Water Quality Impacts of Climate and Land Use Changes in Southeastern Pennsylvania*

This study investigates potential changes in nitrogen and phosphorus loads under a warmer and wetter climate, urban growth, and combined changes in the Conestoga River Basin and its five subbasins in southeastern Pennsylvania. A GIS‐based hydrochemical model was employed for assessing the sensitivity of the basins to the projected changes in 2030. Under the HadCM2 climate change scenario, mean annual nitrogen and phosphorus loads are expected to increase, with great increases in spring but slight decreases in fall primarily because of changes in monthly precipitation. When climate change and urbanization occur concurrently, mean annual nitrogen loads further increase by 50% in the most urbanizing subbasin. Point source nitrogen control could mitigate negative effects of climate and land use changes, reducing mean annual nitrogen loads to the contemporary baseline level.     

虚拟现实和G IS系统集成方法分析

从三个角度论述虚拟现实(V irtua l R ea lity,VR)和地理信息系统(G IS)集成的必要性,通过对集成方法的归纳,提出4种集成方式,并详细介绍了各自的结构体系和具体特征。在此基础上划分了VR与G IS系统集成的4个阶段,分析当前系统集成现状,指出其发展趋势。同时探讨了VR和G IS系统集成中存在的关键问题,包括数据、虚拟景观技术、VRG IS网络化等,给出目前解决这些问题的一些建议和具体途径。     

Internet‐Based GIS Mapping in Support of K‐12 Education

Internet‐based mapping provides a powerful alternative for successfully establishing GIS technology in the K‐12 education community, while simultaneously avoiding the traditional barriers associated with desktop GIS. Internet‐based GIS can support standards‐based inquiry methods of teaching and learning while providing basic analysis tools for studying and exploring geographic or scientific data in the classroom.     

Groundwater vulnerability mapping: A GIS and fuzzy rule based integrated tool

Contamination of groundwater has become a major concern in recent years. Since testing of water quality of all domestic and irrigation wells within large watersheds is not economically feasible, one frequently used monitoring strategy is to develop contamination potential maps of groundwater, and then prioritize those wells located in the potentially highly contaminated areas for testing of contaminants. However, generation of contamination potential maps based on groundwater sensitivity and vulnerability is not an easy task due inherent uncertainty. Therefore, the overall goal of this research is to improve the methodology for the generation of contamination potential maps by using detailed landuse/pesticide and soil structure information in conjunction with selected parameters from the DRASTIC model. The specific objectives of this study are (i) to incorporate GIS, GPS, remote sensing and the fuzzy rule-based model to generate groundwater sensitivity maps, and (ii) compare the results of our new methodologies with the modified DRASTIC Index (DI) and field water quality data. In this study, three different models were developed (viz. DI_fuzz, VI_fuzz and VI_{fuzz_ped}) and were compared to the DI. Once the preliminary fuzzy logic-based (DI_fuzz) was generated using selected parameters from DI, the methodology was further refined through VI_fuzz and VI_{fuzz_ped} models that incorporated landuse/pesticide application and soil structure information, respectively. This study was conducted in Woodruff County of the Mississippi Delta region of Arkansas. Water quality data for 55 wells were used to evaluate the contamination potential maps. The sensitivity map generated by VI_{fuzz_ped} with soil structure showed significantly better coincidence results when compared with the field data.     

Geospatial analysis of a coastal sand dune field evolution: Jockey's Ridge, North Carolina

Preservation and effective management of highly dynamic coastal features located in areas under development pressures requires in-depth understanding of their evolution. Modern geospatial technologies such as lidar, real time kinematic GPS, and three-dimensional GIS provide tools for efficient acquisition of high resolution data, geospatial analysis, feature extraction, and quantification of change. These techniques were applied to the Jockey's Ridge, North Carolina, the largest active dune field on the east coast of the United States, with the goal to quantify its deflation and rapid horizontal migration. Digitized contours, photogrammetric, lidar and GPS point data were used to compute a multitemporal elevation model of the dune field capturing its evolution for the period of 1974– 2004. In addition, peak elevation data were available for 1915 and 1953. Analysis revealed possible rapid growth of the dune complex between 1915–1953, followed by a slower rate of deflation that continues today. The main dune peak grew from 20.1 m in 1915 to 41.8 m in 1953 and has since eroded to 21.9 m in 2004. Two of the smaller peaks within the dune complex have recently gained elevation, approaching the current height of the main dune. Steady annual rate of main peak elevation loss since 1953 suggests that increase in the number of visitors after the park was established in 1974 had little effect on the rate of dune deflation. Horizontal dune migration of 3–6 m/yr in southerly direction has carried the sand out of the park boundaries and threatened several houses. As a result, the south dune section was removed and the sand was placed at the northern end of the park to serve as a potential source. Sand fencing has been an effective management strategy for both slowing the dune migration and forcing growth in dune elevation. Understanding the causes of the current movements can point to potential solutions and suggest new perspectives on management of the dune as a tourist attraction and as a recreation site, while preserving its unique geomorphic character and dynamic behavior.     

GIS-based detachment susceptibility analyses of a cut slope in limestone, Ankara—Turkey

Due to the rapidly growing population of the city of Ankara (Turkey) and increased traffic congestion, it has become necessary to widen the Ankara-Eskişehir (E-90) highway connecting the newly built areas west of the city to the city center. During widening, several cut slopes were formed along the highway route. As a result, some instability problems (small-sized rock falls/sliding, sloughing, raveling) produced detachment zones along a cut slope in highly jointed, folded and sheared limestone, causing local degradation of the cut slope. Identification of the areas that are likely to detach from the cut slope in the future is considered to be very important for the application of remedial measures. For this purpose, the relationships between the existing detachment zones and various parameters (e.g., point load strength index, weathering, block size, daylighting, shear zone) were investigated using GIS-based statistical detachment susceptibility analyses in order to predict the further aerial extension of the detachment zones with time. During the overlay analyses, statistical index and weighting factor methods were used. The outcomes of the analyses were compared and evaluated with the field observations to check the reliability of the methods and to assess the detachment zones that may develop in the future. The detachment susceptibility map without the block-size layer gives the best result and indicates some risky zones where detachments are likely to occur in the future. Recommendations on remedial measures of the cut slope should consider these risky zones.     

GIS支持下的小城镇土地定级--以福建省天宝镇区为例

小城镇土地定级是小城镇土地管理的基础性工作,以福建省天宝镇区土地定级为例,就地理信息系统技术在城镇土地定级中的应用进行了探讨。着重论述了GIS环境下土地定级基础图件库和基础属性数据库的建立、评价单元的生成、单元分值和单元总分值的计算及成果图的生成等属性数据和空间数据的处理过程。     

基于GIS的城市地下空间资源综合质量评估研究

城市发展空间由地表向地下延伸,是目前城市发展的必然趋势。本文以北京房山区规划新城为例,在房山新城规划区区域地质、岩土性状、地质灾害等研究成果基础上,分析影响地下空间开发利用的各种影响因素,利用GIS技术,采用定量评价、定性评价相结合评估方法,构建评价系统,确定评价指标体系,建立评估模型,进行房山新城地下空间资源综合质量分区评价,最终达到房山新城土地资源利用最大化。     

地理信息系统及图形数据库的形成

地理信息系统(GIS)是由计算机系统、地理数据和用户组成，为多学科提供服务的新兴学科。GIS的应用系统由硬件、软件、数据、人员和方法五个部分构成，其软件系统应具备数据输入、数据编辑、数据存贮与管理、空间查询与空间分析、可视化表达与输出等五项基本功能。图形数据库的形成主要是通过光栅扫描矢量化方法，对地质矿产和地物化遥资料及其它地质资料进行数字化，按照图层划分方案建立关系属性表，属性库建立的目的主要是从矿产预测角度出发，对有预测意义的属性信息进行有效管理。