US Topo Update: Production and release of the USGS's new series of digital topographic maps, the US Topo started in October 2009. In October 2012, the project met its very aggressive long term goal of replacing all quads in the lower 48 states in three years with the new GeoPDF maps. Thus, the second cycle of US Topo map production has started, beginning with Kansas. Also, all previous "Digital Map–Beta" products have been removed from distribution. The National Geospatial Technical Operations Center reports the following US Topo maps are loaded to the Map Locator of the USGS Store (as of 02-20-13):

• Kansas: 100% complete - 1,403 quadrangles
• Oklahoma: 98% complete - 1,128 quadrangles
• Texas: 96% complete - 4,140 quadrangles
• New York: 33% complete - 324 quadrangles
• Kentucky: pending

Landsat 8: Launched by NASA, the new Landsat 8 satellite is expected to transmit images and data about the Earth within 100 days. Landsat data from more than 3 million current and archived images of Earth - available free of charge the USGS - have spurred extensive research and innovations, ranging from scientific investigations around the globe to the development of applications like Google Earth. If you missed the launch, you can access a replay at: 1.usa.gov/VRsblN

New lidar data: The February, 2013 update of the National Elevation Dataset (NED) 1-, 1/3- and 1/9-arc-second collections has been released. This marks the 70th update of the 1-arc-second layer since bi-monthly revisions began in June, 2000. This release incorporates 22,996 square miles of new light detection and ranging (lidar) data into the NED 1/9-arc-second layer. The NED 1- and 1/3-arc-second layers were updated with 18,613 square miles of migrated high resolution source data. All NED data are available via The National Map Viewer: viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/

New Fact Sheet: A new fact sheet titled "USGS Natural Hazards Response", is now available. The primary goal of USGS Emergency Operations is to ensure that the disaster response community has access to timely, accurate, and relevant geospatial products, imagery, and services during and after an emergency event: pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3061/

Round #2: Kansas and Oklahoma usher in the second round of US Topo quadrangle revisions, updates and product improvement. The initial round US Topo map production for the 48 contiguous states was announced last September. The 1,403 quadrangles for Kansas and 1,032 quads covering Oklahoma replace the current US Topo maps, which will be added to the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection. All of these maps are available for free download from The National Map and the USGS Map Store website.

Call for Abstracts Reminder: Calling for abstracts in support of the joint 2013 The National Map Users Conference and Community for Data Integration Workshop, May 20 – 24, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. Abstracts should address (1) experiences based on use of The National Map data theme or application and (2) data integration issues, planning, and execution in support of science, including products and tools to help users find, get, and use data for conducting interdisciplinary studies. Abstracts must be submitted through this online form not later than February 22, 2013. Authors will be notified of acceptance by April 1, 2013. Questions?

3DEP Reports: "The Benefits of Improved National Elevation Data" by USGS scientist Gregory Snyder is featured in the current issue of Photogrammetric Engineering andRemote Sensing (PE&RS) Magazine along with a forward by USGS scientist Jason Stoker, titled, "Are We Moving Past the Pixel?" (p. 133) .Elevation data are essential for flood hazard mitigation, agricultural productivity, infrastructure and energy development, resource conservation, national security, and many other applications. Under the leadership of the USGS and the National Digital Elevation Program (NDEP), Federal agencies, State agencies, and others work together to acquire high-quality elevation data for the US its territories.

Getting closer to 2k! The National Map Twitter site recently surpassed 1,620 followers in less than two years. Let's make it to 2,000 by TNM UC@USGSTNM. Sign up today and join in the conversation!

US Topo Update: Production and release of the USGS's new series of digital topographic maps, the US Topo started in October 2009. In October 2012, the project met its very aggressive long term goal of replacing all quads in the lower 48 states in three years with the new GeoPDF maps. Thus, the second cycle of US Topo map production has started, beginning with Kansas. Also, all previous "Digital Map–Beta" products have been removed from distribution. The National Geospatial Technical Operations Center reports the following US Topo maps are loaded to the Map Locator of the USGS Store (as of 02-20-13):

• Kansas: 100% complete - 1,403 quadrangles
• Oklahoma: 98% complete - 1,128 quadrangles
• Texas: 96% complete - 4,140 quadrangles
• New York: 33% complete - 324 quadrangles
• Kentucky: pending

Other NGP in the News: Several NGP related article have recently been published to include:

• "TerraServer adds USGS Topo Maps Through Custom Web Service API" - Directions Magazine
• "The USGS National Three Dimensional Elevation Program-3DEP" – lidar news
• "Kansas first state with updated maps" – Topeka Capital-Journal

2013 Gannett Award: The USGS is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2013 Henry Gannett award. This award commemorates the first USGS Chief Geographer, (1882-1914) Henry Gannett, and his tremendous contributions to topographic mapping in the United States. The Henry Gannett award is designed to recognize and celebrate talented individuals or groups of individuals for outstanding accomplishments to the topographic mapping mission of the USGS. Individuals, both internal and external to the USGS are eligible to make nominations or receive this award. The call for nominations is made biennially through the USGS National Geospatial Program (NGP). Each nomination package must be submitted no later than February 26. 2013. Details on award criteria and processes are found at nationalmap.gov/gannett/. The award will be presented at The National Map Users Conference and Community for Data Integration Workshop and Training during an award ceremony in May 2013. This is a unique opportunity for the USGS to honor significant contributions in our community. We look forward to receiving a broad range of nominations of individuals that have furthered USGS topographic mapping of the Nation.

US Topo Report: USGS Scientist Larry Moore authored an update to the US Topo map program. The report and accompanying graphics give an overview of the project successes thus far and potential obstacles for 2013. The report was initially published in Direction's Magazine (Jan 14, 2013) and has been referenced or linked by related trade publications, blogs and Twitter. www.directionsmag.com/articles/us-topoa-new-national-map-series-2012-update/300690

Geographic Information to the Masses: An article featuring the US Topo, the National Map Viewer and the National Atlas ® titled, "USGS Provides Geographic Information to the Masses" has been published in the most recent edition of the "Esri News for Federal Government" newsletter. www.esri.com/Industries/government/federal/~/media/Files/Pdfs/library/newsletters/federal/fall-2012.pdf ( page 8).

Save the Date - Collaborate. Integrate. Innovate: The second biennial The National Map (TNM) Users Conference and the fourth annual Community for Data Integration (CDI) Training and Workshop is planned for May 21-24, 2013 in the Denver, Colorado area. Attendees will have the opportunity to collaborate with other users and scientists at a single venue. The agenda, call for abstracts, registration, hotel information, and other details will be available in the coming weeks. Event highlights include:

• Preeminent Plenary Speakers Highlighting Initiatives that Depend on TNM and Data Integration
• Concurrent TNM User Focus and CDI Workshop Tracks
• Interactive Data Blast: Poster Session and Demonstrations
• National Hydrography Dataset 20th Anniversary and Program Review
• Introduction of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and Users Workshop
• Presentation of the 3rd Henry Gannett Award Recognizing Excellence in Contributing to USGS Topographic Mapping of the Nation
• Hands-on CDI Tools Training

Mark your calendars--we hope to see you there! For additional Information: nationalmap.gov/uc

Natural Hazards Response Fact Sheet: The USGS strives to ensure that the disaster response community has access to timely, accurate, and relevant geospatial products, imagery, and services during and after an emergency event. To accomplish this goal, products and services provided by the National Geospatial Program (NGP) and Land Remote Sensing (LRS) Program serve as a geospatial framework for mapping activities to assist emergency responders. More information on this system can be found in the new Fact Sheet: pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3061/

USGS ASPRS Fellow: Scientist Dr. George Y. Lee, national lead for the USGS orthoimagery program, has been named a 2013 Fellow in the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. The award is in recognition of more than 38 years of professional service and excellence to science, the ASPRS and the USGS. Among his various accomplishments, Lee was instrumental in the development and implementation of a program to complete first time national coverage with Digital Othrophoto Quarter Quadrangles (DOQQ's). More information: www.asprs.org/Press-Releases/ASPRS-2013-Fellows-Named.html

"Science.gov: The Power of 10": Science.gov - the Federal government's "one stop" real-time science data website, is now celebrating its 10th anniversary. The USGS is a founding member of Science.gov and, along with 12 other Federal agencies, has created a web portal to provide wide, public access and a unified search of the government's vast stores of scientific and technical information. Moving into its second decade, the website recently launched a Spanish language version and added multimedia content such as videos, images and audio files. Also, to highlight interesting science facts from the Alliance members, the website added "cool stuff" webpage: go.usa.gov/gXxF

Aerial Scans of Sandy's Destruction: USGS researchers coordinated and are analyzing before-and-after lidar images of Hurricane Sandy in at Ocean Bay Park on Fire Island National Seashore. The lidar data will check the accuracy of storm predictions, improve future USGS storm modeling and can help scientists and decision-makers identify the areas along the shore that have been made more vulnerable to future coastal hazards in the storm's wake. coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/sandy/lidar/

Website Updated: In keeping with program progress, the US Topo website has undergone several updates to better serve its customers. Links to the US Topo map protype, the "Digital Map - Beta" have removed as the US Topo program is starting its second revision cycle of US Topo maps for the interior U.S. Also, the US Topo video has been added as well as a "US Topo News" page featuring current map status. Page navigation has been improved and Map Locator renovations and underway.

NAS Report: The National Academy of Sciences recently released a report on the USGS titled, "Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey". The report examines the USGS Science Strategy and supports the framework of spatial data, metadata, tools, and a user community that is interactively connected to use spatial data in an efficient and flexible way--known as a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13506

Last Frontier Historical Topo Maps: More than 8,000 historical topographic quadrangles, some dating back to 1899, covering all of Alaska have been released for free download. This recent addition to the Historical Topographic Map Collection provides a comprehensive landscape repository of our northernmost State and shows changes through time, providing essential clues critical in the understanding our Nation's development.
go.usa.gov/YnRe

NGMDB Gets a Face Lift: In concert with the inaugural, multi-agency Geologic Map Day - October 19 - the USGS and Association of American State Geologists will release a significantly updated infrastructure and a new "look" to the National Geologic Map Database (NGMDB). The MapView features a visually compelling interface that uses the latest technology to portray the Nation's geologic maps published by the USGS, the state geological surveys, and many others. These maps, available from the NGMDB in several popular and easy to use formats, can be viewed in detail and downloaded from the various publishers.
go.usa.gov/YQsV

URISA GIS Hall of Fame: Owing to 50 years of cutting-edge developments and significant contributions in advancing the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geospatial sciences, the USGS has been selected to enter the Urban and Regional Information System Association GIS Hall of Fame. The USGS was cited as a major contributor and driver to GIS progress across the government and the private sector. The formal nomination statement and other award details are available on the URISA Award website www.usgs.gov/ngpo/urisa/

US Topo - Second time around! Production and release of the USGS new series of digital topographic maps, the US Topo , started in October 2009. This week, the project has met its very aggressive long term goal of replacing all quads in the lower 48 states in three years with the new GeoPDF maps. Thus, the second cycle of US Topo map production has started, beginning with Kansas. Also, all previous "Digital Map - Beta" products have been removed from distribution. Hawaii, Alaska, and US territories are presently being worked on.