The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) contains surface water data for the United States and provides a framework for analysis and modeling due to its extensive network and addressing system. Guiding users ranging in knowledge of the NHD, from beginner to advanced, in using NHD data and understanding fundamental principles about the dataset is a constant necessity. The NHD is improving its user resources in order to increase ease of use and also to facilitate collaboration and communication in the NHD and GIS communities. These user resources include: The new NHD Viewer, which is an instance of The National Map Viewer designed specifically for downloading and viewing hydrography data, the Feature Catalog containing information about NHD feature types, an NHD User Guide with interactive tutorials and video demos to guide users through different functionalities of the NHD, and increased communications of the NHD across GIS communities through social networking. As technology improves, data delivery and communication methods are rapidly changing. This presentation will highlight these new methods of accessing NHD information by including a demonstration of the NHD Viewer, a discussion of new learning tools available on the NHD Website, and demonstrating the use of social networking tools to increase communication and collaboration in the NHD community.

1. Improving
National Hydrography Dataset
User Resources
Kathy Isham
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey

2. 1870 2012

3. 2006 2012

4. Outline
 What is the NHD?
 Demo the NHD Viewer
 Demo the User Guide
 NHD Applications
 Collaborate using Social Media

5. The National Map and the NHD
Orthoimagery
Elevation
Geographic Names
Hydrography
Boundaries
Transportation
Structures
Land Cover

6. What is the NHD Used for?
Mapping Analysis/Modeling

7. NHD Features

8. Organized into Hydrologic Units

9. Watershed Boundary Dataset

10. Editing the NHD to keep up with change
How to maintain constantly changing features in the NHD

11. SAN FRANCISCO
CITY OF
BAY ESTUARY
NEW YORK
INSITUTE
MAINE
CALIFORNIA NEW YORK
U.S.
FOREST
SERVICE
COLORADO USGS ALABAMA
Bureau
Land
Management DEPARTMENT
UTAH ARKANSAS ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY
KANSAS
STATE
ENGINEER’S
OFFICE

12. How we are changing
 Improved NHD Viewer
 User Guide
 Increased Collaboration

13. NHD Complexity

14. Why improve user resources?
 Expand and support the NHD Community!
 Provide helpful information to our wider
audience.

15. Access the NHD – NHD Viewer
 NHD Viewer

16. Other Features and Functions
 Add NHD Service to ANY map Viewer.
 Add your own services to the NHD Viewer.
 Map Annotation.
 Save and Send a map.

17. Provide User Support
 Appeal to different learning styles
 Video Demos
 Interactive Tutorials

18. Access to User Help

19. User Guide
Search
Capability
Collapsible
Layers of
information

20. Increase Collaboration through
Social Networking
 Web 2.0
 Wide audience
 Share news and information

21. The power of social networking
 “We have the technology, finally, that
for the first time in human history
allows people to really maintain rich
connections with much larger
numbers of people.” Pierre Omidyar, Ebay founder.

22. Facebook
 Facebook Community – 32,939

23. Youtube

24. Twitter -681 followers
 Tweets
 Followers
 Retweets
 Hashtags

25. How the NHD does it
Follower “G” Follower “D”
Retweets Retweets Follower “C”
Retweets
Follower “F”
Follower “H” Retweets
Retweets
Follower “B”
Retweets
Follower “E”
Retweets Follower “A”
Retweets
NHD TWEETS: “NHD Update Tools and
Model 2.1 released!”

26. Result – 681 Followers

27. “Activate your fans, don’t just collect
them like baseball cards.”
~ Jay Baer, Convince & Convert

28. Discussion

29. NHD Mentions Training with Jeff Simley! WOHOO!
AWRA Information!
Chutlina River, Alaska

30. Who NHD Followers are
NHD Expert Community
???.....
Other??
NHD Experts
Our GIS Community
GIS Community
Our Hydro Community
NHD/Water Resources
Community

31. Where do Tweets appear?
 Twitter
 On the NHD Homepage

32. NHD Applications – Involving the
Community

33. Where NHD is headed in the future
 Updated User Support Pages
 Increase video library
 Interactive Tutorials

34. Feature Catalog
 More attribute information and examples

35. Social Networking
 Blog
 Continued expansion of Twitter

36. Additional Information
 Nhd.usgs.gov
Kathy Isham
krisham@usgs.gov
Follow us on Twitter @USGSNHD and Like us
on Facebook!