Challenges and strategies for the visual exploration of complex environmental data

ABSTRACT

In this opinion paper, we, a group of scientists from environmental-, geo-, ocean- and information science, argue visual data exploration should become a common analytics approach in Earth system science due to its potential for analysis and interpretation of large and complex spatio-temporal data. We discuss the challenges that appear such as synthesis of heterogeneous data from various sources, reducing the amount of information and facilitating multidisciplinary, collaborative research. We argue that to fully exploit the potential of visual data exploration, several bottlenecks and challenges have to be addressed: providing an efficient data management and an integrated modular workflow, developing and applying suitable visual exploration concepts and methods with the help of effective and tailored tools as well as generating and raising the awareness of visual data exploration and education. We are convinced visual data exploration is worth the effort since it significantly facilitates insight into environmental data and derivation of knowledge from it.     

苏州软弱敏感层的土体微观结构定量分析

本文结合苏州城市地质调查工作,综合考虑沉积时代、成因类型、沉积环境及土性特征等要素,对东部堆积平原区进行了工程地质层组划分,并对城市地质体的关键持力层组和软弱敏感层进行了判识。采用自由活塞薄壁取样器和冷冻掰断-黏贴法,制作了用于微观结构分析的土样。基于扫描电镜图像的处理分析,对苏州软弱敏感层的软土微观尺度结构特征进行了对比研究,得到了原状土天然状态下的微观结构类型,颗粒排列的定向特征,颗粒偏心度,定向概率熵等量化指标。研究表明:苏州软弱敏感层的颗粒长轴与水平x轴的夹角分布区间较为集中,土体的各向异性程度相对较低; 滨浅海相沉积环境以及晚第四纪以来海侵、海退的水动力作用导致⑦层软土的定向概率熵和颗粒偏心度在(0.6,1.0)区间内的分布概率值较高。上述工作为深入理解其基本工程性质,建立土体沉积环境、微观结构与宏观工程特性的联系提供了重要的试验依据。     

初论基于数字地球技术系统的巨型矿床统计评价

介绍了数字地球的基本概念和系统框架, 概括了基于数字地球技术系统的数字矿产工程的基本概念, 阐明了建立全球矿产资源基础数据库的必要性, 并讨论了矿产资源基础数据库的主要内容, 探讨了基于数字地球技术系统的巨型矿床统计评价的基本方法.      

我国数字填图技术研究现状与发展趋势

数字填图系统(RGMAP)是中国地质调查局研发的,用来进行区域地质调查工作的专业软件.通过4幅150000和10幅1250000数字填图试点应用,使数字填图系统已臻于完善,为中国地质调查局全面推广数字填图方法奠定了良好的基础.野外数据采集数字化,使得地质调查数据实现了一体化的描述、组织、综合、管理及资源的统一描述、再现和集成.建立个性化的多用户,多目标的社会化服务体系,是今后地质调查主流程信息化的主要任务和目标.     

Sensors,empowerment, and accountability: a Digital Earth view from East Africa

Abstract

Several innovative ‘participatory sensing’ initiatives are under way in East Africa. They can be seen as local manifestations of the global notion of Digital Earth. The initiatives aim to amplify the voice of ordinary citizens, improve citizens' capacity to directly influence public service delivery and hold local government accountable. The popularity of these innovations is, among other things, a local reaction to the partial failure of the millennium development goals (MDGs) to deliver accurate statistics on public services in Africa. Empowered citizens, with access to standard mobile phones, can ‘sense’ via text messages and report failures in the delivery of local government services. The public disclosure of these reports on the web and other mass media may pressure local authorities to take remedial action. In this paper, we outline the potential and research challenges of a ‘participatory sensing’ platform, which we call a ‘human sensor web.’ Digital Africa's first priority could be to harness continent-wide and national data as well as local information resources, collected by citizens, in order to monitor, measure and forecast MDGs.     

基于不同GCP数量和获取方法的数字正射影像的制作与评定

SPOT-5影像的高分辨率和高信息量的性质,使其得到了广泛的应用,特别是在全国第二次土地利用调查中得到了更加深入的应用。而数字正射影像的制作是SPOT-5遥感影像应用的关键所在。本文在介绍DOM制作的基础上,依据当前获取GCP主要的三种途径采用ERDAS遥感图像处理软件进行了实验,并对最终的结果精度进行分析,总结了DOM制作过程的相关问题。     

浅析数字摄影测量在1∶500地形图测绘中的应用

数字摄影测量,应用计算机技术、数字影像处理、影像匹配、模式识别等理论与方法,以计算机视觉代替人眼的立体观测,其产品与中间数据的记录以及处理的原始资料均是数字的,较之常规的(传统的)数字产品的生产方法,具有自动化程度高、速度快、成果多样化等优点。两次外业和两次内业,是∶地形图数字摄影测量的主要作业流程,第二次外业调绘作为1500数字摄影测量的主要外业工作与常规调绘方法有一定的区别。∶地形图数字摄影测量适合于1500大面积数字化测图。     

Placing of photos on the internet: Critical analysis of biases on the depictions of France and Afghanistan on FLICKR

The Internet and the representation of space therein are almost omnipresent in society and everyday life. Peer-produced geographic data is gaining a particular importance through increasingly available digital tools and techniques that shape the perception of space in the internet, such as flickr, OpenStreetMap or Wikipedia. However, few studies focused on how space is represented, and by whom it is described. We hypothesize that the alleged opening up of geographic information and the assumed benefits for every individual and society through the occurrence of ‘easy-to-use-mapping-tools’ was premature. To explore these assumptions, a comparative study of the flickr worldmap was undertaken and roughly 6.8 million metadatasets of geocoded photos in France, and roughly 50,000 metadatasets in Afghanistan were downloaded and the metadata was analyzed. Our results indicate that photos geocoded in France show a large diversity of motives, while photos geocoded in Afghanistan are mostly limited to content containing warfare when they are up loaded in English. The content of the photo and therefore the representation of space strongly depend on who uploaded the photo, particularly in Afghanistan. We can show that the representation of space on the internet, for the case of flickr, is strongly dominated by perceptions of Western societies and individuals. We therefore confirm our hypothesis that the supposed opening up of geographic information systems through ‘easy-to-use-mapping-tools’ and their democratization thereof was premature. Moreover, we highlight the importance of understanding who contributes online content to be able to evaluate peer-produced data, its value, and its possible applications to avoid reproducing biases.     

18—23MSP 多光谱航空摄影技术

此项研究是国家科技攻关项目。在研究此课题以前,世界上采用的多光谱航空摄影机一直是小像幅的(大部分为6cmx6cm,代称为6MSP)。6MSP不能测图,分光“有害吸收”大,故图像质量差,且像幅小,飞行和后期加工量极大。本研究采用18cm×l8cm和23cm×23cm像幅航空摄影测量像机组成多光谱像机组,并设计了“截止滤光镜一特制感光胶片”组合的无“有害吸收”的分光系统,使本多光谱航空摄影像幅比6MSP加大了9倍和14.7倍,并能“一摄多用”,既能测图,又能进行资源调查和环境监测,其图像因无“有害吸收”,分光质量高,可供目视判读,也可输入计算机进行准确地物分类解译。18-23MSP是一项有效的航空遥感技术。