Description
Book SynopsisGIS for Science presents a collection of real-world stories about modern science and a cadre of scientists who use mapping and spatial analytics to expand their understanding of the world.
The accounts in this book are written for a broad audience including professional scientists, the swelling ranks of citizen scientists, and people generally interested in science and geography. Scientific data are brought to life with GIS technology to study a range of issues relevant to the functioning of planet Earth in a natural sense as well as the impacts of human activity. In a race against the clock, the scientists profiled in this volume are using remote sensing, web maps, Esri StoryMaps, and spatial analysis to document an array of issues with a geographic dimension that range from climate change, natural disasters, and loss of biodiversity, to political strife, polar ice loss, and resource shortages.
These stories present GIS ideas and inspiration that users can apply across many disciplines, making this volume relevant to diverse scientific audience.
See how scientists working on the world's most pressing problems apply geographic information systems—GIS.
Trade Review"This book is beautiful as well as illuminating, and it dramatizes the ways in which the new science of geospatial information is enriching and empowering all other scientific disciplines."
--James Fallows, Staff Writer at The Atlantic and former Chief Speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter
* James Fallows *
"Advances in remote sensing and geographic information systems allow us to observe, monitor, and understand the planet in unprecedented levels of detail. Data that once had to be collected through painstaking and laborious fieldwork are now available instantly, online, anywhere. This beautifully illustrated and inspiring book brings home the power of today's technology with unique effectiveness, telling and illustrating stories from the earth sciences in novel and powerful ways. A must-have book for anyone concerned about the planet's future."
--Mike Goodchild, Distinguished Emeritus Professor and Research Professor of Geography, UC Santa Barbara
* Mike Goodchild *
"As an ecologist, GIS provides the platform that allows us to generate a holistic perspective of the natural world. This spatial understanding is so critical for us to be able to understand and address the global threats of biodiversity loss and climate change. Given the relevance of this geospatial perspective for all aspects of society, I hope this beautiful book will inspire a wide range of people to embrace the 'Science of Where.' "
--Thomas Crowther, Director at Global Forest Biodiversity Initiative
* Thomas Crowther *
Table of Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- The Science of Where: A Framework and a Process
- How the Book Works
- Reflections on a Blue Marble: An Astronaut’s View
- SECTION 1: How the Earth Works
- Global Ecosystem Mapping
- GIS as a Scientific Workbench: Pacific Gyre
- What Lies Beneath: LIDAR in Geology
- The Anatomy of Super Volcanos
- Understanding Polar Ice Loss
- Predicting Seagrass Occurrence
- SECTION 2: How the Earth Looks
- Extreme Heat Events
- Mapping Human Settlement
- Finding a Way Home: An Analysis of Homelessness
- EnviroCar: Big Data Analytics
- Fighting Sea Level Rise with Artificial Reefs
- Diverse Farms, Diverse Foods
- Emerging Hotspots of Forest Loss
- Forestry Inventory Analysis
- Mapping Avian Species Migration
- SECTION 3: How we look at the Earth
- Identifying the Natural Efficient Frontier
- Lidar Tree Canopy Mapping
- Mapping Ancient Landscapes
- SECTION 4: GIS SciTech from Esri Briefs
- The US National Water Model
- Equal Earth Projection
- 3D Marine Data interpolation
- The Science of the Hex
- Machine Learning Capabilities
- World Population Estimate
- Green Infrastructure
- The Living Atlas
- Story Maps for Science
- Planetary GIS
- ArcGIS Earth
- Imagery Workbench for Science
- Polar Ice App
- Jupyter Python Notebook
- SECTION 5: Training Future Generations of Scientists
- A Glacier in Retreat
- “Panamapping:” Rainforest Conservation in Panama
- Evolution of Students’ Spatial Skills
- Next Steps: Learning GIS
