Core Science Systems
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CSS leads USGS’s mission as the civilian mapping agency for the Nation. We conduct detailed surveys and develop high quality, highly accurate topographic, geologic, hydrographic, and biogeographic maps and data. Our maps allow precise planning for critical mineral assessments; energy development; infrastructure projects; urban planning; flood prediction; emergency response; and hazard mitigation.
National Geospatial Program
The National Geospatial Program is the Federal civilian mapping agency and provides the digital geospatial foundation for the Nation. It engages partners and communities of use to collaboratively produce consistent and accurate topographic map data.
Learn MoreScience Analytics and Synthesis (SAS)
The USGS Science Data Catalog, supported by SAS, provides seamless access to USGS research and monitoring data from across the nation. Users have the ability to search, browse, or use a map-based interface to discover data.
Learn MoreNews
TNMCorps Mapping Challenge Summary Results for City / Town Halls in IA & MN
Summary statistics are now available for this challenge. Thanks again to everyone who contributed!
Historic Prototype Viewers to be Decommissioned
On October 15, 2021, the USGS is retiring the LandsatLook 1.0 (now LandLook) and Sentinel2Look prototype viewers.
Landsat 9: Payloads stacked atop Atlas V for launch
The Landsat 9 spacecraft that will continue an unbroken, decades-long record of observing the changes of planet Earth and a CubeSat rideshare package are mounted atop the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. This complex launch features four burns by the Centaur upper stage to release the payloads into two different orbits.
Publications
Earth's coastlines
With approximately half the world’s population living less than 65 miles from the ocean, coastal ecosystems are arguably Earth’s most critical real estate. Yet coastlines are among the more difficult features to accurately map; until now, no comprehensive high-resolution geospatial dataset existed. This chapter presents a new map and ecological...
Sayre, Roger; Martin, Madeline T.; Cress, Jill Janene; Butler, Kevin; Van Graafeiland, Keith; Breyer, Sean; Wright, Dawn; Frye, Charlie; Karagulle, Deniz; Allen, Tom; Allee, Rebecca; Parsons, Rost; Nyberg, Bjorn; Costello, Mark J.; Muller-Karger, Frank; Harris, Peter Watersheds and drainage networks
This topic is an overview of basic concepts about how the distribution of water on the Earth, with specific regard to watersheds, stream and river networks, and waterbodies are represented by geographic data. The flowing and non-flowing bodies of water on the earth’s surface vary in extent largely due to seasonal and annual changes in climate...
Stanislawski, Larry; Shavers, Ethan J. Spatial data reduction through element -of-interest (EOI) extraction
Any large, multifaceted data collection that is challenging to handle with traditional management practices can be branded ‘Big Data.’ Any big data containing geo-referenced attributes can be considered big geospatial data. The increased proliferation of big geospatial data is currently reforming the geospatial industry into a data-driven...
Arundel, Samantha; Usery, E. Lynn