The use of Big Data in studying migration routes: new tools and applications

In an age where people flee from their countries of origin due to the worsening of conflicts and wars, of political crisis and violence, of terrorism, of religious radicalization processes, and persecutions, policy making needs to be based on a wider and more sensible information systems. Population censuses, sample surveys as well as administrative archives and registers are revealing some critical issues that could be partly overcome by the enormous informative potential offered by new sources and Big Data (Rango, 2014; De Backer, 2014). In this chapter, starting from the main results of a Eurostat project on the “Standardization and geocoding of migration flows”, granted to the Italian Institute of Statistics, some innovative tools and applications will be described. Moreover, in light of some interesting questions raised in occasion of a conclusive workshop on “Studying Migration Routes: New Data and Tools” (http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/186849), the innovative use of some technologies, such as the mobile phone tracking, the processing of satellite images and finally the extraction of information from social networks, will be described in depth

Relief Inlet Quadrangle, Victoria Land, Antarctica 1:250,000 (Antarctic Geomorphological and Glaciological Map Series).

The Relief Inlet quadrangle is the second product of a cartographic project involving the geomorphological and glaciological survey of Victoria Land, and conducted in the framework of the Italian National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA). The map covers the southern portion of Terra Nova Bay and the northern margin of the Scott Coast (75° S–76° S, 162° E–166° 30’ E). Three of the major outlet glaciers of Victoria Land flow into Terra Nova Bay (the Priestley, Reeves and David glaciers). The Priestley and Reeves glaciers drain the SE portion of the Talos Dome area and part of the northern Victoria Land névées, and merge to form the Nansen Ice Sheet (the name given by the first explorers, although it is technically an ice shelf). The David Glacier, the largest outlet glacier in Victoria Land, flows from eastern Dome C and southern Talos Dome, and drains the inner part of the plateau; its seaward extension, the Drygalski Ice Tongue, extends into the Ross Sea for almost 100 km. Local ice fields, within a few tens of kilometres of the Transantarctic Mountains, feed the floating glacier tongues along the Scott Coast (Clarke, Cheetham, and Harbord Ice Tongues). Geomorphological and glaciological features are represented on a satellite image mosaic with a spatial resolution of 30 m (Landsat TM images 062-113 and 062-114, January 17, 1990). The image was georeferenced by identifying the ground control points determined through GPS measurements. It was rectified to a Lambert Conformal Conic cartographic projection (standard parallels 72° 40’S and 75° 20’S, WGS84) using a linear conversion matrix with a RMS error of less than two pixels. The origin, spatial distribution, extension and density of landscape features and superficial deposits are represented. Features originated from several morphogenetic agents are distinguished and mapped with different colours and symbols. The map also gives information on the chronological sequence of landforms and deposits. Particular attention is devoted to glaciological features, and selected ice-thickness radar profiles are reported