Topographic Maps Research Articles

Using Neural Networks for Sustainable Land Use Prediction in Sumbawa Regency, Indonesia

Agriculture is vital to Sumbawa Regency's economy, with key activities such as rice cultivation, corn production, onion farming, and cattle rearing. This study applies artificial neural networks (ANN) to predict land cover changes, focusing on agricultural land expansion. Using land cover datasets from ESRI, digital elevation model, and topographical maps, we analyzed land cover changes from 2017 to 2023 and generated future projections for 2050 with the MOLUSCE plugin in qGIS. The predictive model achieved an 85% accuracy rate when comparing 2023 actual data with predictions. Results indicate a significant increase in agricultural land cover by 2050. The key finding is that over a long-term period, the simulation of land use and land cover (LULC) change in Sumbawa reveals an increase of crop areas in the Lunyuk and Labangka Districts. This study highlights the effectiveness of ANN in land cover prediction and emphasizes the need for sustainable practices to balance agricultural expansion. AI-driven insights can aid policymakers in opti-mizing resource allocation and ensuring long-term environmental and economic stability in Sumbawa Regency. Future research should refine models and incorporate additional factors for improved accuracy.

Historical landscape structures of the eastern part of upper Medzibodrožie region

Landscape represents a specific part of the earth's surface, while it has its own structure – primary, secondary and tertiary. The secondary landscape structure consists of elements of land use and material creations of man, which currently fill the earth's surface. The aim of the paper is to evaluate, based on the analysis of historical military and topographical maps, the changes in the secondary landscape structure in the area formed by the cadastral territories of selected municipalities in the eastern part of Upper Medzibodrožie Region. On four maps showing selected territories of Upper Medzibodrožie Region, we compare extensive changes that have occurred in the landscape structure mainly as a result of human intervention in the landscape structure. Historical maps show that the use of the Upper Medzibodrožie Region landscape has changed significantly over the past 150 years. River regulation, drainage works, deforestation and also the transformation of agriculture had a major impact on these changes. The results show that the largest decrease in area representation was recorded by forests and the largest increase by arable land.

A self-organised partition of the high dimensional plasma parameter space for plasma disruption prediction

Abstract This paper introduces a disruption predictor constructed through a fully unsupervised two-dimensional mapping of the high-dimensional JET operational space. The primary strength of this disruption predictor lies in its inherent self-organization capability. Diverging from both supervised disruption predictors and earlier approaches suggested by the same authors, which were based on unsupervised models such as Self-Organizing or Generative Topographic Maps, this predictor eliminates the need for labeling data of disruption terminated pulses during training. In prior methods, labels were indeed required post-mapping to inform the model about the presence or absence of disruption precursors at each time instant during the disrupted discharges. In contrast, our approach in this study involves no labeling of data from disruption-terminated experiments. The Self-Organizing Map, operating without any a priori information, adeptly identifies the regions characterizing the pre-disruptive phase. Moreover, SOM discovers non-trivial relationships and captures the complicated interplay of device diagnostics on the internal plasma states from the experimental data. The provided model is highly interpretable; it allows the visualization of high-dimensional data and facilitates easy interrogation of the model to understand the reasons behind its correlations. Hence, utilizing SOMs across various devices can prove invaluable in extracting rules and identifying common patterns, thereby facilitating extrapolation to ITER of the knowledge acquired from existing tokamaks.

Topographic mapping of visual sensations in a completely blind individual

Topographic mapping of visual sensations in a completely blind individual

Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Drivers of Coastal Wetlands in Tianjin–Hebei over the Past 80 Years

Coastal wetland ecosystems are critical due to their diverse ecological and economic benefits, yet they have been significantly affected by human activities over the past century. Understanding the spatiotemporal changes and underlying factors influencing these ecosystems is crucial for developing effective ecological protection and restoration strategies. This study examines the Tianjin–Hebei coastal wetlands using topographic maps from the 1940s and Landsat satellite imagery from 1975, 2000, and 2020, supplemented by historical literature and field surveys. The aim is to analyze the distribution and classification of coastal wetlands across various temporal intervals. The findings indicate an expansion of the Tianjin–Hebei coastal wetlands from 7301.34 km2 in the 1940s to 8041.73 km2 in 2020. However, natural wetlands have declined by approximately 44.36 km2/year, while constructed wetlands have increased by around 53.61 km2/year. The wetlands have also become increasingly fragmented, with higher numbers of patches and densities. The analysis of driving factors points to human activities—such as urban construction, cultivated land reclamation, sea aquaculture, and land reclamation—as the primary contributors to these changes. Furthermore, the study addresses the ecological and environmental issues stemming from wetland changes and proposes strategies for wetland conservation. This research aims to enhance the understanding among researchers and policymakers of the dynamics and drivers of coastal wetland changes, as well as the major challenges in their protection, and to serve as a foundation for developing evidence-based conservation and restoration strategies.

Surgical Anatomy and Intrapelvic Course of Obturator Nerve

Study ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to reveal the anatomy of the obturator nerve (ON) and its important relationship in pelvic surgery with the surrounding anatomical structures. DesignProspective observational study. InterventionsParameters from the left and right ON's to relevant anatomical landmarks were measured and statistical analysis was performed. SettingThe current study was planned in Department of Anatomy Ankara University School of Medicine and then conducted at the Forensic Medicine Institute, Ankara Group Presidency after receiving the approval of the Institute for Forensic Medicine. ParticipantsThe study was performed in 40 fresh or fresh-frozen and female cadavers bilaterally. Measurements and Main ResultsThe mean distances of the midpoint of the left ON to the highest point of the fundus of uterus and isthmus of the uterus, cervico-uterine junction, and highest point of the promontory were 55.1 ± 10.4, 52.9 ± 12.4, 54.8 ± 11.3, and 58.5 ± 15.2 mm, respectively, and 58.7 ± 8.1, 52.5 ± 13.1, 61.4 ± 17.8, and 62.2 ± 19.7 mm on the right side, respectively (p > .05 for all values). The mean distance between the nerve root of the left ON and highest point of the promontory was 59.1 ± 28.4 mm, it was 59.7 ± 26.2 mm on the right side (p > .05). There were significant positive correlations between the distance between the left and right anterior superior iliac spines and the distances between the midpoint of the ON to the isthmus of the uterus on both the left and right sides of the pelvis (r = 0.546, p = .019, r = 0.896, p < .001, respectively). ConclusionsIntraoperative ON injury in gynecological procedures is a complication that may be minimized with good anatomical knowledge. Careful dissection should be performed to decrease the ON injury. The safe surgical zone was established for pelvic procedures by creating a topographical map of the ON. This research may improve pelvic surgery precision, aiding the development of better treatments and reducing ON-related complications.

Spatial Variability in Soil Water-Physical Properties in Southern Subtropical Forests of China

Quantification of soil water-physical properties and their spatial variation is important to better predict soil structure and functioning, as well as associated spatial patterns in the vegetation. The provision of site-specific soil data further facilitates the implementation of enhanced land use and management practices. Using geostatistical methods, this study quantified the spatial distribution of soil bulk density (SBD), soil moisture (SM), capillary water-holding capacity (CWHC), capillary porosity (CP), non-capillary porosity (NCP), and total porosity (TP) in southern subtropical forests located at the Tropical Forest Research Center in Pingxiang City, China. A topographic map (scale = 1:10,000) was used to create a grid of l km squares across the study area. At the intersections of the grid squares, the described soil water-physical properties were measured. By calculating the coefficient of variation for each soil water-physical property, all measured soil water-physical properties were found to show moderate spatial heterogeneity. Exponential, gaussian, spherical, and linear models were used to fit the semivariograms of the measured soil water-physical properties. Across all soil water-physical properties, the range A0 variable (i.e., the separation distance between the semivariance and the sill value) measured between 3419 m and 14,156 m. The nugget-to-sill ratio ranged from 9 to 41%, indicating variations in the level of spatial autocorrelation among the soil water-physical properties. Many of the soil water-physical properties were strongly correlated (as assessed using Pearson correlation coefficients). Spatial distribution maps of the soil water-physical properties created via ordinary kriging (OK) showed that most water-physical properties had clumped (aggregated) distributions. SBD showed the opposite spatial pattern to SM and CWHC. Meanwhile, CP and TP showed similar distributions.

Depiction and Description: Insights into Southern Alps Glaciers Conveyed by John Gully’s Paintings and Julius Haast’s Paper at the Royal Geographical Society

In June 1862, Julius Haast (1822–1887), the Canterbury Provincial Geologist, wrote to Joseph Hooker, Assistant Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, informing him that “being now naturalized I think it my duty to offer my work to the scientific societies in England.” Haast informed Hooker that as soon as his topographical map was finished, he would send the botanist “an account of the geological features of the Alps, on deposits of the glacial period, accompanied by maps, sections and sketches,” requesting him to present the account to the Geological Society of London.[i] Although this anticipated initial foray into publishing in British scientific journals did not eventuate until 1865,[ii] on 12 November 1863 Haast sent a copy of his large topographical map of the Southern Alps,[iii] accompanied by extensive notes on the physical geography of that region and a set of 12 watercolour paintings (e.g. fig. 1), to the geologist Sir Roderick Murchison,[iv] President of the Royal Geographical Society. Haast hoped that those landscape paintings would “best enable the members, to gain an insight into the wild mountain masses [of the Southern Alps], with their snowfields, glaciers and lakes [emphasis added].”[v] [i] Sascha Nolden, Esme Mildenhall and Simon Nathan, The Correspondence of Julius Haast and Joseph Dalton Hooker, 1861–1886 (Wellington: Geoscience Society of New Zealand, 2013), 22. Haast became a British citizen in February 1861. [ii] See Julius Haast, “Notes to a Sketch-Map of the Province of Canterbury, New Zealand, Showing the Glaciation During the Pleistocene and Recent Periods as Far as Explored,” Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 21, nos. 1–2 (1865): 87–96. [iii] On 11 June 1863, Haast informed Hooker that he was sending Murchison a large map with a set of watercolour drawings by the next mail (Nolden, Mildenhall and Nathan, Correspondence Haast-Hooker, 42–43). [iv] Ibid., 57. [v] Julius Haast, “Notes Accompanying a Map of the Province of Canterbury” (Royal Geographical Society Manuscript Archive, 1862), 1.

Monitoring and Evaluation of Debris Flow Disaster in the Loess Plateau Area of China: A Case Study

The Loess Plateau area, with complex geomorphological features and geological structure, is highly prone to geologic disasters such as landslides and debris flow, which cause great losses. To investigate the initiation mechanism of landslide and debris flow disasters and their spreading patterns, historical satellite images in the Laolang gully were collected and digitized to generate three-dimensional topographic and geomorphological maps. Typical landslides were selected for landslide thickness measurement using a standard penetrometer and high-density electrical method. Numerical models were established to simulate the occurrence and development of landslides under different working conditions and to evaluate the spreading range based on the propagation algorithm and friction law. The results show that the 10 m resolution DEM data are well matched with the potential hazard events observed in the field site. The smaller the critical slope threshold, the greater the extent and distance of landslide spreading. The larger the angle of arrival, the greater the energy loss, and therefore the smaller the landslide movement distance. The results can provide scientific theoretical guidance for the prevention and control of rainfall-induced landslide and debris flow disasters in the Loess Plateau area.

Mud and blood in the final months of World War II: ‘soil’ maps of north-west Germany that helped to guide British and Canadian military operations in early 1945

ABSTRACT Towards the end of World War II, from January 1945, British/Canadian forces supplemented the use of topographical maps by compiling innovative specialist thematic maps to assist troops advancing eastwards from Belgium and the Netherlands into north-west Germany. ‘Soil’ maps were used to predict (1) cross-country trafficability and (2) potential airfield construction sites. Intensive bombardment of ground that was unexpectedly waterlogged as well as deliberate flooding by the enemy created mud which initially slowed cross-country movement. So too did determined German military resistance: the campaign included arguably the bloodiest operation for troops of 21st Army Group since their battle for Normandy in the summer of 1944. Significant maps, mostly at 1:100,000, are now preserved in England within the Shotton Archive at the Lapworth Museum of Geology, Birmingham. Together with expertise from geologists Major F.W. Shotton and Squadron Leader J.F. Kirkaldy, the maps contributed to terrain analysis that assisted with operational planning.

Changes in the extent of a glacier based on topographic maps and satellite images - possibilities and limitations on the example of the de Ferpecle glacier

Changes in the extent of a glacier based on topographic maps and satellite images - possibilities and limitations on the example of the de Ferpecle glacier

An Algorithm for Generating Outdoor Floor Plans and 3D Models of Rural Houses Based on Backpack LiDAR.

As the Rural Revitalization Strategy continues to progress, there is an increasing demand for the digitization of rural houses, roads, and roadside trees. Given the characteristics of rural areas, such as narrow roads, high building density, and low-rise buildings, the precise and automated generation of outdoor floor plans and 3D models for rural areas is the core research issue of this paper. The specific research content is as follows: Using the point cloud data of the outer walls of rural houses collected by backpack LiDAR as the data source, this paper proposes an algorithm for drawing outdoor floor plans based on the topological relationship of sliced and rasterized wall point clouds. This algorithm aims to meet the needs of periodically updating large-scale rural house floor plans. By comparing the coordinates of house corner points measured with RTK, it is verified that the floor plans drawn by this algorithm can meet the accuracy requirements of 1:1000 topographic maps. Additionally, based on the generated outdoor floor plans, this paper proposes an algorithm for quickly generating outdoor 3D models of rural houses using the height information of wall point clouds. This algorithm can quickly generate outdoor 3D models of rural houses by longitudinally stretching the floor plans, meeting the requirements for 3D models in spatial analyses such as lighting and inundation. By measuring the distance from the wall point clouds to the 3D models and conducting statistical analysis, results show that the distances are concentrated between -0.1 m and 0.1 m. The 3D model generated by the method proposed in this paper can be used as one of the basic data for real 3D construction.

Comparison of spatial orientation using topographic map and orthophotomap in a virtual environment representing urban space

Comparison of spatial orientation using topographic map and orthophotomap in a virtual environment representing urban space

Using open and collaborative data to improve the Brazilian topographic mapping in protected areas

Using open and collaborative data to improve the Brazilian topographic mapping in protected areas

Topographic mapping from space dedicated to Dr. Karsten Jacobsen’s 80th birthday

Topographic mapping from space dedicated to Dr. Karsten Jacobsen’s 80th birthday

Statistical Characterization of Emitter Fabrication over Electrospray Array Thruster

A method for characterizing the variance in fabrication of emitters and extractors in a porous conical electrospray array thruster is presented. Coherence scanning interferometry is used to produce topographic maps of 543 of 576 sites within the array. The emitter and extractor geometries, features of size a few hundred micrometers, are modeled as a spherically capped cone recessed from a circular aperture. Regressing this model against the topographic maps yields a set of salient parameters that describe the geometry of a site, including the tip radius and height of the emitter and its offset from the extractor aperture. Statistics over the emitter geometries are computed, which represent manufacturing tolerances. It is found that key parameters like the emitter tip radius are highly variable (mean 25.8 μm and standard deviation 20.9 μm), highlighting the stochastic nature of the manufacturing process. Correlations between the tip radius and emitter height indicate that this variability arises from blunting of the emitters during fabrication, and the observation that emitters are shorter than nominal is explained by an increase in effective cutting diameter of the tools. Further analysis indicates that determining the mean emitter tip radius of the entire population within 5% error requires over 300 individual emitter measurements. These results indicate that accurately quantifying emitter variability at scale requires rigorous and extensive analysis, and the implications of this emitter variability for device performance and design are discussed.

Bathymetric Map Production of Therthar Depression Basin and Water Storage Volume Estimation

Water crisis, drought, and desertification are prominent environmental issues facing many countries and threaten their sustainable development. Therthar depression basin in Iraq was selected as a study area. A new approach was adapted in producing a bathymetric map by merging contours derived from both topographic maps and digital elevation models using ArcGIS applications. Water storage volumes were estimated from 2017 to the end of 2023 using the trapezoidal rule. The results demonstrate that the maximum water storage volume was 80% of the total storage capacity in 2019. In 2021, this percent began to decrease significantly as a result of climatic changes until reached a dead storage about 40% in 2023. Large surface area of Therthar depression leads to increased evaporation and infiltration rates. The water consumption exceeded the incoming water storage by 5.292 billion cubic meters (bcm) in May and 13.127 bcm in October, between 2017 and 2023. The comparison between the estimated and actual live storage volumes resulted a root mean square error of 0.534 m and a coefficient of determination (R2) equals 0.871. However, to award off flood risks in rainy years, the study proposes increasing Therthar depression design elevation to 67 m rather than 65 m in proportion to Therthar arranger gate level.

Multimodal and Repeated Localization of Primary Hand Motor Function to the Lateral Postcentral Gyrus in a Case of Frontal Motor Area Brain Metastasis

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: The human motor homunculus is a well-known topographical map of the functional-anatomical relationships of the precentral gyrus. Within this homunculus, the primary hand motor area is considered one of the least plastic functional-anatomical relationships. Only a few cases in the literature describe relocation of functional hand representation away from the classical anatomical location. These cases have been reported in the context of children, primary gliomas, or arteriovenous malformations. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: Here, we describe a unique case where the area of lowest hand motor stimulation threshold (ie, hand motor representation) was found in the postcentral gyrus in an older adult with a metastasis in the premotor area of the brain. This localization was based on intraoperative cortical stimulation–evoked motor potentials and confirmed with electrophysiological phase reversal and MRI-based neuronavigation. This mapping was repeated and consistent 2 months later during a reoperation for recurrence. In addition, the remapped anatomical location was found in an area that was active during finger tapping on preoperative functional MRI. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that neuroplastic remapping of hand motor cortex to the postcentral gyrus can occur in brain metastases even in adults. This has implications for planning tumor resections and interventional neurorehabilitation strategies, and it suggests that the motor homunculus may have more plastic potential in adulthood than previously recognized.

Tracing the fate of hay meadows with haylofts in Slovakia: A geographical perspective

Abstract The paper focuses on the historical distribution of haylofts in Slovakia, geographical conditions related to hay meadows with haylofts, and land cover changes of former hayloft localities. Moreover, the current state of preserved haylofts and the land use of their surrounding area were documented at a regional scale, during the field research. A map of the historical occurrence of haylofts was digitised based on the Czechoslovakian military topographic maps from 1952–1957 (1:25,000). Altogether, 9,742 haylofts were recorded. The haylofts were usually built in mountain and sub-mountain areas on places with low soil quality, mostly at higher elevations, on moderate or moderately steep slopes and in more distant and isolated areas. About half of former hayloft meadows now exist as meadows or pastures with different intensity of grassland management. Forest or shrubs already cover the other 38% of the sites. To a lesser extent, the areas have been converted into arable land or recreational areas. Only a few haylofts have survived to this day; for example, in Upper Liptov Region, it is only 1% of their former abundance in this area (48 haylofts). Apart from a few positive cases where they have been restored or preserved, those that have survived continue to decay.

Topographic Map of Jinpyo’s Thought and its Two Lines of Succession : Focusing on the Contents of Zhancha Jing

Topographic Map of Jinpyo’s Thought and its Two Lines of Succession : Focusing on the Contents of Zhancha Jing