Data developments provide new ways to interact with climate data
IARC’s Scenarios Network for Alaska + Arctic Planning has launched several new ways to interact with climate data that make it easier to access large datasets.
Arctic EDS beta launch
SNAP turned the outdated Environmental Atlas of Alaska into the beta launch of the Arctic Environmental and Engineering Data + Design Support System. This version of the Arctic EDS includes data, tailored to engineers, across three categories: climate, engineering, and physiography. The SNAP team spent spring 2022 testing the tool design, integrating new datasets and building a website. As development continues, they are sharing the live site with Arctic engineers. More datasets will be added and participants can expect significant shifts in data and design as feedback is received.
Read a primer on the nature of the beta, the background of the project, what additions are already under consideration and how to provide feedback to guide development.
Northern Climate Reports tool beta launch
The Climate Adaptation Science Center-funded Integrated Ecosystem Model for Alaska and Northwest Canada Project has been developing a unique approach to integrating permafrost, wildfire and terrestrial change models to better understand Arctic ecosystems in a changing environment. Modeling and research were the first steps to provide scenarios and summaries of key climate variables to decision-makers. SNAP provided the expertise which pushed those summaries to users through a simple portal.
That portal, the Northern Climate Reports tool, is now live with a public beta. Users can select a point location or also by area by selecting from a dropdown, or through the map interface. Available areas include fire management units, hydrological units, climate divisions, game management units, protected lands (state parks, national parks, wilderness areas, etc.) and ethnolinguistic regions.
Each location returns a plain-language summary of the data results and trends for that region. Users can then scroll to explore charts, graphs and maps of historical and projected temperature, precipitation, permafrost, wildfire and vegetation type changes. As with all SNAP tools, charts can be downloaded, datasets are easily traceable and CSV downloads for all data are available.
Comments or suggestions to improve the tool are being solicited through a feedback survey as SNAP works to improve user experience
The SNAP data API – Your helpful data middle-man
As part of their data and tool infrastructure, SNAP is developing an Application Program Interface to ease data access for users and programmers. An API is a common kind of ‘data middle-man’ that helps programs and databases communicate with one-another. By directing user questions through the API and allowing it to handle accessing the data directly, barriers to accessing and streamlining new tools are decreased.
The SNAP-built Alaska + Arctic Geospatial Data API makes it easier to access baseline historical and projected information, model outputs, and other SNAP data. Visit the website to retrieve sample code for integration into other tools and workflows, and let the SNAP team how this fits into your workflows.