June 2007 eNews
Highlights include: Inaugural Spatial Excellence Awards, SLIP Updates, Urban Monitor Project.
WALIS e-News
June 2007
What’s Happening in the WALIS Community?
Inaugural Western Australian Spatial Excellence Awards
Natural Resource Management (NRM)
Electronic Land Development Process (eLDP)
Spatial Technology in Schools (STIS)Competition
Official Launch for STIS Competition
WALIS Stakeholders in the News
Topographic Restructure Project Update
GIS Analysis of Seafloor Geomorphology Exposes Conservation Concerns
Aus Onshore Energy Security Program Takes Off
NEW Seabed Sediment Map Fills Marine
Global Warming is speeding up Ocean Waves
The USGS Offers Satellite Imagery Online
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 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.
The replacement of WA Atlas & Interragator is nearly complete. The ‘Enabler’ Launch to government is set for early August 2007. Currently there are 13 Connected Agencies and 131 datasets available through the Enabling Framework. By the time of the launch there should be: 15 agencies connected; and over 200 datasets available. SLIP has had over 570 individual, agency and business user self-registrations as at 31 May 2007. This before the launch has even happened. There were 350,000 hits recorded for the Enabler for the month of May 2007. Operational Level Agreements governing service provision and use have been drafted. There is currently a big focus on setting Landgate operational procedures in place for delivery of EF.
The IE Interest Dictionary was released in early June. Initial release was to Landgate account customers.
FESA continues to work with the State Emergency Management Committee, WALIS SMG and individual EM stakeholders on long term funding for SLIP-EM. EM has undertaken various desktop exercises to assess the impacts on operational procedures in support of cross agency EM activities. Recent exercises have involved HAZMAT and Bushfire scenarios.
Development work on the South West Emergency Services Directory has continued.
Publication is scheduled for September 2007. EM has developed a prototype remote data pack (based on SLIP-EF architecture) for regional limited communication situations.
Involvement of EM has been involved in all WA based Emergency Management and Counter Terrorism exercises that have occurred in the past quarter.
Natural Resource Management (NRM)
Spatial data audits have been completed for four of the six NRM Regions (South Coast, South-West, Avon and Swan) and NRM is close to completing audits for the remaining two (Northern Agricultural and Rangelands).
Electronic Land Development Process (eLDP)
In approving the Business Case for a full eLDP system, the WA Government has committed $21.1 million over four years to deliver the electronic Land Development Process (eLDP) program. The eLDP project will replace the current paper based system with an electronic subdivision approval management system -from the lodgement of applications for initial subdivision approval to the issue of titles. It will link 48 State Government agencies and all Local Government Councils, streamlining business processes and allowing developers to apply on-line for land development approvals anytime. The project is currently in the initiation phase and Programme Management and Probity Audit tenders have been released. The project is scheduled to commence development on 1 January, 2007. For more information contact walis@walis.wa.gov.au
The Autumn edition of WALIS News is now out! If you would like to receive a copy, please email gen.gongora-mesas@walis.wa.gov.au. You can find out what’s been happening in the WALIS Community by subscribing to WALIS News — here!
Spatial Technology in Schools (STIS) Competition
The STiS official launch for WA, was very successful with plenty of teachers and mentors turning up for their information session and then the official launch by the PSMA Australia representative Mike Bradford and the SSI President Tony Snow. Thanks to Christ Church Grammar School for their Future Sphere facilities and to WALIS and ESRI Australia for sponsoring the event. There are now 20 schools registered. All have met up with their mentors and received their software and training. Project ideas are ranging from environmental, social, community, local school, and global issues. If you would like to get involved Bronwen is still collating a list of mentors so email her at stiscomp@bigpond.net.au.
WALIS Forum
Sponsorship opportunities and booths at the trade exhibition for the WALIS International Forum 2008 are quickly being snapped up. For further information and to download the Sponsorship and Trade Exhibition Opportunities brochure, visit http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/forum/sponsorship. If you would like to present a paper 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. Suggested topics for papers can be found at the Forum website, but topics are not limited to those suggested and if you have something you think is interesting, we would love to hear from you! Contact Genevieve at 9273 7042 or forum@walis.wa.gov.au.
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 regarding this process please contact Diana Adorno on 9272 7707
The new WA Atlas is taking shape and the official cut over date has been confirmed for June 2007. For more information email fiona.mccarthy@walis.wa.gov.au
WALIS Stakeholders in the News
The Urban Monitor Project is a collaboration of the CSIRO, Landgate, the Department of Environment and Conservation, the Water Corporation, the Department of Water and the Swan Catchment Council. It will help realise the opportunity presented by the regular collection of digital aerial photography for quantitative monitoring of urban infrastructure and the surrounding environment. The state’s current SLICP aerial photography program will be switching to digital photogrammetric image acquisition within a couple of years. This imagery will be acquired regularly over the urban and peri-urban area, and provides the potential for monitoring at scales and efficiency which were previously impossible. Assets that may be monitored include urban infrastructure changes, river and wetland foreshores, Bush Forever sites, Banksia woodlands and pine plantations on Gnangara Mound, individual tuart trees and jarrah forests on the Darling Scarp. Quantitative changes in land use due to urbanisation and peri-urban agriculture can also be detected and measured. Each pass will also produce an up-to-date Digital Surface Model. In order to realise this potential, standards for data acquisition, archiving and processing the images need to be established. The project is based on the combined experience of the project partners. In March- April 2007 imagery was obtained for coastal plain areas between Gingin Brook in the north, the Harvey Irrigation District in the south, the coastline (and Rottnest) in the west and the Mundaring and Wungong Catchments in the east.
For further information contact: Rachel.Fitzgerald@csiro.au
Topographic Restructure Project Update
Marty Stamatis, Project Manager of the Topographic Restructure & Road Centreline Quality Improvement Projects within Landgate's Geographic Services recently announced that the project had reached its greatest milestone by going live for maintenance. After acceptance testing in late May a phased approach to going live was started (i.e. gradually introduced data editors to the system).
While all this was happening significant effort was put into completing the contour coverage of the remainder of the state. The project team used DEMs created from aerial photography and the space shuttle to produce 10 and 20 metre contours over remote regions of the state. This data is undergoing final editing and QA; it is expected that the contours will be loaded into the database within the next 2-3 months.
Although the Topographic Restructure Project is not responsible for setting up the data dissemination strategy, Marty is currently discussing the best way to export data out of the maintenance environment for users with Landgate's Information Access branch [back to top]
GIS Analysis of Seafloor Geomorphology Exposes Conservation Concerns
Oceans cover about 361 million square kilometres of the Earth’s surface, of which 219 million square kilometres (or about 60%) is high seas. This area is outside the economic exclusion zone (EEZ) of any nation, and human activities on the high seas are largely unregulated and unrestricted. While there is increasing support for the conservation of high-seas biodiversity through declaring high-seas marine reserves, there is a lack of information on deep-sea benthic communities. An alternative that offers a quantitative and systematic approach to identifying conservation priority areas is Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis of seafloor geomorphic features as a substitute for biodiversity.Source: AUSGEO News
The project is focussed on developing an animal-friendly virtual fencing system for cattle that enables the animals to be confined without using fixed fences. The boundaries are drawn entirely by GPS and exist only as a line on a computer,” Dr Fisher said “There are no wires or fixed transmitters used at all. Importantly, what we’re developing, achieves the same result as a conventional fence but without the need for posts and wire.” Source: CSIRO
Aus Onshore Energy Security Program Takes Off
The Australian Government’s Onshore Energy Security Program (OESP) was announced by the Prime Minister in August last year (see AusGeo News 84) as part of a broader package of energy exploration initiatives. The $59 million, five-year program will deliver pre-competitive data packages and fresh, scientifically based assessments of the potential for onshore energy resources such as oil, gas, uranium, thorium and geothermal energy. Source: AUSGEO News
NEW Seabed Sediment Map Fills Marine Knowledge
Geoscience Australia in conjunction with the former Department of Environment and Heritage (now Department of Environment and Water Resources: DEWR) has completed a detailed spatial analysis of seabed geomorphology and sedimentology of the Southwest (SW) marine region. These results provide quantitative information on the geomorphology and sedimentology of the seabed for more than 1000 new and 100 existing samples and fill the largest gap in our knowledge of Australia’s marine jurisdiction. Source: AUSGEO News
Global Warming is Speeding up Ocean Waves
Gigantic ocean waves, spanning hundreds of kilometres from crest to crest, have been speeding up thanks to global warming, a new model suggests. Source: New Scientist
Satellite Images Bridge Undestanding gap Between Climate Change and Individuals
The geospatial community can play a vital role in global warming research by helping to make a connection between climate change and individual people. The best way to accomplish this is by making satellite imagery and derived information more easily accessible and understandable to the general public, so they can see the impact that climate change has at the local level. To read on visit Directions Magazine
In a country like India, with its size, varied topography and contours, lifestyles and diverse culture, manually gathering health data of the swelling populace, going house to house and village to village is indeed a Herculean task. GIS and GPS are here to make life easier as the data is converted to a digital format, maps on different aspects are then made and based on individual needs integrated and analysed. This makes it an indispensable component for health experts to track down epidemics—their onset, causes, conditions and effects, patterns, the target groups, medical history of each family in an area and zero in on the exact position of the house.
Source: Express Health Care
The USGS Offers Satellite Imagery Online
The United States Geological Survey has released an array of Landsat 7 images of the United States through its USGS Global Visualization Viewer and EarthExplorer Web sites. The high-quality images were taken at times when cloud cover was limited.
Source: GNC
GIS Applications during Response to Hurricane Katrina: Small, Local Government and State Government Experiences
Though much of the media focus on Hurricane Katrina tends to center on New Orleans, the city was part of a larger region devastated by the storm. Numerous smaller communities throughout Louisiana and Mississippi required emergency response in the aftermath of Katrina; some still struggle to recover today. GIS was an integral part of the response phase throughout the Gulf Coast and the lessons from those involved in this effort should be shared. Many challenges faced in a disaster are common regardless of geographic or disaster-specific circumstances.Source: Directions Magazine
Upcoming Events
2007 SSI WA Regional Conference.
19-20 July, 2007,
Hollis Lecture Theatres, Psychology Building 401-002,
Curtin University, Kent St, Bentley.
Full two day program now confirmed. Quality presentations and lots of CPD points to be earned. Culminates with the Inaugural WA Spatial Excellence Awards.
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
ESRI Australia’s GIS Solutions for Utilities
9 August 2007, Sofitel Hotel, Brisbane.
Having ready access to information about location is at the core of managing a successful utility. ESRI Australia’s free GIS Solutions for Utilities event, held following the GITA Conference, will include presentations and demonstrations by ESRI Australia, international experts and local industry representatives. Hear first-hand how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are moving beyond the traditional asset and facilities management areas within utilities to extend across the enterprise, and integrate with key corporate applications.
To find out more about the event, or to register, visit the ESRI Australia website (link to www.esriaustralia.com.au) or email marketing@esriaustralia.com.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.
ESRI Australia Resources Symposium
28-29 August 2007, Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, Perth.
ESRI Australia’s inaugural Resources Symposium provides the perfect opportunity for those from the mining and petroleum industries to find out from international experts and leading industry figures how others in the resources industry are using GIS to stay ahead in this competitive business. Symposium topics will range from facilitating inter-office collaboration, managing environmental impacts, to integrating with corporate systems.To find out more, visit www.esriaustralia.com.au, or email wheresolutions@esriaustralia.com.au.
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.
OZRI 2007
15-17 October 2007, Sydney Hilton Hotel, Sydney.
ESRI Australia’s national client conference, OZRI 2007, will this year focus on the theme ‘GIS – Serving today’s demands’. Conference sessions will explore the current imperatives and demands that are broadening the expectations and requirements of today’s GIS, including evolving technology architectures and system integration, increasing requirements for instant web access to GIS, and ever-simplified interfaces to complex GIS work processes.
For more information about OZRI 2007, including online registration, visit the conference website (link to www.esriaustralia.com.au/ozri), or email ozri@esriaustralia.com.au.
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. 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
The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System provides near real-time alerts about natural disasters around the world and tools to facilitate response coordination, including media monitoring, map catalogues and Virtual On-Site Operations Coordination Centre.
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.