Day: September 28, 2011

European Digital Archive on Soil Maps (EuDASM): Preserving Important Soil Data for Public Free Access

/ Matt Artz

International Journal of Digital EarthInternational Journal of Digital Earth, Volume 4, Issue 5, 2011

Panos Panagos, Arwyn Jones, Claudio Bosco, and P.S. Senthil Kumar

“Historical soil survey paper maps are valuable resources that underpin strategies to support soil protection and promote sustainable land use practices, especially in developing countries where digital soil information is often missing. However, many of the soil maps, in particular those for developing countries, are held in traditional archives that are not easily accessible to potential users. Additionally, many of these documents are over 50 years old and are beginning to deteriorate. Realising the need to conserve this information, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the ISRIC-World Soil Information foundation have created the European Digital Archive of Soil Maps (EuDASM), through which all archived paper maps of ISRIC has been made accessible to the public through the Internet.

“The immediate objective is to transfer paper-based soil maps into a digital format with the maximum possible resolution and to ensure their preservation and easy disclosure. More than 6,000 maps from 135 countries have been captured and are freely available to users through a user-friendly web-based interface. Initial feedback has been very positive, especially from users in Africa, South America and Asia to whom archived soil maps were made available to local users, often for the first time. Link: http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/library/maps/country_maps/list_countries.cfm”

Scenario Generation using Geographical Information System (GIS) based Hydrological Modelling for a Multijurisdictional Indian River Basin

/ Matt Artz

Journal of Oceanography and Marine ScienceJournal of Oceanography and Marine Science, Vol. 2(6), pp. 140-147, July 2011

Singh A. and Gosain A. K.

“Lack of information about the futuristic scenarios of possible water allocations acts as a deterrent in resolving the conflicts pertaining to transboundary watercourses. It is increasingly being felt that technology, in the form of simulation modelling, has a very significant role to play in this context. For water resources engineering problem solving, geographical information system (GIS) offers a cognitive spatial representation of complex hydrologic and hydraulic systems. Of specific interest to decision makers is the capability of GIS to visually display information for interpretation of water resource model inputs and outputs, which enables users to take a more dynamic approach with data input, modification, scenario development, and evaluation (Martin et al., 2005).

Reclassified soil classes for the Cauvery river basin

Reclassified soil classes for the Cauvery river basin

“In the present study, GIS based hydrological modelling has been utilized for the purpose of assessment of the total amount of water available in the study area, as well as prediction of the impact of changes in the land management practices on the water availability in the study area, and consequently the amount of water allocated to each of the riparian states. The hydrological model used for the study is SWAT (soil and water assessment tool). The results of the study show that water yield of the basin is inversely proportional to the amount of forest cover. The study demonstrates that simulation modelling can play a very significant role in water resources management by generating a series of scenarios or options for the stakeholders, so as to enable them to take sound rational decisions.”

GIS based Risk Assessment of Oil Spill in the Coastal Areas of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

/ Matt Artz

African Journal of Environmental Science and TechnologyAfrican Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 5(3), pp. 205-211, March 2011

J. C. Udoh and E. M. Ekanem

“Assessing the total loss and damages that may result from oil spill constitutes risk assessment. The study area is the coastal Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Akwa Ibom State, located in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. The delta generates the greatest proportion of foreign exchange and internal revenue earnings of the country as the crude oil sector accounts for 90 to 95% of export revenues. Since most of information used for oil spill risk assessment have some form of spatial content, extensive use of Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities are used in the study.

Final vulnerability map

Final vulnerability map.

“A combination of hazard and vulnerability data layers constitutes the GIS based risk assessment. Hazard was modeled in the study by sources of petroleum oil spill moderated by surface characteristics, while data on crop suitability, socio-economy, environmental sensitivity, accessibility, and settlement development, were used to model vulnerability. The resulting risk layer was classed into four Risk zones of very high, high moderate and marginal risk. Iko and the environs were found to be in the very high risk zone. Based on the fact that increasing investments are being made in the petroleum oil sector in Akwa Ibom State, the study analysis the implications of the findings and stresses the need for a comprehensive GIS based oil spill contingency plan for the area.”

Minimizing Transportation Costs with Location-Allocation Analysis: An Application to Recycling

/ Matt Artz / 1 Comment

URISA2011 URISA Student Competition, Student Paper Awards–Third Place Paper

Laura Reading

“Ecomaine, a regional non-profit waste management company in Portland, Maine, sought to reduce transportation costs to member communities that transport recycling in 30 square yard collection roll-off containers (known as “silver bullets”) to the Ecomaine recycling facility. This study objective was to minimize transportation costs by identifying the minimum number of consolidation locations to serve all silver bullets in fewer than twenty miles and the minimum number of locations to serve all silver bullets in fewer than thirty miles using the location-allocation analysis tool in GIS.

Left, Scenario 1, five facilities serve all silver bullets in fewer than 32 km; right, Scenario 2, three facilities serve all silver bullets in fewer than 48 km. One consolidation location is not shown in either Scenario because it is an outlier.

Left, Scenario 1, five facilities serve all silver bullets in fewer than 32 km; right, Scenario 2, three facilities serve all silver bullets in fewer than 48 km. One consolidation location is not shown in either Scenario because it is an outlier.

“The economic benefits of using the new consolidation locations were calculated by determining the net cost savings based on the reduction in distance traveled. The environmental benefits were also calculated by determining the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions based on the reduction in distance traveled.”