Converting USGS Topographic Maps from GeoPDFs to GeoTIFFs Using Global Mapper and ArcGIS

50 Pages·2015·2.25 MB·English

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Natural Resource Stewardship and Science
Creating Useful Products from USGS Topographic
Maps
GIS workflows developed in response to Hurricane Sandy data
processing needs
Natural Resource Report NPS/NCBN/NRR—2015/958
ON THE COVER
Seamless mosaic of topographic maps covering Gateway National Recreation Area
Photographs by: Original topographic maps by the USGS; mosaicked items featured here, processed by Erica Tefft,
Environmental Data Center at the University of Rhode Island.
Creating Useful Products from USGS Topographic
Maps
GIS workflows developed in response to Hurricane Sandy
data processing needs
Natural Resource Report NPS/NCBN/NRR—2015/958

Erica Tefft

Research Associate
Environmental Data Center
University of Rhode Island
1 Greenhouse Rd.
Kingston, RI 02881
[phone]
[email protected]
May 2015

U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Natural Resource Stewardship and Science
Fort Collins, Colorado
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Please cite this publication as:
Tefft, E. 2015. Creating useful products from USGS topographic maps: GIS workflows developed in
response to Hurricane Sandy data processing needs. Natural Resource Report NPS/NCBN/NRR—
2015/958. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado.

NPS 962/128530, May 2015
ii
Contents
Page
Figures.................................................................................................................................................... v
Appendices ............................................................................................................................................. v
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................ vii
Important Note ...................................................................................................................................... ix
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................. xi
Glossary ................................................................................................................................................ xi
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1
Downloading Collarless Topographic Maps from the USDA Geospatial Data Gateway ..................... 3
Downloading USGS Topographic Maps From the National Map Viewer ............................................ 7
Converting USGS Topographic Maps from GeoPDFs to GeoTIFFs Using Global Mapper
and ArcGIS .......................................................................................................................................... 11
Converting USGS Topographic maps from GeoPDFs to JPEG2000s Using Global
Mapper and ArcGIS ............................................................................................................................. 19
iii

Figures
Page
Figure 1. Screen capture of the National Map Viewer, where current USGS Topographic
Maps can be downloaded ....................................................................................................................... 7
Figure 2. Screen capture of a USGS GeoPDF Topographic Map downloaded from the
National Map Viewer for the Berlin, Maryland quadrangle. ............................................................... 11
Figure 3. Screen capture of the script used in this procedure to convert GeoPDF to JP2 in
the Global Mapper environment. ......................................................................................................... 19

Appendices
Page
Appendix A: Converting GeoPDFs with GDAL ................................................................................. 28

v

Abstract
US Topo topographic maps produced by the National Geospatial Program of the USGS are useful as
both a data source and as a basemap. US Topos are originally distributed in GeoPDF format and do
not provide the needed functionality to GIS analysts actively preparing for, or responding to a natural
disaster, such as a coastal storm. These workflows focus on how these US Topo GeoPDFs can be
converted into more useful formats. The first two workflows detail how to download US Topos from
two online sources, the USDA Geospatial Data Gateway and The National Map Viewer. The USDA
Geospatial Data Gateway provides pre-processed collarless topographic maps in MrSid format for
download, while The National Map provides collared GeoPDF topographic maps. The next two
workflows instruct users on a technique for creating collared and collarless GeoTIFF and JPEG2000
versions of GeoPDFs. Both of these two final workflows use Blue Marble Global Mapper and Esri
ArcGIS Desktop software. To accommodate users who do not have access to Global Mapper, an
appendix walks users through an alternative approach to converting GeoPDF-formatted files to
GeoTIFFs using Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL) software. These workflows provide
users with not only detailed instructions, but also include annotated images for each step along the
way.
vii