The Environmental Data Center (EDC) is a geographic information system (GIS) laboratory in the URI Department of Natural Resources Science,
College of the Environment and Life Sciences. The mission of the EDC is to support the use of contemporary tools of spatial data processing in the analysis of environmental data. This is achieved through collaborative research with faculty in the Department of Natural Resources Science and projects with agencies external to URI. The EDC is the center of technical expertise in GIS for the state of Rhode Island. The
Rhode Island Geographic Information Systems (RIGIS) database is stored at the EDC. The RIGIS database is the most comprehensive and detailed of any state in the country and contains information on almost all aspects of Rhode Island's natural and cultural resources (e.g., wetlands, aquifers, soils, forests, land use, topography, historic sites, etc.). Major areas of research at the EDC are spatial data modeling, ecological mapping, and data integration for environmental applications.