Science and Decisions Center
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The USGS Science and Decisions Center (SDC) is a unique and small interdisciplinary center which conducts integrated physical, biological, socioeconomic, and information science, advances decision-analytic methods in the USGS, and investigates innovative data collection and analysis methods with a goal of increasing the use and value of USGS science in decision making.
SDC Science Themes
Focus for research and applications in four science themes crosscutting USGS mission areas and regions.
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SDC Seminar Series
The Science and Decisions Center seminars highlights topics from guest speakers who share their work associated with SDC's four science themes.
SDC SeminarsNews
Floodplain Ecosystem Service Mapper Released
The Floodplain Ecosystem Service Mapper is a web application that displays field site data and lidar-derived floodplain and stream channel geomorphic metrics in the Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds.
Employing an Ecosystem Services Framework to Deliver Decision Ready Science
In the November 25th issue of Advances in Ecological and Environmental Research, the Science and Decisions Center has an article entitled "Employing an Ecosystem Services Framework to Deliver Decision Ready Science". Written by Emily Pindilli, Dianna Hogan, and Zhiliang Zhu.
The Right Tool for the Right Job
Land managers, regulators and other participants in market-based conservation wanting to assess the ecological benefits provided by restored, enhanced and preserved land now have a one-stop shop for the quantification tools used to measure these benefits, courtesy of the USGS and the USDA.
Publications
Supporting natural resource-management decisions—The role of economics at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)—2018 DOI Economics Training Workshop
The second U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Economics Training Workshop (hereafter “Workshop”) was held during September 25–27, 2018, in Washington, D.C., to identify, highlight, and better understand needs and opportunities for economic analysis to support DOI’s mission. Building on the first workshop in 2017, the second Workshop, jointly...
Alhassan, Mustapha; Pindilli, Emily J.; Crowley, Christian S.L.; Shapiro, Carl D.; Simon, Benjamin M.
Economic valuation of health benefits from using geologic data to communicate radon risk potential
Background: Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer worldwide and represents a major health concern within and outside the United States. Mitigating exposure to radon is especially critical in places with high rates of tobacco smoking (e.g., Kentucky, USA), as radon-induced lung cancer is markedly greater among people exposed to...
Chiavacci, Scott J.; Shapiro, Carl D.; Pindilli, Emily J.; Casey, Clyde F.; Rayens, Mary Kay; Wiggins, Amanda T.; Andrews, William M.; Hahn, Ellen J. Climate dipoles as continental drivers of plant and animal populations
Ecological processes, such as migration and phenology, are strongly influenced by climate variability. Studying these processes often relies on associating observations of animals and plants with climate variability indices, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. A characteristic of climate indices is the simultaneous emergence of opposite...
Zuckerberg, Benjamin; Strong, Courtenay; LaMontagne, Jalene; St. George, Scott; Betancourt, Julio L.; Koenig, Walter D.