Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Spatial computing perspective on food energy and water nexus

  • Published:
Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the coming decades, the increasing world population is expected to grow the demand for food, energy, and water resources. In addition, these resources will be under stress due to the climate change and urbanization. Previously, more problems were caused by piecemeal approaches analyzing and planning those resources independent of each other. The goal of the food, energy, and water (FEW) nexus approach is to prevent such problems by understanding, appreciating, and visualizing the interconnections and interdependencies of FEW resources at local, regional, and global levels. The nexus approach seeks to use the FEW resources as an interrelated system of systems, but data and modeling constraints make it a challenging task. In addition, the lack of complete knowledge and observability of FEW interactions exacerbates the problem. Related work focused on physical science solutions (e.g., desalination, bio-pesticides). No doubt these are necessary and worthwhile for FEW resource security. Overlooked in these work is that spatial computing may help domain scientists achieve their goals for the FEW nexus. In this paper, we describe our vision of the spatial computing’s role in understanding the FEW nexus using a Nexus Dashboard analogy. From a spatial data lifecycle perspective, we provide more details on the spatial computing components behind the Nexus Dashboard vision. In each component, we list new technical challenges that are likely to drive future spatial computing research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Achache J (2015) Modeling the Global Earth Observation System of Systems. Proc 2006 Inst Ind Eng Annu Conf 12:14946

    Google Scholar 

  • Allan JA (2003) Virtual water—the water, food, and trade nexus. Useful concept or misleading metaphor? Water Int 28:106–113. doi:10.1080/02508060.2003.9724812

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews-Speed P, Bleischwitz R, Boersma T, et al. (2012) The Global Resource Nexus. The Struggles for land, energy, food, water, and minerals. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Bazilian M, Rogner H, Howells M, et al. (2011) Considering the energy, water and food nexus: towards an integrated modelling approach. Energy Policy 39:7896–7906. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2011.09.039

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown DG, Band LE, Green KO, et al. (2014) Advancing land change modeling: opportunities and research requirements. National Academies Press, Washington DC

  • Butler D (2013) When Google got flu wrong. Nature 494:155–156. doi:10.1038/494155a

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell JB, Wynne RH (2011) Introduction to remote sensing, Fifth edn. The Guilford Press, New York(ISBN: 160918176X)

    Google Scholar 

  • Consortium O et al. (1999) OpenGIS simple features specification for SQL. OpenGIS Proj Doc 99(49):49–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Ester M, Kriegel H, Sander J (1997) Spatial data mining : a database approach. In: Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Advances in Spatial Databases. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 47–66

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • FEWSNET (2013) Nutrition|Famine Early Warning Systems Network. http://www.fews.net/sectors/nutrition. Accessed 8 Jan 2016

  • Flammini A, Puri M, Pluschke L, Dubois O (2014) Walking the nexus talk: assessing the water-energy-food nexus in the context of the sustainable energy for all initiative

  • Geographical Sciences Committee. (2014) Advancing land change modeling: opportunities and research requirements. National Academies Press, Washington DC

  • GEOSS (2015) GEOSS Portal. Website GEO (gr. Earth Obs.)

  • GNSS (2011) GNSS Systems Reports

  • Google (2015) Google Earth Web Site. https://www.google.com/earth/explore/products/. Accessed 1 Jan 2015

  • Healy RW, Alley WM, Engle MA, McMahon PB, Bales JD (2015) The water-energy nexus: An Earth Science Perspective (No. 1407). US Geological Survey, Chicago

  • Heidemann J, Stojanovic M, Zorzi M (2012) Underwater sensor networks: applications, advances and challenges. Philos Trans R Soc A Math Phys Eng Sci 370:158–175. doi:10.1098/rsta.2011.0214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hellegers P, Zilberman D, Steduto P, McCornick P (2008) Interactions between water, energy, food and environment: evolving perspectives and policy issues. Water Policy 10:1. doi:10.2166/wp.2008.048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoekstra a. Y, Hoekstra a. Y (2003) Virtual water trade. Int Expert Meet Virtual Water Trade 12:1–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoff H (2011) Understanding the nexus. Background paper for the Bonn2011 Conference: the water, energy and food security nexus. Security 1–52

  • Kemp K (2008) Encyclopedia of geographic information science. SAGE Publications (ISBN 1412913136)

  • Lillesand TM, Kiefer RW, Chipman JW (2009) Remote sensing and image interpretation. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Mooney H, Hull V, et al. (2015) Systems integration for global sustainability. Science (80-) 347:1258832–1258832. doi:10.1126/science.1258832

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundy J, Bowdish L (2014) The energy-water-food neuxs: insights for the business community. NEXUS Platf. - Water Energy Food Secur. Nexus - NEXUS Resour

  • McBratney A, Whelan B, Ancev T, Bouma J (2005) Future directions of precision agriculture. Precis Agric 6:7–23. doi:10.1007/s11119-005-0681-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melo MT, Nickel S, Saldanha-da-Gama F (2009) Facility location and supply chain management—a review. Eur J Oper Res 196:401–412. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2008.05.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Min H, Zhou GG (2002) Supply chain modeling: past, present and future. Comput Ind Eng 43:231–249. doi:10.1016/S0360-8352(02)00066-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohtar RH, Daher B (2012) Water, energy, and food: the ultimate nexus. Encyclopedia of Agricultural, Food, and Biological Engineering

  • MWater (2013) mWater. http://www.mwater.co/. Accessed 9 Jan 2016

  • NAP (1997) Precision agriculture in the 21st century. National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • NAS (2012) Global navigation satellite systems: report of a Joint Workshop of the National Academy of Engineering and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The National Academy Press(ISBN 978–0-309-22275-4)

  • NASA (2012) Landsat top ten—a shrinking sea, Aral Sea. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/news/40th-top10-aralsea.html

  • NIC (2015a) Continuity of NASA Earth observations from space. National Academy Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • NIC (2015b) NASA Space Technology Roadmaps (2015 Draft)

  • NRC (1997) Precision agriculture in the 21st century: geospatial and information technologies in crop management. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • NRC (2014) Opportunities to use remote sensing in undestanding permafrost and related ecological characteristics: report of a workshop. The National Academies Press(ISBN: 978–0-309-30121-3)

  • NSF (2014a) Geospatial data project puts major issues on the map. http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=132971&WT.mc_id=USNSF_1. Accessed 8 Jan 2016

  • NSF (2014b) Food, Energy and Water: Transformative Research Opportunities in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee - Subcommittee on Food Systems, July 2014. www.nsf.gov/mps/advisory/mpsac_other_reports/nsf_food_security_report_review_final_rev2.pdf

  • NSF (2015) Dear colleague letter: SEES: interactions of food systems with water and energy systems. \url{http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15040/nsf15040.jsp}

  • Okolloh O (2009) Ushahidi, or “testimony”: Web 2.0 tools for crowdsourcing crisis information. Particip Learn Action 59:65–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Openshaw S (1984) The modifiable areal unit problem. Geo Books, Norwich

  • Parkingson B, Spilker J (1996) Global positioning system: theory and applications. Aiaa

  • Pierre Guillibert (2015) FEW nexus resource platform. http://www.water-energy-food.org/. Accessed 8 Jan 2016

  • Plant RE, Pettygrove GS, Reinert WR (2000) Precision agriculture can increase profits and limit environmental impacts. Calif Agric 54:66–71. doi:10.3733/ca.v054n04p66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabalais NN, Turner RE, Wiseman WJ (2002) Gulf of Mexico hypoxia, A.K.A. “The Dead Zone.”. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 33:235–263. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.33.010802.150513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott C, Pierce S a, Pasqualetti MJ, et al. (2011) Policy and institutional dimensions of the water-energy nexus. Energy Policy 39:6622–6630. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2011.08.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott CA, Kurian M, Wescoat JL Jr. (2015) The water-energy-food nexus: enhancing adaptive capacity to complex global challenges. Governing the nexus. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, pp. 15–38.

  • Shekar S, Chawla S (2003) Spatial databases: a tour. In: Spat. Databases A Tour. http://www.spatial.cs.umn.edu/Book/slides/. Accessed 8 Jan 2016

  • Shekhar S, Chawla S, Ravada S, et al. (1999) Spatial databases—accomplishments and research needs. Knowl Data Eng IEEE Trans 11:45–55. doi:10.1109/69.755614

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shekhar S, Feiner S, Aref WG (2015a) From GPS and virtual globes to spatial computing—2020. Geoinformatica 19:799–832. doi:10.1007/s10707-015-0235-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shekhar S, Feiner SK, Aref WG (2015b) Spatial computing: accomplishments, opportunities, and research needs. Commun ACM 59:72–81. doi:10.1145/2756547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tobler W (1970) A computer movie simulating urban growth in the Detroit region. Economic geography 234–240

  • U.S. Dept.of State (2015) Fulbright Water-Energy-Food Nexus Workshop. http://www.state.gov/p/sca/rls/rmks/2015/237429.htm. Accessed 8 Jan 2016

  • UNU-FLORES (2015) Nexus Observatory Platform Web Site

  • USGS (2011) USGS Groundwater Watch. http://groundwaterwatch.usgs.gov/AWLSites.asp?S=302416087505501&ncd=. Accessed 9 Jan 2016

  • USGS (1997) U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Open-File Report 97–121

  • Vatsavai R, Shekhar S, Burk T, Lime S (2006) UMN-MapServer: a high-performance, interoperable, and open source web mapping and geo-spatial analysis system. Geographic, Information Science, In, pp. 400–417

    Google Scholar 

  • Webber M (2015) Energy, water and food problems must be solved together. Sci Am 312:5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright BD (2009) The Food Price Crisis of 2007/2008 : FAO food outlook Glob Mark Anal Retrieved 1–11

  • Zainuddin M, Kiyofuji H, Saitoh K, Saitoh SI (2006) Using multi-sensor satellite remote sensing and catch data to detect ocean hot spots for albacore (Thunnus alalunga) in the northwestern North Pacific. Deep Res Part II Top Stud Oceanogr 53:419–431. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2006.01.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao D, Jiang H, Yang T, et al (2012) Remote sensing of aquatic vegetation distribution in Taihu Lake using an improved classification tree with modified thresholds. Journal of environmental management 95(1):98–107

  • Zimmerman DL, Stein M (2010) Classical geostatistical methods. Handbook of spatial statistics, pp. 29–44. Chapman & Hall/CRC, Boca-Raton

Download references

Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. 1029711, IIS-1320580, 0940818, and IIS-1218168; U.S. DoD under Grant No. HM1582-08-1-0017; and the University of Minnesota via U-Spatial. We would like to thank Kim Koffolt and the members of the University of Minnesota Spatial Computing Research Group for their comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Emre Eftelioglu, Zhe Jiang, Reem Ali & Shashi Shekhar

Authors
  1. Emre Eftelioglu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhe Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Reem Ali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Shashi Shekhar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emre Eftelioglu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Eftelioglu, E., Jiang, Z., Ali, R. et al. Spatial computing perspective on food energy and water nexus. J Environ Stud Sci 6, 62–76 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-016-0372-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-016-0372-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation