January 22, 2008 -- A report recently issued by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies sharpens the research focus of The National Map. The report, A Research Agenda for Geographic Information Science at the United States Geological Survey, advocates the integration of highly diverse data from state and local agencies into a consistent, national framework as a unique feature of The National Map that distinguishes it from other online geospatial data sources.

The USGS commissioned the NRC Mapping Sciences Committee to assess current and future needs for USGS geographic information science (GIScience) capabilities. The committee was also asked to make recommendations concerning research and collaboration at the Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) established by the USGS in 2006.

One element of The National Map - the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) - serves as an example of a nationally standardized dataset that is not available from any other online geospatial data source. The NHD was built, and is beginning to be maintained, in partnership with its users who understand the local hydrography and who also require precise, current data to meet their business needs.

Looking ahead, the NRC study recommends additional research to transform The National Map database into a geographic knowledgebase. This long term effort would enable knowledge discovery and analysis to, in the words of the report, go "far beyond the typical mapping portal" to "deliver enormous power to The National Map application and lead to its clear differentiation from other web-based products."