2 minute read

Natural Infrastructure Opportunities Tool

Caterpillar, The Nature Conservancy, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock, AECOM, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers–Mobile District

Mapping to promote collaborative planning of natural infrastructure. Developed through an iterative collaboration and released in August 2019, the Natural Infrastructure Opportunities Tool (NIOT) focuses on identifying natural infrastructure and beneficial use opportunities through map-based visualizations of environmental, geomorphic, sediment, and upcoming U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) projects data layers. This portal highlights natural infrastructure connections to inspire opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Within the portal, users can add their own resource needs, highlight available resources, and find mutually beneficial strategies for the creation of natural infrastructure. Best used in the planning stages of a project to generate new ideas about natural infrastructure projects, the NIOT presents multiple data sets in one easyto-use place. The tool displays data describing local conditions such as shoaling rates, shoreline change, geomorphic and dune features, hurricane tracks, sediment budgets, and subsidence. In addition to local and baseline data layers pulled from sources such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the NIOT allows users to identify current infrastructure projects and directly add resource or project needs. Resource connections, including points of contact, then appear on the map. All that remains is for users to start planning their own natural infrastructure innovations.

Examples of data provided by the Natural Infrastructure Opportunities Tool (from top): The welcome page provides information on how the NIOT works and how to become a contributor; 80 years of shoreline change-rate data; sediment baseline conditions include physical, chemical, and biological sediment data as presented by the NIO User Community; the resource connections includes USACE projects, NIO resources, and NIO needs; and exploring multiple data layers in San Francisco Bay, California.
(images provided by Safra Altman, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center)

This article is from: