Web GIS Research Articles

A WEBGIS TO SUPPORT GPR 3D DATA ACQUISITION: A FIRST STEP FOR THE INTEGRATION OF UNDERGROUND UTILITY NETWORKS IN 3D CITY MODELS

Abstract. For the planning and sustainable development of large cities, it is critical to accurately locate and map, in 3D, existing underground utility networks (UUN) such as pipelines, cables, ducts, and channels. An emerging non-invasive instrument for collecting underground data such as UUN is the ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Although its capabilities, handling GPR and extracting relevant information from its data are not trivial tasks. For instance, both GPR and its complimentary software stack provide very few capabilities to co-visualize GPR collected data and other sources of spatial data such as orthophotography, DEM or road maps. Furthermore, the GPR interface lacks functionalities for adding annotation, editing geometric objects or querying attributes. A new approach to support GPR survey is proposed in this paper. This approach is based on the integration of multiple sources of geospatial datasets and the use of a Web-GIS system and relevant functionalities adapted to interoperable GPR data acquisition. The Web-GIS is developed as an improved module in an existing platform called GVX. The GVX-GPR module provides an interactive visualization of multiple layers of structured spatial data, including GPR profiles. This module offers new features when compared to traditional GPR surveys such as geo-annotated points of interest for identifying spatial clues in the GPR profiles, integration of city contextual data, high definition drone and satellite pictures, as-built, and more. The paper explains the engineering approach used to design and develop the Web GIS and tests for this survey approach, mapping and recording UUN as part of 3D city model.

Geoportal as a means to popularize geological heritage of Ukraine

The article discusses issues of using geological natural monuments (GNM) for scientific and educational purposes. It is a part of a general problem of preservation and use of geological heritage of the Earth, which has become internationally important lately. Local and international practice shows the need for thematic geotours that heavily rely on geological natural monuments. Geological tourism has a potential to improve socio-economic situation of local communities in Ukraine, to preserve and popularize Earth sciences. As of this day, there are no means to draw public attention to Ukrainian geoheritage and geotourism, which makes this research highly relevant. Geoportals and web GIS components will enable ordinary citizens to interact with a map of Ukrainian GNM, obtain interesting information, thereby getting involved in geological tourism themselves. To achieve this goal, the following goals were accomplished: gathering information on geoheritage in Ukrainian regions, designing and filling a database, creating interactive maps, developing a concept and a prototype of a corresponding geoportal. The article starts by explaining the concepts of geological tourism, natural monuments and their significance. Discussed are important related concepts as geoheritage, geoheritage and geopark. Further described is the classification of geological landmarks. The main part introduces a concept of geoportals and methodology to develop a geoportal about geological tourism in Ukraine. It is expected that a developed geoportal with web GIS will encourage sharing within general audience and systematize information about objects of geological heritage in Ukraine.

Design and development of a Web based GIS platform for zero energy settlements monitoring

To support the next generation of multi-process big data and service-oriented computing, a Web-GIS platform is considered a viable solution for gathering and sharing of collected data from various case studies ΝΖΕ settlements, so that the information flows are easily managed and interpreted, by means of spatial thematic maps related to specific levels of information, within the various case studies. Smart interoperable sensor networks installed in the various case studies’ buildings, districts, and energy subsystems are prerequisites for the formulation of the physical layer of the monitoring platform. The aim of the present paper is to analyze the characteristics and architecture of a Web GIS Platform for Zero energy settlements monitoring.The platform development is based on open software tools, targeting to be a flexible and interoperable tool for zero energy buildings and communities.

WHAT ISWEBMAPPING ANYWAY?

Abstract. Although maps have been around for a very long time, web maps are yet very young in their origin. Despite their relatively short history, web maps have been developing very rapidly over the past few decades. The use, users and usability of web maps have rapidly expanded along with developments in web technologies and new ways of mapping. In the process of these developments, the terms and terminology surrounding web mapping have also changed and evolved, often relating to the new technologies or new uses. Examples include web mapping, web GIS, cloud mapping, internet mapping, internet GIS, geoweb, map mashup, online mapping etc., not to mention those with prefixes such as “web-based” and “internet-based”. So, how do we keep track of these terms, relate them to each other and have common understandings of their meanings so that references to them are not ambiguous, misunderstood or even different? This paper explores the terms surrounding web mapping and web GIS, and the development of their meaning over time. The paper then suggests the current context in which these terms are used and provides meanings that may assist in better understanding and communicating using these terms in the future.

Review of Getting to Know Web GIS

Review of Getting to Know Web GIS

GPU-Accelerated Rendering Methods to Visually Analyze Large-Scale Disaster Simulation Data

Emerging methodologies for natural hazard risk assessments involve the execution of a multitude of different interacting simulation models that produce vast amounts of spatio-temporal datasets. This data pool is further enlarged when such simulation results are post-processed using GIS operations, for example to derive information for decision-making. The novel approach presented in this paper makes use of the GPU-accelerated rendering pipeline to perform such operations on-the-fly without storing any results on secondary memory and thus saving large amounts of storage space. Particularly, algorithms for three frequently used geospatial analysis methods are provided, namely for the computation of difference maps using map algebra and overlay operations, distance maps and buffers as examples for proximity analyses as well as kernel density estimation and inverse distance weighting as examples for statistical surfaces. In addition, a visualization tool is presented that integrates these methods using a node-based data flow architecture. The application of this visualization tool to the results of a real-world risk assessment methodology used in civil engineering shows that the memory footprint of post-processing datasets can be reduced at the order of terabytes. Although the technique has several limitations, most notably the reduced interoperability with conventional analysis tools, it can be beneficial for other use cases. When integrated into desktop GIS applications, for example, it can be used to quickly generate a preview of the results of complex analysis chains or it can reduce the amount of data to be transferred to web or mobile GIS applications.

THE GEOMATICS CONTRIBUTION FOR THE VALORISATION PROJECT IN THE ROCCA OF SAN SILVESTRO LANDSCAPE SITE

Abstract. This paper proposes an emblematic project where several multi-sensor strategies for spatial data acquisition and management, range based and image based, were combined to create a series of integrated territorial and architectural scale products characterized by a rich multi-content nature. The work presented here was finalized in a test site that is composed by an ensemble of diversified cultural deposits; the objects that were surveyed and modelled range from the landscape with its widespread mining sites, the main tower with its defensive role, the urban configuration of the settlement, the building systems and techniques, a medieval mine. For this reason, the Rocca of San Silvestro represented a perfect test case, due to its complex and multi-stratified character. This archaeological site is a medieval fortified village near the municipality of Campiglia Marittima (LI), Italy. The Rocca is part of an Archaeological Mines Park and is included in the Parchi della Val di Cornia (a system of archaeological parks, natural parks and museums in the south-west of Tuscany). The fundamental role of a deep knowledge about a cultural artefact before the planning of a restoration and valorisation project is globally recognized; the qualitative and quantitative knowledge provided by geomatics techniques is part of this process. The paper will present the different techniques that were used, the products that were obtained and will focus on some mapping and WEB GIS applications and analyses that were performed and considerations that were made.

An offline–online Web-GIS Android application for fast data acquisition of landslide hazard and risk

Abstract. Regional landslide assessments and mapping have been effectively pursued by research institutions, national and local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and different stakeholders for some time, and a wide range of methodologies and technologies have consequently been proposed. Land-use mapping and hazard event inventories are mostly created by remote-sensing data, subject to difficulties, such as accessibility and terrain, which need to be overcome. Likewise, landslide data acquisition for the field navigation can magnify the accuracy of databases and analysis. Open-source Web and mobile GIS tools can be used for improved ground-truthing of critical areas to improve the analysis of hazard patterns and triggering factors. This paper reviews the implementation and selected results of a secure mobile-map application called ROOMA (Rapid Offline–Online Mapping Application) for the rapid data collection of landslide hazard and risk. This prototype assists the quick creation of landslide inventory maps (LIMs) by collecting information on the type, feature, volume, date, and patterns of landslides using open-source Web-GIS technologies such as Leaflet maps, Cordova, GeoServer, PostgreSQL as the real DBMS (database management system), and PostGIS as its plug-in for spatial database management. This application comprises Leaflet maps coupled with satellite images as a base layer, drawing tools, geolocation (using GPS and the Internet), photo mapping, and event clustering. All the features and information are recorded into a GeoJSON text file in an offline version (Android) and subsequently uploaded to the online mode (using all browsers) with the availability of Internet. Finally, the events can be accessed and edited after approval by an administrator and then be visualized by the general public.

A Web GIS Framework for Participatory Sensing Service: An Open Source-Based Implementation

Participatory sensing is the process in which individuals or communities collect and analyze systematic data using mobile phones and cloud services. To efficiently develop participatory sensing services, some server-side technologies have been proposed. Although they provide a good platform for participatory sensing, they are not optimized for spatial data management and processing. For the purpose of spatial data collection and management, many web GIS approaches have been studied. However, they still have not focused on the optimal framework for participatory sensing services. This paper presents a web GIS framework for participatory sensing service (FPSS). The proposed FPSS enables an integrated deployment of spatial data capture, storage, and data management functions. In various types of participatory sensing experiments, users can collect and manage spatial data in a unified manner. This feature is realized by the optimized system architecture and use case based on the general requirements for participatory sensing. We developed an open source GIS-based implementation of the proposed framework, which can overcome financial difficulties that are one of the major problems of deploying sensing experiments. We confirmed with the prototype that participatory sensing experiments can be performed efficiently with the proposed FPSS.

Applicability of open-source web mapping libraries for building massive Web GIS clients

The increasing capabilities of web browsers and the growing spread of JavaScript have an impact on the development of web-based GIS systems. While in traditional Web GIS applications the client-side component is only responsible for creating representation models, modern geographically enabled JavaScript libraries have extended capabilities, making them capable of doing extensive tasks, like complex geographical analyses. This paper identifies the most capable libraries for being the basis of a Web GIS client (Cesium, Leaflet, NASA Web World Wind, OpenLayers 2, and OpenLayers 3) and compares them. The libraries are compared by their GIS feature coverage and some quality metrics. OpenLayers 3 is identified for being the most capable library by supporting nearly 60% of the examined GIS features, its small size, and moderate learning curve. For comparing the learning curves of JavaScript libraries, a new metric named Approximate Learning Curve for JavaScript is proposed, which is based on other software metrics.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN TOURISM: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS

Implementation of information systems opens up new opportunities to effectively address the main problems of tourist business. Information systems enhance the development of market relations, and coordination of scientific and practical activities in the field of information technologies. Thus in our research we aim at revealing the features characterizing the use of modern information technology in tourism enterprises activities. The results of the research show that modern tourism industry is one of the priority sectors of the national economy, business, cultural and spiritual life. One of the areas of tourism development is to intensify promotion of regional tourism product in the domestic and international tourism market, and improve the quality and efficiency of infrastructure. The use of modern Web GIS technology effects the following types of tourism: the creation of Web-tourism products, including National Tourist Web-portal, Web-sites of tourist regions, Web-pages of tourist facilities. The introduction of any automated IT management in the tourism sector is to improve performance, a high level of customer service and rigorous financial control. Modularity and integration enables IT to build their functionality with changing needs of the tourist industry. Cross-selling between tour companies increases the load on group sales. Functional control unit improves processing documents sent by the client. Having conducted the study, we have come to the following conclusions. Research of the information environment in tourism marketing company requires methodical approach to assessing the quality of marketing information. Highly estimated information used in company marketing can facilitate making decisions, setting strategic goals and objectives of tourism and efficient use of the opportunities, as well as coordinate business units. We believe that information technology should provide a high level of processing information and have a regular character.

Web Based GIS for Tourism Development Using Effective Free and Open Source Software Case Study: Gondor Town and Its Surrounding Area, Ethiopia

Tourism in developing countries are some means of solving their economic problems and improving live standards of people and creates job opportunity for the host people in getting additional income and improve the developments of the country. The result of tourism in terms of environmental, cultural, economic and social aspects has a greater effect for Ethiopia. Gondar, the center of Ethiopian art and culture, is famous in its many Imperial castles and the design and decoration of its churches. This land of castles and churches was founded by Emperor Fasiladas in 1930s and served as tourist attraction sites all over the world. The main challenge to attract international tourists in the study area is Scarce and insufficient promotion of the tourist attraction sites, Lack of broad information based on the internet about tourism information, and lack of organized information about tourism facilities & destinations. This study tries to identify tourist attraction elements of Gondor town and its surrounding area & to identify non spatial data’s essential for touristic activities to develop & propose a web based GIS portal for the improvement of tourism activity in the town. The main target of developing a web based GIS interactive map is to promote and improve tourism industry of the area. It has been produced using free and open source software’s for fast processing, displaying, sharing, and distribution of tourism information using world wide web. For the web services PHP, HTML script language and QGIS2leaflet plugins are used in the development of web GIS portal.

Developing a Web-Based Water Distribution Geospatial Information System for Nairobi Northern Region

This research aimed at developing a web system that will allow effective dissemination, extraction and analysis of water utilities information over the internet. The northern region, one of the administrative regions of the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company was used as a case study. The research has customized and integrated an open source WebGIS system based on Quantum GIS for spatial data creation, MapServer as a web GIS server and PostgreSQL/PostGIS as a relational database. GeoMOOSE was used for the development of an interactive and friendly geographic user interface. The developed system enables users to view and interact with the spatial data. The research focused on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the decision making process and data sharing.

Preliminary results of the Castelmonardo Project

The remains of the medieval town of Castelmonardo (Calabria, Italy) are located on a hill, a few kilometers SE from the modern town of Filadelfia (Vibo Valentia). Since the 1970s archaeological excavations have been carried out in selected areas of the hill. However, a systematic archaeological investigation of the whole archaeological site has never been conducted before. The paper presents the preliminary results of the first archaeological prospection conducted in Castelmonardo by means of advanced remote sensing techniques, with the goal of achieving a first GIS-based digital mapping of the archaeological site. The recently developed UAV LiDAR technology, consisting in the use of high precision laser scanners mounted on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), commonly known as drones, was applied to realize a high resolution digital terrain model (DTM) of the site. Integrating the LiDAR data with web GIS based aerial images, a preliminary archaeological interpretation of the whole archaeological site was conducted, offering a suitable base for further analysis and virtual reconstructions. The work presented here was conducted as part of a recently initiated research project focused on Castelmonardo, led by the Department of Art History and Performing Arts - Sapienza University of Rome, and conducted in cooperation with DigiLab Research and Services - Sapienza University of Rome, Istituzione Comunale Castelmonardo - Filadelfia (Italy), the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology - Vienna (Austria), Virtutim srls and the Italian company OBEN s.r.l.

Harmonization of Political and Administrative Boundaries in Kenya Using GIS: A Case Study of Mavoko Constituency

The objective of this research was to harmonize political and administrative boundaries in Mavoko Constituency, Machakos County, Kenya, using geo-spatial technology and public consultation in order to address the numerous disputes that exist. Specifically, the project focused on analyzing the existing electoral and administrative boundaries in the area of study by identifying all existing gaps and overlaps, rectifying the identified gaps and overlaps and created a web based geo-portal of the harmonized sub location boundaries to enable sharing. This was achieved through first putting the various datasets on the same Spatial Reference System and comparing them in order to identify and rectify them using various geospatial operations, public consultation and field work. The result was a single harmonized layer for the sub location data set for the study area. The project finally developed a customized GIS web based portal for sharing the harmonized Sub location boundary. This was uploaded on an open source platform, which has the capability for offline use in the field. The project worked on a hypothesis that if the sub location boundaries adopted by the various Government and Public organizations and individuals doing any kind of mapping in Kenya was a single harmonized data set, the emerging issues on boundary disputes between Counties, Constituencies and County Assembly Wards (CAW’s) would not occur. This is because there would be authentic, consisted and authoritative geo-information which maintains a harmonized, consistent, reusable and readily available data. The development of the geo portal ensured that the results of the research are easily accessible on www.msc2015boundariesmavoko.info.ke/mavoko.

Using a Web GIS Plate Tectonics Simulation to Promote Geospatial Thinking

ABSTRACTLearning with Web-based geographic information system (Web GIS) can promote geospatial thinking and analysis of georeferenced data. Web GIS can enable learners to analyze rich data sets to understand spatial relationships that are managed in georeferenced data visualizations. We developed a Web GIS plate tectonics simulation as a capstone learning activity in an undergraduate Earth Science course that integrated geological and geophysical data sets to allow students to dynamically reconstruct ancient plate motions. To assess the effectiveness of the Web GIS tectonics simulation, all 12 students in the course submitted three artifacts that were assessed with a reliable, criterion-based rubric. The students also completed a survey to assess the effectiveness of the online interface and its capability to promote geospatial thinking. The students preformed quite well on the assignment. The survey results supported that the students perceived the Web GIS tectonics simulation as having helped them think geospatially. Our Web GIS design and embedded capabilities allowed students to advance and confirm their understandings about the tectonics concepts. Student responses indicated that the Web GIS supported their geospatial analysis for making inferences about space, geospatial patterns, and geospatial relationships among the data that were visualized in the Web GIS. Design features that contributed to the successful implementation are discussed.

Rethinking GIS Towards The Vision Of Smart Cities Through CityGML

Abstract. Smart cities present a substantial growth opportunity in the coming years. The role of GIS in the smart city ecosystem is to integrate different data acquired by sensors in real time and provide better decisions, more efficiency and improved collaboration. Semantically enriched vision of GIS will help evolve smart cities into tomorrow’s much smarter cities since geospatial/location data and applications may be recognized as a key ingredient of smart city vision. However, it is need for the Geospatial Information communities to debate on “Is 3D Web and mobile GIS technology ready for smart cities?” This research places an emphasis on the challenges of virtual 3D city models on the road to smarter cities.

GEOPACKAGE DATA FORMAT FOR COLLABORATIVEMAPPING OF GEOSPATIAL DATAIN LIMITED NETWORKENVIRONMENTS

Abstract. With the growth of technology in earth and space science informatics has led to the revolution in a wide range of geospatial practice. Nowadays collaborative mapping has become a new hot spot, following mobile and web GIS. This paper explores the potential use of GeoPackage for collaborative mapping of geospatial data in limited network environments. GeoPackage is a data format that open-standard, platform-independent, portable, and self-describing. This paper focus on the implementation of GeoPackage in mobile application for field data collection. A mobile application was developed that implements the GeoPackage data format as an internal database to provide support for offline mapping. The developed mobile application demonstrates that vector and raster data can be stored in a single data format, which reduces the device storage consumption. The details of how GeoPackage data contribute to mobile GIS to achieve collaborative mapping in limited network environments are discussed. The findings show that the GeoPackage data format has great potential to improve existing mobile GIS applications.

A novel fuzzy expert system to assess the sustainability of the viticulture at the wine-estate scale

The wine industry is definitely committed in sustainability: the stakeholders' interest for the topic is constantly growing and a wide number of sustainability programs have been launched in recent years. Most of these programs are focusing on the environmental aspects as environmental sustainability indicators, greenhouse gases emissions and the use of Life Cycle Assessment methodology. Among the environmental indicators the carbon and the water footprint are often used. These indicators, while being useful to assess the sustainability performance of the winegrowing farms, do not take into account important aspects related to the agronomic management of the vineyard. To fill this gap a new indicator called “Vigneto” (Vineyard in Italian language) has been developed. “Vigneto” is a multidimensional indicator to evaluate the sustainability of management options adopted at field scale. It considers the main agronomic aspects, which can have an impact on the environment. These include (i) pest management, (ii) soil management (erosion and compaction), (iii) fertility management (soil organic matter management and fertilizer application), (iv) biodiversity management. Those aspects have been related by fuzzy logics and implemented in web GIS software. The application of the model allows obtaining a general judgment of the agronomic sustainability of the vineyard management: the judgment varies from “A” (excellent) to “E” (completely unsustainable). The produced model was validated and tested by four Italian wine estate. The model output reports that the tested wineries have different management strategies: producers manage vineyards in different ways, depending on the different geographical position. The main differences are related to the soil management and to the presence of natural areas different from vineyard.The developed model can be defined as an environmental decision support system that can be used by wine companies' technicians to define the vineyard practices sustainability performance and support them in the definition of more sustainable management practices.

Interactive Map to Illustrate Seat Distributions of Political Party Support Levels: A Web GIS Application

Canada's new electoral order of 338 districts, updated in October 2013, was in effect for the October 2015 federal election. A Web GIS application was developed using the new electoral map to display seat projections generated by the Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy (LISPOP). Seat projections convert, or “project,” public opinion support for the major political parties into a distribution of electoral seats for each party, based on a detailed analysis of an aggregation of polls. The map was published through ArcGIS Server, and coding language HTML and JavaScript implemented the required functions. Two key interactive features of the map include: (1) pop-up windows that provide the 2011 election result and LISPOP's current seat projection when hovering over a constituency; and (2) a drop-down menu that direct users to a desired region. The use of ArcGIS software enables fast and effective updates before and during the election.