Geospatial Data and Decision Tools

Geospatial data, such as satellite remote sensing images and geographic information systems (GIS), provide innovative ways for organizations to monitor environmental projects and enforce regulatory compliance. Earthpace helps its clients to integrate these data sources into decision-making processes in a number of contexts, including emergency preparedness and response, environmental impact assessment and water resources.

Earthpace is also a leader in identifying appropriate remote sensing information for use in environmental legal applications.

Earthpace consultants also develop online-based tools to inform our clients’ decisions. Earthpace develops both online databases of key resources and scenario development tools, helping our clients share information and better understand the future affects of current decisions.

 

Earthpace has developed a number of projects using web-based decision tools, as well as remote sensing or GIS-based data. A selection of those projects follows below.

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GIS and Remote Sensing Information Briefs

Earthpace has produced and number of short information briefs relating to the legal and environmental applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and satellite remote sensing data. Those briefs include a discussion of the chain of custody of satellite data and the possibilities for errors in the creation of that data, and of the applications of satellite data to environmental and legal practice.

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Oil Spill Emergency Response Decision Information System

Through our work with the Environmental Legal Information Systems Project (ELIS), a cooperative project funded by NASA, Earthpace has gained extensive experience in understanding the capabilities of geographic information systems and Earth observation satellites to improve environmental management. For example, Earthpace developed and presented a demonstration Oil Spill Emergency Response Decision Information System as part of the US delegation to the 2nd International Symposium in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada in June 2001. The System was centered on the capability of Web-based GIS to call up and serve information from remote sources including processed satellite data, Environmental Protection Agency habitat data, and census data.