DISCOVER US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GLOBAL FIDUCIALS DATA – HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGERY FOR GEOSPATIAL RESEARCH, OBSERVING EARTH PROCESSES, OUTREACH, AND EDUCATION

The existence of US Geological Survey (USGS) Global Fiducials data is an unintended, well-kept secret. The purpose of this presentation is to attempt to overcome this secrecy by providing a thorough introduction to Global Fiducials data, its characteristics, its history, and its availability. Since the mid-1990s, more than 500 locations, each termed a 'Fiducial Site', have been systematically and repeatedly imaged with U.S. National Imagery Systems (USNIS) space-based electro-optical (EO) sensors. Each location was selected for long-term monitoring based on its history, susceptibilities, and environmental values. Monitoring dynamic Earth surface change and developing a comprehensive understanding of sensitive areas of our planet are fundamental goals of the Fiducial Site investigation strategy.

Since 2008, imagery from more than a quarter of the Fiducial Sites has been made publicly available. More than 5,000 images, each with 1.0-1.3 m resolution, have been released for unrestricted use. The ~150 time-series, some spanning more than 20 years, focus on wildland fire recovery, Arctic sea ice change, Antarctic habitats, temperate glacier behavior, mid-continent wetland dynamics, eroding barrier islands, coastline evolution, Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites, resource management, natural disaster response, global change studies, ecosystem monitoring, and other topics.

Orthorectified Fiducials images are provided in a GeoTIFF format with supporting metadata. They can be freely downloaded from the USGS EarthExplorer website: https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov and from the USGS Global Fiducials Library website: https://gfl.usgs.gov. The data may be used without restrictions. Currently, access to imagery and related investigations are facilitated by the USGS-led Civil Applications Committee (CAC). The Global Fiducials Program was developed during the early days of the Clinton Administration and initially overseen by the Central Intelligence Agency.