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Southern Salish Sea Habitat Map Series: Admiralty Inlet
In 2010 the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 initiated the Puget Sound Scientific Studies and Technical Investigations Assistance Program, designed to support research in support of implementing the Puget Sound Action Agenda. The Action Agenda was created in response to Puget Sound having been designated as one of 28 estuaries of national significance under section 320 of the U.S. Clean Water Act, and its overall goal is to restore the Puget Sound Estuary's environment by 2020. The Southern Salish Sea Mapping Project was funded by the Assistance Program request for proposals process, which also supports a large number of coastal-zone- and ocean-management issues. The issues include the recommendations of the Marine Protected Areas Work Group to the Washington State Legislature (Van Cleve and others, 2009), which endorses a Puget Sound and coast-wide marine conservation needs assessment, gap analysis of existing Marine Protected Areas (MPA) and recommendations for action. This publication is the first of four U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigation Maps that make up the Southern Salish Sea Mapping Project. The remaining three map blocks to be published in the future, located south of Admiralty Inlet, are shown in figure 1. Puget Sound is a deep, fjord-type estuary covering an area of 2,330 km 2 in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States (fig. 1). It is connected to the ocean by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a turbulent passage approximately 160 km in length and 22 km wide at its west end, expanding to over 40 km wide at its east end (Thomson, 1994). During the Pleistocene, the area was occupied several times by lobes of continental ice, resulting in a complex basin-fill of glacial and interglacial deposits that are locally as thick as 1100 m (Johnson and others, 2001). The last glaciation, called the Fraser glaciation, began after 28,800±740 14 C yr B.P. when ice started a slow expansion (Clague, 1981). At peak advance the westward Juan de Fuca lobe reached the edge of the continental shelf through the Juan de Fuca Strait shortly before 14,460±200 14 C yr B.P. (Herzer and Bornhold, 1982). The southward Puget lobe advanced to its terminal position in Puget Sound by around 14,150 14 C yr B.P. (Porter and Swanson, 1998). Ice retreated from its maximum to northern Whidbey Island by 13,650±350 14 C yr B.P. (Dethier and others, 1995). Retreating glaciers resulted in a thick sequence of ice-contact, glacial-marine sediment, and early post-glacial sediments (Linden and Schurrer, 1988). These deposits have experienced the effects of a marine transgression followed by regression, resulting in a sea-level several tens of meters lower than the present day (Linden and Schurrer, 1988). A second transgression brought sea level to about the present level by around 5,470±120 14 C yr B.P. (Clague and others, 1982) establishing the present oceanographic and geologic environment Puget Sound is separated into four interconnected basins; Whidbey, Central (Main), Hood Canal, and South (Thomson, 1994). The Whidbey, Central, and Hood Canal basins are the three main branches of the Puget Sound estuary and are separated from the Strait of Juan de Fuca by a double sill at Admiralty Inlet. The Admiralty Inlet map area includes the Inlet and a portion of the Whidbey Basin (fig. 1). The shallower South Basin is separated by a sill at Tacoma Narrows and is highly branched with numerous finger inlets. Flow within Puget Sound is dominated by tidal currents of as much as 1 m/s at Admiralty Inlet, reducing to approximately 0.5 m/s in the Central Basin (Lavelle and others, 1988). The lack of silt and clay-sized sediments in the Admiralty Inlet map area is likely a result of the strong currents (see Ground-Truth Studies for the Admiralty Inlet Map Area, sheet 3). The subtidal component of flow reaches approximately 0.1 m/s and is driven by density gradients arising from the contrast in salty ocean water at the entrance and freshwater inputs from stream flow (Lavelle and others, 1988). The total freshwater input to Puget Sound is approximately 3.4 x 10 6 m 3 /day, primarily from the Skagit River (Cannon, 1983). The subtidal circulation mostly consists of a two-layered flow in the basins with fresher water exiting at the surface and saltier water entering at depth (Ebbesmeyer and Cannon, 2001). In general, surface waters flow north and deeper waters flow south; variations arise from wind effects that can drive a surface current in the same direction as the wind, and a baroclinic response in the lower layer to about 100-m depth (Matsuura and Cannon, 1997). Oceanographic properties are influenced by temporal forcing parameters such as reduced stream flow during the 2000-01 drought that increased surface salinity and decreased differences between surface and bottom waters (Newton and others, 2003). On offshore seismic-reflection profiles, Pleistocene strata (excluding latest Pleistocene glacial and post-glacial deposits) form a distinct seismic unit, bounded below by pre-Tertiary or Tertiary basement and above by typically flat-lying latest Pleistocene to Holocene deposits that fill in erosional or depositional relief (Johnson and others, 2001). Cores from central Puget Sound have accumulation rates that range from 85 to 1200 mg/cm 2 /yr, or 0.12 to 2.4 cm/yr; the highest accumulation rates are near the southern end of central Puget Sound (Carpenter and others, 1985). Carpenter and others (1985) un-weighted arithmetic mean of accumulation rates for central Puget Sound deeper stations is 480±340 (± one standard deviation) mg/cm 2 /yr. Lavelle and others (1985) also found rates as high as 1200 mg/cm 2 /yr over the past approximately 70 years in cores in the Central Basin off of and north and south of Elliott Bay. Puget Sound basin rates are comparable to rates in midshelf silt deposits on the Washington coast north of the Columbia River (Nittrouer and others, 1979). The deep subtidal (in other words, below SCUBA depths) habitats of Puget Sound are relatively poorly known. A few subtidal surveys exist for several habitat types from the 1960s and 1970s (reviewed in Dethier, 1990), using grab and box core data. The Dethier (1990) review divides habitat up into Coast and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) substrate, water column energy, and depth zones but does not attempt to map these habitats, rather it is an inventory of habitats found in the area and the flora and fauna associated with each habitat. The approach of the Southern Salish Sea Mapping project is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of swath sonar data (the undersea equivalent of satellite remote-sensing data in terrestrial mapping), acoustic backscatter, seafloor video, seafloor photography, and bottom-sediment sampling data. This approach is based in part on methods presented and data collection and product needs identified at the Washington State Seafloor Mapping Workshop (Washington State Seafloor Mapping Workshop Steering Committee, 2008), attended by coastal and marine managers and scientists. The map products display seafloor geomorphology and substrate, and identify potential marine benthic habitats. It is emphasized that the more interpretive habitat and geology maps rely on the integration of multiple, new high-resolution datasets and that mapping at small scales would not be possible without such data. Oceanographic current and wave data is not included in this analysis, however, the accompanying geographic information system (GIS) data set is designed and intended to be combined with oceanographic and biologic data sets assembled by others in the future and some of the GIS data has already been incorporated in the unpublished Nature Conservancy Benthic Habitats of Puget Sound database. This publication includes four map sheets, explanatory text, and a descriptive pamphlet. Each map sheet is published as a portable document format (PDF) file. ESRI ArcGIS compatible geotiffs (for example, bathymetry) and shapefiles (for example video observation points) will be available for download in the data catalog associated with this publication (Cochrane, 2015). An ArcGIS Project File with the symbology used to generate the map sheets is also provided. For those who do not own the full suite of ESRI GIS and mapping software, the data can be read using ESRI ArcReader, a free viewer that is available at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcreader/index.html .
Revision of Primary Series Maps
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Beach structures map series of west-central Florida
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Quaternary geologic map of the Wolf Point 1° × 2° quadrangle, Montana and North Dakota
The Wolf Point quadrangle encompasses approximately 16,084 km 2 (6,210 mi 2 ). The northern boundary is the Montana/Saskatchewan (U.S.-Canada) boundary. The quadrangle is in the Northern Plains physiographic province and it includes the Peerless Plateau and Flaxville Plain. The primary river is the Missouri River. The map units are surficial deposits and materials, not landforms. Deposits that comprise some constructional landforms (for example, ground-moraine deposits, end-moraine deposits, and stagnation-moraine deposits, all composed of till) are distinguished for purposes of reconstruction of glacial history. Surficial deposits and materials are assigned to 23 map units on the basis of genesis, age, lithology or composition, texture or particle size, and other physical, chemical, and engineering characteristics. It is not a map of soils that are recognized in pedology or agronomy. Rather, it is a generalized map of soils recognized in engineering geology, or of substrata or parent materials in which pedologic or agronomic soils are formed. Glaciotectonic (ice-thrust) structures and deposits are mapped separately, represented by a symbol. The surficial deposits are glacial, ice-contact, glaciofluvial, alluvial, lacustrine, eolian, colluvial, and mass-movement deposits. Till of late Wisconsin age is represented by three map units. Till of Illinoian age also is mapped. Till deposited during pre-Illinoian glaciations is not mapped, but is widespread in the subsurface. Linear ice-molded landforms (primarily drumlins), shown by symbol, indicate directions of ice flow during late Wisconsin and Illinoian glaciations. The Quaternary geologic map of the Wolf Point quadrangle, northeastern Montana and North Dakota, was prepared to provide a database for compilation of a Quaternary geologic map of the Regina 4° × 6° quadrangle, United States and Canada, at scale 1:1,000,000, for the U.S. Geological Survey Quaternary Geologic Atlas of the United States map series. This map was compiled from data from many sources, at several different map scales. That information was generalized and simplified, and then transferred to a base map at 1:250,000 scale to serve as the base for final reduction to 1:1,000,000, the nominal reading scale of maps in the Quaternary Geologic Atlas of the United States map series. This map is the generalized and simplified 1:250,000 scale compilation. Letter symbols for the map units are those used for the same units in the Quaternary Geologic Atlas of the United States map series. The map summarizes new, and selected published and unpublished, geologic information for public use and for use by Federal, State, and local governmental agencies for land use planning, including assessment of natural resources, natural hazards, recreation potential, and land use management. It also is a base from which a variety of maps relating to earth surface processes and Quaternary geologic history can be derived.
An automated imagery orthorectification pilot
Automated orthorectification of raw image products is now possible based on the comprehensive metadata collected by Global Positioning Systems and Inertial Measurement Unit technology aboard aircraft and satellite digital imaging systems, and based on emerging pattern-matching and automated image-to-image and control point selection capabilities in many advanced image processing systems. Automated orthorectification of standard aerial photography is also possible if a camera calibration report and sufficient metadata is available. Orthorectification of historical imagery, for which only limited metadata was available, was also attempted and found to require some user input, creating a semi-automated process that still has significant potential to reduce processing time and expense for the conversion of archival historical imagery into geospatially enabled, digital formats, facilitating preservation and utilization of a vast archive of historical imagery. Over 90 percent of the frames of historical aerial photos used in this experiment were successfully orthorectified to the accuracy of the USGS 100K base map series utilized for the geospatial reference of the archive. The accuracy standard for the 100K series maps is approximately 167 feet (51 meters). The main problems associated with orthorectification failure were cloud cover, shadow and historical landscape change which confused automated image-to-image matching processes. Further research is recommended to optimize automated orthorectification methods and enable broad operational use, especially as related to historical imagery archives.
USGS standard quadrangle maps for emergency response
The 1:24,000-scale topographic quadrangle was the primary product of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Mapping Program from 1947-1992. This map series includes about 54,000 map sheets for the conterminous United States, and is the only uniform map series ever produced that covers this area at such a large scale. This map series partially was revised under several programs, starting as early as 1968, but these programs were not adequate to keep the series current. Through the 1990s the emphasis of the USGS mapping program shifted away from topographic maps and toward more specialized digital data products. Topographic map revision dropped off rapidly after 1999, and stopped completely by 2004. Since 2001, emergency-response and homeland security requirement have revived the question of whether a standard national topographic series is needed. Emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and California wildfires in 2007-08 demonstrated that familiar maps are important to first responders. Maps that have a standard scale, extent, and grids help reduce confusion and save time in emergencies. Traditional maps are designed to allow the human brain to quickly process large amounts of information, and depend on artistic layout and design that cannot be fully automated. In spite of technical advances, creating a traditional, general-purpose topographic map is still expensive. Although the content and layout of traditional topographic maps probably is still desirable, the preferred packaging and delivery of maps has changed. Digital image files are now desired by most users, but to be useful to the emergency-response community, these files must be easy to view and easy to print without specialized geographic information system expertise or software.
ORTHOPHOTOQUAD MAPPING PROGRAM FOR ALASKA.
The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the lead civilian mapping agency in the United States and is responsible for creating and maintaining numerous map series. In Alaska the standard topographic map series is at a scale of 1:63,360, and maps at that scale have been available from the USGS since the late 1940's. In 1981 USGS initiated production of orthophotoquads of Alaska, also at a scale of 1:63,360 to be compatible with the topographic map series. An orthophotoquad (OQ) is prepared from a rectified or differentially rectified and scaled black-and-white photographic image published in quadrangle format. The current status of the Alaska OQ program is summarized and sample OQ's are illustrated. Engineering applications of orthophotoquads are discussed, with an emphasis on their use in the on-shore and near-shore areas. A combination of orthophoto imagery and topographic line maps is described as a planning and engineering tool. Sources of map separates and orthophotoquads are provided.
Tectonic map of the Circum-Pacific region, Pacific basin sheet
Circum-Pacific Map Project : The Circum-Pacific Map Project was a cooperative international effort designed to show the relationship of known energy and mineral resources to the major geologic features of the Pacific basin and surrounding continental areas. Available geologic, mineral, and energy-resource data are being complemented by new, project-developed data sets such as magnetic lineations, seafloor mineral deposits, and seafloor sediment. Earth scientists representing some 180 organizations from more than 40 Pacific-region countries are involved in this work. Six overlapping equal-area regional maps at a scale of 1:10,000,000 form the cartographic base for the project: the four Circum-Pacific Quadrants (Northwest, Southwest, Southeast, and Northeast), and the Antarctic and Arctic Sheets. There is also a Pacific Basin Sheet at a scale of 1:17,000,000. The Base Map Series and the Geographic Series (published from 1977 to 1990), the Plate-Tectonic Series (published in 1981 and 1982), the Geodynamic Series (published in 1984 and 1985), and the Geologic Series (published from 1984 to 1989) all include six map sheets. Other thematic map series in preparation include Mineral-Resources, Energy-Resources and Tectonic Maps. Altogether, more than 50 map sheets are planned. The maps were prepared cooperatively by the Circum-Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey and are available from the Branch of Distribution, U. S. Geological Survey, Box 25286, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225, U.S.A. The Circum-Pacific Map Project is organized under six panels of geoscientists representing national earth-science organizations, universities, and natural-resource companies. The six panels correspond to the basic map areas. Current panel chairmen are Tomoyuki Moritani (Northwest Quadrant), R. Wally Johnson (Southwest Quadrant), Ian W.D. Dalziel (Antarctic Region), vacant. (Southeast Quadrant), Kenneth J. Drummond (Northeast Quadrant), and George W. Moore (Arctic Region). Project coordination and final cartography was being carried out through the cooperation of the Office of the Chief Geologist of the U.S. Geological Survey, under the direction of General Chairman, George Gryc of Menlo Park, California. Project headquarters were located at 345 Middlefield Road, MS 952, Menlo Park, California 94025, U.S.A. The framework for the Circum-Pacific Map Project was developed in 1973 by a specially convened group of 12 North American geoscientists meeting in California. The project was officially launched at the First Circum-Pacific Conference on Energy and Mineral Resources, which met in Honolulu, Hawaii, in August 1974. Sponsors of the conference were the AAPG, Pacific Science Association (PSA), and the Coordinating Committee for Offshore Prospecting for Mineral Resources in Offshore Asian Areas (CCOP). The Circum-Pacific Map Project operates as an activity of the Circum-Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources, a nonprofit organization that promotes cooperation among Circum-Pacific countries in the study of energy and mineral resources of the Pacific basin. Founded by Michel T. Halbouty in 1972, the Council also sponsors conferences, topical symposia, workshops and the Earth Science Series books. Tectonic Map Series : The tectonic maps distinguish areas of oceanic and continental crust. Symbols in red mark active plate boundaries, and colored patterns show tectonic units (volcanic or magmatic arcs, arc-trench gaps, and interarc basins) associated with active plate margins. Well-documented inactive plate boundaries are shown by symbols in black. The tectonic development of oceanic crust is shown by episodes of seafloor spreading. These correlate with the rift and drift sequences at passive continental margins and episodes of tectonic activity at active plate margins. The recognized episodes of seafloor spreading seem to reflect major changes in plate kinematics. Oceanic plateaus and other prominences of greater than normal oceanic crustal thickness such as hotspot traces are also shown. Colored areas on the continents show the ages of deformation and metamorphism of basement rocks and the emplacement of igneous rocks. Transitional tectonic (molassic) and reactivation basins are shown by a colored boundary, and if they are deformed, a colored horizontal line pattern indicates the age of deformation. Colored bands along basin boundaries indicate age of inception, and isopachs indicate thickness of platform strata on continental crust and cover on oceanic crust. Colored patterns at separated continental margins show the age of inception of rift and drift (breakup) sequences. Symbols mark folds and faults, and special symbols show volcanoes and other structural features. Affiliations are as of compilation of the data. This map was created in quadrants and then compiled together. They are the Northwest land, Northwest Marine (different compilers), Northeast, Southwest and Southeast, and parts in plate-boundary sections.
GIRAS TO MOSS INTERFACE.
An analysis of land use change for an area in Boulder County, Colorado, was conducted using digital cartographic data. The authors selected data in the Geographic Information Retrieval and Analysis System (GIRAS) format which is digitized from the 1:250,000-scale land use and land cover map series. The Map Overlay and Statistical System (MOSS) was used as an analytical tool for the study. The authors describe the methodology used in converting the GIRAS file into a MOSS format and the activities associated with the conversion.
Preliminary geologic map of the northeast Dillingham quadrangle (D-1, D-2, C-1, and C-2), Alaska
Open-File Report 03-105 contains a digital geologic map database for the northeast part of the Dillingham 1:250,000-scale quadrangle, specifically the D-1, D-2, C-1, and C-2 1:63,360-scale map sheets. The report includes: A Postscript file showing the geologic map on a topographic and land-grid base, and containing a Correlation of Map Units diagram (CMU), and a List of Map Units. (Note the size of the map when printed at publication scale (1:100,000) is 30 by 24 inches (76 by 61 cm). A PDF document providing Introductory text, Description of Map Units (DMU), References, and a table of radiometric ages. A collection of ARC/INFO (http://www.esri.com, Environmental Systems Research Institute) version 7.2.1 coverages (as export files) of the elements of the geologic map, including: a. Network coverage containing the geologic polygons, contacts, and faults, b. Annotation coverage containing the geologic unit labels and leaders, c. Point coverage containing the radiometric age sample localities, d. Template files containing the lookup table structure used to produce the map. Data to populate the template files is provided in comma-separated value (.csv) text files as follows: napkey.csv plutonkey.csv geoline.csv e. Network coverage containing the Correlation of Map Units (CMU) for the map. Portable Document Format (.pdf) files consisting of: a. Introductory text, Description of Map Units (DMU), References, and a table of radiometric ages for the map. b. A graphic of the map as in the Postscript file above. FGDC compliant metadata for the digital data files (coverages). The Correlation of Map Units and Description of Map Units are in a format similar to that of the USGS Geologic Investigations Series (I-series) maps but have not been edited to comply with I-map standards. Even though this is an Open-File Report and includes the standard USGS Open-File disclaimer, the report closely adheres to the Stratigraphic Nomenclature of the U.S. Geological Survey. ARC/INFO symbolsets (shade and line) as used for these maps have been made available elsewhere as part of Geologic map of Central (Interior) Alaska, published as a USGS Open-File Report (Wilson and others, 1998, http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of98-133-a/). This product does not include the digital topographic base or land-grid files used to produce the map, nor does it include the AML and related ancillary key and other files used to assemble the components of the map. A Postscript file showing the geologic map on a topographic and land-grid base, and containing a Correlation of Map Units diagram (CMU), and a List of Map Units. (Note the size of the map when printed at publication scale (1:100,000) is 30 by 24 inches (76 by 61 cm). A PDF document providing Introductory text, Description of Map Units (DMU), References, and a table of radiometric ages. A collection of ARC/INFO (http://www.esri.com, Environmental Systems Research Institute) version 7.2.1 coverages (as export files) of the elements of the geologic map, including: a. Network coverage containing the geologic polygons, contacts, and faults, b. Annotation coverage containing the geologic unit labels and leaders, c. Point coverage containing the radiometric age sample localities, d. Template files containing the lookup table structure used to produce the map. Data to populate the template files is provided in comma-separated value (.csv) text files as follows: napkey.csv plutonkey.csv geoline.csv e. Network coverage containing the Correlation of Map Units (CMU) for the map. Portable Document Format (.pdf) files consisting of: a. Introductory text, Description of Map Units (DMU), References, and a table of radiometric ages for the map. b. A graphic of the map as in the Postscript file above. FGDC compliant metadata for the digital data files (coverages). The Correlation of Map Units and Description of Map Units are in a format similar to that of the USGS Geologic Investigations Series (I-series) maps but have not been edited to comply with I-map standards. Even though this is an Open-File Report and includes the standard USGS Open-File disclaimer, the report closely adheres to the Stratigraphic Nomenclature of the U.S. Geological Survey. ARC/INFO symbolsets (shade and line) as used for these maps have been made available elsewhere as part of Geologic map of Central (Interior) Alaska, published as a USGS Open-File Report (Wilson and others, 1998, http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of98-133-a/). This product does not include the digital topographic base or land-grid files used to produce the map, nor does it include the AML and related ancillary key and other files used to assemble the components of the map.
The Alaska Mineral Resource Assessment Program: Background information to accompany folio of geologic and resource maps of the Ugashik, Bristol Bay, and western part of Karluk quadrangles, Alaska
The Ugashik, Bristol Bay, and western part of Karluk quadrangles (1:250,000) are a part of the Alaska Peninsula in southwestern Alaska. This circular, in conjunction with a companion folio of MF-series maps, two I-series geologic maps, and three bulletins, represents the results of integrated field and laboratory studies on the geology, geophysics, geochemistry, paleontology, geochronology, and mineral resources of the quadrangles. These studies were undertaken to provide a modern assessment of the mineral and energy resources of the quadrangles. Each map contains descriptive text, explanatory material, tables, diagrams, and pertinent references. This circular provides background information for the mineral resource assessment map (MF-1539-1) and integrates the component M F- and I-series maps. A comprehensive bibliography cites both specific and general references relevant to the geology and resources of the quadrangles.
Proterozoic geology and ore deposits of Arizona
Proterozoic rocks in Arizona have been the focus of interest for geologists since the late 1800's. Early investigations, led by the U.S. Geological Survey, focused on the extensive ore deposits hosted by Proterozoic rocks. By the 1960's, these studies, combined with theses from academic institutions and the efforts of the Arizona Geological Survey, had produced a rich data base of geologic maps, primarily of the central part of the Transition Zone. The chronological significance of these maps became much better known with the application of U-Pb geochronology by L.Y. Silver and his students starting in the 1960's. The 1970's and early 1980's were marked by numerous contributions from Masters and Ph.D students at a variety of academic institutions, and continued work by the U.S. Geological Survey. Interest in ore deposits persisted and there was an increasing interest in interpretation of the tectonic history of Proterozoic rocks in terms of plate tectonic models, as summarized in papers by Phillip Anderson, Ed DeWitt, Clay Conway, Paul Lindberg, and J.L Anderson in the 1989 Arizona Geological Society Digest 17: "Geologic Evolution of Arizona". The present volume: "Proterozoic Geology and Ore deposits of Arizona" builds upon A.G.S. Digest 17, and presents the results of geologic investigations from the latter part of the 1980's. A number of the papers are condensed versions of MS theses done by students at Northern Arizona University. These papers are based upon 1:10,000 mapping and structural analysis of several areas in Arizona. The geologic maps from each of these studies are available separately as part of the Arizona Geological Survey Contributed Map Series. These detailed maps, plus the continuing mapping efforts of the U.S.G.S. and students at other academic institutions, form an ever improving data base for continuing attempts to understand the Proterozoic geology and ore deposits of Arizona
POLARIS properties: 30-meter probabilistic maps of soil properties over the contiguous United States
Soils play a critical role in the cycling of water, energy, and carbon in the Earth system. Until recently, due primarily to a lack of soil property maps of a sufficiently high‐quality and spatial detail, a minor emphasis has been placed on providing high‐resolution measured soil parameter estimates for land surface models and hydrologic models. This study introduces Probabilistic Remapping of SSURGO (POLARIS) soil properties—a database of 30‐m probabilistic soil property maps over the contiguous United States (CONUS). The mapped variables over CONUS include soil texture, organic matter, pH, saturated hydraulic conductivity, Brooks‐Corey and Van Genuchten water retention curve parameters, bulk density, and saturated water content. POLARIS soil properties was assembled by (1) depth harmonizing and aggregating the pedons in the National Cooperative Soil Survey Soil Characterization Database and the components in Soil Survey Geographic Database into a database of 21,481 different soil series, each soil series having its own vertical profiles of different soil properties, (2) pruning the original POLARIS soil series maps using conventional soil maps to improve soil series prediction accuracy, and (3) merging the assembled soil series databases with the pruned POLARIS soil series maps to construct the soil property maps over CONUS. POLARIS soil properties includes 100‐bin histograms for each layer and variable per grid cell and a series of summary statistics at 30‐, 300‐, and 3,000‐m spatial resolution. Evaluation of POLARIS soil properties using in situ measurements shows an average R2 of 0.41, normalized root‐mean‐square error of 12%, and a normalized mean absolute error of 8.8%.
Shaded seafloor relief, backscatter strength, and surficial geology; German Bank, Scotian Shelf, offshore Nova Scotia
This map is part of a three-map series of German Bank, located on the Scotian Shelf off southern Nova Scotia. This map is the product of a number of surveys (1997-2003) that used a multibeam sonar system to map 5321 km 2 of the seafloor. Other surveys collected geological data for scientific interpretation. This map sheet shows the seafloor topography of German Bank in shaded-relief view and seafloor depth (coded by colour) at a scale of 1:1000,000. Topographic contours generated from the multibeam data are shown (in white) on the colour-coded multibeam topography at a depth interval of 20 m. Bathymetic contours (in blue) outside the multibeam survey area, presented at a depth interval of 10 m, are from the Natural Resource Map series (Canadian Hydrographic Service, 1967, 1971a, 1971b, 1972). Sheet 2 shows coloured backscatter strength in shaded-relief view. Sheet 3 shows seafloor topography in shaded-relief view with colour-coded surficial geological units.
The U.S. Geological Survey mapping and cartographic database activities, 2006-2010
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began systematic topographic mapping of the United States in the 1880s, beginning with scales of 1:250,000 and 1:125,000 in support of geological mapping. Responding to the need for higher resolution and more detail, the 1:62,500-scale, 15-minute, topographic map series was begun in the beginning of the 20th century. Finally, in the 1950s the USGS adopted the 1:24,000-scale, 7.5-minute topographic map series to portray even more detail, completing the coverage of the conterminous 48 states of the United States with this series in 1992. In 2001, the USGS developed the vision and concept of The National Map , a topographic database for the 21st century and the source for a new generation of topographic maps (http://nationalmap.gov/). In 2008, the initial production of those maps began with a 1:24,000-scale digital product. In a separate, but related project, the USGS began scanning the existing inventory of historical topographic maps at all scales to accompany the new topographic maps. The USGS also had developed a digital database of The National Atlas of the United States . The digital version of Atlas is now Web-available and supports a mapping engine for small scale maps of the United States and North America. These three efforts define topographic mapping activities of the USGS during the last few years and are discussed below.
Hydrogeologic framework for characterization and occurrence of confined and unconfined aquifers in quaternary sediments in the glaciated conterminous United States—A digital map compilation and database
The U.S. Geological Survey has created a hydrogeologic framework for Quaternary sediments in glaciated areas of the conterminous United States that categorizes, maps, and characterizes the glacial sediments at and beneath the land surface. The hydrogeologic framework divides the glaciated United States into 17 distinct hydrogeologic terranes using a geologic approach based on previous mapping, and was characterized using the Glacial Environments and Surficial Sediments geodatabase compiled from the Quaternary Atlas of the United States map series, the Surficial Materials Map of the United States, and several Integrated Geologic Map Databases for the United States; a groundwater use database compiled from public-supply, water-well data; and a lithologic database compiled from State-managed well records and geologic logs. This framework is to be used to assess the occurrence and characteristics of confined and unconfined glacial aquifers, their distribution and extent, and their potential intrinsic susceptibility and vulnerability.
The North America tapestry of time and terrain
The North America Tapestry of Time and Terrain (1:8,000,000 scale) is a product of the US Geological Survey in the I-map series (I-2781). This map was prepared in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Canada and the Mexican Consejo Recursos de Minerales. This cartographic Tapestry is woven from a geologic map and a shaded relief image. This digital combination reveals the geologic history of North America through the interrelation of rock type, topography and time. Regional surface processes as well as continent-scale tectonic events are exposed in the three dimensions of space and the fourth dimension, geologic time. The large map shows the varying age of bedrock underlying North America, while four smaller maps show the distribution of four principal types of rock: sedimentary, volcanic, plutonic and metamorphic. This map expands the original concept of the 2000 Tapestry of Time and Terrain, by José F. Vigil, Richard J. Pike and David G. Howell, which covered the conterminous United States. The U.S. Tapestry poster and website have been popular in classrooms, homes, and even the Google office building, and we anticipate the North America Tapestry will have a similarly wide appeal, and to a larger audience.