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Peter N. Schweitzer, Ph.D.

Peter Schweitzer is a Geologist with the USGS Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center in Reston, VA.

Peter works on scientific information management at the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston Virginia. With a formal background in geology and oceanography and practical experience in software development, he serves as a bridge between the scientific research and information technology communities.

Currently, Peter's work focuses on providing usable scientific data to the public through the internet. Perhaps best known for producing widely used software that parses and validates geospatial metadata, Peter more recently led a small team to develop controlled vocabularies and used cataloging software to design a topical index of scientific information on the web.

Websites through which Peter's work is visible:

  • Mineral Resources On-line Spatial Data
  • Mineral Resources Data Catalog
  • Formal Metadata Information and Software
  • USGS Geoscience Data Catalog
  • Presentation Materials
  • About the USGS Thesaurus
  • Putting Metadata in Plain Language

Science and Products

Monthly average polar sea-ice concentration

The data contained in this CD-ROM depict monthly averages of sea-ice concentration in the modern polar oceans. These averages were derived from the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) instruments aboard satellites of the U.S. Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program from 1978 through 1992. The data are provided as 8-bit images usi
Authors
Peter N. Schweitzer

ANALOG: a program for estimating paleoclimate parameters using the method of modern analogs

Beginning in the 1970s with CLIMAP, paleoclimatologists have been trying to derive quantitative estimates of climatic parameters from the sedimentary record. In general the procedure is to observe the modern distribution of some component of surface sediment that depends on climate, find an empirical relationship between climate and the character of sediments, then extrapolate past climate by stud
Authors
Peter N. Schweitzer

Modern average global sea-surface temperature

The data contained in this data set are derived from the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer Multichannel Sea Surface Temperature data (AVHRR MCSST), which are obtainable from the Distributed Active Archive Center at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. The JPL tapes contain weekly images of SST from October 1981 through December 1990 in nine regions of the world ocean
Authors
Peter N. Schweitzer

Non-USGS Publications**

Schweitzer, Peter N. and G.P. Lohmann, 1990, Life-history and the evolution of ontogeny in the ostracode genus Cyprideis: Paleobiology volume 16, pp 107-125.
Schweitzer, Peter N. and G.P. Lohmann, 1991, Ontogeny and habitat of modern menardiiform planktonic foraminifera: Journal of Foraminiferal Research volume 21, pp. 332-346.
Schweitzer, Peter N., 2003, National Spatial Data Clearinghouse: The real story, in Soller, David R. (ed.) Digital mapping techniques '03 - Workshop proceedings, USGS Open-File Report 03-471.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

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mine symbol map for USA and Puerto Rico

USMIN Mineral Deposit Database

Our objective is to develop a national-scale, geospatial database that is the authoritative source of the most important mines, mineral deposits, and mineral districts of the United States.
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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
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USMIN Mineral Deposit Database

Our objective is to develop a national-scale, geospatial database that is the authoritative source of the most important mines, mineral deposits, and mineral districts of the United States.
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data portal screenshot

Mineral Resource Online Data Catalog

This project makes the digital spatial data produced by the Mineral Resources Program available via a web portal so that users can easily access spatial data for solving scientific and technical problems: the Mineral Resources Online Spatial Data site.
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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center
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Mineral Resource Online Data Catalog

This project makes the digital spatial data produced by the Mineral Resources Program available via a web portal so that users can easily access spatial data for solving scientific and technical problems: the Mineral Resources Online Spatial Data site.
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USGS science for a changing world logo

Use of Controlled Vocabularies in USGS Information Applications: Requirements Analysis for Automated Processes and Services (Bureau-wide Application)

Large online data catalogs use controlled vocabularies to categorize datasets in ways that allow end users to sort and select data matching their needs. The eventual goal of this project is to build functional services so that the USGS Thesaurus and other USGS-controlled vocabularies will be available to the English-speaking scientific community, especially within the USGS where they can be used t
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Community for Data Integration (CDI)
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Use of Controlled Vocabularies in USGS Information Applications: Requirements Analysis for Automated Processes and Services (Bureau-wide Application)

Large online data catalogs use controlled vocabularies to categorize datasets in ways that allow end users to sort and select data matching their needs. The eventual goal of this project is to build functional services so that the USGS Thesaurus and other USGS-controlled vocabularies will be available to the English-speaking scientific community, especially within the USGS where they can be used t
Learn More
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USGS science for a changing world logo

Development of Enhanced Feature Recognition Software for the Extraction of Mine Features from USGS Topographic Maps

The USMIN Project is multi-year project of the USGS Mineral Resource Program (MRP) whose objective is to develop a comprehensive geospatial database of the mines, mineral deposits and mineral districts of the United States. This database builds upon MRP projects which date back to the late 1960’s and will provide data that will be of value to other parts of the USGS, other federal and state agenc
By
Community for Data Integration (CDI)
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Development of Enhanced Feature Recognition Software for the Extraction of Mine Features from USGS Topographic Maps

The USMIN Project is multi-year project of the USGS Mineral Resource Program (MRP) whose objective is to develop a comprehensive geospatial database of the mines, mineral deposits and mineral districts of the United States. This database builds upon MRP projects which date back to the late 1960’s and will provide data that will be of value to other parts of the USGS, other federal and state agenc
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Airborne Geophysical Survey Inventory of the Conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico (ver. 4.0, April 2023)

This data release is a compilation of the locations of airborne geophysical surveys in the United States. The inventory documents public airborne geophysical surveys primarily flown by or contracted by the USGS from 1943 to present. In addition, surveys from the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS): Airborne GeophysWeb, the Bureau
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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI)

Collections Inventory for the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Samples Repository (ver. 2.0, September 2023)

The collections inventory database for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center (WHCMSC) Samples Repository is published as a USGS data release (Buczkowski and others, 2018), and is available to search online through the Samples Repository inventory search interface. Sample collections in the Repository can be searched and selected through a map interface, or
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Samples Repository

usSEABED: Offshore surficial-sediment database for samples collected within the United States Exclusive Economic Zone

This usSEABED database contains six point coverages of known sediment samples, inspections, and probes from the usSEABED data collection for samples collected within the United States Exclusive Economic Zone, integrated using the software system dbSEABED. Textural, statistical, geochemical, geophysical, dominant component, and color data are available as three files, which represent the ways the d
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Prospect- and Mine-Related Features from U.S. Geological Survey 7.5- and 15-Minute Topographic Quadrangle Maps for the Western United States

This data release has been updated in 2017 with a newer version that includes additional states. It is recommended to use the updated data and map services of the new data release located at: https://doi.org/10.5066/F78W3CHG These data are part of a larger USGS project to develop an updated geospatial database of mines, mineral deposits and mineral regions in the United States. Mine and prospect
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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
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Mineral Resources Online Spatial Data Access Tool

Interactive maps and downloadable data for regional and global analysis.

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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI)

Science and Products