Applications of geographic information systems (GIS) for transportation and climate change

The project team reviewed relevant literature and conducted an internet scan of GIS applications that relate to climate change to identify potential case studies. The case studies presented are based on telephone discussions that the project team held with project contacts, as well as relevant supplemental materials that interviewees provided. Interview contacts reviewed draft case studies to suggest revisions and provide additional information as needed. The Volpe Center project team wishes to thank the staff members from the organizations across the country that provided their insights for and review of this report. The time they graciously provided was fundamental in preparing the case studies presented. Contributors are listed in Appendix A. Global climate change's potential impacts on infrastructure create some of the most significant and challenging issues facing transportation planners and asset managers today. Despite uncertainty regarding the scope and magnitude of future climate change effects and their associated impacts, some transportation agencies have begun to factor climate change considerations into their decision-making processes. Geographic information systems (GIS) have proven to be a useful tool in transportation agencies' efforts to analyze and address climate change as it pertains to transportation facilities and operations. As such, this report synthesizes the findings from eight case studies that describe how select organizations are developing and applying GIS tools to implement climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Example observations from the case studies include: The use of GIS to support climate change analysis is just beginning to emerge in the transportation field. The use of GIS tools for climate change would likely become more prevalent in the transportation sector if the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events increases thus influencing transportation agencies to seek additional capabilities to spatially analyze or predict the extent and potential damage caused by these events. In the short term, using GIS to support climate change adaptation strategies will be more widespread as transportation agencies will need to develop strategies to strategies to mitigate or avoid the anticipated impacts of climate change. In areas that have established GHG emission targets, transportation agencies can utilize GIS to help identify effective transportation strategies to help reach the overall GHG reduction goals. While there is consensus that climate change will have impacts on the transportation system, there are many uncertainties regarding the scale and scope of those impacts. Such uncertainty presents a challenge for transportation decision-makers in determining how best plan for …