The sole scientific agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility.[2] It is headquartered inReston, Virginia, with major offices nearLakewood, Colorado; at theDenver Federal Center; and inNASA Research Park in California.[3] In 2009, it employed about 8,670 people.[4]
The current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is "science for a changing world".[5][6] The agency's previous slogan, adopted on its hundredth anniversary, was "Earth Science in the Public Service".[7]
Since 2012, the USGS science focus has been directed at topical "Mission Areas"[8] that have continued to evolve. Further organizational structure includes headquarters functions, geographic regions, science and support programs, science centers, labs, and other facilities.
TheVolcano Disaster Assistance Program helps developing countries experiencing volcanic eruptions through response, capacity building, training, and volcano research.[15] The program is based out of the Cascades Volcano Observatory.
The USGS Coastal and Marine Science Center (formerly the USGS Center for Coastal Geology) has three sites, one for theAtlantic Ocean (located inWoods Hole, Massachusetts), one for thePacific Ocean (located inSanta Cruz, California) and one for theGulf of Mexico (located on theUniversity of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus). The goal of this department is to conduct research in geology, mapping, hydrology, biology, and related sciences; evaluate hazards associated with floods, droughts, hurricanes, subsidence, human activity, and climate change; map the onshore and offshore geologic framework; assess mineral resources and develop techniques for their discovery; assess water resources and develop an understanding of the impact of human activities and natural phenomena on hydrologic systems; assess links between biodiversity, habitat condition, ecosystem processes and health; and develop new technologies for collection and interpretation of earth science data.[16]
As part of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, the State Water Resources Research Act Program created a Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) in each state, along with Washington DC, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam.[21] Together, these institutes make up the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR). The institutes focus on water-related issues through research, training and collaboration.[22]
The National and regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs)[23] is a partnership-driven program that teams scientific researchers with natural and cultural resource managers to help fish, wildlife, waters, and lands across the countryadapt to climate change. The National CASC (NCASC), based at USGS headquarters in Reston, Virginia, serves as the national office for the CASC network, while nine regional CASCs comprising federal-university consortiums located across the U.S., U.S. Pacific Islands, and U.S. Caribbean deliver science that addresses resource management priorities of the states within their footprints.[24]
In collaboration withStanford University, the USGS operates the USGS-Stanford Ion Microprobe Laboratory,[25] an analytical facility for U-(Th)-Pbgeochronology and trace element analyses of minerals and other earth materials.[26]
The USGS also operates theNational Wildlife Health Center, whose mission is "to serve the nation and its natural resources by providing sound science and technical support, and to disseminate information to promote science-based decisions affecting wildlife and ecosystem health. The NWHC provides information, technical assistance, research, education, and leadership on national and international wildlife health issues."[27] It is the agency primarily responsible for surveillance ofH5N1avian influenza outbreaks in the United States. The USGS also runs 17 biological research centers in the United States, including thePatuxent Wildlife Research Center.
The USGS is investigating collaboration with the social networking siteTwitter to allow for more rapid construction of ShakeMaps.[28] ShakeMaps are an interactive tool allowing users to visually observe the distribution and severity of Shaking resulting from Earthquakes.[29]
The USGS produces several national series oftopographic maps which vary inscale and extent, with some wide gaps in coverage, notably the absence of 1:50,000 scale topographic maps or their equivalent. The largest (both in terms of scale and quantity) and best-known topographic series is the 7.5-minute, 1:24,000 scale,quadrangle, a non-metric scale most common to the United States. Each of these maps covers an area bounded by two lines oflatitude and two lines oflongitude spaced 7.5minutes apart. Nearly 57,000 individual maps in this series cover the48 contiguous states,Hawaii,U.S. territories, and areas ofAlaska nearAnchorage,Fairbanks, andPrudhoe Bay. The area covered by each map varies with the latitude of its represented location due to convergence of the meridians. At lower latitudes, near 30° north, a 7.5-minute quadrangle contains an area of about 64 square miles (166 km2). At 49° north latitude, 49 square miles (127 km2) are contained within a quadrangle of that size. As a unique non-metric map scale, the 1:24,000 scale requires a separate and specializedromer scale for plotting map positions.[30][31]
An older series of maps, the 15-minute series, was once used to map the contiguous 48 states at a scale of 1:62,500 for maps covering the continental United States, but was discontinued during the last quarter of the twentieth century. Each map was bounded by twoparallels and twomeridians spaced 15 minutes apart—the same area covered by four maps in the 7.5-minute series. Alaska formerly was mapped using the 15-minute series, which was replaced by maps at 1:25,000 scale in 2017.[34] Nearly 3,000 maps cover 97% of the state.[30]
The final regular quadrangle series produced by the USGS is the 1:250,000 scale topographic series. Each of these quadrangles in the conterminous United States measures 1 degree of latitude by 2 degrees of longitude. This series was produced by the U.S. Army Map Service in the 1950s, prior to the maps in the larger-scale series, and consists of 489 sheets, each covering an area ranging from 8,218 square miles (21,285 km2) at 30° north to 6,222 square miles (16,115 km2) at 49° north.[30] Hawaii is mapped at this scale in quadrangles measuring 1° by 1°.
Other specialty maps have been produced by the USGS at a variety of scales. These includecounty maps, maps of special interest areas, such as thenational parks, and areas of scientific interest.
A number of Internet sites have made these maps available on the web for affordable commercial and professional use. Because works of the U.S. government are in thepublic domain, it is also possible to find many of these maps for free at various locations on the Internet.Georeferenced map images are available from the USGS asdigital raster graphics (DRGs) in addition to digital data sets based on USGS maps, notablydigital line graphs (DLGs) anddigital elevation models (DEMs).
In 2015, the USGS unveiled the topoView website, a new way to view their entire digitized collection of over 178,000 maps from 1884 to 2006. The site is an interactive map of the United States that allows users to search or move around the map to find the USGS collection of maps for a specific area. Users may then view the maps in great detail and download them if desired.[35]
In 2008, the USGS abandoned traditional methods of surveying, revising, and updating topographic maps based on aerial photography and field checks.[36] Today's U.S. Topo quadrangle (1:24,000) maps are mass-produced, using automated and semi-automated processes, with cartographic content supplied from the National GIS Database.[36] In the two years from June 2009 to May 2011, the USGS produced nearly 40,000 maps, more than 80 maps per work day.[36] Only about two hours of interactive work are spent on each map, mostly on text placement and final inspection; there are essentially no field checks or field inspections to confirm map details.[36]
While much less expensive to compile and produce, the revised digital U.S. topo maps have been criticized for a lack of accuracy and detail in comparison to older generation maps based on aerial photo surveys and field checks.[36] As the digital databases were not designed for producing general-purpose maps, data integration can be a problem when retrieved from sources with different resolutions and collection dates.[36] Human-made features once recorded by direct field observation are not in any public domain national database and are frequently omitted from the newest generation digital topo maps, including windmills, mines and mineshafts, water tanks, fence lines, survey marks, parks, recreational trails, buildings, boundaries, pipelines, telephone lines, power transmission lines, and even railroads.[37] As a result, some have noted that the U.S. Topo maps currently fall short of traditional topographic map presentation standards achieved in maps drawn from 1945 to 1992.[36]
The Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) has four sections within its organizational structure;[38] the Field Services Section which includes the warehouse, repair shop, and Engineering Unit; the Testing Section which includes the Hydraulic Laboratory, testing chambers, and Water Quality Laboratory; the Information Technology Section which includes computer support and the Drafting Unit; and the Administrative Section.
The HIF was given national responsibility for the design, testing, evaluation, repair, calibration, warehousing, and distribution of hydrologic instrumentation. Distribution is accomplished by direct sales and through a rental program. The HIF supports data collection activities through centralized warehouse and laboratory facilities. The HIF warehouse provides hydrologic instruments, equipment, and supplies for USGS as well as Other Federal Agencies (OFA) and USGS Cooperators. The HIF also tests, evaluates, repairs, calibrates, and develops hydrologic equipment and instruments. The HIF Hydraulic Laboratory facilities include a towing tank, jet tank, pipe flow facility, and tilting flume. In addition, the HIF provides training and technical support for the equipment it stocks.
The Engineering Group seeks out new technology and designs for instrumentation that can work more efficiently, be more accurate, and or be produced at a lower cost than existing instrumentation. HIF works directly withvendors to help them produce products that will meet the mission needs of the USGS. For instrument needs not currently met by a vendor, the Engineering Group designs, tests, and issues contracts to have HIF-designed equipment made. Sometimes HIF will patent a new design in the hope that instrument vendors will buy the rights and mass-produce the instrument at a lower cost to everyone.
USGS researchers publish the results of their science in a variety of ways, including peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as in one of a variety of USGS Report Series[39] that include preliminary results, maps, data, and final results. A complete catalog of all USGS publications is available from the USGS Publications Warehouse.[40]
In the mid-1800s, various states set up geological survey institutions; e.g., theKentucky Geological Survey, established in 1854.[41]: 501
In 1879, a report from theNational Academy of Sciences prompted Congress to set up a federal survey agency, in part to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by theLouisiana Purchase in 1803 and theMexican–American War in 1848. The USGS was authorized on March 3 in a last-minute amendment to an unrelated bill that charged the new agency with the "classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain". The legislation also provided that theHayden,Powell, andWheeler surveys be discontinued as of June 30, 1879.[42]
Clarence King, the first director of USGS, assembled the new organization from disparate regional survey agencies. After two years, King was succeeded byJohn Wesley Powell.
^Field, Edward H.; Biasi, Glenn P.; Bird, Peter; Dawson, Timothy E.; Felzer, Karen R.; Jackson, David D.; Johnson, Kaj M.; Jordan, Thomas H.; Madden, Christopher; Michael, Andrew J.; Milner, Kevin R.; Page, Morgan T.; Parsons, Tom; Powers, Peter M.; Shaw, Bruce E.; Thatcher, Wayne R.; Weldon, Ray J.; Zeng, Yuehua (April 2015). "Long-Term Time-Dependent Probabilities for the Third Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF3)".Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.105 (2A):511–543.Bibcode:2015BuSSA.105..511F.doi:10.1785/0120140093.
^Smath, Margaret Luther (2014). "Kentucky Geological Survey". In Kleber, John E. (ed.).The Kentucky Encyclopaedia. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 501–502.ISBN9780813159010.
