{"id":493,"date":"2014-04-21T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-21T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.msdn.microsoft.com\/msr_er\/2014\/04\/21\/fetchclimateharnessing-the-cloud-to-find-and-share-environmental-data\/"},"modified":"2016-07-20T07:30:14","modified_gmt":"2016-07-20T14:30:14","slug":"fetchclimateharnessing-the-cloud-to-find-and-share-environmental-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/blog\/fetchclimateharnessing-the-cloud-to-find-and-share-environmental-data\/","title":{"rendered":"FetchClimate\u2014harnessing the cloud to find and share environmental data"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists around the world are striving tirelessly to monitor and model the environment—to understand the intricate workings of our ecosystem—so that policymakers can make informed decisions that lead to a sustainable future for “spaceship Earth.” This research involves using the thousands of available environmental datasets, on everything from agriculture and biodiversity to climate and the oceans. But finding, browsing, choosing, and downloading the right data can be ridiculously hard, even for the experts.<\/span><\/p>\n

What if finding environmental data were as simple as clicking on a map?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Draw
Draw a box around the geographic area you’re interested in, select the environmental information you want, and view the data on Bing Maps within seconds<\/span><\/p>\n

Enter FetchClimate (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, a tool that makes locating environmental information as easy as searching for a hotel or coffee shop online. Just draw a box around the geographic area you’re interested in, select the environmental information you want, and view the data on Bing Maps within seconds. What used to take researchers hours, days, or even weeks can now be done very quickly—by anyone. When possible, FetchClimate calculates data uncertainty, so you know how reliable the information is, and the tool allows you to specify precisely the size of the area and the period of time for your query.<\/span><\/p>\n

FetchClimate runs in the cloud, on Microsoft Azure, meaning there is no physical limit on how much information can be added. You can not only look at historical climate data but also peer into the future, as we have included forecast data from the latest climate simulation experiments (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>. For example, you can see what the predicted temperature or precipitation in your area will be in 2050.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Visualization
Visualization of year-to-year precipitation averages in southern Asia<\/span><\/p>\n

The Computational Ecology and Environmental Science (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> group in Microsoft Research has spent several years developing FetchClimate, working with Moscow State University (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, which provided software development, and the DigiLab at the London College of Communication (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, which designed an interface that makes finding and understanding environmental information stress-free. So we’re excited to be releasing FetchClimate—in three different ways—for anyone to use for research, study, or just to satisfy their curiosity about our planet.<\/span><\/p>\n