Measuring Landscape Disturbance of Gas Exploration in Allegheny and Susquehanna Counties plus 1 more

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Title: USGS Newsroom

Measuring Landscape Disturbance of Gas Exploration in Allegheny and Susquehanna Counties plus 1 more

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Measuring Landscape Disturbance of Gas Exploration in Allegheny and Susquehanna Counties

Posted: 25 Mar 2013 09:03 AM PDT

Landscape change in Pennsylvania's Allegheny and Susquehanna counties resulting from construction of well pads, new roads and pipelines for natural gas and coalbed methane exploration is being documented to help determine the potential consequences for ecosystems and wildlife, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report released today. 

USGS researchers, using geospatial data and high resolution aerial imagery from 2004-2010, documented spatially explicit patterns of disturbance, or land use, related to natural gas resource development, such as hydraulic fracturing, particularly disturbance patterns related to well pads, roads and pipeline construction. 

Spatially explicit data on the level of landscape disturbance -- which is geographic information systems data, mapped to a high degree of spatial accuracy -- is critically important to the long-term study of the potential impacts of natural gas development on human and ecological health. 

Through programs such as the National Land Cover Database, and Land Cover Trends, USGS has a long record of studying the consequences of land-use and land-cover changes. The current level of natural gas development in much of the country, and its effects on the landscape, is an important contemporary land-use/land-cover issue. 

"Large-scale landscape disturbance can have a significant impact on ecological resources and the services they provide. This study provides a quantitative look at the levels of disturbance, forest loss and other changes to land use and land cover," said Terry Slonecker, lead author of the research.

Data from this report will be used to assess the effects of disturbance and land-cover change on wildlife, water quality, invasive species and socioeconomic impacts, among other investigations.   

The study found that in Allegheny County, 647 natural gas extraction sites resulted in more than 531 hectares of disturbance, including 226 kilometers (140 miles) of new roads and 13 kilometers (8 miles) of new pipelines.  Disturbance in Allegheny County occurs mostly on the eastern side of the county with some minor activity in the northwestern corner of the county.

In Susquehanna County, 294 natural gas extraction sites resulted in more than 705 hectares of disturbance, including 55 kilometers (34 miles) of new roads and 86 kilometers (53 miles) of new pipelines.  Disturbance in Susquehanna County is concentrated in the southwestern quadrant and dispersed sparsely throughout the remainder of the county.

The study, "Landscape Consequences of Natural Gas Extraction in Allegheny and Susquehanna, Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004 to 2010," Open File Report 2013-1025, is the third of a series planned relating to natural gas landscape disturbance and is available online.

Free Topo Map Gift Wrap Available in New Store Location

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 10:45 AM PST

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Holiday shoppers can pick up free gift wrap now from the U.S. Geological Survey and California Geological Survey’s Maps and Publications Sales Office at our new location on the Menlo Park campus.

To promote the reuse of the colorful but space-consuming outdated topographic maps, the USGS-CGS maps office is giving them away for use as gift wrap. With their shades of green for forests, cities etched in red, and blue waterways, many of the maps are arrayed in holiday colors, and their large size, 24" by 30" offers a generous wrap for most holiday packages. The free maps will be available for pickup in person only, in limited quantities, through December 24th.

The CGS over-the-counter retail map sales office, and staff who operate it, have moved from the first to the second floor of Building 3 with a significantly reduced inventory of sales items. The new retail store inventory will continue to include all of CGS's products, USGS top sellers, and some maps published by other federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. The most popular USGS thematic maps and publications and all of the topographic maps for California will remain in stock. The full services of science information, expert advice, and educational services will remain unchanged.

The map sales office is open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the USGS Menlo Park Campus, 345 Middlefield Road.

For information about the CGS maps office and the products it offers, call 650-688-6327. For more information about the California Geological Survey, visit www.consrv.ca.gov/cgs.  

To ask a question or send a message to USGS call 1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747) or Email/Live Chat http://www.usgs.gov/ask/