Core Science Systems
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The Core Science Systems (CSS) Mission Area leads the USGS’s mission as the civilian mapping agency for the Nation—a legacy since the establishment of the USGS in 1879. CSS conducts detailed surveys and distributes the resulting high quality and highly accurate topographic, geologic, hydrographic, and biogeographic maps and data. Mapping accuracy enabled by cutting-edge technologies allows precise planning for critical mineral assessments; energy development; transportation and pipeline infrastructure projects; urban planning and development; flood prediction at regional, local, and neighborhood scales; emergency response; and hazard mitigation. CSS builds on the core strengths of the USGS in characterizing and understanding complex Earth systems.
National Geospatial Program
The National Geospatial Program is the Federal civilian mapping agency and provides the digital geospatial foundation for the Nation. It engages partners and communities of use to collaboratively produce consistent and accurate topographic map data.
Learn MoreCore Science Analytics, Synthesis, and Libraries
The USGS Science Data Catalog, supported by CSAS&L, provides seamless access to USGS research and monitoring data from across the nation. Users have the ability to search, browse, or use a map-based interface to discover data.
Learn MoreNews
Celebrating Geologic Map Day 2018
In celebration of Earth Science Week and Geologic Map Day, the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program is highlighting several exciting ongoing and upcoming geoscience-related activities:
FY19 U.S. Geological Survey Broad Agency Announcement for 3D Elevation Program Released
Partnership opportunities for the acquisition of lidar data issued.
USGS EDMAP Program – Call for Proposals
Calling all geoscience faculty conducting research or teaching geologic mapping. The USGS EDMAP Program is accepting funding proposals focusing on geologic mapping to support upper-level undergraduate and graduate students at their colleges or universities.
Publications
Similarity assessment of linear hydrographic features using high performance computing
This work discusses a current open source implementation of a line similarity assessment workflow to compare elevation-derived drainage lines with the high-resolution National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) surface-water flow network. The process identifies matching and mismatching lines in each dataset to help focus subsequent validation procedures to...
Stanislawski, Larry V.; Wendel, Jeffrey; Shavers, Ethan J.; Li, Ting Classifying physiographic regimes on terrain and hydrologic factors for adaptive generalization of stream networks
Automated generalization software must accommodate multi-scale representations of hydrographic networks across a variety of geographic landscapes, because scale-related hydrography differences are known to vary in different physical conditions. While generalization algorithms have been tailored to specific regions and landscape conditions by...
Stanislawski, Larry V.; Finn, Michael P.; Buttenfield, Barbara P.
A comparison of synthetic flowpaths derived from light detection and ranging topobathymetric data and National Hydrography Dataset High Resolution Flowlines
Bathymetric and topobathymetric light detection and ranging (lidar) digital elevation models created for the Delaware River were provided to the National Geospatial Program and used to evaluate synthetic flowpath extraction from bathymetric/topobathymetric lidar survey data as a data source for improving the density, distribution, and connectivity...
Miller-Corbett, Cynthia