Jessica Wyland of Spatial Sustain and V1 Magazine discusses the role of GIS when measuring carbon footprints. Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) scientists are using GIS to measure ‘carbon-rich biomass in heavily wooded areas to indicate the effect that deforestation and land use have on rising carbon levels in our atmosphere.’ Through GIS, the researchers are able to study and review changes and use maps to model the effects of different future land-use and carbon-related decisions.

GIS Blog discusses the ability of people to recognize maps made with GIS and the improvements needed for the quality of maps. One of the problems was “users of the maps (be it clients, project managers, creators) don’t value cartography. The savings of quickly producing a map outweighs excellent cartography.”

GISuser reports that through the partnership of Reutech Radar Systems and 3D Laser Mapping, field mapping robots are able to make intelligent decisions in virtual real time. The advanced laser scanning system supplies the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa with research into intelligent field robotics for studies relating to perception, mobility and navigation.

Mapping is officially taking new heights in the health sector. According to the Mapufacture blog, an article, entitled The Great Health Mashup provides the benefits of combining and visualizing numerous geospatial data streams together to help with awareness and decision making. Other reports, such as HealthMap, provide a global disease alert map.

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