An Interactive WebGIS Framework for Coastal Erosion Risk Management

The Italian coastline stretches over about 8350 km, with 3600 km of beaches, representing a significant resource for the country. Natural processes and anthropic interventions keep threatening its morphology, moulding its shape and triggering soil erosion phenomena. Thus, many scholars have been focusing their work on investigating and monitoring shoreline instability. Outcomes of such activities can be largely widespread and shared with expert and non-expert users through Web mapping. This paper describes the performances of a WebGIS prototype designed to disseminate the results of the Italian project Innovative Strategies for the Monitoring and Analysis of Erosion Risk, known as the STIMARE project. While aiming to include the entire national coastline, three study areas along the regional coasts of Puglia and Emilia Romagna have already been implemented as pilot cases. This WebGIS was generated using Free and Open-Source Software for Geographic information systems (FOSS4G). The platform was designed by combining Apache http server, Geoserver, as open-source server and PostgreSQL (with PostGIS extension) as database. Pure javascript libraries OpenLayers and Cesium were implemented to obtain a hybrid 2D and 3D visualization. A user-friendly interactive interface was programmed to help users visualize and download geospatial data in several formats (pdf, kml and shp), in accordance with the European INSPIRE directives, satisfying both multi-temporal and multi-scale perspectives. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerlan

Bridging research and dissemination in the CoViD-19 era: a WebGIS dashboard for the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy)

The paper presents an ongoing project devoted to the study, the analysis and the representation of epidemiological data related to CoViD-19 spread in the territory of the Province of Trento (Italy), both for scientific and communication purposes. In this broader context, the construction of a digital cartography tool as a WebGIS to allow local communities understanding of epidemiological spread is presented. Data have been supplied by the local Provincial Health Authority; statistic have been processed in order to develop municipality scale vector polygonal coropleth and point maps in order to show affected, health and death rate distribution. A timeline allows the representation of changes and dynamics from Spring 2020 to the current date. The database provides “on-the-fly” data to the production scripts of maps and time charts. These scripts querying the database produce a geographic file in the geojson standard interchange format. This file is read by the javascript scripts based on the leaflet libraries for the production of the final maps. In a similar process, scripts based on the chart.js library produce the graph of the data temporal variation, automatically reading dates and interval time of analysis. A custom procedure was developed to allow the periodic update of the dataset. New information is added to the database by uploading an external spreadsheet. The study presents the methodology to develop and assess the WebGIS for managing, visualize and analyse Coronavirus diffusion. Future implementation of the WebGIS will expand the used data and allow the comparison with social and environmental factors

MSUO Information Technology and Geographical Information Systems: Common Protocols & Procedures. Report to the Marine Safety Umbrella Operation

The Marine Safety Umbrella Operation (MSUO) facilitates the cooperation between Interreg funded Marine Safety Projects and maritime stakeholders. The main aim of MSUO is to permit efficient operation of new projects through Project Cooperation Initiatives, these include the review of the common protocols and procedures for Information Technology (IT) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This study carried out by CSA Group and the National Centre for Geocomputation (NCG) reviews current spatial information standards in Europe and the data management methodologies associated with different marine safety projects. International best practice was reviewed based on the combined experience of spatial data research at NCG and initiatives in the US, Canada and the UK relating to marine security service information and acquisition and integration of large marine datasets for ocean management purposes. This report identifies the most appropriate international data management practices that could be adopted for future MSUO projects

How can ski resorts get smart? Transdisciplinary approaches to sustainable winter tourism in the European Alps

Climate change and the call for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the efficient use of (renewable) energy, and more resilient winter tourism regions, forces ski resorts across the European Alps to look for \u201csmart\u201d approaches to transition towards a sustainable, low-carbon economy. Drawing on the smart-city concept and considering the different historical developments of Alpine resorts, the Smart Altitude Decision-Making Toolkit was developed using a combination of an energy audit tool, a WebGIS, and collaborative and innovative living labs installed in Les Orres (France), Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), Krvavec (Slovenia), and Verbier (Switzerland). This step-by-step Decision-Making Toolkit enables ski resorts to get feedback on their energy demand, an overview of the locally available sources of renewable energy, and insights regarding their potential for improving their energy efficiency by low-carbon interventions. The Decision-Making Toolkit is suitable for knowledge transfer between stakeholders within living labs and moreover provides the flexibility for tailor-made low-carbon strategies adapting to the unique assets and situatedness of ski resorts

REAL TIME INTEGRATION OF FIELD DATA INTO A GIS PLATFORM FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF HYDROLOGICAL EMERGENCIES

Abstract. A wide series of events requires immediate availability of information and field data to be provided to decision-makers. An example is the necessity of quickly transferring the information acquired from monitoring and alerting sensors or the data of the reconnaissance of damage after a disastrous event to an Emergency Operations Center. To this purpose, we developed an integrated GIS and WebGIS system to dynamically create and populate via Web a database with spatial features. In particular, this work concerns the gathering and transmission of spatial data and related information to the desktop GIS so that they can be displayed and analyzed in real time to characterize the operational scenario and to decide the rescue interventions. As basic software, we used only free and open source: QuantumGIS and Grass as Desktop GIS, Map Server with PMapper application for the Web-Gis functionality and PostGreSQL/PostGIS as Data Base Management System (DBMS). The approach has been designed, developed and successfully tested in the management of GIS-based navigation of an autonomous robot, both to map its trajectories and to assign optimal paths. This paper presents the application of our system to a simulated hydrological event that could interest the province of Catania, in Sicily. In particular, assuming that more teams draw up an inventory of the damage, we highlight the benefits of real-time transmission of the information collected from the field to headquarters

WebGIS implementation for dynamic mapping and visualization of coastal geospatial data: A case study of BESS project

Within an E.U.-funded project, BESS (Pocket Beach Management and Remote Surveillance System), the notion of a geographic information system is an indispensable tool for managing the dynamics of georeferenced data and information for any form of territorial planning. This notion was further explored with the creation of a WebGIS portal that will allow local and regional stake-holders/authorities obtain an easy remote access tool to monitor the status of pocket beaches (PB) in the Maltese Archipelago and Sicily. In this paper, we provide a methodological approach for the implementation of a WebGIS necessary for very detailed dynamic mapping and visualization of geospatial coastal data; the description of the dataset necessary for the monitoring of coastal areas, especially the PBs; and a demonstration of a case study for the PBs of Sicily and Malta by using the methodology and the dataset used during the BESS project. Detailed steps involved in the creation of the WebGIS are presented. These include data preparation, data storage, and data publication and transformation into geo-services. With the help of different Open Geospatial Consortium pro-tocols, the WebGIS displays different layers of information for 134 PBs including orthophotos, sed-imentological/geomorphological beach characteristics, shoreline evolution, geometric and morphological parameters, shallow water bathymetry, and photographs of pocket beaches. The WebGIS allows not only for identifying, evaluating, and directing potential solutions to present and arising issues, but also enables public access and involvement. It reflects a platform for future local and regional coastal zone monitoring and management, by promoting public/private involvement in addressing coastal issues and providing local public administrations with an improved technology to monitor coastal changes and help better plan suitable interventions

The RESEARCH project. Soil-related hazards and archaeological heritage in the challenge of climate change

Archaeological Heritage, naturally endangered by environmental processes and anthropogenic pressures, is today increasingly at risk, because of intense human activities and climate change, and their impact on atmosphere and soil. European research is increasingly dedicated to the development of good practices for monitoring archaeological sites and their preservation. One of the running projects about these topics is RESEARCH (Remote Sensing techniques for Archaeology; H2020-MSCA-RISE, grant agreement: 823987), started in 2018 and ending in 2022. RESEARCH aims at testing risk assessment methodology using an integrated system of documentation and research in the fields of archaeology and environmental studies. It will introduce a strategy and select the most efficient tools for the harmonization of different data, criteria, and indicators in order to produce an effective risk assessment. These will be used to assess and monitor the impact of soil erosion, land movement, and land-use change on tangible archaeological heritage assets. As a final product, the Project addresses the development of a multi-task thematic platform, combining advanced remote sensing technologies with GIS application. The demonstration and validation of the Platform will be conducted on six case studies located in Italy, Greece, Cyprus, and Poland, and variously affected by the threats considered by the Project. In the frame of RISE (Research and Innovation Staff Exchange), RESEARCH will coordinate the existing expertise and research efforts of seven beneficiaries into a synergetic plan of collaborations and exchanges of personnel (Ph.D. students and research staff), to offer a comprehensive transfer of knowledge and training environment for the researchers in the specific area. This paper aims at illustrating the results of the activities conducted during the first year of the Project, which consisted in developing an effective risk assessment methodology for soil-related threats affecting archaeological heritage, and defining the scientific requirements and the user requirements of the Platform. The activities have been conducted in synergy with all the Partners and were supported by the possibility of staff exchange allowed by the funding frame MSCA-RISE

Environmental impact assessment of electricity production by photovoltaic system using GEOSS recommendations on interoperability

International audienceWithin the Architecture Implementation Pilot (AIP-3) of GEOSS, we have developed a scenario called "environmental impact assessment of the production, transportation and use of energy for the photovoltaic (PV) sector through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)". It aims at providing decision-makers and policy-planners with reliable and geo-localized knowledge of several impacts induced by various technologies of the PV sector. The scenario is implemented in the GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI) and benefits from the GEOSS interoperability arrangements. The FP7-co-funded EnerGEO project provides a GEOSS compliant Catalogue Service for the Web (CSW) that permits to discover the Web Processing Service (WPS) allowing computation of the environmental impact. A WebGIS client provided by the FP7-co-funded GENESIS platform allows users to interact with geospatial data and computation processes. This scenario has proven to be an efficient tool to disseminate knowledge on environmental impacts related to PV because of the GEOSS capabilities in interoperability

Technical innovation and GIS to qualify recovery processes

Digital technologies can contribute to improving the quality of interventions on the existing heritage, following principles of "organisational sustainability". These ameliorate the way information is managed, also considering its variability through time, during the various process stages (planning and scheduling, design, execution and later manage-ment of the working life cycle), and they also reduce the many levels of \u201cuncertainty\u201d characteristic of this sector of activity. The study submitted here refers to the application of Geographic Information System technologies to information management in projects involving conservation and promotion of the Cultural Heritage by the University of Geno