U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Maps from The National Map NGAC Meeting February 4, 2009

The National Map  Seamless, continuously maintained, nationally consistent base topographic data  Developed and maintained through partnerships  Available on-line  Source for products and services

Overall Strategy  Create next-generation USGS topographic maps  3 year revision cycle following NAIP  Source data from The National Map databases  National Transportation Dataset (from Census initially)  Names (GNIS, NHD)  Cartographic features (Grids, quad level metadata)  Initial product will be basic e-Topo Image Map content  Image background  Roads  Names  1:24,000-scale layout  Map Product evolution  Data layers will be added as they become available and technical processes are in place  Elevation data (contours) and Hydrography highest priority

Product Characteristics (It’s not your grandfather’s topographic map)  The product is a plottable digital image. It is neither a GIS dataset nor a traditional paper map, but a new kind of hybrid.  The physical format is GeoPDF, an unpublished and proprietary format that can only be read by specific proprietary software.  The PDF is layered and georeferenced, giving the dataset some limited GIS characteristics.

FY09 Goals and Preparation  Produce 15,250 e-Topo Image Maps and make them available through the USGS Map Store  Initial product will be basic e-Topo Image Map content  Image background  Roads  Names  24K layout  Processes will be managed with Job Tracking Extension (JTX)  Multiple parent and child jobs  Can be extended to future product(s)  Begin production of AOI phase 1 cartographic data  Grids (UTM, state plane, geographic)

FY09 High-level Workflow Image Data Staging Production Data Pre-processes Carto Data (Grids & Metadata) Trans Review Name Conflict MOD GeoPDF Export GeoPDF Review Distribution Job Tracking Extension (JTX) Job Management Data Quality Review

High-level Workflow (level 2) Cartographic Data (Grids & Metadata) MOD GeoPDF Export Distribution Job Tracking Extension (JTX) Job Management Annotation Generation NHD GNIS NTD Image Data Carto Data / Status Image Data Staging Annotation Conflict Labels Conflict Roads Review Status GeoPDF Review Staged Image Data

Near-Term Issues  Short-term ramp-up to get to 15,250 maps/year  Standard is still in review/approval process  E-Topo and Image map standard becoming one standard  Data availability to NGTOC locations  1-meter NAIP imagery, leaf on  FY2008 NAIP is not available yet so use FY2007  DOI & USGS now a funding partner to NAIP  NAIP is in quarter-quad format  Workflow development

Longer-Term Issues  Data completeness, quality, currency  In many cases, there are no national, public domain data sources available for 1:24,000-scale mapping  Boundaries  PLSS  Structures  Transportation (roads, other trans features)  Data integration between themes

Longer-Term Issues  Examples of data integration issues Poor Registration Boundaries and Shorelines

Longer-Term Issues  Examples of data integration issues Roads and Railroads to Contours Poor Registration

Longer-Term Issues  Examples of data integration issues Roads to Image Poor Registration Rural Roads

Longer-Term Issues  Examples of data integration issues Lidar-Derived Contours to Lakes Poor Registration

Longer-Term Issues  Examples of data integration issues Lidar-Derived Contours to Lakes Temporal Difference?

Approach to resolving data integration issues  Inventory and document the types and prevalence of issues  Focus on adding layers to product as data are ready for inclusion  Develop approach and process for integrating hydrography and elevation in FY09  Begin to add these data to the map products in FY10

Summary  The next generation USGS topographic map product will evolve and improve, in terms of content and quality  Near-term challenges include defining the product and putting processes in place to produce in quantity; automation is critical to making this work within existing resources  Longer-term challenges are data-oriented, including consistency, currency, completeness, especially in themes that are not USGS’ A-16 responsibility

Questions?