science

Geo-Wiki

Geo-Wiki is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Geo-Wiki rather than just read about it. In short: Geo-Wiki is a platform for engaging citizens and experts in both environmental and socioeconomic monitoring, established in 2009 at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). It aids in both, the validation of existing geographical information and the collection of new geographical information through crowdsourcing and citizen science.

Key takeaways

Geo-Wiki belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Geo-Wiki to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Geo-Wiki from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Geo-Wiki is a platform for engaging citizens and experts in both environmental and socioeconomic monitoring, established in 2009 at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). It aids in both, the validation of existing geographical information and the collection of new geographical information through crowdsourcing and citizen science. Using data sources such as satellite imagery, geotagged photographs and the Internet, individual volunteers are able to contribute valuable in-situ data, either by validating existing data and comparing it with satellite imagery (through visual interpretation), or by collecting new information. Other methods for crowd-sourced data collection in Geo-Wiki include campaigns and games, used as incentives to motivate citizens. Collected data in the platform is freely available. By 2020, Geo-Wiki had more than 15 000 registered contributors, and many successful citizen science campaigns, collecting data on topics such as global built-up surface validation, human impact on forests, global agricultural field-size data and more.

Land cover validation

Global land cover validation exercises are feasible as images less than 2.5 meter resolution provide detailed information on land cover with global coverage of at least 20% with more high-resolution, up to date images continuously being added. Internet tools such as Google Earth offer potential for land cover validation. The use of Volunteer Geographic Information for land cover validation studies may seem even more relevant as Google Earth has been used for the recent validation of remote sensing derived products e.g., the European forest cover map as well as the latest global land cover map GlobCover. Google Earth allows wider audience to be involved in a validation exercise. Applications of Geo-Wiki go beyond simply improving land cover. An application helps to predict future deforestation in Central Africa, combining five existing cropland data sets from sub-Saharan Africa to create a new map which has higher accuracy than existing maps. This should reduce uncertainty and improve predictions in land use, vegetation, climate change, and earth systems modeling. Scientists from several research institutions describe development of the map in Geophysical Research Letters, along with the application of Geo-Wiki.

Gamification The Geo-Wiki ecosystem comprises a number of applications, some of which use gamification mechanisms to attract and motivate citizen scientists and experts to participate in campaigns and make valuable contributions to science.

References

External links Geo-Wiki main page LACO-Wiki Center for Earth Observation & Citizen Science at IIASA

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Geo-Wiki

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Geo-Wiki claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Geo-Wiki before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Geo-Wiki ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Geo-Wiki

In research: Geo-Wiki appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Geo-Wiki in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Geo-Wiki is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Collaborative mapping, Gamification, Geographic data and information organizations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Geo-Wiki outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Geo-Wiki in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Geo-Wiki means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Geo-Wiki out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Geo-Wiki in simple terms?

Why does Geo-Wiki matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Geo-Wiki?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Geo-Wiki.