{"id":760,"date":"2018-02-26T09:52:49","date_gmt":"2018-02-26T17:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cgia.org\/cagiscouncil\/?p=760"},"modified":"2018-02-26T09:52:49","modified_gmt":"2018-02-26T17:52:49","slug":"the-usgs-citizen-science-project-the-national-map-corps-has-reached-another-major-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cgia.org\/cagiscouncil\/2018\/02\/26\/the-usgs-citizen-science-project-the-national-map-corps-has-reached-another-major-milestone\/","title":{"rendered":"The USGS citizen science project, The National Map Corps, has reached another major milestone"},"content":{"rendered":"

FYI, and by the way we have a new map challenge–courthouses! Updates made now will appear in our new edition of US Topo for California, which are going into production shortly.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0National Map Corps<\/a>\u00a0is a citizen science effort which uses crowd-sourcing techniques to collect structures data for\u00a0The National Map<\/a>and\u00a0US Topo maps<\/a>. Using a\u00a0web-based mapping application<\/a>, volunteer map editors provide accurate spatial data for the\u00a0National Geospatial Program<\/a>\u00a0(NGP) by confirming or updating structures data points using authoritative sources or personal knowledge.<\/p>\n

\n
\"The<\/a><\/div>\n
In less than a year-and-a-half after having reached\u00a0<\/strong>200,000 “points”<\/strong><\/a>, TNMCorps volunteers have collected an additional 100,000+ points to support\u00a0<\/strong>The National Map<\/strong><\/a>, pushing the total of submitted points past 300,000.<\/strong>(Public domain.)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Each\u00a0point that is verified and updated by TNMCorps volunteers represents a\u00a0structure or manmade feature<\/a>\u00a0on a map such as a school, cemetery, hospital, post office, police station and other important public buildings. That data then becomes part of The National Map\u00a0structures dataset<\/a>, which is available for download free of charge.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Special<\/a><\/div>\n
Special edition TNMCorps patch issued to volunteers who contributed at least 2,016 points during International Map Year.<\/strong>(Public domain.)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To increase participation, functionality, and enhanced user experience,\u00a0The National Map Corps<\/a>\u00a0launched a\u00a0new and improved web mapping application<\/a>in the fall of 2016. The new editor features an improved user interface, search capabilities, and background transparencies. Most importantly, the new platform increases the speed with which the data becomes available to the public through\u00a0The National Map<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0US Topo maps<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Also in 2016, TNMCorps facilitated a\u00a0special challenge<\/a>\u00a0to celebrate\u00a0International Map Year<\/a>. During the course of the challenge, which began on GIS Day (November 18) 2015 and ended on December 31, 2016, volunteers were encouraged to edit 2,016 or more points. The\u00a017 volunteers<\/a>\u00a0who met or exceeded that\u00a0lofty goal<\/a>\u00a0were given a limited edition embroidered cloth patch to commemorate their participation in the challenge.<\/p>\n

To show each citizen scientist ongoing appreciation for their hard work outside of the occasional special challenge, TNMCorps has established a\u00a0recognition program<\/a>\u00a0that awards\u00a0\u201cvirtual” badges<\/a>\u00a0to volunteers. Each unique point edited or confirmed is worth one point towards the\u00a0badge level<\/a>. Additionally, volunteers are\u00a0publically acknowledged<\/a>\u00a0(with permission) via\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you’ve been inspired to see for yourself what all the excitement is about, then\u00a0you too can join<\/a>\u00a0the hundreds of citizen scientists who are providing accurate mapping information to the public through\u00a0The National Map<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0US Topo maps<\/a>. All you need is access to the Internet, a little bit of time, and a willingness to learn.<\/p>\n

To begin participation, go to the\u00a0online map editor<\/a>, where you\u2019ll find links to the\u00a0User Guide<\/a>, the TNMCorps\u00a0Q&A page<\/a>, bi monthly\u00a0newsletters<\/a>, and much more. See you on the map!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FYI, and by the way we have a new map challenge–courthouses! Updates made now will appear in our new edition of US Topo for California, which are going into production shortly. The\u00a0National Map Corps\u00a0is a citizen science effort which uses…
Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cgia.org\/cagiscouncil\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cgia.org\/cagiscouncil\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cgia.org\/cagiscouncil\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cgia.org\/cagiscouncil\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cgia.org\/cagiscouncil\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=760"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cgia.org\/cagiscouncil\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":761,"href":"https:\/\/cgia.org\/cagiscouncil\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760\/revisions\/761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cgia.org\/cagiscouncil\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cgia.org\/cagiscouncil\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cgia.org\/cagiscouncil\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}