U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet FS-028-02

March 2002

Southwest Geographic Science Team

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Southwest Geographic Science Team

(SGST) was established in October

2001. The mission of the SGST is to

establish and implement National

Mapping Discipline (NMD) activities

in Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and

Southern California. The SGST

focuses on studies and data collection

in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts,

the Colorado Plateau, and the Great

Basin. Studies encompass activities

in all three NMD programs--Cooperative Topographic Mapping, Land

Remote Sensing, and Geographic

Analysis and Monitoring--as well as

interdisciplinary studies with other

USGS programs.

The SGST currently has personnel in

three locations: Tucson, Ariz.;

Flagstaff, Ariz.; and Salt Lake City,

Utah. Staff will continue to increase

in these and/or other locations as the

SGST program grows.

Tucson Office

The Tucson office currently consists

of the Chief, SGST, and a small but

growing staff. The office, housed on

the campus of the University of

Arizona, is collocated with USGS

scientists from the other disciplines

(that is, geology, biology, and

hydrology). Although staff may work

on projects anywhere, the primary

focus of the projects will be on the

Desert Southwest and the United

States/Mexican border. One current

project is participation in the

interdisciplinary USGS Mojave

Desert Ecosystem Initiative entitled

"Recoverability and Vulnerability of

Desert Ecosystems." This project is

assessing the vulnerability of deserts

to various disturbances, such as the

off-road vehicle use shown in the

figure below, and the potential for

short- and long-term recoverability

based on the physical and biological

characteristics.

The functions of the NMD State

liaison for the States of Arizona and

Nevada (currently handled through

Menlo Park, Calif.) will also become

the responsibility of the SGST. The

NMD State liaisons work with State,

Federal, and local organizations to

coordinate geospatial data development and maintenance for the State.

The best location for these two liaison

functions within the SGST areas will

be determined.

Flagstaff Office

The Flagstaff office is collocated with

the other USGS disciplines at the

USGS Flagstaff Field Center. The

SGST staff has expertise and

extensive experience in a variety of

technologies, including the image

processing of multispectral satellite

and airborne imagery, geospatial

analysis, the use of digital map

products and GISs to produce

specialized map products, and the

design, development, and

implementation of Oracle databases

and associated Web interfaces.

Project activities are primarily

focused on the Southwestern United

States and the Colorado Plateau, but

often project activities extend

throughout the United States and

occasionally into international

environments.

The following are examples of some

of the projects conducted by the

Flagstaff office:

Image processing of various areas

in the Southwestern United States; for

example, Landsat thematic mapper

image mosaics of the following: (1)

the State of Arizona for the Arizona

Geographic Information Council (see

figure below), (2) the Grand Canyon

for Grand Canyon National Park, and

(3) the State of New Mexico for

USGS geologists

Support for the Western Region

Coastal and Marine Geology Team in

processing digital imagery of coral

reefs in Hawai'i

Off-road vehicle use in the Mojave Desert (USGS

photo).
Design and development of the

National Geologic Map Databases, in

support of the National Cooperative

Geologic Mapping Program,

including designing and developing

the internal Oracle database structure,

developing search mechanisms and

Web interfaces, data loading, and

enhancing database functionality

Cooperative projects with the

Arizona Game and Fish Department

to develop and publish a series of

shaded-relief maps of all Game

Management Units in the State.

Salt Lake City

The SGST has one person in Salt

Lake City who is the NMD liaison for

the State of Utah, as well as the NMD

liaison to the U.S. Forest Service

(FS), and is located in the FS

Geospatial Service and Technology

Center (GSTC). The Salt Lake City

office supports the SGST activities in

Utah by working closely with the

Utah Automated Geographic

Reference Center (AGRC) to

coordinate the development and

maintenance of geospatial data for the

State. One current project is The

National Map Utah Transportation

Pilot Project, which is a collaborative

USGS/AGRC effort to assemble,

develop, and integrate vector

transportation datasets in one urban

and one rural county. This project,

along with other National Map pilots,

is developing the processes and

techniques that will be needed in

achieving nationwide coverage by

The National Map.

The GSTC is the national location for

geospatial activities for the FS. The

USGS has interagency data-sharing

agreements with the FS for

orthoimagery, elevation data, and

topographic mapping (or the "SingleEdition Program," which is a

collaborative USGS/FS effort to

jointly revise 1:24,000-scale

topographic maps containing National

Forest System lands). The SGST Salt

Lake City office is responsible for

coordinating these efforts, as well as

other joint programs, such as the

Forest Visitor Map Program.

More Information about the USGS

Southwest Geographic Science

Team

Ann Frazier

U.S. Geological Survey

520 N. Park Avenue, Rm. 106

Tucson, AZ 85719-5035

Phone: 520-670-5019

E-mail: afrazier@usgs.gov

Additional Information

USGS State Representative

520 N. Park Avenue, Suite 221

Tucson, AZ 85719-5035

Phone: 520-670-6671, ext. 221

FAX: 520-670-5592

USGS Home Page

www.usgs.gov

Reports and products

1-888-ASK-USGS

Landsat thematic mapper satellite image mosaic of

Arizona produced for the Arizona Geographic

Information Council.

Locations of SGST offices.