27 Jan, 2021
By AIPG-TX News

Geoscience in Texas

By the numbers: Texas

  • 54,266 geoscience employees (excludes self-employed)1
  • 7.2 billion gallons/day: total groundwater withdrawal3
  • $5.22 billion: value of nonfuel mineral production in 20174
  • 254 total disaster declarations, including 154 fire, 36 flood, and 20 hurricane disasters (1953-2017)⁶
  • $70.2 million: NSF GEO grants awarded in 201714

Your State Source for Geoscience Information

Texas Bureau of Economic Geology

The University of Texas at Austin
University Station, Box X
Austin, TX 78713-8924
512-471-1534

Workforce in Texas

  • 54,266 geoscience employees (excludes self-employed) in 20171
  • $107,652: average median geoscience employee salary1
  • 39 academic geoscience departments2

Water Use in Texas

  • 7.2 billion gallons/day: total groundwater withdrawal3
  • 14.1 billion gallons/day: total surface water withdrawal3
  • 2.89 billion gallons/day: public supply water withdrawal3
  • 5.49 billion gallons/day: water withdrawal for irrigation3
  • 323 million gallons/day: industrial fresh water withdrawal3
  • 95% of the population is served by public water supplies3

Energy and Minerals in Texas

  • $5.22 billion: value of nonfuel mineral production in 20174
  • Stone (crushed), cement (Portland), sand and gravel (construction): top three nonfuel minerals in order of value produced in 20174
  • 39 million short tons: coal produced in 20165
  • 6.83 trillion cubic feet: natural gas produced in 20175
  • 1.28 billion barrels: crude oil produced in 20175
  • 67.1 million megawatt hours: wind produced in 20175

Natural Hazards in Texas

  • 254 total disaster declarations, including 154 fire, 36 flood, and 20 hurricane disasters (1953-2017)6
  • $1.47 billion: individual assistance grants (2005-2017)6
  • $1.66 billion: mitigation grants (2005-2017)6
  • $1.95 billion: preparedness grants (2005-2017)6
  • $3.73 billion: public assistance grants (2005-2017)⁶
  • 99 weather and/or climate events, each with costs exceeding $1 billion (inflation adjusted) (1980-2017)7

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

  • $1.15 billion: total USGS budget in FY 2018 (5.8% increase from FY 2017)8
  • The National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program funds geologic mapping projects with federal (FEDMAP), state (STATEMAP), and university (EDMAP) partners
  • $2.62 million: Texas STATEMAP funding (1993-2016)9
  • 4 Texas universities, including University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University, have participated in EDMAP9
  • USGS streamgages collect real-time or recent streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality data throughout Texas

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

  • $20.7 billion: total NASA budget in FY 2018 (5.5% increase from FY 2017)10
  • $1.9 billion: total NASA Earth Science budget in FY 2018 (0% change from FY 2017)10
  • Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites measure groundwater changes in Texas
  • Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite measures soil moisture in Texas

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

  • $5.9 billion: total NOAA budget in FY 2018 (4.1% increase from FY 2017)11
  • Next-generation geostationary (GOES) and polar orbiting (JPSS) satellites provide weather forecasting over Texas
  • Deep Space Climate Observatory (DISCOVR) satellite monitors radiation and air quality over Texas
  • 71 National Weather Service Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) stations in Texas12
  • 634 National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) sites in Texas12

National Science Foundation (NSF)

  • $7.8 billion: total NSF budget in FY 2018 (4% increase from FY 2017)13
  • $1.4 billion: total NSF Geosciences Directorate (GEO) awards in FY 2017 (7.2% increase from FY 2016)14
  • 133 NSF GEO awards in Texas totaling $70.2 million in 201714
  • $9.7 million: NSF GEO grants awarded to the University of Texas at Austin in 201714

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

  • $8.1 billion: total EPA budget in FY 2018 (0% change from FY 2017)15
  • 55 active Superfund sites in Texas in 201816
  • $59.6 million: Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) grants in Texas in 201717

Federal Facilities in Texas

  • USGS Texas Water Science Center, Austin
  • NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences, El Paso
  • NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston
  • USDA ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland

References

1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2017
2. American Geosciences Institute, Directory of Geoscience Departments, 53rd Edition (2018)
3. U.S. Geological Survey, Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2015
4. U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2018
5. U.S. Energy Information Administration
6. FEMA Data Visualization: Summary of Disaster Declarations and Grants (accessed May 2, 2018)
7. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters from 1980 to 2018 (accessed April 6, 2018)
8. U.S. Department of the Interior, FY 2019 Budet in Brief
9. U.S. Geological Survey, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program
10. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, FY 2019 Budget Estimates
11. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, FY 2019 Bluebook
12. NOAA In Your State and Territory
13. U.S. House of Representatives, FY 2018 Omnibus Spending Bill (Division B) – Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018
14. National Science Foundation, Budget Information System
15. U.S. House of Representatives, FY 2018 Omnibus Spending Bill (Division G) – Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018
16. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Superfund Sites
17. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund National Information Management System Reports