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Transportation Tools

By ·

The Department of Transportation and other public and private organizations provide a range of software tools useful for transportation impact analysis. Generally, software tools break down into several categories:

  • Tools for obtaining climate data (for example, FHWA’s CMIP)
  • Tools for deriving geospatial impacts of weather and extreme events (for example, NOAA’s SLOSH and FEMA’s Hazus)
  • Storm surge and sea-level rise specific products, to determine regional sea level rise and examine erosion risks
  • Tools for risk prioritization (FHWA’s VAST)
  • General purpose Geospatial Information System (GIS) tools, for manipulation of digital elevation models and mapping various climate risk

We do not recommend specific general-purpose GIS tools. There are a range of useful commercial, open source, and freeware general-purpose and specialized tools available, each with its particular features.

General Resources

  • EMFAC Model: This model produces emission rates and inventories for criteria air pollutants and CO2. It is the approved emissions model used in the State of California for State Implementation Plan (SIP) development, conformity analysis, and other analyses that are typically conducted using MOBILE6 in other states.
  • The Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model: This full life-cycle model was designed to evaluate energy and emission impacts of advanced vehicle technologies and new transportation fuel combinations on a full fuel-cycle/vehicle-cycle basis.
  • Intelligent Transportation Systems Deployment Analysis System (IDAS): This sketch planning analysis tool is used to estimate the impacts, benefits, and costs resulting from the deployment of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) components of over 60 types of ITS investments.
  • Long Range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) System: LEAP is a software tool for energy policy analysis and climate change mitigation assessment that uses integrated modeling to track energy consumption, production, and resource extraction in all sectors of an economy.
  • The Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM): This model can be used to explore the potential role of emerging energy supply technologies and greenhouse gas (GHG) consequences of specific policy measures or energy technology adoption including CO2 capture and storage, bioenergy, and others.
  • Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) Model: This modeling system estimates emissions for on-road and non-road sources for a broad range of pollutants and allows multiple scale analysis. This system is intended to replace MOBILE6 and NONROAD.
  • National Energy Modeling System (NEMS): This modeling system represents the behavior of energy markets and their interactions with the U.S. economy. It contains a transportation demand module (TRAN) that has several sub-modules and that uses NEMS inputs.
  • National Mobile Inventory Model (NMIM): NMIM uses current versions of MOBILE6 and NONROAD to calculate emission inventories, based on multiple input scenarios that users can enter into the system, and can be used to calculate national or individual state or county inventories.
  • INVEST: A self-evaluation tool for transportation agencies seeking to incorporate sustainability and resiliency into their planning processes.
  • Sensitivity Matrix: Spreadsheet tool that documents the sensitivity of roads, bridges, airports, ports, pipelines, and rail to 11 climate impacts.
  • Vulnerability Assessment Scoring Tool: Spreadsheet tool that guides the user through conducting a quantitative, indicator-based vulnerability screen. Intended for agencies assessing how components of their transportation system may be vulnerable to climate stressors.
  • SLOSH: Coastal storm surge modeling for East & Gulf Coast.
  • Hazus-MH: Economic losses from floods of various magnitudes.
  • SLAMM: Models wetland conversion under sea level rise.
  • FUSION: Processes LIDAR data and converts it to digital elevation models.
  • Sea Level Rise Viewer: Web-based coastal sea-level rise viewer.
  • Sea Level Analysis Tool (SLAT): Interactive tool for visualizing sea level change information and converting global sea-level rise projections to regional sea-level rise for U.S. tidal gauge stations.

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