format is modified.