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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

Using Spectral Imaging to Map Vital Mudflat Microbial Life in San Francisco Bay

End of an Era: Landsat 7 Decommissioned After 25 Years of Earth Observation

When Crops Take a Break

Publications

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

Lead exposure in waterfowl before contoxic shot requirements: A nationwide study, 1983−1986 Lead exposure in waterfowl before contoxic shot requirements: A nationwide study, 1983−1986

Before implementing nontoxic shot requirements for hunting waterfowl and American coots Fulica americana in the United States in 1991, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service monitored lead poisoning in waterfowl on federal and state wildlife hunting areas during 1983-1986. Federal and state collaborators collected gizzards and livers from 9,029 hunter-killed waterfowl (10 species of dabbling...
Authors
J. Christian Franson, Christine M. Bunck

ECCOE Landsat quarterly Calibration and Validation report—Quarter 2, 2024 ECCOE Landsat quarterly Calibration and Validation report—Quarter 2, 2024

Executive Summary The U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Center of Excellence (ECCOE) focuses on improving the accuracy, precision, calibration, and product quality of remote-sensing data, leveraging years of multiscale optical system geometric and radiometric calibration and characterization experience. The ECCOE Landsat...
Authors
Md Obaidul Haque, Md Nahid Hasan, Ashish Shrestha, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, Mark Lubke, Jerad L. Shaw, Kathryn Ruslander, Esad Micijevic, Michael J. Choate, Cody Anderson, Jeff Clauson, Kurt Thome, Ed Kaita, Raviv Levy, Jeff Miller, Leibo Ding

Science

Eyes on Earth Episode 135 – Exotic Annual Grasses and Sheep Grazing

Eyes on Earth Episode 135 – Exotic Annual Grasses and Sheep Grazing

Invasive grasses are degrading sagebrush in western states. Can sheep help us restore these ecosystems?
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Eyes on Earth Episode 134 – Data Accuracy: The Calibration and Validation of Landsat

Eyes on Earth Episode 134 – Data Accuracy: The Calibration and Validation of Landsat

Researchers and other satellite programs rely on the scientifically correct data from Landsat—every pixel and every spectral band that is measured.
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Eyes on Earth Episode 133 – Vietnam War Bomb Craters

No longer used for spying, declassified spy satellite imagery is finding fascinating new uses.
Eyes on Earth Episode 133 – Vietnam War Bomb Craters

Eyes on Earth Episode 133 – Vietnam War Bomb Craters

No longer used for spying, declassified spy satellite imagery is finding fascinating new uses.
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