May 2007 eNews
Latest news from SLIP Focus Areas. Everything you need to know about the Inaugral Western Australian Spatial Excellence Awards. New Spatial Sciences Studio
May 2007 e-News
What’s Happening in the WALIS Community?
Emergency Management (EM) Focus Area
Natural Resource Management (NRM) Focus Area
Interest Enquiry (IE) Focus Area
Electronic Land Development Process (ELDP) Focus Area
Inaugural Western Australian Spatial Excellence Awards
WALIS Foresighting Workshop Outcomes
Spatial Technology in Schools (STIS)Competition
Official Launch for STIS Competition
WALIS Stakeholders in the News
New Spatial Sciences Studio- a First for Western Australia
Online Title Service for General Public
Workshop on Climate Change and the Coast
Emergency Management for Local Government
WA Government Prepares for Outbreak of Locusts
Envistat Monitors Transcontinental Wildfire Emissions
Australian Coal Mine to enhance Safety Using Radio Frequency ID
Two Months to Go: Census Results to be Released 27 June
CSIRO and Geoscience Australia Join International Accord
Climate Change Statistics- predicting Extreme Events
European Taxpayers to Fund New GPS Satellite Project
Audio Collection to Enhance Google Earth
Lecia Geosystems Supports AFREF Project:
ESA ENVISTAT Present Detailed Portraits of the Earths Land Surface
Details of Events in Australia and Around the World
Interesting Website of the Month
What’s Happening in the WALIS Community?
Inaugural Western Australian Spatial Excellence Awards.
This event jointly hosted by ASIBA and SSI is held to recognize the best people and projects in the spatial industry in Western Australia. Any interested individuals or organizations that have not yet entered should be aware that entries close on the 1st of June. To find information on the categories for the Industry awards, eligibility and more see Western Australian Spatial Excellence Awards.
Or contact; SSIWA office mailto:ssiwa@iinet.net.au
Shared Land Information Platform- SLIP
Emergency Management (EM) Focus Area
The EM team met with the office of e-Government to discuss the EM role within the Emergency Communication Strategy. FESA has also recently completed a sample HAZMAT and Bushfire response exercise for the EM Focus Area.
Natural Resource Management (NRM) Focus Area
The NRM focus area has nearly completed spatial data audits for 4 regional group regions. The State government agency projects are moving further ahead and NRM is now engaging the non core NRM agencies.
Interest Enquiry (IE) Focus Area
IE are working on a business case for funding to complete the IE system and to carry on interest verification work.
Electronic Land Development Process (ELDP) Focus Area
Recent funding proposals for continuance of ELDP have been successful and a Program Committee has been created to facilitate future progress. The ELDP program will shortly be seeking to engage stakeholders, and the ELDP itself has now moved under the Strategic Policy and Management Unit within DPI.
Enabling Framework (EF)
More data services are coming online. A number of training and communication initiatives are being progressed as the official launch of the SLIP EF draws closer and a number of demonstrations are planned.
WA Atlas
The new WA Atlas is taking shape and the official cut over date has been confirmed for June 2007.
WALIS News
The Autumn edition of WALIS News will be distributed in the next few weeks. You can find out what’s been happening in the WALIS Community by subscribing to WALIS News. Visit http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/news_and_events/walis_news to subscribe now.
WALIS Foresighting Workshop Outcomes
The WALIS Advisory Comity held a foresighting workshop last month. The workshop identified several key drivers that would impact on the activities of WALIS. They included: population growth, climate change, water security, education, energy, technology advancement, environment, security and world economic outlook.
Spatial Technology in Schools (STIS) Competition
The competition for 2007 is well underway. Over 300 letters of invitation and promotional brochures were sent to secondary schools across WA. Already the numbers of schools likely to enter this year will be substantially more than the twelve in 2006 – currently 19 schools are looking to register. The brochure is available to download at the WALIS web page. The brochure was also sent out to Curtin University, through the Geography teachers’ association newsletter, DET newsletter, Catholic Education newsletter, Independent schools newsletter, Society and Environment teachers’ association newsletter.
Official Launch for STIS Competition:
On April 26 the competition was officially launched, the event was held at Christ Church College’s Future Sphere. Teachers new to the competition arrived at 3:30 for a session “Introduction to GIS” by Curtin Uni, other teachers and mentors arrived at 4:30 for concurrent sessions: for teachers a talk by last year’s winner Phil Houweling of John Calvin Christian College; for mentors a talk outlining the mentor’s role by teacher Judy Cocks of St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School and mentor David Lee Steere of WALIS. At 4:30 there was a presentation by Chris Tweedie of Landgate introducing the Shared Land Information Platform (SLIP). The competition was then officially launched by Mike Bradford representing PSMA Australia and Tony Snow National President of the SSI, followed by drinks and nibbles and networking to 6:30.
Attendees included schools who entered, schools entered previously, previous mentors, new mentors, Young Professionals, WinGIT, SSI members, Curtin and UWA. The venue was provided free by Christ Church School, the catering was paid for by WALIS and the drinks were paid for by ESRI.
WALIS Forum
Lars Rasmussen from Google Australia will head an exciting array of keynote speakers at the WALIS International Forum 2008. Lars is a member of Google's technical staff and a lead engineer of the team that created Google Maps. He currently works out of Google's young but growing Sydney engineering office and is actively working to expand Google's engineering presence in Australia. Other speakers will include a business futurist, trends tracker and technology guru and a historian and marine archaeologist passionate about corrosion and conservation science.
Share your knowledge, experience and insight by presenting a paper at the Forum. Abstracts are now invited for oral and poster presentations, and this year you may select to have your paper submitted for peer review. If you are interested in presenting at the Forum, abstracts should be no more than 250 words and can be submitted online at http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/forum/call_for_papers.
A variety of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities are now available, and with more than 700 delegates expected to attend from around the globe, the Forum provides your organisation with the perfect opportunity to market your product to a wide audience. For further information and to download the Sponsorship and Trade Exhibition Opportunities brochure, visit http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/forum/sponsorship.
Interragator+
Agencies are responsible for checking their own data in the new Interragator+ this will have been migrated from the old format to the new format in accordance with the new ANZLIC metadata profile (ISO Standard 19139). Each agency is responsible for ensuring that the integrity of their data has been maintained. A representative from each agency with metadata in the system has already been contacted and is assisting in this process.
Work is progressing on schedule for the July cut over date. Briefing sessions will be carried out in late May early June for Interragator agency administrators in preparation for the go live date in July. Administrators will be contacted to arrange these sessions.
For further information please contact Diana Adorno on 92727707.
WALIS Stakeholders in the News
New Spatial Sciences Studio- a First for Western Australia
A new science studio will provide a focal point for geographic information science, surveying and cartography in Western Australia.
In a joint project between Curtin University and Landgate, a state-of-the-art Spatial Sciences Studio will be established at the university's Bentley Campus in 2008.
Land Information Minister Michelle Roberts announced today that Landgate and Curtin University of Technology would collaborate for the purpose of developing and promoting education and research in Spatial Sciences.
Landgate > New Spatial Sciences Studio - a first for Western Australia
Online Title Service for General Public
Landgate’s (formerly the Department of Land Information) newest online service helps make the decision to purchase a property that much easier.
Minister for Land Information, Michelle Roberts said the new Certificate of Title Search service offers members of the general public improved access to land and property information.
Customers no longer need to visit, email or telephone Landgate for a copy of a title instead they can just visit www.landgate.wa.gov.au.
All that’s needed is a credit card and internet access. It costs $14.00 and payment can be safely made because Landgate’s web site is fully secure.
Within minutes of submitting an order a PDF copy of the title is emailed directly to the customer’s chosen email address.
The new Certificate of Title search service is the first in a series of products and services that Landgate is making available online for the general public.
WA Marine Science Institute
Today, it was announced a $12 million, five year marine science research joint venture between 14 state federal, industry and tertiary organisations for the benefit of Western Australia was launched today by the Premier, The Hon Alan Carpenter MLA. To visit the WAMSI site.
Workshop on Climate Change and the Coast
The City of Mandurah announced that they will host a workshop entitled ‘Climate Change and the Coast – Think Global, Act Local’ on May 28th 2007. The workshop will run as a one-day event at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre.
Participants will have the opportunity to examine the science around climate change including sea level rise and extreme events.
In addition, they will participate in developing a programme of action for coastal stakeholders to clarify their role in management of coastal climate change.
The workshop will include presentations from Dr. John Church (CSIRO), Dr. Ian Eliot(WAMSI) and representatives of Government as well as the development industry and legal profession.
A series of stakeholder breakout sessions will run concurrently during the afternoon followed by a wrap-up plenary to present results of the workshop.
Registration for this workshop are now open at http://www.coastalmanagement.com/events.shtml
Emergency Management for Local Government
Local government has an important role in emergency management. Emergency management pages have been updated and are now on-line which contain information on national policies and programs, resources, a tool-kit and information strategy as well as the results of several significant ALGA initiatives in relation to emergency management, disaster mitigation and national security. ALGA News: May 04, 2007.
WA Government Prepares for Outbreak of Locusts
The WA Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) has expanded its suite of geospatial technologies to prevent and control potential outbreaks of locusts.
Australian plague locusts are native Australian grasshoppers - a single female can produce millions of offspring, which can destroy pastures and vegetation. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;210457596
[back to top]Australian Angle Envistat Monitors Transcontinental Wildfire Emissions
Using data from the Scanning Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric CHartogrophY (SCIAMACHY) instrument aboard ESA’s environmental satellite Envisat, scientists have determined that the carbon monoxide hovering over Australia during the wildfire season largely originated from South American wildfires some 13 000 kilometres away. GIS News
Australian Coal Mine to enhance Safety Using Radio Frequency ID (RFID)
NL Technologies a Canadian designer and manufacturer of underground lighting and digital communications solutions for the mining industry, is readying a RIFID system that uses active 433 MHz tags to track and manage miners and vehicles underground.
For more information, visit RFID Journal
Two Months to Go: Census Results to be Released 27 June
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will release the first results of last year's Census in two months time, on Wednesday 27 June, 2007.
Far more census data than ever before will be available free of charge, with the results of the 2006 Census of Population and Housing being released on the ABS website www.abs.gov.au.Two months to go: Census results to be released 27 June (Media Release)
CSIRO and Geoscience Australia Join International Accord
Dr Simon Cox from CSIRO Exploration & Mining and Dr Lesley Wyborn from Geoscience Australia were Australia’s representatives among 81 participants from 43 nations and 53 national and international bodies that met for a workshop in Brighton UK from 12 to 16.Workshop members discussed the OneGeology initiative. The initiative’s aim is to create dynamic digital, geological map data for the world to improve the accessibility of global, regional and national geological map data and, in doing so, increase its usefulness to society. The OneGeology initiative coincides with the International Year of Planet EarthCSIRO - News
Climate Change Statistics- predicting Extreme Events
A CSIRO course in Melbourne on Wednesday 9 May will focus on making reliable predictions about one-in-a-hundred year droughts, the frequency of future Cyclone Larries and other extreme climate events that have economic impact.
Climate change statistics – predicting extreme events (Media Release)
News From around the Globe
European Taxpayers to Fund New GPS Satellite Project
European taxpayers will be footing the bill for the Galileo satellite navigation network.Europe wants an independent system of global positioning satellites so that it doesn't have to rely on others, such as the American GPS network, or Russia's Glonass and China's nascent Beidou networks, all of which are publicly funded.New Scientist
Audio Collection to Enhance Google Earth
Google Earth lets us zoom in on any spot on the planet, from the Brazilian rainforest to Arctic ice sheets. Now imagine it offered the sounds to match the sights.
Bernie Krause has spent 40 years collecting over 3500 hours of sound recordings from all over the world, including bird and whale song and the crackle of melting glaciers. His company, Wild Sanctuary in Glen Ellen, California, has now created software to embed these sound files into the relevant locations in Google Earth. Just zoom in on your chosen spot and listen to local sounds.Audio collection to enhance Google Earth - tech - 10 May 2007 - New Scientist Tech
Lecia Geosystems Supports AFREF Project: First Global Navigational Satellite System (GNSS) Reference Station
The African Geodetic Reference Frame (AFREF) is conceived as a unified geodetic reference frame for Africa - the fundamental basis for the national and regional reference networks. In March, the first permanent GNSS reference station was launched in Kenya. Leica Geosystems supports the project with its knowledge, as well as via donation of a complete system. Currently, African countries each maintain their own geodetic reference system. In the past, this resulted in mismatched maps at national borders or even in the same country; in Kenya alone there are currently two different mapping coordinate systems in use. The African Geodetic Reference Frame (AFREF) shall build a fundamental basis for a continent-wide reference network system, consisting of permanent Global Navigational Satellite Systems (GNSS) stations. The goal is to provide users free access to GNSS data and products, with a maximum distance of 500 km from the next reference station - anywhere in Africa. To read on visit http://www.leica-geosystems.com/corporate/en/ndef/lgs_66547.htm
ESA ENVISTAT Present Detailed Portraits of the Earths Land Surface
Europe, 11 May 2007: As part of the ESA initiated Globe Cover project it has created a detailed portraits of the Earth's land surface. The detailed portraits of Earth's land surface have been created with ESA's Envisat environmental satellite.
Around 40 terabytes of image data was acquired between December 2004 and June 2006 and processed to generate the global composites. The composites will support the international community in modelling climate change extent and impacts, studying ecosystems and plotting worldwide land-use trends.
For more information visit: New Scientist
Climate and the Coast – Think Global Act Local
28 May 2007, Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Mandurah
The city of Mandurah is hosting a one day workshop to examine the science around climate change including sea level rise and extreme events. In addition, they will participate in developing a program of action for local stakeholders. Speakers include Dr. John Church (CSIRO) and Dr Ian Eliot (WAMSI). Registration for the workshop is now open at: http://www.coastalmanagement.com/events.shtml
Twenty-Seventh Annual ESRI International User Conference
18-22 June 2007, San Diego Convention Centre, California
The ESRI User Conference is a forum for users to come together and discuss what's new and what's next for GIS in their region or industry. Users from more than 120 countries come to learn new skills, share information and discover best practices and tips and tricks that they can instantly use. For more information, visit http://www.esri.com/events/uc/index.html.
Western Australian Spatial Excellence Awards.
20 July 2007, Fraser’s Restaurant, Kings Park, Perth
The inaugural WASEA are held to recognize the best projects and people in the spatial Industry in Western Australia. The awards will be judged by a panel of renowned individuals who understand the great variety of applications in spatial information and its associated technologies. The winners of these awards are to be submitted for consideration in the Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards. For more information see: Western Australian Spatial Excellence Awards or contact mailto:ssiwa@iinet.net.au
Spatially Enabled Government
14-15 August 2007, Hyatt Hotel, Canberra
Spatially Enabled Government is the only event of its kind, specifically dedicated to discussing key issues and challenges with the use of spatial information in the Australian Government. The conference will feature case studies and presentations around the growing use of spatial data in the public sector. For more information, visit the conference website.
GITA Annual Conference
6-8 August 2007-04-18
Australia in general and the utility sector in particular is facing challenges of great complexity and on a scale never before seen in this country.
This is particularly so in Queensland. South East Queensland is the fastest growing region in Australia experiencing unprecedented levels of capital expenditure on an unprecedented number of infrastructure projects. It is fitting that Brisbane be the venue for this year's premier asset management and spatial event.
For more information visit the conference website at: Geospatial Information & Technology Association Australia & New Zealand > Events > GITA Annual Conference
CRCSI Annual Conference 2007
17-18 September 2007, Sydney.
Registration details will be advised soon. Provisional Program includes: where we are at with the Rebid (themes and structures). Presentation of the Supplementary Bid proposals / new projects.Selected project presentations. Project posters, International presentation.The best networking sessions on the national circuit.
WALIS International Forum 2008
12-14 March 2008, Perth Convention Exhibition Centre, Perth
The call for papers is now open! WALIS Forum is one of the premier GIS events in Australia, attracting over 650 participants from a diverse range of professions. WALIS Forum is one of the premier GIS events in Australia, attracting over 650 participants from a diverse range of professions. For more information, visit the conference website at http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/forum/ or email forum@walis.wa.gov.au to register your interest.
Interesting Website of the Month
Earth as Art
Aesthetically interesting Landsat images of earth.
http://earthasart.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.htm
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.