23 May 2016

Seamless Data Warehouse

The Seamless Data Warehouse is the ideal location to explore and retrieve data. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) are committed to providing access to geospatial data through The National Map. An approach is to provide free downloads of national base layers, as well as other geospatial data layers. These layers are divided into framework categories.
  • Places
  • Structures
  • Transportation
  • Boundaries
  • Hydrography
  • Orthoimagery
  • Land Cover
  • Elevation
The Seamless Data Warehouse capabilities include:

  • Free downloads up to 3 Gigabytes of data in 250 Megabyte files per request: Users have unlimited access to the interactive map and can make unlimited requests. The amount of coverage area depends on the number of products selected for download. For example, if NED 1 Arc Second is selected as the only product a user can download up to a 30 square degree area. But, if NED 1 arc second and NED 1/3 arc second are selected, then the area available for download will be considerably smaller. To see the various sizes of coverage area for each product, click on the List of Products drop down on the right side of the viewing area and select the desired product.
  • User can define an area of interest by drawing a box, defining coordinates, or use available templates to cut out the area: The first method of drawing a box (square or rectangle) is best for defining a general area. The coordinates are displayed, in decimal degrees, in the bottom left corner of the window as the mouse is moved over the map. The second method of defining coordinates can be used when the user wants a precise area and knows the corner coordinates. The third method is the use of provided templates, such as 7.5 minute quadrangles.
  • Tiled Data Distribution System (TDDS) : allows a user to access historical data from the EROS storage system. The concept of The National Map Seamless Server is to provide the best available data. High resolution orthoimagery, the best available will change approximately every couple of years as new imagery becomes available. The older imagery will be removed from The National Map Seamless Server and map services and made available using TDDS.
  • Query tools are provided to acquire more information about the an area of interest: An example of the two query tools are Elevation Point and Elevation Profile. The elevation point tool allows a user to click anywhere on the map interface and an elevation will be returned, in feet, as well as the coordinates. The elevation profile tool will provide a cross section graph between two points, in any direction.
Sample data map:

Tools to Access Data:
  • ArcGIS Toolbar
  • Mapping Services
  • Application Services
  • Tiled NED Tool
  • Inventory Search
  • Seamless Viewer
  • TNM Viewer
The Seamless Data Warehouse is always growing with new data, tools, features, and much more.





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