Assimilation of the National Elevation Dataset and launch of the 3D elevation program through the USGS spatial data infrastructure

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to provide the nation with reliable scientific information about the Earth for use in managing natural resources to protect and improve our quality of life. Such information relies heavily on the availability and quality of geographic data. The USGS National Geospatial Program in particular provides leadership for geospatial data synchronization, production and services, and activities that are essential to the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The National Map, a significant contributor of basemap layers to the NSDI, is continually being transformed to provide current, high-quality, integrated geospatial data, products and services to better serve the geospatial community. The National Elevation Dataset (NED) has been a beneficiary of this transformation. The driving force behind this transformation, the focus of this paper, is the USGS-managed 3D Elevation Program (3DEP). The goals of the transformation were to incorporate the NED into a modern 3DEP management system, produce an enhanced suite of products and improve product metadata, distribution and data discovery services. Updated features include Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)-compliant metadata, continuously updated spatial metadata and data sharing via data.gov and ScienceBase. Efforts will continue to maintain 3DEP’s compliance with geospatial standards and user needs.