The Arkansas Geological Survey (AGS), formerly the Arkansas Geological Commission (AGC), is a government agency of the

State of Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. It is responsible for the investigation of the

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...

, geologic processes, and geologic resources within the state. It encourages the considered management and utilization of the state's

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

fossil-fuel A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ma ...

, and

water resources Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slight ...

with attention to the potential

environmental issue Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment o ...

s of that activity.

History

The Geological Survey of Arkansas was first established in 1857, at the direction of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Elias Nelson Conway Elias Nelson Conway (May 17, 1812 – February 28, 1892) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fifth governor of Arkansas from 1852 to 1860. Early life Conway was born in Greeneville, Tennessee. Born into a political family, ...

David Dale Owen David Dale Owen (24 June 1807 – 13 November 1860) was a prominent American geologist who conducted the first geological surveys of Indiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. Owen served as the first state geologist for three sta ...

was the agencies first geologist. Initially, the agency received funding for only three years, which limited the agencies findings and publications, and the agency was left without funding during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

. After the war, assertions were made regarding the possibility of the existence of precious metals and the 'Geological Survey of Arkansas' was restored. In 1887, John C. Branner was hired as state geologist. He employed a staff of geologists, including the young

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

, who would go on to become

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

. The agency quickly discovered that various precious metal mining promotions were without merit and when those findings were published, enraged operators and investors demanded Branner’s dismissal. The agency was abolished in 1893, though

Arkansas legislature The General Assembly of Arkansas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 ...

continued to provide funds for publication of the agencies work. In 1923,

Thomas Chipman McRae re-established the commission, and the present agency was created as the 'Arkansas Geological Commission' by Act 16 of 1963. In 2007, Arkansas Act 129 changed the agency’s name to its current designation as the ''Arkansas Geological Survey''.

Responsibility

The AGS is a

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...

organization that doesn't have any

regulatory Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. ...

functions; however, the state geologist, by state law, serves on several state boards, commissions, and task forces such as the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission (APCEC), which establishes the rules and regulations for the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). AGS staff serve as

advisor An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs categor ...

s to

regulatory agencies A regulatory agency (regulatory body, regulator) or independent agency (independent regulatory agency) is a government authority that is responsible for exercising autonomous dominion over some area of human activity in a licensing and regulati ...

and special-purpose groups charged with safeguarding the public’s welfare. Their works include the review of

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

and reclamation plans,

landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the wast ...

permits, and providing

geotechnical Geotechnical engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. It uses the principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics for the solution of its respective engineering problems. It al ...

counsel. Staff members provide technical assistance on

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scal ...

geologic mapping A geologic map or geological map is a special-purpose map made to show various geological features. Rock units or geologic strata are shown by color or symbols. Bedding planes and structural features such as faults, folds, are shown with s ...

, GIS,

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...

, and

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

issues. The AGS conducts research on Arkansas

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...

areas, and on its

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

resources. It provides information and assistance regarding metallic and non-metallic mineral resources, and water supplies. The survey works in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water-Resources Division (USGS-WRD), including the collection and publication of data on stream discharge and stage, reservoir and lake storage,

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

levels, and the physical and chemical quality of both surface and ground water. The agency has ongoing projects in the areas of earthquakes,

landslides Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environme ...

, and

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...

issues. The AGS employs a team of geologists who conduct geologic mapping that is provided to government offices and the public in paper and on

digital media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ...

. It provides presentations and field trips to universities and groups who are interested in the geology, natural history, and public recreation areas of the state. It also develops geologic maps and guidebooks for

Arkansas State Parks There are 52 state parks in the U.S. state of Arkansas, as of 2019. ''Note: this list of all 52 parks is the default reference for current individual Arkansas state parks.'' The state parks division of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, ...

National Park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

s, its National Forests, and other areas of public interest.

References

External links

History
a
Arkansas Geological Survey
{{authority control Geological Survey, Arkansas Geological Survey, Arkansas Geological Survey, Arkansas Geological surveys 1857 establishments in Arkansas

History

Responsibility

See also

References

External links