IRI Plug-In for NASA/USAID's SERVIR

Users of IRI's Malaria Map Room and desert locust monitoring tools for Africa can now take advantage of SERVIR, NASA/USAID's high-tech satellite visualization system, thanks to a new plugin developed by scientists at the Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology [IAGT] and IRI.

In helping to port over the data sets to SERVIR, IRI researchers have also expanded the capabilities of the tool: the ability to click on any point on the map to get detailed time series of rainfall and other data. (see accompanying screenshot)

"We wanted to show that NASA's system could not only access our maps, but also allow users to extract and download data, as they can in our Data Library Map Rooms," says IRI's Pietro Ceccato, who helped develop the plugin.

As with other mapping browsers such as Google Earth, SERVIR allows users to zoom from satellite altitude to any place on Earth, and even tilt their viewing angle so that they can "fly" across a 3-D terrain. What's more, the software taps into dozens of high-resolution satellite-image sources such as MODIS and Landsat. Users can add layers that show temperature, rainfall, cloud cover over the entire globe. They can even overlay animated weather events, such as hurricanes.

Not only is SERVIR very user-friendly and easy to navigate, says Ceccato, but it gives Map Room users the opportunity to explore data sets not currently available in IRI's Data Library, such as fire activity, volcanoes and floods.

The ability to render a terrain in 3-D is extremely useful for some societal applications. For example, a pilot who uses the desert-locust monitoring maps to determine which areas to spray can first make a virtual flight, to see exactly where those areas fall in the local topography.

This is only the first step, says Ceccato. "Now that we know it can be done, the next step is to further the collaboration with SERVIR to provide access to all the environmental, climate and forecasting products developed at IRI.

Relevant Links
International Research Institute for Climate and Society Plug-In for WorldWind
NASA Develops Central American Monitoring System

About the IRI
The IRI works on the development and implementation of strategies to manage climate related risks and opportunities. Building on a multidisciplinary core of expertise, IRI partners with research institutions and local stakeholders to best understand needs, risks and possibilities. The IRI supports sustainable development by bringing the best science to bear on managing climate risks in sectors such as agriculture, food security, water resources, and health. By providing practical advancements that enable better management of climate related risks and opportunities in the present, we are creating solutions that will increase adaptability to long term climate change. IRI is a member of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.