USGS ScienceSearch

Geology topics

Ricardo McClees-Funinan

Publications and source records attributed to Ricardo McClees-Funinan.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Leveraging existing technology: Developing a trusted digital repository for the U.S. Geological Survey

As Federal Government agencies in the United States pivot to increase access to scientific data (Sheehan, 2016), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has made substantial progress (Kriesberg et al., 2017). USGS authors are required to make federally funded data publicly available in an approved data repository (USGS, 2016b). This type of public data product, known as a USGS data release, serves as a method for publishing reviewed and approved data. In this paper, we present major milestones in the approach the USGS took to transition an existing technology platform to a Trusted Digital Repository. We describe both the technical and the non-technical actions that contributed to a successful outcome.We highlight how initial workflows revealed patterns that were later automated, and the ways in which assessments and user feedback influenced design and implementation. The paper concludes with lessons learned, such as the importance of a community of practice, application programming interface (API)-driven technologies, iterative development, and user-centered design. This paper is intended to offer a potential roadmap for organizations pursuing similar goals.

International Journal of Digital Curation

USGS enterprise tools for efficient and effective management of science data

The Science Data Management Branch (SDM) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides data management expertise and leadership and develops guidance and tools to support the USGS in providing the nation with reliable scientific information on the basis of which to describe the Earth. The SDM suite of tools supports the USGS Data Management Lifecycle by facilitating quality assurance, description, curation, and publishing of the Bureau's scientific data. The SDM suite of tools includes the USGS Data Management Website, USGS Science Data Catalog, Digital Object Identifier Tool, ScienceBase, ScienceBase Data Release Tool, Metadata Wizard, and Online Metadata Editor.

Fact Sheet

Through a fish's eye: The status of fish habitats in the United States 2015

This report updates and revises the 2010 “ Status of Fish Habitats in the United States” that summarized initial results of a comprehensive national assessment of aquatic habitats at an unprecedented scale and level of detail. This 2015 report provides even greater detail and improves our knowledge of the condition of fish habitat in the United States. The 2010 inland streams assessment characterized fish habitat condition using stream fish data from more than 26,000 stream reaches, while the 2015 assessment was based on fish data from more than 39,000 stream reaches nationally. To increase accuracy, the 2015 inland stream assessment incorporated 12 additional human disturbance variables into the fish analysis when compared to the 2010 assessment. Associations between all human disturbance variables summarized in both catchments as well as stream buffers were tested against stream fish metrics to develop assessment scores. Additional variables incorporated into the 2015 assessment and their summary within catchments and buffers allowed for more explicit characterization of the diverse set of disturbances to stream fish habitats occurring across the Nation than what occurred in 2010, and this was made possible due in part to advances in available GIS layers. With the incorporation of these additional disturbances, managers and decision makers can use assessment results to more explicitly identify limits to stream fish habitats. Even with the additional disturbances incorporated into 2015 assessment, results may overestimate fish habitat condition, as localized and regionally-specific disturbances are still not available in some cases.

Report