Arousing interest for ecological issues: 'Mountains from Space'A book using Geo-Visualization for supporting public understanding of science

摘要

The ability to explain the concerns of research projects to a wide group of non experts and stakeholders often proves as key intervening variable for a successful project management. Due to a strong competition for people's attention in an information-overloaded society the visual communication of scientific issues becomes more and more crucial to catch the public's interest. This paper will introduce an example how a greater public awareness was successfully generated for an important ecological topic using geo-visualization techniques.Specialists in remote sensing technology and the earth sciences together with some of the worlds most reputed mountaineers -among them Reinhold Messner- developed a concept for a book integrating different aspects of mountainous regions of the world, illuminating ecology, geology, geomorphology, climatology and weather as well as other phenomena concerning this fragile ecosystem. In the following concept and geo-visualization techniques will be discussed and illustrated by few examples.