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Our Western Geographic Science Center (WGSC) priority is to continue the important work of the Department of the Interior and the USGS, while also maintaining the health and safety of our employees and the community. Based on guidance from the White House, the CDC, and state and local authorities, we are shifting our operations to a virtual mode and have minimal staffing within our offices. If you need additional assistance, please contact Susan Benjamin, sbenjamin@usgs.gov.
Anne Wein Wins Bay Area Metro Award!
Congratulations to Dr. Anne Wein, Operations Research Analyst at WGSC, who received a 2019 Bay Area Metro Award for her work as lead researcher for the HayWired earthquake scenario!
Learn moreRemote Sensing and Dryland Management
With the use of remote sensing and spatial analysis, WGSC scientists study dryland vegetation and soils to determine disturbances and help manage recovery.
Learn moreProjects and teams at WGSC
Just a few examples of WGSC projects and science teams.
Global Food Security-Support Analysis Data at 30 m (GFSAD30)
Hazards Societal Consequences and Risk Communication
Land-Use and Climate Change Team (LUCC)
Applied Landscape Ecology and Remote Sensing
Patterns in the Landscape – Analyses of Cause and Effect (PLACE)
News
Anne Wein Wins Prestigious 2019 Bay Area Metro Award
Congratulations to Dr. Anne Wein, Operations Research Analyst at WGSC, who received a 2019 Bay Area Metro Award from the Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for her work as lead researcher for the HayWired earthquake scenario.
WGSC Scientists tour a restoration project
Laura Norman's Aridland Water Harvesting Study helps lead a tour of a restoration and monitoring project at the Boy Scouts of America, Heard Scout Pueblo (HSP) in Phoenix, Arizona.
The GFSAD30 project accomplished their goal!
The global croplands mapping project has succesfully mapped croplands across the entire planet in order to understand the security of food world wide. Below are many press anouncments and interviews with the project leader Prasad Thenkabail.
Publications
Mapping perceived social values to support a respondent-defined restoration economy: Case study in southeastern Arizona, USA
Investment in conservation and ecological restoration depends on various socioeconomic factors and the social license for these activities. Our study demonstrates a method for targeting management of ecosystem services based on social values, identified by respondents through a collection of social survey data. We applied the Social Values for...
Lysaght, Oliver; Sherrouse, Ben C.; Semmens, Darius J.; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Pritzlaff, Richard; Petrakis, Roy; Norman, Laura M.; Lysaght, Oliver; Sherrouse, Ben C.; Semmens, Darius J.; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Pritzlaff, Richard Implementation of a surface water extent model in Cambodia using cloud-based remote sensing
Mapping surface water over time provides the spatially explicit information essential for hydroclimatic research focused on droughts and flooding. Hazard risk assessments and water management planning also rely on accurate, long-term measurements describing hydrologic fluctuations. Stream gages are a common measurement tool used to better...
Soulard, Christopher E.; Walker, Jessica; Petrakis, Roy E. Evaluating social vulnerability indicators: Criteria and their application to the Social Vulnerability Index
As a concept, social vulnerability describes combinations of social, cultural, economic, political, and institutional processes that shape socioeconomic differentials in the experience of and recovery from hazards. Quantitative measures of social vulnerability are widely used in research and practice. In this paper, we establish criteria for the...
Spielman, Seth; Tuccillo, Joseph; Folch, David; Schweikert, Amy; Davies, Rebecca; Wood, Nathan J.; Tate, Eric