by Larisa Brass
That 6.6 billion people occupy this planet is a well-known and much-cited statistic. It is much more difficult, albeit crucial to a number of the world's agencies and organizations, to identify where those people are. LandScan, a tool developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), keeps tabs on Earth's population distribution—information that is used by disaster relief organizations, government agencies, businesses and media.
LandScan is a high-resolution population distribution model for the world. At 1-square-kilometer resolution, LandScan provides the most accurate global population data available, with 25 times higher resolution than the previous standard for a global population database. The system has become the community standard for estimating population at risk and is useful for coordinating disaster response, humanitarian relief, sustainable development and environmental protection.
A novel technology transfer process has been used to commercialize the LandScan Global Population Dataset. In a two-pronged approach, licenses are issued on both a cost and a no-cost basis. Commercial users enter into a one-year license on a fee basis to use the Dataset for commercial applications, while U.S. federal government users, United Nations humanitarian agencies, and educational institution users obtain a no-cost, one-year license.
More than 230 organizations from the U.S. and around the world have received licenses for the 2005 version of LandScan. The U.S. government's need for the technology encompasses a great range of uses, including emergency planning and response border security, risk management associated with space vehicles, and chemical and biological exposure scenario development.
One hundred fifty educational institutions from around the world have requested and received no-cost licenses for LandScan. University licensees use the data during the development of educational research, such as forestry management, epidemiological responses, crime management, natural resource management, global sustainability, and land use/urban sprawl detection.
U.N. organizations use the Dataset for response activities associated with natural and man-made disasters. In these efforts, LandScan aids in decision-making regarding the type and amount of foodstuffs and the number of tents, beds, and emergency medical personnel required to respond to any disaster or emergency in the world.
Thirteen organizations have purchased commercial-use licenses. These include major news agencies and magazine publishers such as The New York Times and National Geographic, international mobile telephone companies, space technology organizations, and traditional geospatial data companies. These organizations utilize the Dataset in many ways, including development of applications in national and homeland security, emergency planning and management, consequence analysis, epidemiology, exposure analysis, and tracking of urban sprawl.
The LandScan team of developers is composed of Budhendra Bhaduri, Edward Bright, Phillip Coleman, Amy King and Eddie Tinnel. LandScan won both FLC and R&D 100 awards.
Thirteen organizations have purchased commercial-use licenses for the LandScan technology, including The New York Times, National Geographic, and international mobile telephone companies. (Click image to enlarge)
