Caitlin Dempsey

Caitlin Dempsey is a geographer, writer, and founder and editor of Geography Realm. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Geography from UCLA and a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from San José State University.

For more than two decades, she has written about geography, maps, geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, satellite imagery, and environmental science. Her work focuses on making geography accessible to a broad audience through articles, tutorials, and educational resources.

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Three different GIS datasets were used to create the Global Subnational River Borders. Source: Popelka and Smith, 2020.

Rivers as Borders: GIS Dataset Available

Caitlin Dempsey

The Global Subnational River Borders GIS dataset is freely available.

What to Expect With the Esri Virtual Conference

Caitlin Dempsey

This year the Esri UC 2020 will be held from Monday, July 13 to Thursday, July 16, 2020 as a virtual conference.

Flowmap.blue examples

Easily Create Interactive Flow Maps

Caitlin Dempsey

Ilya Boyandin has developed an easy-to-use online tool that takes location data stored in Google Sheets to visualize interactive flow maps.

A time-lapse photograph shows the ISS in six frames as it traverses the sun. Photo: Joel Kowsky, NASA, public domain.

Time-lapse Photo of the International Space Station Passing in Front of the Sun

Caitlin Dempsey

NASA photographer Joel Kowsky was able to capture this time-lapse photograph of the International Space Station (ISS) as it passed between the Earth and the Sun.

Map showing the location of New Guinea. Map: Equal Earth Physical Map, public domain.

What is the Largest Island in the Pacific Ocean?

Caitlin Dempsey

New Guinea is the largest island in the Pacific Ocean.

ESA Launches Global Air Pollution Map

Caitlin Dempsey

The European Space Agency offers an online map that shows global air pollution data collected from its Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite.

Screenshot of drone survey at 50m altitude over waters adjacent to Raine Island reef edge showing a painted turtle shell and unpainted shells. Dunstan et al., 2020.

Using Drones to More Accurately Count Sea Turtles

Caitlin Dempsey

Researchers have found that using drones and underwater cameras is a quicker and more accurate way to count green turtles.

Researchers counted vehicles in hospital parking lots to estimate hospital visits between January 9, 2018 and April 30, 2020. Source: Okanyene Nsoesie et al., 2020.

Analysis of Satellite Imagery and Search Data Suggests the Coronavirus Outbreak May Have Started Earlier in 2019

Caitlin Dempsey

A study that analyzed traffic around hospitals using satellite imagery and Baidu search queries suggests that the coronavirus outbreak may have started earlier in China than in December of 2019.

Massive List of GIS Tasks and Job Titles

Caitlin Dempsey

Ever wonder how diverse the titles are of those that work with GIS?

This map showing the average monthly temperature in the United States for April 2020 is an example of a GIS dataset that is continuous. Map: NOAA.

What is Continuous Versus Discrete Data in GIS?

Caitlin Dempsey

All datasets in GIS can be categorized as being either discrete or continuous.

Parcel data is a form of cadastral GIS Data showing the boundaries and attribute information about properties in a given area.

What is Cadastral GIS Data?

Caitlin Dempsey

Cadastral GIS data is data that contains information about land ownership. Parcel datasets are one form of cadastral GIS data. ...

Subaerial portion of Pūhāhonu. Photo: NOAA, public domain.

Earth’s Largest Shield Volcano

Caitlin Dempsey

Scientists have discovered the Earth's largest volcano using bathymetric and gravity mapping.

Slumgullion landslide. Photo: William Schulz, USGS, public domain.

Slow-Motion Landslides

Caitlin Dempsey

Not all landslides are sudden or fast-moving.

Grand Canyon aiport. Photo: NPS, public domain.

Which Countries Have No Airport?

Caitlin Dempsey

How many countries in the world have no airports? There are five countries, all located in Europe, out of the 196 countries in the world that have no airports located within their borders.

Satellite imagery from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) showing the location of Amphan.

Amphan is the Strongest Super Cyclone Ever Recorded in the Bay of Bengal

Caitlin Dempsey

Amphan is a powerful cyclone that has formed in the Bay on Bengal.

Arthur is the First Named Storm of the 2020 Hurricane Season

Caitlin Dempsey

Arthur is the first named storm of the 2020 hurricane season which officially begins on June 1, 2020.

Defining the Role of GIS and Needed Skills

Caitlin Dempsey

A recently published open access journal article presents three case studies to help analyze the level of GIS expertise needed for interdisciplinary studies.

Dark green lines form the forested windbreaks in Hokkaido, Japan. Image: NASA.

A View of Hokkaido’s Lattice Windbreaks From Space

Caitlin Dempsey

The landscape of the Konsen Plateau viewed from above looks like a lattice with crisscrossing lines of narrow strips of forest.

Scanned map of the counties of England, 1579: Royal MS 18 D III, f. 6r. British Library.

What is “Horror Vacui” in Cartography?

Caitlin Dempsey

If you've ever looked at a map created in the 1500s and 1600s, you might notice that many cartographers have filled every space with some kind of detail.

Poplar fluff by the mill race. © Copyright Derek Harper and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Poplar Fluff is Highly Flammable

Caitlin Dempsey

This video captured from a burn in Parque del Cidacos de Calahorra in Spain, shows the speed at which poplar fluff is burned.

Drift ice in the Sea of Okhotsk. Image: Landsat 8, NASA.

Lowest Latitude Sea Ice South of the Arctic

Caitlin Dempsey

One of the lowest latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere where sea ice forms in the Northern Hemisphere is the Sea of Okhotsk.

Map: Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE, screenshot captured April 8, 2020.

Mapping the Spread of the Novel Coronavirus: COVID-19

Caitlin Dempsey

Johns Hopkins University (JHU) is mapping the spread of the coronavirus in near-realtime.

This Map is Tracking the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Near-Realtime

Caitlin Dempsey

An interactive GIS dashboard developed by Johns Hopkins University is mapping COVID-19 cases with near real-time tracking.

Free GIS, Analytical, and Programming eBooks from Springer

Caitlin Dempsey

If you're looking for free digital books covering GIS, analysis, and programing to improve your geospatial skills, Springer has eBooks you can download.

View of Hurricane Florence taken from the International Space Station, 2018. Source: NASA

2020 Hurricane Season is Likely to be More Active Than Usual

Caitlin Dempsey

A newly released hurricane outlook from the Weather Channel expects the upcoming 2020 hurricane season to be more active than normal.

These Maps Show How Early Spring Arrived in Parts of the United States

Caitlin Dempsey

Spring arrived up to three to four weeks early in parts of the contiguous United States in 2020.