August 2009 eNews
Highlights include: WALIS International Forum - Preliminary Program Now Available and Early Bird Registration Extended!; Satellites to Become Money Spinners as Australian Spatial Industry Wins Funding; Six Trails Reveal WA's Geological History; Fellow in Flight; GPS Alerts Drivers to Crashes and Jams; Australian Geography Quizzes; Australian Wine Geographic Indicators; Longer Lasting GPS; GeoMentor Program; Online Maps 'Wiping Out History'; and 'Planet Action - Call for Projects.
What’s Happening in the WALIS Community?
WALIS International Forum – Preliminary Program Now Available and Early Bird Registration Extended!
WALIS International Forum Sponsorship
Satellites to Become Money Spinners as Australian Spatial Industry Wins Funding
WALIS Stakeholders in the News
OZRI / APUC 2010 Call for Papers Now Open
Six Trails Reveal WA’s Geological History
Half a Century of Research on WA’s Spectacular Devonian Reef Revealed
Australian Angle
Westernport Water Completes an Open Spatial GIS Implementation
AAMHatch Celebrates the First Six Months of GeoEye-1 Captures
Tracking System Collars Numbats
Blue Marble Expands Reseller Network in Australia and Asia
The Victorian Spatial Council’s Latest Edition of Landmark Online Released
Wellington Goes 3D with AAMHatch
ERDAS Software Fulfills Western Australia Department of Planning Challenge
GPS Alerts Drivers to Crashes and Jams
Geoimage Expands Service Offerings
Help Improve LINZ's Online Geodetic Services
New Ortho Imagery of Canberra and Adelaide: Now Available
GIS Mapping in Australia Shows How Transit Reduces Auto Dependence
GIs and Australian Aboriginal Art
Australian Wine Geographic Indications
New Licence Improves Access to Environmental Data
Spatial Information Adds Hundreds of Millions to New Zealand’s Economy
News from Around the Globe
GIS to Understand Dance, and Vice Versa
Streamline Address Creation, Validation and Maintenance with Farragut Address One
Zoom Photo Navigation in Street View
We Need Publishing Standards for Datasets and Data Tables
GIS Industry Thought Leaders Pull Up Chairs to Spatial Roundtable
GIS Says Over 1,000 Streets on List for Possible Name Changes
Map Shower Curtain – One for the GIS Nerds?
Does Closing Roads Cut Delays?
Altinum Revealed... and in Google Earth
GPS Drawings - Digital Mark Making with Satellite Navigation Technology
Cities Revealed Helps Predict Coastal Evolution
Stottler Henke Announces New Web Service that Provides Error-Free Geotagging of Text
Google Unveils New 'Caffeine' Search Engine
Online Maps 'Wiping Out History'
Planet Action – Call for Projects
Beta WMS Wrapper Service for Bing Maps
Upcoming Events
Details of events in Australia and around the world
Interesting Website of the Month
What’s Happening in the WALIS Community?
WALIS International Forum – Preliminary Program Now Available and Early Bird Registration Extended!
The preliminary program for WALIS International Forum is now available! This year’s Forum continues with its high standard of keynote speakers, interesting workshops and showcasing of the latest trends and projects. Details of the program are available at http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/forum/program
In other good news, the deadline for Early Bird registration has been extended to Friday, 18 September 2009. To register for Forum, go to http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/forum/registration
WALIS International Forum Sponsorship
The WALIS Forum Organising Committee would like to acknowledge the following organisations, who have committed their support for Forum 2009:
Advanced Spatial Technologies; Amristar/ iDelve; Bentley Systems; Digital Mapping Solutions; ERDAS; ESRI Australia; Fugro; GAIA Resources; Lagen Spatial; NGIS; Pitney Bowes; PSMA; SimUrban; Whelans; Coordinates and Position Magazine.
If you would like to be involved in WALIS International Forum 2009, there are still sponsorship opportunities available (including exhibition booths). Please visit http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/forum/sponsors_and_exhibitors for details.
Satellites to Become Money Spinners as Australian Spatial Industry Wins Funding
The Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information's (CRC-SI) rebid has been successful!
Key Australian industries will gain access to new data, technologies and services through the funding of a major research program in satellite positioning and remote sensing technologies, announced by Senator Kim Carr today.
With a total budget of $180 million, the new Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI-2) involves over 100 organisations including from government and the private sector coming together with universities in an eight-year joint venture.
The spatial information industry currently contributes an estimated $12.6 billion to national GDP. Direct outcomes from the CRCSI-2 are expected to deliver a further $305 million to the nation if emerging developments can be leveraged for Australian industry.
Read the full press release here.
It is with much sadness that the WALIS Marine group is saying goodbye to Ron Vincent from Landgate, Geographic Services.
Ron has made the decision to focus his skills and efforts on domestic projects. The WALIS Marine Group would like to say thank you to Ron for his valued contribution and enthusiastic leadership as Chairman for the WALIS Marine Group.
For WMG related activities visit http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/projects/WALIS_Marine_Group/index.html or contact Jenny Smith / (08) 9273 7093.
The Data Group will next meet on 7 September 2009.
As well as the usual project updates, Landgate will be displaying a new online product. They will also be plenty of time to discuss metadata, data, map viewers and other items of interest.
If you would like to attend or for further information go to http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/projects/data-and-metadata-group or contact Jade George at jade.george@walis.wa.gov.au or on 9273 7039.
WALIS Stakeholders in the News
OZRI/ APUC 2010 Call for Papers Now Open
Abstracts are now being accepted for OZRI 2010, ESRI Australia’s 24th national client conference.
2010 sees OZRI return to its traditional national format, and will also incorporate the ESRI Asia Pacific user conference. ESRI president and founder Jack Dangermond is confirmed as keynote speaker for the event. The conference is being held on the Gold Coast on 3-5 March 2010.
Web link to full press release: http://www.esriaustralia.com.au/esri/NewsEvents/OZRI_2010_Call_for_Papers_Australia.pdf
Six Trails Reveal WA's Geological History
Tourists can now discover what Western Australia was like more than 3500 million years ago with the help of a new self-drive traveller’s guide to the Pilbara region.
The newly released publication, Discovery Trails to Early Earth, showcases some of the planets best preserved and oldest rocks along six discovery trails which cross the east Pilbara and are centred on Marble Bar.
Web link to full article: http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/7105_8431.aspx
Half a Century of Research on WA's Spectacular Devonian Reef Revealed
A publication featuring more than 50 years of research and mapping of one of the world’s best preserved ancient barrier reef systems has been launched.
Devonian reef complexes of the Canning Basin, Western Australia provides an insight into a spectacular belt of rugged limestone ranges that extend for 350 kilometres along the northern edge of the State’s Canning Basin, from near Derby to the east of Fitzroy Crossing.
The publication has been created by three authors from the Geological Survey of Western Australia, a division of the Department of Mines and Petroleum.
Web link to full article: http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/7105_8401.aspx
Australian Angle
Westernport Water Completes an Open Spatial GIS Implementation
Westernport Water and Open Spatial Australia have announced the completion of a six (6) month project that automates the geographic management of critical asset information.
Westernport Water provides water, wastewater and gas services to approx 15,600 properties and a population that rises to approx 70,000 in holiday periods on Phillip Island and an area of the mainland from The Gurdies to Archies Creek in the state of Victoria.
The key factors in the selection process were the capability of the vendor, the ease of use of the system, intimate integration with business systems and affordability.
Web link to full media release: http://www.openspatial.com.au/index.php?p=news-detail&fid=80
AAMHatch Celebrates the First Six Months of GeoEye-1 Captures
Vast amounts of recent archive 0.5m GeoEye-1 imagery (low cloud or cloud-free) are now available over Australia and the Oceania region.
With the GeoEye-1 archive imagery available at 50% discount once data has been in archive for three months, this valuable and recent data will prove popular. In addition to the high resolution, clients can enjoy the delivery of products usually within two weeks from order placement.
AAMHatch is the exclusive partner of GeoEye in the Oceania region and has been supplying 0.8m satellite imagery from the IKONOS satellite for several years. GeoEye-1 is the new sister satellite to IKONOS, and commenced commercial imagery capture in February 2009.
Web link to full article: http://www.aamhatch.com/news.cfm?itemId=BEFF4B9A-19B9-EFA7-D690FDC9F8031A55
Tracking System Collars Numbats
A joint effort by the Department of Environment and Conservation, the Perth Zoo, Australian Wildlife Conservancy and the community group Project Numbat to save the State’s mammal emblem, the numbat from extinction has been boosted with the launch of a radio-tracking project.
Minister for Environment, Donna Faragher, said the funding had provided radio-collars for Project Numbat and enabled two radio-tracking flights over Cocanarup Timber Reserve near Ravensthorpe.
Web link to full article: http://wa.psnews.com.au/Page_WApsn0036.html
Source: PSnews
Blue Marble Expands Reseller Network in Australia and Asia
Blue Marble Geographics is extending their reseller network in Australia and Asia. C1 Group, out of Australia, Axis Commerce located in Selangor, Malaysia and Leica Geosystems Hong Kong join the Blue Marble international network of partners and resellers. Blue Marble’s geospatial data manipulation and conversion solutions are used worldwide by thousands of GIS analysts at software companies, universities, oil and gas companies, civil engineering, surveying, technology, enterprise GIS groups, government and military organisations.
Web link to full article: http://www.bluemarblegeo.com/about_us/press.php?id=183
The Victorian Spatial Council's Latest Edition of Landmark Online Released
The August edition of Landmark Online is now available.
Read about how Key group urges no-cost, open-access to govt data - Parliamentary committee urges new policy; 2011 target for new Oz-NZ spatial marketplace - Spatial data and services will be available to all; and Vic councils address a $20m cleanup bill - Our LGAs face major costs in improving their location data, as well as a roundup of industry news.
Wellington Goes 3D with AAMHatch
Wellington City Council has purchased a fully textured 3D city model from AAMHatch.
AAMHatch’s 3D city models and multi angle oblique imagery are the new benchmark for local authorities and city management.
The fully textured 3D city model of Wellington covers approximately 10 sqkm of the CBD and satellite commercial areas, and the Pictometry oblique aerial imagery covers 140 sqkm of urban and rural environs of the local government area.
Web link to full press release: http://www.aamhatch.com/news.cfm?itemId=C9981136-19B9-EFA7-D6A655CF90DE640C
ERDAS Software Fulfills Western Australia Department of Planning Challenge
Recently, Western Australia’s Department of Planning hosted the Great Web Map Viewer Showdown at the SSSI conference.
This challenge simulated an operational scenario with base-to-station data transfers happening live; simultaneously competing for data service access and wireless bandwidth.
For individuals and organisations utilising geospatial information, there is a growing need to understand how map viewers on the market compare to one another. In Western Australia, the number of web-based viewers, wireless broadband services available, and the availability of SLIP (Western Australia’s Shared Land Information Platform) drive this heightened interest.
For this event, Western Australia’s Department of Planning invited ten leading providers of web map technology to participate in the challenge. While nine out of the ten invited vendors declined, ERDAS readily accepted the challenge, successfully fulfilling all the requirements outlined.
Web link to full article: http://www.erdas.com/Company/News/NewsReleases/tabid/96/currentid/3058/objectid/3058/default.aspx
Internationally renowned researcher Peter Teunissen has come to Curtin University of Technology as Professor of Geodesy for five years, with an aim to enhance Australia’s capability in the rapidly emerging fields of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS).
As one of 14 eminent scientists to be awarded a prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Federation Fellowship at Curtin, Teunissen is well qualified to make a major contribution to this cutting-edge technology.
The ARC Fellowship has enabled Teunissen to bring his advanced knowledge of GPS and GNSS to Australia, and to further his work and development in this area.
Source:
Curtin University of Technology. Story: Sue
Emmett
(Extract of article that originally appears in cite,
the magazine of Curtin University of Technology, Issue 14, Winter 2009)
GPS Alerts Drivers to Crashes and Jams
Drivers using GPS navigation systems can be alerted to accidents and traffic jams through a service developed by AA subsidiary GeoSmart.
Navman has included the real-time traffic update service in its latest range of devices, while rival manufacturer TomTom says it is in talks with GeoSmart.
The service at present is only available in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch gives people who know their way around town a reason to buy GPS systems. Traffic jams and incidents have to be "reasonably serious" for them to be reported to drivers.
Web link to full article: http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/2757114/GPS-alerts-drivers-to-crashes-and-jams
Source: stuff.co.nz
Geoimage Expands Service Offerings
Geoimage has recently expanded its capabilities to offer a full range of geospatial services in addition to its existing satellite imagery services.
Geoimage is working collaboratively with other organisations to offer discipline-specific services that have natural synergies with geospatial and satellite imagery applications. As a vendor-independent provider, the company is reportedly able to identify the most appropriate technology to deliver results and to assist in the packaging and ongoing use of the outcomes by the client.
Web link to full article: http://www.gpsworld.com/gis/earth-imaging-and-remote-sensing/news/geoimage-expands-service-offerings-8748
Source: GPS World
Help Improve LINZ's Online Geodetic Services
Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is looking at ways to improve the geodetic services they provide online.
To help with this, LINZ has created a quick questionnaire to give anyone who uses these services an opportunity to say why they use them, what they think of them, and how they could be improved.
The questionnaire only takes a couple of minutes, so if you do use these services please take part.
Web link to full article: http://www.geospatial.govt.nz/help-improve-linz-s-online-geodetic-services/
Source: New Zealand Geospatial Strategy
New Ortho Imagery of Canberra and Adelaide: Now Available
Due to the increasing demand for high resolution imagery, AAMHatch has captured and generated stunning imagery over Canberra and Adelaide.
The Canberra imagery was captured using the latest generation large format, digital cameras. The Adelaide imagery was generated from our innovative Pictometry cameras.
Adelaide and the Mount Lofty region, an area of 1,800 square kilometres, were captured at 12.5cm resolution. InCanberra, 700 square kilometres was captured at 10cm resolution making it possible to view details such as building features and road markings.
Web link to full article: http://www.aamhatch.com/news.cfm?itemId=02010A36-19B9-EFA7-D610A015CCD874FA
From the website: G'day, mate. Australia has some of the most stunning natural beauty found anywhere in the world. Find quizzes on 'Downunder' here. You might catch a glimspe of the Ayers Rock, Great Barrier Reef, or Lake Eyre along the way!
For quizzes on specific states and territories, see the subcategories.
Link to website: http://www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/geography/australia.html
GIS Mapping in Australia Shows How Transit Reduces Auto Dependence
GIS mapping in Melbourne, Australia, on patterns of car ownership shows that transit works: the closer one is to a rail transit line, the less need there is for a car. The farther away, the greater the need for multiple cars.
In the image accompanying this post, the purple areas – where 50% or more households own no cars or only one – track the area’s rail transit lines. In the dark green areas, which extend from the transit lines, 20-40% of households own no cars or only one.
Web link to full article: http://www.rooflines.org/1614/gis_mapping_in_australia_shows_how_transit_reduces_auto_dependence/
GIs and Australian Aboriginal Art
A reason why ‘new world’ countries should support the protection of geographical indicators (GIs) is because the GI concept can be applied to aboriginal art so that its integrity and underlying traditional knowledge are preserved.
In “Intellectual Property and Aboriginal Art,” Adrian Newstead explores the misappropriation of Australian aboriginal art forms by non-aboriginals. There are about 250 tribes in Australia today and each have their own unique images, dances and songs; it is considered offensive among aboriginals to use the unique cultural information of another tribe. The preservation of these art forms is considered integral to the project of redefining traditional lifestyles and culture as aboriginals recover from years of assimilation policies. The integrity of a tribe’s art is diminished if it is misappropriated by outside parties and reproduced in culturally inappropriate ways, such as being printed on t-shirts.
Web link to full article: http://www.iposgoode.ca/2008/03/gis-and-australian-aboriginal-art/
Australian Wine Geographic Indications
An Australian wine-growing region, sub region or a zone is officially described as a Geographical Indication or a GI, in short.
The GI of a particular Australian wine growing region can either be a list of map coordinates, grid references or roads and natural land marks, which out lines the boundary of that particular region, on a map.
The purpose of having GIs is to secure the use of regional names under international law, the use of a GI is limited to describing Australian wines produced only in that particular region, for example like Bordeaux, Burgundy. In order to protecting the integrity of the label and safeguarding the consumer, an Australian wine carrying a regional name should be made using a minimum of 85% of fruits from that region.
Web link to full article: http://www.bargainbandit.com.au/Content_Common/pg-Australian-Wine-GIs.seo
New Licence Improves Access to Environmental Data
There is new lease of life for two fundamental environmental databases.
Today the Ministry for the Environment made the Land Cover Database and the Land Environments New Zealand classification available online, for free and with an unrestricted licence. This is part of a strategy to make public sector data more accessible.
Both are spatial databases containing geographic boundaries and descriptions of the types of land cover and the environment they exist in. The databases are already used in central and local government for analysis and planning so that better management decisions for our environment can be made.
Web link to full article: http://www.geospatial.govt.nz/new-licence-improves-access-to-environmental-data/
Source: New Zealand Geospatial Strategy
Spatial Information Adds Hundreds of Millions to New Zealand's Economy
Innovative use of spatial information pumped more than $1 billion into the New Zealand economy in 2008 – and better access to data could see that figure soar, according to a report into the value of spatial information.
Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Ministry for Economic Development (MED) recently commissioned a report to uncover the contribution spatial information makes to the economy.
That report – Spatial information in the New Zealand economy - realising productivity gains – has been released by Minister for Land Information Maurice Williamson and LINZ Chief Executive Colin MacDonald.
Web link to full press release: http://www.linz.govt.nz/about-linz/news-publications-and-consultations/news-and-notices/corporate/2009/0825-spatial-information/index.aspx
News from Around the Globe
GIS to Understand Dance, and Vice Versa
The Ohio State University Cross-Disciplinary Team Explores Complex Structures of Interaction.
When choreographer William Forsythe invited scientists from across all disciplines to investigate dance and choreography using their disciplinary lenses, it was not obvious that geography and spatial analysis could provide new insights. One of the goals was to make dance more accessible so that anyone, within a matter of seconds, would "get it," and also to explore the possibilities for placing dance at the centre of cross-disciplinary dialog and research. After exploring the spatiotemporal data that was generated from tracking each dancer with centimetre and millisecond (ms) precision, a group of geographers saw some familiar and some unfamiliar spatial patterns emerge. Now their findings and visual explanations and those of other researchers at The Ohio State University (OSU) are presented in a new Web project, Synchronous Objects for One Flat Thing, reproduced (synchronousobjects.osu.edu/content.html#/movementDensity), which Forsythe developed in collaboration with Ohio State's Department of Dance and Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design.
Web link to full article: http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/summer09articles/gis-to-understand.html
Source: ESRI
Originally published in ArcNews Online, Summer 2009
Streamline Address Creation, Validation and Maintenance with Farragut Address One
Farragut Systems, Inc. is proud to announce that Mecklenburg County (Charlotte, North Carolina) has successfully implemented Farragut’s AddressOne product.
AddressOne is the first and only GIS-enabled, commercial-off-the-shelf product for enterprise addressing.
Benefits of AddressOne are: streamlines address creation, validation and maintenance using robust GIS-based tools, leading to increased efficiencies and cost savings; ncrease in the accuracy and reliability of address data; ability to centrally manage and standardise the use of both physical and mailing addresses; ability to query and validate addressing information using an intuitive browser-based GIS interface; and tools to maintain history of retired and obsolete addresses.
Web link to press release: http://www.farragut.com/pr-mecklenburg.html
Zoom Photo Navigation in Street View
One of the missions of the Street View team is to help users navigate the world's geographically located photos.
Google have just launched Street View Smart Navigation which provides 3D navigation between Street View panoramas. Also recently added is the option to browse user-contributed photos that match Street View images. These concepts are being brought together to make it easier to explore photos through Street View.
Web link to full article: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/07/zoom-photo-navigation-in-street-view.html
Source: Google LatLong
We Need Publishing Standards for Datasets and Data Tables
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released a white paper, We Need Publishing Standards for Datasets and Data Tables, which examines the problems with current data discoverability and citations and the remedy in creating industry standards for bibliographic dataset metadata and linking.
Written by Toby Green, Head of Publishing at OECD and an expert in data publishing, the paper details the problems with user ability to locate and reference online data. Datasets are a significant part of the scholarly record and being published much more frequently but with widely inconsistent metadata, links and citations.
Web link to full article: http://www.oecd.org/document/25/0,3343,en_21571361_33915056_42600857_1_1_1_1,00.html
Web link to white paper: http://ocde.p4.siteinternet.com/publications/doifiles/publishing-standards-data-2009.pdf
GIS Industry Thought Leaders Pull Up Chairs to Spatial Roundtable
ESRI has launched an interactive Web site, Spatial Roundtable (www.spatialroundtable.com), where geographic information system (GIS) industry thought leaders share their opinions about business and organisational challenges in the geospatial community.
The site provides its visitors with insight into issues relevant to their work, an arena for community dialog, and a resource that adds breadth to their decision making.
Web link to full article: http://www.esri.com/news/releases/09_3qtr/spatial_roundtable.html
Cambridge Silicon Radio in the UK has unveiled a new architecture that will improve battery life for devices that use GPS.
The SiRFstarIV takes a new approach to GPS design that means the GPS does not need to be continually turned on and off to conserve power - but can still get a satellite fix very quickly.
Web link to full article: http://www.asmmag.com/news/longer-lasting-gps
Source: ASM Mag
Reprinted from www.asmmag.com, copyright 2009 ASM
The Aeryon Scout is a man-packable, easy-to-use autonomous hovering aerial system (UAS) that allows unskilled operators to capture high resolution imagery.
With its small size the Aeryon Scout is targeted for the backpack of every soldier and the trunk of every police car. Featuring a simple touch-screen interface, anyone can operate the system with just minutes of training.
The Scout is a professional tool capable of point-and-click autonomous map-based navigation through a touch-screen user interface. The on board system intelligence controls the aerial vehicle and camera payload system, allowing a single user to focus on accomplishing a mission.
With only four moving parts, it is all-weather and can be assembled in the field in seconds, with no tools. Interchangable payload modules snap into place, allowing the vehicle to be quickly reconfigured for different applications.
Web link to Aeryon: http://www.aeryon.com/
GIS Says Over 1,000 Streets on List for Possible Name Changes
Hamilton County GIS officials said Tuesday that over 1,000 street names are on the list for possible changes, but several City Council members asked the group to consider finding another way.
Councilwoman Carol Berz said street name changes are traumatic for residents and amount to "messing up peoples' lives."
John Stuermer, who directs the 911 system, said getting rid of similar street names may be a difference of life and death and the city has already been sued because of the problem. Additionally, the city has a 600 Georgia Avenue downtown and one on Signal Mountain and sound-alike streets, including Ingle, Engel and Engle.
Mr. Stuermer said, "I tell you it's a serious problem for us."
Web link to full article: http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_156626.asp
Source: the Chattanoogan.com
Map Shower Curtain - One for the GIS Nerds?
If you’re at all interested in map-related paraphernalia, then Jamie at Cartophilia is your guy.
His latest find, from photos sent by a friend, is a map shower curtain and a map bikini.
Web link to full article: http://www.mcwetboy.net/maproom/2009/08/map_shower_curt.php
Source: The Map Room
Does Closing Roads Cut Delays?
File this one under “intensely counterintuitive.” A recent study has found that closing off certain streets can actually relieve traffic congestion.
Using Google Maps, a trio of scientists – Hyejin Youn and Hawoong Jeong, of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and Michael Gastner, of the Santa Fe Institute – looked at traffic routes in Boston, New York, and London. Their paper, titled “The Price of Anarchy in Transportation Networks: Efficiency and Optimality Control”and published in the journal Physical Review Letters, found that, when individual drivers seek the quickest route, they sometimes end up slowing things down for everybody.
Web link to full article: http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2008/10/06/does-closing-roads-cut-delays/
Source: bright green blog, The Christian Science Monitor
Revitalising the United States economy will be a formidable task that will require innovative approaches to challenges such as modernising energy generation and rebuilding the nation's infrastructure.
Unlike previous recessions, government and business have a powerful technology for dealing with diagnosing and treating the ailing economy on the local, state, and national levels. GIS has evolved beyond the organisation level to become a framework for managing and analysing data, modeling scenarios, supporting decision making, and disseminating information.
Web link to article (PDF): http://www.esri.com/news/arcuser/0609/files/toughtimes.pdf
Source: ESRI
Originally published in ArcNews Online, Summer 2009
Altinum Revealed... and in Google Earth
Altinum was a prosperous Roman city on the coastal lowlands of northern Italy.
It was sacked by Attila the Hun in the 5th century AD, and conquered by the Lombards a century later. Historians now speculate that these events prompted inhabitants from Altinum and other towns in the vicinity to resettle on more easily defended islands in a nearby lagoon... thus founding Venice.
Now the journal Science has published the results of an aerial survey of Altinum by Andrea Ninfo, Alessandro Fontana, Paolo Mozzi, and Francesco Ferrarese at the University of Padua. Their research provides us with the first proper map of Altinum.
Why is this out of the ordinary? A few reasons: Altinum was abandoned wholesale, making it is one of the few Roman settlements in Europe not subsequently subsumed by medieval towns. And while Altinum's building stones were eventually carted off as construction material elsewhere, the foundations remained, and these became especially visible during a drought in 2007. This allowed for an unusually comprehensive reconstruction of the town.
Web link to full article: http://www.ogleearth.com/2009/08/altinum_reveale.html
Source: Ogle Earth
GPS Drawings - Digital Mark Marking with Satellite Navigation Technology
Jeremy Wood has created a website that contains representations of his travels with GPS receivers since October 2000.
All of his journeys are recorded with GPS to make visual journals that document a personal cartography.
The work investigates principles and techniques of drawing and scultpting with satellite navigation technology. The gallery contains contributions and collaborations from around the world.
Web link to site: http://www.gpsdrawing.com/
A GeoMentor is someone "adopts" a school, class, or club and supports the educator/s in working with youth.
Using tools of geography (such as maps and globes, atlases, charts, imagery, and field work), the GeoMentor helps the educator and youth develop skills in geographic thinking.
Who can be a GeoMentor? Anyone who uses geography, recognises the ways in which geography matters to us all, and has an interest in helping young people. Click on the map to see how many worldwide GeoMentors (learning; seeking; working; reporting; and interested, but not registered) there are.
Web link to page: http://edcommunity.esri.com/geomentor/#
Cities Revealed Helps Predict Coastal Evolution
The GeoInformation Group (TGG), publishers of Cities Revealed mapping solutions and UKMap, announces that Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council (MBC) has taken delivery of historic aerial imagery for use within its Coastal Defence section.
The imagery provides the Council with a clearer understanding of how the coast, (extending 21 miles from Bootle in the south to Southport in the north) has evolved over time. The Coastal Defence section uses the images to ascertain the historic position of the coastline, identify historic land use, habitat extents and management activities that could have affected today’s coastline, and map sand dunes to understand how they are evolving and where the high impact areas were. This information helps to predict the types and rates of future coastal change likely to occur.
Web link to full press release: http://www.citiesrevealed.com/news/?mode=news&id=45
Stottler Henke Announces New Web Service that Provides Error-Free Geotagging of Text
Stottler Henke Associates, Inc. have released GeoDoc (geodoc.stottlerhenke.com), a new web application that semi- automatically generates accurate geospatially-grounded text.
GeoDoc utilises intelligent, context-sensitive heuristics to add coordinate metadata tags, called geotags, to text documents with unprecedented accuracy.
Existing commercial solutions are optimised for rapid analysis of large batches of documents in a quick and dirty manner. However, when publishing content, accuracy is often more important than speed. With GeoDoc application content publishers can now efficiently edit tagged documents to certify that the names of places in the document are geotagged completely and correctly. This place checking process, once cumbersome and time consuming, can now be accomplished in a manner very similar to your typical spell check.
Web link to full press release: http://www.stottlerhenke.com/news/pr_geodoc.htm
Google Unveils New 'Caffeine' Search Engine
Google has lifted the lid on a new version of its search engine, upping the ante as rivals attempt to close the gap on the search giant.
The new engine, codenamed Caffeine by Google, is aimed at delivering faster, more accurate and more comprehensive results.
The engine, available for testing at a separate web address, has been launched with Google asking developers and businesses for feedback. The website "front end" of the technology looks the same, but Google said the infrastructure was updated to index new content on the web faster.
Web link to full article: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/personal_tech/article6792403.ece
Source: Times Online
Online Maps 'Wiping Out History'
Internet mapping is wiping the rich geography and history of Britain off the map, the president of the British Cartographic Society has said.
Internet maps such as Google and Multimap were good for driving but left out crucial data people need to understand a landscape.
Web link to full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7586789.stm
Source: BBC News
Planet Action - Call for Projects
If you are in charge of a project involved in tackling climate change at a local scale and/ or for a global benefit, Earth Observation can help!
Planet Action will donate you satellite imagery, geographic information and image processing solutions and as a return, they will ask for feedback.
Submit your project by September 30, 2009. For further information, click here.
Beta WMS Wrapper Service for Bing Maps
OnTerra Systems have created a beta service for evaluation and testing only, allowing access to Bing Maps base data such as ortho imagery, road data and hybrid layers (road and ortho) in Open Geospatial Consortium (OCG) - Web Mapping Service (WMS) format.
The service works in conjunction with any WMS capable application. Currently this beta service supports WMS 1.3.0 and 1.1.1 standards, and primarily using web Mercator projection. OnTerra are working to make sure they can correctly support the majority of WMS enabled applications.
Link to website: http://integrate.onterrasys.com/BingMapsWMSBeta/default.aspx
GITA Annual Conference
31 August – 2 September, Melbourne, Australia
The GITA Annual Conference includes presentations from leading professionals, detailed workshop sessions and site visits, as well as a comprehensive technology exhibition. The conference includes plenty of networking opportunities and attracts a wide variety of local and international speakers, delegates and exhibitors. Visit the website for more.
IAG2009, Geodesy for Planet Earth
31 August – 4 September, Buenos Aires
IAG2009 will be an event that covers the whole of geodesy in an exciting social environment that extends knowledge, improves practice and widens networks. Following the long outstanding tradition of these scientific assemblies, IAG2009 will be a major scientific event, bringing together geodesists from all over the world, and demonstrating the vital role that geodesy plays in our society.
Visit the website for more.
ISPRS Workshop Laserscanning 2009
1-2 September, Paris, France
Laserscanning 2009 is the 6th ISPRS workshop dedicated to the processing and the analysis of point clouds acquired and generated from active airborne and terrestrial sensors. LiDAR data has been studied for many years. They are widely used, from accurate city modelling to many thematic approaches (eg. forestry, hydrology) where the topography and the land cover are involved. Based on LiDAR data as well as data from other sensors, surveyors and scientists have built an operational framework to extract spatial information, but also are facing challenging tasks to enhance current point cloud processes.
Laserscanning 2009 will focus on new data, methodologies, algorithms and applications related to the processing of point clouds as well as sensor improvements and new sensor-driven calibration techniques.
Visit the website for more details.
6th International Symposium on Digital Earth (ISDE6)
9-12 September, Beijing, China
The theme of the conference is ‘Digital Earth in Action’ and will continue the tradition of gathering world-class scientists, engineers and educators engaged in the fields of digital earth, earth observation, geo-informatics and relevant applications to review the progress of Digital Earth during the last decade and discuss the achievements of Digital Earth and the recent developments.
Click here for details.
GIS for Oil and Gas Conference
13-17 September, Houston, Texas, USA
The conference will provide opportunities to share knowledge with an audience of hundreds of industry professionals. The GIS for Oil & Gas Conference is the only event of its kind—nowhere else can oil and gas professionals get targeted, high-quality information that will help them maximise their geospatial information. Join the prestigious group of presenters who provide valuable information about real-world applications of GIS technology in the energy industry.
The call for papers is now open.
International Conference on Geo-Spatial Solutions for Emergency Management (GSEM)
14-16 September, Beijing, China
Geo-spatial technology is one of the three emerging technologies in the 21st century. Driven by societal and economical needs, geo-spatial solutions for emergency management techniques are now in the frontiers of the geospatial technology, and have received an increasing interest in the academic, government, industries, and beyond. CASM as the largest multi-disciplined comprehensive research institute in China in the field of surveying and mapping, will strive to make this event a symposium of the highest quality.
Visit the website for all the details.
Spatial Sciences Institute Biennial International Conference
28 September – 2 October, Adelaide, South Australia
This biennial conference is the premier event for spatial sciences in the Australasian region.
The Organising Committee has finalised this year’s program, which will provide you with an exciting opportunity to discover and learn about the spatial sector over three days. With over 200 presentations there is something for everyone, even if you are not specifically involved in the spatial sciences.
To further expand your knowledge and share ideas there will be several unique workshops in the two days leading up to the conference. You may be interested in finding out how to work ‘GPS in GIS’, ‘Object Based Image Analysis Theory’ or ‘3D Visualisation’. Download the registration brochure to find out more, or keep an eye out for more workshops coming soon on the SSC2009 website.
The Map Competition is now open. There are three categories this year. General Purpose, Thematic, and Special Purpose Mapping. Plus there will be an overall winner across all three categories and a ‘People’s Choice’ award. This is a great way to showcase your work and it’s free to enter. Final submissions are due on the 14th of August, and winners will be awarded at the SSC2009 Gala Dinner.
Speakers can be found at the SSC2009 website – Invited Speakers.
If you are interested in any area of spatial technology or locational intelligence, this conference is for you.
For registration and details
visit www.ssc2009.com
CoastGIS 2009
30 September – 2 October, Santa Catarina, Brazil
CoastGIS, the International Symposium on GIS and Computer Mapping for Coastal Management, is a series of conferences that began in Cork, Ireland, in 1995 as a collaboration between the Commission on Coastal Systems of the International Geographical Union and the Commission on Marine Mapping of the International Cartographic Association.
In the early 1990s, both were aiming to find a vehicle through which coastal issues and technological processes could be examined and means by which recent advances in the mapping of the world's coastal zones could jointly find an outlet.
As a major event, the CoastGIS series attracts an international audience of coastal researchers, managers and practitioners who use one or more of the geospatial technologies.
Visit the website for more.
22nd CIPA Symposium (2009)
11-15 October, Kyoto, Japan
The 22nd International Committee for Documentation of Cultural Heritage (CIPA) Symposium will be an international and inter-disciplinary event on recording, documentation, preservation and restoration of cultural heritage applying information and communication technology.
To be held in Asia for the first time, the topics to be covered will include GIS, intellectual property and open source, terrestrial/ aerial photogrammetry and terrestrial/ aerial laser scanning, remote sensing and strategies for long-term archiving of digital information.
7th FIG Regional Conference
19-22 October, Hanoi, Vietnam
The theme of the 7th FIG Regional Conference is ‘Spatial Data Serving People: Land Governance and the Environment - Building the Capacity’ and is divided into three sub-themes: Land Administration; Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) and the Environment; and Capacity Building.
Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial Conference (FOSS4G)
20-23 October, Sydney, Australia
Carrying on the FOSS4G conference tradition, 2009 will present a comprehensive agenda, combining content from across the geospatial spectrum.
In line with the 2009 theme, "User Driven", the conference will have renewed focus on the business imperatives for adopting open source solutions. The program will contain a broad range of presentations and case studies that address the topics of interest to managers and decision makers as well as those that may be more technically orientated.
FOSS4G is a unique event which collects together a global community into a single location for an intensive week of activity. Year on year, FOSS4G provides a great opportunity to take part in a very special event, where ideas mix together with language to create a network of collaboration and creativity.
WALIS Forum
11-13 November, Perth Convention Exhibition Centre
WALIS Forum is one of the premier GIS events in Australia, attracting over 650 participants from a diverse range of professions. Held every 18 months, the Forum provides an opportunity to address issues related to the collection, management and application of geographic or spatial information. WALIS Forum
GIS in Transit Conference
16-18 November, St Petersburg, Florida
“The Route to Success in Transit GIS”.
4th International Conference: Earth from Space – the Most Effective Solutions (2009)
1-3 December, Moscow, Russia
Rapid development of the space information technology has deprived the limited groups of specialists of the privilege to control telecommunications, navigation and remote sensing of the Earth from space. We can witness how Earth observation from space helps to resolve a wide range of practical tasks, becoming a modern public information instrument.
The International Conference "Earth from Space - the Most Effective Solutions" is the largest biennial event in sphere of Earth remote sensing in Russia and CIS countries, attended by around 350 participants from different countries. The goal of the conference is to show the experience of practical use of satellite monitoring in different branches of economy together with the recent developments in remote sensing as the backbone of cost-efficient functioning economic systems and is an opportunity to demonstrate the latest innovations, achievements and practical results in sphere of space information technologies.
Visit the website for more.
IGNSS 2009
1-3 December, Gold Coast, Queensland
The IGNSS symposium will include open forums where users can discuss the implementation and application of GNSS and other location technologies, and voice their concerns in an interactive format with representatives from all the satellite system providers, major manufacturers and applications developers.
Pacific Island GIS and Remote Sensing User Conference 2009
1-4 December, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
Since the first Pacific GIS&RS Conference in 1999, this annual event has attracted a lot of participants.
Each year the range of GIS&RS technologies presented cover an array of applications including the management of resources of the small island Pacific nations. Shallow water bathymetry derived from satellite imagery, forest function maps to identify areas for to be protected, areas identified for developments in flood zones are some of the applications where the development of GIS&RS in the region have been applied in various sectors. As with previous conferences, there are no fees levied for those wishing to attend.
http://www.picisoc.org/PacInet+2009
OZRI and APUC 2010
3-5 March, Gold Coast, Australia
GIS: Extending the reach is the theme for the conference which recognises that GIS has evolved from being seen as a tool to simply link location to information to being acknowledged as a serious business system that delivers real benefits.
The program will consist of four conference streams which will demonstrate how the latest location intelligence solutions are making it easier to extend the reach of GIS, whether it be externally, geographically or technically.
OZRI 2010 will be held on the Gold Coast and will also incorporate the 2010 ESRI Asia Pacific User Conference. ESRI president and founder Jack Dangermond is confirmed as keynote speaker at the event.
FIG Congress 2010
11-16 April, Sydney, Australia
Facing the Challenges – Building the Capacity
Submit your technical paper abstracts now - deadline is 22 September 2009.
Interesting Website of the Month
Ozone Hole Watch
The Ozone Hole Watch website is where you can check on the latest status of the ozone layer over the South Pole.
Satellite instruments monitor the ozone layer, and NASA uses the data to create the images that depict the amount of ozone. The blue and purple colours are where there is the least ozone, and the greens, yellows, and reds are where there is more ozone.
Link to website: http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is provided for general information purposes. It does not constitute professional or expert advice and you must not use or rely upon it for that purpose. WALIS and the State of Western Australia, do not guarantee and do not accept responsibility for the accuracy, currency, completeness and reliability of the information contained in this newsletter. The opinions contained in the information do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WALIS or the State of Western Australia. Links to other Internet sites are provided for your convenience only and they do not constitute an endorsement, approval or recommendation of the material contained in those other Internet sites. It is your responsibility to evaluate the relevance, accuracy, completeness and reliability of material contained in those other Internet sites.