Geospatial Information

This research article investigates the utilization of geospatial data reporting to inform higher-level authorities about low water levels in interconnected reservoirs within a secure environment. The aim is to combine real-time reservoir monitoring, geospatial information, and robust security measures to enhance the reporting of reservoir level changes. By incorporating advanced technologies such as IoT devices and geographic information systems (GIS), the research aims to improve the accuracy and timeliness of reporting to higher-level authorities. Emphasis is placed on integrating geospatial data into the reporting process and ensuring the security of sensitive reservoir information through secure communication channels, encryption, and access control measures. The proposed approach has the potential to significantly enhance decision-making and emergency response in reservoir management, providing higher-level authorities with real-time, geospatially enriched data for informed decision-making.

This research article investigates the utilization of geospatial data reporting to inform higher-level authorities about low water levels in interconnected reservoirs within a secure environment. The aim is to combine real-time reservoir monitoring, geospatial information, and robust security measures to enhance the reporting of reservoir level changes. By incorporating advanced technologies such as IoT devices and geographic information systems (GIS), the research aims to improve the accuracy and timeliness of reporting to higher-level authorities. Emphasis is placed on integrating geospatial data into the reporting process and ensuring the security of sensitive reservoir information through secure communication channels, encryption, and access control measures. The proposed approach has the potential to significantly enhance decision-making and emergency response in reservoir management, providing higher-level authorities with real-time, geospatially enriched data for informed decision-making.

This paper analyzes the effect of the addition of historical land-use as a descriptive feature in plot-based image classification when updating land-use/land-cover geospatial databases. Several historical databases have been simulated to assess the influence and significance of this feature in the classification. The causes, nature, and evolution of classification errors as the database currency varies are analyzed; and the impact of these errors on change detection during the updating process is evaluated. The results show that the addition of historical land-use information increases the overall accuracy of image classifications. During a database updating process, changes are detected by comparing the historical land-use with the classification results. The main drawback of employing historical land-use as a descriptive feature in image classification for change detection is that the percentage of undetectable errors significantly increases as more accurate is the database information.

To a large extend sustainable construction of any structure greatly depends on the materials used in its formation. Traditionally, materials such as bricks, mortar, steels are still important components of most buildings. But modern technology is equally changing how materials are created and used. Based on the above explanation, the objective of this paper was to compare the steel structures with basalt fiber reinforced concrete. As basalt fiber is still not wide spread, this paper focus on the advantages, usages and applications of basalt fiber reinforced concrete to solve construction and structural challenges. The method and analysis used in this paper was derived from research and works done by previous authors on similar topics. Previous research information show that producers and users of these materials make choice of building materials to depend on the area the structure is proposed to be built and on the taste and ideas given by the client. Their consideration is often devoid of environmental, psychological, social and economy factors. The research methods lead to the understanding on the use and importance of basalt fiber concrete for landfills, leachate reservoirs and multifunctional structure. This paper helps structural users and engineers to know that green materials with good environmental characteristics that support nature are being considered as best construction materials due to what they are composed of. Waste and cost are also crucial as far as construction materials are concern. Even now, management of waste products from landfills specially leachates requires better construction designs in tropical region like Nigeria. More so, in line with the recent safe the climate calls, efforts to select the kind of material used in raising structures are becoming unavoidable.

Në epokën e dixhitalizimit, çdo informacion i ruajtur, i përpunuar apo i transmetuar nga kompjuterët përdor sisteme të kodimit strukturuar. 1. Kodi Binar: Sistemi numerik bazuar në dy shifra: 0 dhe 1. Konceptuar nga Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz në shekullin XVII. Baza e funksionimit të çdo kompjuteri dhe çdo operacioni logjik apo aritmetik. 2. ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange): Standard 7-bit për përfaqësimin e karaktereve.

The project 'The Norse Perception of the World' is building a digital infrastructure to facilitate interdisciplinary research on medieval worldviews as recorded in East Norse texts. It does so by collecting spatial material, i.e. attestations of place names and other location-based data from medieval vernacular manuscripts, early prints, and runic inscriptions from fictional, nonbiblical, and scientific texts dated to before 1530, and providing free access to these spatial references through a tailored back-end MySQL database and an interactive end-user interface with mapping via Leaflet and Leaflet.markercluster. This paper discusses how geocoding can be problematic when applied to pre-modern materials, as the concept of space is a temporal and social variable, especially when dealing with ideas about places abroad. The geospatial visualization employed by the project has no ambition to represent a historically correct worldview as understood by medieval Scandinavians. Rather, it is an anachronistic tool for managing and obtaining an overview of the spatial references in East Norse texts.

The open dumping or landfill method is most commonly used for the disposal of solid waste in cities of underdeveloped
and developing countries. These landfills without any engineering controls are causing water, soil, and air pollution along
with health effects on the people settled in surrounding areas of landfill sites. In the present study, the impacts of a
landfill site on groundwater quality and human health are highlighted. Leachate samples and fourteen grab bore well
water samples around the Gundluhalli waste dump were collected and tested for physical, chemical, and heavy metals
as per standard methods. Analysis of bore well samples indicates that the groundwater is unfit for drinking purposes
and that open dumping has polluted the groundwater. To study the effects of the landfill on the surrounding human
settlement, health data were collected from 78 households via questionnaires near the Gundluhalli Terraform Landfill
Site. The analysis of the health data shows that residents whose houses are less than 3 kilometres from the dumpsite
are victims of several health issues, and residents whose houses are more than 3 kilometres away are also affected by
the dumpsite's air pollutants and bad smell. The study concludes that dumpsites should be located at least 3 kilometres
away from human settlements. The study recommends that dumpsites be properly located and managed to minimise their
effects on human beings and on the environment.

In the present study, groundwater samples were analysed to determine the suitability of groundwater for drinking use in Chikkaballapura taluk (CBT) in 2019. The tests were conducted on the groundwater twice a year, during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. The results of 12 physico chemical parameters were used for the calculation of the water quality index (WQI). ArcGIS was used in the study to plot the spatial variation of chloride, nitrate, and fluoride. In urban areas, WQI ranged from 42.94 to 204 during the pre-monsoon season and from 62.67 to 153.93 during the post-monsoon season. Similarly, in rural areas, WQI ranged from 47.78 to 245.98 during the pre-monsoon season and from 35.92 to 405.63 during the post-monsoon season. The results of the WQI show that most samples fall into poor water categories according to the quality rating scale. Also, the results revealed that both in Chikkaballapura rural (CBR) and Chikkaballapura urban (CBU), most of the groundwater samples exceeded the drinking water quality limits during the pre-monsoon season when compared to the post-monsoon season. High levels of fluoride were found in Thippanahalli, Doddapailagurki, Poshettihalli, Kuppahalli, Mandikal and Ajjivara grama panchayaths and a significantly high concentration of nitrate was found in Addagallu and Manchanabele grama panchayaths during the pre-monsoon season in CBR. It was suggested that constant monitoring of groundwater quality in contaminated areas be carried out to prevent further deterioration and related problems and that rainwater harvesting practices be encouraged to help reduce the load on urban and rural water supply systems.

Landslides are one of the most prevalent catastrophes in the world, which can be caused by a variety of factors, human-related and natural. This study looks at the landslides that severely damaged Taliye village in the Raigad area of Maharashtra State, and it investigates the relationship between the causes of landslides and the primary contributory factor. Out of all the techniques for researching, detecting, and mitigating landslides, remote sensing and GIS have the best precision and dependability. Significant pre-and post-disaster changes in slope, land use, contour, hill shade, soil texture, NDVI, and rainfall were found through a comparative study of digitally processed thematic layers, highlighting the region's susceptibility to landslides. In this instance, we utilized the rainfall data and Weighted Overlay Method to analyze causative elements effectively. Efforts are made to identify the landslide key indicators in pre-landslide results and causative factors behind devastating landslides through post-landslide results. A major observation of the pre-and postlandslide susceptibility map classifies the area into six categories, with high-risk zones 5 and 6 showing 1.13 and 3.93%, respectively, reduced to 0 and 0.07%. It is obvious that the collapse of the zone vulnerable to landslides is what caused this alteration. Meteorological data, such as rainfall stats, serve as evidence to show that a significant amount of input led to triggering landslides. Therefore, it is crucial to apply these findings more broadly in order to formulate preventive strategies that are intended to mitigate potential repercussions and safeguard the welfare of every individual concerned.

Climate change presents a multifaceted global crisis, marked by rising
temperatures, shifting weather patterns, and increased frequency of extreme
events. This study investigates the role of geospatial technologies, primarily
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS), and their
integration with machine learning (ML) techniques in monitoring, mapping,
and predicting climate change impacts. Geospatial tools provide powerful
frameworks for collecting, analysing, and visualizing large volumes of spatial
and temporal data, enabling detailed assessments of climate variability across
regions. The incorporation of ML enhances pattern recognition and
forecasting capabilities, making it possible to model complex environmental
systems and simulate future climate scenarios with improved accuracy. Recent
advancements in satellite technology, image processing and AI have
revolutionized climate science, allowing for faster and more precise
assessments in sectors such as agriculture, disaster risk reduction, urban
planning, and energy resource management. This paper reviews these
technological developments and presents case studies from climate vulnerable
regions of India, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the North-Eastern states,
emphasizing the importance of localized data and region-specific adaptation
strategies. It also discusses the challenges of data integration, resolution
constraints, ethical concerns in AI applications and the need for policy
frameworks that incorporate reliable climate data. Overall, the study
concludes that the synergistic use of geospatial tools and ML algorithms hold
significant potential for enhancing climate resilience. Further, it calls for
continued interdisciplinary collaboration, improved data governance, and
methodological innovation to address existing gaps and guide effective
mitigation and adaptation strategies at local, national, and global scales.

Understanding the state and dynamics of sandy shorelines is essential for effective coastal management, particularly at the regional scale where resources are often limited and prioritization is required. This study presents an approach for assessing beach characteristics and shoreline trends using widely available geospatial data, demonstrated for the island of Kos, Greece. Subaerial beaches were digitized as polygons from satellite images in Google Earth Pro, covering the period 2003–2021. The digitization enabled the construction of a beach database, allowing estimation of recent erosion trends. Image accuracy, validated against RTK-DGPS measurements, showed RMSE of ~2 m.
Analysis of 78 beaches revealed that 76% experienced a reduction in maximum beach width (BMW), with an average decrease of 3 m. Furthermore, 61 beaches showed a mean areal loss of 15%. As BMW is a conservative metric for erosion, the areal analysis provides a broader understanding of shoreline retreat. The results indicate that long-term trend detection requires higher-resolution temporal datasets than currently available from open sources.
The study also identified controls on beach morphology: beach size is influenced more by geological factors—such as sediment texture, stream presence, and backshore cliffs—than by hydrodynamic forcing. This low-cost method offers a practical tool for regional-scale shoreline monitoring and could become increasingly valuable with the growing availability of high-resolution remote sensing data.

Advocates of geographic information technologies (GIT) have long claimed significant advantages to bringing a spatially oriented perspective to bear on organizational and policy decision making, however, for a variety of reasons, these advantages have been more difficult to realize in practice than might be supposed. In this article, we argue that awareness and appreciation of the potential value of GIT changed dramatically as a result of the World Trade Center (WTC) attacks on September 11, 2001. We use a structurationist theoretical perspective to show that GITs were “enacted” in a variety of novel ways by social actors thrust together by the demands of the crisis to form interorganizational systems, and we illustrate this process through three extended examples of GIT adaptation and innovation during the crisis. One lasting consequence of this episode is that GITs have moved from serving as a relatively static reference tool to a dynamic decision‐making tool for emergency situati...

This paper focuses on analysis of snowfall variability over Gulmarg and Pahalgam regions of India.  Impact of warming on changes in snowfall is also explored.  Variability in black carbon concentration and its relation with temperature is also examined.  Results reveal that there is high interannual variability in snowfall for different months over the study area.  Results reveal that reduction in snowfall combined with increase in temperature, snowmelt and black carbon concentration presents a serious risk of glacier melt.

This paper presents results of the study on the dynamics in land use/land cover (LULC), resulting from mining related activities, in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh. The availability of large coal reserves and the construction of Gobind Ballabh Pant Sagar reservoir in Rihand river have provided the necessary impetus to industrial development in the district. Mapping of LULC change is an important activity of land management and monitoring. The changes were mapped using remotely-sensed multi-date satellite in a Geographic Information System (GIS). Spatial and temporal changes in the land use/land cover were quantified using Landscape metrics. In addition, Markov transition matrix and change rate were also calculated for each of the LULC classes. The transitions from one class to the other were depicted with the help of change matrices. The analysis suggests that the vegetation cover is undergoing continuous negative change in terms of composition and extent. The rate of deforestation and forest fragmentation has also increased while built up and mining areas have registered a positive change. Resumen: Este artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio de la dinámica en la cubierta del uso del suelo/cobertura del suelo (LULC, siglas en inglés) como resultado de actividades relacionadas con la minería en el Distrito Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh. La disponibilidad de grandes reservas de carbón y la construcción de la presa Gobind Ballabh Pant Sagar en el río Rihand han brindado el ímpetu necesario al desarrollo industrial en el distrito. El mapeo del cambio de LULC es una actividad importante de manejo y monitoreo del territorio. Los cambios fueron mapeados con información satelital multitemporal obtenida por percepción remota en un Sistema de Información Geográfica. Los cambios espaciales y temporales en LULC fueron cuantificados usando métricas de paisaje. Además, también se calcularon matrices markovianas de transiciones y tasas de cambio para cada clase de LULC. Las transiciones de una clase a otra fueron representadas por medio de matrices de cambio. El análisis sugiere que la cobertura vegetal está sufriendo un cambio negativo continuo en términos de composición y extensión. Las tasas de deforestación y de fragmentación del bosque también se han incrementado, mientras que las áreas urbanizadas y de minería han registrado un cambio positivo. Resumo: Este trabalho apresenta resultados do estudo sobre a dinâmica do uso / cobertura solo (LULC), resultante das atividades relacionadas com a mineração, em Singrauli distrito de Madhya Pradesh. A disponibilidade de grandes reservas de carvão e a construção da barragem Gobind Sagar Ballabh Pant em Rihand rio deram o impulso necessário para o desenvolvimento industrial no distrito. O mapeamento da mudança LULC é uma atividade importante para a gestão do solo e o seu monitoramento. As mudanças foram mapeados usando detecção remota

This study assesses the impact of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill leachate on its surrounding groundwater quality of village Ramna, Varanasi, India. Leachate pollution index (LPI) of landfill leachate was evaluated with their physicochemical analysis that represents the overall leachate pollution potential and hazardous nature of MSW leachate. Physicochemical analysis of groundwater quality around the landfill site does not favour to drinking and domestic purposes as per the WHO and BIS standard. A considerable amount of NO 3 -, PO 4 3-, Fe, electrical conductivity (EC) and total dissolved solid (TDS) were found in the groundwater samples near to the landfill site especially during post-monsoon, indicating that groundwater quality is being significantly affected by leachate percolation. Factor analysis signifies positive loading of most of the toxic pollutant that presenting MSW leachate impact on groundwater quality. WQI results also revealed that most of the groundwater samples were deteriorated from good and excellent water quality in premonsoon to fair water quality in post monsoon near the landfill site. Groundwater flow modeling simulation also showing that increase in the hydraulic head during the post-M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT monsoon responsible for the downward flow of leachate pollutants from the landfill site. This Study suggests an urgent need for the sanitary landfill to control and minimize the impact of MSW leachate on groundwater quality around the Raman MSW landfill site.

For the past years the polytechnics and universities in Zimbabwe, which teach Surveying and Geomatics, have been focused on producing cadastral surveyors and technicians. This was so because of the historical background of the country. This focus on cadastral surveying as if it was the only discipline of surveying made the public perception of surveying narrow and significant efforts are required to broaden this perception. The impact of new technology has filtered through only slowly to the practising surveyors in the country. The practising surveyor seems more concerned with boundary surveying than any other activity. The degree and diplomas offered by the different institutions in the country are sometimes seen as simply padding out surveying curriculum in order to keep academics employed, teaching staff that no surveyor ever really uses. This concentration of the curriculum on one branch of the profession created a gape in the whole system. This article will discuss the survey education curriculum at polytechnic colleges and universities in Zimbabwe in an effort to direct the rethinking of the curriculum contents.

Perseus Digital Library is a well-established Digital Humanities project providing a library of out-of-copyright editions of canonical world literature with a focus on the Classical languages while expanding its scope beyond its original field. Apart from being a text collection, Perseus also provides a plethora of tools for the analysis of its text material and builds upon a sound base of methodological grounding. The digital library is made up of one main collection (Greek and Roman materials) and several smaller sub-collections spanning a range of other subjects. Data acquisition is achieved semi-automatically. The contents of the library consist of out-of-print text editions, dictionaries and commentaries being enriched by the supply of digital tools for analysis. Perseus Digital Library is reviewed as a whole but a special focus of the review lies on the Greek and Roman subcollection and sub-projects.

Ne vendet ne tranzicion te Evropes Lindore dhe Jugore dhe ne Ish Bashkimin Sovjetik, prezantimi i nje ekonomie tregu te orientuar ka qene i shoqeruar nga nje rritje e konsiderueshme e sasise se te dhenave te krijuara. Shqiperia, per shembull, eshte deshmitare e zhvillimit te shpejte te informacioneve te ndryshme rreth tokes qe nga 1991. Megjithate, shume pak vemendje i eshte kushtuar ceshtjeve ekonomike dhe ligjore te shoqeruara me zbatimin dhe mirembajtjen e sistemeve te informacionit te tokes ne periudhen pas 1991. Per me teper, ceshtjet ligjore dhe ekonomike qe lidhen me aksesin dhe shperndarjen ne modelet publike dhe private per perpunimin dhe perhapjen e informacionit te tokes nuk kane qene adresuar ne menyre adekuate. Projektimi i politikave te pershtatshme per garantimin e aksesit te drejte publik ndaj informacionit shteteror dhe per harmonizmin e ceshjteve ligjore qe lidhen me informacionin e tokes si e drejta e autorit dhe fshehtesia po behet nje ceshtje e rendesishme per a...

The exponential growth of big data has catalyzed the development of robust, scalable, and fault-tolerant storage systems. The Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) stands as a key pillar in the Hadoop ecosystem, providing a distributed, resilient storage infrastructure for managing petabytes of data. This paper investigates the core architecture of HDFS, including its design principles, components, and operational workflow. It also analyzes practical implementations, advantages, limitations, and future trends. Through case studies and real-world applications, the paper illustrates how HDFS supports the ever-growing demands of modern data-driven enterprises. I.

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into geospatial search has revolutionized the way we interact with geographic information systems (GIS). Traditional GIS models have long been the cornerstone of spatial data analysis, but the advent of Large Language Models (LLMs) has introduced a new paradigm in autonomous agentic AI. This paper investigates whether LLMs can outperform traditional GIS models in geospatial search tasks. We evaluate the performance of LLMs against conventional GIS models across various metrics, including accuracy, efficiency, scalability, and adaptability. Our findings suggest that while LLMs exhibit remarkable capabilities in natural language understanding and contextual reasoning, they are not yet fully capable of replacing traditional GIS models in all aspects. However, LLMs show significant promise in enhancing user interaction and providing more intuitive search experiences. This paper concludes with a discussion on the potential hybrid approaches that leverage the strengths of both LLMs and traditional GIS models.

The geo-information is considered as a comprised of photogrammetry, remote sensing, GIS and cartography. The education and training in geo-information started around two decades ago, when the first remote sensing satellite was launched. This paper deals with the development of geo-information education as well as training in the developing countries. A special reference is made to the situation in Brazil and Indonesia.

Phosphorus is a key irreplaceable nutrient that plays a major role in crop nutrition. The mineral form of phosphorus fertiliser is a mined resource and its supply comes predominantly from geopolitically sensitive parts of the world. A renewable source of phosphorus such as biosolids therefore offers a sustainable option. Nevertheless, continuous application of biosolids needs to be managed to ensure that soil is not saturated with nutrients which can then become a cause for concern in terms of enrichment of water bodies in the event of an erosion. Existing field trials have demonstrated the efficacy of biosolids as phosphorus fertiliser to meet crop demand whilst maintaining an environmentally safe amount in the soil. However, field trials are expensive, and an alternative would be a geospatial tool that builds on such information to act as a decision support tool to determine suitability of land to receive biosolids whilst ensuring that phosphorus levels are in environmentally safe limits. Thus, a novel and evidence-based decision support method for assessing land suitability for biosolids application at a national scale known as the Phosphate Acceptance Map (PAM) is described here. It provides a sound basis for addressing this need, layering over the model the means to capture a range of realistic scenarios, developed with industry practitioners, to allow exploration of the consequences of different land management strategies. The research method has involved the development and application of a modelling approach for phosphate acceptance, drawing from a collation of the core geographical and descriptive data themes required. These data describe both the environmental characteristics of the land under assessment, as well as the expression of nominal stakeholder values and protected areas. In considering the methods, it may be noted that the modelling drew upon key empirical data themes as a pragmatic approach. A number of key national datasets have been utilised such as the National Soil Map (Natmap), the 'National Soil Inventory' (NSI), geology and land use, as well as topography and prevailing climatic data. Demographic data was used to calculate potential arising nationally which was coupled together in the context of fertiliser recommendations. The issues addressed in the PAM modelling span borders and thus, where the data required is forthcoming, the methods demonstrated also have the potential to support wider application in other national contexts.

Hexagonal tessellations are increasingly utilized in various spatial applications due to their uniform adjacency and efficient space-filling properties. However, maintaining the geometric regularity of a planar hexagonal grid when mapping it onto the Earth's sphere is challenging using standard cartographic projections, which inevitably introduce distortions in distance, area, and angles, especially over large regions. This paper presents a novel approach for mapping a planar hexagonal grid onto a spherical surface that minimizes these distortions through the use of an optimized composite projection with blending. We propose a system based on multiple scaled Azimuthal Equidistant (AE) projections, each centered on a designated reference point within the tiled area. To ensure smooth transitions and mitigate distortion amplification at the boundaries between these projection centers, we introduce a blending mechanism. The blending weights and the scaling factors of the individual AE projections are treated as optimization variables. We define a compound objective function that quantifies various types of projection distortion, including errors in distance, area, angular deformation (Tissot's indicatrix), and deviations of key vertex positions from their ideal planar layout. By minimizing this objective function, we derive projection parameters tailored to reduce distortion across the target area. We demonstrate the efficacy of this optimized blended projection through a case study comparing its performance against a simple scaled Equirectangular projection for a hexagonal grid covering the city of Rome, Italy. The results indicate that the proposed method significantly reduces geometric distortions, preserving the relative positions and shapes of features more accurately, which is crucial for applications relying on consistent hexagonal grid properties over large geographical extents. We discuss the methodology for defining projection zones, the blending function, the distortion metrics, and the optimization strategy, highlighting the potential utility in geospatial analysis, environmental modeling, and large-scale simulations.

This paper examines the current state of three of the key areas of geospatial science in Australia: positioning; earth observation (EO); and spatial infrastructures. The paper discusses the limitations and challenges that will shape the development of these three areas of geospatial science over the next decade and then profiles what each may look like in about 2026. Australia's national positioning infrastructure plan is guiding the development of a nation-wide, sub decimeter, real-time, outdoor positioning capability based on multi-GNSS and in particular the emerging precise point positioning -real-time kinematic (PPP-RTK) capability. Additional positioning systems including the ground-based Locata system, location-based indoor systems, and beacons, among others are also discussed. The importance of the underpinning role of a next generation dynamic datum is considered. The development of Australia's first EO strategy is described along with the key national needs of the products of remote sensing. The development of massive on-line multi-decadal geospatial imagery data stores and processing engines for co-registered stacks of continuous base-line satellite imagery are explored. Finally, perspectives on the evolution of a future spatial knowledge infrastructure (SKI) emerging from today's traditional spatial data infrastructures (SDIs) are provided together with discussion of the growing importance of geospatial analytics for transforming whole supply chains.

This paper examines the current state of three of the key areas of geospatial science in Australia: positioning; earth observation (EO); and spatial infrastructures. The paper discusses the limitations and challenges that will shape the development of these three areas of geospatial science over the next decade and then profiles what each may look like in about 2026. Australia's national positioning infrastructure plan is guiding the development of a nation-wide, sub decimeter, real-time, outdoor positioning capability based on multi-GNSS and in particular the emerging precise point positioning -real-time kinematic (PPP-RTK) capability. Additional positioning systems including the ground-based Locata system, location-based indoor systems, and beacons, among others are also discussed. The importance of the underpinning role of a next generation dynamic datum is considered. The development of Australia's first EO strategy is described along with the key national needs of the products of remote sensing. The development of massive on-line multi-decadal geospatial imagery data stores and processing engines for co-registered stacks of continuous base-line satellite imagery are explored. Finally, perspectives on the evolution of a future spatial knowledge infrastructure (SKI) emerging from today's traditional spatial data infrastructures (SDIs) are provided together with discussion of the growing importance of geospatial analytics for transforming whole supply chains.

This research focus on examining and analyzing the landuse/land cover change detection that occurred over Adamawa State University Mubi during the period between 2001 to 2014 by geospatial modeling approach. Thisresearch was able to detect and identified the land cover changes that occurred duringthe period of 13 years. The multi-temporal satellites images (MSS, TM, and ETM+) coveringthe study area between 2001, 2006, 2012 and 2014 were used as the primary data sourcesfor this research. The global mapper 13 software, Google Earth, and http://glovis.usgs.gov were used for image acquisition while the ArcGIS 10.1 software was used in thedata analysis such as the classification of the image, calculation of areas and visualizationof cartographic features. The study shows that the Agricultural land use reduced drastically due to increases in Residential land use and institutional land use in the study area. Thisis because of the increase in the institutional land use within the study area which attracts people to reside within the study area. The results further show a high level of accuracy for the selected images for the years 2001, 2006, 2012 and 2014, respectively. Italsoshows that the study area was once very rich in Agricultural land use or vegetation land cover consisting of grass, shrubs, and farmland as at 2001 which later reduced remarkably in 2012 and totally eliminated by 2014 due to changes in the land cover of the study area.

Flow path and channel delineation from Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) was undertaken for low-gradient anastomosing rivers with wetlands. GRASS GIS offered a suitable flow accumulation tool that was computationally efficient and accurate. Realistic channel networks were derived through a combination of semi-automatic and manual mapping. Flow path and channel delineation supports water, river and wetland management.

Ne vendet ne tranzicion te Evropes Lindore dhe Jugore dhe ne Ish Bashkimin Sovjetik, prezantimi i nje ekonomie tregu te orientuar ka qene i shoqeruar nga nje rritje e konsiderueshme e sasise se te dhenave te krijuara. Shqiperia, per shembull, eshte deshmitare e zhvillimit te shpejte te informacioneve te ndryshme rreth tokes qe nga 1991. Megjithate, shume pak vemendje i eshte kushtuar ceshtjeve ekonomike dhe ligjore te shoqeruara me zbatimin dhe mirembajtjen e sistemeve te informacionit te tokes ne periudhen pas 1991. Per me teper, ceshtjet ligjore dhe ekonomike qe lidhen me aksesin dhe shperndarjen ne modelet publike dhe private per perpunimin dhe perhapjen e informacionit te tokes nuk kane qene adresuar ne menyre adekuate. Projektimi i politikave te pershtatshme per garantimin e aksesit te drejte publik ndaj informacionit shteteror dhe per harmonizmin e ceshjteve ligjore qe lidhen me informacionin e tokes si e drejta e autorit dhe fshehtesia po behet nje ceshtje e rendesishme per a...

This research explores the integration of geospatial, IoT, and cybersecurity technologies to secure urban small water bodies. The study presents a comprehensive framework enabling real-time monitoring, data protection, and sustainable management of critical water resources. Using IoT sensors and geospatial mapping, the research emphasizes proactive security through encryption, authentication, and intrusion detection systems, ensuring data integrity and informed decision-making.

The ability to obtain information by remote sensing without establishing contact with the objects under study, operational satellite monitoring of natural resources, organization of environmental monitoring, dynamics of natural processes and events, analysis of causes, forecast of possible causes, creation of an emergency warning system, etc. allows you to complete such tasks in a short time. In this regard, the use of remote sensing materials in ecological and geomorphological studies is of great importance.

In today's world, information is the most valuable resource. Geospatial information, which refers to the location of various features on earth, plays a crucial role in policymaking, implementation, and monitoring the policy outcomes. The information about forests, roads, water bodies, health and education facilities, population, human settlements etc. is geospatial. Due to financial and human resource constraints a single government department cannot collect such diverse information. Therefore, each department is mandated to collect and maintain one particular type of information. The information collected is used as evidence in policymaking and to ensure its efficacy, various types of information collected by departments is integrated and utilized. The dilemma is, government departments often do not share their collected information, despite them being funded by public money. Consequently, informed decision-making is hampered. The reasons for nonsharing of the information may include lack of technical capacity, fear of loss of control over information assets, poor quality of the information and lack of legal and policy framework to share information. This article focuses on policy and legal barriers to geospatial information sharing in Pakistan. The study follows content analysis method, specifically used for deriving relevant information from the data. The data is collected through reviews of policy documents, minutes of meetings, and focused group discussions with experts on the subject. The article discusses how the current provisions are inadequate to deal with new developments in geospatial information sharing, and proposes recommendations for amending and updating existing laws and policies. The study finds that policymakers in Pakistan are still not aware of the potential of geospatial information and its sharing through NSDI for informing, and implementing

In the article legal provisions governing the new development method of spatial information infrastructure are presented. The amendments arise mainly from the Act on Spatial Information Infrastructure as well as from the provisions of the Law on Geodesy and Cartography. In accordance with provisions of these acts and the implementing rules, both those binding and those in draft form, the spatial information infrastructure in Poland shall constitute a single database. This base shall comprise the individual components defined in the relevant implementing rules. These regulations define individual databases. For this purpose, the notation of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is used. On the other hand, the GML (Geographic Markup Language) was adopted as the basic format for interchange and sharing of data sets. In the paper, special attention was paid to the regulation defining the Polish cadastral system, as the system registering information concerning real property.

Coal serves as the primary energy source in India, with over 75 % of coal excavated from open cast coal mines, leading to significant environmental repercussions, especially in eastern and central regions. This study delves into the challenges posed by open coal mining in Katghora, a coal-abundant tehsil town situated in Korba district, Chhattisgarh in central India. Spatial analysis of LANDSAT-TM and OLI satellite data from1990 to 2023 reveals 3.93 % reduction in forest area, an 18.04 % decrease in agriculture-fallow land, and 1 % decline in water bodies, primarily due to their conversion into degraded land. Conversely, mining, and built-up areas experienced a respective increase of 1.74 % and 4.30 % during the same period. Moreover, intense mining activities have adversely affected soil health, with significant decrease in pH (varying from 4.8 to 5.6), and bulk density (reduced by up to 25-28 %) in the mined sites and the degraded wastelands compared to the agricultural and forest areas. Organic carbon content was also significantly lower in these areas, varying across soil depths from 0.21 % to 0.60 % (0-20 cm), 0.16 % to 0.54 % (20-40 cm) and 0.13 % to 0.51 %, (40-60 cm). Furthermore, analysis of land surface temperature (LST) data from LANDSAT datasets for 2000, 2010, and 2023 revealed a consistent increase in temperature, around 4 • C rises in both summer and pre-monsoon periods and approximately 1 • C in winter. These findings emphasize the importance of prioritizing eco-restoration initiatives and adopting sustainable mining practices to address the environmental degradation resulting from coal mining activities.

Trachoma is caused as a result of chronic infection of the conjunctiva by trachomatic chlamydia and is the leading cause of blindness infections in the world, especially in developing countries as poverty, overcrowding, poor sanitation, poor water supply, unrepaired latrines and unhygienic management of kept animals all cause the disease. The study aims to analyze reported cases of trachoma in Kano State. This study uses a survey research design and qualitative data is collected. A total of twenty (20) Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted with participants in ten (10) political wards in the study area, and in each neighborhood two settlements (communities) with the highest prevalence of bandit attacks, which were deliberately selected from each neighborhood. The results show that the high prevalence of the disease in non-metropolitan local government areas (LGA) which includes Gabasawa, Shanono, Kura, Tudun wada with a prevalence of 231,000-301,000 cases per 100,000 people per year. Trachoma trend analysis shows years of endemism in states with very high prevalence rates in 2017, and declining in 2018 and 2019.

Analyzing social networks data becomes increasingly important for many companies day-to-day operations. However, due to their scale, complexity and dynamics, these networks are difficult to be processed by means of traditional warehouse systems. In fact, the rapid growth of data with the frequent arrival of new needs requires that the system should be adaptable to changes. This work presents DW4SN (Data Warehouse for Social Network) tool for building data warehouse from social network, where clustering methods are used to define the DW schema and NoSQL systems are used to implement the warehouse. We validate our system on a real data set concerning crafts women social network. The main benefits were obtained in terms of scalability and dynamicity.

In the estimation of volume of stockpiles of earthworks, the question is no longer whether the data collected is dense and accurate (equipment and techniques capable of accurate data measurement are available), but how to manipulate the data to yield accurate volume estimation. Although surface modeling through TIN yields more accurate volumes than grid modeling, the delineation of footprint of the stockpile remains one of the main sources of errors in volume determination due to spurious surfaces created within the convex hull of the TIN model. In this paper, an approach for automatic delineation of the stockpile footprint based on a concave hull is introduced. A concave hull as a geometry (usually point data) container is realized by minimizing the enclosing planimetric area and it is usually not unique. Several algorithms for creating concave hulls are suggested, in this paper an algorithm based on Delaunay triangulation and linear referencing was used to create the concave hull....

Agriculture is directly linked to the socioeconomic development of every region. Agriculture impacts us all, whether we are seeking food security, better health or striving to conserve natural resources. Goal 2 of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) underlines the significance of agriculture as a means to achieve food security. United Nations in its recently published report titled "World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020"(UN, 2020) has declared agriculture as one of the global priorities for achieving high-quality health care and formal employment opportunities. Agriculture is a spatial subject. Policy makers demand unrestricted access to spatial data of various kinds in order to address agricultural issues and for evidence-based policy-making. Therefore, what types of spatial datasets are required for agricultural policy-making is a relevant question which is the objective of this paper. This paper also explores agriculture in Pakistan, main challenges faced by the ...

The gathering of metadata is often a tedious and frustrating exercise that has to be performed on top of data management in spatial warehouses. Metadata standards are complex and cannot be readily applied to data managed in spatial warehouses where a data set can be defined as any object. The context for an Integrated Web Catalogue service (IWCat) is based on the postulate that in geomatics, metadata are meant to help users discover and assess geospatial information and to help providers publish their data or services. This paper presents the results of the Integrated Web Catalogue Service (IWCatS) project. The project objectives were to develop tools that allow the integration of metadata servers in a Web environment using protocols similar to OpenGIS standards. The project results will essentially allow suppliers to devote more time to the improvement of their data thanks to the economies of time obtained in the management of their metadata. These improvements could take the form of gathering of new data, better precision or more frequent updates. The users are then able to better discover the data of interest, those will be of better quality and they will be better documented, which will ensure a more efficient use in their specific fields (forestry, mines, etc.). The IWCat service was tested with six governmental organisations involved in the management of geospatial data.

Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) refers to the process of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting geospatial data to provide insights that support decision-making, security, and operational effectiveness. It involves the integration of geographic information systems (GIS), satellite imagery, remote sensing, and other spatial data sources to help understand patterns, predict trends, and inform actions in various sectors, such as defense, national security, disaster management, urban planning, and environmental monitoring.

The design of offshore wind farms is computationally challenging, requiring the simultaneous optimisation of many conflicting objectives. Solving this problem is of paramount importance if society is to meet ambitious net zero goals. The problem is solved by identifying an optimal arrangement of individual turbines such that all objectives are optimised. However, a single solution does not exist due to the inherent conflict between objectives, and a set of solutions must be identified. As well as the challenge in generating optimal solution sets, there exists a decision support task if the solutions are to be effectively presented to a decision maker. This study focuses on six key objectives: wind farm efficiency, annual energy production, electric cable length, number of wind turbines, levelised cost of energy, and total area. Two evolutionary algorithms, NSGA-II and NSGA-III, were employed to explore the solution space efficiently. Performance evaluation was performed using spacing, generational distance, and hypervolume metrics. The aforementioned algorithms and metrics were applied to three wind farm layouts: a discrete layout and two continuous layouts. The NSGA-III algorithm was shown to perform better than its predecessor (NSGA-II). The difference was small, albeit significant. Previous works (e.g., Rodrigues et al. (2016); Mytilinou and Kolios ( )) in which many-objective optimisations were discussed provided little insight into the visualisation and interpretation of the results. While the mentioned work used parallel coordinate plots, this work provides a deeper insight by presenting the results via Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Multi Dimensional Scaling (MDS) plots. The best solution, containing 6188 wind farm layouts, was found by the NSGA-III algorithm on a continuous wind farm layout with repair mechanism. From the best solution, the wind farms containing 27, 102 and 160 wind turbines were selected and compared with the real wind farms located around the UK. It was demonstrated that the optimiser could identify better wind farm layouts concerning annual energy production, efficiency, and LCOE than the real wind farm layouts of Rhyl Flats and Greater Gabbard.

Numerous models exist for users to simulate land change to communicate with an audience concerning future land change. This article raises four fundamental questions to help model users decide whether to use any model: (1) Can the user understand the model? (2) Can the audience understand the model? (3) Can the user control the model? (4) Does the model address the goals of the specific application? This article applies these questions to the popular cellular automata–Markov (CA–Markov) model as IDRISI’s CA–Markov module expresses. Sensitivity analysis examines 120 ways to set the module’s parameters. Verification compares the module’s behavior to the software’s documentation. Results show that the cellular automata’s allocation fails to follow the quantity of change that the Markov module computes. The module’s behavior is likely to cause users to misinterpret the validation metrics and to miscommunicate with audiences. Thus, the answers to the four questions were not satisfactory for this article’s case study. This article’s framework helps users to judge a model’s appropriateness for a specific application by combining sensitivity analysis with verification in a manner that helps to interpret validation. Users should answer the four questions as they decide whether to use any software’s modules.

The use and application of geospatial data and information in the Philippines has increased substantially in recent years. Substantial systems exist in both national and local agencies involved in land administration mapping and surveying, settlement/housing and development planning; property
assessment and registration; natural resource and ecosystems management; climate resilience, and disaster risk and emergency response planning; social protection targeting, and public health surveillance and monitoring; maritime and shipping guidance and coastal protection; law
enforcement, peace and security; tourism, transportation, mobility and infrastructure development.
This baseline assessment of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) in the Philippines was conducted by a World Bank team over an extended period. The team has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders from both public and private sectors. Importantly, this is the first study of its type to
specifically address the interface between marine and land geospatial domains.
The methodology is based on the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF) adopted by UN member states in 2018 and updated in August 2020 by the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM). The aim of the IGIF is to provide strategic guidance to enable sub-national and national-specific Actions and Investment Plans to be prepared and implemented to strengthen integrated information management relating to land and marine environments. It does this by providing a 360-degree view of the capacities and capabilities needed to strengthen geospatial information management according to three focus areas and 9 strategic pathways – (i) Governance and Institutions; (ii) Policy and Legal; (iii) Financial; (iv) Data; (v) Innovation;
(vi) Standards; (vii) Partnerships; (viii) Capacity and Education; and (ix) Communication and Engagement.

The present contribution constitutes the first comprehensive attempt to (a) record the spatial characteristics of the beaches of the Aegean archipelago (Greece), a critical resource for both the local and national economy, and (b) provide a rapid assessment of the impacts of the long-term and episodic sea level rise (SLR) under different scenarios. Spatial information and other attributes (e.g., presence of coastal protection works and backshore development) of the beaches of the 58 largest islands of the archipelago were obtained on the basis of remote-sensed images available on the web. Ranges of SLR-induced beach retreats under different morphological, sedimentological and hydrodynamic forcing, and SLR scenarios were estimated using suitable ensembles of cross-shore (1-D) morphodynamic models. These ranges, combined with empirically derived estimations of wave run-up induced flooding, were then compared with the recorded maximum beach widths to provide ranges of retreat/erosion and flooding at the archipelago scale. The spatial information shows that the Aegean “pocket” beaches may be particularly vulnerable to mean sea level rise (MSLR) and episodic SLRs due to (i) their narrow widths (about 59 % of the beaches have maximum widths < 20 m), (ii) their limited terrestrial sediment supply, (iii) the substantial coastal development and (iv) the limited existing coastal protection. Modeling results indeed project severe impacts under mean and episodic SLRs, which by 2100 could be devastating. For example, under MSLR of 0.5 m – representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) – a storm-induced sea level rise of 0.6 m is projected to result in a complete erosion of between 31 and 88 % of all beaches (29–87 % of beaches are currently fronting coastal infrastructure and assets), at least temporarily. Our results suggest a very considerable risk which will require significant effort, financial resources and policies/regulation in order to protect/maintain the critical economic resource of the Aegean archipelago.

In today’s world, information is the most valuable resource. Geospatial information, which refers to the location of various features on earth, plays a crucial role in policymaking, implementation, and monitoring the policy outcomes. The information about forests, roads, water bodies, health and education facilities, population, human settlements etc. is geospatial. Due to financial and human resource constraints a single government department cannot collect such diverse information. Therefore, each department is mandated to collect and maintain one particular type of information. The information collected is used as evidence in policymaking and to ensure its efficacy, various types of information collected by departments is integrated and utilized. The dilemma is, government departments often do not share their collected information, despite them being funded by public money. Consequently, informed decision-making is hampered. The reasons for non-sharing of the information may include lack of technical capacity, fear of loss of control over information assets, poor quality of the information and lack of legal and policy framework to share information. This article focuses on policy and legal barriers to geospatial information sharing in Pakistan. The study follows content analysis method, specifically used for deriving relevant information from the data. The data is collected through reviews of policy documents, minutes of meetings, and focused group discussions with experts on the subject. The article discusses how the current provisions are inadequate to deal with new developments in geospatial information sharing, and proposes recommendations for amending and updating existing laws and policies. The study finds that policymakers in Pakistan are still not aware of the potential of geospatial information and its sharing through NSDI for informing, and implementing public policies. Accordingly, the study recommends approving NSDI Act at the earliest.

Spatial data is one of the core components in all information retrieval processes for decision-making. Spatial data acquisition consumes enormous monetary resources and time. The Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF) provides a basis and guide for developing, integrating, strengthening, and maximizing geospatial information management and related resources in all countries. To this, governments all over the world are establishing national spatial data infrastructures (SDIs). However, such initiatives face a considerable amount of resistance as organizations often do not want to share their data assets. The present study investigates these barriers in the establishment of national SDI in Pakistan. The constraints studied through the IGIF pathways and past studies were adapted via a pilot study and conceptualized in a hypothesized model. We collected primary data via the administration of 520 questionnaire surveys to 280 public and private organizations. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to statistically confirm the conceptual model of the barriers to disseminating spatial data. The results indicate institutional barriers from the absence of national data policy, lack of specified roles of stakeholders, poor inter-organizational coordination, missing data-sharing policy, and weak organizational partnerships, with coefficients 0.26, 1.555, 1.305, 8.288, and 0.136, respectively, at the p < 0.001 significance level. The PLS-SEM R2 0.65 indicates a good explanatory power of the model. The methodology developed in the present study will allow devising more sustainable policies for spatial data management and dissemination in Pakistan and beyond.

The economy of a country has a direct impact on the development, provision, and management of information such as spatial information that refers to the location of objects on earth. Spatial information is considered vital in policy planning and economic decision-making. For standardization and sound decision making, spatial information such as geology, climate change, topographic needs to be assembled and shared through spatial data infrastructure (SDI) framework. Although SDIs are being implemented for the last four decades. However, their implementation is still challenging, especially in developing countries. The focus of the paper is to identify factors that impede SDI implementation in Lower-Middle-Income Economies (LMIEs), with emphasis on the case of Pakistan. The paper briefly presents the concept of SDI and the rationale for its development across the world. Then it reports on LMIEs along with their stages towards developing SDIs, concentrating on the issues met during the process of implementation. The case study of Pakistan is presented with emphasis on the range of challenges appearing during the implementation phase. To outline the challenges being faced in the implementation of NSDIs in Pakistan, the study makes use of a survey and subsequent semi-structured interviews with stakeholders of the NSDI. We find that the key factors hindering SDI implementation in LMIEs include, institutional, technical, and human-related issues. Overall, the paper addresses an important research gap and provides valuable insights into SDI implementation challenges in LMIEs. Finally, the findings of the case study are discussed, together with prospects for future research to structure policies for the support of the implementation of SDIs in LMIEs.

Energy generation has been the cornerstone of the human socio-technical system since the inception of civilization. Thermal Energy generated from coal is the most abundantly used means of energy generation and the process of development as historically defined is largely tied with coal-based fossil fuel energy generation. The study explores the various hazards and livelihood challenges associated with coal mining on the local population. The study area is rich in coal reserves and has witnessed extensive mining operations by various companies, leading to significant disruptions in the lives of local tribal populations. The selected population is mainly tribal and they reside in the forest. These forest dwelling communities are culturally, economically and socially tied to the forest land and its endowments for survival, existence and identity assertion. Due to mining activities, the population goes through numerous unseen challenges such as, health risks from coal dust, structural damage from mine blasting, water scarcity by groundwater depletion, reduced agricultural productivity due to soil contamination and many more. This research paper delves into the few clearly visible hazards and challenges faced by tribal communities in Singrauli District, Madhya Pradesh, due to coal mining activities. The paper also discusses the marginalization of local tribal communities in the labor market, and lack of skill development opportunities. Lastly, the paper proposes strategies to enhance tribal livelihoods, including agricultural interventions, skill development initiatives, and advocacy for fair labor practices. By addressing these challenges and promoting sustainable development practices, the paper advocates for the holistic advancement of tribal communities in coal mining regions.