U.S. Department of the Interior
The Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (JELA) in southeastern Louisiana is being invaded by feral hogs (Sus scrofa) and needs a systemic survey to determine the distribution and number of hogs that exist within the park boundary.
The USGS is advancing the development of machine learning algorithms to detect and classify seabirds, waterfowl, and other marine wildlife from digital aerial imagery in collaboration with Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Vision Group at the International Computer Science Institute.
The presence of water in streams can serve as an indicator for potential droughts. The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is the most comprehensive dataset of surface waters in the United States and supports a broad range of applications. The streams mapped in the NHD are classified by streamflow permanence into classes of perennial, intermittent, or ephemeral.
Scientists from eight USGS Science Centers completed a multidisciplinary data collection effort during the week of October 21–25, 2019, using new technologies to map and validate bathymetry over a large stretch of the non-tidal Potomac River.
To support the modeling of the Colorado River water storage area capacity tables by the USGS Utah Water Science Center, the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center created a three-dimensional (3D) high-resolution topobathymetric digital elevation model (TBDEM) for Lake Powell, the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States.
In preparation for the anticipated removal of four large dams from the Klamath River on the California coast, the USGS has begun a multi-year, intensive monitoring program to document the effects that dam removal will have on the river system.
The National Map Corps (TNMCorps), a crowdsourced mapping project, relies on volunteers to assist the USGS National Geospatial Program by collecting and editing man-made structures data for The National Map. Through their participation, volunteers make important contributions to the USGS’s ability to provide the Nation with accurate mapping information.
With many years of multi-scale optical system geospatial and radiometric calibration and characterization experience, the EROS Cal/Val Center of Excellence (ECCOE) is a global leader in performing traceable measures of accuracy and assessing data quality to support credible science.
While the growing abundance of remote sensing platforms has dramatically improved the ability to measure the Earth’s surface, research into the subsurface remains hindered by data scarcity. Borehole and well data, where available, represent invaluable but spatially limited windows into geologic and hydrogeologic conditions, and it can be difficult to assess variability between these points.
The USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) effort to acquire new statewide Alaska elevation data is complete. The overall goal of 3DEP is to complete acquisition of the first-ever national baseline of consistent high-resolution elevation data—both bare-earth and three-dimensional point clouds—collected in a timeframe of less than a decade.