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Environmental Modeling Using Open Source Tools

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of GIS

  • 235 Accesses

Synonyms

Open-source GIS

Definition

Geospatial data can include socioeconomic, environmental, geophysical, and technical data about the Earth and societal infrastructure and hence is pivotal in environmental modeling and management (EMM). Desktop, web-based, and embedded geospatial systems have become an essential part of EMM, providing pre- or post-processing of geospatial data, analysis and visualization of results using a graphical user interface (GUI). When combined with the growing culture of free and open source software (FOSS), this combination of geographic information systems) GIS and environmental modeling can result in powerful and freely accessible tools for environmental modeling and management. This study provides an overview of GIS FOSS software (FOSS4G) as applied to EMM and analyzes platforms, software stacks, and EMM workflows. In the FOSS world, the barriers to interoperability are low and hence FOSS4G tools can significantly enhance collaboration between...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland

    Ari Jolma

  2. Department of Geosciences, Geospatial Software Lab, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, USA

    Daniel P. Ames

  3. Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA

    Ned Horning

  4. Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (MEAS), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Helena Mitasova

  5. Center for Scientific and Technologic Research, The Trentino Cultural Institute, Trento, Italy

    Markus Neteler

  6. Ecotrust, Portland, OR, USA

    Aaron Racicot

  7. Reference Center on Environmental Information, Campinas, Brazil

    Tim Sutton

Authors
  1. Ari Jolma
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  2. Daniel P. Ames
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  3. Ned Horning
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  4. Helena Mitasova
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  5. Markus Neteler
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  6. Aaron Racicot
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  7. Tim Sutton
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Shashi Shekhar (McKnight Distinguished University Professor) (McKnight Distinguished University Professor)

  2. Management Science and Information Systems Department, Rutgers Business School Newark and New Brunswick Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    Hui Xiong (Assistant Professor) (Assistant Professor)

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag

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Jolma, A. et al. (2008). Environmental Modeling Using Open Source Tools. In: Shekhar, S., Xiong, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of GIS. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-35973-1_355

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