Date updated: 2018-08-30
Geoscience in Your State
Compiled by the AGI Geoscience Policy program, July 2018

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By the numbers: Colorado

• 16,763 geoscience employees (excludes self-employed)¹
• 1.53 billion gallons/day: total groundwater withdrawal³
• $1.68 billion: value of nonfuel mineral production in 2017⁴
• 80 total disaster declarations, including 57 fire, 13 flood, and 3 snow disasters (1953-2017)⁶
• $178 million: NSF GEO grants awarded in 2017¹⁴

What is Geoscience?

Geoscience is the study of the Earth and the complex geologic, marine, atmospheric, and hydrologic processes that sustain life and the economy. Understanding the Earth’s surface and subsurface, its resources, history, and hazards allows us to develop solutions to critical economic, environmental, health, and safety challenges.

Your State Source for Geoscience Information

Workforce in Colorado

• 16,763 geoscience employees (excludes self-employed) in 2017¹
• $89,986: average median geoscience employee salary¹
• 18 academic geoscience departments²

Water Use in Colorado

• 1.53 billion gallons/day: total groundwater withdrawal³
• 8.8 billion gallons/day: total surface water withdrawal³
• 844 million gallons/day: public supply water withdrawal³
• 9 billion gallons/day: water withdrawal for irrigation³
• 84 million gallons/day: self-supplied industrial fresh water withdrawal³
• 95% of the population is served by public water supplies³

Energy and Minerals in Colorado

• $1.68 billion: value of nonfuel mineral production in 2017⁴
• Gold, cement (portland), sand and gravel (construction): top three nonfuel minerals in order of value produced in 2017⁴
• 12.6 million short tons: coal produced in 2016⁵
• 1.69 trillion cubic feet: natural gas produced in 2017⁵
• 128 million barrels: crude oil produced in 2017⁵
• 9.57 million megawatt hours: wind produced in 2017⁵

Natural Hazards in Colorado

• 80 total disaster declarations, including 57 fire, 13 flood, and 3 snow disasters (1953-2017)⁶
• $62 million: individual assistance grants (2005-2017)6 • $195 million: mitigation grants (2005-2017)⁶
• $260 million: preparedness grants (2005-2017)6 • $408 million: public assistance grants (2005-2017)⁶
• 41 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
• $3.63 million: Colorado STATEMAP funding (1993-2016)⁹
• 4 Colorado universities, including Colorado School of Mines and Colorado State University, have participated in EDMAP⁹
• USGS streamgages collect real-time or recent streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality data throughout Colorado

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 Colorado
• Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite measures soil moisture in Colorado

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 Colorado
• Deep Space Climate Observatory (DISCOVR) satellite monitors radiation and air quality over Colorado
• 22 National Weather Service Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) stations in Colorado¹²
• 278 National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) sites in Colorado¹²

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
• 188 NSF GEO awards in Colorado totaling $178 million in 2017¹⁴
• $20.8 million: NSF GEO grants awarded to University of Colorado at Boulder in 2017¹⁴

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• $8.1 billion: total EPA budget in FY 2018 (0% change from FY 2017)¹⁵
• 20 active Superfund sites in Colorado in 2018¹⁶
• $14.3 million: Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) grants in Colorado in 2017¹⁷
• $280,500: Brownfield cleanup grants awarded to Colorado in 2018¹⁸

Federal Facilities in Colorado

• USGS Denver Library
• USGS Central Energy Resources Science Center, Denver
• NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder
• NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder
• DOE National Renewable Energy Lab, Golden

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
18. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Brownfields Grant Fact Sheet Search