Assimilation of the National Elevation Dataset and launch of the 3D elevation program through the USGS spatial data infrastructure

ABSTRACT

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to provide the nation with reliable scientific information about the Earth for use in managing natural resources to protect and improve our quality of life. Such information relies heavily on the availability and quality of geographic data. The USGS National Geospatial Program in particular provides leadership for geospatial data synchronization, production and services, and activities that are essential to the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The National Map, a significant contributor of basemap layers to the NSDI, is continually being transformed to provide current, high-quality, integrated geospatial data, products and services to better serve the geospatial community. The National Elevation Dataset (NED) has been a beneficiary of this transformation. The driving force behind this transformation, the focus of this paper, is the USGS-managed 3D Elevation Program (3DEP). The goals of the transformation were to incorporate the NED into a modern 3DEP management system, produce an enhanced suite of products and improve product metadata, distribution and data discovery services. Updated features include Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)-compliant metadata, continuously updated spatial metadata and data sharing via data.gov and ScienceBase. Efforts will continue to maintain 3DEP’s compliance with geospatial standards and user needs.

RÉSUMÉ

La mission de l’USGS (US Geological Survey) est de fournir à la nation des informations scientifiques fiables sur la Terre pour la gestion des ressources naturelles, pour protéger et améliorer la qualité de vie. Ces informations dépendent fortement de la disponibilité et de la qualité de données géographiques. Le programme national géospatial de l’USGS fournit en particulier la synchronisation, la production et les services des données géospatiales ainsi que les activités essentielles pour l’infrastructure nationale de données spatiales (NSDI). La carte nationale, un contributeur majeur des couches de la NSDI, est continuellement transformée pour fournir une information géospatiale, des produits et des services à jour, de grande qualité et intégrés, afin de mieux satisfaire la communauté géospatiale. La base de données nationale d’élévation (NED) a bénéficié de cette évolution. La force de cette transformation est le programme 3D Elévation (3DEP) géré par l’USGS. C’est le sujet de ce papier. Le but de l’évolution était d’incorporer la base de données d’élévation (NED) dans un système de gestion 3DEP moderne, de produire une gamme améliorée de produits et d’améliorer les services de production de métadonnées, de distribution et de découverte des données. Les améliorations incluent les méta-données conformes au FGDC (comité des données géographiques fédérales), les métadonnées spatiales mises à jour en continue et la diffusion de données via data.gov et ScienceBase. Les efforts vont être poursuivis pour maintenir les données et services du programme 3DEP conformes aux normes géospatiales et aux besoins des utilisateurs.

KEYWORDS:

• The National Map
• NSDI
• lidar
• national elevation data
• 3DEP

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

S. T. Arundel received her Ph.D. in Geography from Arizona State University in 2000, and was an assistant and then associate professor at Northern Arizona University until 2009, when she joined the USGS. There she has served as raster specialist in the Ortho & Elevation section and as elevation and hydrography specialist for the Applied Research and Technology Branch. During this time, she led the contour generation development team in developing algorithms for automating contour production from 10-meter elevation data for the USTopo product; and most recently, served as the program manager for the automation of the National Elevation Dataset production, in its transition from Earth Resource Observation System (EROS) to the NGTOC. Recently, Sam moved to the Center of Excellence in Geographic Information Science, where she is a research geographer conducting terrain semantics studies. Sam has been active with publications and conferences, and most notably contributed significantly to the ASPRS 3rd Edition of the DEM Users Manual.

A. N. Bulen is a GIS software developer for the USGS NGTOC in Rolla, MO, with a primary focus on the development of software for processing 3D elevation data. Andrew received his education in Computer Sciences from the University of Missouri, Rolla.

K. F. Adkins is a project manager for ATA Services, Inc., contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey. She is currently serving the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center supporting the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and High-Resolution NHDPlus Program. Ms. Adkins has over 18 years of experience in geospatial technology and GIS, and is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

R. E. Brown began his USGS career in 1987 after working within the private-sector engineering field. He was one of the first to complete the Computer Specialist Development Program which enabled him to supervise a team of undergraduate Computer Science students. He served as lead for The National Map Catalog project. In 2007, he moved organizationally to the Central Region GIO and then Core Science Analytics and Synthesis (CSAS) as a Solutions Architect where he developed the Comprehensive Science Catalog (CSC) – a collaborative metadata and services portal that hosted 700,000+ metadata records for the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program. The CSC evolved into what is now ScienceBase.gov. R. E. Brown returned to NGTOC in 2012 as technical lead for The National Map Delivery project and now works as the Delivery Project Lead for the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center.

A. J. Lowe is a Geographer at the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center of the USGS. She is a member of the 3DEP Operations Team, responsible for processing high-resolution elevation data into the national dataset. She holds an MS in Geographic Information Science, an MS in Applied and Environmental Biology and a BS in Biological Science/Conservation and Environmental Science.

K. S. Mantey is currently a geographer employed at the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) at the U.S. Geological Survey. She works primarily with elevation data, and is an expert in both GIS work related to rasters and remote sensing quality assurance for active remote sensing platforms, specifically lidar and IFSAR data. Kim has a BA in Geography form the University of Colorado at Denver, and has completed graduate work at the Penn State World Campus.

L. A. Phillips is a Raster Data Specialist at the USGS with over 25 years of experience in the mapping field. She has a BS in Surveying Engineering from the University of Maine. Ms. Phillips is a Certified Photogrammetrist and a registered Surveyor in the state of Florida.

ORCID

S. T. Arundel http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4863-0138

R. E. Brown http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0261-3778