An Automatic Quantitative Image Analysis System for Construction Materials

An image analysis software system has been developed for a UNIX operating system and a Tektronix terminal. It is designed for the particles and/or pores in construction materials. This system provides a means to measure many discrete fields of view, in order to obtain statistically meaningful results. The system can process images from either an electron or light microscope, or from an ordinary camera. Either negatives or positives can be used. A new method based on fuzzy probability has been developed to segment digital images into binary images. It is more consistent than existing techniques. The system uses object labeling. This makes spot filling, noise filtering, separation of touching objects, object counting and measurement of individual objects easier. The accuracy of the system has been verified with images having known geometric properties. Measurements have an error of less than 1% with an image of appropriate resolution. The system makes different measurements on separate particles and cut planes through massive samples. In the former case, the measurements are: the perimeters, areas, and maximum chords of particles in orthogonal directions, the maximum, minimum and mean values of these parameters, and their distributions. Also, the area of the image, the area faction of particles and the number of particles are measured. In the case of the cut planes, the estimated parameters are: volume fraction of particles, surface area per unit bulk volume, and surface area per unit particle volume. The size distribution, total number of particles and mean diameter can also be estimated. A new method based on computer simulation has been developed to estimate size distribution of particles of any modelable shape. Older methods have a tendency to give too large a number of small particles, and the new method does not

Urban scene description for a multi scale classication of high resolution imagery case of Cape Town urban Scene

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.In this paper, a multi level contextual classification approach of the City of Cape Town, South Africa is presented. The methodology developed to identify the different objects using the multi level contextual technique comprised three important phases

A Geographic Ontology and GIS Model for Carolina Bays

Carolina bays are a unique geomorphologic entity located along the Atlantic coastal plain. Even without the benefit of an overhead view, they have been noted as a distinct feature of the coastal plain as first described by the South Carolina Geological Survey of South Carolina in 1848. The first aerial photographs in the 1930 coastal South Carolina region revealed that the unique depression wetlands were more than just a strange local phenomenon. Aerial photos enabled observers to see qualities in addition to their relative distribution that make them unique: their oval shape, northwest to southeast orientation and the presence of raised sand rims along their eastern and southeastern edges in many instances. Being such a distinctive surface feature and recognized for their ecological value, it would seem that Carolina bays would have been defined within their own map coverage across the Atlantic Coastal plain. However, just two statewide inventories have been completed for South Carolina and Georgia, and one for North Carolina has never been conducted. While previous inventories have employed onscreen digitization with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in order to inventory bays, researchers have raised concerns over how individuals define Carolina bay as a geographic entity. The differences in human perception make the classification of geographic entities that exist on a continuum such as Carolina bays a challenge and may have contributed to widely varying estimates of their numbers. In order to explore the classification issues related to Carolina bays, and the usefulness of geographic ontology and cartographic modeling for inventory, a cartographic model was constructed for use within the Ocean Bay quad in Francis Marion National Forest in Berkeley and Charleston Counties, South Carolina. To test the model’s selective ability, a comparison was made between Carolina bay features that a researcher selected and bays identified by a cartographic model. The model positively identified 76 percent of Carolina bays that a researcher identified in an image within a single quadrangle. The approach used in this model showed that the initial identification rule of any pixel within a bay’s border counted as a positive identification was inadequate. Other aspects not accounted for, including false positive identification, neither researcher nor model being able to identify a bay, or bays that the model was able to select that the researcher was not were added into a subsequent model. Results from the amended model show fewer researcher identified instances of Carolina bays, but a slightly higher rate of mutual identification by the model and the researcher. With these complications in mind, a similar approach was taken with Bladen County North Carolina, but with significant revisions. A cartographic model was created for Bladen County North Carolina in which bay characteristics were selected from the North Carolina Gap Analysis Program (GAP) land use/landcover dataset, the Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO) and National Wetlands Inventory (NWI). The predictive ability of the model was assessed by manually selecting Carolina bays from a high resolution image and comparing the manually selected bays with the model identifications. In order to remedy the issue of forcing all instances of bays into one of two categories (either an object is a bay or it is not), a ranking system was developed that was based upon a core/radial cognitive model, and the approach taken with the Savannah River Ecology Lab (SREL) inventory. The rule for positive identification was changed from a single pixel to a visual estimation of 50 percent coverage of a Carolina bay. As a whole, the predictive model identified 57 percent of the features also identified manually by the researcher, but the bay ranking system gives a different breakdown of how well the model worked within each category: exemplar (86 percent), less distinct (79 percent), bay-like (53 percent), and destroyed (19 percent) show significant differences. In addition to the ranking system, other attributes were assessed, such as the presence or absence of a sand rim, water visibility, overlap, diverging, long axis length and orientation. The analysis shows that the model has the potential to identify well defined bays with at least 50 percent areal coverage, and as such offers the first iteration of a computational ontology for the Carolina bays of Bladen County, North Carolina. Results from this research may provide a basis for modeling the entire range of Carolina bays, defining one of the most curious features of the Atlantic Coastal Plain and uniting differing definitions under one digital concept

Methodology for high resolution spatial analysis of the physical flood susceptibility of buildings in large river floodplains

The impacts of floods on buildings in urban areas are increasing due to the intensification of extreme weather events, unplanned or uncontrolled settlements and the rising vulnerability of assets. There are some approaches available for assessing the flood damage to buildings and critical infrastructure. To this point, however, it is extremely difficult to adapt these methods widely, due to the lack of high resolution classification and characterisation approaches for built structures. To overcome this obstacle, this work presents: first, a conceptual framework for understanding the physical flood vulnerability and the physical flood susceptibility of buildings, second, a methodological framework for the combination of methods and tools for a large-scale and high-resolution analysis and third, the testing of the methodology in three pilot sites with different development conditions. The conceptual framework narrows down an understanding of flood vulnerability, physical flood vulnerability and physical flood susceptibility and its relation to social and economic vulnerabilities. It describes the key features causing the physical flood susceptibility of buildings as a component of the vulnerability. The methodological framework comprises three modules: (i) methods for setting up a building topology, (ii) methods for assessing the susceptibility of representative buildings of each building type and (iii) the integration of the two modules with technological tools. The first module on the building typology is based on a classification of remote sensing data and GIS analysis involving seven building parameters, which appeared to be relevant for a classification of buildings regarding potential flood impacts. The outcome is a building taxonomic approach. A subsequent identification of representative buildings is based on statistical analyses and membership functions. The second module on the building susceptibility for representative buildings bears on the derivation of depth-physical impact functions. It relates the principal building components, including their heights, dimensions and materials, to the damage from different water levels. The material’s susceptibility is estimated based on international studies on the resistance of building materials and a fuzzy expert analysis. Then depth-physical impact functions are calculated referring to the principal components of the buildings which can be affected by different water levels. Hereby, depth-physical impact functions are seen as a means for the interrelation between the water level and the physical impacts. The third module provides the tools for implementing the methodology. This tool compresses the architecture for feeding the required data on the buildings with their relations to the building typology and the building-type specific depth-physical impact function supporting the automatic process. The methodology is tested in three flood plains pilot sites: (i) in the settlement of the Barrio Sur in Magangué and (ii) in the settlement of La Peña in Cicuco located on the flood plain of Magdalena River, Colombia and (iii) in a settlement of the city of Dresden, located on the Elbe River, Germany. The testing of the methodology covers the description of data availability and accuracy, the steps for deriving the depth-physical impact functions of representative buildings and the final display of the spatial distribution of the physical flood susceptibility. The discussion analyses what are the contributions of this work evaluating the findings of the methodology’s testing with the dissertation goals. The conclusions of the work show the contributions and limitations of the research in terms of methodological and empirical advancements and the general applicability in flood risk management.:1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 State of the art 2 1.3 Problem statement 6 1.4 Objectives 6 1.5 Approach and outline 6 2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 9 2.1 Flood vulnerability 10 2.2 Physical flood vulnerability 12 2.3 Physical flood susceptibility 14 3 METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK 23 3.1 Module 1: Building taxonomy for settlements 24 3.1.1 Extraction of building features 24 3.1.2 Derivation of building parameters for setting up a building taxonomy 38 3.1.3 Selection of representative buildings for a building susceptibility assessment 51 3.2 Module 2: Physical susceptibility of representative buildings 57 3.2.1 Identification of building components 57 3.2.2 Qualification of building material susceptibility 62 3.2.3 Derivation of a depth-physical impact function 71 3.3 Module 3: Technological integration 77 3.3.1 Combination of the depth-physical impact function with the building taxonomic code 77 3.3.2 Tools supporting the physical susceptibility analysis 78 3.3.3 The users and their requirements 79 4 RESULTS OF THE METHODOLOGY TESTING 83 4.1 Pilot site “Kleinzschachwitz” – Dresden, Germany – Elbe River 83 4.1.1 Module 1: Building taxonomy – “Kleinzschachwitz” 85 4.1.2 Module 2: Physical susceptibility of representative buildings – “Kleinzschachwitz” 97 4.1.3 Module 3: Technological integration – “Kleinzschachwitz” 103 4.2 Pilot site “La Peña” – Cicuco, Colombia – Magdalena River 107 4.2.1 Module 1: Building taxonomy – “La Peña” 108 4.2.2 Module 2: Physical susceptibility of representative buildings – “La Peña” 121 4.2.3 Module 3: Technological integration– “La Peña” 129 4.3 Pilot site “Barrio Sur” – Magangué, Colombia – Magdalena River 133 4.3.1 Module 1: Building taxonomy – “Barrio Sur” 133 4.3.2 Module 2: Physical susceptibility of representative buildings – “Barrio Sur” 141 4.3.3 Module 3: Technological integration – “Barrio Sur” 147 4.4 Empirical findings 151 4.4.1 Empirical findings of Module 1 151 4.4.2 Empirical findings of Module 2 155 4.4.3 Empirical findings of Module 3 157 4.4.4 Guidance of the methodology 157 5 DISCUSSION 161 5.1 Discussion on the conceptual framework 161 5.2 Discussion on the methodological framework 161 5.2.1 Discussion on Module 1: the building taxonomic approach 162 5.2.2 Discussion on Module 2: the depth-physical impact function 164 6 CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK 167 6.1 Conclusions 167 6.2 Outlook 168 REFERENCES 171 INDEX OF FIGURES 199 INDEX OF TABLES 201 APPENDICES 203In vielen Städten nehmen die Auswirkungen von Hochwasser auf Gebäude aufgrund immer extremerer Wetterereignisse, unkontrollierbarer Siedlungsbauten und der steigenden Vulnerabilität von Besitztümern stetig zu. Es existieren zwar bereits Ansätze zur Beurteilung von Wasserschäden an Gebäuden und Infrastrukturknotenpunkten. Doch ist es bisher schwierig, diese Methoden großräumig anzuwenden, da es an einer präzisen Klassifizierung und Charakterisierung von Gebäuden und anderen baulichen Anlagen fehlt. Zu diesem Zweck sollen in dieser Arbeit erstens ein Konzept für ein genaueres Verständnis der physischen Vulnerabilität von Gebäuden gegenüber Hochwasser dargelegt, zweitens ein methodisches Verfahren zur Kombination der bestehenden Methoden und Hilfsmittel mit dem Ziel einer großräumigen und hochauflösenden Analyse erarbeitet und drittens diese Methode an drei Pilotstandorten mit unterschiedlichem Ausbauzustand erprobt werden. Die Rahmenbedingungen des Konzepts grenzen die Begriffe der Vulnerabilität, der physischen Vulnerabilität und der physischen Anfälligkeit gegenüber Hochwasser ein und erörtern deren Beziehung zur sozialen und ökonomischen Vulnerabilität. Es werden die Merkmale der physischen Anfälligkeit von Gebäuden gegenüber Hochwasser als Bestandteil der Vulnerabilität definiert. Das methodische Verfahren umfasst drei Module: (i) Methoden zur Erstellung einer Gebäudetypologie, (ii) Methoden zur Bewertung der Anfälligkeit repräsentativer Gebäude jedes Gebäudetyps und (iii) die Kombination der beiden Module mit Hilfe technologischer Hilfsmittel. Das erste Modul zur Gebäudetypologie basiert auf der Klassifizierung von Fernerkundungsdaten und GIS-Analysen anhand von sieben Gebäudeparametern, die sich für die Klassifizierung von Gebäuden bezüglich ihres Risikopotenzials bei Hochwasser als wichtig erweisen. Daraus ergibt sich ein Ansatz zur Gebäudeklassifizierung. Die anschließende Ermittlung repräsentativer Gebäude beruht auf statistischen Analysen und Zugehörigkeitsfunktionen. Das zweite Modul zur Anfälligkeit repräsentativer Gebäude beruht auf der Ableitung von Funktion von Wasserstand und physischer Einwirkung. Es setzt die relevanten Gebäudemerkmale, darunter Höhe, Maße und Materialien, in Beziehung zum erwartbaren Schaden bei unterschiedlichen Wasserständen. Die Materialanfälligkeit wird aufgrund internationaler Studien zur Festigkeit von Baustoffen sowie durch Anwendung eines Fuzzy-Logic-Expertensystems eingeschätzt. Anschließend werden Wasserstand-Schaden-Funktionen unter Einbeziehung der Hauptgebäudekomponenten berechnet, die durch unterschiedliche Wasserstände in Mitleidenschaft gezogen werden können. Funktion von Wasserstand und physischer Einwirkung dienen hier dazu, den jeweiligen Wasserstand und die physischen Auswirkung in Beziehung zueinander zu setzen. Das dritte Modul stellt die zur Umsetzung der Methoden notwendigen Hilfsmittel vor. Zur Unterstützung des automatisierten Verfahrens dienen Hilfsmittel, die die Gebäudetypologie mit der Funktion von Wasserstand und physischer Einwirkung für Gebäude in Hochwassergebieten kombinieren. Die Methoden wurden anschließend in drei hochwassergefährdeten Pilotstandorten getestet: (i) in den Siedlungsgebieten von Barrio Sur in Magangué und (ii) von La Pena in Cicuco, zwei Überschwemmungsgebiete des Magdalenas in Kolumbien, und (iii) im Stadtgebiet von Dresden, das an der Elbe liegt. Das Testverfahren umfasst die Beschreibung der Datenverfügbarkeit und genauigkeit, die einzelnen Schritte zur Analyse der. Funktion von Wasserstand und physischer Einwirkung repräsentativer Gebäude sowie die Darstellung der räumlichen Verteilung der physischen Anfälligkeit für Hochwasser. In der Diskussion wird der Beitrag dieser Arbeit zur Beurteilung der Erkenntnisse der getesteten Methoden anhand der Ziele dieser Dissertation analysiert. Die Folgerungen beleuchten abschließend die Fortschritte und auch Grenzen der Forschung hinsichtlich methodischer und empirischer Entwicklungen sowie deren allgemeine Anwendbarkeit im Bereich des Hochwasserschutzes.:1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 State of the art 2 1.3 Problem statement 6 1.4 Objectives 6 1.5 Approach and outline 6 2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 9 2.1 Flood vulnerability 10 2.2 Physical flood vulnerability 12 2.3 Physical flood susceptibility 14 3 METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK 23 3.1 Module 1: Building taxonomy for settlements 24 3.1.1 Extraction of building features 24 3.1.2 Derivation of building parameters for setting up a building taxonomy 38 3.1.3 Selection of representative buildings for a building susceptibility assessment 51 3.2 Module 2: Physical susceptibility of representative buildings 57 3.2.1 Identification of building components 57 3.2.2 Qualification of building material susceptibility 62 3.2.3 Derivation of a depth-physical impact function 71 3.3 Module 3: Technological integration 77 3.3.1 Combination of the depth-physical impact function with the building taxonomic code 77 3.3.2 Tools supporting the physical susceptibility analysis 78 3.3.3 The users and their requirements 79 4 RESULTS OF THE METHODOLOGY TESTING 83 4.1 Pilot site “Kleinzschachwitz” – Dresden, Germany – Elbe River 83 4.1.1 Module 1: Building taxonomy – “Kleinzschachwitz” 85 4.1.2 Module 2: Physical susceptibility of representative buildings – “Kleinzschachwitz” 97 4.1.3 Module 3: Technological integration – “Kleinzschachwitz” 103 4.2 Pilot site “La Peña” – Cicuco, Colombia – Magdalena River 107 4.2.1 Module 1: Building taxonomy – “La Peña” 108 4.2.2 Module 2: Physical susceptibility of representative buildings – “La Peña” 121 4.2.3 Module 3: Technological integration– “La Peña” 129 4.3 Pilot site “Barrio Sur” – Magangué, Colombia – Magdalena River 133 4.3.1 Module 1: Building taxonomy – “Barrio Sur” 133 4.3.2 Module 2: Physical susceptibility of representative buildings – “Barrio Sur” 141 4.3.3 Module 3: Technological integration – “Barrio Sur” 147 4.4 Empirical findings 151 4.4.1 Empirical findings of Module 1 151 4.4.2 Empirical findings of Module 2 155 4.4.3 Empirical findings of Module 3 157 4.4.4 Guidance of the methodology 157 5 DISCUSSION 161 5.1 Discussion on the conceptual framework 161 5.2 Discussion on the methodological framework 161 5.2.1 Discussion on Module 1: the building taxonomic approach 162 5.2.2 Discussion on Module 2: the depth-physical impact function 164 6 CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK 167 6.1 Conclusions 167 6.2 Outlook 168 REFERENCES 171 INDEX OF FIGURES 199 INDEX OF TABLES 201 APPENDICES 203El impacto de las inundaciones sobre los edificios en zonas urbanas es cada vez mayor debido a la intensificación de los fenómenos meteorológicos extremos, asentamientos no controlados o no planificados y su creciente vulnerabilidad. Hay métodos disponibles para evaluar los daños por inundación en edificios e infraestructuras críticas. Sin embargo, es muy difícil implementar estos métodos sistemáticamente en grandes áreas debido a la falta de clasificación y caracterización de estructuras construidas en resoluciones detalladas. Para superar este obstáculo, este trabajo se enfoca, en primer lugar, en desarrollar un marco conceptual para comprender la vulnerabilidad y susceptibilidad física de edificios por inudaciones, en segundo lugar, en desarrollar un marco metodológico para la combinación de los métodos y herramientas para una análisis de alta resolución y en tercer lugar, la prueba de la metodología en tres sitios experimentales, con distintas condiciones de desarrollo. El marco conceptual se enfoca en comprender la vulnerabilidad y susceptibility de las edificaciones frente a inundaciones, y su relación con la vulnerabilidad social y económica. En él se describen las principales características físicas de la susceptibilidad de edificicaiones como un componente de la vulnerabilidad. El marco metodológico consta de tres módulos: (i) métodos para la derivación de topología de construcciones, (ii) métodos para evaluar la susceptibilidad de edificios representativos y (iii) la integración de los dos módulos a través herramientas tecnológicas. El primer módulo de topología de construcciones se basa en una clasificación de datos de sensoramiento rémoto y procesamiento SIG para la extracción de siete parámetros de las edficaciones. Este módulo parece ser aplicable para una clasificación de los edificios en relación con los posibles impactos de las inundaciones. El resultado es una taxonomía de las edificaciones y una posterior identificación de edificios representativos que se basa en análisis estadísticos y funciones de pertenencia. El segundo módulo consiste en el análisis de susceptibilidad de las construcciones representativas a través de funciones de profundidad del impacto físico. Las cuales relacionan los principales componentes de la construcción, incluyendo sus alturas, dimensiones y materiales con los impactos físicos a diferentes niveles de agua. La susceptibilidad del material se calcula con base a estudios internacionales sobre la resistencia de los materiales y un análisis a través de sistemas expertos difusos. Aquí, las funciones de profundidad de impacto físico son considerados como un medio para la interrelación entre el nivel del agua y los impactos físicos. El tercer módulo proporciona las herramientas necesarias para la aplicación de la metodología. Estas herramientas tecnológicas consisten en la arquitectura para la alimentación de los datos relacionados a la tipología de construcciones con las funciones de profundidad del impacto físico apoyado en procesos automáticos. La metodología es probada en tres sitios piloto: (i) en el Barrio Sur en Magangué y (ii) en la barrio de La Peña en Cicuco situado en la llanura inundable del Río Magdalena, Colombia y (iii) en barrio Kleinzschachwitz de la ciudad de Dresden, situado a orillas del río Elba, en Alemania. Las pruebas de la metodología abarca la descripción de la disponibilidad de los datos y la precisión, los pasos a seguir para obtener las funciones profundidad de impacto físico de edificios representativos y la presentación final de la distribución espacial de la susceptibilidad física frente inundaciones El discusión analiza las aportaciones de este trabajo y evalua los resultados de la metodología con relación a los objetivos. Las conclusiones del trabajo, muestran los aportes y limitaciones de la investigación en términos de avances metodológicos y empíricos y la aplicabilidad general de gestión del riesgo de inundaciones.:1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 State of the art 2 1.3 Problem statement 6 1.4 Objectives 6 1.5 Approach and outline 6 2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 9 2.1 Flood vulnerability 10 2.2 Physical flood vulnerability 12 2.3 Physical flood susceptibility 14 3 METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK 23 3.1 Module 1: Building taxonomy for settlements 24 3.1.1 Extraction of building features 24 3.1.2 Derivation of building parameters for setting up a building taxonomy 38 3.1.3 Selection of representative buildings for a building susceptibility assessment 51 3.2 Module 2: Physical susceptibility of representative buildings 57 3.2.1 Identification of building components 57 3.2.2 Qualification of building material susceptibility 62 3.2.3 Derivation of a depth-physical impact function 71 3.3 Module 3: Technological integration 77 3.3.1 Combination of the depth-physical impact function with the building taxonomic code 77 3.3.2 Tools supporting the physical susceptibility analysis 78 3.3.3 The users and their requirements 79 4 RESULTS OF THE METHODOLOGY TESTING 83 4.1 Pilot site “Kleinzschachwitz” – Dresden, Germany – Elbe River 83 4.1.1 Module 1: Building taxonomy – “Kleinzschachwitz” 85 4.1.2 Module 2: Physical susceptibility of representative buildings – “Kleinzschachwitz” 97 4.1.3 Module 3: Technological integration – “Kleinzschachwitz” 103 4.2 Pilot site “La Peña” – Cicuco, Colombia – Magdalena River 107 4.2.1 Module 1: Building taxonomy – “La Peña” 108 4.2.2 Module 2: Physical susceptibility of representative buildings – “La Peña” 121 4.2.3 Module 3: Technological integration– “La Peña” 129 4.3 Pilot site “Barrio Sur” – Magangué, Colombia – Magdalena River 133 4.3.1 Module 1: Building taxonomy – “Barrio Sur” 133 4.3.2 Module 2: Physical susceptibility of representative buildings – “Barrio Sur” 141 4.3.3 Module 3: Technological integration – “Barrio Sur” 147 4.4 Empirical findings 151 4.4.1 Empirical findings of Module 1 151 4.4.2 Empirical findings of Module 2 155 4.4.3 Empirical findings of Module 3 157 4.4.4 Guidance of the methodology 157 5 DISCUSSION 161 5.1 Discussion on the conceptual framework 161 5.2 Discussion on the methodological framework 161 5.2.1 Discussion on Module 1: the building taxonomic approach 162 5.2.2 Discussion on Module 2: the depth-physical impact function 164 6 CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK 167 6.1 Conclusions 167 6.2 Outlook 168 REFERENCES 171 INDEX OF FIGURES 199 INDEX OF TABLES 201 APPENDICES 20

Forest cover and its change in Unguja Island, Zanzibar

Tropical forests are sources of many ecosystem services, but these forests are vanishing rapidly. The situation is severe in Sub-Saharan Africa and especially in Tanzania. The causes of change are multidimensional and strongly interdependent, and only understanding them comprehensively helps to change the ongoing unsustainable trends of forest decline. Ongoing forest changes, their spatiality and connection to humans and environment can be studied with the methods of Land Change Science. The knowledge produced with these methods helps to make arguments about the actors, actions and causes that are behind the forest decline. In this study of Unguja Island in Zanzibar the focus is in the current forest cover and its changes between 1996 and 2009. The cover and changes are measured with often used remote sensing methods of automated land cover classification and post-classification comparison from medium resolution satellite images. Kernel Density Estimation is used to determine the clusters of change, sub-area –analysis provides information about the differences between regions, while distance and regression analyses connect changes to environmental factors. These analyses do not only explain the happened changes, but also allow building quantitative and spatial future scenarios. Similar study has not been made for Unguja and therefore it provides new information, which is beneficial for the whole society. The results show that 572 km2 of Unguja is still forested, but 0,82–1,19% of these forests are disappearing annually. Besides deforestation also vertical degradation and spatial changes are significant problems. Deforestation is most severe in the communal indigenous forests, but also agroforests are decreasing. Spatially deforestation concentrates to the areas close to the coastline, population and Zanzibar Town. Biophysical factors on the other hand do not seem to influence the ongoing deforestation process. If the current trend continues there should be approximately 485 km2 of forests remaining in 2025. Solutions to these deforestation problems should be looked from sustainable land use management, surveying and protection of the forests in risk areas and spatially targeted self-sustainable tree planting schemes.Siirretty Doriast

Contribuciones al uso de marcadores para Navegación Autónoma y Realidad Aumentada

Square planar markers are a widely used tools for localization and tracking due to their low cost and high performance. Many applications in Robotics, Unmanned Vehicles and Augmented Reality employ these markers for camera pose estimation with high accuracy. Nevertheless, marker-based systems are affected by several factors that limit their performance. First, the marker detection process is a time-consuming task, which is intensified as the image size increases. As a consequence, the current high-resolution cameras has weakened the processing efficiency of traditional marker systems. Second, marker detection is affected by the presence of noise, blurring and occlusion. The movement of the camera produces image blurriness, generated even by small movements. Furthermore, the marker may be partially or completely occluded in the image, so that it is no longer detected. This thesis deals with the above limitations, proposing novel methodologies and strategies for successful marker detection improving both the efficiency and robustness of these systems. First, a novel multi-scale approach has been developed to speed up the marker detection process. The method takes advantage of the different resolutions at which the image is represented to predict at runtime the optimal scale for detection and identification, as well as following a corner upsampling strategy necessary for an accurate pose estimation. Second, we introduce a new marker design, Fractal Marker, which using a novel keypoint-based method achieves detection even under severe occlusion, while allowing detection over a wider range of distance than traditional markers. Finally, we propose a new marker detection strategy based on Discriminative Correlation Filters (DCF), where the marker and its corners represented in the frequency domain perform more robust and faster detections than state-ofthe- art methods, even under extreme blur conditions.Los marcadores planos cuadrados son una de las herramientas ampliamente utilizadas para la localización y el tracking debido a su bajo coste y su alto rendimiento. Muchas aplicaciones en Robótica, Vehículos no Tripulados y Realidad Aumentada emplean estos marcadores para estimar con alta precisión la posición de la cámara. Sin embargo, los sistemas basados en marcadores se ven afectados por varios factores que limitan su rendimiento. En primer lugar, el proceso de detección de marcadores es una tarea que requiere mucho tiempo y este incrementa a medida que aumenta el tamaño de la imagen. En consecuencia, las actuales cámaras de alta resolución han debilitado la eficacia del procesamiento de los sistemas de marcadores tradicionales. Por otra parte, la detección de marcadores se ve afectada por la presencia de ruido, desenfoque y oclusión. El movimiento de la cámara produce desenfoque de la imagen, generado incluso por pequeños movimientos. Además, el marcador puede aparecer en la imagen parcial o completamente ocluido, dejando de ser detectado. Esta tesis aborda las limitaciones anteriores, proponiendo metodologías y estrategias novedosas para la correcta detección de marcadores, mejorando así tanto la eficiencia como la robustez de estos sistemas. En primer lugar, se ha desarrollado un novedoso enfoque multiescala para acelerar el proceso de detección de marcadores. El método aprovecha las diferentes resoluciones en las que la imagen está representada para predecir en tiempo de ejecución la escala óptima para la detección e identificación, a la vez que sigue una estrategia de upsampling de las esquinas necesaria para estimar la pose con precisión. En segundo lugar, introducimos un nuevo diseño de marcador, Fractal Marker, que, mediante un método basado en keypoints, logra detecciones incluso en casos de oclusión extrema, al tiempo que permite la detección en un rango de distancias más amplio que los marcadores tradicionales. Por último, proponemos una nueva estrategia de detección de marcadores basada en Discriminate Correlation Filters (DCF), donde el marcador y sus esquinas representadas en el dominio de la frecuencia realizan detecciones más robustas y rápidas que los métodos de referencia, incluso bajo condiciones extremas de emborronamiento

Primena novih deskriptora oblika i teorije neodređenosti u obradi slike

The doctoral thesis deals with the study of quantitative aspects of shape attribute ssuitable for numerical characterization, i.e., shape descriptors, as well as the theory of uncertainty, particularly the theory of fuzzy sets, and their application in image processing. The original contributions and results of the thesis can be naturally divided into two groups, in accordance with the approaches used to obtain them. The first group of contributions relates to introducing new shape descriptors (of hexagonality and fuzzy squareness) and associated measures that evaluate to what extent the shape considered satisfies these properties. The introduced measures are naturally defined, theoretically well-founded, and satisfy most of the desirable properties expected to be satisfied by each well-defined shape measure. To mention some of them: they both range through (0,1] and achieve the largest possible value 1 if and only if the shape considered is a hexagon, respectively a fuzzy square; there is no non-zero area shape with the measured hexagonality or fuzzy squareness equal to 0; both introduced measures are invariant to similarity transformations; and provide results that are consistent with the theoretically proven results, as well as human perception and expectation. Numerous experiments on synthetic and real examples are shown aimed to illustrate theoretically proven considerations and to provide clearer insight into the behaviour of the introduced shape measures. Their advantages and applicability are illustrated in various tasks of recognizing and classifying objects images of several well-known and most frequently used image datasets. Besides, the doctoral thesis contains research related to the application of the theory of uncertainty, in the narrower sense fuzzy set theory, in the different tasks of image processing and shape analysis. We distinguish between the tasks relating to the extraction of shape features, and those relating to performance improvement of different image processing and image analysis techniques. Regarding the first group of tasks, we deal with the application of fuzzy set theory in the tasks of introducing new fuzzy shape-based descriptor, named fuzzy squareness, and measuring how much fuzzy square is given fuzzy shape. In the second group of tasks, we deal with the study of improving the performance of estimates of both the Euclidean distance transform in three dimensions (3D EDT) and the centroid distance signature of shape in two dimensions. Performance improvement is particularly reflected in terms of achieved accuracy and precision, increased invariance to geometrical transformations (e.g., rotation and translation), and robustness in the presence of noise and uncertainty resulting from the imperfection of devices or imaging conditions. The latter also refers to the second group of the original contributions and results of the thesis. It is motivated by the fact that the shape analysis traditionally assumes that the objects appearing in the image are previously uniquely and crisply extracted from the image. This is usually achieved in the process of sharp (i.e., binary) segmentation of the original image where a decision on the membership of point to an imaged object is made in a sharp manner. Nevertheless, due to the imperfections of imaging conditions or devices, the presence of noise, and various types of imprecision (e.g., lack of precise object boundary or clear boundaries between the objects, errors in computation, lack of information, etc.), different levels of uncertainty and vagueness in the process of making a decision regarding the membership of image point may potentially occur. This is particularly noticeable in the case of discretization (i.e., sampling) of continuous image domain when a single image element, related to corresponding image sample point, iscovered by multiple objects in an image. In this respect, it is clear that this type of segmentation can potentially lead to a wrong decision on the membership of image points, and consequently irreversible information loss about the imaged objects. This stems from the fact that image segmentation performed in this way does not permit that the image point may be a member to a particular imaged object to some degree, further leading to the potential risk that points partially contained in the object before segmentation will not be assigned to the object after segmentation. However, if instead of binary segmentation, it is performed segmentation where a decision about the membership of image point is made in a gradual rather than crisp manner, enabling that point may be a member to an object to some extent, then making a sharp decision on the membership can be avoided at this early analysis step. This further leads that potentially a large amount of object information can be preserved after segmentation and used in the following analysis steps. In this regard, we are interested in one specific type of fuzzy segmentation, named coverage image segmentation, resulting in fuzzy digital image representation where membership value assigned to each image element is proportional to its relative coverage by a continuous object present in the original image. In this thesis, we deal with the study of coverage digitization model providing coverage digital image representation and present how significant improvements in estimating 3D EDT, as well as the centroid distance signature of continuous shape, can be achieved, if the coverage information available in this type of image representation is appropriately considered.Докторска дисертација се бави проучавањем квантитативних аспеката атрибута облика погодних за нумеричку карактеризацију, то јест дескриптора облика, као и теоријом неодређености, посебно теоријом фази скупова, и њиховом применом у обради слике. Оригинални доприноси и резултати тезе могу се природно поделити у две групе, у складу са приступом и методологијом која је коришћена за њихово добијање. Прва група доприноса односи се на увођење нових дескриптора облика (шестоугаоности и фази квадратности) као и одговарајућих мера које нумерички оцењују у ком обиму разматрани облик задовољава разматрана својства. Уведене мере су природно дефинисане, теоријски добро засноване и задовољавају већину пожељних својстава које свака добро дефинисана мера облика треба да задовољава. Поменимо неке од њих: обе мере узимају вредности из интервала (0,1] и достижу највећу могућу вредност 1 ако и само ако је облик који се посматра шестоугао, односно фази квадрат; не постоји облик не-нула површине чија је измерена шестоугаоност, односно фази квадратност једнака 0; обе уведене мере су инваријантне у односу на трансформације сличности; и дају резултате који су у складу са теоријски доказаним резултатима, као и људском перцепцијом и очекивањима. Бројни експерименти на синтетичким и реалним примерима приказани су у циљу илустровања теоријски доказаних разматрања и пружања јаснијег увида у понашање уведених мера. Њихова предност и корисност илустровани су у различитим задацима препознавања и класификације слика објеката неколико познатих и најчешће коришћених база слика. Поред тога, докторска теза садржи истраживања везана за примену теорије неодређености, у ужем смислу теорије фази скупова, у различитим задацима обраде слике и анализе облика. Разликујемо задатке који се односе на издвајање карактеристика облика и оне који се односе на побољшање перформанси различитих техника обраде и анализе слике. Што се тиче прве групе задатака, бавимо се применом теорије фази скупова у задацима дефинисања новог дескриптора фази облика, назван фази квадратност, и мерења колико је фази квадратан посматрани фази облик. У другој групи задатака бавимо се истраживањем побољшања перформанси оцене трансформације слике еуклидским растојањима у три димензије (3Д ЕДТ), као и сигнатуре непрекидног облика у две димензије засноване на растојању од центроида облика. Ово последње се посебно огледа у постигнутој тачности и прецизности оцене, повећаној инваријантности у односу на ротацију и транслацију објекта, као и робустности у присуству шума и неодређености које су последица несавршености уређаја или услова снимања. Последњи резултати се такође односе и на другу групу оригиналних доприноса тезе који су мотивисани чињеницом да анализа облика традиционално претпоставља да су објекти на слици претходно једнозначно и јасно издвојени из слике. Такво издвајање објеката се обично постиже у процесу јасне (то јест бинарне) сегментације оригиналне слике где се одлука о припадности тачке објекту на слици доноси на једнозначан и недвосмислени начин. Међутим, услед несавршености услова или уређаја за снимање, присуства шума и различитих врста непрецизности (на пример непостојање прецизне границе објекта или јасних граница између самих објеката, грешке у рачунању, недостатка информација, итд.), могу се појавити различити нивои несигурности и неодређености у процесу доношења одлуке у вези са припадношћу тачке слике. Ово је посебно видљиво у случају дискретизације (то јест узорковања) непрекидног домена слике када елемент слике, придружен одговарајућој тачки узорка домена, може бити делимично покривен са више објеката на слици. У том смислу, имамо да ова врста сегментације може потенцијално довести до погрешне одлуке о припадности тачака слике, а самим тим и неповратног губитка информација о објектима који се на слици налазе. То произлази из чињенице да сегментација слике изведена на овај начин не дозвољава да тачка слике може делимично у одређеном обиму бити члан посматраног објекта на слици, што даље води потенцијалном ризику да тачке делимично садржане у објекту пре сегментације неће бити придружене објекту након сегментације. Међутим, ако се уместо бинарне сегментације изврши сегментација слике где се одлука о припадности тачке слике објекту доноси на начин који омогућава да тачка може делимично бити члан објекта у неком обиму, тада се доношење бинарне одлуке о чланство тачке објекту на слици може избећи у овом раном кораку анализе. То даље резултира да се потенцијално велика количина информација о објектима присутним на слици може сачувати након сегментације, и користити у следећим корацима анализе. С тим у вези, од посебног интереса за нас јесте специјална врста фази сегментације слике, сегментација заснована на покривености елемената слике, која као резултат обезбеђује фази дигиталну репрезентацију слике где је вредност чланства додељена сваком елементу пропорционална његовој релативној покривености непрекидним објектом на оригиналној слици. У овој тези бавимо се истраживањем модела дигитализације покривености који пружа овакву врсту репрезентацију слике и представљамо како се могу постићи значајна побољшања у оцени 3Д ЕДТ, као и сигнатуре непрекидног облика засноване на растојању од центроида, ако су информације о покривености доступне у овој репрезентацији слике разматране на одговарајући начин.Doktorska disertacija se bavi proučavanjem kvantitativnih aspekata atributa oblika pogodnih za numeričku karakterizaciju, to jest deskriptora oblika, kao i teorijom neodređenosti, posebno teorijom fazi skupova, i njihovom primenom u obradi slike. Originalni doprinosi i rezultati teze mogu se prirodno podeliti u dve grupe, u skladu sa pristupom i metodologijom koja je korišćena za njihovo dobijanje. Prva grupa doprinosa odnosi se na uvođenje novih deskriptora oblika (šestougaonosti i fazi kvadratnosti) kao i odgovarajućih mera koje numerički ocenjuju u kom obimu razmatrani oblik zadovoljava razmatrana svojstva. Uvedene mere su prirodno definisane, teorijski dobro zasnovane i zadovoljavaju većinu poželjnih svojstava koje svaka dobro definisana mera oblika treba da zadovoljava. Pomenimo neke od njih: obe mere uzimaju vrednosti iz intervala (0,1] i dostižu najveću moguću vrednost 1 ako i samo ako je oblik koji se posmatra šestougao, odnosno fazi kvadrat; ne postoji oblik ne-nula površine čija je izmerena šestougaonost, odnosno fazi kvadratnost jednaka 0; obe uvedene mere su invarijantne u odnosu na transformacije sličnosti; i daju rezultate koji su u skladu sa teorijski dokazanim rezultatima, kao i ljudskom percepcijom i očekivanjima. Brojni eksperimenti na sintetičkim i realnim primerima prikazani su u cilju ilustrovanja teorijski dokazanih razmatranja i pružanja jasnijeg uvida u ponašanje uvedenih mera. NJihova prednost i korisnost ilustrovani su u različitim zadacima prepoznavanja i klasifikacije slika objekata nekoliko poznatih i najčešće korišćenih baza slika. Pored toga, doktorska teza sadrži istraživanja vezana za primenu teorije neodređenosti, u užem smislu teorije fazi skupova, u različitim zadacima obrade slike i analize oblika. Razlikujemo zadatke koji se odnose na izdvajanje karakteristika oblika i one koji se odnose na poboljšanje performansi različitih tehnika obrade i analize slike. Što se tiče prve grupe zadataka, bavimo se primenom teorije fazi skupova u zadacima definisanja novog deskriptora fazi oblika, nazvan fazi kvadratnost, i merenja koliko je fazi kvadratan posmatrani fazi oblik. U drugoj grupi zadataka bavimo se istraživanjem poboljšanja performansi ocene transformacije slike euklidskim rastojanjima u tri dimenzije (3D EDT), kao i signature neprekidnog oblika u dve dimenzije zasnovane na rastojanju od centroida oblika. Ovo poslednje se posebno ogleda u postignutoj tačnosti i preciznosti ocene, povećanoj invarijantnosti u odnosu na rotaciju i translaciju objekta, kao i robustnosti u prisustvu šuma i neodređenosti koje su posledica nesavršenosti uređaja ili uslova snimanja. Poslednji rezultati se takođe odnose i na drugu grupu originalnih doprinosa teze koji su motivisani činjenicom da analiza oblika tradicionalno pretpostavlja da su objekti na slici prethodno jednoznačno i jasno izdvojeni iz slike. Takvo izdvajanje objekata se obično postiže u procesu jasne (to jest binarne) segmentacije originalne slike gde se odluka o pripadnosti tačke objektu na slici donosi na jednoznačan i nedvosmisleni način. Međutim, usled nesavršenosti uslova ili uređaja za snimanje, prisustva šuma i različitih vrsta nepreciznosti (na primer nepostojanje precizne granice objekta ili jasnih granica između samih objekata, greške u računanju, nedostatka informacija, itd.), mogu se pojaviti različiti nivoi nesigurnosti i neodređenosti u procesu donošenja odluke u vezi sa pripadnošću tačke slike. Ovo je posebno vidljivo u slučaju diskretizacije (to jest uzorkovanja) neprekidnog domena slike kada element slike, pridružen odgovarajućoj tački uzorka domena, može biti delimično pokriven sa više objekata na slici. U tom smislu, imamo da ova vrsta segmentacije može potencijalno dovesti do pogrešne odluke o pripadnosti tačaka slike, a samim tim i nepovratnog gubitka informacija o objektima koji se na slici nalaze. To proizlazi iz činjenice da segmentacija slike izvedena na ovaj način ne dozvoljava da tačka slike može delimično u određenom obimu biti član posmatranog objekta na slici, što dalje vodi potencijalnom riziku da tačke delimično sadržane u objektu pre segmentacije neće biti pridružene objektu nakon segmentacije. Međutim, ako se umesto binarne segmentacije izvrši segmentacija slike gde se odluka o pripadnosti tačke slike objektu donosi na način koji omogućava da tačka može delimično biti član objekta u nekom obimu, tada se donošenje binarne odluke o članstvo tačke objektu na slici može izbeći u ovom ranom koraku analize. To dalje rezultira da se potencijalno velika količina informacija o objektima prisutnim na slici može sačuvati nakon segmentacije, i koristiti u sledećim koracima analize. S tim u vezi, od posebnog interesa za nas jeste specijalna vrsta fazi segmentacije slike, segmentacija zasnovana na pokrivenosti elemenata slike, koja kao rezultat obezbeđuje fazi digitalnu reprezentaciju slike gde je vrednost članstva dodeljena svakom elementu proporcionalna njegovoj relativnoj pokrivenosti neprekidnim objektom na originalnoj slici. U ovoj tezi bavimo se istraživanjem modela digitalizacije pokrivenosti koji pruža ovakvu vrstu reprezentaciju slike i predstavljamo kako se mogu postići značajna poboljšanja u oceni 3D EDT, kao i signature neprekidnog oblika zasnovane na rastojanju od centroida, ako su informacije o pokrivenosti dostupne u ovoj reprezentaciji slike razmatrane na odgovarajući način

A methodology to produce geographical information for land planning using very-high resolution images

Actualmente, os municípios são obrigados a produzir, no âmbito da elaboração dos instrumentos de gestão territorial, cartografia homologada pela autoridade nacional. O Plano Director Municipal (PDM) tem um período de vigência de 10 anos. Porém, no que diz respeito à cartografia para estes planos, principalmente em municípios onde a pressão urbanística é elevada, esta periodicidade não é compatível com a dinâmica de alteração de uso do solo. Emerge assim, a necessidade de um processo de produção mais eficaz, que permita a obtenção de uma nova cartografia de base e temática mais frequentemente. Em Portugal recorre-se à fotografia aérea como informação de base para a produção de cartografia de grande escala. Por um lado, embora este suporte de informação resulte em mapas bastante rigorosos e detalhados, a sua produção têm custos muito elevados e consomem muito tempo. As imagens de satélite de muito alta-resolução espacial podem constituir uma alternativa, mas sem substituir as fotografias aéreas na produção de cartografia temática, a grande escala. O tema da tese trata assim da satisfação das necessidades municipais em informação geográfica actualizada. Para melhor conhecer o valor e utilidade desta informação, realizou-se um inquérito aos municípios Portugueses. Este passo foi essencial para avaliar a pertinência e a utilidade da introdução de imagens de satélite de muito alta-resolução espacial na cadeia de procedimentos de actualização de alguns temas, quer na cartografia de base quer na cartografia temática. A abordagem proposta para solução do problema identificado baseia-se no uso de imagens de satélite e outros dados digitais em ambiente de Sistemas de Informação Geográfica. A experimentação teve como objectivo a extracção automática de elementos de interesse municipal a partir de imagens de muito alta-resolução espacial (fotografias aéreas ortorectificadas, imagem QuickBird, e imagem IKONOS), bem como de dados altimétricos (dados LiDAR). Avaliaram-se as potencialidades da informação geográfica extraídas das imagens para fins cartográficos e analíticos. Desenvolveram-se quatro casos de estudo que reflectem diferentes usos para os dados geográficos a nível municipal, e que traduzem aplicações com exigências diferentes. No primeiro caso de estudo, propõe-se uma metodologia para actualização periódica de cartografia a grande escala, que faz uso de fotografias aéreas vi ortorectificadas na área da Alta de Lisboa. Esta é uma aplicação quantitativa onde as qualidades posicionais e geométricas dos elementos extraídos são mais exigentes. No segundo caso de estudo, criou-se um sistema de alarme para áreas potencialmente alteradas, com recurso a uma imagem QuickBird e dados LiDAR, no Bairro da Madre de Deus, com objectivo de auxiliar a actualização de cartografia de grande escala. No terceiro caso de estudo avaliou-se o potencial solar de topos de edifícios nas Avenidas Novas, com recurso a dados LiDAR. No quarto caso de estudo, propõe-se uma série de indicadores municipais de monitorização territorial, obtidos pelo processamento de uma imagem IKONOS que cobre toda a área do concelho de Lisboa. Esta é uma aplicação com fins analíticos onde a qualidade temática da extracção é mais relevante.Currently, the Portuguese municipalities are required to produce homologated cartography, under the Territorial Management Instruments framework. The Municipal Master Plan (PDM) has to be revised every 10 years, as well as the topographic and thematic maps that describe the municipal territory. However, this period is inadequate for representing counties where urban pressure is high, and where the changes in the land use are very dynamic. Consequently, emerges the need for a more efficient mapping process, allowing obtaining recent geographic information more often. Several countries, including Portugal, continue to use aerial photography for large-scale mapping. Although this data enables highly accurate maps, its acquisition and visual interpretation are very costly and time consuming. Very-High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery can be an alternative data source, without replacing the aerial images, for producing large-scale thematic cartography. The focus of the thesis is the demand for updated geographic information in the land planning process. To better understand the value and usefulness of this information, a survey of all Portuguese municipalities was carried out. This step was essential for assessing the relevance and usefulness of the introduction of VHR satellite imagery in the chain of procedures for updating land information. The proposed methodology is based on the use of VHR satellite imagery, and other digital data, in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environment. Different algorithms for feature extraction that take into account the variation in texture, color and shape of objects in the image, were tested. The trials aimed for automatic extraction of features of municipal interest, based on aerial and satellite high-resolution (orthophotos, QuickBird and IKONOS imagery) as well as elevation data (altimetric information and LiDAR data). To evaluate the potential of geographic information extracted from VHR images, two areas of application were identified: mapping and analytical purposes. Four case studies that reflect different uses of geographic data at the municipal level, with different accuracy requirements, were considered. The first case study presents a methodology for periodic updating of large-scale maps based on orthophotos, in the area of Alta de Lisboa. This is a situation where the positional and geometric accuracy of the extracted information are more demanding, since technical mapping standards must be complied. In the second case study, an alarm system that indicates the location of potential changes in building areas, using a QuickBird image and LiDAR data, was developed for the area of Bairro da Madre de Deus. The goal of the system is to assist the updating of large scale mapping, providing a layer that can be used by the municipal technicians as the basis for manual editing. In the third case study, the analysis of the most suitable roof-tops for installing solar systems, using LiDAR data, was performed in the area of Avenidas Novas. A set of urban environment indicators obtained from VHR imagery is presented. The concept is demonstrated for the entire city of Lisbon, through IKONOS imagery processing. In this analytical application, the positional quality issue of extraction is less relevant.GEOSAT – Methodologies to extract large scale GEOgraphical information from very high resolution SATellite images (PTDC/GEO/64826/2006), e-GEO – Centro de Estudos de Geografia e Planeamento Regional, da Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, no quadro do Grupo de Investigação Modelação Geográfica, Cidades e Ordenamento do Territóri

Identifying toponyms and location references in residential real estate listings in Zurich City

Naive geography, and vernacular geography as a subset of it, are crucial concepts that delve into human perceptions of the spatial environment. This knowledge is accumulated over a lifetime and is inherently extensive for places where individuals reside or spend prolonged durations. Vernacular geography primarily concerns itself with places and spatial relationships. Such places are often termed as "fuzzy” places or toponyms since their boundaries, unlike administrative units, are indistinct. For instance, where precisely does the "Midwest" lie? Similarly, spatial relationships are not explicitly quantifiable: what exactly does "nearby" imply? In human-to-human communication, such vague concepts generally pose no challenges since we intuitively grasp and interpret them. However, this is not the case in human-machine interactions. An example can be seen in web search queries, which have popularized information extraction. Most search queries encompass a spatial component, vital to our daily activities. Thus, studies aimed at better understanding vernacular toponyms and spatial expressions are essential to enhance the efficiency of human-machine interactions. Understanding vernacular toponyms and spatial relation expressions is a core focus of Geographical Information Retrieval (GIR), an extension of classic Information Retrieval. Central processes in this field include Toponym Recognition, which detects place references from unstructured sources, typically text, and Toponym Resolution, where identified toponyms are mapped to specific places. For this thesis, named entity recognition is conducted using the freely available spaCy model to detect place references in a dataset of residential property listings in Zurich. The identified locations are subsequently mapped and spatially analyzed using kernel density estimation. The analysis revealed that the most commonly used place references pertain to generic location descriptions (such as 'central' or 'quiet' locations), significant landmarks (transport hubs or places of high renown), natural landmarks like bodies of water and mountains, as well as wellknown neighborhoods and public squares. The spatial analysis indicated that certain prominent terms are used excessively, resulting in a lack of discernible spatial pattern, as they appear ubiquitously across the entire urban area. In contrast, other terms allowed for the analysis of the perimeter within which a place or transport hub is deemed significant, the perceived proximity to specific sites, or viewpoints from where certain landmarks, like the Alps, can be observed

Land Cover Mapping and Change Analysis at the Tensleep Preserve in Wyoming

Mapping land cover and land cover change are important, especially for land managers who protect natural lands and generate restoration projects. Accurate land cover assessment of rangelands can be difficult because the spectral difference between plant species may be minimal. The goal of this research is to map the land cover in the Tensleep Preserve and highlight change that has occurred over the past twenty-three years using the Feature Analyst extension. The land cover change map will highlight significant changes and Feature Analyst will accurately identify different land covers using historical aerial photographs and ground truthing data collected in 2013. Owned by the Nature Conservancy, the Tensleep Preserve includes 10,088 acres of mixed ecosystems in the foothills of Wyoming\u27s Big Horn Mountains and has a unique floral and faunal history. Ungulates use the property as a corridor for migration routes and Canyon Creek provides fresh water along a twelve mile stretch. This rangeland is rich in biodiversity because its remarkable topography offers abundant habitats. Understanding the land cover trends that have occurred over time is needed to restore natural habitats and protect endemic plant species. The final analysis will document change over the past two decades and give management a decision making tool for current and future projects