Problems of Designing Geoportal Interfaces

The manuscript is devoted to analysis of the problem of designing graphical geoportal interfaces. The support points for the problem solutions are formulated and rationale of each of them is given. The emphasis was placed on the following orientations: to a flexible process of interface development, the need to introduce adaptability, progressive development, the motivated abandonment of geospatial content management systems and the use of third-party libraries where necessary, problem-solving and achieving goals. The lists of basic functional and qualitative requirements for graphical geoportal interfaces are given. In the last segment, the authors share their experience in the development of geoportal solutions

Cultural heritage and sustainable development targets : a possible harmonisation? Insights from the European Perspective

The Agenda 2030 includes a set of targets that need to be achieved by 2030. Although none of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focuses exclusively on cultural heritage, the resulting Agenda includes explicit reference to heritage in SDG 11.4 and indirect reference to other Goals. Achievement of international targets shall happen at local and national level, and therefore, it is crucial to understand how interventions on local heritage are monitored nationally, therefore feeding into the sustainable development framework. This paper is focused on gauging the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals with reference to cultural heritage, by interrogating the current way of classifying it (and consequently monitoring). In fact, there is no common dataset associated with monitoring SDGs, and the field of heritage is extremely complex and diversified. The purpose for the paper is to understand if the taxonomy used by different national databases allows consistency in the classification and valuing of the different assets categories. The European case study has been chosen as field of investigation, in order to pilot a methodology that can be expanded in further research. A cross‐comparison of a selected sample of publicly accessible national cultural heritage databases has been conducted. As a result, this study confirms the existence of general harmonisation of data towards the achievement of the SDGs with a broad agreement of the conceptualisation of cultural heritage with international frameworks, thus confirming that consistency exists in the classification and valuing of the different assets categories. However, diverse challenges of achieving a consistent and coherent approach to integrating culture in sustainability remains problematic. The findings allow concluding that it could be possible to mainstream across different databases those indicators, which could lead to depicting the overall level of attainment of the Agenda 2030 targets on heritage. However, more research is needed in developing a robust correlation between national datasets and international targets

Rising waters : integrating national datasets for the visualisation of diminishing spatial entities

Preparing for the potential changes wrought by climate change can be grounded in commonly integrated real data. Efforts by various countries to prepare for such potentialities have resulted in a stepped- approach to data management and integration. Small island states experience an added burden through data limitations, disparate datasets and data hoarding. This paper reviews the processes employed in Malta that target a spatio-temporal analysis of current and future climate change scenarios aimed at integrating environmental, spatial planning and social data in line with the transposition of the Aarhus Convention, the INSPIRE Directive (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community) and the SEIS (Shared Environmental Information System) initiative. The study analyses potential physical and social aspects that will be impacted by sea-level rise in the Maltese islands. Scenarios include the analysis of areas that will be inundated, the methodology employed to carry out the analysis, and the relative impacts on land use and environmental, infrastructural and population loss. Spatial information systems and 3D outputs illustrate outcome scenarios.peer-reviewe

Seafloor characterization using airborne hyperspectral co-registration procedures independent from attitude and positioning sensors

The advance of remote-sensing technology and data-storage capabilities has progressed in the last decade to commercial multi-sensor data collection. There is a constant need to characterize, quantify and monitor the coastal areas for habitat research and coastal management. In this paper, we present work on seafloor characterization that uses hyperspectral imagery (HSI). The HSI data allows the operator to extend seafloor characterization from multibeam backscatter towards land and thus creates a seamless ocean-to-land characterization of the littoral zone

Use of GIS to Discover the Existence of Terrorism

Threats to national defense can be military or non-military. The greatest unresolved threat and challenge facing the Indonesian state is terrorism. The Indonesian government has dealt with terrorism, but catching terrorists remains difficult. The purpose of this research is to provide an alternative that uses Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) to find out where terrorists are hiding. The limitation of this research is the mountainous region in Central Sulawesi Province. The method used in this study is to use the GEOINT approach which is a combination of remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS) and cartography, to extract information and analyze the results. The analysis was performed using a weighted linear combination method. The quantification process is carried out on all spatial data used for each parameter related to the presence of terrorists in the mountains. Quantification is done by changing each sub-parameter class to a value between 1-5. Each value is then weighted as a coefficient to arrive at the final score. From the results of the analysis and discussion it can be concluded that the GEOINT analysis can be used as an initial research on terrorist hideouts

Geographic Information Systems and Risk Assessment

This report presents projects developed by the Unit IPSC/SERAC regarding the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for supporting the study of critical infrastructures and the security/defence industry. It also discusses how risk assessment can benefit from geographical representations. Risk assessments have an important spatial component and GIS can be central to risk identification, quantification, and evaluation. Furthermore it presents a wide-ranging description of different GIS techniques and web-technologies, and its potential application to supporting the European Program for Critical Infrastructure Protection, and the mapping of the European Defence industry.JRC.G.6-Sensors, radar technologies and cybersecurit

A LOCAL SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THE MERAPI VOLCANIC RISK MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY AT SLEMAN REGENCY, INDONESIA

This research aims to implement an application of a Local Spatial DataInfrastructure (SDI) for evacuation planning of Merapi Volcano disaster. Theprocesses, problems and information flows in evacuation planning were examined.Geo-collaboration Portal was customized in order to provide spatial resources fordecision makers. It is equipped with usable maps presentation and interaction toolsto support collaborative decisions. User group assessment was carried out toevaluate usability of the application. The evaluation results showed thatcollaborative portals on top of a local SDI can facilitate effective decision makingprocess and improve coordination among involved stakeholders in thecontext of disaster preparedness and mitigation. Several aspects need to beconsidered in order to achieve a functional local SDI e.g. availability and qualityof the spatial data, establishment of local regulations and standards, developmentof metadata, and strengthening capable human resources

The PREVIEW Global Risk Data Platform: a geoportal to serve and share global data on risk to natural hazards

With growing world population and concentration in urban and coastal areas, the exposure to natural hazards is increasing and results in higher risk of human and economic losses. Improving the identification of areas, population and assets potentially exposed to natural hazards is essential to reduce the consequences of such events. Disaster risk is a function of hazard, exposure and vulnerability. Modelling risk at the global level requires accessing and processing a large number of data, from numerous collaborating centres. <br><br> These data need to be easily updated, and there is a need for centralizing access to this information as well as simplifying its use for non GIS specialists. The Hyogo Framework for Action provides the mandate for data sharing, so that governments and international development agencies can take appropriate decision for disaster risk reduction. <br><br> Timely access and easy integration of geospatial data are essential to support efforts in Disaster Risk Reduction. However various issues in data availability, accessibility and integration limit the use of such data. In consequence, a framework that facilitate sharing and exchange of geospatial data on natural hazards should improve decision-making process. The PREVIEW Global Risk Data Platform is a highly interactive web-based GIS portal supported by a Spatial Data Infrastructure that offers free and interoperable access to more than 60 global data sets on nine types of natural hazards (tropical cyclones and related storm surges, drought, earthquakes, biomass fires, floods, landslides, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions) and related exposure and risk. This application portrays an easy-to-use online interactive mapping interface so that users can easily work with it and seamlessly integrate data in their own data flow using fully compliant OGC Web Services (OWS)