Providing Geological Information for National Defense and
Homeland Security

• Introduction—The Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Coalition is a partnership of the eight state geological surveys that adjoin the Great Lakes and the U.S. Geological Survey. Its task is to produce maps that support critical decisions concerning water resources, environmental management, and hazards. In 2001, a task was added to the Coalition’s original mission: Providing geological input to antiterror and defense strategies. To accomplish these goals, dynamic databases of comprehensive geologic information are compiled to create three-dimensional geologic maps delineating deposits from the land surface to the bedrock.
  
  Defense of water supplies—A large percentage of the populations of the Coalition states rely on ground water as a drinking water source. Mapping and characterizing these subsurface aquifers are difficult tasks because of the complexity of the geologic deposits containing ground-water resources. The information is critical to protect current water supplies and identify potential emergency supplies, should large population segments be displaced by natural, accidental, or hostile contamination. Modern-day concern about the ease with which terrorists or other international antagonists could destroy our water supply or tax it through massive population dislocations makes it critical that we understand the geological setting of our water supplies. Providing information on alternate, naturally protected, ground-water sources will greatly decrease response time in the event of attacks on our citizens.
  
  Potential for population dislocation and relocation—If a large population segment was relocated because of a disruptive event, only certain portions of the Great Lakes states could accommodate and support relocation efforts, while at the same time maintain a population density necessary to conduct commerce in the face of a prolonged cleanup of affected areas. Sites must be available that satisfy several geologically important criteria. There must be (1) adequate and well-protected ground-water resources for drinking, (2) safe areas for disposal of human and other wastes, (3) nearby resources of sand and gravel that can support infrastructure construction, and (4) absence of present or potential land uses that could conflict with relocation. All these concerns can be addressed via the Coalition's three-dimensional mapping program.