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Core Science Systems Mission Area

USGS CSS serves as the primary national civilian mapping agency, including topographic and geologic mapping for Federal and State requirements, national geospatial coordination, satellite operations and remote sensing. Our products and data are necessary to understand, monitor, and detect changes that affect the Nation’s natural and agricultural resources, the economy, public safety, and security.

News

ASTER Data Archive: Now Processed, Ready and Waiting for You

ASTER Data Archive: Now Processed, Ready and Waiting for You

USGS topoBuilder Surpasses One Million Custom Topo Maps

USGS topoBuilder Surpasses One Million Custom Topo Maps

Partnership Selections for the 2025 3D National Topography Model Data Collaboration Announcement

Partnership Selections for the 2025 3D National Topography Model Data Collaboration Announcement

Publications

GIScience in the era of Artificial Intelligence: A research agenda towards Autonomous GIS GIScience in the era of Artificial Intelligence: A research agenda towards Autonomous GIS

The advent of generative AI exemplified by large language models (LLMs) opens new ways to represent and compute geographic information and transcends the process of geographic knowledge production, driving geographic information systems (GIS) towards autonomous GIS. Leveraging LLMs as the decision core, autonomous GIS can independently generate and execute geoprocessing workflows to...
Authors
Zhenlong Li, Huan Ning, Song Gao, Krzysztof Janowicz, Wenwen Li, Samantha Arundel, Chaowei Yang, Budhendra Bhaduri, Shaoweng Wang, A-Xing Zhu, Mark Gahegan, Shashi Shekhar, Xinyue Ye, Grant McKenzie, Guido Cervone, Michael Hodgson

Grammar to graph—An approach for semantic transformation of annotations to triples Grammar to graph—An approach for semantic transformation of annotations to triples

Data annotation is the process of labeling data to show the outcome that a related data model should predict. In this study, annotation data were transformed into semantic graph triples, mainly for use with the Resource Description Framework (RDF), a type of entity-relationship-attribute data model for graph databases. The transformation of annotation data to semantic graph triples...
Authors
Dalia Varanka, Emily Abbott

Validation of the geometric accuracy of airborne light detection and ranging data for eastern Iowa, 2019 Validation of the geometric accuracy of airborne light detection and ranging data for eastern Iowa, 2019

A geometric accuracy assessment of lidar data collected in eastern Iowa in 2019 as part of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) was conducted. The assessment involved evaluating interswath accuracy, same surface precision, point density, absolute accuracy, and consistency with adjacent 3DEP datasets. The results demonstrate that the data meet or exceed the quality level 2 specifications...
Authors
Aparajithan Sampath, Jeffrey Irwin, Travis Kropuenske

Science

National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP)

The National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP) is a collaborative effort working towards a common mission to protect, restore, and enhance the nation's fish and aquatic communities through partnerships that foster fish habitat conservation and improve the quality of life for the American people.
National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP)

National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP)

The National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP) is a collaborative effort working towards a common mission to protect, restore, and enhance the nation's fish and aquatic communities through partnerships that foster fish habitat conservation and improve the quality of life for the American people.
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Where land meets sea: USGS science for resilient coastal habitats

USGS coastal science plays a critical role in supporting the effective, science-based management of coastal ecosystems, where the biodiversity of land and sea meet. It provides managers with the information they need to make sound decisions. Through cutting-edge research, predictive modeling, and decision-support tools, USGS empowers resource managers to make informed, science-based choices. From...
Where land meets sea: USGS science for resilient coastal habitats

Where land meets sea: USGS science for resilient coastal habitats

USGS coastal science plays a critical role in supporting the effective, science-based management of coastal ecosystems, where the biodiversity of land and sea meet. It provides managers with the information they need to make sound decisions. Through cutting-edge research, predictive modeling, and decision-support tools, USGS empowers resource managers to make informed, science-based choices. From...
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Eyes on Earth Episode 137 – Landsat Takes Yellowstone’s Temperature

Eyes on Earth Episode 137 – Landsat Takes Yellowstone’s Temperature

How do you keep track of thousands of hot spots in an area the size of Yellowstone National Park? Check out thermal satellite data like Landsat’s!
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