UT-Battelle has entered into an exclusive
distributorship license with East View Cartographic (EVC) for a population
distribution database. The LandScan High Resolution Global Population DataSet,
developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has
already seen success in a number of research, educational, humanitarian, and
corporate applications.
LandScan, which refines the best available
census data using geographic information system and remote sensing
technologies, has emerged as an international community standard for
sustainable development, environmental protection, disaster response, and
humanitarian relief.
Research using LandScan has resulted in
publications on subjects of interest to policy decision makers such as
predicted effects of global climate change. For instance, after the devastating
Indian Ocean tsunami of late 2004, LandScan
was used to estimate the number of people affected and where to send emergency
supplies.
“We have seen LandScan become one of ORNL’s
most successfully licensed products. This agreement with East View Cartographic
will help put this valuable population dataset into the hands of more
users,” says ORNL Director Thom Mason.
East View Cartographic, based in Minneapolis, Minn.,
is a provider of authoritative worldwide maps, geospatial data, and GIS
production services.
“In addition to being a powerful
database for environmental and humanitarian applications, we have seen strong
demand from telecom, insurance, and avionics customers from around the
world,” says EVC founder and CEO Kent D. Lee.
“EVC has already split the
LandScan data into regional and country-specific packages and now as the
exclusive distributor, we intend to load the content and offer affordable
annual subscriptions to the soon-to-be-released 2010 LandScan dataset,”
Lee says.
