U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet 2007–3067

2007

Following a heavy rainstorm, suspended sediment (brown) washed from the land can affect the health of the 

coral reef off south Moloka’i, Hawai’i. Changes in land-use patterns on the island strongly influence such events.

Example of the Land Use Portfolio Model being used 

to assess the risk of flooding in Squamish, British Columbia. Black dots show buildings at risk of flooding 

in a simulated “20-year flood.”

Geographic Research in the USGS Western Region

Reports from the National Academy of 

Sciences and other organizations invariably encourage the U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS) to ensure the quality of its science while finding ways to make it more 

relevant to important societal issues. Much 

of the geography research conducted in the 

USGS Western Region does exactly that. 

In Menlo Park, California, the geography 

research team is focused on developing 

tools and techniques to help people assess 

risk from natural hazards and environmental impacts. In Flagstaff and Tucson, Arizona, geography scientists explore new ways 

to use remote sensing to help communities 

deal with environmental issues.

The Western Geographic Science Center (WGSC) comprises about 50 scientists 

and support staff, mostly located in Menlo 

Park, Flagstaff, and Tucson. USGS geography research programs also support 

several scientists in the Alaska Science 

Center in Anchorage who are developing 

the National Land Cover Database and 

assessing environmental changes.

The WGSC is conducting innovative 

research on how to assess risks to communities from natural hazards, given the 

uncertainty of scientific knowledge. Data 

from USGS scientists in the geology, biology, and water resources disciplines is 

used as input into models that combine 

that knowledge with measurements of the 

vulnerability of people and property. These 

WGSC models develop a risk framework 

that communities can use to evaluate different mitigation strategies. For example, 

the Land Use Portfolio Model, developed 

by WGSC scientists in Menlo Park, takes 

portfolio theory developed for investors 

and applies it to assess alternative investments in hazard preparation and mitigation. WGSC scientists are now refining this 

The two geography research

programs of the U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS), Land 

Remote Sensing and Geographic 

Analysis and Monitoring, have 

very strong relevance to the 

USGS mission and science 

strategy. In the western United 

States, the particular niche of 

these geography programs is 

in connecting USGS science to 

people and communities.
Printed on recycled paper

Mara Tongue

Edited by Peter H. Stauffer

Graphic design by Judy Weathers

For more information contact:

Susan Benjamin, Director

Western Geographic Science Center

345 Middlefield Road, MS 531

Menlo Park, CA 94025

(650) 329-5049

sbenjamin@usgs.gov

http://geography.wr.usgs.gov/

This fact sheet and any updates to it are 

available online at 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3067

model and applying it in the USGS MultiHazards Initiative in southern California. 

Derivative products from the portfolio 

model are also being developed to help the 

National Park Service evaluate park management and restoration decisions in South 

Florida in the face of rapid urbanization. 

Economics expertise within the WGSC 

is enabling a benefit/cost analysis for the 

USGS Future Land Imaging program. 

WGSC scientists are strong contributors to 

the USGS Land Cover Trends project—in 

the Western Region, 30 years of Landsat 

data are being used to measure land-cover 

trends and to determine some of their 

causative factors and important impacts.

WGSC scientists in Arizona specialize 

in remote-sensing research and applications, working on issues at the Salton Sea 

in California, coral reefs in Hawai’i, the 

United States-Mexico border, the Mojave 

Desert, and other locations. One project 

with the San Carlos Apache Nation in Arizona involves developing remote-sensing 

applications and then training members of 

the tribe how to use those techniques to 

help manage their natural resources. Another important activity is exploring how 

remote-sensing systems can measure phenological change—the recurring changes 

that occur seasonally—as an indicator of 

various types of environmental changes.

At the Cascades Volcano Observatory 

in Vancouver, Washington, WGSC is involved in an important project to assess 

In the photograph above, The cities of Douglas, 

Arizona, and Agua Prieta, Sonora, straddle the United 

States-Mexico border. Inset shows sewer pipes from 

houses extending into a nearby arroyo in Agua Prieta.

vulnerability of people and communities 

to natural hazards of all kinds, filling a 

national niche for the USGS. For such assessments, it is vital to know where the 

populations are located, both during the 

day and at night, and their varied special 

needs in the event of a natural emergency. 

Software that accurately portrays such 

population distributions is playing an important role. For example, WGSC scientists are working closely with communities 

in Oregon, Hawaii, and Washington to prepare vulnerability maps that will help them 

develop better tsunami-response plans.

Participants from the local community in a vulnerability assessment workshop in The Dalles, Oregon.