The geospatial capabilities of Minerva -- a tool developed with SERV funding -- are evolving to meet the needs of humanitarian and NGO activities around the world. Minerva allows for the flexible use of high resolution satellite imagery to create images, movies, or 3D models of affected areas. This development comes at an important time for open-source GIS applications, as cross-domain information sharing is allowing volunteers and organizations involved in disaster relief to access the data they need to plan and prepare better response systems.

Certain situations call for the urgent availability of geographic data. To facilitate this, Minerva can export multiple image formats for hosting on the web, and integrate web mapping services (WMS) directly into the application. Minerva can be thought of as a fusion tool for geospatial data, where multiple layers can be overlaid for easy analysis. As a platform-independent, open-source application, Minerva is helping to connect the expert research and high-performance computing resources at ASU with the greater humanitarian community worldwide. The Minerva development team encourages NGOs and humanitarians to download and use the free application.

Supported areas have so far included Jalalabad, Afghanistan, and coastal regions of Myanmar that were affected by Cyclone Nargis. Follow the links below to view geospatial images of Myanmar.

Geospatial Images of Myanmar

Related Links:

• Minerva Homepage
• Biodesign Institute
• Fulton High Performance Computing Initiative

Myanmar images courtesy of DigitalGlobe

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