U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Open-File Report 2013–1189

Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science 

Research Plan 2013–18

Center of Excellence for Geospatial 

Information Science Research Plan 

2013–18

By E. Lynn Usery

Open-File Report 2013–1189

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

SALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2013

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Suggested citation:

Usery, E.L., 2013, Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science research plan 2013–18: U.S. Geological 

Survey Open-File Report 2013–1189, 50 p., http://pub.usgs.gov/of/2013/1189/.
iii

Acknowledgments

Barbara Buttenfield (University of Colorado at Boulder), Cynthia Brewer (Pennsylvania State University), and Keith Clarke (University of California at Santa Barbara) contributed to the development and documentation of this research plan.

Michael Finn, Barbara Poore, Thomas Shoberg, Michael Speak, Larry Stanislawski, and Dalia 

Varanka of the U.S. Geological Survey contributed to the development and documentation of this 

research plan.
iv

Contents

Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................................iii

Abstract...........................................................................................................................................................1

Introduction and Background......................................................................................................................1

Research Projects 2006–12—Accomplishments and Evolution............................................................2

Design of the Electronic Topographic Map......................................................................................2

Generalization........................................................................................................................................3

Data Integration ....................................................................................................................................4

Roads and Images .......................................................................................................................4

The National Map and Other USGS Data ................................................................................4

Lidar Extraction and Conflation ................................................................................................4

Ontology for The National Map ..........................................................................................................4

User-Centered Design..........................................................................................................................5

Volunteered Geographic Information.......................................................................................5

Social Media and Crowdsourcing ............................................................................................5

Multi-Resolution Raster Data .............................................................................................................5

Projections and Parallel/Grid Computing ................................................................................6

Sea-Level Rise Application ........................................................................................................6

Application of CEGIS Results to The National Map Operations and Use....................................6

Planned Research 2013–18 ..........................................................................................................................6

Overview of the 2013–18 Research Plan...........................................................................................7

Spatiotemporal Data Models for 3DEP .............................................................................................7

Objective........................................................................................................................................8

Approach.......................................................................................................................................8

Geospatial Semantics ..........................................................................................................................8

Objective........................................................................................................................................8

Approach.......................................................................................................................................9

High Performance Computing and CyberGIS...................................................................................9

Objective .....................................................................................................................................10

Approach.....................................................................................................................................10

VGI, Crowdsourcing, and Social Media..........................................................................................10

Objective......................................................................................................................................10

Approach.....................................................................................................................................10

Interdisciplinary Science and Data Integration ..........................................................11

Big Data..............................................................................................................................11

Citizen Science .................................................................................................................11

Integrating Other USGS Data............................................................................................................12

Objective......................................................................................................................................12

Approach.....................................................................................................................................12

Multiscale Representation................................................................................................................13

Objective......................................................................................................................................13

Approach.....................................................................................................................................13

Derivation of National Scale-Dependent Elevation-Derived Drainage Channels ..........13
v

Resolution Impacts on Science Models ................................................................................13

Research for Applications and Operational Investigations.........................................................13

Objective......................................................................................................................................14

Approach.....................................................................................................................................14

National Derivative Products of Lidar Point Clouds for 3DEP ............................................14

Decision Support Systems (DSS) with 3DEP and Geospatial Semantics.........................14

Conclusions...................................................................................................................................................14

References....................................................................................................................................................15

Appendix........................................................................................................................................................17

Figure

1. Diagram showing the Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science

(CEGIS) research projects in progress and planned, 2006–12..............................................2

Conversion Factor

SI to Inch/Pound

Multiply By To obtain

Length

meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft) 

Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science 

Research Plan 2013–18

By E. Lynn Usery

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey Center of Excellence for 

Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) was created in 2006 

and since that time has provided research primarily in support 

of The National Map. The presentations and publications of 

the CEGIS researchers document the research accomplishments that include advances in electronic topographic map 

design, generalization, data integration, map projections, sea 

level rise modeling, geospatial semantics, ontology, user-centered design, volunteer geographic information, and parallel 

and grid computing for geospatial data from The National 

Map. A research plan spanning 2013–18 has been developed 

extending the accomplishments of the CEGIS researchers and 

documenting new research areas that are anticipated to support 

The National Map of the future. In addition to extending the 

2006–12 research areas, the CEGIS research plan for 2013–18 

includes new research areas in data models, geospatial semantics, high-performance computing, volunteered geographic 

information, crowdsourcing, social media, data integration, 

and multiscale representations to support the Three-Dimensional Elevation Program (3DEP) and The National Map of 

the future of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Introduction and Background

The Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) was established by the Associate Director for 

Geospatial Information of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

in January 2006 as a part of the National Geospatial Program 

(NGP). CEGIS evolved from a team of cartographic researchers at the Mid-Continent Mapping Center. The team became 

known as the Cartographic Research group and was supported 

by the Cooperative Topographic Mapping (CTM), Geographic Analysis and Monitoring (GAM), and Land Remote 

Sensing (LRS) programs of the Geography Discipline of the 

USGS from 1999–2005. In 2005, CTM and the Cartographic 

Research group became a part of the Geospatial Information 

Office (GIO). In 2006, the Cartographic Research group and 

its projects (CEGIS, 2013) became the core of CEGIS staff 

and research. The Projects for GAM and LRS were completed in 2006 and research in CEGIS became focused on The 

National Map. 

With the establishment of CEGIS, the GIO took advantage of an existing contract with the National Research Council (NRC) to develop “A Research Agenda for Geographic 

Information Science at the U.S. Geological Survey” (http://

books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12004). The NRC 

completed and published the report in 2007. The research 

agenda in the NRC report became the basis of CEGIS research 

to support The National Map and advance the National Spatial 

Data Infrastructure (NSDI). 

Based on the findings of the 2007 NRC report, several 

ongoing CEGIS research projects were identified as short-term 

(2 to 4 years) high priority; these include Automated Data 

Integration, Generalization, and Developing an Ontology for 

The National Map. The NRC also recommended other high 

priority short-term projects including User-Centered Design of 

Web Map Services and Design of an Electronic Topographic 

Map. Long-term (4 to 8 years) projects recommended by the 

NRC centered on developing ontology-driven, spatiotemporal, quality-aware, and transaction processing data models. 

From the existing projects and the recommendations, CEGIS 

staff developed a research plan including specific projects and 

resources for the period 2008–15. With the accomplishments 

of CEGIS and other research toward the goals of the research 

plan and the changes in the geospatial sciences including new 

program goals in the NGP, such as the Three-Dimensional Elevation Program (3DEP), and changes in broader science and 

technology, the CEGIS research plan requires updating. The 

following discussion provides status and evolution of CEGIS 

research from 2006 to 2012 and a basic research plan for the 

period 2013–18. Details of the basic CEGIS accomplishments 

in the form of presentations and publications are provided 

in the appendix. In this appendix, the items are organized by 

CEGIS principal investigators. There is some repetition since 

CEGIS researchers collaborate on many projects as well as 

publications and presentations.
2 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Research Projects 2006–12—

Accomplishments and Evolution

The NGP provided funding support for CEGIS to conduct 

the research outlined by the NRC report and the internal 

research plan developed in CEGIS. All of the proposed and 

working research projects of CEGIS are inter-related and 

support the overall goals of the research and The National 

Map. To capture the inter-relations and document the CEGIS 

research approach, a graphic of the plan in figure 1 was 

developed and has served as the guiding framework for the 

activities.

The results and accomplishments of the projects shown in 

figure 1 from 2006 to 2012 and their evolution to the current 

(2013) set of projects and activities of CEGIS are discussed 

below on a project by project basis. The discussion of each 

project is limited to the basic approach, results, and evolution to current and future projects. The accomplishments of 

the projects have been presented at mainstream conferences 

and other forums, published in the literature of cartography 

and geospatial information science, and in cases implemented 

within the NGP. Rather than try to include those here, the 

reader is referred to the publications and presentations listed in 

the appendix for the many accomplishments and details of the 

CEGIS work.

Note that the original research agenda prepared by the 

NRC, as well as the conversion of that agenda to a research 

plan within the NGP, documented that, to accomplish the 

research, CEGIS would need 10 Federal research scientists 

and 10 academic affiliates within the first 5 years of operation. 

With only six Federal scientists and three academic affiliates, 

CEGIS has accomplished most of the recommended shortterm research and moved some of the work to the operations 

of the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center 

(NGTOC). These accomplishments were possible because of a 

dedicated research staff and the ongoing financial and management support of the NGP.

Design of the Electronic Topographic Map

The USGS has a goal of providing easy public access 

to geospatial information. One of the best approaches to take 

in attaining this goal is with topographic maps. Although 

the NGP began a program to produce topographic maps that 

Figure 1. Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) research projects in progress and planned, 2006–12.
Research Projects 2006–12—Accomplishments and Evolution 3

became US Topo from the databases of The National Map in 

2008, the design of those maps was reliant on symbology and 

protocols that existed from the previous generation of maps 

and development of those maps from digital data sources. 

Much of the design rested on the available symbol tables that 

the USGS had developed for the standard 1:24,000-scale products. These designs were not optimized for use across multiple 

scales and multiple output devices including print media and 

softcopy displays. As a result, and based on the recommendations of the NRC, CEGIS began research to redesign topographic maps for use at multiple scales and in multiple display 

environments. This research was conducted primarily through 

grants to the Pennsylvania State University for a new design 

for electronic topographic maps. Professor Cynthia Brewer 

and her students led the effort and from 2008 to 2012 and produced a series of new designs. This research is documented in 

a series of publications and presentations listed in the appendix. The basic designs of this work are complete and are being 

incorporated into the NGTOC production of US Topo. 

Generalization

Geospatial data are accessed, displayed, and used at a 

variety of resolutions and scales in cartographic and database 

forms by the USGS user community. To support these uses at 

various scales, CEGIS conducted research in generalization 

of geospatial data. The primary objective for this project, as 

recommended by the NRC (2007), is to research and develop 

automated methods for generalization to support multiplescale display and delivery of The National Map and other 

USGS geographic data. Work was structured to use existing 

Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software, mainly Esri 

ArcGIS tools, and expand functionality as needed to form 

a standard framework to generalize vector data within The 

National Map databases to scales appropriate for the US Topo 

and The National Map viewer. This functionality requires thorough knowledge of data collection procedures and representation standards for existing map data, along with concepts for 

appropriate feature representation tailored for cartographic and 

data modeling purposes. The ultimate goal for this research is 

to provide a system to automatically generalize data from its 

most detailed version [for instance, 1:2,400 for the National 

Hydrography Dataset (NHD) in some areas] to the least 

detailed scale needed for mapping or modeling (1:17,000,000 

for The National Map viewer), with the generalization process 

tailored to the need.

Considering all details, automated generalization is a 

massively complex problem, and decades of research have 

been devoted to this topic. For instance, generalization operations may follow either a direct (star) or incremental (ladder) approach depending on the source, target scales, and 

the density of source data (Buttenfield and others, 2011a). 

Aside from legibility, operations must include constraints to 

maintain proper integration within and between generalized 

data themes, such as among stream channels and between 

hydrography and terrain. Work on this project systematically 

has addressed various generalization issues, which includes 

development of tools and automated procedures:

• Partition line data into density classes,

• Identify target thinning densities that remove density 

variations caused by data compilation but maintain 

variations caused by natural conditions of the terrain 

and climate,

• Enrich data with priority values for thinning and symbolization, 

• Tailor generalization operations to reflect local geographic conditions,

• Validate pruning and simplification results by conflation with benchmark data, and

• Assess the effect of simplification on feature geometry 

and develop scale-based constraints for feature simplification.

More recent topics include development of methods:

• Assess the effect of generalization on vertical integration, 

• Recognize object patterns for feature recognition and 

subsequent generalization, and

• Implement parallel processing for computationally 

intense procedures.

The initial focus of this work was with vector-formatted 

data from The National Map, primarily hydrography from the 

NHD and later transportation from the National Transportation 

Dataset (NTD) (Stanislawski, 2009; Buttenfield and others, 

2011b). To support this research, CEGIS provided a grant to 

the University of Colorado. From 2008 to 2012, Professor 

Barbara Buttenfield conducted research for CEGIS in coordination with Larry Stanislawski, initially a contract researcher 

for the USGS and currently (2013) a USGS Federal employee. 

This generalization research was conducted in close 

coordination with the topographic map design research of 

Professor Cindy Brewer of Pennsylvania State University and 

has achieved results that have become operational as a part of 

The National Map, particularly the US Topo product (Brewer 

and others, 2013). Among the many achievements are a set of 

tools and procedures that support generalization of data from 

The National Map. Most of the goals of this research have 

been accomplished and final advancements are planned for the 

last year of the grant to the University of Colorado to further 

operationalize the results. Presentations and publications that 

have resulted from this generalization research are listed in the 

appendix. The impacts of the work have been important not 

only to USGS, but also to the world community of generalization researchers.
4 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Data Integration

One of the primary obstacles to the effective use of geospatial data is the various forms in which the data exist. With 

a multitude of resolutions, accuracies, geometries (raster and 

vector), thematic attribution and semantics, and temporality, 

combining datasets through overlay or data fusion is problematic. The process of combining data along all of these aspects 

is referred to as data integration. The NRC identified data integration as a considerable problem for the eight data layers of 

The National Map and for use of these data layers with other 

datasets of the USGS (see http://www.usgs.gov/ngpo/urisa/

datasets.html for access to USGS datasets). 

 As a result, CEGIS conducted research on several 

fronts to develop solutions to these data integration problems. 

Specific CEGIS projects addressed integration of roads and 

images and integration of data from The National Map with 

other USGS data, particularly gravity and geophysical data 

from older surveys. In 2010, CEGIS also began research 

on feature extraction and conflation from light radar (lidar), 

also known as light detecting and ranging data. Additionally, 

the NGTOC of the USGS conducted research particularly to 

integrate terrain data in the form of contours with data from 

the NHD. Results to date (2013) from each of these CEGIS 

projects are documented below and in the appendix.

Roads and Images

The integration of transportation data in the form of roads 

with digital orthographic images was begun before the formation of CEGIS, but the project became a focus of early CEGIS 

research. The goal was to use the orthographic image as a base 

and accomplish the following objectives:

• Determine through visual overlay the user tolerances 

for mismatches between vector transportation features 

and corresponding features in the orthographic image.

• Using scale and resolution, form a theory of data integration that would allow automatic determination of 

whether two datalayers, particularly roads and orthographic images, could be integrated. 

• Develop an automated process to integrate roads and 

images by geometric transformation of the roads to fit 

the image data based on common ground control points 

that were generated automatically.

The first two objectives were determined by CEGIS 

researchers using a survey in which cartographers examined 

printed overlays of roads and images at 1:24,000-scale and 

noted discrepancies. These discrepancies were measured and 

it was concluded that a discrepancy of 6.2 m root mean square 

error (RMSE) is the threshold at which users perceived the 

data as not being integrated (Usery and others, 2009).

The third objective was accomplished through a small 

grant to the University of Southern California (USC). Craig 

Knoblock was the principal investigator and his group at USC 

already was engaged in work to integrate map and image 

data, particularly roads and orthographic images. This group 

developed a process for automatic control point location and 

transformation of the vector data to match the orthographic 

image (Chen and others, 2006). The CEGIS staff replicated 

this process, to which USGS has rights as a part of the grant, 

and was able to provide an automated integration solution 

for roads and image data (Usery and others, 2009). Although 

internally the USGS never adopted this process in operations 

for The National Map, but rather opted to acquire commercial 

roads data that already aligned with the orthographic images, 

the USC group provided a commercial solution through 

the company Geosemble that was adopted by the National 

Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and others.

The National Map and Other USGS Data

The USGS has a broad science mission spanning ecosystems, minerals and energy, natural hazards, land use and 

climate change, and water resources, as well as geospatial 

information science. The National Map provides a foundational infrastructure to serve as a base for geospatial information science and other USGS science research; however, 

to be most useful the many datasets of the different science 

programs of the USGS must be integrated with The National 

Map. Therefore, CEGIS has a role in supporting that integration as a part of its basic mission. In 2009, CEGIS began a 

project to examine integration of geophysical data with The 

National Map. One project examined rejuvenating pre-Global 

Positioning System geophysical surveys with data from The 

National Map and a second project examined gravity data 

integration (Shoberg and others, 2010).

Lidar Extraction and Conflation 

With the burgeoning availability of lidar elevation data, 

CEGIS began a project to determine methods and potential for 

feature extraction from these data sources. CEGIS provided a 

grant to Keith Clarke at the University of California at Santa 

Barbara to specifically examine extracting the Warntz network 

from lidar data. Such an extraction could potentially provide 

a high-resolution drainage network that could be conflated 

(integrated) with NHD and other layers of The National Map. 

This work is in early stages and is examining and comparing 

current commercial and open source software to support the 

extraction and conflation processes. 

Ontology for The National Map

The design of ontology,the foundational concepts and 

structural framework of data, or scientifically, a formal specification of a conceptualization (Gruber, 1993), for The National 

Map was recommended as a CEGIS research project by the 

NRC. As with generalization and data integration, CEGIS 

researchers had already begun research on an ontology before 
Research Projects 2006–12—Accomplishments and Evolution 5

the recommendation of the NRC. The purpose of the ontology 

would be to provide richer semantics to support a data model 

of topographic information. The richness and potential of such 

ontology is apparent in that it yields feature components and 

relations in addition to the standard geographic information 

system (GIS) feature representations of coordinates, topological relations, and attributes. For example, in an ontological 

schema, a stream feature includes source, mouth, streambed, 

streambanks, and crossings; a canyon includes its floor, walls, 

and head. The representation would be such that these parts 

and other relations would be accessible and useful in queries 

and automatic inferencing by a machine. The research had 

to address multiple facets of building an ontology including 

developing a taxonomy, vocabulary, and topographic-specific 

predicates. The project also examined converting legacy 

datasets from GIS formats to the subject, predicate, and object 

triples used in the Resource Description Framework (RDF) 

data model of the Semantic Web and suitable for automatic 

inferencing and integration with other datasets in the Open 

Linked Data community.

The research conducted by CEGIS has developed a high 

level topographic ontology for The National Map (Varanka, 

2009; 2013). This ontology includes a taxonomy of features, 

a machine readable vocabulary of these features and their 

attributes and relations, and data for the vector thematic layers 

of The National Map for specific research test sites converted 

to RDF to provide instances of the features. A research tool 

has been developed to convert any geographic area of NHD 

data from The National Map databases to RDF with a supporting data-model specific NHD ontology. Raster features from 

DEMs have been developed as Ontology Design Patterns for 

specific named geomorphic features, such as Meteor Crater. 

The CEGIS converted research data are now in use by others 

through access to a semantic SPARQL Protocol and RDF 

Query Language (SPARQL) endpoint on a CEGIS computer 

server. The CEGIS research effort in this area is recognized 

internationally and is poised for future work to make the 

vision of a machine accessible and processable version of The 

National Map a reality. The details of the important accomplishments of CEGIS in developing ontology and semantics 

for The National Map are provided in the publications and 

presentations listed in the appendix.

User-Centered Design

The CEGIS research agenda recommended by the NRC 

included a study of User-Centered Design. Although design 

of an electronic topographic map is a part of information 

access and dissemination of The National Map, a second 

component is focused on the user and the access provided. 

CEGIS participated in a user study of The National Map. This 

study included face-to-face and online surveys and provided 

information on the users and their expectations. The project 

evolved to include examination of volunteered geographic 

information, social media and crowdsourcing.

Volunteered Geographic Information

Volunteered geographic information (VGI)—the ability 

of citizens to use Internet tools to create maps of the world—

has become an important area of research in Geographic 

Information Science (GIScience) in recent years. This new 

study area was not anticipated in the NRC report. Although 

the USGS had been using volunteers to help with names and 

other features on the paper topographic maps, The National 

Map Corps was formed in 2001 to help provide data in digital 

form. The National Map Corps was suspended in 2004, but 

in the period 2005–10, tools to support VGI became publicly 

available on the Web. Volunteer mapping projects such as 

Open Street Map demonstrated the viability of the volunteer approach, and CEGIS, in cooperation with the National 

Geospatial Technology Operations Center (NGTOC), initiated 

research to determine how best to incorporate VGI into The 

National Map. The initial pilot projects have been successful 

and the NGTOC is using volunteers to provide structures data 

for the State of Colorado in 2013. CEGIS research on VGI 

has become internationally known, and has demonstrated new 

methods for evaluating the accuracy of VGI data.

Social Media and Crowdsourcing

Simultaneous with the advent of VGI, the broader area of 

user input known as crowdsourcing arose. A primary application area of crowdsourcing for geospatial data is in the aftermath of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane or earthquake. 

USGS scientists already are using crowdsourcing applications 

such as Did You Feel It to monitor the aftermath of earthquakes. Data mining of crowdsourced data are becoming 

increasingly important in the arena of “big data” and CyberGIS. Analysis of common terms used by citizens to identify 

map features also will become increasingly important in 

contributing “bottom up” ontologies to The National Map and 

to other formalized vocabularies being created by data communities across the spectrum of USGS science. This analysis 

in turn, will contribute to an increasing ability to integrate data 

from different mission areas of the USGS. CEGIS moved to 

explore this area of potential for The National Map and other 

areas of USGS science. Details of CEGIS accomplishments in 

User-Centered Design, VGI, and crowdsourcing are provided 

in the publications and presentations listed in the appendix.

Multi-Resolution Raster Data

Global modeling applications often require reprojection 

and resampling of raster datasets. Cartographic research before 

CEGIS had demonstrated important problems with commercial GIS software when used with global raster data (Usery 

and others, 2003). Problems included repetition of land areas 

at the edges of the projection called wrap-around; loss, gain, or 

both of categorical pixel values; and the inability to resample 

counts data, such as population numbers. The researchers 
6 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

in the Cartographic Research group that evolved to become 

CEGIS had developed solutions to these problems using a 

USGS-developed software package for map projection transformations called mapIMG. This project evolved to a CEGIS 

project to apply this research and results to The National Map.

Although The National Map does not use global datasets, it 

does require the projection, transformation, and resampling 

of huge volumes of raster data for images, terrain, and land 

cover. Thus, CEGIS evolved the global projections work to 

address rapid projection and transformation of data from The 

National Map through parallel computing approaches and 

access to grid-computing technology. 

Projections and Parallel/Grid Computing

CEGIS researchers developed a parallel version of the 

mapIMG program and a user interface to support novice users. 

Additional developments provided a decision support system for map projection selection and a tutorial that could be 

accessed online and provide guidance for GIS users. CEGIS 

researchers collaborated with a team of scientists, led by Shaowen Wang at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 

on a National Science Foundation grant to develop CyberGIS, 

the next generation of GIS technology that relies on parallel 

computing and data intensive science. This project resulted in 

the implementation of mapIMG on the National Science Foundation (NSF) Science Grid. The project also developed a bulk 

loader for data from The National Map, which was used to 

load the entire 10-m National Elevation Dataset for the United 

States to the Science Grid. These data are now available on 

this grid for scientists and others to use (CyberGIS, 2013). An 

examination of optimal tile-caching schemes for raster data 

for use with The National Map was begun and continues to the 

present (2013). Thus, the multi-resolution raster project led to 

important research into computational capabilities in support 

of The National Map. Results of this continuing and evolving project are presented in the publications and presentations 

listed in the appendix.

Sea-Level Rise Application

The use of map projections for global data was investigated in the context of environmental models. One such 

model examined the combination of global data for elevation, 

population, and land cover to develop models of sea-level 

rise and the numbers of people and land cover types that 

would be affected. Although the focus of this research was on 

the effects of projection transformation and led to important 

improvements in projecting global raster data, the application of sea-level rise animations was consumed rapidly and 

became another aspect of CEGIS work. Specifically, CEGIS 

developed global models of sea-level rise with data for elevation, land cover, and population with 30 arc-second resolution data. Additionally, at the request of a USGS Regional 

Executive (Tom Casadeval) and an Associate Director (Linda 

Gunderson), similar models were developed for the U.S. 

coastlines with USGS datasets at 30-m resolution for elevation and land cover, and population data from the U.S. Census 

Bureau rasterized to 30-m cells. Animations produced from 

this project are available on the CEGIS website (http://cegis.

usgs.gov/sea_level_rise.html). The presentation and publication results of this work are documented in the appendix. 

Application of CEGIS Results to The National 

Map Operations and Use

Results of CEGIS research ultimately are targeted at 

implementation within the context of The National Map and 

the broader NGP, Core Science Systems, and USGS missions. 

As a result of this goal, CEGIS researchers participate with 

NGTOC researchers and developers to support the transition 

of research into operational activities. Specific examples of 

such transitions have included the use of CEGIS developed 

generalization algorithms in the production of US Topo. The 

process was used to generalize 1:2,400 scale hydrography data 

in New Jersey, Vermont, portions of Delaware, Mississippi 

and New York to 1:24,000 scale for use in US Topo. Other 

examples include the use of the symbology developed as a part 

of CEGIS research that is being converted to a USGS standard 

and the implementation of VGI for collecting structures data. 

Additional transitions, such as using the ontology and semantics taxonomies and vocabularies for The National Map to 

support standards databases and using the CEGIS results from 

parallel computing research, such as the optimal tile-cache 

schemes, are planned.

Planned Research 2013–18

Research is a continual building process from previous 

accomplishments. For CEGIS, this means that the program of 

work for 2013–18 is planned to continue some of the research 

begun in the period 2006 to 2012; however, even those projects that are continuing have evolved in objectives, design, 

and scope. CEGIS work in geospatial semantics evolved from 

the earlier ontology project. High performance computing and 

CyberGIS evolved from the multiresolution raster project, and 

the VGI and crowdsourcing work evolved from the UserCentered Design project. These projects are continuing but 

are adapting prior work and will form a core part of the plan 

for future CEGIS research. Additional research needs have 

arisen because of accomplishments in prior projects, changes 

in goals and directions of the National Geospatial Program and 

The National Map, and changes in science and technology in 

general. The strategic science plan for the Core Science Systems Mission Area of the USGS also provides requirements 

and directions for future CEGIS research (Bristol and others, 

2013). These changes dictate the need for a revision of the 

original CEGIS research plan. In the following “Overview of 
Planned Research 2013–18 7

the 2013–18 Research Plan” section, an overarching research 

plan is described followed by individual research projects. 

Overview of the 2013–18 Research Plan

Rapid developments in geographic information science 

are driving important changes in the USGS approach to mapping and the provision of geospatial data to support USGS 

science, Department of Interior management and regulation, 

and the public’s needs. The appearance of commercial geospatial portals and platforms has affected the USGS mission with 

respect to geospatial data and mapping. The ever-increasing 

changes in technology also are driving important changes in 

the USGS and its approach to, and possibilities for, providing 

geospatial data and mapping. Computational advances, data 

and information delivery capabilities, and ever-growing uses 

of geospatial data and maps fundamentally are affecting the 

USGS. Sensor technology, and its pervasive acceptance and 

use as a part of everyone’s daily life, has important impacts on 

the geospatial industry in general and USGS in particular. The 

advent and increasing availability of high-resolution imagery 

and lidar data are driving the USGS to provide these data to its 

user community. The capabilities of information technology 

and delivery through Internet sources and personal devices are 

changing the ways in which people use geospatial data and 

the ways in which those data are created. In this richly diverse 

milieu of data, information, and opportunity, the USGS and 

CEGIS must focus research resources on problems that are 

specific and tractable to support geospatial data creation, 

archiving, and delivery. The CEGIS research plan for 2013 

to 2018 defines specific research projects to accomplish a 

vision of geospatial information creation, archive, access, and 

delivery. These specific projects and the long-term vision align 

with the Core Science Systems strategic science plan and the 

Modular Science Framework (Bristol and others, 2013). 

It is anticipated in 2018, users of The National Map

will be able to access USGS data archives through hand-held 

devices that have the ability to project large format displays of 

geospatial and map information, as well as through currently 

familiar geospatial portals on larger computer systems with 

large display screens. These data archives will be improved 

land surface data of higher resolution and accuracies than 

currently (2013) available and will be three-dimensional and 

multitemporal, as documented in Bristol and others (2013). 

Applications for the data will be multifarious and will be user 

determined. Science users will be routinely using a data-driven 

science paradigm requiring access to huge (multiterabyte to 

petabyte) datastores of real and synthetic geospatial data to 

support data mining, knowledge discovery, modeling, and 

hypothesis generation and validation. Natural resource and 

land management organizations, such as many of the Department of Interior Bureaus, will be using Decision Support Systems (DSS) that require and consume data from The National 

Map as a part of the basis of decision making. Requirements 

will be for multidimensional, spatiotemporal data from 

semantic database archives and real-time sensor networks, 

including humans as sensors with hand-held devices.

In such an environment, the USGS must be able to support high-resolution three- and four-dimensional data creation, 

access, and delivery. During 2013 to 2018, the primary USGS 

data acquisition efforts will be from the 3DEP. Although the 

capability exists now (2013) to collect these high-resolution 

data, the ability to access, query, integrate, and use these data 

in real-time environments does not yet exist. The geometry of 

the data is well understood and can be modeled, although currently (2013) all implemented models use a two-dimensional 

map view, and understanding the semantics and use of those 

data requires important research. 

Thus, CEGIS will work to extend its geospatial semantics 

research to encompass three-dimensional geometry models, 

characteristics, and temporal concepts to handle real-time 

data as well as archived historical data. To handle the tremendous volumes of such data, high performance computing and 

CyberGIS will become fundamental tools and CEGIS will 

research these areas to provide solutions. A recent trend for 

geospatial data has been user participation in creating those 

data and providing updates and corrections to existing data. 

Volunteered Geographic Information and crowdsourcing of 

data and information are expanding at phenomenal rates and 

the USGS must learn to use these movements to augment 

traditional sources of data acquisition, correction, and update. 

Thus, CEGIS will continue research in VGI and crowdsourcing with the aim of providing solutions for The National Map.

There is a growing need to integrate the geospatial data 

of the USGS with other data used in science and applications. 

This need becomes greater as the USGS begins providing 

three- and four-dimensional data from the 3DEP program. A 

priority research area for CEGIS will continue to be this type 

of data integration. Further, this data integration must be done 

in a general sense to make data compatible, and in a specific 

sense to support targeted applications within and external to 

the USGS.

Finally, CEGIS will engage in a variety of application 

research projects to help demonstrate the utility of the 3DEP 

data and information. CEGIS applications research projects 

will include pilots and test beds in areas such as the generation 

of derivative products from lidar that are National in scope, 

examination of resolution impacts on science models, and 

creation of decision support systems with 3DEP and geospatial 

semantics. In effect, much of CEGIS research will assist in 

the development and use of the Modular Science Framework 

described in Bristol and others (2013).

Spatiotemporal Data Models for 3DEP

As the USGS acquires true three-dimensional data (that 

is, geographic features with x, y, and z coordinates for each 

point comprising the feature), there is a need to develop data 

models that can handle the three-dimensional coordinates. As 

the frequency of the acquisition of these data improves, a need 
8 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

arises to handle the temporality of the data on a feature-by-feature basis. Thus, features will possess x, y, and z coordinates 

and a time stamp of the feature date, or perhaps the coordinates will be four dimensional with x, y, z, and t, for each 

coordinate location. These types of data models have been 

termed SpatioTemporal Data Models in geospatial research 

(Peuquet and Duan, 1995; Le and Usery, 2009). Because all 

current (2013) data models used with The National Map are 

two-dimensional (that is, x and y coordinates with an attribute 

attached), the development of three-dimensional models is of 

paramount importance. Although the USGS has been collecting elevation data for more than 40 years, those data all use 

two-dimensional map models and attach an elevation value as 

an attribute to x and y coordinates or coordinate locations in 

a raster matrix. The 3DEP program can be implemented with 

current two-dimensional models but to realize the complete 

benefits of the data, a three-dimensional model is needed and 

will be researched.

Objective

The research will determine an appropriate spatiotemporal model to support 3DEP. The goal of this research is to 

provide a recommendation for implementation of a data model 

that handles spatiotemporal data, but also can be implemented 

in the operational environment of NGP.

Approach

The approach is focused on examining existing spatiotemporal model research and current (2013) implementations 

in the commercial sector. The research also must include 

processes to access archive and legacy geospatial data and 

the following specific steps provide the planned approach to 

achieve the objectives:

• Survey spatiotemporal models and determine appropriateness for NGP needs,

• Integrate existing research with a spatiotemporal 

model,

• Provide access to legacy data from a spatiotemporal 

model,

• Integrate geospatial semantics in a spatiotemporal 

model, and 

• Integrate other USGS data with a spatiotemporal 

model.

To begin the spatiotemporal data model research, CEGIS 

will survey the existing research in this area. In the academic 

environment this has been an active area of research for the 

last 20 years or more. Many spatiotemporal models have 

been developed and some are marketed commercially for GIS 

solutions (Intergraph, 2013), however, none of these models 

include the recent developments in geospatial semantics, 

VGI and crowdsourcing, and high performance computing. 

These activities already are contributing structures data to The 

National Map and will contribute other data to 3DEP and The 

National Map in the future. Although CEGIS will tap existing 

research, much remains unexplored to make a viable model to 

support 3DEP. First and foremost, a model that handles true 

three-dimensional coordinates on a feature-by-feature basis 

is required. That model must also support rapid conversion to 

the triple model of subject, predicate, and object of geospatial 

semantics and the Semantic Web. Currently (2013), there has 

been no development of conversion of x,y,z feature geometry 

that uses the triple model. Maintenance of spatial topology 

in three-dimensions is another challenge. A simple query of 

spatiotemporal data, for example, “Find all evacuation routes 

for a large urban area that account for slope traversal and 

underpass height limitations and allow movement of people 

and goods with the capacity for the volume of passengers and 

freight that must be moved within the time constraints of the 

evacuation process,” indicates the deficiencies of current data 

models. 

Simultaneous to addressing the fundamental problems of 

three-dimensional and temporal data, the data model research 

must work with other CEGIS research areas to develop a 

holistic solution. The developed spatiotemporal model must 

support geospatial semantics, high performance computing, 

multiscale data research, VGI and crowdsourcing, and integration with other USGS datasets and data from the public at 

large. Research in CEGIS must not only determine the threedimensional data models, but also define protocols for how 

those models encompass current data in a transition process to 

those models. The models must also work with other CEGIS 

research, particularly geospatial semantics, to support the 

access and use of the 3DEP data in user applications.

Geospatial Semantics

Research concerning geospatial semantics is focused 

on providing automated access to features, attributes, and 

relationships in legacy data in a form compatible with automated machine processing. The research must also address the 

multidimensional characteristics of 3DEP data. Ontologies for 

geospatial data form a critical aspect of structuring geospatial 

semantics and the following objectives and approach provide 

the basis of the research.

Objective

The objective of the research is to provide semantic 

access to legacy geospatial data and 3DEP to support integration with other USGS science data and modeling. Geospatial 

data must be structured to allow automated processing of all 

geospatial data characteristics.
Planned Research 2013–18 9

Approach

The approach to the research in geospatial semantics for 

legacy and 3DEP data requires theoretical and practical steps. 

The following steps in the approach is designed to extend prior 

work and address new requirements for geospatial semantics 

and ontology development:

• Develop semantic interfaces (small data specific 

ontologies) for legacy data,

• Build topographic predicates for geospatial semantics 

as reasoning rule extensions,

• Develop example demonstrating value of semantics,

• Extract knowledge from data and data conversion with 

ontology engineering,

• Collaborate science semantic technology development 

among ontologists and earth scientists (CEGIS scientists working with other USGS scientists), and 

• Research geospatial semantics for 3DEP data.

Future research in semantics must expand the work 

accomplished in 2006–12, and provide a basis for integration 

of other USGS datasets with the spatiotemporal data resulting 

from 3DEP. There currently (2013) are no data models, structures, protocols, or query mechanisms for spatiotemporal data 

for semantic access and inferencing. The interface of semantically enhanced spatiotemporal data with legacy datasets and 

other Open Linked data must be researched and developed. 

A potential benefit of interfacing with legacy datasets is 

the automated provision of existing or historic information. 

Operational capability of semantics with legacy data currently 

(2013) is available and the extension to spatiotemporal data 

will be a part of the research.

Pattern recognition methods can be applied to legacy 

datasets to mine features and attributes for items that are 

embedded in the data but are not resolved explicitly. An 

example of this is present in NHDFlowlines, whose coastline 

features intermix natural coastlines with human-made docks 

and piers. There currently (2013) is no Feature Code (FCODE) 

for docks and piers in the NHDFlowline schema, but these 

features may be mined using pattern recognition of regularized shape and size. For example, automatic determination of 

human-made portions of the coastline can support semantic 

queries about the portions of a coastline that need special 

protection during flood events. 

As the NGTOC moves forward with the development 

of a standards database for The National Map and the products generated from it, such as US Topo, there is opportunity 

to leverage the ontology and geospatial semantics research 

already completed by CEGIS. The taxonomy, vocabulary, and 

definitions of attributes and relations in the forms of predicates 

provide a ready base for the development of the standards. Use 

of this ontology with the standards database also will provide 

the basis for semantics developments for 3DEP. Research to 

ensure that the standards developed for the current (2013) geospatial data and for the future 3DEP data are compatible can 

rely on the already available geospatial ontology developed by 

CEGIS for The National Map (Varanka, 2009; Varanka, 2013).

Specialized types of semantic enhancement will be 

required for various datasets. Previous research (Varanka and 

Caro, 2013) identified five different classes of predicates associated with topographic data: (1) part relations within complex 

features, (2) active verbs providing descriptive relations, (3) 

active verbs providing process relations, (4) verbs of human 

intention, and (5) spatial prepositions for forming verb/preposition pairs. These predicates must be implemented as triples 

of the RDF model, established with topographic instance data, 

and explored with spatiotemporal data from 3DEP. Inferencing with existing ontologies, such as GeoSPARQL, converted 

legacy data of The National Map, all predicates defined for 

topographic features, and the plethora of other USGS data 

must be developed and implemented.

To capture the diversity of data, tools, functions, communities, and applications, the focus of semantics will shift, in the 

next 5 years, away from the development of singular infrastructure elements, such as standalone ontologies, databases, 

and models, to ways of connecting and mediating between 

users and technologies. To achieve the goals of integration 

with science and VGI communities, and key technologies such 

as numerical/statistical modeling and social media for targeted 

applications such as lidar, 3DEP, and DSS, several key stages 

of work will be required. No singular authoritative body of 

work will suffice, but local and application-centric ontologies 

to suit the needs of specific data sets and repositories will be 

developed and linked using ontology matching. 

Reasoning services need to be developed to support 

service matching or translate between ontologies. For example, the existing NHD ontology will serve as an application 

ontology with a reasoner service to other required ontologies, 

such as environmental (water) gaging and quality monitoring 

data. Metaontologies, for spatial requirements such as spatial 

dimensions, measurements, map projections, and metadata, 

will require envelopes and layers to mediate between the Open 

Geospatial Consortium (OGC) GeoWeb [for example, Web 

Feature Services (WFS)], with no change of existing spatial 

data infrastructure resources. Outcomes will be expressed as 

visualization tools and use cases. 

The availability of data from 3DEP requires CEGIS to 

research the ability of geospatial semantics and ontology to be 

used with these data. Currently (2013) only x and y (latitude 

and longitude) coordinates are supported in RDF and semantic 

geospatial ontologies, such as GeoSPARQL. CEGIS research 

will expand these capabilities to support x, y, and z coordinates as well as time stamped (t coordinate) features.

High Performance Computing and CyberGIS

High Performance Computing (HPC) is a generic 

term for research that addresses the use of parallel and 
10 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

super-computing methods to data processing. For geospatial 

data HPC provides the ability to handle the large (multi gigabyte and terabyte) data volumes and the extensive computations for coordinate transformation and processing. CyberGIS 

is the term applied to processing geographic data on HPC 

platforms to implement GIS operations.

Objective 

The principal objective is to explore HPC and CyberGIS 

to support lidar and 3DEP processing. A second objective is 

to investigate big data approaches with lidar and 3DEP and 

integration with other USGS science data. 

Approach

The approach to HPC and CyberGIS for 3DEP and lidar 

data must include examination of existing operations with geospatial data and develop new processes in the HPC environment. The following steps were developed to implement the 

research approach:

• Adapt NGTOC operations to HPC and CyberGIS,

• Determine use of HPC for lidar and 3DEP processing,

• Develop Big Data approaches for lidar and 3DEP,

• Integrate data from The National Map, lidar, 3DEP, and 

other USGS science data using HPC and CyberGIS, 

and

• Advance CyberGIS to supplement or replace conventional desktop GIS.

Many in the science community are heralding the fourth 

paradigm of science as data-driven science or data-intensive 

scientific discovery (Hey and others, 2009). In this science 

approach, massive datasets are processed to detect anomalies 

or patterns, develop hypotheses, or address specific problems. 

The collection of high-resolution elevation data from 3DEP 

and the availability of high-resolution image and other data 

will allow 3DEP to drive some of these science investigations; however, use of data-driven science and 3DEP requires 

computing capability to handle the massive data volumes 

and the computational needs. Researchers in CEGIS in high 

performance computing have begun a process of investigating 

the possibilities of this science approach. Future research will 

refine and establish computational capability and CyberGIS 

as the next generation of GIS that can solve problems using 

the massive datasets available through parallel processing and 

sophisticated computational algorithms. Therefore, CEGIS 

research must address this computational and data handling 

problem. The start with map projections and tile caching are 

the beginnings of determining capabilities of CyberGIS to support 3DEP and future USGS needs in data-driven science. 

CEGIS researchers will work closely with NGTOC 

developers to identify areas of NGTOC operations to which 

HPC can effectively be applied. One example described during 2006–12 research synopsis, cartographic and data model 

generalization of The National Map data themes, involves 

computationally intensive processes for data enrichment and 

generalization operations with vertically integrated results. 

Future CEGIS research is anticipated to develop parallel 

processing approaches to implement these processes at the 

National level for efficient sequential updates of generalized 

databases. This development for The National Map data is 

expected to enhance the content and integration of data themes 

distributed through The National Map and The National Atlas 

of the United States.

VGI, Crowdsourcing, and Social Media

The evolution of the User-Centered Design research has 

been affected by developments in VGI, crowdsourcing and 

social media. The CEGIS research agenda has evolved to integrate these developments in the next generation of geospatial 

data along with the 3DEP data collection and operations.

Objective

 The research objective is to integrate VGI, social media, 

and citizen science with USGS science and data programs. 

This objective is multifaceted and continues to evolve because 

of the rapid advancement of these technologies.

Approach

Examination of methods to integrate these technologies 

form a core component of the research approach. The following items have been identified as critical steps in the research 

approach:

• Integrate VGI and crowdsourcing with NGP data and 

operations,

• Develop access and use of social media for NGP data 

and operations,

• Investigate interdisciplinary science and data integration using VGI, crowdsourcing, and social media,

• Investigate Big Data from VGI, crowdsourcing, and 

social media, and

• Investigate the use of The National Map on hand-held 

devices.

Volunteered Geographic Information and crowdsourcing are changing the methods in which geospatial data are 

collected and used. The USGS projects in VGI have demonstrated that this is a viable source for data collection for The 

National Map. Beyond that, these movements and technologies will change the entire approach and concept of mapping, 

including topographic mapping. Therefore, CEGIS research 
Planned Research 2013–18 11

will need to examine and participate in these movements as a 

part of its basic research agenda.

The impacts of VGI and crowdsourcing in mitigation 

and response to multihazard disasters are just beginning to 

be explored. These technologies and social media will be 

explored in CEGIS research as they develop and become 

more of a part of the mainstream data in geospatial and other 

operations.

Scientific practices in the earth and environmental sciences are changing rapidly because of a number of factors:

• Scientists are now called on to address problems that 

demand interdisciplinary collaboration. The recent 

realignment of USGS into issue-driven mission areas 

reflects this new approach to problem solving. 

• Sensors of many different types are generating vast 

amounts of data that are available to researchers 

through computing infrastructures. Scientists are 

mining data feeds from social media such as Flickr, 

Twitter, and Facebook to analyze responses to natural 

disasters and to uncover public reactions to the natural 

world. Data-driven science has been called a “fourth 

paradigm” that will enhance the existing paradigms of 

experimental, theoretical and computational science 

(Hey and others, 2009). 

• Nonscientists are using new computing infrastructures and mobile applications to “mash-up” disparate 

datasets on the Internet. Citizen scientists are using 

these same technologies to collect observational data 

for scientific projects, and in many cases, to inform the 

designs and trajectories of these projects. At the recent 

Citizen Science Workshop, sponsored by the Community for Data Integration, scientists from across the 

USGS and other organizations presented examples of 

citizen science projects with which they were involved. 

Topics included climate change, phenology, invasive 

species, animal diseases, mobile-phone detection and 

analysis of cricket chirps, volcanic ash flow, rapid 

earthquake detection, and VGI for The National Map

(USGS, 2012). 

• The availability of data from The National Map and 

3DEP on mobile devices provides additional uses in 

USGS science applications.

The National Map in the Tactical Plan has been described 

as the “most fundamental aspect of [the USGS] Data Integration direction is The National Map, which will provide the 

trusted, base geospatial information for science investigations.” (Carswell, 2008, p. 47). The National Map is supposed 

to “accelerate science investigations,” resulting from the 2007 

USGS science strategy (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007). For 

The National Map to fully assume this function, new trends 

and future directions of information technology and scientific 

practice must be understood and translated into our application domains. The CEGIS research program will be extended 

to investigate new information and communication technologies that are affecting methods by which scientists collaborate, 

synthesize new research from massive datasets, and communicate results of these new discoveries to decision makers and 

the public.

Interdisciplinary Science and Data Integration

Interdisciplinary science and data integration are difficult processes. These activities suffer from misalignments 

that result from different ways of working, terminologies, and 

data structures. Research into the implications of the Semantic Web—a machine-readable markup structure for data that 

will allow computers to understand and act on the semantic 

relationships embedded in data objects—has been a prominent 

focus of CEGIS work in the ontology project. Recognizing 

that top-down single discipline ontologies are not sufficient 

to fully capture the semantic differences between scientific 

communities, during the next 5 years the ontology project will 

move in the direction of mediating between disparate users 

and technologies. A key to this effort is understanding how 

local perceptions, as captured by VGI and social media, can 

inform the design of semantic technologies. 

Big Data

Providing access to the massive volumes of data that 

fuel interdisciplinary, data-driven science at the USGS is 

being addressed in part by the CyberGIS project supported 

by CEGIS. This project focuses on building the tubes through 

which data will travel as well as the tools for analysis; however, important questions remain. For example, in the data 

deluge, who decides which data are important? One part of 

the answer lies in data mining. Many of the tools and techniques of data mining, natural language processing, and image 

analysis are being developed by social media researchers. 

For example, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Civil Air 

Patrol photographs are being used by volunteers to evaluate 

damage—a task that cannot yet be executed with computers 

(Munro and others, 2013). 

Another part of the answer lies in promoting better data 

curation. Data curation—managing data to ensure they are fit 

for contemporary use and available for discovery and reuse—

goes beyond traditional data management into issues of 

authentication, archiving, preservation, retrieval, and representation. For example, data curators are making use of geospatial 

narrative to analyze and predict events through space and time. 

Many of these innovative approaches to data curation have 

been pioneered by social media researchers (Liu, 2012). 

Citizen Science 

Citizen science, also called public participation in science 

or participatory sensing, is a natural two-way bridge between 

the USGS and the American public. As described above, it is 

already being used by a number of USGS disciplines including 

the NGP. Not only can citizens collect data that are important 
12 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

to understand changes that are taking place in the environment, but citizens can collaborate in the collective design and 

investigation of real world problems. Aspects of citizen science in which CEGIS researchers are involved include:

• Use of remotely sensed images for integration of participant and social data,

• Extracting value from massive volumes of data,

• Design of technologies for mobile, collaborative, and 

distributed interaction,

• Determining infrastructures for sensor integration,

• Providing simple visualization methods for presenting 

data to various groups of users,

• Determining system architectures that promote security 

and privacy for citizen science, and

• Establishing guidelines on the policies and practices of 

data collection for citizen science.

Integrating Other USGS Data

A key research requirement for any new data development, such as 3DEP, is integration with existing data and 

processes. This element of the CEGIS research plan is dependent on examining USGS data acquired for specific research 

applications in the USGS science mission. The research will 

examine methods of integration of these dispirate datasets. 

Objective

The overall objective is to integrate data from The 

National Map with selected USGS science datasets to support 

visualization, analysis, modeling, and decision making efforts 

of the USGS, other government agencies, and the general public. The integration process must support the specific applications of the science data.

Approach

To address integration of 3DEP and other data from The 

National Map with USGS science data a series of specific 

projects and datasets will be examined. The following steps 

provide a synopsis of the approach:

• Assess the resiliency and scalability of multihazards 

supply chain networks with the use of integrated geospatial data, 

• Integrate geology with geospatial data from 3DEP and 

The National Map,

• Integrate 3DEP and The National Map with nearsurface geology and faults for earthquake and landslide 

risk maps, and

• Integrate geophysical and geologic data, 3DEP and The 

National Map for applications in economics, health, 

safety, and energy.

Geospatial data are critical to disaster mitigation and 

recovery. The USGS and the NGP in particular have a role 

in supplying geospatial data in the form of maps and images 

from a variety of sources including The National Map. To be 

effective in disaster recovery, these data need to be integrated 

with other data sources. Thus, CEGIS has begun assessment 

of the resiliency and scalability of multihazards supply chain 

networks with the use of integrated geospatial data. This 

project requires integrating data from The National Map with 

other datasets in the supply chain. Research questions surround resiliency of the network and times to recovery after a 

substantial disaster such as an earthquake or hurricane.

A primary tool in the inventory and exploitation of 

fossil fuels and mineral resources throughout the Nation is 

knowledge of local geology. An instrument that could greatly 

enhance this effort would be a 3DEP integration of geology 

with geospatial data from The National Map. This integration 

would involve a four-fold approach: completion of the integration of the surface geologic maps for the Nation; catalog and 

assembly of pre-existing three-dimensional (3-D) geology data 

from local regions; interpolation and integration of the local 

3-D geology data where they exist with inferences of surface 

geology maps where no models currently are available; and, 

quality control of complete models using borehole data as well 

as existing geophysical data. CEGIS researchers are collaborating with USGS geologists on this work.

Another part of this research includes a categorization 

of geologic hazards for the Nation. Emphases on earthquake 

potential and landslide risk largely are based on surface faults 

and hill slopes; however, subsurface fault locations are important not only in earthquake prone areas but in stable regions as 

well because these subsurface faults can experience reactivation during extensive injection well pumping as has been 

experienced in Colorado and Texas (Hsieh and Bredehoft, 

1981; Frolich and others, 2011). Near-surface geology also is a 

key component in landslide initiation, particularly with respect 

to construction overburden removal. Again, there are areas 

where these considerations have been considered and mapped. 

The challenge is to integrate these data with geospatial data 

from The National Map, which results in a uniform, comprehensive database.

There is still a great need to amass and integrate important geophysical and geologic databases with the geospatial 

data. Many of these databases that do exist have little or no 

metadata associated with each entry, making their quality 

and reliability suspect. The success of integrating one such 

database (gravity) implies that the task is not intractable 

(Shoberg and Stoddard, 2013). The ability to access and utilize 

large quantities of geophysical and geologic data with some 
Planned Research 2013–18 13

estimates on accuracy and reliability would form a substantial 

backdrop for many applications in economics, health, safety, 

and energy.

CEGIS will continue to participate in the USGS Community for Data Integration in a variety of projects. Many 

of these will be application specific, but the CEGIS role will 

continue to be integration of data from The National Map and 

integration of CEGIS research and results in the community.

Multiscale Representation

Although the data of 3DEP and The National Map are 

collected and archived with specific resolution and accuracy, 

the applications of the data require representation at many different scales and resolutions. Thus, processes that suport allow 

multiscale representations of the data must be researched, 

developed, and made available.

Objective

This research will identify relations between map scale 

and geomorphological characteristics of cartographic features 

to automate generalization and define ontology patterns for 

feature extraction. It also will determine effects of high-resolution elevation and hydrographic data on science models.

Approach

The approach to multiscale representation is focused primarily on high-resolution elevation data, resulting from 3DEP, 

and hydrography. These two data categories are the basic components of topographic representation and two specific steps in 

the approach have been defined:

• Derive national scale-dependent elevation drainage 

channels, and

• Assess resolution impacts on science models.

The use of high resolution elevation data for derivation of 

drainage channels and the ability to use those derived channels 

in concert with existing hydrographic data will be investigated. Elevation and hydrography are basic inputs to many 

science and environmental models, and the value or impact of 

such inputs from 3DEP requires investigation. An assumption 

that the higher resolution of these spatial data will improve 

model results may be invalid and must be explored.

Derivation of National Scale-Dependent 

Elevation-Derived Drainage Channels

Preservation of the quality of our Nation’s water 

resources is a primary concern to current and future generations. A fundamental component to preservation and modeling 

of surface-water quality is accurate mapping and monitoring 

of these resources. Through a number of programs, the USGS 

uses and maintains thousands of gaging stations to monitor 

the quality and amount of water flowing through rivers and 

lakes in the country, and these data subsequently are distributed to the public in near real-time. The USGS StreamStats 

program integrates gage measurements with terrain data to 

estimate streamflow statistics for gaged and ungaged rivers in 

the NHD; however, the surface-water flowline features in the 

NHD (NHDFlowlines) have been compiled from a variety of 

sources, scales, collection standards, and climate conditions 

during the past 30 to 40 years. Consequently, feature representations and densities are not consistent over the United States, 

which complicates hydrologic modeling and analysis.

Continuing earlier work and in coordination with concurrent elevation-derivative projects, this CEGIS research 

will integrate the drainage channel derivation process with 

other related data to enhance the process to form consistently 

defined stream channels tailored for a specific scale. Related 

datasets will include, but are not limited to, estimates for 

slope, soil permeability and depth, subsurface bedrock and 

drainage conditions, and surface runoff. Subsequently, effects 

of non-natural drainage diversions—such as dams, canals, and 

pipes—will be incorporated into the extraction process. The 

research will address resolution dependencies with scalespecific extraction and landscape type, along with testing the 

latest approaches for extracting channels in complex drainage 

situations, and the use of efficient parallel processing methods 

for sequential updates on a national level. This research will 

greatly enhance the NHD by providing automated methods to 

consistently map drainage channels for the Nation in a timely 

fashion.

Resolution Impacts on Science Models

With the availability of high-resolution, multi-dimensional spatiotemporal data, many models used in USGS 

science can potentially yield better results; however, this is 

not always true. In some cases, the higher-resolution data no 

longer fit the parameters of the original models, which were 

designed for application with lower resolution geospatial input 

data. Determining which models benefit from the higher-resolution and multi-dimensional spatiotemporal data is a research 

question. In a limited manner, CEGIS research will attempt to 

address this question, again based on user needs.

Research for Applications and Operational 

Investigations

In addition to the basic research topics presented above, 

CEGIS will conduct applications research and some operational investigations for National programs of the NGP. The 

3DEP program and CEGIS basic research will provide spatiotemporal data with three-dimensional coordinates and time 

for each coordinate set and geographic feature. The use of 

these data in USGS science and other applications needs to be 
14 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

researched and developed. Following are some initial targets 

for applications and operational investigations.

Objective

 The research will help develop methods, tools, processes, 

and systems to support use of lidar and 3DEP in USGS science 

programs. Determination of derivative products of National 

significance is a part of this effort. The use of Decision Support Systems (DSS) with 3DEP, The National Map, and USGS 

science data are of critical importance and are a part of the 

research objectives.

Approach

The approach requires determining products that are 

National in scope and can be used in DSS. The following 

specific steps comprise the approach to be used in the CEGIS 

research:

• Determine the set of National derivative products of 

lidar point clouds to be supported with 3DEP, and

• Investigate DSS with 3DEP and geospatial semantics.

National Derivative Products of Lidar Point 

Clouds for 3DEP

The development of derivative products from lidar point 

cloud data, which will be acquired as a part of 3DEP, is a 

research area for CEGIS in the next 5 years. Surface-water 

hydrography as a part of surface network extraction is one 

such product already under investigation by CEGIS researchers. Standard derivative products of elevation data, such as 

shaded relief, synthetic stereo images, slope, and aspect, 

require no investigation, but can be derived on a National 

basis with conventional GIS algorithms and software; however, the use of the lidar point cloud to supply additional 

products based on the multiple returns and intensity signals 

requires investigation. Products indicating vegetation characteristics and urban structure, which are developable from 

the multiple returns and intensity of lidar, are candidates for 

derivatives of National importance. CEGIS researchers will 

need to work with application domain experts and lidar specialists to determine these types of products and the processes 

for deriving them from lidar.

Decision Support Systems (DSS) with 3DEP and 

Geospatial Semantics

The availability of semantically enhanced, high-resolution, multidimensional spatiotemporal data offers promise 

for developing DSS for science, natural resources, and land 

management. With the provision of multidimensional data 

and semantic inferencing, the development of DSS will be 

a natural extension of the data capabilities and management 

tools. The focus will be a demonstration project that illustrates 

the value of geospatial semantics in a decision support system. 

CEGIS will have to connect with the USGS science community, perhaps though the USGS Commuity for Data Inegration 

and projects with the Powell Center, to best approach this area, 

but it provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the 

value of 3DEP and semantically enhanced datasets. 

Conclusions

In the report concerning a research agenda for GIScience 

in the USGS (NRC 2007), which became the basis of CEGIS 

research for the 2008–12 timeframe, the NRC stated that 

CEGIS should focus on several high priority, high visibility 

projects that had potential for a return on the research investment to establish credibility and a reputation in GIScience 

research. Topics identified in this group included generalization, data integration, and electronic topographic map design. 

CEGIS did invest in these research areas and as a result has 

generated results that have been publicized, published, and 

subsequently accepted by the international research community and are being implemented in the operational programs 

of The National Map. As a result of these efforts CEGIS has 

established an international reputation for conducting relevant 

high-quality GIScience research.Additional recommendations 

of the NRC report included longer term projects in which 

CEGIS has also invested and made important progress. The 

success of CEGIS researchers in making accomplishments that 

have been presented and published in the scientific literature 

is indicated in the appendix. Based on these accomplishments, CEGIS can advance planned research in support of 

The National Map and begin new research in areas that have 

arisen because of changes in program goals and advances and 

changes in science and technology. The ability of the CEGIS 

research core to orchestrate and accomplish the research 

objectives presented in this strategic plan will depend on 

available funding and continued collaborations and partnerships with other USGS research groups, federal agencies, and 

academic affiliates. 

New research areas are built around continuing research 

in geospatial semantics, VGI and crowdsourcing, high performance computing, and data integration and applications of 

data from The National Map; new investigations of multidimensional, spatiotemporal data models; and the potential products, requirements, and applications of lidar and 3DEP. CEGIS 

reseach is a critical part of the strategic direction and foundation of the Modular Science Framework described in the Core 

Science Systems strategy by Bristol and others (2013).
References 15

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K.A., McGilloway, J., Howard, M.A., 2013, Automated 

thinning of road networks and road labels for multiscale 

design of The National Map of the United States: Cartography and Geographic Information.

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R.J., 2013, U.S. Geological Survey core science systems 

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Geological Survey Circular 1383–B, 33 p.

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A comparison of star and ladder strategies for intermediate 

scale processing of USGS National Hydrography Dataset, 

14th ICA/ISPRS Workshop on Generalization and Multiple 

Representations, Paris, France.

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A,. 2011b, 

Adapting generalization tools to physiographic diversity for 

the United States National Hydrography Dataset, Cartography and Geographic Information Science, v. 38, no. 3, p. 

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disaster: A case of grassroots heritage in the crisis context, 

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science at the United States Geological Survey: National 

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89, 76–83.

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Bearden, M., 2003, Projecting global datasets to achieve 

equal areas, cartography and geographic information science, v. 30, no. 1, p. 69–79.

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16 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

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national topographic mapping ontology: International Cartography Conference, Santiago, Chile.

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gov/confluence/display/cdi/USGS+Citizen+Science+Works

hop+Agenda.
Appendix 

This appendix provides a listing of publications and presentations that resulted from CEGIS research in the 

2006-2012 timeframe. It is included to provide the reader with a single document that includes presentations and 

publications of all CEGIS Federal and affiliate faculty researchers. The list is organized by topic, then by individual 

researchers for each topic and contains the following content.

Page

Electronic Topographic Map Design Research—Cynthia Brewer 18

Generalization—Barbara Buttenfield 22

Generalization—Larry Stanislawski 28

Data Integration—E. Lynn Usery, Michael Finn, and others 33

The National Map and Other USGS Data—Thomas Shoberg 34

Line Extraction and Conflation—Keith Clarke 35

Ontology and Geospatial Semantics—Dalia Varanka 36

User Centered Design (VGI, Crowdsourcing and Social Media)—Barbara Poore 40

Multi-resolution Raster (High Performance Computing)—Michael P. Finn 43

E. Lynn Usery 47
18 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

CEGIS Research Publications and Presentations

2006–2012

Publications and Presentations 2007–2012

Electronic Topographic Map Design Research

Dr. Cynthia A. Brewer

November 2012

Products related to CEGIS funding

Peer-Reviewed Publications 

Roth, R.E., Brewer, C.A., and Stryker, M.S., 2011, A typology of operators for maintaining legible map designs at multiple 

scales: Cartographic Perspectives, no. 68, p. 29–64.

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2011, Adapting generalization tools to physiographic diversity for the 

USGS National Hydrography Dataset, in U.S. National Report to the International Cartographic Association: Cartography and 

Geographic Information Science, vol. 38, no. 3, p. 289–301.

Butzler, S.J., Brewer, C.A., and Stroh, W.J., 2011, Establishing classification and hierarchy in populated place labeling for multiscale mapping for The National Map: Cartography and Geographic Information Science, vol. 38, no. 2, p. 100–109.

Brewer, C.A., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Mastering map scale—Balancing workloads using display and geometry change in 

multi-scale mapping: Geoinformatica, vol.14, no. 2, p. 221–239. 

Brewer, C.A., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2007, Framing guidelines for multi-scale map design using databases at multiple resolutions: Cartography and Geographic Information Science, vol. 34, no. 1, p. 3–15.

Refereed Conference Proceedings

Brewer, C.A., Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., Raposo, P., Sparks, K., and Howard, M., 2012, Multiscale design for The 

National Map of the United States—Road thinning for topographic mapping: Proceedings, AutoCarto International Symposium on Automated Cartography, Columbus, Ohio, September, 2012.

Stanislawski, L.V., Briat, M.O., Punt, E., Howard, M., Brewer, C.A., and B.P. Buttenfield, 2012, Density stratified thinning of 

road networks to support automated generalization for The National Map [abs.]: Proceedings, Workshop of the International 

Cartographic Association Commission on Generalisation and Multiple Representation, 15th, Istanbul, Turkey, September 

2012.

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Choosing between geometry change and display change for multiscale mapping—The role of elimination in design: Proceedings, International Cartographic Conference 2011 (ICC2011), 25th, 

Paris, France, July 2011, p. 11. 

Brewer, C.A., and Raposo, P., 2011, Comparison of topographic map designs for overlay on orthoimage backgrounds: Proceedings, International Cartographic Conference 2011 (ICC2011), 25th, Paris, France, July 2011, 10 p. 

Brewer, C.A., Thatcher, J.E., and Butzler, S.J., 2011, Combining varied federal data sources for multiscale map labeling of populated places and airports for The National Map of the United States: Proceedings, Workshop of the International Cartographic 

Conference Commission on Generalisation and Multiple Representation, Paris, France, June/July 2011. 

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2011, A comparison of star and ladder generalization strategies for 

intermediate scale processing of USGS National Hydrography Dataset Workshop: Proceedings, Workshop of the International 

Cartographic Conference Commission Commission on Generalisation and Multiple Representation, Paris, France, June/July 

2011.
 19

Brewer, C.A., Hanchett, C.L., Buttenfield, B.P., and Usery, E.L., 2010, Performance of map symbol and label design with format 

and display resolution options through scale for The National Map: Proceedings, AutoCarto 2010, Orlando, Florida, November 2010, p. 6. (CD-ROM).

 Stroh, W.J., Butzler, S.J., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Establishing classification and hierarchy in populated place labeling for multiscale mapping for The National Map: Prcoceedings, AutoCarto 2010, Orlando, Florida, November 2012, p. 6. (CD-ROM).

Wilmer, J.M., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Application of the radical law in generalization of national hydrography data for multiscale mapping: Proceedings, AutoCarto 2010, Orlando, Florida, November 2010, p. 6. (CD-ROM).

 Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawki, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Multiscale representations of water—Tailoring generalization 

sequences to specific physiographic regimes: Proceedings, GIScience 2010, 6th, Zurich, Switzerland, September 2010, p. 6. 

(selected as a ‘top four short paper’ at the conference; refereed proceedings distributed on USB.) 

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Usery, E.L., 2009, Evaluating generalizations of hydrography in differing terrains for The 

National Map of the United States: Proceedings, International Cartographic Conference (ICC2009), 24th, Santiago, Chile, 

November 2009, p.12. 

Brewer, C.A., and Akella, M.K., 2008, Multi-resolution multi-scale topographic map design–Toward a new look for The 

National Map: Proceedings, AutoCarto 2008, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, September 2008, p. 12. (CD-ROM).

Stryker, M., Roth, R.E., and Brewer, C.A., 2008, ScaleMaster.org—Illustrating and constructing the multi-scale mapping 

process: Proceedings, International Conference on Geographic Information Science, 5th, GIScience 2008, Park City, Utah, 

September 2008. 

Presentatons

Brewer, C.A., Robinson, A.C., and Raposo, P., 2012, Mapping around the world—A cartographic study abroad experience: 

North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) Annual Meeting, Portland Oregon.

Raposo, P., Sparks, K., and Brewer, C.A., 2012, Techniques for cartographic presentation of upsampled raster land cover data: 

North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon.

Brewer, C.A., Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., Raposo, P., Sparks, K., and Howard, M., 2012, Multiscale design for The 

National Map of the United States—Road thinning for topographic mapping: AutoCarto 2012, Columbus, Ohio, September 

2012. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Briat, M.O., Punt, E., Howard, M., Buttenfield, B.P., and Brewer, C.A., 2012, Density stratified thinning of 

road networks to support automated generalization for The National Map: International Cartographic Association (ICA) Commission on Generalisation and Multiple Representation Workshop, Istanbul,Turkey.

Brewer, C.A., invited commentator, 2012: US Topo, video produced by J. Maxwell, U.S. Geological Survey, Department of 

Interior, gallery.usgs.gov/videos/568 or www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv0jxsW3qgY.

Brewer, C.A., Robinson, A.C., and Raposo, P., 2012, National mapping around the world: Center of Excellence for Geospatial 

Information Science (CEGIS) Annual Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri. 

Brewer, C.A., Sparks, K.A., and Raposo, P., 2012, Multiscale design for The National Map, 2011/12: Center of Excellence for 

Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) Annual Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri. 

Sparks, K.A., Raposo, P., and Brewer, C.A., 2012, Multiscale land cover design for The National Map: Center of Excellence for 

Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) Annual Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri.

Sparks, K.A., Raposo, P., and Brewer, C.A., 2012, Multiscale land cover design for The National Map: Center of Excellence for 

Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) Annual Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri.

Brewer, C.A., and Raposo, P., 2012, Multiscale design for The National Map of the U.S.: Association of American Geographers, 

Middle States Division annual meeting, Shippenburg, Pennsylvania.

Brewer, C.A., 2012, Multiscale design for The National Map of the U.S.: Division Geoinformation, Bundesamt für Kartographie 

und Geodäsie (BKG; Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy), Frankfurt am Main, Germany. 
20 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Brewer, C.A., 2012, Multiscale design for The National Map of the U.S.: Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Center, Abu 

Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

Brewer, C.A., 2012, Multiscale design for The National Map of the U.S.: Center for Spatial Information Science, The University 

of Tokyo—Hongo, Tokyo, Japan. 

Brewer, C.A., 2012, Multiscale design for The National Map of the U.S.: Invited colloquium, Department of Geography, Ohio 

State University, Columbus, Ohio. 

Brewer, C.A., 2011, Multiscale redesign of The National Map with USGS: invited presentation, Coffee Hour, Department of 

Geography Colloquium, Pennsylvania State University. Broadcast and posted online through the department’s Coffee Hour to 

Go program: e-education.mediasite.commediasite/Viewer/?peid= 982eb32231c84250b725e25db4c215dc1d.

Brewer, C.A., McGilloway, J., and Butzler, S.J., 2011, NACIS presentations on terrain inspire Penn State Applied Cartographic 

Design Course: North American Cartographic Information Society Annual Meeting, Madison, Wisconsin. 

Stauffer, A., and Brewer, C.A., 2011, Multiscale terrain representation for The National Map: North American Cartographic 

Information Society Annual Meeting, Madison, Wisconsin. 

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Choosing between geometry change and display change for multiscale mapping—The role of elimination in design: International Cartographic Conference, Paris, France. 

Raposo, P., and Brewer, C.A., 2011, Comparison of topographic map designs for overlay on orthoimage backgrounds: International Cartographic Conference, Paris, France.

Brewer, C.A., Thatcher, J.E., and Butzler, S.J., 2011, Combining varied Federal data sources for multiscale map labeling of 

populated places and airports for The National Map of the United States: International Cartographic Association Commission 

on Generalisation and Multiple Representation Workshop, Paris, France. 

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2011, A comparison of star and ladder generalization strategies for intermediate scale processing of USGS National Hydrography Dataset: International Cartographic Association Commission on 

Generalisation and Multiple Representation Workshop, Paris, France.

Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., and Brewer, C.A., 2011, Generalization: Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information 

Science (CEGIS) Annual Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri.

Brewer, C.A., Stauffer, A., Raposo, P., Butzler, S.J., and Thatcher, J., 2011, Electronic topographic map design: Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) Annual Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri. 

Butzler, S.J., Brewer, C.A., Thatcher, J.E., and Stroh, W.J., 2011, Establishing classification and hierarchy in populated place 

labeling for multiscale mapping for The National Map: The National Map Users Conference, Denver, Colorado.

Raposo, P., and Brewer, C.A., 2011, Comparison of topographic map designs for overlay on orthoimage backgrounds: The 

National Map Users Conference, Denver, Colorado.

Brewer, C.A., Hanchett, C.L., Buttenfield, B.P., and Usery, E.L., 2010, Performance of map symbol and label design with format 

and display resolution options through scale for The National Map: AutoCarto 2010, Orlando, Florida.

Stroh, W.J., Butzler, S.J., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Establishing classification and hierarchy in populated place labeling for multiscale mapping for The National Map: AutoCarto 2010, Orlando, Florida.

Wilmer, J.M., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Application of the radical law in generalization of National Hydrography Data for multiscale mapping: AutoCarto 2010, Orlando, Florida.

Brewer, C.A., Hanchett, C.L., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Design examples for multiscale topographic mapping for The 

National Map: North American Cartographic Information Society Annual Meeting, St. Petersburg, Florida. 

Stauffer, A., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Tapered symbols for NHD flowlines systematically adjusted for dry versus humid zones: 

North American Cartographic Information Society Annual Meeting, St. Petersburg, Florida.

Butzler, S.J., Stroh, W.J., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Populated place label classification and hierarchy for multiscale mapping: 

North American Cartographic Information Society Annual Meeting, St. Petersburg, Florida.
 21

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Multiscale representations of rater—Tailoring generalization 

sequences to specific physiographic regimes: GIScience 2010, Zurich, Switzerland.

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Usery, E.L., 2010, Designing USGS topographic mapping for multiscale online use: GeoCart’ 2010 (New Zealand National Cartographic Conference) and International Cartographic Association (ICA) Symposium 

on Cartography for Australasia and Oceania, Auckland, New Zealand. 

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Usery, E.L., 2010, Designing USGS topographic mapping for multiscale online use: Esri 

International User Conference, San Diego, California. 

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2010, Progress and rationale for electronic topo map design decisions: 

Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) Annual Research Meeting, Denver, Colorado.

Hanchett, C.L., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Multiscale design—ScaleMaster decisions and MXD settings for symbol evaluation: 

Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) Annual Research Meeting, Denver, Colorado.

Brewer, C.A., and Hanchett, C.L., 2010, Evaluation of map symbols by screen resolution and file format through scale: Center 

of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) Annual Research Meeting, Denver, Colorado. 

Stauffer, A., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Tapered symbols for NHD flowlines systematically adjusted for dry versus humid zones: 

Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) Annual Research Meeting, Denver, Colorado.

Brewer, C.A., 2009, Recommendations for Symbol and label design for multiscale online topographic mapping for The National 

Map: U.S. Geological Survey Headquarters, Reston, Virginia.

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Usery, E.L., 2009, Evaluating generalizations of hydrography in differing terrains for The 

National Map of the United States: International Cartographic Conference, Santiago, Chile. 

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Usery, E.L., 2009, Designing The National Map by USGS for multi-scale online use: North 

American Cartographic Information Society Annual Meeting, Sacramento, California. 

Buttenfield, B.P., Brewer, C.A., and Usery, E.L., 2009, Place still matters—Generalizing the National Hydrography Dataset by 

local terrain and climate: North American Cartographic Information Society Annual Meeting, Sacramento, California.

Brewer, C.A., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2009, Topographic map design to support evaluation of generalization solutions: Center of 

Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) Annual Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri. 

Wendel, J., Buttenfield, B.P., Anderson-Tarve, C., and Brewer, C.A., 2009, Cartographic generalization by physiographic 

Region: Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Brewer, C.A., 2008, Redesigned maps: Department of Geography, University of Colorado—Boulder. 

Roth, R.E., Stryker, M., and Brewer, C.A., 2008, ScaleMaster.org—Multi-scale mapping made easy: North American Cartographic Information Society Annual Meeting, Missoula, Montana.

Roth, R.E., Stryker, M., and Brewer, C.A., 2008, Typology of multi-scale mapping operators: North American Cartographic 

Information Society Annual Meeting, Missoula, Montana.

Stryker, M., Roth, R.E., and Brewer, C.A., 2008, ScaleMaster.org—Illustrating and constructing the multi-scale mapping process: GIScience 2008, Park City, Utah.

Roth, R.E., Stryker, M., and Brewer, C.A., 2008, Typology of multi-scale mapping operator: GIScience 2008, Park City, Utah.

Brewer, C.A., and Akella, M.K., 2008, Multi-resolution multi-scale topographic map design—Toward a new look for The 

National Map: AutoCarto 2008, Shepherdstown, West Virginia. 

Brewer, C.A., and Akella, M.K., 2008, Multi-resolution multi-scale topographic map design: Esri International User Conference, 

San Diego, California. 

Brewer, C.A., 2008, Electronic topographic map design: Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) 

Annual Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri.
22 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Publications Related to CEGIS Generalization Initiative (2007–2012)

Barbara Buttenfield

(NOTE: Barbara Buttenfield and Cindy Brewer joined CEGIS as Faculty Affiliates in 2008, and publications on generalization prior to 2008 were funded by Esri not USGS. As a consequence, they are not listed here. Larry Stanislawski’s publication 

record dates back through 2007. Cindy may have publications on the E-TOPO Design project in addition to those listed in this 

document.)

Books

Buttenfield, B.P. and Mackaness, W.A. eds., Generalization and spatial sata Integration (in preparation).

Articles in Refereed Journals 

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2011, Adapting generalization tools to physiographic diversity for the 

USGS National Hydrography Dataset: Cartography and GIS, v. 38, no. 3, p. 289–301.

Stanislawski, L.V., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, Hydrographic generalization tailored to dry dountainous regions: Cartography 

and GIS, v. 38, no. 2, p. 117–125. 

Anderson-Tarver, C., Leyk, S., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, Fuzzy modeling of geometric textures for identifying archipelagos in 

area-patch generalization: Cartography and GIS, v. 38, no. 2, p. 137–146.

Brewer, C.A., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Mastering map scale—Balancing workloads using display and geometry change in 

multi-scale mapping: Geoinformatica, v. 14, no. 2, p. 221–239. 

Wendel, J., Buttenfield, B.P., and Smith, J., 2009, Spatializing a GIS software toolbox: Kartographische Nachrichten, vol. 5, 

p. 257–263.

Stanislawski, L.V., 2009, Feature pruning by upstream drainage area to support automated generalization of the United States 

National Hydrography Dataset: Computers, Environment, and Urban Systems, v. 33, no. 5, p. 325–333.

Refereed Conference Proceedings 

Stanislawski, L.V., Doumbouya, A.T., and Miller-Corbett, C.D., 2012, Mapping natural variability in drainage density for the 

coterminous United States to support hydrologic generalization [abs.]: GIS in the Rockies, Denver, Colorado, September 

2012.

Stanislawski, L.V., Doumbouya, A.T., Miller-Corbett, C.D., Buttenfield, B.P., and Arundel-Murin, S.T., 2012, Scaling stream 

densities for hydrologic generalization [abs.]: Proceedings, short paper, GIScience 2012, Columbus, Ohio, September 2012, 

Stanislawski, L.V., Briat, M.O., Punt, E., Howard, M., Brewer, C.A., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2012, Density stratified thinning of 

road networks to support automated generalization for The National Map [abs.]: Proceedings: Workshop of the International 

Cartographic Association Commission on Generalisation and Multiple Representation, 15th, Istanbul, Turkey, September 

2012. 

Wolf, E.B., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2012, Aggregating data quality metrics for item level metadata [abs.]: Proceedings, Auto-Carto 

12, Columbus, Ohio, September 2012.

Stauffer, A.J., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2012, Effects of generalization on DEM resolution [abs.]: Proceedings, 

Auto-Carto 12, Columbus, Ohio, September 2012. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Raposo, P., Howard, M., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2012, Automated metric assessment of line simplification in 

humid landscapes [abs.]: Proceedings, Auto-Carto 12, Columbus, Ohio, September 2012. 
 23

Brewer, C.A., Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., Raposo, P., Sparks, K., and Howard, M., 2012, Multi-scale design for 

The National Map of the United States—Roads, populated places, boundaries and landcover [abs.]: Proceedings, AutoCarto 12, Columbus, Ohio, September 2012. 

Anderson-Tarver, C., Gleason, M., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2012, Automated centerline delineation to 

enrich the National Hydrography Dataset in Xiao, N., Kwan, M.P., and Lin, H., eds., Lecture notes in computer science 

vol. 7478: GIScience 2012, p. 15–28.

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2011, A comparison of star and ladder strategies for intermediate 

scale processing of USGS National Hydrography Dataset: Proceedings, Workshop of the International Cartographic Association Commission on Generalisation and Multiple Representation, 14th, Paris, France, July 2011.

Stanislawski, L.V., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, A raster alternative for partitioning line densities to support sutomated cartographicgeneralization: Proceedings, Workshop of the International Cartographic Association Commission on Generalisation and Multiple Representation, 14th, Paris, France, July 2011.

Stanislawski, L.V., and Savino, S., 2011, Pruning of hydrographic networks—A comparison of two approaches: Proceedings, 

Workshop of the International Cartographic Association/International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 

on Generalisation and Multiple Representation, 14th, Paris, France, July 2011. 

Anderson-Tarver, C., and Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Koontz, J., 2011, Automated delineation of stream 

centerlines for the USGS National Hydrography Dataset: Proceedings, International Cartographic Congress, Advances 

in Cartography and GIScience, 25th, Paris, France, July 2011, v. 1. [Lecture notes in Geoinformation and Cartography, 

p. 409–423.]

Wendel, J., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, Flexible characterization of cartographic generalization resources for an online selforganizing catalog: Proceedings, International Cartographic Congress, 25th, Paris, France, July 2011.

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V, 2011, Choosing between geometry change and display change for 

multiscale mapping—The role of elimination in design: Proceedings, Workshop of the International Cartographic Association Commission on Generalisation and Multiple Representation, 14th, Paris, France, July 2011.

Stanislawski, L.V., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Hydrographic feature generalization in dry mountainous terrain: Proceedings, 

AutoCarto 2010, Orlando, Florida, November 2010.

Stanislawski, L.V., Finn, M.P., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Integrating hydrographic generalization over multiple physiographic regimes. Chapter in Generalization and Data Integration book, compiled for CEGIS International Symposium on 

Generalization and Data Integration, Boulder, Colorado, June 2010.

Anderson-Tarver, C., Leyk, S., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Identifying vector feature textures using fuzzy sets: Proceedings, 

AutoCarto 2010, Orlando, Florida, November 2010.

Brewer, C.A., Hanchett, C.L., Buttenfield, B.P., and Usery, E.L., 2010, Performance of map symbol and label design with 

format and display resolution options through scale for The National Map: Proceedings, AutoCarto 2010, Orlando, 

Florida, November 2010.

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Multiscale representations of water—Tailoring generalization 

sequences to specific physiographic regimes: Proceedings, short paper, GIScience 2010, Zurich, Switzerland, September 

2010.

Wendel, J., and Buttenfield, B. P., 2010, Formalizing guidelines for building self-organizing maps: Proceedings, short paper, 

GIScience 2010, Zurich, Switzerland, September 2010. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P. and Samaranayake, V.A., 2010, Automated metric assessment of hydrographic feature 

generalization through bootstrapping: Proceedings, International Cartographic Association Symposium on Multiple Representations and Map Generalization, 13th, Zurich, Switzerland, September 2010. 

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Usery, E.L., 2009, Evaluating generalizations of hydrography in differing terrains for 

The National Map of the United States: Proceedings, International Cartographic Conference, Santiago, Chile, November 

2009. 
24 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., Finn, M.P., and Roth, K., 2009, Stratified database pruning to support local density variations in automated generalization of the United States National Hydrography Dataset: Proceedings, International Cartographic 

Conference, Santiago, Chile, November 2009. 

Wolf, E.B., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2008, Dimensional collapse and airports in multi-scale mapping: Proceedings, AutoCarto 

2008, Shephardstown, West Virginia, September 2008. 

Wendel, J., Buttenfield, B.P., Viger, R., and Smith, J., 2008, Characterizing hydrology commands—Spatialization with SOM 

mapping: Proceedings, GIScience 2008, Park City, Utah, September 2008.

Stanislawski, L.V., 2008, Development of a knowledge-based network pruning strategy for automated generalisation of the 

United States National Hydrography Dataset: Proceedings, Workshop of the International Cartographic Association on Generalisation and Multiple Representation, 11th, Montpellier, France, June 2008.

Invited Keynotes, Lectures, and Colloquia

2011

Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, Multiple representations of geospatial data—A cartographic search for the Holy Grail?: The National 

Map Users Conference, Denver Colorado, May 2011.

2010

Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Mapping water with the best intentions: Department of Geography, Penn State University.

Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Generalization and data integration: University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Conference Presentations Not Published in Proceedings or Journal Articles

2012

Buttenfield, B.P., Gleason, M., and Tarver, C., 2012, Automatic delineation of centerlines and stream braids for cartographic 

generalization: North American Cartographic Information Society Annual Meeting (NACIS 32), Portland, Oregon, October 

2012.

Wendel, J., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2012, Comparison of unsupervised learning algorithms for physiographic 

classification of U.S. landscape types: Annual Meetings of the Association of American Geographers, New York City, February 2012.

Stanislawski, L.V., 2012, Overview of CEGIS NHD and Transportation generalization tools for grid-computing application: 

CEGIS visit to National Center for Supercomputing Applications at University of Illinois–Champaign, Champaign-Urbana 

Illinois, February 2012.

2011

 Gleason, M.J., Pitlick, J., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, Filtering raw terrestrial laser scanning data for more efficient and accurate 

use in geomorphologic modeling: American Geophysical Union Annual Meetings, San Francisco, California, December 2011.

Stanislawski, L.V., Finelli, E., Doumbouya, A., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, Metric assessment of NHD cartographic generalization supporting 1:24,000 USGS digital topographic maps for New Jersey: USGS GIS Workshop: Denver, Colorado, May 

2011.

Finelli, E.L., Bates, A.T., Stanislawski, L.V., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, National Hydrography Dataset Generalization case 

study—From local resolution New Jersey NHD to 1:24,000-scale: USGS GIS Workshop: Denver, Colorado, May 2011.
 25

Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, Automated methods for simplifying surface water features: flowlines, waterbodies and centerlines: 

USGS Workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Estimating 1:24,000-scale drainage density for the coterminous United States using Elevation-derived 

streams: USGS Workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web 

presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Partitioning Line densities to support automated cartographic generalization: USGS Workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Overview of Procedures to prune high-resolution NHD: USGS Workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Overview of CEGIS Generalization research on best practices transportation data: USGS Workshop on 

Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 17. (web presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Landscape Classification to support automated generalization: USGS Workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Catchment and upstream drainage area processing for enriching the NHD for generalization: USGS 

Workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

Howard, M., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Average Segment length within landscape classes of NHD subbasins: USGS Workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Review of coefficient of line correspondence and coefficient of area correspondence for hydrography 

validation: USGS Workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web 

presentation).

Finelli, E., 2011, National Map—US Topo Requirements: generalized local resolution NHD to 1:24,000: USGS Workshop on 

Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

Buttenfield, B.P., and Gleason, M., 2011, Automatic identification of islands in the National Hydrography Dataset: USGS Workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, 2011. (web presentation).

Buttenfield, B.P. and Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Generalization for The National Map: USGS-CEGIS “All-Hands” Annual 

Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri, June 2011.

2010

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and E.L., Usery, 2010, Designing USGS Topographic mapping for multiscale online use: Esri 

User Conference, San Diego, California, July 2010.

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and E.L., Usery, 2010, Designing USGS Topographic mapping for multiscale online use: International Cartographic Symposium on Cartography for Australasia and Oceania (GeoCart 2010), Auckland, New Zealand, 

September 2010.

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Generalization to support The National Map: USGS-CEGIS “AllHands” Annual Research Meeting, Denver, Colorado, June. 2010. 

Brewer, C.A., B.P., Buttenfield, and Stanislawski, L.V., 2010, Progress on electronic topo map design decisions: USGS-CEGIS 

“All-Hands” Annual Research Meeting, Denver, Colorado, June 2010. 

Brewer, C.A., Hanchett, C.L., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2010, Evaluation of map symbols by screen resolution 

and file format through scale: USGS-CEGIS “All-Hands” Annual Research Meeting, Denver, Colorado, June 2010. 

Wendel, J., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Guidelines for self-organizing maps: Annual Meetings Association of American Geographers, Washington D.C., April 2010.
26 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Anderson-Tarver, C., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Generalizing a swamp-marsh database using texture: Annual Meetings Association of American Geographers, Washington D.C., April 2010.

Stanislawski, L.V., 2010, Cluster Processing for enriching the National Hydrography Dataset for Automated Generalization: 

University of Illinois–Champaign, Cyberinfrastructure and Geospatial Information Laboratory, visit to USGS, Rolla, Missouri, March 2010.

2009

Buttenfield, B.P., Brewer, C.A., and Usery, E.L., 2009, Place still matters—Generalizing the National Hydrography Dataset by 

local terrain and climate: North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS 29), Sacramento, California, October 

2009. 

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Usery, E.L., 2009, Designing The National Map produced by USGS for multi-scale online 

use: North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS 29), Sacramento, California, October 2009. 

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2009, NHD generalization and multiscale topographic map design: 

USGS Center for Excellence “All-Hands” Annual Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri, August 2009.

Stanislawski, L.V., 2009, An automated approach to compare generalized hydrographic network features to a benchmark dataset: 

Dagstuhl Seminar on Generalization of Spatial Information, Schloss-Dagstuhl, Germany, April 2009. 

Wendel, J., Buttenfield, B.P., Anderson-Tarver, C., and Brewer, C.A., 2009, Cartographic generalization by physiographic 

region: Annual Meetings Association of American Geographers, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 2009.

2008

Buttenfield, B.P., 2008, Hydrographic generalization—Problems to solve for The National Map: USGS Center for Excellence 

“All-Hands” Annual Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri, 2008.

Stanislawski, L.V., 2008, Generalization of primary data themes for The National Map: USGS CEGIS “All-Hands” Annual 

Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri, 2008.

Viger, R., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2008, Semantics for integrating hydrologic models: USGS Symposium on GIS Research, USGS 

Headquarters, Reston, Virginia, September 2008.

Wendel, J., Buttenfield, B.P., Viger, R., and Smith, J., 2008, Spatializing GIS commands with self-organizing maps: Annual 

Meetings Association of American Geographers, Boston, Massachusetts, April 2008.

Stanislawski, L.V., and Schnarr III, O.C., 2008, Implementation of an automated network pruning strategy for generalization 

of the National Hydrography Dataset: Annual Meetings Association of American Geographers, Boston, Massachusetts. April 

2008.

2007

Stanislawski, L.V., Finn, M., Barnes, M., and Usery, E.L., 2007, Assessment of a rapid approach for estimating catchment areas 

for surface drainage lines: American Congress on Survey and Mapping–Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association–

Missouri Society of Professional Surveyors (ACSM-IPLSA-MSPS) 2007, St. Louis, Missouri, March 2007.

Chair of the following Ph.D. Committees with Research Directly Related to CEGIS Research

Wendel, Jochen, University of. Colorado—Boulder (entered the program Fall 2007)

Explicit and Implicit Indexing Schemas for Multiple Data Types of Online Generalization 

Resources; Dissertation defense planned January 2013
 27

Supervised Master’s degrees (University of Colorado)

Stauffer, Andrew (ongoing) Impacts of Iterative Filtering on Terrain Resolution;

 Entered the program August 2011 

Gleason, Michael (ongoing) Filtering TLIDAR Point Clouds for DEM Interpolation;

Thesis defense November 28, 2012

Anderson-Tarver, Chris (February 2010) Generalizing a Swamp-Marsh Database Using Texture
28 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Generalization

Larry Stanislawski

Journal Articles

Brewer, C.A., Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., Raposo, P., Sparks, K., and Howard, M.A., 2012, Multiscale design of 

thinned road networks for The National Map of the United States: Cartography and Geographic Information Science (submitted; under review).

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2011, Adapting generalization tools to physiographic diversity for the 

United States National Hydrography Dataset: Cartography and Geographic Information Science, v. 38, no. 3, p. 289–301.

Stanislawski, L.V., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, Hydrographic generalization tailored to dry mountainous regions: Cartography 

and Geographic Information Science, v. 38, no. 2, p.117–125.

Stanislawski, L.V., 2009, Feature pruning by upstream drainage area to support automated generalization of the United States 

National Hydrography Dataset: Computers, Environment, and Urban Systems, v. 33, no. 5, p.325–333.

Proceedings and Workshop Papers (peer-reviewed) 

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., Anderson-Tarver, C., and Gleason, M.J., 2012, Automatic enrichment of stream networks 

with primary paths for sse in the United States National Atlas: Proceedings, International Cartographic Congress, 26th, Dresden, Germany, August 2013. (submitted November 14, 2012; under review).

Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., and Brewer, C.A., 2012, Integration metrics for cartographic generalization—Assessment 

of 1:1000,000 scale hydrography and terrain: Proceedings, International Cartographic Congress, 26th, Dresden, Germany, 

August 2013. (submitted November 14, 2012; under review).

Brewer, C.A., Stanislawski, L.V., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2012, Labeling through scale using hierarchies of thinned Road networks for design of The National Map of the United States: Proceedings, International Cartographic Congress, 26th, Dresden, 

Germany, August 2012. (submitted November 14, 2012; under review).

Anderson-Tarver, C., Gleason, M., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2012, Automated centerline delineation to enrich 

the National Hydrography Dataset: International Conference on Geographic Information Science, 7th, September 2012, 

Columbus, Ohio, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, v. 7478, p.15–28. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Briat, M., Punt, E., Howard, M., Brewer, C.A., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2012, Density stratified thinning of road 

networks to support automated generalization of The National Map: Workshop of the International Cartographic Association 

on Generalization, 15th, Istanbul, Turkey, September 2012. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Doumbouya, A.T., Miller-Corbett, C.D., Buttenfield, B.P. and Arundel-Murin, S.T., 2012, Scaling stream 

densities for hydrologic generalizations: International Conference on Geographic Information Science, 7th, Columbus, Ohio, 

September 2012. 

Anderson-Tarver, C., Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Koontz, J., 2012, Automated delineation of stream centerlines for 

the USGS National Hydrography Dataset: Proceedings, International Cartographic Conference, 25th, Paris, France, July 2011, 

v. 1, [Lecture notes in Geoinformation and Cartography, p. 409–423.]

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Choosing between geometry change and display change for 

multiscale mapping—The role of elimination in design: Workshop of the International Cartographic Association/International 

Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing on Generalization and Multiple Representations, 14th, Paris, France, June/

July 2011. 

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2011, A comparison of star and ladder strategies for intermediate scale 

processing of USGS National Hydrography Dataset: Workshop of the International Cartographic Association/International 

Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing on Generalization and Multiple Representations, 14th, Paris, France, June/

July 2011. 
 29

Stanislawski, L.V., and Savino, S., 2011, Pruning of hydrographic networks: a comparison of two approaches: Workshop of the 

International Cartographic Association/International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing on Generalization and 

Multiple Representations, 14th, Paris, France, June/July 2011. 

Stanislawski, L.V., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, A raster alternative for partitioning line densities to support automated cartographic generalization: International Cartographic Conference, 25th, Paris, France, July 2011. 

Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2010, Multiscale representations of water—Tailoring generalization sequences to specific physiographic regimes: International Conference on Geographic Information Science, 6th, Zurich, Switzerland, September 2010. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., and Samaranayake, V.A., 2010, Automated metric assessment of hydrographic feature 

generalization through bootstrapping: Workshop of the International Cartographic Association on Generalization and Multiple 

Representations, 12th, Zurich, Switzerland, September, 2010. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., Finn, M.P., and Roth, K., 2009, Stratified database pruning to support local density variations in automated generalization of the United States National Hydrography Dataset: International Cartographic Conference, 

24th, Santiago, Chile, November 2009. 

Stanislawski, L.V., 2008, Development of a knowledge-based network pruning strategy for automated generalisation of the 

United States National Hydrography Dataset: Workshop of the International Cartographic Association on Generalisation and 

Multiple Representations, 11th, Montpellier, France, June 2008.

Proceedings and Workshop Papers (not peer-reviewed) 

Brewer, C.A., Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., Raposo, P., Sparks, K.A., and Howard, M., 2012, Multiscale design for The 

National Map of the United States—Road thinning for topographic Mapping: AutoCarto 2012, Columbus, Ohio, September 

2012. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Raposo, P., Howard, M., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2012, Automated metric assessment of line simplification in 

humid landscapes: AutoCarto 2012, Columbus, Ohio, September 2012. 

Stauffer, A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2012, Effects of generalization on DEM resolution: AutoCarto 2012, 

Columbus, Ohio, September 2012.

Stanislawski, L.V., Finn, M.P., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Integrating hydrographic generalization over multiple physiographic 

regimes. Chapter in Generalization and Data Integration book, compiled for CEGIS International Symposium on Generalization and Data Integration, Boulder, Colorado, June 2010. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Hydrographic feature generalization in dry mountainous terrain: AutoCarto 2010, 

Orlando, Florida, November 2010. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Finn, M., Barnes, M., and Usery, E.L., 2007, Assessment of a rapid approach for estimating catchment areas 

for surface drainage lines. American Congress on Surveying and Mapping–Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association–

Missouri Society of Professional Surveyors, (ACSM-IPLSA-MSPS 2007): St. Louis, Missouri, March 2007. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Finn, M., Usery, E.L., and Robinette, P. M., 2007, Development of a blunder detection approach for automated point matching during vector to image data integration: American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 

(ASPRS) 2007 Annual Conference, Tampa, Florida, May 2007.

Stanislawski, L.V., Finn, M., Starbuck, M., Usery, E.L., and Turley, P., 2006, Estimation of accumulated upstream drainage values in braided streams using augmented directed graphs: AutoCarto 2006, Vancouver, Washington, June 2006. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Starbuck, M., Finn, M., and Usery, E.L., 2005, Generalization for The National Map with emphasis on the 

National Hydrography Dataset: Esri International User Conference 2005, San Diego, California, July 2005. 
30 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Presentations

2012

Buttenfield, B.P., Gleason, M.J., and Anderson-Tarver, C., 2012, Automatic delineation of primary channels through braided 

stream networks for cartographic generalization: North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS 2012), Portland, 

Oregon, October 2012.

Anderson-Tarver, C., Gleason, M., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2012, Automated centerline delineation to enrich 

the National Hydrography Dataset: Seventh International Conference on Geographic Information Science, Columbus, Ohio, 

September 2012.

Brewer, C.A., Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., Raposo, P., Sparks, K.A., and Howard, M., 2012, Multiscale design for The 

National Map of the United States—Road thinning for topographic mapping: AutoCarto 2012, Columbus, Ohio, September 

2012,

Stanislawski, L.V., 2012, Overview of CEGIS NHD and Transportation generalization tools for grid-computing application: 

CEGIS visit to National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois–Champaign, ChampaignUrbana, Illinois, February 2012.

Stanislawski, L.V., Briat, M., Punt, E., Howard, M., Brewer, C.A., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2012, Density stratified thinning of road 

networks to support automated generalization of The National Map: International Cartographic Association (ICA) Workshop 

on Generalization, 15th, Istanbul, Turkey, September 2012. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Doumbouya, A.T., Miller-Corbett, C.D., Buttenfield, B.P., and Arundel-Murin, S.T., 2012, Scaling stream 

densities for hydrologic generalizations: International Conference on Geographic Information Science, 7th, Columbus, Ohio, 

September 2012.

Stanislawski, L.V., Doumbouya, A.T., and Miller-Corbett, C.D., 2012, Mapping natural variability in drainage density for the 

coterminous United States to support hydrologic generalization: GIS in the Rockies 2012, Denver, Colorado, September 2012. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Raposo, P., Howard, M., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2012, Automated metric assessment of line simplification in 

humid landscapes: AutoCarto 2012, Columbus, Ohio, September 2012. 

Stauffer, A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2012, Effects of generalization on DEM resolution: AutoCarto 2012, 

Columbus, Ohio, September 2012. 

Wendel, J., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L., 2012, Comparison of unsupervised learning algorithms for physiographic 

classification of the United States landscape types: Annual Meetings of the Association of American Geographers. New York, 

New York, February 2012. 

2011

Gleason, M.J., Pitlick, J., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, Filtering raw terrestrial laser scanning data for more efficient and accurate 

Use in Geomorphologic Modeling: American Geophysical Union Annual Meetings, San Francisco, California, December 

2011.

Anderson-Tarver, C., Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Koontz, J., 2011, Automated delineation of stream centerlines for 

the USGS National Hydrography Dataset: Proceedings, International Cartographic Conference, 25th, Paris, France, July 2011, 

v. 1. [Lecture notes in Geoinformation and Cartography, p. 409–423.]

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Choosing between geometry change and display change for multiscale mapping—The role of elimination in design: International Cartographic Association/American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ICA/ASPRS) workshop on Generalization and Multiple Representations, 14th, Paris, France, 

June/July 2011. 

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2011, A comparison of star and ladder strategies for intermediate scale 

processing of USGS National Hydrography Dataset: International Cartographic Association/American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ICA/ASPRS) Paris, France, June/July 2011.
 31

Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Generalization for The National Map: USGS-CEGIS “All-Hands” Annual 

Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri, June 2011.

Finelli, E.L., Bates, A.T., Stanislawski, L.V., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, National Hydrography Dataset generalization case 

study—From local resolution New Jersey NHD to 1:24,000-Scale: USGS GIS Workshop, Denver, Colorado, May 2011.

Howard, M., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Average segment length within landscape classes of NHD subbasins: USGS Workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., Finelli, E., Doumbouya, A., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, Metric Assessment of NHD cartographic generalization supporting 1:24,000 USGS digital topographic maps for New Jersey: USGS GIS Workshop. Denver, Colorado, May 

2011.

Stanislawski, L.V., and Savino, S., 2011, Pruning of hydrographic networks—A comparison of two approaches: International 

Cartographic Association/American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ICA/ASPRS), 14th, workshop on 

Generalization and Multiple Representations, Paris, France, June/July 2011.

Stanislawski, L.V., and Buttenfield, B.P., 2011, A raster alternative for partitioning line densities to support automated cartographic generalization: International Cartographic Conference, 25th, Paris, France, July 2011. 

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Estimating 1:24,000-scale drainage density for the coterminous United States using elevation-derived 

streams: USGS workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web 

presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Partitioning line densities to support automated cartographic generalization: USGS workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Overview of procedures to prune high-resolution NHD: USGS workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Overview of CEGIS Generalization research on best practices transportation data: USGS workshop on 

Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Landscape classification to support automated generalization: USGS workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Catchment and upstream drainage area processing for enriching the NHD for generalization: USGS 

workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. (web presentation).

 Stanislawski, L.V., 2011, Review of Coefficient of Line Correspondence and Coefficient of Area Correspondence for Hydrography validation: USGS Workshop on Cartographic Generalization and Concurrent Processing, Rolla, Missouri, October 2011. 

(web presentation).

2010

Buttenfield, B.P., Stanislawski, L.V., and Brewer, C.A., 2010, Generalization to support The National Map: USGS-CEGIS “AllHands” Annual Research Meeting, Denver, Colorado, June 2010.

Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L.V., 2010, Multiscale representations of water—Tailoring generalization sequences to specific physiographic regimes: International Conference on Geographic Information Science, 6th, Zurich, Switzerland, September 2010.

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L., 2010, Progress on electronic topo map design decisions: USGS-CEGIS 

“All-Hands” Annual Research Meeting, Denver, Colorado, June 2010. 

Brewer, C.A., Hanchett, C.L., Buttenfield, B.P., and Stanislawski, L., 2010, Evaluation of map symbols by screen resolution and 

file format through scale: USGS-CEGIS “All-Hands” Annual Research Meeting, Denver, Colorado, June 2010. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., 2010, Hydrographic feature generalization in dry mountainous terrain: AutoCarto 2010, 

Orlando, Florida, November 2010. 
32 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., and Samaranayake, V.A., 2010, Automated metric assessment of hydrographic feature 

generalization through bootstrapping: International Cartographic Association (ICA) Workshop on Generalization and Multiple 

Representations, 12th, Zurich, Switzerland, September 2010. 

Stanislawski, L.V., 2010, Cluster Processing for enriching the national hydrography dataset for automated generalization: 

University of Illinois–Champaign, cyberinfrastructure and geospatial information laboratory visit to USGS, Rolla, Missouri, 

March 2010.

2009

Stanislawski, L.V., Buttenfield, B.P., Finn, M.P., and Roth, K., 2009, Stratified database pruning to support local density variations in automated generalization of the United States National Hydrography Dataset: International Cartographic Conference, 

24th, Santiago, Chile, November 2009.

Stanislawski, L.V., 2009, An automated approach to compare generalized hydrographic network features to a benchmark dataset: 

Dagstuhl seminar on generalization of spatial information, Schloss-Dagstuhl, Germany, April 2009. 

2008

Stanislawski, L.V., and Schnarr III, O.C., 2008, Implementation of an automated network pruning strategy for generalization of 

the National Hydrography Dataset: Association of American Geographers (AAG) 2008 Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, April 2008.

Stanislawski, L.V., 2008, Development of a knowledge-based network pruning strategy for automated generalisation of the 

United States National Hydrography Dataset: International Cartographic Association (ICA) Workshop on Generalisation and 

Multiple Representation, 11th, Montpellier, France, June 2008. 

2007

Stanislawski, L.V., Finn, M., Barnes, M., and Usery, E.L., 2007, Assessment of a rapid approach for estimating catchment areas 

for surface drainage lines: American Congress on Survey and Mapping–Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association–

Missouri Society of Professional Surveyors (ACSM-IPLSA-MSPS 2007): St. Louis, Missouri. March 2007. 

Stanislawski, L.V., Finn, M., Usery, E.L., and Robinette, P. M.,. 2007, Development of a blunder detection approach for automated point matching during vector to image data integration: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 

(ASPRS) 2007 Annual Conference, Tampa, Florida, May 2007.

2006

Stanislawski, L.V., Finn, M., Starbuck, M., Usery, E.L., and Turley, P., 2006, Estimation of accumulated upstream drainage values in braided streams using augmented directed graphs: AutoCarto 2006, Vancouver, Washington, June 2006.

2005

Stanislawski, L.V., Starbuck, M., Finn, M. and Usery, E.L., 2005, Generalization for The National Map with emphasis on the 

National Hydrography Dataset: Esri International User Conference 2005, San Diego, California, July 2005. 
 33

Publications and Presentation 2007–2012

Data Integration

Integration of Roads and Images (includes some items that pre-date CEGIS and 2007, but were part of the Data Integration 

project)

E. Lynn Usery, Michael Finn and others

Presentations

2009

Usery, E.L., 2009, Geospatial data integration—A review and a USGS approach: China-U.S. Roundtable on Scientific Data 

Cooperation, Qingdao, China.

Usery, E.L., 2009, Geospatial Data Integration—A review and a USGS approach: University of Missouri–Kansas City.

2007

Usery, E.L., 2007. Data Integration for The National Map: University of Missouri-Rolla.

Stanislawski, L., Finn, M.P., Usery, E.L., and Robinette, P.L., 2007, Development of a blunder detection approach for automated 

point matching during vector to image data Integration: Proceedings, American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote 

Sensing Annual Conference, Tampa, Florida, 2007.

2003

Usery, E.L., 2003, Data Integration of layers and features for The National Map: American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, Phoenix, Arizona.

Publications

Weaver, B., 2004, Data and institutional integration across spatial scales for The National Map: Unpublished master’s Thesis, 

University of Georgia.

Usery, E.L., Finn, M.P., Weaver, B., Starbuck, M., and Jaromack, G.M., 2004, Integration of The National Map: International 

Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Istanbul, Turkey, presented by M.P. Finn, August, 2004.

Usery, E.L., Finn, M.P., and Starbuck, M., 2009, Data layer integration for The National Map of The United States: Cartographic 

Perspectives, v. 62, p. 28–41.

Usery, E.L., 2012, Generalization and data integration (GDI)—A USGS CEGIS perspective—Generalization and data integration: Springer, in press.
34 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

The National Map and Other USGS Data

Thomas Shoberg

Publications

Varanka, D., Carter, J., Usery, E.L., and Shoberg, T., 2011, Topographic mapping data semantics through data conversion and 

enhancement, in Ashish, N., and Sheth, A.P., eds., Geospatial semantics and the semantic web—Foundations, algorithms and 

applications: Springer Science and Business Media, LLC, ser., Semantic Web and Beyond, v. 12. 

Shoberg, T., Stoddard, P.R., and Finn, M.P., 2012. Rejuvenating pre-GPS Era geophysical surveys using The National Map: 

Journal of Surveying Engineering, v. 138, no. 2, p. 57–65.

Shoberg, T., and Stoddard, P.R., 2012, Integrating stations from the North America gravity database into a local GPS-based land 

gravity survey: Journal of Applied Geophysics, v. 89, p. 83.

Shoberg, T., 2012, Buttenfield, B.P., ed., Using GIS data interpolation as an aid in the design of low station density geophysical 

surveys: Proceedings, GDI 2010 conference, Boulder, Colorado, June 2010.

Presentations

2012

Shoberg, T., Long, S., Corns, S., and Carlo, H., 2012, Integrating The National Map geospatial data into extreme events supply 

chain networks to improve resiliency following large-scale urban disasters: Presented at the American Association of Geographers National conference, New York, New York, February 2012. 

Shoberg, T., 2012, Data integration at CEGIS: Presented at the CEGIS Yearly planning meeting, Rolla, Missouri, June 2012. 

Shoberg, T., and Stoddard, P.R., 2012, Finding nothing—Algorithms to search for circular features across geospatially integrated 

datasets: Accepted by the American Geophysical Union for presentation in their Fall 2012 conference in San Francisco, California.

2011

Data Management Sub-Group, 2011, Proposal round-robin panel: Community for Data Integration Annual Conference, Denver, 

Colorado.

Shoberg, T., 2011, Data integration at CEGIS: Presented at the CEGIS yearly planning meeting, June 2011, Rolla, Missouri.

2010

Shoberg, T., and Stoddard, P.R., 2010, Integrating national database stations into GPS-based land surveys: American Geophysical Union, National Conference, San Francisco, California.

Shoberg, T., Stoddard, P.R., and Finn, M.P., 2010, Rejuvenating pre-GPS era geophysical surveys with The National Map: Geological Society of America, National Conference, Denver, Colorado.

Shoberg, T., 2010, Data integration at CEGIS: Presented at the CEGIS Yearly planning meeting, June 2010, Denver, Colorado.

Shoberg, T., 2010, Integrating geophysical, geological and geospatial data: GDI 2010, Generalization and Data Integration Conference, Boulder, Colorado.
 35

Lidar Extraction and Conflation

Keith Clarke

Clarke, K., and Reginald. A., 2009, Terrain feature extraction from variable resolution Digital Elevation Models: International 

Cartographic Conference, 24th, Santiago, Chile, November 2009. 

Archer, R., and Clarke, K., 2010, Comparison of open source terrain feature extraction algorithms for variable resolution Digital 

Elevation Models: Presented at Special Joint Symposium of ISPRS Technical Commission IV, AutoCarto 2010, and American 

Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing/Cartography and Geographic Information Society (ASPRS/CaGIS) Fall 

Specialty Conference, Orlando, Florida, November 2010. 
36 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

 Publications and Presentation 2007–2012

Ontology and Geospatial Semantics

Dalia Varanka

Presentations

2007

Varanka, D., 2007, Kriging and spatial interaction—A combined approach for scaling and generalizing urbanization pressure 

on the environment [abs.]: International Cartographic Association workshop on Geospatial Analysis and Modeling, Spatial 

Structure and Dynamics of Urban Environments, 2nd, Athens, Georgia, July 2007. 

Varanka, D., 2007, The rise of scientific plain style cartography in English world atlases [abs.]: North American Cartographic 

Information Society (NACIS) 2007, St. Louis, Missouri, October 2006, p. 12–13. 

Varanka, D., 2007, Effects of raster resolution changes on agricultural non-point source pollution modeling output [abs.]: Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, April 2007. 

Varanka, D., 2007, Ontological foundations of transportation data for The National Map (USA) [abs.]: International Cartographic Conference abstracts with programs, XXIII, Moscow, Russia, August 2007, p. 161.

2008

Varanka, D., 2008, Topographic feature inventories for national mapping ontology [abs.]: Annual Meeting of the Association of 

American Geographers, Boston, Massachusetts, April, 2008. 

Varanka, D., 2008, Interpolating Missouri population pressure on urbanizing natural areas [abs.]: Mid-America GIS Consortium 

(MAGIC), Kansas City, Missouri, April 2008. 

Varanka, D., 2008, Interpolating Missouri population pressure on urbanizing natural areas: Poster presented at USGS Modeling 

Conference, Perdido Beach, Alabama, February 2008. 

Varanka, D., 2008, Krigingo metodas: populiacijos daroma spaudimo urbanizuojant gamtą matavimas ir apibendrinimas (A 

Kriging Approach for Scaling and Generalizing Population Pressure on Urbanizing Natural Areas) [abs.]: Mokslo ir Kūrybos 

Simpoziumas, XIV, (World Lithuanian Symposium on the Arts and Sciences, 14th), Lemont, Illinois, November 2008. 

Varanka, D., 2008, Ontology research for The National Map: Spatial Ontology Community of Practice Workshop, MITRE, 

McLean, Virginia, October 2008. 

Varanka, D., 2008, National topographic modeling, ontology-driven geographic information in the context of The National 

Map: International Workshop, 1st, on Information Semantics and its Implications for Geographical Analysis (ISGA ’08) at 

GIScience 2008, the International Conference on Geographic Information Science, 5th, Park City, Utah, September 2008. 

2009

Varanka, D., 2009, A Topographic feature taxonomy for a U.S. National topographic mapping ontology: International Cartography Conference, Santiago, Chile, November, 2009.

Varanka, D., 2009, Landscape features, technology codes, and semantics in U.S. National topographic mapping databases: The 

International Conference on Advanced Geographic Information Systems and Web Services (GEOWS), Cancun, Mexico, 

February 2009. 

Varanka, D., 2009, Report on building ontology for The National Map: UCGIS/USGS Specialist Workshop, UCGIS Winter 

Assembly, Washington, D.C., February 2009. 
 37

Varanka, D., 2009, Building ontology for The National Map: Presentation at the Joint Mid-Continent Geographic Science Center/Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, University of Arkansas, exploratory research meeting, Rolla, Missouri, April 

2009.

2010

Varanka, D., 2010, The diffusion of U.S. Geological Survey digital geospatial data products for research and public use [abs.]: 

International Symposium on the History of Cartography, 3rd, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, October 

2010. 

Varanka, D.E., and Caro, H.K., 2010, Spatial relation predicates for National topographic ontologies—Cognitive and linguistic 

aspects of geographic space in the age of ontology and cyber-infrastructure, Las Navas del Marques, Avila Province, Spain, 

July 2010. 

Varanka, D., and Jerris, T., 2010, Ontology Patterns for complex topographic features: AutoCarto 2010, Orlando Florida. 

November 2010. 

Varanka, D., Bulen, A., and Carter, J.J., 2010, Triple data from The National Map. D.: Annual Spatial Ontology Community of 

Practice (SOCoP) Workshop, 3rd, Reston, Virginia, December 2010. 

2011

Varanka, D., 2011, Building ontology for The National Map: USGS National Geospatial Program Products and Services Leads 

Research Meeting, January 2011. 

Varanka, D.E., 2011, A topographic feature vocabulary for ontology development: GeoVoCamp, Washington, D.C., June 2011.

Varanka, D., 2011, Semantic web technology for The National Map [abs.]: The National Map Users Conference: Denver, Colorado, May 2011.

Usery, E.L., and Varanka, D., 2011, Semantics for complex features from images [abs.]: American Society for Photogrammetry 

and Remote Sensing 2011 Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 2011.

Varanka, D., 2011, Building ontology for The National Map–So Far * * *: Presented at the Community for Data Integration, 

Semantic Web Working Group, monthly meeting, September 2011.

Usery, E.L., and Varanka, D.E., 2011, USGS needs and advancements in semantics of geospatial data and cyber GIS: Annual 

Spatial Ontology Community of Practice Workshop, 4th, Reston, Virginia, December 2011. 

2012

Usery, E.L., and Varanka, D., 2012, Geomorphic features on the semantic web [abs.]: Annual Meeting of the Association of 

American Geographers, New York, New York, April 2012.

Varanka, D.E., 2012, Semantic technology research in support of The National Map: USGS Core Science Systems (CSS) Senior 

Staff Meeting, March, 2012.

Varanka, D.E., 2012, Geospatial semantics, a basic introduction: Introduction to Geospatial Semantics and Technology Workshop, University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) Symposium, Washington, D.C., May 2012. 

Varanka, D.E., 2012, Topographic feature type vocabularies for ontology design patterns: Institute of Electrical and Electronics 

Engineers (IEEE) International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), July 2012. 

Varanka, D.E., 2012, Rethinking the meaning of data for integrated science problem solving: EarthScienceOntolog, August 

2012. 

Varanka, D.E., 2012, Topographic predicate vocabularies for ontology patterns: AutoCarto 2012, September, 2012. 
38 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Publications

Varanka, D.E., 2006, National trends regarding aggregate materials for urban development, with a method for the analysis of 

aggregates distribution, in Rates, trends, causes, and consequences of urban land-use change in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1726, p. 45–54. 

Varanka, D.E., 2006, Interpreting map art with a perspective learned from J.M. Blaut: Cartographic Perspectives, n. 53, 

p. 15–23. 

Varanka, D.E., 2006, Centralization and locality in the 20th century National topographic mapping program in the United States: 

in Postnikov, A., ed., Development of Ideas and methods in cartography: Moscow, Russia, Russian Academy of Sciences, 

p. 26–41. 

Varanka, D.E., 2007, Ontological foundations of transportation data for The National Map (USA): Proceedings, International 

Cartographic Conference, XXIII, Moscow, Russia, August 2007, 13 p. (CD-ROM).

Varanka, D.E., and Shaver, D.K., 2007, Land-use change trends in the interior river lowlands ecoregion: U.S. Geological Survey 

Scientific Investigations Report 2007–5145, p. 12. 

Varanka, D., 2008, Interpolating population pressure on urbanizing natural areas (poster): Rolla, Missouri.

Varanka, D.E., 2008, National Topographic modeling, ontology-driven geographic information in the context of The National 

Map: International Workshop on Information Semantics and its Implications for Geographical Analysis, 1st, (ISGA ’08) at 

GIScience 2008, the International Conference on Geographic Information Science, 5th, Park City, Utah, September 2008. 

Usery, E.L., Varanka, D.E., and Finn, M.P., 2009, 125 Years of topographic mapping, Part 1, 1884–1980: Esri ArcNews, v. 31, 

no. 3, p. 1. 

Usery, E.L., Varanka, D.E., and Finn, M., 2009, USGS history, Part 2—From the dawn of digital to The National Map, 125 years 

of topographic mapping, Part 2: Esri ArcNews, vol. 31, no. 4, p. 39. 

Varanka, D.E., 2009, Landscape features, technology codes, and semantics in U.S. National topographic mapping databases: 

The International Conference on Advanced Geographic Information Systems and Web Services (GEOWS), Cancun, Mexico, 

February 2009. 

Usery, E.L., Varanka, D.E., and Finn, M., 2009, A 125 year history of topographic mapping and GIS in the USGS, 1884–2009: 

International Cartography Conference, Santiago, Chile, November 2009. 

Varanka, D.E., 2009, A Topographic feature taxonomy for a U.S. National topographic mapping ontology: International Cartography Conference, Santiago, Chile, November 2009. 

Varanka, D., 2009, Interpreting Missouri population pressure on urbanizing natural areas [poster], in Madden, M., ed., Manual 

of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Supplemental DVD: Bethesda, Maryland, American Society for Photogrammetry 

and Remote Sensing (ASPRS).

Varanka, D.E., and Usery, E.L., 2010, Special section, Ontological issues for The National Map: Cartographica—The International Journal for Geographic Information and Visualization, v. 45, no. 2, p. 103–104.

Varanka, D.E., 2010, Interpolating a consumption variable for scaling and generalizing potential population pressure on urbanizing natural areas, in Jiang, B., and Yao, X., eds., Geospatial analysis and modeling of urban structure and dynamics: New 

York, New York, Springer Publishing Company, p. 293–310. 

Varanka, D.E., 2010, Ontology, in Warf, B., ed., Encyclopedia of geography: Thousand Oaks, California, Sage Publications, Inc. 

Varanka, D.E., and Jerris, T., 2010, Ontology design patterns for complex topographic features: AutoCarto 2010, Orlando, 

Florida, November 2010.

Varanka, D.E., 2011, Ontology design patterns for complex topographic feature types: Cartography and Geographic Information 

Science, v. 38, no. 2, p. 126–136. 

Varanka, D.E., 2011, Advances toward expanding gazetteer semantics: International Cartography Conference, Paris, France. 
 39

Caro, H.K., and Varanka, D.E., 2011, Analysis of spatial relation predicates in U.S. Geological Survey feature definitions: U.S. 

Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011–1235, 37 p. 

Bulen, A.N., Carter, J.J., and Varanka, D.E., 2011, A program for the conversion of The National Map data from proprietary 

format to Resource Description Framework (RDF): U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011–1142, 9 p. 

Varanka, D., 2011, The National Map geospatial semantic linked data: U.S. Geological Survey Information Product. (poster).

Varanka, D.E., Carter, J.J., Shoberg, T., and Usery, E.L., 2011, Topographic mapping data semantics through data conversion 

and enhancement, in Ashish, N., and Sheth, A.P., eds., Geospatial semantics and the semantic web—Foundations, algorithms, 

and applications: Springer, ser. Semantic Web and Beyond Computing for Human Experience, v. 12, p. 145–162. 

Varanka, D.E., Deering, C. and Caro, H., 2012, The use of U.S. Geological Survey digital geospatial data products for science 

research, in Elri Liebenberg and Imre Demhardt, eds., History of Cartography. [Lecture notes in Geoinformation and Cartography: Springer, Berlin, v. 6, part 3, p. 129–141.]

Usery, E.L., and Varanka, D.E., 2012, Design and development of linked data for The National Map: The Semantic Web Journal. 

Varanka, D.E., 2012, Introduction to geospatial semantics and technology workshop handbook: U.S. Geological Survey OpenFile Report 2012–1109, 107 p. 

Varanka, D.E., and Usery, E.L., 2012, Topographic feature type vocabularies for ontology design patterns: Institute of Electrical 

and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), July 2012. 

Varanka, D., and Caro, H., 2013, Spatial relation predicates for topographic data triples, in Raubal, M., Andrew, A.U., and Mark, 

D.M., eds., Cognitive and linguistic aspects of geographical space: Springer, 21 p. 
40 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

 Publications and Presentation 2007–2012

User Centered Design

(VGI, Crowdsourcing and Social Media)

Barbara Poore

Poore, B., and Wolf, E., 2012, Metadata squared—Enhancing its usability for volunteered geographic information and the 

GeoWeb, D.Z., Sui, Elwood, S., and Goodchild, M.F., eds. in Volunteered geographic information, public participation, and 

crowdsourced production of geographic knowledge: Berlin, Springer.

Liu, S.B., Poore, B., and Earle, P., 2012, Geospatial crowdsourcing—A typology of crowdsourcing for the emergency management domain: Cartography and Geographic Information Science, special issue on Mapping Cyberspace and Social Media. 

Presentations

2012

Wolf, E., 2012, I fight authority, authority always wins: Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, New 

York, New York; WhereCampTB, Saint Petersburg, Florida, February; and AutoCarto 2013, Columbus, Ohio, September 

2012.

Poore, B., Wolf, E., and Matthews, G., 2012, The integration of crowdsourced data into spatial data infrastructures: issues and 

future prospects: Presented by Poore at the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI’13), Quebec City, Canada, May 2012. 

Poore, B., Wolf, E., and Liu, S., 2012, Citizen science and social media for The National Map: Presented by Poore and Liu at the 

CEGIS annual meeting, Rolla, Missouri, June 2012.

Poore, B., and Wolf, E., 2012, What does the USGS need to consider when designing policy for citizen science projects?: Presented by Wolf at the USGS Citizen Science Workshop, Denver, Colorado, September 2012.

Poore, B., Wolf, E., and Matthews, G., 2012, Engaging citizens to update The National Map at the USGS: Presented by Wolf at 

AutoCarto Columbus, Ohio, September 2012.

VGI and Social Media for The National Map

Refereed Publications

Liu, S.B., Poore, B., and Earle, P., 2012, Geospatial crowdsourcing—A typology of crowdsourcing for the emergency management domain: Cartography and Geographic Information Science, special issue on Mapping Cyberspace and Social Media. 

Poore, B., and Wolf, E., 2012, Metadata squared—Enhancing its usability for volunteered geographic information and the 

GeoWeb, D.Z., Sui, Elwood, S., and Goodchild, M.F., eds., in Volunteered geographic information, public participation, and 

crowdsourced production of geographic knowledge: Springer, Berlin.

Poore, B., 2011, Users as essential contributors to spatial cyberinfrastructures: Proceedings, National Academy of Sciences, 

v. 108, no. 4, p. 5504–5509.

Poore, B., 2010, Wall-e and the many, many maps—Toward user-centred ontologies for The National Map: Cartographica, v. 45, 

no. 2, p. 113–20.

Wilson, M., and Poore, B., 2009, Repositioning critical GIS: Cartographica, v. 44, no. 1, p. 6–7. Edited special issue.

Reports

Poore, B., Wolf, E., Korris, E., Walter, J., and Matthews, G., 2012, Structures data collection for The National Map using volunteered geographic information: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 2012–1209, p. 34.
 41

Bristol, R., Euliss, N., Jr., Booth, N., Burkardt, N., Diffendorfer, J., Gesch, D., McCallum, B., Miller, D., Morman, S., Poore, 

B., Signell, R., and Viger, R., 2012, Science strategy for core science systems in the U.S. Geological Survey 2013–2023: U.S. 

Geological Survey, Open-File Report: 2012–1093, p. 29.

Wolf, E.G., Matthews, K., McNinch, Kevin, and Poore, B., 2011, Openstreetmap collaborative prototype, Phase 1: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report: 2011–1136, p. 23.

Poore, B., 2011, U.S. Geological Survey and Open GISconsortium, Jankowski, P., ed., in Encyclopedia of Geography: Thousand 

Oaks, California, Sage Publications, p. 77.

Sugarbaker, Larry, Coray, K., and Poore, B., 2009, The National Map Customer Requirements—Findings from interviews and 

surveys: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2009–1222, p. 34.

Workshops

Poore, B., Co-organized USGS Citizen Science Workshop: Community for Data Integration: Denver, Colorado, September 

2012.

Poore, B., Co-organized workshop law and the Geoweb: Microsoft Research and the Association of American Geographers, 

[with Puneet Kishor of Creative Commons] Seattle, Washington, April 2011.

Poore, B., Co-organized workshop Volunteered geographic information: U.S. Geological Survey, Herndon, Virginia [with Kari 

Kraun and Morgan Bearden], January 2010.

Invited talks

Poore, B., 2011, Always in beta, Invited talk, mapping democracy—technology, social change, and Web 2.0 Conference, University of Colorado—Boulder, September 2011.

Poore, B., 2010, Slow maps: Microsoft Research Forum, New York University, January 2012.

Poore, B., 2010, CyberGIS—Learning from users—CyberGIS workshop: National Science Foundation and the University Consortium for Geographical Information Science, Washington, D.C., February 2010.

Poore, B., 2010, The metadata crisis—Can geographic information be made more usable?: Workshop on Geographic Data 

Usability, 2nd, sponsored by the Ordnance Survey, University of Nottingham and University College—London, London, 

England, 2010.

Poore, B. Mapping the unmappable—Is it possible, ethical, or even desirable to incorporate volunteered geographic information 

into scientific projects?: Workshop on the Role of Volunteered Geographic Information in Science, sponsored by Oak Ridge 

National Laboratory and University of California, Santa Barbara, Zurich, Switzerland, September 2010.

Technical Presentations

Wolf, E., 2012, I fight authority, authority always wins: Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, New 

York, New York; WhereCampTB, Saint Petersburg, Florida, February; and AutoCarto 2013, Columbus, Ohio, September 

2012.

Poore, B., Wolf, E., and Matthews, E.G., 2012, The integration of crowdsourced data into spatial data infrastructures—Issues 

and future prospects: Presented by Poore at the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI’13), Quebec City, Canada, May 

2012.

Poore, B., and Liu, S., 2012, Citizen science and social media for The National Map: CEGIS annual meeting, Rolla, Missouri, 

June 2012.

Poore, B., 2012, What does the USGS need to consider when designing policy for citizen science projects?: Presented by Wolf at 

the USGS Citizen Science Workshop, Denver Colorado, September 2012.
42 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Poore, B., and Matthews, G., 2012, Engaging citizens to update The National Map at the USGS: Presented by Wolf at AutoCarto 

2012, Columbus, Ohio, September 2012.

Poore, B., 2011, User-centered design for The National Map: CEGIS Annual Meeting, Rolla, Missouri.

Wolf, E., 2011, GeoData workshop, Broomfield, Colorado, March 2011. 

Poore, B., 2011, Volunteered geographic information at the U.S. Geological Survey. Where 2.0 conference Santa Clara, California, O’Reilly Media, 2011.

Poore, B., 2011, The OpenStreetMap collaborative prototype: 2011 NC GIS Conference, Raleigh, North Carolina, 2011. 

Poore, B., 2011, OpenStreetMap and the U.S. Geological Survey: WhereCampDC 2011, Washington, D.C., 2011.

Poore, B., 2010, OpenStreetMap and the U.S. Geological Survey: WhereCamp5280 2010, Denver, Colorado, 2010.

Poore, B., 2009, Ethics and GIS—Philosophy and GIS, user issues in GIS for cloud computing: Panel Sessions at the Annual 

Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Las Vegas, Nevada 2009.

Poore, B., 2010, What a long strange trip it’s been—Mapping and virtual community from The Grateful Dead to OpenStreetMap: International Symposium on the History of Cartography, 3rd, Arlington, Texas, October 2009.

Poore, B., 2009, Volunteered geographic information: discussant at a paper session and respondent to a plenary address by Dr. 

Michael Goodchild, University of California, Santa Barbara at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 2009.

Poore, B., 2009, Wall-e and the many, many, maps—Ontologies for distributed collaboration: UCGIS/USGS Ontology for The 

National Map Specialists Meeting, Washington, D.C., February 2009.

Poore, B., and Finn, M., 2008, Who will use cyberinfrastructure and how? Cyberinfrastructure for GIScience Workshop: 

National Science Foundation and GIScience 2008, Park City, Utah, 2008.

Poore, B., 2008, Mapping without maps: What about the users of GIS?: GIScience 2008, Park City, Utah, September 2008. 

Poore, B., 2008, Push-pin geography—Implications for the design of user-centered interfaces for internet mapping: Association 

of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, 2008. 

Poore, B., and Finn, M., 2008, User-C=centered cesign for spatial data infrastructures—Implications of new Internet technologies: Auto-Carto 2008, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, September 2008. 

Poore, B., and Finn, M., 2009, User-centered design for The National Map, in Lavoie, D.L., Rosen, B.H., Sumner, D.M, Haag, 

K.H., Tihansky, A.B., Boynton, A.B., and Koenig, R.R.,eds., USGS Gulf Coast Science Conference and Florida Integrated 

Science Center (FISC) Meeting, Proceedings with Abstracts, Orlando, Florida, October 2008: U.S. Geological Survey OpenFile Report 2009–1329, p. 137. (poster presentation).

Software Development

Wolf, E., Submitted OpenStreetMap Collaborative Project Software to Map Mashup Contest at the U.S. Geological Survey The 

National Map.
 43

Publications and Presentation 2007–2012

Multi-resolution Raster

(High Performance Computing)

Michael P. Finn

2012

Behzad, Babak, Yan Liu, Eric Shook, Michael P. Finn, David M. Mattli, and Shaowen Wang, 2012, A Performance profiling 

strategy for high-performance map re-projection of coarse-scale spatial raster data [abs.]: Auto-Carto 2012, A Cartography 

and Geographic Information Society Research Symposium, Columbus, Ohio, 2012.

Finn, Michael P., Daniel R. Steinwand, Jason R. Trent, Robert A. Buehler, David Mattli, and Kristina H. Yamamoto, 2012, A 

program for handling map projections of small scale geospatial raster data: Cartographic Perspectives, no.71, p. 53–67.

Finn, Michael P., Gary W. Krizanich, Kevin R. Evans, Melissa R. Cox, and Kristina H. Yamamoto, 2012, Visualizing impact 

structures using high-resolution LiDAR derived DEMs—A case study of two structures in Missouri: Surveying and Land 

Information Science, v. 72, no. 2, pp. 87–97.

Finn, Michael P., Yan Liu, David M. Mattli, Qingfeng (Gene) Guan, Kristina H. Yamamoto, Eric Shook and Babak Behzad, 

2012, pRasterBlaster—High-Performance small-scale raster map projection transformation using the extreme science and 

engineering discovery environment [abs.]: International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Congress, XXII, 

Melbourne, Australia, 2012. 

Finn, Michael P., Yan Liu, David M. Mattli, Babak Behzad, Kristina H. Yamamoto, Anand Padmanabhan, and Michael Stramel, 

2012, Raster map projection transformation using a virtual system to interactively share computing resources: International 

Conference on Space, Time, and CyberGIS (CyberGIS’12), 1st, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, 2012. (presentation).

Mattli, David, Michael P. Finn, and Michael Stramel, 2012, pRasterBlaseter—Fast, accurate raster reprojection: International 

Conference on Space, Time, and CyberGIS (CyberGIS’12), 1st, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, 2012. (poster). 

Yamamoto, Kristina H., and Michael P. Finn, 2012, Approximating tasseled-cap values to evaluate brightness, greenness, and 

wetness for the advanced land imager (ALI): U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigation Report 2012–5057, 9 p.

Shoberg, Tom, Paul Stoddard and Michael P. Finn, 2012, Rejuvenating pre-GPS era geophysical surveys using the National 

Map: Journal of Surveying Engineering, v. 138, no. 2, May 1. (Available at ISSN 0733-9453/2012/2-0–0/.)

Finn, Michael P., and David M. Mattli, 2012, User’s guide for the mapIMG 3—Map image reprojection software package: U.S. 

Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011–1306, 12 p.

Finn, Michael P., Mark (David) Lewis, David D. Bosch, Mario Giraldo, Kristina Yamamoto, Dana G. Sullivan, Russell Kincaid, 

Ronaldo Luna, Gopala Krishna Allam, Craig Kvien, and Michael S. Williams, 2011, Remote sensing of soil moisture using 

airborne hyperspectral data: GIScience and Remote Sensing v. 48, no. 4, p. 522–540.

Wood, Elisa C., and Michael P. Finn, 2011, Digitization of the bibliography of map projections: Conference of the International 

Cartographic Association, 25th, Paris, France, 2012. (poster).

2010

Shoberg, Tom, Paul Stoddard, and Michael P. Finn, 2010, Rejuvenating pre-GPS era geophysical surveys using The National 

Map: 2010 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, 2010. (poster).

Finn, Michael P., and Holly K. Caro, 2010, The CEGIS on-line bibliography—A resource for the working GIScientist [abs.]: 

Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., 2010.
44 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Usery, E. Lynn, Jinmu Choi, and Michael P. Finn, 2010, Modeling sea level rise and surge in low-lying urban areas using spatial 

data, geographic information systems, and animation methods, in Pamela S. Showalter and Yongmei Lu, eds., Geospatial 

techniques in urban hazard and disaster analysis: Springer-Verlag., chap. 2.

2009

Finn, Michael P., and Barbara S. Poore, 2009, Endeavors to serve digital geospatial data as a commonly offered cache of topographic information [abs.]: Joint International Workshop of International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 

Technical Commission IV, Working Group IV/1 and Technical Commission, VIII, Working Group VIII on Geospatial Data 

CyberInfrastructure and Real-time Services with special emphasis on Disaster Management, Hyderabad, India, 2009. 

Giraldo, Mario A., David Bosch, Marguerite Madden, Lynn Usery, and Michael P. Finn, 2009, Ground and surface temperature variability for remote sensing of soil moisture in a heterogeneous landscape: Journal of Hydrology, v. 368, issues 1–4, 

p. 214–223.

Guan, Qingfeng, Michael P. Finn, E. Lynn Usery, and David M. Mattli, 2009, Rapid raster projection transformation and web 

service using high-performance computing technology [abs.]: Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Las 

Vegas, Nevada, 2009.

Krizanich, Gary W., and Michael P. Finn, 2009, Table Rock Lake water quality assessment using landsat thematic mapper satellite data: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigation Report 2009–5162, p. 9.

Stanislawski, Lawrence V., Barbara P. Buttenfield, Michael P. Finn, and Keven Roth, 2009, Stratified database pruning to support local density variations in automated generalization of the United States National Hydrography Dataset: Proceedings, 

International Cartographic Conference, Santiago, Chile, 2009.

Usery, E. Lynn, David D. Bosch, Michael P. Finn, Tasha Wells, Stuart Pocknee, and Craig Kvien, 2009, GIS in precision agriculture and watershed management, in Madden, M., ed., Manual of GIS: Bethesda, Maryland, American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, chap. 2.

Usery, E. Lynn, Michael P. Finn, and Clifford J. Mugnier, 2009, Coordinate systems and map projections, in Madden, M., ed., 

Manual of GIS: Bethesda, Maryland, American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, chap. 8. 

Usery, E. Lynn, Michael P. Finn, and Michael Starbuck, 2009, Data layer integration for The National Map of the United States: 

Cartographic Perspectives, no. 62, Winter 2009, p. 28–41.

Usery, E. Lynn, Dalia Varanka, and Michael P. Finn, 2009, A 125 year history of topographic mapping and GIS in the U.S. Geological Survey 1884–2009, Part 1—1884–1980: Esri ArcNews, Fall 2009, v. 31, no. 3, p. 1.

Usery, E. Lynn, Dalia Varanka, and Michael P. Finn, 2009, A 125 Year history of topographic mapping and GIS in the U.S. Geological Survey 1884–2009, Part 2—1980–2009: Esri ArcNews, Winter 2009/2010, v. 31, no. 4, p. 39. 

Usery, E. Lynn, Dalia Varanka, and Michael P. Finn, 2009, A 125 Year history of topographic mapping and GIS in the USGS: 

1884–2009: Proceedings, International Cartographic Conference, Santiago, Chile, 2009.

Wolf, Eric B., Kevin Howe, Michael P. Finn, and Barbara S. Poore, 2009, Functional analysis for The National Map server-side 

computing [abs.]: Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2009.

Wu, Shou-Sheng, E. Lynn Usery, Michael P. Finn, and David D. Bosch, 2009, Effects of sampling interval on spatial patterns 

and statistics of watershed nitrogen concentration: GIScience and Remote Sensing, v. 46, no. 2, p. 1–15.

2008

Finn, Michael P., and Barbara S. Poore, 2008, Towards a User-Centered Design (UCD) for The National Map of the U.S. Geological Survey [abs.]: Congress of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, XXI, Beijing, China, 

2008.

Finn, Michael P., Barbara S. Poore, and Mark R. Feller, 2008, Towards a more consistent framework for disseminated spatial 

computing for The National Map [abs.]: Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusettes, 2008.
 45

Finn, Michael P., and E. Lynn Usery, 2008, Implementing a research agenda to address challenging geographic information science issues [abs.]: U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Information Systems Workshop, Denver, Colorado, 2008.

Poore, Barbara S., and Michael P. Finn, 2008, User-centered design for spatial data infrastructures: implications of new internet technologies: Proceedings: Auto-Carto 2008, A Cartography and Geographic Information Society Research Symposium, 

Shepherdstown, West Virginia, 2008.

Usery, E. Lynn, Jinmu Choi, and Michael P. Finn, 2008, Elements of a global model—An example of sea level rise and human 

populations at risk: Proceedings, U.S. Geological Survey Modeling Conference, Perdido Beach, Alabama, 2008.

Wu, Shou-Sheng, E. Lynn Usery, Michael P. Finn, and David D. Bosch, 2008, An assessment of the effects of cell sizes on 

AGNPS Modeling of watershed runoff: Cartography and Geographic Information Science, v. 35, no. 4, p. 265–278.

2007

Finn, Michael P., Gary W. Krizanich, Kevin R. Evans, and E. Lynn Usery, 2007, Contemporary high-resolution LiDAR derived 

DEMs could inspire developments in the study of impact structures: Proceedings, Association of American Geographers/ 

Great Plains—Rocky Mountain Section Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, 2007.

Finn, Michael P., Gary W. Krizanich, and E. Lynn Usery, 2007, Contemporary high-resolution LiDAR derived DEMs could 

inspire developments in the study of impact structures: Proceedings, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, XXIV, 

General Assembly, Perugia, Italy, p. 408–409.

Lewis, David and Michael P Finn, 2007, Soil moisture estimation using hyperspectral SWIR imagery: The American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, 2007. (poster).

Ruhl, Shelia, E. Lynn Usery, and Michael P. Finn, 2007, EL86D Wasteway watershed land cover generation: U.S. Geological 

Survey Open-File Report 2007–1143, 28 p.

Stanislawski, Larry, Michael P. Finn, Mark Barnes, and E. Lynn Usery, 2007, Assessment of a rapid approach for estimating 

catchment areas for surface drainage lines: Proceedings, American Congress on Surveying and Mapping 2007 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, 2007.

Stanislawski, Larry, Michael P. Finn, and E. Lynn Usery, 2007, Development of a blunder detection approach for automated 

point matching during vector to image data integration: Proceedings, American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote 

Sensing 2007 Annual Conference, Tampa, Florida. 

Usery, E. Lynn, Jinmu Choi, and Michael P. Finn, 2007, Modeling sea-level rise effects on population using global elevation and 

land-cover data: Proceeedings, Association of American Geographers, Annual Conference, San Francisco, California, 2007.

Usery, E. Lynn and Michael P. Finn, 2007, Cartographic Research at the U.S. Geological Survey Center of Excellence for GeoSpatial Information science: Proceedings, International Cartographic Conference, XXIII, Moscow, Russia.

Wu, Shou-Sheng, E. Lynn Usery, and Michael P. Finn, 2007, Effects of sampling interval on spatial analysis of watershed nitrogen loading: Proceedings, International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology, 3rd, Houston, Texas, 2007.

2006

Finn, Michael P., David D. Bosch, E. Lynn Usery, and Austin D. Hartman, 2006, Problems associated with comparing in situ 

Water quality measurements to pollution model output for geographic analyses [abs.]: Association of American Geographer, 

Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois, 2006.

Finn, Michael P., Jason R. Trent, and Robert A. Buehler, 2006, User’s guide for the map image re-projection software package, 

version 2.1: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006–1016, p. 19.

Finn, Michael P., E. Lynn Usery, Douglas J. Scheidt, Gregory M. Jaromack, and Timothy D. Krupinski, 2006, An interface 

between the Agricultural Non-Point Source (AGNPS) pollution model and the ERDAS Imagine Geographic Information 

System (GIS): Geographic Information Sciences, June 2006, v. 12, no. 1, p. 9–19.
46 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Finn, Michael P., Michael S. Williams, and E. Lynn Usery, 2006, An Implementation of the jenks-caspall algorithm for optimal 

classification of data for geographic visualization: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Annual Conference, Reno, Nevada, 2006. (poster).

Stanislawski, Larry, Michael P. Finn, Michael Starbuck, E. Lynn Usery, and Patrick Turley, 2006, Estimation of accumulated 

upstream drainage values in braided streams using augmented directed graphs: Proceedings, Auto-Carto 2006, A Cartography 

and Geographic Information Society Research Symposium, Vancouver, Washington, 2006.

Williams, Michael S., Michael P. Finn, and Robert A. Buehler, 2006, An open source, object-oriented General Cartographic 

Transformation Program (GCTP) [abs.]: International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Commission, IV, 

Symposium on Geospatial Databases for Sustainable Development, Goa, India, 2006.
 47

CEGIS Publications and Presentations 2006–2012

E. Lynn Usery

Publications

Usery, E.L., 2005, Geography for a changing world: Bulletin of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, no. 217, 

p. 23–24.

Arpinar, I.B., Sheth, A., Ramakrishnan, C., Usery, E.L., Azami, M., and Kwan, M., 2006, Geospatial Ontology development and 

semantic analytics: Transactions in GIS, v. 10, no. 4, p. 551–576. 

Ling, Y., Ehlers, M., Usery, E.L., and Madden, M., 2006, Enhanced IHS transform methods for fusing commercial high resolution satellite images: ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, v. 61, no. 6, p. 381–392.

Finn, M.P., Usery, E.L., Scheidt, D.J., Jaromack, G.M., and Krupinski, T.D., 2006, An Interface between the Agricultural NonPoint Source (AGNPS) pollution model and the ERDAS imagine geographic information system: Geographic Information 

Sciences, v. 12, no. 1, p. 10–20.

Knoblock, C.A., Chen, C.C., and Usery, E.L., 2006, Automatic alignment of vector data and orthoimagery for The National 

Map: Digital Government Conference, San Diego, California, 2006.

Stanislawski, L., Finn, M.P., Starbuck, M., Usery, E.L., and Turley, P., 2006, Estimation of accumulated upstream drainage values in braided streams using augmented directed graphs: Proceedings, Auto Carto 2006, Vancouver, Washington, 2006. 

Ruhl, S., Usery, E.L., and Finn, M.P., 2006, EL68D wasteway land cover generation: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 

2007–1143, p. 28.

Stanislawski, L., Finn, M.P., Usery, E.L., and Robinette, P.L., 2007, Development of a blunder detection approach for automated 

point matching during vector to image data integration: Proceedings, American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote 

Sensing Annual Conference, Tampa, Florida, 2007.

Stanislawski, L., Finn, M.P., Barnes, M., and Usery, E.L., 2007, Assessment of a rapid approach for estimating catchment areas 

for surface drainage lines: Proceedings, Amercian Congress on Surveying and Mapping Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, 2007.

Usery, E.L., and Finn, M.P., 2007, Cartographic research at the U.S. Geological Survey Center of Excellence for Geospatial 

Information Science: Proceedings, International Cartographic Conference, Moscow, Russia, 2007.

Wei, M., Zhao, T., Varanka, D., and Usery, E.L, 2008, A conceptual design towards semantic geospatial access: GIScience 2008, 

Park City, Utah, 2008. (poster).

Giraldo, M.A., Bosch, D., Madden, M., Usery, E.L., and Kvien, C., 2008, Landscape complexity and soil moisture variation in 

South Georgia, USA, for remote sensing applications: Journal of Hydrology, v. 357, p. 405–420. 

Wu, S., Qiu, X., Usery, E.L., and Wang, L., 2008, Using geometrical, textural, and contextual information of land parcels for 

classification of detailed urban land use: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 99, no. 1, p. 76–98.

Ling, Y, Usery, E.L., Ehlers, M., and Madden, M., 2008, Effects of spatial resolution in image fusion: International Journal of 

Remote Sensing, v. 29, no. 7, p. 2157–2167.

Choi, J., Seong, J.C., Kim, B., and Usery, E.L., 2008, Innovations in individual feature history management—The significance 

of feature-based temporal model: Geoinformatica, v. 12, p. 1–20.

Giraldo, M.A., Bosch, D., Madden, M., Usery, E.L., and Kvien, C., 2008, Landscape complexity and soil moisture variation in 

South Georgia, USA, for remote sensing applications: Journal of Hydrology, v. 357, p. 405–420.

Brewer, C.A., Buttenfield, B.P., and Usery, E.L., 2009, Evaluating generalizations of hydrography in differing terrains for The 

National Map of The United States: Proceedings, International Cartographic Conference, Santiago, Chile, 2009.
48 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Usery, E.L., Varanka, D., and Finn, M.P., 2009, Mapping developments and GIS in the USGS, 1884–2009: Proceedings, International Cartographic Conference, Santiago, Chile, 2009.

Usery, E.L., Finn, M.P., and Mugnier, C., 2009, Coordinate systems and map projections: Manual of Geographic Information 

Systems, American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Bethesda, Maryland, p. 87–112.

Usery, E.L., Bosch, D.D., Finn, M.P., Wells, T., Pocknee, S., and Kvien, C., 2009, GIS in Precision agriculture and watershed 

management: Manual of Geographic Information Systems: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 

Bethesda, Maryland, p. 1169–1198. 

Le, Y., and Usery, E.L., 2009, Adding time to GIS: Manual of Geographic Information Systems, American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Bethesda, Maryland, p. 311–332.

Usery, E.L., Choi, J., and Finn, M.P., 2009, Modeling Sea-level rise and surge in low-lying urban areas using spatial data, 

geographic information systems, and animation methods, in Showalter, P., and Lu, Y., (eds.), Geospatial techniques in urban 

hazard and disaster analysis: Springer, Dordrecht, p. 11–20. 

Fleming, S., Jordan, T., Madden, M., Usery, E.L., and Welch, R., 2009, GIS applications for military operations in coastal zones: 

ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, v. 64, p. 213–222. 

Wu, S., Usery, E.L., Finn, M.P., and Bosch, D., 2009, An assessment of the effects of cell size on AGNPS modeling of watershed 

runoff: Cartography and Geographic Information Science, v. 35, no. 4, p. 265–278.

Usery, E.L., Finn, M.P., and Starbuck, M., 2009, Data layer integration for The National Map of the United States: Cartographic 

Perspectives, v. 62, p. 28–41. 

Giraldo, M.A., Bosch, D., Madden, M., Usery, E.L., and Finn, M., 2009, Ground and surface temperature variability for remote 

sensing of soil moisture in a heterogeneous landscape: Journal of Hydrology, v. 368, p 214–223. 

Wu, S., Usery, E.L., Finn, M.P., and Bosch, D., 2009, Effects of sampling interval on spatial patterns and statistics of watershed 

nitrogen concentration: GIScience and Remote Sensing, v. 46, no. 2, p.172–186. 

Choi, J. and Usery, E.L., 2009, A Prototype feature system for feature retrieval using relationships: Cartography and Geographic 

Information Science, v. 36, no. 4, p. 331–345.

Finn, M., Usery, E.L., and Reed, M., 2009, Approximating tasseled-cap values for the advanced land imager (ALI): American 

Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Manual of Geographic Information Systems. (CD-ROM publication).

Usery, E.L., Choi, J., Finn, M., 2009, Simulating Sea Level rise and surges with geographic information datasets and animation 

methods: American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Manual of Geographic Information Systems. 

(CD-ROM publication). 

Varanka, D., and Usery, E.L., 2010, Special Section: Ontological issues for The National Map: Cartographica—The International Journal for Geographic Information and Visualization, v. 45, no. 2, p. 103–104. 

Usery, E.L., 2011, The digital transition in cartography—USGS data innovations, 1970s, in Liebenberg, E., and I., Demhardt, 

eds., History of cartography: Interanational Symposium of the International Cartographic Association (ICA) Commission, 

2010, Berlin: Springer Verlag, p. 113–126.

Varanka, D., Carter, J., Usery, E.L., and Shoberg, T., 2011, Topographic mapping data semantics through data conversion and 

enhancement, in Ashish, N., and Sheth, A.P., eds., Geospatial semantics and the semantic web—Foundations, algorithms and 

applications: Springer, New York, p. 145–162.

Usery, E.L., and Varanka, D., 2012, Design and development of linked data from The National Map: Semantic Web Journal. 

Usery, E.L., 2012, Generalization and Data Integration (GDI): A USGS CEGIS Perspective, Generalization and Data Integration: Springer, in press.
 49

Presentations

Usery, E.L., 2012, The web mercator projection—The legacy continues into the electronic age: International Conference on 

Cartography and GIS, 4th, Albena, Bulgaria.

Usery, E.L., 2012, Geospatial semantic technology—A case study with USGS data: University Consortium for Geospatial Information Science/U.S. Geological Survey Workshop on Geospatial Semantics, Washington, D.C. 

Usery, E.L., 2012, CyberGIS in the USGS—Perspective and vision: Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, 

New York. 

Usery, E.L., 2012, Geomorphic features on the semantic web: Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, New 

York. 

Usery, E.L., 2012, Geospatial semantics and CyberGIS: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

Usery, E.L., 2011, USGS Advancements in geospatial semantics and CyberGIS: Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural 

Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. 

Usery, E.L., 2011, Data exchange for global science: U.S.-China Roundtable on Scientific Data Cooperation, Beijing, China, 

Usery, E.L., 2011, USGS needs and advancements in CyberGIS: CyberGIS All-hands Meeting, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 2011. 

Usery, E.L., 2011, National geospatial data Assets maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey as Part of The National Map: International Cartographic Conference, Paris, France. 

Usery, E.L., 2011, The U.S. National Committee and the International Cartographic Association: North American Cartographic 

Information Society, Madison, Wisconsin. 

Usery, E.L., 2011, Ontology and semantics for The National Map: University of Nebraska, Department of geography, Lincoln, 

Nebraska.

Usery, E.L., 2011, Semantics for complex features and images: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Usery, E.L., 2011, CyberGIS research and implementation in the USGS: Association of American Geographers Annual Conference, Seattle, Washington. 

Usery, E.L., 2010, USGS volunteered geographic information workshop: Herndon, Virginia. 

Usery, E.L., 2010, Cyberinfrastructure components of The National Map: CyberGIS Workshop 2010, Washington, D.C. 

Usery, E.L., 2010, Data Sharing—Critical for global science: U.S.-China Roundtable on Scientific Data Cooperation. Irvine, 

California.

Usery, E.L., 2010, The digital transition in Cartography—USGS data innovations, 1970s: International Symposium on the History of Cartography, 3rd, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas. 

Usery, E.L., 2009, The National Map, geospatial ontology, and the semantic web: International Semantic Web Conference, Terra 

Cognita Workshop, near Washington, D.C. 

Usery, E.L., 2009, Mapping developments and GIS in the USGS, 1884—2009: International Cartographic Conference, Santiago, 

Chile. 

Usery, E.L., 2009, 125 Years of topographic mapping, 80-panel exhibit of USGS topographic mapping history: Esri User Conference, San Diego, California. 

Usery, E.L., 2009, Place still matters—Generalizing the National Hydrography Dataset by local terrain and climate: North 

American Cartographic Information Association, Sacramento, California.

Usery, E.L., 2009, The USGS Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science: Center of Excellence for Geospatial 

Information Science (CEGIS) Research Meeting, Rolla, Missouri. 
50 Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18

Usery, E.L., 2009, Geospatial data integration—A review and a USGS approach: China-U.S. Roundtable on Scientific Data 

Cooperation, Qingdao, China. 

Usery, E.L., 2009, Geospatial data integration—A review and a USGS approach: University of Missouri-Kansas City. 

Usery, E.L., 2009, The USGS Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science—Spatio-temporal data model research: 

National Science Foundation Workshop on Geospatial and Geotemporal Informatics, Washington, D.C. 

Usery, E.L., 2009, Modeling and animation of sea level rise and surge with geographic information system datasets: Missouri 

University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri. 

Usery, E.L., 2009, Resolution and resampling effects of raster data in global and regional models: National Research Council 

Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, Irvine, California.

Usery, E.L., 2008, The USGS Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science: Association of American Geographers, 

Boston, Massachusettes.

Usery, E.L., 2008, Modeling sea level rise and surge with geographic information system datasets: International Geographical 

Union, Tunis, Tunisia. 

Usery, E.L., 2008, The USGS Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science: AutoCarto 2008, Shepherdstown, West 

Virginia. 

Usery, E.L., 2009, Elements of a global model—An example of sea level rise and human populations at risk: U.S. Geological 

Survey Modeling Conference, 2nd, Orange Beach, Alabama. 

Usery, E.L., 2007, The use of geospatial data, methods, models, processes, simulation, and animation to model global and 

regional events: National Research Council Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, Irvine, California. 

Usery, E.L., 2007, From numbers to graphics; from graphics to animation: U.S. Geological Survey New England Science 

Forum, Providence, Rhode Island.

Usery, E.L., 2007, Modeling sea-level rise effects on population using global elevation and land-cover data: Association of 

American Geographers, San Francisco, California. 

Usery, E.L., 2007, Data integration for The National Map: University of Missouri-Rolla. 

Usery, E.L., 2007, Generalization for The National Map: University of North Carolina-Greensboro. 

Usery, E.L., 2006, Geographic information science research in the U.S. Geological Survey: Association of American Geographers, Chicago, Illinois. 

Usery, E.L., 2005, Integrating data layers to support The National Map of The United States: International Cartographic Conference, A Coruña, Spain. 

Usery, E.L., 2005, Reprojecting raster data of global extent: Auto-Carto 2005, Las Vegas, Nevada. 
Publishing support provided by:

Rolla Publishing Service Center

For more information concerning this publication, contact:

Director, USGS

Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS)

1400 Independence Road

Rolla, MO 65401

(573) 308–3837

Or visit the CEGIS Web site at:

http://cegis.usgs.gov
Usery—Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science Research Plan 2013–18—Open-File Report 2013–1189