WebGIS as boundary tools between scientific geoinformation and disaster risk reduction action in volcanic areas

As the amount of spatial data is growing, there is increased interest in developing tools to explore, visualize and interpret them, with the final aim of informing decision making efficiently. Within the European MIAVITA project, we examined this issue in the case of volcanic areas, where existing geospatial databases are particularly complex due to the number of threats to be considered, including volcanic (e.g. lava flows, ash fall) and non-volcanic hazards, such as landslides or tsunamis. We involved a group of hazard and risk analysts and managers, civil security officers, GIS analysts and system developers to design a Web-based geographical information system (WebGIS). We tested the system at the Mount Cameroon volcano, taking advantage of a complex hazard and risk geographical database. This study enabled identifying key requirements for such tools in volcanic areas, such as the need to manage user privileges differently according to their profile and the status of the volcano. This work also highlights that, in addition to the development of large geoinformation clearinghouses, there is a need for site-specific information systems focused on working procedures of users, in order to fill the last gap between data producers and users

WebGIS based Decision Support System for Disseminating NOWCAST based Alerts: OpenGIS Approach

WebGIS is a kind of distributed information system which holds the potential to make geographic information available worldwide It is cost effective and provides an easy way of disseminating geospatial data This paper outlines the design and development of a WebGIS based Decision Support System DSS for disseminating Nowcasting of Extreme Orographic Rain events generated at regular intervals from NETRA model Dissemination of events include heavy rainfall alerts all over India and cloudburst alerts over Western Himalayan Region every half an hour In India natural calamities like flood and cloudburst results in lot of causalities If any early Heavy rain alerts dissemination system is developed then it will protect several lives and mitigate damage of property or infrastructure in affected areas The development of such WebGIS based decision support system originates from this concept Objective of this paper is to describe the near real time WebGIS based Decision support System developed for disseminating rainfall alerts to the general public and administrators about heavy rain all over India and cloud burst over Western Himalayan region using interactive maps Users can also get non spatial information like number of affected cities and their names district level population census 2011 forecast date and time Radius of influence etc This WebGIS based decision support system can help government agencies NGO s and general public in planning to save lives properties and can be used for decision making to reduce economic and material loss from the resulting floods This paper also illustrates use of open source technologies for developing such WebGIS -DSS at low cost The principal development component includes GeoServer Java PostgreSQL OpenLayers and GeoExt The framework of the system can be divided into two categories 1 Dissemination system which includes visualization of centroid and precise locations of Heavy Rain all over India and cl

CUSTOMIZED WEBGIS SOLUTIONS FOR EXPOSOMICS

Abstract. Exposomics is a science aiming at quantifying the effects on human health of all the factors influencing it, but genetic ones. They include environment, food, mobility habits and cultural factors. The percentage of the world's population living in the urban areas is projected to increase in the next decades. Rising industrialization, urbanization and heterogeneity are leading to new challenges for public health and quality of life in the population. The prevalence of conditions such as asthma and cardiovascular diseases is increasing due to a change in lifestyle and air quality. This enlightens the necessity of targeted interventions to increase citizens' quality of life and decrease their health risks. Within the EU H2020 PULSE project, a multi-technological system to assist the population in the prevention and treatment of asthma and type 2 diabetes has been developed. The system created in PULSE features several parts, such as a personal App for the citizens, a set of air quality sensors, a WebGIS and dashboards for the public health operators. Citizens are directly involved in an exchange paradigm in which they send their own data and receive feedbacks and suggestions about their health in return. The WebGIS is a very distinguishing element of the PULSE technology and the paper illustrates its main functionalities focusing on the distinguishing and innovative features developed

Enhancing Usability Evaluation of Web-Based Geographic Information Systems (WebGIS) with Visual Analytics

Many websites nowadays incorporate geospatial data that users interact with, for example, to filter search results or compare alternatives. These web-based geographic information systems (WebGIS) pose new challenges for usability evaluations as both the interaction with classic interface elements and with map-based visualizations have to be analyzed to understand user behavior. This paper proposes a new scalable approach that applies visual analytics to logged interaction data with WebGIS, which facilitates the interactive exploration and analysis of user behavior. In order to evaluate our approach, we implemented it as a toolkit that can be easily integrated into existing WebGIS. We then deployed the toolkit in a user study (N=60) with a realistic WebGIS and analyzed users\u27 interaction in a second study with usability experts (N=7). Our results indicate that the proposed approach is practically feasible, easy to integrate into existing systems, and facilitates insights into the usability of WebGIS

ZoomAzores project: implementation of a WebGIS for Nature and Adventure Tourism.

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Estatística e Gestão de InformaçãoNowadays, the Web offers new ways to make available information to users. This creates new ways and tools that can be used to make available tourist information and promotion of these destinations. The main objective this work is to develop a Web application for the ZoomAzores project. This web application uses dynamic maps and user-generated content features, which are focused on make available useful information for the tourist and the promotion of Nature and Adventure Tourism (NAT) in the archipelago of Azores. The solutions encountered were always determined by the technologies used and from the point of view of tourists visiting the Azores, which frequently doesn’t know about the Azores territory. The ZoomAzores Web application has Geographic Information System (GIS) visualization and navigation capabilities on the Internet, turning it into a WebGIS. It also encompasses the principles of Web 2.0 providing functionalities such as the generation of contents by users. The existing link between the use of dynamic maps and Web 2.0 in the tourism promotion and travel planning tasks seems to be a solid reality putting up new opportunities for the business in tourism.In this work, the development of the ZoomAzores WebGIS is based on the use of Open Standards (OS) and Free Open Source Software (FOSS). The use of OS is a key to the development of a WebGIS application able to interoperate with other systems and then use and consume Web Services (WS) that other systems can offer, concurrently enriching the data sources used. The FOSS technologies allow creates a more low cost solution without licensing cost software. This document exposes some design aspects in the system development and describes some functional and architectural features about the WebGIS ZoomAzores

3D modeling and visualization of utility networks

Most of the current 2D GIS representations are tied to the limits of the GIS software tools used and are, more properly, simplifications of the real aspects of the territory. The development of 3D GIS tools has brought to life by the belief that the description of the reality and the analysis of the phenomena that take place in it must be done in the proper dimensions. An important field of application of GIS software tools is the utility networks management. Existing software tools that support management and 3D visualisation of utility networks are powerful but very expansive. The aim of the project is to design a general network model that will be used to model an utility network and to visualise it in 3D. The general network model has been designed to be data source and platform independent. It can take data from OGC standard compliant data source like GeoDBMS and WFS Servers and can be enriched by a user defined set of attributes, making it suitable for every network analysis and management need. On the top of the general network model has been designed a geometrical model that transforms the general network model in a 3D model which can be displayed using a WebGL graphic engine. Using the general network model and the geometrical model has been designed and developed a WebGL viewer that visualises the network model over a DTM with a complete navigation system that allows a complete tour of the scene and data query and editingopenEmbargo per motivi di segretezza e di proprietà dei risultati e informazioni sensibil

An Open-Source WebGIS Platform for Rapid Disaster Impact Assessment

Natural disaster impacts have increased worldwide in the past decades. Earthquake is one of the disasters that have been studied for real-time analysis and crisis management. Disaster-related losses have been examined by the damage extent of the houses, infrastructures, fatalities and injuries converted to financial losses. WebGIS technologies provide a wide range of solutions to map those damages, analyse data and publish the results. Open-Source tools and data have been widely used today because they stay free and facilitate access to data especially significant in developing countries. This research presents a WebGIS prototype using Open-Source Geo-Spatial technologies such as PostGIS, Geoserver, Geoexplorer and OpenStreetMap (OSM) to evaluate the rapid impact of naturally produced disasters for the total damages. For this purpose, expert knowledge, such as earthquake intensities and vulnerability inputs are imported into the system and the loss of the damage is rapidly estimated. This work is part of a project for catastrophe modeling based on Open-Source data and software. We hope that applying Open-Source knowledge and solutions will decrease the time and efforts needed for rapid disaster and catastrophe management

Proposal of an Academic Spatial Data Infrastructure for the Federal University of Viçosa

Universities use and produce significant amounts of cartographic data. Besides the administrative sector, which is responsible for the management of the territory, several research, education and extension projects also involve large volumes of maps and other types of spatial information. However, much of the data produced in higher education institutions is lost in laboratories or in the possession of researchers - making it impossible to reuse this information and doubling expenses in the reproduction of such data. An Academic Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) would enable the availability and standardization of spatial data produced in higher education institutions. Understanding this potentiality, the article at hand describes the development of an Academic SDI for the Federal University of Viçosa (SDI-UFV). In order to identify all the elements to be provided by the SDI-UFV, we began with the conceptual modeling of existing data and user needs. For the implementation of this SDI, we had to establish partnerships with the administrative bodies of the university. This helped us to define an institutional structure that ensures the management, maintenance and continuity of the SDI within the university. We proposed the appointment of a permanent commission and a resolution model. Regarding the technological components, we decided to use Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). We used the PostGIS database management system, the i3Geo software for the publication of spatial data, the edpMGBs editor for creating metadata, and the GeoNetwork software for managing the metadata catalog. The standards adopted were those approved by the Brazilian National Spatial Data Infrastructure (INDE), which follow the standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)

A new WebGIS approach to support ground penetrating radar deployment

En raison de l’agglomération complexe des infrastructures souterraines dans les grandes zones urbaines et des préoccupations accrues des municipalités ou des gouvernements qui déploient des systèmes d’information foncière ou des industries qui souhaitent construire ou creuser, il devient de plus en plus impératif de localiser et de cartographier avec précision les pipelines, les câbles d’énergie hydroélectrique, les réseaux de communication ou les conduites d’eau potable et d’égout. Le géoradar (Ground Penetrating Radar ou GPR) est un outil en géophysique qui permet de produire des images en coupe du sous-sol desquelles de l’information utile sur les infrastructures souterraines peut être tirée. Des expériences antérieures et une analyse documentaire approfondie ont révélé que les logiciels disponibles pour réaliser des levés GPR qui sont utilisés directement sur le terrain et hors site ne reposent pas ou très peu sur des fonctionnalités géospatiales. En outre, l’intégration de données telles que la visualisation de données GPR dans des espaces géoréférencés avec des orthophotos, des cartes, des points d’intérêt, des plans CAO, etc., est impossible. Lorsque disponible, l’ajout d’annotations ou l’interrogation d’objets géospatiaux susceptibles d’améliorer ou d’accélérer les investigations ne proposent pas des interfaces conviviales. Dans ce projet de recherche, une nouvelle approche est proposée pour déployer le GPR et elle est basée sur quatre fonctionnalités issues du Web et des systèmes d’information géographique (WebGIS) jugées essentielles pour faciliter la réalisation de levés GPR sur le terrain. Pour démontrer la faisabilité de cette nouvelle approche, une extension de la plate-forme logicielle existante GVX (conçue et vendue par Geovoxel) appelée GVX-GPR a été développée. GVX-GPR propose aux utilisateurs d’instruments GPR quatre fonctionnalités soit 1) intégration de cartes, 2) géo-annotations et points d’intérêt, 3) géoréférencement et visualisation de radargrammes et 4) visualisation de sections GPR géoréférencées. Afin de tester l’approche WebGIS et GPXGPR, deux sites d’étude ont été relevés par deux professionnels différents, un expert et un non-expert en géophysique, ont été sélectionnés. Une première expérimentation réalisée sur le campus de l’Université Laval à Québec prévoyait l’identification de trois objets enterrés soit un câble électrique, une fibre optique et un tunnel dont leur position XYZ était connue. Le deuxième essai s’est passé à l’Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brésil), avec un professionnel expert en géophysique. Ce 2e site cherchait à reproduire un environnent plus réaliste avec une quantité inconnue d’objets enterrés. Les quatre fonctionnalités proposées par GVX-GPR ont donc été testées et leur intérêt discuté par les deux utilisateurs GPR. Les deux utilisateurs GPR se sont dits très intéressés par l’outil GVX-GPR et ses nouvelles fonctionnalités et ils aimeraient pouvoir l’intégrer à leur travail quotidien car ils y voient des avantages. En particulier, l’approche et GVX-GPR les a aidés à découvrir de nouvelles cibles, à délimiter le territoire à couvrir, à interpréter les données GPR brutes en permettant l’interaction entre les données géospatiales (en ligne) et les profils de données GPR, et finalement pour la cartographie à produire tout en respectant la norme CityGML (donc utile au partage éventuel des données). De même, une fois le système maitrisé, GVX-GPR a permis d’optimiser la durée du levé. Ce projet de maitrise a donc permis d’élaborer une nouvelle approche pour effectuer des levés GPR et proposer un outil logiciel pour tester la faisabilité de celle-ci. Une première étape de validation de la faisabilité et de l’utilité a été réalisée grâce aux deux tests effectués. Évidemment, ces deux tests sont des premiers pas dans une phase plus large de validation qui pourrait s’effectuer, et ils ont ouvert la porte à des ajustements ou l’ajout d’autres fonctionnalités, comme la manipulation des outils de visualisation 3D et l’ajout de filtres et traitement de signal. Nous estimons néanmoins ces premiers tests concluant pour ce projet de maîtrise, et surtout ils démontrent que les instruments GPR gagneraient à davantage intégrer les données et fonctionnalités géospatiales. Nous pensons également que nos travaux vont permettre à des communautés de non spécialistes en géophysique de s’intéresser aux instruments de type GPR pour les levés d’objets enfouis. Notre approche pourra les aider à préparer les données géospatiales utiles à la planification, à effectuer le levé terrain et à produire les cartes associéesDue to the complex agglomeration of underground infrastructures in large urban areas and accordingly increased concerns by municipalities or government who deploy land information systems or industries who want to construct or excavate, it is imperative to accurately locate and suitability map existing underground utility networks (UUN) such as pipelines, hydroelectric power cables, communication networks, or drinking water and sewage conduits. One emerging category of instrument in geophysics for collecting and extracting data from the underground is the ground penetrating radar (GPR). Previous experiments and a thorough literature review revealed that GPR software used in and off the field do not take advantage of geospatial features and data integration such as visualization of GPR data in a georeferenced space with orthophotographies, map, point of interest, CAD plans, etc. Also missing is the capability to add annotation or querying geospatial objects that may improve or expedite the investigations. These functions are long-lived in the geospatial domain, such as in geographic information system (GIS). In this research project, a new approach is proposed to deploy GPR based on four core WebGIS-enabled features, used to support field investigations with GPR. This WebGIS is based on an existing platform called GVX, designed and sold by Geovoxel as a risk management tool for civil engineering projects. In this proposed approach, a generic guideline based on GVX-GPR was developed which users can follow when deploying GPR. This approach is based on four core features which are missing on most GPR software, (1) map integration, (2) geo-annotations and points of interest, (3) radargram georeferencing and visualization, and (4) georeferenced slice visualization. In order to test the designed WebGIS-based approach, two different professionals, an expert in geophysics and a person without any background in geophysics, used the proposed approach in their day-to-day professional practice. The first experiment was conducted at Université Laval (Québec – Canada) when the subject undertook an area to a survey in order to identify 3 possible targets premapped. The second, with a Geophysics-specialist, took place in Rio de Janeiro, at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro’s campus. This study covered an area counting on an unknown number of buried objects, aiming at reproducing a realistic survey scenario. Four new feature were added and discussed with GPR practitioners. Both GPR user declared to be very interested by the proposed by the tool GVX-GPR and its features, being willing to apply this software on their daily basis due to the added advantages. Particularly, this approach has aided these professionals to find new buried objects, delimit the survey area, interpret raw GPR data by allowing geospatial data interaction and GPR profiles, and, finally, to produce new maps compliant with standards such as CityGML. Also, once mastered, the technology allowed the optimization of survey time. This project enabled the development of a new approach to leverage GPR surveys and proposed a new tool in order to test the approach’s feasibility. A first step into the validation of this proposal has been taken towards a feasibility and utility evaluation with two tests accomplished. Unmistakably, these are the first steps of a likely larger validation process, opening up new possibilities for the continuity of the project such as the addition of signal processing techniques and 3D data handling. We nevertheless consider these conclusive for this master’s project, above all demonstrating the value add by geospatial data integration and functions to GPR instruments. This work is also intended to the community of newcomers, or interested in GPR, to further explore this technology, since this approach shall facilitate the preparation, execution, and post-processing phases of a GPR survey