On the influence of the ground track on the gravity field recovery from high–low satellite-to-satellite tracking missions: CHAMP monthly gravity field recovery using the energy balance approach revisited

In this paper, the influence of the ground track coverage on the quality of a monthly gravity field solution is investigated for the scenario of a high–low satellite- to-satellite tracking mission. Data from the CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload (champ) mission collected in the period April 2002 to February 2004 has been used to recover the gravity field to degree and order 70 on a monthly basis. The quality is primarily restricted by the accuracy of the instruments. Besides, champ passed through a 31/2 repeat mode three times during the period of interest resulting in an insufficient spatial sampling and a degraded solution. Contrary to the rule of thumb by Colombo (The global mapping of gravity with two satellites, Publications on Geodesy, vol 7(3), Netherlands Geodetic Commission, The Netherlands, 263 pp, 1984), see also Wagner (J Geod 80(2): 94–103, 2006), we found that the monthly solutions themselves could be recovered to about degree 30, not 15. In order to improve the monthly gravity solutions, two strategies have been developed: the restriction to a low degree, and the densification of the sampling by the introduction of additional sensitive measurements from contemporaneous satellite missions. The latter method is tested by combining the champ measurements with data from the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (grace). Note that the two grace satellites are considered independent here, i.e. no use is made of the K-band ranging data. This way, we are able to almost entirely remove the influence of the ground track leaving the accuracy of the instruments as the primary restriction on the quality of a monthly solution. These findings are especially interesting for the upcoming swarm-mission since it will consist of a similar configuration as the combined champ and (grace) missions.     

Questioning emissions-based approaches for the definition of REDD+ deforestation baselines in high forest cover/low deforestation countries

Background

REDD+?is being questioned by the particular status of High Forest/Low Deforestation countries. Indeed, the formulation of reference levels is made difficult by the confrontation of low historical deforestation records with the forest transition theory on the one hand. On the other hand, those countries might formulate incredibly high deforestation scenarios to ensure large payments even in case of inaction.

Results

Using a wide range of scenarios within the Guiana Shield, from methods involving basic assumptions made from past deforestation, to explicit modelling of deforestation using relevant socio-economic variables at the regional scale, we show that the most common methodologies predict huge increases in deforestation, unlikely to happen given the existing socio-economic situation. More importantly, it is unlikely that funds provided under most of these scenarios could compensate for the total cost of avoided deforestation in the region, including social and economic costs.

Conclusion

This study suggests that a useful and efficient international mechanism should really focus on removing the underlying political and socio-economic forces of deforestation rather than on hypothetical result-based payments estimated from very questionable reference levels.

     

How Large Was the Earth in the Sixteenth Century? The Length of the Degree of Latitude in the Iberian Cartography of the Renaissance

In this paper, the results of a cartometric analysis of a number of Portuguese and Spanish charts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are presented and conclusions are drawn concerning the length of the degree of latitude adopted in the Iberian nautical cartography of the Renaissance. Under the light of what we know about the navigational and charting methods of the time, a new interpretation of the textual and cartographic sources is proposed. Rather than being the result of technical considerations or precise measurements, the adoption of the various standards during this long period appears to be no more than the echoes of the traditional models of the Earth and of the political disputes between Portugal and Spain.     

Assessment of crop stress conditions using low altitude aerial color‐infrared photography and computer image processing

Stress conditions on various crops caused by moisture deficiency, nutrient deficiency and plant diseases were studied using low altitude aerial color‐infrared (CIR) photography. A remotely controlled aircraft, carrying a color video camera and a 35 mm reflex camera, flying at altitudes of 50 to 100 m, was used for obtaining aerial photography. The CIR transparencies recorded for different crops were scanned into an AT 386 desktop computer and processed by MIPS software using on screen interpretation to classify crop stress conditions. In a rootrot‐affected lemon orchard diseased trees could be identified and differentiated from healthy trees. Soybean plots under moisture stress were classified into high, moderate and low stress levels. These stress levels related well with infrared (IR) thermal measurements of the crop canopy. In a wheat field experiment that was fertilized at different levels of phosphorus (P), areas with P deficiency and sufficient P could be classified on the processed CIR image. Soil P and wheat yield correlated well with the classified CIR image. Results indicate that low altitude CIR aerial photography obtained from remotely controlled aircraft and image processing computers can be a relative inexpensive tool to assess crop stress conditions.     

Observation of the Earth’s nutation by the VLBI: how accurate is the geophysical signal

We compare nutation time series determined by several International VLBI Service for geodesy and astrometry (IVS) analysis centers. These series were made available through the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS). We adjust the amplitudes of the main nutations, including the free motion associated with the free core nutation (FCN). Then, we discuss the results in terms of physics of the Earth’s interior. We find consistent FCN signals in all of the time series, and we provide corrections to IAU 2000A series for a number of nutation terms with realistic errors. It appears that the analysis configuration or the software packages used by each analysis center introduce an error comparable to the amplitude of the prominent corrections. We show that the inconsistencies between series have significant consequences on our understanding of the Earth’s deep interior, especially for the free inner core resonance: they induce an uncertainty on the FCN period of about 0.5 day, and on the free inner core nutation (FICN) period of more than 1000 days, comparable to the estimated period itself. Though the FCN parameters are not so much affected, a 100 % error shows up for the FICN parameters and prevents from geophysical conclusions.     

Geo-spatial Information Science AUTHOR RETRIEVAL CONTENTS(In the Order of the Letters in the Surnames)

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A Review of the Policies on the Private Colleges of China

One of the most impor tant factors impacting the development of today‘s private higher education in China is that there are not enough policies to support in.Then,the history of private higher educationin Nanjing Nationalist Government(1927-1749)is focused on.     

How to assess the success of the open data ecosystem?

ABSTRACT

Open data are currently a hot topic and are associated with realising ambitions such as a more transparent and efficient government, solving societal problems, and increasing economic value. To describe and monitor the state of open data in countries and organisations, several open data assessment frameworks were developed. Despite high scores in these assessment frameworks, the actual (re)use of open government data (OGD) fails to live up to its expectations. Our review of existing open data assessment frameworks reveals that these only cover parts of the open data ecosystem. We have developed a framework, which assesses open data supply, open data governance, and open data user characteristics holistically. This holistic open data framework assesses the maturity of the open data ecosystem and proves to be a useful tool to indicate which aspects of the open data ecosystem are successful and which aspects require attention. Our initial assessment in the Netherlands indicates that the traditional geographical data perform significantly better than non-geographical data, such as healthcare data. Therefore, open geographical data policies in the Netherlands may provide useful cues for other OGD strategies.     

Determination of the boundary values for the Stokes–Helmert problem

 The definition of the mean Helmert anomaly is reviewed and the theoretically correct procedure for computing this quantity on the Earth's surface and on the Helmert co-geoid is suggested. This includes a discussion of the role of the direct topographical and atmospherical effects, primary and secondary indirect topographical and atmospherical effects, ellipsoidal corrections to the gravity anomaly, its downward continuation and other effects. For the rigorous derivations it was found necessary to treat the gravity anomaly systematically as a point function, defined by means of the fundamental gravimetric equation. It is this treatment that allows one to formulate the corrections necessary for computing the `one-centimetre geoid'. Compared to the standard treatment, it is shown that a `correction for the quasigeoid-to-geoid separation', amounting to about 3 cm for our area of interest, has to be considered. It is also shown that the `secondary indirect effect' has to be evaluated at the topography rather than at the geoid level. This results in another difference of the order of several centimetres in the area of interest. An approach is then proposed for determining the mean Helmert anomalies from gravity data observed on the Earth's surface. This approach is based on the widely-held belief that complete Bouguer anomalies are generally fairly smooth and thus particularly useful for interpolation, approximation and averaging. Numerical results from the Canadian Rocky Mountains for all the corrections as well as the downward continuation are shown. Received: 9 March 1998 / Accepted: 16 November 1998     

Enriching the semantics of the directed polyline–polygon topological relationships: the $$\mathcal {}$$-intersection matrix

In this paper, we define an intersection matrix for enriching the semantics of the topological relationships between a directed polyline and a polygon. In particular, we propose the \(\mathcal {DLP}\)-intersection matrix which enables us to model the origin and destination points, as well as the right- and left-hand sides of the directed polyline. This matrix overcomes the limitation of the well-known DE-9IM, because it allows the representation of the different dimensions of the intersection results at the same time. Accordingly, the geo-operators have been revised and extended in order to address the notions of right- and left-hand sides of a directed polyline, as well as additional notions related to the orientation of the polyline. The \(\mathcal {DLP}\)-intersection matrix has been implemented by extending the Java Topology Suite methods in order to address the new geo-operators based on the notion of orientation.     

Mapping for history: the influence of the 7th Field Survey Company’s 1917 operation maps on the historiography of the 3rd Battle of Gaza

ABSTRACT

During Palestine Campaign of World War I, the British Army’s Egyptian Expeditionary Force produced a series of operation maps to track and control the progress of their offensive into Palestine. These maps demonstrated innovation in both their form and function, and they have been referenced and reproduced by both map scholars and military historians ever since. Leaning on J.B. Harley and Matthew Edney’s ideas about critical map history, this essay provides a critical examination of these operation maps to illuminate the sociocultural context of their creation and examines the maps’ influence over the broader historiography of the Palestine Campaign. In doing so it highlights the interdisciplinary value of critical map histories.     

Temperature dependence of variations in the end of the growing season from 1982 to 2012 on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

A growing number of studies have focused on variations in vegetation phenology and their correlations with climatic factors. However, there has been little research on changes in spatial heterogeneity with respect to the end of the growing season (EGS) and on responses to climate change for alpine vegetation on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP). In this study, the satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the meteorological record from 1982 to 2012 were used to characterize the spatial pattern of variations in the EGS and their relationship to temperature and precipitation on the QTP. Over the entire study period, the EGS displayed no statistically significant trend; however, there was a strong spatial heterogeneity throughout the plateau. Those areas showing a delaying trend in the EGS were mainly distributed in the eastern part of the plateau, whereas those showing an advancing trend were mostly scattered throughout the western part. Our results also showed that change in the vegetation EGS was more closely correlated with air temperature than with precipitation. Nonetheless, the temperature sensitivity of the vegetation EGS became lower as aridity increased, suggesting that precipitation is an important regulator of the response of the vegetation EGS to climate warming. These results indicate spatial differences in key environmental influences on the vegetation EGS that must be taken into account in current phenological models, which are largely driven by temperature.     

On the indirect effect in the Stokes–Helmert method of geoid determination

The classical integral formula for determining the indirect effect in connection with the Stokes–Helmert method is related to a planar approximation of the sea level. A strict integral formula, as well as some approximations to it, are derived. It is concluded that the cap- size truncated integral formulas will suffer from the omission of some long-wavelength contributions, of the order of 50 cm in high mountains for the classical formula. This long-wavelength information can be represented by a set of spherical harmonic coefficients of the topography to, say, degree and order 360. Hence, for practical use, a combination of the classical formula and a set of spherical harmonics is recommended. Received: 10 March 1998 / Accepted: 16 November 1998     

＂Digital Region＂ in the Context of the ＂Grid Computing＂

This paper is to construct a “digital local, regional, region“ information framework based on the technology of “SIG“ and its significance and application to the regional sustainable development evaluation system. First, the concept of the “grid computing“ and “SIG“ is interpreted and discussed, then the relationship between the “grid computing“ and “digital region“ is analyzed, and the framework of the “digital region“ is put forward. Finally, the significance and application of “grid computing“ to the “region sustainable development evaluation system“ are discussed.     

Antarctic Traverses from Zhongshan Station to Dome—A and the Result Analysis for the GPS Points along the Expedition Route

Some GPS points were set up and occupied and reoccupied along the traverse route from Zhongshan Station to Dome-A.The result analysis for the GPS data processed by GAMIT/GLOBK package was presented in this paper.It was indicated that the ice along the traverse route flowed with an 8-25 m/a velocity to the northwest in the last three years,which was the direction of the edge of the ice sheet.The maximum horizontal flow velocity is about 100 m/a.Moreove,due to the ice flow,a 0.2-1 m/a sedimentation rate is achieved.finally,a 1-5m/a^2 horizontal acceleration is achieved from the GPS data of the three different stages.     

“Digital region” in the context of the “grid computing”

This paper is to construct a “digital local, regional, region” information framework based on the technology of “SIG” and its significance and application to the regional sustainable development evaluation system. First, the concept of the “grid computing” and “SIG” is interpreted and discussed, then the relationship between the “grid computing” and “digital region” is analyzed, and the framework of the “digital region” is put forward. Finally, the significance and application of “grid computing” to the “region sustainable development evaluation system” are discussed.     

“Digital Region” in the Context of the “Grid Computing”

Introduction“Grid”computinghasemergedasanimportantnewfiled ,distinguishedfromconventionaldis tributedcomputingbyitsfocusonlarge scalere sourcesharing ,innovativeapplications,andinsomecases ,high performanceorientation .Theconceptofthe“SIG”(spatialinformation grid)whichisbasedonthegridcomputingandisthein frastructureandusefultooltoconstructthe“digitalregion”.Theregionalsustainabledevelopmentevaluationsystemisthefoundationoftheregionalsustainabledevelopment,whichistoocomplextoestablishane…     

Monitoring the Deformation of Cableways

One type of aerial cableway consists of a continuous cable,which works at the same time as carrying cable and drawing cable.This kind of cableway is supported by many towers,which divide the total length in linear sections.even small deviations from the planed layout can increase the strain of the cable and the danger of derailments.The deviations of the position of the towers from the planed layout are due to local sliding or sinking of the foundation or other mechanical movements.Up to now the axis of the cableways were periodically measured by traditional methods. The goal of this project is to demonstrate the possibility of measuring the axis of a cableway with GPS techniques,while the cable is moving.The results show that the proposed measuring device provides precise results in a simple and reliable way.     

Reflection on the development of the tool kits of Bertin’s methods

ABSTRACT

Bertin’s first book, Semiology of Graphics, was published in 1967. His second book, Graphics and Graphic Information Processing, was subsequently published in 1977. The word “processing” in the title of the second book is interesting because in those days there were no personal computers with an interactive display system. But in Bertin’s laboratory there were many kinds of tool kits – basically manually developed thematic maps and data analysis. Bertin’s methods were concerned with making a thematic map and data visualization. Maps, and more generally graphics, were represented by sets of cartographic symbols. Thus, they are abstractions that demand both theoretical and technical literacy to represent and understand them. If the representation is systematic, a sort of tool kit might be necessary, because the representation demands consistency based on the theory. Otherwise a cartographer faces the risk of an unstable and unintelligible representation. In this paper, we discuss the discrimination between tool kits intended either for an automated system or a process assisting system. The latter process might be useful and necessary to develop a graphic way of thinking. This investigation refers to Bertin’s books, materials conserved at the National Archives in Paris, and other related software developed later.

Abbreviation: EHESS: Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales inherited Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes since 1975