Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center
The Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center (RMGSC) is a leading scientific authority in evaluating, understanding, and predicting the risks, vulnerabilities, causes, and consequences of landscape change on the physical environment and the human condition.
RMGSC scientists observe, describe, and analyze the state and condition of the natural and human environments by mapping, modeling, and monitoring geographic landscape change at regional, national, and global scales.
The RMGSC strives to implement this vision by performing leading edge geographic and land remote sensing science, and applying state-of-the-art information technology to changing geographic landscapes, ecosystems, and environments. Specifically, the RMGSC emphasizes research and investigations in:
This agenda supports the Geography Discipline's primary goal "to improve people's ability to prosper by either affecting how the land will change (positive) or by becoming more adaptive to change (forecasting)." It also allows the RMGSC to provide federal, state, and local decision makers with timely, objective, relevant, and innovative geographic science, tools, models, information and reports that will help to improve and sustain environmental quality and public safety in an ever-changing world.
The RMGSC was key in the development of a new map of standardized, terrestrial ecosystems of the conterminous United States which will help researchers and land resource managers better understand the types and locations of ecosystems on the landscape. The map, along with the methodology and process for producing it, are described in the recently published USGS Professional Paper 1768, A New Map of Standardized Terrestrial Ecosystems of the Conterminous United States.
Complete Technical Announcement
Additional Information
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey