Day: December 30, 2010

The Esri Logo: An Evolution

/ Matt Artz / 1 Comment

As Esri rolls out a new company logo, I decided to take a look back at Esri/ESRI logos through the years.  If I’m missing anything, and you have a copy of it, let me know and I will update this post!

 

The old “four square” logo, from back in the day:

 

The “four square” logo often appeared with the spelled-out company name next to it; sometimes in color:

 

The “four square” logo was occasionally “abbreviated” to two squares; sometimes in color:

 

In the early 1990s, ESRI moved to the “globe” logo:

 

This variation of the “globe” logo was used on business cards and stationary:

 

The “interim” logo was used on the web site and some print pieces in 2009 and early 2010:

 

And finally, the “new” logo (2010):

More GIS & Esri history…

Using Multispectral Analysis in GIS to Model the Potential for Urban Agriculture in Philadelphia

/ Matt Artz / 2 Comments

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2010

Dmochowski, J. E.; Cooper, W. P.

“In the context of growing concerns about the international food system’s dependence on fossil fuels, soil degradation, climate change, and other diverse issues, a number of initiatives have arisen to develop and implement sustainable agricultural practices. Many seeking to reform the food system look to urban agriculture as a means to create localized, sustainable agricultural production, while simultaneously providing a locus for community building, encouraging better nutrition, and promoting the rebirth of depressed urban areas. The actual impact of such system, however, is not well understood, and many critics of urban agriculture regard its implementation as impractical and unrealistic. This project uses multispectral imagery from United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Imagery Program with a one-meter resolution to quantify the potential for increasing urban agriculture in an effort to create a sustainable food system in Philadelphia. Color infrared images are classified with a minimum distance algorithm in ArcGIS to generate baseline data on vegetative cover in Philadelphia. These data, in addition to mapping on the ground, form the basis of a model of land suitable for conversion to agriculture in Philadelphia, which will help address questions related to potential yields, workforce, and energy requirements. This research will help city planners, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and citizens understand how urban agriculture can contribute to creating a sustainable food system in a major North American city.”

(via Adena Schutzberg)

GIS-based Multi-criteria Evaluation to Land Suitability Modelling for Giant Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) Farming in Companigonj Upazila of Noakhali, Bangladesh

/ Matt Artz

Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Volume 70, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 172-186

M. Shahadat Hossainand Nani Gopal Das

“Site selection is a key factor in any aquaculture operation, affecting both success and sustainability as well as solving conflicts between different activities and making rational use of the land. The study was conducted to identify appropriate site for the farming of giant prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, in Companigonj of Noakhali, Bangladesh using previous termGISnext term-based multi-criteria evaluation taking 20 base layers of water quality, soil characteristics and infrastructure facilities. ASTER image and thematic layers were analyzed using ENVI and ArcView capabilities to develop a series of previous GIS models and prioritize the most suitable areas for prawn farming. The model output clearly indicates the location and extent of prawn farming area in different suitability scales, i.e., most suitable 11,999 ha (52%), moderately suitable 10,219 ha (45%) and not suitable 781 ha (3%) which was consistent with field verification data. The compactness of vast flood-free derelict lands with suitable water and soil quality as well as infrastructure facilities would be an appropriate option for prawn farming to diversify the economic activities of local communities.”

Ancient Watercourses and Biogeography of the Sahara Explain the Peopling of the Desert

/ Matt Artz

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published ahead of print December 27, 2010

Nick A. Drake, Roger M. Blench, Simon J. Armitage, Charlie S. Bristow, and Kevin H. White

“Evidence increasingly suggests that sub-Saharan Africa is at the center of human evolution and understanding routes of dispersal “out of Africa” is thus becoming increasingly important. The Sahara Desert is considered by many to be an obstacle to these dispersals and a Nile corridor route has been proposed to cross it. Here we provide evidence that the Sahara was not an effective barrier and indicate how both animals and humans populated it during past humid phases. Analysis of the zoogeography of the Sahara shows that more animals crossed via this route than used the Nile corridor. Furthermore, many of these species are aquatic. This dispersal was possible because during the Holocene humid period the region contained a series of linked lakes, rivers, and inland deltas comprising a large interlinked waterway, channeling water and animals into and across the Sahara, thus facilitating these dispersals. This system was last active in the early Holocene when many species appear to have occupied the entire Sahara. However, species that require deep water did not reach northern regions because of weak hydrological connections. Human dispersals were influenced by this distribution; Nilo-Saharan speakers hunting aquatic fauna with barbed bone points occupied the southern Sahara, while people hunting Savannah fauna with the bow and arrow spread southward. The dating of lacustrine sediments show that the “green Sahara” also existed during the last interglacial (∼125 ka) and provided green corridors that could have formed dispersal routes at a likely time for the migration of modern humans out of Africa.”