GIS in Education

Sponsored Student Travel Awards
2010 US-IALE Twenty-fifth Anniversary Symposium
Athens, Georgia
April 5-9, 2010

USDA-NIFA Professional Enhancement Awards for 2010

Ten (10) professional enhancement awards, valued at $500 each, have been made available by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) to support students to attend the 2010 US-IALE conference in Athens, Georgia.

Students applying for a USDA-NIFA award are required to submit:

1. The attached application form: pdf, doc
2. A cover letter (ONE page) containing:
* A short description of the student's graduate research and relevance to landscape ecology, especially managed ecosystems or managed landscapes;
* A brief summary of the student's professional goals;
* A brief statement about how this award will benefit the student’s graduate studies.
3. A copy of the student's abstract that was submitted to the meeting, and
4. A short (ONE page) Curriculum Vitae.


Students who do not receive a USDA-NIFA award will automatically have their abstract included in the offered abstracts.

USDA-NIFA awardees are not eligible to receive NASA-MSU Professional Enhancement Awards or CHANS Fellowships during the same conference year. Students who are interested in applying to the NASA-MSU Awards Program (http://www.csis.msu.edu/NASA-MSU.htm) or CHANS Fellowships (http://www.csis.msu.edu/CHANS_Fellowship.htm) must submit a separate application, following the submission guidelines for the NASA-MSU Awards or CHANS Fellowships. Students who received a US-IALE sponsored student travel award in 2009 are not eligible to receive a USDA-NIFA award.

All USDA-NIFA award applications are due to Anita Morzillo, US-IALE Awards Committee Chair, at USIALE.Awards.2010[at]gmail.com by 15 December 2009. Awardees will be notified in late January 2010.

Map Middle East Conference is an international platform designed for building networks to enable g-lateral ties in the Middle East region for geospatial community. It is aimed at encouraging professionals representing different stakeholders of geospatial community to come together on a common platform and work together the means and ways to encourage geospatial related ties and collaborations at national, regional and global levels for overall growth of geospatial industry in the region.

Details:

Map Middle East 2010
22 - 24 March, 2010
Abu Dhabi, UAE

Plenary Session 1: Technology Trends
Technologies in Geographic Information System have been evolving rapidly over time. Early GIS involved simple tasks such as building a database of points, lines and polygons for solving spatial problems. Today, GIS has taken a big leap towards building data models. It has also become easily accessible to users through the introduction of Web GIS. The present trend in GIS is towards using data base management systems (DBMS) and fourth generation languages (4GLs). Also, the geospatial community demands greater compatibility between various hardware and GIS software. Thus, interfaces between GIS, CADD, remote sensing, image processing, architectural graphics, etc. are going to be increasingly easy to create that would lead to convergence of various technologies. This session would focus on dwelling upon the latest technology trends in various fields of geospatial industry.

Plenary Session 2: Geospatial Applications
Geographic Information System is now being used extensively to provide solutions for different verticals. Its significant role has been identified suitable for many areas. It is enabling its users to analyse layers of data. The biggest challenge facing today is to bring all related parties together to agree on a set of policies and standards. Another challenge is to bring data supplier communities together to reduce duplication in data collection. Only through connected communities can be a key to the success. It will discuss on best practices in various domains where geospatial technologies are being used to offer solutions to complex problems. It will deliberate on possibilities of connecting community and bringing the Geospatial industry to the next level. The need for connecting the staggered efforts of the Geospatial communities in different regions will also be highlighted. The session will deliberate on the various domains which can get a significant leverage through geospatial applications, domains like environment management, space policy and guidelines framework, construction and engineering and geointelligence will be part of the session.

Registration Fee:

Regular Delegates - $500
Student Delegates - $250
Spot Registration - $750

Register to join Map Middle East 2010 Conference!

India's space agency has in its pipeline eight foreign satellites for launch and is scouting to acquire such spacecraft from abroad to expand capacity in the field of communication transponder back home, according to DNA.

"Today, we have eight (foreign) satellites to be launched. This will be launched over the next two-three years", managing director of Antrix Corporation, marketing arm of Bangalore headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), KR Sridhara Murthi, told PTI.

These are a mix of small and bigger satellites, he said but declined to elaborate, noting that the space agency is yet to formally ink some of these contracts. But one foreign satellite that is being readied for launch is a 150-kg one from Algeria, which is slated to be launched by home-grown Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle as a piggyback payload likely in April next year.

He further said that ISRO is looking for opportunities to acquire foreign satellites. In fact, it, along with its global partners, recently unsuccessfully bid to acquire a satellite, which was put up for auctioning by a company facing bankruptcy, in the United States.

ISRO's bold move is a sign of its growing confidence, he said. ISRO has also started integrating Hylas spacecraft, a contract it jointly bagged with EADS-Astrium, and it would be delivered to the customer, UK-based Avanti Screenmedia, in June.

Under the contract, EADS-Astrium is the prime contractor in charge of overall programme management and would build the communications payload, while Antrix/ISRO would build the satellite with a lift-off mass of around 2.5 tonnes and power of 3.2 KW.

For people in the academe teaching introduction to Remote Sensing, this set of lecture slides may help you. It deals with some Remote Sensing applications. You can download the document by clicking the download button.



Here is another one in PDF: Introduction to Remote Sensing


Tags: remote sensing applications, remote sensing systems, electromagnetic spectrum, land cover, aerial photography, usda forest service, salt lake city, remote sensors, spatial resolution, satellite imagery, remote sensing technology.

This report is posted to make the ASPRS members and the broader remote sensing user community aware of just how ubiquitous imaging the Earth from space has become due to the technical advances that have enabled the creation of multi-spectral mid resolution RS satellites for as little as $10 to 20 Million.

– There are 13 countries that have mid to high resolution remote sensing satellites in orbit.
– By the end of the decade there will be 20.

This guide includes all civil land imaging satellites with resolutions equal to or better than 36 meters in orbit or currently planned to be in orbit by 2010.

–Optical, 26 in orbit, 25 planned
–Radar, 3 in orbit, 9 planned

•There are two major resolution groups
–18 high resolution systems ( 0.5 to 1.8 meter)
–44 mid resolution systems ( 2.0 to 36 meter)

•They have greatly different coverage capabilities.
–Hi-res swaths are in the 8 to 28 kilometer range
–Mid-res swaths are generally between 70 to 185 kilometers except for the DMC’s 600 Km swaths

•There are four privately funded systems in orbit, 3 US and 1 Israeli, all focused on the hi-res military market. A 5th commercial system, RapidEye of Germany, recently reached its financial goal and plans to serve broad area applications.

•The planned European satellites are labeled “Dual Purpose”meaning that their data will serve both military and civil users.

See document below:

The India National Spatial Data Infrastructure Portal has been launched on 27 November 2009.

The India National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Portal provides access to information on spatial data that has been developed by several government agencies in India. Users can take the traditional approach to searching for spatial data based on map sheet (or topo sheet, similar to the quad sheets in the USA), or they can search for spatial data using more generic search criteria such as spatial extent keywords. The portal also provides quick access to information on spatial data via Web pages with metadata provided by participating agencies.

Visit India's NSDI website.

EARTH, the world’s largest atlas was announced as ‘Best Atlas’ at the 24th International Cartographic Conference 2009 (ICC 2009) in Santiago, Chile on 21 November 2009.

The 20-kg limited edition tome was judged by an independent jury of seven professors and doctors of Cartography from the International Cartographic Association (ICA). Over 70 atlases and 450 maps from around the world were entered into the awards, with EARTH taking the most coveted award of Best Atlas. The accolade establishes EARTH as the best atlas produced in the world in 2009.

Damien Demaj, chief cartographer for EARTH was a guest speaker at the ICC 2009 Conference and accepted the award of behalf of the Australian publishing company, Millennium House. Over 700 International delegates attended the weeklong conference, along with 1400 local visitors. Over 45 countries participated in the atlas exhibition, with EARTH being acknowledged as the best presented.

Millennium House engaged more than 100 international cartographers (including UK based Global Mapping), oceanographers and geographers to produce and collate 355 maps, covering 170 countries. The atlas takes up 580 pages and flaunts 4 gatefolds each measuring over 1.8 meters in length including the famous NASA image ‘Earth from the Sky at Night’. A team of 50 editors gathered popular and unusual geographical facts and the design team selected the most exquisite images, including a large selection from the National Geographic archives.

High-Resolution Satellite Observation of Remote Mining Areas Addresses Human Rights and Environmental Protection Issues

There is considerable international concern at the rapid growth of the Freeport mine at Grasberg, operated by Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ) in West Papua (Irian Jaya) over failures to address human rights and environmental protection issues. For the Amungme tribe, reduction of the beautiful Mount Grasberg, one of the largest Sudirman range peaks, to a vast hole in the ground, has been devastating. Figure 1 shows the visible spectrum at bottom left.

One benefit of satellite imagery is that it provides immediate access to inaccessible regions for ‘external’ international human rights organizations. Some Amungme and Kamoro tribes were forcefully relocated, with thousands of indigenous people removed from traditional farming and food gathering territory. Moving Amungme tribes to the lowlands brought people without natural malarial immunity into contact with mosquitoes, resulting in higher mortality rates. In April 1995, the Australian Council for Overseas Aid and Jayapura Catholic Church documented that the Indonesian military had killed and tortured dozens suspected of protesting against the mine.

The vast Grasberg copper and gold mine, at over 2.6 million hectares, comprises several climate sensitive ecosystems: alpine meadow, wetland and mangrove forest, and is considered by some to be the worst environmental case of any mining project worldwide. Damage caused by the mine to the environment has impaired the abilities of thousands of Amungme and Komoro, who are traditional owners of mine sites and river areas, to access food and clean water or to sustain cultural practices. The mine dumps an estimated 125,000 tons of industrial waste daily into the Ajikwa River, a sediment load many times that of the original background silt levels. Sediment transport has deoxygenated the Ajikwa River, killing fish and plant life. Tribesmen are not supposed to live within close proximity of the highly-polluted water but in practice may return to traditional areas and livelihoods.

Thousands of tons of waste rock are also dumped in nearby alpine valleys where high rainfall and erosion further lead to fine material moving downstream, releasing poisonous heavy metals like mercury and cadmium into the river, and causing high copper levels, which are toxic to aquatic organisms. River rainforest damage has been drastic; deposition has caused the Ajikwa to change its course and flood hectares of tropical forest and sago trees (a staple food for poor native inhabitants). Nearby alpine glaciers, among the closest to the equator (Lat -17.8) and considered to be sensitive markers of climate change, have exhibited large area loss between 2000 and 2002 (Figure 5). The greatest loss is noted on the eastern flanks facing the mine. Sensitivity of this region to climate change over such a short time interval is disturbing and may reflect wind pattern alterations around the mine due to deforestation. Similar air pattern changes have been reported in Kilimanjaro’s low foothills due to deforestation, but observed changes there may be mining dust deposition modification of nearby glacial albedo, or reflected light.

The West Papua study shows that high-resolution satellite remote sensing can reveal where mineral extraction without deforestation and good environmental practices may or may not occur and can help to identify surface mineral resources. Dr. Lavers and his research team will look at water and hyperspectral properties to attempt to verify pollution chemical fingerprints.

See images here. You can also read another case study on "Porta Farm Land Clearances in Zimbabwe."

Note:
The author, Dr. Chris Lavers, is grateful to the GeoEye Foundation for providing 1m resolution IKONOS satellite images of the West Papua region through a generous grant of satellite imagery in support of humanitarian concerns.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared, microwave and visible images of Tropical Cyclone Bongani, and provided data on cloud height and extent, cloud top temperatures, and pressure. The infrared imagery also showed that Bongani has elongated over the northern tip of Madagascar, indicating that its interaction with the land has weakened the storm.

High thunderstorm cloud tops indicate a strong storm. When the thunderstorm cloud heights start dropping, they become less cold, and the thunderstorms are less powerful. Cloud-top temperatures are important because they tell forecasters how high thunderstorms are, and the higher the thunderstorm, the colder the cloud tops and the more powerful the thunderstorms. Today's (November 25) AIRS images showed high, cold, thunderstorm cloud tops as cold as -63F. Those thunderstorms were dropping heavy rainfall.

On November 25, Bongani had maximum sustained winds near 42 mph, with higher gusts. Its center was located about 480 miles north-northeast of Antananarivo, Madagascar, near 11.6 degrees South latitude and 50.2 East longitude. Bongani was moving west-southwest near 9 mph and generating waves 12 feet high at the entrance of the Mozambique Channel.

After Bongani passes Madagascar and emerges fully into the Mozambique Channel, it is expected to re-intensify briefly before weakening.

Bongani is now forecast to head south through the Mozambique Channel and parallel the coast of Madagascar over the next 5 days.

The 2009 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco is the best opportunity for AGU members to gather together and present research, review findings and engage with colleagues on the latest issues affecting the Earth, the planets and their environments in space. The robust program covers all areas of Earth and space science. Renowned for its scenic beauty, cultural attractions, diverse communities and world-class cuisine, San Francisco is an ideal meeting location.

Create Your Itinerary
Use the convenient Fall Meeting and Itinerary Planner to browse by day and section, or search by titles, author or keyword. Whether you're a seasoned Fall Meeting attendee or a first timer, your meeting experience will be enriched by planning ahead and reviewing the extensive array of scientific programming before arriving. Please note: Using the online planner saves paper! AGU will not offer a printed program at this meeting.

Plan to Attend AGU's Open Member Meeting
Sunday, December 13th

A Time of Transition: Member Open Forum about AGU's Plans for the Future
Sunday, 1615h-1730h, Moscone West, Rooms 2020-2024.

Now that you've voted on the proposed governance changes, you'll want to be sure and attend this important meeting to learn more about the new and exciting plans to enhance member involvement. The Open Forum meeting will be followed by the Icebreaker, open to all meeting attendees and a great opportunity to connect with fellow members and colleagues:

* Icebreaker: 1730h-1900h, Moscone West

AGU 2009 Meeting Highlights: Lectures, Webcasts and Town Halls

* Lectures: There are 15 named lectures scheduled during the 2009 Fall Meeting. A description of each lecture and a schedule can be found here.

* Webcasts: Most Section and Focus Group Named Lectures will be webcast for viewing following the meeting.

* Town Halls: 24 Town Hall Meetings will be conducted during the 2009 Fall Meeting beginning on Monday, 14 December through Thursday, 17 December. Please check meeting times and topics.

Social Events

Five ticketed social events, two luncheons and three dinners, will be held during the meeting. Please purchase tickets prior to the meeting. Every meeting attendee is encouraged to attend the Honors Ceremony which will be held on 16 December at 18:30 -19:45h in rooms 306 - 308, Moscone South.

Workshops: Learn how to promote your work and spread news about science

Are you a scientist who wants to learn more about how to explain your research to journalists, politicians, and the general public? Or, a middle-school or secondary school teacher who wants to discover the latest research on Earth and space sciences? If so, come to one of the several workshops organized by AGU's Strategic Communications and Outreach Department:

* Communicating with Congress Workshop

* Learn How to be a Congressional Science Fellow or Mass Media Fellow Luncheon

* Geophysical Information for Teachers (GIFT) Workshop

* Science Communication Workshops for Scientists

* Preparing for Tenure Workshop

Please join ITT Visual Informaiton Solutions and your fellow IDL users at the 3rd Annual IDL User Group Meeting being held at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) in Boulder, Colorado on Wednesday, February 24, 2010. Our call for presentations for the 2010 event is now open.

Presentation Submission

If you would like to be a presenter at IDL User Group Meeting, please submit an informal abstract for consideration describing your project or application that uses IDL. Your presentation should be approximately 30 minutes in length, and the presenter will be required to deliver the presentation in person in order to be selected. Please have your submission include:

* Title of the presentation
* Presenter’s Name & Organization
* Brief Abstract

Data Visualization & Analysis Image Competition

Do you have an image from a cool project or application generated using IDL that you would like to share? Please submit an image to our Data Visualization and Analysis Image Competition. The winner of the image competition will be chosen by attendee ballot at the IDL User Group meeting on February 24, 2010 and will receive an iPod Nano. The image presenter need not be present to win. Please have your submission include:

* Image Caption
* Presenter’s Name & Organization
* Brief Description of the Image

Please submit your entry or entries to events@ittvis.com.

All entries must be received by January 30, 2010 for consideration.

Both Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) and MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) acquire data in the visible to shortwave infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum (0.4-2.4 um) with AVIRIS providing more spectral detail.

The MODIS/ASTER (MASTER) airborne simulator is a joint development involving the Airborne Sensor Facility at the Ames Research Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the EROS Data Center. The primary objective of the MASTER activity is to support the ASTER and MODIS instrument teams in the areas of algorithm development, calibration and validation. MASTER is essentially a clone of the MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS), with changes in the spectral band positions in order to better simulate both ASTER and MODIS.

Order your MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) for free here. You will be given a download link once you give your info.

Sivan Design, a leading provider of civil engineering software solutions, today announces version 2.0 release of its powerful 3D simulation software Civil Simulate, supporting Civil 3D 2010 and Windows 7 (32/64 Bit).

Civil Simulate is an interactive 3D visualization and simulation tool for AutoCAD(R) Civil 3D(R) and CivilCAD offering a unique approach to overcoming the challenge of turning civil engineering design into highly sophisticated 3D simulation.

From loading orthophoto raster images onto the simulation to interactive drive-through simulation from the driver's point-of-view, Civil Simulate does it all with ease and an accuracy of +/- 0.8 inch to the CAD drawing.

The current release incorporates two new innovative features including automatic creation of intersections and bridges and enhanced support for large scale projects. The software user interface incorporates the same Ribbon style from Civil 3D 2010 and is simple and intuitive - as expected from Sivan Design's products.

Sivan Design's CEO, Shlomi Sivan, said: "It is a great pleasure for us to introduce the current release of Civil Simulate, which represents the future in civil engineering design processes by offering on-the-spot evaluation in a realistic 3D environment of any change made to the design, even while still in preliminary stages."

Visitors of the annual Autodesk University (AU) 2009 user conference and exhibition in Las Vegas (Dec. 1-3, 2009) are invited to visit Sivan Design's booth #310 for ongoing live demonstrations of Civil Simulate's capabilities.

For more information please visit: http://www.sivandesign.com.

GGP Systems has launched a new version of its web based GIS. Designed to make UK local authority service information readily accessible via the Internet, eGGP 2009 provides access to data held in spatial database formats and supports national initiatives such as t-Government and Communities in Control. The software has a new-look user interface with advanced mapping functionality and a faster more refined online experience underpinned by a reworked map rendering engine. eGGP 2009 also provides improved security with sophisticated user authentification and account management.

'In this digital age we all expect answers in an instant,' commented Tim Maxwell, Managing Director of GGP Systems. 'For Councils this can be a mammoth task providing citizens with access to information ranging from 'where's my nearest recycling centre' to 'am I in a conservation area'. eGGP 2009 enables the online delivery of easy to understand, up to the minute service level information meeting many of the aspirations of the Communities in Control Agenda - primarily by providing easy access to clearly presented information letting people know what has happened and what is being planned in their local area.'

eGGP 2009 includes the ability to access and display data held in a variety of spatial database formats. Supporting a drive towards shared services this builds on the work undertaken by GGP Systems to develop solutions to the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) international standards. eGGP 2009 also offers improved security with user log in and authentification allowing defined control of access to information. With four 'user levels' - home, group, department and corporate - this ensure sensitive information is only accessible to authorised users. Advanced map query options including polygon based querying and distance and area measurement tools together with a reworked map rendering engine

eGGP 2009 is part of a suite of software solutions from GGP Systems that includes an upgraded version of their desktop GIS and GGP's land, property and street gazetteer management software GGP NGz. GGP GIS 2009 also includes advanced spatial data storage functionality, improved data security and user authentification and support for Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. GGP NGz 2009 includes new functionality for Street Naming and Numbering (SNN) and Candidate Processing. The GGP 2009 software suite is also supported for running in a Windows Server 2008 64bit environment and supports Oracle Locator 9i, 10g and 11g.

Product sales inquiries Prim Maxwell at GGP tel. +44 (0)20 8686 9887, e-mail: prim@ggpsystems.co.uk, www.ggpsystems.co.uk.

The ESRI Southeast Regional User Group (SERUG) Conference will bring together more than 500 geographic information system (GIS) software users April 26–28, 2010, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Participants will discuss using geospatial technology to address today’s issues and get guidance from peers and ESRI staff with varied specialties.

The conference offers a Plenary Session and Keynote Address, breakout sessions, technical sessions, lightning talks, Map Gallery, ESRI Solutions EXPO, Special Interest Group meetings, postconference training, and networking events. “The user-to-user communication helps tremendously,” says Daniel Johns, GIS analyst, Clay County Utility Authority, Florida.

Attendees are invited to participate in the conference by presenting a paper or lightning talk or submitting a map showing how they’re successfully applying GIS. Abstracts for user presentations and lightning talks are due January 8. Map Gallery submissions are due April 2.

Users can learn more about the conference, participation, and registration at www.esri.com/serug.

MAPPS recognized Merrick & Company as the winner of the association's third annual Geospatial Products and Services Excellence Awards competition for their "Levee Recertification Using Geospatial Technologies" project.

The "Project of the Year" was awarded during a ceremony at the ASPRS/MAPPS Specialty Conference in San Antonio, TX. The project, utilised aerial LiDAR technology and an advanced hydrographic survey to generate valuable elevation data for the City of Wichita, Kansas.

MAPPS awarded winners in five technical categories. They were:

- Intermap Technologies for "Intermap Technologies Completes NEXTMap Europe" in Airborne and Satellite Data Acquisition;

- Photo Science "Spatial Data Interoperability at the Florida Department of Transportation" in GIS/IT;

- Kappa Mapping, Inc. "Color Infrared Imagery Makes Accurate Vernal Pool Mapping Possible in Bar Harbor, Maine" in Small Projects;

- Optech Technologies "New Product Introduction in Hardware: ALTM Orion" in Technology Innovation;

- Merrick & Company in the Photogrammetry/Elevation Data Generation category.

The judges for the program included Burtch; Dr. Pamela Lawhead, Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi; Dr. Adrian Moore, an economist at the Reason Foundation, Los Angeles, VA; Dennis Morgan, CP, retired U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis, MO and Christine L. Grahl, editor for POB magazine and POBonline.com.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has signed an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to use data from the Indian satellite Oceansat-II, says report.

The agreement will pave the way for NASA to use data from Oceansat-II for its research, education, weather forecasting, and other activities aimed at the public good including weather forecasting.

Launched on September 23, 2009 using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota, Oceansat-2; is designed to provide service continuity for operational users of the Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) instrument on Oceansat-1.

The agreement was signed by Michael H Freilich, Director Earth Science Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Mary E Kicza Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Science of the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and R R Navalgund, Director, Space Application Centre, ISRO.

Visit the USA National Phenology Network and download for free phenology data of plants, animals, and landscapes. The USA-NPN is comprised of many partners including federal, state and local agencies, universities, colleges and schools, non-governmental organizations, citizen volunteers, and many others.

The efforts of the USA-NPN are organized and directed by the staff at the USA-NPN National Coordinating Office at the University of Arizona, with support from the US Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation, and many other funding agencies, organizations, and partners.

Obtain free phenology data from the USA-NPN database, the National Climatic Data Center, and access other datasets.

- National Climatic Data Center - Phenology Data: This resource includes a number of phenological and related information data sets available for downloading, including: 1) North American first leaf and first bloom lilac data from 1956-2003; 2) French records of grape-harvest dates in Burgundy used to reconstruct spring-summer temperatures from 1370 to 2003; 3) Winter half-year temperature reconstruction for the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and Yangtze River, China, during the past 2000 years; 4) Weighted annual means for the flowering of cherry and apple tree and budburst beech from plant phenological observations across a range of sites in Switzerland from 1702 to 2005; and 5) A 280-year composite series (includes a set of 14 different records) of the flowering of cherry trees from 1721-2000 in Switzerland.

- Japan Lilac Flowering Data, 1996-2009 (Excel): Funakoshi, S. and associates, 2009, Japan First and Full Bloom Lilac Phenology Data, 1996-2009, Data Contribution to the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN).

You can also search the list of Phenology publications.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected NAVTEQ map data to power its geospatial analysis needs.

The EPA uses geospatial data across a wide variety of research and regulatory programs in support of its mission to protect human health and the environment. NAVTEQ map data will be used in a wide range of the EPA’s mission support areas, both for internal analysis in support of decision making as well as enhancing many of its public facing mapping applications available on the Internet.

One representative use of NAVTEQ map data will be the further development of the Texas Ecological Assessment Protocol, which requires the development of a sustainability layer that describes how resistant a particular area is to disturbance.

NAVTEQ map data includes geospatial vector data layers of important value to the EPA including roads, cities, political boundaries, physical features, places, railroads, census boundaries, parks, schools, fire departments, police departments, and hospitals.

High-resolution digital elevation models and images for the entire states of Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Texas are commercially available announced Intermap.

The data was collected as part of Intermap’s NEXTMap USA nationwide mapping program, scheduled for completion by June 30, 2010. These datasets join other complete statewide coverage of Arizona, California, Florida, and Mississippi, along with partial state coverage areas – all of which are immediately available for purchase and include approximately 80% of the U.S.

Intermap’s NEXTMapdatabase includes digital surface models (DSMs) that include cultural features such as vegetation, buildings, and roads; digital terrain models (DTMs) with all cultural features digitally removed; and orthorectified radar images (ORIs) that accentuate topographic features – all with a vertical accuracy of 1 meter or better.

The Company has also created value-added products such as contours, 3D road centerline geometries, and other high-resolution geospatial products as part of the program. NEXTMap data is currently available through the Company’s direct sales team, online via www.TerrainOnDemand.com, or through Intermap’s worldwide partner network.

The registration for the Cityworks 2010 User Conference is now open! Cityworks User Conference will be held on May 17 to May 19, 2010 at the Dixie Conference Center in the picturesque city of St. George, Utah.

The Cityworks User Conference is the premier event for Cityworks users, business partners, and potential users. Complete with Cityworks technical courses, user and partner presentations, Cityworks doctor’s office, exhibit hall, networking, and evening socials, the conference provides an educational and enjoyable atmosphere benefiting all in attendance. In addition, the conference offers the unique opportunity of interacting with Azteca Systems’ staff and having a chance to discuss future product direction.

The 2010 event marks the 8th Cityworks User Conference. Since its debut in 2001, the conference has experienced consistent upward growth trends, proving it to be a valuable event for all who attend. A unique, first-rate experience, you are sure to benefit from attending the 2010 Cityworks User Conference.

Location: Dixie Center, St. George, Utah
The Dixie Center is located in beautiful St. George, Utah — also known as Utah’s Dixie www.dixiecenter.com. St. George is located in the middle of what is referred to as the “Golden Circle” because of the proximity to National Parks and other outdoor recreation opportunities.

Conference Costs
$400.00 (Early bird rate through March 1)
$450.00 (Standard rate after March 1)

Register online.

Mapping Awards Contest for best geography ideas! GeoVation, an online initiative aiming to promote innovation with geography, has launched an awards programme with a prize fund of £21,000 available to develop the best entries.

The initiative – supported by mapping agency Ordnance Survey – aims to help individuals, businesses and communities bring their map‑based ideas to life. There are three themes: crime, health and the environment, although good ideas on any subject are welcomed.

John Abbott, GeoVation Champion, comments: “This is all about investing in worthwhile, exciting and innovative uses of geography. We believe geography can play a real part in addressing some of the world’s big challenges and we want to unleash people’s creative potential.

"We are keen to engage with anyone, from technology experts to the wider community."

Awards Programme Submissions need to be made on the GeoVation site before the closing date of 4 January, and entrants are free to suggest the use of any resources, such as Google Maps or OS OpenSpace. Ordnance Survey is not claiming any ownership of the entries submitted.

The initiative comes as the Home Office releases nationwide crime maps, a powerful demonstration of how geography can be used to empower citizens and improve public service accountability. Among the ideas already submitted to GeoVation are a service that lets pedestrians map safe routes based on the location of CCTV cameras and a text alert service where 999 callers are sent the location of their nearest defibrillator. Another idea hopes to encourage people to buy more local produce by publicising nearby availability.

Abbott continues: “Essentially, this is about trying to build something from the bottom up, rather than having a single organisation or business dictate how things should be done.”

The cash will be awarded to four winning entries, with £10,000 to the outright winner and two prizes of £5,000 for the runners-up. A community award, as voted by the audience, will receive £1,000. All the money will go towards developing the ideas.

The closing date for entries is 4 January, and more information is available at the GeoVation website at https://challenge.geovation.org.uk/.

Ordnance Survey (OS) map data will be available online free of cost to everybody from 2010. The move will allow people to interpret public statistics about crime, health and education by postcode, local authority or electoral boundary.

Currently, the geographical data is only available free of charge to small scale developers. Opening it up is key to the success of government plans to free its data via data.gov.uk, say the site's creators.

"Making all that data available doesn't make much sense without the geography to tie it all together. Time and place are the two things that make sense of other data. Which hospital, where, when, for example." Professor Nigel Shadbolt, one of two Information Advisers to the government, told BBC News.

It is a commitment to make a wide range of non-personal data collected by the government on subjects such as health, crime and education available online for free in a raw form. Developers can then use it to create mash-ups - a web page that combines sets of data to link up results.

Professor Shadbolt says that if people could get at the data "they would prefer to use it".
The transition to free-for-all is likely to happen in April 2010 and was announced on 17 November by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Communities Secretary John Denham.

"We want people to be able to compare the outcomes and the costs for their own local services with the services delivered elsewhere, and suggest means of improving and driving change," said Mr Denham.

NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) call for proposals!

This call for graduate fellowship proposals, entitled NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) Program – 2010/2011 Academic Year, solicits applications from accredited U.S. Universities on behalf of individuals pursuing Masters or Doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees in Earth and space sciences, or related disciplines, at respective institutions. The purpose of NESSF is to ensure continued training of a highly qualified workforce in disciplines needed to achieve NASA’s scientific goals outlined above. Awards resulting from the competitive selection will be made in the form of training grants to the respective universities with the advisor serving as the principal investigator.

The financial support for the NESSF Program comes from SMD’s four science divisions: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Planetary Science, and Astrophysics. For the 2010/2011 academic year, NASA expects to award approximately 50 new graduate fellowships in Earth Science, 3 in Heliophysics, 10 in Planetary Science, and 3-10 in Astrophysics.

NESSF stipend has increased to $30,000 per year! From section 4 on "Terms and Conditions":

The maximum amount of a NESSF award is $30,000 per year. Not all awards require $30,000 per year. The stipend for the student should be comparable with the prevailing stipend rate on the student’s campus. Maximum amounts for student and university allowances are $3,000 each. Students are encouraged to work with their advisor and university Office of Sponsored Research to determine the appropriate allocation in each budget category.

The fellowship may be used to defray a student’s stipend; tuition; fees; travel in support of the research investigation to conferences, symposia, or collaborative meetings; books; expendable laboratory supplies; page charges for journal articles; printing of a thesis; health insurance policy; and similar charges. Equipment, including computers, may NOT be purchased with NESSF funds. Government furnished equipment will not be provided. A NESSF budget should include itemization of the anticipated use of the grant funding.

NESSF Program Submission Deadlines:

Deadline for receipt of NEW applications: 11:59 p.m. EST, February 1, 2010

Deadline for receipt of RENEWAL applications: 11:59 p.m. EST, March 15, 2010

Applicants must visit the NESSF site.

Wolfram Research blog featured a video clip of Yu-Feng Lin, a hydrogeologist at the Illinois State Water Survey, who talked about "how Mathematica interactive manipulations help him conduct research on understanding groundwater recharge and discharge."

You may read the Wolfram Research latest blog post that highlights a real world application of Mathematica's integrated geodesy and GIS data, which is a key area of innovation in Mathematica.

Yu-Feng Lin Video clip:

Thanks to Colin DeCair of Wolfram Research, Inc. for sharing the link.

Continuing on its commitment to advance geographic information systems (GIS) in education, ESRI Canada today announced the Canadian institutions selected to receive awards through the ESRI Canada Scholarship Award Program. The program recognizes universities and colleges with an exceptional GIS focus and is designed to promote innovation among Canada's future leaders.

This year, the following Canadian universities and colleges have been selected to receive the ESRI Canada Scholarship Award:

Eastern Canada

New Brunswick Community College
University of New Brunswick
College of the North Atlantic
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Dalhousie University
Saint Mary's University

Central Canada

Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology
Carleton University
Fanshawe College
Lakehead University
Laurentian University
Nipissing University
Queen's University
Ryerson University
Wilfrid Laurier University
University of Ottawa
University of Western Ontario
Cégep Limoilou
McGill University
Université de Montréal
Université de Sherbrooke
Université du Québec
Université Laval

Western Canada

Manitoba Educational GIS Consortium (MEGIC)
Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST)
University of Regina
University of Saskatchewan
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
University of Alberta
University of Calgary
University of Lethbridge
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Simon Fraser University
University of British Columbia
University of Northern British Columbia
University of Victoria
Vancouver Island University
Okanagan College
Selkirk College
Thompson Rivers University

The program awards more than $2 million in scholarships and grants of software and books to more than 40 Canadian colleges and universities every year. The schools must use ESRI technology for education and administration and demonstrate a strong, multidisciplinary focus on GIS. Each chosen school then selects an outstanding student to receive the scholarship, a comprehensive package of the latest ESRI software, workbooks and access to ESRI training courses and conferences.

For more information on the ESRI Canada Scholarship Award Program, educational institutions may contact education@esricanada.com.

Google Earth updates iPhone app. Version 2. The upgrade also adds 13 new languages to the mix, bringing a total of 31 supported languages.

The original app was introduced a year ago, and quickly raised to the top of the App Store charts. Like the ubiquitous desktop version, it allows to “fly” across the globe, touching down at the cities and locales chosen by user.

One can indulge in panoramic views or check out the rooftop of your childhood home, all courtesy of highly-detailed satellite images. You can tilt your iPhone to view hilly topography and take advantage of the iPhone's location services to zoom into your current position.

The big step forward for this edition of the app is the customized map feature. You can create these by using the My Maps interface on your computer. Google lets you take a satellite or map image and then add layers, which can include an itinerary, route lines, and other data. After you’ve saved the map, it becomes available on your phone.

Geosemble Technologies joined the Google Enterprise Partner program and will integrate its GeoXray geospatial knowledge integration product with Google Earth Enterprise, which allows organisations to build their own private globes that can be easily explored by employees using Google Earth technology.

As part of the partnership, Geosemble will integrate the GeoXray application and the GeoXray import utility toolkit into Google Earth. As a result, customers using Google Earth Enterprise together with GeoXray will be able to see dynamic information associated with the places of interest or areas being viewed on the globe.

Geosemble’s unique, patented technology will draw from a variety of text-based sources such as news, blogs and Twitter so that users can see and understand dynamic activity associated with specific geographic points and areas. In addition, by using the GeoXray import utility, users can easily view internet content - or relevant data from internal sources - associated with their own points of interest and other Google Earth Enterprise data layers.

“By integrating GeoXray into Google Earth and Google Earth Enterprise we can literally bring a world of knowledge to enterprise users,” said Andre Doumitt, CEO, Geosemble Technologies.

Join the free webinar on "Image Acquisition and Processing using MATLAB."

Date and time: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 4:30 am, Eastern Standard Time, (New York, GMT-05:00)

Duration: 1 hour

Description: Challenging image acquisition and processing problems are rarely solved with standard procedures. More often, you require flexible software that enables you to experiment with ideas, analyze results, and design real-world solutions.

View this webinar and discover how MATLAB, Image Processing Toolbox, and Image Acquisition Toolbox provide a complete environment for image acquisition, analysis, processing, visualization, and algorithm development. You can benefit from this webinar even without prior knowledge of MATLAB.

Through product demonstrations, you will learn how to:

• Connect to and configure image acquisition hardware from MATLAB

• Organize and manipulate image data for exploration and visualization

• Execute standard algorithms for enhancement, segmentation, morphology, and feature measurement

• Develop algorithms using the MATLAB environment

Product Focus:
• Image Acquisition Toolbox
• Image Processing Toolbox

A Q&A session will follow this presentation and demos.

**NOTE TO NON-WINDOWS USERS**
Our current version of Webex Event Center does not support Internet Phone (VoIP) for Mac, Linux, or UNIX users. Unfortunately, if you are using one of these operating systems you will be unable to hear the live webinar.

We will upgrade to a version of Webex Event Center that supports Multi-platform Internet Phone when one becomes available. Until then, please view the recorded version of this webinar when it is available on our web site approximately two weeks after the live event.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Thank you.

NOTE:
- You will need speakers/headset and a sound card in order to hear the presentation

- You will need to install the WebEx Event Manager plug-in before the event. You will be prompted to install this when you log into the event.

- This plug-in will not install if your browser has high security settings or you do not have administrative rights to your PC.

You may register here. Check out the links below for other free webinars.

RapidEye announced that ENVI 4.7, the latest release of ENVI software from ITT Visual Information Solutions, supports RapidEye levels 1B and 3A data products. ENVI 4.7 allows RapidEye consumers to easily access, process, analyze and share information from RapidEye images.

The new capability introduced in ENVI 4.7 provides ENVI users with RapidEye satellite sensor support, the ability to orthorectify RapidEye data using RPCs, and extract DEMs from its stereo pairs. In addition to the support available in ENVI, ENVI's add-on Atmospheric Correction Module now also allows users to correct RapidEye imagery for atmospheric interference.

For more information please visit www.ittvis.com or www.rapideye.de.

The U.S. Geological Survey has begun to distribute, over the Internet, SPOT satellite image data collected over parts of North America between 1986 and 1998.

The USGS is distributing this data at no charge through the USGS Earth Explorer search and order tool. Access is open to any registered user within the U.S., provided he or she agrees to use the SPOT data for non-commercial purposes.

Spot Image Corporation of Chantilly, Va., is the U.S. subsidiary of the French satellite imagery provider, Spot Image SA. With two operational earth observation satellites in orbit and four more under development, Spot Image is a leading commercial supplier of geospatial information.

The Indian Space Research Organisation has stressed on the need to have a constellation of satellites with multispectral sensors to predict, mitigate and manage disasters.

Many studies suggest at least eight satellites, with dual capability sensors can collect both high and low spatial resolution data, and an equal split between optical and microwave instruments.

Crucially, different situations need data collected in different wavebands - like optical and near infrared data can map land use or assess agricultural droughts.

Landslide studies depend on accurate high-resolution digital elevation models, which require data collected by stereo-viewing optical sensors like Cartosat-1, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radars or Light Detection and Ranging instruments.

Conversely, polar-orbiting satellites offer higher spatial resolution data but information is only collected once every few days.

Landslide studies depend on accurate high-resolution digital elevation models, which require data collected by stereo-viewing optical sensors like Cartosat1, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radars or Light Detection and Ranging instruments.

Conversely, polar-orbiting satellites offer higher spatial resolution data but information is only collected once every few days. [report]

Merrick & Company released Version 6.0 of the Merrick Advanced Remote Sensing (MARS) software suite.

The MARS software suite is a robust, production-grade Windows application designed to manage, visualise, process, and analyze light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data with powerful visualisation capabilities and performance.

Many new features and product enhancements have been added to the application, which now fully supports Windows 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. MARS is expected to appeal to a wide variety of commercial, government and academic users.

The newest version of MARS will be demonstrated publicly for the first time at the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)/Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS) 2009 fall conference to be held in San Antonio, Texas from Nov. 16 to 19, 2009.

The software is developed and sold by the geospatial technologies division of Merrick & Company and additional product information is located at www.merrick.com/MARS.

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and a dozen more US based companies that offer web based mapping applications are being sued by WebMap Technologies for infringement of a US patent called Method and Apparatus for Collecting and Expressing Geographically Referenced Data, says report.

The patent from 2004 was originally assigned to Cornell Research Foundation and National Audubon Society. The patent is an outcome of work done by the University and the society with regards to locating and plotting bird migrations.

WebMap Technologies is based in Frisco, TX and claims to be the only licensee of the patent. WebMap Tech alleges in the complaint that Google has known about the potential infringement for some time before the suit was filed. The plaintiff wants a permanent injunction enjoining defendants, damages, costs, expenses, interest, enhanced damages, attorneys' fees and other relief to which it may be entitled. The suite was filed Nov 3 2009.

If WebMap wins, it will mean a rather everyday and commonly done act of attaching a placemark on a web map if not done by paying the necessary royalties will be tagged as illegal.

The space shuttle Atlantis – carrying a crew of six and some 14 tons of supplies for the International Space Station – is scheduled for launch Monday afternoon at 2:28 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Details of the launching:

Date: Nov. 16, 2009
Mission: STS-129
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Atlantis
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 2:28 p.m. EST
Landing: Nov. 27 - 9:43 a.m. EST

Description: Space shuttle Atlantis will deliver components including two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm to the International Space Station.

OpenGeo Senior Consultant, Paul Ramsey, gave a 30-minutes talk on The State of PostGIS.

Watch the video below:

Editor’s note: The IMPETUS research project (Integrated Approach to the Efficient Management of Scarce Water Resources in West Africa) is incorporating GIS in the Spatial Decision Support Systems that are being developed. This lets IMPETUS provide decision makers with a more holistic and interdisciplinary approach when developing scenarios related to present and future problems with freshwater supply. A previous article about this project appeared in the Summer 2008 issue of ArcUser. "Visualization, Interpretation, and Evaluation—Building a multitemporal Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) scenario view with ArcGIS Engine” described the technical SDSS framework of IMPETUS. Although this article focuses on the tools developed for the project, an overview of the use of GIS in the IMPETUS project is included.

The goal of the IMPETUS project is the development of management options for different components of the hydrological cycle using the SDSS tools. Because decision making requires an exhaustive knowledge of the processes, driving forces, possibilities, and stakeholders, ArcGIS Engine was used in computer-based SDSSs to handle huge amounts of data and provide visually attractive, reliable, and convincing displays of that data to users. Functionality developed for three of the ArcGIS Engine-based SDSSs will be discussed.

Explicitly designed to provide a decision-making environment that enables the analysis of geographic information to be carried out in a flexible manner, SDSSs help researchers and managers make decisions. Modern computer-based SDSSs are comprehensive and complex systems that compile individual decision steps into an overall software structure and include spatial data, quantitative, and/or qualitative models with expert knowledge.

SDSSs can be customized to the needs of individual users based on a given logical decision tree that has been predefined by users and developers during the design process. These systems are developed based on predefined, multifarious logical decision trees focused on a specific question. In the case of the IMPETUS project, that question was how to create an integrated Tools approach to the efficient management of scarce water resources in West Africa.

By providing users with access to large amounts of significant spatial data, SDSSs are powerful problem-solving tools that often use a GIS component to add spatial analysis functionality. The ability of GIS to layer spatial and attribute data distinguishes this technology from many other decision support systems.

Read the full PDF file here.

GeoNorth is pleased to announce the release of a powerful and convenient developer tool for ArcGIS Server which allows the printing of high resolution maps. Due to current limitations which prevent ArcIMS and ArcGIS Server web clients from exceeding 96 dpi image output, this tool is essential for GIS users who require high-end cartographic quality and the option to print larger sized maps from a web based mapping application.

Developers at GeoNorth have implemented this low-cost .NET solution that is designed to work with ArcGIS Server APIs. With this powerful new tool, users may now print exported pdf, jpg, and png maps at a resolution of up to 600 dpi. In addition to conveniently designing printable maps using standard ArcMap layout templates, users also have the ability to choose layers that will be displayed, add custom graphics and markups, and pass descriptive text such as map title, comments, etc.

While application interface development is needed to accept user input, implementation is quick using standard XML configuration. GeoNorth provides this technology in conjunction with development services for organization developing ArcGIS Server applications using the REST APIs.

Fifty years after becoming the 50th state to be admitted to the union, Hawaii has become the 50th state to be covered by Google Maps Street View, says report.

Google has worked with the Hawaii Visitors & Conventions Bureau to provide images of the best beaches and vacation spots, enabling users to take a virtual vacation or plan a real one. Google has also created tours of the fifty state capitol buildings.

In addition to expanding coverage in the US, Google has also added imagery from Mexico for the first time, covering Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel.

In addition to expanding coverage in the US, Google has also added imagery from Mexico for the first time, covering Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel.

In other news, Google's Street View cars have landed South Africa, and are busy collecting images of the country's urban landscapes, starting in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.

Google's Street View trikes will collect imagery of historic landmarks, heritage sites and places of natural beauty that are off the beaten track and thus inaccessible to cars.

Definiens announced the launch of its latest Remote Sensing software offering for earth science professionals, Definiens eCognition version 8. The new software suite delivers functionality specifically designed for geospatial image analysis while also achieving marked improvements in processing performance.

Leveraging Definiens’ research and development efforts in 3D and 4D image analysis, eCognition 8 introduces new capabilities in multi-dimensional geospatial image analysis. While LiDAR data used to require pre-processing prior to image analysis, with eCognition 8, users are now able to input LiDAR datasets in their native format -- a first in the industry. The software can also apply object based image analysis (OBIA) principles to LiDAR data and fuse LiDAR, vector and optical data, allowing users to efficiently manage complex projects.

Another major focus area of eCognition 8 is making the development of semi-automated production applications easier. Within the new version, applications can be wrapped in a powerful and intuitive graphical interface. A range of new manual editing options guide and simplify workflows for production teams, making eCognition 8 more user-friendly and functional than its predecessors.

eCognition software version 8 also delivers a standardised graphical application called Quickmap. Users can select from alternate start modes depending on their level of experience and the complexity of the image analysis project. As a result, casual eCognition users can quickly create meaningful results using Quickmap, while more seasoned users retain the full functionality of eCognition Developer, which develops rule sets for the automatic analysis of remote sensing data. Quickmap’s code will also be made available so that it can be leveraged in the development of custom applications by the eCognition user community.

Beyond improvements to the application building process, eCognition 8 provides advancements in the performance and speed of advanced image analysis. In test cases, eCognition 8 performed up to ten times faster than the previous version, as a result of more effective utilization of processing resources.

DeLorme announced the release of XMap 7. This latest edition includes XMap Forms, with automatic two-way data synchronization between administrators and field personnel.

XMap is a three-tiered GIS and GPS platform that addresses key functional levels within an organisation’s GIS infrastructure. XMap 7 GIS Enterprise was developed for GIS and IT administrators; XMap 7 GIS Editor offers easy-to-use standalone GIS management and analysis tools, and XMap 7 Professional provides mobile field forces with versatile data viewing and, with an optional XMap Forms license, data collection capabilities.

XMap Forms is an add-on module that enables efficient field GIS data editing and collection in any of the three XMap tiers and on an Earthmate PN-Series GPS receiver. One copy of XMap 7 GIS Enterprise and the appropriate XMap Forms license is required to create an XMap Form and to transfer the form to other XMap users through network database synchronization.

All three of the XMap 7 tiers now provide direct transfer of GIS layers and XMap Forms to a DeLorme Earthmate PN-Series handheld GPS receiver. On the device, drop-down lists, check boxes, and simple text entry can be used to populate the attribute table for new or updated GIS records.

Both XMap software and Earthmate PN-Series receivers enable visualisation of a variety of geographic data formats including third-party GIS layers, ArcMap raster views, and DeLorme topographic and street data. Users can also display DeLorme Map Library data layers including USGS quad maps, Canadian government topographic maps, and multiple aerial imagery options, as well as freely available imagery in MrSID and GeoTIFF formats.

RapidEye, the only geospatial solutions provider to own and operate a constellation of five identical Earth Observation satellites, announced today that they have penned a contract with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to image a substantial portion of the state of Colorado.

“USGS will be replicating a study that was done in 2008 to better understand how climate changes are impacting the conifer forest conditions in Colorado, and we are excited that our higher resolution imagery and unique Red Edge band have been chosen, which should give them improved results,” commented Joerg Widmer, Sales Team Member of RapidEye.

The contract stipulates that over 130,000 km² (about 50,200 mi²) of imagery collected from June through August 2009 over the state of Colorado will be delivered to the USGS this month. The imagery will be used to support the 2009 Colorado Forest Heath Assessment project, which is being led by the USGS and the Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center (RMGSC). Additionally, the contract is open for the same time frame in 2010.

RapidEye's remote sensing based solutions for the forest industry range from supporting carbon credit trading to customized alert services. Drawing on the experience of their forestry experts, RapidEye has developed a series of products and services specifically designed to meet the information requirements of individual foresters, private and governmental forest managers, and international institutions.

More about RapidEye's Forest Industry solutions can be found by visiting their website at www.rapideye.de/home/solutions/forestry/index.html, or by sending an inquiry via email to sales@rapideye.de.

I visited the American Geophysical Union (AGU) website to renew my membership that will expire next month. To my surprise, the AGU site (www.agu.org) did not exist. I tried to access it from different links but it goes to nothing.

The first thing I thought was there could be a site outage. Or maybe the AGU servers are down. This is normally the reason for websites to be inaccessible.

I checked its domain availability and found out that www.agu.org is available for sale. Check the screen shot below (you can click it for a larger view) . I thought of buying the domain but had second thoughts.

Should I buy an expired domain name? Maybe not. Whois.net says otherwise. It says agu.org was renewed on November 4th and will expire on the 10th of July 2019.

Domain Name:AGU.ORG
Created On:11-Jul-1991 04:00:00 UTC
Last Updated On:04-Nov-2009 16:11:59 UTC
Expiration Date:10-Jul-2019 04:00:00 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Network Solutions LLC (R63-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:23291245-NSI
Registrant Name:American Geophysical Union
Registrant Organization:American Geophysical Union
Registrant Street1:2000 Florida Avenue, NW

Why is the domain available for sale? Is this another scam purporting to help anyone interested to buy an expired domain name when in actual fact the site is taken?

A team of engineering students from southern India have been designing a small light-weight satellite that is set to be sent into space soon. The Indian Space Research Organization is supporting the project in the hope that it will encourage more students to be more interested in space technology.

About 40 students, mostly engineering under-graduates from seven top colleges in Bangalore and Hyderabad are working together at Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology in Bangalore.

Under the guidance of the research organization, the students hope to build one of the smallest satellites ever designed. It will be used for remote-sensing applications. It will orbit the earth at an altitude of 700 kilometers and will send 30 minutes of data everyday.

The students have already built a master-control ground station to track the location of the satellite in space. The satellite is expected to be launched before the end of the year through the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.

Once the satellite is launched and placed in its final orbit, all its systems will be monitored by the students themselves.

Surveyors in Great Britain are using emapsite to continue to access the locations and heights of traditional benchmarks despite their removal from the latest Ordnance Survey digital map data. emapsite has reintroduced benchmarks as an additional layer in the latest OS MasterMap data which can be viewed online in emapsite’s Plans Ahead mapping service.

Benchmarks were the mainstay of traditional survey control information in Great Britain until the growth of GPS. They record height above Ordnance Datum and are most commonly found on buildings or other semi-permanent features. Nearly 200 ‘fundamental’ bench marks were built and maintained, establishing more than 500,000 ‘lower order’ marks for measurement purposes over several decades.

As it was not economically viable to continue maintaining the physical network given the move to GPS, Ordnance Survey eventually began removing benchmark information from the updates to its large-scale OS MasterMap Topography Layer dataset in summer 2009.

Superior and Douglas County made its geographic information system data available online at douglasco.mapping-online.com.

The information available through GIS includes a variety of data not available on a typical map. While the city’s information is readily available, the county is still working to put a policy in place that will make the information readily available to the public. However, both provide a wealth of information such as county forest lands, recreation areas, political boundaries, wetland and soil inventories, parcel ownership and value information, survey records where available and zoning information.

By making that information available to public online, the city and county benefit on a variety of levels, whether it’s correcting data, or protecting historic survey records that have been scanned to make them easily available. Large format scanning equipment allowed the county to make 100-year-old maps readily available through 21st Century technology, protecting the aging maps.

However, all the information comes with disclaimers because not all the information available is survey grade and boundaries could be off slightly.

The City of Ottawa received the Award of Excellence by ESRI for integrating geographic information system (GIS) technology with enterprise business systems to enhance municipal operations including public works, surveys and mapping, and urban forestry management. The ESRI enterprise GIS, which uses a services-oriented architecture (SOA) approach, will enable the City to more easily incorporate and adopt new technologies in the future.

The City of Ottawa has been using ESRI ArcGIS technology since 2002 and has extensively used GIS in its operations including urban mapping, land use and natural resource planning, and sewer, water and wastewater management. The City also uses GIS for health and public safety program planning and has leveraged the technology to monitor, track and develop appropriate action plans to protect its citizens from infectious diseases such as the West Nile virus in 2003. GIS is also applied in the City's urban tree preservation programs and is a key tool in managing and addressing the current emerald ash borer infestation in Ottawa and surrounding areas.

RapidEye signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to provide RapidEye satellite imagery for monitoring and change detection in areas prone to natural disasters.

The contract between RapidEye and ESA is based on a list of pre-defined, high-risk areas, for which RapidEye will provide satellite imagery before and after an emergency event has occurred. With its constellation of five satellites, the RapidEye system has the capability to revisit an area daily, which accommodates frequent monitoring intervals and can provide the most up-to-date information on environmental changes.

ESA will be using RapidEye's satellite imagery mainly for the project 'Safer', a security and emergency project of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program in Europe. GMES is a European program for implementing a European capacity for Earth Observation, with an objective to monitor and better understand the environment. By contributing to the success of the 'Safer' project, RapidEye will support ESA in reinforcing the European capacity to better respond to emergency situations deriving from storms, fires, floods, earthquakes or landslides. For more information about the GMES program of ESA please go to gmesdata.esa.int.

The Scholars Lab at the University of Virginia Library will host two rounds of an NEH-funded Institute for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities, on the theme of Enabling Geospatial Scholarship. A first four-day event (November 2009) is geared toward 20 library, museum, and digital humanities center professionals, and aims to shape policy and build the technical capacity of the institutions they represent to support boundary-pushing geospatial scholarship.

A second round of the Institute (May 2010) is geared toward humanities faculty members, graduate students, and other scholars. An opening discussion will identify central questions facing the studies of space and place in the digital humanities. Martyn Jessop’s 2008 article on inhibiting factors in humanities GIS will serve as a guide, and Jessop will present his work. Participants will explore a variety of tools and core GIS concepts through hands-on activities, and discuss the challenges of applying science-based GIS tools to research in the humanities.

See the Institute’s home page for more information. Participants will be selected through a competitive application process.

More news on GIS and Remote Sensing scholarships and grants in the archive.

Trimble releases Placer Gold receiver, a 12-channel GPS receiver, designed to provide reliable, fully-configurable vehicle location and reporting for mission-critical automatic vehicle location (AVL) applications. Trimble's Placer receivers are used by public safety and emergency responders to more efficiently locate and dispatch response vehicles.

In addition to 12 channels, the Placer Gold features indicator lights (a new feature not previously available on the Placer 450), a small form factor, and compatibility with point-to-point protocol (PPP) data radios. The Placer Gold DRU’s on-board dead reckoning sensor outputs position data in the absence of satellite signal reception using a built-in angular rate sensor, a vehicle speed input, and a reverse signal input. This solution allows dispatchers to track vehicles through obstructed areas, such as tunnels, urban canyons, and mountains.

According to the company, the Placer Gold offers:
•Reliability: The Placer product line has had a mean time between failures (MTBF) of more than 100,000 hours. This reliability results in a need for fewer spares to support a large fleet and one spare unit can typically serve as a back up for a fleet of up to 1,000 vehicles, Trimble said.

•Robustness: Throughout its history of actual field usage, the company said, the Placer product line has proven to be robust, generally unaffected by in-vehicle radio frequency interference (RFI) or a "sagging" power source.

•Full configuration: With two separate serial/USB ports, multiple output protocols (NMEA and TAIP) and a digital I/O port, the Placer Gold may be configured to work with major public safety Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems, in-vehicle mapping and/or CAD application software. The Placer Gold receiver can connect directly to a laptop, a mobile data radio modem, or both a laptop and modem, with each independent serial port configured to output the same or different protocols and baud rates.

•Time and distance reporting: It allows triggering of position reports when time or distance criteria are met; this feature allows emergency responders to automatically increase the reporting frequency based on vehicle speed, which results in reduced network bottlenecks and wireless transmission costs.

Placer Gold APU and Placer Gold DRU are available now from Trimble’s Mobile Resource Management (MRM) sales team.

One Stop Shopping Initiative (OSSI) for NASA Internship/Fellowship Opportunities

The NASA Office of Education, Higher Education Program, solicits proposals in response to the One Stop Shopping Initiative (OSSI) for NASA Internship/Fellowship Opportunities: (1) Business Management and (2) Broker-Facilitator Corps announcements. The selected proposers will support a NASA-wide integrated application, selection and placement system for student engagement in STEM research, aerospace education and the space exploration workforce pipeline. Students will visit one website to submit one application for all NASA internship/fellowship opportunities.

The selected Business Management organization will provide programmatic management for the OSSI system and work in partnership with the other four strategic partners (OSSI System Administrator, OSSI Broker-Facilitator Corps, NASA Education, and NASA Office of Human Capital Management). NASA Office of Education provides oversight for the OSSI system.

Broker-Facilitator Corps proposers must historically serve as an advocate for one of the following institution types: Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI), Predominately White Institutions (PWI), Predominately Black Institutions (PBI), including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), or Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU). A single organization for each institution type will be selected as a member of the Corps and serve as a culturally competent expert. The Corps will focus on designing and implementing recruitment, retention, and career development strategies that broaden the diversity of institution types and number of high performing participants in NASA's internship and fellowship application pool.

The two solicitations may be accessed through the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES).

You can also apply for the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) Program.

NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) Program 2010-2011.

NASA announces a call for graduate fellowship proposals to the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) program for the 2010-2011 academic year. This call for fellowship proposals solicits applications from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of individuals pursuing Master of Science (M.Sc.) or Doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees in Earth and space sciences, or related disciplines. The purpose of NESSF is to ensure continued training of a highly qualified workforce in disciplines needed to achieve NASA's scientific goals. Awards resulting from the competitive selection will be made in the form of training grants to the respective universities.

The deadline for NEW applications is February 1, 2010, and the deadline for RENEWAL applications is March 15, 2010.

The NESSF call for proposals and submission instructions are located at the NESSF 09 solicitation index page - click on "Solicitations" then click on "Open Solicitations" then select the "NESSF 10" announcement. Also refer to "Proposal Submission Instructions" listed under "Other Documents" on the NESSF 10 solicitation index page.

All proposals must be submitted in electronic format only through the NASA NSPIRES system. The advisor has an active role in the submission of the fellowship proposal. To use the NSPIRES system, the advisor, the student, and the university must all register. Extended instructions on how to submit an electronic proposal package are posted on the NESSF 10 solicitation index page listed above. You can register in NSPIRES.

For further information contact Russell Deyoung, Program Administrator for NESSF Earth Science Research, Telephone: (757) 864-1472, E-mail: larc-nessf-Earth@lists.nasa.gov or Dolores Holland, Program Administrator for NESSF Heliophysics Research, Planetary Science Research, and Astrophysics Research, Telephone: (202) 358-0734, E-mail: hq-nessf-Space@nasa.gov.

ESRI Canada today announced that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has signed a five-year agreement under the ESRI Canada Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) program to strengthen the development of geographic information system (GIS) technology in the province. The program provides affordable access to GIS software, maintenance, services and training over the term of the agreement.

"We're pleased to be moving forward a project that will further develop GIS in our provincial IT sector," said the Honourable Tom Marshall, Minister Responsible for the Office of the Chief Information Officer, Newfoundland and Labrador. "Provincial Government departments and GIS-related businesses in our province will be provided with further opportunity to improve their GIS expertise and capacity, and provide a solid platform to leverage this technology to benefit government and industry."

Newfoundland and Labrador has applied GIS across government departments for several years. The system is used in the province's water resource portal, which provides public access to valuable information including drinking water quality. GIS is used to locate and manage the province's natural resources such as crown lands, provincial parks, protected areas, wildlife species and mineral resources. It also uses GIS to improve efficiency in business processes such as land-use planning and administering the Mineral Rights Administration Database (MIRIAD), an online system to manage mineral claim stake applications. The ELA is expected to help the province to further utilize GIS for a number of projects in the future.

The GIS community is a growing segment of Newfoundland and Labrador's advanced technology industry. Through the ELA, members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries (NATI), whose primary business is GIS-related, will receive preferential pricing on ESRI Canada solutions for use in the province. Eligible GIS solutions and data developers and consultants based in the province will receive membership discounts for the ESRI Canada Business Partner Program, which provides valuable sales, marketing, service and training support.

"NATI commends the Provincial Government for pursuing partnerships such as the agreement with ESRI Canada, which promotes technological advancement and growth of our local IT industry," said Ron Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, NATI. "This agreement provides significant opportunities for governments and businesses in the province to expand the use and development of GIS, and create opportunities to collaborate on future GIS projects."

To further enhance GIS skills in the province, ESRI Canada will provide annual scholarships over the term of the agreement to students at Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic to promote careers in GIS. ESRI Canada will host an annual conference in the province to provide a venue for local businesses, GIS professionals and vendors to learn and share best practices and further develop GIS capabilities. ESRI Canada will also provide a set number of sponsorships for GIS users, developers and business partners from the province to attend local ESRI training courses, and national and international ESRI conferences.

"Governments need solutions and programs that can help extend the value of technology to their constituents," said James Wickson, Vice President of Sales and Professional Services, ESRI Canada. "Canadian governments such as Newfoundland and Labrador have used GIS for many years to leverage geographic information and create more efficient processes and enhanced services. We are pleased to provide the province with a cost-effective means to expand GIS use and deliver further benefits to its citizens."

For more information about the ESRI Canada ELA, contact your nearest ESRI Canada Regional Office.

Geomatica 10.3, the latest version of its image-centric desktop software, which now includes imaging tools for GIS, is now available, announced PCI Geomatics.

Geomatica is complete set of software for remote sensing, digital photogrammetry, raster spatial analysis, mosaicking and automated production workflows. Version 10.3 includes support for ESRI ArcGIS Server Image Extension, as well as multi-sensor support through OrthoEngine for ArcGIS users. These users can now rely upon PCI’s OrthoEngine technology to accurately and efficiently correct raw satellite imagery, opening new doors for the integration of remotely sensed imagery into GIS workflows.

Other enhancements to Geomatica 10.3 include improved manual mosaicking, which has been completely redesigned, as well as the addition of algorithms to create full AirPhoto orthorectification workflows within the Visual Modeler environment.

MathWorks invites you to join a free one-hour MATLAB webinar on November 11, 2009.

Application Deployment with MATLAB
11 Nov 2009
11:00 AM EST

This webinar describes how to use the MATLAB Compiler application deployment software and MATLAB builders to create MATLAB based components that can run on machines without MATLAB technical computing software.

This webinar will cover the creation of:

• Standalone executables from MATLAB, using MATLAB Compiler
• C and C++ shared libraries, using MATLAB Compiler
• Java .jar files with MATLAB Builder for Java
• .NET and COM components for Web or non-Web applications, using MATLAB Builder for .NET
• Excel macros or add-ins, using MATLAB Builder for Excel

A Q&A session will follow the presentation and demos. Register for this webinar.

Two Late Breaking Sessions are now open for abstract submission to the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting.

1. The 2009 Samoan and Sumatran Earthquakes: Origins, Impacts and Consequences
2. The 29 September 2009 Tsunami and Earthquake

Session descriptions are posted on the AGU 2009 Fall Meeting website.

The deadline for submitting to both sessions is 06 November 2009, 2359h EDT, +1 3:59h GMT.

Regardless of whether or not you already submitted an abstract to Fall Meeting, you will be able to submit one additional abstract to each of these sessions. The person submitting must be the First Author.

The Abstract submission site is now available.

After logging in you must select a Late Breaking submission role.

If you need any assistance during this process, please feel free to contact the ScholarOne Technical Support team.

Phone: Monday-Friday from 0300 to 1030 Eastern Time.
Direct: +1 + 434-964-4100
Toll Free (US Only): 888-503-1050

Email and web-based technical support is available 24 hours a day, Monday-Friday.
Email: ts.acsupport@thomson.com

AGU Conference Dates:
2009 AGU Fall Meeting
14–18 December
San Francisco, California, USA

SuperGeo released ‘GIS Learning CD’ worldwide. Within 2 months, the unique teaching and learning tool has interested numerous GIS teachers and learners all over the world.

For instance, in Taiwan, many famous institutes, inclusive of Academia Sinica and several noted Universities, have procured GIS Learning CD for teaching and promoting GIS concepts. During TGIS Conference, the largest event as well as communication platform for GIS and Urban Geoinformation in Taiwan, this product also attracted a large number of visitors and potential buyers.

In the US and Canada, where GIS was first developed and GIS related tutorial materials are fairly mature, the CD has demonstrated bright sales record. Many users have purchased this CD and shown highly positive feedback.

Within SuperGeo’s global reseller network, the reseller in Bahrain, Aeromap Technology System, has marketed the CD not only inside the local market but also in other countries in Middle East. In India, the exclusive reseller in Karnataka State, Spaceinfo Technologies, has found several significant channels, such as big book stores and schools, in the local territory. Spaceinfo is planning to market the CD in a large base.

Video: GIS Learning CD