USGS Signs Agreement for Public Access to Geospatial Data

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) have reached an agreement to ensure the preservation and access to the USGS's earth imagery and geospatial data resources. Under the agreement NARA will be the legal custodian of the data while the USGS will exercise day-to-day control according to preservation and access standards of NARA. The records will remain at the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The EROS Center will become an affiliated archive within the National Archives system.

Dr. Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States explained that the main goal was preserving public access, "This agreement between NARA and USGS is a guarantee that our Nation's collections of aerial and satellite images of the world's land areas will be permanently maintained, preserved, and accessible to the public. These records are crucial to scientists and policy makers around the world in understanding how man and society affect the natural landscape." he said.

According to Dr. Mark Myers, Director of the USGS, the EROS archive of geospatial data is the largest civilian archive of such data in the United States. It occupies over 40,000 square feet and totals nearly three petabytes (3000 terabytes) of electronic data and millions of film frames.

EU Lauches Probe Into TomTom-Tele Atlas Deal

The European Union has opened a detailed probe of Dutch technology group TomTom's takeover of Dutch firm Tele Atlas, RTE' Business reported today, citing concerns the deal could stifle competition in the market for personal navigation devices:

The European Commission said it would rule by mid April whether to allow the €2.9 billion takeover of Tele Atlas, a leading maker of digital maps, by TomTom, which makes portable navigation devices.

The European Union's top competition watchdog said it had 'serious doubts' the deal would 'lead to a significant impediment to effective competition.'

18th Century Vermont Maps Now Online

Maps dating to the 18th century have been made available online at the Vermont State Archives website the Associated Press reports:

Many have disappeared or been hidden away in dusty vaults in town clerk's offices. But now the Vermont State Archives is using digital technology to make copies of the maps accessible over the Internet so landowners, lawyers, surveyors and historians can use them to analyze colonial-era roads, boundary lines and titles.

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"Some of these records may be based on surveys and maps done 200 years ago, but they continue to have value, legal value and an informational value that has survived the centuries," [State Archivist Gregory] Sanford said.

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Besides their practical value, the Vermont maps offer a glimpse into the past. For example, a 1778 map of Royalton bears notations saying the town's four corners are marked by birch trees. Some of the 54 lots have the names of the original European owners, while others describe property as "good upland" or "level and very good."

See also: Vermont Towns Begin Mapping Ancient Roads
Old Maps Of New England Available On CD

Mapping Errors Make News

It's been a tough week for mapmakers it seems.

First the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that flood maps issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contained a elevation error of five feet.

The error resulted from a misplaced minus sign. That means that instead of reducing floodwaters by 5-1/2 feet, the Corps' new gates and levee repairs in the Lakeview and Old Metairie area will only reduce flooding by 1/2 of a foot.

The Corps discovered the error after a public even, held on the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landing on the Gulf Coast, to announce the release of the maps:

Federal Gulf Coast Recovery Chief Donald Powell had called the reduced flood risk one of the most important events in the state's recovery. "If I were in the real estate business, or if I were anticipating coming to live in New Orleans, the first thing I would look at are these maps we're releasing today," he said at a June 21 news conference.

Meanwhile, the Delmarva Daily Times says that Snow Hill, Maryland officials met to change the zoning of a piece of property back to residential from business. That same body had just recently changed the zoning to business when the planning department determined early maps zoned the area for business. Unfortunately, there were some streets that was misnamed in those previous zoning maps.

Germany Says No to Galileo Funding

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would continue to oppose the way the European Union is managing proposals for the Galileo satellite navigation system Digital Journal reported today:

Speaking at a Berlin conference on transport, the chancellor said Berlin would "cheerfully" stand up for German national interests on the issue.

Berlin has criticized EU proposals to finance an investment budget shortfall of 2.4 billion euros (3.4 billion dollars) for the global-positioning system mainly from its own budget.

The German Chancellor reportedly said that since her country was "a major financial contributor" to the planned navigation system that it had to have preference in the awarding of contracts for the project. The EU plan calls for open tendering for the contracts.

See also: Galileo's Future Uncertain
Galileo to be Grounded?

U.S. Officially Ends Selective Availibility in GPS

The President has accepted the recommendation of the Department of Defense to end procurement of GPS satellites that have the capability to intentionally degrade the accuracy of civilian signals the White House announced today. The move was intended to assure users of GPS equipment of the United States' commitment to support peaceful civilian use of the technology.

When originally launched, GPS satellites intentionally degraded the civilian signal, resulting less accuracy. Although the United States stopped the intentional degradation of GPS satellite signals in May 2000, there has always been the possibility that the degradation, known as Selective Availability (SA), could be turned back on. This action will remove SA capabilities from future GPS satellites.

Presently, the United States is the only country with a complete constellation of navigation satellites. Russia, China and the European Space Agency are all in the process of deploying their own satellite navigation systems.

See also: GPS III Decision Delayed Until December
Space Race Heats up as China Launches 5th Navigation Satellite
GLONASS to Top U.S.'s GPS, Putin Says

Coalition Seeks More Funding for USGS

In an effort to convince Congress to loosen its purse strings when it comes to spending on geospatial research, members of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Coalition will host a reception on Capitol Hill. Members of Congress, their staff, and the media have been invited to the event, which will highlight the research, information, and services provided by the USGS.

The coalition will also draw attention to the need for increased funding for the Survey. The USGS budget has declined in real dollars for five consecutive years, and it would decline for a sixth year if the proposed 2008 budget request is enacted. Real funding for the USGS is at its lowest level since 1996. USGS scientists will be at the even to discuss the work of the USGS conducts in the biological, geographical, geological and hydrological sciences.

The USGS Coalition is an alliance of more than 70 organizations that support increased federal investment in the USGS programs.

See also: Budget Cuts May Cost USGS Jobs
Outsourcing USGS

Ordnance Survey Launches Explore

Britain's Ordnance Survey announced today that it had launched a new map portal aimed at outdoor enthusiasts called "Explore". The site allows users to plan, plot and share routes and maps, attach their own photographs, highlight points of interest, and share routes with others, using Ordnance Survey's maps.

The site is geared towards hikers and runners says Bridget Kendrick, head of the team that developed the site. "We want to foster an environment where users can interact, share and create an online destination for all outdoor enthusiasts. Our aim is to offer everyone, from regular walkers to casual cyclists, a central hub from which to plan their day out, so that more and more people can enjoy the benefits of getting out and about in the great outdoors."

China Completes Altitude Survey of Famous Mountains

China's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) and the Ministry of Construction have recently completed a project to determine and publish the altitude of 19 of the country's most famous mountains, People's Daily reported:

The 19 mountains, all renowned tourist destinations, include the well-known "Five Sacred Mountains" -- Mount Tai in east China's Shandong Province, Mount Heng in central China's Hunan province, Mount Hua in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Mount Heng in north China's Shanxi province and Mount Song in central China's Henan Province.

Mount Tai, located near Confucius' birthplace and considered the holiest of the five, is 1,532.7 meters high, according to statistics released jointly by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) and the Ministry of Construction on Friday.

Up until now, the height of Mount Tai appeared as 1,545 meters,1,536 meters or 1,533 meters -- depending on which textbook or tourist guide you were reading, or what TV documentary you were watching.

"Elevation data for many mountains in China are currently inconsistent and inaccurate, sometimes the difference can be as much as 100 meters," said Li Weisen, SBSM's deputy director, at a press conference in Beijing.

The project began back in July, 2006 and was completed in March.

See also: China to Crack Down on Foreign Surveyors & Mappers
China To Re-Measure Its Lowest Point
New Chinese Survey Lowers Everest's Height

Couple in Border Skirmish With Government Agency

Shirley-Ann Leu lives the quiet life of a retiree in Blaine, Wash. So you can imagine her surprise when a government official showed up at her home and accused the 71-year-old of violating an international treaty. Ms. Leu's offense was the construction of a retaining wall to shore up her property.

The government official was with the International Boundary Commission (IBC) which contends the wall violates the treaty that established the border between the United States and Canada.

More from the Globe and Mail:

In 1925 a treaty established the IBC on a permanent basis and included in its mandate a requirement to ensure that a "boundary vista" is maintained by keeping the border line clear. The IBC, a joint body with separate offices and staff in each country, can regulate all construction within three metres of either side the boundary.

The Leu retaining wall, which cost about $18,000 to build, is about half a metre inside the zone overseen by the IBC.

"When he told me I was violating the treaty I said, 'No, no, no, can't you see this is in the United States?' He said, 'I'm sorry, you have to move your wall back 2½ feet.' "

With the assistance of the Pacific Legal Foundation, a property rights organization, Ms. Leu and her husband have sued the IBC to block demolition of their wall. The suit also seeks a declaration that the "boundary vista" policy is unconstitutionally vague.

The Leu's also claim it is unfair for the IBC to require the demolition of the wall when the IBC claims to have seen construction start in October, 2006, but didn't tell them they were violating the boundary vista until after the wall was completed in January.

See also: Insufficient Funds Means Indiscernible Border.

Corps Changes Mind; Posts Wolf Creek Dam Maps Online

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has reversed its position and posted online, maps depicting areas that would flood in the event of a failure of the troubled Wolf Creek Dam. Local news organizations had sought copies of the maps for publication. Previously, the Corps had denied those requests, citing concerns they could be used by terrorists.

The maps depict areas in Kentucky and Tennessee that would be flooded in the event of a failure of the dam. The Corps had restricted public access to the maps, making them available only at their Nashville, TN, office and at selected public libraries. While the public could view the maps, photos or other copies were prohibited.

Now the maps are available at the Corps' website here. The maps are organized by county. Once a county has been selected, an index map appears where specific maps can be selected. The inundation maps are aerial photographs, overlayed with a color-code which depicts three different levels of flooding. The maps are in the familiar Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

The Corps has significantly lowered the water level behind the leaking Wolf Creek Dam to lessen the pressure on it. A study showed that a catastrophic failure would cause more than $3 billion in damage and could kill as many as 237 people.

See also: Citing Terrorism, Corps Continues Restrictions on Flood Maps.

Six Northern Nations to Map the Arctic

Geologists from the six countries that border the Arctic have begun a major cooperative project to compile geological maps of the region with an eye towards discovering its geological resources.

More from the BBC:

Russia, Sweden, Finland, America, Canada and Norway have begun the survey, and scientists from a number of other countries will also be taking part.

Maps detailing the region’s bedrock and other geophysical features will provide researchers with information on local geological resources.

Petroleum experts, for instance, have suggested up to 25 per cent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas resources lie in the Arctic.

Spelling corrected 04/13/07.

County Stops Selling GIS Data; Cites Security Risk

Santa Clara County, California, has stopped selling GIS data, citing concerns the information could end up in the hands of terrorists. But the plaintiffs in a lawsuit over the high costs of that data claim the security concerns are nothing more than a convenient cover.

More from the San Jose Mercury News:

The lawsuit brought by the First Amendment Coalition alleges the county overcharges for the mapping information - which shows the location of property lines, roads, water and sewer lines and more...

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At the old price of $150,000 for the data necessary to create a map of the entire county, only a telecommunications company and some other government entities have bought and used the data and its accompanying code.

The News says that after Santa Clara County was sued, officials asked the state and federal offices of Homeland Security to evaluate the information in question. Those agencies ruled that some of data - including some the county has already sold - is "protected," which restricts who can view it.

See also: Connecticut Cities Differ On Providing GIS Data

Insufficient Funds Means Indiscernible Border

While the United States makes plans to mark its southern border with a massive fence, it's northern border is becoming overgrown and imperceivable due to a lack of funds for upkeep, the Boston Globe reports.

The International Boundary Commission, a joint project of the U.S. and Canada, is obligated by treaty to keep the 5,525-mile border cleared and prominently marked. However, hundreds of miles of the frontier are fading into obscurity, due to a lack of funding. The two governments are supposed to split the cost of boundary maintenance. Canada is chipping in $2 million a year. The U.S. has been chipping in around $1.4 million.

With the commission falling behind in its efforts to keep the mandated 20-foot-wide swath clearly marked, our neighbors to the north have sent a note, politely asking the U.S. to increase it's contribution to the effort. A State Department spokesman was noncommittal, telling the Globe, "We are looking at the budget situation closely."

FAA Calls for GPS-Based Runway Mapping System

The Federal Aviation Administration called for the use of a GPS-based digital mapping system that would display an aircraft’s precise location on the airfield. Speaking at a Washington news conference, FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey, said such a system, "...could change how safely pilots navigate runways, the way GPS changed how we drive our cars."

The FAA has had standards for such navigation devices in place for years. However, those standards anticipated use of the technology both on the ground, and in the air. Certification of such a mapping system for in-flight use involves much more rigorous requirements. Because of the strict in-flight requirements, manufacturers have found the certification process too costly. By agreeing to certify GPS-Navigation devices for use only on the airport surface, the FAA hopes to speed up adoption of the technology and help prevent accidents caused by pilots turning onto the wrong runway.

The laptop-sized device would be added to a pilot’s Electronic Flight Bag. When used in the cockpit, it would display moving maps of the airport's runways and taxiway, much like systems display streets and highways in automobiles. Some newer aircraft already have such a system on-board. Allowing a pilot to carry such a device with him means the system can be used throughout the existing airline fleet without retro-fitting the planes.

On August 27th of last year, 49 people were killed when Comair Flight 5191 attempted to take off from the wrong runway at the airport in Lexington, Kentucky.

See also: Inaccurate Maps One of "Small Gaps" That Led to Crash
Airports' Digital Maps Get Failing Grade

Land Cover Database Completed

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Multi‑Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC) recently announced the completion of the 2001 National Land Cover Database (NLCD). This database describes the land surface condition of each 30-meter cell of land in the continental United States. NLCD 2001 data portrays 16 classes of land cover, the percent of tree canopy, and the degree of surface imperviousness in urban areas.

The NLCD is based on satellite imagery taken in 2001 and was constructed by a collaborative effort of the MLRC. The information in the database enables land managers, planners, agricultural experts, and scientists to identify critical characteristics of the land for a wide variety of uses. "Just as the U.S. Census is fundamental in assessing patterns of national population growth, we also require an authoritative, periodic review of land conditions ‑ a Census of the Nation's Land Resources ‑ to understand how people and the land interact," said USGS Director Mark Myers.

You can download NLCD products from the MRLC website. USGS says they are working with software developers to create publicly available tools that can be used to conduct geospatial analyses of NLCD data on the web. Updated coverage of NLCD 2001 data for Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico is expected by December.

U.S. Rep., Head of U.S.G.S. at Odds Again

U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) and U.S.G.S. director Mark Myers sparred over the fate of the agency's Rolla office yesterday.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has more:

The agency's mapping office in Rolla is competing against private corporations and a USGS branch office in Denver to see who will conduct government mapping and archival work. The agency is part of the Interior Department, which is scheduled to pick a site in late August and announce the winner on Sept. 12, officials say.

The Rolla facility will likely be closed down if it loses.

"The competitive process for site selection is still ongoing," Mark Myers, director of the USGS, said under questioning from Emerson during an Appropriations subcommittee hearing.

Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, complained that Denver had an unfair edge, given that an initial plan called for closing of the Rolla office. It took more than half a year for Emerson and Missouri's two senators to get the Interior Department to reconsider and start over, giving Denver added preparation time in a competition, she said.

Currently the U.S.G.S. employs about 100 people at its office in Rolla, Missouri.

China to Crack Down on Foreign Surveyors & Mappers

An article in China Daily says the Chinese government is cracking down on foreigners conducting surveying and mapping projects in the country without authorization. It notes that back in April, two Japanese scholars were fined 80,000 yuan (about $10,300) for using GPS to collect geographic information on an airport and water facilities in Northwest China.

Also mentioned is the case of an electronics company in Weihai, which was fined 30,000 yuan (about $3,900) for hiring South Korean surveyors to map a plant site without approval from the government.

China Daily says that the State Bureau of Surveys and Mapping has published the results of their investigations into all this illegal surveying and mapping on its website. Since my Chinese is pretty rusty, I didn't bother looking for it.

Since the article mostly rehashes old news, the main point seems to be a warning that new restrictions on surveying and mapping by foreigners went into effect on March 1.

Despite the government's arguments about the need to, "...protect national security and promote economic and scientific cooperation with other countries," the main purpose seems to be insuring the continued employment of the bureaucrats at the State Bureau of Surveys and Mapping.

See also: China Restricts Foreign Surveyors & Mappers

Canadian Government May Fund Multi-Million Dollar Mapping Effort

Canada's federal government may be close to helping fund a plan to map the country's resource-rich north Radio Station 1130 reported:

A spokesman for the Prospectors and Developers Association for Canada made the comment Monday, after a speech at a prospectors' convention by Cassie Doyle, Canada's deputy minister for natural resources.

Doyle, in her speech to delegates, stressed the importance of the decade-long plan to map Canada's resource-rich north, especially in this "pre-budget" period.

"I was left with the impression that the government was going to be funding it," PDAC's Philip Bousquet said in an interview, referring to the mining community's proposed Co-operative Geological Mapping Strategy, which would cost $500 million over 10 years.

The association has been meeting in Toronto, where federal funding for the mapping plan has been a subject of debate. The association says the federal government's spending on geoscience has declined by 50 per cent since 1980. Under the plan, the federal government would spend $25 million annually for 10 years, to be matched equally by the provinces and territories.

Faulty Map Leads to Blame Game in Scotland

A mistake in an Ordnance Survey map has been blamed for a three-story housing development being built in the wrong place the Edinburgh News reported.

Residents Blame Local Planning Officials
Angry residents claim their views have been ruined because the new building has been built 3 meters out of place. They blame local planning officials. "We've been on at planning about this for a long time now. As soon as this became apparent building control should have been out here and telling them to stop." nieghbor Caroline Gerard, told the News.

Local Officials Blame the Developer
Not so says planning leader Trevor Davies. He blames the developer telling the News, "A responsible developer would have come back to the committee with this. They are within their legal rights but it is not socially responsible to do what they did."

Developer Blames Local Officials
Developer Gregor Properties says it was simply following map references on plans approved by the council. a spokesman said, "What we did was build exactly the building in exactly the place we had planning permission for."

Local Officials Blame Ordinance Survey Maps
A spokeswoman for the council says it relied on Ordinance Survey maps saying such maps, "...represents the gold standard of mapping within the UK was a reasonable way for the council to proceed in the circumstances."

Ordinance Survey Says They Should have had it Surveyed.
A spokesman for Ordnance Survey said: "Ordnance Survey has the capability to capture detail to a very high accuracy using state of the art surveying technology. However, over the years data has been captured using less accurate methods. Ordnance Survey would not expect a customer to use our data in such a context in lieu of a localised engineering survey."