Presentation by Ron Lofton, USGS at IMIA Asia Pacific's Melbourne Conference, Aug 2014

1. U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
1
National Geospatial
Program Presentation
IMIA Asia Pacific Conference
Melbourne , Australia
August 18, 2014
Ron Lofton

2. Testimony to Congress on December 5, 1884
“A Government cannot do any scientific
work of more value to the people at large,
than by causing the construction of proper
topographic maps of the country”
John Wesley Powell, Director USGS 1881-1894
http://nationalmap.gov/125years/index.html
2
Powell on National Mapping

3. 3
National Geospatial Program:
What We Do
 Provide the geospatial
baseline of the Nation’s
topography, natural
landscape, and built
environment.
 The National Map products and
services
 Cooperative Data Acquisition
and User Engagement
 Natural Hazard Response
 Center of Excellence for
Geospatial Information Science
 Foster a general
understanding of broad
geographic patterns.
 The National Atlas of the United
States of America®
Uses of National Importance
90%
60%
30%
0%
Basis for Science Data Integration and
Visualization
Application areas for NGP
products and services
reported by users.
Hydrography data from The
National Map allows the
tracing of a contaminant
downstream from a source
to a water intake.

4. 4
Products and Services
 National datasets available for
data download and as web
services.
 National Hydrography Dataset
(NHD)
 National Elevation Dataset (NED)
 Imagery – National and urban
area
 Geographic Names Information
System (GNIS)
 Reference datasets –
transportation, boundaries and
structures
 Land cover
 Hazards Data Distribution System
(HDDS)
 Digital 7.5-minute topographic
map images (US Topo)

5. 5
The National Map in Action
National
Hydrography
Dataset
 Sample use:
Model stream-flow
and the
effects of
divergences
across the
Continental
Divide

6. 6
US Topo
 Electronic topographic map
 Three-year revision cycle
 Compiled from The National
Map databases
 Available for free over the
Internet
 Can be directly linked to GPS
input
 Very user-friendly format
(GeoPDF)
 Paper products available
through USGS are printed on
demand

7. 7
Foundation: The National Map
 Base topographic
7
data
Digital
Seamless
Continuously
maintained
Nationally consistent
 Developed and
maintained through
partnerships
 Available on line
 Source for products and
services

8. 8
US Topo – The Next Generation
USGS Topographic Map
8
 The USGS topographic map product
 http://nationalmap.gov/ustopo/index.html
Built from The National
Map data
Digital
GeoPDF Format
Available free on the Web
Image base
Core feature layers
Regular update

9. 9
Cooperative Data Acquisition and
User Engagement
 National network of
geospatial liaisons
 Organize cooperative
projects with other
Federal, State, and local
governments.
 Leverage funding with
cooperators to receive
$8‐to‐$10 of data for each $1
from USGS (2011 figures).
 Support users and interact
with communities of use.
Amount possible by USGS
working alone
Amount possible by
USGS working with
partners
Area (in green) of
new detailed “mid-accuracy”
elevation
data being
acquired in Alaska.
To fund the project,
USGS leveraged
$1million with
$4.7million from
Federal and Alaska
State agencies.
USGS organized
a consortium of
State, local,
and Federal
cooperators in
six States to
fund a swath
(shown in red)
of detailed
elevation data
from Maine to
New York.

10. 10
Natural Hazards Response
 Geospatial operations
to support emergency
response
 Provide pre- and post-event
geospatial data,
services, and maps for
responses to natural
and man-made
disasters
 Coordinate USGS
hazard response teams
Imagery for
Deepwater
Horizon oil
spill response,
2010
Maps for National Level Exercise (NLE) 2011

11. 11
Center of Excellence for
Geospatial Information Science
 Conducts longer-term research
 Based on needs of the National Geospatial Program
 Research problems that would take 3-to-5 years to yield progress
 Five-year research agenda guides project development
 Works with universities
 Expands the research capacity of CEGIS
 Provides access to leading academic researchers and their students
 USGS and academic researchers work together on projects
 Sample efforts
 Topographic map symbology usable for web, PDF, and paper map displays
 Geospatial data generalization techniques to simplify very detailed data
provided by partners for regional and national uses
 Quality evaluation of geospatial data provided by volunteers to help
evaluate the utility of this data acquisition option

12. 12
The National Atlas of the United States of
America®
 Geospatial data and
interpretive information
suitable for national and
regional views
 More than 300 layers of
data for viewing and
download.
 Interactive MapMaker
 Published maps available
for download and printing
 Dynamic maps
 Articles

13. 13
National Enhanced Elevation
Assessment At a Glance
 602 mission-critical activities that require enhanced elevation data
were identified by:
 34 Federal agencies
 50 states
 A sampling of local governments, tribes, private and not‐for profit
organizations
 A national program has the potential to generate $1.2 billion to $13
billion in new benefits each year when fully operational
 Sponsored by the National Digital Elevation Program (NDEP) and
funded by USGS, NGA,FEMA, NRCS and NOAA to:
 Document national requirements for improved elevation data from
technologies such as LiDAR and IfSAR
 Estimate the benefits and costs of meeting these requirements
 Evaluate multiple national enhanced program scenarios
http://www.csc.noaa.gov/inventory/#

14. 14
Benefits for Top Business Uses
Annual Benefits
Rank
Conserva
tive Potential
1 Flood Risk Management $295M $502M
2 Infrastructure and Construction Management $206M $942M
3 Natural Resources Conservation $159M $335M
4 Agriculture and Precision Farming $122M $2,011M
5 Water Supply and Quality $85M $156M
6 Wildfire Management, Planning and Response $76M $159M
7 Geologic Resource Assessment and Hazard Mitigation $52M $1,067M
8 Forest Resources Management $44M $62M
9 River and Stream Resource Management $38M $87M
10 Aviation Navigation and Safety $35M $56M
:
20 Land Navigation and Safety $0.2M $7,125M
Total for all Business Uses (1 – 27) $1.2B $13B

15. 15
Current Status of the Nation’s Elevation
Data NEEA Inventory Results
1996 - 2011
 28% coverage - 49 states
 15% coverage – Alaska
 30+ year replacement cycle
 Program is well coordinated – less than 10%
overlap of coverage
 Data quality variable
Why is this a problem?
 Remaining 72% coverage is 30 or more years
old.
 Alaska – very poor quality
 Meets 10% of reported needs
 Current and emerging needs require higher
quality data
 http://nationalmap.gov/3dep/index.html
Map depicts public sources of LiDAR in all states
Map depicts public sources of LiDAR in all states
plus IfSAR data in Alaska

16. The National Map Corps
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
16
VOLUNTEERED GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION AT USGS
http://nationalmap.gov/TheNationalMapCorps
nationalmapcorps@usgs.gov

17. 17
History of VGI At The USGS

18. 18
Revival of VGI at The USGS
2010:
• USGS VGI Workshop
• OSMCP Phase 1- Roads in Kansas with
GIS professionals
2011:
• OSMCP Phase 2- Structures with
Students, 4 quads over Denver
2012:
• Phase 3, The National Map Corps –
Structures in Colorado open to all
volunteers

19. 19
National Expansion
• School
• College/University
• Fire Station/EMS
• Law Enforcement
• Prison/Correctional Facility
• State Capital
• Hospital/Medical Center
• Ambulance Service
• Cemetery
• Post Office
http://navigator.er.usgs.gov/help/vgistructures_userguide.html

20. 20

21. 21
Social Media

22. 22
Volunteer Recognition - Badges
Order of the
Surveyor’s
Chain
(25-49)
Society of the Steel Tape
(50-99)
Circle of the Surveyor’s
Compass (200-399)
Stadia Board
Society
(500-999)
Alidade Alliance
(1000-1999)
Pedometer
Posse
(100-199)
Theodolite Assemblage
(2000 +)
http://navigator.er.usgs.gov/help/vgistructures_rewards.html

23. 23
Web Editor

24. 24
Project Home Page
https://my.usgs.gov/confluence/display/nationalmapcorp
s/Home

25. 25
Urban And Regional Information Systems Association
GISCorps – Google Wiki
https://sites.google.com/site/tnmcsite/new-home

26. 26
Moving Forward
• Twitter
• Trails
• Mobile Applications
• Next Generation Web Editor
Follow us on Twitter: #tnmcorps
http://nationalmap.gov/TheNationalMapCorps
nationalmapcorps@usgs.gov

27. 27
A Challenge – From A River Running West, Donald Worster
 Dogged in hope, driving
in energy, he remained
to the end incapable of
imagining that his
native country would
ever fail in its promise

28. 28
What Are the Traits We Need to Encourage
to Succeed in Today’s World
Research cannot be
controlled by some central
authority, as an army by its
general, from the fact that
scientific men, competent to
pursue original research, are
peculiarly averse to dictation
and official management.

29. 29
National Map – A Proud Heritage
 www.nationalmap.gov