High-Dimensional Bayesian Geostatistics.

NASA's Visualization, Exploration, and Data Analysis (VEDA) project is an open-source science cyberinfrastructure for data processing, visualization, exploration, and geographic information systems (GIS) capabilities (https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/esds/veda). VEDA was an ambitious platform and one that was only made possible in the past year by building upon existing NASA projects. The extensive technology community at NASA continues to come together to design, build and use VEDA’s interoperable APIs and datasets.This presentation will demo the current capabilities of VEDA and discuss how these capabilities were designed and architected with the central goals of science delivery, reproducible science, and interoperability to support re-use of data and APIs across NASA’s Earth Science ecosystem of tools. The presentation will close with VEDA’s future plans. In 2023, VEDA will support NASA’s Transform to Open Science (TOPS) program and open-source science initiatives through data, APIs and analytics platforms. In 2023 and beyond, VEDA will advance the state of the art in cloud-based Earth science as well as strengthening the ties of technology within NASA.The projects behind VEDA’s current features are:The Multi-Mission Algorithm and Analysis Platform (https://maap-project.org/, presented at EGU 2019): Recognizing the numerous advantages of open, reproducible science, NASA and ESA are working together to create the Joint ESA-NASA MAAP. The MAAP brings together relevant data and algorithms in a common virtual environment in order to support the global aboveground terrestrial carbon dynamics research community.  The COVID-19 Earth Observation Dashboard (https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/covid19/): Following the interest in this dashboard, NASA invested in the design and development of a new dashboard infrastructure. This infrastructure is highly configurable to support easily adding new datasets and discoveries. UI and config layers are built upon the VEDA STAC catalog and Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFFs. The Earthdata Information Systems (EIS) pilots (https://eis.smce.nasa.gov/): Scientists at NASA worked together on open science tools to develop new research projects using Earth Observation data across the domains of fire, freshwater, greenhouse gasses, and sea level rise. ArcGIS Enterprise in the Cloud (gis.earthdata.nasa.gov) provides GIS capabilities. The projects listed above have all made VEDA a reality in a year. The scientists from EIS are using the new dashboard infrastructure to tell their stories and the analytics backend from MAAP to scale their science.In 2023, VEDA plans many initiatives in the work to extend its reach within and beyond NASA. There are many advanced technologies at NASA and we see an opportunity for VEDA to support closing the information gaps across groups. For example, VEDA will support driving standards for using, publishing and visualizing NASA’s Earthdata Zarr archives and also deliver interoperable APIs for its data stores to support dynamic data visualization and storytelling.VEDA will also extend its reach beyond NASA by providing a JupyterHub for any user to explore the data behind NASA Earth Science, specifically the discoveries presented in the Earthdata Dashboard.

Good management of an oil field and compliance with ever-increasing environmental regulations is enhanced by technologies that improve a company`s understanding of field/production facilities and environmental conditions that have occurred to both through time. In Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and offshore Cabinda, remote sensing, computer-aided drafting (CAD) and Global Positioning System (GPF) technologies have effectively been used by Chevron to provide accurate maps of facilities and to better understand environmental conditions. Together these proven technologies have provided a solid and cost-effective base for planning field operation, verifying well and seismic locations, and locating sampling sites. The end product of these technologies is often locations, and locating sampling sites. The end product of these technologies is often cartographic-quality hardcopy images and maps for use in the office and field. Chevron has been evaluating the capability of Geographical Information System (GIS) technology to integrate images, maps, and tabular data into a useful database that can help managers and workers better evaluate conditions in an oil field, plan new facilities, and monitor/predict trends (for example, of air emissions, groundwater, soil chemistry, subsidence, etc.). Remote sensing, CAD (if formatted properly), and GPS data can be integrated to establish the spatial or cartographic base of themore » GIS. A major obstacle to establishing a sophisticated GIS for an overseas operation is the initial cost of data collection and conversion from legacy data base management systems and hardcopy to appropriate digital format. However, Chevron routinely uses GIS for oil spill modeling and is now using GIS in the field for integrating GPS data with field observations and programs.« less

This paper presents a study of bus services operational performance through the analysis at a stop level of Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) data, using the capability of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyze spatial and temporal patterns of change. In particular, the analysis is focused on the study of the reliability of public transport services that connect the most important urban centers and the airport of a low density region. The intention is to suggest transport demand management policies aimed at shifting the modal split towards public transport modes as sustainable forms of mobility, encouraging intermodality. In order to determine average travel times and the standard deviation of travel times a specific statistical analysis has been carried out. The results of this analysis have been imported into a GIS package for a further investigation of the services reliability to highlight some critical aspects and adopt specific policies and opportune solutions.

In central and eastern European countries that joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007, there are strong connections between transport development and sustainable regional development. The needs for transport development in post-socialist countries are so high that it is difficult to finance them, and most governments have to choose between immediate and less urgent needs. The aim of this study was to determine the role played by sustainable transport growth in the improvement of regional cohesion and sustainable regional development with a use of geographical information systems’ capabilities. The specific goals of the study were to: (i) determine the impact of EU subsidies on the regional transport development; (ii) identify threats to regional cohesion resulting from under-capitalised regions, (iii) examine geographical information systems’ capabilities in periodical regional transport development monitoring. The analyses include evaluation of the regions’ involvement in sustainable transport development as well as the presentation of direct and indirect results, such as road system improvement, with the use of GIS capabilities. It is particularly important to develop a system for monitoring the level of EU fund allocation with the use of GIS tools and the capabilities of geographic information systems. Such in-depth analysis would be useful for regional governments and decision-makers in creating and updating long term transport policies as well as monitoring long term regional development strategies. Both sustainable transport development and EU fund allocation can be monitored within the use of GIS tools, and such analyses should supplement the INSPIRE Geoportal scope.

Ecologists often fit models to survey data to estimate and explain variation in animal abundance. Such models typically require that animal density remains constant across the landscape where sampling is being conducted, a potentially problematic assumption for animals inhabiting dynamic landscapes or otherwise exhibiting considerable spatiotemporal variation in density. We review several concepts from the burgeoning literature on spatiotemporal statistical models, including the nature of the temporal structure (i.e., descriptive or dynamical) and strategies for dimension reduction to promote computational tractability. We also review several features as they specifically relate to abundance estimation, including boundary conditions, population closure, choice of link function, and extrapolation of predicted relationships to unsampled areas. We then compare a suite of novel and existing spatiotemporal hierarchical models for animal count data that permit animal density to vary over space and time, including formulations motivated by resource selection and allowing for closed populations. We gauge the relative performance (bias, precision, computational demands) of alternative spatiotemporal models when confronted with simulated and real data sets from dynamic animal populations. For the latter, we analyze spotted seal (Phoca largha) counts from an aerial survey of the Bering Sea where the quantity and quality of suitable habitat (sea ice) changed dramatically while surveys were being conducted. Simulation analyses suggested that multiple types of spatiotemporal models provide reasonable inference (low positive bias, high precision) about animal abundance, but have potential for overestimating precision. Analysis of spotted seal data indicated that several model formulations, including those based on a log‐Gaussian Cox process, had a tendency to overestimate abundance. By contrast, a model that included a population closure assumption and a scale prior on total abundance produced estimates that largely conformed to our a priori expectation. Although care must be taken to tailor models to match the study population and survey data available, we argue that hierarchical spatiotemporal statistical models represent a powerful way forward for estimating abundance and explaining variation in the distribution of dynamical populations.

Principles of stereoscopic vision have long been used in geographic data processing and visualization, e.g. Laussedat created what he called metrophotography in 1895 [2][3] and a stereoautograph for plotting from terrestrial photographs was produced in 1911 [2]. Today, a common and established use of stereoscopy in geographic domain is three-dimensional (3D) modeling of terrains and cities based on aerial, satellite and/or terrestrial imagery with photogrammetric techniques. In these systems, commonly, stereoscopic imagery is used as an input and a vector 3D representation of the terrain or city is obtained as an output. Stereoscopy has also been used for close-range photogrammetry, however within the scope of this paper the focus is on the cartographic use of stereoscopic visualizations. In recent years, a number of mainstream digital devices with stereoscopic capabilities are marketed (e.g. [4], [5], [6]), which indicates that we can expect to see more stereoscopic content in the near future [1]. In anticipation of such a development, it is also plausible to expect that stereoscopic geo-data will become more available for everyday use. It is, therefore, interesting to document which stereoscopic visualization features are supported by mainstream geographic information systems (GIS) software and whether these features can be improved. This work presents a survey on current stereoscopic visualization support in geographic information (GI) systems. The underlying objective is to outline future research needs by examining current stereoscopic 3D visualization techniques and tools in current GISs. This paper focuses on visualization modules of GIS software, and tries to answer the question “How commonly is stereoscopic visualization supported in GIS?" To achieve this, first whether such support exits or not in GIS software is documented, then supported types of stereoscopic operations and viewing methods are reported. Motivated by improving efficiency of stereoscopic visualizations in cartographic domain, within this survey, it is also examined whether these software offer level of detail (LOD) management support for stereoscopic datasets. Findings from the study are meant as a guide to researchers and practitioners to assess the current state of True 3D support in widely used GIS software.

Catchment delineation is an important characteristic in hydrology as it describes the hydrological parameter of river basins. While, the use of modeling tools has gained popularity as many water resource managers, scientists and engineers explored its capability to delineate catchment areas. This study applied the capability of Geographical Information System (GIS) and Digital Elevation Model in determining the geomorphological characteristics of Pandurucan River in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. Catchment area was determined using the SAR-DTM Model in QGIS. Using the various tools of catchment delineation, geomorphological catchment characteristics such slope, flow direction, stream networks and catchment area were identified. Results of the simulation identified three sub basins and a total catchment area of 10,083,608sq.m. The thematic maps for stream, channels and river networks defined the direction of the flow of Pandurucan River; the drainage area that catches precipitation and the location where all water accumulated and drained off.

The study attempted to determine the occurrence of freshwater in the aquifers of the Deltaic Formation, Niger Delta Nigeria using Lithologic Logs, Electrical Resistivity and Borehole Parameter (Depth) as input data. The Geographical Information System technique that permit diverse geospatial analyses, modelling and data manipulation and Simple Regression Method that permits the assessment of relationship between two variables were adopted in this study. While the Lithologic Logs were adopted to delineate aquifers and aquitards, the Electrical Resistivity was employed to determine the occurrence of freshwater in the aquifers of the study area. The modelled Geological Sequence revealed that the geology of the study area is very complex and consists mostly of unconsolidated sedimentary materials from top soil to the deep horizon. Hence, all the aquifers have very high storage capacity. It was revealed that the nature of resistivity does significantly increases with depth, which indicates lower level of salinity with increasing depth of hole. The study established positive relationship between depth of hole and aquifer resistivity in 80% of the sampled locations indicating the occurrence of freshwater in deep aquifers of the study area. The study identified three distinct aquifers (shallow, intermediate and deep) within the Deltaic Formation. The study also emphasized the occurrence of near surface overlying aquitards in the eastern part of the study area, indicating that shallow aquifers of the eastern part are less vulnerable to near surface contamination. Finally, the study concluded that, in most cases, groundwater quality increases as the depth of well increases within the study area. Finally, this study demonstrated the capabilities of Geographic Information System in spatially referenced visualization of hydrogeological characteristics of complex geology.

Developments in multimedia and scientific visualization have greatly expanded the technical capabilities of geographic information systems. Users can visually explore, analyze, and present data and gain insight on spatial relations and patterns. But how do users manage all the information that reaches them? Highly-structured interfaces such as hypermaps, discussed here, are a necessary and useful way to structure multimedia components and let users easily navigate data sets.

This article presents all the possibilities for developing and implementing a modern method of updating existing soil-cartographic data and obtaining the most reliable data within a short period with minimal labor, financial and material costs for specialists in the field of agronomy. Accurate farming and rational cultivation of grain and non-grain agricultural plants are impossible without taking into account reliable, objective, complete, and detailed information about the soil situation in our country. Thanks to the development of science and the introduction of the latest technologies, new opportunities appear to improve the monitoring, speed, objectivity, and economic productivity of soil mapping by minimizing complex and challenging fieldwork and facilitating the conduct of chemical studies of soil samples. The practice of creating soil maps acquired by other advanced countries proves a great need to use reliable Earth remote sensing data in integration with the capabilities of geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning tools (GPS) in precision agriculture. They concluded and provided data for solving the task by performing geoinformation mapping using non-contact methods for soil diagnostics and research. The diagnostics of this study are aimed at verifying the integrity and practicality of the application of non-contact methods that contribute to the analysis of the soil surface and the creation of new conditions for the introduction of precision agriculture in the regional plane in connection with the emergence of specific difficulties and shortcomings in the use of remote sensing data of the Earth's surface for accurate surveying of the area research.

Primarily driven by current advances in web, web service and sensors technologies, and the expressed needs from geospatial and broader communities, the webbased sensors and geoprocessing service fields have evolved rapidly over the last 10 years. Geoprocessing services greatly facilitate the process of transforming geospatial data to geoinformation, exposing the powerful analytic capability of geographic information system (GIS) and empowering the public in today’s “electronic” decision-making over the worldwide web, particularly within spatial data infrastructure frameworks, through service composition, utilization of advanced grid/cloud computing, and well-designed client-side applications. The research topics and issues range from discovery, accessibility, usability to interoperability, which require standards support, and cooperation among academia, industry, government, commercial, and open source communities. This special issue builds on the extended version of seven papers selected from the papers submitted to the first International Workshop on Pervasive Web Mapping, Geoprocessing and Services, which was successfully held on the Politecnico di Milano campus in Como, Italy fromAugust 26 to 27, 2010. The workshop was organized by ISPRS WG IV/5 on “Distributed, Web-based Geoinformation Services and Applications” and Politecnico di Milano, and coorganized by ISPRS WG WG IV/1 on “Geospatial Data Infrastructure”, WG IV/4 on “Virtual Globes and Context-Aware Visualization”, and ICWG IV/II on “Geo-Sensor Networking and GEOGRID”. The main theme of the workshop focused on Sensor Web Enablement and Geoprocessing Services. Some of the particular topics and issues addressed in the technical sessions included (full papers are available at http://www.isprs.org/ proceedings/XXXVIII/4-W13/):

Project GeoSim is a multidisciplinary effort by members of Virginia Tech's Departments of Geography and Computer Science, College of Education, and Learning Resources Center to develop computer-aided education (CAE) software for introductory geography and related classes. GeoSim laboratory exercises draw on the five fundamental themes of geography for their subject matter. The programs emphasize interactive learning combining the information capabilities of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with the techniques of computer simulation. The result is a series of geographic explorations that will make available some of the most exciting aspects of geography to a potential audience of 425,000 introductory geography students per year.

To evaluate geological hazards in mines effectively and systematically, we proposed an object-oriented model base framework that realizes model management and model reuse. This framework supports model generation, data storage, operation, analysis, prediction and application and includes model building and model management. When building the model, 7 commonly used disaster assessment models are encapsulated as model classes and model instances that are represented as objects. Model management includes evaluation factor management, model addition, modification, deletion and so on. In addition, the framework makes full use of the spatial data processing capabilities of Geographic Information System (GIS) to perform spatial analysis and prediction. We also applied the framework to the serious exploitation area of a mine in the Fangshan District, Beijing. The results showed that the proposed model base has strong operability and practical value and could provide early warnings for the geological hazards of coal mine areas.

ABSTRACTCore retail management functions include defining market areas and profiling customers. For tourism enterprises, market areas are geographically dispersed with many customers residing beyond the immediate area surrounding the attraction. Visualization and analysis of these distributed market areas are significantly enhanced by the capabilities of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and help to support management objectives. Unfortunately, many businesses are unable to utilize GIS due to its complexity and expense. This study develops a decision support tool for tourism planning and marketing that is customized and easy to use, employs open source software to reduce expense, and allows for broad accessibility via web delivery. Users can easily visualize and examine the spatial distribution of their own United States (US) client origins and visitation patterns along with relevant tourism-specific and general demographic information. This functionality can be beneficial in developing or augmenting business plans or marketing strategies, and for informing tourism theory.

Groundwater recharge study in arid region: An approach using GIS techniques and numerical modeling