Results for “Names” — Page 61

USGS2001

The National Map - Utah Transportation Pilot Project

Governments depend on a common set of geographic base information as a tool for economic and community development, land and natural resource management, and health and safety services. Emergency management and defense operations rely on this information. Private industry, nongovernmental organizations, and individual citizens use the same geographic data. Geographic information underpins an increasingly large part of the Nation's economy. Available geographic data often have the following problems: * They do not align with each other because layers are frequently created or revised separately, * They do not match across administrative boundaries because each producing organization uses different methods and standards, and * They are not up to date because of the complexity and cost of revision. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing The National Map to be a seamless, continuously maintained, and nationally consistent set of online, public domain, geographic base information to address these issues. The National Map will serve as a foundation for integrating, sharing, and using other data easily and consistently. In collaboration with other government agencies, the private sector, academia, and volunteer groups, the USGS will coordinate, integrate, and, where needed, produce and maintain base geographic data. The National Map will include digital orthorectified imagery; elevation data; vector data for hydrography, transportation, boundary, and structure features; geographic names; and land cover information. The data will be the source of revised paper topographic maps. Many technical and institutional issues must be resolved as The National Map is implemented. To begin the refinement of this new paradigm, pilot projects are being designed to identify and investigate these issues. The pilots are the foundation upon which future partnerships for data sharing and maintenance will be built.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2001

The National Map - Florida Pilot Project

Governments depend on a common set of geographic base information as a tool for economic and community development, land and natural resource management, and health and safety services. Emergency management and defense operations rely on this information. Private industry, nongovernmental organizations, and individual citizens use the same geographic data. Geographic information underpins an increasingly large part of the Nation's economy. Available geographic data often have the following problems: * They do not align with each other because layers are frequently created or revised separately, * They do not match across administrative boundaries because each producing organization uses different methods and standards, and * They are not up to date because of the complexity and cost of revision. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing The National Map to be a seamless, continuously maintained, and nationally consistent set of online, public domain, geographic base information to address these issues. The National Map will serve as a foundation for integrating, sharing, and using other data easily and consistently. In collaboration with other government agencies, the private sector, academia, and volunteer groups, the USGS will coordinate, integrate, and, where needed, produce and maintain base geographic data. The National Map will include digital orthorectified imagery; elevation data; vector data for hydrography, transportation, boundary, and structure features; geographic names; and land cover information. The data will be the source of revised paper topographic maps. Many technical and institutional issues must be resolved as The National Map is implemented. To begin the refinement of this new paradigm, pilot projects are being designed to identify and investigate these issues. The pilots are the foundation upon which future partnerships for data sharing and maintenance will be built.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS1995

1:2,000,000-scale digital line graph data on CD-ROM

Updated U.S. Geological Survey digital line graph (DLG) data collected at a scale of 1:2,000,000 are now available on two compact discs-read only memory (CD-ROM). Each CD-ROM contains digital cartographic data for 49 States and the District of Columbia. The U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Alaska will be ready within the next year. These DLG data were originally collected from maps published in 1970. Extensive revisions have been made and no data source more than 5 years old was used in this update. In addition, text files containing information such as place names and population have been added for the first time. The records in these text files can be related to corresponding features in the DLG data files. Metadata that comply with the Federal Geographic Data Committee Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata are included for each category of DLG data.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS1996

Mapping Applications Center, National Mapping Division, U.S. Geological Survey

The Mapping Applications Center (MAC), National Mapping Division (NMD), is the eastern regional center for coordinating the production, distribution, and sale of maps and digital products of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It is located in the John Wesley Powell Federal Building in Reston, Va. The MAC's major functions are to (1) establish and manage cooperative mapping programs with State and Federal agencies; (2) perform new research in preparing and applying geospatial information; (3) prepare digital cartographic data, special purpose maps, and standard maps from traditional and classified source materials; (4) maintain the domestic names program of the United States; (5) manage the National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP); (6) coordinate the NMD's publications and outreach programs; and (7) direct the USGS mapprinting operations.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2005

Distance to nearest road in the conterminous United States

The USGS Geographic Analysis and Monitoring (GAM) program has developed a national, high resolution dataset that gives the distance to the nearest road every 30 meters across the conterminous 48 states. This work provides the first unified national picture of roadless space, vehicular accessibility, and intensity of road construction. The new dataset is the first member of the National Overview Road Metrics (NORM) family of road related indicators. This indicator measures straight-line or Euclidean distance (ED) to the nearest road, and is given the compound name NORM ED. NORM ED data can be viewed and downloaded from the transportation section of the web viewer for The National Map , http://nationalmap.usgs.gov. The full-resolution dataset for the conterminous states is made of 8.7 billion values.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2007

The National Map - Orthoimagery Layer

Many Federal, State, and local agencies use a common set of framework geographic information databases as a tool for economic and community development, land and natural resource management, and health and safety services. Emergency management and homeland security applications rely on this information. Private industry, nongovernmental organizations, and individual citizens use the same geographic data. Geographic information underpins an increasingly large part of the Nation's economy. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing The National Map to be a seamless, continually maintained, and nationally consistent set of online, public domain, framework geographic information databases. The National Map will serve as a foundation for integrating, sharing, and using data easily and consistently. The data will be the source of revised paper topographic maps. The National Map includes digital orthorectified imagery; elevation data; vector data for hydrography, transportation, boundary, and structure features; geographic names; and land cover information.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2007

Research Furthers Conservation of Grand Canyon Sandbars

Grand Canyon National Park lies approximately 25 km (15 mi) down-river from Glen Canyon Dam, which was built on the Colorado River just south of the Arizona-Utah border in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Before the dam began to regulate the Colorado River in 1963, the river carried such large quantities of red sediment, for which the Southwest is famous, that the Spanish named the river the Rio Colorado, or 'red river'. Today, the Colorado River usually runs clear below Glen Canyon Dam because the dam nearly eliminates the main-channel sand supply. The daily and seasonal flows of the river were also altered by the dam. These changes have disrupted the sedimentary processes that create and maintain Grand Canyon sandbars. Throughout Grand Canyon, sandbars create habitat for native plants and animals, supply camping beaches for river runners and hikers, and provide sediment needed to protect archaeological resources from weathering and erosion. Maintenance of sandbars in the Colorado River ecosystem, the river corridor that stretches from the dam to the western boundary of Grand Canyon National Park, is a goal of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program. The program is a federally authorized initiative to ensure that the mandates of the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992 are met through advances in information and resource management. The U.S. Geological Survey's Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center has responsibility for scientific monitoring and research efforts for the program. Extensive research and monitoring during the past decade have resulted in the identification of possible alternatives for operating Glen Canyon Dam that hold new potential for the conservation of sand resources.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2008

The National Map product and services directory

As one of the cornerstones of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Geospatial Program (NGP), The National Map is a collaborative effort among the USGS and other Federal, state, and local partners to improve and deliver topographic information for the Nation. It has many uses ranging from recreation to scientific analysis to emergency response. The National Map is easily accessible for display on the Web, as products, and as downloadable data. The geographic information available from The National Map includes orthoimagery (aerial photographs), elevation, geographic names, hydrography, boundaries, transportation, structures, and land cover. Other types of geographic information can be added to create specific types of maps. Of major importance, The National Map currently is being transformed to better serve the geospatial community. The USGS National Geospatial Program Office (NGPO) was established to provide leadership for placing geographic knowledge at the fingertips of the Nation. The office supports The National Map , Geospatial One-Stop (GOS), National Atlas of the United States ® , and the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). This integrated portfolio of geospatial information and data supports the essential components of delivering the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and capitalizing on the power of place.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2009

US Topo: Topographic Maps for the Nation

US Topo is the next generation of topographic maps from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Arranged in the familiar 7.5-minute quadrangle format, digital US Topo maps are designed to look and feel (and perform) like the traditional paper topographic maps for which the USGS is so well known. In contrast to paper-based maps, US Topo maps provide modern technical advantages that support faster, wider public distribution and enable basic, on-screen geographic analysis for all users. US Topo maps are available free on the Web. Each map quadrangle is constructed in GeoPDF? format from key layers of geographic data (orthoimagery, roads, geographic names, topographic contours, and hydrographic features) found in The National Map. US Topo quadrangles can be printed from personal computers or plotters as complete, full-sized, maps or in customized sections, in a user-desired specific format. Paper copies of the maps can also be purchased from the USGS Store. Download links and a users guide are featured on the US Topo Web site. US Topo users can turn geographic data layers on and off as needed; they can zoom in and out to highlight specific features or see a broader area. File size for each digital 7.5-minute quadrangle, about 15-20 megabytes, is suitable for most users. Associated electronic tools for geographic analysis are available free for download.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2012

National hydrography dataset--linear referencing

Geospatial data normally have a certain set of standard attributes, such as an identification number, the type of feature, and name of the feature. These standard attributes are typically embedded into the default attribute table, which is directly linked to the geospatial features. However, it is impractical to embed too much information because it can create a complex, inflexible, and hard to maintain geospatial dataset. Many scientists prefer to create a modular, or relational, data design where the information about the features is stored and maintained separately, then linked to the geospatial data. For example, information about the water chemistry of a lake can be maintained in a separate file and linked to the lake. A Geographic Information System (GIS) can then relate the water chemistry to the lake and analyze it as one piece of information. For example, the GIS can select all lakes more than 50 acres, with turbidity greater than 1.5 milligrams per liter.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2013

US Topo: topographic maps for the nation

US Topo is the next generation of topographic maps from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Arranged in the familiar 7.5-minute quadrangle format, digital US Topo maps are designed to look and feel (and perform) like the traditional paper topographic maps for which the USGS is so well known. In contrast to paper-based maps, US Topo maps provide modern technical advantages that support faster, wider public distribution and enable basic, on-screen geographic analysis for all users. The US Topo quadrangle map has been redesigned so that map elements are visually distinguishable with the imagery turned on and off, while keeping the file size as small as possible. The US Topo map redesign includes improvements to various display factors, including symbol definitions (color, line thickness, line symbology, area fills), layer order, and annotation fonts. New features for 2013 include the following: a raster shaded relief layer, military boundaries, cemeteries and post offices, and a US Topo cartographic symbols legend as an attachment. US Topo quadrangle maps are available free on the Web. Each map quadrangle is constructed in GeoPDF® format using key layers of geographic data (orthoimagery, roads, geographic names, topographic contours, and hydrographic features) from The National Map databases. US Topo quadrangle maps can be printed from personal computers or plotters as complete, full-sized, maps or in customized sections, in a user-desired specific format. Paper copies of the maps can also be purchased from the USGS Store. Download links and a users guide are featured on the US Topo Web site. US Topo users can turn geographic data layers on and off as needed; they can zoom in and out to highlight specific features or see a broader area. File size for each digital 7.5-minute quadrangle, about 30 megabytes. Associated electronic tools for geographic analysis are available free for download. The US Topo provides the Nation with a topographic product that users can quickly incorporate into decisionmaking, operational or recreational activities.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2015

Tellurium: providing a bright future for solar energy

Tellurium is one of the least common elements on Earth. Most rocks contain an average of about 3 parts per billion tellurium, making it rarer than the rare earth elements and eight times less abundant than gold. Grains of native tellurium appear in rocks as a brittle, silvery-white material, but tellurium more commonly occurs in telluride minerals that include varied quantities of gold, silver, or platinum. Tellurium is a metalloid, meaning it possesses the properties of both metals and nonmetals. Tellurium was discovered within gold ores in the late 1780s in Transylvania, Romania. Fifteen years later, the element was isolated as a distinct substance and named tellurium, after the Latin word “tellus,” which means “fruit of the Earth.” Recovered tellurium has historically been used in metallurgy as an additive to stainless steel and in alloys made with copper, lead, and iron. Because of its low abundance, little is known about environmental baseline concentrations for tellurium or its toxic effect on humans and ecosystems. Human exposure to tellurium can lead to a garlic odor on the breath, nausea, and eventual respiratory problems.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2015

Germanium: giving microelectronics an efficiency boost

Introduction Germanium is a rare element but is present in trace quantities in most rock types because of its affinity for iron- and organic-bearing materials. The average germanium content of the Earth is about 14 parts per million, but the majority of germanium resides within the Earth’s core (37 parts per million) while the Earth’s crust contains only about 1.5 parts per million. Germanium does not occur as a native metal in nature, but about 30 different germanium minerals are known to exist. In refined form, it is grayish-white and metallic in appearance. Germanium is a semiconducting metalloid with electrical properties between those of a metal and an insulator. Germanium was discovered in the late 1800s within silver ore at a mine near Freiberg, Germany. The German chemist who described the element, Clemens Winkler, named it germanium, after his native country. More than half a century elapsed before its first commercial use after World War II, when Karl Lark-Horovitz from Purdue University discovered its properties as a semiconductor. Today germanium is commonly used in commercial, industrial, and military applications. Germanium is an essentially nontoxic element, with the exception of only a few compounds. However, if dissolved concentrations in drinking water are as high as one or more parts per million chronic diseases may occur.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2015

Indium: bringing liquid-crystal displays into focus

Introduction Indium is rare in the Earth’s crust. The continental crust contains an average of about 50 parts per billion of indium, whereas the oceanic crust contains about 72 parts per billion, which is similar to meteoritic abundances and comparable to the crustal abundance of silver. Indium minerals are rare in nature and only 12 indium minerals are known. In its elemental form, indium is a soft, lustrous, silver-white metal with a low melting point relative to other metals. It is ductile and malleable, even at temperatures approaching absolute zero, making it ideal for cryogenic applications. Indium was discovered in the mid-1800s by two German chemists who were investigating zinc ores from Freiberg, Saxony. They named it after the distinctive indigo-blue color observed in its emission spectrum. For years indium remained only a scientific curiosity and early applications of indium were few, but included manufacturing of light-emitting diodes and coatings for bearings used in aircraft engines. Indium-bearing nuclear control rods became more widely used in the 1970s, and today the major application of indium is in manufacturing liquid-crystal displays. Compared to more abundant industrial metals such as lead and zinc, information about the behavior and toxicity of indium in the environment is limited. However, many indium compounds have been proven to be toxic to animals.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2015

Antimony: a flame fighter

Antimony is a brittle, silvery-white semimetal that conducts heat poorly. The chemical compound antimony trioxide (Sb 2 O 3 ) is widely used in plastics, rubbers, paints, and textiles, including industrial safety suits and some children’s clothing, to make them resistant to the spread of flames. Also, sodium antimonate (NaSbO 3 ) is used during manufacturing of high-quality glass, which is found in cellular phones. Humans have known about stibnite (Sb 2 S 3 ), a lead gray antimony sulfide mineral, since ancient times. Egyptians used powdered stibnite in black eye makeup to create their signature look. Pedanius Dioscorides, a 1st century A.D. Greek physician, recommended stibnite for skin ailments. French and German doctors in the 17th century prescribed antimony-containing mixtures to induce vomiting. Antimony was later recognized to be an intense skin irritant and a lethal toxin, particularly when swallowed. In the 11th century, the word antimonium was used by medieval scholar Constantinus Africanus, but antimony metal was not isolated until the 16th century by Vannoccio Biringuccio, an Italian metallurgist. In the early 18th century, chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius chose the periodic symbol for antimony (Sb) based on stibium, which is the Latin name for stibnite.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2016

White-nose syndrome in North American bats - U.S. Geological Survey updates

White-nose syndrome is a devastating wildlife disease that has killed millions of hibernating bats. This disease first appeared in New York during 2007 and has continued to spread at an alarming rate from the northeastern to the central United States and throughout eastern Canada. The disease is named for the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans , which often appears white when it infects the skin of the nose, ears, and wings of hibernating bats. This fact sheet provides updates on white-nose syndrome research and management efforts and highlights US Geological Survey scientists’ contributions to understanding and combating this disease.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2017

Magnetic monitoring in Saguaro National Park

On a sandy, arid plain, near the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center of Saguaro National Park, tucked in among brittlebush, creosote, and other hardy desert plants, is an unusual type of observatory—a small unmanned station that is used for monitoring the Earth’s variable magnetic field. Named for the nearby city of Tucson, Arizona, the observatory is 1 of 14 that the Geomagnetism Program of the U.S. Geological Survey operates at various locations across the United States and Territories. Data from USGS magnetic observatories, including the Tucson observatory, as well as observatories operated by institutions in other countries, record a variety of signals related to a wide diversity of physical phenomena in the Earth’s interior and its surrounding outer-space environment. The data are used for geomagnetic mapping and surveying, for fundamental scientific research, and for assessment of magnetic storms, which can be hazardous for the activities and infrastructure of our modern, technologically based society. The U.S. Geological Survey observatory service is an integral part of a U.S. national project for monitoring and assessing space weather hazards.

Arizona↗

USGS2021

A river of change—The Rio Grande in the Big Bend region

The Big Bend region is located within the heart of the Chihuahan Desert of North America. Within this region, the Rio Grande, referred to as the Rio Bravo in Mexico, is the international border between the United States and Mexico. The area known as the Big Bend is named after the large northerly bend that the river makes before flowing southeast to the Gulf of Mexico. This region is environmentally protected by both countries. Although large binational conservation efforts exist, the physical and ecological characteristics of the river have been substantially altered. Changes in Rio Grande hydrology (the seasonality, magnitude, duration, and variability in streamflow) have resulted in the widespread physical transformation of the river, resulting in the loss of important habitat for native and endangered fish and increased flood risk. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists, in cooperation with many other government agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), are working to better understand these changes to inform management of the Rio Grande.

Texas↗