FIELD OBSERVATIONS

Field	Description
Main ID Information	Metadata Updated 2007
Title	Benton County Aggregate Resource Evaluation - Field Observations
Filename	Fieldobs (ArcView Shapefile)
Abstract	This dataset includes information gathered in the field. Field work was completed in the fall of 2000 and Summer and Fall of 2001. It includes approximately 1325 field observation sites within Benton County. Includes a field description of each site, the dominant type of material encountered, the source of information, type of site, unit thickness, and overburden thickness.
Place Keywords	Benton County, Minnesota
Theme Keywords	Field Observations, Aggregate Resources, Surficial Geology
Time Period of Content	Fall 2000 and Summer and Fall 2001
Parent Theme	NA
Spatial Extent of the Data	Benton County, Minnesota
Contact Person	Jon Ellingson (or Renee Johnson)
Contact Person Organization/Division	Department of Natural Resources, Division of Lands and Minerals
Contact Person Position	Geologist or GIS Specialist
Contact Address	500 Lafayette Road, Box 45
Contact City	St. Paul
Contact Zip Code	55155-4045
Contact Voice Phone	651-259-5959
Contact Fax Phone	651-296-5939
Additional ID Information
Originator	Department of Natural Resources, Division of Lands and Minerals, Mineral Potential Section
Purpose	To summarize the field observations. These observations were made to confirm air photo interpretations that identified potential aggregate bearing landforms.
Progress	Complete
Currentness Reference	All field observations were completed in the fall of 2000 and summer and fall of 2001.
Maintenance Frequency	None Planned
Access Constraints	NA
Use Constraints	NA
Associated Data Sets	Aggregate Resources of Benton County, Minnesota
Data Quality
Attribute Accuracy	A GPS unit was used to determine the locations of the data points. These points were then downloaded and slightly revised based on field observations, topographic maps, and aerial photographs. The GPS unit (with differential correction) is accurate to approximately a few meters. The topographic maps are 1:24,000 and the aerial photographs are 1:40,000 scale.
Logical Consistency	NA
Completeness	The data points were gathered at the location where field observations took place.
Horizontal Positional Accuracy	GPS Unit with differential correction (+/- 2 meters)
Vertical Positional Accuracy
Lineage	All point locations were recorded and downloaded from a GPS unit. These coordinates were then checked with field notes and topographic maps to assure accuracy. Some slight changes were made based on field notes.
Source Scale Denominator	100
Spatial Reference
Horizontal Coordinate Scheme	UTM
Ellipsoid	GRS80
Horizontal Datum	NAD83
Horizontal Units	meters
Distance Resolution	NA
Altitude Datum	NA
Altitude Units	NA
Depth Datum	NA
Depth Units	NA
UTM Zone Number	15
Raster only
Cell Width	NA
Cell Height	NA
Spatial Data Organization
Geographic Reference for Tabular Data	NA
Native Dataset Environment	ArcView 3.1 and ArcInfo 8.0.2
Vendor Specific Object Type	Point
Tiling Scheme	County
Spatial Object Type	Point
Transfer Size	275 kb
Entities -- Attributes
Entity-Attribute Overview	A description of field observation sites, type of site, unit thickness, and overburden thickness.
Entity-Attribute Detailed Citation	ArcView specific fields include shape (i.e., feature type = point), area (0 for points), perimeter (0 for points), fieldobs_ (unique id for point, assigned by the software, fieldobs_i (an id usually assigned during theme creation). The field observation specific attributes are described in the table below.

Table Name	Field Name	Begin Column	Definition	Valid Values	Descriptions
fieldobs.dbf	Field_id		Text, 8	Ex: A-34, B-65, T-23, etc…	Unique Identifiers used in the field, letters have no significance.
	Site_type1		Text, 16	Drill Hole	Test hole drilled with a Giddings Soil Probe.
				Excavation	Badger Holes, Trenches, Construction Areas, or Foundations
				Exposure	Bedrock exposures.
				Gravel Pit	Gravel Pits Exposing Sand and Gravel Material.
				Outcrop	Stream, Road-Cut, Bank, Judicial Ditch, or Slump.
				Quarry	An existing quarry exposing bedrock.
				Other	Observed Vegetative trends, story of a land owner, etc...
	Site_type2		Text, 16	Bank	Describes how the material was exposed. A bank of a cliff.
				Basement	Excavation of a basement by a backhoe.
				Construction	Mining for fill material and/or other construction.
				Ditch	Material exposed in a ditch due to a slump or landscaping that has removed vegetation.
				Foundation	A foundation was being dug, exposing material.
				Giddings Drill H	Test hole drilled with an 8 inch auger.
				Gravel Pit	Materials exposed in gravel pit.
				Judicial Ditch	Materials exposed in manmade ditch.
				Observation	Talked to individual.
				Pit	Small pit/Water hole
				Quarry	Bedrock units exposed in a quarry.
				River Cut	Stream exposed an area.
				Road Cut	Materials exposed in a road cut
				Road Cut Gully	Materials exposed in gullies along road cuts.
				Rock Pile	Large rock Pile – Possibilities for rip-rap material.
				Sand Pit	Sand Pit.
				Stream	Exposure due to stream cut.
				Surface	Exposures of bedrock on the surface.
				Trench	Trenches for pipelines, tiling, cables, etc.
				Water Hole	Livestock Water hole or recreation pond being dug.
	Material_1		Text, 16	Ex: Sand, Gravel, Clay, Silt, Limestone, Sandstone.	Describes the primary type of material encountered at each observation site.
	Material_2		Text, 16	Ex: Sand, Gravel, Clay, Silt, Limestone, Sandstone.	Describes the secondary (not primary) type of material at each observation site.
	Fielddesc		Text, 80	Ex: Drill Hole (0-9 ft) 0-6 Till, 6-9 Gravel.	A short field description of the observation site.
	Unitthick		Text, 8	Ex:0, 4, 5, 8, 12, >3, >5, >10, etc...	A description of the thickness of the unit in feet, with “<“ or “>” modifiers.
	Overthick		Text, 8	Ex: <3, 6, <5, >5, >20, etc...	A description of the thickness of the overburden covering the unit, with “<“ or “>” modifiers.
	Thickmod		Text, 4	>	Modifies the Thick (i.e., Thickness field). Greater Than
				<	Less Than.
	Thick		Number,3,0	Ex: 10, 15, 30, 40	Describes the thickness of the unit at the observation site in feet.
	Overmod		Text, 4	>	Modifies the Over (Overburden Field). Greater Than.
	Overmin		Number,3,0	Ex: 0, 2, 3, 5.	Describes the minimum thickness of overburden (material) covering a unit.
	Overmax		Number,3,0	Ex: 0, 6, 10.	Describes the maximum thickness of overburden (material) covering a unit.