GIS in Education

Leica Geosystems announces that customers and prospective users will be convening for the international Hexagon 2012 conference, June 4-7 at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV and that registration is now open. Once again, by bringing together the latest design, measurement and visualization technologies and user communities from Leica Geosystems, Intergraph®, Z/I Imaging, ERDAS, Hexagon Metrology and NovAtel, Hexagon 2012 promises to provide more than 3,000 attendees with an experience of unprecedented scope and value.

The Geosystems track alone will feature more than 75 insightful presentations and hands-on training sessions by industry experts tailored for the mapping, positioning, surveying, engineering, construction, asset management, public safety, and geospatial solutions industries. In addition, Geosystems’ attendees will benefit from interactive technology demonstrations, exhibits, unlimited networking opportunities, compelling case studies, and best practices shared by customers from around the globe.

Juergen Dold, President of Hexagon Geosystems and Leica Geosystems said, “At this conference, our customers will again experience the broad variety of our Group, be it in dedicated trainings and workshops, presentations by industry experts or networking opportunities. Hexagon 2012 gives an outstanding opportunity to look beyond the daily necessities of our work, to deal with new topics, networking and open up new perspectives. ‘Think Forward’ was never so easy, promising and exciting.”

“Following the success of our inaugural event, the focus for Hexagon 2012 is to enrich our attendees' experience with content concentrated on our synergistic and comprehensive technology portfolio," said Ola Rollén, President and CEO of Hexagon AB. "We look forward to welcoming customers from more than 65 countries and to yet again delivering a conference of exceptional quality and value."

The Hexagon 2012 theme, "Think Forward," highlights Hexagon's continued determination to take on the challenges of the design, measurement and visualization world by mobilizing the full capabilities of its brands to innovate across boundaries and chart future directions. More than 3,000 attendees are expected to attend Hexagon 2012. The MGM Grand facilities are ideally suited to a conference of this size - the hotel and the entire conference center will be dedicated to Hexagon 2012, thus maximizing networking among attendees.

The special Hexagon 2012 "Think Forward" rate of US $699 is available through January 9, 2012 and room rates at MGM Grand are just $129/night per room plus taxes.

To register and for more information, please visit http://www.hexagonconference.com.

According to a new market research report “Global GPS Market: Products (Marine, Aviation, Automotive, Outdoor/fitness & GPS Enabled Smart Phones), Applications (Navigation, Machine Control, & Logistics Tracking) & Geography (2011 - 2016)”, published by MarketsandMarkets, the total GPS market is expected to reach $26.67 billion by 2016 at a CAGR of 23.7% from 2011 to 2016.

Browse 33 tables and in-depth TOC on Global GPS Market (2011 - 2016). Early buyers will receive 10% customization on reports.

GPS is an engine of economic growth and jobs, and has generated billions of dollars of economic activity. GPS application market is diversified into large number of segments. Even the automotive devices are heading towards maturity in North America and Europe; but it has a large scope in the APAC region; of which China and India will be taking the lead in the near future. The emerging markets like African and Arab countries will also seek the positive growth.

GPS helps in determination of position in three dimensions, timing, and velocity using precise radio navigation signals. In addition to creating efficiencies and reducing operating costs, the adoption of GPS technology has improved safety, emergency response times, and environmental quality, and delivered many other less-readily quantifiable benefits. The market for GPS is already a multi-billion dollar industry; future potential is significant.

Governments around the world are in the process of setting up the more satellites and integrate them with each other technologies, which in result are going to help in solving the problem of errors caused during the transfer of signals with any means like air, water, or any physical object. This will help the companies to grasp the untapped market and increase their productivity. The new line of products such as Tablets, GPS enabled smartphone, fitness devices will be a major driving factor in the growing regions.

Including hardware, software is also one of the major growing markets of GPS. Some of the technology such as augmented reality, touch less gestures, voice enable commands has increased the scope of the overall GPS market. Increased used of telematics in the automotive sector has also increased the scope of GPS software market.

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets is a global market research and consulting company based in the U.S. We publish strategically analyzed market research reports and serve as a business intelligence partner to Fortune 500 companies across the world.

MarketsandMarkets also provides multi-client reports, company profiles, databases, and custom research services. They cover thirteen industry verticals, including advanced materials, automotives and transportation, banking and financial services, biotechnology, chemicals, consumer goods, energy and power, food and beverages, industrial automation, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, semiconductor and electronics, and telecommunications and IT.

We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. To know more about us and our reports, please visit our website www.marketsandmarkets.com

A report from My Republica says that a researcher has collected a complete GIS database for the country Nepal.

Read:

A Nepali researcher with the University of Arizona in the United States claims to have developed the most exhaustive Geographic Information System (GIS) database for Nepal on his own.

Dr Tank Ojha -- a one-time officer with the Department of Mines and Geology, who, in his own words, was kicked out of the department by his seniors -- has incorporated soil maps, geomorphological maps, land use maps, digital topographical maps, geological maps and seismicity maps for the whole country.


GIS captures, stores, analyzes, and present all types of geographically referenced data to produce visual maps and meaningful outputs in order to support decision-making for planning and management of land use, natural resources, environment, transportation, urban facilities, and other administrative records, according to Nepal GIS Society.

"The Survey Department has topographical map, the Department of Mines and Geology the seismicity map, the National Planning Commission has also started to work on GIS database and some INGOs may have database of some pockets of the country but we don´t have comprehensive and organized GIS database of the whole country at any level," President of Nepal GIS Society Dr Krishna Poudel states.

"It is a vital tool for development which is not possible without spatial auditing and spatial learning," Dr Poudel asserts and opines that there have been no significant works on developing GIS database at a level which can be beneficial for the country despite millions of rupees spent on it by different organizations.

Dr Ojha, whose son Lujendra recently hogged headlines by becoming the first to spot signs of possible brine water flow during the warmer months on Mars, claims to have developed the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for the whole country.

A DEM represents the earth´s surface and includes all objects on it, ala Google Earth.

Dr Ojha´s database has yet to be tested for accuracy by any government agency as it is prepared by a person but he claims that it is accurate and instead insists the topographic database developed by Survey Department in GIS format has serious technical issues and cannot be used to solve real life problems.

Nepal GIS Society is planning to work with Dr Ojha, who spends nearly half a year doing research in Nepal, and they have recently submitted a big proposal to National Science Foundation of USA on natural hazard mitigation and sustainable agricultural issues for funding.

ESA opens its archives of Landsat images to the public.

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced that over 30 years of archived data from the US Landsat Earth-observing satellites are now available, free of charge. The majority of these products are unique to ESA’s archive and have never before been accessible anywhere else by the scientific user community.

In its archives, ESA holds around two million products that cover Europe and North Africa. The total amount of data available is worth about 450 terabytes – that’s equivalent to about 900 000 hours of audio recorded at CD quality.

ESA has been acquiring Landsat data at European stations since the 1970s. “The missions were the main data source for many years during the 1980s when Earth observation started at ESA’s ESRIN centre in Italy,” said Gunther Kohlhammer, Head of the Ground Segment Department.

ESA revised its Earth observation data policy in 2010 to adapt to the ‘Joint Principles for a Sentinel Data Policy’. This policy was approved by ESA Member States participating in the GMES Space Component Programme, and supports the concept of providing free and open access to data. By revising the data policy, ESA followed the same path as the US Geological Survey, who began making its Landsat data available free of charge in 2009.

The ESA archives opens access to all products from the Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper instruments aboard the Landsats. Data from the older Multispectral Scanner will be made available at a later stage.

To access the data, users can go to the Earth Observation Principal Investigator Portal to submit a brief project description and request data. ESA then assigns the project a quota based on the system’s current processing capacity. When the data are ready, the user will receive directions for online retrieval.

In order to allow improved and faster access, ESA will soon begin gradually to process all data into an online archive for users to access independently. Owing to the vast amount of data, this process will take about two years.

The Landsat series goes back to 1972, with Landsat-5 and -7 currently in orbit. Landsat-8 is due for launch by early 2013.

A screen capture of a map released on Nov. 11 by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology displaying accumulated radioactive cesium levels in eastern Japan.

The government has released soil radiation maps covering a much broader swath of Japan than previous releases, covering six new prefectures.

The newly included prefectures are Iwate, Yamanashi, Nagano, Shizuoka, Gifu, and Toyama.

Areas contaminated with 30,000 to 100,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium per square meter were found in the municipalities of Ichinoseki and Oshu in Iwate Prefecture, Saku, Karuizawa, and Sakuho in Nagano Prefecture, Tabayama in Yamanashi Prefecture, and elsewhere.

The measurements were taken by helicopter and combine contamination with both cesium-134 and -137, which have half-lives of two and 30 years, respectively.

SOURCE The Mainichi Daily News

All bus operators in Taiwan will be required to install a geographic information system (GIS) in all their vehicles by the end of 2012 following the passage of an amendment to transport industry regulations, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) announced Thursday.

The equipment will allow people waiting at bus stops to know exactly when their bus will arrive, an MOTC official said, adding that the government will pay all the installation expenses.

According to MOTC statistics, some of the buses operating in 14 counties and cities are already equipped with GIS.

SOURCE Focus Taiwan

Launch of latest technologies coincides with World GIS Day, which sees more than 80 countries celebrate how GeoSpatial technology is shaping the world.

The Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (the UPC) today unveiled two important new Geographical Information Systems (GIS) initiatives. The first, GeoPlanner Version 2, is an updated addition of the Council's hugely successful GeoPlanner technology while the second, GeoPad, comprises state-of-the-art planning software especially for use on the iPad. Both initiatives once again prove the UPC's commitment to employing the latest, ground-breaking technology to facilitate the urban planning process in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The launch of these latest technologies coincides with World GIS Day, the international forum that sees users of GIS technology around the world demonstrate how real-world applications are making a difference to society.

GIS technology is a highly valuable component in all of the UPC's business activities and, aligned with the guiding principles of Vision 2030, it is vital in helping the Council's planners define the shape of the Emirate. The clear goal of GIS is to inform the decision-making process by integrating data from an array of different sources and visualising the whole planning process. These latest GIS technologies and capabilities are being shared with the UPC team today, through a series of demonstrations and interactive workshops.

SOURCE Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council

The City Development Authority Prague has launched an English-language version of a number of online applications, from the Prague Land-Use Plan and relation regulations to what it is calling the first municipal Geoportal in the Czech Republic.

The apps aim to simplify digital map data utilization of the city of Prague for non-Czech speakers as well as to help orient international specialists with regards to land-use possibilities and restrictions in Prague.

The geoportal is the main gateway to information about the Czech capital’s geographical data and the development of the city’s geographical information system. It complies with the EU Directive on the administration of spatial data (INSPIRE). For the purposes of the INSPIRE directive, this geoportal is the official geoportal of the City of Prague as a mandated organization.

SOURCE

Vacancy summary:
The Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy of CEU announces a search for two faculty members - 1 Full-Time and 1 Part-Time (40/20 working hours/week).

Level: Junior
Position for: Faculty
Unit: Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy
Application deadline: Jan 31, 2012
Starting date: August 2012

Full Or Part Time: 1 Full-Time and 1 Part-Time (40/20 working hours/week)
The Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy of CEU announces a search for two faculty members.

The department comprises an international community of scholars focusing on various aspects of interdisciplinary environmental research. The department operates two masters programs: a one-year Msc in Environmental Sciences and Policy and a 2-year Erasmus Mundus Masters Course in Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management (MESPOM) operated jointly with Lund University (Sweden), the University of Manchester (UK) the University of the Aegean (Greece), the Monterey Institute of International Studies (US) and the University of Saskatchewan (Canada). The department also has a dynamic PhD program with 5-7 new students admitted every year. The department hosts 2 research centers and is involved in a large number of international research projects.

More information about the department and its programs can be found at http://www.ceu.hu/envsci and http://www.mespom.eu/.

Duties and responsibilities:
The new appointees will be expected to contribute to interdisciplinary environmental research, complementary and connecting to the research of other faculty members. Applicants will be expected to reside in Budapest and be closely involved in designing and delivering our MSc courses (including supervising masters theses), as well as teaching and supervision of doctoral students. Ability to teach in any of the areas of: environmental economics; sustainable agriculture and food security; energy security; forestry management; and/or water resources management would be an advantage.

Qualifications:
We are looking to make two appointments at the junior (Assistant Professor) level, one of which will be a part-time position. For both positions we will look for scholars of substantial academic promise, with a history of peer reviewed international publications, ability to conceive and undertake independent research with significant interdisciplinary elements, and a demonstrated proficiency in teaching.

Applicants for both positions must hold a PhD degree. Commitment to teaching and day-to-day work with students is absolutely essential. Previous professional experience is an advantage, as well as a track-record of working in multi-cultural environments.

Compensation:
Commensurate with experience. However, we offer a competitive salary, as well as a dynamic and international academic environment.

How to apply:
How to apply? Applicants need to submit:
• a full resume (including the names and contact details of 2 referees)
• a statement of purpose
• a recent sample publication Applicants should clearly indicate whether they wish to be considered for the full-time, the part-time or both positions.

Please send your complete application package to: advert@ceu.hu - including job code in subject line: 2011/057 or Central European University Human Resources – Code: 2011/057 Budapest, Nador utca 9 H-1051 Hungary CEU is an equal opportunity employer.advert@ceu.hu

The newsletter from november about Spatial Data Infrastructures in Latin America and the Caribbean (SDI-LAC) is now available in three languages (portuguese, spanish and english). Click here to download.

The newsletter SDI-LAC concentrates on aspects of the SDI and on SIG, remote sensing and the administration of data in Latin America and the Caribbean, related with SDI. It aims to create consciousness, to provide useful information for the invigoration of national initiatives of SDI and to support the synchronization of regional efforts.

The Pan-American Institute of Geography and History (IPGH), member entity of GSDI, and of the Permanent Committee for the Infrastructure of Spatial Data of America (CP-IDEA), promote the development of SDI in the area. The newsletter is prepared to GSDI by IPGH.

SDI-LAC in Portuguese

The Portuguese version of the SDI-LAC Newsletter was first published between November, 2007 and February, 2009, and now is being published again comprehending the translation of the August, September, October and November/2011 issues, thanks to a group of volunteers located in several states of Brazil, in the United States and Canada. Beggining in this issue, Eduardo Freitas, MundoGEO Editor, is now SDI-LAC Newsletter correspondent member for Brazil.

Highlights of this edition:

- GSDI 13 Call for Abstracts and Papers;
- 3rd GEOSS in the Americas Symposium;
- Caribbean Satellite Disaster Pilot;
- Improved Global Topographic Map;
- Working Days of the Spatial Data Infrastructure in Argentina;
- INDE Web Portal will Enable Access to Information About PPA in Brazil;
- SDI of the State of Bahia;
- Plenary Meeting about the Geospatial Future of Colombia;
- IBGE Releases Brazilian Bank of Geographic Names;
- Training and Funding Opportunities;
- Employment Opportunities;
- Conferences and Events

International Geospatial Society

At its recent meeting, the GSDI Board of Directors passed a motion that allows individuals in low and very low income nations to join the International Geospatial Society (IGS) by providing specific information of value to the global community, in lieu of annual cash dues. To join, simply add your professional profile to the growing interconnected network of geospatial specialists across the globe. Benefits of membership in IGS are listed at http://www.igeoss.org/benefits.

IGS is a global community of individual specialists and professionals with geospatial, IDE, GIS, mobile technology, mapping and related interests. The goal of the organization is to engage and enhance communications internationally among individuals who are actively involved in promoting, developing, or advancing geospatial and affiliated concepts.

Assisting the free access to the information on Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) to the users, the Association for the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) also has been making newsletters on SDI, available in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean (SDI-LAC), and in Asia and Pacific (SDI-AP).

About MundoGEO

MundoGEO, which promotes MundoGEO#Connect, has worked on the production of contents for printed and online media, fairs, seminars, courses and webinars on the geo-information area since 1998. It publishes two important magazines addressed to the sector: InfoGEO, on satellite images and Systems of Geographical Information (GIS); and InfoGNSS, which focus on surveying and cartography. In this area the company counts on MundoGEO Portal, which is updated daily and which provides content in Portuguese, Spanish and English, being the leader of visits in Latin America. Having content partnership with UOL, it works on the geo-location area along with InfoGPS Portal that, along with MundoGEO Portal, has more than 50 thousand registered professionals and more than 10 thousand followers in the social nets. Concerning the sustainability area, it maintains Atitude Sustentável (Maintainable Attitude)Portal, also in partnership with UOL.

Contact:

Viviane Prestes
Assessoria de Imprensa
Email Contact
+ 55 41 3338 7789
skype: jornalismo.mundogeo

A research by Hyun-Joo Oh, No-Wook Park, Sung-Soon Lee & Saro, published recently in the International Journal of Remote Sensing, extracted landslide-related factors from remote-sensing data, such as Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) satellite imagery, and examined their applicability to landslide susceptibility near Boun, Korea, using a geographic information system (GIS).

Landslide occurrence locations in the Boun area identified from aerial photograph interpretation and field surveying were formed into a GIS database. Various influencing factors were extracted from ASTER imagery. These were aspect, slope, curvature, lineament proximity and land-cover. The relationship of slide events and associated factors was analysed for landslide susceptibility assessment using the probability–frequency ratio and statistics-logistic regression models. The ratio and coefficient from the relationship was then summed up to calculate an LSI, and from this a susceptibility map was made and verified by calculating the correlation observed between occurrence locations and the results. In verification, the frequency ratio model showed 84.78% accuracy and the logistic regression model showed 84.20% accuracy. This suggests that the accuracy of the resultant landslide susceptibility map using the ASTER DEM is reasonably good with observed accuracy measured to 25.77 m RMSE for the studied area. The ASTER imagery can therefore be used in landslide susceptibility mapping. In particular, the frequency ratio model can be quickly and easily applied to the areas with little available map data, with a very low cost. Using the ASTER DEM, frequency ratio and logistic regression models need further testing for landslide susceptibility accuracy based on the RMSE of ASTER DEM studies in the various physiographic areas.

There are many high-resolution satellite images currently available, and these can be used to detect the locations of landslides. Although aerial photographs were used here for detecting landslide, the 15 m resolution ASTER images could be used for that, and considering the frequency of ASTER imagery allows a comparison to be made before and after an event. An image resolution of 15 m can distinguish large-scale landslides, and this could be improved by the 1 m resolution images now commercially available.

Landslide susceptibility maps are of great help to planners and engineers in their choosing of areas for further detail survey and of locations suitable for development. Our results provide basic data to assist slope management and land use planning in the Boun area. The methods used in the study are valid for generalized planning and assessment purposes, although they may be less useful at the site-specific scale where local geological and geographic heterogeneities may prevail. For the models to be more generally applied, more landslide data are needed and more case studies conducted.

Read more from the source:
Hyun-Joo Oha, No-Wook Parkb, Sung-Soon Leec & Saro. 2011. Extraction of landslide-related factors from ASTER imagery and its application to landslide susceptibility mapping, International Journal of Remote Sensing, Volume 33, Issue 10. DOI:10.1080/01431161.2010.545084

The research was supported by the Basic Research Project of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Korea.

Save the date, 2-4 May 2012! The American Polar Society's 75th Anniversary Symposium, "The Polar Regions in the 21st Century," at The Explorers and Union Clubs in New York City.

Over one hundred years ago, the world turned its attention to the Polar Regions, wondering what was there. Today, the world is concerned about the environmental changes that are occurring in those same locations. Global economic affiliations and geopolitics in the 21st Century will be directly affected and perhaps driven by the climate and sea-ice changes tracked by contemporary polar science.

For seventy-five years, the American Polar Society has both documented and communicated polar activities to the interested world. The 2012 75th Anniversary Meeting and Symposium of the American Polar Society will bring together the current leaders in science, government, commerce, and diplomacy for a state-of-the-art forecast of the next seventy-five years in a world influenced more than ever before by the destiny of the Arctic and Antarctic.

Details to follow in December (see www.americanpolarsociety.org) and January 2012"Polar Times."

Celebrate GIS Day on November 16, 2011. Many of the questions we have about the world requires answering the question “where.” Knowing where something is leads to a better understanding of how its location influences its characteristics and relationships with other objects or beings in the environment. This type of analysis, known as geographic analysis, is enabled by geographic information system or GIS technology. GIS allows people to integrate numerous information and analyze it spatially on digital maps, helping them uncover new patterns and valuable insights for effectively addressing the world's economic, social, political and environmental problems. On Wednesday, November 16, 2011, participate in numerous events being held across Canada in celebration of GIS Day.

The University of Waterloo in Ontario is one of the first Canadian universities to use GIS throughout its organization. The University uses ESRI's GIS solution in teaching geography and geomatics, as well as other programs that focus on developing highly in-demand technology skills. It also uses GIS to improve school administration and student recruiting. It is one of only three Canadian universities that have been recognized as an ESRI Development Centre for providing exemplary programs that educate students in designing and developing applications using GIS. The University has developed an application called RPyGeo that integrates ESRI geoprocessing tools with the free R statistical computing software, allowing users to leverage geographic data in statistical analysis without the need for programming.

“GIS allows us to intersect various data and apply new perspectives to problems,” says Scott MacFarlane, GIS Specialist, University of Waterloo. “It's a valuable technology for improving learning and promoting innovation among our students. Using GIS, they're able to create applications that have real-world impact. It provides them with important skills that they can apply to a wide spectrum of challenges and contribute to a more sustainable society.”

Students at the University leverage GIS to develop innovative prototype applications for planning, environmental management and other concerns. They also use the technology to support research on a broad range of issues including how to make municipal transit more efficient; how to use GIS for business development; determine the health effects of living near wind turbines; monitor the spread and impact of invasive insect species; monitor the effects of marine oil spills; and tracking climate change.

This year, the University will hold a GIS Day open house to showcase its various GIS applications, including a new mobile campus map application that helps students and visitors to easily navigate the university and obtain better access to information and services.

In addition to the University of Waterloo, many other organizations across Canada are hosting GIS Day events. To find an event near you, visit esricanada.com/GISDay.

Esri is now accepting applications for its 2012 GIS Grants for 4-H Program. All 4-H Clubs in the United States, as well as 4-H and Operation Military Kids clubs on American military bases around the world are eligible. Now in its ninth year, the program is designed to help expand the club's twenty-first century mandate for science, engineering, and technology activities.

The grant levels include Getting Started with GIS, ArcGIS Youth Club, and ArcGIS Educator programs. Each grant level has its own eligibility criteria and required activities. Grant recipients receive GIS software, data, and curriculum materials. The grants help introduce 4-H youth to GIS technology, explore careers that use the technology, and conduct a local service project using GIS.

"The grant program has grown steadily as 4-H expands its focus to incorporate GIS technology into more of its activities," says Esther Worker, who manages youth group programs for Esri. "It provides 4-H Club members with access to professional GIS technology and the opportunity to apply that technology to local community service projects."

Through the increased use of GIS technology, 4-H youth across the United States are participating in GIS-related projects of importance to them. Club members in Iowa, Minnesota, and Kansas are partnering with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on local projects, while a club in Idaho is working with local emergency management officials to assist with an emergency preparedness plan.

The application period for the 2012 Esri GIS Grants for 4-H is October 1 to December 1, 2011. Specific grant guidelines and the related application links can be found at esri.com/4-H.

ADC WorldMap, a leader in providing comprehensive, current and seamless geographic digital data for the whole Earth, is pleased to announce the release of ADC WorldMap Digital Atlas version 6.1. Along with current country and first level boundaries for the entire world, this upgrade features second level boundaries for more than 31% of countries worldwide. The new product also introduces a points of interest (POI) layer, updated built-up areas, and actual populations for more than 37% of cities around the world.

Barb Wenninger, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for ADC WorldMap says enhancements to the ADC WorldMap product are based on user input. “Our goal is to be a partner with our customers,” Wenninger says. “We make every effort to listen to and solicit feedback when considering product upgrades so that we can deliver a robust worldwide dataset that will ultimately help our customers become even more successful.”

ADC WorldMap Digital Atlas has proven to be an essential tool for mapping applications in a variety of industries including aviation, weather, government, logistics management, cloud-based, fleet management and transportation, communication, and various business sectors.

“The depth and breadth of applications using ADC WorldMap Digital Atlas has increased exponentially,” said Jim Reid, President of ADC WorldMap. “To that end, we have seen a significant demand for expanded administrative boundaries, along with location-centric information tied to tourist attractions and metropolitan areas,” Reid said.

ADC WorldMap Digital Atlas version 6.1 offers thirty-five layers and tables. The data is made available in Esri, MapInfo and Oracle Spatial formats.

About ADC WorldMap:
ADC WorldMap is a division of American Digital Cartography, Inc. (ADCi). From the company’s headquarters in Appleton, Wisconsin, USA, ADCi has specialized in providing digital mapping products and services since 1988. ADC WorldMap is the leader in digital atlas products and recognized by users throughout the world for high-quality, ease-of-use, quick drawing display, and increasing user productivity. For more information about ADC WorldMap Digital Atlas, visit www.adcworldmap.com or call 920.733.6678.

NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of maps, traffic and location data enabling navigation, location-based services and mobile advertising around the world, has been selected by Ford Motor Company to be their exclusive map supplier for the SYNC MyFord Touch. The agreement positions NAVTEQ as the map data provider for the SYNC with MyFord Touch SD-card based navigation system in North America, South America, Middle East, Russia and Europe. NAVTEQ maps powers more than 24 million in-vehicle navigation systems worldwide.

MyFord Touch featuring NAVTEQ map data is scheduled to launch on multiple 2013 Ford and Lincoln vehicles in North America early next year with expanded features such as NAVTEQ Voice, Speed Limit information, Enhanced Junction View Content, 3D Landmarks, and NAVTEQ Traffic Patterns™. The North American launch will be followed by the systems launch in South America, Europe, Russia and the Middle East. The available navigation system will also be equipped with some of NAVTEQ's state of the art content specific to each respective region.

The NAVTEQ map is collected and built using a comprehensive step-by-step process. At every stage, there is a central focus on creating accurate and precise data. NAVTEQ's primary goal throughout the collection process is to capture data as it exists in the real world. Equipped with specialized tools, NAVTEQ's Digital Mapping Operations team collects and verifies street geometry and up to 260 attributes such as one-way streets, turning lanes, speed limits and information pertaining to points-of-interest.

"NAVTEQ's comprehensive automotive grade quality and the consistency of our global specification enables consumers to get the best route through their MyFord Touch navigation system," said Jeff Mize, Senior Vice President, Sales & Business Development, NAVTEQ. "Providing superior location data combined with exceptional support is an invaluable competitive advantage we provide to our customers."

In order to maintain map data of the highest automotive quality grade, NAVTEQ's mission is to keep up with changes in the real world. NAVTEQ has proven that driving the roads is a key differentiator that provides the highest quality database. NAVTEQ's geographic analysts drive millions of miles annually in order to capture and validate the road network and location-based content as it exists in the real world. Operating from 200 offices in 54 countries throughout the world, NAVTEQ's team of geographic analysts has the local knowledge needed to provide superior accuracy of our maps. Because the road network and content are constantly changing, local presence is critical to change detection and verification—two essential factors in maintaining NAVTEQ's stringent automotive grade quality standards.

About NAVTEQ
NAVTEQ is the leading global provider of location content in the form of maps, traffic and places data that enables navigation, location-based services and mobile advertising around the world. NAVTEQ supplies precise, comprehensive location content to power automotive navigation systems, portable and wireless devices, Internet-based mapping applications and government and business solutions. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has approximately 5,800 employees located in 200 offices in 54 countries.

For more information on NAVTEQ, please visit http://corporate.navteq.com .

Watch: 3D mapping of the Amazon rainforest application. This animation from Peru's western Amazon shows the power of the Carnegie Airborne Observatory's imaging spectrometer which detects chemical and optical signals in the forest. The colors reflect characteristics ranging from water content in leaves to phenols. Canopies in blue contain high nitrogen concentrations; in purple, high nitrogen, water, and cellulose content; and in red, high chlorophyll and other photosynthetic pigments. This technology can be used to identify individual tree species from an altitude of 2000 meters.



Another video: Interview with Greg Asner of the Carnegie Institution

Check out these two new papers on forest carbon mapping with airborne LiDAR.

- Joseph Mascaro, Matteo Detto, Gregory P. Asner, Helene C. Muller-Landau. Evaluating uncertainty in mapping forest carbon with airborne LiDAR. Remote Sensing of Environment (2011), doi:10.1016/j.rse.2011.07.019

Abstract
Airborne LiDAR is increasingly used to map carbon stocks in tropical forests, but our understanding of mapping errors is constrained by the spatial resolution (i.e., plot size) used to calibrate LiDAR with field data (typically 0.1–0.36 ha). Reported LiDAR errors range from 17 to 40 Mg C ha− 1, but should be lower at coarser resolutions because relative errors are expected to scale with (plot area)–1/2. We tested this prediction empirically using a 50-ha plot with mapped trees, allowing an assessment of LiDAR prediction errors at multiple spatial resolutions. We found that errors scaled approximately as expected, declining by 38% (compared to 40% predicted from theory) from 0.36- to 1-ha resolution. We further reduced errors at all spatial resolutions by accounting for tree crowns that are bisected by plot edges (not typically done in forestry), and collectively show that airborne LiDAR can map carbon stocks with 10% error at 1-ha resolution — a level comparable to the use of field plots alone.

- Gregory P. Asner, Joseph Mascaro, Helene C. Muller-Landau, Ghislain Vieilledent, Romuald Vaudry, Maminiaina Rasamoelina, Jefferson S. Hall, Michiel van Breugel (2011). A universal airborne LiDAR approach for tropical forest carbon mapping. Oecologia DOI 10.1007/s00442-011-2165-z

Abstract
Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is fast turning the corner from demonstration technology to a key tool for assessing carbon stocks in tropical forests. With its ability to penetrate tropical forest canopies and detect three-dimensional forest structure, LiDAR may prove to be a major component of international strategies to measure and account for carbon emissions from and uptake by tropical forests. To date, however, basic ecological information such as height–diameter allometry and stand-level wood density have not been mechanistically incorporated into methods for mapping forest carbon at regional and global scales. A better incorporation of these structural patterns in forests may reduce the considerable time needed to calibrate airborne data with ground-based forest inventory plots, which presently necessitate exhaustive measurements of tree diameters and heights, as well as tree identifications for wood density estimation. Here, we develop a new approach that can facilitate rapid LiDAR calibration with minimal field data. Throughout four tropical regions (Panama, Peru, Madagascar, and Hawaii), we were able to predict aboveground carbon density estimated in field inventory plots using a single universal LiDAR model (r 2 = 0.80, RMSE = 27.6 Mg C ha−1). This model is comparable in predictive power to locally calibrated models, but relies on limited inputs of basal area and wood density information for a given region, rather than on traditional plot inventories. With this approach, we propose to radically decrease the time required to calibrate airborne LiDAR data and thus increase the output of high-resolution carbon maps, supporting tropical forest conservation and climate mitigation policy. Download free PDF.

The Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre (COSMC) launched a new version of its Geoportal system using Intergraph’s GeoMedia SDI suite. By doing so, the Office becomes one of the first national mapping agencies to fulfill its obligations arising from the INSPIRE Directive of European Parliament.

Through Geoportal, COSMC now publishes 165,000 metadata records describing its spatial datasets and services and returns search results in under one second. Most of the Geoportal website text content is generated from information held in the metadata records. The metadata records are updated daily via an Electronic Transformation and Loading (ETL) tool, which ensures the portal reflects updates made across 10 contributing production systems within COSMC. For example, daily updates to digital cadastral map coverage reflect changes in the Czech Republic’s real estate cadastre information system.

In addition, Geoportal provides INSPIRE-compliant search and view web services, including the EuroGeonames service. Geoportal tools also enable the purchase and licensing of geodata and services; this e-commerce facility is the exclusive interface by which the general public and public administration authorities can order such products.

Ing. Danuše Svobodová, Deputy Director of Land Surveying Office said, “During its six years of operation, COSMC’s Geoportal has evolved through many changes; from its origins as the Land Surveying Office’s primary e-commerce solution for map production, it has developed into a complex solution providing data and services from across the whole department of Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre (COSMC). The solution team, consisting of representatives from Intergraph, the Land Surveying Office and the Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre, was able to satisfy the requirements of the department, its users, and the INSPIRE directive as well. Many applications of the Geoportal have been truly innovative and implemented as first-of-their-kind in the Czech Republic. The COSMC Geoportal became an inspiration for other geoportals in the Czech Republic and foreign countries alike. Maintenance of the COSMC Geoportal represents a significant focus for the Land Surveying Office“.

“Intergraph is delighted to have helped COSMC establish its leading position within Europe’s SDI community” said Robert Widz, Intergraph EMEA Director for Government. “The insight gained through our work with European research programmes, INSPIRE Working Groups and successful implementations of regional, national and international SDI enabled us to develop our GeoMedia SDI product suite whose comprehensive capabilities reduce implementation risk and schedule. Customers will see these best-in-class offerings continue to advance, for example through integration of GeoMedia SDI capabilities with those of ERDAS APOLLO”.

Just some of the capabilities the Czech Geoportal delivers today are: a public Web portal to search and view metadata and map data; a fully populated catalogue of 165,000 validated metadata records; INSPIRE-compliant search and view services; a data download service for EuroGeonames; a special register for quick metadata search and a freely accessible metadata editor; and, an e-commerce including an interface to select and download exported data.

EuroGeographics’ members have given their approval to its new status as an international not-for-profit organisation (INPO) under Belgian Law at the 2011 General Assembly.

The vote to officially wind up the French Association and adopt the new status ensures a solid foundation for future activities that will benefit policy and decision makers, data users and members alike.

“We are delighted that our members have endorsed this change,” says EuroGeographics’ Secretary General and Executive Director, Dave Lovell. “We now represent 56 national mapping, land registry and cadastral agencies from 45 countries right across Europe, consolidating our position as the European voice for geographic information.

“Our structure and aim remain to achieve interoperability of members’ national land and geographic data to provide an information asset supporting Europe’s goal of becoming the most competitive and sustainable economy in the world. The extensive reach and expertise of our membership is crucial in delivering the European Location Framework to achieve this.”

The 2011 General Assembly, which was held in Belfast from 17 to 19 October and focused on quality information for the digital agenda, was hosted by Land and Property Services Northern Ireland. It was attended by 130 delegates drawn from members of EuroGeographics, its strategic partners and key players in the GI industry. In addition the Association was delighted to welcome delegates from the Republic of Azerbaijan State Committee on Property Issues who expressed a wish to become a member. Keynote speakers included representatives from the European Commission, Eurostat, GMES Bureau and EuroSDR.

The 2011 General Assembly appointed six new Management Board members and elected Ingrid Vanden Berghe, Director General, National Geographic Institute, Belgium as President.

Ingrid Vanden Berghe told delegates that users require a trustworthy source of quality assured information, with national mapping, land registry, cadastral and other government agencies having a key part to play in providing this reference data.

Mrs Vanden Berghe said: “Linking data to a common, maintained European Location Framework, built upon definitive, reliable public sector reference data, will bring a host of benefits for a wide range of users.”

Commenting on her appointment as President of EuroGeographics, Ingrid added: “It is a great privilege to represent so many highly-skilled and knowledgeable GI professionals who are committed to ensuring that reliable, high quality geospatial information for Europe is readily available and accessible to users.

“I look forward to meeting as many of them as possible in the coming year as we work together to deliver the definitive location framework for Europe.”

For further information please contact EuroGeographics’ Secretary General and Executive Director, Dave Lovell, on +32 2 888 71 93, +32 848 663 345 (mobile), email: dave.lovell@eurogeographics.org; Patricia Sokacova, EuroGeographics‘ Membership and Communication Manager on +421 903 056 418/+421 948 388 908, email: patricia.sokacova@eurogeographics.org; or Rhian French on +44 1264 338375, +447892 698 350 (mobile), email: press@eurogeographics.org.

The White House has released an interactive map on the American Jobs Act. The interactive state-by-state map will show how the American Jobs Act will affect every state, including how many teaching jobs it will create, how much money will be invested in infrastructure projects, and the number of unemployed workers who will be connected with jobs.

Access the American Jobs Act Interactive Map here.