Integrating Environmental and
Socioeconomic Data to Support
Interdisciplinary Research and
Applications
Dr. Robert S. Chen
Dr. Alex de Sherbinin
NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC)
CIESIN, The Earth Institute, Columbia University
6 July 2015
CFCC Side Event:
Trusted Data Service to Support Climate Change Research
Why Integrate Data?
Mitigating and adapting to climate change requires sound understanding
of the interactions between human and environmental systems, e.g.:
The Belmont Challenge: “To deliver knowledge needed for action to
avoid and adapt to detrimental environmental change including extreme
hazardous events”
“This requires:
–Assessments of risks, impacts and vulnerabilities, through regional and
decadal-scale analysis and prediction
–Information on the state of the environment, through advanced observing
systems
–Interaction of natural and social sciences
–Enhanced environmental information service providers to users
–Effective international coordination mechanisms.”
http://www.igfagcr.org/belmont-challenge
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NASA Recognized the Need for Human
Dimensions Data >20 Years Ago
• EOSDIS data collection includes
more than 3500 data types
• Land
•
•
•
•
Cover & Usage
Surface temperature
Soil moisture
Surface topography
• Atmosphere
•
•
•
•
Winds & Precipitation
Aerosols & Clouds
Temperature & Humidity
Solar radiation
• Human Dimensions
• Population & Land Use
• Human &
Environmental Health
• Ecosystems
• Ocean Dynamics
•
•
•
•
Surface temperature
Surface wind fields & Heat flux
Surface topography
Ocean color
• Cryosphere
• Sea/Land Ice & Snow Cover
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Earth Observing System Data and
Information System (EOSDIS) Facilities
Data centers, collocated with centers of science
discipline expertise, archive and distribute
standard data products produced by Science
Investigator-led Processing Systems (SIPSs)
ASF DAAC
SAR Products
Sea Ice, Polar
Processes
CDDIS
Crustal Dynamics
Solid Earth
NCAR, U of Col.
LP DAAC
HIRDLS, MOPITT,
SORCE
Land Processes
& Features
GSFC
GLAS, MODIS,
OMI, OBPG
GES DISC
Key
Data
Center
Atmos Composition &
Dynamics, Global
Modeling, Hydrology,
Radiance
NSIDC DAAC
Cryosphere, Polar
Processes
ORNL DAAC
LAADS/
MODAPS
Biogeochemical
Dynamics, EOS Land
Validation
SIPSs
LaRC
ACRIM
PO.DAAC
Ocean Circulation
Air-Sea Interactions
Atmosphere
CERES,
SAGE III
San Diego
ECS
Sites
OBPG
Ocean Biology &
Biogeochemistry
JPL
MLS, TES
SEDAC
Human Interactions
in Global Change
GHRC
Hydrological Cycle &
Severe Weather
ASDC
GHRC
AMSR-E, LIS,
AMSR2
Many have now become WDS Elements, including
the NASA ESDIS Project as a Network Member
Radiation Budget,
Clouds, Aerosols,
Tropo Chemistry
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SEDAC Operated by CIESIN at
Columbia University
SEDAC’s mission is to
develop and operate
applications that support the
integration of socioeconomic
and earth science data and to
serve as an “information
gateway” between the earth
sciences and social sciences
•Direct support to scientists,
applied and operational users,
decision makers, and policy
communities
•Strong links to geospatial data
community
http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/
SEDAC Provides a Diverse Array of
Global Data and Services
Modalities of Data Integration
Supported by SEDAC
• Development of integrated data
products and services
• Integrated use in scientific research
and published studies
– Direct use
– Downstream use
• Direct access through online tools and
interoperable services
• Simultaneous use in scientific models
and decision support tools
• Integrated use in technical reports and
policy documents
Credit: Ron Weaver, NSIDC
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Examples of Integrated Data Products
• 2014 Environmental Performance Index
– Includes indicator of air quality based on MODIS and MISR
weighted by population and indicator of forest cover change
based on MODIS and Landsat data (CIESIN and Yale)
• Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project (GRUMP)
– Combines gridded population data with National Geophysical
Data Center (NGDC) night-time lights data (SEDAC)
• Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity
– Combines AVHRR with SEDAC population data (M. Imhoff)
• Low-Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ)
– Combines GRUMP with SRTM DEM data (SEDAC)
• Population, Landscape, and Climate Estimates, v.3
– Combines GRUMP with SRTM Digital Elevation Model data
and other spatial datasets (SEDAC)
• Anthropogenic Biomes, versions 1 and 2
– Includes data on population density, land use (specifically
crop, pasture, and irrigated lands), and land cover (Ellis and
Ramankutty)
Annual Average PM2.5 Concentration,
Population-weighted by Administrative Area
SEDAC’s
GRUMP
population grid
was used to
populationweight the
exposure to
PM2.5 (from
MODIS Aerosol
Optical Depth) by
administrative
area.
•Excludes areas
below WHO
guideline of 10
µg/m3
de Sherbinin et al. 2014 “Using Satellite Data to Develop Environmental
Indicators” Environmental Research Letters, 9 084013
Health
Typical Data Integration Applications
• Identifying drivers of deforestation / biodiversity
loss / land cover change / fire activity
• Assessing population exposure to hazards /
infectious disease / pollutants
• Population weighting of exposure to create
indices for health / hazards research
• Identifying vulnerability of populations exposed to
natural hazards / climate impacts
• Masking areas based on population density /
human influence thresholds
Example Integrated Data Use: Simulation Model
and Research Translation
• Simulation Model
–Seto, K.C., B. Güneralp, et al. 2012. Global
forecasts of urban expansion to 2030 and direct
impacts on biodiversity and carbon pools. Proc.
Nat. Acad. Sci. 109(40): 16083-16088.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1211658109).
Figure 1: Global forecasts of probabilities of urban
expansion, 2030.
Figure 2: Groundwater stress may be affecting ~1.7 billion people and
could limit the potential to increase agricultural production.

Research Translation
◦ Gleeson, T., Wada, Y., Bierkens, M. F. P. & van
Beek, L. P. H. (2012) Water balance of global
aquifers revealed by groundwater footprint.
Nature 488(7410): 197-200.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11295.
Open Mapping Tools and Services
• Open web processing services and
mapping tools to enable users to
perform simple spatial queries
• New hazard mapper and iOS app will
support queries reflecting environmental
and socioeconomic features
http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.
edu/data/collection/gpwv3/population-estimationservice
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http://beta.sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/mapping/hazards/#
Some Barriers to Integration
Scientific/Technical
– Spatial mismatches (coastlines/boundaries)
– Continuous variation in remote sensing variables but socioeconomic
data are reported only by admin units
– Temporal resolution / frequency of updates
• regular remote sensing observations and future climate projections vs. often “static”
socioeconomic data
– Consistent remote sensing measurements across countries but
inconsistent socioeconomic measurements across countries
Institutional/Cultural
– Different concepts, terminology, units of analysis, spatial/temporal
frameworks
– Confidentiality/privacy issues associated with socioeconomic data
– Lack of legal interoperability across disciplines, domains
– Different approaches to data management
Belmont Forum – E-Infrastructure &
Data Management Project
“Integrating data from the natural and social
sciences, as well as from the health and
engineering domains, is an essential step in
delivering information and knowledge about risks,
impacts and vulnerabilities associated with global
change and potential mitigation and adaptation
options, and their potential impacts. The
development and orchestration of relevant and
shared data-intensive workflows across data and
computing infrastructures are critical to make
better-informed decisions.”
•“Example of scoping workshop: Bring together
existing Future Earth and other interdisciplinary
research projects that currently utilize, or plan to utilize,
data from two or more natural, social, health and
engineering science domains, and/or created valueadded integrated products.”
http://www.bfe-inf.org/sites/default/files/doc-repository/
A_Place_to_Stand-Belmont_Forum_E-Infrastructures__Data_Management_CSIP.PDF
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Upcoming Activities
• Research Data Alliance will hold its Sixth Plenary in
Paris in September 2015, hosted by Cap Digital
– Focus on climate data
– Climate Change Data Challenge
• RDA, CODATA, and ICSU WDS are planning
“International Data Week” in fall 2016 in DC area
Data
integration is
only a first
step!
Thanks for
your
attention!
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