Chesapeake Online Adaptive Support Toolkit (COAST): COAST is an integrated framework of information and web-based tools that allows managers to employ an adaptive-management approach for coordinating, implementing, and assessing management actions and ecosystem change. COAST will support the Chesapeake Action Plan (CAP) (USEPA, 2008), which will enhance management, coordination, and accountability of Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partner activities to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.   More...

Shenandoah National Park Phenology Project web site: The USGS is collecting and analyzing weather data from the Shenandoah National Park to uncover and understand potential impacts of climate change on eastern forests and Appalachian wildlife habitats. Current weather conditions are transmitted from 1 of 7 weather stations spread throughout the Park. Specific station locations were selected so that a variety of vegetation types, elevations, slopes, and aspects are represented. They were also placed to avoid impacting visitor views and hiking experiences in this important and sensitive national resource.   More...

Eastern Geographic Science Center High-Performance Computing Cluster (HPCC): The HPCC is a Beowulf, a cluster of eighteen computers interconnected by a private, high-speed network. It has been designed to support the development and operation of computationally-intensive models and applications in land-change science and quantitative geography.

HPCC has two functions:

1. Providing General and Technical Information, and
2. Providing a Web Interface.
More....

Eastern Geographic Science Center Land Cover Analysis Tool (LCAT): In 2006, the Eastern Geographic Science Center began a joint project to develop a custom application to provide enhanced public access to USGS’s National Land Cover Database (NLCD). The resulting Land Cover Analysis Tool allows users to quickly locate, display, and download data from the NLCD, including the recently developed NLCD Change Product, which displays changes in land cover between 1992 and 2001.

Environmental Mercury Mapping, Modeling, and Analysis (EMMMA): Understanding the causes and consequences of mercury contamination in the environment is a problem of enormous geographic scope and scientific complexity. Effectively addressing this task requires the integration of data and expertise from many scientific disciplines.

Visit the EMMMA Web site, a joint effort of the USGS and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, designed to support environmental and health researchers and land and resource managers for the following tools:

Online mapping tools, USGS maps, images and other thematic data
Online model for mercury in fish tissue
Easy access to key environmental mercury datasets

The USGS with the City of Memphis and Shelby County Department of Planning and Development (DPD) developed a prototype GIS-based decision support system that provides citizens and officials in Memphis with the capability to optimize approaches for mitigating the risk of a major earthquake. The decision support system, known as the Land Use Portfolio Model (LUPM) integrates natural science, socioeconomic, and base map data to assist decision makers in evaluating the economic consequences of various hazard mitigation strategies. The LUPM estimates changes to the aggregate financial value of various private and public properties and structures (Portfolios) under selected natural hazard scenarios, allowing different mitigation policies to be compared.

Progress and status to date:

A prototype version of the LUPM was demonstrated to officials of the City of Memphis and Shelby County on September 30, 2005.
The LUPM software was installed on GIS systems in both DPD and Office of the Tax Assessor. Based on discussions with DPD management in 2006, it was determined that the LUPM could be more effectively made available to key analysts and decision makers by developing a Web-based version of the software.
Work continues with the DPD in FY2007 to develop, test, and deploy a Web-based version of the LUPM and evaluate its usefulness.

Land Use Portfolio Modeler – Ecosystems Analysis in South Florida: The Ecosystem Portfolio Modeler (EPM), a web-based tool, will investigate and communicate ecological values of land between the Everglades and Biscayne Bay, in Miami-Dade County, Florida. This tool is being developed in conjunction with partners at the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of Florida, and the University of Pennsylvania. The tool will be used to develop, assess, and communicate strategies for restoring and protecting important ecological values of the remaining open land in southern Miami-Dade County. There is intense development pressure in this area that will adversely affect Everglades and Biscayne National Parks, and the land bridge in between them.

EPM users will:

explore different land use, restoration, and development scenarios,
and explore tradeoffs between priorities.

Calculation of the ecological value of a location will take into account biodiversity potential, threatened and endangered species, rare and unique habitats, water quality, landscape patterns and fragmentation, and restoration potential.

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