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At least 649 records · Page 36Linked to original sources
USGS2008

Archive of digital boomer seismic reflection data collected during USGS field activity 96LCA04 in Lakes Mabel and Starr, Central Florida, August 1996

In August of 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted geophysical surveys of Lakes Mabel and Starr, central Florida, as part of the Central Highlands Lakes project, which is part of a larger USGS Lakes and Coastal Aquifers (LCA) study. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital boomer seismic reflection data, trackline maps, navigation files, Geographic Information System (GIS) files, observer's logbook; and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata. Filtered and gained (a relative increase in signal amplitude) digital images of the seismic profiles are also provided. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansions of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report. For detailed information about the hydrologic setting of Lake Starr and the interpretation of some of these seismic reflection data, see Swancar and others (2000) at http://fl.water.usgs.gov/publications/Abstracts/wri00_4030_swancar.html. The archived trace data are in standard Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) SEG-Y format (Barry and others, 1975) and may be downloaded and processed with commercial or public domain software such as Seismic Unix (SU). Example SU processing scripts and USGS software for viewing the SEG-Y files (Zihlman, 1992) are also provided. The USGS Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC) - St. Petersburg assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 96LCA04 tells us the data were collected in 1996 for the Lakes and Coastal Aquifers (LCA) study and the data were collected during the fourth field activity for that project in that calendar year. Refer to http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/definition/activity.html for a detailed description of the method used to assign the field activity ID. The boomer plate is an acoustic energy source that consists of capacitors charged to a high voltage and discharged through a transducer in the water. The transducer is towed on a sled floating on the water surface and when discharged emits a short acoustic pulse, or shot, which propagates through the water and sediment column. The acoustic energy is reflected at density boundaries (such as the seafloor or sediment layers beneath the lake bottom), detected by the receiver (a hydrophone streamer), and recorded by a PC-based seismic acquisition system. This process is repeated at timed intervals (for example, 0.5 s) and recorded for specific intervals of time (for example, 100 ms). In this way, a two-dimensional (2-D) vertical image of the shallow geologic structure beneath the ship track is produced. Figure 1 displays the acquisition geometry. Refer to table 1 for a summary of acquisition parameters. Table 2 lists trackline statistics. Scanned images of the handwritten cruise logbook (1,020-KB PDF) is also provided as a PDF file. The unprocessed seismic data are stored in SEG-Y format (Barry and others, 1975). For a detailed description of the data format, refer to the SEG-Y Format page. See the How To Download SEG-Y Data page for download instructions. The printable profiles provided here are GIF images that were filtered and gained using Seismic Unix software. Refer to the Software page for details about the processing and examples of the processing scripts. The processed SEG-Y data were exported to Chesapeake Technology, Inc. (CTI) SonarWeb software to produce an interactive version of the seismic profile that allows the user to obtain a geographic location and depth from the profile for a curser position. This information is displayed in the status bar of the browser.

Florida↗
USGS2013

Tsunami mitigation and preparedness activities in California

Scenario planning and final results associated with the U.S. Geological Survey Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR) tsunami project are providing great benefits to the ongoing tsunami risk-reduction efforts of the California Tsunami Preparedness and Hazard Mitigation Program. This program, led by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the California Geological Survey, works with coastal communities to improve tsunami preparedness and mitigation at the local level through various efforts, such as improving tsunami hazard analysis, establishing consistent evacuation communications and planning, and leveraging national risk-reduction efforts associated with the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. The recent 2010 Chilean and 2011 Tohoku tsunamis did not cause notable inundation of dry land in California, but dozens of harbors sustained damages totaling nearly $100 million (Wilson and others, 2012a). Estimates associated with the SAFRR distant tsunami scenario suggest socioeconomic and environmental losses could be even larger. Information gathered from these events and the SAFRR scenario is guiding the development and implementation of new strategies for emergency response, maritime planning, and land-use planning, including a reassessment of the tsunami threat along the California coast; scenario-specific, tsunami evacuation “playbook” maps and guidance in-harbor hazard maps and offshore safety zones for potential boat evacuation during future distant source events; “probability-based” products for land-use planning under the California Seismic Hazard Mapping Act; and an expansion of real-time and post-tsunami field reconnaissance teams and information sharing through a state-wide clearinghouse. The state tsunami program has benefitted greatly from participation in the SAFRR tsunami scenario process, and hopes to continue this relationship with the U.S. Geological Survey to help improve tsunami preparedness in California.

California↗
USGS2007

U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Activities in the Exploration of Antarctica: Introduction to Antarctica (Including USGS Field Personnel: 1946-59)

INTRODUCTION Antarctica is the planet's fifth largest continent [13.2 million km2 (5.1 million mi2)]; it contains the Earth's largest (of two) remaining ice sheets; it is considered to be one of the most important scientific laboratories on Earth. This report is the introduction to a series that covers 60 years of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientific activity in Antarctica. It will concentrate primarily on three major topics: 1) a brief chronological record of the historical search, discovery, and exploration of the southern continent by humans; 2) early USGS scientific activities in Antarctica, listing expeditions, projects, people and resulting professional publications for Operation Highjump, 1946-47; Operation Windmill, 1947-48; USS Atka Reconnaissance Cruise, 1954-55; and Operation Deep Freeze I, II, III, and IV, 1955-59, including IGY; 3) significant changes that have occurred in Antarctic exploration and research since World War II will be discussed at the end of this report. Subsequent Open-File Reports will provide a year-by-year documentation of USGS scientific activities and accomplishments in Antarctica beginning with the post-IGY, 1959-60 research team. One Open-File Report is planned to be written for each field-based season. For an example of the series format, see Open-File Reports 2006-1113 (Meunier, 2007a) and 2006-1114 (Meunier, 2007b). This report is a companion document to Open-File Report 2006-1116 (Meunier, 2007c). The USGS mapping and science programs in Antarctica are among the longest continuously funded projects in the United States Antarctic Program (USAP). The 2005-06 field season is the 56th consecutive U.S. expedition in which USGS scientists have been participants, starting in 1946. USGS and the National Science Foundation (NSF) cooperation began with the establishment by NSF of the U.S. Antarctic (Research) Program [USA(R)P] in 1958-59 under Operation Deep Freeze IV (DF IV) and was given the responsibility for the principal coordination and management of all U.S. scientific activities in Antarctica in Deep Freeze 60 (DF 60) (1959-60). Financial support from NSF, mostly in the form of Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) and Cooperative Agreements, extends back to this period and can be attributed to the need for accurate geologic, geophysical, and topographic base maps of specific field areas or regions where NSF-funded science projects were planned. The epoch of Antarctic exploration during the IGY was driven by science and, in a spirit of peaceful cooperation, the international scientific community wanted to limit military activities on the continent to logistical support (Meunier, 1979 [2007], p. 38). The USGS, a Federal civilian science agency in the Department of the Interior, has, since its founding in 1879, carried out numerous field-based national (and some international) programs in biology, geology, geophysics, hydrology, and mapping. Therefore, the USGS was the obvious choice for these tasks, because it already had a professional staff of experienced mapmakers, scientists, and program managers with the foresight, dedication, and understanding of the need for accurate maps to support the science programs in Antarctica when asked to do so by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Public Laws 85-743 and 87-626, signed in August 1958, and in September 1962, respectively, authorized the Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior, through the USGS, to support mapping and scientific work in Antarctica (Meunier, 1979 [2007], appendix A). Open-File Report 2006-1116 includes scanned facsimiles of postal cachets. It has become an international practice to create postal cachets to commemorate special events and projects in Antarctica. A cachet is defined as a seal or commemorative design printed or stamped on an envelope to mark a philatelic or special event. The inked impression illustrates to the scientist, historian, stamp collector, and general public the multidisciplinary science projects staffed by USGS and collaborating scientists during the field season. Since 1960, philatelic cachets have been created by team members for each USGS field season and, in most cases, these cachets depict the specific geographic areas and field season program objectives. The cachets become a convenient documentation of the people, projects, and geographic places of interest for that year. Because the cachets are representative of USGS activities, each year's cachet is included as a digital facsimile in that year's Open-File Report. In the 1980s, multiple USGS cachets were prepared each year, one for use by the winter team at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and the other for the project work areas of the austral summer field season programs.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2021

Implementation plan for the southern Pacific Border and Sierra-Cascade Mountains provinces

Introduction The National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP) is publishing a strategic plan titled Renewing the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program as the Nation’s Authoritative Source for Modern Geologic Knowledge (Brock and others, in press). The plan provides a vision, mission, and goals for the program during the years 2020–2030, which are: Vision .—Create an integrated, three-dimensional, digital geologic map of the United States. Mission .—Characterize, interpret, and disseminate a national geologic framework model of the Earth through geologic mapping. Goal .—Focus on geologic mapping as a core function of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) within the long-term vision of adequately mapping the Nation’s geologic framework in three dimensions. In order to achieve the goals outlined in the strategic plan, the NCGMP has developed an implementation plan. This plan will guide the annual review of projects carried out by USGS staff (FEDMAP) described in the plan and the development of the annual FEDMAP prospectus that will ensure the effective application of the NCGMP strategy. This publication describes the implementation plan of the NCGMP strategy for the southern Pacific Border and Sierra-Cascade Mountains provinces, as defined by Fenneman (1917, 1928, and 1946). This implementation plan focuses on the geology of California and a sliver of Nevada surrounding Lake Tahoe. The southern Pacific Border and Sierra-Cascade Mountains provinces encompass the varied landscapes of the high Sierra Nevada, the Central Valley, and Coast Ranges in northern and central California and the Peninsular Ranges, Continental Borderland, Los Angeles Basin-San Gabriel-San Bernardino valleys, western and central Transverse Ranges, and northernmost Salton Trough in southern California. Societal demands create a need for earth-science data in each of these landscapes. The broader San Francisco Bay area, Central Valley, Los Angeles-San Gabriel-San Bernardino lowlands, and the coastal lowlands that border the Peninsular Ranges are densely populated (about 30 million people) areas at high risk of natural hazards. The mountains of the Sierra Nevada, Peninsular Ranges, and Transverse Ranges, and the coast all provide numerous recreational opportunities that attract visitors from around the world, whereas previously these ranges attracted people to mine their resources. The agricultural capacity of the Central Valley is a critical resource for the Nation that is increasingly water limited. The southern. Pacific Border and Sierra-Cascade Mountains provinces, at the edge of the North American continent, were profoundly influenced by subduction zone tectonics during the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic (ongoing in northernmost California) and subsequently by the inception, development, and present activity of the San Andreas transform margin system. Although the geology of this region is the poster child of fundamental conceptual models of subduction zone complexes, forearc basins, ophiolite obductions, magmatic arcs, and suspect terranes, as well as hosting one of Earth’s most notorious continental transform faults—the San Andreas Fault—important questions that have important societal consequences remain to be answered. Most of California’s population reside in these provinces and live within 30 miles of an active fault (according to www.earthquakeauthority.com ) yet new faults continue to be discovered, highlighting the importance of deformation off the main San Andreas Fault. Bedrock, surficial, and three-dimensional (3D) geologic maps depicting stratigraphic structure and depth to crystalline basement rocks provide critical context and information for understanding fault rupture, distributed deformation, fault connectivity, and history in addition to providing crucial data that enable forecasting of shaking amplitude and length from hypothetical earthquake scenarios. The tectonic evolution of California produced not only stunning mountains, with associated hazards from landslides and active volcanoes, but also fertile valleys that make California the top agricultural producer in the country in terms of cash receipts (according to www.ers.usda.gov/faqs ). These valleys lie atop large basins that not only store groundwater but, in many cases, host oil and gas fields, contributing to the fourth highest hydrocarbon production by State in the country in 2016 (according to https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/animated-chart-of-us-oil-production-by-state-1981-2017 ). Water is a key resource increasingly stressed by growing agricultural, industrial, and residential needs. Warmer and drier conditions have led to an increased reliance on extracting groundwater resources, whose availability and quality are dictated at the first order by the 3D spatial distribution of bedrock and Quaternary surficial deposits. Thus, assessment of this critical resource is inextricably tied to knowledge of the surficial and subsurface geologic structure and material types.

California, Nevada↗
USGS1994

Topographic data requirements for EOS global change research

This document is a result of Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Version 0 activities of the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center at the U.S. Geological Survey's EROS Data Center. A relatively small part of the Version 0 funding provided by NASA is used to address topographic data issues related to EOS. These issues include identifying and improving access to existing sources of topographic data, data generation, facilitating the use of topographic data in global change research by demonstrating derivative products, and inventorying the specific topographic data requirements of EOS investigators. There is a clear need for global topographic data in EOSDIS. Only 10 percent of the global land surface is covered by high-resolution data that are available to the global change science community. Alternative sources for new data exist or have been proposed; however, none of them alone can fulfill the data requirements by the launch of the first EOS platform in 4 years. There is no operational provider of all the source data that are required. Even if appropriate global source data existed, a concerted production effort would be necessary to ensure the existence of the requisite topographic data before EOS launch. Additionally, no funding from NASA or any other agency has been appropriated for a new mapping mission or for other means of data acquisition. This effort to document requirements is an initial step toward understanding the severity of the data shortage. It is well beyond the scope of Version 0 funding and capabilities to provide the required data in the proper timeframe. The shortage of data and the lack of a plan for providing the necessary topographic data through EOSDIS in time for launch are issues that must be addressed by the EOS program.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2003

Geologic map and digital database of the Redlands 7.5' quadrangle, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California

This geologic database of the Redlands 7.5' quadrangle was prepared by the Southern California Areal Mapping Project (SCAMP), a regional geologic-mapping project sponsored jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey and the California Geological Survey. The database was developed as a contribution to the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program's National Geologic Map Database, and is intended to provide a general geologic setting of the Redlands quadrangle. The database and map provide information about earth materials and geologic structures, including faults and folds that have developed in the quadrangle due to complexities in the San Andreas Fault system. The Redlands 7.5' quadrangle contains earth materials and structures that provide insight into the late Cenozoic geologic evolution of the southern California Inland Empire region. Important stratigraphic and structural elements include (1) the modern trace of the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults and (2) late Tertiary and Quaternary sedimentary materials and geologic structures that formed during the last million years or so and that record complex geologic interactions within the San Andreas Fault system. These materials and the structures that deform them provide the geologic framework for investigations of earthquake hazards and ground-water recharge and subsurface flow. Geologic information contained in the Redlands database is general-purpose data that is applicable to land-related investigations in the earth and biological sciences. The term "general-purpose" means that all geologic-feature classes have minimal information content adequate to characterize their general geologic characteristics and to interpret their general geologic history. However, no single feature class has enough information to definitively characterize its properties and origin. For this reason the database cannot be used for site-specific geologic evaluations, although it can be used to plan and guide investigations at the site-specific level. This summary pamphlet discusses major categories of surficial materials in the Redlands quadrangle, and provides a conceptual framework and basis for how geologicmap units containing such materials are recognized and correlated.

California↗
USGS2007

Hydrogeologic Setting and Ground-Water Flow in the Leetown Area, West Virginia

The Leetown Science Center is a research facility operated by the U.S. Geological Survey that occupies approximately 455-acres near Kearneysville, Jefferson County, West Virginia. Aquatic and fish research conducted at the Center requires adequate supplies of high-quality, cold ground water. Three large springs and three production wells currently (in 2006) supply water to the Center. The recent construction of a second research facility (National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture) operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and co-located on Center property has placed additional demands on available water resources in the area. A three-dimensional steady-state finite-difference ground-water flow model was developed to simulate ground-water flow in the Leetown area and was used to assess the availability of ground water to sustain current and anticipated future demands. The model also was developed to test a conceptual model of ground-water flow in the complex karst aquifer system in the Leetown area. Due to the complexity of the karst aquifer system, a multidisciplinary research study was required to define the hydrogeologic setting. Geologic mapping, surface- and borehole-geophysical surveys, stream base-flow surveys, and aquifer tests were conducted to provide the hydrogeologic data necessary to develop and calibrate the model. It would not have been possible to develop a numerical model of the study area without the intensive data collection and methods developments components of the larger, more comprehensive hydrogeologic investigation. Results of geologic mapping and surface-geophysical surveys verified the presence of several prominent thrust faults and identified additional faults and other complex geologic structures (including overturned anticlines and synclines) in the area. These geologic structures are known to control ground-water flow in the region. Results of this study indicate that cross-strike faults and fracture zones are major avenues of ground-water flow. Prior to this investigation, the conceptual model of ground-water flow for the region focused primarily on bedding planes and strike-parallel faults and joints as controls on ground-water flow but did not recognize the importance of cross-strike faults and fracture zones that allow ground water to flow downgradient across or through less permeable geologic formations. Results of the ground-water flow simulation indicate that current operations at the Center do not substantially affect either streamflow (less than a 5-percent reduction in annual streamflow) or ground-water levels in the Leetown area under normal climatic conditions but potentially could have greater effects on streamflow during long-term drought (reduction in streamflow of approximately 14 percent). On the basis of simulation results, ground-water withdrawals based on the anticipated need for an additional 150 to 200 gal/min (gallons per minute) of water at the Center also would not seriously affect streamflow (less than 8 to 9 percent reduction in streamflow) or ground-water levels in the area during normal climatic conditions. During drought conditions, however, the effects of current ground-water withdrawals and anticipated additional withdrawals of 150 to 200 gal/min to augment existing supplies result in moderate to substantial declines in water levels of 0.5-1.2 feet (ft) in the vicinity of the Center's springs and production wells. Streamflow was predicted to be reduced locally by approximately 21 percent. Such withdrawals during a drought or prolonged period of below normal ground-water levels would result in substantial declines in the flow of the Center's springs and likely would not be sustainable for more than a few months. The drought simulated in this model was roughly equivalent to the more than 1-year drought that affected the region from November 1998 through February 2000. The potential reduction in streamflow is a result of capture of ground water tha

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2017

Deep-sea coral research and technology program: Alaska deep-sea coral and sponge initiative final report

Deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems are widespread throughout most of Alaska’s marine waters. In some places, such as the central and western Aleutian Islands, deep-sea coral and sponge resources can be extremely diverse and may rank among the most abundant deep-sea coral and sponge communities in the world. Many different species of fishes and invertebrates are associated with deep-sea coral and sponge communities in Alaska. Because of their biology, these benthic invertebrates are potentially impacted by climate change and ocean acidification. Deepsea coral and sponge ecosystems are also vulnerable to the effects of commercial fishing activities. Because of the size and scope of Alaska’s continental shelf and slope, the vast majority of the area has not been visually surveyed for deep-sea corals and sponges. NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP) sponsored a field research program in the Alaska region between 2012–2015, referred to hereafter as the Alaska Initiative. The priorities for Alaska were derived from ongoing data needs and objectives identified by the DSCRTP, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC), and Essential Fish Habitat-Environmental Impact Statement (EFH-EIS) process. This report presents the results of 15 projects conducted using DSCRTP funds from 2012-2015. Three of the projects conducted as part of the Alaska deep-sea coral and sponge initiative included dedicated at-sea cruises and fieldwork spread across multiple years. These projects were the eastern Gulf of Alaska Primnoa pacifica study, the Aleutian Islands mapping study, and the Gulf of Alaska fish productivity study. In all, there were nine separate research cruises carried out with a total of 109 at-sea days conducting research. The remaining projects either used data and samples collected by the three major fieldwork projects or were piggy-backed onto existing research programs at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC).

NOAA Technical Memorandum↗
USGS2025

Automated generation of an urban synthetic elevation checkpoint network across the North Carolina coastline, USA

Lidar and structure from motion-derived digital elevation and surface models have widespread application. Consideration of a topographic model's vertical root mean squared error (RMSEz) and systematic directional bias is important for many of these applications, particularly landscape change detection and measurement. Due to logistic, resource, and time constraints, wide area remotely sensed topographic surveys are not always accompanied by an in situ checkpoint network for validating and characterizing survey error. Here we describe and test a method for automatically generating synthetic elevation checkpoints in bulk across hundreds of kilometers using a publicly available lidar-derived DEM time-series, road vector network, and landcover classification map. Our method produced 6000–10,000 synthetic checkpoints across the developed barrier island coastline of North Carolina. These checkpoints characterized vertical error metrics in a statistically similar way as in situ checkpoints when assessing the vertical accuracy of a contemporary lidar-derived DEM and produced RMSEz metrics an average of 0.018 m from the RMSEz of historical lidar DEMs published with tested accuracy metrics. This new method has the potential to A) lower the cost and time required to validate new remotely sensed topographic surveys by reducing or eliminating the field work associated with in situ checkpoint surveys, B) provide a means of retroactively assessing the absolute vertical accuracy and systematic bias of historical topographic datasets that were not published with tested accuracy metrics, and C) generate reference networks to assess and correct spatially variable patterns of vertical bias in topographic datasets.

North Carolina↗
USGS1994

Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1993

This collection of 19 papers continues the annual series of U.S. Geological Survey reports on geologic investigations in Alaska. Contributions include 14 Articles and 5 shorter Geologic Notes that report results from all corners of the State. USGS activities in Alaska cover a broad spectrum of earth science topics, including the environment, hazards, resources, and geologic framework studies. Three articles focus on the environmental geochemistry of parts of south-central, west-central, and southwestern Alaska. An article on methane released from permafrost near Fairbanks and a note on paleowind direction indicators on the Arctic coastal plain contribute to ongoing climate and paleoclimate investigations. Landslide hazards in the Talkeetna Mountains and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park are discussed in two notes. Possible active fault traces near Alaska's main population center are described in an article on the Castle Mountain fault. An article on Aniakchak volcano presents evidence for a previously unrecognized catastrophic flooding event. Resources and resource assessment on gold, base metals, and coal are discussed in several articles and a note. Geologic framework studies cover tectonics, paleontology, stratigraphy, and metamorphic petrology. One contribution involves field methods; it evaluates the relative accuracy of global positioning systems and topographic map-based methods for deriving location data for field stations. Two bibliographies at the end of the volume list reports about Alaska in USGS publications released in 1993 and reports about Alaska by USGS authors in non-USGS publications in 1993.

Alaska↗
USGS2012

Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data collected in 2010 from Cat Island, Mississippi

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), conducted geophysical and sedimentological surveys around Cat Island, the westernmost island in the Mississippi-Alabama barrier island chain (fig. 1). The objectives of the study were to understand the geologic evolution of Cat Island relative to other barrier islands in the northern Gulf of Mexico and to identify relationships between the geologic history, present day morphology, and sediment distribution. This report contains data from the bathymetry and side-scan sonar portion of the study collected during two geophysical cruises. Interferometric swath bathymetry and side-scan sonar data were collected aboard the RV G.K. Gilbert September 7-15, 2010. Single-beam bathymetry was collected in shallow water around the island (< 2 meter (m)) from the RV Streeterville from September 28 to October 2, 2010, to cover the data gap between the landward limit of the previous cruise and the shoreline. This report serves as an archive of processed interferometric swath and single-beam bathymetry and side scan sonar data. GIS data products include a 50-m cell size interpolated gridded bathymetry surface, trackline maps, and an acoustic side-scan sonar image. Additional files include error analysis maps, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FDGC) metadata.

Alabama;Mississippi↗
USGS2010

Spatial mapping and attribution of Wyoming wind turbines

This Wyoming wind-turbine data set represents locations of wind turbines found within Wyoming as of August 1, 2009. Each wind turbine is assigned to a wind farm. For each turbine, this report contains information about the following: potential megawatt output, rotor diameter, hub height, rotor height, land ownership, county, wind farm power capacity, the number of units currently associated with its wind farm, the wind turbine manufacturer and model, the wind farm developer, the owner of the wind farm, the current purchaser of power from the wind farm, the year the wind farm went online, and the status of its operation. Some attributes are estimates based on information that was obtained through the American Wind Energy Association and miscellaneous online reports. The locations are derived from August 2009 true-color aerial photographs made by the National Agriculture Imagery Program; the photographs have a positional accuracy of approximately ?5 meters. The location of wind turbines under construction during the development of this data set will likely be less accurate than the location of turbines already completed. The original purpose for developing the data presented here was to evaluate the effect of wind energy development on seasonal habitat used by greater sage-grouse. Additionally, these data will provide a planning tool for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative Science Team and for other wildlife- and habitat-related projects underway at the U.S. Geological Survey's Fort Collins Science Center. Specifically, these data will be used to quantify disturbance of the landscape related to wind energy as well as quantifying indirect disturbances to flora and fauna. This data set was developed for the 2010 project 'Seasonal predictive habitat models for greater sage-grouse in Wyoming.' This project's spatially explicit seasonal distribution models of sage-grouse in Wyoming will provide resource managers with tools for conservation planning. These specific data are being used for assessing the effect of disturbance resulting from wind energy development within Wyoming on sage-grouse populations.

Data Series↗
USGS2016

The global Landsat archive: Status, consolidation, and direction

New and previously unimaginable Landsat applications have been fostered by a policy change in 2008 that made analysis-ready Landsat data free and open access. Since 1972, Landsat has been collecting images of the Earth, with the early years of the program constrained by onboard satellite and ground systems, as well as limitations across the range of required computing, networking, and storage capabilities. Rather than robust on-satellite storage for transmission via high bandwidth downlink to a centralized storage and distribution facility as with Landsat-8, a network of receiving stations, one operated by the U.S. government, the other operated by a community of International Cooperators (ICs), were utilized. ICs paid a fee for the right to receive and distribute Landsat data and over time, more Landsat data was held outside the archive of the United State Geological Survey (USGS) than was held inside, much of it unique. Recognizing the critical value of these data, the USGS began a Landsat Global Archive Consolidation (LGAC) initiative in 2010 to bring these data into a single, universally accessible, centralized global archive, housed at the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The primary LGAC goals are to inventory the data held by ICs, acquire the data, and ingest and apply standard ground station processing to generate an L1T analysis-ready product. As of January 1, 2015 there were 5,532,454 images in the USGS archive. LGAC has contributed approximately 3.2 million of those images, more than doubling the original USGS archive holdings. Moreover, an additional 2.3 million images have been identified to date through the LGAC initiative and are in the process of being added to the archive. The impact of LGAC is significant and, in terms of images in the collection, analogous to that of having had two additional Landsat-5 missions. As a result of LGAC, there are regions of the globe that now have markedly improved Landsat data coverage, resulting in an enhanced capacity for mapping, monitoring change, and capturing historic conditions. Although future missions can be planned and implemented, the past cannot be revisited, underscoring the value and enhanced significance of historical Landsat data and the LGAC initiative. The aim of this paper is to report the current status of the global USGS Landsat archive, document the existing and anticipated contributions of LGAC to the archive, and characterize the current acquisitions of Landsat-7 and Landsat-8. Landsat-8 is adding data to the archive at an unprecedented rate as nearly all terrestrial images are now collected. We also offer key lessons learned so far from the LGAC initiative, plus insights regarding other critical elements of the Landsat program looking forward, such as acquisition, continuity, temporal revisit, and the importance of continuing to operationalize the Landsat program.

Remote Sensing of Environment↗
USGS1997

An interactive program for computer-aided map design, display, and query: EMAPKGS2

EMAPKGS2 is a user-friendly, PC-based electronic mapping tool for use in hydrogeologic exploration and appraisal. EMAPKGS2 allows the analyst to construct maps interactively from data stored in a relational database, perform point-oriented spatial queries such as locating all wells within a specified radius, perform geographic overlays, and export the data to other programs for further analysis. EMAPKGS2 runs under Microsoft?? Windows??? 3.1 and compatible operating systems. EMAPKGS2 is a public domain program available from the Kansas Geological Survey. EMAPKGS2 is the centerpiece of WHEAT, the Windows-based Hydrogeologic Exploration and Appraisal Toolkit, a suite of user-friendly Microsoft?? Windows??? programs for natural resource exploration and management. The principal goals in development of WHEAT have been ease of use, hardware independence, low cost, and end-user extensibility. WHEAT'S native data format is a Microsoft?? Access?? database. WHEAT stores a feature's geographic coordinates as attributes so they can be accessed easily by the user. The WHEAT programs are designed to be used in conjunction with other Microsoft?? Windows??? software to allow the natural resource scientist to perform work easily and effectively. WHEAT and EMAPKGS have been used at several of Kansas' Groundwater Management Districts and the Kansas Geological Survey on groundwater management operations, groundwater modeling projects, and geologic exploration projects. ?? 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Computers & Geosciences↗
USGS2010

Land-cover change in the Ozark Highlands, 1973-2000

Led by the Geographic Analysis and Monitoring Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Land-Cover Trends Project was initiated in 1999 and aims to document the types, geographic distributions, and rates of land-cover change on a region by region basis for the conterminous United States, and to determine some of the key drivers and consequences of the change (Loveland and others, 2002). For 1973, 1980, 1986, 1992, and 2000 land-cover maps derived from the Landsat series are classified by visual interpretation, inspection of historical aerial photography and ground survey, into 11 land-cover classes. The classes are defined to capture land cover that is discernable in Landsat data. A stratified probability-based sampling methodology undertaken within the 84 Omernik Level III Ecoregions (Omernik, 1987) was used to locate the blocks, with 9 to 48 blocks per ecoregion. The sampling was designed to enable a statistically robust 'scaling up' of the sample-classification data to estimate areal land-cover change within each ecoregion (Loveland and others, 2002; Stehman and others, 2005). At the time of writing, approximately 90 percent of the 84 conterminous United States ecoregions have been processed by the Land-Cover Trends Project. Results from these completed ecoregions illustrate that across the conterminous United States there is no single profile of land-cover/land-use change, rather, there are varying pulses affected by clusters of change agents (Loveland and others, 2002). Land-Cover Trends Project results for the conterminous United States to-date are being used for collaborative environmental change research with partners such as; the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The strategy has also been adapted for use in a NASA global deforestation initiative, and elements of the project design are being used in the North American Carbon Program's assessment of forest disturbance.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2015

Getting out of harm's way - evacuation from tsunamis

Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have developed a new mapping tool, the Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst , for use by researchers and emergency managers to estimate how long it would take for someone to travel on foot out of a tsunami-hazard zone. The ArcGIS software extension, released in September 2014, allows the user to create maps showing travel times out of hazard zones and to determine the number of people that may or may not have enough time to evacuate. The maps take into account the elevation changes and the different types of land cover that a person would encounter along the way. Maps of travel time can be used by emergency managers and community planners to identify where to focus evacuation training and tsunami education. The tool can also be used to examine the potential benefits of vertical-evacuation structures, which are buildings or berms designed to provide a local high ground in low-lying areas of the hazard zone.

Sound Waves: Coastal science and research news fro↗
USGS2006

Status of dugongs in waters around Palau

The dugong, Dugong dugon , is widely distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region in shallow tropical and subtropical waters (Nishiwaki and Marsh 1985).The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources lists the species as vulnerable (Thornback and Jenkins 1982), as it is severely depleted or extinct in many parts of its former range (Nishiwaki and Marsh 1985). Many populations at isolated archipelagos have been exterminated through direct human exploitation. Husar (1975) cited evidence of the former existence of dugongs around the Mascarene, Laccadive, Maldive, Barren, Narcondom, Cocos (Keeling), Christmas, and Lesser Sunda islands. An isolated dugong population still occurs around Palau (Republic of Belau), Western Caroline Islands, about 850 km from both Papua New Guinea to the south and the Philippines to the west. The first aerial surveys of this population, in 1977 and 1978, indicated that it was small and other evidence suggested it was subject to persistent poaching (Brownell et al. 1981). We resurveyed this population in 1983 to reassess its status and attempt to detect any changes in distribution or abundance. With the assistance of the Palau Department of Natural Resources, we also interviewed fishermen and knowledgeable residents about dugong abundance, distribution, mortality, and natural history. Surveys were conducted from 19 through 26 August, using a Cessna 206high-wing airplane flown at an altitude of 150 to 300 m and an airspeed of about 170 km/h. An observer sat in each rear seat, and a third observer, who also navigated and recorded the data directly onto maps, sat in the right front seat. Small animals close to another dugong were considered calves. The survey route, based on that of Brownell et al. (19Sl), covered much of the approximately 1,380 sq km of dugong habitat within the archipelago. The islands are surrounded by very deep water, which restricts dugong habitat to lagoon areas within about 3 km of shore. Surveys were flown about 0.5 km offshore and the same distance inside the fringing reefs, with transects about 1 km apart across the larger lagoons. The coast was divided into the same 12 segments used by Brownell et al. (1981) (Fig. 1). However, the area outside the western fringing reef was not surveyed because no dugongs were sighted there in either1977 or 1978. We surveyed the entire archipelago twice and carried out replicated surveys of the lagoon areas and Malakal Harbor, which had been used by relatively large numbers of dugongs in 1977 and 1978 (Table 1). The total survey time was 15 h.265Help Volumes Main Menu

Marine Mammal Science↗
USGS1996

Origins and philosophy of building a temporal database to examine human transformation processes

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in partnership with the University of Maryland Baltimore County, is using historical maps and satellite images to map human-induced land transformations for the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. This work builds on an earlier effort that documented the historical urban development for the San Francisco Bay area. That effort used a geographic information system to compile a database that provided a visual and historical perspective of the urban growth experienced in the Bay area between 1850 and 1990. Historical overviews of urban development can be used to provide insights into the future. The Bay area work was inspired by the desire to draw upon the USGS's rich 100-year topographic map, and 20-year Landsat satellite data archives. A methodology was developed to combine the information from a variety of sources into an integrated, multi-scale, and multi-resolution dataset. Temporal urban mapping is used to examine past landscapes by incorporating historic maps, census statistics, and commerce records to generate a progressive geo-referenced representation of the past changes in the region. Contemporary analysis focuses on the use of remotely sensed data, existing digital land use data, digital census information, and a variety of Earth science infrastructure data, such as Digital Line Graphs, Digital Elevation Models, and key ancillary demographic information. The resulting database of temporal urban demographic changes provides an ideal source of test data and information for both urban geographers and global change research scientists.

San Francisco Bay↗