Orienteering mapping and higher education

Abstract

The sport of orienteering relies on good quality accurate mapping which reflects the intricate detail of landscapes which are navigated across, on foot, by enthusiastic and experienced competitors of all ages. As a central component of the sport, therefore, mapping has assumed a prominent role in the thinking behind 'The Forward Plan', a study promoted by the British Orienteering Federation (BOP) and sponsored by the English Sports Council. The mapping component of 'The Forward Plan' suggests that extending awareness of mapping and encouraging technical skills are vital steps. The role of institutes of higher education (universities, polytechnics, colleges) in these areas is examined in this paper. The objective is to determine to what extent tertiary educational establishments can assist, in a non-commercial manner, in increasing production and improving standards of orienteering mapping.     

RECOLLECTIONS OF A SURVEY OFFICER IN INDIA

Abstract

Crabs! Thousands of bright red crabs on a white foreshore; clinging black mud in tidal creeks with an overhanging tangle of tropical forest. These dominate one's memories of the Irrawaddy Delta in 1924. The Forest Department of Burma is the custodian of some 1,000 square miles of valuable forest reserves in the delta of this great river. The survey and production of “Forest” maps of this area was long overdue, postponed by reason of the immense expense and difficulty of a ground survey. Air survey, developed during the First World War, was ideally suited to this type of country but was still in its infancy, so that prolonged negotiations were necessary to persuade the Government of Burma to risk £25,000 on what appeared to them a doubtful proposition, as this was one of the first of the peace-time air surveys to be undertaken. Eventually, in July 1923 the contract was signed. Ronald Kemp, the first Chief Inspector of Civil Aircraft in India, gave up that post and formed an air survey company to carry out the photography as the first of his many survey contracts in India and Burma; I was in charge of the ground work and subsequent mapping.     

Automation and Democratization of Cartography: An Example of a Mapping System at CEM,University of Durham

Abstract

Over the last three decades, the information revolution and technological advances have led to a paradigm shift in cartography. Recently, the major emphasis has been on 'democratization of cartography', where individuals can be empowered with electronic tools to analyse and visualize spatially referenced data (Morrison, 1994). But, an ordinary user can not effectively use the available GIS tools to visualize geographical data. Therefore, cartographers and/or GIS experts need to develop user-friendly map making systems to facilitate the democratization of cartography. A mapping system was designed using the advanced macro language (AML) and menus of ARC/INFO at the Curriculum for Evaluation and Management Centre (CEM) in Durham University to automate the mapping process (extending from spatial and non-spatial data extraction to the printing of a final map), so that any user can map pupils' locations of any school in the United Kingdom simply by entering some key information. The procedure followed to automate pupils' mapping is described in this paper. A similar programming approach can be helpful to automate mapping systems in a local network and on web.     

A vector and raster graphic mapping tool on micro-computers

Abstract

The rapid development of physically-based hydrological information and modelling systems has necessitated enhanced data entry and display systems. A 'mapping tool' is developed for the manipulation and display of spatial information, which is a cost-efficient, self-contained utility system that is suitable for use on micro-computers. It has the ability to be integrated as part of any modelling or information system. Diverse applications using the 'mapping tool' are briefly described including resource management systems for planners, mass balance studies in urban catchments and data entry systems for physically based models.     

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITIONS IN MAURITIUS AND RODRIGUEZ

Abstract

The desirability of determining as accurately as possible the latitudes and longitudes of a number of points in Mauritius appears to have first appealed to the French astronomer M. L'Abbé de la Caille, who was sent to the island by the French East India Company in 1753. His observatory was situated 4,730 feet east and 2,610 feet north of Port Louis Time Ball, and in addition to determining the geographical position of this. 0bservatory (the house, later demolished, of a Mr Mabile, where Mr D'Après had made observations the previous year)—

Latitude 20° 09′ 42″ S.; Longitude 55° 08′ 15″ E. of Paris—,

he succeeded in effecting a triangulation of the island. Four bases were measured with wooden scales which previously had been compared with an iron toise (6.394 feet—the French fathom) approved by the Academy of Sciences, Paris; a I4-inch quadrant fitted with micrometer was used to measure the angles.     

CONFERENCE OF EMPIRE SURVEY OFFICERS, 1935

Abstract

The third Empire Surveyors' Conference has come and gone. It fully bore out the promise of its predecessors and was most interesting and instructive for all those who attended, as it will certainly prove to be for readers of the forthcoming Report. This year's gathering was noteworthy particularly for the better representation of the self-governing Dominions; Messrs. Peters, Percival, and Whittingdale, representing respectively Canada, Australia, and South Africa, formed a worthy trio to hold the Dominion bridge, while there were present also, besides the colonial delegates, Brigadier Couchman, the Surveyor-General of India, and a strong contingent from the Mother Country.     

'Drawing the Coral Heads': Mental Mapping and its Physical Representation in a Polynesian Community

Abstract

Indigenous people throughout the world developed their own mapping skills and systems of knowledge. While Westerners are prone to overlook these communities' geographical knowledge and imagine their mapping activities to be primitive or non-existent, their mental maps are often impressive in sophistication and detailed even if based on cosmologies that are quite foreign to Western thinking. This article depicts a mental map of the ocean floor shared by Polynesians of Anuta, a remote community in the Solomon Islands. It situates Anuta's reef map in relation to academic discussions of indigenous cartography and describes the process that resulted in the map's physical representation.     

THE MILITARY SURVEY SERVICE AND THE CIVILIAN SURVEYOR

Abstract

When Colonel Lambton of Indian fame wanted funds for his Survey a leading melnber of the Finance Committee of Madras observed that “if any traveller wished to proceed to Seringapatam he need only say so to his palankeen bearer and he vouched he would find his way to that place without having recourse to Colonel Lambton's map”. Those who have had the privilege of dealing with finance branches will recognise in this quotation a powerful tradition and it is a measure both of the great march of events since Lambton's time and of the deterlnination of military surveyors not to lag behind them, in spite of finance committees, that good military maps are nowadays taken for granted and that the large survey organisations, required to produce them are accepted as a necessity. The struggle to maintain this position however goes on.     

Water Supply Maps for the Western Front (Belgium and Northern France) Developed by British,German and American Military Geologists during World War I: Pioneering Studies in Hydrogeology from Trench Warfare

Abstract

Innovations for the British Army during World War I included use of a military geologist to compile 'water supply' maps and to guide well drilling. Between June 1915 and November 1918, W. B. R. King served as a staff lieutenant at General Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force deployed on the Western Front. He pioneered British development of water supply maps for parts of Belgium and northern France, in several different styles and at scales of 1 : 100 000, 1 : 250 000 and 1 : 40 000. These assisted planning for advances into enemy-occupied territory or the development of water supply infrastructure within the region held ultimately by five British armies: in total about 1,500,000 men with some 500,000 horses and mules, each man/animal requiring on average 10 gallons (45 L) per day of potable water. The maps guided emplacement of over 470 military boreholes to supply drinking water to British forces, especially in provinces underlain by Cretaceous Chalk: Picardy and Artois. German forces also made use of military geologists at the Front, but in much greater number: up to about 300 in total. Water supply tasks were given high priority, and German water supply maps were finally standardized like other medium scale German geotechnical maps at 1 : 25 000. Six geologists were deployed with the American Expeditionary Force late in the war, and for their sector of the Front compiled at least two water supply maps at 1 : 80 000, and 11 at 1 : 50 000 that were supported by explanatory reports. Wartime imperatives thus generated expertise in hydrogeology that became available for civilian use post-war, and laid the foundation for further military development during World War II.     

Three Types of Reconnaissance Mapping

Abstract

This account of exploratory mapping is provided by a surveyor who started his working life as an explorer in areas where existing maps were extremely rough and rudimentary. Although the methods and results it describes will not stand comparison with modern topographical maps compiled from vertical air photographs, this frank and objective appraisal will help the 'chair-borne' cartographer to understand the importance of a thorough evaluation of some material of that type and age, which is still sometimes the best available until the new air surveys replace it.     

The role of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the future of the British national mapping agency in a society which is markedly different from that in which the Ordnance Survey Review Committee of 1979 worked. The objective is to ascertain which topographic information is needed, who should provide it, on what terms and through which mechanisms. Prior to making an attempt to answer these questions, the essential characteristics of Ordnance Survey (OS) are summarised as deduced from available documentary evidence; the changing attitudes to information as a commodity, the growing competition in British mapping and the government's stringent requirements from the Survey are also outlined as just three of the many complexities which affect OS. Building upon Smith's classic 1979 paper and subsequent experience, the rationale for government involvement in mapping is examined. It is concluded that the Survey has a continuing vital role though there are a number of steps which the OS should take in order to adapt to changing circumstances.     

Markov random field-based method for super-resolution mapping of forest encroachment from remotely sensed ASTER image

Forest encroachment (FE) is a problem in Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) in India for environment and planning. Small gaps created in the forest slowly expand its periphery disturbing the biodiversity. Therefore, intrusion of poachers, slash and burn and other factors causing FE must be carefully detected and monitored. Remote sensing offers a great opportunity to accomplish this task because of its synoptic view. Conventional classification methods with remotely sensed images are problematic because of small size of FE and mixed landcover composition. This study presents an application of super-resolution mapping (SRM) based on Markov random field for detection of FE using ASTER (15 m) images. The SRM results were validated using multispectral IRS LISS-IV (5.8 m) image. Non-contiguous FE patches of various sizes and shapes are characterized using the spatial contextual information. The novelty of this approach lies in the identification and separability of small FE pockets which could not be achieved with pixel-based maximum likelihood classifier (MLC). The SRM parameters were optimized and found comparable to previous studies. Classification accuracy obtained with SRM at scale factor 3 is κ = 0.62 that is superior to accuracy of MLC (κ = 0.51). SRM is a promising tool for detection and monitoring of FE at Rutland Island in ANI, India.     

Mapping Palestine and Mesopotamia in the First World War

Abstract

The survey and mapping activities which took place in Palestine and Mesopotamia during the First World War need to be considered in their contexts, both of long-term British mapping activities in the region, and of survey and mapping generally during the First World War. Thus, while it is important to recognise the real technical advances in map-making which resulted from survey activities in the Near and Middle East during the First World War, it needs to be recognised that this was simply the culmination of nearly 80 years of British military mapping in the region. Each generation of surveyors used the most appropriate tools for the task in hand and the conditions under which the survey needed to be conducted. The First World War surveyors were fortunate that a new tool, aerial photography, had become available just prior to the war.     

Quantification of carbon stock to understand two different forest management regimes in Kayar Khola watershed,Chitwan, Nepal

The impact of forest management activities on the ability of forest ecosystems to sequester and store atmospheric carbon is of increasing scientific and social concern. This is because a quantitative understanding of how forest management enhances carbon storage is lacking in most forest management regimes. In this paper two forest regimes, government and community-managed, in Kayar Khola watershed, Chitwan, Nepal were evaluated based on field data, very high resolution (VHR) GeoEye-1 satellite image and airborne LiDAR data. Individual tree crowns were generated using multi-resolution segmentation, which was followed by two tree species classification (Shorea robusta and Other species). Species allometric equations were used in both forest regimes for above ground biomass (AGB) estimation, mapping and comparison. The image objects generated were classified per species and resulted in 70 and 82 % accuracy for community and government forests, respectively. Development of the relationship between crown projection area (CPA), height, and AGB resulted in accuracies of R² range from 0.62 to 0.81, and RMSE range from 10 to 25 % for Shorea robusta and other species respectively. The average carbon stock was found to be 244 and 140 tC/ha for community and government forests respectively. The synergistic use of optical and LiDAR data has been successful in this study in understanding the forest management systems.     

UGANDA,LAND AND SURVEY DEPARTMENT,ANNUAL REPORT, 1938

Abstract

Among colonial dependencies Uganda is but a small territory; but it is comparatively prosperous and is compact. In such circumstances the integration under one departmental organization of survey and registration and of the administration of the State's responsibilities for lands and mines proves to be a convenient and economical arrangement, which works, in the balance, to the advantage of the survey branch. The Annual Report for 1938 deals with all the activities of a diversely occupied department, which controlled revenue collections of over £56,000, and mineral exports valued at £225,000.     

Adaptive Relative Motion Representation of Space–Time Trajectories

Abstract

In this article the author explains how military geography information is being exploited by modern Armed Forces. In doing so he highlights some of the underlying principles of surveying and cartographic that define paper mapping, and that are still applicable in the digital era.

This article reflects the personal views of Lieutenant Colonel Prain who is currently serving in the Headquarters of the Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency.     

ColorBrewer.org: An Online Tool for Selecting Colour Schemes for Maps

Abstract

Choosing effective colour schemes for thematic maps is surprisingly difficult. ColorBrewer is an online tool designed to take some of the guesswork out of this process by helping users select appropriate colour schemes for their specific mapping needs by considering: the number of data classes; the nature of their data (matched with sequential, diverging and qualitative schemes); and the end-use environment for the map (e.g., CRT, LCD, printed, projected, photocopied). ColorBrewer contains 'learn more' tutorials to help guide users, prompts them to test-drive colour schemes as both map and legend, and provides output in five colour specification systems.     

The Military Map of the United Kingdom and its Impact on Mapping in the Twentieth Century

Abstract

Considerable attention has been paid in the literature to the changing style of Ordnance Survey mapping in the twentieth century. However, little has been written about the origins of the characteristic appearance of the first multi-colour editions, other that the Ordnance Survey used a military edition that was already in production. The distinctive style grew out of the work of a committee established in 1892 by the War Office to consider future army requirements for a map of the UK. This paper explores the work of the committee and its long-term implications for the look of mapping in the twentieth century.     

地理信息网格及其军事应用

论文从网格技术的形成发展分析了提出地理信息网格概念的背景。通过分析美军网络中心战能力设想与地理信息网格的关系,阐释了地理信息网格的构成及应用。论文认为建立地理信息网格是进行军事测绘综合保障能力的集成,将引发军事测绘产品体系、保障服务模式发生根本性的变化。