Research

Laboratory of Geographical Information Sciences

This laboratory is going to study the natural environment as a whole which is composed of geomorphology, climate, hydrology, vegetation, and so on. Concretely, deductive approach and inductive approach are combined for conducting studies. The former approach is going to explain results from causes by physical lows such as mass balance, energy balance, equation of motion, and so on. The latter approach is going to explain facts demonstratively based on field surveys and in situ observations. Therefore, collection of quantitative data, digital mapping, statistical analyses, numerical modeling, and GIS (Geographical Information Systems) are main methods used in this laboratory.
The main study themes in this laboratory are listed as follows:

1. Research on energy and water cycles in the atmosphere and hydrosphere.
2. Research on understanding snow cover distribution and snow water resources, as well as snowmelt runoff.
3. Research on the quantitative evaluation of the spectral reflectance characteristics of vegetation and leaf area index.
4. Research on the water environment around Aso and Tokyo.
5. Research on numerical simulations of urban climates and local winds.
6. Research on understanding urban land surface conditions using GIS.
7. Research on the monitoring and modeling of natural environments and natural disasters.
8. Research on regional differences in the quality and taste of agricultural productions.
9. Research on labor-saving data acquisition utilizing advanced sensing technologies.