A Research Agenda for Geographic Information Science at the United States Geological Survey (2007) / Chapter Skim
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The center's mission is to "conduct, support, and collaborate in research to address critical geographic information science questions of importance to the USGS and to the broader geospatial community" and "as an outgrowth of and complement to this research program, CEGIS will support and collaborate in technological innovations that further the implementation of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure" (CEGIS, 2006)
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RECOMMENDATIONS With a focused agenda as the key goal, initial attention is needed to research that will improve the capabilities of The National Map, which includes map layer databases, web map servers, and The National Map viewers. This USGS product, which was first envisioned and implemented in 2001, is "a database of continuously maintained base geographic information for the United States and its territories that will serve as the Nation's topographic map for the 21st century" (USGS, 2001)
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Given the diversity of source data from state and local agencies as well as many add-on themes and the desire for multidisciplinary research across USGS, achieving efficient and accurate data integration is fundamental to the effectiveness of The National Map and will be a unique feature of The National Map relative to other online geospatial data sources. Within USGS, researchers in the biology, geography, geology, and water disciplines will need to find common reference data in The National Map and be able to load and share their thematic layers.
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RECOMMENDATION 3: The two priority research topics within the area of information access and dissemination should be to reinvent topographic maps in an electronic environment and to investigate user-centered design for The National Map web services. A well-designed and user-friendly map browser is essential for effective use of USGS data and map products.
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The National Map cannot respond to simple queries such as "where is Canyon X" because it simply does not know what a canyon is. The use of geographic feature ontologies can formally define a set of geographic features to enable knowledge discovery through such queries.
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6. What is the optimal combination of types and number of symbols Short term for an inexperienced user to create an effective topographic map and accommodate a data overlay on a topic of interest using web tools?
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subset of standard specifications and customized standard content) Standard Profiles for to bring layers in The National Map databases into conformance The National Map with OGC standards?
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Data Models and 1. What are the key sets of topographic features portrayed within The Short term Geographic feature Knowledge National Map layers that should be explicitly represented in ontologies Organization ontologies (these might align with the set of features already Systems identified within the Spatial Data Transfer Standard; USGS, 1994)
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Long term 3. How can process-based models be used to improve data quality or Long term quality awareness in The National Map?
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. To develop future research directions driven by user requirements fed through the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center, USGS disciplines, and The National Map design team, the center should host specialist meetings, consult an advisory board, and track developments and lead discussions within the GIScience community.
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There are many OGC standards closely related to the development of The National Map and other USGS products, such as Web Map Services (WMS) , Web Feature Services (WFS)
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RECOMMENDATION 12: To provide broad-based input, review, and critique of CEGIS plans, activities, and progress and to institutionalize CEGIS's connection to the USGS disciplines, the National Geospatial Program Office should establish an advisory board for CEGIS that includes members from each of the USGS disciplines as well as non-USGS GIScience experts. With these actions, and a focus on the research areas recommended in this report, CEGIS could become a nimble, dynamic, cutting-edge research unit that emerges as the critical research engine underpinning USGS's capability to supply the nation's authoritative geospatial base content.
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