Visualization of GIS Analytic for Open Big Data in Environmental Science

This study aims to introduce an example of the visualization of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) analytic for open big data in environmental science. This study focuses on the issue that although higher temperatures should be mitigated by sea breezes flowing into inland areas, sea breeze flows are being obstructed by forests of high-rise buildings in coastal areas. Further, using a weather simulation model in addition to GIS, this study quantitatively analyzes the influence which the obstruction of sea breezes by clusters of high-rise buildings has on the urban heat island effect. In weather simulations which use the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model, a group of open big data such as land cover data, constructed from land use data and landform data and weather data, such as atmospheric data and sea surface temperature, are necessary. Therefore, in this study, as weather data and landform data, the WRF default data, that is, FNL (Global Final Analyses) and USGS (the U. S. Geological Survey) data, were used, and as land use data, urban area land use subdivided mesh data for 2009 from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan was used. Analysis was conducted in two stages, and Shiodome of Minato City in the Tokyo Metropolis was selected as the region for analysis.