Climate change effects at your doorstep: Geographic visualization to support Nordic homeowners in adapting to climate change (original) (raw)
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VisAdapt: A visualization tool to support climate change adaptation
IEEE computer graphics and applications, 2016
In this article we present the design and implementation of the web-based visualization tool VisAdapt, developed to support homeowners in the Nordic countries to assess anticipated climate change and climate related risks which are expected to negatively impact their living conditions. The tool guides the user through a three-step visual exploration process to facilitate the exploration of risks and adaptation measures, specifically adapted to the user. VisAdapt has been developed over the course of two years in close collaboration with domain experts and end users to ensure the validity of the included data and the efficiency of the visual interface. Although VisAdapt is designed for Nordic homeowners, the insights gained from the development process and the lessons learned from the project could be valuable to researchers in a wide area of application domains.
Visualizing climate change impact with ubiquitous spatial technologies
2010
This paper further articulates the role of ubiquitous spatial technologies (e.g. Google Earth) as tools for analyzing, visualizing, and developing policy responses to predicted climate change impacts. Specifically, the efficiency and effectiveness of using the tools in the production of visualizations for the local level is studied. A brief background to climate change response reveals limited data and visualizations at the local level: ubiquitous spatial technologies can potentially fill the void. Case study data including temperature, rainfall and land suitability information from southwest Victoria (Australia) are used to test the hypothesis. The research team produced thirty short visualizations using minimal time, resources and a moderate skill base. The effectiveness of the visualizations was tested on a diverse group of stakeholders. It was found that the visuals provided contextual information and understandings of overarching climate change trends, however, integration with other datasets and higher levels of detail are required if the platform is to be used as a stand alone policy development tool. Moreover, the need to further develop design guidelines to guard against, or at least inform users about visual sensationalism is required.
Energy Research & Social Science, 2015
Climate change communication on anticipated impacts and adaptive responses is frequently presented as an effective means to facilitate implementation of adaptation to mitigate risks to residential buildings. However, it requires that communication is developed in a way that resonates with the context of the target audience, provides intelligible information and addresses perceived barriers to adaptation. In this paper we reflect upon criteria for useful climate change communication gained over a three year development process of a web-based tool-VisAdapt TMaimed at increasing the adaptive capacity among Nordic homeowners. Based on the results from continuous user-testing and focus group interviews we outline lessons learned and key aspects to consider in the design of tools for communicating complex issues such as climate change effects and adaptive response measures.
Communicating Climate Change through ICT-Based Visualization: Towards an Analytical Framework
Sustainability, 2013
The difficulties in communicating climate change science to the general public are often highlighted as one of the hurdles for support of enhanced climate action. The advances of interactive visualization using information and communication technology (ICT) are claimed to be a game-changer in our ability to communicate complex issues. However, new analytical frameworks are warranted to analyse the role of such technologies. This paper develops a novel framework for analyzing the content, form, context and relevance of ICT-based visualization of climate change, based on insights from literature on climate change communication. Thereafter, we exemplify the analytical framework by applying it to a pilot case of ICT-based climate visualization in a GeoDome. Possibilities to use affordable advanced ICT-based visualization devices in science and policy communication are rapidly expanding. We thus see wider implications and applications of the analytical framework not only for other ICT environments but also other issue areas in sustainability communication.
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Communicating local climate risks online through an interactive data visualization
Literature suggests a need to develop climate communication tools that focus on the impacts of climate change at local scales to increase proximity and communicate the risks on a more personal level. However, the nature of raw climate projection data makes accessibility by the lay audience a challenge and necessitates the need for innovative technological approaches to its distribution. ClimateData.US was created as an interactive visualization tool based on downscaled climate projection data to increase proximity and render climate change as salient and personally relevant. This experiment evaluated whether interacting with ClimateData.US influenced participants’ climate change attitudes and concern and whether this effect varied as a function of geographic proximity. Findings revealed strong effects—regardless of geographic proximity—for interacting with the website on participants’ perceived reality of climate change, attitude certainty, and concern for climate change.
Visualizations are widely used in the communication of climate projections. However, their effectiveness has rarely been assessed among their target audience. Given recent calls to increase the usability of climate information through the tailoring of climate projections, it is imperative to assess the effectiveness of different visualizations. This paper explores the complexities of tailoring through an online survey conducted with 162 local adaptation practitioners in Germany and the UK. The survey examined respondents’ assessed and perceived comprehension (PC) of visual representations of climate projections as well as preferences for using different visualizations in communicating and planning for a changing climate. Comprehension and use are tested using four different graph formats, which are split into two pairs. Within each pair the information content is the same but is visualized differently. We show that even within a fairly homogeneous user group, such as local adaptation practitioners, there are clear differences in respondents’ comprehension of and preference for visualizations. We do not find a consistent association between assessed comprehension and PC or use within the two pairs of visualizations that we analysed. There is, however, a clear link between PC and use of graph format. This suggests that respondents use what they think they understand the best, rather than what they actually understand the best. These findings highlight that audience-specific targeted communication may be more complex and challenging than previously recognized.
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Landscape Ecology, 2012
Climate change is predicted to impact countries, regions and localities differently. However, common to the predicted impacts is a global trend toward increased levels of carbon dioxide and rising sea levels. Governments and communities need to take into account the likely impacts of climate on the landscape, both built and natural. There is a growing and significant body of climate change research. Much of this information produced by domain experts for a range of disciplines is complex and difficult for planners, decision makers and communities to act upon. The need to communicate often complex scientific information which can be used to assist in the planning cycle is a key challenge. This paper draws from a range of international examples of the use of visualisation in the context of landscape planning to communicate climate change impact and adaptation options within the context of the planning cycle. Missing from the literature, however, is a multi-scalar approach which allows decision makers, planners and communities to seamlessly explore scenarios at their special level of interest, as well as to collectively understand what is driving these at a larger scale, and what the implications are at ever more local levels. Visualisation tools such as digital globes provide one way to bring together multi-scaled spatial-temporal datasets. We present an initial development with this goal in mind. Future research is required to determine the best tools for communicating particular complex scientific data and also to better understand how visualisation can be used to improve the landscape planning process.