Potential of Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS for Landslide Hazard Assessment in Southern Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia)

Big landslides are one of the main natural hazards in Kyrgyzstan, which are concentrated in the foothills of the high mountain ranges along the Eastern rim of the Fergana Basin. Because of the high number of landslides and their occurrence over large areas there is a strong need for effective and objective landslide hazard assessment at a regional scale. In Kyrgyzstan satellite remote sensing data represent the only source of multitemporal information about surface conditions covering large areas. Against this background the goal is the development of a satellite remote sensing and GIS-based system for quantitatively oriented and spatially differentiated hazard assessment. During the presented pilot investigations in the area of the Upper Maili Suu river basin a methodological framework has been developed incorporating remote sensing and GIS techniques for various levels of information extraction. So far, methodological investigations have been focused on the potential of satellite remote sensing data from different optical (Landsat-(E)TM, ASTER, MOMS-2P) and radar (ERS-1/2) systems for the creation of an improved knowledge basis for hazard assessment. This includes landslide identification, generation of topographic information and characterization of the geological setting. The derived primary information have been analyzed in a GIS environment to gain an improved process understanding as a main prerequisite for successful hazard assessment. The results show that currently available satellite remote sensing data are suitable for landslide investigation in Kyrgyzstan. Full exploitation of their information potential requires combined analysis with other thematic information based on methods of interactive and automated information extraction.     

Prediction of permafrost distribution on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the next 50 and 100 years

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)has the highestand largest permafrost coverage in the low-middlelatitudes all over the world.With the progress ofChina’s Western Development,human activities areincreasing significantly on the QTP.For instance,theQinghai-Tibet Railway project started in June2001iscurrently under construction,but permafrost problemwill be one of the critical factors for the engineeringconstruction.Frost heave and permafrost settlementmay destroy engineering construction[1,2]…     

The seismic activity in Syria and Palestine during the middle of the 8th century; an amalgamation of historical earthquakes

Some historical earthquakes are distinct owing to the geographical distance of the places affected. It is less clear, however, when more than one earthquake is amalgamated into a single event and their combined effects are attributed to a major event. In order to avoid gross overestimation of the size of historical earthquakes the separation and identification of the constituent earthquakes is an important consideration. As an example we show how the tendency of early and modern writers to amalgamate or duplicate earthquakes in Syria and Palestine can lead to the creation of major earthquakes, with serious consequences for the assessment of the seismic hazard in the region.     

The eruptive history of the Tequila volcanic field, western Mexico: ages, volumes, and relative proportions of lava types

The eruptive history of the Tequila volcanic field (1600 km²) in the western Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt is based on ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar chronology and volume estimates for eruptive units younger than 1 Ma. Ages are reported for 49 volcanic units, including Volcán Tequila (an andesitic stratovolcano) and peripheral domes, flows, and scoria cones. Volumes of volcanic units 1 Ma were obtained with the aid of field mapping, ortho aerial photographs, digital elevation models (DEMs), and ArcGIS software. Between 1120 and 200 kyrs ago, a bimodal distribution of rhyolite (~35 km³) and high-Ti basalt (~39 km³) dominated the volcanic field. Between 685 and 225 kyrs ago, less than 3 km³ of andesite and dacite erupted from more than 15 isolated vents; these lavas are crystal-poor and show little evidence of storage in an upper crustal chamber. Approximately 200 kyr ago, ~31 km³ of andesite erupted to form the stratocone of Volcán Tequila. The phenocryst assemblage of these lavas suggests storage within a chamber at ~2–3 km depth. After a hiatus of ~110 kyrs, ~15 km³ of andesite erupted along the W and SE flanks of Volcán Tequila at ~90 ka, most likely from a second, discrete magma chamber located at ~5–6 km depth. The youngest volcanic feature (~60 ka) is the small andesitic volcano Cerro Tomasillo (~2 km³). Over the last 1 Myr, a total of 128±22 km³ of lava erupted in the Tequila volcanic field, leading to an average eruption rate of ~0.13 km³/kyr. This volume erupted over ~1600 km², leading to an average lava accumulation rate of ~8 cm/kyr. The relative proportions of lava types are ~22–43% basalt, ~0.4–1% basaltic andesite, ~29–54% andesite, ~2–3% dacite, and ~18–40% rhyolite. On the basis of eruptive sequence, proportions of lava types, phenocryst assemblages, textures, and chemical composition, the lavas do not reflect the differentiation of a single (or only a few) parental liquids in a long-lived magma chamber. The rhyolites are geochemically diverse and were likely formed by episodic partial melting of upper crustal rocks in response to emplacement of basalts. There are no examples of mingled rhyolitic and basaltic magmas. Whatever mechanism is invoked to explain the generation of andesite at the Tequila volcanic field, it must be consistent with a dominantly bimodal distribution of high-Ti basalt and rhyolite for an 800 kyr interval beginning ~1 Ma, which abruptly switched to punctuated bursts of predominantly andesitic volcanism over the last 200 kyrs.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at Editorial responsility: J. Donnelly-NolanThis revised version was published online in January 2005 with corrections to Tables 1 and 3.An erratum to this article can be found at     

Modeling the history of Lake of the Woods since 11,000 cal yr B.P. using GIS

Because of differential isostatic rebound, many lakes in Canada have continued to change their extent and depth since retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Using GIS techniques, the changing configuration and bathymetry of Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Manitoba, and Minnesota were reconstructed for 12 points in time, beginning at 11,000 cal yr B.P. (9.6 ¹⁴C ka B.P.), and were also projected 500 years into the future, based on the assumption that Lake of the Woods continued to have a positive hydrological budget throughout the Holocene. This modeling was done by first compiling a bathymetric database and merging that with subaerial data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). This DEM file was then adjusted by: (1) isobase data derived from Lake Agassiz beaches prior to 9000 cal yr B.P. (8.1 ¹⁴C ka B.P.) and (2) modeled isostatic rebound trend analysis after 9000 cal yr B.P. Just after the end of the Lake Agassiz phase of Lake of the Woods, only the northernmost part of the basin contained water. Differential rebound has resulted in increasing water depth. In the first 3000 years of independence from Lake Agassiz, the lake transgressed >50 km to the south, expanding its area from 858 to 2857 km², and more than doubling in volume. Continued differential rebound after 6000 cal yr B.P. (5.2 ¹⁴C ka B.P.) has further expanded the lake, although today it is deepening by only a few cm per century at the southern end. In addition, climate change in the Holocene probably played a role in lake level fluctuations. Based on our calculation of a modern hydrological budget for Lake of the Woods, reducing runoff and precipitation by 65% and increasing evaporation from the lake by 40% would end overflow and cause the level of the lake to fall below the outlets at Kenora. Because this climate change is comparable to that recorded during the mid-Holocene warming across the region, it is likely that the area covered by the lake at this time would have been less than that determined from differential isostatic rebound alone.     

GIS网格体系结构探讨

就当前WebGIS发展中的空间资源共享问题,结合新兴的网格技术,从网格的角度提出了包括基础网格、空间数据网格、空间信息网格(狭义)、空间知识网格和空间服务网格在内的GIS网格体系,以期改善Internet上空间资源共享的环境。     

Enhancement of aquifer vulnerability indexing using the analytic-element method

Indexing methods are used for the evaluation of aquifer vulnerability and establishing guidelines for the protection of ground-water resources. The principle of the indexing method is to rank influences on groundwater to determine overall vulnerability of an aquifer to contamination. The analytic element method (AEM) of ground-water flow modeling is used to enhance indexing methods by rapidly calculating a potentiometric surface based primarily on surface-water features. This potentiometric map is combined with a digital-elevation model to produce a map of water-table depth. This is an improvement over simple water-table interpolation methods. It is physically based, properly representing surface-water features, hydraulic boundaries, and changes in hydraulic conductivity. The AEM software, SPLIT, is used to improve an aquifer vulnerability assessment for a valley-fill aquifer in western New York State. A GIS-based graphical user interface allows automated conversion of hydrography vector data into analytic elements.     

A comparison of the GIS based landslide susceptibility assessment methods: multivariate versus bivariate

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and to compare the results of multivariate (logical regression) and bivariate (landslide susceptibility) methods in Geographical Information System (GIS) based landslide susceptibility assessment procedures. In order to achieve this goal the Asarsuyu catchment in NW Turkey was selected as a test zone because of its well-known landslide occurrences interfering with the E-5 highway mountain pass.Two methods were applied to the test zone and two separate susceptibility maps were produced. Following this a two-fold comparison scheme was implemented. Both methods were compared by the Seed Cell Area Indexes (SCAI) and by the spatial locations of the resultant susceptibility pixels.It was found that both of the methods converge in 80% of the area; however, the weighting algorithm in the bivariate technique (landslide susceptibility method) had some severe deficiencies, as the resultant hazard classes in overweighed areas did not converge with the factual landslide inventory map. The result of the multivariate technique (logical regression) was more sensitive to the different local features of the test zone and it resulted in more accurate and homogeneous susceptibility maps.     

基于COM/DCOM的企业级GIS服务器研究

企业级GIS服务器可提供更高级、更完整的GIS服务,一般基于分布式对象技术构建.AO是ESRI完全基于COM工业标准开发的组件GIS,AGS建立在AO基础上,是企业级GIS服务器中的典范.深入研究COM组件技术、AGS的GIS服务器实现机制,对研发自主产权的企业级GIS服务器很有帮助.文中从应用角度,首先对COM/DCOM概念、本质及实现方式进行了研究;其次分析了AGS的体系结构,得出GIS服务器如何宿主和管理AO组件对象是AGS的核心所在,并对此进行了深入研究;最后提出基于COM/DCOM的PosaGIS服务器架构并进行了相关实践.     

基于模糊故障树的GIS产品的可靠性分析

本文首次把模糊故障树方法引入到GIS产品的可靠性分析,并就模糊故障树的基本理论作了简单的介绍,阐述了模糊故障树的建造和基于三角模糊数和梯形模糊数运算规则,结合GIS产品的特性论述了模糊故障树用于GIS产品可靠性分析的步骤,然后用实例进行了分析,最后就全文进行总结并指出了需要解决的问题。