Delve into geographic information system technology to improve understanding and preparation for climate disasters.
Climate change is a global challenge affecting us all in some way, from devastating hurricanes, extreme heat, and coastal flooding to sea level rise. As these events become more frequent and intense, taking action to mitigate and adapt to climate change is crucial to protecting ourselves and future generations. Geographic information system (GIS) technology forges a path to better understanding the earth’s systems to build resilience in the face of disastrous events resulting from climate change.
Powerful GIS software ArcGIS offers invaluable tools and capabilities to enhance our understanding of climate change challenges. By analyzing, visualizing, and integrating various geospatial data, ArcGIS empowers researchers, policymakers, and communities with an increased sense of earth processes, which is needed to make informed decisions and develop effective strategies for resilience.
Bridge the gap between local and regional mapping scales
Climate change exacerbates extreme weather events, making understanding the links between global climate patterns and local weather phenomena essential. ArcGIS empowers decision-makers and emergency management professionals with spatial analysis capabilities, helping them to accurately assess hurricane risks, plan response strategies, and enhance community resilience.
GIS technology also helps bridge the gap between high-level storm surge models and understanding local impacts. ArcGIS enables the integration of climate models and historical weather data at all scales to facilitate the analysis of long-term trends and patterns. By visualizing climate change impacts at various scales, researchers can identify vulnerable areas, assess the magnitude of potential risks, and develop adaptation strategies to minimize the adverse effects of extreme weather events on communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure. Leveraging refined local maps in a unified view enhances situational awareness, supports decision-making processes, and promotes effective stakeholder communication and collaboration.
A data-driven approach to tackle extreme heat
Extreme heat is a top summertime killer, particularly for older people. The emergence of urban heat islands in cities has become a pressing concern. These heat islands are localized areas in urban environments that experience significantly higher temperatures than their surrounding rural areas. They result from various factors, including reduced vegetation cover, more impervious surfaces, and high energy consumption. These factors contribute to elevated temperatures, reduced air quality, and environmental and health concerns.
With climate change expected to exacerbate heat islands and health threats in Los Angeles, California, leaders, community groups, and educators are teaming up to address urban tree cover. Planting more trees can help lower pollution, temperatures, stress levels, and energy bills for residents. Sustainable urban planning and green infrastructure also play a role in addressing extreme heat events.
The city launched an online location to bring all the city’s data together to foster collaboration and better decision-making. It was dubbed the LA GeoHub and was built with ArcGIS Hub technology – a platform that facilitates community engagement around data and initiatives. One initiative was to increase urban tree canopies, especially in communities with minimal tree cover, to reduce the effects of urban heat islands. The hub provided an easy way to use centralized city data, maps, land cover, demographics and robust analytical tools to understand the relationship between tree canopies and extreme heat. Visualization tools and tree cover suitability maps paved the way to plan where to plant the trees for maximum benefit. Increasing tree canopies in cities subject to extreme heat conditions is a positive step toward reducing their effect.
The LA GeoHub provides a platform for community engagement and collaboration. Through interactive maps and public participation tools, residents can contribute to tree-planting initiatives by suggesting potential locations and giving feedback. This participatory approach fosters a sense of ownership and encourages community involvement, leading to more successful and sustainable tree-planting projects.
Wildfire risk assessment and resilience planning
GIS is crucial in wildfire management, providing decision-makers, emergency responders, and communities with accurate, real-time spatial information. During a wildfire incident, GIS aids in emergency response coordination and resource allocation.
ArcGIS enables the identification of vulnerable areas and critical assets, enhancing situational awareness. Real-time GIS data helps incident commanders track the location of fire crews, aircraft, and equipment on the ground. By analyzing these spatial relationships, decision-makers can recommend evacuation zones, emergency response planning, and resource allocation during extreme weather events.
This information facilitates the effective deployment of resources, improves situational awareness, and minimizes response time. GIS can also assist in coordinating evacuation routes, identifying safe zones, and managing shelter locations.
The role of digital twins in flood forecasting and mitigation
Digital twins are revolutionizing flood forecasting and mitigation by providing a virtual 3D representation of the complex earth dynamics associated with floods. They offer the geospatial framework to integrate real-time data, simulate what-if scenarios that increase understanding of earth systems, and optimize flood management strategies. By incorporating real-time data from various sources, including sensors, satellites, and weather forecasts, digital twins provide a detailed and dynamic representation of the physical system.
With the ability to easily combine historical data, real-time observations, and modeling techniques, digital twins can forecast flood events, simulate various scenarios, and assess their impact on the system, enabling more accurate flood occurrence, severity, and timing predictions. With ArcGIS, a digital twin stores and displays disparate data sets that share locational components, paving the way for creating interactive and collaborative 3D models that help understand the effects of climate change on landscapes and oceanscapes.
Understanding earth systems sets us up for tomorrow’s success
As we grapple with the consequences of climate change, ArcGIS plays an indispensable role in building a more resilient and sustainable future. GIS becomes a repository of earth system processes and a way to query, model, and understand these processes to help us develop climate mitigation strategies and restore balance. By implementing risk and mitigation strategies at an individual and collective level, we can effectively address climate change and create a more sustainable future for generations.
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This article was originally published by Dr. Lorraine Tighe, Director of Earth Sciences Solutions at Esri, in the Meteorological Technology International September 2023 Issue.
