Integrating Disparate Spatial Datasets from Local to National Scale for Open-Access Web-Based Visualization and Analysis: A Case Study Compiling U.S. Landslide Inventories

Spatial data on landslide occurrence across the U.S. varies greatly in quality, accessibility, and extent. This problem of data variability is common across USGS Mission Areas; it presents an obstacle to developing national-scale products and to identifying areas with relatively good/bad data coverage. We compiled available data of known landslides into a national-scale, searchable online map, which greatly increases public access to landslide hazard information. Additionally, we held a workshop with landslide practitioners and sought broader input from the CDI community; based on recommendations we identified a limited subset of essential attributes for inclusion in our product. We also defined a quantitative metric for confidence in data quality and developed simple scripts to assign confidence to each landslide in the inventory. Our approach can be used to inform other national-scale products to be compiled from disparate spatial datasets, particularly for projects with limited resources allocated to data management and maintenance.

Principal Investigator : Benjamin B Mirus
Co-Investigator : Rex L Baum, Robert G Schmitt, Eric S Jones
Cooperator/Partner : Lancaster, Jeremy, Slaughter, Stephen, Kirschbaum, Dalia, Crawford, Matthew, Burns, William