Partner Organizations:Arizona Geological Survey: In-kind Support; Collaborative Research
We have worked with the Arizona Geological Survey colleagues to guide some of our research and data dissemination plans and they have shared their data with us and we have modified its format and provided useful presentations of the geologic map data.
USGS Flagstaff colleagues have provided advice on ArcIMS--IDL linkages. We have consulted with Dr. Trent Hare at the USGS (Flagstaff Field Office) on integration of an on-the-fly image processing routine (described below) with the ArcIMS front end we have designed for the Web-based interface. Dr. Hare is the major author of the USGS Planetary Interactive GIS on the Web Analyzable Database (PIGWAD) currently used to serve various Mars-related datasets. We are using the PIGWAD system as a general model for our own web-based system.
Other collaborators:
1) We have discussed this work with Dr. David Brumbaugh of NAU to work with him on applications of our project to the Arizona Earthquake Information Center. As a consequence of these discussions, Arrowsmith and Brumbaugh wrote a proposal to the USGS NEHRP program to study the Lake Mary Fault Zone (near Flagstaff, Arizona) and we highlighted the available SWGEONET data. 2) we have publicized and presented our work to our urban ecology colleagues across the ASU campus. 3) We have built an informal network of data contributors--especially the geophysical data--and are highlighting the power of the joint analysis of the various datasets. 4) We have had preliminary discussions with DLESE (Data Access Working Group) and the THREDDS team for collaborating and sharing tools for IDL-based image processing.
Activities and findings:
Research and Education Activities: 1) Preparation of geologic map of the greater Phoenix area using 1:100,000 data from the Arizona Geological Survey. We modified the databases to include summary classifications of rock type, general geologic age, and Quaternary versus Bedrock units. 2) Remote Sensing technical analysis: Software code for on-the-fly processing of ASTER data has been written (using commercial IDL and ENVI programming and image processing software) and tested. The code was written via a subcontract with RSI (developers of IDL and ENVI software). We are now at the stage of integrating this software code with an ArcIMS front- and back-end. This on-the-fly image processing approach is desirable as it greatly reduces the need for static storage of image data products. The remotely sensed image database is currently populated only with ASTER data, but the software code is easily modified for use with other planned datasets (both satellite and airborne sensors). Remote sensing data: following final checkout of the IDL image processing routine, we are now updating the ASTER database to ensure the greatest possible coverage of the study area. Also, the ASTER radiometric and geometric calibration algorithms are periodically updated, which is an additional impetus for us to update our image database. 3) We have gathered 30m, 1:24,000 scale and 1:250,000 Digital Elevation models for Phoenix area and 15 arc second Digital Elevation model data for Arizaona in Arc Grid format. These are available for download. In addition, we are currently aquiring the 10-30 m data for the entire SWGEONET region (see the graphic on our main page: http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/) from the USGS Seamless archive of the National Elevation Dataset (http://seamless.usgs.gov). We have also done some catchment analysis using DEMs for the Indian Bend Wash in the east central Phoenix area and for Cave Creek in north Phoenix. These analyses contribute to our interests in urban geomorphology. 4) Significant effort has been expended in the compilation, vetting, processing, and visualization of geophysical data for the SWGEONET study area. Highlights include: Complete Bouguer gravity Anomaly; Heat flow, heat conductivity, and heat production; Seismic anisotropy; and Receiver functions. See these pages for more information: http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/geophys_data.htm. 5) We have assembled a digital bibliographic and geospatial landslides and mass movements database for Arizona (http://activetectonics.la.asu.edu/azgeoinf/landslides.html).
Findings: 1) Geological and geophysical data gathered and processed between 5_01_02 and 07_16_03 include: Arizona landslides and mass movements Gravity Data Heat flow, heat conductivity, and heat production Seismicity Data Seismic Anisotropy Receiver Functions Aeromagnetics 2) Remote sensing data: ASTER L1B data has been ordered for a rectangular AOI between 102 and 115 W <and> 42 and 30 N through July 15, 2003. There are approximately 2881 scenes total. This area covers all of New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. This is data with newer geometric corrections. We have downloaded and cataloged 903 ASTER scenes for the Colorado Plateau-Transition Zone-Basin & Range regions of CO, UT, NM, AZ, and TX. These datasets form the backbone of our remote sensing database with additions of more data from ASTER, MASTER, and other sources (ETM+ and a variety of airborne datasets) planned. These data sets and their ease of access have already permitted us to consider science applications and further project development. 3) The thematic maps of Phoenix area geology offer a more simplified view than that provided by a large database of geologic units, from which the maps are constructed. Thus, one is given a visually efficient version of a very complex subject for the purposes of presentation and a broad-scope view. These data have been of great interest to our colleagues and have been used in numerous geological, hydrogeological, ecological, and outreach applications. See this link for more: http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/phxgeo_lithtime.htm 4) Our integrated analysis of regional geophysical datasets has yielded some exciting semi-quantitative inferences which we will follow up with more detailed and quantitative analysis over the next year. Here is a recently submitted abstract (to the 2003 Geological Society of America Meeting) with the highlights: Geophysical framework of the Colorado Plateau/Basin and Range transition: Geoinformatics in Action Jesse B. Yoburn, J Ramón Arrowsmith, Matthew J. Fouch, Paul Ivanich, Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ USA G. Randy Keller Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA We are constructing an ArcGIS database to constrain the geodynamics and tectonic evolution of the southern regions of the Colorado Plateau (CP)/Arizona Transition Zone (ATZ)/Basin and Range (BR) in Arizona and New Mexico (http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet). The CP and BR have responded differently to a broad range of tectonics over the past 100 Ma. Our database includes topography, complete Bouguer gravity anomaly (CBA), heat flow, seismicity, shear wave splitting, and receiver functions, with planned additions of seismic tomography and active source seismic data. Integrated analysis characterizes the structure and dynamics of the crust and mantle beneath the BR and CP. For example, gravity, receiver functions, and heat flow all suggest relatively thicker crust in the CP and relatively thinner crust in the BR. Interpolated CBA data clearly show a relatively thickened crust beneath the CP and ATZ (~ -275 to -200 mgal) in northern Arizona and New Mexico, and a relatively thin crust of the BR (~ -100 to -50 mgal) in Arizona. The Rio Grande Rift (RGR) also appears as a ~100 mgal local increase. Receiver function data show a thickening of the crust from ~35 km in NW Arizona to ~45 km in south-central Colorado. Differences in heat flow values suggest thicker crust beneath the CP relative to the BR: heat flow is lower near the southern CP (<50 mW/m2), and higher in the southern BR and the RGR (>150mW/m2). While changes in lithospheric thickness likely contribute to the heat flow variations, they suggest thicker crust beneath the CP relative to the BR. Another example shows the relationship between topographic gradients, regional seismicity, and the inferred mantle flow field. The CP has a surface elevation of >1500 m and drops by ~1000 m over a lateral distance 50-100 km into the ATZ. This pronounced relief contrast is associated with enhanced seismicity in the southern CP. Active fault data show E-W extension in the RGR and southern Arizona and NE-SW extension in the southern CP. These observations correlate with the limited body of shear wave splitting measurements which exhibit ~NE-SW fast polarization directions across Arizona. Nearly N-S fast polarization directions for the RGR suggest a change in the relationship between active surface deformation and mantle fabric across the region.
Training and Development: Graduate and undergraduate students working on the project have learned or will learn GIS, database, web authoring, presentation, and computer skills, are participating in our efforts to integrate earth science knowledge, and are aware of the interdisciplinary applications of the data system. Importantly, our web site includes a links page with a knowledge base of how-to-do certain important and geologically or geophysically important tasks: http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/links.htm All but one of the knowledge base entries was written by our team.
Outreach Activities: We continue to educate our urban ecology and other cross-campus colleagues of the value of quality earth sciece data in useful formats as context or fodder for their own research. Arrowsmith has given these talks that are dominantly outreach: --Geospatial and geotemporal (3D and 4D) challenges and opportunities empasizing the urban environment (ASU-SDSC strategic meeting at the Holiday Bowl; December 2002) --Arid land sedimentary environments and deposits (Presentation in ASU Geoarcheology class; February 2003) --Desert geology (Design with the Desert Conference; March 2003). --Geospatial and Geotemporal (3D and 4D) Challenges and Opportunities Emphasizing the Urban-Natural Environment and Active Tectonics (Presentation to PRISM group at ASU, May 2003) Links to these talks are available at: http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/Presentations.html
Journal Publications:
Other Specific Products:
Phoenix Area geology Arizona geology 30m, 1:24,000 scale Digital Elevation model for Phoenix area 1:250,000 scale Digital Elevation model for Phoenix area 15 arc second scale Digital Elevation model for Arizona Arizona cities Arizona highways Arizona counties PHX roads ASTER index map for AZ and bordering states AZ faults from AZGS with attributes AZ faults from USGS no attributes AZ Eqs 1830-1998 NM and bordering area EQ’s 1869 1998 Gravity Data Heat flow, heat conductivity, and heat production Seismic Anisotropy Receiver Functions Aeromagnetics Arizona landslides and mass movements
These data are available for download as raw data, as well as in Arcview Shape files for easily plotting by users. We are still working on the details of credit and download policies.
A geospatial data system for the transition between the colorado plateau and the basin and range provinces: An essential tool for basic and applied research in earth science and urban ecology (Geological Society of America Annual meeting; October 2002, also a slightly earlier version)
Downloadable powerpoint presentation (http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/Powerpoints/Arrows ithGSA2002_10_02/index.html)
Active and neo-tectonics, fault systems, landform analysis (GEON Kickoff meeting; November 2002)
Downloadable Powerpoint presentation(http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/Powerp ints/ArrowsmithGEONkickoff_11_02/index.html)
Geospatial and geotemporal (3D and 4D) challenges and opportunities empasizing the urban environment (ASU-SDSC strategic meeting at the Holiday Bowl; December 2002)
Downloadable Powerpoint presentation(http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/Powerp ints/holidayBowl_12_02_sdsc_talk/index.html)
Urbanization along the lower Cave Creek drainage: Observations using remote sensing and GIS (Lela Prashad with Chris Eisinger, also as an Adobe Acrobat document) (December 2002)
Downloadable Powerpoint presentation(http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/Powerp ints/CaveCreek2002final_proj_11_02/index.html)
Arid land sedimentary environments and deposits (Presentation in ASU Geoarcheology class; February 2003)
Downloadable Powerpoint presentation(http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/Powerp ints/Arid%20land%20sedimentary%20environments%20and%20deposits_2_03/in ex.html)
Active tectonic, landform analysis, fault distribution and kinematics: How Geoinformatics can help (SIAM Conference talk - Conference on Mathematical and Computational Issues in the Geosciences; March 2003)
Downloadable Powerpoint presentation(http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/Powerp ints/ArrowsmithSIAM03_3_03/index.html)
Geophysics (Presentation at UTEP by Jesse Yoburn, April 2003)
Downloadable Powerpoint presentation(http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/Powerp ints/GeophysicsJYoburnUTEP/index.html)
Delivering Geoinformatics Data to the Public (Presentation at UTEP by Lela Prashad, April 2003)
Downloadable Powerpoint presentation(http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/Powerp ints/prashad_utep/index.html)
ASTER Instrument (Presentation at UTEP by Chris Eisinger, April 2003)
Downloadable Powerpoint presentation(http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/Powerp ints/ASTER_SWGEONET/index.html)
Geospatial and Geotemporal (3D and 4D) Challenges and Opportunities Emphasizing the Urban-Natural Environment and Active Tectonics (Presentation to PRISM group at ASU, May 2003)
Downloadable Powerpoint presentation(http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/Data/Powerp ints/ArrowsmithPRISM5_2_03/index.html)
http://activetectonics.la.asu.edu/azgeoinf/ http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/
The http://www.geoinformaticsnetwork.org/swgeonet/ is the main web page for the ASU and UTEP teams. We are tracking the access to the site: Month Unique visitors Number of visits Pages Hits Bandwidth Mb Feb-03 43 50 268 505 32.64 MB 32.64 Mar-03 150 206 804 2652 291.10 MB 291.1 Apr-03 253 321 1301 4863 650.75 MB 650.75 May-03 215 262 881 2660 269.43 MB 269.43 Jun-03 267 325 809 2412 241.56 MB 241.56 Jul-03 161 217 603 1380 219.90 MB 219.9 totals 1089 1381 4666 14472 0 1705.38 mean/month 227 288 972 3015 0 355 mean/day 7 9 32 98 0 12 the important numbers there are that we have had about 1100 unique visitors, 14472 hits, and shipped about 220 Mb of html/data over the last 4.8 months. Our pages are regularly crawled by search engines and as our content increases, we will probably see more and more accesses.
Contributions:
Contributions within Discipline:
The synthesis of diverse earth science datasets into a common geospatial framework by earth scientists is an important initial effort in the study of the construction and applications of earth science data systems. Recent developments document that our efforts are being recongnized in the geosciences community. For example, Arrowsmith has been invited to participate in the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) as advisory committee member, partially based on his experience with this project.
The synthesis of these diverse earth science datasets into common geospatial data frameworks provides the potential for their evaluation in the study of urban ecological, location research, and digital government processes.
This work promotes the significance and illustrates the quality and quantity of earth science data. The diverse student work group is learning to work together and energized and enriched by the experience.
This data system is a valuable resource for student and faculty research and for project and proposal development. I has been presented to numerous faculty and student groups and used in classes. In addition, we have written two proposals leveraging these data. Analysis and checkout of the IDL image processing code has provided PIs and graduate students with experience in IDL code syntax and programming structure.
The common framework of these data and the education of the PIs and the students in the language of geoinformatics provides the potential for important linkages with industry and agency data managers and decisionmakers.
Special Requirements for Annual Project Report:
Unobligated funds: less than 20 percent of current funds