Analytical methods Of assessing the image quality associated with digital and photographic imaging systems

The introduction of digital cameras for aerial survey photography and use of scanners with processed aerial film present a number of technical questions concerning the way photography is to be acquired in the future. Among the questions to be addressed are the comparative metric properties of images acquired by each system and the associated image quality characteristics. The new digital camera systems will require very careful appraisal, using well-established methods of assessing metric quality already available to survey organisations. The questions concerning image quality are more difficult to answer, as they require very specialised instrumentation if measurements are to be made directly in practice. Over the course of the past several decades a more analytical approach to assessing image quality has emerged, and one that may be used by individuals. The method is particularly effective where information on the micro-image characteristics of products is made available by the manufacturers concerned. An outline is given of some considerations that need to be taken into account when using an analytical approach, with references given for further reading.     

Remote sensing of horticultural plantations in Kumarsain tehsil in Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh

The favourable agroclimatic conditions for orchards especially apples have increased the acreages in Himachal Pradesh (HP) which has significantly contributed in the growth of state economy. Realizing the importance of horticulture in HP and its changing scenario of the land use/land cover, a study was conducted to identify and map apple and almond plantations in the Kumarsain tehsil of Shimla district using Remote Sensing (RS) techniques. IRS-IB LISS-II False Colour Composite (FCC) diapositives of October 27, March 30 and April 20, 1992 were visually analysed for mapping apple and almond plantations. The results indicate that IRS LISS-II data of April 20 on 1∶50,000 scale was found very useful for identification and mapping of apple and almond plantations in this region. Accuracy of interpretation was also tested on sample basis assuming a binomial distribution for the probability of success/failure of sample points. The overall interpretation accuracy assessed based on 40 sample points was found to be 87 per cent at 90 per cent confidence limits.     

A Framework and Software Tool to Support Collaborative Landscape Analysis: Fitting Square Pegs into Square Holes

For landscape models to be applied successfully in management situations, models must address appropriate questions, include relevant processes and interactions, be perceived as credible and involve people affected by decisions. We propose a framework for collaborative model building that can address these issues, and has its roots in adaptive management, computer‐supported collaborative work and landscape ecology. Models built through this framework integrate a variety of information sources, address relevant questions, and are customized for the particular landscape and policy environment under study. Participants are involved in the process from the start, and because their input is incorporated, they feel ownership of the resulting models, increasing the chance of model acceptance and application. There are two requirements for success: a tool that supports rapid model prototyping and modification, that makes a clear link between a conceptual and implemented model, and that has the ability to implement a wide range of model types; and a core team with skills in communication, research and analysis, and knowledge of ecology and forestry in addition to modelling. SELES (Spatially Explicit Landscape Event Simulator) is a tool for building and running models of landscape dynamics. It combines discrete event simulation with a spatial database and a relatively simple modelling language to allow rapid development of landscape simulations, and provides a high‐level means of specifying complex model behaviours ranging from management actions to natural disturbance and succession. We have applied our framework in several forest modelling projects in British Columbia, Canada. We have found that this framework increases the interest by local experts and decision‐makers to participate actively in the model building process. The workshop process and resulting models have efficiently provided insight into the dynamics of large landscapes over long time frames. The use of SELES has facilitated this process by providing a flexible, transparent environment in which models can be rapidly implemented and refined. As a result, model findings may be more readily incorporated into decision‐support systems designed to assist resource managers in making informed decisions.     

Land use indicators of a watershed in arid region, western Rajasthan using Remote Sensing and GIS

The vegetation dynamics and land use/land cover types of Birantiya Kalan watershed located in the arid tracts of western Rajasthan have been characterized and evaluated using Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS). The watershed under study falls in the transitional plain of Luni Basin and is characterized by Aravali ranges in the eastern half and vast alluvial plains in the west. The land use/land cover types, as identified are cropland, fallow, forest, land with scrub, land without scrub, sandy area and the water body. Land with scrub occupied maximum area (39% area of the watershed) in 1996 in place of crop land which was dominant (43% of total area) in the year 1988. During eight years period, seasonal fallow land increased significantly and the areal extent of water body decreased to almost half. Vegetation vigour types have been classified into very poor, poor. moderate, good and very good categories. Moderate vigour type reduced from 62 to 27% and poor type increased from 34 to 68% during the period 1988 to 1996. Other vegetation vigour types have not shown any significant changes. To quantify the changes over the years in both vegetation and land use/land cover, weightages have been given to each type and composite values of both vegetation vigour and land use types for 1996 and 1988 have been calculated. It has been observed that the ratio for vegetation vigour has been found to be 0.85 showing that the overall vegetation have not improved after the treatment. The ratio for land use is found to be 1.01, which indicates negligible change in land use.     

Vening Meinesz inverse isostatic problem with local and global Bouguer anomalies

Inverse problems in isostasy will consist in making the isostatic anomalies to be zero under a certain isostatic hypothesis. In the case of the Vening Meinesz isostatic hypothesis, the density contrast is constant, while the Moho depth (depth of the Mohorovičić discontinuity) is variable. Hence, the Vening Meinesz inverse isostatic problem aims to determine a suitable variable Moho depth for a prescribed constant density contrast. The main idea is easy but the theoretical analysis is somewhat difficult. Moreover, the practical determination of the variable Moho depths based on the Vening Meinesz inverse problem is a laborious and time-consuming task. The formulas used for computing the inverse Vening Meinesz Moho depths are derived. The computational tricks essentially needed for computing the inverse Vening Meinesz Moho depths from a set of local and global Bouguer anomalies are described. The Moho depths for a test area are computed based on the inverse Vening Meinesz isostatic problem. These Moho depths fit the Moho depths derived from seismic observations with a good accuracy, in which the parameters used for the fitting agree well with those determined geophysically. Received: 4 February 1999 / Accepted: 4 October 1999     

Precise Real-Time Positioning in WADGPS Networks

In recent years the importance of real-time positioning and navigation with the Global Positioning System (GPS) has grown rapidly. Starting from the establishment of differential GPS (DGPS) reference stations for marine and land navigation, new users and applications have emerged that resulted in a high demand for the establishment of a high-density network of reference stations around the world. Many countries have established their own DGPS service, which is either governmentally or commercially owned. These services are referred to as Local Area DGPS Systems (LADGPS). However, the costs for the establishment and maintenance of a dense network of reference stations are very high. Therefore Wide Area DGPS Systems (WADGPS) are being developed to overcome the main drawbacks of LADGPS. In this case, only a few reference stations are used to cover a large area, such s a continent like Europe. To achieve high positioning accuracies, real-time modeling of the main error sources for long-range baselines is required as errors in the satellite orbit and ionospheric refraction do not cancel entirely in double differencing. In this article, a real-time correction model based on the Kalman filter for WADGPS and networked LADGPS services is discussed and results of field tests in a WADGPS network in Europe are presented. ? 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

From GPS and GLONASS via EGNOS to Galileo – Positioning and Navigation in the Third Millennium

Positioning and navigation – as are presently possible with the American Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian GLONASS system – is briefly reviewed. Deficiencies, which have led to augmentations like the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS), are outlined. Europe's decision to get involved in the definition and possible set-up of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) of the second generation (GNSS-2), called Galileo, is discussed in detail as well as the GPS modernization program that might take place during the sample phase. Finally, some brief thoughts on the benefit of GNSS-2 for geodesy and surveying are given. ? 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Atmospheric, oceanic and hydrological contributions to seasonal variations in length of day

 The annual and semiannual residuals derived in the axial angular momentum budget of the solid Earth–atmosphere system reflect significant signals. They must be caused by further excitation sources. Since, in particular, the contribution for the wind term from the atmospheric layer between the 10 and 0.3 hPa levels to the seasonal variations in length of day (LOD) is still missing, it is necessary to extend the top level into the upper stratosphere up to 0.3 hPa. Under the conservation of the total angular momentum of the entire Earth, variations in the oceanic angular momentum (OAM) and the hydrological angular momentum (HAM) are further significant excitation sources at seasonal time scales. Focusing on other contributions to the Earth's axial angular momentum budget, the following data are used in this study: axial atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) data derived for the 10–0.3 hPa layer from 1991 to 1997 for computing the missing wind effects; axial OAM functions as generated by oceanic general circulation models (GCMs), namely for the ECHAM3 and the MICOM models, available from 1975 to 1994 and from 1992 to 1994, respectively, for computing the oceanic contributions to LOD changes, and, concerning the HAM variations, the seasonal estimates of the hydrological contribution as derived by Chao and O'Connor [(1988) Geophys J 94: 263–270]. Using vector representation, it is shown that the vectors achieve a close balance in the global axial angular momentum budget within the estimated uncertainties of the momentum quantities on seasonal time scales. Received: 6 April 2000 / Accepted: 13 December 2000     

The stochastic estimation of satellite clock correction information in WADGPS

1 IntroductionChnventional DGPS is limited by the range overwhich the differential corrections are valid due tothe rapid decorrelation of the error sources with in-creasing distance from the reference station to user.In wide area differential GPS (WWPS) errorsources in GPS measurements are medeled sepa-rately,on the basis of a limited number of referencestaitOns, to overcome this drawback. The main er-ror sources are regarded as broadcast ephemeris er-ror,atmospheric refraction and satel…