Abstract:
Ask-A-Geologist is an online virtual help desk designed to provide answers to geologically based questions. Submitted questions are answered by one of several USGS employees, retirees, and contractors who to participate in the project. The participating scientists have varying degrees of experience and include such titles as geologist, hydrologist, cartographer, and technician. Questions are
... answered by any one of the scientists who may or may not be the field specialist. Approximately 45% of all questions are answered within a few days and most other questions receive an automated reply of regret.
Sample questions and answers are povided in the "example" link yet there is no FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page. Ask-A-Geologist recommends that users search for answers from the search USGS web site (http://search.usgs.gov/) before submitting a question. Another useful site of information is the "USGS Science Challenge". It is linked from the Ask-A-Geologist page and contains a collection of questions and answers addressing Earth and Planetary Science topics. Questions on this site cover science disciplines such as volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains, rocks and minerals, hydrology, biology, and cartography.
[Summary adapted from the Ask-A-Geologist web site, http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/ask-a-geologist/ .] 
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