GIS, or geographic information system, is a powerful tool for environmental engineering. It allows you to collect, analyze, and visualize spatial data related to various environmental issues and solutions. In this article, you will learn how to apply GIS in environmental engineering, and what benefits it can bring to your projects.
GIS is a system that integrates hardware, software, and data to capture, store, manipulate, and display geographic information. It can help you understand the spatial relationships, patterns, and trends of environmental phenomena, such as pollution, climate change, natural hazards, and biodiversity. GIS can also help you design, evaluate, and implement environmental engineering solutions, such as remediation, mitigation, adaptation, and conservation.
GIS is a technology that allows us to add location details to the data we want to analyse. This blows open a wide range of possibilities and scope for assessment. It will help you understand your data better and it's behaviour at/with different location parameters. The simplest example is rainfall data. Geospatial technology helps us easily understand, associate and visualise rainfall pattern for a selected point or across an entire area.
GIS helps you to collect, analyze, visualize, and share geospatial data and insight. GIS plays an important role in civil engineering as it helps the engineer to understand the geographical context of the planned infrastructure to be built in the future. it gives you a tool to analyze the potential impact of the infra and provide visionary insight to mitigate it.
One of the main applications of GIS in environmental engineering is data collection. You can use GIS to collect environmental data from various sources, such as satellites, aerial images, drones, sensors, field surveys, and databases. You can also use GIS to integrate and organize different types of data, such as raster, vector, attribute, and temporal data. For example, you can use GIS to create a digital elevation model (DEM) of a watershed, overlay it with land use and soil data, and add precipitation and runoff data to model hydrological processes.
GIS is a very data friendly technology. It supports many interoperable data formats, thereby making it easy to use. One can work with tables, rasters and vectors in the same software. Data can be collected in any suitable format, like images, csv, shapefiles, etc and can analysed together, provided that they have the same/common geolocation details. For example, in a built-up area building details, extent, address and occupants information can be collected and overlayed on a satellite imagery during a survey. These can be analysed together using GIS tools to generate Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) data.
I was a GIS analyst with an environmental consulting firm for over a decade. While the examples given are true, the day to day work usually involved simply collecting a GPS point every time we took a soil or water sample. Then we could link the tables of data from the lab, to the coordinates on the map, and do things like plume modeling for soil contamination. We also did a lot of work with a 3rd party company who did ground penetrating radar and electromagnetic scanning who would give us fantastic 3D maps of conductivity and soil salinity which would also help us to model the limits of ground contamination. Overall, the goal was to map every single datapoint collected in the field, to help give the analysts a picture of the situation.
1. survey form that allows you to add geolocation to the data collection form. 2. drone mapping, by collecting site data via drone, users can build a collection of aerial photos, or even build a 3D model that monitors the building process of the infrastructure. it can be an imagery form or point cloud, or lidar data form 3. underground data collection. ground investigation is a common practice that done before the construction starts. voxel layer can be built from the data that collect from the ground investigation for the visualization of the underground geological condition
GIS in environmental engineering is utilized for environmental assessment, water resources management, and waste management to identify optimal facility locations and manage pollutants. It aids in air quality monitoring, soil erosion control, and environmental remediation efforts. It's also employed in risk analysis for disasters, choosing sites for renewable energy, and conserving natural resources. Furthermore, GIS helps analyze climate change impacts, assists in regulatory compliance, and engages the public on environmental issues. Essentially, it's a critical tool for data analysis and informed decision-making in environmental protection and resource management.
Another application of GIS in environmental engineering is data analysis. You can use GIS to perform various types of analysis on environmental data, such as spatial analysis, statistical analysis, network analysis, and multicriteria analysis. For example, you can use GIS to identify and quantify the sources, pathways, and receptors of environmental contaminants, and assess their risks and impacts. You can also use GIS to optimize the location, size, and configuration of environmental engineering facilities, such as treatment plants, landfills, and green spaces.
GIS plays a fundamental role in Environmental assessments for any AEC or Utilities project. GIS based custom tools can be developed for performing site suitability analysis by identifying potential risks w.r.t Environment, Biodiversity and Archaeology. Moreover, image analysis can be done for disaster management like flood mapping/landslides susceptibility and mitigation plans can be prepared then.
GIS in environmental engineering aids in site selection, spatial analysis of pollutants, and watershed management. It assesses environmental impacts, monitors air and water quality, and plans sustainable infrastructure. GIS enables modeling of ecosystems, predicting natural disasters, and implementing mitigation strategies.
GIS has a whole range of applications for every type of data. For instance, an elevation raster (DEM) can be used to generate streams, stream orders and water flow direction. This information can be further combined with weather data, LULC data and soil data to estimate water flow quantity and predict flooding.
In Canada, when wetlands are filled in and developed over, you have to provide compensation or turn a comparable piece of land into a constructed wetland. Part of my job was georectifying and analyzing historical air photos and using GIS tools to delineate the wetland area over time to come up with a historical average and determine the right amount of land to build a new wetland in. We also did a project where we were raising the height of a dam and we needed to map the extent of the resulting head pond, and mark all the sites that were going to be impacted from archeological sites to wildlife nests. GIS can be used for many different types of analysis in the environmental field.
we can use GIS for creating Digital EIA. 1. airflow analysis, using computational fluid dynamics model, we can calculate the air flow impact for a target building or an urban area, and measure the impact of the infrastructure that you are going to build 2. noise impact assessment. noise modelling is a common practice in EIA. we can visualize the noise impact by using 3D GIS. 3. cultural and heritage mapping by using GIS. field study can be done to collect the valuable cultural and heritage that need to be protected and preserved before construction begin
A third application of GIS in environmental engineering is data visualization. You can use GIS to create and display various types of maps, charts, graphs, and animations to communicate environmental information effectively. For example, you can use GIS to create a thematic map of air quality indicators, such as PM2.5, NO2, and O3, and show their spatial distribution and variation over time. You can also use GIS to create a 3D model of a proposed environmental engineering project, such as a wind farm, and simulate its performance and impacts.
I did one project where we determined how a new highrise development was going to cast shadows on the surrounding properties, including determining how long each day, each property would be in shadow.
A final application of GIS in environmental engineering is decision making. You can use GIS to support environmental decision making at different levels, such as planning, design, management, and evaluation. For example, you can use GIS to compare and rank different environmental engineering alternatives based on multiple criteria, such as cost, efficiency, feasibility, and sustainability. You can also use GIS to monitor and evaluate the outcomes and impacts of environmental engineering interventions, such as emission reduction, waste management, and restoration.
Insights generated from spatial data using GIS play a very critical role in deciding the commissioning of any major project. Waste collection and segregation data can be used to determine the location of landfills and their impact on the surrounding area. Hydrology & flood data can be used to determine the determine the water safety of an area.
Modelling plume extents and determining what types of contaminants are present by doing a Phase 2 Environmental Assessment (Canadian terminology) gives a good idea of what the cleanup costs are going to be - how much contaminated soil needs to be excavated or is it more cost effective to remediate the contamination in-situ. The first options usually costs more in dollars, while the second costs more in time.
Using GIS in environmental engineering can bring a range of advantages to your projects, such as improved accuracy, reliability, and completeness of data. It can also enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and flexibility of data processing and analysis. GIS provides clearer, more interactive, and more accessible data presentation and communication. Additionally, it facilitates the integration, collaboration, and participation of different stakeholders in environmental decision making. Finally, GIS can contribute to the innovation, optimization, and sustainability of environmental engineering solutions.
GIS will enable the stakeholders make informed and smart decisions. One will be able to understand & visualise historical patterns and future predictions of environmental factors such weather, population spread, industrial growth and its impacts. This will serve as the basis for more experiments, analysis and data based decision making.
1. web based GIS, allow you to be easier to share your insightful finding anywhere and anytime with anyone who can access to browser and internet 2. 3D visualization is an effective way to deliver your message to the audience. 3. web based GIS allow general public to comment the project and foster public participation