Geographic Information System Capabilities Research Articles

Soil mapping as one of the means of optimizing precision agriculture

This article presents all the possibilities for developing and implementing a modern method of updating existing soil-cartographic data and obtaining the most reliable data within a short period with minimal labor, financial and material costs for specialists in the field of agronomy. Accurate farming and rational cultivation of grain and non-grain agricultural plants are impossible without taking into account reliable, objective, complete, and detailed information about the soil situation in our country. Thanks to the development of science and the introduction of the latest technologies, new opportunities appear to improve the monitoring, speed, objectivity, and economic productivity of soil mapping by minimizing complex and challenging fieldwork and facilitating the conduct of chemical studies of soil samples. The practice of creating soil maps acquired by other advanced countries proves a great need to use reliable Earth remote sensing data in integration with the capabilities of geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning tools (GPS) in precision agriculture. They concluded and provided data for solving the task by performing geoinformation mapping using non-contact methods for soil diagnostics and research. The diagnostics of this study are aimed at verifying the integrity and practicality of the application of non-contact methods that contribute to the analysis of the soil surface and the creation of new conditions for the introduction of precision agriculture in the regional plane in connection with the emergence of specific difficulties and shortcomings in the use of remote sensing data of the Earth's surface for accurate surveying of the area research.

The systemic approach to risk analysis in geography

This paper presents a brief review of risk studies in Geography since the beginning of the 20th century, from approaches focused on physical-natural components or social aspects, to perspectives that incorporate a systemic approach seeking to understand and explain risk issues at a spatial level. The systemic approach considers principles of interaction between multiple variables and a dynamic organization of processes, as part of a new formulation of the scientific vision of the world. From this perspective, the Complex Systems Theory (CST) is presented as the appropriate conceptual-analytical framework for risk studies in Geography. Finally, the analysis and geographic information integration capabilities of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based on spatial analysis are explained, which position it as a fundamental conceptual and methodological tool in risk analysis from a systemic approach.

A Transit Access Analysis of TANF Recipients in Portland, Oregon

Little evidence exists regarding the relationship between transit service availability and the ability of welfare recipients to find stable employment. While policymakers continue to assert that increased public transit mobility can positively affect employment status, there is little empirical evidence to support this theory. It is generally assumed that public transit can effectively link unemployed, earless persons with appropriate job locations. From these assumptions stems the common belief that if adequate transit were available, the likelihood of being employed would increase. Hence, the call for more transit services to assist moving welfare recipients to gainful employment. Current available evidence is anecdotal, while general patterns of transit access and labor participation remain relatively unexplored.This analysis examines whether transit access service is less available to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients in the City of Portland, Oregon. It uses disaggregate TANF recipient location data from the State of Oregon Department of Adult and Family Services (AFS); transit route/stop data from Tri-Met; block-group census data; and disaggregate employment location data within Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GIS capabilities are essential in performing network accessibility analyses and for analyzing spatial patterns of TANF recipient and employment locations. The results of this analysis provide an assessment of the availability and quality of transit service for TANF recipients.

Enhancing Hybrid Learning using Open Source GIS-Based Maps Archiving System

In the era of communication technology and its integration with the learning process, the role of the educational institutions has significantly changed, especially after the expansion of Internet use and the rise of what's currently known as “Internet-based learning environments”. After the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary for researchers to search for alternatives to the traditional pedagogical approaches of maps teaching so as to cultivate well-educated learners able to adapt to rapidly changing technology-enhanced learning. Hence, the aim of this study is to develop the learning process in the Geography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) departments in the faculties of Cairo University. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study in Egyptian universities and research associations that utilized GIS and open-source technology to use such a system in classroom pedagogical settings. For achieving this aim, GIS capabilities and a bunch of open-source technologies were utilized to build online maps archiving system that provides rapidly discover, preview, and retrieve digital maps of different types from multiple repositories through several query operations. This will facilitate the teaching process for both staff and students and will make it more interactive and safer. To ensure the efficiency of the designed system, it was tested by a set of tools (Checklist and Questionnaires). The findings of the study point to the proposed system as contributing in significant ways to developing the learning process, increasing students’ interaction with maps, and providing the necessary learning tools.

GIS Integrated System for Internal Medicine and Transport Network: A Conceptual Framework of Control Spread of Emerging Infectious Diseases

Introduction: The spread of infectious disease in Africa is a major issue that demands the use for the most effective technology for its control and prevention. Geographical Information System (GIS) is an emerging technology with proven capacity to chart the spatial occurrence social phenomena, both statically and dynamically. GIS offers considerable advantages over the traditional cartographic methods from which it emerged. The purpose of this research paper is to explore and demonstrate the capability of GIS in measuring the spread and predicting infectious disease in developing countries and assisting (government) decision-makers in understanding and controlling the spread of communicable disease. Specifically, the aim is to establish an integrated framework for using GIS in epidemiological studies at the grassroots level. Methods: The paper based on the author previous published papers and review of the existing literature. Result: The data collection will center on the virus that has reached Lagos along the coast road from Accra in Ghana; Calabar from infected Cameroon to the east and arrived in the north via a "right hook" of long-distance trucking to Maiduguri. Thus, there is a need for the establishment of GPS base station in Lagos, Nigeria to improve accuracy and precision of satellite data collection through use of differential corrections. There is also a need to link clinical and HIV/AIDS databases to GPS database. The information required to support HIV/AIDS spread analysis can be generally classified into the following three categories :(a) transportation network (i.e. distance; average daily traffic; number of stops; etc.) (b) social/demographic factors (i.e. population; characteristics of HIV carriers/AIDS sufferers; the distance to school, hospitals, and other sensitive areas) (c) other geographical considerations (i.e. tribal affiliation; neighboring country.). The principal social/demographic factor that is operational in the referenced HIV/AIDS spread model is population. This is a GIS database of enumeration district centroids with attribute information, available through the National Population Centre and African AIDS Network. The enumeration district boundary file for each district will be established by drawing lines that bisect each adjacent enumeration district centroid. Through recursive use of this process, enumeration district borders will be shaped such that every district occupies a unique area surrounding its centroid, and collectively the district occupies the entire suburb area. Conclusions: The paper concludes that direct the nature and the geographical focus of control efforts carried out at the state or local government level, where these decisions are constrained by the limited resources for control programs, which are always a reality in developing countries. This integrated GIS is significance because it will provide an important opportunity for improved decision support for the educational interventions, health care delivery systems and management of infectious disease spread at the local, regional and national levels.

DESIGN OF THE TOURIST INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE CITY APPLICATION. PROBLEMS OF LEISURE PLANNING

The article considers the current problem of tourism development in Ukraine and in a particular city Kharkiv. This problem is especially relevant today, due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Nowadays, in order to correct the situation in this sector of the economy, it is advisable to use specialized information support. There are many different resources on the Internet, with which one can get help or mark out a route, depending on the selected points of interest. Some of them specialize in working with the map, in particular in marking out routes, finding and displaying places of tourist infrastructure on the map. Others display information about events taking place in these places without cartographic reference. But each of these resources has only a part of the needs of a tourist or resident who wants to plan their leisure time. The proposed application will fill all the flaws of existing resources. It will meet the needs of navigation, information and planning functions. In other words this application will be the first application that combines the functions of finding and providing information about places of tourist attraction, marking out routes between them and creating an optimal plan for visiting them. The geographic information system ArcGIS was chosen to solve this problem. It contains the necessary modules for working with vectorized maps, layers and provides programming. An intuitive application interface was created using VBA. It contains the necessary forms for routing between points of interest and time planning. The article demonstrated the capabilities of geographic information systems in tourism business sphere It demonstrated a solution that allows with maximum convenience and minimum time not only to obtain the necessary information, but also to plan their leisure. It will help even during lockdowns and other anti-epidemic measures to prevent decline of tourist infrastructure.

The Covid-19 pandemic teaching modalities in Turkey: An evaluation of school gardens and classes

ObjectivesThe main scientific contribution of this study is to design an approach that can regulate school safety and student health in gardens and classes during the pandemic period using GIS. MethodsThe method of this study is based on the use of school areas and building data, the creation of 4m2 social distance areas for students, and the evaluation of these areas in terms of health measures. To this aim, first, the relevant guidelines issued by the government institutions in Turkey during the COVID-19 process were examined, in relation to how they will reflect on education policies regarding the sanitary safety of schools. This data was obtained from open-source data sets. Then, in the application stage, 20 schools were selected in order to analyse the sustainability of education in the Balgat district. In addition, the sanitary conditions of classrooms and garden areas were evaluated within the framework of educational policies, taking into account the capabilities of geographical information systems (GIS). ResultsThe findings indicated that 95% of school gardens comply with pandemic regulations, and only 38.9% of school classes can support education in two periods through binary grouping. ConclusionsIt has been concluded that school buildings are well-planned in terms of health measures for gardens and classes. In addition, GIS were found to be very useful for analysing areas in terms of student health, comparing schools regionally, tracking the spread of the pandemic, and identifying high-risk school areas.

GIS-based MCDM Approach for Wind Farm Site Selection - A Case Study

The objective of this study is the development and implementation of a geographic information system (GIS)-based methodology to determine suitable sites for wind farms by using multicriteria decision making (MCDM) techniques. Many eligibility criteria are considered in this approach, such as GIS analysis is performed in combination with MCDM techniques, both for the criteria weighting process (using the analytical hierarchical process) and for the standardization/classification of the criteria values into a common scale, in order to finally apply the weighted linear combination technique. The MCDM output is a suitability map, which provides the spatial distribution of the final score, showing zones ranging from non-suitable locations to highly suitable areas after categorizing them into five classes. Furthermore, three scenarios regarding the criteria selection and their hierarchy are investigated: technical, techno-economic, and techno-economic-environmental. For each of these scenarios, different criteria are assigned different levels of importance, and the corresponding results are compared and evaluated. The proposed approach is presented through a case study for the regional unit of Chania (Crete Island, Aegean Sea, Greece), for which the necessary geospatial data were collected, created, and processed. This analysis highlights the capabilities of GIS in performing site selection for onshore wind farms while considering the regulations, legislations, and other constraints.

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (GISy) IMPLEMENTATION WITHOUT GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SCIENCE (GISc) FUNDAMENTAL

This article reviews the use of Geographical Information System (GIS) has been primarily applied in spatial decision making from simple to complex geospatial problems. GIS is usually referred to as a computer system used explicitly to store, manage, analyze, manipulate, and visualize geospatial data. GIS can produce meaningful information for a better understanding of solving related geographic/spatial problems. With the technology, hardware, and software assistance, GIS is at its progressive pace even though GIS starts with a simple and straightforward question of geographic features/event location. This rapid development has made GIS and spatial data becoming a critical commodity today. However, without the basic knowledge and GIS understanding, the actual GIS capabilities, such as understanding geographical concepts, managing geographic phenomena, and solving geographical problems, become limited. To become worse, GIS is was seen as a tool to facilitate map display and simple spatial analysis. Furthermore, the market's professional training emphasizes simple GIS components such as hardware, software, geospatial data mapping, extracting geographical data from tables (tabular data), simple queries or display, and spatial data editing mastered using GIS manuals in training. Thus, this article highlights the impact of implementing GIS without sufficient GIS fundamental knowledge, resulting in complicated spatial decision planning issues.

Sustainable Development of Transport as a Regional Policy Target for Sustainable Development—A Case Study of Poland

In central and eastern European countries that joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007, there are strong connections between transport development and sustainable regional development. The needs for transport development in post-socialist countries are so high that it is difficult to finance them, and most governments have to choose between immediate and less urgent needs. The aim of this study was to determine the role played by sustainable transport growth in the improvement of regional cohesion and sustainable regional development with a use of geographical information systems’ capabilities. The specific goals of the study were to: (i) determine the impact of EU subsidies on the regional transport development; (ii) identify threats to regional cohesion resulting from under-capitalised regions, (iii) examine geographical information systems’ capabilities in periodical regional transport development monitoring. The analyses include evaluation of the regions’ involvement in sustainable transport development as well as the presentation of direct and indirect results, such as road system improvement, with the use of GIS capabilities. It is particularly important to develop a system for monitoring the level of EU fund allocation with the use of GIS tools and the capabilities of geographic information systems. Such in-depth analysis would be useful for regional governments and decision-makers in creating and updating long term transport policies as well as monitoring long term regional development strategies. Both sustainable transport development and EU fund allocation can be monitored within the use of GIS tools, and such analyses should supplement the INSPIRE Geoportal scope.

Development of forest fire risk map using geographical information systems and remote sensing capabilities: Ören case.

Forest fires globally cause severe losses in vegetation, soil and habitats and inevitably have direct and indirect negative environmental impacts such as deforestation, climate change and drought. According to the official records, there has been an increase of 58% in the number of the forest fires in Turkey in the last 30 years, between 1988 and 2018. Therefore, it is vital to determine the forest fire risks in the country and develop more effective methodologies to mitigate them. From this point, in the first phase, forest fire risk map of Kütahya-Ören region was prepared via the analyses of a variety of spatial data using geographical information system capabilities. The visibility analysis for the current fire towers was also performed. The results showed that very-high and high-risk, moderate-risk and low-risk zones respectively comprised 36.86%, 60.39% and 2.76% of the total study area, and 82.8% of the region was visible from the towers. In the second phase of the study, remote sensing methods were utilized for the detection of the areas burned in October 2001 in Ören-Çamdibi region, which was officially recorded as 4 hectares. The results revealed that the actual amount of the burned area was 5.6 hectares, and 83% of the burned surfaces was classified as moderate-risk areas in the fire risk map, while 17% of it was that of very-high and high-risk zones.

Analysis of the development of open GIS software and QGIS system

Abstract. Open source software could emerge thanks to the development of the Internet, development tools, and computer literacy in general. The most attractive parameter of open source GIS software is a free license. The rapid pace of development, attracting developers from all over the world and high modularity stimulate the innovative nature of open source software. Here, the introduction of new technologies does not meet with opposition, but rather welcomes. These circumstances, as well as elucidation of the functional capabilities of such GIS, become very important in the search for means of providing the educational process with modern GIS software, which is traditionally an expensive proprietary software. Goal: Analysis of up-to-date GIS software protection and visual accessibility of the QGIS system in the first place with studying geoinformation systems.Quantum GIS (QGIS) is an open source software (GIS) geographic information system (GIS). Open software is one of the most interesting technological phenomena of the present, owing to its rapid growth in the development of the Internet, development tools and computer literacy in general. The key role in the creation, development and support of open source software is played, as a rule, by the community of developers forming around individual software products: commercial companies, groups of enthusiasts or research organizations. The term open source was proposed by Bruce Perens, one of the key leaders in the Open Source and Free Software movement, cofounder with Eric Raymind in 1998 of the Open Source Initiative (OSI), an open source software development organization that promotes and provides technical open source support. This open source term is used by OSI to determine whether a software license complies with open source standards. The main features of open source software as defined include free distribution, accessible source code, permission to modify this source code. At the same time, even successful open source software products require companies on the market ready to provide technical support and advice on issues related to the selected products. However, the number of companies providing support services for open source GIS software is still relatively small.

An Integrated GIS-Hydro Modeling Methodology for Surface Runoff Exploitation via Small-Scale Reservoirs

Efficient and sustainable exploitation of water resources requires the adoption of innovative and contemporary management techniques, a need that becomes even more demanding due to climate change and increasing pressures coming from anthropogenic activities. An important outcome of this reality is the qualitative and quantitative degradation of groundwater, which clearly indicates the need to exploit surface runoff. This study presents an integrated Geographic Information System (GIS)-based methodological framework for revealing and selecting suitable locations to build small-scale reservoirs and exploit surface runoff. In this framework, the SWAT model was used to quantify surface runoff, followed by the simulation of reservoir scenarios through reservoir simulation software. Andros Island (located in Cyclades Prefecture), Greece was selected as the study area. The obtained results indicated the most suitable location for creating a reservoir for maximizing exploitation of surface runoff, based on the specific water demands of the nearby areas and the existing meteorological, hydrological, and geological background potential. Thus, two selected dam locations are analyzed by using the proposed framework. The findings showed that the first dam site is inappropriate for creating a reservoir, as it cannot meet the demand for large water extraction volumes. In addition, the outcomes confirmed the efficiency of the proposed methodology in optimum selection of locations to construct small-scale water exploitation works. This research presents a contemporary methodological framework that highlights the capability of GIS, SWAT modeling, and reservoir simulation coupling in detecting optimal locations for constructing small reservoirs.

Candidate site selection for nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia using GIS

Many countries prefer to use renewable and clean energy sources over fossil fuels as fossil fuels are limited and have a negative impact on the environment. Although there are diverse, renewable, and clean sources of energy, such as solar, wind, and geothermal, the low and variable productivity of these resources impedes their application. Conversely, nuclear energy is a reliable, stable, and safe source of energy. The International Atomic Energy Agency recommends the use of geographic information systems in site planning of nuclear plants. Accordingly, this study seeks to apply the technical capabilities of geographic information systems in building a geographical database as well as data processing and analysis to support the decision making and examination of suitable sites for nuclear reactor facilities. In this study, a spatial suitability analysis methodology based on the multi-criteria decision-making method was used to identify candidate areas with suitable spatial characteristics for nuclear reactor facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Moreover, vector modeling was used to successfully determine potential sites over an area of ~ 4442 km2 on the eastern coast (Al-Ahsa, Al-Adaid Governorate) and over an area of ~ 600 km2 on the western coast (Umloj, Yanbu, Rabigh, Al-Laith, and Baysh) of the Kingdom.

Safety Hazards Identification of Construction Site Layout Based on Geographic Information System (GIS)

In the world's gross domestic product, the construction industry accounts for about 10% and plays a significant role in the eastern and western economies. Hectic places, unique characteristics, and an ever-changing work environment and its dynamic nature make construction sites challenging to predict before construction or during the life cycle project. The physical and psychological problems of construction workers caused by the construction site's poor safety, economically, significantly affect the project with a significant increase in costs. This study aims to identify occupational safety hazards by proposing occupational safety hazards in predicting worker safety hazards at construction sites. In this research, GIS is used to present the relationship between temporary facilities and safety issues at construction sites to improve the accuracy of identifying work accidents. The data collection stages were carried out through a location survey, geographic spatial, and interviews by SHE managers on a high-rise building construction project. The site layout's dynamic safety assessment is a step in GIS development in obtaining the safety zone accuracy around the temporary construction facility. It was found that there is a combination of GIS capabilities in the accuracy of site layout, which can significantly increase safety at the construction site to obtain recommendations for safety measures and minimize the occurrence of work accident fatalities through preventive actions.

Assessment of land suitability for maize (Zea mays L) in semi-arid ecosystem of southern India using integrated AHP and GIS approach

The aim of the present study was to assess the suitable areas for maize (Zea mays L) in semi-arid ecosystem of Mysuru district of Karnataka, Southern India using integrated Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographic Information System (GIS) approach. In the present study, the parameters of soil depth, length of growing period (LGP), soil surface texture, soil drainage, organic carbon (OC), soil pH, slope and elevation were used. AHP method was used to determine the weights of the parameters and scores of the sub-parameters in the study. The modeling capabilities of GIS were used in weighted overlay analysis of input parameters in assessment of land suitability for maize cultivation. The analysis indicates that about 29.9% (188439.4 ha) of the study area is highly suitable, 15.3% (96213.3 ha) is moderately suitable and 18.5% (116671.7 ha) is marginally suitable for maize cultivation. The study demonstrates that the integrated AHP and GIS approach found to be very effective to increase the accuracy in land suitability assessment. The gap analysis between the suitable areas derived from the study and actual mean maize growing area during 2015–16 to 2017–18, shows that about 23.2% (146370.4 ha) of highly suitable and 38.4% (242556.7 ha) of highly and moderately suitable areas together are available to expand the maize cultivation in the district.

Особенности технологии аэрофотосъёмки с применением беспилотных воздушных судов

In recent years, there have been qualitative changes in surveying associated with the use of robotic systems, such as unmanned aerial vehicles. Currently, traditional geodetic and topographic technologies are giving way to high-precision and high-performance systems using robotics. The technology of aerial photography from drones for mapping territories, operational monitoring linear structures, construction sites, as well as for engineering and underground surveys, solving cadastral matters, building realistic three-dimensional terrain models, etc., is gaining more and more popularity in the world. The transition to new technologies entails restructuring not only the methods of determining coordinates, but also the stages of pre-design and design work. The authors describes the capabilities of geographic information systems for automating some stages of field geodetic data cameral processing obtained through using unmanned aircraft. As a result of the study, it was discovered that the marks of the earth’s surface, read from the constructed digital map, are in good agreement with those obtained as a result of the ground-based geodetic survey.

Geographic Information Systems based performance assessment: Case study of selected medical libraries in Iran

The study aims at determining the capability of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in mapping library performance indicators. Six categories were identified as the potential library performance indicators in the study: per capita space, per capita seat, per capita staff, collection flow, circulation per capita, and per capita costs of providing printed sources. A comprehensive checklist was designed for data collection. The collected data were analysed utilizing ArcGIS version 10.7. Correlations between the six identified library performance indicators were validated in the study. ArcGIS software has the capability to display performance indicators in the form of clear images to conduct suitable analysis. Displaying performance indicators in the form of graphs and tables without using GIS makes data analysis and presentation difficult and it lacks precision and generalization. Maps incorporating performance indicator analysis using GIS, function as blueprints for displaying information on maps. The study validates the capability of GIS in mapping library performance indicators.

Active tectonics influences in the Satluj river basin in and around Rampur, Himachal Himalaya, India

The detailed investigation of surface dynamics plays a vital role in the identification of regions experiencing recent tectonic activity. The analytical capabilities of geographic information system (GIS) in association with digital elevation model (DEM) are utilized to extract the morphometric and morphotectonic parameters of Satluj basin around a socio-economically important area (the Rampur zone). The drainage network of Strahler order 5 has been extracted from DEM and further analysed qualitatively and quantitatively in order to delineate areas of active deformation and the influence of neotectonic activities on the basin evolution. Further, the responses of the fluvial drainage patterns and other basinal geomorphic indices against the tectonic disturbances have been assessed. The results of morphometric and morphotectonic parameters affirm the neotectonic activities in the basin which is further verified in the field investigations by the presence of active faults, triangular facets, knick points, sharp truncation of the channel, offset channel etc. In addition, an attempt has been made to associate the landslide occurrences with morphometric features. The results of the morphometric study supported by the data of repeated occurrence of earthquake swarms and landslides in the region suggest high neotectonic activity along an active fault in the basin.

Groundwater quality modeling using self-organizing map (SOM) and geographic information system (GIS) on the Caspian southern coasts

Groundwater is the main source for water provision in the arid and semi-arid areas such as Iran. The groundwater quality was simulated by using a hybrid model integrating a Self-Organizing Map (SOM) and geographic information system (GIS). SOM and GIS were used as pre-processing and post-processing tools in the Mazandaran Plain. Further, the Ground Water Quality Index (GWQI) and its effective factors were estimated by using digital maps and the secondary data. NeuroSolutions software was used for simulating the groundwater quality. To do this, a model was trained and optimized in the SOM and then the optimized model was tested. In the next step, the performance of SOM in groundwater quality simulation was confirmed (test stage, Rsqr=0.8, and MSE=0.008). Then, the digital maps of the SOM inputs were converted to raster format in GIS. In the last step, a raster layer was generated by combining the model input layers which comprised the model inputs values. The tested SOM was used to simulate GWQI in the sites without the secondary data of the groundwater quality. Finally, the groundwater quality map was generated by coupling the results of SOM estimations and GIS capabilities. The results revealed that the coupling of SOM and GIS has high performance in the simulation of the groundwater quality. According to the results, a limited area of the studied plain has groundwater resources with low quality (GWQI>0.04). Therefore, that will be a threat to the life of humans, animals, and vegetative species. Therefore, it is necessary to plan for managing the groundwater quality in the Mazandaran plain.