scholarly journals Seafloor mapping and cartography for the management of marine protected areas

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Manuel Meidinger ◽  
Markantonatou Vasiliki ◽  
Marcello Sano ◽  
Marco Palma ◽  
Massimo Ponti

Geographical information systems (GIS) and diagnostic cartography have traditionally been shown to be useful tools for the application of ecosystem-based management (EBM). To date, bionomic and diagnostic cartographic approaches have been commonly used to support decision-making in the selection, zoning and management of marine protected areas (MPAs), with a range of practical tools developed for this purpose. In addition to these, new and emerging technologies have the potential for generating better information for scientists, managers and other stakeholders alike, such as underwater survey tools, three dimensional (3D) visualisation systems and interactive web platforms. These new methodologies allow taking into account the spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability of the marine environment, to be managed for conservation. This paper reviews emerging and innovative technologies for marine mapping and marine spatial planning with a special focus on their use in MPA management. These include the generation and use of benthic cartography, scientific visualisation of ecosystem analyses, web-based GIS platforms and their final use as decision-support tools. Seafloor mapping technology has been improved and become more affordable for local scale MPA management purposes. However, the lack of coherent local scale spatial data still remains an issue, limiting the power of diagnostic cartography analyses within MPAs. The proposed framework can improve the generation and dissemination of cartographic and visual data, and allow for management approaches based on scientific knowledge and EBM principles, taking into account stakeholders needs.

2012 ◽  
Vol 433-440 ◽  
pp. 3858-3862
Author(s):  
Yun Peng Sun

Topology and its various benefits and functionality are fairly well understood within the context of 2D Geographical Information Systems. We summarize the principle of common 2D topology and the implementation of GIS databases. Existing topological frameworks and data models as a staring point to guide the review process, three key areas were studied for the purposes of requirements identification, namely existing 2D topological systems. However requirements in 3D have yet to be defined, with factors such as lack of familiarity with the potential of such functionality of 3D systems impeding this process. In this paper, we identify and review the requirements for topology in three-dimensional (3D) applications. Requirements for topological functionality in 3D were then grouped and categorized.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Hashemi Amin ◽  
Mahtab Ghaemi ◽  
Sayyed Mostafa Mostafavi ◽  
Ladan Goshayeshi ◽  
Khadijeh Rezaei ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives Gastric cancer (GC) is a multifactorial disease and the fifth most frequent diagnosed cancer worldwide. It accounts for one third of cancer-related mortalities. Geospatial analysis using geographical information systems (GIS) can provide an efficient solution to identify spatial disparities associated with GC. As such, GIS enables policymakers to control cancer in a better way and identify the regions where interventions are needed. This study aims to publish a comprehensive dataset, which was applied to conduct a spatial analysis of GC patients in the city of Mashhad, Iran. Data description We provide a personal geodatabase, a Microsoft Access database that can store, query, and manage both spatial and non-spatial data, which contains four feature classes. “Male_Stomach_Cancer_Patients” and “Female_Stomach_Cancer_Patients” are point feature classes, which show the age and geographical location of 1156 GC cancer patients diagnosed between 2014 and 2017. “Air_Polution_Mashhad” is another point feature class that reveals the amount of six air pollutants, which was taken from Mashhad Environmental Pollutants Monitoring Center between 2017 and 2018. Finally, “Stomach_Cancer_and_Risk_Factors” is a polygon feature class of neighborhood division of Mashhad, consisting of contributor risk factors including dietary habits, smoking, alcohol use, body mass index and population by age groups for all 165 city neighborhoods.


2005 ◽  
Vol 142 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. J. RAYFIELD ◽  
P. M. BARRETT ◽  
R. A. McDONNELL ◽  
K. J. WILLIS

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have been applied extensively to analyse spatial data relating to varied environmental issues, but have not so far been used to address biostratigraphical or macroevolutionary questions over extended spatial and temporal scales. Here, we use GIS techniques to test the stability, validity and utility of proposed Middle and Late Triassic ‘Land Vertebrate Faunachrons’ (LVFs), a global biostratigraphical framework based upon terrestrial/freshwater tetrapod occurrences. A database of tetrapod and megafloral localities was constructed for North America and Western Europe that also incorporated information on relevant palaeoenvironmental variables. This database was subjected to various spatial analysis techniques. Our GIS analysis found support at a global level for Eocyclotosaurus as an Anisian index taxon and probably Aetosaurus as a Norian indicator. Other tetrapod taxa are useful biostratigraphical/biochronological markers on a regional basis, such as Longosuchus and Doswellia for Late Carnian time. Other potential index fossils are hampered, however, by taxonomic instability (Mastodonsaurus, Metoposaurus, Typothorax, Paleorhinus, Pseudopalatus, Redondasaurus, Redondasuchus) and/or are not clearly restricted in temporal distribution (Paleorhinus, Angistorhinus, Stagonolepis, Metoposaurus and Rutiodon). This leads to instability in LVF diagnosis. We found only in the western Northern Hemisphere is there some evidence for an Anisian–Ladinian biochronological unit amalgamating the Perovkan and Berdyankian LVFs, and a possible late Carnian unit integrating the Otischalkian and Adamanian.Megaplants are generally not useful for biostratigraphical correlation in the Middle and Upper Triassic of the study area, but there is some evidence for a Carnian-age floral assemblage that corresponds to the combined Otischalkian and Adamanian LVFs. Environmental biases do not appear to strongly affect the spatial distribution of either the tetrapods or megaplants that have been proposed as index taxa in biostratigraphical schemes, though several examples of apparent environmental bias were detected by the analysis. Consequently, we argue that further revision and refinement of Middle and Late Triassic LVFs is needed before they can be used to support global or multi-regional biostratigraphical correlations. Caution should therefore be exercised when using the current scheme as a platform for macroevolutionary or palaeoecological hypotheses. Finally, this study demonstrates the potential of GIS as a powerful tool for tackling palaeontological questions over extended timescales.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Georgiou ◽  
Dimitrios Skarlatos

Abstract. Among the renewable powers sources, solar is rapidly becoming popular being inexhaustible, clean, and dependable. It is also becoming more efficient since the photovoltaic solar cells' power conversion efficiency is rising. Following these trends, solar power will become more affordable in years to come and considerable investments are to be expected. Despite the size of solar plants, the sitting procedure is a crucial factor for their efficiency and financial viability. Many aspects rule such decision; legal, environmental, technical, and financial to name some. This paper describes a general integrated framework to evaluate land suitability for the optimal placement of photovoltaic solar power plants, which is based on a combination of a Geographic Information System (GIS), remote sensing techniques and multi-criteria decision making methods. An application of the proposed framework for Limassol District in Cyprus is further illustrated. The combination of GIS and multi-criteria methods, consist an excellent analysis tool that creates an extensive database of spatial and non spatial data that will be used to simplify problems, to solve and promote the use of multiple criteria. A set of environmental, economic, social and technical constrains based on recent Cypriot legislation, European's Union policies and experts' advices, identifies the potential sites for solar park installation. The pair-wise comparison method in the context of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is applied to estimate the criteria weights in order to establish their relative importance in site evaluation. In addition, four different methods to combine information layers and check their sensitivity were used. The first considered all the criteria as being equally important and assign them equal weight, while the others grouped the criteria and graded them according to their objective perceived importance. The overall suitability of the study region for sitting solar park is appraised through the summation rule. Strict application of the framework depicts 3.0 % of the study region scoring best suitability index for solar resource exploitation, hence minimizing risk of a potential investment. However, using different weighting schemes for criteria, suitable areas may reach up to 83 % of the study region. The suggested methodological framework applied can be easily utilized by potential investors and renewable energy developers, through a front end web based application with proper GUI for personalized weighting schemes.


2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Meidinger ◽  
Markantonatou Vasiliki ◽  
Marcello Sano ◽  
Marco Palma ◽  
Massimo Ponti

Author(s):  
Kivanc Ertugay ◽  
Sebnem H. Duzgun

Accessibility measures are generally concerned with equity and a better distribution of services in a territory and can be accepted as key variables for supporting supply/demand, location/allocation and service/catchment area related planning policies and strategies at national, regional, and local levels. Since accessibility measures need organization of huge and complex spatial data sets, accessibility modeling often lends itself to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for analysis and presentation. Since numerous accessibility measures and modeling techniques ranging from simple to sophisticated can be found in the literature, this work aim to provide an overview of the theoretical framework and relevant background about GIS-based accessibility modeling process. The results could provide a significant support for the decision makers who are supposed to deal with transportation planning, accessibility modeling, location/allocation and service/catchment area related issues.


Author(s):  
Kivanc Ertugay ◽  
Sebnem H. Duzgun

Accessibility measures are generally concerned with equity and a better distribution of services in a territory and can be accepted as key variables for supporting supply/demand, location/allocation and service/catchment area related planning policies and strategies at national, regional, and local levels. Since accessibility measures need organization of huge and complex spatial data sets, accessibility modeling often lends itself to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for analysis and presentation. Since numerous accessibility measures and modeling techniques ranging from simple to sophisticated can be found in the literature, this work aim to provide an overview of the theoretical framework and relevant background about GIS-based accessibility modeling process. The results could provide a significant support for the decision makers who are supposed to deal with transportation planning, accessibility modeling, location/allocation and service/catchment area related issues.


Author(s):  
Markus Schneider

A data type comprises a set of homogeneous values together with a collection of operations defined on them. This chapter emphasizes the importance of crisp spatial data types, fuzzy spatial data types, and spatiotemporal data types for representing static, vague, and time-varying geometries in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). These data types provide a fundamental abstraction for modeling the geometric structure of crisp spatial, fuzzy spatial, and moving objects in space and time as well as their relationships, properties, and operations. The goal of this chapter is to provide an overview and description of these data types and their operations that have been proposed in research and can be found in GIS, spatial databases, moving objects databases, and other spatial software tools. The use of data types, operations, and predicates will be illustrated by their embedding into query languages.


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