Day: January 5, 2010

Directory of GIS Conference Proceedings

/ Matt Artz / 2 Comments

[Source: ESRI GIS Bibliography,  http://training.esri.com/campus/library]

AAG Annual Meetings
2007 2002 2000 1999 1998 1995 1993 1991 1990 1989 1987 1978 1971 1970 1969

ACM CIKM Proceedings
2003 2002 2001

ACM Symposium on Advances in Geographic Information Systems
2006 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996

ACM/IEEE-CS Proceedings
2002

ACSM/ASPRS Proceedings
2002 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1985 1982

Advances in Spatial Databases (SSD)
1995 1993

AGI Conferences
1997

ASPRS Proceedings
2006 2001 2000 1998 1995 1994

ASPRS/ISPRS Proceedings
2003 2002

Association of Geographic Information Laboratories Europe (AGILE)
2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

AutoCarto Proceedings
2008 2006 2005 1997 1995 1993 1991 1989 1987 1986 1983 1979 1975

COSIT Proceedings
2007 2005 2003 2001 1999 1997 1995 1993 1992

Earth Observation & Geo-Spatial Web and Internet Workshop (EOGEO)
1998

ESRI Education User Conferences
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001

ESRI European User Conferences
2006 2003 2002 1999 1998 1997 1996

ESRI International User Conferences
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989

ESRI Survey & Engineering GIS Summits
2009 2008 2007 2006

European Conference on Geographical Information Systems (EGIS)
1994 1993 1992 1991 1990

European GIS Education Seminar (EUGISES)
2004 2002 2000

Geo-Spatial Education
2000

GeoComputation
2003 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996

GeoTec
2006

GIS Planet
2005

GIS/LIS Proceedings
1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986

GIScience
2004 2002 2000

GITA
2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999

Harvard Library of Computer Graphics Mapping Collection
1981 1980 1979

Harvard Papers on Geographic Information Systems
1978

ICA abstracts
2007 2006 2005 2003 2001 1999 1997 1989

IEEE Proceedings
1997

Integrating GIS and Environmental Modeling
2000 1996 1993

International Federation of Surveyors
2007 2006 2005 2002

International Symposia on Spatial Data Handling
2004 1994 1992 1990 1988 1986 1984

Interop ’99
1999

Symposia on Geographic Information Systems for Transportation (GIS-T)
1998 1996 1995 1994

Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA)
2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1967

URISA GIS in Addressing
2007 2006 2005 2004 2000

URISA GIS/CAMA Technologies
2004

URISA Integrating GIS and CAMA
2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

URISA IT/GIS in Public Works
2004 2002 2001

URISA Public Participation GIS (PPGIS)
2005 2004 2003

Astronomer Tyler Nordgren to Discuss “Stars Above, Earth Below” January 13 at ESRI Conference Center

/ Matt Artz / 1 Comment

Since 2005, University of Redlands astronomer and physics professor Tyler Nordgren has been working closely with a team of astronomers and park rangers to promote astronomy education in the national parks. He will speak about these efforts at 5:30 p.m. on January 13, 2010, at the ESRI Conference Center at 380 New York Street in Redlands, California.

America’s national parks protect spectacular geologic and ecological environments from development. They also protect our natural viewsheds beneath the horizon by day and above the horizon at night. A mere hundred years ago, stars, planets, nebulae, and galaxies were clearly visible in the nighttime sky from anywhere. Now, dark, starry nights are a rare sight for urban dwellers.

In 2007, Dr. Nordgren made a journey across the American landscape, exploring the connections between national parks and the wonders of the night sky. He visited 12 parks in 12 months, from Denali in Alaska to Bryce Canyon in Utah. He met with park rangers and examined the themes that link the parks to other landscapes in the solar system, then wrote about what he discovered on the Planetary Society’s Web site. His book Stars Above, Earth Below: A Guide to Astronomy in the National Parks is intended for the public and is due in February 2010.

While earning his Ph.D. from Cornell University, Nordgren’s research involved measuring the amount of dark matter in spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way. He has worked with the U.S. Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he helped build a telescope designed to look at the surfaces of other stars. In 2004, he was part of a team of seven astronomers and artists who converted the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rover camera calibration targets into functioning sundials and saw the rovers land safely in Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum.

This talk is part of an ongoing educational and cultural series of speeches, performances, and programs that ESRI and the University of Redlands Town & Gown organization are cosponsoring.

The event will be free to the public. It will be held in ESRI’s new state-of-the-art auditorium and followed by a short reception for the speaker and attendees. To register and ensure seating, visit www.esri.com/culturalseries on the Internet or call 909-748-8011.

[Source: ESRI Press Release]

Geospatial Modelling Environment: A Platform Designed for Rigorous Spatial Analysis and Modelling

/ Matt Artz / 1 Comment

“The promise of GIS has always been that it would allow us to obtain better answers to our questions. But this is only possible if we have tools that allows us to perform rigorous quantitative analyses designed for spatial data. The Geospatial Modelling Environment (GME) is a platform designed to help to facilitate rigorous spatial analysis and modelling.

“GME provides you with a suite of analysis and modelling tools, ranging from small ‘building blocks’ that you can use to construct a sophisticated work-flow, to completely self-contained analysis programs. It also uses the extraordinarily powerful open source software R as the statistical engine to drive some of the analysis tools. One of the many strengths of R is that it is open source, completely transparent and well documented: important characteristics for any scientific analytical software.

“It incorporates most of the functionality of its predecessor, HawthsTools, but with some important improvements. It has a greater range of analysis and modelling tools, supports batch processing, offers new graphing functionality, automatically records work-flows for future reference, supports geodatabases, and can be called programatically.”

The New York City Open Accessible Space Information System Cooperative

/ Matt Artz / 2 Comments

“The New York City Open Accessible Space Information System Cooperative (OASIS) is a partnership of more than 30 federal, state, and local agencies, private companies, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations to create a one-stop, interactive mapping and data analysis application via the Internet to enhance the stewardship of open space for the benefit of New York City (NYC) residents.

“A community-based undertaking, local organizations design and test the first city wide, web-based, open space mapping resource for NYC. OASIS facilitates and focuses the delivery of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) resources to provide timely and accurate information about the green infrastructure of NYC.”

An Assessment of Climate Change Impact on Water Resources in Spain

/ Matt Artz / 1 Comment

American Water Resources Association 2010 Summer Specialty Conference: GIS & Water Resources VI, 29 – 31 March 2010, Orlando, Florida

Session 4: Hydrologic Modeling I.  Monday, 29 March, 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Javier Alvarez-Rodriguez, Centre for Hydrographical Studies of Cedex, Madrid, NA, Spain (co-authors: Barranco Sanz, Luis.,Potenciano de las Heras, Angela, Quintas Ripoll, Luis)

“Some results are shown of work carried out in CEDEX to assess the climate change impact on water resources in natural regime. The work is developed under the coordination of the Spanish General Directorate of Waters. 12 climate regionalized projections were provided by the Spanish Office of Climate Change (OECC) and the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET). They give estimates of precipitation and maximum and minimum daily temperatures during the control period (1961-1990) and three future periods (2011-2040, 2041-2070 and 2071-2100) in which the impact was evaluated. A preliminary comparison of climate projections and observed data was done for the control period. It was followed by an interpolation of the atmospheric forcing variables. Also potential evapotranspiration was estimated. Finally, atmospheric forcing variables were implemented in a semidistributed version of Tmez model to obtain maps of actual evapotranspiration, soil moisture, groundwater recharge and runoff. The model is integrated into SIMPA (An Integrated System for Rainfall Runoff Modelling) system, a GRASS based GIS tool, developed by CEDEX since the 90’s. Atmospheric and hydrological variables are distributed with the exception of groundwater discharge, which is simulated using a tank model in defined hydrogeological units. More than 200,000 maps of 1 km2 resolution have been generated covering the whole of Spain in a monthly basis. The impact of climate change on water resources is presented as percentage deviations of runoff in each future period of the XXIth century with respect to the control period.”

Assistant/Associate Research Professor – Ecosystem Modeler, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada

/ Matt Artz

The Desert Research Institute (DRI), Reno, Nevada, is seeking an enthusiastic and motivated scientist in the area of Ecological Modeling at the level of Assistant Research Professor. For exceptional candidates hiring at the Associate Research Professor level will be considered. The appointment is expected to begin 1 September 2010 and the successful candidate will participate in or lead individual research tasks, develop new directions in ecological research, and supervise post-doctoral fellows and graduate students within ongoing and planned ecological experimental studies. The individual selected is expected to interact with a diverse group of scientists, including plant physiological ecologists, soil scientists, remote sensing/GIS specialists, climate modelers, hydrologists and atmospheric scientists. The initial focus of this position will be to assess the response of Great Basin ecosystems to future climate change scenarios. It is expected that the candidate will participate in analysis of observational and model data, and take a lead in publication writing and reporting. All candidates will be evaluated on past experience, communication skills, proposal and publication record, grant and contract activities, ability to work both collaboratively and independently, supervision experience, and personal area of expertise that complements existing staff. The successful candidate may have an opportunity to teach classes relevant to climate change at the University of Nevada, Reno if desired but this is not a requirement of the position.

Required Qualifications

  • Ph.D. degree in Ecology with a strong background in Mathematics or vice versa or related field.
  • Ability to work collaboratively and productively in an interdisciplinary environment and advise graduate students and post-doctoral researchers.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills.
  • Ability to work independently and as a lead of a scientific team to fulfill project goals and meet project deadlines.
  • Record of peer-reviewed journal articles and presentations at professional meetings appropriate for the candidate’s professional rank
  • A record of program development or other demonstrated ability to obtain and complete research grants and contracts appropriate for the candidate’s rank.
  • Evidence of potential to secure and maintain adequate funding through federal, state and local agencies.

More information

Reducing Pollution on the Black Sea Coast

/ Matt Artz

…from the Winter 2009/2010 issue of ArcNews…

Marine pollution has been a concern for a long time, but during the last decade, the issue has become more pressing as human influences have exacerbated the problem and vast ecosystems have been affected. It is no longer a local or regional matter; it is a major international problem that must be addressed with a systematic approach.

Seas inside and surrounding Russia have intensive anthropogenic loading, both in water bodies and as a result of industrial activities near catchment basins. The main sources of pollution are river drainage, sewage, and water transportation.

Pollution in the Black Sea is particularly worrisome, especially as Russia prepares to hold the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. There are dire ecological consequences to deal with because of chemical, physical, and biological pollution; the change of the hydrological balance of the Black and the Azov seas; and man-made stressors on the seas.

Generative Statistical 3D Reconstruction of Unfoliaged Trees from Terrestrial Images

/ Matt Artz

Annals of GIS, Volume 15, Issue 2 December 2009 , pages 97 – 105

Hai Huang; Helmut Mayer

“This article presents a generative statistical approach for the automatic three-dimensional (3D) extraction and reconstruction of unfoliaged deciduous trees from terrestrial wide-baseline image sequences. Unfoliaged trees are difficult to reconstruct from images because of partially weak contrast, background clutter, occlusions, and particularly the possibly varying order of branches in images from different viewpoints. This work combines generative modeling by L-systems and a statistical approach for maximum a posteriori estimation for the reconstruction of the 3D branching structure of trees. Background estimation is conducted by means of gray scale morphology to provide a good basis for generative modeling. A Gaussian likelihood function based on intensity differences is used to evaluate the hypotheses. The target tree is classified into three typical branching types after the extraction of the first level of branches and specific production rules of an L-system are used. Generic prior distributions for parameters are refined based on already extracted branches in a Bayesian framework and are integrated into the maximum a posteriori estimation. By these means most of the branching structure besides the tiny twigs can be reconstructed. The results are presented in the form of virtual reality modeling language models and show the potential of the approach.”