Inside the Briefcase

Augmented Reality Analytics: Transforming Data Visualization

Augmented Reality Analytics: Transforming Data Visualization

Tweet Augmented reality is transforming how data is visualized...

ITBriefcase.net Membership!

ITBriefcase.net Membership!

Tweet Register as an ITBriefcase.net member to unlock exclusive...

Women in Tech Boston

Women in Tech Boston

Hear from an industry analyst and a Fortinet customer...

IT Briefcase Interview: Simplicity, Security, and Scale – The Future for MSPs

IT Briefcase Interview: Simplicity, Security, and Scale – The Future for MSPs

In this interview, JumpCloud’s Antoine Jebara, co-founder and GM...

Tips And Tricks On Getting The Most Out of VPN Services

Tips And Tricks On Getting The Most Out of VPN Services

In the wake of restrictions in access to certain...

Big Data Is Improving Our View On Environmental Issues

February 20, 2017 No Comments

Featured article by Jeremy Sutter, Independent Technology Author

Leaf

Over the past few years, conservationists and others have been turning to big data in order to understand environmental degradation from a global or regional perspective. Such data comes in many forms: social media posts, satellite images and global databases. Using big data can help researchers study such environmental problems as ocean acidification, deforestation or climate change.

Big data can give scientists more information and a larger perspective. In the old days, a researcher or group of researchers who wanted to study water pollution, for instance, would have to study a given body of water. If they were fortunate, they might have found written records about the lake or bay and compared those records with their results. Tracking down the businesses or individuals responsible for the pollution would have been difficult at best. The rise of computers and large data bases have given researchers access to far more information than they used to have.

Calculating Environmental Costs of Consumption

The science journal “Nature Ecology & Evolution” published an online article on January 4 describing the use of big data to identify “hotspots of species threat” and the export industries threatening them. A hotspot of species threat is a place that both has a lot of biodiversity and is severely threatened by human-caused problems like overhunting or deforestation. The researchers used two big data sources to get their needed information. The Eora global trade database provides information about businesses in 187 countries, while the Red List of Threatened Species, which is run by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, concerns endangered plants and animals.

According to the study’s lead author, Daniel Moran of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the researchers used the information on endangered species to create maps showing where given plants and animals lived. They then used data from the trade database to map “footprints” or activities that affect the environment. Blending the two produced composite maps depicting the species most threatened by human activity. For instance, the researchers found that southern Brazil actually faces more threats than does the Amazon, contrary to most expectations. The reason is that there is more agricultural activity in southern Brazil. The researchers also found that much of that activity is caused by companies based in the United States.

Citizen Scientists

Citizen scientists have been using and contributing to online databases for years. Birdwatchers have been particularly active in such endeavors. One website, eBird, was launched back in 2002 by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Birdwatchers submit their observations online. Researchers may then look up information about given bird species and/or locations. By now, those researchers have their pick of over 100 million observations from all over the world to work with.

Social Media

Some researchers have been exploring the feasibility of using social media like Twitter or Facebook for their research. Again, this could give scientists a wealth of information from all over the world. For example, researchers from the Griffith Institute of Tourism have been trying to use Twitter as a way to monitor the Great Barrier Reef. The researchers were hopeful; they noted that the Great Barrier Reef draws over two million visitors every year. It is therefore a safe bet that many of those tourists tweet about the experience or write about it in their blogs.

Susan Becken, the Griffith Institute’s director, quickly noted a snag: Not all of the tweets, blogs, etc. mentioned the Great Barrier Reef. In fact, only a small percentage of 200,000 tweets collected over seven months were relevant. She believed, however, that social media might still be useful in some situations. Becken hypothesized that social media could be used as a warning system; if a lot of visitors tweet about a fish die-off, for example, the authorities will know where to start their investigation. Similarly, social media could prove helpful in developing countries or regions like the Serengeti that don’t have access to professional monitoring systems.

Organizing all that data can also prove challenging. Some companies like Atscale provide services to help researchers organize their data. During the Great Barrier Reef study, Becken described the methods for determining useful tweets or blogs: They had to refer to species, locations, activities or environmental problems that would be found at the Reef.

Overall, Big Data has changed the way that scientists are able to observe environmental issues. Studies have been conducted on larger scales than ever before to help understand what exactly is happening to the environment.  Through social media posts, satellite images and global databases information has been discovered that has and will continue to benefit the future of environmental study.

Leave a Reply

(required)

(required)


ADVERTISEMENT

Gartner

WomeninTech