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Communicating Climate and Climate Change Information for Integrated Decision Support at the County and Regional Level Greg Dobson and Jim Fox. October 2009. What is RENCI?.
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Communicating Climate and Climate Change Information for Integrated Decision Support at the County and Regional Level Greg Dobson and Jim Fox October 2009
What is RENCI? • RENCI Statewide Mission - “To deliver technology and research from the UNC campuses to the people of the state of North Carolina.” • RENCI at UNC Asheville Engagement Center • “Decision Support tools for Flood Mitigation, Emergency Response and Water Resource Issues”
Our County and Region are Facing many Difficult Decisions • Water Resource issues • Floods of 2004 • Frequent Drought • Multiple hazards that require climate information • Integrating decision tools with existing data to make broader decisions
To deal with these issues, decision makers face many challenges • Diversity of stakeholder values, especially • across different sectors • Decisions are based on a combination of • factors and not a single driver • Data is often not at the proper scale • Who is a trusted source of information? • Understanding uncertainty with data • How can users understand the science? • Predicting the range of outcomes resulting • from different actions - scenarios • Identifying “win-win” and “no regrets” • solutions • Do we know who is empowered to make the • decision? www.interfacesouth.org
Visualizing information Distributing information Using information Explaining information Decision Support Tool Activities GIS/Visualization Facilitation Web tools Science communications Technical Expertise
Technical Expertise Facilities: VizWall, A-G Node, GeoDome, TouchTable Staff Expertise: Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Web programming Visualization Science communications Multimedia arts Group facilitation Environmental sciences
Flood Damage Reduction Task Force • Purpose of study: Flood mitigation in Swannanoa watershed following following severe flooding from 2004 Hurricanes • Decision: Integrated solutions that consider other factors including economic development, transportation, landuse, etc. • Scale: Swannanoa Watershed, Buncombe Co. • Use of Climate Data: balance between flooding and drought
Visualizing Information data visualization techniques 3D visual, Biltmore Village flooding GIS/Visualization
Visualizing Information data visualization techniques 3D visuals, Swannanoa River GIS/Visualization show new visuals and movies...
Distributing Information incorporate data visualization Regional Climate Data Viewer with Multigraph Web Tools
Distributing Information incorporate data visualization movies for flat screen and Geodome Web Tools www.youtube.com/user/RENCIAsheville
Explaining Information outreach and education methods Swannanoa Watershed Floodplain Driving Tour Science communications
Land of Sky Linking Lands Project • Purpose of study: Future land use planning • Decision: Integrated solutions that consider other factors including economic development, transportation, landuse etc. • Scale: Four county region • Use of Climate Data: Regional climate impact on land use issues and water resources
collaboration/group engagement Using Information Land of Sky web portal Facilitation
Using Information collaboration/group engagement Land of Sky web portal Facilitation
Multi-Hazard Risk Tool • Purpose of study: Tool for Emergency Managers that integrates • Decision: How to plan for multiple risks including flooding, wildfire, landslides, winter storms, dam failure, etc. • Scale: Buncombe County • Use of Climate Data: Drought, flooding, precipitation, winter storm occurrence
Distributing Information integrate multiple data sources Buncombe County Multi-hazard Risk Tool Web Tools Value driven, considering a combination of factors and users
Distributing Information integrate multiple data sources Buncombe County Multi-hazard Risk Tool Web Tools Tool tied to individual parcels – integration with City of Asheville and Buncombe County GIS Databases
Distributing Information integrate multiple data sources Buncombe County Multi-hazard Risk Tool Web Tools Summary reports available by area and hazard
New CLEaR Grant • Purpose of study: Climate Literacy Education and Research Grant – development of web tools and seminars • Decision: Application of Climate Data for Decision Support across Multiple Sectors • Climate change • Climate variability • Scale: Nationwide • Use of Climate Data: Multiple data feeds through NCDC Climate Monitoring Branch
Using Information Workshops
RENCI at UNC Asheville Decision Support Tools: Summary • Tool development is based on four activities • Visualizinginformation (GIS and other tools) • Distributinginformation (Web based tools) • Explaininginformation (Communication tools) • Usinginformation (Facilitation process tools) • Tool development informed by advantages of • Data accessibility • Technical expertise • Collaborations with community