Introduction of new computing facilities at the Geological Survey of Greenland

Abstract

From a cautious start in the use of computers in the early 1970s, the Geological Survey of Greenland has developed complex and varied uses of modern computer facilities for both scientific and administrative tasks. GGU's first computer installation, a noisy TTY connected to the Computing Centre of Copenhagen University by a 110 baud telephone modem, was a selfservice facility which was not easy to use. Over the years, first with use of a PDP-10 with just one Tektronix 4014 graphic terminal and later a succession of increasingly powerful PDP-11s with many terminals, GGU's in-house facilities just kept ahead of the ever increasing demand for computer services. At the same time a number of programs for special tasks were developed on external facilities, because they required larger computers or special facilities. In the 1980s the demands on the computer facilitiesrequiring many different types of programs, including word processing, had grown so large that GGU's in-house system could no longer handle them satisfactorily. A major reorganisation was required, and consequently activities were divided between personal computers (PCs; mainly administrative) and a new central computer (mainly scientific). This development took place in late 1986 with the purchase of 17 new personal computers and a new central computer with accessory peripheral equipment. This has allowed an increasing integration of computer methods into GGU's activities. A brief summary is given below.