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Integrated Science Approach

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By Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology August 15, 2022

The USGS has a long history of delivering science and tools to help decision-makers manage and mitigate effects of drought. The timing is critical for the USGS to consolidate its diverse expertise into a single landscape-scale effort to rapidly provide integrated transdisciplinary, targeted data, tools, and models required by decision makers in the Basin. This initiative unifies USGS expertise together with the vast regional science capabilities in the Colorado River Basin to demonstrate the value and impact of a strategic and integrated science approach to delivering complex earth system science as actionable, predictive intelligence to support decision making. 

A basin-scale approach is needed to create a comprehensive framework to interpret landscape-scale science, build collaboration across science disciplines, and work in partnership with other Federal agencies, Tribes, States, local jurisdictions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector to provide the best available science to resource managers and planners, emergency response officials, and the public to make critical land and resource management decisions. The ASIST project is implementing a structured interdisciplinary framework for all USGS Programs and Projects to deliver science for climate resilience, drought management, wildlife management, ecosystem restoration, mineral development, traditional and renewable energy development, predicting effects of extreme wildfire assessments, agricultural resource management, developing ecological processes, climate-smart technologies, and protecting and restoring land and water resources across the landscape.  

Sagebrush with mountain and clouds in background
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Mountain big sagebrush - or Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana - is a sub-species of big sagebrush that is found in primarily at higher elevation and colder, drier sites between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. 

Characteristics of the effort include: 

  • Integrative, Comprehensive, and Timely – Multiple scientific disciplines within USGS’s Ecosystems, Water Resources, Natural Hazards, Energy and Minerals, and Core Science Systems mission areas will jointly plan, conduct, and deliver timely science to address complex issues and will use all available data from both internal and external sources.   

  • Collaborative, Trustworthy, and Useful – The USGS will work in close collaboration with regional partners, stakeholders, and decision makers to document their priorities and to understand the end users’ needs, ensuring the usability, accuracy, and impact of the products delivered.   

  • Scalable and Extensible – Approaches and capabilities developed for this project will contribute to the development of a national framework and will facilitate rapid application of the capacities developed to other basins and regions.   

  • Innovative – Projects will use innovative and emerging technologies to improve access to – and speed delivery of – data, models, tools, predictions, and products. 

The USGS has a long history of delivering science and tools to help decision-makers manage and mitigate effects of drought. The timing is critical for the USGS to consolidate its diverse expertise into a single landscape-scale effort to rapidly provide integrated transdisciplinary, targeted data, tools, and models required by decision makers in the Basin. This initiative unifies USGS expertise together with the vast regional science capabilities in the Colorado River Basin to demonstrate the value and impact of a strategic and integrated science approach to delivering complex earth system science as actionable, predictive intelligence to support decision making. 

A basin-scale approach is needed to create a comprehensive framework to interpret landscape-scale science, build collaboration across science disciplines, and work in partnership with other Federal agencies, Tribes, States, local jurisdictions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector to provide the best available science to resource managers and planners, emergency response officials, and the public to make critical land and resource management decisions. The ASIST project is implementing a structured interdisciplinary framework for all USGS Programs and Projects to deliver science for climate resilience, drought management, wildlife management, ecosystem restoration, mineral development, traditional and renewable energy development, predicting effects of extreme wildfire assessments, agricultural resource management, developing ecological processes, climate-smart technologies, and protecting and restoring land and water resources across the landscape.  

Sagebrush with mountain and clouds in background
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Mountain big sagebrush - or Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana - is a sub-species of big sagebrush that is found in primarily at higher elevation and colder, drier sites between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. 

Characteristics of the effort include: 

  • Integrative, Comprehensive, and Timely – Multiple scientific disciplines within USGS’s Ecosystems, Water Resources, Natural Hazards, Energy and Minerals, and Core Science Systems mission areas will jointly plan, conduct, and deliver timely science to address complex issues and will use all available data from both internal and external sources.   

  • Collaborative, Trustworthy, and Useful – The USGS will work in close collaboration with regional partners, stakeholders, and decision makers to document their priorities and to understand the end users’ needs, ensuring the usability, accuracy, and impact of the products delivered.   

  • Scalable and Extensible – Approaches and capabilities developed for this project will contribute to the development of a national framework and will facilitate rapid application of the capacities developed to other basins and regions.   

  • Innovative – Projects will use innovative and emerging technologies to improve access to – and speed delivery of – data, models, tools, predictions, and products. 

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