UC Geography Department Provides Support for United Nations Haiti Response
Data from the United Nations and other sources have been organized into an open information network to support relief and rebuilding in response to the Jan. 12, 2010, Haiti earthquake. University of Cincinnati scientists in the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences set up and hosted two servers, one for the development of the UNs disaster Web site and one to allow UN researchers to exchange satellite data for a satellite feed to Port-au-Prince.
The United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (
) was developed to provide universal access to all types of space-based information and services relevant to disaster management.
We provided the development servers for the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response, says Assistant Professor of Geography, Richard Beck, the lead for this effort. We have supported this UN disaster relief Web site for about three years now.
Assistant Professor Richard Beck, Department of Geography
After the response to the Indonesian tsunami, the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions concluded that a major added value had been the availability of geospatial data for the planning, coordination, monitoring, accountability and audit of disaster-related aid. These
are being applied to the UN response to the earthquake in Haiti.
The Haiti Spatial Data Infrastructure (Haiti SDI) is a public resource that may be updated by anyone and used in Google Earth and other applications. One capability of this is the Haiti SDI Cascading Web Map Service (WMS), which provides a single access point for applications like Google Earth and Gaia SDI Platform.
The service works by aggregating WMS deployed by such entities as the University of Cincinnati, CubeWerx framework WMS, the New York Public Library and the government into one easy-to-use resource.
Beck downplays his role in the big picture of the disaster response.
We set up the development servers and basic software infrastructure but the UN people did most of the work, says Beck. Over the weekend of Jan. 2324, 2010, the Web site was transferred from a smaller server at UC to its permanent home at UN Bonn.
Although this is the first time that Beck has been called into action in a disaster situation, it is not the first time that he has used his expertise to bring information networks to people in remote locations.
Most of Beck's geographic information network efforts are focused on environmental remote sensing.
We have been working on geographic information networks for remote areas in the Arctic and on Native American lands for approximately 10 years, says Beck. Most of our geographic information network efforts are focused on environmental remote sensing but we have also done some work with NASA on disaster response over satellite networks. The UN effort was a natural outgrowth of those efforts.
Read more about Becks work:
Global Warming Among UC Topics at Permafrost Conference
Changes in the permafrost concern researchers from all over the world, including the University of Cincinnati. Researchers meet in Alaska this week to discuss 'Permafrost on a Warming Planet.'
UC Geographer Tests System for Mars Exploration
On June 25, a University of Cincinnati scientist will oversee NASA's test of a powerful data-gathering system for Mars exploration.
About the Department of Geography
1/15/2010 Haitian Earthquake Response
President Williams calls on the UC community to respond to the great need in Haiti, following the devastating earthquake.
Related Stories
UC chemistry alumna gives back to community
December 6, 2024
UC alum Ann Villalobos was undecided about joining the university’s PhD program in chemistry in 1985. She had graduated from the University of the Philippines—her home country—and gone on to the Tokyo Institute of Technology. She was looking for her next academic step when UC came onto her radar. Moving a world away to Cincinnati to further her education took some convincing for Villalobos. But she was intrigued by what the program had to offer. “I applied to the PhD program at the department of chemistry because the professors collaborate with each other to have a more meaningful, integrated research,” she said. After application, she was accepted. But she wasn’t totally convinced quite yet.
Physicists outline next 10 years of neutrino research
December 6, 2024
News media highlight a paper co-written by UC physicists that outlines the next 10 years of research into some of the tiniest known particles. Upcoming experiments could unlock secrets to the origins of the universe.
Particle research gets closer to answering why we’re here
December 5, 2024
University of Cincinnati Professor Alexandre Sousa in a new paper outlined the next 10 years of global research into the behavior of neutrinos, particles so tiny that they pass through virtually everything by the trillions every second at nearly the speed of light.