Global Fiducials Library Data Access Portal
The Global Fiducials Library (GFL) Data Access Portal provides access to the GFL. The GFL is a long-term archive of images from U.S. National Imagery Systems which represents a long-term periodic record for selected scientifically important sites. The GFL was created to be the collection, archive and data management component of the Global Fiducials Program (GFP).
Processes
Geologic, Atmospheric, and Ocean processes involve interactions of the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.
Ice/Snow Dynamics
Subtle changes in ice and snow covered regions are known to be early indicators of and may be precursors to a changing global environment.
Land Use/Land Cover
Land use and land cover are linked to climate and other environmental changes in complex ways.
The Global Fiducials Library and the Earth System
The Earth System is the unified set of physical, chemical, and biological components, processes, and interactions that collectively determine the dynamics of our Planet and its ecosystems. The Earth system is often represented by interlinking and interacting "spheres" of processes and phenomena.
The U.S. Geological Survey identifies the five components or spheres of the Earth System as the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Earth System Science is the study of the interaction of these components. The focus of Earth System Science is to observe, understand, and predict the operation of, and the changes within our global environment. Planet Earth provides a natural laboratory whose experiments have been running since the beginning of time. Our planet faces unprecedented environmental and other challanges in the decades ahead. The most significant may include: climate change, sea-level rise, altered weather patterns, declines in freshwater availability and quality, and loss of biodiversity. These changes involve interactions between land, atmosphere, water, ice, biosphere, societies, technologies and economies.
Addressing these challenges and understanding the complexities of the Earth System requires well-conceived, science-based investigations. The GFL, which provides a long-term image database to support these investigations, contains imagery that focuses on five categories: Ocean Processes; Ice and Snow Dynamics; Atmospheric Processes; Land Use/Land Cover; and Geologic Processes.