Expands the use of internal data for creating Geographic Information System (GIS) maps. SSA's Database Systems division developed a map users guide for GIS data object publishing and was made available in an internal Sharepoint site for access throughout the agency. The guide acts as the reference for publishers of GIS objects across the life-cycle in our single, central geodatabase implementation.

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) was developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to meet major national needs regarding geographic names and their standardization and dissemination. This dataset consists of standard report files written from the National Geographic Names Data Base, one of five data bases maintained in the GNIS. A standard format data file containing Michigan place names and geographic features such as towns, schools, reservoirs, parks, streams, valleys, springs and ridges is accompanied by a file that provides a Cross-Reference to USGS 7.5 x 7.5 minute quadrangle maps for each feature. The records in the data files are organized alphabetically by place or feature name. The other variables available in the dataset include: Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) state/county codes, Geographic Coordinates -- latitude and longitude to degrees, minutes, and seconds followed by a single digit alpha directional character, and a GNIS Map Code that can be used with the Cross-Reference file to provide the name of the 7.5 x 7.5 minute quadrangle map that contains that geographic feature.

Abstract : The search for the most appropriate GIS data model to integrate, manipulate and analyse spatio-temporal data raises several research questions about the conceptualisation of geographic spaces. Although there is now a general consensus that many environmental phenomena require field and object conceptualisations to provide a comprehensive GIS representation, there is still a need for better integration of these dual representations of space within a formal spatio-temporal database. The research presented in this paper introduces a hybrid and formal dual data model for the representation of spatio-temporal data. The whole approach has been fully implemented in PostgreSQL and its spatial extension PostGIS, where the SQL language is extended by a series of data type constructions and manipulation functions to support hybrid queries. The potential of the approach is illustrated by an application to underwater geomorphological dynamics oriented towards the monitoring of the evolution of seabed changes. A series of performance and scalability experiments are also reported to demonstrate the computational performance of the model.Data Description : The data set used in our research is a set of bathymetric surveys recorded over three years from 2009 to 2011 as Digital Terrain Models (DTM) with 2m grid spacing. The first survey was carried out in February 2009 by the French hydrographic office, the second one was recorded on August-September 2010 and the third in July 2011, both by the “Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer”.

The establishment of a BES Multi-User Geodatabase (BES-MUG) allows for the storage, management, and distribution of geospatial data associated with the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. At present, BES data is distributed over the internet via the BES website. While having geospatial data available for download is a vast improvement over having the data housed at individual research institutions, it still suffers from some limitations. BES-MUG overcomes these limitations; improving the quality of the geospatial data available to BES researches, thereby leading to more informed decision-making. BES-MUG builds on Environmental Systems Research Institute's (ESRI) ArcGIS and ArcSDE technology. ESRI was selected because its geospatial software offers robust capabilities. ArcGIS is implemented agency-wide within the USDA and is the predominant geospatial software package used by collaborating institutions. Commercially available enterprise database packages (DB2, Oracle, SQL) provide an efficient means to store, manage, and share large datasets. However, standard database capabilities are limited with respect to geographic datasets because they lack the ability to deal with complex spatial relationships. By using ESRI's ArcSDE (Spatial Database Engine) in conjunction with database software, geospatial data can be handled much more effectively through the implementation of the Geodatabase model. Through ArcSDE and the Geodatabase model the database's capabilities are expanded, allowing for multiuser editing, intelligent feature types, and the establishment of rules and relationships. ArcSDE also allows users to connect to the database using ArcGIS software without being burdened by the intricacies of the database itself. For an example of how BES-MUG will help improve the quality and timeless of BES geospatial data consider a census block group layer that is in need of updating. Rather than the researcher downloading the dataset, editing it, and resubmitting to through ORS, access rules will allow the authorized user to edit the dataset over the network. Established rules will ensure that the attribute and topological integrity is maintained, so that key fields are not left blank and that the block group boundaries stay within tract boundaries. Metadata will automatically be updated showing who edited the dataset and when they did in the event any questions arise. Currently, a functioning prototype Multi-User Database has been developed for BES at the University of Vermont Spatial Analysis Lab, using Arc SDE and IBM's DB2 Enterprise Database as a back end architecture. This database, which is currently only accessible to those on the UVM campus network, will shortly be migrated to a Linux server where it will be accessible for database connections over the Internet. Passwords can then be handed out to all interested researchers on the project, who will be able to make a database connection through the Geographic Information Systems software interface on their desktop computer. This database will include a very large number of thematic layers. Those layers are currently divided into biophysical, socio-economic and imagery categories. Biophysical includes data on topography, soils, forest cover, habitat areas, hydrology and toxics. Socio-economics includes political and administrative boundaries, transportation and infrastructure networks, property data, census data, household survey data, parks, protected areas, land use/land cover, zoning, public health and historic land use change. Imagery includes a variety of aerial and satellite imagery. See the readme: http://96.56.36.108/geodatabase_SAL/readme.txt See the file listing: http://96.56.36.108/geodatabase_SAL/diroutput.txt

The files linked to this reference are the geospatial data created as part of the completion of the baseline vegetation inventory project for the NPS park unit. Current format is ArcGIS file geodatabase but older formats may exist as shapefiles. Using the National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS) developed by Natureserve, with additional classes and modifiers, overstory vegetation communities for each park were interpreted from stereo color infrared aerial photographs using manual interpretation methods. Using a minimum mapping unit of 0.5 hectares (MMU = 0.5 ha), polygons representing areas of relatively uniform vegetation were delineated and annotated on clear plastic overlays registered to the aerial photographs. Polygons were labeled according to the dominant vegetation community. Where the polygons were not uniform, second and third vegetation classes were added. Further, a number of modifier codes were employed to indicate important aspects of the polygon that could be interpreted from the photograph (for example, burn condition). The polygons on the plastic overlays were then corrected using photogrammetric procedures and converted to vector format for use in creating a geographic information system (GIS) database for each park. In addition, high resolution color orthophotographs were created from the original aerial photographs for use in the GIS. Upon completion of the GIS database (including vegetation, orthophotos and updated roads and hydrology layers), both hardcopy and softcopy maps were produced for delivery. Metadata for each database includes a description of the vegetation classification system used for each park, summary statistics and documentation of the sources, procedures and spatial accuracies of the data. At the time of this writing, an accuracy assessment of the vegetation mapping has not been performed for most of these parks.

The Regional Crime Analysis GIS (RCAGIS) is an Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) MapObjects-based system that was developed by the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Staff, in conjunction with the Baltimore County Police Department and the Regional Crime Analysis System (RCAS) group, to facilitate the analysis of crime on a regional basis. The RCAGIS system was designed specifically to assist in the analysis of crime incident data across jurisdictional boundaries. Features of the system include: (1) three modes, each designed for a specific level of analysis (simple queries, crime analysis, or reports), (2) wizard-driven (guided) incident database queries, (3) graphical tools for the creation, saving, and printing of map layout files, (4) an interface with CrimeStat spatial statistics software developed by Ned Levine and Associates for advanced analysis tools such as hot spot surfaces and ellipses, (5) tools for graphically viewing and analyzing historical crime trends in specific areas, and (6) linkage tools for drawing connections between vehicle theft and recovery locations, incident locations and suspects' homes, and between attributes in any two loaded shapefiles. RCAGIS also supports digital imagery, such as orthophotos and other raster data sources, and geographic source data in multiple projections. RCAGIS can be configured to support multiple incident database backends and varying database schemas using a field mapping utility.

GISCO (Geographic Information System of the COmmission) is responsible for meeting the European Commission's geographical information needs at three levels: the European Union, its member countries, and its regions.

In addition to creating statistical and other thematic maps, GISCO manages a database of geographical information, and provides related services to the Commission. Its database contains core geographical data covering the whole of Europe, such as administrative boundaries, and thematic geospatial information, such as population grid data. Some data are available for download by the general public and may be used for non-commercial purposes. For further details and information about any forthcoming new or updated datasets, see http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/gisco/geodata.

This metadata refers to the whole content of GISCO reference database extracted in July 2018, which contains both public datasets and datasets to be used only internally by the EEA. The document GISCO-ConditionsOfUse.pdf provided with the dataset gives information on the copyrighted data sources, the mandatory acknowledgement clauses and re-dissemination rights. The license conditions for EuroGeographic datasets in GISCO are provided in a standalone document "LicenseConditions_EuroGeographics.pdf".

The database is provided in GDB and in SQLITE, with datasets at scales from 1:60M to 1:100K, with reference years spanning until 2016. The database manual, a file with the content of the database, and a document with the naming conventions are also provided with the database. For particular datasets extracted from this database (NUTS 2016 and COUNTRIES 2016) please refer to the associated resources in the EEA SDI catalogue.

NOTE: This metadata file is only for internal EEA purposes and in no case replaces the official metadata provided by Eurostat.

A new relationship-estimation model to perform a frequency-dispersion-normalized estimation and reduce the unwanted effects of ecological errors, Ecologically Corrected Spatial Relationship Estimator (ECSRE).

description: This data from the National Weather Service provides Geographic Information System (GIS) graphical representations of tornados, large hail events, and damaging wind reports in the Continental United States for the period 1950 through 2006. The data provided are in .zip files that are generally around 50 MB. Although available to all, the data provided may be of particular value to weather professionals and students of meteorological sciences. An instructional manual is provided on how to build and develop a basic severe weather report GIS database in ArcGis and is located at the technical documentation site contained in this metadata catalog.; abstract: This data from the National Weather Service provides Geographic Information System (GIS) graphical representations of tornados, large hail events, and damaging wind reports in the Continental United States for the period 1950 through 2006. The data provided are in .zip files that are generally around 50 MB. Although available to all, the data provided may be of particular value to weather professionals and students of meteorological sciences. An instructional manual is provided on how to build and develop a basic severe weather report GIS database in ArcGis and is located at the technical documentation site contained in this metadata catalog.

How to cite

When you use the datasets or maps, please also cite to the following paper introducing the whole of process from data collection, harmonization and visualization until releasing the data:

Rantanen, T., Tolvanen, H., Roose, M., Ylikoski, J. & Vesakoski, O. (2022) “Best practices for spatial language data harmonization, sharing and map creation - A case study of Uralic” PLoS ONE 17(6): e0269648. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269648.

Overview

The Geographical database of the Uralic languages consists of past and current distributions of the Uralic languages both as the original digital spatial datasets and as finalized maps. The database has been collected by the interdisciplinary BEDLAN (Biological Evolution and Diversification of LANguages) research team in collaboration with experts of Uralic languages. The work has been financed by the University of Turku (UTU–BGG), Kone Foundation (UraLex, AikaSyyni), the Academy of Finland (URKO), UiT – The Arctic University of Norway and the University of Oulu, as well as the Finno-Ugrian Society. The data have been compiled for the purposes of doing spatial linguistic and multidisciplinary research, and to visually present the state-of-the-art knowledge of the Uralic languages and their dialects. Geographic distributions are visualized as vector data primarily by using polygon objects (speaker areas or language areas), and in some rare cases, by using points. Based on the language distributions, coordinates for the languages and their dialects (point locations) have also been defined.

The National Carbon Sequestration Database and Geographic Information System (NATCARB) Saline spatial database is a small-scale (large-area) overview of carbon dioxide (CO2) geologic storage potential in saline formations across the USA and parts of Canada. Saline formations are composed of brine-saturated porous rock and capped by one or more regionally extensive, low-permeability rock formations. Only saline formations containing formation fluid with total dissolved solids (TDS) greater than 10,000 ppm merited evaluation for potential CO2 storage. A saline storage resource can include one named geologic stratigraphic unit or be defined as only a part of a stratigraphic unit. This data layer reflects the best available knowledge regarding the location of carbon sequestration potential in the USA and Canada, both onshore and offshore. NATCARB is administered by the US Dept. of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and contains data provided by several Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSP). RCSPs originally developed the data per individual geologic storage resource, or as continuous surface models, and then converted these data into a 10 km X 10 km vector "grid". The NATCARB Team at the Kansas Geological Survey compiled the regional datasets into a single, seamless layer.

The global Geographic Information System (GIS) market was valued at USD 10.76 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.7% from 2025 to 2033. The increasing adoption of GIS in various industries, such as utilities, construction, and transportation, is driving the market growth. Additionally, the rising demand for accurate and timely geospatial information for decision-making is further fueling the market expansion. Key market trends include the increasing popularity of cloud-based GIS solutions, the integration of GIS with other technologies such as IoT and AI, and the growing adoption of GIS in developing countries. The hardware segment is expected to hold the largest market share, followed by the software and services segments. North America is the largest regional market for GIS, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. The increasing adoption of GIS in smart city projects and the need for improved infrastructure management are expected to drive growth in the GIS market in these regions. Major players in the market include Autodesk Inc., Bentley Systems, CARTO, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., Hexagon AB, Pitney Bowes Inc., SuperMap Software Co., Ltd., TOPCON CORPORATION, Trimble Inc., and L3Harris Technologies, Inc. The global Geographic Information System (GIS) market is growing rapidly, driven by the increasing adoption of GIS technology across various industries. The market is expected to reach USD 400 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 15%. Recent developments include: In July 2024, Ceinsys Tech Ltd. announced the expansion of its GIS services portfolio in the U.S. market with the asset purchase of Virtual Tours, LLC. , In May 2024, NV5 Global, Inc. announced the acquisition of GIS Solutions, Inc., which provides enterprise GIS technologies and services such as GIS application development and cloud-based database design. , In April 2023, Trimble Inc. launched Trimble Unity AMS solution, which is the GIS-centric electric-based platform developed to manage the lifecycle of asset infrastructure. .

GIS dataset for constructing three-dimensional Development Domain for ASARECA's operation area in 12 East and Central Africa countries. Data layers of market accessibility, agricultural potential, and population density of 2010 at 5 arc-minute resolution were compiled from HarvestChoice.

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, a Federal inter-agency body chartered by public law to maintain uniform feature name usage throughout the Government and to promulgate standard names to the public. The GNIS is the official repository of domestic geographic names data; the official vehicle for geographic names use by all departments of the Federal Government; and the source for applying geographic names to Federal electronic and printed products of all types. See https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/ngp/board-on-geographic-names for additional information.

Database created for replication of GeoStoryTelling. Our life stories evolve in specific and contextualized places. Although our homes may be our primarily shaping environment, our homes are themselves situated in neighborhoods that expose us to the immediate “real world” outside home. Indeed, the places where we are currently experiencing, and have experienced life, play a fundamental role in gaining a deeper and more nuanced understanding of our beliefs, fears, perceptions of the world, and even our prospects of social mobility. Despite the immediate impact of the places where we experience life in reaching a better understanding of our life stories, to date most qualitative and mixed methods researchers forego the analytic and elucidating power that geo-contextualizing our narratives bring to social and health research. From this view then, most research findings and conclusions may have been ignoring the spatial contexts that most likely have shaped the experiences of research participants. The main reason for the underuse of these geo-contextualized stories is the requirement of specialized training in geographical information systems and/or computer and statistical programming along with the absence of cost-free and user-friendly geo-visualization tools that may allow non-GIS experts to benefit from geo-contextualized outputs. To address this gap, we present GeoStoryTelling, an analytic framework and user-friendly, cost-free, multi-platform software that enables researchers to visualize their geo-contextualized data narratives. The use of this software (available in Mac and Windows operative systems) does not require users to learn GIS nor computer programming to obtain state-of-the-art, and visually appealing maps. In addition to providing a toy database to fully replicate the outputs presented, we detail the process that researchers need to follow to build their own databases without the need of specialized external software nor hardware. We show how the resulting HTML outputs are capable of integrating a variety of multi-media inputs (i.e., text, image, videos, sound recordings/music, and hyperlinks to other websites) to provide further context to the geo-located stories we are sharing (example https://cutt.ly/k7X9tfN). Accordingly, the goals of this paper are to describe the components of the methodology, the steps to construct the database, and to provide unrestricted access to the software tool, along with a toy dataset so that researchers may interact first-hand with GeoStoryTelling and fully replicate the outputs discussed herein. Since GeoStoryTelling relied on OpenStreetMap its applications may be used worldwide, thus strengthening its potential reach to the mixed methods and qualitative scientific communities, regardless of location around the world. Keywords: Geographical Information Systems; Interactive Visualizations; Data StoryTelling; Mixed Methods & Qualitative Research Methodologies; Spatial Data Science; Geo-Computation.

The geographic data are built from the Technical Information Management System (TIMS). TIMS consists of two separate databases: an attribute database and a spatial database. The attribute information for offshore activities is stored in the TIMS database. The spatial database is a combination of the ARC/INFO and FINDER databases and contains all the coordinates and topology information for geographic features. The attribute and spatial databases are interconnected through the use of common data elements in both databases, thereby creating the spatial datasets. The data in the mapping files are made up of straight-line segments. If an arc existed in the original data, it has been replaced with a series of straight lines that approximate the arc. The Gulf of America OCS Region stores all its mapping data in longitude and latitude format. All coordinates are in NAD 27. Data can be obtained in three types of digital formats: INTERACTIVE MAP: The ArcGIS web maps are an interactive display of geographic information, containing a basemap, a set of data layers (many of which include interactive pop-up windows with information about the data), an extent, navigation tools to pan and zoom, and additional tools for geospatial analysis. SHP: A Shapefile is a digital vector (non-topological) storage format for storing geometric location and associated attribute information. Shapefiles can support point, line, and area features with attributes held in a dBASE format file. GEODATABASE: An ArcGIS geodatabase is a collection of geographic datasets of various types held in a common file system folder, a Microsoft Access database, or a multiuser relational DBMS (such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Informix, or IBM DB2). The geodatabase is the native data structure for ArcGIS and is the primary data format used for editing and data management.

This collection grew out of a prototype case tracking and crime mapping application that was developed for the United States Attorney's Office (USAO), Southern District of New York (SDNY). The purpose of creating the application was to move from the traditionally episodic way of handling cases to a comprehensive and strategic method of collecting case information and linking it to specific geographic locations, and collecting information either not handled at all or not handled with sufficient enough detail by SDNY's existing case management system. The result was an end-user application designed to be run largely by SDNY's nontechnical staff. It consisted of two components, a database to capture case tracking information and a mapping component to link case and geographic data. The case tracking data were contained in a Microsoft Access database and the client application contained all of the forms, queries, reports, macros, table links, and code necessary to enter, navigate through, and query the data. The mapping application was developed using Environmental Systems Research Institute's (ESRI) ArcView 3.0a GIS. This collection shows how the user-interface of the database and the mapping component were customized to allow the staff to perform spatial queries without having to be geographic information systems (GIS) experts. Part 1 of this collection contains the Visual Basic script used to customize the user-interface of the Microsoft Access database. Part 2 contains the Avenue script used to customize ArcView to link the data maintained in the server databases, to automate the office's most common queries, and to run simple analyses.

Hydrographic and Impairment Statistics (HIS) is a National Park Service (NPS) Water Resources Division (WRD) project established to track certain goals created in response to the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA). One water resources management goal established by the Department of the Interior under GRPA requires NPS to track the percent of its managed surface waters that are meeting Clean Water Act (CWA) water quality standards. This goal requires an accurate inventory that spatially quantifies the surface water hydrography that each bureau manages and a procedure to determine and track which waterbodies are or are not meeting water quality standards as outlined by Section 303(d) of the CWA. This project helps meet this DOI GRPA goal by inventorying and monitoring in a geographic information system for the NPS: (1) CWA 303(d) quality impaired waters and causes; and (2) hydrographic statistics based on the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Hydrography Dataset (NHD). Hydrographic and 303(d) impairment statistics were evaluated based on a combination of 1:24,000 (NHD) and finer scale data (frequently provided by state GIS layers).

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is an automated data system developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to standardize and disseminate information on geographic names. GNIS provides primary information for all known places, features, and areas in the United States identified by proper name. The data file described here is a standard report file written from the National Geographic Names Data Base that lists all populated place records in GNIS for the United States. The entries are sorted by state and then listed alphabetically by feature name. Information provided includes the official placename, the feature type, the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) code referencing the state, the principal county in which the place is located, the geographic coordinates (in degrees, minutes, and seconds) that locate the approximate original center of the place, the year of any pertinent United States Board on Geographic Names activity regarding the placename or its application, and a reference to the 1:24,000-scale USGS topographic map on which the feature is portrayed. The elevation in feet is given if available, as is the 1980 Census population figure.

INFP, CRMD and UCL have developed a framework capable of analyzing the implications of natural hazards on transportation networks, also in a time-dependent manner. This is currently embedded into an ArcGIS toolbox entitled Network-risk, which has been successfully tested for Bucharest, contributing to an insightful evaluation of emergency intervention times for ambulances and firefighters, in the case of an earthquake. The files and the user manual allow a replication of our recent analysis in Toma-Danila et al. (2022) and a download of results (such as affected roads and unaccesible areas in Bucharest), in various formats. Some of the results are also presented in an ArcGIS Online app, called "Riscul seismic al Bucurestiului" (The seismic risk of Bucharest), available at https://tinyurl.com/yt32aeyx. In the files you can find: - the Bucharest road network used in the article; - facilities for Bucharest and Ilfov, such as hospitals, firestations, buildings with seismic risk or tramway lines accesible by emergency vehicles - results of the analysis: unaccesible roads and areas, service areas around facilities, closest facilities for representative points - Excel calculator for Z elevation from OpenStreetMap data - the user manual and a ArcGIS toolbox.

Main citation: - Toma-Danila D., Tiganescu A., D'Ayala D., Armas I., Sun L. (2022) Time-Dependent Framework for Analyzing Emergency Intervention Travel Times and Risk Implications due to Earthquakes. Bucharest Case Study. Frontiers in Earth Science, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.834052

Previous references: - Toma-Danila D., Armas I., Tiganescu A. (2020) Network-risk: an open GIS toolbox for estimating the implications of transportation network damage due to natural hazards, tested for Bucharest, Romania. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 20(5): 1421-1439, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-1421-2020 - Toma-Danila D. (2018) A GIS framework for evaluating the implications of urban road network failure due to earthquakes: Bucharest (Romania) case study. Natural Hazards, 93, 97-111, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-017-3069-y