Robert B. Witrock, Geologist/Paleontologist, Resource Evaluation, Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394

Over the past three decades MMS storage of biostratigraphic and paleoecologic data, generated from both petroleum industry and internal MMS analysis, evolved into an Oracle-based integrated relational database (Technical Information Management System). Currently paleontological summary reports containing definitive foraminiferal and coccolith stratigraphic and paleobathymetric data and analyzed and interpreted information from over 20,000 wells can be queried. Over the last five years the total number of biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic codes created in the paleontologic database quadrupled to more than 1200. A major revision of Neogene chronozonal delineations is being incorporated into the database as well, using standardized global stratigraphic concepts. With the transformation towards e-Gov, MMS is exploring ways to seamlessly and efficiently receive and store proprietary industry paleontological reports, employing Extensible Markup Language (XML) as a data transfer standard. MMS offers releasable biostratigraphic reports to the public in CD-ROM form semi-annually. In the future, graphic displays of foraminiferal and nannofossil abundance and diversity curves will be available to the public.

Presentation by Robert B. Witrock at the PPDM Association 2002 Houston Spring Conference, April 17, 2002