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Application AreasBiodiversityAnthropogenic pressure on the earth’s environments has caused substantial alterations to regional biodiversity. Quantifying these losses and changes allows protective mechanisms to be developed and enforced in an attempt to preserve these genetic resources. GIS has been widely used in this field because of its integrated data collection, analysis, and reporting functionality. GIS technology has proven to be an extremely powerful tool in raising public awareness about preserving the earth's natural biodiversity. Education/ResearchGIS and other geospatial technologies have played an important role in the research of many of the late 20th and early 21st century environmental concerns (e.g., global warming). From measurements of carbon sequestration to the quantification of glacier retreat, GIS plays a role in data collection, analysis, and modeling and reporting or knowledge dissemination. ESRI actively promotes a better understanding of the environment through the use of GIS. Educational initiatives have resulted in more than 7000 schools, colleges, and universities using ESRI GIS technology. Environmental LawThe use of GIS in both the creation and enforcement of environmental legislation is increasing. One of the driving forces of this increase is the availability of satellite imagery at a resolution sufficient to highlight legislative infractions. Environmental modeling of the potential ramifications of new laws cannot be accurate without integrating other information outside the scope of environmental studies. GIS provides this integrating and modeling framework. Environmental law cases, for example pollution source prosecution, use GIS as a means to deliver evidence to legal professionals and jurors. Power GIS visualization tools can now be used to illustrate evidence in a manner previously impossible. Hazard and Risk AnalysisMitigating the effects of natural hazards and providing potential risk analysis for communities is a common application area for GIS. This subject, perhaps more than any other, demonstrates the ability of GIS to create shared resources among varying professional disciplines. Documenting known hazards, for example, geological faults or mine workings, has many applications beyond the environmental industry. Developers and insurance companies frequently use such information in their business models. It is accepted that certain areas are more prone to specific types of natural hazards, and GIS has proven itself a robust management tool post event and during preparations made prior to statistically probable events occurring. Impact AssessmentGIS improves the process for assessing the effect of change on a location's resources, natural or man-made. Using GIS gives you the ability to measure areas, calculate degrees of change, visualize changes over time, and report and share findings. Postevent assessments are important, but perhaps more critical to communities is the use of GIS to model the potential impacts that planned and unplanned events and activities will have on an area. Planning and development processes involve multiple stages before the proposed land use change can be implemented. Impact assessment is an integral part of the process when considering man-made developments. OceanologyOrganizations that work in saltwater environments know the value of dependable equipment and, therefore, choose ArcGIS for their data management and mapping needs. Modern oceanographic instruments rapidly create large amounts of location specific, temporal digital data such as radar, bathymetry, side scan, and multibeam sonar. Collection of such data is costly. Efficient data management is critical if the value of such investments is not to be reduced. Ocean data collected by a range of instruments often go through a stage of postprocessing carried out using proprietary software written by the instrument manufacturer. Importing data into ArcGIS provides the possibility for spatial analysis, integration with other data sets, 3D visualization, charting, and the distribution of map products among interested parties. Pollution ManagementPollution can be defined as the contamination of soil, water, or the atmosphere by the discharge of harmful substances. Pollution occurs over time, and this process has been successfully retarded by individuals and organizations employing GIS. GIS is used at all stages of pollution management. Before pollution has occurred, avoidance and prevention management benefits from GIS. Pollution prediction can be strengthened by assessing combinations of data, identifying potential risks, and prioritizing potential pollution scenarios. Once pollution has occurred, the planning and response can be facilitated by GIS. After the event, cleanup programs and monitoring are organized through GIS. Regulatory CompliancePrivate business and public authorities are bound by environmental legislation designed to serve the public good. To operate, such entities require the issuance of permits so operations potentially detrimental to the environment can be controlled. The idea that location is important in the granting of environmental permits is not new, but GIS technology that helps the process is. In all stages of the permit process, GIS plays a part. Online applications can be managed through Web-based GIS, analysis of whether a permit should be granted is carried out in a GIS, and creation and delivery of permits with their associated conditions can be handled by the GIS. Resource ManagementNatural resource management is a broad, multiscale, multistakeholder subject area and is, therefore, complicated. The data on which decisions are made can have limitless scope and be dynamic in the extreme. GIS can support decision makers with this seemingly bewildering mix of information by providing structure to the data and analytical capabilities and distribution mechanisms of information to all concerned parties. Site RemediationCleaning locations that are environmentally tainted through previous use or natural events are becoming more frequent as pressure for land close to population centers continues to grow. Brownfield site remediation encompasses many environmental activities. The entire process revolves around measuring different environmental parameters as they change during the cleanup process. Contaminated material is either treated insitu or transported to another location for disposal. Tracking this movement can be facilitated using GIS. Once the site remediation is complete, the data held within the GIS becomes a knowledge source for documentation used to obtain permission for redevelopment and continued monitoring of the site. Waste ManagementThere are few processes that create a useful product without a residual that is nonbeneficial. The management of such waste, whether industrial, agricultural, or domestic, must limit the potential harmful effects it may have on the environment. Waste management entails three basic operations—waste removal, waste treatment and, ultimately, waste storage. Each step has an inherent geographic aspect, best managed in a GIS. Planning waste collection along the most efficient route while still considering public opinion is a simple GIS function. Planning the location of facilities for treatment and disposal are also possible within a GIS. Data collected after storage has taken place within a GIS has subsequently been used to prepare documentation for a concerned public audience. |
