The Role of Geographic Information Systems in Climatology:
The Role of Geographic Information Systems in Climatology: Literature Review
Introduction
Climate change is a problem that is affecting people and the environment in the modern world. The average weather conditions are changing and the intensity of extreme weather events is becoming greater. It remains to be seen if this is a natural progression of the earth over time or if humans are exacerbating it, but it is clear that there is a change occurring in today’s weather patterns. The purpose of this literature review is to look at current studies in climatology and the role that Geographic Information Systems (GIS) plays in helping to visualize the effects weather is having on the Earth.
Climatology and GIS
Climatology and GIS separately are broad fields covering many topics that vary in scope. To receive an overview of climatology and GIS used in conjunction with each other, the article that will be first discussed examines the use of GIS in the field of climatology and meteorology. The study breaks down climatology and meteorology into the subfields of agriculture, ecology, forestry, health and disease, weather forecasting, hydrology, transport, urban environments, and energy (Chapman 2007). The article looks at applied research in spatial climate data. Results of this study provide evidence that the use of GIS is an integral part of the ongoing study of climatology. GIS has evolved into a powerful management tool used for capturing, modeling, analyzing, and displaying spatial data (Chapman 2007). Since climatological phenomena happen in spatial variables, it makes GIS a useful application to manage spatial climate datasets.
Applications of Climatology and GIS
GIS maps have enabled researchers looking at environmental impacts of the variations of climate at a variety of scales, but I will focus on two main aspects of applications within the field of Climatology. The two focuses will be on applications within agriculture
Introduction
Climate change is a problem that is affecting people and the environment in the modern world. The average weather conditions are changing and the intensity of extreme weather events is becoming greater. It remains to be seen if this is a natural progression of the earth over time or if humans are exacerbating it, but it is clear that there is a change occurring in today’s weather patterns. The purpose of this literature review is to look at current studies in climatology and the role that Geographic Information Systems (GIS) plays in helping to visualize the effects weather is having on the Earth.
Climatology and GIS
Climatology and GIS separately are broad fields covering many topics that vary in scope. To receive an overview of climatology and GIS used in conjunction with each other, the article that will be first discussed examines the use of GIS in the field of climatology and meteorology. The study breaks down climatology and meteorology into the subfields of agriculture, ecology, forestry, health and disease, weather forecasting, hydrology, transport, urban environments, and energy (Chapman 2007). The article looks at applied research in spatial climate data. Results of this study provide evidence that the use of GIS is an integral part of the ongoing study of climatology. GIS has evolved into a powerful management tool used for capturing, modeling, analyzing, and displaying spatial data (Chapman 2007). Since climatological phenomena happen in spatial variables, it makes GIS a useful application to manage spatial climate datasets.
Applications of Climatology and GIS
GIS maps have enabled researchers looking at environmental impacts of the variations of climate at a variety of scales, but I will focus on two main aspects of applications within the field of Climatology. The two focuses will be on applications within agriculture
References: Baban, S.M.J., Parry, T. 2000: Developing and applying a GIS-assisted approach to locating wind farms in the UK. Renewable Energy, 24, 59-71. Chapman, L., Thornes, J.E. 2007: The Use of Geographical Information Systems in Climatology and Meteorology. Progress in Physical Geography 27 (3), 313-330. Cowell, P.J., Zeng, T.Q. 2003: Integrating Uncertainty Theories with GIS for Modeling Coastal Hazards of Climate Change. Marine Geodesy, 26:5-18. Dockerty, T., Lovett, A. 2003: A Location-centered, GIS-based Methodology for Estimating the Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Nature Reserves. Transactions in GIS, 7 (3): 345-370. Dockerty, T., Lovett, A., Sunnenberg, G., Appleton, K., Parry, M., 2005: Visualising the potential impacts of climate change on rural landscapes. Computer, Environment, and Urban Systems, 29, 297-320. Eatherall, A., 1997: Modelling Climate Change Impacts on Ecosystems Using Linked Models and a GIS. Climatic Change, 35, 17-34. McKenny, D.W., Hutchinson, M.F., Kesteven, J.L. & Venier, L.A. 2000: Canada’s plant hardiness zones revisited using modern climate interpolation techniques. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, 3, 129- 143. McKenny, D.W., Pedlar, J.H., Lawrence, K., Campbell, K., Hutchinson, M.F., 2007: Beyond Traditional Hardiness Zones: Using Climate Envelopes to Map Plant Range Limits. BioScience, 57 (11), 929-937. Ninyerola, M., Pons, X., Roure, J.M., 2000: A Methodological Approach of Climatological Modelling of Air Temperature and Precipitation Through GIS Techniques. International Journal of Climatology, 20, 1823-1841. Sposito, V., Benke, K., Pelizaro, C. & Wyatt, R. 2009: Application of GIS-based computer modeling to planning for adaption to climate change in rural areas. Applied GIS, 5(3), 1-25.