International Geospatial Digest for January 27, 2025
- Los Angeles Fires and Geospatial Communications
- WEF Launches the Executive’s Playbook on Earth Observation
- Kumbh Webapping with Esri
- Hurricanes May Have Spread Invasive Species Across Florida and Georgia
- How New NASA, India Earth Satellite NISAR Will See Earth
- Ordnance Survey: Navigating the Role of AI and Ethical Considerations in Geospatial Technology
Los Angeles Fires and Geospatial Communications
The fires across Los Angeles have caused a substantial amount of loss on several accounts. At the time of writing, the fires have killed approximately 28 people, destroyed more than 17,000 structures, and charred more than 40,000 acres. With such a high-risk natural disaster, firefighters need as much help as possible. Esri’s Scene Viewer technology was put to the test for high response times to update fire perimeters in real-time as well as in a 3D environment. “Doing that for each one of these fires … really gives the agencies a way to communicate the evacuation orders,” said Anthony Schultz, the director of wildland fire solutions at ESRI. As this was such a widely covered topic, you can read more on geospatial responses to fire mapping from the following three links:
Searchable LA fire maps show homes destroyed by the Palisades and Eaton blazes
GIS Is the Data Backbone for Agencies Battling L.A. Fires
What to know about the Los Angeles fires and California winds
WEF Launches the Executive’s Playbook on Earth Observation
Kumbh Webmapping with Esri
Kumbh is an important Hindu pilgrimage. This year is special though, Esri India has launched Webapp to enrich the experience and aid in navigation for pilgrims. “Users can mark the locations of events, programs, and other activities through the app. It also displays ArcGIS Story Maps to show important temples and other tourist places in Prayagraj”. This showcases the wide and easy access use of open source mapping for large scale events.
Visit the official webmap site here. Read the related article here and here.
Hurricanes May have Spread Invasive Species across Florida and Georgia
The U.S. Geological Survey has released data on where recent hurricanes have spread invasive plants and animals across Florida. A preliminary map identifies zones of 222 possible non-native species that have spread. The focus is not only environmental, but some invasive species pose threats to human health. The hope is to use geospatial tactics to track and contain harmful species to reduce or altogether eliminate the spread. Read more here.
How New NASA, India Earth Satellite NISAR Will See Earth
NASA’s new NISAR satellite is ready to launch this year. It utilizes a technique called “synthetic aperture radar to produce incredibly detailed maps of surface change on our planet”. NISAR can pick up details on earth of up to fractions of an inch and takes Images twice every 12 days.
The mission utilizes a technique called Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), which combines multiple measurements taken as a radar file. “It works like conventional radar, which uses microwaves to detect distant surfaces and objects, but steps up the data processing to reveal properties and characteristics at high resolution”. Read more details about the satellite, the mission, and the applications here.
Ordnance Survey: Navigating the role of AI and Ethical Considerations in Geospatial Technology
AI is advancing to the point that it will be part of day to day business use. Especially in the geospatial world, AI has the potential to expedite several processes that otherwise take a substantial amount of time to complete and at a high rate of success. The article discusses topics involving training models for complex tasks and consolidating data at a faster rate, ethics use surrounding retraining and upskilling existing staff, and risk management because of the human element and the risks involved with cyber security. Read in more detail here.