Validity of historical volunteered geographic information: Evaluating citizen data for mapping historical geographic phenomena

Studies on volunteered geographic information (VGI) have focused on examining its validity to reveal geographic phenomena in relatively recent periods. Empirical evaluation of the validity of VGI to reveal geographic phenomena in historical periods (e.g., decades ago) is lacking, although such evaluation is desirable for assessing the possibility of broadening the temporal scope of VGI applications. This article presents an evaluation of the validity of VGI to reveal historical geographic phenomena through a citizen data‐based habitat suitability mapping case study. Citizen data (i.e., sightings) of the black‐and‐white snub‐nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti) were elicited from local residents through three‐dimensional (3D) geovisualization interviews in Yunnan, China. The validity of the elicited sightings to reveal the historical R. bieti distribution was evaluated through habitat suitability mapping using the citizen data in historical periods. The results of controlled experiments demonstrated that suitability maps predicted using the historical citizen data had a consistent spatial pattern (correlation above 0.60) that reflects the R. bieti distribution (Boyce index around 0.90) in areas free of significant environmental change across historical periods. This in turn suggests that citizen data have validity for mapping historical geographic phenomena. It provides supporting empirical evidence for potentially broadening the temporal scope of VGI applications.     

Completeness of citizen science biodiversity data from a volunteered geographic information perspective

Observations of living organisms by citizen scientists that are reported to online portals are a valuable source of information. They are also a special kind of volunteered geographic information (VGI). VGI data have issues of completeness, which arise from biases caused by the opportunistic nature of the data collection process. We examined the completeness of bird species represented in citizen science observation data from eBird and iNaturalist in US National Parks (NPs). We used approaches for completeness estimation which were developed for data from OpenStreetMap, a crowdsourced map of the world. First, we used an extrinsic approach, comparing species lists from citizen science data with National Park Service lists. Second, we examined two intrinsic approaches using total observation numbers in NPs and the development of the number of new species being added to the data-set over time. Results from the extrinsic approach provided appropriate completeness estimations to evaluate the intrinsic approaches. We found that total observation numbers are a good estimator of species completeness of citizen science data from US NPs. There is also a close relationship between species completeness and the ratio of new species added to observation data vs. observation numbers in a given year.     

GSP文件的解码及其实时通信实现研究

随着科学技术的发展,网络化将成为21世纪GPS研究和应用的发展趋势。但目前GPS在测绘应用中的实时传输还存在不足。在研究GPS文件结构和解码技术与VC 串行通信技术的基础上,利用VC 编制了多线程的GPS接收机与计算机的实时通信程序,对于GPS网络系统中GPS数据的实时传输具有一定的参考价值。     

Species Mapping Using Citizen Science Approach Through IBIN Portal: Use Case in Foothills of Himalaya

In this era of rapid global change, biodiversity monitoring and improving species repository to meet requirements toward conservation is costly affairs and needs a practical solution to identify and locate species with habitats. The integrated approach of citizen science and information technologies has proven to be effective solution for geographical and taxonomical data collection with public engagement, covering local to national scale. As a first step, a mobile app is designed and developed for the IBIN (Indian Bioresource Information Network), a digitized collection of the biological resources of India that serves as a common platform to access spatial and non-spatial information on biorecources can host their data through this single and intuitive platform with full privileges and authenticity. IBIN mobile app can be seen as an efficient and rapid solution to record data on species, utilizing GPS and camera features of mobile devices. Present paper deals with the citizen science approaches, its contribution in biodiversity field, outlines the design and development of IBIN mobile app and its first case study carried out at foothills of Himalaya.     

基于MAPGIS下基础地理信息数据采集的实现

地理信息数据的采集是GIS应用的基础和前提,MAPGIS提供了多种方法的数据输入与采集手段。通过对MAPGIS平台下获取地理信息系统数据方法的研究,进一步对各种数据采集方法进行分析,得出各种采集方法的优缺点和实际工作中方法选择的一般规律,为GIS的数据获取提供指导。     

Mobile Wireless GRASS GIS for Handheld Computers Running GNU/Linux

Recent developments of the communication technologies in the last years opened a new dimension to Geographical Information Systems and Geoinformation Techno‐logies. This new dimension is mobility. It is simplifying data gathering, processing and presentation independent from the area of application. A new branch, Mobile Geoinformation Technologies, is based on wireless communication systems, mobile personal computers, positioning systems and GIS. There are some proprietary GIS software solutions for mobile or handheld devices available on the market, but they are more focused on data logging tasks than providing full powered GIS support or data processing functions. In this paper, we propose a mobile implementation of the free and easily expandable GRASS GIS software in combination with the GNU/Linux operating system run on handheld devices. This approach supports real time in the field computations, data processing and cooperation of several active mobile clients using wireless networking.     

关于数字地形图生产、传承中的几点分析

针对目前数字地形图基于CAD及Arc/Info加工的工艺流程,做些分析,提出建议。内外一体化界定在哪一过程?宜先行完善数据标准,使数据采集软件有据可依;但仅在CAD平台改进,那也失去意义,数据加工入库,转换繁杂,工效低。各部门投入了相当的人力、时间,做技术改进;但还不能得到根本改观,整个流程走到这个环节产生了技术瓶颈。     

遥感云计算平台相关文献计量可视化分析

在遥感大数据时代背景下,遥感云计算平台的出现改变了遥感数据处理和分析的传统模式,极大地提高了运算效率,使得全球尺度的快速分析成为可能.国内外已有众多学者利用遥感云计算平台开展研究,然而相对缺乏对遥感云计算平台发展和应用的客观性综述.本文基于Web of Science (WoS)和中国知网CNKI(China Nati...     

Sentinel-2 time series based optimal features and time window for mapping invasive Australian native Acacia species in KwaZulu Natal,South Africa

The spread of invasive Australia native Acacia tree species threatens biodiversity and adversely affecting on vegetative structure and function, including plant community composition, quantity and quality worldwide. It is essential to provide researchers and land managers for biological invasion science and management with accurate information of the distribution of invasive alien species and their dynamics. Remotely sensed data that reveal spatial distribution of the earth’s surface features/objects provide great potential for this purpose. Consistent satellite monitoring of alien invasive plants is often difficult because of lack of sufficient spectral contrast between them and co-occurring plants species. Time series analysis of spectral properties of the species can reveal timing of their variations among adjacent species. This information can improve accuracy of invasive species discrimination and mapping using remote sensing data at large scale. We sought to identify and better understand the optimal time window and key spectral features sufficient to detect invasive Acacia trees in heterogeneous forested landscape in South Africa. We explored one-year (January to December 2018) time series spectral bands and vegetation indices derived from optical Copernicus Sentinel-2 data. The attributes correspond to geographical information of invasive Acacia and native species recorded during a field survey undertaken from 21 February to 25 February 2018 over Kwa-Zulu Natal grasslands landscape, in South Africa. The results showed comparable separability prospects between times series of spectral bands and that of vegetation indices.Substantial differences between Acacia species and native species were observed from spectral indices and spectral bands which are sensitive to Leaf Area Index, canopy chlorophyll and nitrogen concentrations. The results further revealed spectral differences between Acacia species and co-occurring native vegetation in April (senescence for deciduous plants), June-July (dry season), September (peak flowering period of Acacia spp) and December (leaf green-up) with vegetation indices (overall accuracy > 80 %). While spectral bands showed the beginning of the growing season (November–January) and peak vegetation productivity (February-March) as the optimal seasons or dates for image acquisition for discriminating Acacias from its co-occurring native species (overall accuracy > 80 %). In general, the use of Sentinel-2 time series spectral bands and vegetation indices has increased our understanding of Australian Acacias spectral dynamics, and proved that the sentinel-2 data is useful for characterization and monitoring Acacias over a large scale. Our results and approach could assist in deriving detailed geographic information of the species and assessment of a spread invasive plant species and severity of invasion.     

How Reliable are Citizen‐Derived Scientific Data? Assessing the Quality of Contrail Observations Made by the General Public

Citizen science projects encourage the general public to participate in scientific research. Participants can contribute large volumes of data over broad spatial and temporal frames; however, the challenge is to generate data of sufficient quality to be useable in scientific research. Most observations made by citizen‐scientists can be independently verified by “experts”. However, verification is more problematic when the phenomena being recorded are short‐lived. This article uses a GIS methodology to verify the quality of contrail observations made by the general public as part of the OPAL Climate Survey. We verify observations using datasets derived from a variety of different sources (experts, models and amateur enthusiasts) with different spatial and temporal properties which reflect the complex 3D nature of the atmosphere. Our results suggest that ～70% of citizen observations are plausible, based on favorable atmospheric conditions and the presence or absence of aircraft; a finding which is in keeping with other, more conventional citizen science projects. However, questions remain as to why the quality of the citizen‐based observations was so high. Given the lack of supporting data on observers, it is impossible to determine whether the dataset was generated by the activities of many participants or a small but dedicated number of individual observers.     

基于WebGL的三维GIS应用研究

随着网络通信、三维建模和地理信息等各项技术的进步,基于Web的三维GIS应用需求越来越广泛。本文融合了Html5、JavaScript、WebGL、MongoDB和倾斜摄影建模等技术,利用这些技术的优势,实现了基于Web的三维GIS应用,为Web三维GIS应用提供了新的实现方式,使得三维数据更具有时效性,三维数据实现跨平台浏览,用户体验更好。     

遥感与中国可持续发展:机遇和挑战

中国要实现可持续发展,必须积极应对资源短缺、环境恶化、海洋开发和气候变化等一系列重大资源环境问题;随着全球经济发展一体化进程加快,中国必须以全球视角研究和解决面临的资源环境问题。遥感在地球科学、环境科学、资源科学与全球变化研究中具有宏观动态的优点,是不可替代的全球观测手段,是实施可持续发展战略的基础性技术支撑。本文回顾了遥感科学技术进步的历程,总结了国际上围绕可持续发展所开展的全球遥感科学计划,分析了中国遥感现状和服务于可持续发展的前景,并结合国际上地球综合观测系统的发展态势,提出了中国遥感科学技术发展面临的挑战和机遇,进一步阐述了遥感发展面临的建立地球综合观测系统之系统、高精度遥感模型与参数反演、遥感产品真实性检验与遥感性能判据及测试系统、遥感数据与地球系统模式同化、遥感大数据与主动服务等前沿科学与技术问题。最后指出遥感要更好地服务于社会可持续发展,服务于国家的全球战略,服务于国民经济建设;必须创新遥感应用服务模式,加快遥感产业化和商业化进程;建议推进卫星观测系统的商业化,加快无人机遥感发展,促进遥感应用市场化。     

The influence of sampling design on spatial data quality in a geographic citizen science project

Geographic citizen science has much potential to assist in wildlife research and conservation, but the quality of observation data is a key concern. We examined the effects of sampling design on the quality of spatial data collected for a koala citizen science project in Australia. Data were collected from three samples—volunteers (n = 454), an Internet panel (n = 103), and landowners (n = 35)—to assess spatial data quality, a dimension of citizen science projects rarely considered. The locational accuracy of koala observations among the samples was similar when benchmarked against authoritative data (i.e., an expert‐derived koala distribution model), but there were differences in the quantity of data generated. Fewer koala location data were generated per participant by the Internet panel sample than the volunteer or landowner samples. Spatial preferences for land uses affecting koala conservation were also mapped, with landowners more likely to map locations for residential and tourism development and volunteers less likely. These spatial preferences have the potential to influence the social acceptability of future koala conservation proposals. With careful sampling design, both citizen observations and land use preferences can be included within the same project to augment scientific assessments and identify conservation opportunities and constraints.     

Integrating GRASS GIS and Jupyter Notebooks to facilitate advanced geospatial modeling education

Open education materials are critical for the advancement of open science and the development of open-source software. These accessible and transparent materials provide an important pathway for sharing both standard geospatial analysis workflows and advanced research methods. Computational notebooks allow users to share live code with in-line visualizations and narrative text, making them a powerful interactive teaching tool for geospatial analytics. Specifically, Jupyter Notebooks are quickly becoming a standard format in open education. In this article, we introduce a new GRASS GIS package, grass.jupyter , that enhances the existing GRASS Python API to allow Jupyter Notebook users to easily manage and visualize GRASS data including spatiotemporal datasets. While there are many Python-based geospatial libraries available for use in Jupyter Notebooks, GRASS GIS has extensive geospatial functionality including support for multi-temporal analysis and dynamic simulations, making it a powerful teaching tool for advanced geospatial analytics. We discuss the development of grass.jupyter and demonstrate how the package facilitates teaching open-source geospatial modeling with a collection of Jupyter Notebooks designed for a graduate-level geospatial modeling course. The open education notebooks feature spatiotemporal data visualizations, hydrologic modeling, and spread simulations such as the spread of invasive species and urban growth.     

河道地理信息系统的设计与实现

论述了河道地理系统的设计与实现，就软件平台选择、系统设计、系统的主要功能及实现等方面进行了详细论述。系统开发目的是为充分利用长江不同时期的河道观测成果，提高河道及水文分析计算水平，加速河道管理的信息化，优化河道演变分析计算方法，实现河道信息的自动采集、存储、分析、查询、管理、输出和应用。     

Uses of online geoprocessing technology in analyses and case studies: a systematic analysis of literature

Interpreting spatial data to derive information is a core task in the field of Geographic Information Science and Technology. A logical step following the collection of data in online repositories is to provide geoprocessing technology for analysing data online. Online geoprocessing technology can be employed for providing a specified set of tools in a theme-specific platform, documenting a model or workflow and making it widely available, automating recurring tasks or offering simple tools to a large user group. This systematic analysis of literature evaluates how much available online geoprocessing tools are being used for answering questions in specific application contexts. An initial set of articles is derived from a keyword-based search in the database Scopus. This set of articles is manually filtered to identify applications of online geoprocessing tools. The analysis of application-related articles shows that virtually all applications require further development of tools. Experts outside the spatial information science field are still underrepresented regarding the use of this technology. The required adaptation of technology for user tasks is identified as major barrier for the wide use of online geoprocessing. Further research needs to assess user tasks and how online geoprocessing can provide the required functions in a user-oriented manner.     

基于Web GIS的上海数字农业集成系统

上海农业集成系统是基于JZ地理信息系统软件(精准农业信息公司开发的一套基于Web发布的地理信息系统发布引擎)开发的一套BS架构的农业系统。该平台采用了ASP.NET技术、SQL Server数据库管理技术以及地图发布引擎(JZ地图引擎)等技术,将传感器采集到的实时数据发布到网上,使各种不同目的的客户能够及时了解、分析和处理数据,并根据数据的实际情况及时应对农作物生长过程中的不良状态。本文对该平台的关键技术、数据管理、功能模块和安装步骤等方面作了详细的介绍。     

农情遥感监测云服务平台建设框架

准确及时的农情信息是国家与地方政府保障粮食安全与社会稳定的必要条件。云计算的出现为这一需求的实现提供了契机。本文阐述了农情遥感监测云服务平台建设的重要意义、设计思想、总体架构、组成部分以及建设内容。在此基础上,以农情遥感监测产品信息服务为例,开发了一个农情遥感监测信息在线原型系统。该系统是农情遥感监测云服务平台的重要组成部分,负责多尺度时间序列农情遥感监测结果与信息的管理、存储和维护,并且向用户提供查询与下载服务。农情遥感监测云服务平台建设框架的设计为全面整合专家智慧、IT技术、数据资源、服务方式以及平台的实现提供理论指导与建设依据。该平台的建立,将深刻改变农情遥感应用的模式,推动农情遥感的广泛应用与产业化发展。     

Opportunities and Impediments for Open GIS

The field of GIS (S for Systems, Sciences, Services, and Studies) is at a cross‐road in the early 2010s. Aiming to link the multiple visions for the next phase of GIS development, this article suggests that the emerging open GIS should serve as a guiding concept. Contextualized in the broader literature of open science, this article proposes open GIS should include eight dimensions related to data, software, hardware, standards, research, publication, funding, and education. For the GIS community, open GIS offers four exciting opportunities: (1) technology‐driven opportunities for addressing challenges posed by the (spatial) big data deluge; (2) application‐led opportunities for confronting the problems of a rapidly changing planet; (3) curiosity‐inspired, crowd‐powered opportunities for the development of an open and geographic citizen science; and (4) education‐focused opportunities for implementing the vision of a spatial university. Although there are academic, legal, social/political, and environmental impediments for the practice of open GIS, open GIS will become increasingly important in shaping our research and educational agendas in the future.