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Geography for a Changing World: A Science Strategy for the Geographic Research of the U.S. Geological Survey, 2005-2015

The common thread running through the vision, mission, and science goals presented in this plan is that USGS geographers will provide international leadership to understand coupled human-environmental systems in the face of land change and will deliver pertinent information to decisionmakers on the vulnerability and resilience of these systems. The science goals and strategic actions presented in the plan are consistent with national science priorities and the Department of Interior and USGS missions, take advantage of existing expertise, and lead to the strengthening of critical geographic research capacities that do not exist in other USGS disciplines. Successful plan implementation will require a sustained investment in the geography-related core competencies of the USGS: integration of natural and social science (transmitting science results to decisionmakers and the public in forms that are useful for promoting the welfare of the Nation); regional geography (applying the concepts and tools of geography to understand processes and interactions characteristic of regions); remote sensing (comprehensive monitoring of the Earth at multiple resolutions); and GIScience (geographic information systems, data management techniques, visualization, remote sensing, and spatial statistics and modeling).