Sensing Our Planet: NASA Earth Science Research Features 2008 features an article on how SEDAC data was used for the 2008 Environmental Performance Index and other environmental assessments; CIESIN’s Marc Levy is interviewed.

A typically higher standard of living in urban areas compared to rural ones does not rule out striking disparities within cities. SEDAC data from its Global Poverty Mapping Project is used as the basis for this  map. Map 1.2, illustration for Chapter 1--Density, The World Development Report Online 2009.

A map using SEDAC′s Gridded Population of the World data set to illustrate a discussion of population density and population growth, page 50 of the National Geographic Visual Atlas of the World (2009).

A map of SEDAC′s the Human Footprint illustrates the extent to which Africa′s land area is influenced by humans.

Satellite data offer a particularly valuable perspective on PM2—small particles deriving mostly from burning fossil fuels and biomass, which can harm human health—because ground instruments may be unavailable or offer limited information, as is the case in China. With that in mind, researchers at Columbia University’s Earth Institute and Batelle Memorial Institute have developed maps based on satellite data that depict annual PM2.5 exposure in all of China’s provinces.

SEDAC′s role in making climate change data freely available to the public is noted in a collection of articles on how scientists use Earth science data to learn about the planet.