Using GIS to improve resource management

Learning how to use and sustain land and water resources is essential to the environmental, economic, social, and cultural health of Alaska, the nation, and the globe. Geospatial technologies, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS), enable scientists and policymakers to see the “big picture” and help them detect, assess, and solve some of the globe’s biggest and most difficult resource management issues. Our faculty and students have a front row seat in observing accelerating changes here in the circumpolar north, facilitating rapid validation of GIS and RS products. Or in other words, we can check how well the images on our computers represent the reality on the ground in one of the most rapidly changing areas of the world.

We also offer training in GIS and RS at undergraduate and graduate levels, which lead to highly employable skill sets being sought in both the public and private sectors.