Linda R. Zellmer, Editor
Indiana University
Electronic Version - February 2004
Benchmarks
Charlotte Derksen Retires from Stanford
Maps of Macau added to American Memory
Arizona Electronic Atlas Available
Indiana GIS Atlas Available
Map on new Canadian $100 BillCataloging News
Atlas of Canada Map Archives
Geobase Web Portal
Core Record Standard for Cartographic MaterialsConferences and Classes
Complete Geographic Cutters now Online
Satellite Image Land Surface ConditionsGeneral News
Landsat 7 SLC-off Product Enhancements
Orthorectified Landsat Data
Color Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles (DOQ)
Digital Soil Surveys of Mariposa, Amador and Eastern Merced Counties Now Available
NRCS Soil Data Mart Now Operational
Common Resource Area (CRA) Geographic Database
SRTM Data of Europe and Asia
LizardTech and Mapping Science Settle LawsuitInternet Resources
Microsoft Releases MapPoint Web Service
White House Missing from MapQuest
ODC Releases Model Data Distribution Policy
GIS Certification Institute
Online Map Catalog Released by USGSNew Publications
NOAA Coastal Services Center
FEMA Offers Post-Fire Advisory Flood Hazard Maps
The Geographic Face of the Nation - ElevationEmployment
Landsat 7 Data Correction
Geologic Map of New Mexico
Earth as Art News
Hawaii's Volcanoes Revealed
Mine Safety and Health Administration seeks U.S. Mine Maps
Maps of Mars
NGA Maps of Ecuador and Paraguay
Preliminary Census of Agriculture Results
New Census File Tracks the Nation’s Occupations
USGS Series Revised
NOAA Documents Land Cover Change in California
National Land Cover Characterization 2001
USGS Maps Post-Fire Debris Flow Hazards
Albuquerque Area Geologic Guide
New Arizona Digital Geologic Maps
New California Seismic Hazard Maps Available
New Utah 30’ X 60’ Digital Geologic Maps
New Earthquake Map of Oregon
Clackamas County, Oregon Earthquake Hazard Map and Study Published
Colorado Geological Survey Releases Front Range Digital Fault Map
Wyoming Carbon Dioxide Resource Map Published
New Idaho Geologic Maps
Benchmarks
Charlotte Derksen Retires
Charlotte Derksen has from Stanford after 23 years of service, effective February 1, 2004. She was the fifth person to hold the position of Head of the Branner Library. Because of Charlotte's knowledge, dedication, and efforts, the Branner Library has become one of the finest earth sciences libraries in the world.
During her time at Stanford, Charlotte held a number of additional positions in Stanford University Libraries in addition to her position as Head of the Branner Earth Sciences Library. She has also been very active in professional organizations for earth sciences librarians (through the Geoscience Information Society) and the Western Association of Map Libraries. She served as chair of the Collection Development Committee and Coordinator of Collection Development Forum (2001-present) of the Geoscience Information Society (GSIS), and served as GSIS President and Annual Meeting Program Planner. Charlotte also served on the Cartographic Users Advisory Council from 1988-1990.
Charlotte has published over 20 articles on collection development and public service issues. She won the best paper from the Geoscience Information Society for the past two years. By request from the Geological Society of America, she developed a web page called "Selected Web Sites for Geoscientists." She has revised and maintained this web site for the past six years. Charlotte compiled information for the monograph "Union List of Geologic Field Trip Guidebooks", 5th ed. (1989), 223 p. -- a core title that is purchased by virtually all earth sciences libraries.
Charlotte's academic accomplishments include a B.S. from Wheaton College, with a major in Geology and a minor in Social Science (1966); an M.A. in Geology from the University of Oregon (1968); and a MLS from the University of Oregon (1973). In 1976, she took graduate level classes in French Literature and the Philosophy of Education.
Julie Sweetkind-Singer, the current Librarian and Bibliographer for Maps and GIS, has agreed to be the Head of Branner. There are also plans to hire an Earth Sciences Bibliographer and Reference Librarian.
Maps of Macau added to American Memory
The Geography and Map Division has mounted a special online presentation with 16 maps of Macau to the "Map Collections, 1500-2003" of the American Memory Web site. The materials are at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/macau/.
Portugal returned Macau to China in 1999; the region is now known as the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. The region consists of the city of Macau on a small peninsula of the Chinese mainland and the two small islands of Taipa and Colôane, which are connected to the mainland by a causeway. The administrative region has an area of 21 square kilometers. As of July 2001, Macau had an estimated population of about 454,000.
The Portuguese established Macau as a port at the mouth of the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River) in 1557, and continued to control the region for more than 400 years. In December 1887, Portugal and China negotiated an agreement that that recognized Portugal's occupation and governance of Macau. In 1987, after Portugal and China's issued a joint declaration on Macau which stated that China would regain sovereignty of Macau Dec. 20, 1999. The sixteen maps show the European influence in the mapping of Macau, reflecting the 400 years of European influence over the city.
Arizona Electronic Atlas Available
The University of Arizona Library recently released the Arizona Electronic Atlas, (http://atlas.library.arizona.edu), a dynamic web-based state atlas where that can be used to create, manipulate, and download maps and spatial data on a wide variety of subjects. The Atlas, developed it in partnership with the Arizona State Cartographers Office, Arizona State Library, Arizona Geographic Information Council, Arizona State University and a campus advisory group, was funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The atlas is based on ArcIMS, ArcSDE, and Oracle.
Data in the atlas is arranged in four map themes: Natural Resources, People and Society, Business and Economics, and Environment and Population. The map and associated data can be printed or downloaded. The project team used the most recent data available. In addition to the
Atlas, the site also includes online instructions on how to use the atlas, tutorials, teaching resources and a detailed glossary.
Indiana GIS Atlas Available
The Indiana Geological Survey, an institute of Indiana University, received a grant in April 2002 from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to develop a computer-based atlas for the state. Known as a Geographic Information System, or GIS, the atlas of digital maps presents information on a variety of themes such as geologic features, mineral resources, and areas of environmental sensitivity. The themes can be assembled by the user in any order to create a custom map to suit a specific need.
Indiana Geological Survey researchers are working with the engineering and environmental consulting firm Bernardin, Lochmueller and Associates to obtain data from state and federal agencies and other sources. The information is then edited and processed into a standardized format.
Researchers initially are focusing on compiling data on geology, biology, history, caves and karst, hydrology, geologic hazards, and infrastructure of the state; additional data will be added throughout the two-year duration of the project. The Indiana Department of Transportation plans to use the information to aid in transportation planning. The information can also be used in rural and urban planning, environmental assessments, and business development. The atlas, which currently has 167 different themes available, can be viewed at: http://igs.indiana.edu/GISatlas.
Canadian News
Map on new Canadian $100 Bill
Canada's $100 bill has recently been given a facelift. The front of the bill still shows former Prime Minister Robert Borden but the Canada goose on the back of the bill has been replaced by a design that shows "innovation and exploration" through mapping.
The new design, which celebrates the evolution of mapping in Canada, was suggested by Marc Garneau, President of the Canadian Space Agency and a member of the panel for bank note design. The new design features a map of Canada designed by geographers and cartographers from the Atlas of Canada. It shows a map from the Atlas of Canada surrounded by images of mapping methods. The beginnings of Canadian cartography are represented by a historical map created by Champlain and an image of a birch bark canoe. New mapping technologies are represented by the RADARSAT satellite and a Natural Resources Canada ground station.
Atlas of Canada Map Archives
The Atlas of Canada site now has a map archives section which consists of 943 maps of the previous editions of the Atlas which were published in 1906 (1st edition), 1915 (2nd edition), 1957 (3rd edition), and 1974 (4th edition) and 1995 (5th edition). The Map Archives collection also contains the Canadian sections of the International Map of The World (1956-1987), as well as the first edition of the Glacier Atlas of Canada (1969-1972). These maps are digital copies of the original printed versions and are easy to view using current technology. Tools include zooming in and out, panning or moving the map in various directions and a special print tool, allowing users to explore details contained in these historical maps. It is available at: http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/featureditems/map_archives.
Geobase Web Portal
A new Web site developed by the Government of Canada is delivering digital geographic data to Canadians interested in geomatics. That's the purpose of Canada's first GeoBase portal, which was launched November 19, to celebrate GIS Day. The new GeoBase portal, which is a joint project of federal, provincial and territorial governments, allows Canadians to access geospatial data on the Internet at no cost and with no restrictions. Canada is one of the first countries in the world to provide such information on the World Wide Web free of charge.
The portal will also help improve decision making by all Canadians geospatial information users. The information, which describes the Canadian landmass above and below water, is available at http://www.geobase.ca. It is the first step to building a complete coverage of digital geospatial data for Canada and offers access to six sets of data: national road network data, Canadian digital elevation data, geographical names of Canada data, administrative boundaries data, Canadian geodetic network data and Landsat-7 orthoimage data. (Orthoimage data are images from the Landsat satellite presented with the least distortion.)
The GeoBase portal is hosted and operated by Natural Resources Canada. Its development is the result of financial and in-kind resources provided by federal, provincial and territorial agencies and the GeoConnections initiative. GeoBase is a new approach to the management of geospatial data in Canada in which different levels of government work together to share the cost of providing up-to-date geospatial data. The GeoBase portal helps promote the Canadian Government's commitment to sustainable development of natural resources, contributing to their economic importance and to a strong society and communities through knowledge, innovation, technology and international leadership. For more information, contact: Alexandra Muir, Natural Resources Canada, (613) 947-8246 or Ghyslain Charron, Natural Resources Canada, (613) 992-4447.
Cataloging News
Core Record Standard for Cartographic Materials
The Core Record Standard for Books was defined in 1994 by a Task Group appointed by the Cooperative Cataloging Council, now known as the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC). The Task Group was charged to develop cost-effective bibliographic standards that would be acceptable to a wide range of libraries. The PCC has endorsed the core record standard as one facet of its strategy to facilitate a national cooperative cataloging program that can help provide "faster, better, cheaper" cataloging.
Each of the subsequent Core Record Standards was developed by Task Groups of specialists in the cataloging of non-book format and non-Roman alphabet materials. In 2002, the PCC Standing Committee on Standards completed an extensive project to review the original core record standards and to harmonize their contents, language, and presentation style. Differences in requirements among the various cores were retained when deemed appropriate. The Core Record Standard for Cartographic Materials was developed while this core standard harmonization effort was in process.
The core record standard specifies a minimum set of data elements. The standard can be used by any library. Records which lack this minimum set of MARC fields, cannot be considered to be core records and should not be labeled as such.
The core record standard was designed specifically to be used within the context of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging's national cataloging program and to support the goals of the program to provide cost-effective cataloging that meets commonly accepted standards.
This standard is intended to be applied to all cartographic materials of a monographic nature, including but not limited to sheet maps, map series, atlases, globes, CD-ROMs, and remote-accessed cartographic items. The materials are to be cataloged fall under the scope of Chapter 3 in AACR2. This also includes historical or rare maps and atlases as well as contemporary titles. The core record for cartographic materials
The following non-print elements were added to the standard core record to form the CONSER core record for cartographic materials: Relief (008/18-21); Type of cartographic material (008/25); Index (008/31); 034, Coded cartographic mathematical data (scale and projection information only); 255, Cartographic mathematical data (subfields $a and $b only), and; 300, Physical description.
The Relief fixed field code is usually derived from a 500 note which indicates relief forms commonly found on maps. The fixed field element is required if the information is readily available. The Type of cartographic material fixed field code indicates whether the publication is a map series, map serial, or atlas. (The Library of Congress processes map series as collected set monographs). The Index code indicates whether the item includes a location index or gazetteer. Field 034 is required if available and reflects the information found in the 255 field (coordinate subfields are not required). Field 255 contains mathematical data associated with map materials, although only the scale and projection statements are required in the core record (subfields $a and $b). The 300 field indicates whether the record represents atlases, maps, or other cartographic items.
Core Record for Cartographic Materials
Fixed Length Fields Codes Type of record (Leader/6) M Bibliographic level (Leader/7)
M Encoding level (Leader/17) M Descriptive cat. form (Leader/18) M Type of date/Publication status (008/6) M Date 1 and Date 2 (008/7-14) M Place of publication, etc. (008/15-17) . . . M M Relief (008/18-21) R* Type of cartographic material (008/25) M* Index (008/31) M* Language (008/35-37) M Modified record (008/38) M Cataloging source (008/39) M Form of material (006/00) M Frequency (006/01) M Regularity (006/02) M Type of serial (006/04) M Form of item (006/06) M Successive/latest entry (006/17) M
Control Fields--0XX 010 LC control no M 022 ISSN R 034 Coded cartographic mathematical data R* 042 Authentication code . . . . . . . .. . . . . M
M 074 GPO Item Number R 086 Government Document Class Number R
Variable Fields--1XX-9XX
1XX Main Entry
MA 240 Uniform Title
MA 245 Title Statement
M 246 Varying Form of Title
MA 250 Edition Statement
MA 255 Cartographic Mathematical Data
R* ($a--Scale, $b--Projection) 260 Publication, Etc. (Imprint)
M 300 Physical Description
M* 362 Dates of Publication, Volume Designation
MA 4XX Series Statement
MA 500 Source of Title, DBO Note
MA 5XX Notes
O** 6XX Subject Added Entries
MA** 700-730 Name/Title Added Entries
MA** 780/785 Preceding/Succeeding Entry MA 7XX Other linking entries . . . . . . .. . . . . O**
O** 850 Holding institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M**
MA** 8XX Series added entries . . . . . . . . . . . . MA
MA 936 CONSER variable length field . . . . . MA
MA Codes: M - mandatory, MA - mandatory if applicable, O - optional, R - required if available
*See B6.4.7 for more information on core requirements for cartographic materials.
**See B6.2 for more information on the standard requirements for core records.
Program records are encoded in a basic complement of character sets referred to in these guidelines as the "Latin base" (ASCII, ANSEL, MARC 21 Greek, MARC 21 subscript, MARC 21 superscript). These supplementary guidelines provide for including additional data in non-Roman form encoded in other character sets designated for use in MARC 21 records. Such records consist of data encoded in multiple character sets. For more information see http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/bibco/coremaps.html.
Complete Geographic Cutters now Online
The COMPLETE contents of Geographic Cutters for the G-schedule from the Library of Congress is now on-line and FREE. It is produced, maintained, and updated regularly LC. The file is a very large PDF file (3,000 pages). The Library of Congress is looking for feedback regarding the list.
The URL for Subclass G Cartographic Materials - Geographic Cutter Numbers (Tables G1548-G9804) is http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/gcutter.html. This resource will be maintained and updated by LC's Cataloging Policy and Support Office. Contributed by Christopher J.J. Thiry and Kathryn Mendenhall, Chief, Cataloging Distribution Service.
Satellite Image Land Surface Conditions
A new CD-ROM set of satellite images provides a valuable record of land surface conditions of the U.S. in the early 1990's. Over 500 Landsat 4 and Landsat 5 scenes were mosaiced to create the views of the United States. While the digital files cover the land surface of the country, features as small as 30 m across can be identified.
Thematic Mapper sensors aboard the satellites collected the data for the mosaics. Scenes from a three-year period were selected from collections to get quality, cloud-free coverage. Earth Satellite Corporation did the mosaicking process under agreement with the USGS and NASA.
The CD-ROM set consists of four disks that cover four geographic regions: the Eastern U.S., Central U.S., Western U.S., and Hawaii and Alaska. The data sets are available from the USGS for $20.00, plus $5.00 handling and can be ordered manually through DORRAN, or on-line from http://lpdaac.usgs.gov/nsdp/form.html, ask for item no. RZ45, Landsat Mosaics Education CD-ROM. For further questions on this product, contact EDC Customer Services custserv@usgs.gov, 1-800-252-4547. Contributed by Sheryle Girk-Jackson, sjjackson@usgs.gov.
Landsat 7 SLC-off Product Enhancements
A technique to estimate radiometric values in Landsat 7 data gaps has been selected, and the resulting new products will be available to customers in June 2004. The USGS Landsat 7 Project at the EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota has been taking steps to increase the utility of the ETM+ data that includes non-functional scan line corrector (SLC) artifacts. The SLC on the Landsat 7 ETM+ instrument failed May 31, 2003. In the planned products, the gap pixels are replaced with data from a previously acquired SLC-on scene that is registered and histogram matched to the SLC-off image. The histogram matching technique is a localized linear transform performed in a moving window throughout the missing pixels.
In March 2004, the current ETM+ SLC-off product will be available to the public with a user-selectable amount of interpolation to replace missing gap pixels. The USGS is continuing to research other methods of providing better gap pixel estimates/merged data products and will continue to provide information resulting from this work as it becomes available.
A sample product, with a comparison with the degraded data, further information, and regular updates on the planned product release can be found at http://landsat7.usgs.gov/slc_enhancements/. An ESIC Bulletin will be sent as each new product/enhancement is released. For further information, contact EDC Customer Services at: custserv@usgs.gov, or 1-800-252-4547. Contributed by Sheryle Girk-Jackson, sjjackson@usgs.gov.
Orthorectified Landsat Data
Through cooperative efforts between NASA and the commercial remote sensing community, the USGS EROS Data Center released two new Landsat-7 products on December 23, 2003. The Landsat orthorectified ETM+ imagery and Landsat orthorectified Pan sharpened ETM+ Imagery data sets joined the Landsat orthorectified TM imagery data set, which was used to establish the baseline for these two new products. Together, these products form a suite of quality-screened, high-resolution satellite images with global coverage over the Earth's landmasses, which will provide users with remote sensing data for tracking change over much of the Earth. The Earth Satellite Corporation, Rockville, Maryland, under contract to NASA, provided the "orthorectification" process used to enhance the quality of the remote sensing data, by using geodetic and elevation control data to correct for the positional accuracy and relief displacement of the imagery. Landsat Orthorectified TM sell for $30/FTP (scene); $45/CD (one scene per CD); $60/DVD (up to eight scenes per DVD). Landsat Orthorectified ETM+ sell for $30/FTP (scene); $60/DVD (up to six scenes per DVD). Landsat Orthorectified ETM+ Pansharpened sell for $30/FTP (scene) and $60/DVD (up to four scenes per DVD).
Further information on these products can be found at http://edc.usgs.gov/products/satellite/landsat_ortho.html and http://lpdaac.usgs.gov/dataproducts_nsdp_pass.html.
Products can be searched and ordered via the EOS Data Gateway http://edcimswww.cr.usgs.gov/pub/imswelcome/.
For further questions on these products, contact EDC Customer Services at custserv@usgs.gov or 1 800 252 4547. Contributed by Sheryle Girk-Jackson, sjjackson@usgs.gov.
Color Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles (DOQ)
The USGS EROS Data Center (EDC) now has color 7.5 minute Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles (DOQs) available for sale. Until recently, areas in Alaska, Washington and Oregon only had black and chite (BW) 7.5 min DOQ coverage. EDC recently received 94 color (CIR) 7.5 min DOQs for Alaska; more color DOQ's are on the way. The average file size of the 94 DOQs presently available is ~90mb. For further information on DOQ's, see ESIC Bulletin 01-29 USGS GeoData Available on DVD.
The color DOQs can be ordered online through Earth Explorer and manually through DORRAN for $15 per file (same price as the BW 7.5min DOQs), plus standard digital base charges of $45.00/CD, $60.00/DVD, or $30.00/FTP in addition to a $5.00 handling charge. The product code is TU61 (same as the BW 7.5min DOQs).
DORRAN Ordering Procedures: Product Code TU61, Description: 7.5 Min Orthophoto Quad (CIR). For further questions on this product, contact EDC Customer Services, custserv@usgs.gov, or call 1-800-252-4547. Contributed by Sheryle Girk-Jackson, sjjackson@usgs.gov.
Digital Soil Surveys of Mariposa, Amador and Eastern Merced Counties Now Available
Digitized surveys of the soils found in Mariposa, Amador, and eastern Merced Counties have been created and placed on the internet by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The soil surveys and associated data tables can be downloaded from http://ww.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/ssurgo_ftp3.html. The data can be used with geographic information system software, such as ESRI's ArcView, to make interpretative maps showing which land is most suitable for roads, buildings with basements, or cropland. Users may also download the Soil Data Viewer, a tool built as an extension to ArcView that allows a user to create soil-based thematic maps. A free download of the Soil Data Viewer is available from http://www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov, by clicking on MLRA Office 2 and the link California Soil Data Viewer 3.0 Rules File.
Agriculture also benefits from the digitized soil surveys. The NRCS use them when private landowners enroll their property in conservation programs, such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Grasslands Reserve Program, Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, and Wetlands Reserve Program. Planners use them to identify which prime parcels of farmland should be protected from development and which soil works best for planting certain crops. Funding for the surveys was provided the NRCS, as well as the CALFED Bay-Delta Program. CALFED is a consortium of state and federal agencies that addresses water management problems found at the junction of San Francisco Bay, Sacramento River, and San Joaquin River, and the watershed that feeds them. For more information on these digital soil surveys, contact Brian Ziegler (559) 252-2191 ext. 117.
NRCS Soil Data Mart Now Operational
The NRCS Soil Data Mart and Soil Data Warehouse (http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/) are now operational and State offices are busy populating the site with soil survey information. The site is scheduled to be fully populated by the end of 2004 as the official source for all NRCS soil survey information.
The Soil Data Warehouse and Data Mart provide a sole-source distribution point for official soil survey data used in Field Office Technical Guides, Customer Service Toolkit, and other applications. The Soil Data Mart is a web-based interface that allows users to identify specific soil survey areas, run reports, and download SSURGO data files. Now for the first time, NRCS will be able to guarantee that field conservationists, technical service providers, and the general public have access to exactly the same soil survey data regardless of whether they use the Customer Service Toolkit, eFOTG, or SSURGO products. For more information on the Soil Data Mart, contact Rick Bigler, NRCS soil scientist, at 402-437-5879 or rick.bigler@nssc.nrcs.usda.gov or Jim Fortner, NRCS soil scientist, at 402-437-5755 or jim.fortner@nssc.nrcs.usda.gov.
Common Resource Area (CRA) Geographic Database
The National Soil Survey Center is coordinating the development of a digital Common Resource Area (CRA) map for the Nation. This national map is an important component of a new initiative to develop guidance documents for Section III of the electronic Field Office Technical Guide (eFOTG). The digital CRA map will provide map-based web access to the eFOTG and CRA specific guidance documents, conservation plans and resource management systems, making this valuable information easily accessible to NRCS clients, partners, and technical service providers.
A CRA is a geographical area where resource concerns, problems, or treatment needs are similar. It is considered a subdivision of an existing Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) region map delineation or polygon. Landscape conditions, soil, climate, human considerations, and other natural resource information are used to determine the geographical boundaries of the common resource area. The CRA naming convention is the MLRA symbol followed by a dot and a numeric code. The National CRA Map will be developed at a 1:250,000 scale with the same joined MLRA and CRA symbols shared among states. CRA polygons also geographically nest within MLRA regions and have short descriptive narratives.
Information on the development of the Common Resource Area data is available at http://soils.usda.gov/technical/instructions/. For more information, contact are Dr. Robert Ahrens, Director NRCS National Soil Survey Center, at 402-437-5389, bob.ahrens@usda.gov or Sharon W. Waltman NRCS soil scientist, at 402-437-4007, sharon.waltman@usda.gov.
SRTM Data of Europe and Asia
NASA and the National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency (NGA) have released Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data for Europe, Asia and the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Gathered in 10 days during February 2000, the new digital elevation data set showcases some of Earth's most diverse, mysterious and extreme topography. Much of this area had previously been poorly mapped due to persistent cloud cover or inaccessible terrain. The new data comprise more than one-third of the entire SRTM data set.
The area covered in the current data-release stretches eastward from Great Britain and the Iberian Peninsula in the west, across the Alps and Carpathian Mountains, as well as the Northern European Plain, to the Ural and Caucasus Mountains bordering Asia. The Asian coverage includes a great variety of landforms, including the Tibetan Plateau, Tarim Basin, Mongolian Plateau and the mountains surrounding Lake Baikal, the world's deepest lake. Mt. Everest in the Himalayas, at 8,848 meters (29,029 feet) is the world's highest mountain. From India's Deccan Plateau, to Southeast Asia, coastal China, and Korea, various landforms place constraints on land-use planning during periods of population growth. Volcanoes in the East Indies, the Philippines, Japan and the Kamchatka Peninsula form the western part of the "Ring of Fire" around the Pacific Ocean.
Previous releases from the mission covered North and South America. Forthcoming releases in 2004 will include Africa- Arabia and Australia, as well as an "islands" release for those islands not included in the continental data-releases. Together, these data-releases constitute the world's first high-resolution, near-global elevation model. The resolution of these data for Europe and Asia is three arc seconds (1/1,200 of a degree of latitude and longitude), which is about 90 meters (295 feet).
The SRTM mission is a cooperative project of NASA, NGA and the German and Italian space agencies. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., processed the data into research- quality digital elevation data. The National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency is providing additional processing to develop mapping products. The U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation Systems Data Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., provides final archiving and distribution of the SRTM data products.
General News
LizardTech and Mapping Science Settle Lawsuit
On February 14, 2004, LizardTech, Inc., a worldwide leader in software solutions that make it significantly easier to manage, distribute and access complex digital content such as aerial photography, satellite images and color image documents, and Mapping Science, a developer of specialized image compression tools for GIS and remote sensing, announced that they have reached a settlement in LizardTech's ongoing lawsuit for claims against Mapping Science for misappropriation of trade secrets. As part of the settlement agreement, Mapping Science will cease its operations and transfer all assets to LizardTech. LizardTech will assume responsibility for support and transition of Mapping Science's existing customers. Mapping Science developed the JPEG2000 compression standard for use by the GIS community. LizardTech expects the transition to be complete by February 18, 2004. For any inquires about Mapping Science products and related questions please contact pr@lizardtech.com or call (206) 652-5211.
Microsoft Releases MapPoint Web Service
In early February, Microsoft Corp. launched MapPoint® Web Service 3.5, the latest version of its location and mapping Web service. Microsoft® MapPoint Web Service 3.5 provides a set of capabilities that enable customers to incorporate location data into a wide range of location-based solutions. Among the new capabilities in MapPoint Web Service 3.5 are new tools that enable customers to manage and maintain corporate data, expanded global geographic coverage and new capabilities for developing applications for the mobile work force. MapPoint Web Service 3.5 also continues to support for industry standards such as SOAP and XML, which provide developers with common standards that can be used to ensure reliable interoperability of solutions built with the MapPoint platform.
A few examples of the expanded features and capabilities of MapPoint Web Service 3.5 are:
- Better support for mobile applications.
- Improved customization and spatial data management capabilities.
- Expanded geographic coverage to support global markets.
For more information on MapPoint visit the MapPoint Web Service site at http://www.microsoft.com/mappoint/webservice.
White House Missing from MapQuest
From Security Focus: Users of Mapquest's free aerial photo database can no longer see details of several Washington D.C. government buildings. A comparison of old and new images posted on the government secrecy watchdog site Cryptome (http://cryptome.org/seats-uneyeball.htm) showed that color photos of the Capitol building and the grounds of the Naval Observatory, where the Vice President's residence is located, have also been distorted; the resolution of the photos has been reduced to a digital blur.
The White House and the adjacent Old Executive Office Building and Treasury Department headquarters were subject to more subtle tampering: the buildings are still sharp, but the roofs have been digitally painted over with featureless solid colors seeming picked from the surrounding landscape. The lot at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue now resembles a White House-shaped dirt field more than the seat of executive power. For more information, see the full article in Security Focus at http://www.securityfocus.com/news/7671.
ODC Releases Model Data Distribution Policy
The Open Data Consortium, a public-private partnership project funded by the USGS and private companies, has developed a model data distribution policy for guiding local government dissemination of public-record geodata.
This policy model was developed through a series of collaborative dialogues with stakeholders representing diverse interests from city and county governments, state and Federal agencies, as well as private sector data service providers, universities and professional associations. A wide variety of alternatives were analyzed and considered before arriving at the recommendations in the model policy. The policy is intended to serve as a guideline for local governments that need to formulate a data distribution policy, or make their current policy more effective.
The policy was developed by 67 people, through the Open Data Consortium project, over a six month period. An additional 50 people were involved in reviewing and commenting on interim products and final document. The model policy addresses the major legal and commercial issues concerning public data distribution, such as, copyright, licensing, liability, security restrictions, privacy considerations, metadata maintenance, data recipients and distribution methods, as well as the controversial issue of data sales.
The model policy is available at the ODC website, http://www.opendataconsortium.org/documents/Data_Policy-4b.pdf, along with documentation of the collaborative work process, additional data studies, data policy documents used by other agencies, and links to useful geodata information. It is accompanied by a report titled "10 Ways to Support GIS Without Selling Data" (http://www.opendataconsortium.org/documents/10Ways_SupportGIS_Article.pdf) also available on the ODC website. While the model policy acknowledges that selling data is counterproductive to public agency interests in distributing their geographic data, it does not prohibit such sales. Instead, it offers a method for selling data that is less of an impediment to public access than many current policies, to those agencies that still believe they need to sell their geodata.
Phase II of the project will formulate recommendations for changing government accounting practices in order to allocate some of the benefits from using geodata back to GIS operations departments. The project will also be deeply engaged in educating the wider GIS Community about the current findings and model policy recommendations. Phase II will commence as soon as the ODC project receives adequate funding from grants, sponsorship, or contracts.
For further information, please contact Bruce Joffe, GIS Consultants, 1615 Broadway, suite 415, Oakland, CA 94612, 510-238-9771.
GIS Certification Institute
The GIS Certification Institute (GISCI, http://www.gisci.org) released information on the process of GIS Certification. GIS professionals can download application materials and begin preparations for submitting their qualifications for recognition as Certified GIS Professionals and earn the designation, “GISP”.
The GIS Certification program developed from URISA’s Certification Committee, which was formed in 1999. Following several years of discussion and thousands of hours of work, including a comprehensive pilot program, the Committee members finalized its portfolio-based certification program in the summer of 2003. Along with a GIS Code of Ethics, the program was adopted by the GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) and is the basis for GIS Professional Certification. GISCI is the certifying body that was created to manage the program.
The Program is a portfolio-based program requires minimum levels of achievement in three areas: educational achievement, professional experience and contributions to the profession. The program does not require an examination.
During the first five years of the program, applicants may be “grandfathered” into the program by meeting specific requirements in the Professional Experience category only. Applicants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the program and begin collecting necessary documentation for their portfolios. Visit http://www.gisci.org for information about documentation and other requirements. A “how-to” slideshow will soon be available on the website to assist potential applicants with the submission process. To be reviewed, complete applications and portfolios must be submitted to GISCI, along with an application fee of $250. An administrative staff and the GISCI Review Team will review portfolios and substantiate claims made. Upon notification of a successful application, an applicant will be required to sign the GIS Code of Ethics to complete the certification process and earn the “GISP” credential.
Online Map Catalog Released by USGS
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced the release of the USGS Store, its online map catalog, January 1, 2004. The USGS Store will provide online ordering access to all published products distributed by the USGS. The catalog is online at http://store.usgs.gov.
The new USGS Store is a full online catalog of products that initially presents thumbnail images of all 7.5-minute topographic maps along with larger images of other selected maps. Many of the products will also have detailed descriptions available. All USGS published products (maps, books, general interest publications, etc.) will be available from the store. In addition to USGS products, the Catalog carries the products of other agencies that are available from the USGS, including maps of National Forests from the US Forest Service, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) maps of Vietnam and other countries, historic maps from the Library of Congress, and land-management maps from the US Bureau of Land Management.
This functionality provides a new method to communicate recent news and product advertisements of USGS published products. Ordering options enable users to charge to an account, a project number, or a credit card. The site also enables customers to check their order status and receive email confirmations.
The USGS Store will replace Earth Explorer and MapFinder for the searching and ordering of maps. A notice and a link to the USGS Store will be posted on both sites to inform users of the change in map ordering. The products can also be ordered from a network of authorized USGS retailers. A listing of retailers, by State, is available on the Store and also at http://mapping.usgs.gov/www/partners/bpmain.html. For more information about the USGS and the products it offers, call 303-202-4200, or 1-888-ASK-USGS. Contributed by Sheryle Girk-Jackson, sjjackson@usgs.gov.
NOAA Coastal Services Center
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center web site (http://www.csc.noaa.gov/) works with various branches of NOAA and other federal agencies to bring information, services, and technology to the coastal resource managers in the United States. The Center is a partner in over 100 ongoing projects geared to resolve site-specific coastal issues. The Center’s Remote Sensing web site contains information about remote sensing and examples of how state coastal resources agencies have used the technology in their work. Organized into five main categories—coastal development, habitat, water quality, living resources, and waterways—the examples also include a number of illustrations and satellite images. The Center also has a 70-page publication, titled Coastal Remote Sensing, which is available for free through the NOAA Coastal Services Center. To obtain a copy, contact the Center's clearinghouse at clearinghouse@csc.noaa.gov.
FEMA Offers Post-Fire Advisory Flood Hazard Maps
The Federal Emergency Management Agency offered Post-Fire Advisory Flood Hazard Maps for California on their web site: http://www.capostfirefloods.net. The maps, developed from an analysis initiated by FEMA, show the increased flood hazard created by the wildfires. The maps are intended to provide a general understanding of the approximate, increased flood risk for the five counties studied. They do not replace the current Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for determining the flood insurance premium corresponding to a particular location.
Although numerous federal, state, and local agencies are taking measures to protect property and lives, it may take three to five years for the vegetation to recover enough to lessen the likelihood of increased water runoff in the burned areas. Mountains normally absorb most rainfall, but the effects of wildfires on vegetation and soils can cause substantial increases in runoff, significantly increasing flood hazards in fire-affected watersheds.
New Publications
Barnavi, Eli, 2003. A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People: From the Time of the Patriarchs to the Present. Knopf Publishing Group. ISBN: 0-8052-4226-0. $45.00
Bergantino, R.N., Sandau, K.L., 2004, The Route and Campsites of Lewis and Clark in Montana: A Geologic Perspective. Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Special Publication 116. Available from Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Publications Office, Montana Tech of The University of Montana, 1300 West Park Street, Butte, MT 59701-8997. Phone: 406/496-4167, Fax: 406/496-4451, Email: pubsales@mtech.edu. Price: $15.00.
Biek, Robert F. and others, 2003. Geologic maps of the Clarkston and Portage quadrangles, Box Elder and Cache Counties, Utah and Franklin and Oneida Counties, Idaho. Utah Geological Survey Map M-194. Scale 1:24,000. ISBN 1-55791-594-6. $13.50
Birkholz, Daniel, 2003. The King's Two Maps: Cartography and Culture in Thirteenth-Century England. Routledge. ISBN: 0-415-96791-0. $65.00
Brisco, Thomas V., 2004. Holman Bible Atlas: A Complete Guide to the Expansive Geography of Biblical History. Broadman & Holman Publishers. ISBN: 1-55819-709-5. $29.97
Clark, Donald L., 2003. Geologic map of the Sage Valley quadrangle, Juab County. Utah Geological Survey MP-03-2. ISBN 1-55791-691-8. $13.00
Clark, William. Lewis and Clark's West: William Clark's 1810 Master Map of the American West. University Press of New England . ISBN: 0-8457-3156-4. $14.95
Cosgrove, Denis E., 2003. Apollo's Eye: A Cartographic Genealogy of the Earth in the Western Imagination. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN: 0-8018-7444-0. $24.95
D'Arcy, Jenish, 2004. Epic Wanderer: David Thompson and the Mapping of the Canadian West. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN: 0803226004.
Dorling, Daniel and Thomas, Bethan, 2004. People and Places: A 2001 Census Atlas of the UK. Policy Press . ISBN: 1-86134-555-0. $50.00
Farrington, Karen, 2004. Historical Atlas of Empires: From 4000 BC to the 21st Century. London: Mercury. ISBN: 190466802X.
Gwynn, J. Wallace, ed., 2002. Great Salt Lake: an overview of change. Utah Department of Natural Resources Special Publication. ISBN 1-55791-667-5. $24.95
Hayes, Derek, 2003. Historical Atlas of the Arctic. University of Washington Press. ISBN: 0-295-98358-2. $60.00
Hayes, Derek, 2003. Historical Atlas of the North Pacific Ocean: Maps of Discovery and Scientific Exploration, 1500-2000. Sasquatch Books. ISBN: 1-57061-311-7. $40.00
Hayes, Derek, 2003. Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest: Maps of Exploration and Discovery - B. C., Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Yukon. Sasquatch Books. ISBN: 1-57061-215-3. $35.00
Hintze, Lehi F. and Davis, Fitzhugh D., 2003. Geology of Millard County, Utah. Utah Geological Survey Bulletin 133. ISBN 1-55791-692-6. $24.00
Hurlow, Hugh A. and Biek, Robert F., 2003. Geologic map of the Pintura quadrangle, Washington County, Utah. Utah Geological Survey Map M-196. ISBN 1-55791-596-2. $10.50
Johnson, Jenny M., 2003. Geographic Information. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. ISBN: 1-57356-392-7. $65.00
Konstam, Angus, 2003. Historical Atlas of the Napoleonic Era. Globe Pequot Press. ISBN: 1-58574-867-6. $29.95
Kresse, Wolfgang and Fadaie, Kian, 2003. ISO Standards for Geographic Information. Springer-Verlag New York, Incorporated. ISBN: 3-540-20130-0. $129.00
Matthews, Vincent, Keller-Lynn, Katie and Fox, Betty, 2003. Messages in Stone: Colorado's Colorful Geology. Colorado Geological Survey Special Publication 52. $16.95 Available from Colorado Geological Survey, Publications Section, 1313 Sherman Street, Room 715, Denver, Colorado, 80203, Phone - (303) 866-4762, Fax - (303) 866-2461.
McCalpin, James P., 2003. Neotectonics of Bear Lake Valley, Utah and Idaho; a preliminary assessment. Utah Geological Survey MP-03-4. ISBN 1-55791-694-2. $11.00
Monmonier, Mark S., 2004. Rhumb Lines and Map Wars: a Social History of the Mercator Projection. University of Chicago Press, ISBN: 0226534316
Pickles, John, 2003. A History of Spaces: Cartographic Reason, Mapping, and the Geo-Coded World. Routledge. ISBN: 0-415-14497-3. $110.00
Short, John R., 2003. The World Through Maps: A History of Cartography. Firefly Books, Limited. ISBN: 1-55297-811-7. $40.00
Smith, A.G., Smith, D.G. and Funnell, B.M., 2004. Atlas of Mesozoic and Cenozoic Coastlines. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0-521-60287-4.
Swift, John, 2004. Concise Historical Atlas of the Cold War. Palgrave Macmillan . ISBN: 0-333-99403-5. $55.00
Whitaker, Ewen A., 2003. Mapping and Naming the Moon: A History of Lunar Cartography and Nomenclature. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0-521-54414-9. $32.00
Wong, Ivan and others, 2003. Earthquake scenario and probabilistic ground shaking maps for the Salt Lake City, Utah, metropolitan area. Utah Geological Survey MP-02-5. ISBN 1-55791-666-7. $25.00
Woodworth-Ney, Laura, 2004. Mapping Identity: the Creation of the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, 1805-1902. Boulder: University Press of Colorado. ISBN: 0870817612.
New USGS Fact Sheets and Maps
The U.S. Geological Survey has recently released the following maps and publications related to the Western United States:
FS 0043-03. Water quality of the Boulder Creek Watershed, Colorado, by P. L. Verplanck, S. F. Murphy and L. B. Barber. 2003. 4 p.
FS 0078-03. Water-level changes in the High Plains aquifer, predevelopment to 2001, 1999 to 2000, and 2000 to 2001, by V. L. McGuire. 2003. 4 p. URL: http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/fs/FS078-03/.
FS 0107-03. The natural dispersal of metals to the environment in the Wulik River-Ikalukrok Creek area, western Brooks Range, Alaska, by K. D. Kelley, U.S. Geological Survey; and Travis Hudson, Applied Geology, Inc. 2003. 4 p.
FS 0087-03. Shakemap; a Tool for Earthquake Response, by David Wald, Lisa Wald, Bruce Worden and Jim Goltz. 2003. 4 p. URL: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-087-03/.
I-2766. Geologic map of the Mount Trumbull 30' ´ 60' quadrangle, Mohave and Coconino counties, northwestern Arizona, by G. H. Billingsley and J. L. Wellmeyer. Prepared in cooperation with the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, Arizona Strip District. 2003. Lat 36° to 36°30', long 113° to 114°. Scale 1:100,000 (1 inch = about 1.6 miles). Sheet 38 by 54 inches (in color). (Accompanied by 36 page text.)
I-2790. Crater Lake revealed, by D. W. Ramsey, Peter Dartnell, C. R. Bacon, J. E. Robinson and J. V. Gardner. 2003. Lat 121°55' to 122°20', long 42°43' to 43°09'. Sheet 38 by 25 inches (in color). $7. URL: http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/i-map/i2790/.
Periodical Articles
After the Storm, a Better Look at Ravaged Coasts. New York Times, October 7, 2003, v. 152, no. 52629, p. F3.
Alvestrand, Viveka, 2003. British Library unveils 3.25 million pound project. Information World Review, no. 195, p. 3.
Amodeo, Christian, 2003. Mapping Technology Soars to New Heights. Geographical, December, v. 75, no. 12, p. 14.
Andrew, Paige G., 2003. Cataloging sheet maps: the basics. Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services, v. 27, no. 4, p. 513-514.
Andrew, Paige G., 2003. Cataloguing street maps: the basics. Catalogue and Index, no. 149, p. 8.
Ashworth, Mick, 2003. Paper or Pixels: Where to Next for Maps? Geographical, December, v. 75, no. 12, p. 56-59.
Baca, Murtha, 2003. Practical issues in applying metadata schemas and controlled vocabularies to cultural heritage information. Cataloging and Classification Quarterly, v. 36, no. 3/4, p. 47-55.
Beck, Gordon, 2003. Wading Through the Mud: Creating a Finding Aid for World War I Trench Maps. Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives Bulletin, no. 117, Spring/Summer, p. 12-15. *
Bertelmann, Roland and Braune, Stephan, 2003. Ein Mapserver zur Suche im Kartenbestand. A map server for searching in the map stock. Bibliotheksdienst, v. 37, no. 10, Oct 2003, p. 1221-1227.
Bhardwaj, Michael, 2003. A digital world view. Canadian Geographic, September/October, v. 123, no. 5, p. 7.
Bedini, Silvio A., 2003. Joshua Fisher (1621-1672): Colonial Innkeeper and Surveyor, Part 1. Professional Surveyor Magazine, v. 23, no. 9, p. 70-71. *
Bridges, Andrew, 2003. Ivan Getting – Inventor of Global Positioning System. San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 18, p. A22. *
Cardinal, Louis, 2003. Hugo Leendert Philip Stibbe, 1934-2003. Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives Bulletin, no. 117, Spring/Summer, p. 50-51. *
Carroll, Chris, 2004. Trail of Tragedy. National Geographic, February, v. 205, no. 2, p. 1-3.
Carruthers, Jane, 2003. Friedrich Jeppe: Mapping the Transvaal c. 1850-1899. Journal of Southern African Studies, December, v. 29, no. 4, p. 955-976.
Chapman, D. P., 2003. Geoinformation: Remote Sensing, Photogrammetry and Geographic Information Systems. Photogrammetric Record, December, v. 18, no. 104, p. 330-331.
Chapman, Lee and Thornes, John E., 2003. The use of geographical information systems in climatology and meteorology. Progress in Physical Geography, September, v. 27, no. 3, p. 313-330.
Charting an Indigenous Course. Environment, v. 45, no. 7, p. 4.
Chen, Der San, Daosuparoch, Siwawong, Fonseca, Daniel J. and Moynihan, Gary P., 2003. A computer-based system for road selection. Expert Systems, v. 20, no. 3, p. 133-140.
Chichester, Robert, 2003. Mapping Alaska’s Biorka Island. Professional Surveyor Magazine, v. 23, no. 9, p. 8[-]12. *
Cizek, Petr, 2004. Hydro Hype, Dam Delusions. Alternatives Journal, Winter, v. 30, no. 1, p. 28-29.
Coaffee, Jon, 2003. Morphing the counter-terrorist response: beating the bombers in London's financial heart. Knowledge, Technology, and Policy, v. 16, no.2, p. 63-83.
Corbett, Ron, 2003. Mapping Mayhem. Canadian Geographic, v. 123, no. 6, p. 24.
Craig, Dana, 2003. Interactive Floor Plan of York University Map Library. Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives Bulletin, no. 117, Spring/Summer, p. 16. *
Cutter, Susan L., 2003. GI Science, Disasters, and Emergency Management. Transactions in GIS, October, v. 7, no. 4, p.439-46.
Dial, Gene, Bowen, Howard, Gerlach, Frank, Grodecki, Jacek and Oleszczuk, Rick, 2003. IKONOS satellite, imagery, and products. Remote Sensing of Environment, Nov2003, v. 88, no. 1/2, p. 23-36.
Eugenio, Francisco and Marqués, Ferran, 2003. Automatic Satellite Image Georeferencing Using a Contour-Matching Approach. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience & Remote Sensing, v. 41, no. 12, p. 2869-80.
Faruque, Faslay S. and others, 2003. Utilizing Geographic Infomation Systems in Community Assessment and Nursing Research. Journal of Community Health Nursing, Fall, v. 20, no. 3, p. 180-191.
Feng, Qi and A-Xing Zhu, Silvia, 2003. Knowledge discovery from soil maps using inductive learning. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, v. 17, no. 8, p. 771-95.
Fitzgerald, Tanya, 2003. Cartographies of friendship: mapping missionary women's educational networks in Aotearoa/New Zealand 1823-40. History of Education, v. 32, no. 5, p. 513-527.
Fleishhacker, Joy, 2004. Geography and Mapmaking. School Library Journal, January, v. 50, no. 1, p. 77.
Fonseca, Brian, 2003. IBM, ESRI target geospatial data. eWeek, December 1, v. 20, no. 48, p. 28.
Fortin, Marcel, 2003. Whither Canadian Map Libraries?: 1967-2003. Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives Bulletin, no. 117, Spring/Summer, p. 3-9. *
Fox, Lawrence, III, 2003. Classifying Wildlife Habitat with Pan-sharpened Landsat 7 Imagery [Palo Alto Area, Calif.]. EOM, vol. 12, no. 6, p. 20-26.
Gardner, Joan and Harrington, Thomas, 2003. Putting health on the map. American City & County, October, v. 118, no. 11, p. 30-32.
Gibbons, Eric, 2004. Islands of Discovery. School Arts, 103, no. 6, p. 23-25.
Giles, J., 2003. Metadata for spatial records management. Records Management Bulletin, no. 112, p. 11, 18.
Haas, Stephanie C., Henjum, Elaine and O'Daniel, Mary Ann, 2003. Darwin and MARC: A voyage of metadata discovery. Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services v. 27, no. 3, p. 291-304.
Harris, Richard, 2003. Building a GIScience Community in Cyberspace: reflections on GIScOnline. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, November, v. 27, no. 3, p. 279-96.
Higgs, Gary, 2003. Geographic information systems and health applications. Environment & Planning B: Planning & Design, September, v. 30, no. 5, p. 791-792.
Holden, M. T., Lippitt, C., Pontius Jr., R. G. and Williams, C. Building a Database of Historic Land Cover to Detect Landscape Change. Biological Bulletin, v. 205, no. 2, p. 257-258.
Honigsbaum, M., 2003. Lost worlds. Observer, July 20, 2003, Magazine p. 30-31, 33, 35, 37.
Jeong, W. and Gluck, M., 2003. Multimodal geographic information systems: adding haptic and auditory display. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, v. 54, no. 3, p. 229-42.
Keim, Daniel A., North, Stephen C., Panse, Christian and Schneidewind, Jorn, 2003. Visualizing geographic information: VisualPoints vs. CartoDraw. Information Visualization, v. 2, no. 1, p. 58-67.
Kevany, Michael J., 2003. GIS in the World Trade Center attack: a trial by fire. Computers, Environment & Urban Systems, November, v. 27, no. 6, p. 571-583.
Li, M. and Qi, M., 2003. MAPBOT: a Web based map information retrieval system. Information and Software Technology, v. 45 no. 10, p. 691-698.
Liben, Lynn S. and Downs, Roger M., 2003. Investigating and facilitating children's graphic, geographic, and spatial development: An illustration of Rodney R. Cocking's legacy. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, December, v. 24, no. 6, p. 663-79.
MacMillan, Ken. Sovereignty "More Plainly Described": Early English Maps of North America, 1580--1625. Journal of British Studies, v. 42, no. 4, p. 413-447.
Mandell, Phyllis L., Minkel, Walter, and Mitchoff, Kate H., 2004. Finding Your Way with a Map and a Compass. School Library Journal, January, v. 50, no. 1, p. 53.
Mandell, Phyllis L., Minkel, Walter, and Mitchoff, Kate H., 2004. Xpeditions Atlas: Maps Made for Printing and Copying. School Library Journal, January, v. 50, no. 1, p. 54.
Marsh, Katherine, 2004. Truth in Mapping. U.S. News & World Report, February 23, v. 136, no. 7, p. 65.
Mathys, Tony, 2003. Metadata matters in the UK. Burisa, v. 156, p. 9-12.
Mattison, David, 2003. Information on the Seven Seas: International Ocean Science Web Resources. Searcher, v. 11, no. 10, p. 16-25.
Mattison, David, 2004. Beyond road maps: the topography of digital mapping databases. Searcher, v. 12, no. 1, p. 27-39.
McBratney, A.B., Mendonça Santos, M.L. and Minasny, B., 2003. On digital soil mapping. Geoderma, v. 117, no. 1/2, p. 3-52.
McBride, Matthew, 2004. Harvesting USDA's Agricultural Information Personal. Online, v. 28, no. 1, p. 16-20, 22, 24-6.
McLane, Daisann, 2003. Show Me the Way. National Geographic Traveler, v. 20, no. 7, p. 42-43.
McWilliam, Fiona, 2004. Satellites to Help Make Gorilla Maps. Geographical, v. 76, no. 1, p. 13.
Miller, Harvey J. and Wentz, Elizabeth A., 2003. Representation and Spatial Analysis in Geographic Information Systems. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, September, v. 93, no. 3, p. 574-594.
Missen, J., 2003. The Geo-Data projects. Burisa, no. 155, p. 79.
Mitchell, Robert L., 2003. Web Services put GIS on the Map. Computerworld, December 15, v. 37, no. 50, p. 30-31.
Mitchell, Susan, 2003. Where in the world? An online guide to gazetteers, atlases and other map resources. Internet Reference Services Quarterly, v. 8, no. 1/2, p. 183-194.
Mizzy, Danianne, 2003. Bringing history to life. College & Research Libraries News, v. 64, no. 9, p. 596-7.
Murphy, Richard, 2003. InfoSights: Geography. The School Librarian, v. 51, no. 4, Winter, p. 196.
Nale, David, 2003. Space-age imagery. American City & County, November, v. 118, no. 12, p. 20.
Neocleous, Mark, 2003. Off the Map: On Violence and Cartography. European Journal of Social Theory, v. 6, no. 4, p. 409-425.
Ness, Erik, 2003. The Electronic Grizzly. Discover, September, v. 24, no. 9, p. 48-51.
Oka, Christine, 2003. National Geographic National Park Trail Guides. Library Journal, v. 128, no. 18, p. 131.
old world pictures. Geographical, December, v. 75, no. 12, p. 60-65.
Olowu, Dele, 2003. Challenge of multi-level governance in developing countries and possible GIS applications. Habitat International, December, v. 27, no. 4, p. 501-522.
Platz, George M. and Shah, Jay B., 2003. Taming a Wilderness: Dead River Basin. Professional Surveyor Magazine, v. 23, no. 9, p. 15[-]20.
Porter, Donna, 2003. Library and Archives of Canada: Cartographic and Geomatics Activities in 2002-2003. Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives Bulletin, no. 117, Spring/Summer, p. 31-38. *
Practical Stuff! Journal of Environmental Health, September 2003, v. 66, no. 2, p. 26-27.
Putting Junior Under Surveillance. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition, September 17, 2003, v. 242, no. 55, pD4.
Riner, Mary E., Cunningham, Cynthia and Johnson, Ann, 2004. Public Health Education and Practice Using Geographic Information System Technology. Public Health Nursing, Jan/Feb, v. 21, no. 1, p. 57-65.
Rogers, Michael, 2003. GIS and OCLC Offering Helpful Freebies to Libraries Personal. Library Journal v. 128, no. 16, p. 25.
Romme, Gerald, 2003. A Web-based Search Engine for Multiple Applications in Map and GIS Collections. Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives Bulletin, no. 117, Spring/Summer, p. 17-18. *
Roy-Sole, Monique, 2003. A geographic visionary. Canadian Geographic, September/October, v. 123, no. 5, p. 7.
Schutzberg, Adena, 2003. Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Data Models (but Were Afraid to Ask). Professional Surveyor Magazine, v. 23, no. 9, p. 26, 28. *
Shell, Christopher, 2003. Birth of Americas on View. Americas, v. 55, no. 5, p. 4-5.
Shuler, John, 2003. On and Off the Grid: Geographic Information Science & Technology and Academic Libraries. Journal of Academic Librarianship, v. 29, no. 5, p. 327-9.
Smith, Dale, 2003. Air Photo Indexes On-line. Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives Bulletin, no. 117, Spring/Summer, p. 10-11. *
Smith, Nick, 2003. Surrounded by maps. Geographical, December, v. 75, no. 12, p. 6.
Strauss, Michael A. Reading the Blueprints of Creation. Scientific American, February 2004, v. 290, no. 2, p. 54-61.
Successful GIS planning. American City & County, November 2003, v. 118, no. 12, p. 8.
Sudgen, Lori, 2003. Honours Award 2003: Grace Welch [and] Patrick McIntyre. Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives Bulletin, no. 117, Spring/Summer, p. 48-49. *
Sui, Daniel Z., 2004. GIS, Cartography, and the "Third Culture": Geographic Imaginations in the Computer Age. Professional Geographer, v. 56, no. 1, p. 62-72.
Tavernise, Sabrina, 2004. Watching Big Brother. New York Times, January 17, v. 153, no. 52731, p. B1.
Thomas III, William G., Ayers, Edward L., 2003. An Overview: The Differences Slavery Made: A Close Analysis of Two American Communities. American Historical Review, December, v. 108, no. 5, p. 1299-307.
Topo Maps Made to Order. National Geographic, v. 204, no. 3, p. 1.
Toscano, Patrick., 2003. [Review of] Washington in Maps, 1606-2000. Professional Surveyor Magazine, v. 23, no. 9, p. 44-45.
Tuttle, Richard, 2003. Mapping America, to the Meter. Aviation Week & Space Technology, November 10, v. 159, no. 19, p. 70.
Wheeler, Tony, 2003. Maps of Misadventure. Meanjin, v. 62, no. 4, p. 56-60.
Whitfield, Peter, 2003. The House of Maps. Geographical, December, v. 75, no. 12, p. 50-54.
Wilhelmi, Olga V. and Brunskill, Jeffrey C., 2003. Geographic Information Systems in Weather, Climate, and Impacts. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, October, v. 84, no. 10, p. 1409-1414.
Wood, Alberta Auringer, 2003. On the Edge – A la fine pointe 2003 Conference Report: ACMLA, CCA, CAG, and CRSA, Victoria, British Columbia, May 27-31, 2003. Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives Bulletin, no. 117, Spring/Summer, p. 19-30. *
Woods, Ian , 2003. Worldwise. The School Librarian v. 51 no. 3 p. 142.
Zellmer, Linda R., 2003. What's Shaking? Government Information on the Environment and Natural Science. Indiana Libraries, v. 22, no. 1, p. 36-41.
Zimmer, Rj, 2003. Interdependence of GIS Layers. Professional Surveyor Magazine, v. 23, no. 9, p. 41-43. *
* Provided by Phil Hoehn
U.S. Federal, State and Local Government News
The Geographic Face of the Nation - Elevation
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has published a new version of the National Elevation Dataset (NED), for the United States. Landforms and elevation are easily recognized on this 56"x36" computer-generated illustration of the country, which was produced at a scale of 1:4,000,000. The image also includes state borders.
A seamless elevation dataset for the entire United States has been produced from over 57,000 individual digital elevation models. NED elevation values are stored as meters in a geographic map projection with a resolution of 1-arc-second (about 30 meters) for the conterminous U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, and 2-arc-seconds for Alaska.
NED data sources have a variety of elevation units, horizontal datums, and map projections. In the assembly process, the elevation values are converted to decimal meters as a consistent unit of measure, North American Datum 1983 is consistently used as horizontal datum, and all the data are recast in a geographic projection. Data corrections were made in the NED assembly process to minimize artifacts, permit edge matching, and fill sliver areas of missing data. The NED is updated bimonthly to incorporate newly produced elevation data and is provided to the public for a broad range of uses including hydrologic modeling and soils mapping. Online documentation, viewing, and access to the NED are available at the USGS website: http://gisdata.usgs.gov/ned.
The Geographic Face of the Nation - Elevation is available from any USGS Earth Science Information Center (ESIC). To locate the nearest ESIC, call 1-888-ASK-USGS, or visit: http:www.usgs.gov. Contributed by Sheryle Girk-Jackson, sjjackson@usgs.gov.
Landsat 7 Data Correction
Landsat 7 Scan Line Corrector (SLC)-off data was released October 22, 2003. The initial product release included Level 0Rp, Level 1R, and Level 1G data products, accessible via the EOS Data Gateway (EDG). The SLC-off data are distributed as standard Landsat 7 single scene (WRS-2) and multi-scene ("floating scene") products. The feasibility for future additional data products and/or product access is still being determined.
The SLC aboard Landsat 7 malfunctioned on May 31, 2003. In mid-July 2003, Landsat 7 returned to its normal scene acquisition schedule with the SLC turned off, and since that time Landsat 7 has collected approximately 250 scenes per day for the USGS archive in the SLC-off mode. An SLC-off image will contain alternating bands of missing data along the scene edge, which gradually diminish in width toward the middle of the scene. The scene center should be very similar in quality to previous Landsat 7 image data. All of the SLC-off data acquired and archived after mid-July (excluding a 2-week period from 9/3/03 to 9/17/03) are available effective October 22, 2003.
The prices for initial SLC-off products will be the same as for Landsat 7 data collected prior to the SLC anomaly. As required by public law, the USGS must charge for data products according to the cost of fulfilling user requests. For further information and product samples on SLC-off data products, please see the Landsat 7 SLC-off web page: http://landsat7.usgs.gov/slc_off.html. Contributed by Sheryle Girk-Jackson, sjjackson@usgs.gov.
Geologic Map of New Mexico
In 2003, the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources published the Geologic Map of New Mexico in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey at a scale of 1:500,000. This map represents the first substantial revision of the Geologic Map of New Mexico, at this scale, since the State Geologic Map of New Mexico was published in 1965.
This latest version contains two sheets that measure approximately 54 x 47 inches for the map and 50 x 42 inches for the legend. The map has over 100 geologic units represented and the legend includes a detailed key, correlation charts, and references. It was produced in Macromedia Freehand from ArcInfo files created by Greg Green of the U.S. Geological Survey.
G. Robert Osburn started this compilation in 1985; the bulk of the work was done between 1987 and 1998 by Orin J. Anderson and Glen E. Jones. Since 1998, the map has been reviewed and revised. Work on this project has spanned the administrations of three directors at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. For further information, or to purchase a copy of The Geologic Map of New Mexico, contact a USGS Earth Science Information Center (ESIC). To locate the nearest ESIC, call: 1-888-ASK-USGS, or visit http://www.usgs.gov. The map, stock no. 32379 and legend, stock no. 32378, sell for $20.00 for the set, plus $5.00 shipping and handling. Contributed by Sheryle Girk-Jackson, sjjackson@usgs.gov.
Earth as Art News
The price of Earth As Art prints has been changed from $30 to $75 per print, to align with the current COFUR policy set by the USGS. Product codes and delivery times remain the same.
Earth As Art 2, which contains 45 new prints, have been made available as the Earth As Art 2 collection. Each paper print is $75; digital files are available at $15 each, plus the Media Base Charges of $45 (CD), $60 (DVD) or $30 (FTP Download). These can be viewed by accessing the Eros Data Center Image Gallery at http://edc2.usgs.gov/imagegallery. Both Earth As Art and Earth As Art 2 images can be downloaded free of charge, from each preview page on the Eros Data Center (EDC) Image Gallery (http://edc2.usgs.gov/imagegallery).
Products can be ordered manually through DORRAN, or through the EDC Image Gallery page via the Earth Explorer shopping basket:
Print:
Prod. Code Description Ordering ID
P365 30 Inch Digital Image PD-Image name
DORRAN output specs LJP30 Light Jet Print 30 Inches
Digital:
Prod. Code Description Ordering ID
T365 Earth as Art Digital Image PD-Image name
DORRAN Output Specs: CDTIF CDROM – TIFF, DVTIF DVD – TIFF or FTTIF File Transfer Protocol - TIFF
Questions regarding these changes can be directed to the EDC Customer Services at custserv@usgs.gov, 1-800-252-4547, or (605) 594-6151. Contributed by Sheryle Girk-Jackson, sjjackson@usgs.gov.
Hawaii's Volcanoes Revealed
A new Geologic Investigations Series Map, I-2809, Hawaii's Volcanoes Revealed, is now available for sale. Prepared in cooperation with the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center, the University of Hawai'i, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, this colorful, one sheet map is approximately 38x25 inches in size. A large central bathymetric map shows detailed submarine features of Hawaii's volcanoes: landslides, rift zones and submerged terraces (former coastlines). It is surrounded by three smaller images showing the bathymetry of the northwest Pacific coast, an interpretive map of Hawaii's volcanoes and a 3-D perspective of the Hawaiian Islands. There is also information on the growth of the volcanoes and on the mapping of the sea floor around Hawaii. For additional information, and to view the map, please visit the geopubs website at http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/I-map/i2809/.
The map is available from any USGS Earth Science Information Center (ESIC). To locate the nearest ESIC, call 1-800- ASK-USGS, or visit: http://www.usgs.gov. The map, Stock #: 115653 is available for $7.00 for the map, plus $5.00 handling. Contributed by Sheryle Girk-Jackson, sjjackson@usgs.gov.
Mine Safety and Health Administration seeks U.S. Mine Maps
Many people remember the July, 2002 incident in which nine coal miners were trapped underground in the Quecreek Mine near Somerset, Pa., for three consecutive days. The cause of the accident was determined to be the lack of an accurate, certified mine map showing the exact location of the abandoned underground coal mine next to the Quecreek Mine. This factor demonstrated a need for the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to collect any old mine maps of abandoned mines across the country. MSHA wants to prevent accidents like this in the future. MSHA is asking citizens who may be in possession of such mine maps to contact the agency at 1-888-753-9427. An agency representative will pick up the map, copy it, and return it to the owner.
Maps of Mars
The newest map of Mars, Geologic Investigations Series I-2782, is a two-sheet set containing a topographic version of Mars, and a color-coded contour map of the planet. The map was prepared on behalf of the Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program, Solar System Exploration Division, Office of Space Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It is based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA), an instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft. The image used for the base of this map represents more than 600 million measurements gathered between 1999 and 2001, adjusted for consistency between 2001 and 2003, and converted to planetary radii.
To create the topographic base image, the original DEM produced by the MOLA team in Simple Cylindrical projection was projected into the Mercator and Polar Stereographic pieces. A shaded relief was generated from each DEM. Illumination is from the west, which follows a long-standing USGS tradition for planetary maps. This allows for continuity in the shading between maps and quadrangles, and most closely resembles lighting conditions found on imagery. The DEM values were then mapped to a smooth global color look-up table. These two files were merged and scaled to 1:25 million for the Mercator portion and 1:15,196,708 for the two Polar Stereographic portions, with a resolution of 300 dots per inch. The projections have a common scale of 1:13,923,113 at +56 degrees latitude.
The map is available from any USGS Earth Science Information Center (ESIC). To locate the nearest ESIC, call 1-888-ASK-USGS, or visit: http://www.usgs.gov. The map, Stock #: 115419, is available $14.00 plus $5.00 handling. Orders may be placed through the USGS Store at: http://store.usgs.gov. Contributed by Sheryle Girk-Jackson, sjjackson@usgs.gov.
NGA Maps of Ecuador and Paraguay
The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA), formerly known as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), has recently released maps of Ecuador and Paraguay to the public. The Ecuador maps are at a scale of 1:50,000, and the Paraguay maps are at a scale of either 1:50,000 or 1:100,000. They show contours, and include populated places, roads, railroads, boundaries, vegetation, and hydro information. They may also include navigational information, such as the maximum elevation within a 10,000meter box, radio towers, and visual aids and obstructions.
USGS is the sales agent for the public distribution of NGA topographic map products and digital cartographic data. NGA is a national intelligence and combat support agency whose mission is to provide timely, relevant and accurate Geo-spatial Intelligence in support of our national security. Geo-spatial Intelligence is the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geo-spatial information to describe, access and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth.
The maps are available through the U.S. Earth Science Information Center (ESIC). To locate the nearest ESIC, call 1-888-ASK-USGS, or visit: http://www.usgs.gov. Orders may also be placed through the USGS Store at: http://store.usgs.gov.
Stock # for the maps can be obtained through the USGS Map Store. The maps cost $7.00 for the 1:50,000 scale maps, or $10.00 for the 1:100,000 scale maps, plus $5.00 handling for each order. Contributed by Sheryle Girk-Jackson, sjjackson@usgs.gov.
Preliminary Census of Agriculture Results
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) announced the availability of preliminary state and national demographic data from the 2002 Census of Agriculture, the Nation’s largest agricultural information-gathering project, on February 3, 2004.
The new 2002 Census results show African American, American Indian, Hispanic and women operators are all significant contributors to agriculture; their numbers have all increased since 1997. The data includes the first comprehensive measure of the number of women involved in day-to-day farming and ranching decisions. Measures for each of these groups are also available for each state. Several new measures were included in the 2002 Census of Agriculture, including information about more than one operator per farm. Final, complete data for Puerto Rico are also available.
Demographic data contained in the report include gender of operator, residence on or off the farm, days worked off farm, years present on farm, age group categories, race and number of persons living in each household. For example, preliminary results show that the average age of American agricultural producers in 2002 was 55.3-years-old, 27.2 percent of agricultural producers in 2002 were women, and that the number of women who were principal operators increased 12.6 percent from 1997. Principal operators of Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino origin increased by 50.8 percent from 1997 to 2002, Black principal operators increased by 8.8 percent and American Indian principal operators increased by 19.4 percent from 1997 to 2002. Ninety percent of America’s agricultural operations are still run by individuals or families and most are still small farms. In fact, the majority of operations (59%) had less than $10,000 in sales of agricultural products in 2002.
Final 2002 Census of Agriculture data at the national, state and county levels will be released on June 3, 2004. That report will provide information about organic crop acreage and sales, production contracts, and farm computer and Internet use. It will also contain the full range of traditional census data including land use and ownership, acres irrigated, crop acreage and quantities harvested, livestock and poultry inventories, value of products sold, value of production contracts, participation in Federal farm programs and, market value of land and buildings.
The census of agriculture is currently conducted every five years; the first was conducted in conjunction with the 1840 population census. All reports from the 2002 Census of Agriculture will be available free through the NASS web site at http://www.usda.gov/nass/. For additional information regarding the Census, call the NASS Hotline at 1-800-727-9540.
New Census File Tracks the Nation’s Occupations
How many New York City taxi drivers and chauffeurs live in Jersey City, N.J.? What do they earn, how old are they and what is their gender and race? And how about geological and petroleum technicians living in Arlington, Texas, who work in Dallas? The answers can be found in the Census 2000 Special Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Tabulation (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/eeoindex.html) released in December by the U.S. Census Bureau.
This file, based on Census 2000 data, contains information on the number of people employed in nearly 500 occupations, from actors to veterinarians. Data covers gender, race, ethnicity, education, age, industry and earnings. In addition, users may find where workers live, where they work and how many who work in one place live somewhere else. Summary geographic levels include the nation, states, metropolitan areas, counties and places with populations of 50,000 or more.
In addition, a new Census 2000 EEO data tool showing occupation information by where workers live or where they work is available on the Census Bureau’s Web site at http://www.census.gov. All of the tabulations, including the characteristics of workers, as well as the files showing the flow of workers from residence to workplace, are available on CD-ROM. Four federal agencies that play major roles in enforcing antidiscrimination laws and regulations in the workplace sponsored the special tabulation. They are the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program and the Office of Personnel Management. The agencies use these data to help monitor hiring practices. They compare the sex and race composition of the workforce by occupation with the corresponding composition of the labor pool in the same area. The Census 2000 Special EEO Tabulation CD-ROM is available, for a fee, in either ASCII or SAS format from the Census Bureau’s Customer Services Center on (301) 763-INFO. The CD-ROM contains data and technical documentation, but no software.
USGS Series Revised
The increased emphasis on an interdisciplinary research has led the U.S. Geological Survey to revise its scientific publication series. The series resulting from this change will accommodate a broad range of research topics in biology, geology, geography, and hydrology. The resulting series are Circular, Data Series, Fact Sheet, General Information Product, Professional Paper, Open-File Report, Scientific Investigations Map, Scientific Investigations Report, and Techniques and Methods.
The following titles will be discontinued and absorbed into the revised series: Biological Science Report, Bulletin, Digital Data Series, Geologic Investigations Series (I-maps), Hydrologic Investigations Atlas (HA-maps), Information and Technology Report, Miscellaneous Field Studies Map (MF-maps), Techniques of Water Resources Investigations (TWRI), Topographic Instructions, and Water Resources Investigations (WRI). The list below outlines the scope of the revised series and their relationship with the discontinued titles.
Circular
Scope: General science and public policy topics related to the mission of the USGS
Numbering: No change
Example: Circular 2345Data Series
Scope: Release of basic data sets, databases, computer programs, etc.
Incorporates: Digital Data Series, Information and Technology Report
Numbering: Continues the numbering of Digital Data Series, without the DDS prefix
Example: Data Series 55Fact Sheet
Scope: Brief descriptions of USGS science and products
Numbering: Uses year-number; numbers start with 3001+
Example: Fact Sheet 2004-3001General Information Product
Scope: Topics of general interest in a variety of formats (pamphlets, postcards, posters, bookmarks, teacher kits, etc.)
Numbering: Sequential
Example: General Information Product 1Professional Paper
Scope: Premier series of the USGS containing comprehensive scientific reports
Incorporates: Biological Science Report
Numbering: No change
Example: Professional Paper 3456Open-File Report
Scope: Interpretive information that must be released immediately, preliminary information, or information that does not warrant release in one of the other USGS series
Numbering: Uses year-number; numbers start with 1001+
Example: Open-File Report 2004-1001Scientific Investigations Map
Scope: Scientific results of studies presented as maps, charts, stratigraphic sections, or other large illustrations
Incorporates: Geologic Investigations Series (I-maps), Hydrologic Investigations Atlases (HA-maps), Miscellaneous Field Studies Maps (MF-maps), Water Resources Investigations Report (WRI) maps
Numbering: Continues the numbering of I-maps, without the I- prefix
Example: Scientific Investigations Map 2456Scientific Investigations Report
Scope: Significant data and interpretations of lasting scientific interest but generally narrower in scope than Professional Papers
Incorporates: Biological Science Report, Bulletin, Information and Technology Report, Water Resources Investigations Report (WRI)
Numbering: Uses year-number; numbers start with 5001+
Example: Scientific Investigations Report 2004-5001Techniques and Methods
Scope: Descriptions of procedures for collection, analysis, or interpretation of scientific data
Incorporates: Information and Technology Report, Techniques of Water Resources Investigations (TWRI), Topographic Instructions
Numbering: Continues the numbering of Techniques of Water Resources Investigations (TWRI)
Example: Techniques and Methods Book 8, Chapter A, Part 3Contributed by Nancy Blair, nblair@usgs.gov.
NOAA Documents Land Cover Change in California
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center recently completed the development of land cover and change data for the coastal zone of California). These data provide coastal resource managers, land planners, and other researchers with valuable information about the state’s coastal land cover and how it changes over time.
Through a contract with Boeing-Autometric/Earth Satellite Corp, land cover data was produced for the year 2001, as well as retrospectively for 1996. Land cover data produced by NOAA and its partners, as a part of its Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP), consist of a 22-class system in which land cover types are classified into different categories, with special emphasis on coastal features such as wetlands, to assist in capturing the changing coastal landscape. The data have an overall target accuracy of 85 percent. Development of C-CAP forest classes was supported by data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Fire and Resource Assessment Program, which were used to enhance the final product. The NOAA Coastal Services Center is now working with the United States Geological Survey to incorporate these data into The National Map, a comprehensive, up-to-date, digital map of the country.
The new California data have multiple uses for state and regional agencies along the California coast. Coastal zone managers and scientists can use these regional data sets to monitor urban growth, map and inventory wetlands, delineate wildlife habitat, and develop trend analyses. Currently, NOAA is in the preliminary stages of developing coastal land cover and change data for the Gulf of Mexico and is completing data sets for Oregon and Washington. California and other C-CAP data sets are available for download on the Web at http://www.csc.noaa.gov/landcover. More information about how state and local programs use these types of data is also provided in the NOAA Coastal Services Center’s publication, Coastal Remote Sensing. This publication is available through the Center’s Web site at http://www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/rs_info/.
National Land Cover Characterization 2001
The USGS National Land Cover Characterization 2001 project will compile land cover data (NLCD 2001) for all 50 states and Puerto Rico using Landsat 7 ETM+ data. NLCD 2001 is a cooperative effort involving several Federal agencies: USGS, EPA, USFS, and NOAA. The key component of this land-cover mapping effort is a database approach, which provides flexibility in developing and applying suites of independent data layers. These independent standardized data layers or themes, will be useful not only within the land-cover classification but as data components for other applications. This database will consist of the following themes:
Normalized Tasseled Cap (TC) transformations of Landsat 7 imagery for three time periods per scene (early, peak and late), Classified land-cover data derived from the Tassel Capped imagery, Independent ancillary data layers, including 30m DEM derivatives of slope, aspect and elevation and STATSCO soil moisture estimates, NLCD 1992, and independent image derivatives of imperviousness and tree canopy. Classification rules and metadata from the land cover classification will allow future users the potential to modify procedures to derive land cover products tailored to their specific applications.
The development of NLCD 2001 methodology was carefully planned and studied to offer users a full range of flexible applications. Many methodological improvements have been