Melinda Laituri

On Line Disaster Response Community: People as Sensors of High Magnitude Disasters Using Internet GIS

The Indian Ocean tsunami (2004) and Hurricane Katrina (2005) reveal the coming of age of the on-line disaster response community. Due to the integration of key geospatial technologies (remote sensing - RS, geographic information systems - GIS, global positioning systems – GPS) and the Internet, on-line disaster response communities have grown. They include the traditional aspects of disaster preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation, and policy as facilitated by governmental agencies and relief response organizations. However, the contribution from the public via the Internet has changed significantly. The on-line disaster response community includes several key characteristics: the ability to donate money quickly and efficiently due to improved Internet security and reliable donation sites; a computer-savvy segment of the public that creates blogs, uploads pictures, and disseminates information – oftentimes faster than government agencies, and message boards to create interactive information exchange in seeking family members and identifying shelters. A critical and novel occurrence is the development of “people as sensors” - networks of government, NGOs, private companies, and the public - to build rapid response databases of the disaster area for various aspects of disaster relief and response using geospatial technologies. This paper examines these networks, their products, and their future potential.

User-friendly web mapping: lessons from a citizen science website

Citizen science websites are emerging as a common way for volunteers to collect and report geographic ecological data. Engaging the public in citizen science is challenging and, when involving online participation, data entry, and map use, becomes even more daunting. Given these new challenges, citizen science websites must be easy to use, result in positive overall satisfaction for many different users, support many different tasks, and ensure data quality. To begin reaching these goals, we built a geospatially enabled citizen science website, evaluated its usability, and gained experience by working with and listening to citizens using the website. We sought to determine general perceptions, discover potential problems, and iteratively improve website features. Although the website was rated positively overall, map-based tasks identified a wide range of problems. Given our results, we redesigned the website, improved the content, enhanced the ease of use, simplified the map interface, and added features. We discuss citizen science websites in relation to online Public Participation Geographic Information Systems, examine the role(s) websites may play in the citizen science research model, discuss how citizen science research advances GIScience, and offer guidelines to improve citizen-based web mapping applications.

The art and science of multi-scale citizen science support

Abstract Citizen science and community-based monitoring programs are increasing in number and breadth, generating volumes of scientific data. Many programs are ill-equipped to effectively manage these data. We examined the art and science of multi-scale citizen science support, focusing on issues of integration and flexibility that arise for data management when programs span multiple spatial, temporal, and social scales across many domains. Our objectives were to: (1) briefly review existing citizen science approaches and data management needs; (2) propose a framework for multi-scale citizen science support; (3) develop a cyber-infrastructure to support citizen science program needs; and (4) describe lessons learned. We find that approaches differ in scope, scale, and activities and that the proposed framework situates programs while guiding cyber-infrastructure system development. We built a cyber-infrastructure support system for citizen science programs ( www.citsci.org ) and show that carefully designed systems can be adept enough to support programs at multiple spatial and temporal scales across many domains when built with a flexible architecture. The advantage of a flexible, yet controlled, cyber-infrastructure system lies in the ability of users with different levels of permission to easily customize the features themselves, while adhering to controlled vocabularies necessary for cross-discipline comparisons and meta-analyses. Program evaluation tied to this framework and integrated into cyber-infrastructure support systems will improve our ability to track effectiveness. We compare existing systems and discuss the importance of standards for interoperability and the challenges associated with system maintenance and long-term support. We conclude by offering a vision of the future of citizen science data management and cyber-infrastructure support.

Using High-Resolution Future Climate Scenarios to Forecast Bromus tectorum Invasion in Rocky Mountain National Park

National Parks are hallmarks of ecosystem preservation in the United States. The introduction of alien invasive plant species threatens protection of these areas. Bromus tectorum L. (commonly called downy brome or cheatgrass), which is found in Rocky Mountain National Park (hereafter, the Park), Colorado, USA, has been implicated in early spring competition with native grasses, decreased soil nitrogen, altered nutrient and hydrologic regimes, and increased fire intensity. We estimated the potential distribution of B. tectorum in the Park based on occurrence records (n = 211), current and future climate, and distance to roads and trails. An ensemble of six future climate scenarios indicated the habitable area of B. tectorum may increase from approximately 5.5% currently to 20.4% of the Park by the year 2050. Using ordination methods we evaluated the climatic space occupied by B. tectorum in the Park and how this space may shift given future climate change. Modeling climate change at a small extent (1,076 km2) and at a fine spatial resolution (90 m) is a novel approach in species distribution modeling, and may provide inference for microclimates not captured in coarse-scale models. Maps from our models serve as high-resolution hypotheses that can be improved over time by land managers to set priorities for surveys and removal of invasive species such as B. tectorum.

Mapping current and potential distribution of non-native Prosopis juliflora in the Afar region of Ethiopia.

We used correlative models with species occurrence points, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) vegetation indices, and topo-climatic predictors to map the current distribution and potential habitat of invasive Prosopis juliflora in Afar, Ethiopia. Time-series of MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Indices (EVI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI) with 250 m2 spatial resolution were selected as remote sensing predictors for mapping distributions, while WorldClim bioclimatic products and generated topographic variables from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission product (SRTM) were used to predict potential infestations. We ran Maxent models using non-correlated variables and the 143 species- occurrence points. Maxent generated probability surfaces were converted into binary maps using the 10-percentile logistic threshold values. Performances of models were evaluated using area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). Our results indicate that the extent of P. juliflora invasion is approximately 3,605 km2 in the Afar region (AUC  = 0.94), while the potential habitat for future infestations is 5,024 km2 (AUC  = 0.95). Our analyses demonstrate that time-series of MODIS vegetation indices and species occurrence points can be used with Maxent modeling software to map the current distribution of P. juliflora, while topo-climatic variables are good predictors of potential habitat in Ethiopia. Our results can quantify current and future infestations, and inform management and policy decisions for containing P. juliflora. Our methods can also be replicated for managing invasive species in other East African countries.

Teaching Citizen Science Skills Online: Implications for Invasive Species Training Programs

Citizen science programs are emerging as an efficient way to increase data collection and help monitor invasive species. Effective invasive species monitoring requires rigid data quality assurances if expensive control efforts are to be guided by volunteer data. To achieve data quality, effective online training is needed to improve field skills and reach large numbers of remote sentinel volunteers critical to early detection and rapid response. The authors evaluated the effectiveness of online static and multimedia tutorials to teach citizen science volunteers (n = 54) how to identify invasive plants; establish monitoring plots; measure percent cover; and use Global Positioning System (GPS) units. Participants trained using static and multimedia tutorials provided less (p < .001) correct species identifications (63% and 67%) than did professionals (83%) across all species, but they did not differ (p = .125) between each other. However, their ability to identify conspicuous species was comparable to that of professionals. The variability in percent plant cover estimates between static (±10%) and multimedia (±13%) participants did not differ (p = .86 and .08, respectively) from those of professionals (±9%). Trained volunteers struggled with plot setup and GPS skills. Overall, the online approach used did not influence conferred field skills and abilities. Traditional or multimedia online training augmented with more rigorous, repeated, and hands-on, in-person training in specialized skills required for more difficult tasks will likely improve volunteer abilities, data quality, and overall program effectiveness.

The Formation of a Disaster Community in Cyberspace: The Role of Online News Media after the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake

A devastating earthquake struck the Gujarat region of India on 26 January 2001, killing an estimated 20,000 people. Almost immediately, online news media began publishing details of the earthquake along with pleas for donations of money and other aid. In effect, a disaster-response community had formed in cyberspace. This study explores the role of the news media in the formation of that community. It examines how the online sites of three leading English-language Indian dailies - The Times of India, The Hindu and The Hindustan Times - disseminated information about the disaster to the outside world. The study shows the media followed good professional practices in focusing on human needs and not overemphasising foreign help. The media helped in the formation of a disaster-response community based on common interests as well as a geographic location of concern. This study illustrates the important role the online news media play in bringing together people concerned about one specific issue - in this case, the tragic earthquake in Gujarat.

Exogenous and indigenous influences on sustainable management

The Resource Management Act, the cornerstone of New Zealands legislated environmental policy, reflects the mediation of internationally debated constructs of sustainable development and profoundly local meanings of living within nature. The outcome is a made-in-New Zealand approach to conceptualizing sustainable management in national environmental policy. This paper demonstrates how and why the contribution of non-New Zealanders and the first peoples of New Zealand, the Maori, to this conceptualization differ so profoundly from each other. External influences, such as the thinking of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) on defining sustainable development, have the greatest impact in the initial conceptualization of policy formulation. It is through Kingdons (1984) policy stream, rather than through his other two streams of politics and problems, that outside views weigh in most convincingly. First peoples are positioned to be influential in policy formulation through all three of Kingdons streams because of their appreciation of locality and long-term commitment to place. These factors are reflective of a philosophy and ideology which is not the bedrock of state legislation about sustainable management. Copyright

Earthquake Loss Estimation for India Based on Macroeconomic Indicators

Preliminary results from the 2001 India census indicate that the population is now 1,027,015,247 [1], making India the second most populous country in the world [2]. The United Nations projects that by the year 2050, India will be the most populated country in the world with over 1.5 billion people [2]. India has also experienced some of the most devastating earthquakes ever recorded. Examples of earthquakes within the last 100 years and numbers of fatalities and damage are listed in Table 1 [3]. To reduce deaths and economic loss from earthquakes in India, it is important to understand where areas of high population density and high seismic hazard intersect.

Multi-Temporal Independent Component Analysis and Landsat 8 for Delineating Maximum Extent of the 2013 Colorado Front Range Flood

Maximum flood extent—a key data need for disaster response and mitigation—is rarely quantified due to storm-related cloud cover and the low temporal resolution of optical sensors. While change detection approaches can circumvent these issues through the identification of inundated land and soil from post-flood imagery, their accuracy can suffer in the narrow and complex channels of increasingly developed and heterogeneous floodplains. This study explored the utility of the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA) for addressing these challenges in the unprecedented 2013 Flood along the Colorado Front Range, USA. Pre- and post-flood images were composited and transformed with an ICA to identify change classes. Flooded pixels were extracted using image segmentation, and the resulting flood layer was refined with cloud and irrigated agricultural masks derived from the ICA. Visual assessment against aerial orthophotography showed close agreement with high water marks and scoured riverbanks, and a pixel-to-pixel validation with WorldView-2 imagery captured near peak flow yielded an overall accuracy of 87% and Kappa of 0.73. Additional tests showed a twofold increase in flood class accuracy over the commonly used modified normalized water index. The approach was able to simultaneously distinguish flood-related water and soil moisture from pre-existing water bodies and other spectrally similar classes within the narrow and braided channels of the study site. This was accomplished without the use of post-processing smoothing operations, enabling the important preservation of nuanced inundation patterns. Although flooding beneath moderate and sparse riparian vegetation canopy was captured, dense vegetation cover and paved regions of the floodplain were main sources of omission error, and commission errors occurred primarily in pixels of mixed land use and along the flood edge. Nevertheless, the unsupervised nature of ICA, in conjunction with the global availability of Landsat imagery, offers a straightforward, robust, and flexible approach to flood mapping that requires no ancillary data for rapid implementation. Finally, the spatial layer of flood extent and a summary of impacts were provided for use in the region’s ongoing hydrologic research and mitigation planning.