New Scientist reports on new geo-software that will help ski resort developers be eco-conscious.Developers Jordan Silberman, a geographer at the University of Delaware in Newark and colleague Peter Rees created the geographical information system (GIS). Prospective developers need only to type in their business model plans:
The software then homes in on the preferred general region and seeks out those locations with the combinations of available land and humidity levels most likely to produce powder snow. Among many other factors, it also analyses accessibility by road, slope steepness - to work out the risk of avalanches - and the likely erosion from tree felling. A key factor is the ready availability of electricity to power the ski lifts.Read the full story: Geo software aims to avoid ski eco-disasters
Photo by Ulli Seer / Getty
