Samantha Arundel, assistant professor of geography and public planning in the College of Ecosystems Science and Management, is working with scientists in the astrogeology team of the U.S. Geological Survey.

The team received a $132,000 grant from NASA to study surface features and the atmosphere of Mars using data collected from the Mars Orbiter Camera on the Mars Global Surveyor, a spacecraft launched in 1996 by NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Arundel will help the team track changes in wind-blown surface features, like dunes and yardangs, eventually leading to information about shifting atmospheric circulation patterns. "Studying other atmospheres gives us more knowledge about our own atmosphere," she said. "Also, knowing how the surface changes aids in planning future landing sites."

By examining the surface features of the planet, Arundel hopes to gather information about the atmosphere. Using a program called Geographical Information Systems, she will be able to analyze the surface and atmospheric features of the planet.

Arundel also is using GIS in studying the last glacial cycle in the Colorado Plateau region. Arundel and scientists Ken Cole and Kathryn Thomas at the Colorado Plateau Field Station (also USGS), received a USGS Global Change Research Program combined grant of almost $1 million over the next five years.

GIS will be used to model plant distributions during the last glacial cycle and the independent effects different climatic variables have on them. It also will be used to predict migration rates and future distribution patterns. This is important for maintaining a resource base during future climatic changes, Arundel said.

GIS is a "computerized way of working with spatial data," Arundel said.

"Anything you do with spatial data, you can use GIS to analyze and manage it," she said.

Arundel said GIS has affected spatial data analysis in much the same way.

On the Mars project, Arudel said, "We will probably be using GIS in atmospheric modeling, although we're not sure exactly how at this moment. Atmospheric modeling has traditionally been undertaken through sequential programming languages and not visualized until the end. I am hoping to use GIS during the process so that layers and various output can be visualized as we go."

In addition to geographers, GIS also is used by city planners in deciding the best construction locations, by biologists in tracking animals, by 911 operators in deciding the quickest ambulance routes and a variety of other professions.

The Geography and Public Planning department offers a Geographical Information Management emphasis in its geography program to students interested in the management of spatial data.

"It is a comprehensive program, and there are more and more students interested in it," Arundel said. "Every GIM graduate I have advised has found a job in the field within six months of graduation."