ANDRZEJ BORKOWSKI (1959-2021) – IN MEMORIAM

This report outlines Hungarian activities in geodesy for the period January 2003 to December 2006. It has been prepared for submission to the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) at its General Assembly in Perugia, Italy during the XXIVth General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) on July 2–13, 2007. It is issued on behalf of the IAG Section of the Hungarian National Committee for IUGG. Since the last XXIIIrd General Assembly in Sapporo, Japan, June 30–July 11, 2003 there have been some minor changes in the list of members of the IAG Section of the Hungarian National Committee for IUGG. Currently the National Correspondent to the IAG is also the Chairman of the IAG Section. The members of the IAG Section for the period of 2004–2007 are as follows: J Adam (Chairman), L Banyai (Secretary), A Barsi, P Biro, T Borza, G Csapo, I Fejes, I Joo, A Kenyeres, Gy Mentes, G Papp, Sz Rozsa, Gy Toth, P Varga, L Volgyesi and J Zavoti. The following useful and successful geodetic event sponsored by IAG took place in Hungary during the quadrennium to which this report refers: International IAG School on “The Determination and Use of the Geoid”, Budapest, Hungary, January 31–February 4, 2005. Co-operating institutions in the field of IAG in Hungary are as follows: a) Department of Geodesy and Surveying, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, (http://www.geod.bme.hu); b) Satellite Geodetic Observatory of the Institute of Geodesy, Cartography and Remote Sensing, Budapest-Penc (http://www.sgo.fomi.hu); c) Geodetic and Geophysical Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Sopron (http:/www.ggki.hu);

Dr. Thomas Hilker left us on 4 September 2016 following a sudden cardiac arrest. Thomas was adevoted husband to Yhasmin, and a brother and son to his family in Germany to whom we expressour deepest sympathies. Friends and colleagues of Thomas in the remote sensing and ecologicalcommunities lament this tragic loss. During his short but stellar science career, Thomas becamea world leader in the field of carbon, water and energy exchange from the land. He pioneeredstudies in the Amazonian forests, using anisotropy information acquired from satellites to describethree-dimensional structures that linked these ecosystems functionally to climatic variation.Thomas had an extreme range of interests—from the engineering of advanced spectrometers toproviding new theories and innovative methods to process remotely sensed data. Dr. Piers Sellers,Acting Director of the Earth Sciences Division at NASA/GSFC, and Deputy Director of the Sciences andExploration Directorate wrote: “Thomas Hilker was something of a renaissance man in Earth Science.He could climb towers, measure tall trees, and calculate spectral indices in his head. Working with himwas like collaborating with two or three normal people. He had some of the best and most originalideas in remote sensing that I’ve come across, but unlike most of us, he could go get the data to provehis point. And he was always the best fun. I remember him coming to a couple of parties of ours—hewas always relaxed, humorous, charming. He could make people laugh and everyone felt so goodaround him.”Thomas obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from the University of Applied Sciences,in Goettingen, Germany in 2000, a Master in Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics from the Universityof Applied Sciences in Stuttgart in 2002 and a PhD from the University of British Columbia (UBC) inForestry in 2008. After a three year postdoctoral position at UBC (2008–2011), he worked as a ResearchAssociate at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (2011–2012). From 2012 to 2016, Thomas held aposition as Assistant Professor at Oregon State University’s College of Forestry, leading the RemoteSensing Laboratory and teaching classes in Remote Sensing and Spatial Data Analysis. In 2015 and2016 he was a visiting researcher at the National Institute for Space Studies in Brazil (Instituto Nacionalde Pesquisas Espaciais, INPE). He looked forward to starting a position as an Associate Professor ofEarth System Science and Remote Sensing at the University of Southampton, UK.Thomas became fascinated by the global carbon cycle following receipt of his Master’s degree andwas keen to utilize his geospatial skills to unlock the details of the cycle. Inspired by the linksbetween canopy reflectance and photosynthesis, Thomas designed an Automated MultiangularSpectroradiometer for Estimation of Canopy reflectance [1] and improved it in subsequentiterations [2,3] to be able to continuously monitor subtle changes in the reflected spectra from

The main aim in forest mapping and monitoring is to produce accurate information for forest managers with the use of efficient methodologies. For example, it is important to locate harvesting sites and stands where forest operations should be carried out as well as to provide updates regarding forest growth, among other changes in forest structure. In recent years, remote sensing (RS) has taken a significant technological leap forward. It has become possible to acquire three-dimensional (3D), spatially accurate information from forest resources using active RS methods. In practical applications, mainly 3D information produced by airborne laser scanning (ALS) has opened up groundbreaking potential in natural resource mapping and monitoring. In addition to ALS, new satellite radars are also capable of acquiring spatially accurate 3D information. The main objectives of the present study were to develop 3D RS methodologies for large-area forest mapping and monitoring applications. In substudy I, we aim to map harvesting sites, while in substudy II, we monitor changes in the forest canopy structure. In studies III-V, efficient mapping and monitoring applications were developed and tested. In substudy I, we predicted plot-level thinning maturity within the next 10-year planning period. Stands requiring immediate thinning were located with an overall accuracy of 83%-86% depending on the prediction method applied. The respective prediction accuracy for stands reaching thinning maturity within the next 10 years was 70%-79%. Substudy II addressed natural disturbance monitoring that could be linked to forest management planning when an ALS time series is available. The accuracy of the damaged canopy cover area estimate varied between -16.4% to 5.4%. Substudy II showed that changes in the forest canopy structure can be monitored with a rather straightforward method by contrasting bi-temporal canopy height models. In substudy III, we developed a RS-based forest inventory method where single-tree RS is used to acquire modelling data needed in area-based predictions. The method uses ALS data and is capable of producing accurate stand variable estimates even at the sub-compartment level. The developed method could be applied in areas with sparse road networks or when the costs of fieldwork must be minimized. The method is especially suitable for largearea biomass or stem volume mapping. Based on substudy IV, the use of stereo synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data in the prediction of plotlevel forest variables appears to be promising for large-area applications. In the best case, the plot-level stem volume (VOL) was predicted with a relative error (RMSE%) of 34.9%. Typically, such a high level of prediction accuracy cannot be obtained using spaceborne RS data. Then, in substudy V, we compared the aboveground biomass and VOL estimates derived by radargrammetry to the ALS estimates. The difference between the estimation accuracy of ALS–based and TerraSAR X–based features was smaller than in any previous study in which ALS and different kinds of SAR materials have been compared. In this thesis, forest mapping and monitoring applications using active 3D RS were developed. Spatially accurate 3D RS enables the mapping of harvesting sites, the monitoring of changes in the canopy structure and even the making of a fully RS-based forest inventory. ALS is carried out at relatively low altitudes, which makes it relatively expensive per area unit, and other RS materials are still needed. Spaceborne stereo radargrammetry proved to be a promising technique to acquire additional 3D RS data efficiently as long as an accurate digital terrain model is available as a ground-surface reference.

Monitoring gully change: A comparison of airborne and terrestrial laser scanning using a case study from Aratula, Queensland

<p>The negative impacts of space weather conditions on human activity have become a vital concern over the last decades, as humans increasingly use satellite communications, Positioning-Navigation-Timing (PNT) with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Earth’s observation and forecasting with in-situ and remote sensing satellites, and countless other applications. This situation underscores the necessity to better understand and predict the effects of Magnetosphere-Ionosphere-Thermosphere (MIT) processes and coupling in the near-Earth environment and to prevent potential detrimental influences on orbiting, aerial, and ground-based technologies (e.g., the radio signal propagation delay in the ionosphere affecting GNSS and communications, the drag force disturbances on Low Earth Orbit satellites, the power and internet outages due to intense electric currents induced during geomagnetic storms, etc.). For instance, the variability of the ozone layer has strong dependence on space weather, and it connects with the troposphere and the surface temperature variability. The ozone is a strong absorber of Solar ultraviolet (UV) and Earth’s long-wave radiations, playing thus a key role in global warming and climate change, which is affected by natural and human contributions such as solar activity and powerful ground-based radio transmitters. In the intricate MIT coupling, the UV and extreme UV (EUV) radiation are mostly absorbed by the thermosphere to create the ionosphere through ionization/dissociation of neutrals, and the thermosphere and ionosphere are strongly influenced by wave motions from the lower atmosphere, and also by energetic particle precipitation and field‐aligned currents through the magnetosphere and solar wind. Addressing the challenge of completely understanding the coupled MIT processes requires significant advances in geodetic observations of plasma and neutral density, “compositions”, and “velocities”, observations of energetic particles and “magnetic field perturbations” both in space and on the ground, as well as advanced theoretic and numerical modelling capabilities. The Joint Study Group 1 ‘Coupling processes between Magnetosphere, Ionosphere, and Thermosphere and (MIT)’ is implemented at the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) Inter-Commission Committee on Theory (ICCT), joint with the IAG Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS), Focus Area on Geodetic Space Weather Research (FA-GSWR), the IAG Commission 4 ‘Positioning & Applications’, and the IAG Sub-Commission 4.3 ‘Atmosphere Remote Sensing’. The JSG1 aims to better understand Space Weather phenomena within the coupled MIT system, and formulate predictive models of the near-Earth space environment. We provide an introduction of the coupled MIT system and recent updates and results achieved by the group.</p>

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the identification of Natura 2000 wetland habitats (Alkaline fens—code 7230, and Transition mires and quaking bogs—code 7140) depending on various remotely sensed (RS) data acquired from an airborne platform. Both remote sensing data and botanical reference data were gathered for mentioned habitats in the Lower (LB) and Upper Biebrza (UB) River Valley and the Janowskie Forest (JF) in different seasonal stages. Several different classification scenarios were tested, and the ones that gave the best results for analyzed habitats were indicated in each campaign. In the final stage, a recommended term of data acquisition, as well as a list of remote sensing products, which allowed us to achieve the highest accuracy mapping for these two types of wetland habitats, were presented. Designed classification scenarios integrated different hyperspectral products such as Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF) bands, spectral indices and products derived from Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data representing topography (developed in SAGA), or statistical products (developed in OPALS—Orientation and Processing of Airborne Laser Scanning). The image classifications were performed using a Random Forest (RF) algorithm and a multi-classification approach. As part of the research, the correlation analysis of the developed remote sensing products was carried out, and the Recursive Feature Elimination with Cross-Validation (RFE-CV) analysis was performed to select the most important RS sub-products and thus increase the efficiency and accuracy of developing the final habitat distribution maps. The classification results showed that alkaline fens are better identified in summer (mean F1-SCORE equals 0.950 in the UB area, and 0.935 in the LB area), transition mires and quaking bogs that evolved on/or in the vicinity of alkaline fens in summer and autumn (mean F1-SCORE equals 0.931 in summer, and 0.923 in autumn in the UB area), and transition mires and quaking bogs that evolved on dystrophic lakes in spring and summer (mean F1-SCORE equals 0.953 in spring, and 0.948 in summer in the JF area). The study also points out that the classification accuracy of both wetland habitats is highly improved when combining selected hyperspectral products (MNF bands, spectral indices) with ALS topographical and statistical products. This article demonstrates that information provided by the synergetic use of data from different sensors can be used in mapping and monitoring both Natura 2000 wetland habitats for its future functional assessment and/or protection activities planning with high accuracy.

It is generally acknowledged thatservices play an essential role in geodesy and, consequently, in the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). Services are not a recent invention within the IAG. They accompany the Association since its creation.Services in general (not only within IAG) are (should be) created if a well defined user community can be identified needing well defined products. Recent examples within the IAG are the creation of the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) in. 1987 and the creation of the International GPS Service (IGS) in 1991 (officially approved by IAG in 1994).The IGS and the IERS are probably the best known IAG services with an impact reaching far beyond geodetic applications. There are many more services within IAG, however.In our analysis we first characterize a scientific service, then we comment the current situation of IAG(-related) services; as a case study we briefly review the activities of the IERS and the IGS. We conclude with some thoughts concerning the future role of the IAG services.

Preface. List of Contributors. 1. Laser scanning - evolution of the discipline Andrew R.G. Large & G.L. Heritage . 2. Principles of 3D laser scanning G.L. Heritage & Andrew R.G. Large . 3. Issues in laser scanning Seamus Coveney & Timothy McCarthy. 4. Airborne LiDAR: instrumentation, data acquisition and handling Bernard Devereux & Gabriel Amable . 5. Geostatisical analysis of LiDAR data Chris Brunsden. 6. General data issues, data quality and protocols David Hetherington . 7. Terrestrial laser scanning to derive surface grain size facies character of gravel bars Neil S. Entwistle & Ian C. Fuller . 8. Airborne Laser Scanning - Methods for processing and automatic feature extraction for natural as well as for artificial (man-made) objects Christoph Straub, Yungsheng Wang & Octavian Iercan . 9. Numerical modelling of 3D flow using spatially distributed datasets of topography and roughness at different grid resolutions David J. Milan. 10. Airborne LiDAR Measurements to Quantify Change in Sandy Beaches Michael J. Starek, K. Clint Slatton, Ramesh L. Shrestha & William E. Carter . 11. LiDAR in the Environmental sciences: Geological Applications David Hodgetts . 12. Using LiDAR in archaeological contexts: The English Heritage experience and lessons learned Simon Crutchley . 13. Airborne and terrestrial laser scanning for measuring vegetation canopy structure F.M. Danson, F. Morsdorf & B. Koetz . 14. Flood mapping and vegetation mapping in large river systems Ian C. Overton, Anders Siggins, John C. Gallant, David Penton & Guy Byrne . 15. Laser scanning surveying of linear features: considerations and applications Michael Lim, Jon Mills & Nicholas Rosser . 16. Laser scanning - the future Andrew R.G. Large, G.L. Heritage Index

AN ASSESSMENT OF SPATIAL VARIATION OF LAND SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS OF MINNA, NIGER STATE NIGERIA FOR SUSTAINABLE URBANIZATION USING GEOSPATIAL TECHNIQUES

<p>The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) is the contribution of Geodesy to the observation and monitoring of the Earth System. Geodesy is the science of determining and representing the shape of the Earth, its gravity field and its rotation as a function of time. A core element to reach this goal are stable and consistent geodetic reference frames, which provide the fundamental layer for the determination of time-dependent coordinates of points or objects, and for describing the motion of the Earth in space. Traditionally, geodetic reference frames have been used for surveying, mapping, and space-based positioning and navigation. With modern instrumentation and analytical techniques, Geodesy is now capable of detecting time variations ranging from large and secular scales to very small and transient deformations with increasing spatial and temporal resolution, high accuracy, and decreasing latency. GGOS has been working closely with components of International Association of Geodesy (IAG) to provide consistent and openly available observations of the spatial and temporal changes of the shape and gravity field of the Earth, as well as the temporal variations of the Earth’s rotation. These efforts make available a global picture of the surface kinematics of our planet, including the ocean, ice cover, continental water, and land surfaces, as well as estimates of mass anomalies, mass transport, and mass exchange in the System Earth. Surface kinematics and mass transport together are the key to global mass balance determination, and are an important contribution to understanding the energy budget of our planet. In order to play its vital role, GGOS has following missions; a) to provide the observations needed to monitor, map, and understand changes in the Earth’s shape, rotation, and mass distribution, b) to provide the global geodetic frame of reference that is the fundamental backbone for measuring and consistently interpreting key global change processes and for many other scientific and societal applications, c) to benefit science and society by providing the foundation upon which advances in Earth and planetary system science and applications are built. For the mission, GGOS works tighter with components of the IAG, more specifically, IAG Services, IAG Commissions and IAG Inter-Commission Committees. The IAG Services provide the infrastructure and products on which all contributions of GGOS are based, and the IAG Commissions and IAG Inter-Commission Committees provide expertise and support to address key scientific issues within GGOS. Together with the IAG components, GGOS provides the fundamental infrastructure underpinning Earth sciences and their applications.</p>

A critical component of the forest ecosystem, the understorey supports the vast majority of wildlife habitat and total ecosystem floristic diversity. Remote sensing data have been developed to provide information at different scales for surveys of forest ecosystems, but obtaining information about the understorey remains a challenge. As rapid and efficient tools for forest structure attribute estimation, Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) and Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) have attracted much attention. We examine the relationship between ALS and TLS data and detect changes in the forest understorey caused by forest-tending events in the study area. We conducted trials in five plots within a young Khasi pine (Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gord.) plantation in Yunnan province, China, before and after forest tending. We collected bi-temporal ALS data in this area and TLS data from 10 scanning stations. Canopy height profiles were retrieved from ALS and TLS data, and understorey material volume retrieved from filled TLS voxels volume agreed well with the understorey point clouds percentile distribution (PD) obtained from ALS data. The PD value for the understorey from ALS multiplied by the percentage of ALS return points in the overstorey had a stronger correlation (R2 = 0.90) with the TLS-derived understorey material volume than did the ALS PD value for the understorey only (R2 = 0.71). Taking the effect of the overstorey into consideration will improve evaluations of forest understorey parameters from ALS data. This study confirmed the potential of TLS as a validation tool to assess the accuracy of forest understorey material volume estimation at large scales using ALS data.

An automated method to register airborne and terrestrial laser scanning point clouds

This study explores the feasibility of applying single-scan airborne, static terrestrial and mobile laser scanning for improving the accuracy of tree height growth measurement. Specifically, compared to the traditional works on forest growth inventory with airborne laser scanning, two issues are regarded: “Can the new technique characterize the height growth for each individual tree?” and “Can this technique refine the minimum growth-discernable temporal interval further?” To solve these two puzzles, the sampling principles of the three laser scanning modes were first examined, and their error sources against the task of tree-top capturing were also analyzed. Next, the three-year growths of 58 Nordic maple trees (Crimson King) for test were intermittently surveyed with one type of laser scanning each time and then analyzed by statistics. The evaluations show that the height growth of each individual tree still cannot be reliably characterized even by single-scan terrestrial laser scanning, and statistical analysis is necessary in this scenario. After Gaussian regression, it is found that the minimum temporal interval with distinguishable tree height growths can be refined into one month based on terrestrial laser scanning, far better than the two years deduced in the previous works based on airborne laser scanning. The associated mean growth was detected to be about 0.12 m. Moreover, the parameter of tree height generally under-estimated by airborne and even mobile laser scanning can be relatively revised by means of introducing static terrestrial laser scanning data. Overall, the effectiveness of the proposed technique is primarily validated.

A recent case of monkeypox was identified in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2022, in a person who had been to Nigeria, where the disease is prevalent and had symptoms consistent with monkeypox. On May 4, the individual returned to the United Kingdom, bringing the first case of the epidemic to the country This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Accurate forest data is essential for informed decisions regarding forest policy and management. Traditionally collected through field surveys, this type of data has increasingly been produced with remote sensing (RS). RS provides comprehensive resource maps produced with data from sensors, including airborne laser scanning (ALS) and satellite imagery. However, RS predictions can include large uncertainties, including both random and systematic errors. The systematic errors often stem from the problem of regression towards the mean, whereby small true values are overestimated while large true values are underestimated. These errors pose challenges for effective forest management planning since they can lead to wrong assumptions about forest conditions, for example, that a forest conforms to average conditions due to reduced variability. In this study, we quantified the differences between expected and realised outcomes in forest planning informed by RS predictions, specifically evaluating inventories based on ALS and optical satellite imagery. The evaluation was made according to a business-as-usual scenario with additional concerns about biodiversity and carbon sink targets. The satellite-based forest inventory, more impacted by both general uncertainty and regression towards the mean, performed worse than ALS. Our results indicate that reliance on RS predictions led to 10% to 12% overestimated harvest levels, with notable fluctuations over time, alongside a decrease in net present value of -6% to -9%. Furthermore, carbon stocks were unintentionally reduced in the satellite-based plans, with overestimations ranging from 8% to 24%. Across both RS methods, achieving stable development for biologically valuable forests proved difficult. Our findings underscore the relevance of these issues for forestry and are important to ongoing policy development related to forest monitoring and planning.