Geographical Reference Data for Modeling and Management Applications

To: "A  - Division Chief and Staff"<distribution>,
        "B  - Branch Chiefs and Offices"<distribution>,
        "AH - Area Hydrologists"<distribution>,
        "FO - State, District, Subdistrict and other Field Offices"<distribution>,
        "PO - Project Offices"<distribution>,
        "S  - Special Distribution for Research"<distribution>
cc: "File WRD Archive Reston, VA "<wrd-archive>,
        "L. Jane Rose, Secretary, Reston, VA "<jrose>
Subject: OSW Technical Memo No. 96.09
Date: Tue, 09 Jul 1996 16:51:50 -0400
From: "L. Jane Rose, Secretary, Reston, VA "<jrose>



In Reply Refer To:
Mail Stop 415                                      July 3, 1996


OFFICE OF SURFACE WATER TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM NO. 96.09

Subject:   Geographical Reference Data for Modeling and 
Management Applications

A collection of geographical reference data sets, appropriate 
for use in modeling, resource management, graphic design, and 
other technical applications is available on CD-ROM as USGS 
Open-File Report 94-388 entitled GCIP Reference Data Set 
(GREDS).  The coverage for most data sets is national, although 
some data cover only the Mississippi River basin.  Originally 
developed for use by climatic and hydrologic modelers involved 
in the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) 
Continental-Scale International Project (GCIP), the data sets 
have broad applicability to many programs within USGS as well as 
with our external cooperators and other Federal agencies.

The data sets include locations and periods of record for stream 
gages, reservoir gages, and meteorological stations; a 500-meter 
resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM); grid-node locations 
for the Eta numerical weather prediction model; and digital map 
data sets of geology, land use, streams, large reservoirs, 
average annual runoff, average annual precipitation, average 
annual temperature, average annual heating and cooling degree 
days, hydrologic units, and State and county boundaries.  Also 
included are digital index maps for LANDSAT scenes, and for the 
USGS 1:250,000, 1:100,000, and 1:24,000-scale map series.  Most 
of the data sets cover the conterminous United States, and the 
DEM also includes part of southern Canada.  The stream and 
reservoir gage and meteorological station files include sites 
from all States having area within the Mississippi River basin, 
plus that part of the Mississippi basin lying within Canada.

A documentation file accompanies each data set, indicating the 
source of the data, time frame with which it is associated, and 
other information.  The CD-ROM is intended for use with personal 
computers using the MS-DOS operating system, and is compatible 
with UNIX, Macintosh, and VAX computers.  It is available 
through the Earth Science Information Center, Open-File Reports 
Section in Denver.  The contents of the disc are also available 
online at:  
/GIS/browse/gcip.HTML 
(was http://nsdi.usgs.gov/nsdi/wais/water/gcip.HTML, 
changed 21 July 2000).

I encourage District personnel to browse the contents of this 
disc or the homepage and to share it with your Federal and State 
cooperators.




                              Thomas H. Yorke
                              Chief, Office of Surface Water

WRD Distribution:  A, B, AH, FO, PO, S