PROBLEMS IN CONSTRUCTING A BATHYMETRIC BASE MAP FOR THE GULF OF FINLAND

The various steps required for compilation of a bathymetric chart of the Gulf of Finland are outlined, taking into account the specific conditions characteristic of that water body. The use of available initial source materials and special survey work required for supplementing these sources is discussed. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Geodeziya i kartografiya, 1988, No. 8, pp. 40-42.     

ANALYSIS OF THE CHEMICAL POLLUTION OF BUFFER ZONES BY MODELING AND SUB-SATELLITE EXPERIMENTS

Principles are outlined for the use of sub-satellite soil, air, water, and vegetation samples as an auxiliary source of information in remote sensing studies of vegetation stress caused by air pollution. More specifically, procedures for satellite-synchronous aerial overflights, vegetation transects, water quality measurements, and soil tests are described as a basis for delineating boundaries between areas of vegetation stress and unpolluted areas in an industrialized area in the central Urals. Translated from: Kosmicheskiy monitoring biosfery, Yu. A. Izrael', V. V. Bugrovskiy, and Yu. V. Novikov, eds. Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1985, pp. 93-99.     

THE MAPPING AND STUDY OF THE ISSYK-KUL' SHORELINE WITH AIR PHOTOS

Efforts to monitor and map the changing water level and shoreline of a large mountain lake in Central Asia with aerial photographs are described. The essence of the work involved the mapping of the shoreline and position of river deltas from air photos from various years during the period 1949-1980, at uniform scale and at a level of accuracy permitting the quantitative (cartometric) as well as qualitative assessment of change. The sequence of work in compilation of map-diagrams for different parts of the shoreline involved the preliminary referencing of photos to a map, photo interpretation and compilation of large-scale “graphic diagrams,” preparation of a cartographic base, reduction and placement of diagrams on the base, and transformation of the image as a whole. Results of analysis of these map-diagrams are summarized. Translated from: Vestnik Leningradskogo Universiteta, ser. 7: geologiya, geografiya, 1986, No. 2, pp. 44-48.     

USE OF REMOTE SENSING IN THE STUDY OF THE CHANGING SHORELINE OF SARYKAMYSH LAKE

The findings of a program monitoring the growth of an enormous man-made lake, created by the flooding of a low-lying area by irrigation water drainage, are described. Black-and-white space images for the period 1973-1985 are used to determine rates of shoreline displacement, map the growth in the lake's water area, and to determine probable areas of future flooding as a basis for prediction of future lake levels and shoreline positions. Translated from: Geodeziya i kartografiya, 1988, No. 7, pp. 44-46.     

REMOTE SENSING IN THE SOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS IN CUBA

Remote sensing inventories of the land and marine resources of Cuba, both from satellite and aerial platforms, are assessed in terms of their contributions to research on the country's physical and economic geography. Under the auspices of an international cooperative program “Interkosmos,” maps of many types have been upgraded, the costs of surveys have been reduced dramatically, and the potential for monitoring natural and human-induced change is being realized more fully. In addition, a study of weather and other conditions affecting image quality led to a determination of optimal times for conducting remote sensing surveys. Translated from: Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta, geografiya, 1988, No. 3, pp. 36-41, by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308.     

MAPPING OF TECHNOGENIC ANOMALIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF A GEOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF URBANIZED AREAS

Industry concentrated in cities is a major source of geochemical pollution. It is suggested that this technogenic impact on the environment can be measured by techniques developed in geochemistry. The specific nature of the pollutants can be identified and their levels of concentration (mostly in the soil) can be measured against normal background values. This allows areas of pollution to be classified and mapped in terms of the composition and concentration of pollutants from industrial emissions. Translated from: Voprosy geografii, Vol. 120, 1983, pp. 55-67, by Robert K. Holz and Warren Hamill, University of Texas, Austin.     

THE ROLE OF CARTOGRAPHY IN THE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

The authors describe a method of applying the cartographic method of research to the study of air and water pollution. More specifically, the paper outlines a program of mapping air, water, and soil pollution in the Donets Basin, which is an integral part of four different stages in the formulation of an environmental protection plan. Emphasis is placed on the visual interpretation of maps depicting the spatial distribution of physical parameters at pollution sources, of concentrations of particular pollutants over the entire study area, and of their direct and cumulative impacts on the environment. Translated from: Geograflya i prirodnyye resursy, 1986, No. 2, pp. 92–94.     

SPECIAL-PURPOSE REGIONALIZATION OF THE EUROPEAN USSR IN THE STUDY OF HUMAN IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT

A procedure is elaborated whereby image pattern (texture) provides the basis for development of a hierarchical regionalization scheme for the European USSR based on the level of human modification of the environment. Medium and high resolution scanner and photographic imagery in the visible and near infrared bands are analyzed, together with supporting materials, to identify 6 natural-economic zones, 14 natural-economic provinces, 52 natural-economic oblasts, and 180 natural-economic regions. Such regionalization permits comparisons among different parts of the USSR in terms of locations where image pattern (and landscapes) are more or less significantly altered by human activity. Translated by Jay K. Mitchell, PlanEcon, Inc., Washington, DC 20005 from: L. I. Vasil'yev, ed., Kosmicheskiye metody izucheniya biosfery [Remote Sensing Methods in the Study of the Biosphere]. Moscow: Nauka, 1990, pp. 18–23.     

THE CENTROGRAPHIC METHOD OF STUDYING SPATIAL STRUCTURE

The authors focus on modern applications of the centrographic method of geographic research and mapping—both in terms of how centrography may aid in the cartographic representation of certain distributions and in terms of how cartographic devices (e.g., centrograms) may be used in the more effective identification of centers. A brief history of the method's development in Russia and the USSR is followed by examples of the use of centrograms in simultaneously comparing shifts (a) of distinct but related phenomena and (b) of the same phenomenon but at different scale levels. A variety of centrograms are presented and analyzed. Translated by Jay K. Mitchell, PlanEcon, Inc., Washington, DC 20005 from: Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, seriya geograficheskaya, 1990, No. 2, pp. 92–105.     

TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEY OF THE USSR COMPLETED AT A SCALE OF 1:25,000

The Director of the Main Administration of Geodesy and Cartography describes the history and recent developments of a program for topographic coverage of the entire country at 1:25,000 scale. Most noteworthy are the start of surveying at this scale before 1940, its temporary suspension during World War II, and acceleration of the work since the 1950s with the more widespread use of stereophotogrammetric methods. Considerable attention is paid to improvements in aerial photographic, photogrammetric, and geodetic technologies in support of more effective cartographic work. A concluding section describes the properties of the new maps and their applications. Translated by Larry Richardson, Los Angeles, CA 90039 from: Geodeziya i kartografiya, 1989, No. 8, pp. 1–5.     

COMPUTER MODELING AND MAPPING OF THE SPATIAL-TEMPORAL DEVELOPMENT OF GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES VIA THE MONTE CARLO METHOD

The authors, drawing upon the work of Hagerstrand and others in the field of spatial diffusion modeling, develop a model for predictive mapping of the spread of disease based on the Monte Carlo method. Analysis of this particular model showed high coefficients of correlation between mathematical probability estimates of times of origin for epidemics in particular territorial units and their densities of population and population potentials. Translated from: Izvestiya, Vsesoyuznogo Geograficheskogo Obshchestva, 1986, No. 1, pp. 67-74.     

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE LAPLACE LONGITUDE-AZIMUTH RELATION TO CONTROL OF GEODETIC ANOMALIES

Abstract

1. In geodetic work a ‘Laplace Point’ connotes a place where both longitude and azimuth have been observed astronomically. Geodetic surveys emanate from an “origin” O, whose coordinates are derived from astronomical observations: and positions of any other points embraced by the survey can be calculated on the basis of an assumed figure of reference which in practice is a spheroid formed by the revolution of an ellipse about its minor axis. The coordinates (latitude = ?, longitude = λ and azimuth = A) so computed are designated “geodetic”.     

MAPPING THE STRUCTURE OF THE SOIL COVER OF THE TAIGA FROM REMOTE SENSING IMAGERY

An experiment is described in which multiscalar remote sensing imagery is sequentially employed in the detection of various rankings of soil types endemic to the taiga natural zone in the northern USSR. Relief features, vegetation associations, extent of surface water, and drainage patterns visible on imagery at scales from 1:12,000,000 to 1:5,000, also examined at low altitude and in the field at a series of test sites, served as indicators of various soil cover types. Considerable attention is given to an explanation of why these features can be considered valid indicators of taiga soil types as well as to the appearance of the indicators on band-specific (black-and-white) and color composite imagery. Translated from: Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, seriya geograficheskaya, 1987, No. 3, pp. 87-99.     

THE MODELING OF LIGHT FLUXES FROM THE SEA SURFACE AS AFFECTED BY ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

A multidimensional model of a shelf-zone ecosystem (based on conditions along the northwestern portion of the Black Sea) is elaborated and tested to determine the specific relationships between biochemical ecosystem components responsible for light absorption and scattering in the sea and the spectral composition of the returned radiant energy (e.g., diffuse reflectance values). The ultimate purpose is to derive a body of information making it possible to ascertain chemical and biological conditions in sea water from spectral signatures. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Kosmicheskiye metody izucheniya biosfery [Remote Sensing Methods in the Study of the Biosphere]. Moscow: Nauka, 1990, pp. 111–116.     

COMPUTATION AND MAPPING OF THE ELEMENTS OF THE WATER-ICE BUDGET OF GLACIERS

Two general approaches for compiling maps of components of the water-ice budget in regions of glacier nourishment are compared and the resulting maps are analyzed. The compilation of raw data is based on field measurements rather than remote sensing information. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Materialy glyatsiologicheskikh issledovaniy, 1991, No. 72, pp. 94-102.     

GEOECOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTALLY DISTURBED AREAS BASED ON CARTOGRAPHIC MODELING: THE EXAMPLE OF AREAS OF MINERAL DEVELOPMENT

The authors describe the results of an extensive geomorphologic mapping program for the Kura-Araks Lowland of Azerbaijan, designed to increase the level of background information available for the rational planning and operation of irrigation systems. A particular focus is placed upon the identification and depiction of landforms of the Lowland exerting an influence on hydrogeologic conditions, the ground water regime, and on crop cultivation patterns. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Geografiya i prirodnyye resursy, 1995, No. 4, pp. 169-171.     

THE TRANSVERSE MERCATOR PROJECTION OF THE SPHEROID

Abstract

In January 1940, in a paper entitled “The Transverse Mercator Projection: A Critical Examination” (E.S.R., v, 35, 285), the late Captain G. T. McCaw obtained expressions for the co-ordinates of a point on the Transverse Mercator projection of the spheroid which appeared to cast suspicion on the results originally derived by Gauss. McCaw considered, in fact, that his expressions gave the true measures of the co-ordinates, and that the Gauss method contained some invalidity. He requested readers to report any flaw that might be discovered in his work, but apparently no such flaw had been detected at the time of his death. It can be shown, however, that the invalidities are in McCaw's methods, and there seems no reason for doubting the results derived by the Gauss method.     

SEASONAL CHANGES IN THE SPECTRAL REFLECTANCE OF PASTURE GRASSES IN THE IDENTIFICATION OF AREAS OF VARIABLE DRAINAGE EFFICIENCY

Spectral reflectances of artificial pastures are examined at various wavelengths and stages in the grazing/field work cycle to identify inadequately drained, marginally productive sites. Mesophytic pasture grasses and crops on well-drained sites are replaced by more hygrophytic species on poorly drained sites (each group with distinctive brightness values). This relationship, plus less significant spectral differences reflecting grazing intensity and soil moisture content at particular points in time, provided a methodological basis for the study. Poorly drained pastures are most reliably identified in the infrared and visible green portions of the spectrum during the middle of the grazing season. Translated from: Geografiya I prirodnyye resursy, 1988, No. 1, pp. 134-139.     

ON THE ESSENCE OF THE LANGUAGE OF THE MAP

The author continues development of his concept of cartography as the “language of the map,” an earlier paper of this subject appearing in translation in M.S.R.S., 1985, No. 1. Although the term language has been widely used to describe cartographic communication, current theory fails to incorporate aspects of the language which provide for a comprehensive understanding of its structure and function. In particular, the language of the map and its symbolic elements cannot be explained reflexively by methods and rules of symbol and map design, since these elements were developed not before but after the existence of the language. The language of the map thus is proposed as the mechanism which provides for replicability or duplication in the way a system of mapmaking-map use functions (under diverse conditions, purposes, historical periods, and levels of training of users) through its different methods, models, and norms. Translated from: Geografiya i prirodnyye resursy, 1985, No. 3, pp. 142-151.     

THE FIXATION OF MINOR TRIANGULATION ON THE TRANSVERSE MERCATOR PROJECTION

Abstract

The fixation of Minor Triangulation in a Primary system does not, in general, warrant rigorous adjustments of figures; less laborious methods are desirable. For Secondary work a least square adjustment to approximate coordinates is quite sufficient, while, for Tertiary, graphical solutions are amply accurate. Apart from that, cases may arise to which a figure adjustment is not applicable, as in the small net shown in Fig. 2, p. 464. The line BC cannot be equated to the line AB in the ordinary way since it is not the side of a triangle. In this case an adjustment to approxima te coordina tes will overcome the difficulty.