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GITA Conference - Irrigation Myths Busted
Tuesday, 31 Aug 2010 03:50 PM
At the recent GITA conference in Brisbane Australia John Culleton, CEO of the Colleambally irrigation area set about busting some commonly held myths about irrigation. Colleambally irrigates 300,000 hectares in Australia’s Murray Darling Basin where farmers grow rice, maize, wheat, vegetables and livestock depending on the amount of water available.
More onMapping the Earth's Changes Over Time
Thursday, 26 Aug 2010 08:36 PM
Without time there is no change. Over longer periods of time we may expect more changes, but very significant changes can arise in short durations. Heavy rainfall brings floods, an earthquake can cause major damages in a few moments and hail can wipe out a crop in just a few intense minutes. But other changes may take longer periods of time. Changes in the course of rivers, urbanisation and changing population demographics are measured and monitored over longer periods.
More onGIS Excels at the Assessment of Risk
Thursday, 26 Aug 2010 07:32 PM
The disruption and devastation of natural disasters would appear to be on the rise right now, particularly in Asia where flooding has impacted a large portion of this region. Over the years, experts have gathered knowledge of earth systems interactions and have created models to help predict and mitigate the risks from such disasters. Without GIS, our world would be a much more dangerous and disrupted place, but there is a good deal more insight to be drawn from the analysis of such risks.
More on Risk AssessmentWheat Production Decrease - More Precision Farming
Thursday, 19 Aug 2010 07:38 PM
Earlier in the year global wheat production was projected to reach 676 million tonnes. That level is now decreased with recent climate related events in Russia and flooding in other parts of the world, and is expected to be about 651 million tonnes. This comes awfully close to the anticipated consumption that is expected to be about 645 million tonnes according to the FAO.
More on What and Precision FarmingOpen Source Participation Platform Launched in India
Monday, 16 Aug 2010 07:11 PM
The open source mapping and reporting platform Ushahidi has spawned a hosted service in India that aims to promote effective governance by enabling awareness and citizen engagement. The site, called kiirti the Sanskrit word for report or reputation, combines mapping functionality with reporting tools through phone, sms, emal and the Web.
More on kiirtiChina - Innovating to Clean Energy
Thursday, 12 Aug 2010 02:55 PM
China has quickly taken up the clean energy banner, similar to many other countries. But China differs in comparison to the others - it is leading the clean energy push while attempting to balance different energy needs. An ambitious plan by the government is attempting to streamline energy laws and legislation while pursuing the dual goal of innovation across the country's growing energy hunger.
More on China Clean EnergyNoninvasive Mongolia Archaeology Expedition Harnesses the Crowd
Wednesday, 11 Aug 2010 05:10 PM
The National Geographic Society is currently doing fieldwork in Mongolia to try and find the lost tomb of Genghis Khan. The expedition is using an entirely new technique by posting satellite images online provided by the GeoEye Foundation that anyone can access and interpret for man-made disturbances.
More on the Tomb of Genghis KhanObserving Australia From Space In 3D
Friday, 06 Aug 2010 02:02 AM
An international consortium* led by the University of NSW plans to begin designing satellite 3D mapping from space that could help monitor disasters like floods and fires. The 3-year project just moved closer to reality following a $4.7 million grant from the Federal Government’s Space Research Program that is being matched by the group.
More on 3D Australia3D Visualization Communicates the Value of Geology
Thursday, 29 Jul 2010 06:48 PM
Geological surveying has its roots in economic development, mapping natural resources and energy sources for industry exploitation and monetary gain. The monetary aspects of this mapping effort have meant a reluctance for broader distribution beyond the difficult to interpret 2D geologic map presentation, because greater exposure has meant a greater competition for the resources that the maps uncovered.
More on Geologic MappingQZSS and the Growing Role of GNSS in Asia
Thursday, 22 Jul 2010 07:46 PM
In a presentation by Hiroaki Tateshita Hiroaki Tateshita of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) given in Bali, Indonesia last week, an update of current GNSS activity was provided. The new Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) satellite that has been planned is expected to launch this summer. QZSS is expected to provide many benefits to transportation related applications depending upon GNSS within inner cities, as well as other applications requiring advanced navigation and guidance support.
More on QZSS and GNSSGIS Becomes Open and Everywhere at the Esri/UC
Thursday, 22 Jul 2010 01:50 PM
The concept of GIS as open and everywhere was highlighted at the Esri International User Conference in San Diego last week. The idea that we'll access GIS just like we now access music, from any location and on any device, was discussed. We have handheld access, desktop access, and access to services on servers. This fundamentally changes how we work with GIS.
More on the Esri User ConferenceTransportation Through Surveying and Mapping
Friday, 16 Jul 2010 07:50 AM
Advances in surveying and mapping technologies are quickly adopted in the transportation sector. While many people are interested in actual traffic movement, the construction of roads, bridges, rail, airports and other transport related areas depend upon spatial technologies.
More on Transportation and GeotechnologyCommunity Remote Sensing Emerges
Thursday, 08 Jul 2010 10:23 PM
The growing need for earth observation, and the limited reach of government-sponsored earth observing satellites and systems, has given rise to a rapidly emerging new field of community remote sensing. This new field combines remote sensing with citizen science, social networks, and crowd-sourcing to enhance the data obtained from traditional sources.
More on Community Remote SensingDecision Support - Disaster and Risk Management
Thursday, 08 Jul 2010 09:29 AM
The quick availability of geoinformation can provide many benefits for disaster and risk management related efforts involving floods, earthquakes, cyclones, wildfires and the like. This information often originates from many sources in different locations. To effectively integrate, process and apply this information requires effective decision support capabilities. Experience is now leading toward the creation of 'best practices' and 'decision support tools' that enable quicker, more effective and useful response.
More on Disaster Decision SupportHexagon's Acquisition of Intergraph Promises to Speed CAD and GIS Convergence
Wednesday, 07 Jul 2010 07:59 PM
A major announcement in the geospatial marketplace took place this week when Hexagon announces its acquisition of Intergraph. The move continues the growth of Hexagon via acquisition, and adds a software solutions, integration and visualization piece to a company that has primarily been focused on measurement.
More onRussian Cadastre Steps into the 21st Century
Thursday, 01 Jul 2010 10:32 PM
The Russian cadastral system took a step forward in the fall of 2009 as a new directive was put forward that included the elements cadastral products and services were expected to include. The connection between a modern cadastre and public interest was embodied within the agreement.
More on Russian CadastreThe World Cities Summit Ends with Pledge for a Learning Network
Thursday, 01 Jul 2010 07:26 PM
The World Cities Summit took place in Singapore this past week, culminating with a closing session on July 1, 2010. The theme of this international gathering of mayors and urban planners was, Liveable & Sustainable Cities for the Future. The focus of the event centered on better urban planning through collaborative idea sharing, and the event will live on with that focus with a pledge to create an online community among planning leaders.
More on the World Cities SummitChina's Online Mapping Regulation Moves to Certification
Thursday, 01 Jul 2010 04:53 PM
China's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) has now begun the licensing of online mapping services, having just announced that 23 operators have made the cut. The country felt they needed to go the regulation route in light of 42,000 web sites that provided online mapping services in the country. The regulation aims to provide better quality management, protection of privacy and state secrets, and a reduction in social problems that occur due to misinformation.
More on China Map RegulationsTanDEM-X Adds More Elevation Data
Thursday, 24 Jun 2010 10:47 PM
The TanDEM-X satellite was successfully launched recently. It is expected to provide a 12 m resolution digital elevation dataset for use around the globe. It marks yet another step in the advancement of higher quality spatial information that will undoubtedly couple to other technologies like GNSS, remote sensing and surveying technologies.
More on TanDEM-X Elevation DataRemote Sensing Provides New Tools for Earthquake Assessment and Prediction
Thursday, 24 Jun 2010 04:27 PM
New airborne remote sensing techniques and tools are helping scientists gain a better understanding of earthquakes. Airborne sensors provide the advantage of being able to cover a great deal of ground, and through repeated visits they give in-depth picture of change across an entire fault line. Remote sensing also provides a reliable means to augment the network of ground sensors to provide a different perspective.
More on Airborne Earthquake Sensors