Remote sensing and GIS

In this paper, we present a four-step ortho-rectification procedure for real-time geo-referencing of video data from a low-cost UAV equipped with a multi-sensor system. The basic procedures for the real-time ortho-rectification are: (1) decompilation of the video stream into individual frames; (2) establishing the interior camera orientation parameters; (3) determining the relative orientation parameters for each video frame with respect to each other; (4) finding the absolute orientation parameters, using a self-calibration bundle and adjustment with the aid of a mathematical model. Each ortho-rectified video frame is then mosaicked together to produce a mosaic image of the test area, which is then merged with a well referenced existing digital map for the purpose of geo-referencing and aerial surveillance. A test field located in Abuja, Nigeria was used to evaluate our method. Video and telemetry data were collected for about fifteen minutes, and they were processed using the four-step ortho-rectification procedure. The results demonstrated that the geometric measurement of the control field from ortho-images is more accurate when compared with those from original perspective images when used to pin point the exact location of targets on the video imagery acquired by the UAV. The 2-D planimetric accuracy when compared with the 6 control points measured by a GPS receiver is between 3 to 5 metres.

Keywords—Geo-referencing, ortho-rectification, video frame, self-calibration, UAV, target tracking.

Studies of environmental impacts of gas flaring in the Niger Delta are hindered by limited access to
official flaring emissions records and a paucity of reliable ambient monitoring data. This study uses a
combination of geospatial technologies and dispersion modelling techniques to evaluate air pollution
impacts of gas flaring on human health and natural ecosystems in the region. Results indicate that gas
flaring is a major contributor to air pollution across the region, with concentrations exceeding WHO
limits in some locations over certain time periods. Due to the predominant south-westerly wind, concentrations
are higher in some states with little flaring activity than in others with significant flaring
activity. Twenty million people inhabit areas of high flare-associated air pollution, which include all of
the main ecological zones of the region, indicating that flaring poses a substantial threat to human health
and the environment. Model scenarios demonstrated that substantial reductions in pollution could be
achieved by stopping flaring at a small number of the most active sites and by improving overall flaring
efficiency.

Kıyı alanları, doğal ve beşeri birçok coğrafi faktörün etkisinde olan, gelişen ve değişen bir mekândır. Kıyı alanları geçmişten günümüze, barındırdığı özellikler, çekicilikler ve sağladığı olanaklar bakımından insanların en önemli kullanım alanlarından biri olmuştur. Günümüzde de yoğun kullanımların yaşandığı kıyı alanları, kıyının jeomorfolojik özellikleri ile etkileşim halindedir. Kıyıların jeomorfolojik yapısı ve özellikleri, kıyı kullanımı türünü, dağılışını ve yapacağı etkinin belirlenmesini sağlamaktadır. Kıyı kullanımı sonucu oluşan faaliyetlerde, birçok etkisiyle kıyının jeomorfolojik yapısında antropojen değişimlere neden olabilmektedir. Bu durumda kıyı alanlarında jeomorfolojik yapı ile kullanım alanlarının ilişkisine, birbirlerine olan etkileşimine neden olmaktadır. İzmit Körfezi kıyıları da 130 km.lik uzunluğu, yoğun kıyı kullanım alanları ve çeşitli kıyı jeomorfolojisi birimleriyle bu etkileşimin yaşandığı alanlardan biridir. Bu çalışmada, İzmit Körfezi kıyılarının jeomorfolojik özellikleri ile kıyı alanı kullanımının ilişkisi, etkileşimi incelenmiş, coğrafi olarak analizi ve değerlendirilmesi yapılmıştır.

Dünyada ve Türkiye’de son yıllarda gelişme gösteren jeomorfoturizm, yerşekillerinin morfolojik yapısı ve gelişimiyle ilgilenen koruma-kullanmaodaklı turizm alanıdır. Bu bakımdan jeomorfosit kavramı ortaya çıkmakta ve yerşekillerinin bilimsel, görsel, kültürel ve ekonomik değerini ele alarak jeomorfoturizm de kullanılmasını sağlamaktadır. Jeomorfoturizmin ilgilendiği alanlardan biri de farklı jeomorfolojik özellikleri barındıran kıyı alanlarıdır. Kıyı alanlarındaki falez, lagün, kıyı oku vb. morfolojik unsurlar özelliklerine göre jeomorfosit olabilmekte, kıyı alanına turizmde alternatif değer katabilmekte ve ekonomik katkı sağlayabilmektedir. Kıyı alanlarında yapılacak jeomorfosit uygulamaları aynı zamanda kıyı kullanımı içinde önemlidir. Kıyının alternatif ve koruma odaklı kullanılmasını ele alan jeomorfositler, meydana gelecek kıyı sorunlarını azaltması ve kıyıda sürdürülebilir bir kıyı yönetimi çalışması oluşturması açısından önemli bir alan olmaktadır. Bu iki etkileşim alanın değerlendirilebileceği yerlerden biri de Kocaeli ilinin Karadeniz kıyılarıdır. Birçok kıyı jeomorfolojisi elemanını barındıran, 52 km. sahil şeridine sahip alanda falezler, lagün, plajlar gibi jeomorfosit olabilecek unsurlar bulunmaktadır. Bu bakımdan inceleme alanında jeomorfoturizm amaçlı kullanımın geliştirilmesi için kıyı kullanımı çalışmalarından
faydalanılmalı ve bu doğrultuda kıyı jeomorfolojisi ilkeleri ön plana alınarak yönetim planları yapılması gerekmektedir. Bu çalışmada inceleme alanındaki kıyı jeomorfolojisi incelenmiş, jeomorfoturizm özellikleri ve potansiyeli belirlenmiş ve bu doğrultuda kıyı kullanımına etkisi tespit edilerek coğrafi bakış
açısıyla değerlendirilmiştir.

With rapid increases in population and continuing expectations of growth in the standard of living, pressure on natural resource use have become intense. In this study, Indigenous Forest vulnerability mapping of Wondo genet catchment have been produced using GIS and Remote Sensing, as a decision support in the area of resource. Forest Vulnerability map of the study area have been produced using multi criteria decision evaluation. Four model parameters: proximity to road, slope, and proximity to settlement, Slope and population density has been used to run the vulnerability model.
 GIS, RS, vulnerability model structure Wondo Genet.

Karstification in Al-Kura District, northwestern of Jordan, is distribution in the Tertiary rocks at chalky and marley-limestone unit and it forms a local shallow unconfined aquifer. This research is constructed to describe and study the hydrogeochemical of karst features and their effects on the hydrochemistry of the Al-Dhaher Cave. Studied samples were collected from the water of wells and springs in the study area. All types of water have a composition in milligram units for cations (Ca2+>Mg2+>(Na++K+)), and anions (HCO3->Cl->NO3->SO42-). Calcium and bicarbonate accounts approximately 80% of the total ions. The concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ are strongly correlated with HCO3-. The rCa2+/rMg2+ ratio for Al-Dhaher Spring is about 1.54, which suggests that water moves in chalky and marly limestone. Our data revealed that the main ions Ca2+, Mg2+, and HCO3- have very strong correlation to spring discharge. The water is undersaturated with respect to calcite and dolomite, and the correlation of SIc and SId to discharge is very strong (r=0.97 and 0.96). Depending on comparing the coefficients variations, the type of Al-Dhaher Spring could be classified as conduit spring. The results of water analyses studies show that the aquifer system is prone to karstification and they show the impact of karstification on the chemical composition of spring waters.

Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) has a global distribution (apart from Antarctica). By origin a component of open woodland habitats, due to anthropogenic activities its range has broadened, and on open ground it displays competitive and invasive characteristics. Bracken is thus viewed as a pest - in the UK it encroaches into habitats of greater conservation and economic value, notably in the uplands where control is difficult. The application of asulam, the most effective narrow-margin herbicide, was made illegal in 2013, however Emergency Authorisations have allowed spraying to continue in the short-term. An absolute ban will have wide-ranging implications for the uplands; without asulam spraying bracken extent would possibly be 50% greater. 

In ArcGIS this study mapped 1960s and 2005 imagery for the Peak District National Park. A comparison of the study periods observed an increase in bracken extent of nearly 1% per annum, which is not exceptional. However, the data suggest that bracken may have covered an area of 62 km2 in the Peak District National Park 2005, a 1.8% p.a. increase on 1990 estimations. Despite steady, persistent control since 1990, bracken’s rate of spread may have accelerated. Land management practices, such as burning, and potentially the influence of climate change, may be assisting the bracken’s spread. This study observed an increase in bracken cover at higher elevations and on north- and east-facing slopes, but the diversity of change, by virtue of anthropogenic activities, masked any evidence of climate change as a factor in upland bracken distribution. In the future, if the viability of upland economies becomes more tenuous, the threats from invasive species worsen, and asulam (or herbicide spraying in general) is prohibited, a decision on the successional direction of upland environments will be unavoidable. Should plagio-climax communities be maintained, or should succession towards woodland habitats be promoted? 

Temperatur merupakan salah satu unsur cuaca yang sangat erat kaitannya dengan bidang pertanian. Hal ini mendorong banyaknya penelitian dimana temperatur merupakan salah satu parameter iklim yang dianalisis. Permasalahan yang terjadi adalah sebaran data iklim khususnya temperatur tidak bisa didapatkan secara merata di setiap lokasi yang diinginkan, hal ini dikarenakan keberadaan pos atau stasiun pengamatan masih sangat terbatas, Sehingga dibutuhkan satu metode perhitungan data iklim khususnya temperatur untuk mendapatkan informasi data tersebut di setiap lokasi.
Digital Elevation Model (DEM) merupakan salah satu  model untuk menggambarkan bentuk topografi permukaan bumi sehingga dapat divisualisasikan kedalam tampilan 3D (tiga dimensi). Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) merupakan misi untuk membuat data topografi (DEM) dengan menggunakan sistem radar dari wahana pesawat ulang alik antariksa. SRTM memiliki struktur data yang sama seperti format GRID lainnya, yaitu terdiri dari sel-sel yang setiap sel memiliki wakil nilai ketinggian. Pada penelitian ini, data DEM–SRTM resolusi spasial 90 meter dan 1000 meter digunakan untuk menghitung sebaran temperatur di Pulau Lombok berdasarkan Lapse Rate Method (perubahan suhu terhadap ketinggian tempat).
Citra DEM-SRTM dimanfaatkan untuk mendapatkan sebuah model sebaran temperatur sehingga menghasilkan informasi dalam bentuk tabular maupun spasial yang dapat digunakan untuk mengatasi keterbatasan sebaran data temperatur di Pulau Lombok.
Hasil dari kajian ini diharapkan dapat bermanfaat dan digunakan untuk analisis pada kajian-kajian lain khususnya yang membutuhkan data sebaran temperatur untuk analisis.

Kata kunci : PenginderaanJauh, SistemInformasiGeografis, DEM, Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission.

The modern technology and its tools namely GIS, GPS and Remote Sensing are widely used for planning and management of cities, land use, planning and management of utilities and resources, multipurpose cadastre, e-government, e-municipality, e-commerce and for decision making with respect to the management of many other  resource management systems. In most of the developing countries the spatial databases and related information systems have been in place and the associated technologies have been set in place. In case of Sri Lanka spatial resource management had been recognized as very important by many decision makers and as a result attempts have been made to incorporate necessary infrastructure in work places. The present work describes a survey of the present Geoinformatics applications and resource usage status through a questionnaire circulated among organization to capture data to assess the overall scenario corresponding to the Geoinformatics applications. The questionnaire was sent to a total of 67 known public, private and non governmental sector organizations which are carrying out Geoinformatics applications. Survey data were analysed in relation to four indicators collectively representing the overall strength of Geoinformatics Application Status (GAS), of a particular organization. The four component indicators represent the status of an organizations commitment, readiness, competence and the work experience, related to informations applications.

This study employs the use of geo-spatial techniques with survey to identify various transformations in land use land cover types and their corresponding land surface temperature (LST) between a 20-year time intervals in Akure, Nigeria. The analysis was done using available Landsat TM and ETM+ satellite data for 1986, 2002 and 2006. The variability of the LST has been investigated with respect to different land use / land cover types that were determined from the Visible and Near Infrared (NIR) channels. Also, the emissivity per pixel is retrieved directly from satellite data and estimated as narrow band emissivity at the satellite sensor in order to have the least error in the surface temperature estimation. The study revealed that the built up area has expanded from 17.88% of the total land area of Akure in 1986 to 27.02% in 2006 with a corresponding increase of 9.9 °C in LST, indicating an average annual increase of 0.5 oC. The vegetation cover has reduced from 47.23% to 37.79% with an increase of 2.79 °C in temperature. A very strong correlation between the LST and the NDVI has also been established. The implication of the uncontrolled unprecedented expansion in the city may exacerbate environmental and ecological problems such as the Urban Heat Island if not properly ameliorated. This study actually exploits the possibility of using Remote Sensing and Geographic information systems (GIS) in the drive towards achieving sustainable urban environment in terms of planning, policy and decision making.

High population growth and increased exploitation of groundwater resources causes the degradation of groundwater quality. To evaluate the vulnerability of groundwater pollution a GIS based study was conducted in Peshawar district. The objectives of the study were (a) physiochemical assessment of groundwater quality (b) geospatial analysis & mapping of groundwater pollutant distribution.  In order to assess the objectives 105 water quality samples were collected from the study area. Spatial statistical techniques and spatial interpolation was applied to map the spatial and directional distribution of each parameter. All parameter except Nitrate and pH were found to be highly concentrated in the main city as well as in the North-East and South-East parts of the district. It is recommended that water treatment plants should be installed at various locations to facilitate the inhabitants for drinking purpose.

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pres-
sures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of
alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population
time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with
broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of
a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of
historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and
assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries rep-
resenting over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of
local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropo-
genic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains
measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35)
biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database con-
tains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than
1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flower-
ing plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepid-
opterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is
therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used
by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The data-
base is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses
of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk).

Large accumulations of ancient shells on coastlines and riverbanks were long considered the result of garbage disposal during repeated food gatherings by early inhabitants of the southeastern United States. In this volume, Asa R. Randall presents the first synthesis of the St. Johns freshwater shell sites since the late nineteenth century. Drawing on social theory, he convincingly posits that these ancient “garbage dumps” were actually burial mounds, ceremonial gathering places, and often habitation spaces central to the histories and social geography of the hunter-gatherer societies who built them.
Integrating more than 150 years of shell mound investigations, including Ripley Bullen’s crucial work, climatological records, and modern remote sensing data, Randall rejects the long-standing ecological interpretation and redefines these sites as socially significant places that reveal previously unknown complexities about the hunter-gatherer societies of the Mount Taylor period (ca. 7400–4600 cal. B.P.). Affected by climate change and increased scales of social interaction, the region’s inhabitants modified the landscape in surprising and meaningful ways. This pioneering volume presents an alternate history from which emerge rich details about the daily activities, ceremonies, and burial rituals of the St. Johns River Archaic cultures.

Buscando adentrarse en los alcances y atributos de la teledetección, el Centro de Energía, Medio Ambiente y Ordenamiento Territorial (ROAM), en conjunto con la Facultad de Arquitectura y el programa de Magíster en Teledetección, impartido por la Facultad de Ciencias Silvoagropecuarias, orgainizó el Coloquio "Teledetección. Recursos naturales y estudios urbanos".

Junto con describir las funcionalidades que desarolla la teledetección y los múltiples datos que sirven de insumos para la planificación territorial urbana y rural, y los usos que se le puede dar a dicha información, los expositores destacaron el papel que puede jugar la teledetección y fuentes de información como esta para el diseño de ciudades y territorios sustentables orientados a mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas y sus entornos.

EL instituto Alexander von Humboldt, SURE y EcoNat, les damos la bienvenida al webinar sobre el uso de los SIG y la teledetección en los estudios urbano territoriales, una actividad preliminar al proximo simposio de ecologia urbana que se llevara a cabo en Bogota, Colombia entre el 08 y el 11 de Septiembre de 2016. http://www.econat.biz/ecologiaurbana/simposio.html

Kaduna’s colonial origin and function as an administrative town ensured that it was well planned and had
good and well distributed urban facilities and services in the early years of its existence. However, the
pressure of urbanization that has seen the city expand beyond its planned limits into hitherto rural settlements
along the urban fringe has today given the city a different character from the once celebrated
well planned and beautiful town. On the one hand you have the earlier settled areas of the city with good
roads, quality housing and other necessary urban facilities while on the other you have the new expansion
areas that have grown outside of formal planning control and are characterized by haphazard development,
poor quality housing and lack of basic urban infrastructure and services. It is within this context
and the scarcity of resources that the city authorities are struggling to cope with the challenges continually
posed by rapid urban growth. The article emphasizes recent initiatives of the government aimed at
confronting these challenges through a critical examination of their implementation and the outcomes
therefrom.