10 Examples of Susceptibility and Suitability Mapping

Core Definition

Susceptibility: The propensity or predisposition to be affected by a negative factor, risk, or harm (e.g., landslide susceptibility, disease vulnerability).

Suitability: The degree of appropriateness or fitness of a given site or subject for a specific, intended positive purpose (e.g., agricultural land suitability, habitat allocation).

Susceptibility and suitability are distinct analytical concepts: susceptibility measures the likelihood of experiencing a negative event (like a hazard or disease), while suitability measures how well an area or option fulfills positive requirements (like a land use or habitat).

The process of creating susceptibility and suitability maps in GIS is conceptually identical but differs significantly in how criteria are defined, weighted, and interpreted. Both workflows rely on Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE), but susceptibility maps model negative risks, while suitability maps model positive potential.

The Shared GIS Workflow

Both maps follow the exact same technical steps in software like ArcGIS or QGIS:

1. Data Acquisition: Gathering spatial layers (raster or vector) like slope, soil, and land cover.
2. Reclassification: Converting different data scales into a common standardized scale (e.g., 1 to 5).
3. Weighting: Assigning importance to each layer using methods like the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).
4. Overlay Analysis: Combining layers using tools like Weighted Overlay or Weighted Sum.
5. Final Categorization: Slicing the output into final classes (e.g., Low, Medium, High).

10 Examples of Susceptibility Mapping

Susceptibility maps predict where a hazard or negative event is likely to occur based on the physical characteristics of the environment.

• Landslide Susceptibility Mapping: Models slope, soil type, and rainfall to identify hillsides prone to collapsing.
• Flood Susceptibility Mapping: Uses elevation, proximity to rivers, and drainage density to locate areas naturally vulnerable to water accumulation.
• Wildfire Susceptibility Mapping: Combines vegetation density (fuel), aspect, wind patterns, and dryness to map zones prone to catching fire.
• Groundwater Contamination Susceptibility Mapping: Assesses soil permeability, water table depth, and rock type to find aquifers vulnerable to pollution from the surface.
• Soil Erosion Susceptibility Mapping: Evaluates rainfall erosivity, slope length, and lack of vegetation to pinpoint land at risk of losing topsoil.
• Sinkhole/Karst Susceptibility Mapping: Tracks underground limestone features, drainage, and bedrock stability to forecast where the ground might collapse.
• Coastal Erosion Susceptibility Mapping: Analyzes wave energy, shoreline geology, and sea-level rise data to identify beaches and cliffs at risk of washing away.
• Urban Heat Island (UHI) Susceptibility Mapping: Uses concrete density, lack of tree canopy, and wind blocks to map urban neighborhoods prone to extreme heat retention.
• Disease Vector Susceptibility Mapping: Models humidity, standing water, and temperature to map environments where malaria-carrying mosquitoes or ticks are highly likely to breed.
• Liquefaction Susceptibility Mapping: Uses seismic data, loose sandy soils, and high groundwater tables to identify areas where the ground will turn to quicksand during an earthquake.

Source: Kohno, M., & Higuchi, Y. (2023). Landslide susceptibility assessment in the Japanese archipelago based on a landslide distribution map. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 12(2), 37.

10 Examples of Suitability Mapping

Suitability maps identify the best or most optimal locations for a specific human activity or ecological need based on positive criteria and constraints.

• Agricultural Crop Suitability Mapping: Evaluates soil pH, temperature, and rainfall to find the best land for growing a specific crop like wheat or coffee.
• Solar Farm Suitability Mapping: Combines solar radiation levels, flat terrain, and proximity to power grids to find ideal spots for solar panels.
• Habitat Suitability Mapping (Species Distribution): Models forest cover, climate, and distance from human threats to identify areas where an endangered animal can survive.
• Landfill Site Suitability Mapping: Uses geology, distance from rivers, and distance from residential zones to find safe places to build a city dump.
• Wind Farm Suitability Mapping: Maps consistent high wind speeds, high elevations, and areas outside of bird migratory routes to place wind turbines.
• Urban Residential Development Suitability Mapping: Finds ideal land for housing by looking for stable ground, proximity to utilities, schools, and existing roads.
• Rainwater Harvesting Suitability Mapping: Identifies rooftops, terrains, or community zones best shaped to capture and store rainwater efficiently.
• Ecotourism Suitability Mapping: Looks for scenic landscapes, proximity to cultural sites, and low-impact transport options to plan sustainable tourism zones.
• Aquaculture (Fish Farming) Suitability Mapping: Analyzes water temperature, current speeds, and water quality to select optimal coastal or lake zones for fish cages.
• Logistics and Distribution Center Suitability Mapping: Evaluates proximity to major highways, railways, airports, and large consumer populations to place shipping warehouses.

Thank you for reading.

Downloading Sentinel-2 10m Land Use/Land Cover dataset

 Sentinel-2 10m Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) is a high-resolution, global thematic dataset that maps the Earth's surface across nine distinct environmental categories. It is a collaborative data product developed by Esri, Microsoft, and Impact Observatory, delivering a multi-year time series from 2017 to the present with a 10-meter spatial resolution.

The nine distinct environmental categories are;-

The integers skipping values (like 3 and 6) is a result of the updated 9-class system combining the original "Grass" (formerly 3) and "Scrub" (formerly 6) categories into a single Rangeland category assigned to Value 11.

To download the Sentinel-2 10m Land Use/Land Cover dataset from the Esri Land Cover Explorer, follow these exact visual and technical steps.

Step 1: Access the Interface

• Open your web browser.
• Navigate to the Esri Land Cover Explorer.
• Wait for the interactive global map to fully load.

Step 2: Select Your Target Year

• Locate the Year Timeline slider at the bottom center of the screen.
• Click on your desired year (available from 2017 to the present).
• The map visualization will automatically refresh to display that year's data.

Step 3: Find Your Region

• Use your mouse wheel to zoom into your specific area of interest.
• Click and drag the map to pan to your exact target coordinates.
• Ensure your entire study area is visible on the screen.

Step 4: Open the Download Panel

• Look at the left-hand side of the screen for the main tool menu.
• Click on the Download icon (represented by a downward-pointing arrow over a tray).
• A side panel will slide open on the left, and a grid overlay will appear on the map.

Step 5: Select and Download the Tile

• Look at the grid cells overlaying your chosen map area.
• Click directly on the grid square that covers your project area.
• Check the left side panel, which will refresh to show details for that specific tile.
• Click the blue Download GeoTIFF button in the panel to start the file transfer.

Thank you for reading.

Eliminating Noticeable Pixelated Squares Raster Map in QGIS

 To eliminate the noticeable pixelated squares in your raster map, such as those seen in image 'Before' on the left hand side, and achieve a smooth, continuous color transition as seen in image 'After' to the right hand side, you need to adjust the Resampling method in the layer's properties.

By default, QGIS often uses 'Nearest Neighbour' resampling for speed, which preserves the hard edges of pixels. To blend them, you must switch to an interpolative method like Bilinear or Cubic.

Here is the step-by-step process in QGIS:

1. Open Layer Properties: Double-click on your raster layer (the one showing the blue squares within the red boundary) in the Layers panel. Alternatively, right-click the layer and select Properties.

2. Navigate to the Symbology Tab: In the Properties window, click on the Symbology tab (usually the second icon on the left).

3. Locate Resampling Settings: Scroll down within the Symbology tab to find the section labeled Resampling. It is often collapsed; you may need to click the arrow next to it to expand the options.

4. Adjust Zoomed In and Zoomed Out Methods: You will see two dropdown menus:

   • Zoomed in: Controls how pixels are displayed when you are zoomed very close to the raster.

   • Zoomed out: Controls how pixels are displayed when you are zoomed out far.

5. Change the Method: For both dropdown menus, change the setting from Nearest Neighbour to either Bilinear or Cubic.

   • Bilinear: Calculates the value of a new pixel by averaging the four nearest pixel centers. This provides good smoothing.

   • Cubic: Uses a slightly more complex calculation (averaging the 16 nearest pixels), which often yields a slightly sharper, yet still smooth, result.

   • Recommendation: Try Cubic first for a high-quality smooth look.

6. Apply and View: Click Apply and then OK to close the Properties window.

Your map canvas will immediately update. The sharp, blocky pixel edges seen in 'Before image' will be blended together, creating a smooth, continuous gradient of colors.

Note: This process changes how QGIS displays the raster data, not the underlying data file itself. If you export the map at this stage, the smoothness will be preserved.

Thank you.

SCImago: Diamond Open Access journals within the Earth Planetary Sciences category

 In this post, I will explain how to search and filter diamond open cccess journals within the earth planetary sciences category using a reputed journal ranking platform known as Scimago.

What is SCImago?

SCImago Journal & Country Rank (scimagojr.com) is a free, publicly accessible online portal that provides scientific quality metrics and rankings for academic journals and countries.

Developed by a prominent Spanish research group, the website pulls its massive dataset directly from Elsevier's peer-reviewed Scopus database. It serves as a primary tool for researchers, universities, and students to evaluate the authority and credibility of global journals.

Unlike a basic citation count, the platform uses an algorithm modeled after Google's PageRank™. It measures a journal's prestige by factoring in both the number of citations and the reputation of the journals where those citations came from. A citation from a world-renowned journal like Nature carries much more weight than a citation from a niche, lesser-known journal.

The website splits journals within specific academic disciplines into four equal tiers based on performance:

• Q1 (Top 25%): The highest prestige and impact journals in that subject.
• Q2 & Q3 (Middle 50%): Moderate to good impact.
• Q4 (Bottom 25%): Lowest relative impact, often representing newer or highly localized publications.

Authors use it to search for a journal title and instantly view its historical trends, h-index, international collaboration rates, and lists of similar publications.

Academics heavily rely on scimagojr.com to find reputable places to publish their papers, avoid predatory fake journals, and check if a journal meets the strict "Q1" or "Scopus-indexed" publication standards required by their universities for graduation or career promotions.

What is a Diamond Open Access journal?

Academic journals are primarily categorized by how they are funded and who pays for the publishing costs. Academic journals are primarily categorized by their funding and publishing models, which determine who bears the financial costs. These distinctions define whether readers pay to access articles or if the costs are shifted to authors to make the research freely available.

The two dominant academic journal categories are:

1. Subscription-Based (Traditional/Paywalled) Journals:-  In this model, the publishing costs are covered by the readers or their institutions (usually university libraries) through subscription fees.

2. Open Access (OA) Journals:- In the Open Access model, the financial burden is shifted away from the reader. Instead, the costs of peer review, editing, and hosting are typically covered upfront by the authors, their academic institutions, or research funding bodies.

Common Open Access variations include:

1. Gold Open Access: Fully open access journals where the final version is freely available on the publisher's website, often funded by APCs.
2. Diamond (or Platinum) Open Access: Open access journals that do not charge APCs to authors. The publishing costs are instead subsidized entirely by scholarly societies, academic institutions, or non-profit grants.
3. Green Open Access: A model where an author publishes in a traditional subscription journal but self-archives a version of the paper (such as a preprint or accepted manuscript) in a free, public repository.
4. Hybrid Open Access: Subscription journals that allow authors to pay a fee to make their specific article open access, while the rest of the journal remains behind a paywall.

How to search for journals on SCImago

To filter for Open Access journals within the GIS, Geography, Geodesy or Earth Sciences categories on scimagojr.com, follow these step-by-step instructions:

Step 1: Open the Journal Rankings Page

1. Go to the SCImago Journal & Country Rank home page.
2. Click on the Journal Rankings button or link located at the top menu bar or center panel.

Step 2: Select the Broad Subject Area

1. Locate the drop-down menu labeled All subject areas.
2. Click it and select Earth and Planetary Sciences (this is the parent category that contains geodesy, mapping, and spatial geosciences).

 

Step 3: Narrow Down the Subject Category (Optional)

If you want to filter past generic earth sciences down to specific mapping disciplines:

1. Click the next drop-down menu labeled All subject categories.
2. Select a category like Computers in Earth Sciences (excellent for GIS/Cartography) or Earth-Surface Processes (where geodesy and satellite altimetry often live). If you want to see all available options, leave it on "All subject categories."

 

Step 4: Apply the Open Access Filter

1. Look right below the drop-down menus for a series of checkboxes.
2. Check the box that says "Only Open Access Journals".
3. Note: The platform automatically reloads the list. You will now see an open padlock icon next to every journal title left on the screen.

 

Step 5: Read the Results and Verify Q1 Status

• The list is automatically sorted by the SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) indicator from highest prestige to lowest.
• Look at the colored square or indicator next to the journal name. If it shows a green Q1 box, you have successfully found a top-tier Open Access journal in your field.

(Keep in mind: SCImago flags all "Open Access" journals, but it combines Gold OA and Diamond OA together. Once you find a promising Q1 journal on the list, click its title to visit its profile page and jump to the journal's official homepage to verify if it charges an author APC or if it is fully free/Diamond OA.)

 

 Note on scimagojr.com and the Scopus database, the broad subject area of Earth and Planetary Sciences is broken down into 14 distinct sub-disciplines (known as subject categories):

• General Earth and Planetary Sciences
• Atmospheric Science (Includes meteorology, climate dynamics, and atmospheric chemistry)
• Computers in Earth Sciences (Includes GIS, geoinformatics, spatial modeling, and cartographic data management)
• Earth-Surface Processes (Includes geomorphology, glaciology, and hydrology)
• Economic Geology (Focuses on mineral deposits, ore exploration, and fossil energy resources)
• Geochemistry and Petrology (The study of rock compositions and chemical processes within the Earth)
• Geology (Structural geology, stratigraphy, and general earth history)
• Geophysics (Seismology, magnetic mapping, crustal deformation, and geodesy)
• Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology (Application of geosciences to construction, mining, and civil engineering)
• Oceanography (Physical, chemical, and geological marine science)
• Paleontology (The study of fossils and prehistoric life forms)
• Space and Planetary Science (Astronomy-adjacent fields tracking remote sensing of other planets, asteroids, and space weather)
• Stratigraphy (The analysis of layered rock or soil strata over geological time)
• Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) (Catch-all for highly interdisciplinary or localized research journals)

Thank you for reading.