Weaving a National Map A Review of the U.S. Geological Survey Concept of 'The National Map' (2003) / Chapter Skim
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3 Components of a National Map
3 Components of a National Map
Pages 35-58
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From page 35... ...
We term this the enhanced National Atlas, borrowing the name from and expanding upon an existing program (see Box 3.1) to distinguish it from 35
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From page 36... ...
of the large-scale information into the enhanced National Atlas and the filling of "holes" in the patchwork quilt National Map with atlas data when no local data exist.
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From page 38... ...
With participation the enhanced National AtIas would contain the latest updates at specific scales from The National Map. An Enhanced National Atlas An enhanced National Atlas could constitute a nationally complete dataset including the Framework data layers as specified for the NSDI, at a series of such scales as 1:24,000 (or perhaps 1:12,000)
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From page 39... ...
The Comm~ttee's View of The National Map The committee sees The National Map as a suite of data at multiple scales, with variable spatial extent, contributed by National Map partners. Themes would be as in the enhanced National Atlas, but local interpretation and adaptation to scales and conditions would be permitted.
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From page 40... ...
The continued production of hart/copy map products is probably a commercial opportunity best exploited by creating USGS partnerships based on the content of the enhanced National Atlas. Commercial map producers have already taken advantage of the accessibility of public domain USGS and other digital map data, such as TIGER files.
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From page 41... ...
. The USGS themes are now examined in the context of two other federally organized spatial data activities with which the USGS project will need to dovetail (not forgetting of course that coordination with state and local activities provides additional integration challenges for the USGS as it pursues its mapping vision)
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42 WEA DING A NATIONAL MAP federal Geographic Data Committee fFGDC) Organization FGDC Bering ~mm'~t~ - ordinate :: :~0 m#~..H :O := Is ~ ~~: ~:~ FIGURE 3.2 Federal Geographic Data Committee organization.
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From page 43... ...
bA partnership with NOAA is proposed in the USGS vision document to provide a link with this data content. CFGDC also has an Earth Cover Working Group that deals with land cover.
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From page 44... ...
of part or the whole of the Earth's surface. Used individually or collectively the data can provide the framework upon which other themes of geographic data can 3The National Digital Cartographic Data Base is a term often applied to the entire public domain digital map holdings at the USGS EROS (Earth Resources Observation Systems)
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From page 45... ...
it is logical for the Bureau of Land Management, which directs the FGDC Subcommittee on Cadastral Data, to have The National Map include its property records in the public domain states. For example, inclusion of the Public Land Survey corners would be an important step in this process.
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From page 46... ...
Because of the large number of data collectors and stakeholders, a relationship between the FGDC Subcommittee on Ground Transportation Data and the USGS National Map project is critical and potentially complicated. The FGDC subcommittee is chaired by the Department of Transportation (DOT)
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From page 47... ...
Chaired by the Department of Commerce, this subcommittee promotes standards of accuracy and currentness in bathymetric and nautical charting data financed in whole or in part by federal funds. The subcommittee also exchanges information on technological improvements for collecting bathymetric and nautical charting data; encourages the federal and nonfederal community to identify and adopt standards and specifications for bathymetric and nautical charting data; and collects and processes the requirements for federal and nonfederal organizations for bathymetric and nautical charting data (NOAA, 20021.
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From page 48... ...
stipulates that FGDC is to consult with state, local, and tribal governments and submit a plan and schedule to OMB for completing the initial implementation of a national digital geospatial data "framework" by January 2000.s 5This has not yet happened (Milo Robinson, FGDC, personal communication, 2002)
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From page 49... ...
Local, regional, state and federal government organizations and private companies see the framework as a way to share resources, improve communications, and increase efficiency. With specific reference to the Framework data content the FGDC states that The framework represents "data you can trust" the best available data for an area, certified, standardized, and described according to a common standard.
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. Technical solutions already exist that enable spatial databases to function seamlessly.
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Additionally, there will be classification issues (e.g., land cover classification levels changing with resolution)
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That means every specifiable spatial feature should be included. The Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS)
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Standardized Issues and Challenges: The issue of standardization is paramount and is mandated by OMB Circular No. A-16 and other policies.
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From page 54... ...
See Appendix D, comments of Curt Sumner ARCHIVING DATA The suite of systems designed to ensure the reliability and survivability of the content for The National Map and enhanced National Atias will likely parallel those developed for paper maps and now applied to digital map archives. Past digital map data now represent on the order of petabytes of information, and the needs of the various archive systems must be taken into account at the outset for the long-term effectiveness of the contents.
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From page 55... ...
There is an established base, in a paper environment, for disseminating and archiving USGS and other spatial data through the FDLP. Following the congressional mandate in 1995 for GPO to change to an all-electronic FDLP, the minimum technical requirements for public access workstations in federal depository libraries (GPO, 2002a)
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TO PUBLIC DOMAIN The concept of the public domain is important in any discussion of the role of government information in promoting a ubiquitous information infrastructure. The USGS proposes in its vision document to place all data in the public domain (USGS, 2001~.
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The USGS must recognize the requirements of commercial data vendors if they are to promote value-added processes resulting from 77' e National Map and enhanced National Atlas. For-profit and not-for-profit intermediaries play a significant role in a spatial data infrastructure by providing spatial data products and services that cannot be provided by government suppliers.
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From page 58... ...
Content for The National Map and the enhanced National Atlas should be thematically identical at their core but allow for variants in scale and specifications at the local level. The pertinent themes include the Framework and base cartographic layers and the thematic layers identified in OMB Circular No.
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