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GEO-6 Regional Assessment for North America


visual representations are used to communicate complex problems. Environmental challenges require decision makers to visualize, analyze and act on insights from vast amounts of data to understand the past and anticipate the future.


In collaboration with universities, the new Google Earth Engine’s platform for scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets is helping federal, state and private partners make more targeted decisions to restore and protect the environment. The University of Montana developed the interactive Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI) mapping tool that combines layers of vital pieces of information to illustrate a more cohesive picture of connected landscapes.


For


example, it is possible to visualize the areas that are likely to rebound after wildfire and resist invasion of cheatgrass. Since Google Earth Engine is created for the web, it is possible to implement science into planning and decision- making immediately (Heater 2016).


New technology permits more effective visualization, understanding and management of complex systems. Such capabilities are driven by the combination of sensor webs, interoperability standards, open data architecture, open modelling environments, and the emergence of powerful web-based data tools. Such capabilities lie behind path breaking innovation in the assessment of fire risk in North America, and in novel approaches to monitoring watershed systems through networked sensors coupled to real-time distributed hydrologic models.


The Open Water Data Initiative is one such example that has adopted an integrated approach to understanding problems by connecting a comprehensive set of water data into a national water data framework with the capability of leveraging existing infrastructure, tools and systems. This type of integrative framework enables faster research, accurate forecasts, more modelling and a better understanding of the interactions between water, land and climate in a period of major hydrological change. Scientists, meteorologists and emergency response teams can address issues and develop solutions more effectively by exploiting the geospatial platform (Blodgett et al. 2015; OWDI 2015).


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Disruptive technologies are now enabling better visualization and prediction of wildfire spread in real-time by using new high-resolution satellite instruments, sensors, interactive maps and historical data. Predictive data analytics, data modelling tools and fire simulators are critical in guiding fire responders on how to make proactive decisions (Natural Resources Canada 2015c).


Where there are data gaps, citizen scientists are playing a pivotal role in filling gaps for which governments are unable to collect relevant data. Citizen science, also known as community science, is a growing movement that enlists the public in scientific discovery, monitoring and experimentation across a wide range of disciplines and research (Theobald et al. 2015). For example, the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRHaS) uses crowd sourcing of data and organizes nearly 20 000 volunteers to collect daily precipitation measurements across Canada and the US (Doesken and Reges 2010).


Behavioural economics to drive environmental performance


Finally, at the same time as the technology around data and information systems has taken off, the field of behavioural economics has given rise to a new approach to policy making that is highly suited to the effective use of information.


There are several examples of how effective use of behavioural economics resulted in significant changes that positively impacted the environment. The Social and Behavioural Sciences Team (SBST) in the White House discovered that a small prompt had the power to save money and resources. An automated pop-up window with a simple message nudging executive-branch employees to switch to double-sided printing saved 300 million pieces of paper a year (Holdren 2015). The SBST aims to reflect the best understanding of human behavior, such as how people engage, participate and respond to policies and programmes, into improvements in Federal policies and programmes.


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