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Geospatial Technology and Data for Volunteer-based
Wilderness Search and Rescue
GEOG 596A Capstone Peer ReviewLoren Pfau, MGIS Candidate
Justine Blanford, Faculty Advisor22 September 2011
Introduction
Objective
Methodology
Timeline
Acknowledgements
Questions
Agenda
“I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.” – Daniel Boone
Locating people/objects in
Urban settings (e.g. EMS, law enforcement)
Water (e.g. lost boats/ person USCG)
Land (e.g. lost aircraft (Civil Air Patrol, DND))
Confined space (e.g. collapsed buildings, mines)
Wilderness – focus of my study
Search and Rescue
Primary Search & Rescue (SAR) Activities
Primary SAR
Activities
Search
RecoveryRescue
Search –looking for lost person. Rescue – extricating a person.
Recovery – location and transport of a deceased.
National Park Service – paid professionals
VOLUNTEER based – Everywhere else In most Western States SAR is responsibility of the
County Sheriff
Many SAR teams are members of the Mountain Rescue Association and are funded by donations and fundraising, not tax dollars
Wilderness SAR?
SAR Incidents in USA, 1992-2007
Fatality3%
Ill or In-jured31%
Not Ill or Injured
66%
Source: Heggie, 2009
USA National Parks
• Approximately 65,439 SAR missions
• Approximately 4,090 per year
Colorado between 1995-2009
• Approximately 20,672 SAR Missions
• Approximately 1,378 per year
Source: CSRB, 2009
Activities of people rescued, Colorado 1995-2009
Climbe
r
Hiker
Hunte
r
Angle
r
Snow
mo.
..
Bicyclist
River
Lake
OHVSk
ier
Horse
back
Campe
r
Aircra
ft
Other
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
CSRB, 2009
How is a lost/missing person successfully rescued/recovered in the wilderness?
SAR Mission Process
Initial Trigger
• E911 call• SPOT/PLB• Friend/Family• Employer• Other
Search Decision
• Fact Finding• Information
Gathering• Wait or Go
Decision
Conduct Search
• Initial Strategy• Deploy
Resources• Continue
Information Gathering
• Adjust Search Strategy
Completion
• Successful• Not Successful• Lessons
Learned
SEARCH – RESCUE - RECOVERY
Search Preparation - Information Gathering
Variety of sources, formatsPaper:USGS 7.5" topo maps, 1:24,000 scale, various publication dates
Smaller-scale topo maps, 1:50,000 and 1:100,000, various publication dates
Park/NFS trail maps, scale varies by source, various publication dates
Digital:Electronic topo maps (e.g. US National Map, Delorme Topo North America),variable scale and publication dates
Aerial/Satellite Imagery, variable scale and publication dates
Digital Elevation Models, National Elevation Dataset at 30, 10 and 3 meters
GPS units with topo maps (e.g. Garmin MapSource) Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI). (e.g. OpenStreetMaps, 14ers.com)
Two step process◦ Hasty Search and containment
- Landscape (e.g. vegetation, terrain)- Activity (e.g. hiking, running) Local knowledge of area (SAR Team)
◦ Detailed Search- Search Theory (originally developed during WWII)- Lost Person Behaviour (Koester, 2008)- Survival rates over time (Koester, 2008)
Performing Search
unsuccessful
A B
Search TheoryPOA
Probability of Area (chance the person
is in the search area)
POD
Probability of Detection (chance the
person will be detected if in the search area)
POS
Probability of Success
(chance of finding the person)
= x
From Ferguson, 2008
Lost Person BehaviorISRID (International search and rescue incidents database) - SAR mission data from around the world (e.g. Australia, USA, UK)- information on subject type (e.g. age, mental state), search time
(i.e. time it took to find the person), distance traveled, weather conditions etc.
Used to determine survival rate in different settings
<24 hours >24 hours >48 hours >72 hours >96 hours0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
4-6 year old child (all weather, terrain, N=205)
Source: Koester, 2008
Hikers (all weather, terrain, N=3013)
Documentation for training and analysis purposes
Post-Mission
Need to Visualize, Analyze, Model, Manage and Document mission
Fundamentally a Geospatial Activity
Time-sensitive
Summary of SAR
50% searches completed < 3 hours
81% are over within 12 hours 93% are complete within 24
hours
Source: Koester, 2008
US Coast Guard Civil Air Patrol Urban Fire and EMS Wildland Firefighting Natural Disasters Avalanche Forecasting &
Mitigation Social Media (Facebook,
Twitter)
GIS and Emergency Management
MapSAR (Not released and is currently under development) – extension for ESRI ArcGIS
National Park Service GIS tools
Mountaineer Area Rescue Group
Applying GIS technologies for wilderness SAR
SAR teams mainly volunteer
Lack of GIS expertise within SAR teams to use GIS and maintain databases
Lack of Funding – training, cost software
Limited use of GIS for wilderness SAR?
Traditionally: a telephone call and a topo map
Now: e911 Phase II, social media, smartphone apps, mapping GPS units, GIS, etc.
A wealth of geospatial data becoming available but understanding of how to access and use this data is in early stages of development
Moving from “Search For” to “Go To” environment in real-time at the click of a button
SAR Information is Changing
AccuTerra OnDemand
Geotagged iPhone photo
Location Information
APRS tracking
Google Latitude
Tracking
SPOT Satellite Messenger
OpenStreetMap trails
Avalanche paths near Loveland Ski Area, CO
Alternative Baselayer Sources
14ers.com route and trip reports
Wireless e911 Call
Some Examples
Challenges facing SAR teams is understanding
what information is available and how to access how reliable is the data/information how the data may be utilized, managed and
integrated during time-sensitive missions.
Objective
Purpose: To evaluate what data and technology may be effectively used in wilderness SAR missions
Data Gathering Assessment of Data and Technology
Study Area: Colorado
Methodology
Mission Data Gathering and Analysis
Current mission data is logged in paper format - Data for 2-5 years of mission will be digitalized Data will be used for part II: Assessment of Data
and Technology
Interviews and short survey
Data Needs:Critically assess data needs within current SAR group Alpine Rescue Team and two external SAR groups
Methodology – Data
Methodology – TechnologyTechnology Assessment:
Critically assess a variety of Geospatial tools Identity a wide variety of Geospatial
technologies that will include: full GIS, on-line mapping tools, smartphone apps
Develop assessment criteria
Test technology (1-3 apps (1 Full GIS, 1 online mapping, 1 Smartphone App)) during real SAR mission
Easy to learn Ease of use Ability to integrate data Analytical capabilities Accuracy For smartphones – coverage (is coverage reliable) For smartphone apps – accuracy of tracks,
coordinates How useful was the application during a mission?
(e.g. quick to get information)
Some criteria that may be used to critique Geospatial tools (still to be determined)
Summary of data needs (type of data and scale, human expert knowledge, historical missions)
Summary of data sources and strengths and weaknesses
Summary of Geospatial Software strengths and weaknesses and how rated/ranked based on criteria
Summary of how each of the 1-3 selected software apps performed in a real SAR operations
Expected Results/Outcomes
Mission Data ◦ Compile – 2 Months◦ Analyze – 1 Month
Survey of SAR Team Use of Geospatial Data and Technology – 4 Months◦ Create◦ Compile ◦ Analyze
Assess Technologies – 4 Months Test Technologies – 2 Months Target Presentation: Mountain Rescue
Association Spring Meeting – June/July 2012
Timeline
Acknowledgements
• Justine Blanford
• Members of the Alpine Rescue Team and Rocky Mountain Rescue Group
Just Another Day in the Bowling Alley…