navdat.org

The Western North American Volcanic and Intrusive Rock Database

Please note: Although this site is fully functional, the content of NAVDAT has been static since 2014 and will not be updated until further notice.
All data is still available via the EarthChem Portal


The North American Volcanic and Intrusive Rock Database (NAVDAT) is intended as a web-accessible repository for age, chemical and isotopic data from Mesozoic and younger igneous rocks in western North America. This region has long been a natural laboratory for efforts to test the links between igneous activity, tectonics, and ore deposition. These efforts have relied on ad hoc databases that became obsolete or abandoned once the project was completed. NAVDAT represents an effort to provide a permanent and publicly available database for existing and new age and geochemical data from igneous rocks in western North America. The database allows a continent-wide look at complex space-time patterns of magmatism. Many new visualization tools have been developed for NAVDAT, including space-time animations and time-animated geochemical diagrams. These tools have revealed intriguing new patterns that had not been teased out of the smaller datasets heretofore available, and demonstrate the power of a large, easily accessible database.

Data entry for the western United States commenced in 2002 and there are now 64985 samples on-line and available for searching. Powerful map interfaces allow users to quickly plot sample locations on satellite images, and hyperlinked geochemical plots allow users to rapidly investigate space-time patterns in the compositions of igneous rocks. We have developed several tools that should find wide use in the petrological community, including data-entry templates that will archive metadata (e.g., analytical techniques and standard data) for analyses, and interfaces to Google Maps and Google Earth that allow easy visualization of sample locations.

Current Holdings:
64985 Samples
1103584 Chemical Values
1874 References
Latest NAVDAT News:
5–1–11 Navdat reaches 1,100,000 chemical values and 65000 samples.
4–2–09 NAVDAT exceeds information from 1800 publications and sources
2–15–09 NAVDAT reaches chemical and age information for over 60,000 samples
12–15–08 NAVDAT exceeds 1,000,000 geochemical and modal values
12–15–08 Modal Data From PGG Database imported into Navdat.
4–11–08 Navdat has over 900,000 chemical values and 1700 references.
3–05–08 Full text search option added to reference/keyword search.
Cessation of Cenozoic volcanism in the western United States (defined as 10th percentile of ages on a 1x1 degree grid).

Important Links

Acknowledgments

NAVDAT Steering Committee

J. Douglas Walker , University of Kansas
Allen F. Glazner , University of North Carolina
G. Lang Farmer , University of Colorado
Richard W. Carlson , Carnegie Institution of Washington
Luca Ferrari , Centro de Geociencias, Campus Juriquilla, UNAM (Liaison to Mexico)

Contact Information

Contact Doug Walker , Allen Glazner , Lang Farmer , Rick Carlson , Luca Ferrari , or Jason Ash for more information about the data and adding additional data sets.

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