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National Uncrewed Systems Office

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By National Land Imaging Program December 11, 2018

New Article: Drone-based radiometric surveys provide high-resolution mine waste characterization

Learn more about this new application of UAS technology for geophysics

New research article: evaluating radiometric calibration and data quality of spectral UAS sensors

Learn more about our work with the EROS CalVal Center of Excellence

Using uncrewed aircraft systems to assess landslide damage after Hurricane Helene

Learn more about our work with the National Park Service Blue Ridge Parkway

UAS 3D Model of Marsh-Felch Quarry in Colorado

Learn More

UAS Hyperspectral Imaging during the Missouri River Dye-Trace Study

Learn More

UAS 3D Scan of the Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial

Learn More

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Uncrewed Systems Office (NUSO) leads the research activities needed to make Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) data collection an efficient, safe, and cost-effective remote sensing tool for Department of the Interior (DOI) and USGS scientists.

Technology Research

Technology Research

Research Missions

Research Missions

New and Noteworthy

December 3, 2025
Absolute radiometric calibration evaluation of Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) Headwall and MicaSense sensors and improving data quality using the Empirical Line Method

November 1, 2025
Drone-based radiometric surveys provide high-resolution mine waste characterization

June 3, 2025
Pre-Restoration Woody Species Crown and Vegetation Community Mapping Using High-Resolution Uncrewed Aerial System Imagery, Palmyra Atoll

 

 

What We Do

Media
National Uncrewed Systems Office - What We Do
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

We focus on the evaluation of new platforms, integration of new UAS-compatible sensors, development of data specifications and processing techniques, recommendations of UAS data acquisition best-practices, and operational support for new and existing DOI remote pilots.
 

Who We Are

Media
National Uncrewed Systems Office - Who We Are
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

We are a team of platform and UAS-compatible sensor subject matter experts that, in addition to research, provide operational support to DOI remote pilots and outreach to federal, public, and international audiences. Our office, established on May 8th, 2008, operates as part of the National Land Imaging Program, and contributes to its goal to provide the Federal Government and the public with the remotely sensed data and applications needed to support our Nation’s economic security and environmental vitality.

Products listed below were supported through the use of UAS technologies and resources at USGS.

Filter Total Items: 83

Remotely sensed data from a reach of the Sacramento River near Glenn, California, used to perform Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) within the Robot Operating System (ROS) Remotely sensed data from a reach of the Sacramento River near Glenn, California, used to perform Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) within the Robot Operating System (ROS)

This data release provides an example data set to accompany the manuscript titled "A Robot Operating System (ROS) package for mapping flow fields in rivers via Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)", submitted to the journal Software X. This ROS *.bag file contains remotely sensed data acquired during an Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) flight along a reach of the Sacramento River near Glenn...
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Multispectral images and field measurements of water depth from the Sacramento River near Glenn, California, acquired September 14-16, 2021 Multispectral images and field measurements of water depth from the Sacramento River near Glenn, California, acquired September 14-16, 2021

This data release includes multispectral images and field measurements of water depth from the Sacramento River near Glenn, California, used to evaluate the potential for efficient reach-scale mapping of river bathymetry using Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS). The images were acquired by a MicaSense RedEdge-MX Dual Camera deployed from a Trinity F90 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)...
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Lidar Point Clouds (LPCs), Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), and Snow Depth Raster Maps Derived from Lidar Data Collected on Small, Uncrewed Aircraft Systems in the Upper Colorado River Basin, Colorado, 2020-22 Lidar Point Clouds (LPCs), Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), and Snow Depth Raster Maps Derived from Lidar Data Collected on Small, Uncrewed Aircraft Systems in the Upper Colorado River Basin, Colorado, 2020-22

This data release consists of three child items distinguishing the following types of data: light detection and ranging (lidar) point clouds (LPCs), digital elevation models (DEMs), and snow depth raster maps. These three data types are all derived from lidar data collected on small, uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS) at study areas in the Upper Colorado River Basin, Colorado, from 2020 to...

Topographic and multispectral reflectance products, aerial imagery, spectral reflectance profiles, vegetation surveys, and associated GPS data collected during uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) operations: Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland, Octob Topographic and multispectral reflectance products, aerial imagery, spectral reflectance profiles, vegetation surveys, and associated GPS data collected during uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) operations: Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland, Octob

Low-altitude (70 m above ground level) aerial images were collected over 5 areas of interest within the northern portion of Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS) in mid-October, 2022. These images were collected to generate photogrammetric products (e.g. digital surface model (DSM), reflectance orthomosaic) for five areas of interest along the northern portion of the island to...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Erosion rates and salinity and selenium yields in a basin near Rangely, Colorado following the 2017 Dead Dog wildfire as modeled by WEPP and measured from UAV Erosion rates and salinity and selenium yields in a basin near Rangely, Colorado following the 2017 Dead Dog wildfire as modeled by WEPP and measured from UAV

This data release accompanies a U.S Geological Survey study that assessed sediment, salinity, and selenium yields following the Dead Dog wildfire in northwestern Colorado. The Dead Dog fire ignited on June 11, 2017, near Rangely, Colorado, and burned over 17,000 acres, including the B2 study area. Two methodologies were used to quantify erosion and associated salinity and sediment yields...
By
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

Aerial imagery and structure-from-motion data products from UAS surveys of the beaches at Fort Stevens State Park, OR, and Cape Disappointment State Park, WA Aerial imagery and structure-from-motion data products from UAS surveys of the beaches at Fort Stevens State Park, OR, and Cape Disappointment State Park, WA

This data release presents aerial imagery and structure-from-motion (SfM) data products from uncrewed aerial system (UAS) surveys conducted on the ocean beaches adjacent to the Columbia River Mouth at the Oregon-Washington border. The surveys cover approximately 3 kilometers of Benson Beach at Cape Disappointment State Park north of the Columbia River mouth, in Washington, and 3...
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Filter Total Items: 108
No results found.

Products listed below were supported through the use of UAS technologies and resources at USGS.

U.S. Geological Survey Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Roadmap 2014 U.S. Geological Survey Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Roadmap 2014

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for protecting the natural resources and heritage contained on almost 20 percent of the land in the United States. This responsibility requires acquisition of remotely sensed data throughout vast lands, including areas that are remote and potentially dangerous to access. One promising new technology for data collection is unmanned...
Authors
Jill J. Cress, Michael E. Hutt, Jeff L. Sloan, Mark A. Bauer, Mark R. Feller, Susan E. Goplen
By
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Filter Total Items: 61

Quantifying plant-soil-nutrient dynamics in rangelands: Fusion of UAV hyperspectral-LiDAR, UAV multispectral-photogrammetry, and ground-based LiDAR-digital photography in a shrub-encroached desert grassland Quantifying plant-soil-nutrient dynamics in rangelands: Fusion of UAV hyperspectral-LiDAR, UAV multispectral-photogrammetry, and ground-based LiDAR-digital photography in a shrub-encroached desert grassland

Rangelands cover 70% of the world's land surface, and provide critical ecosystem services of primary production, soil carbon storage, and nutrient cycling. These ecosystem services are governed by very fine-scale spatial patterning of soil carbon, nutrients, and plant species at the centimeter-to-meter scales, a phenomenon known as “islands of fertility”. Such fine-scale dynamics are...
Authors
Joel B. Sankey, Temuulen T. Sankey, Junran Li, Sujith Ravi, Guan Wang, Joshua Caster, Alan Kasprak
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center, Wildland Fire Science

Small atoll fresh groundwater lenses respond to a combination of natural climatic cycles and human modified geology Small atoll fresh groundwater lenses respond to a combination of natural climatic cycles and human modified geology

Freshwater lenses underlying small ocean islands exhibit spatial variability and temporal fluctuations in volume, influencing ecologic management. For example, The Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge harbors one of the few surviving native stands of Pisonia grandis in the central Pacific Ocean, yet these trees face pressure from groundwater salinization, with little basic groundwater...
Authors
Martin A. Briggs, J Cantelon, B. Kurylyk, Justin T. Kulongoski, Audrey Mills, John W. Lane
By
Water Resources Mission Area

QCam: sUAS-based doppler radar for measuring river discharge QCam: sUAS-based doppler radar for measuring river discharge

The U.S. Geological Survey is actively investigating remote sensing of surface velocity and river discharge (discharge) from satellite-, high altitude-, small, unmanned aircraft systems- (sUAS or drone), and permanent (fixed) deployments. This initiative is important in ungaged basins and river reaches that lack the infrastructure to deploy conventional streamgaging equipment. By...
Authors
John W. Fulton, Isaac E. Anderson, C.-L. Chiu, Wolfram Sommer, Josip Adams, Tommaso Moramarco, David M. Bjerklie, Janice M. Fulford, Jeff L. Sloan, Heather Best, Jeffrey S. Conaway, Michelle J. Kang, Michael S. Kohn, Matthew J. Nicotra, Jeremy J. Pulli
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, National Innovation Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

From lava to water: A new era at Kīlauea From lava to water: A new era at Kīlauea

No abstract available.
Authors
Patricia A. Nadeau, Angela K. Diefenbach, Shaul Hurwitz, Donald A. Swanson
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Recovery Activities

Predicting bird guilds using vegetation composition and structure on a wild and scenic river in Arizona Predicting bird guilds using vegetation composition and structure on a wild and scenic river in Arizona

Riparian areas are among the most ecologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems but make up
Authors
Erin S. Cubley, Heather L. Bateman, Sidney B. Riddle, Christopher Holmquist-Johnson, David M. Merritt
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Ultra‐high‐resolution mapping of biocrusts with Unmanned Aerial Systems Ultra‐high‐resolution mapping of biocrusts with Unmanned Aerial Systems

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) occur in drylands globally where they support ecosystem functioning by increasing soil stability, reducing dust emissions and modifying soil resource availability (e.g. water, nutrients). Determining biocrust condition and extent across landscapes continues to present considerable challenges to scientists and land managers. Biocrusts grow in patches...
Authors
Caroline Havrilla, Miguel L. Villarreal, Jacob DiBiase, Michael C. Duniway, Nichole Barger
By
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Western Geographic Science Center

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Uncrewed Systems Office (NUSO) leads the research activities needed to make Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) data collection an efficient, safe, and cost-effective remote sensing tool for Department of the Interior (DOI) and USGS scientists.

Technology Research

Technology Research

Research Missions

Research Missions

New and Noteworthy

December 3, 2025
Absolute radiometric calibration evaluation of Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) Headwall and MicaSense sensors and improving data quality using the Empirical Line Method

November 1, 2025
Drone-based radiometric surveys provide high-resolution mine waste characterization

June 3, 2025
Pre-Restoration Woody Species Crown and Vegetation Community Mapping Using High-Resolution Uncrewed Aerial System Imagery, Palmyra Atoll

 

 

What We Do

Media
National Uncrewed Systems Office - What We Do
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

We focus on the evaluation of new platforms, integration of new UAS-compatible sensors, development of data specifications and processing techniques, recommendations of UAS data acquisition best-practices, and operational support for new and existing DOI remote pilots.
 

Who We Are

Media
National Uncrewed Systems Office - Who We Are
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

We are a team of platform and UAS-compatible sensor subject matter experts that, in addition to research, provide operational support to DOI remote pilots and outreach to federal, public, and international audiences. Our office, established on May 8th, 2008, operates as part of the National Land Imaging Program, and contributes to its goal to provide the Federal Government and the public with the remotely sensed data and applications needed to support our Nation’s economic security and environmental vitality.

Products listed below were supported through the use of UAS technologies and resources at USGS.

Filter Total Items: 83

Remotely sensed data from a reach of the Sacramento River near Glenn, California, used to perform Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) within the Robot Operating System (ROS) Remotely sensed data from a reach of the Sacramento River near Glenn, California, used to perform Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) within the Robot Operating System (ROS)

This data release provides an example data set to accompany the manuscript titled "A Robot Operating System (ROS) package for mapping flow fields in rivers via Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)", submitted to the journal Software X. This ROS *.bag file contains remotely sensed data acquired during an Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) flight along a reach of the Sacramento River near Glenn...
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Multispectral images and field measurements of water depth from the Sacramento River near Glenn, California, acquired September 14-16, 2021 Multispectral images and field measurements of water depth from the Sacramento River near Glenn, California, acquired September 14-16, 2021

This data release includes multispectral images and field measurements of water depth from the Sacramento River near Glenn, California, used to evaluate the potential for efficient reach-scale mapping of river bathymetry using Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS). The images were acquired by a MicaSense RedEdge-MX Dual Camera deployed from a Trinity F90 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)...
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Lidar Point Clouds (LPCs), Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), and Snow Depth Raster Maps Derived from Lidar Data Collected on Small, Uncrewed Aircraft Systems in the Upper Colorado River Basin, Colorado, 2020-22 Lidar Point Clouds (LPCs), Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), and Snow Depth Raster Maps Derived from Lidar Data Collected on Small, Uncrewed Aircraft Systems in the Upper Colorado River Basin, Colorado, 2020-22

This data release consists of three child items distinguishing the following types of data: light detection and ranging (lidar) point clouds (LPCs), digital elevation models (DEMs), and snow depth raster maps. These three data types are all derived from lidar data collected on small, uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS) at study areas in the Upper Colorado River Basin, Colorado, from 2020 to...

Topographic and multispectral reflectance products, aerial imagery, spectral reflectance profiles, vegetation surveys, and associated GPS data collected during uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) operations: Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland, Octob Topographic and multispectral reflectance products, aerial imagery, spectral reflectance profiles, vegetation surveys, and associated GPS data collected during uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) operations: Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland, Octob

Low-altitude (70 m above ground level) aerial images were collected over 5 areas of interest within the northern portion of Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS) in mid-October, 2022. These images were collected to generate photogrammetric products (e.g. digital surface model (DSM), reflectance orthomosaic) for five areas of interest along the northern portion of the island to...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Erosion rates and salinity and selenium yields in a basin near Rangely, Colorado following the 2017 Dead Dog wildfire as modeled by WEPP and measured from UAV Erosion rates and salinity and selenium yields in a basin near Rangely, Colorado following the 2017 Dead Dog wildfire as modeled by WEPP and measured from UAV

This data release accompanies a U.S Geological Survey study that assessed sediment, salinity, and selenium yields following the Dead Dog wildfire in northwestern Colorado. The Dead Dog fire ignited on June 11, 2017, near Rangely, Colorado, and burned over 17,000 acres, including the B2 study area. Two methodologies were used to quantify erosion and associated salinity and sediment yields...
By
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

Aerial imagery and structure-from-motion data products from UAS surveys of the beaches at Fort Stevens State Park, OR, and Cape Disappointment State Park, WA Aerial imagery and structure-from-motion data products from UAS surveys of the beaches at Fort Stevens State Park, OR, and Cape Disappointment State Park, WA

This data release presents aerial imagery and structure-from-motion (SfM) data products from uncrewed aerial system (UAS) surveys conducted on the ocean beaches adjacent to the Columbia River Mouth at the Oregon-Washington border. The surveys cover approximately 3 kilometers of Benson Beach at Cape Disappointment State Park north of the Columbia River mouth, in Washington, and 3...
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Filter Total Items: 108
No results found.

Products listed below were supported through the use of UAS technologies and resources at USGS.

U.S. Geological Survey Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Roadmap 2014 U.S. Geological Survey Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Roadmap 2014

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for protecting the natural resources and heritage contained on almost 20 percent of the land in the United States. This responsibility requires acquisition of remotely sensed data throughout vast lands, including areas that are remote and potentially dangerous to access. One promising new technology for data collection is unmanned...
Authors
Jill J. Cress, Michael E. Hutt, Jeff L. Sloan, Mark A. Bauer, Mark R. Feller, Susan E. Goplen
By
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Filter Total Items: 61

Quantifying plant-soil-nutrient dynamics in rangelands: Fusion of UAV hyperspectral-LiDAR, UAV multispectral-photogrammetry, and ground-based LiDAR-digital photography in a shrub-encroached desert grassland Quantifying plant-soil-nutrient dynamics in rangelands: Fusion of UAV hyperspectral-LiDAR, UAV multispectral-photogrammetry, and ground-based LiDAR-digital photography in a shrub-encroached desert grassland

Rangelands cover 70% of the world's land surface, and provide critical ecosystem services of primary production, soil carbon storage, and nutrient cycling. These ecosystem services are governed by very fine-scale spatial patterning of soil carbon, nutrients, and plant species at the centimeter-to-meter scales, a phenomenon known as “islands of fertility”. Such fine-scale dynamics are...
Authors
Joel B. Sankey, Temuulen T. Sankey, Junran Li, Sujith Ravi, Guan Wang, Joshua Caster, Alan Kasprak
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center, Wildland Fire Science

Small atoll fresh groundwater lenses respond to a combination of natural climatic cycles and human modified geology Small atoll fresh groundwater lenses respond to a combination of natural climatic cycles and human modified geology

Freshwater lenses underlying small ocean islands exhibit spatial variability and temporal fluctuations in volume, influencing ecologic management. For example, The Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge harbors one of the few surviving native stands of Pisonia grandis in the central Pacific Ocean, yet these trees face pressure from groundwater salinization, with little basic groundwater...
Authors
Martin A. Briggs, J Cantelon, B. Kurylyk, Justin T. Kulongoski, Audrey Mills, John W. Lane
By
Water Resources Mission Area

QCam: sUAS-based doppler radar for measuring river discharge QCam: sUAS-based doppler radar for measuring river discharge

The U.S. Geological Survey is actively investigating remote sensing of surface velocity and river discharge (discharge) from satellite-, high altitude-, small, unmanned aircraft systems- (sUAS or drone), and permanent (fixed) deployments. This initiative is important in ungaged basins and river reaches that lack the infrastructure to deploy conventional streamgaging equipment. By...
Authors
John W. Fulton, Isaac E. Anderson, C.-L. Chiu, Wolfram Sommer, Josip Adams, Tommaso Moramarco, David M. Bjerklie, Janice M. Fulford, Jeff L. Sloan, Heather Best, Jeffrey S. Conaway, Michelle J. Kang, Michael S. Kohn, Matthew J. Nicotra, Jeremy J. Pulli
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, National Innovation Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

From lava to water: A new era at Kīlauea From lava to water: A new era at Kīlauea

No abstract available.
Authors
Patricia A. Nadeau, Angela K. Diefenbach, Shaul Hurwitz, Donald A. Swanson
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Recovery Activities

Predicting bird guilds using vegetation composition and structure on a wild and scenic river in Arizona Predicting bird guilds using vegetation composition and structure on a wild and scenic river in Arizona

Riparian areas are among the most ecologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems but make up
Authors
Erin S. Cubley, Heather L. Bateman, Sidney B. Riddle, Christopher Holmquist-Johnson, David M. Merritt
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Ultra‐high‐resolution mapping of biocrusts with Unmanned Aerial Systems Ultra‐high‐resolution mapping of biocrusts with Unmanned Aerial Systems

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) occur in drylands globally where they support ecosystem functioning by increasing soil stability, reducing dust emissions and modifying soil resource availability (e.g. water, nutrients). Determining biocrust condition and extent across landscapes continues to present considerable challenges to scientists and land managers. Biocrusts grow in patches...
Authors
Caroline Havrilla, Miguel L. Villarreal, Jacob DiBiase, Michael C. Duniway, Nichole Barger
By
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Western Geographic Science Center
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