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Core Science Systems Mission Area

CSS leads USGS’s mission as the civilian mapping agency for the Nation. We conduct detailed surveys and develop high quality, highly accurate topographic, geologic, hydrographic, and biogeographic maps and data. Our maps allow precise planning for critical mineral assessments; energy development; infrastructure projects; urban planning; flood prediction; emergency response; and haz

News

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Mapping Challenge Update (09/28/23): Schools in Utah

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Using the Power of Landsat and Digital Earth Tools to Understand Coastlines in Australia and Africa

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USGS announces elevation and hydrography data acquisition partnership opportunities.

Publications

A guide to creating an effective big data management framework

Many agencies and organizations, such as the U.S. Geological Survey, handle massive geospatial datasets and their auxiliary data and are thus faced with challenges in storing data and ingesting it, transferring it between internal programs, and egressing it to external entities. As a result, these agencies and organizations may inadvertently devote unnecessary time and money to convey data without
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Samantha Arundel, Kevin G McKeehan, Bryan B Campbell, Andrew N. Bulen, Philip T. Thiem

Calibration and validation for the Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) mission concept: Recommendations for a multi-sensor system for imaging spectroscopy and thermal imagery

The primary objective of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) mission is to measure biological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical features of the Earth's surface, realizing a key conceptual component of the envisioned NASA Earth System Observatory (ESO). SBG is planned to launch as a two-platform mission in the late 2020s, the first of the
Authors
Kevin R. Turpie, Kimberly Ann Casey, Christopher J. Crawford, Liane S Guild, Hugh H. Kieffer, Guoqing (Gary) Lin, Raymond F. Kokaly, Alok Shrestha, Cody Anderson, Shankar N. Ramaseri Chandra, Robert O. Green, Simon Hook, Constantine Lukashin, Kurt Thome

The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting Oregon's economy

IntroductionOregon’s physical environments and vegetation are diverse. The varied geologic and climatic conditions combined with increasing population have created the need for high-quality elevation data that can be used for infrastructure management, forestry and wildfire management, agriculture, natural resources conservation, and other business uses. Critical applications that meet the State’s
Authors
Tom Carlson

Science

Diseases of Fish and Wildlife

The coronavirus pandemic, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in white-tailed deer, and white-nose syndrome in bats have spawned great interest in diseases of native fish and wildlife. Many aspects of widely known diseases of wild (as opposed to domestic) animal populations are poorly understood, including their ecology, incidence, distribution, and methods for reducing effects of disease on culturally...
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Diseases of Fish and Wildlife

The coronavirus pandemic, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in white-tailed deer, and white-nose syndrome in bats have spawned great interest in diseases of native fish and wildlife. Many aspects of widely known diseases of wild (as opposed to domestic) animal populations are poorly understood, including their ecology, incidence, distribution, and methods for reducing effects of disease on culturally...
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Eyes on Earth Episode 104 – EROS 50th: Alumni and Friends, Part 2

This second special alumni edition of the Eyes on Earth podcast features stories told by former employees and others about science, technology and the international outlook at EROS.
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Eyes on Earth Episode 104 – EROS 50th: Alumni and Friends, Part 2

This second special alumni edition of the Eyes on Earth podcast features stories told by former employees and others about science, technology and the international outlook at EROS.
Learn More

Eyes on Earth Episode 103 – EROS 50th: Alumni and Friends, Part 1

This special alumni edition of the Eyes on Earth podcast features stories told by former employees and others about the history and people at EROS.
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Eyes on Earth Episode 103 – EROS 50th: Alumni and Friends, Part 1

This special alumni edition of the Eyes on Earth podcast features stories told by former employees and others about the history and people at EROS.
Learn More