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At least 523 records · Page 29Linked to original sources
USGS2006

Rates, trends, causes, and consequences of urban land-use change in the United States

Over the past 200 years, changes to the Nation's urban areas have been dramatic. Changes that have occurred relate both to the location of urban centers, as well as to the spatial extent of land dedicated to urban uses. Urban areas at the beginning of the 19th century were located primarily along major rivers or bodies of water, as waterways provided the most efficient means for transporting goods and people. As railroads became prominent, urban areas were able to expand or develop away from the water's edge. Geographic features such as steep slopes, wetlands, and lack of freshwater impeded settlement. In 1902, the National Reclamation Act was passed and with it came funding for the construction of water storage and transportation systems. This encouraged urban expansion in the arid west. After World War II, the Nation's urban areas continued to expand outward away from the city center as populations migrated to the margins of urban areas, where land was less expensive and the environment was less polluted. In 1956, the Federal Highway Act and the building of Interstate highways further facilitated urban expansion across the Unite States. Rural towns, small industrial centers, and farmland were engulfed by expanding urban centers. Over the past 200 years, numerous social, cultural, economic, and political incentives have encouraged urban expansion. In the 1800s, the industrial revolution influenced where people lived and worked. Many people shifted from agricultural production in rural areas to factory work in urban centers. Advances in transportation systems, such as rail transport in the 19th and early 20th centuries, followed by the mass production of the automobile and convenient air travel, facilitated a mobile society and a national economy. Economic growth and a population boom after World War II spurred increased suburbanization-the shifting of residential areas to the outlying section of a city or to a separate municipality-on the fringe of urban areas. Other economic and political incentives that shaped the urban environment included Federally backed home loans, credit and tax mechanisms that encouraged new development, and less restrictive municipal ordinances regarding building codes, environmental laws, and zoning regulations. Throughout the past two centuries land use changes associated with increasing urbanization have had impacts that resonate at local, regional, and even national scales. Landscape changes resulting from urbanization can be mapped and studied over time. Understanding these changes requires a study of the causes of change as related to social, economic, and political influences. Understanding these changes also requires analysis of how urbanization physically spreads across the landscape. The knowledge gained from studying urban land-use change can be helpful when it flows into local, regional, and national decisionmaking that relates to land-use decisions that impact the people, the economy, and the environment. Deriving a correlation between physical change and the explanations of the causes of change can help anticipate and mitigate the impacts of future change. Throughout the past two centuries changes to the Nation's urban areas are inextricably linked to population changes. The Nation's population started growing slowly along the eastern seaboard during the 17th and 18th centuries, accelerated in the second half of the 19th century, and then continued steadily spreading westward throughout the next hundred years. Currently, nearly 80 percent of the U.S. population resides in urban areas. Land area dedicated to urban use continues to expand, although differently than it has in the past. Most newly urbanized areas are much less densely populated and less intensively developed than they were 50 to 100 years ago.

Professional Paper↗
USGS2023

Approaches for assessing flows, concentrations, and loads of highway and urban runoff and receiving-stream stormwater in southern New England with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)

The Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) was designed to help quantify the risk of adverse effects of runoff on receiving waters, the potential need for mitigation measures, and the potential effectiveness of such management measures for reducing these risks. SELDM is calibrated using representative hydrological and water-quality input statistics. This report by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration and the Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island Departments of Transportation, documents approaches for assessing flows, concentrations, and loads of highway- and urban-runoff and receiving-stream stormwater in southern New England with SELDM. In this report, the term “urban runoff” is used to identify stormwater flows from developed areas with impervious fractions ranging from 10 to 100 percent without regard to the U.S. Census Bureau designation for any given location. There are more than 48,000 delineated road-stream crossings in southern New England, but because there are relatively few precipitation, streamflow, and water-quality monitoring sites in this area, methods were needed to simulate conditions at unmonitored sites. This report documents simulation methods, methods for interpreting stochastic model results, sensitivity analyses to identify the most critical variables of concern, and examples demonstrating how simulation results can be used to inform scientific decision-making processes. Results of 7,511 SELDM simulations were used to do the sensitivity analyses and provide information decisionmakers can use to address runoff-quality issues in southern New England and other areas of the Nation. The sensitivity analyses indicate the relatively strong effect of input variables on variations in output results. These analyses indicate that highway and urban runoff quality and upstream water-quality statistics that vary considerably from site to site have the greatest effect on simulated results. Further data are needed to improve available water-quality statistics, and because the number of monitored sites will never approach the number of sites of interest for water-quality management, research is needed to identify methods to select statistics for unmonitored sites and quantify the uncertainties in the selection process. Hydrologically, prestorm streamflows with and without zero flows are the most sensitive and therefore the most important hydrologic variables to quantify. Results of analyses also are sensitive to statistics used for simulating structural best management practices. Although the focus of the report is on data, statistics, simulation methods, and methods to interpret stochastic simulations, the examples in this report provide results that can be used to inform scientific decision-making processes. The results of 441 simulations that provide regional and site-specific highway and urban runoff yields across southern New England can be used for total maximum daily load analyses. The example stormwater load analysis done for 16 tributaries of the Narragansett Bay demonstrates that highway nitrogen loads are a small fraction of stormwater loads (about 3.6 percent), and a much smaller fraction of all nitrogen loads to the bay, primarily because highways have a small footprint on the land. Examples evaluating the potential effectiveness of end-of-pipe treatment indicate that offsite treatment is warranted in developed areas, and land conservation may be an effective mitigation strategy. The results of these analyses are consistent with conclusions from other simulation and monitoring studies.

Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode I↗
USGS2026

Analysis of alternative weir designs for improved passage of select fish at the U.S. Geological Survey streamgaging weir at Blackwells Mills, New Jersey

As the population of New Jersey continues to remain dense, the need for water supply will likely continue to be high, which can lead to water managers needing to make difficult decisions about managing drinking-water supply. Streamgaging weirs like the ones used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) play a critical role in providing accurate and stable streamflow data, but their presence can affect the passage of diadromous fish species such as river herring ( Alosa pseudoharengus [alewife], Alosa aestivalis [blueback herring], and Alosa sapidissima [American shad]). In some situations, weirs existing in rivers and streams are no longer used because they were part of a farm irrigation system or some type of industrial operation. The weir at the USGS streamgage 01402000 Millstone River at Blackwells Mills, New Jersey, was purposefully built as a hydraulic-control structure that provides a precise and stable control for the measurement of stage and computation of continuous streamflow. To satisfy the dual need of maintaining accurate streamflow data and providing improved fish passage for select species of fish during migration season, the USGS proposed the development and evaluation of two alternative weir designs that would meet the criteria established for successful passage of American shad, alewife, and blueback herring during their yearly migration. The designs were also required to maintain adequate control of the upstream pool elevation necessary for the precise computation of streamflow used by State agencies for municipal water-supply purposes for surrounding communities. Two alternative weir design modifications were incorporated at the center of the Blackwells Mills weir and modeled using two-dimensional hydraulic modeling software and three-dimensional computational fluid-dynamics software to simultaneously evaluate conditions for passage of the target fish species and effects to streamflow computations at the streamgage. The models were calibrated to existing conditions around the weir location using surveyed-elevation data and recorded stage, streamflow, and velocity in the Millstone River. The alternative weir designs lowered the weir crest by 1.02 feet (ft) and the resulting simulations showed an effective increase in depth of 0.98 ft at the median streamflow of 251 cubic feet per second (ft 3 /s) and 0.96 ft at the 95-percent exceedance streamflow of 98 ft 3 /s. The alternative weir designs were also found to increase streamflow depth across the shallowest portions of the weir structure at the downstream anti-scour skirt by lowering the skirt about 4 inches, allowing for two or more body depths of water for American shad, alewife, and blueback herring at the median migration streamflow of 251 ft 3 /s. The alternative weir designs also reduced the highest stream velocities across the downstream weir sill and anti-scour skirt from about 9 to 10 feet per second, and the depth-averaged velocity to about 7 to 8 feet per second. The sensitivity of the weir with respect to the computation of streamflow was increased from about 1.8 cubic feet per second per hundredth foot to 1.6 cubic feet per second per hundredth foot for streamflows of about 10–100 cubic feet per second.

New Jersey↗
USGS2021

Improving Landsat predictions of rangeland fractional cover with multitask learning and uncertainty

Operational satellite remote sensing products are transforming rangeland management and science. Advancements in computation, data storage and processing have removed barriers that previously blocked or hindered the development and use of remote sensing products. When combined with local data and knowledge, remote sensing products can inform decision‐making at multiple scales. We used temporal convolutional networks to produce a fractional cover product that spans western United States rangelands. We trained the model with 52,012 on‐the‐ground vegetation plots to simultaneously predict fractional cover for annual forbs and grasses, perennial forbs and grasses, shrubs, trees, litter and bare ground. To assist interpretation and to provide a measure of prediction confidence, we also produced spatiotemporal‐explicit, pixel‐level estimates of uncertainty. We evaluated the model with 5,780 on‐the‐ground vegetation plots removed from the training data. Model evaluation averaged 6.3% mean absolute error and 9.6% root mean squared error. Evaluation with additional datasets that were not part of the training dataset, and that varied in geographic range, method of collection, scope and size, revealed similar metrics. Model performance increased across all functional groups compared to the previously produced fractional product. The advancements achieved with the new rangeland fractional cover product expand the management toolbox with improved predictions of fractional cover and pixel‐level uncertainty. The new product is available on the Rangeland Analysis Platform (https://rangelands.app/), an interactive web application that tracks rangeland vegetation through time. This product is intended to be used alongside local on‐the‐ground data, expert knowledge, land use history, scientific literature and other sources of information when making interpretations. When being used to inform decision‐making, remotely sensed products should be evaluated and utilized according to the context of the decision and not be used in isolation.

Methods in Ecology and Evolution↗
USGS2024

The underlying causes of differential migration: Assumptions, hypotheses, and predictions

Mechanisms governing the migratory decisions of birds have long fascinated ecologists and sparked considerable debate. Identifying factors responsible for variation in migration distance, also known as differential migration, has been a popular approach to understanding the mechanisms underlying migratory behaviour more generally. However, research progress has been slowed by the continued testing of overlapping, non-mechanistic, and circular predictions among a small set of historically entrenched hypotheses. We highlight the body size hypothesis and suggest that the predictions commonly tested have impeded progress because body size relationships with migration distance are predictions made by several distinct hypotheses with contrasting mechanisms. The cost of migration itself has not been adequately accounted for in most hypotheses, and we propose two flight efficiency hypotheses with time- and energy-minimizing mechanisms that allow individuals to mitigate the risks inherent to longer migrations. We also advance two conceptual versions of the social dominance hypothesis based on two distinct underlying mechanisms related to distance minimization and food maximization that will help clarify the role of competition in driving migratory decisions. Overall, we describe and refine 12 mechanistic hypotheses proposed to explain differential migration (along with several other special-case hypotheses), seven of which have underlying mechanisms related to food limitation as past research has identified this to be an important driver of differential migration. We also thoroughly reviewed 145 publications to assess the amount of support for 10 critical assumptions underlying alternative hypotheses for differential migration in birds. Our review reveals that surprisingly few studies explicitly evaluate assumptions within a differential migration context. Generating and testing strong predictions and critical assumptions underlying mechanisms of alternative hypotheses will improve our ability to differentiate among these explanations of differential migration. Additionally, future intraspecific progress will be greatest if investigators continue to focus on mechanisms underlying variation in migration distance within rather than among demographic classes, as previous research has found differing mechanisms to be responsible for differential migration among demographic classes. Interspecifically, a thorough comparative analysis that seeks to explain variation in migration distance among species would broaden both our understanding of the mechanisms regulating current differential migration patterns and those that led to the evolution of migration more generally. Collectively, we provide a framework that, together with advances in animal-borne tracking and other technology, can be used to advance our understanding of the causes of differential migration distance, and migratory decisions more generally.

Biological Reviews↗
USGS2016

Decoupling processes and scales of shoreline morphodynamics

Behavior of coastal systems on time scales ranging from single storm events to years and decades is controlled by both small-scale sediment transport processes and large-scale geologic, oceanographic, and morphologic processes. Improved understanding of coastal behavior at multiple time scales is required for refining models that predict potential erosion hazards and for coastal management planning and decision-making. Here we investigate the primary controls on shoreline response along a geologically-variable barrier island on time scales resolving extreme storms and decadal variations over a period of nearly one century. An empirical orthogonal function analysis is applied to a time series of shoreline positions at Fire Island, NY to identify patterns of shoreline variance along the length of the island. We establish that there are separable patterns of shoreline behavior that represent response to oceanographic forcing as well as patterns that are not explained by this forcing. The dominant shoreline behavior occurs over large length scales in the form of alternating episodes of shoreline retreat and advance, presumably in response to storms cycles. Two secondary responses include long-term response that is correlated to known geologic variations of the island and the other reflects geomorphic patterns with medium length scale. Our study also includes the response to Hurricane Sandy and a period of post-storm recovery. It was expected that the impacts from Hurricane Sandy would disrupt long-term trends and spatial patterns. We found that the response to Sandy at Fire Island is not notable or distinguishable from several other large storms of the prior decade.

New York↗
USGS2022

Comparisons of the NGA-Subduction ground motion models

In this article, ground-motion models (GMMs) for subduction earthquakes recently developed as part of the Next Generation Attenuation-Subduction (NGA-Sub) project are compared. The four models presented in this comparison study are documented in their respective articles submitted along with this article. Each of these four models is based on the analysis of the large NGA-Sub database. Three of the four current models are developed for a global version as well as separate regionalized models. The fourth model was developed based on earthquakes only from Japan, and as such is applicable only for Japan. As part of this comparison study, a general discussion on the parameterization of the four models and the regionalization of the three models is provided. The specific strengths and or weaknesses or the technical decisions and justifications of any one model are not part of this comparison. A selected suite of deterministic attenuation curves and spectra are presented for the models along with a selected suite of currently used subduction models. A limited number of comparisons are presented in this article with a larger number of comparisons and the digital values provided in the electronic attachment. In addition to these scenario calculation comparisons, the results from a standard probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) for two sites located in the Pacific Northwest Region in the state of Washington are presented. These calculations highlight the potential impact of using the new GMMs. Based on the comparisons presented here, a general understanding of these new GMMs can be obtained with the expectation that the implementation of a specific seismic hazard study should incorporate similar and additional comparisons and sensitivity studies pertinent to the site of interest.

Earthquake Spectra↗
USGS2014

Ecological change on California's Channel Islands from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene

Historical ecology is becoming an important focus in conservation biology and offers a promising tool to help guide ecosystem management. Here, we integrate data from multiple disciplines to illuminate the past, present, and future of biodiversity on California's Channel Islands, an archipelago that has undergone a wide range of land-use and ecological changes. Our analysis spans approximately 20,000 years, from before human occupation and through Native American hunter–gatherers, commercial ranchers and fishers, the US military, and other land managers. We demonstrate how long-term, interdisciplinary research provides insight into conservation decisions, such as setting ecosystem restoration goals, preserving rare and endemic taxa, and reducing the impacts of climate change on natural and cultural resources. We illustrate the importance of historical perspectives for understanding modern patterns and ecological change and present an approach that can be applied generally in conservation management planning.

California↗
USGS2019

Modeling landowner interactions and development patterns at the urban fringe

Population growth and unrestricted development policies are driving low-density urbanization and fragmentation of peri-urban landscapes across North America. While private individuals own most undeveloped land, little is known about how their decision-making processes shape landscape-scale patterns of urbanization over time. We introduce a hybrid agent-based modeling (ABM) – cellular automata (CA) modeling approach, developed for analyzing dynamic feedbacks between landowners’ decisions to sell their land for development, and resulting patterns of landscape fragmentation. Our modeling approach builds on existing conceptual frameworks in land systems modeling by integrating an ABM into an established grid-based land-change model – FUTURES. The decision-making process within the ABM involves landowner agents whose decision to sell their land to developers is a function of heterogeneous preferences and peer-influences (i.e., spatial neighborhood relationships). Simulating landowners’ decision to sell allows an operational link between the ABM and the CA module. To test our hybrid ABM-CA approach, we used empirical data for a rapidly growing region in North Carolina for parameterization. We conducted a sensitivity analysis focusing on the two most relevant parameters—spatial actor distribution and peer-influence intensity—and evaluated the dynamic behavior of the model simulations. The simulation results indicate different peer-influence intensities lead to variable landscape fragmentation patterns, suggesting patterns of spatial interaction among landowners indirectly affect landscape-scale patterns of urbanization and the fragmentation of undeveloped forest and farmland.

North Carolina↗
USGS2009

Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) Applications: Tools to View, Extract, Plot, and Manipulate EDEN Data

The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) is an integrated system of real-time water-level monitoring, ground-elevation data, and water-surface elevation modeling to provide scientists and water managers with current on-line water-depth information for the entire freshwater part of the greater Everglades. To assist users in applying the EDEN data to their particular needs, a series of five EDEN tools, or applications (EDENapps), were developed. Using EDEN's tools, scientists can view the EDEN datasets of daily water-level and ground elevations, compute and view daily water depth and hydroperiod surfaces, extract data for user-specified locations, plot transects of water level, and animate water-level transects over time. Also, users can retrieve data from the EDEN datasets for analysis and display in other analysis software programs. As scientists and managers attempt to restore the natural volume, timing, and distribution of sheetflow in the wetlands, such information is invaluable. Information analyzed and presented with these tools is used to advise policy makers, planners, and decision makers of the potential effects of water management and restoration scenarios on the natural resources of the Everglades.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2018

Temporal trends in water-quality constituent concentrations and annual loads of chemical constituents in Michigan watersheds, 1998–2013

In 1998, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Geological Survey began the Water Chemistry Monitoring Program for select streams in the State of Michigan. Objectives of this program were to provide assistance with (1) statewide water-quality assessments, (2) the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting process, and (3) water-resource management decisions. As part of this program, water-quality data collected from 1998 to 2013 were analyzed to identify potential trends for select constituents that were sampled. Sixteen water-quality constituents were analyzed at 32 stations throughout Michigan. Trend analysis on the various water-quality data was done using either the uncensored Seasonal Kendall test or through Tobit regression. In total, 79 trends were detected in the constituents analyzed for 32 river stations sampled for the study period—53 downward trends and 26 upward trends were detected. The most prevalent trend detected throughout the State was for ammonia, with 11 downward trends and 1 upward trend estimated. In addition to trends, constituent loads were estimated for 31 stations from 2002 to 2013 for stations that were sampled 12 times per year. Loads were computed using the Autobeale load computation program, which used the Beale ratio estimator approach to estimate an annual load. Constituent loads were the largest in large watershed streams with the highest annual flows such as the Saginaw and Grand Rivers. Likewise, constituent loads were the smallest in smaller tributaries that were sampled as part of this program such as the Boardman and Thunder Bay Rivers.

Michigan↗
USGS2023

A prioritization protocol for coastal wetland restoration on Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi

Hawaiian coastal wetlands provide important habitat for federally endangered waterbirds and socio-cultural resources for Native Hawaiians. Currently, Hawaiian coastal wetlands are degraded by development, sedimentation, and invasive species and, thus, require restoration. Little is known about their original structure and function due to the large-scale alteration of the lowland landscape since European contact. Here, we used 1) rapid field assessments of hydrology, vegetation, soils, and birds, 2) a comprehensive analysis of endangered bird habitat value, 3) site spatial characteristics, 4) sea-level rise projections for 2050 and 2100 and wetland migration potential, and 5) preferences of the Native Hawaiian community in a GIS site suitability analysis to prioritize restoration of coastal wetlands on the island of Molokaʻi. The site suitability analysis is the first, to our knowledge, to incorporate community preferences, habitat criteria for endangered waterbirds, and sea-level rise into prioritizing wetland sites for restoration. The rapid assessments showed that groundwater is a ubiquitous water source for coastal wetlands. A groundwater-fed, freshwater herbaceous peatland or “coastal fen” not previously described in Hawaiʻi was found adjacent to the coastline at a site being used to grow taro, a staple crop for Native Hawaiians. In traditional ecological knowledge, such a groundwater-fed, agro-ecological system is referred to as a loʻipūnāwai (spring pond). Overall, 39 plant species were found at the 12 sites; 26 of these were wetland species and 11 were native. Soil texture in the wetlands ranged from loamy sands to silt and silty clays and the mean % organic carbon content was 10.93% ± 12.24 (sd). In total, 79 federally endangered waterbirds, 13 Hawaiian coots (‘alae keʻokeʻo; Fulica alai ) and 66 Hawaiian stilts (aeʻo; Himantopus mexicanus knudseni ), were counted during the rapid field assessments. The site suitability analysis consistently ranked three sites the highest, Kaupapaloʻi o Kaʻamola, Kakahaiʻa National Wildlife Refuge, and ʻŌhiʻapilo Pond, under three different weighting approaches. Site prioritization represents both an actionable plan for coastal wetland restoration and an alternative protocol for restoration decision-making in places such as Hawaiʻi where no pristine “reference” sites exist for comparison.

Hawaii↗
USGS1988

Guidance for modeling causes and effects in environmental problem solving

Environmental problems are difficult to solve because their causes and effects are not easily understood. When attempts are made to analyze causes and effects, the principal challenge is organization of information into a framework that is logical, technically defensible, and easy to understand and communicate. When decisionmakers attempt to solve complex problems before an adequate cause and effect analysis is performed there are serious risks. These risks include: greater reliance on subjective reasoning, lessened chance for scoping an effective problem solving approach, impaired recognition of the need for supplemental information to attain understanding, increased chance for making unsound decisions, and lessened chance for gaining approval and financial support for a program/ Cause and effect relationships can be modeled. This type of modeling has been applied to various environmental problems, including cumulative impact assessment (Dames and Moore 1981; Meehan and Weber 1985; Williamson et al. 1987; Raley et al. 1988) and evaluation of effects of quarrying (Sheate 1986). This guidance for field users was written because of the current interest in documenting cause-effect logic as a part of ecological problem solving. Principal literature sources relating to the modeling approach are: Riggs and Inouye (1975a, b), Erickson (1981), and United States Office of Personnel Management (1986).

Report↗
USGS2020

The changing sociocultural context of wildlife conservation

We introduced a multilevel model of value shift to describe the changing social context of wildlife conservation. Our model depicts how cultural-level processes driven by modernization (e.g., increased wealth, education, and urbanization) affect changes in individual-level cognition that prompt a shift from domination to mutualism wildlife values. Domination values promote beliefs that wildlife should be used primarily to benefit humans, whereas mutualism values adopt a view that wildlife are part of one's social network and worthy of care and compassion. Such shifts create emergent effects (e.g., new interest groups) and challenges to wildlife management organizations (e.g., increased conflict) and dramatically alter the sociopolitical context of conservation decisions. Although this model is likely applicable to many modernized countries, we tested it with data from a 2017–2018 nationwide survey (mail and email panel) of 43,949 residents in the United States. We conducted hierarchical linear modeling and correlational analysis to examine relationships. Modernization variables had strong state-level effects on domination and mutualism. Higher levels of education, income, and urbanization were associated with higher percentages of mutualists and lower percentages of traditionalists, who have strong domination values. Values affected attitudes toward wildlife management challenges; for example, states with higher proportions of mutualists were less supportive of lethal control of wolves ( Canis lupus ) and had lower percentages of active hunters, who represent the traditional clientele of state wildlife agencies in the United States. We contend that agencies will need to embrace new strategies to engage and represent a growing segment of the public with mutualism values. Our model merits testing for application in other countries.

Conservation Biology↗
USGS2003

To the National Map and beyond

Scientific understanding, technology, and social, economic, and environmental conditions have driven a rapidly changing demand for geographic information, both digital and analog. For more than a decade, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been developing innovative partnerships with other government agencies and private industry to produce and distribute geographic information efficiently; increase activities in remote sensing to ensure ongoing monitoring of the land surface; and develop new understanding of the causes and consequences of land surface change. These activities are now contributing to a more robust set of geographic information called The National Map (TNM). The National Map is designed to provide an up-to-date, seamless, horizontally and vertically integrated set of basic digital geographic data, a frequent monitoring of changes on the land surface, and an understanding of the condition of the Earth's surface and many of the processes that shape it. The USGS has reorganized its National Mapping Program into three programs to address the continuum of scientific activities-describing (mapping), monitoring, understanding, modeling, and predicting. The Cooperative Topographic Mapping Program focuses primarily on the mapping and revision aspects of TNM. The National Map also includes results from the Land Remote Sensing and Geographic Analysis and Monitoring Programs that provide continual updates, new insights, and analytical tools. The National Map is valuable as a framework for current research, management, and operational activities. It also provides a critical framework for the development of distributed, spatially enabled decision support systems.

Cartography and Geographic Information Science↗
USGS2010

Global mineral resource assessment

Introduction In response to the growing demand for information on the global mineral-resource base, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting the Quantitative Global Mineral Resource Assessment Project (GMRAP), a cooperative international project, begun in 2002, to assess the world's undiscovered nonfuel mineral resources. Primary Objectives The USGS conducts national and global assessments of resources (mineral, energy, water, biologic) to provide science in support of decisionmaking. Mineral resource assessments provide a synthesis of available information about where mineral deposits are known and suspected in the Earth’s crust, what commodities may be present, and estimates of amounts of resources that may be present in undiscovered deposits. The Global Mineral Resource Assessment Project started in 2002 as a cooperative international effort to assess the world’s undiscovered nonfuel mineral resources. Primary objectives are to: Outline the regional locations and estimate the probable amounts of the world’s undiscovered resources of copper, platinum-group elements (PGE), and potash in selected types of mineral deposits to depths of 1 to 3 kilometers below the Earth’s surface. Provide the first globally consistent and comprehensive analysis of undiscovered nonfuel mineral resources to provide all nations with a regional and global context for evaluating their mineral resources, planning for new mineral exploration and anticipating the economic, environmental, and social impacts of mineral development, and making land use decisions. The project emphasizes the most important types of mineral deposits for world supply of copper, platinum-group elements (PGE) and nickel, and potash. Go to the Quantitative Global Mineral-Resource Assessments home page for more information.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2005

Visitor and community survey results for Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge and Lighthouse: Completion report

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Central Federal Lands Highway Division of the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation are currently pursuing the planning and potential design of an alternative transportation system (ATS) for Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge or Kilauea Point NWR). The USFWS and CFLHD seek an alternative transportation solution that provides the highest quality visitor experience and is sensitive to biological and cultural resources and the needs of the local community. In planning the alternative transportation system, managers need to consider how an ATS would change factors such as visitor access, visitor experience, visitor willingness to pay, and visitor net economic benefits. The Policy Analysis and Science Assistance branch (PASA) at the U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center is dedicated to studying relations between humans and the environment. The objective of PASA is to conduct studies to understand how humans are affected by environmental management decisions and how human activities impact use and conservation of natural resources.

Hawaii↗
USGS2008

Methods for Monitoring Fish Communities of Buffalo National River and Ozark National Scenic Riverways in the Ozark Plateaus of Arkansas and Missouri: Version 1.0

Buffalo National River located in north-central Arkansas, and Ozark National Scenic Riverways, located in southeastern Missouri, are the two largest units of the National Park Service in the Ozark Plateaus physiographic province. The purpose of this report is to provide a protocol that will be used by the National Park Service to sample fish communities and collect related water-quality, habitat, and stream discharge data of Buffalo National River and Ozark National Scenic Riverways to meet inventory and long-term monitoring objectives. The protocol includes (1) a protocol narrative, (2) several standard operating procedures, and (3) supplemental information helpful for implementation of the protocol. The protocol narrative provides background information about the protocol such as the rationale of why a particular resource or resource issue was selected for monitoring, information concerning the resource or resource issue of interest, a description of how monitoring results will inform management decisions, and a discussion of the linkages between this and other monitoring projects. The standard operating procedures cover preparation, training, reach selection, water-quality sampling, fish community sampling, physical habitat collection, measuring stream discharge, equipment maintenance and storage, data management and analysis, reporting, and protocol revision procedures. Much of the information in the standard operating procedures was gathered from existing protocols of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment program or other sources. Supplemental information that would be helpful for implementing the protocol is included. This information includes information on fish species known or suspected to occur in the parks, sample sites, sample design, fish species traits, index of biotic integrity metrics, sampling equipment, and field forms.

Open-File Report↗