The Geographic and Environmental Database Information System (GEDIS) as a tool for urban dispersion modeling

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Urban Modeling Program has been working with the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in developing an urban Geographic and Environmental Database Information System (GEDIS). The GEDIS can be used as a tool for rapidly accessing large urban datasets, which may include many millions of buildings. It contains several applications, such as an automated urban morphology calculation, automated quality assurance, and allows importing additional urban datasets.

DTRA has been managing the development and implementation of the Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability (HPAC)and has included an urban dispersion modeling capability in its latest version. GEDIS provides the backbone data structure for the HPAC urban modeling capability. DTRA is actively acquiring building data for any and all major metropolitan areas so that urban atmospheric transport calculations can be provided for any location anywhere in the world. By integrating these datasets into GEDIS, HPAC will potentially have access to building datasets for several hundred cities worldwide.