Geospatial Applications
Geospatial Applications
The USGS is the Nation’s largest Earth science civilian mapping agency, mapping in the United States and abroad for more than 125 years and changing products and services offered and the means by which they are developed to meet changing expectations of users, new understandings of societal and mission needs, and new technologies. The NYWSC uses the latest available spatial datasets to provide geospatial expertise for scientific investigations; geographic information systems (GISs) are used to characterize the natural and manmade features that define the environmental settings of drainage basins and groundwater study areas. As the quality and resolution of remotely sensed geospatial data and imagery continues to improve, GISs can be used to visualize and explore these data. For example, light detection and ranging (lidar) elevation data can be displayed with hill-shade and color classifications that provide far greater detail than 1:24,000-scale topographic maps.
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Flood-Inundation Maps for the Schoharie Creek at Prattsville, New York
Background and Problem Prattsville has experienced severe flooding along the Schoharie Creek, most notably during August 2011 following Hurricane Irene, which severely damaged or destroyed large areas of the town, and caused several million dollars in damages (Figure 1). Before and during a flood, forewarning and emergency response are critical. The rescue efforts of emergency responders...
Detailed Aquifer Mapping in Wayne County, New York, The Fairport-Lyons Channel Aquifer
Introduction Detailed mapping of the glacial aquifer within the buried Fairport-Lyons bedrock channel in southern Wayne County, N.Y. is the latest study in the cooperative Detailed Aquifer Mapping Program between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). The aim of the program is to map the extent of glacial aquifers in...
Flood-Inundation Maps for the West Branch Delaware River, Delhi, New York
Delhi has experienced severe flooding along the West Branch Delaware River (fig. 1); most notably during January, 1996, June, 2006, and October, 2010, and August, 2011. Emergency responders would benefit from a library of flood-inundation maps that are referenced to the stages recorded at the USGS streamgage upstream from Delhi. By referring to the appropriate map, emergency responders...
Detailed Aquifer Mapping in the Greene-Kattelville area of New York
Background Since 1980 the U.S. Geological Survey has conducted a Detailed Aquifer Mapping Program in upstate New York, first in cooperation with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), and later in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), Division of Water. The objective of this program is to define the hydrogeology of important
Development of GIS datasets for selected aquifers in New York
Problem - Since the 1980s, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has mapped over 30 sand and gravel aquifers in upstate New York at the 1:24,000-scale. These mapped aquifers include both the primary and many of the principal aquifers as designated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Although the 1:24,000-scale maps are valuable in their present form, their...
Hydrogeologic Recharge Settings of the Carbonate-Bedrock Aquifer in Genesee County, Western New York
Problem - The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Health (NYSDOH) are concerned about Problem - The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Health (NYSDOH) are concerned about ground-water contamination in the carbonate-bedrock aquifers, especially relating to the inadvertent introduction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)...
Nassau Hydrogeologic Maps
Problem - The major hydrogeologic units of Long Island, New York, have been delineated as part of the islandwide mapping effort of Smolensky, Buxton, and Shernoff that was published in 1989 as U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Atlas (HA) 709. Concern about local details in the hydrogeologic framework that may not be represented in HA-709 has led the USGS, in cooperation with the U...
Onondaga Lake Watershed Geographic Information System
Problem - The purpose of this project is to create a watershed GIS (Geographic Information System) to support the comprehensive cleanup and restoration of Onondaga Lake that is underway. A GIS is a computer system capable of capturing, storing, analyzing, and displaying geographically referenced information; that is, data identified according to location. Given the broad scope of the...
Regionalization of Channel Geomorphology Characteristics for Streams of New York State, Excluding Long Island
Problem - Geomorphologic techniques for stream channel and bank restoration are fast becoming the techniques of choice among federal, state, county, and local agencies to reduce suspended sediment loads, reduce flood damage, improve aquatic habitat, and generally stabilize stream channels. One reason for this upswing in use is that appropriate application of these techniques has been...