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VAST Challenge 2017: Mystery at the Wildlife Preserve

The VAST Challenge 2017 offered three mini-challenges and a grand challenge dealing with environmental problems potentially caused by human patterns of life and potentially harmful chemically laden effluent plumes being emitted from factory smokestacks. The data provided included traffic patterns, sensor data though a Preserve, information about the Preserve, multispectral imagery and a map to help an ornithology graduate student particularly concerned with the population decrease of the Rose-Crested Blue Pipit determine who and what might be responsible. Mini-Challenge 1 focused on analysis of vehicles passing through the Preserve over time. Mini-Challenge 2 looked at data collected by air sampling monitors surrounding nearby factories, along with meteorological readings, to understand potential impacts they may be having on the Pipit. Mini-Challenge 3 required investigation into several months of multi-spectral imagery over the area to understand the Preserve’s general health. The Grand Challenge asked participants to synthesize across all three mini-challenges to create hypotheses of what is happening and what sensible next steps could be. This year’s challenge received 58 submissions and recorded over 1100 unique downloads from 20 countries prior to the submission deadline.