TerrSet (formerly IDRISI) is an integrated

geographic information system A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and Geographic information system software, software that store, manage, Spatial analysis, analyze, edit, output, and Cartographic design, visualize Geographic data ...

(GIS) and

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an physical object, object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring inform ...

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

developed by Clark Labs at

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...

for the analysis and display of digital

geospatial information Geographic data and information is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as data and information having an implicit or explicit association with a location relative to Earth (a geographic location or geographic position). It is also ca ...

. TerrSet is a PC raster-based system that offers tools for researchers and scientists engaged in analyzing earth system dynamics for effective and responsible decision making for

environmental management Environmental resource management or environmental management is the management of the interaction and impact of human societies on the environment. It is not, as the phrase might suggest, the management of the environment itself. Environment ...

, sustainable resource development and equitable resource allocation.

Features

Key features of TerrSet include: * GIS analytical tools for basic and advanced spatial analysis, including tools for surface and statistical analysis, decision support, land change and prediction, and image time series analysis; * an image processing system with multiple hard and soft classifiers, including machine learning classifiers such as

neural networks A neural network is a group of interconnected units called neurons that send signals to one another. Neurons can be either Cell (biology), biological cells or signal pathways. While individual neurons are simple, many of them together in a netwo ...

and classification tree analysis, as well as

image segmentation In digital image processing and computer vision, image segmentation is the process of partitioning a digital image into multiple image segments, also known as image regions or image objects (Set (mathematics), sets of pixels). The goal of segmen ...

for classification; * Land Change Modeler, a land planning and decision support toolset that addresses the complexities of land change analysis and land change prediction. * Habitat and Biodiversity Modeler, a modeling environment for habitat assessment and biodiversity modeling. * Ecosystem Services Modeler, a spatial

decision support system A decision support system (DSS) is an information system that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations and planning levels of an organization (usually mid and higher management) and ...

for assessing the value of

natural capital Natural capital is the world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. Some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services, often called ecosystem services. All of t ...

. * Earth Trends Modeler, an integrated suite of tools for the analysis of image

time series In mathematics, a time series is a series of data points indexed (or listed or graphed) in time order. Most commonly, a time series is a sequence taken at successive equally spaced points in time. Thus it is a sequence of discrete-time data. ...

(time series) to assess climate trends and impacts. * Climate Change Adaptation Modeler, a facility for modeling future climate and its impacts. * GeOSIRIS-REDD, a national-level REDD planning tool to assess deforestation, carbon emissions, agricultural revenue and carbon payments. *

GeoMod GeoMod is a raster-based land change modeling tool in the GIS software TerrSet that simulates the gain or the loss of a land category over a specified time interval.Pontius, R. G., Cornell, J. D., & Hall, C. A. (2001). Modeling the spatial patte ...

, a

land change modeling Land change models (LCMs) describe, project, and explain changes in and the dynamics of land use and Land cover, land-cover. LCMs are a means of understanding ways that humans change the Earth's surface in the past, present, and future. Land chan ...

tool based around modeling unidirectional transitions between two land cover categories

History and background

TerrSet was first developed in 1987 by Prof. J. Ronald Eastman of

, Department of Geography. Dr. Eastman continues to be the prime developer and chief architect of the software. The software was initially named after cartographer

Muhammad al-Idrisi Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti, or simply al-Idrisi (; ; 1100–1165), was an Arab Muslim geographer and cartographer who served in the court of King Roger II at Palermo, Sicily. Muhammad al-Idrisi was born in C ...

(1100–1166). In June 2020 Clark Labs released the TerrSet 2020 Geospatial Monitoring and Modeling software, version 19. Besides its primary research and scientific focus, TerrSet is popular as an academic tool for teaching the principal theories behind GIS at colleges and universities. Since 1987 TerrSet has been used by professionals in a wide range of industries in more than 180 countries worldwide. In total, there are over 300 modules for the analysis and display of digital spatial information. TerrSet is managed and updated by Clark Labs. Based within the Graduate School of Geography at

, Clark Labs and its software tools are known for advancements in areas such as decision support, uncertainty management, classifier development, change and time series analysis, and dynamic modeling. Clark Labs partners with organizations such as the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Google.org,

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

, the United Nations,

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia, in Arlington County, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and co ...

Imazon Imazon (Amazon Institute of People and the Environment, ) is a non-profit organisation based in Belém, Pará, Brazil, that is dedicated to conserving the Amazon rainforest. It has published many reports on aspects of conserving the Amazon environm ...

and

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a global 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization, headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, with a mission to save "wildlife and wild places across the globe". Founded in ...

Features

History and background

References

External links