February 4, 2016
Minutes after the 1964 magnitude-9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake began shaking, a series of tsunami waves swept through the village of Chenega in Prince William Sound, destroying all but two of the buildings and killing 23 of the 75 inhabitants. Fifty years later, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey revealed the likely cause of the tsunami,
January 26, 2016
New US Topo maps for Iowa and Kansas are now available in the USGS Store for free download. The new maps of these Midwestern states feature the inclusion of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) road data. "The addition of TIGER’s roads layer into the US Topo maps is a
January 4, 2016
Jan. 4, 2016 – The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) announces a new OGC Interoperability Program project called the "Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure Standards and Communication Pilot" (Arctic SDI Pilot). The Arctic SDI Pilot is sponsored by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Natural Resources Canada. The goal is to demonstrate to Arctic stakeholders the
December 30, 2015
The USGS US Topo map program has entered its third, three-year cycle of revising and updating the digital US Topo maps. To start this new cycle, the USGS National Geospatial Program is excited to announce the inclusion of U.S. Census Bureau’s Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) roads data for the new US Topo
December 23, 2015
A high-resolution airborne survey to study the rocks within the St. Francois Mountains will be conducted by U.S. Geological Survey scientists starting this week. Over the next month, an airplane under contract with the USGS, operated by Terraquest Ltd. of Ontario, Canada, will be making low-level flights over an area that includes parts of Iron,
December 17, 2015
December 17, 2015 —The national parks of the United States are often compared to, and indeed inspire, works of art. In fact, the USGS has been regularly contributing new and updated works of art for the national parks—maps. USGS maps in national parks serve a variety of purposes, from planning to hiking to scientific interest.
December 2, 2015
December 2, 2015 — A newly published, three-volume “Remote Sensing Handbook” is a comprehensive coverage of all remote sensing topics written by over 300 leading global experts. With 82 chapters, and more than 2000 pages, the handbook is a reference for every remote sensing student, professor, scientist, professional practitioner and expert. The technical handbook includes
December 1, 2015
December 1, 2015 — Using statistically modeled maps drawn from satellite data and other sources, U.S. Geological Survey scientists have projected that the near-surface permafrost that presently underlies 38 percent of boreal and arctic Alaska would be reduced by 16 to 24 percent by the end of the 21st century under widely accepted climate scenarios.
November 19, 2015
November 19, 2015 — With the release of new US Topo maps for Illinois and South Dakota, the USGS has completed the second, three-year cycle of revising and updating electronic US Topo quadrangles. This means that since late 2009, the USGS has published nearly every map in the conterminous U.S., twice. “The USGS and NGP
November 17, 2015
An international group of hydrologists produced the first data-driven estimate of Earth’s total supply of groundwater.