NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this study by the Mapping Science Committee was provided by the Defense Mapping Agency, the United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of the Census.
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 93-84335
International Standard Book No. 0-309-04899-0
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National Academy Press
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Copyright 1993 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, April 1993
Second Printing, April 1995
MAPPING SCIENCE COMMITTEE
JOHN D. BOSSLER,
The Ohio State University,
Chairman
JOHN C. ANTENUCCI,a
PlanGraphics, Inc.
LAWRENCE F. AYERS,
Intergraph Corporation
BARBARA P. BUTTENFIELD,b
State University of New York, Buffalo
ROBERT LEE CHARTRAND,
Naples, Florida
DONALD F. COOKE,
Geographic Data Technology, Inc.
DAVID J. COWEN,a
University of South Carolina
JOHN E. ESTES,a
University of California, Santa Barbara
LEE C. GERHARD,b
Kansas Geological Survey
MICHAEL F. GOODCHILD,b
University of California, Santa Barbara
CLIFFORD GREVE,c
Autometrics, Inc.
GIULIO MAFFINI,
Intera-Tydac
JOHN D. MCLAUGHLIN,
University of New Brunswick
BERNARD J. NIEMANN, JR.,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
BARBARA B. PETCHENIK,
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (deceased, June 1992)
GERARD RUSHTON,
University of Iowa
HOWARD J. SIMKOWITZ,a
Caliper Corporation
LARRY J. SUGARBAKER,b
Washington State Department of Natural Resources
ROBERT TUFTS,
The Analytic Science Corporation
NRC Staff
THOMAS M. USSELMAN, Senior Staff Officer
JUDITH ESTEP, Administrative Secretary
BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES
WILLIAM L. FISHER,
University of Texas at Austin,
Chairman
SAMUEL S. ADAMS, Minerals Consultant,
Lincoln, NH
MARK P. CLOOS,
University of Texas at Austin
NEVILLE G. W. COOK,
University of California, Berkeley
JOEL DARMSTADTER,
Resources for the Future
DONALD J. DEPAOLO,
University of California, Berkeley
GORDON P. EATON,
Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory
W. GARY ERNST,
Stanford University
NORMAN H. FOSTER, Independent Petroleum Geologist,
Denver
FREEMAN GILBERT,
University of California, San Diego
PERRY R. HAGENSTEIN,
Resource Issues, Inc.
HARRISON C. JAMISON, Consultant,
Sunriver, Oregon
THOMAS H. JORDAN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ANDREW H. KNOLL,
Harvard University
PHILIP E. LAMOREAUX,
P.E. LaMoreaux and Associates, Inc.
SUSAN LANDON,
Thomasson Partner Associates, Denver
CHARLES J. MANKIN,
Oklahoma Geological Survey
CAREL OTTE, JR.,
Unocal Corporation (retired)
FRANK M. RICHTER,
University of Chicago
Staff
JONATHAN G. PRICE, Staff Director
WILLIAM E. BENSON, Senior Program Officer
BRUCE B. HANSHAW, Staff Officer
THOMAS M. USSELMAN, Senior Program Officer
LORRAINE W. WOLF, Staff Officer
LALLY A. ANDERSON, Staff Assistant
CHARLENE ANDERSON, Administrative Secretary
JUDITH ESTEP, Administrative Secretary
COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES
M. GORDON WOLMAN,
The Johns Hopkins University,
Chairman
PATRICK R. ATKINS,
Aluminum Company of America
PETER S. EAGLESON,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
EDWARD A. FRIEMAN,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
HELEN M. INGRAM,
University of Arizona
W. BARCLAY KAMB,
California Institute of Technology
GENE E. LIKENS,
New York Botanical Garden
SYUKURO MANABE,
NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
JACK E. OLIVER,
Cornell University
FRANK L. PARKER,
Vanderbilt University
DUNCAN T. PATTEN,
Arizona State University
RAYMOND A. PRICE,
Queen's University at Kingston
MAXINE L. SAVITZ,
Allied Signal Aerospace Company
LARRY L. SMARR,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
STEVEN M. STANLEY,
The Johns Hopkins University
WARREN WASHINGTON,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
EDITH BROWN WEISS,
Georgetown University Law Center
IRVIN L. WHITE,
Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories
Staff
STEPHEN RATTIEN, Executive Director
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Associate Executive Director
LORRAINE W. WOLF, Assistant Executive Director
JEANETTE SPOON, Administrative Officer
CARLITA PERRY, Administrative Associate
ROBIN LEWIS, Senior Project Assistant
PREFACE
The Mapping Science Committee (MSC) was established in 1987 at the request of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide advice on their cartographic and geographic activities. During the course of its studies, the MSC was exposed to activities in several other federal agencies and recognized several generic problems involving the conduct of mapping and spatial analysis. Because of the continuing explosive growth of the technology and the accompanying modernization efforts (both within the federal and nonfederal government and elsewhere), generic problems, the redundancy of data production, the potential for application of the methodologies to other programs, and the large fiscal expenditures anticipated, the MSC expanded its scope to offer its capabilities and advice to other federal agencies that have become involved in these programs.
In response to the initial charges developed for the earlier USGS activity, the MSC issued two reports, Spatial Data Needs: The Future of the National Mapping Program (1990) and Research and Development in the National Mapping Division, USGS: Trends and Prospects (1991). In both reports, the MSC recognized the utility of its advice to the broader governmental agencies that utilize mapping or the analyses of spatially referenced digital data.
Because of this recognition, the MSC initiated this study. The question that this study addresses is: What could be done better or more efficiently if the content, accuracy, organization, and control of spatial data were different? The study examines the current national spatial data infrastructure, encompassing the roles of private institutions as well as local, state, and federal governments in using and sharing geographic
information. In addition it identifies barriers that prevent these groups from acquiring knowledge, making decisions, or performing the duties that rely on the timely availability and easy access to an organized body of geographically referenced information. The scope of spatial data can be enormous, and spatial data can be important components of a wide variety of scientific, technical, and social disciplines and applications. The MSC focused its efforts on the generic issues of spatial data management, collection, and use, particularly regarding the data bases that drive geographic information systems and other similar methods of analyses.
In the past 2 years, the MSC met (at least once) with 18 different federal agencies to be briefed and to discuss various programs within each agency dealing with spatial data collection and use. These agencies include the following:
Department of Commerce
Bureau of the Census
National Institute of Standards and Technology
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Department of Defense
Army Corps of Engineers
Defense Mapping Agency
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Geological Survey
Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service
Economic Research Service
Forest Service
National Agriculture Statistical Service
Soil Conservation Service
Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Environmental Protection Agency
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
At several MSC meetings, discussions of policies regarding spatial data were held with representatives of the Office of Management and Budget and its interagency committee, the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). In addition, representatives of the MSC attended several FGDC meetings. Representatives from Bell South also participated in a meeting and discussed issues relevant to the utilities sector, and a representative from the Council of State Governments discussed the Council's State Geographic Information Activities Compendium. The MSC appreciates the participation of officials from these organizations in developing the committee's background to address the issues in this report.
The MSC, through its members, brought valuable experience relevant to state and local governmental activities, the needs of utilities, Intelligent Vehicle Highway Navigation Systems, and the role of the private sector. Members of the MSC participated in key roles at the 1991 FGDC-sponsored Geographic Information and Spatial Data Exposition held in Washington, D.C., and at other meetings of associations and societies relevant to spatial data.
This volume is dedicated to the memory of Barbara Bartz Petchenik (1939–1992) a friend and colleague whose inspiration contagious enthusiasm and keen insight provided profound intellectual stimuli to the Mapping Science Committee. Barbara had been associated with the committee since its inception in 1987 and made significant contributions to all three of the committee's reports. Her bright smile and refreshing perspective will be missed by all.