3D-Monitoring Big Geo Data on a seaport infrastructure based on FIWARE

Many organizations of all kinds are using new technologies to assist the acquisition and analysis of data. Seaports are a good example of this trend. Seaports generate data regarding the management of marine traffic and other elements, as well as environmental conditions given by meteorological sensors and buoys. However, this enormous amount of data, also known as Big Data, is useless without a proper system to organize, analyze and visualize it. SmartPort is an online platform for the visualization and management of a seaport data that has been built as a GIS application. This work offers a Rich Internet Application that allows the user to visualize and manage the different sources of information produced in a port environment. The Big Data management is based on the FIWARE platform, as well as “The Internet of Things” solutions for the data acquisition. At the same time, Glob3 Mobile (G3M) framework has been used for the development of map requirements. In this way, SmartPort supports 3D visualization of the ports scenery and its data sources.     

From global to local: Testing the potential of cross-scaling in global data sets

The present study investigates the potential of readily available and easily accessible global data sets to understand regional/local level interactions in wetland systems. The biogeographical zones of India were used a base-frame to select three sites. The study well fits the interests of National Wetland Committee of India to investigate and document fundamental information on wetland extent/distribution. The national partnership with SACON represents this interest. SACON commenced the inland wetland inventory module at national scale using geospatial data, although the provincial scale analysis is underway. In addition, the global irrigated area mapping (GIAM-IWMI) project generated multi-scalar spatial outputs for irrigated/rain-fed areas. With the existing information base, a multi-level geospatial analysis using Arc GIS algorithmic modelling was used to derive comprehensive appraisal of wetland systems complementing the data from GIAM and SACON. It was observed that the overlap between the two layers was 58 percent for Gujarat and 10 percent in Tamil Nadu. In Krishna basin the wetland’s cover 1.04 million hectare excluding the rice agro-ecosystem. The difference in the biogeography of the case sites governs the gradient of information derived from both data layers. Additionally, the global lakes and wetlands database (GLWD) database added thematic information on coastal wetlands. In summary we describe the cross-scaling the global data layers to compliment the regional/national level monitoring assignments.     

Use of remote sensing in characterization and management of Dhamni micro-watershed of Chandrapur district of Maharashtra

Soil resource characterization of Dhamni micro-watershed in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra was carried out using IRS-1D LISS-III data in conjunction with field survey and ancillary data. The study indicates that nearly 84.2 per cent of the total geographical area of the watershed is under cultivation. Forest (mainly degraded) occupy only 4.5 per cent area Whereas wasteland with scrub cover 9.4 per cent area of the watershed. Nine soil series were tentatively identified and mapped as soil series association in to five mapping units. These soils belong to order Inceptisol, Vertisol and Mollisol. Except the soils of wasteland with scrub, other soils are moderately suitable for pigeonpea and soybean and have average to good productivity.     

Conventions on thermal expansion modelling of radio telescopes for geodetic and astrometric VLBI

Thermal expansion of radio telescopes has long been recognized as an effect which cannot be neglected in geodetic and astrometric VLBI data analysis if millimeter accuracy is desired. In this article, the author documents the conventions which are being set by the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) for a consistent modelling of this effect in its routine product generation. For the largest telescopes, the annual cycle of thermal expansion may change the height of the VLBI reference point by as much as 20 mm. However, for telescopes which are used in present-day IVS operations, the variations rather range from 4 to 6 mm.     

Sandbank occurrence on the Dutch continental shelf in the North Sea

Sandbanks, the largest of bed patterns in shallow sandy seas, pose a potential risk to shipping. They are also valuable elements of natural coastal protection, dissipating the energy of waves. In the Southern Bight of the North Sea, several sandbank areas have been reported in the literature. However, based on an objective crest–trough analysis of the bathymetry of the Dutch continental shelf, the present study shows that sandbanks are more widespread than commonly considered. These banks are relatively low, presumably explaining why they have not been documented before. This widespread occurrence of sandbanks in the North Sea is in agreement with theoretical predictions based on stability analysis techniques. The possible interference between large-scale human activity and low-amplitude open-shelf ridges implies that one should be careful not to overlook these patterns if none should appear in a preliminary (visual) assessment. The only part of the Southern Bight in which no ridges can be seen is a circular area with a diameter of about 50 km near the mouth of the river Rhine. Here, freshwater outflow affects the direction of tidal ellipses and residual flow, and suppresses the formation of open ridges.     

Pockmarks in the inner Oslofjord,Norway

Multibeam bathymetric surveys of the Inner Oslofjord, Norway have revealed a high density of pockmarks in the 179-km² inner fjord area, which contains over 500 pockmarks of varying size, typically 20–50 m in diameter and 2–10 m deep. These pockmarks have been investigated with a variety of techniques, including acoustic subbottom profiling, sedimentological and geochemical analyses of cores, remotely operated vehicle observation, and morphometry. Both the distribution and shapes of the pockmarks suggest that they are related to structures in the bedrock underlying relatively thin (<50 m) unconsolidated glacial and postglacial sediments. The data provide no direct indication of a particular mode of pockmark formation, but release of large amounts of biogenic, shallow methane seems unlikely. Several lines of evidence point to a continuous process of pockmark formation followed by inactivity, with some pockmarks recently active whereas others have been inactive for a considerable time. Some pockmarks are characterised by coarse sediment in their centres. The density, variety and easy access make this pockmark field an ideal model area for pockmark research. John S. Gray is deceased.     

A wave averaged energy equation: Comment on “global estimates of wind energy input to subinertial motions in the Ekman-Stokes layer” by Bin Liu,Kejian Wu and Changlong Guan

In a recent paper, Liu et al. (2007) formulate an expression for how surface gravity waves modify the Ekman layer energy budget. They then diagnose the effect in the world oceans using available data. This comment addresses the formulation of the energy equation that is fundamental to their study.     

Long-term bottom water warming in the north Ross Sea

We measured potential temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen profiles from the surface to the bottom at two locations in the north Ross Sea (65.2°S, 174.2°E and 67.2°S, 172.7°W) in December 2004. Comparison of our data with previous results from the same region reveals an increase in potential temperature and decreases in salinity and dissolved oxygen concentration in the bottom layer (deeper than 3000 m) over the past four decades. The changes were significantly different from the analytical precisions. Detailed investigation of the temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and σ ₃ value distributions and the bottom water flow in the north Ross Sea suggests a long-term change in water mass mixing balance. That is to say, it is speculated that the influence of cool, saline, high-oxygen bottom water (high-salinity Ross Sea Bottom Water) formed in the southwestern Ross Sea has possibly been decreased, while the influences of relatively warmer and fresher bottom water (low-salinity Ross Sea Bottom Water) and the Adélie Land Bottom Water coming from the Australia-Antarctic Basin have increased. The possible impact of global warming on ocean circulation needs much more investigation.     

Cloning and sequence analysis of a full-length cDNA of <Emphasis Type="Italic">SmPP1cb</Emphasis> encoding turbot protein phosphatase 1 beta catalytic subunit

Reversible protein phosphorylation, catalyzed by protein kinases and phosphatases, is an important and versatile mechanism by which eukaryotic cells regulate almost all the signaling processes. Protein phosphatase 1 （PP1） is the first and well-characterized member of the protein serine/threonine phosphatase family. In the present study, a full-length cDNA encoding the beta isoform of the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase l（PPlcb）, was for the first time isolated and sequenced from the skin tissue of flatfish turbot Scophthalmus maximus, designated SmPPlcb, by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends （RACE） technique. The cDNA sequence of SmPPlcb we obtained contains a 984 bp open reading frame （ORF）, flanked by a complete 39 bp 5＇ untranslated region and 462 bp 3＇ untranslated region. The ORF encodes a putative 327 amino acid protein, and the N-terminal section of this protein is highly acidic, Met-Ala-Glu-Gly-Glu-Leu-Asp-Val-Asp, a common feature for PP1 catalytic subunit but absent in protein phosphatase 2B （PP2B）. And its calculated molecular mass is 37 193 Da and pI 5.8. Sequence analysis indicated that, SmPPlcb is extremely conserved in both amino acid and nucleotide acid levels compared with the PPlcb of other vertebrates and invertebrates, and its Kozak motif contained in the 5＇UTR around ATG start codon is GXXAXXGXXATGG, which is different from mammalian in two positions A6 and G3, indicating the possibility of different initiation of translation in turbot, and also the 3＇UTR of SmPPlcb is highly diverse in the sequence similarity and length compared with other animals, especially zebraf＇lsh. The cloning and sequencing of SmPPlcb gene lays a good foundation for the future work on the biological functions of PP1 in the flatfish turbot.