**USGS GIS 2008**

**7^th^ Biennial GIS Workshop**

**Denver, CO**

**May 13, 2008**

**Integrating Data to Accelerate Integrated Science -- Mark Myers**

**Title slide:**

*\>\> Title slide \[banks of the Colorado River, location unknown\]*

. Good morning. I'm honored and very pleased to speak to you today.

. I'm going to state my conclusion right here at the beginning. I
strongly believe that GIS is a critical tool for integrating the many
kinds of data that are brought into and generated in hundreds of science
investigations across the Geological Survey. Broad and effective use of
GIS is vital to our organization for the critical task of integrating
our science disciplines and in knitting together the science directions
spelled out in our Science Strategy.

. In using the term "GIS-geographic information systems" today, I intend
for this acronym to have the widest scope, to include computer-based
geographic analysis as well as the systematic use and development of
integrated geospatial data.

. To see why GIS is so important to our organization, let's begin with
some observations about the human effect on the global environment.

**Slide 2:**

. As scientists and GIS practitioners, you are aware that impact of
humans on the planet has expanded to the extent that humankind has
emerged as a globally important force capable of reshaping the earth,
capable of depleting or threatening many of the earth's resources.

. We are now in a situation of relatively rapid climate change in which
we know with certainty that we will be crossing thresholds beyond which
ecosystems, and the services they provide, will be irreversibly changed

**Slide 3:**

***Image: A composite picture of the planet at night. Most of the
electrical light that is produced come from coal fired generation
plants.***

. Climate change will directly and indirectly threaten the stability of
natural resources and human well-being.

**Slide 4:**

. If we do not focus on sustainable management of our earth's resources,
the lack of the resources that we have enjoyed in the past undoubtedly
will become a more and more of a threat for people in many nations.

=================

Drawing from the works of hundreds of researchers, the "Global Change"
study (Steffen et al. 2004; Chapter 3) concluded that perhaps 50% of the
world's

ice-free land surface has been transformed by human action; the land
under cropping has doubled during the past century at the expense of
forests, which

declined by 20% over the same period. More than half of all accessible
freshwater resources have come to be used by humankind. Fisheries remove
more than

25% of the primary production of the oceans in the upwelling regions and
35% in the temperate continental shelf regions (Pauly and Christensen
1995).

Steffen,W. et al., eds. 2004. Global Change and the Earth System.
Heidelberg: Springer.

+++++++

*Humans as geologic agents: A deep-time perspective*

Bruce H. Wilkinson; Department of Geological Sciences, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA

ABSTRACT

Humans move increasingly large amounts of rock and sediment during
various construction activities, and mean rates of cropland soil loss
may exceed rates of formation by

up to an order of magnitude, but appreciating the actual importance of
humans as agents of global erosion necessitates knowledge of prehistoric
denudation rates imposed on land

surfaces solely by natural processes.

*Geology;* March 2005; v. 33; no. 3; p. 161--164; doi: 10.1130/G21108.1

**Slide 5:**

. Modern society is increasingly dependent on non-renewable mineral and
fossil energy resources.

. Economic and population growth of less developed countries functions
as a relatively recent but quickly growing push factor on global demand.

. Responsible extraction of any of the earth's natural resources -- from
coal to gold to gas hydrates -- requires a rigorous commitment to
sustainable development from economic, environmental, and socio-cultural
perspectives.

. Climate change coupled with global population growth present
unprecedented threats -- for example, increased desertification and loss
of biodiversity - to the world's biological resources.

. These challenges are not just vaguely global; they are immediate and
local. They appear at every level of natural resource management -- from
international to county and municipal levels.

**Slide 6:**

. The combination of climate change, population growth, and greater use
of irrigated agriculture has resulted in increased stress on water
resources around the world. Water has emerged as a global issue that
requires international multi-disciplinary cooperation on assessment,
research, and management. The problem is exacerbated with the expansion
of population centers in water-scarce regions, such as in central
Mexico, southern India, and southeast Australia.

. Water issues are familiar in the western states, but widespread water
shortages that are magnified by urban growth have recently begun to
appear in the southeastern U.S.

. At first glance, the boy in this picture might appear to be from
Africa, judging from the look of his necklace. But he could just as well
live in our own state of Georgia. Or he could stand in for other
children who live in the Southwest. The challenges that climate and
population growth present for our natural resource know no boundaries.

**Slide 7:**

. At USGS, we've recently developed a science strategy that we believe
will help our organization address complex environmental problems.

. The strategy is based on a systems approach to evaluate broad causes
and consequences of the use and management of natural resources and
earth processes.

. There are six interrelated thematic components - directions -- in our
science strategy that you see listed in this slide.. The seventh
component, data integration, is the passport to transcending a
discipline-based approach to science. It brings the other science
directions together in the most basic and, at the same time, the most
productive ways.

. The key to data integration is place. Once you have established where
on earth this characteristic is combined with that characteristic, then
you begin to establish geographic context and you can start to ask how
and why such conditions exist at that particular location, or a range of
locations, and not elsewhere. These observations, when carefully
considered and tested, can then lead to a deeper scientific
understanding that can be applied to parallel situations. GIS is the
principal mechanism for place-based analysis.

. The interaction and correlation of these science directions both
reflect and reveal the complexity of the Earth's natural, physical, and
life systems. They describe the breadth of our systems approach that
calls upon the full range of USGS science capabilities.

**Slide 8:**

. The essential point that I want to make today, a perspective that I
support very strongly, is that all of earth's resources are
interrelated.

. In this first decade of the 21st Century, we face many threats to
earth resources - threats on a global scale such as climate change,
drought, natural disasters, deforestation, competition for energy and
mineral resources. Additionally, there are important human health
impacts that are tied to the quality of our air and our water.

. We believe that this comprehensive, interdisciplinary, systems
approach to a science strategy will pay dividends in making our science
more relevant to environmental issues in public policy.

**Slide 9:**

. At USGS we believe that the starting point to understanding the
complexity of earth systems is the concept of ecosystems.

. Ecosystems constitute the Earth's biosphere and support human
existence. The plants, animals, microbes, and physical products from
ecosystems provide people, as components of those ecosystems, with the
energy, water, biomass, medicine, and mineral resources needed to
sustain human societies.

**Slide 10:**

. Ecosystems are inherently "interdisciplinary," with geographical,
biological, geological, hydrological, and other components.

. Ecosystems are also inherently "multiscalar," spatially and
temporally.

. Geographically standardized ecosystem inventories -- as maps or
databases -- enable scientists to pursue:

\+ conservation planning (through GAP analysis)

\+ resource management

\+ predictive forecasting of ecosystem conditions.

. The opportunities for GIS to enable and enhance this type of science
is very exciting.

**Slide 11:**

**.** Our vision for increasing the application of GIS within the USGS
is that it will accelerate science investigations such as ecosystem
mapping.

. At USGS we believe that the starting point to understanding the
complexity of earth systems is the concept of ecosystems.

. Ecosystems constitute the Earth's biosphere and support human
existence.

. The plants, animals, microbes, and physical products from ecosystems
provide people, as well as other ecosystem components, with the energy,
water, biomass, medicine, and mineral resources needed to sustain human
societies.

. Understanding ecosystems and predicting ecosystem change requires
robust scientific assessments and modeling of ecosystem conditions as
climate and human-induced land changes occur.

. Ecosystems are inherently "interdisciplinary," with geographical,
biological, geological, hydrological, and other components. GIS and
integrated geospatial data can help us understand the intersection, the
intricate relation and interaction of the multiple components of
ecosystems.

**Slide 12:**

. Founded in 1879, the USGS has a proud tradition of mapping that was
largely established by John Wesley Powell, the second USGS director from
1881-94.

. Under Powell, topographic mapping was used to support geologic mapping
and quickly became the largest part of the USGS program. At that time,
topographic maps were the premiere instrument for integrating
place-based science information.

**Slide 13:**

. This 1884 quote by Powell provides vivid testimony to the importance
he placed in having complete national coverage of topographic maps.

. "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"

. Paper topographic maps were the GIS of Powell's time, the best mapping
tool available to gain perspective on several categories of geographic
data.

**Slide 14:**

. The multi-faceted, multi-purpose National Map includes eight data
layers: hydrography, elevation, imagery, geographic names, boundaries,
transportation, land cover, structures.

. *The National Map* provides public domain data to support:

\+ USGS topographic maps at 1:24,000-scale

\+ Products and services at multiple scales and resolutions

\+ Analysis, modeling and other applications at multiple scales and
resolutions

. The National Map is built on partnerships and shared standards. The
National Map is a vital, essential program to provide a trusted,
nationally consistent geospatial framework. Its development at USGS
continues our heritage of national mapping begun by John Wesley Powell.

. As we improve the way The National Map works -- through improved data
standards, accessibility, and consistency; though improved understanding
of customer needs; and, perhaps most importantly, through more robust
partnerships -- these advances will promote a synergy of geospatial
information that will benefit counties, states, and the nation.

**Slide 15:**

Design of *The National Map* is moving toward a 3.0 version with these
futuristic features.

User-Centered Design -- The goals of this design process are to 1)
improve usability of the human interface, 2) provide easy access to
high-quality maps in various media, 3) Support high-quality printing for
all users.

E-Topo Maps -- Traditional data shown on topographic maps are shown in
an electronic interface over the Web with standard USGS symbology, color
hierarchy, and layering characteristics.

Feature-Based -- All data in *The National Map 3.0* will be accessible
on an individual feature (a stream, such as Turkey Creek). Attributes
and relationships will be attached to individual features through an
ontology.

Intelligent Knowledge Base -- Data, methods, procedures, and heuristics
provide individual features with knowledge of their own behavior. For
example, each feature will contain knowledge of how to display itself
with appropriate symbology at a given scale. Features will include
knowledge of their interrelations with other features, e.g., a stream's
bounding hills and ridges will be available by name from the stream
feature itself.

Ontology-Driven -- An ontology specifies feature semantics for richer
data models. The ontology becomes the basis of data access. The ontology
for *The National Map* will include all features, attributes, and
relations with the individual parts of a feature structured in an
accessible hierarchy. For example, the source and mouth of a stream will
be a part of the ontology as will the parts of a terrain feature such as
a canyon, which would include the canyon floor and walls.

Spatio-temporal -- *The National Map 3.0* will be built on a data model
that supports changes in geographic features in both space and time. For
example, a coastline in 1950 will be different from that of today, yet
it is the same feature, and will be structured as the same feature with
different geometry and perhaps different attributes in the two time
periods.

Quality-aware \-- *The National Map 3.0* be built on a data model that
includes resolution and accuracy information on a feature-by-feature
basis. That is, each feature will include its own quality information.

**Slide 16:**

Here are three key national geospatial initiatives currently underway.

Imagery for the Nation

. A vision for a sustainable and flexible digital imagery program for
the nation.

. Advances The National Map imagery goals much more rapidly through
predictable sustained funding

. IFTN goals for predictable coverage and standard products align with
the goals of TNM

LiDAR for the Nation

. A complete, consistent, current, high res LIDAR dataset would have
great value for multiple stakeholders in many applications.

. Program would involve partners from local, state, fed agencies;
private sector, academia.

. Acquired data in public domain (no licensing restrictions).

National Land Imaging Program (NLIP)

. Proposal for DOI to manage U.S. civil-operational land imaging

. Endorsed by the Office of the President (OSTP)

**Slide 17:**

. In contrast to nationwide coverage by one consistent type of data, the
next two slides show how national datasets can be combined with more
specific regional and local geospatial data, as well as very particular
field observations, to conduct regional-scale science studies. These two
examples are representative of hundreds of similar GIS applications
carried out across the Survey.

. In this study of aquatic habitat in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia,
the investigator used Global Positioning Systems (GPS) with ArcPad to
map physical habitat characteristics for aquatic organisms.

. ArcPad is a mobile GIS application that was customized to have
attribute domains (drop down categories) for habitat classes, substrate
characteristics, and aquatic vegetation types. The data was stored on
the GPS and later transferred to a laptop or desktop computer as a point
shape file.

. ArcGIS was used for post processing to connect the dots (so to speak)
and create the line map of river segments having similar habitat
characteristics, depths, and vegetation cover. The background aerial
imagery shown here is now available through *The National Map*.

. Aquatic habitat mapping is an important first step in habitat analysis
for ecological flows research.

**Slide 18:**

. Here is a three-dimensional representation of Clarke County, VA, along
ST. HWY 7, looking west. This location is about 70 miles W of
Washington, DC, in the Shenandoah Valley.

. The faults draped over the topography and the corresponding location
of water bodies shows how tied the underlying geology structural system
is to the ground-water flow system.

. See how water bodies parallel faults. This kind of visualization can
be very helpful to county land managers trying to decide how to zone an
area, or how to protect ground-water recharge areas.

**Slide 19:**

. USGS science has a critical role to play in understanding the complex
processes that occur within natural systems. And then, in a broader
context, understanding how human activities interact with natural
systems.

. For instance, we need to understand how potential decisions to build a
suburban development in the Chesapeake watershed and the resulting
runoff affect Chesapeake fisheries and various freshwater and
recreational resources.

. We need to be able to link our science to decision making so that
tradeoffs across conservation, restoration, resource management, and
development are informed and fully considered.

. We want the best science to be routinely and effectively used in
making wise decisions for the environment and for people. GIS is a
critical tool in conducting top-quality natural science.

**Slide 20:**

. Today, our growing and expanding society faces many pressing issues
that science can and must help address.

. Many of these issues transcend national boundaries. They're global in
nature.

. And many of them transcend traditional boundaries of academic
disciplines. Such multi-faceted challenges can rarely be addressed by a
single discipline.

. GIS technology can play an integrative role in all natural science
studies by emphasizing place as an organizing factor of information.

. By design, the discipline of geography and the integrating technology
of GIS emphasize the connection of nature and society.

. With the help of GIS, we can more effectively focus our efforts and
resources in confronting the most pressing environmental and resource
issues of our Nation.

.