GIS for Science, Volume 3: Maps for Saving the Planet

GIS for Science, Volume 3: Maps for Saving the Planet, highlights real-world examples of scientists creating maps about saving life on Earth and preserving biodiversity.   

With Earth and the natural world at risk from various forces, geographic information system (GIS) mapping is essential for driving scientifically conscious decision-making about how to protect life on Earth. In volume 3 of GIS for Science, explore a collection of maps from scientists working to save the planet through documenting and protecting its biodiversity.  

In this volume, learn how GIS and data mapping are used in tandem with 

• global satellite observation
• forestry
• marine policy
• artificial intelligence
• conservation biology, and
• environmental education

to help preserve and chronicle life on Earth. This volume also spotlights important global action initiatives incorporating conservation, including Half-Earth, 30 x 30, AI for Earth, the Blue Nature Alliance, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. 

The stories presented in this third volume are ideal for the professional scientist and conservationist and anyone interested in the intersection of technology and the conservation of nature. The book’s contributors include scientists who are applying geographic data gathered from the full spectrum of remote sensing and on-site technologies. The maps and data are brought to life using ArcGIS® software and other spatial data science tools that support research, collaboration, spatial analysis, and science communication across many locations and within diverse communities. The stories shared in this book and its companion website present inspirational ideas so that GIS users and scientists can work toward preserving biodiversity and saving planet Earth before time runs out. 

Esri Chief Scientist Dawn J. Wright is a professor of geography and oceanography at Oregon State University. In 2007, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education named her US Professor of the Year for the State of Oregon. She is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a new fellow of Stanford University's Aldo Leopold Leadership Program in science communication. Her research interests include geographic information science; ocean informatics and cyberinfrastructure; benthic terrain and habitat characterization; and the processing and interpretation of high-resolution bathymetry, video, and underwater photographic images. Wright received a PhD in physical geography and marine geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara; an MS in oceanography from Texas A&M University; and a BS with honors from Wheaton College in Illinois. She is also certified by the GIS Certification Institute as a GIS professional (GISP). She coauthored several books for Esri Press, including Ocean Solutions, Earth Solutions, second edition (2016).

Christian Harder is a technology writer and information designer at Esri. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books on GIS, including Understand GIS, The ArcGIS Book (Esri Press, 2017) and The ArcGIS Imagery Book (Esri Press, 2016).

Pulitzer Prize winner