Geospatial technologies are used every day to help protect the environment and manage natural resources. The staff of the state-of-the-art Geospatial Data Analysis Facility (GDAF) applies technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, and global positioning systems (GPS) to produce environmental site maps, to map land cover, to inventory habitat, to manage natural resources, to measure environmental impacts, and to trace pollutants. The environmental applications for GIS are almost endless. Better information leads to better decisions, and the use of geospatial technologies such as GIS, remote sensing, and GPS allows environmental data to be visualized and manipulated in new and unique ways, resulting in better management decisions. These technologies have many applications such as site characterization and evaluation, tracking the effects of pollutants, emergency management, environmental planning, and waste management. |