Digital mapping is a fundamental tool for understanding environmental challenges and making informed decisions that promote sustainable development. Although mapping seemed to be a dying discipline, paradigm shifts around sustainability have highlighted its importance.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that the number of mapping-related jobs in the United States will grow by 19% by 2026. These data highlight that knowing the territory will be essential to establish successful strategies to reverse the environmental situation. We explain in more depth what digital mapping consists of.
Differences between digital cartography and Geographic Information Systems
It is inevitable to link maps to those paper printouts, difficult to store and complex to interpret, that accompanied us on our travels in the past. However, digital cartography has revolutionized the way we represent and analyze the world around us. We now have dynamic, interactive and intuitive representations that allow us to explore, understand and make informed decisions about changes in our environment.
This discipline is based on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a specialized technology for capturing, storing, processing and visualizing geospatial data. While digital cartography is the final product, GIS are the tools used to create these advanced maps. Two correlated disciplines that increase knowledge to respond to the needs of sustainability.
How is digital mapping applied to sustainability?
Digital mapping allows the interpretation of geospatial data related to the environment, providing crucial information for predicting and analyzing strategies in relation to sustainability. Below we will discuss some of the applications that stand out:
- Monitor the state of the environment: assess ecosystem health, air and water quality, deforestation, desertification and other key environmental indicators.
- Identify risk areas: detailed analysis to identify areas vulnerable to natural disasters, such as floods, droughts or forest fires, allowing the implementation of preventive measures.
- Manage natural resources sustainably: facilitates the optimization of the use of water, energy and forestry resources, promoting sustainable practices in agriculture, fishing and forestry.
- Urban development planning: information to design more compact, efficient and environmentally friendly cities, promoting the use of public transportation and renewable energies.
- Combat climate change: understand the causes and effects of climate change, identify priority areas for action, and develop mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Digital mapping models
The realization of digital mapping requires specialized tools. Google Maps is perhaps the most popular example due to its accessibility. However, there are many others that are commonly used by professionals in the sector, such as QGIS, a free, open source and very complete GIS tool; or ArcGIS, a professional and powerful GIS software used by large companies and institutions.
These tools serve as the basis for the realization and analysis of different digital mapping models, each with its own characteristics and applications:
Raster maps
They consist of a grid of cells, each with a value representing a specific terrain feature, such as elevation, soil type or vegetation cover.
Vector maps
Composed of lines, points and polygons representing geographic features such as streets, rivers, borders or buildings.
3D Maps
They represent the world in three dimensions, allowing a more realistic and complete visualization of the terrain.
Interactive maps
They allow live analysis of specific regions, launch joint visualizations for comparison and even detailed analysis of temporal events, among other functionalities.
Digital cartography and GeoAI, an indivisible binomial at the service of sustainability
As in other sectors, artificial intelligence (AI) shows great potential in this field. We cannot understand the revolution in digital mapping and GIS systems without geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI). This technology enables automated analysis of large volumes of geospatial data. In this way, we can obtain more accurate and detailed information about our environment.
In this sense, GeoAI applied to digital mapping allows functionalities such as monitoring deforestation, identifying sources of water pollution, analyzing areas vulnerable to flooding or optimizing the use of fertilizers and pesticides in the agricultural sector. This information will undoubtedly help to improve decision-making on sustainability, as well as to design efficient and effective strategies to combat some of the challenges facing the Earth.
Sources used:
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/cartographers-and-photogrammetrists.htm
