Paper Specifications

Instructions to Authors:

Updated: 04/15/2009

This workshop will be structured around oral presentations (mostly 20 minutes in duration), in which the author should preview the subject (see suggested topics, below). The presentation can be supported by poster and/or computer demonstrations to provide the participants with more detail and understanding. To improve the meeting's usefulness, after the workshop we will provide each participant with a proceedings volume containing a brief paper that summarizes each oral and poster presentation. Therefore, a short paper is required of each oral and poster presenter!

The on-line version of the proceedings volume and summary for past workshops are available at http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Info/dmt/. If you have any questions about the instructions, or the content of your proposed paper, please call or e-mail Dave Soller at the address information given below.

(1) Deadlines:

April 17 - if you want to offer an oral or poster presentation, please notify Dave Soller by this date, and preferably before then. We will try to accommodate requests received after April 17, but it will become difficult as the meeting date approaches. If you are giving a poster presentation, please notify Scott McColloch as soon as possible, so that a poster board can be reserved.

Before the workshop – A draft of your paper for poster and oral presentations are due. If an extension is needed, please contact Dave Soller.

(2) Suggested topics:

Cartographic techniques for creating paper and PDF-format geologic maps from field notes, manuscript maps, and map databases,
Information management and delivery (e.g., migrating data to modern formats, archiving field notes, including richly-attributed ancillary information with published databases, preparing maps for third-party visualization software [e.g., Google Earth]),
Design and implementation of individual and corporate geologic map databases,
Migration of map data to new formats (for example, from Arc coverages to Geodatabase),
Preservation of unpublished scientific information,
Scanning, delivery, and archiving of existing maps,
The use of LIDAR for field work and map/database preparation,
3-D databases and/or visualization techniques,
Geologic map data model implementation, and database management (your agency's data model, experience with NADM or other standard data models, GeoSciML),
Summary of activities of the National Geologic Map Database project.

Because this is an informal, technical meeting, please consider for your presentation:
1) Background comments in support of techniques (methods, progress, problems, software, contractors, costs, etc.)
2) Technical details that you feel are unique or controversial.

Also, please see the online versions of DMT '97 - ‘08 for the range of topics presented in past years.

(3) When writing your paper, please:

Minimize jargon, and assume someone will read the paper in another state or agency, with a different background.
Describe the overall method or a specific aspect of that method succinctly, and support it with figures as appropriate.
Consider describing the geology to which this method is applied in your agency, and reflecting on whether the method is applicable to a wide range of geologic terranes, or limited to a specific geologic setting (e.g., flat-lying sedimentary rocks). Assume the reader doesn't know the geology or the constraints that a particular geologic terrane or mapping approach impose on the data capture method.
Consider these questions:
- Why do you use this method?
- Is it based on, or modified by, information learned from past DMT workshops or Proceedings?
- What is your agency's objective for digital mapping?
- What are your products?
- Who uses your products, and for what purpose?
Last but not least, WRITE CAREFULLY, and use the DMT template!!! Revisions to your manuscript cost time and money, so please submit a well-composed manuscript.

(4) Papers:

Oral presentations should be 5 pages or more in length, single-spaced. Longer submissions are encouraged. Poster presentations generally do not exceed 5 pages in length and may be significantly shorter if desired. If the poster supports an oral presentation, the author may choose to not submit a paper. For examples of oral and poster presentations, please refer to previous DMT proceedings. Also, after the meeting, authors might want to provide online versions of their posters or Powerpoint presentations at their home website or at the DMT website (see http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Info/dmt/docs.html).

All papers must be formatted according to the template (provided at the link above or at http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Info/dmt/. We suggest that you download the template and use it to construct your paper. Adhering to the template and the instructions below will greatly reduce the editor's workload! Please submit your paper to Dave Soller, preferably by email in MS Word format. If the files are very large, please send them on CD or arrange for Dave Soller to ftp them from your machine. Figures and simple tables are encouraged.

(5) Figures:

Figures must be contained in separate files, not within the body of the paper. Color figures are encouraged; if they are screenshots, please ensure they are legible. Acceptable file formats include: Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, EPS, TIF, GIF, or JPEG. All figures must be properly sized for publication, according to these specifications:

one-column maximum width is 3.25”
two-column maximum width is 7”, although somewhat smaller width seems appropriate for many figures (e.g., perhaps 5.5” – 6.5”)
figure height must not exceed 8”

Please ensure that the figure resolution is sufficient to print legibly at publication size (e.g., 72 dpi is generally not sufficient, whereas 150 or 300 dpi seems to work fine). In the paper, cite the figure (e.g., (Figure 1)) where appropriate and place the caption at the end of the paper, under a section entitled “FIGURE CAPTIONS.”

(6) Tables:

Please keep them simple, using tab delimiters rather than the table capabilities of your word processor. Simple tables may be contained within the body of the paper, with the formatting needed to properly display them. More complex tables should be included in a separate file, and may be provided as a Word or Illustrator file.

(7) Posters/computer demonstrations:

Poster specifications will soon be available at the website, and if possible you should indicate your intentions and your hardware/software needs when you register for the meeting. If you have further questions about the facilities for posters or computer demonstrations, please contact Scott McColloch at the number provided below.

Thank you for participating. We will strive to make this a productive event!

Dave Soller
U.S. Geological Survey
926A National Center
Reston, VA 20192
Telephone: (703) 648-6907
Fax: (703) 648-6977
email: drsoller@usgs.gov

Scott McColloch
West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey
1 Mont Chateau Road
Morgantown, WV 26508-8079
Telephone: (304) 594-2331
Fax: (304) 594-2575
Email: mccolloch@wvgs.wvnet.edu