Data Science Day @ Columbia University

A growing array of data on natural hazards and population and infrastructure distribution is available online through open web mapping services. The Hazards Mapper and HazPop Mobile App enable users to visualize recent data on earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires, and other hazards in relationship to population, settlements, and major infrastructure such as dams and power plants. Users are also able to perform spatial queries to determine the total population around an existing facility or within a user-defined circle or polygon. The mobile app, currently implemented for iPhones and tablets running iOS, utilizes location services to support additional query and alert functions. These tools, together with selected population and infrastructure data, are available through the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), which is operated by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), part of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.