Building the IDECi-UIB: the scientific spatial data infrastructure node for the Balearic Islands University

Technical and methodological enhancements in Information Technologies (IT) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) has permitted the growth in Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) performance. In this way, their uses and applications have grown very rapidly. In the scientific and educational working fields, different institutions and organisations have bet for its use enforcing information exchange that allows researchers to improve their studies as well as give a better dissemination within the scientific community. Therefore, the GIS and Remote Sensing Service (SSIGT) at the Balearic Islands University (UIB) has decided to build and launch its own SDI to serve scientific Geo-Information (GI) throughout the Balearic Islands society focussing on the university community. By these means it intends to boost the development of research and education focusing on the field of spatial information. This article tries to explain the background ideas that form the basic concept of the scientific SDI related to the concepts of e-Science and e-Research. Finally, it explains how these ideas are taken into practice into the new University Scientific SDI

Aeronautical Information Geoservices

Aeronautical charts underlie the representation of aeronautic geographic information that supports pilots in flight. Nevertheless, charts become complex due to the high density of data and the different kinds that support each phase of flight. These features make difficult using them on board. After conducting a study that aims to understand and to evaluate pilot’s needs related to Geographic Information, it is proposed a solution to implement a platform based on geographic information standards (OGC, ISO) and supported by a distributed Web architecture. This platform facilitates the use, retrieval, updating of information and its exchange among different institutions through private and public users. As a first element to ensure interoperability and the harmonisation of information, we propose an aeronautical metadata profile that sets guidelines and elements for its description. This profile meets the standards set by ICAO, Eurocontrol and ISO. The platform offers three levels of access to data through different types of devices and user profiles. This paper suggests an alternative and reliable way for distributing aeronautical geoinformation, focusing on specific functions or displaying and querying

Geoservices for Aeronautical Navigation

Aeronautical charts underlie the representation of aeronautic geographic information that supports pilots in flight. Nevertheless, the charts become complex due to the high density of data and the different kinds of charts that support each phase of flight. These features make difficult using them on board. After conducting a study, with civil Spaniard pilots, that aims to understand and to evaluate their needs related to Geographic Information, it is proposed a solution to implement a platform based on geographic information standards (OGC, ISO) and supported by a distributed Web architecture. This platform facilitates the use, retrieval, updating of information and its exchange among different institutions through private and public users. As a first element to ensure interoperability of information, we suggest an aeronautical metadata profile that sets guidelines and elements for its description. The metadata profile meets the standards set by ICAO, Eurocontrol and ISO. The platform offers three levels of access to data through different types of devices and user profiles. Thus, aeronautical institutions could edit data while pilot is on board accessing digital aeronautical charts through a laptop or Table PC. This paper suggests an alternative and reliable way for distributing aeronautical geoinformation, focusing on specific functions or displaying and querying

Using Technology Enabled Qualitative Research to Develop Products for the Social Good, An Overview

This paper discusses the potential benefits of the convergence of three recent trends for the design of socially beneficial products and services: the increasing application of qualitative research techniques in a wide range of disciplines, the rapid mainstreaming of social media and mobile technologies, and the emergence of software as a service. Presented is a scenario facilitating the complex data collection, analysis, storage, and reporting required for the qualitative research recommended for the task of designing relevant solutions to address needs of the underserved. A pilot study is used as a basis for describing the infrastructure and services required to realize this scenario. Implications for innovation of enhanced forms of qualitative research are presented

Transformations in the Belize sugar industry: from Colonial plantations to a vital tourist industry

This research explored the evolution of the sugar industry in Belize, including examining its influence on the country's economy and its cultural and historical heritage. As part of this exploration, it situated the information in the context of a heritage tourist application. There has been a dearth of historical lineage establishing how sugar evolved from being a `non-native' crop to becoming a major source of income in Belize. This study has added to this lineage by connecting the transference of plants with parallel changes in migration and labor patterns, including those of British colonists, expatriate Confederates, East Indians and Belizeans. It also assessed relative group influences with the industries' transformation through the use of archival sources, GPS and ArcGIS mapping applications and technological advancements. Results identified the locations of some important sugar mills and their associated communities, their histories and the role of various groups, which set the stage for sugar's influence in the modern economy including heritage and industrial tourism in Belize. It shows how the use of technological advances play a vital role in ecotourism through the endorsement of the history of sugar in the country's past and present culture. One major product is an overview of the growth, development and economic impact of sugar in Belize. A second product is the development of a strategy for improving heritage and industrial tourism of these historic sites. The final product is a database showing sugar-related heritage site locations and their histories along with maps as well as a downloadable application that is available for transfer to a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) to access history, maps and directions for the culturally inclined visitor in Belize

Overløpskontroll i avløpsnett med forskjellige modelleringsteknikker og internet of things

Increased urbanization and extreme rainfall events are causing more frequent instances of sewer overflow, leading to the pollution of water resources and negative environmental, health, and fiscal impacts. At the same time, the treatment capacity of wastewater treatment plants is seriously affected. The main aim of this Ph.D. thesis is to use the Internet of Things and various modeling techniques to investigate the use of real-time control on existing sewer systems to mitigate overflow. The role of the Internet of Things is to provide continuous monitoring and real-time control of sewer systems. Data collected by the Internet of Things are also useful for model development and calibration. Models are useful for various purposes in real-time control, and they can be distinguished as those suitable for simulation and those suitable for prediction. Models that are suitable for a simulation, which describes the important phenomena of a system in a deterministic way, are useful for developing and analyzing different control strategies. Meanwhile, models suitable for prediction are usually employed to predict future system states. They use measurement information about the system and must have a high computational speed. To demonstrate how real-time control can be used to manage sewer systems, a case study was conducted for this thesis in Drammen, Norway. In this study, a hydraulic model was used as a model suitable for simulation to test the feasibility of different control strategies. Considering the recent advances in artificial intelligence and the large amount of data collected through the Internet of Things, the study also explored the possibility of using artificial intelligence as a model suitable for prediction. A summary of the results of this work is presented through five papers. Paper I demonstrates that one mainstream artificial intelligence technique, long short-term memory, can precisely predict the time series data from the Internet of Things. Indeed, the Internet of Things and long short-term memory can be powerful tools for sewer system managers or engineers, who can take advantage of real-time data and predictions to improve decision-making. In Paper II, a hydraulic model and artificial intelligence are used to investigate an optimal in-line storage control strategy that uses the temporal storage volumes in pipes to reduce overflow. Simulation results indicate that during heavy rainfall events, the response behavior of the sewer system differs with respect to location. Overflows at a wastewater treatment plant under different control scenarios were simulated and compared. The results from the hydraulic model show that overflows were reduced dramatically through the intentional control of pipes with in-line storage capacity. To determine available in-line storage capacity, recurrent neural networks were employed to predict the upcoming flow coming into the pipes that were to be controlled. Paper III and Paper IV describe a novel inter-catchment wastewater transfer solution. The inter-catchment wastewater transfer method aims at redistributing spatially mismatched sewer flows by transferring wastewater from a wastewater treatment plant to its neighboring catchment. In Paper III, the hydraulic behaviors of the sewer system under different control scenarios are assessed using the hydraulic model. Based on the simulations, inter-catchment wastewater transfer could efficiently reduce total overflow from a sewer system and wastewater treatment plant. Artificial intelligence was used to predict inflow to the wastewater treatment plant to improve inter-catchment wastewater transfer functioning. The results from Paper IV indicate that inter-catchment wastewater transfer might result in an extra burden for a pump station. To enhance the operation of the pump station, long short-term memory was employed to provide multi-step-ahead water level predictions. Paper V proposes a DeepCSO model based on large and high-resolution sensors and multi-task learning techniques. Experiments demonstrated that the multi-task approach is generally better than single-task approaches. Furthermore, the gated recurrent unit and long short-term memory-based multi-task learning models are especially suitable for capturing the temporal and spatial evolution of combined sewer overflow events and are superior to other methods. The DeepCSO model could help guide the real-time operation of sewer systems at a citywide level.publishedVersio

Site-specific irrigation: Improvement of application map and a dynamic steering of modified centre pivot irrigation system

Einleitung: Ein Management Konzept für nachhaltige und effiziente Nutzunglandwirtschaftlicher Maßnahmen ist bekannt als teilflächenspezifische Landwirtschaft (PA – Precision Agriculture). Wird das teilflächenspezifische Konzept im Bewässerungsmanagement eingesetzt, wird es teilflächenspezifische Bewässerung genannt (PI – Precision Irrigation). Bei der teilflächenspezifische Bewässerung kann die Bewässerung zwischen den Bereichen eines Feldes auf Grund der Variabilität der Bodeneigenschaften oder dem Anbau von verschiedenen Pflanzen auf dem selben Feld variieren. Die räumliche Veränderung der nutzbaren Feldkapazität als Primärfaktor bedingt die räumliche Veränderung der Bewässerungshöhe und der Bewässerungsfrequenz. Die Bewässerungssysteme verteilen das Wasser bis heute gleichmäßig, so dass die Flächen teilweise überbewässert oder unterbewässert sind. Bezogen auf dieses Problem ist die teilflächenspezifische Beregnung geeignet, das Wasser an der richtigen Stelle zum richtigen Zeitpunkt unter Benutzung des richtigen Bewässerungssystems auszubringen. Folglich sind die Schlüsselziele dieser Arbeit: a) die Abgrenzung von Beregnungsmanagementzonen (IMZs – Irrigation Management Zones) unter Nutzung von sensorbasierten Messungen der elektrischen Leitfähigkeit (ECa – depth-weighted apparent soil electrical conductivity) des Bodens mit EM38 und VERIS 3100, b) die Entwicklung und Evaluierung einer teilflächenspezifischen mobilen Tropfbewässerung und c) Auswertung von drahtlosen  Bodenfeuchtesensoren (EnviroSCAN) und der klimatischen Wasserbilanz (AMBAVModell) zur Bestimmung der Bodenfeuchte bzw. der Bewässerungshöhe.Material und Methoden: EC25-Daten (ECa bei 25° C) wurden unter Verwendung von EM38 und VERIS 3100 Geräten bei Feldkapazität auf einem 16,6 ha großen Feldstück der FAL, Braunschweig, Deutschland, gemessen. Die ECa Daten wurden im Sekundenintervall mit zwei bis drei Metern Messabstand und in Reihenabständen von etwa vier bis sechs Metern gemessen. Zur Erstellung der EC25- und Bodenfeuchte Karten wurde die Software ArcView genutzt, nachdem die Messdaten mit Hilfe des sphärischen Kriging-Verfahren interpoliert wurden. 29 Kalibrierungspunkten wurden mit Hilfe von DGPS lokalisiert, um die beste sensorbasierte Methode zur Abgrenzung der Beregnungsmanagementzonen zu bestimmen. Bodenproben wurden in 0 - 60 cm Tiefe entnommen. Der zweite Bogen der Kreisberegnungsmaschinen wurde für die teilflächenspezifische mobile Tropfbewässerung umgerüstet. Eine kontrollierte Wassermenge konnte, durch Installierung einer Pulstechnik mit Magnetventilen (SV – Solenoid Valve), einem Computer gesteuerten Programm (PLC – Programable Logic Control) und Auswechseln der Düsen durch Siplast Tropfrohre ausgebracht werden. Ein Teil des Feldversuches wurde durch EnviroSCAN Bodenfeuchtesensoren gesteuert und der andere Teil wurde durch das AMBAV-Modell gesteuert, um die Beregnungshöhe zu bestimmen. Die hydraulische Genauigkeit der Siplast Tropfrohre wurde im Labor bei unterschiedlichen Wasserdrücken von 50, 100, 150 und 200 kPa untersucht.Ergebnisse und Diskussion: Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass EC25-Daten von verschiedenen gewerblichen Sensoren auf Grund der unterschiedlichen Gewichtung der Tiefe quantitativ unterschiedlich sind. Das höchste Bestimmtheitsmaß wurde zwischen EM38_h und EM38_v (R2 = 0,55) gefunden. In dieser Arbeit wurde ein gutes Bestimmtheitsmaß zwischen nFK und den VERIS 3100 Werten gefunden. Eine Kalibrierungsgleichung zur Abschätzung der nFK von VERIS 3100-sh zeigte eine hohe Ähnlichkeit zu den nFK Daten auf und hatte das höchste Bestimmtheitsmaß (R2 = 0,77). Die Bestimmtheitsmaße zu EM38-v- und EM38-h-Daten waren niedrig und anscheinend nicht ausreichend, um die räumliche Variabilität der nFK reflektieren zu können. Ein Grund kann die größere Messtiefe von EM38 sein. Sechs Beregnungsmanagementzonen (IMZ1: 99 bis 105, IMZ2: 105 bis 116, IMZ3: 116 bis 127, IMZ4: 127 bis 138, IMZ5: 138 bis 149 und IMZ6: 149 bis 152 mm/60 cm) wurden als optimale Anzahl an Beregnungsmanagementzonen auf dem Versuchsfeld, basierend auf den fuzzy-k-Mittelwerten (Boydell and McBratney, 1999) der zufälligen Einteilung, erkannt. Es wurde gefolgert, dass unter konventioneller Beregnung IMZ1 und IMZ2 überbewässert und IMZ4, IMZ5 und IMZ6 unterbewässert wurden. Das entwickelte Konzept der Pulsbewässerung hat sich als eine zuverlässige Technik bewährt. Die Wasserapplikationsmenge war direkt proportional zur Öffnungsdauer des Ventils, und das System war in der Lage, die Wassermenge entsprechend des Bewässerungspulses zu variieren. Weiterhin war es in der Lage, 15 Reihen mit jeweils 15 Düsen zu steuern. Es gab keine offenkundigen Probleme mit dem gepulsten Wasserabgabesystem in den durchgeführten Feldversuchen. Die Kreisberegnungsmaschinengeschwindigkeit und Pulstechnik zur Bereitstellung verschiedener Wassermengen hatten einen geringen nachteiligen Einfluss auf die Gleichmäßigkeit der Beregnungshöhe. Die Gleichmäßigkeitskoeffizienten wurden durch sinkende Pulszeiten und steigende Kreisberegnungsmaschinengeschwindigkeiten gesenkt. Die Kontrolleinheit war wie erwartet in der Lage die Bodenfeuchtedaten mittels Fernmesstechnik von dem EnviroSCAN Sensor zum zentralen Modem zu senden. Obwohl der EnviroSCANBodenfeuchtigkeitssensor empfindlich und kompliziert zu benutzen und zu kalibrieren ist, wurden die Bodenfeuchtigkeitsdaten fast störungsfrei von der Kontrolleinheit empfangen, gespeichert und zum Mobiltelefon gesendet. Für die Übertragung auf den PC wurde die Software „Kurznachricht Pro 2.2“ genutzt. Anschließend wurde die differenzierte Bewässerungshöhe kalkuliert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die EnviroSCAN-Sensoren in der Lage sind, den Verlauf der Bodenfeuchte während der Wachstumsperiode erfolgreich zu verfolgen. Weniger gut arbeitet der Sensor, um die Feuchtigkeitsverhältnisse auf sandigen Böden (unter 40 cm Tiefe), trotz bodenspezifischer Kalibrierung zu bestimmen. Während dessen hat sich das AMBAV-Modell als eine Alternative zum kostenintensiven EnviroSCAN erwiesen, das in der Lage ist, die Bodenfeuchtigkeit in der Wurzelzone der Graspflanzen als eine preiswerte und verlässliche Methode zu simulieren. Das Tropfbewässerungssystem sollte auf verlässlichen Testergebnissen und nicht auf Herstellerangaben beruhen. Die Laborexperimente zeigten, dass der Einfluß des Betriebsdrucks auf den Durchfluss am Siplast Tropfer hoch signifikant war und der Tropferdurchfluß stark vom Betriebsdruck abhing. Die CV-Werte wurden auf dem ISO-Standard basierend als gut eingestuft. Aus den Laborexperimenten wurde herausgefunden, dass der in-line Siplast Tropfer eine hohe Ausbringungsgleichmäßigkeit und einen geringen Variationskoeffizienten aufweist. Das Rohrmaterial des Siplast Tropfer ist hart und unflexibel. Es sollte nach weiteren Produkten gesucht werden, die flexibler sind und somit die Kulturen schonen. Die ökonomische Analyse dieser Arbeit zeigt, dass der Kapitalbedarf pro Hektar unter teilflächenspezifische mobile Tropfbewässerung um etwa 338 € und 250 € höher liegt als bei entsprechender Tropfbewässerung in Deutschland und im Iran. Die jährlichen Fixkosten sind geringer, als bei der Tropfbewässerung (111 und 128 [€/(ha x Jahr)] in Deutschland oder im Iran). Obwohl die teilflächenspezifische mobile Tropfbewässerung teurer ist als die Beregnung mit Kreisberegnungsmaschinen, verursacht sie weniger Wasser- und Energiekosten als die Kreisberegnungsmaschinen und hat das Potenzial den Ertrag qualitativ und quantitativ, sowie den landwirtschaftlichen Gewinn zu steigern. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, als wichtige Folge des Verfahrens, dass die teilflächenspezifische mobile Tropfbewässerung nicht notwendiger Weise eine wassersparende Technologie ist, aber es kann den Wasserbedarf optimieren. Der Energiebedarf kann um 70 % und der Wasserbedarf kann um 25 % durch die teilflächenspezifische mobile Tropfbewässerung gegenüber der Kreisberegnungsmaschine gesenkt werden. Die Modellbetrachtungen zeigten, dass durch die teilflächenspezifische mobile Tropfbewässerung im Vergleich mit der konventionellen Kreisberegnungsmaschine bei Salat, Zuckerrübe,  Kartoffel und Erdbeere etwa 575, 378, 462 und 588 kWh Energie pro Hektar gespart werden können.Schlussfolgerung: Die sensorbasierte Messung der elektrischen Leitfähigkeit bei Feldkapazität von nicht salzigen Böden ist eine preiswerte, schnelle und das Bodengefüge nicht zerstörende Alternative, um die Beregnungsmanagementzone räumlich abzugrenzen und ist den Methoden der Bodenprobenahme und Luftbildauswertung vorzuziehen. Feldstudien mit größeren Bewässerungssystemen und Felder mit verschiedenen Bodentypen, Topographie oder Pflanzenbeständen sind weiterhin zu untersuchen, um die Genauigkeit des Bewässerungskonzeptes zu validieren. Vor dem Hintergrund, dass teilflächenspezifische Bewässerung in den Anfängen steckt und eine weitere Verbreitung dieser Technologie zu erwarten ist, könnten die zusätzlichen Kosten für industrielle Ausrüstungsteile gesenkt werden. Beträchtliche Forschung und Entwicklung ist noch nötig, um die möglichen Vorteile der teilflächenspezifischen Beregnung und der Flüssigdüngung besser zu realisieren, um ein positives ökonomisches Ergebnis für den Erzeuger zu sichern.Introduction: A management concept for sustainable utilization and the efficient use of agricultural inputs is known as “Precision Agriculture” (PA). The PA concept, when applied to irrigation management is known as Precision Irrigation (PI). In PI, the need for irrigation may differ between zones of a particular field due to the spatial variation of soil properties or the cropping of different plants on the same field. Spatial variation of total available water content (TAWC) as a primary factor causes spatial variation of irrigation depth and frequency within fields. While moving irrigation systems apply water at constant rates, some areas of the field may receive too much water and others not enough. In this regard, precision irrigation (PI) is capable of applying water in the right place in the right amount at the right time using the right irrigation system. Therefore the key objectives of the present study were a) Delineation of irrigation management zones (IMZs) using sensor-based soil electrical conductivity (ECa) measurement with the aid of EM38 and VERIS 3100, b) Developing and evaluating a precision mobile drip irrigation (PMDI) and c) Evaluating wireless EnviroSCAN sensors and AMBAV-models to measure the soil moisture content.Materials and methods: EC25 data (ECa in 25° C) were collected using EM38 and VERIS 3100 at field capacity on a 16.6 ha non-saline field in the FAL, Braunschweig, Germany. ECa data were obtained in 1-s intervals corresponding to a 2 to 3 m data spacing on transects spaced approximately 4 to 6 m apart. An ArcView (ESRI) software program was used to create the EC25 and TAWC maps after the readings were interpolated using a spherical kriging model. 29 calibration points taken at a depth of 0 - 60 cm depth were located using DGPS based on the ECa spatial variability pattern and with the objective of covering the whole range of ECa values present to determine the best sensor-based method to monitor TAWC. The second span of the centre pivot irrigation machine (CP) was modified to PMDI and controlled for variable-rate water application with a pulsing technique by installing solenoid valves (SV), programmable logic control (PLC) and using a Siplast drop tube instead of sprinklers. One quarter of the study field was controlled by the EnviroSCAN soil moisture sensor and another quarter was controlled by the AMBAV-model to determine irrigation depth. In addition, the hydraulic performance of the Siplast drop tube was evaluated in the laboratory by collecting discharge rates at different pressure of 50, 100, 150 and 200 kPa.Results and discussion: This study showed that, while qualitatively similar, EC25 data obtained with different commercial sensors were quantitatively different because of different depth-weighted response functions. The highest coefficients of determination (R2) were generally found between EM38_h and EM38_v (R2 = 0.55). In this study, a better value of R2 between TAWC and the VERIS 3100 readings was found. The R2 value from VERIS 3100-sh data for TAWC estimation was maximally (0.77) and matched the TAWC data quite well, whereas R2 values to EM38-h and EM38-v data were low and apparently could not adequately reflect the spatial variability of the TAWC due to the higher influence of the EM38 on deeper layers. Six IMZs (IMZ1: 99 to 105, IMZ2: 105 to 116, IMZ3: 116 to 127, IMZ4: 127 to 138, IMZ5: 138 to 149 and IMZ6: 149 to 152 mm/60 cm) were identified based on fuzzy-k-means unsupervised classification as an optimum number of IMZs within the study field. It was concluded that under conventional uniform irrigation, IMZ1 and IMZ2 were over-irrigated, whereas IMZ4, IMZ5 and IMZ6 were under-irrigated. The developed concept of pulse irrigation was a feasible and a viable technique. Water application was directly proportional to the fraction of time the valve was opened as the system was capable of controlling fifteen banks of fifteen nozzles. There were no apparent problems with the pulsing water delivery system where the field tests were conducted. CP speed and the pulsing technique used to deliver variable amounts of irrigation had little adverse effect on system uniformity and the nozzle flow rate. Uniformity coefficients were reduced by decreasing the pulsing level and increasing CP speed. The control unit was able to monitor wireless soil moisture sensors via radio telemetry and communication from the EnviroSCAN sensors to the central ISM modem, which worked as expected. Although the EnviroSCAN soil moisture sensor was found to be delicate and intricate to use and calibrate, soil moisture data were easily sent from the control unit and received by the mobile phone and then transferred to an Excel table on a computer using easy and suitable “Kurznachricht Pro 2.2” software to calculate irrigation depth. The results suggest that EnviroSCAN sensors are able to follow the general trends successfully as soil water content measured by sampling changed during the growing season, but are not a reliable sensor to repeat moisture conditions on sandy soils (at greater depths than 40 cm ) despite its soil-specific calibration. Meanwhile, an AMBAV model as a cheap and reliable alternative instead of the expensive EnviroSCAN sensor was capable of determining and simulating soil moisture in the root zone of grass crops. Drip irrigation design should be based on reliable data sets, but not on data supplied by the manufacturer. The laboratory experiments showed that the effect of operating pressure on the discharge of Siplast emitters was highly significant and the emitter discharge was strongly influenced by the operating pressure, while some deviation from the design flow rate claimed by the manufacturer occurred. CV values were classified as good, on the basis of the ISO standard. Based on the laboratory experiments, it was found that the in-line Siplast emitter has high emission uniformity and a low coefficient of variation. In spite of high emission uniformity and a low coefficient of variation of the Siplast drop tube, it must consist of hard and inflexible material. To have a shorter drip tube installed on CP, using an in-line drop tube lateral with higher emitter discharge at low operation pressure and less emitter distance is proposed. The economic analysis of this study showed that although capital requirement per hectare under PMDI is about € 338 and € 250 more than for drip irrigation in Germany and Iran, respectively, it causes perceptibly less annual fixed cost than drip irrigation (111 and 128 [€/(ha x year)] cheaper than drip irrigation in Germany and Iran, respectively). Although PMDI causes more annual fixed expenses than CP irrigation, it has less total irrigation cost per hectare and year than CP and drip irrigation and has the potential benefit to increase yield quantity, quality and farming benefit. The results showed as an important policy implication that PMDI is not necessarily a water saving technology and it does not necessarily involve a reduction in total water use, but that it can optimize water consumption. Given a reduction of energy and water consumption of 70 % and 25 %, respectively, achieved by the PMDI as compared with the CP, results showed that about 575, 378, 462 and 588 kWh energy per hectare can be saved by PMDI in comparison with the conventional CP irrigation of lettuce, sugar beet, potato and strawberry.Conclusion: Sensor-based ECa measurement at F.C. in non-saline soil can be used as a cheap, rapid and non-destructive alternative to delineate IMZ instead of using soil sampling and aerial photography methods. Field studies using larger irrigation systems and fields with different soil types, topographic or crop characteristics are recommended to validate the precision irrigation concept and to realize and ensure a positive net economic return to the producer. With due attention to the success of PI in the early stages and developments in industrial technology in the coming years, the extra costs of industrial accessories could be minimised

Web-based interface for environmental niche modelling

Marine species are subject to anthropogenic impacts, such as noise pollution, marine litter, and direct impact collisions. While there are efforts in the marine community and crowd-sourcing to report the occurrence of marine species, not enough projects explore the prediction of where such animals may be. This dissertation analyzes the state of the art in species distribution model ing (SDM) systems, capable of reporting and predicting marine biodiversity. The proposal implements the algorithms for predicting species through publicly avail able repositories of data, provides means to ease the upload and management of occurrence points as well as methods for prediction analysis. A web-based user interface is proposed using Ecological Niche Modelling (ENM) as an automated alerting mechanism towards ecological awareness. Performed user studies evaluate marine biodiversity concerns from fisherman and whale-watching sea-vessels, assessing attitudes, threats, values, and motiva tion of both samples. Further, biologists and experts on ENMs will evaluate the workflow and interface, reviewing the proposal’s potential to enable ecologists to create solutions for their custom problems using simple protocols without the need for any third-party entities and extensive knowledge in programming.Espécies marinhas estão sujeitas a impactos antropogênicos, tais como poluição sonora, lixo marinho, e colisões com tráfego marinho. Apesar de existirem al guns esforços da comunidade marinha e crowdsourcing relativamente ao registo de ocorrências de biodiversidade marinha, não existem projeto suficientes que exploram as previsões de onde estas espécies poderão estar. Esta dissertação analisa o estado da arte em sistemas de modelação de dis tribuição de espécies, capazes de relatar e prever biodiversidade marinha. A pro posta implementa os algoritmos para prever espécies por meio de repositórios consolidados de dados disponíveis online, fornece meios para facilitar o carrega mento e gestão de pontos de ocorrência, bem como métodos para análise das previsões. Uma interface web de utilizador é proposta utilizando Ecological Niche Modeling como um mecanismo de alerta automatizado para incrementar a con sciência ecológica. Os estudos do sistema irão avaliar as preocupações relativas a biodiversi dade marinha de embarcações de pesca e navios de observação de baleias. Desta forma é possível determinar atitudes, ameaças, valores e motivação de ambas as amostras para com a biodiversidade marinha. Além disso, biólogos e espe cialistas nesta tipologia de sistemas, avaliarão o fluxo de trabalho e a inter face desenvolvida, avaliando o potencial do sistema, permitindo aos ecologistas criar soluções personalizados através de protocolos simples, sem a necessidade de quaisquer entidades terceirizadas e conhecimento em programação