GeoSTAC GEOSpatial Tools and ACcess Project Rollout and Demonstration

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GeoSTAC -GEOSpatial Tools and ACcess Project
Rolloutand Demonstration

• Pat Havens, PhD
• Research Leader, Dow AgroSciences
• on behalf of the
• CLA Environmental Exposure Modeling Workgroup
• 16 August 2006

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Where can Geospatial information have a role in
risk assessment?
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What are some barriers to the use of geospatial
information?

• Geospatial data
• There are many potential sources for the data
• quality, documentation, currentness can vary
  widely
• Many data sources are used again and again
• requires locating, certifying, documenting every
  time
• Geospatial analysis tasks
• Many ways to do the same thing
• Significant effort often required for even
  routine analyses (esp. for non-expert users)
• Documentation every time
• Standard methods also reduce errors!
• ?Need for standardized data, methodology and
  tools so industry and regulators are working from
  a common basis

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A Way Forward GeoSTAC

• Geospatial data
• Compile standard datasets in a ESRI standard
  format
• Rigorously document source and quality with
  complete FGDC metadata
• A single citable source
• Geospatial analysis tasks
• Understandable tools built with standard
  technology
• allows 2nd tier, non-expert users to perform
  GIS tasks
• allows increased efficiency for expert users
• Freely distributable and source code available
• Ongoing updates and improvements

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Issues for adoption

• Accessibility
• Public access via geostac.org
• All data downloadable
• Compiled tools downloadable
• Tool code available
• freely to CLA members and Federal people
• others with CLA approval (process in place)
• Review QC soliciting your ideas
• Most of the data is Federal (data details below)
• All data has complete metadata
• Possible review by federal agencies?
• approval process?
• Support and ongoing maintenance
• CLA/EPA user support free through 2007
• others, by arrangement with SEI/TAMU

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Adoption

• Industry is already adopting
• Advantages in consistency, traceability (and
  resource savings)
• Quality improvement in submissions
• Can EPA/USDA benefit too?
• Rollout to EMWG in October
• Other mechanisms?

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System requirements

• Windows XP Professional with SP1
• ESRI ArcGIS 9.1 with Service Pack 1
• ESRI ArcGIS Spatial Analyst Extension (for raster
  layers)
• system to run these faster more memory the
  better!
• 70MB disk space (tools)
• 7.5 GB disk space (minimal data)
• 55 GB disk space (full data)
• For tool programming Visual Studio .NET 2003
  (VB.NET)

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www.geostac.org now live!
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Data structure

• Vector data in ESRI Personal Geodatabase (gdb)
  format
• Raster data in ESRI Grid format
• All spatial in same projection (Albers Conical
  Equal Area, NAD83)
• Tabular in gdb tables

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Admin and Infrastructure

• Standard Federal layers, National Atlas (USGS)
• AgCensus Crop Reporting Districts (USDA)

• Federal Lands and Wilderness Areas

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Natural Resource Boundaries

• EcoRegions USFS Baileys ecoregions
• LRR USDA NRCS Land Resource Regions
• MLRA USDA NRCS Major Land Resources Regions

• USGS NAWQA cycle 1(91-01) and cycle 2
  (01-12) study units

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• USGS gauge locations from NWIS, September 2005

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• NRI 1997 NRCS National Resources Inventory
• statistical survey of land resources
• exact points not available, but contain county,
  MLRA and 8-digit HUC
• Boundaries formed by intersection of these three
• Extensive tabular database
• soils
• crop history
• wetlands
• wind erosion factors

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Hydrology

• HUCS USGS river basis
• 8-digit Nationwide
• 12-14 digit 29 states
• 303(d) list EPA CWA 303(d) impaired waters for
  TMDLs
• linkable to EPA TMDL tracking system
• based on NHD reaches (lines/polys)
• points can be discharges, TMDLs, etc

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More hydrology

• National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) USGS/EPA
  medium resolution nationwide (as of 11-2005)
• In Arc-Hydro data model (connectivity, network
  tools)
• Note that NHD-Plus is the next generation

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more hydrology

• EPA ERF1 v. 2 watersheds
• PWG analyses of proximity of water to
  agriculture, corn and cotton
• submitted previously
• NHD (4 types)
• NLCD ag land
• NASS cropping
• 4 buffer widths
• ? of land in ag (or crop) within certain
  distance

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Soils and Weather

• Soils NRCS STATSGO
• tabular database linked in
• NOAA SAMSON points (from CEAM)
• Representative weather stations
• SAMSON polygon
• processed as overlay of MLRA and nearest SAMSON
  point
• similar lookup with STATSGO from MUID

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Raster data

• NLCD National Land Cover Database USGS/EPA
• 30-meter (from LandSat Thematic Mapper)
• 1992 version
• by state and nationally for each class
• NASS Cropland Data Layer (CDL) (2004)
• 30-meter truthing with field observations
• 9 States, 50 crops IDed

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More raster

• Monthly Precipitation estimates with PRISM
  (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent
  Slopes Model) Oregon State Univ.
• USGS Hydrologic landscape regions (HLRUS)
• Penn State Univ. layer-weighted soils data (from
  STATSGO)
• raster version of a few of the vector layers

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additional Tabular linked (or linkable) with
spatial layers

• 97 and 02 Census of Agriculture NASS all
  tables
• National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy
  (NCFAP) Pesticide Use in U.S. Crop Production
  1997 state level

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Tool details

• Programmed in Visual Basic .NET
• Table join tool
• allows joins of tables to geospatial layers
• automates a routine task
• does some error checking (type mismatches)
• Feature and Attribute Extraction tool
• Complex query tool, with multiple input layers
• Data Aggregation and Summary tool
• Aggregate and summarize feature or raster
  datasets over a spatial dataset that represents a
  different set of features
• Examples below in relation to risk assessment
  applications

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Application of GeoSTAC Tools and Data to Risk
Assessment

• Scenario Wheat/Barley fungicide CmpdX
• Aerial/ground applications WA
• aquatic tox concern for endangered salmonids
• Problem Formulation
• Source/exposure characteristics
• Ecosystem at risk
• Analysis
• Risk Characterization communication

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Source and Exposure Characteristics

• Ag Census Data
• Feature and Extraction Tool
• Refine with company sales data
• Join Tool

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Wheat counties in WA

• Is this the actual use areas?

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We have some sales data
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Refined use area
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Ecosystems at risk

• Steelhead ESU

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Intersect sales w/ ESU refined ecosystem at risk

• How much relative potential exposure?
• Summary and Aggregation Tool

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further refine for potential HUCs at Risk
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New Layer Metadata

• Tools produce processing inputs for submission
  documentation
• Abstract
• Geographic Extent State   WASHINGTON
• Aggregation Type Summarize Vector Attributes by
  Features in Same Layer
•  
• Attribute Layer Info
• Attribute Layer cmdx_sales_Intersect
• Attribute Fields CMPX_SALES
• Aggregation Field HUC
• Attribute Zone Field
•  
• Statistics Info
• AreaWeighted Mean,

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Analysis of Potential Exposure

• What is mode of transport?
• Spray drift potential setback 60 m
• Ag Margin analysis by ERF1.2 watersheds
• Intersect _at_ gt 12K lb

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Exposure analysis and risk communication

• Proportion of land classified as Ag land use
  within 60 m of small flowing streams (likely
  spawning areas)
• Risk mgt. decision on acceptable levels at local
  scales

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Next steps

• Improvements to tools usability and functionality
  in progress
• Additional data sets are being incorporated
• Ongoing data updates tool maintenance
• data refresh annually
• tool updates as developed validated (current
  version 1.0)
• Full data drive available
• We have capacity to incorporate EPA/USDA
  comments/requests
• How can we make this happen?

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Contributors

• geostac.org hosted by Texas AM Spatial Sciences
  Laboratory
• Website built by TAMU/SSL and Stone
  Environmental, Inc.
• Data compilation by Waterborne Environmental,
  Inc.
• Tool programming by SEI
• Pyrethroid Working Group contributed water
  proximity results (previously submitted)
• Funding through CLA Ecological Risk Assessment
  Committee and managed by Environmental Exposure
  Working Group subcommittee

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Thanks and Questions