Lawrence Sim's picture

Lawrence Sim

Geospatial Software Engineer
Environmental Informatics Program
Geographic Information Systems
Software Engineering
510-746-7333

Lawrence joined SFEI in 2015 as a Geospatial Software Engineer for the Environmental Informatics team. He received his Bachelor's at UC Santa Barbara and master’s at Oregon State University, both in geography with emphases in geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing. Previously he worked on deepwater and offshore oil spill modeling for the US Department of Energy. He has experience in spatial analysis, numerical modeling, web-GIS and web-mapping, web and graphic design, remote sensing, cartography, GIS-programming, and data visualization.

At SFEI, Lawrence provides expertise in geospatial applications, both for GIS and web-application development. He has served as technical lead for a number of web applications and GIS tools for a variety of applications including fish contaminant data, satellite detection of harmful algal blooms, and microplastic pollution.

Related Projects, News, and Events

Coordinated Mapping: How various efforts can work together (News)

SFEI is coordinating the mapping for two inventories of surface waters, wetlands and other aquatic resources in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and along California’s coast. Both efforts will apply the California Aquatic Resource Inventory (CARI) standardized mapping methods and the final map will be integrated into EcoAtlas and made publicly available.

Coyote Creek Native Ecosystem Enhancement Tool (Project)

The Coyote Creek Native Ecosystem Enhancement Tool (CCNEET, neet. ecoatlas.org) is an online decision-support tool to identify opportunities to improve ecological conditions. CCNEET was inspired by the need for a watershed approach to environmental resource management. Available ecological and environmental information is synthesized by objectives, management questions, and enhancement actions to identify and justify potential habitat improvements along the creek corridor. The overarching goal of CCNEET is to help coordinate habitat conservation and enhancement along so that multiple projects and limited funding can result in meaningful ecological improvement.

Visualizing and Sharing Intensive Data Assessments (Project)

With California's drought rapidly changing the outlook for natural resources, decision-makers must be equipped with information and tools that facilitate clear and rapid decisions. The proposed grant would fund the standardization, visualization, and sharing of Level 3 data. 

Adapting to Rising Tides: East Contra Costa Shoreline Flood Explorer (Project)

As a continuation of our collaboration with BCDC and the Adapting to Rising Tides (ART) team, the technical team at SFEI has developed a new version of the sea-level rise visualization tool which focuses on East Contra Costa and the Delta. The East Contra Costa Shoreline Flood Explorer incorporates regionally specific data that takes into account inundation and flooding information as a product of riverine flooding and sea-level rise.  The map visualizes these data in conjunction with storm events and makes it available to the public, businesses, and policymakers so that they can assess and prepare for potential impacts to communities.

 

Adapting to Rising Tides: Bay Shoreline Flood Explorer (Project)

SFEI’s Environmental Informatics team has designed and developed the Bay Area Flood Explorer for the Bay Conservation and Development Commission's (BCDC) Adapting to Rising Tides (ART) program. The project is designed to highlight threats posed by sea level rise. The map displays sea-level-rise data created by AECOM, which was developed with support from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area Toll Authority, and the greenhouse gas reduction funds.

Assessing Five Watersheds in Santa Clara County (News)

A new synthesis report characterizing the amount, distribution, and diversity of streams and wetlands within the County employing CARI, and an ambient survey of the overall ecological condition of streams employing CRAM.

New Interactive Map Helps Delta Governments and Communities Plan for Adaptation by Understanding Flood Risks from Rising Sea Level and Storms (News)

The Adapting to Rising Tides program of the SF Bay Conservation & Development Commission (ART BCDC), Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) and the San Francisco Estuary Institute / Aquatic Science Center (SFEI) are unveiling the East Contra Costa Shoreline Flood Explorer. SFEI developed the new explorer as a complementary tool to the Bay Shoreline Flood Explorer to allow government organizations and communities in East Contra Costa County to access interactive online maps of local flood risks due to rising sea levels and storm events. These tools help to both highlight what our region could look like without intervention, and to encourage local and regional adaptive plans to minimize flood risks.

BCDC GIS, Graphics, and Technological Services (Project)

The San Francisco Estuary Institute is working to provide support for the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) though Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Graphics, and Technological Services.

Safe to Eat Portal (Project)

Fish and shellfish are nutritious and good for you to eat. But some fish and shellfish may take in toxic chemicals from the water they live in and the food they eat. Some of these chemicals build up in the fish and shellfish - and in the humans that eat fish and shellfish - over time. Although the chemical levels are usually low, it is a good idea to learn about advisories and monitoring in water bodies where you fish, and for fish or shellfish you eat.

Project Tracker assists with regional reporting (News)

More and more groups rely on Project Tracker to assist with their reporting. Why? Because Project Tracker standardizes project data across programs so it is easier to summarize information for reporting purposes. Especially in the Bay Area, it is the most comprehensive regional dataset for project information.

SFEI Developed the Bay Shoreline Flood Explorer for BCDC’s ART program, with More to Come (News)

Over the past year, SFEI has been working with the Bay Conservation and Development Commission's (BCDC) Adapting to Rising Tides (ART) program to develop their new Bay Shoreline Flood Explorer. SFEI’s Environmental Informatics team has designed and developed this public-facing and relevant web tool to highlight threats posed by sea level rise. The tool’s sea-level-rise data was created by AECOM, supported by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Toll Authority, and funded with support from greenhouse gas reduction funds.

GreenPlan-IT Tracker Released to the public (News)

Municipalities across the state and beyond are carefully planning and implementing green infrastructure in their developed landscape to restore key aspects of the natural water cycle. Green infrastructure helps to achieve stormwater attenuation and contaminant filtration by increasing the pervious surfaces in often sophisticated ways.

Mapping Outside the Box: Visualizing Bay Landscapes in New Dimensions (News)

The most recent meeting of the San Francisco Estuary Geospatial Workgroup featured Pete Kauhanen and Lawrence Sim of SFEI's Environmental program. This meeting focused on emerging technologies for visualizing the changing Bay around us. Presenters discussed new data, tools, and approaches that are helping inform regional natural resource management.

New data layers and Landscape Profile mode added to EcoAtlas (News)

New data layers and Landscape Profile mode have been added to EcoAtlas (ecoatlas.org), an online tool for visualizing the abundance, diversity, and condition of wetlands, along with the project activities that are affecting the landscape. Enhancements include:

Lahontan EcoAtlas Development (Project)

This project will create an EcoAtlas user community for the Lahontan region of the Sierra Nevada to develop capacities within the region to apply EcoAtlas through existing local, regional, state, and federal programs to track projects and summarize map-based and rapid assessment information at the watershed scale.

Lahontan Water Board adopts Regional EcoAtlas Tools (News)

The Lahontan Water Board (Regional Water Board 6) has formally adopted EcoAtlas and the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM). This will enable the Water Board to visually track and assess the extent of project impacts on a watershed basis throughout the region.

Beginning August 1 of this year, 401 Certifications and Waste Discharge Requirements will require applicants to upload project information into EcoAtlas. Applicants will be encouraged to use CRAM in pre- and post- project assessments.

SFEI Journal Article on Mercury in Coastal Fish of Western North America (News)

A journal article published in April details the findings of a collaborative survey of contaminants in fish on the California coast conducted by the RMP, the California Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program, and the Southern California Bight Program in 2009-2010. The paper used that strong dataset as a foundation for a broad review of mercury in fish on the coast of western North America.  This work was done as part of a series of articles summarizing mercury science for western North America in a special issue of Science of the Total Environment.

CRAM Bar-Built Estuarine (BBE) module now available to expand the applicability of CRAM (News)

With funding from the State Coastal Conservancy, SFEI staff developed the eCRAM data entry forms for uploading BBE assessments into the CRAM database. Public assessments can be viewed on EcoAtlas' interactive map and downloaded using the CRAM filter tool.

Evaluation of CRAM performance for assessing wetland stress, small wetlands, and wetland habitat development (Project)

Caltrans funded this wetlands research to fill important gaps in knowledge about the ability of the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM) to assess small wetlands, wetlands stress, and the rate at which wetland restoration projects develop into mature habitats. Caltrans proposed specific tasks based on the research priorities provided by the CRAM Commitee of the statewide California Wetlands Monitoring Workgroup.

SFEI provides perspective on emerging harmful bacterial blooms in the State's larger waterbodies (News)

The State has contracted SFEI to provide intellectual, scientific, and technical resources to support its efforts to monitor and report on the ever-growing problem of cyanobacterial blooms in its lakes and rivers. These blooms are such a serious concern because they can generate harmful toxins which can threaten wildlife, livestock, pets, and in certain cases, human life.