Archive for September 15th, 2009
1971 Australian Newspaper Article about ESRI
In ESRI, Environmental Science, GIS, Modeling on September 15, 2009 at 11:59 am
Department of Interior Launches Climate Strategy; Geospatial Technology Demonstrates Impacts
In Climate Change, GIS, Visualization on September 15, 2009 at 9:47 am
…from the Washington Post…
“Kit Batten, science adviser to Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes, led reporters through an elaborate geospatial presentation that mapped everything from the frequency of large hailstorms and windstorms in the United States to the melting of Washington state’s South Cascade Glacier. “This will help us understand the impacts of climate change, adapt to the impacts of climate change and provide ways to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as a department,” Batten said. “This work is important to all Americans, not just scientists and land managers.” “
GIS Technology Helps Reintroduce Endangered Wild Horses
In ESRI, Environmental Science, GIS on September 15, 2009 at 9:08 am
…from GeoWorld…
“By integrating maps of horse movements, winter migration of livestock, seasonal dynamics of natural resources and threat locations, the data can be analyzed in a spatially explicit environment to address key ecological and management questions. Based on such analyses, it will be possible to assess KNRs carrying capacity for Przewalskis horses, interspecific dynamics of wild ungulates, impacts of livestock, and how livestock management and stocking rates may need to change. The results will provide urgently needed information on the ecology of Przewalskis horses in the wild and inform selection of future release sites in China and elsewhere.”
National Council for Geographic Education Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 23-27, 2009
In Education, GIS, Geography on September 15, 2009 at 7:59 am
“This National Conference on Geographic Education is an annual event where geography educators from across the country and around the world meet to exchange ideas, research, resources, and best practices in geography education. The conference is filled with opportunities for participants to attend workshops, paper and poster sessions, field trips, and more. Long-time conference participants enjoy the collegial atmosphere of the conference, opportunities for networking and brainstorming, and endless prospects for professional development. Conference participants are passionate about the prospect of advancing geography education and that energy is what draws educators to the meeting year after year!”
- More information
- Program [PDF]
Analyzing Geographic Clusters and Distributions: Free Online Seminar
In ESRI, GIS, Modeling, Spatial Analysis, Statistics on September 15, 2009 at 6:10 am
…free web seminar from ESRI Canada…
October 8th, 2009, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
By identifying and measuring relationships, you are in a better position to understand what’s going on in a place, to predict where something is likely to occur or to investigate why things occur where they do. This seminar will introduce a variety of analysis tools and workflows available in ArcGIS. Attendees will learn the benefits of cost path distance analysis, surface interpolation, spatial statistics tools and regression analysis.
- Introduce distance analysis methods and strategies
- Understand available surface interpolation methods in ESRI products
- Utility of spatial statistics for a wide range of applications
- Regression analysis in ArcGIS
Summer Interns Partner with Communities to Help Sustain Mid-Maine
In Education, Environmental Science, GIS on September 15, 2009 at 6:10 am
…from Colby Magazine…
“Andrew Young ’09, who applied advanced GIS skills to transportation issues and produced a brochure on recycling options, formed an important bond with the community, though it came after his graduation and just before he left Waterville for a master’s program in chemistry at UNH. Wishing he’d begun earlier, he said, “One of my greatest fears is leaving and having the project fall apart. In the back of our minds is giving the next person what they need to succeed.”"
Postgraduate Scholarship in Geobiosphere Science at University of Lund
In Climate Change, Earth Systems Science, Education, Environmental Science, GIS on September 15, 2009 at 6:09 am
Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystems Analysis
Faculty of Science, Lund University, Sweden
The position will be within the framework of a new research centre at Lund University, LUCCI (Lund University Centre for Studies of Carbon Cycle and Climate Interactions) financed by a long term (10 years) Linnaeus grant by the Swedish Research Council. Research at the Centre spans a broad range of disciplines, e.g., Geology, Physical Geography, Climatology, Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry, Ecology, Plant Physiology, Soil Science and Microbiology. There are c. 85 researchers from four different departments within the Faculties of Science and Engineering. Read more about LUCCI at www.lucci.lu.se.
The mechanisms underlying the evolution of Holocene CO2 and CH4 concentrations and climate remain controversial, including whether or not humans have played a discernible role regionally or globally. In this project we aim to improve existing knowledge about human land use over the last 6000 yrs. It will expand a global dataset that was implemented within the LPJ-GUESS modelling framework in order to better assess the role of past human impact on the carbon cycle. The project will link on-going ecosystem modelling work being carried out in Lund with vegetation reconstructions and will involve model applications using LPJ-GUESS.
Candidates should hold a Master of Science degree in Ecology, Geography, Geology, GIS or an environmental science, be interested in data assimilation and have an interest in past human and environmental history or archaeology. Some experience in programming or modelling using C++ or a similar language is required.
Excellent written and spoken English is a requirement.
See general study plan at www.naturvetenskap.lu.se/o.o.i.s/3056.
Western Kentucky University GIS Program Receives State Award
In Education, GIS on September 15, 2009 at 6:09 am
“This past week at the annual Kentucky GIS conference hosted by KAMP (Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals) in Frankfort, Kevin Cary accepted a GIS award on behalf of the Department. The award is an Exemplary System Award for Geographic Information Science at Western Kentucky University. This award recognizes our GIS program as being *the* excellent GIS program in Kentucky. It was also mentioned that WKU has provided the most successful GIS Analyst/Specialists to the Commonwealth and in the greatest number (143 GIS Certificates awarded to date). For more information about the GIS program at WKU, please email Kevin Cary.”
[ Source: Western Kentucky University Geography and Geology Blog ]
How Business Intelligence and GIS are Becoming More Integrated
In GIS on September 15, 2009 at 6:09 am“Most people may think of geographic information systems (GIS) simply as Google maps or the navigation system for their car, but GIS tools do a lot more than help people get from A to B. Businesses are adding a spatial dimension to data to help make critical decisions in this tough economy.
“We recently interviewed Yellowfin CEO Glen Rabie to find out more about this topic and why Yellowfin Business Intelligence with spatial data is so much more than just Google Maps.”
Map Projections and Coordinate Systems: A Primer
In GIS, Geography on September 15, 2009 at 6:08 am
…from Geoweb Guru…
“This two part article is intended as an introduction to map projections and coordinate systems. … They start a new series of articles which I shall be publishing over the next few weeks. I shall look at different projections and coordinate systems, the inadequacies of the current choices, and how to do something about it.
“Most users of online maps ignore the issues of different coordinate systems and projections. Any concern is usually limited to whether their system of choice will read the coordinates they have. As both are typically the same, the issue rarely surfaces. However, over the last two millenia, cartographers have produced hundreds if not thousands of different projections and coordinate systems for a wide range of different applications and locations.
“Most online map services use geographic longitude,latitude coordinates on the WGS84 datum using a Mercator Projection. Although the coordinate system and datum are both logical choices for global mapping, As you shall see, Mercator is a poor choice of projection for most map applications.
“So what are these different datums, coordinate systems, and projections? Why should we care?”
GSDI Small Grants Deadline Two Weeks Away
In GIS, Grants on September 15, 2009 at 6:08 am
Call for Proposals: GSDI Small Grants Program
The Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Association is pleased to announce its Small Grants Program for the year 2009-10.
Summary
- Awards for spatial data infrastructure or EOS-related activities in economically disadvantaged nations,
- Application deadline of 1 October 2009,
- 4,000 words maximum,
- Awards of $2,500 USD in cash and/or contributed volunteer professional services for the project
Background
The Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) Association is dedicated to international cooperation and collaboration in support of local, national, and international spatial data infrastructure developments that would allow nations to better address social, economic, and environmental issues of pressing importance. We are committed to bringing about an infrastructure that will allow users globally to access spatial data at a variety of scales from multiple sources that ultimately will appear seamless to all users. The GSDI Association supports the work of organizations to develop their own SDI initiatives, nationally and regionally, and collaborates with local, national, and international organizations to ensure that spatial data, services, and metadata are accessible through interoperable standards-based services, systems, software, and products that operate in a web-enabled environment. The success of the GSDI Association depends on the quality of its partnerships with public, private, academic, and non-governmental organizations. Through adoption of common, international standards, key architecture principles, and approaches for capacity building in developing countries, the GSDI initiatives also link national SDI efforts with the vision and goals of the Group on Earth Observation (GEO) and its Global Earth Observations System of Systems (GEOSS).
Description
The GSDI is being advanced through the leadership of many nations and organizations represented by a GSDI Association Council and Board of Directors. The multi-national Board includes representatives from all continents and all sectors: government, academia, and the private sector as well as regional SDI initiatives referred to as permanent committees:
- Africa: United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Committee on Development Information: Geo Subcommittee (CODI-GEO)
- Americas: Pan-American Institute for Geography and History (PAIGH)
- Asia and Pacific: Permanent Committee for Geographic Information for Asia and the Pacific (PCGIAP) (ex-officio)
- Europe: European Umbrella Organization for Geographic Information (EUROGI)
Please visit the GSDI Association website (http://gsdi.org) to familiarize yourself with the mission, goals, programs, accomplishments and priorities of the organization.
The GSDI Association, along with partners and participants, has allocated resources from the U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee and the GISCorps of URISA, to fund a small grants program to support national or sub-national activities that foster partnerships, develop in-country technical capacity, improve data compatibility and access, and increase political support for spatial data infrastructure and earth observations application development. These resources will be used to offer two types of grants this year:
- Cash up to 2,500 USD to be used on your project, and/or
- Professional Services applied to your project
Professional Services will be coordinated by the GISCorps, an international initiative that offers GIS services by qualified economies. Support may focus on technical or institutional projects, as long as tangible outputs and several institutions collaborate on the effort. A list of typical projects follows but this list is not exhaustive:
- Convening of national or sub-national seminars or workshops related to SDI
- Producing SDI- and EO-related training manuals and modules (these materials must not duplicate existing materials)
- Establishing metadata and clearinghouse nodes
- Establishing web mapping services and applications
- Accomplishing Geodata and/or SDI surveys or inventories
- Producing and disseminating newsletters and awareness-raising materials about SDI
- Drafting policy and legislation related to SDI
Priority will be given to projects in developing nations and countries with economies in transition. Grants can be awarded to SDI coordinating bodies (councils, committees) and GIS user groups, but the GSDI Association asks that one institution take responsibility for receiving/depositing the funds. Grants will not cover organization overhead expenses.
Proposals should include information under the following headings:
1. Title of Project/Activity
2. Focal Point Institution
3. Contact Person (business street address, phone/fax, email, and website)
4. Introduction and Background (include a description of the national or local institutional framework and what has been achieved thus far)
5. Project Description
6. Summary of Deliverables
7. Period of Performance (time-line for overall project, deadline dates for deliverables, date of final project report to be submitted to grants@gsdi.org)
8. Indicate your preference for an award of cash or professional services.
9. Budget (itemize how the money is to be spent or the predicated extent of services needed for specific tasks)
- If one or more GISCorps volunteers are requested please indicate that in your GSDI application and also provide a description of tasks requested of volunteer professional(s) and other information at http://www.giscorps.org/. Use the “New Project” link on this page to complete the request for GISCorps volunteer assistance.
10. Details of additional or in-kind funds to co-finance the activity
11. List of Collaborators (with contact information)
12. Envisioned Follow-up Activities
13. Appendix: May include the Final Reports from any previous GSDI Small Grant Awards
Proposals must be submitted digitally to grants@gsdi.org in English and should be preferably two pages in length but no more than three pages or 4,000 words (excluding any appendices). Please submit your proposal as a .pdf file (or alternatively .doc or .rtf file) using 12-point Times Roman or Arial font.
We anticipate funding up to 12 Grants in Cash and up to 4 Grants in Professional Services. Grant funds will be issued as paper checks in US dollars drawn on US Banks or as wire transfers. If the recipient chooses to receive funds by wire transfer, $50 US will be deducted from the award amount to cover the processing costs for the wire transfer. The recipient institution will be required to provide a project report and an expense report upon completion of the project. The GSDI Association may include excerpts of the project reports in GSDI newsletters or on its website. Awardees are encouraged to publish a local press release highlighting the award from the GSDI Association as well as the proposed activities, and to send copies of these to the GSDI Association.
Proposals are due on 1 October 2009. Please e-mail them to:
Societal Impacts Committee
GSDI Association
grants@gsdi.org
