David Michalski
Researcher Services
Researcher Services Librarian
by David Michalski – November 30, 2021
Geography is a multi-disciplinary field. This guide introduces students to a variety of resources for the study of human and physical geography. If you have questions about the use of these databases, research in Geography, cultural studies or the social sciences, or if you need support with social sciences data, I am happy to help, or get you in contact with those who can. Feel free to contact me via email, michalski@ucdavis.edu or make an appointment https://calendly.com/michalski-1/research-librarian-consultation.
This database covers over 600 journals, as well as books & conference proceedings, on meteorology, climatology, air pollution, astrophysics, atmospheric chemistry & physics, physical oceanography, hydrology, glaciology, and weather forecasting, from 1950s to present.
The GeoPlatform provides shared and trusted geospatial data, services, and applications for use by the public and by government agencies and partners to meet their mission needs.
The Geo Data Portalis ponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme and is an authoritative source for data sets used by UNEP. The online database holds more than 450 different variables covering themes like freshwater, population, forests, emissions, climate, disasters, health, and GDP. They can be displayed as maps, graphs or data tables.
The Geospatial Data Gateway (GDG) is the One Stop Source for environmental and natural resources data. The Gateway allows you to choose your area of interest, browse and select data from our catalog, customize the format, and have it downloaded or shipped on CD or DVD. Data sets include: Common Land Units, Transportation, Government Units, Census, Landmarks, Digital Raster Graphics (DRG), Elevation, Ortho Imagery, Landuse/Landcover, Geology, Soils, Precipitation, Temperature
Fire Insurance Maps online (FIMo) is a research portal to find and view high-definition, color Fire Insurance Maps, Real Estate Atlases, Plat Books, and other historical maps showing building structures, building construction details, property ownership, property uses, and other useful information.
UC Davis has licensed the maps for the state of California.
Sanborn fire insurance maps, created to assist fire insurance companies assess risk, are large-scale community plans drawn at a scale of 50 feet to one inch. The maps give street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, and house and block numbers. Sanborn maps also contain data about construction details, building use and the utilities and transportation infrastructure that supported the community overall. Several editions of maps exist for some cities.
Social Explorer provides quick and easy access to current and historical census data and demographic information. The interface lets users create maps and reports to illustrate, analyze, and understand demography and social change.
Contents included:
The entire US Census from 1790 to 2010.
The entire American Community Survey (ACS) from 2005 to 2014.
All annual updates from the American Community Survey.
InfoGroup data on religious congregations in the United States for 2009 and 2010, including maps for counties and special census areas, as well as point maps of the actual congregation locations.
The Religious Congregations and Membership Study (RCMS) from 1980 to 2010.
Carbon Emissions Data for 2002 from the Vulcan Project.