Geographic Information experts meet in Ames

Many of the people who literally map out our lives are meeting today in Ames. It’s the biennial meeting of the Iowa Geographic Information Council. Andy Kula, a meteorologist and the vice president of the council, says geographic information is important to Iowans in many ways. He says local governments use the information in planning, locating utilities and mapping cities. Kula says it’s also important at the National Weather Service where he works. Kula says he’s interested in the sciences of the geographic information and being able to map temperature data, and mapping of data during storm warnings. Kula says the council was instrumental in an important project that will help their cause. He says last spring the group got together to take high-resolution aerial photography of the entire state. He says those photos are now available on the Iowa State University G-I-S website. Kula says he expects those photos to prove their worth. He says they can be used for land use studies and he can see the weather service using them for storm damage surveys. The Geographic Information Council will meet today through Wednesday.