Geographic information systems (GIS) are integrated frameworks for acquiring, storing, managing, analyzing, and visualizing data referenced to locations on Earth’s surface. They combine spatial (vector and raster) and attribute data within coordinate reference systems, enabling spatial analysis operations such as overlay, buffering, network analysis, interpolation, and spatial statistics. GIS supports modeling of spatial processes, multi-criteria decision analysis, and integration with remote sensing and global navigation satellite system data. In research, GIS underpins spatial epidemiology, environmental assessment, urban and regional planning, resource management, and geospatial data infrastructure, facilitating reproducible, quantitative analyses of spatial patterns, relationships, and temporal dynamics.
A new international study involving scientists from the University of Aberdeen has revealed a critical blind spot in global climate risk assessments—the growing danger posed by small alpine lakes formed by glacier retreat ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 10, 2026
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10
As a heat dome drives dangerous temperatures across much of the United States and renews concerns about extreme heat, USC researchers have developed a new, freely available AI tool that could help cities better understand ...
Environment
Jul 9, 2026
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10
Suburban city centers across Japan are gradually declining as residents shift to car-oriented shopping malls in outlying areas. Urban planners have sought to reverse this trend through urban catalytic projects, strategically ...
Environment
Jul 2, 2026
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8
A new research tool is highlighting publicly owned land that may have potential for affordable housing development in B.C., with early analysis revealing more than 50,000 parcels of publicly owned land in B.C. and up to 273,000 ...
Environment
Jul 1, 2026
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12
A new big-data analysis of the U.S. pinpoints how urban design aids the health of city residents—especially when cities provide walking opportunities, greenery and mixed-use streets with a blend of commercial and residential ...
Environment
Jul 1, 2026
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344
Researchers have calculated light levels at the ground surface across Switzerland to within 10 meters, in both open and forested areas. The model even simulates the shadows cast by individual trees.
Environment
Jun 16, 2026
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9
A foundation model trained on Earth observation data from Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 has been made widely available to researchers, it was announced at a computer industry conference this week in Denver, U.S.
Planetary Sciences
Jun 4, 2026
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16
Satellite images, weather maps and other data are collected in enormous quantities—but much of this remains unused. The reason is simple: the data is fragmented, difficult to interpret, and stored in different formats. Dr. ...
Environment
May 7, 2026
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14
Cranfield University has launched a new soil and environmental online database and mapping tool, opening up detailed information about land in England and Wales. In collaboration with Defra, Cranfield's Land Information System ...
Molecular & Computational biology
May 3, 2026
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30
Engineers at the University of Houston have unlocked decades of hidden flood risk data, using artificial intelligence to transform paper flood maps into digital tools that reveal how flooding has evolved—and where future ...
Environment
Apr 29, 2026
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13
