Complementary Maps Research Articles

Applying the Dempster–Shafer Fusion Theory to Combine Independent Land-Use Maps: A Case Study on the Mapping of Oil Palm Plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia

The remote sensing community benefits from new sensors and easier access to Earth Observation data to frequently released new land-cover maps. The propagation of such independent and heterogeneous products offers promising perspectives for various scientific domains and for the implementation and monitoring of land-use policies. Yet, it may also confuse the end-users when it comes to identifying the most appropriate product to address their requirements. Data fusion methods can help to combine competing and/or complementary maps in order to capitalize on their strengths while overcoming their limitations. We assessed the potential of the Dempster–Shafer Theory (DST) to enhance oil palm mapping in Sumatra (Indonesia) by combining four land-cover maps, hereafter named DESCALS, IIASA, XU, and MAPBIOMAS, according to the first author’s name or the research group that published it. The application of DST relied on four steps: (1) a discernment framework, (2) the assignment of mass functions, (3) the DST fusion rule, and (4) the DST decision rule. Our results showed that the DST decision map achieved significantly higher accuracy (Kappa = 0.78) than the most accurate input product (Kappa = 0.724). The best result was reached by considering the probabilities of pixels to belong to the OP class associated with DESCALS map. In addition, the belief (i.e., confidence) and conflict (i.e., uncertainty) maps produced by DST evidenced that industrial plantations were detected with higher confidence than smallholder plantations. Consequently, Kappa values computed locally were lower in areas dominated by smallholder plantations. Combining land-use products with DST contributes to producing state-of-the-art maps and continuous information for enhanced land-cover analysis.

Understanding northeastern tropical atlantic ocean dynamics in relation to climate indices

Since 1993, Satellite Altimetry greatly enhanced the ability to study and understand ocean dynamics, particularly in the context of climate change. Though relatively low-energy and understudied, the Northeast Tropical Atlantic Ocean (NTAO) plays a crucial role in the Earth’s climate system. This study aims to deepen understanding of the NTAO region using the satellite altimetry-derived daily sea level gridded data set provided by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).The analysis of long-term regional Sea Level Anomaly (SLA) signals in the NTAO reveals a higher rate of sea level rise compared to the global average. The same analysis for regional Eddy Kinetic Energy (EKE) per unit mass and surface geostrophic currents shows declining rates, in contrast to global counterparts.Correlation analysis between SLA and climate indices (CI) uncovered significant links with the North Atlantic Oscillation, Tropical North/South Atlantic, Western Hemisphere Warm Pool, and Southern Oscillation Index. Composite maps of sea surface temperature (SST), sea level pressure (SLP), and wind anomalies, as well as complementary maps with anomalies of SLA, EKE, and ocean circulation, were examined to understand the primary mechanisms behind these correlations. SST emerged as the main forcing factor, with SLP and wind anomalies also contributing to specific regional and index correlations. EKE anomalies further elucidate differences in the anomalies of the surface geostrophic currents in the areas influenced by the key currents in the study region. The findings of this study show an intricate interplay between oceanic dynamics and climate phenomena, shedding light on the complex mechanisms driving changes in the Northeast Tropical Atlantic Ocean.

A Nanomedicine Structure-Activity Framework for Research, Development, and Regulation of Future Cancer Therapies.

Despite their clinical success in drug delivery applications, the potential of theranostic nanomedicines is hampered by mechanistic uncertainty and a lack of science-informed regulatory guidance. Both the therapeutic efficacy and the toxicity of nanoformulations are tightly controlled by the complex interplay of the nanoparticle's physicochemical properties and the individual patient/tumor biology; however, it can be difficult to correlate such information with observed outcomes. Additionally, as nanomedicine research attempts to gradually move away from large-scale animal testing, the need for computer-assisted solutions for evaluation will increase. Such models will depend on a clear understanding of structure-activity relationships. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the field of cancer nanomedicine and provides a knowledge framework and foundational interaction maps that can facilitate future research, assessments, and regulation. By forming three complementary maps profiling nanobio interactions and pathways at different levels of biological complexity, a clear picture of a nanoparticle's journey through the body and the therapeutic and adverse consequences of each potential interaction are presented.

A decision support tool to place drinking water sources in rural communities

Installing more drinking water sources is a promising way to achieve the 6th sustainable development goal “Clean water and sanitation” in rural communities. A key parameter for the installation of new water pumps is geographical position, because the number of people who could gain access to drinking water depends on the location of the pump. To improve the choice of the most appropriate location, we propose a decision support tool to place a new drinking water source in a rural community. This tool relies on four complementary maps, which are obtained from GPS data, survey data, and a water source choice model. The first map shows the spatial distribution of the households and of the existing water sources in the village. The three remaining maps present the following quantities as a function of the position of a new drinking water source in the village: the number of users of the new drinking water source, the improvement of drinking water access, and the daily water demand per capita at the new drinking water source. The decision support tool is applied to a village in Burkina Faso. Results indicate that using the proposed method could allow eight times more people to gain access to drinking water in comparison to a random positioning of the new drinking water source. The original contribution of this work is, first, the consideration of existing water sources in the village, as well as seasonality. Second, we base our analysis on a water source choice model, which accounts for water quality in addition to the distance to the water source. Third, we consider the variability of the water volume collected by the households throughout the village. The developed tool is generic, transferable to other villages and useful for various decision-making entities (e.g. local authorities and non-governmental organizations).

Gradients and consequences of heterogeneity in biofilms.

Historically, appreciation for the roles of resource gradients in biology has fluctuated inversely to the popularity of genetic mechanisms. Nevertheless, in microbiology specifically, widespread recognition of the multicellular lifestyle has recently brought new emphasis to the importance of resource gradients. Most microorganisms grow in assemblages such as biofilms or spatially constrained communities with gradients that influence, and are influenced by, metabolism. In this Review, we discuss examples of gradient formation and physiological differentiation in microbial assemblages growing in diverse settings. We highlight consequences of physiological heterogeneity in microbial assemblages, including division of labour and increased resistance to stress. Our impressions of microbial behaviour in various ecosystems are not complete without complementary maps of the chemical and physical geographies that influence cellular activities. A holistic view, incorporating these geographies and the genetically encoded functions that operate within them, will be essential for understanding microbial assemblages in their many roles and potential applications.

High-resolution impedance mapping using electrically activated quantitative phase imaging

Retrieving electrical impedance maps at the nanoscale rapidly via nondestructive inspection with a high signal-to-noise ratio is an unmet need, likely to impact various applications from biomedicine to energy conversion. In this study, we develop a multimodal functional imaging instrument that is characterized by the dual capability of impedance mapping and phase quantitation, high spatial resolution, and low temporal noise. To achieve this, we advance a quantitative phase imaging system, referred to as epi-magnified image spatial spectrum microscopy combined with electrical actuation, to provide complementary maps of the optical path and electrical impedance. We demonstrate our system with high-resolution maps of optical path differences and electrical impedance variations that can distinguish nanosized, semi-transparent, structured coatings involving two materials with relatively similar electrical properties. We map heterogeneous interfaces corresponding to an indium tin oxide layer exposed by holes with diameters as small as ~550 nm in a titanium (dioxide) over-layer deposited on a glass support. We show that electrical modulation during the phase imaging of a macro-electrode is decisive for retrieving electrical impedance distributions with submicron spatial resolution and beyond the limitations of electrode-based technologies (surface or scanning technologies). The findings, which are substantiated by a theoretical model that fits the experimental data very well enable achieving electro-optical maps with high spatial and temporal resolutions. The virtues and limitations of the novel optoelectrochemical method that provides grounds for a wider range of electrically modulated optical methods for measuring the electric field locally are critically discussed.

Green Roofs and Greenpass

The United Nations have identified climate change as the greatest threat to human life. As current research shows, urban areas are more vulnerable to climate change than rural areas. Numerous people are affected by climate change in their daily life, health and well-being. The need to react is undisputed and has led to numerous guidelines and directives for urban climate adaptation. Plants are commonly mentioned and recommended as one key to urban climate adaptation. Due to shading of open space and building surfaces, as well as evapotranspiration, plants reduce the energy load on the urban fabric and increase thermal comfort and climate resilience amongst many other ecosystem services. Plants, therefore, are described as green infrastructure (GI), because of the beneficial effects they provide. Extensive green roofs are often discussed regarding their impact on thermal comfort for pedestrians and physical properties of buildings. By means of Stadslab2050 project Elief Playhouse in Antwerp, Belgium, a single-story building in the courtyard of a perimeter block, the effects of different extensive green roof designs (A and B) on the microclimate, human comfort at ground and roof level, as well as building physics are analyzed and compared to the actual roofing (bitumen membrane) as the Status Quo variant. For the analyses and evaluation of the different designs the innovative Green Performance Assessment System (GREENPASS®) method has been chosen. The planning tool combines spatial and volumetric analyses with complex 3D microclimate simulations to calculate key performance indicators such as thermal comfort score, thermal storage score, thermal load score, run-off and carbon sequestration. Complementary maps and graphs are compiled. Overall, the chosen method allows to understand, compare and optimize project designs and performance. The results for the Elief Playhouse show that the implementation of green roofs serves a slight contribution to the urban energy balance but a huge impact on the building and humans. Variant B with entire greening performs better in all considered indicators, than the less greened design Variant A and the actual Status Quo. Variant B will probably bring a greater cost/benefit than Variant A and is thus recommended.

Quantum complementarity and operator structures

We establish operator structure identities for quantum channels and their error-correcting and private codes, emphasizing the complementarity relationship between the two perspectives. Relevant structures include correctable and private operator algebras, and operator spaces such as multiplicative domains and nullspaces of quantum channels and their complementary maps. For the case of privatizing to quantum states, we also derive dimension inequalities on the associated operator algebras that further quantify the trade-off between correction and privacy.

Soil maps in national and specialized atlases (analytical review)

Abstract An analysis of soil maps, base and soil-related ones, in the national and special soil atlases published in the last 25–30 years was performed. These were atlases of thirty countries, few ecological atlases and soil atlases of Europe, Africa, Latin America, Azerbaijan, and Russia. All atlases contain base maps, complementary maps of soil properties and regimes, as well as maps compiled for agricultural and ecological purposes. Maps in the national atlases are more diverse than in the other two groups of atlases, and their sets reflect the nature of the country. The integrity of all these maps is a valuable argument in favor of the importance of soil science and provides a comprehensive insight into the ecological functions and properties of soils.

Geological mapping for the urban area of Tarragona

A detailed and systematic geological characterization of the urban area of Tarragona has been conducted under the project ‘1:5000 scale Urban geological map of Catalonia’ of the Institut Cartografic i Geologic de Catalunya. The results of this characterization are organized into: (1) a geological information system that includes all the information acquired; (2) a geological model focused on the identification, characterization and correlation of the geological materials and structures that are present in the area, and (3) a detailed geological map that represents the synthesis of all the collected information. The mapping project integrates in a GIS environment pre-existing cartographic documentation (geological and topographical), core data from compiled boreholes, descriptions of geological outcrops within the urban network and neighbouring areas, physico-chemical characterization of representative samples of geological materials, detailed geological mapping of Quaternary sediments, subsurface bedrock and artificial deposits, and 3D modelling of the main geological surfaces. The geological model is structured in a system of geological units that form a chronostratigraphic point of view are structured in Preneogene (from Mesozoic to Paleogene), Neogene, Quaternary and Anthropocene. The description of the geological units is guided by a systematic procedure. It includes the main lithological and structural features of the units that constitute the geological substratum and represents the conceptual base of the published map sheets of the urban geological map of the Tarragona metropolitan area. These map sheets are composed of a principal map, geological cross sections, and several complementary maps, charts and tables. Regardless of the geological map units, the principal map also represents the main artificial deposits, features related to the geohistorical processes, contours of outcrop areas, information obtained in stations, borehole data, and contour lines of the top of the pre-quaternary basement surface. The most representative complementary maps are the Quaternary map, the subsurface bedrock map, and the isopach map of thickness of superficial and anthropogenic deposits. The map also includes charts and tables of relevant physico-chemical parameters of the geological materials, harmonized downhole lithological columns from selected boreholes, stratigraphic columns, and photographs and figures illustrating the geology of the mapped area and how urbanization has changed the natural environment. The development of systematic urban geological mapping projects, such as the example of Tarragona’s case, which provides valuable resources to address targeted studies related to urban planning, geoengineering works, soil pollution and other important environmental issues that society should deal with in the future.

Logistic groups in the Republic of Panama

ABSTRACTA map of the logistic groups in the Republic of Panama and complementary maps of the distribution of the population density, GDP density, the economic activity ‘transport, storage and communications’, and the primary and secondary road network are presented. The clusters of territorial groups on each map were analyzed and created using the ‘decision tree’ data mining method in order to determine territorial groups with similar characteristics, including logistics infrastructure and nodes, socioeconomics and the environmental situation. At the reference scale of 1:800,000 these maps represent a planning tool to decision makers in land use matters.

Cartography of crime: Portrait of metropolitan Vilnius

ABSTRACTIn Europe, especially in Eastern Europe, geographic research in criminology deals mainly with data analysis and accompanying cartographic communication through the visualisation of crime maps is less developed. Therefore, there is still a dearth of crime maps that could potentially not only show the facts, but also portray the criminal landscape of the city and tell the reader a story in a way that stimulates thinking, and motivates deeper analysis and spatial reasoning. This set of maps, which were designed by the authors, represent specific characteristics, density and temporal distribution of crimes in the city of Vilnius in 2014. It also shows changes in the crime rate from 2012 to 2014. The maps represent generalised data that was derived from detailed tabular data on reported criminal activities in 2012, 2013, and 2014. The primary map reveals some primary factors that allow understanding of spatio-temporal patterns of crimes in modern Vilnius: prevalent crime types with specific territorial and temporal distribution (crimes of violence, property crimes, and distribution/possession of drugs); changes in distribution over the examined period of 3 recent years; overall crime rate and detailed structure of 9 types of crimes, the rate of burglaries and seasonality of violent crimes for all the 21 administrative districts of the city. Original cartographic signs have been designed for the depiction of 11 characteristics. The maps are supplemented by 3D visualisations and a chart that shows changes in the overall crime rate and juvenile crime numbers in the decade from 2004 to 2014. The reference scale is 1:100,000 for the Main map and 1:300,000 for complementary maps.

Isoscapes of tree‐ring carbon‐13 perform like meteorological networks in predicting regional precipitation patterns

AbstractStable isotopes in tree rings provide climatic information with annual resolution dating back for centuries or even millennia. However, deriving spatially explicit climate models from isotope networks remains challenging. Here we propose a methodology to model regional precipitation from carbon isotope discrimination (Δ13C) in tree rings by (1) building regional spatial models of Δ13C (isoscapes) and (2) deriving precipitation maps from Δ13C‐isoscapes, taking advantage of the response of Δ13C to precipitation in seasonally dry climates. As a case study, we modeled the spatial distribution of mean annual precipitation (MAP) in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, a region with complex topography and climate (MAP = 303–1086 mm). We compiled wood Δ13C data for two Mediterranean species that exhibit complementary responses to seasonal precipitation (Pinus halepensis Mill., N = 38; Quercus ilex L.; N = 44; pooling period: 1975–2008). By combining multiple regression and geostatistical interpolation, we generated one Δ13 C‐isoscape for each species. A spatial model of MAP was then built as the sum of two complementary maps of seasonal precipitation, each one derived from the corresponding Δ13C‐isoscape (September–November from Q. ilex; December–August from P. halepensis). Our approach showed a predictive power for MAP (RMSE = 84 mm) nearly identical to that obtained by interpolating data directly from a similarly dense network of meteorological stations (RMSE = 80–83 mm, N = 65), being only outperformed when using a much denser meteorological network (RMSE = 56–57 mm, N = 340). This method offers new avenues for modeling spatial variability of past precipitation, exploiting the large amount of information currently available from tree‐ring networks.

Salient region detection and segmentation for general object recognition and image understanding

General object recognition and image understanding is recognized as a dramatic goal for computer vision and multimedia retrieval. In spite of the great efforts devoted in the last two decades, it still remains an open problem. In this paper, we propose a selective attention-driven model for general image understanding, named GORIUM (general object recognition and image understanding model). The key idea of our model is to discover recurring visual objects by selective attention modeling and pairwise local invariant features matching on a large image set in an unsupervised manner. Towards this end, it can be formulated as a four-layer bottomup model, i.e., salient region detection, object segmentation, automatic object discovering and visual dictionary construction. By exploiting multi-task learning methods to model visual saliency simultaneously with the bottom-up and top-down factors, the lowest layer can effectively detect salient objects in an image. The second layer exploits a simple yet effective learning approach to generate two complementary maps from several raw saliency maps, which then can be utilized to segment the salient objects precisely from a complex scene. For the third layer, we have also implemented an unsupervised approach to automatically discover general objects from large image set by pairwise matching with local invariant features. Afterwards, visual dictionary construction can be implemented by using many state-of-the-art algorithms and tools available nowadays.

The continuity of the output entropy of positive maps

Global and local continuity conditions for the output von Neumann entropy for positive maps between Banach spaces of trace-class operators in separable Hilbert spaces are obtained. Special attention is paid to completely positive maps: infinite dimensional quantum channels and operations.It is shown that as a result of some specific properties of the von Neumann entropy (as a function on the set of density operators) several results on the output entropy of positive maps can be obtained, which cannot be derived from the general properties of entropy type functions. In particular, it is proved that global continuity of the output entropy of a positive map follows from its finiteness. A characterization of positive linear maps preserving continuity of the entropy (in the following sense: continuity of the entropy on an arbitrary subset of input operators implies continuity of the output entropy on this subset) is obtained. A connection between the local continuity properties of two completely positive complementary maps is considered.Bibliography: 21 titles.

A new method for quantitative petrography based on image processing of chemical element maps: Part II. Semi-quantitative porosity maps superimposed on mineral maps

Visualizing and quantifying the spatial heterogeneity of rock textures (i.e., mineral and porosity distributions) is of great interest in petrology or for understanding petrophysical properties. Spatial heterogeneities are not accurately revealed by usual techniques based on microscopy or bulk physical measurements. Detailed mineral mapping is already available from processing of chemical element maps acquired using an electron probe microanalyzer (Part I). The present paper is devoted to developing a new, coupled method for obtaining porosity maps from the same initial data. According to the difference between measured and theoretical sums of oxide weight percentages, a mean porosity is semi-quantitatively estimated for each pixel of the map (i.e., not fully absolute or accurate). All pores, including nanometer-size ones, are taken into account, whereas a sample area of several square millimeters is analyzed (spatial resolution of a few micrometers). The textural heterogeneities are thus visualized from the complementary maps of solids and voids. By superimposing these two maps, both the mean porosity and a porosity histogram associated with each rock-forming mineral are obtained. Such porosity measurements integrate the pore amounts within mono-crystals larger than the X-ray emission volume or between nanometer-size crystals of a matrix. When porosity changes are associated with a given mineral (various crystal arrangements, dissolution, etc.), pluri-modal distributions appear on porosity histograms. Thresholding each histogram mode then allows these processes to be localized. We used the MX80 bentonite to test this methodology, which represents a useful tool to study the local deformations and alteration of each rock-forming mineral, as well as to model transport properties.

On the elementary divisors of the Sylvester and Lyapunov maps

The paper addresses the problem of computing the elementary divisors of the tensor product of linear transformations using the analysis of the tensor products of polynomial models, as developed in Fuhrmann and Helmke [5]. We use this to study the elementary divisors of the Lyapunov and complementary Lyapunov maps.

Representational flexibility and specificity following spatial descriptions of real-world environments

Current theories are mixed with regard to the nature of mental representations following spatial description reading. Whereas some findings argue that individuals’ representations are invariant following text-based, map-based, or first-person experience, other studies have suggested that representations can also exhibit considerable flexibility. In the current project we investigated the influences of spatial description perspectives and depictions on the nature of mental representations. In Experiment 1, participants exhibited more flexibility following survey, compared to route, spatial descriptions. With extended study time, though, flexibility following route descriptions increased. In Experiment 2, complementary maps further enhanced flexibility for route-based descriptions. Interestingly, increased exposure to these maps actually reduced flexibility following survey descriptions. These results demonstrate that the nature of our spatial mental representations depends upon a variety of factors; delineating these factors is critical for resolving debates concerning the malleable and invariant characteristics of spatial memory.

Integrating waveform lidar with hyperspectral imagery for inventory of a northern temperate forest

It has been suggested that attempts to use remote sensing to map the spatial and structural patterns of individual tree species abundances in heterogeneous forests, such as those found in northeastern North America, may benefit from the integration of hyperspectral or multi-spectral information with other active sensor data such as lidar. Towards this end, we describe the integrated and individual capabilities of waveform lidar and hyperspectral data to estimate three common forest measurements – basal area (BA), above-ground biomass (AGBM) and quadratic mean stem diameter (QMSD) – in a northern temperate mixed conifer and deciduous forest. The use of this data to discriminate distribution and abundance patterns of five common and often, dominant tree species was also explored. Waveform lidar imagery was acquired in July 2003 over the 1000 ha. Bartlett Experimental Forest (BEF) in central New Hampshire (USA) using NASA's airborne Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor (LVIS). High spectral resolution imagery was likewise acquired in August 2003 using NASA's Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS). Field data (2001–2003) from over 400 US Forest Service Northern Research Station (USFS NRS) plots were used to determine actual site conditions. Results suggest that the integrated data sets of hyperspectral and waveform lidar provide improved outcomes over use of either data set alone in evaluating common forest metrics. Across all forest conditions, 8–9% more of the variation in AGBM, BA, and QMSD was explained by use of the integrated sensor data in comparison to either AVIRIS or LVIS metrics applied singly, with estimated error 5–8% lower for these variables. Notably, in an analysis using integrated data limited to unmanaged forest tracts, AGBM coefficients of determination improved by 25% or more, while corresponding error levels decreased by over 25%. When data were restricted based on the presence of individual tree species within plots, AVIRIS data alone best predicted species-specific patterns of abundance as determined by species fraction of biomass. Nonetheless, use of LVIS and AVIRIS data – in tandem – produced complementary maps of estimated abundance and structure for individual tree species, providing a promising adjunct to traditional forest inventory and conservation biology planning efforts.

Standing Waves and Traveling Waves Distinguish Two Circuits in Visual Cortex

The visual cortex represents stimuli through the activity of neuronal populations. We measured the evolution of this activity in space and time by imaging voltage-sensitive dyes in cat area V1. Contrast-reversing stimuli elicit responses that oscillate at twice the stimulus frequency, indicating that signals originate mostly in complex cells. These responses stand clear of the noise, whose amplitude decreases as 1/frequency, and yield high-resolution maps of orientation preference and retinotopy. We first show how these maps are combined to yield the responses to focal, oriented stimuli. We then study the evolution of the oscillating activity in space and time. In the orientation domain, it is a standing wave. In the spatial domain, it is a traveling wave propagating at 0.2-0.5 m/s. These different dynamics indicate a fundamental distinction in the circuits underlying selectivity for position and orientation, two key stimulus attributes.