Highlights for August 25, 2000
USGS Center for Biological Informatics

I. Key Department News:

• NIFC Funds USGS Fire Fuel Characteristics Study. Through its Joint Fire Science Program, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) has funded a three-year project, "The use of Landsat 7 (ETM+) and AVIRIS data to map fuel characteristic classes in Western ecosystems." The study will be undertaken by the USGS Western Ecological Research Center, the USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, and the USGS Center for Biological Informatics. USGS scientists will develop a method for deriving fuel characteristics class maps from satellite imagery, AVIRIS hyperspectral data, and field plots for forest, shrub, and grass fuels. A separate subset of plot data will then be used to test and validate the fuel maps. Study sites include Yosemite National Park, Glacier National Park, Great Basin National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Resource management specialists or fire management officers from each park will participate as study partners. For more information on NIFC and the Joint Fire Science Program, visit <http://www.nifc.gov>. (Ralph Root, Denver, 303-202-4232)

• USGS--SAS Data Warehousing Prototype. A project begun nearly a year ago by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics (CBI) and the SAS Corporation has resulted in implementation of a prototype data warehousing system. Three Biological Resources Web sites were selected for the application—the Science Information System (SIS), BRD Publications, and the NBII Metadata Clearinghouse. These sites are stand-alone systems whose content could be usefully related through a distributed, Web-interfaced data warehousing environment. Queries will result in information from all three sources without any redesign of the existing systems. The prototype has been placed on a Web site served by CBI; at present, access is limited to the SIS management team for critique. Although upcoming selection of common administrative systems for the USGS may preclude full-scale development of the prototype configuration, the proof of concept and its utility may be transferable to future efforts. (Susan Fayad, Denver, 303-202-4224)

II. Agency Works on Presidential Initiatives: No report.

III. Notable Congressional Activity: No report.

IV. Press/Media Inquiries: No report.

V. FOIA Requests: No report.