Groundwater resources in the Jabal Al Hass region,northwest Syria: an assessment of past use and future potential

In many cases, the development of groundwater resources to boost agricultural production in dry areas has led to a continuous decline in groundwater levels; this has called into question the sustainability of such exploitation. In developing countries, limited budgets and scarce hydrological data often do not allow groundwater resources to be assessed through groundwater modeling. A case study is presented of a low-cost water-balance approach to groundwater resource assessments in a 1,550 km² semi-arid region in northwestern Syria. The past development of irrigated agriculture and its effect on the groundwater system were studied by analysis of Landsat images and long-term groundwater level changes, respectively. All components of the groundwater balance were determined. Groundwater recharge was estimated using the chloride mass balance method. Over the past three decades, groundwater levels have declined, on average, 23 m, coinciding with a two-fold increase in the groundwater-irrigated area. Groundwater resources are currently depleted by a value that lies between 9.5×10⁶ and 118×10⁶ m³ year^?1, which is larger than can be compensated for by a future decrease in natural discharge or changes in boundary conditions. However, groundwater resources are likely to be sufficient to supply domestic and livestock needs in the area.     

Pumping decisions for sustainable development of groundwater resources in areas of grassland degradation: a case study in Lanqi Banner, Inner Mongolia, China

The best planting alternatives for satisfying high water use demands of forage and fodder crops in a region of Inner Mongolia, China, were determined by a multiobjective distributed-parameter groundwater management model. These alternatives took account of different cropping patterns and pumping decisions associated with both temporal and spatial aspects of water allocation. The model was developed for phreatic, homogenous, and isotropic aquifers using the response matrix technique of quadratic programming theory and, in this case, using the alternative direction implicit (ADI) scheme. Model solutions using effective rainfall with a probability of 50%, show that average water table drawdown in the planning period (2006–2017) is 0.22 m and the groundwater fluctuation in each pumping well is very low. In order to evaluate the pumping decisions under an effective rainfall with a probability of 75%, a sensitive analysis was also conducted. Analysis shows that it is useful to apply the results from the proposed model to control the landscape degradation due to overgrazing and overpumping activities.     

Mid-infrared imaging of ultracompact H II regions

We discuss preliminary results of an 11.7 m imaging survey of ultracompact H II regions from the Wood and Churchwell radio survey. We find that that the morphologies of ionized gas and warm dust are often significantly different, indicating that an H II region classification scheme should be based on more than radio data.     

Hydrochemical and isotopical tracers in the lacustrine aquifer of the Cerro Prieto area, Baja California, México

A series of patterns in the chemical and isotopic composition of the groundwater of the Cerro Prieto area have been recognized. These patterns were used to define four hydrochemical and isotopical zones in the area. One of these areas located at the east side was found to be the source of recharge, while another in the central part is where an older aquifer exist in lacustrine deposits. The low permeability of the area causes the aquifer to act as an aquitard, which at least is partly surrounded by an interface zone where mixing of waters occurs. Tritium and radiocarbon method revealed that the aquitard is an isolate system whose residence time is of 32 ka.     

Withered Geography

This commentary is a response to an article by Jay R. Harman in the November 2003 issue of The Professional Geographer. I argue that Harman's claim that scholarly disciplines offer social “returns” in a competitive “market” obscures the fundamentally political nature of how social resources are allocated and how social needs are defined. Harman would have us subordinate scholarly research to agendas set elsewhere, by politicians and other powerful interests, but I argue that such a vision would turn geographers into mere technicians. A healthier role for the discipline is for geographers to seek ways of asserting intellectual leadership and of shaping social agendas along more humane and socially just lines.     

基于GIS/MIS/OA的短周期工业原料林经营模式研究

提出了短周期工业原料林经营模式的概念,探讨了短周期工业原料林经营模式的体系结构、子系统功能和主要林业数表类型,说明其与GIS/MIS/OA系统集成的必然趋势,并以岳阳纸业股份公司的纸浆原料林为例进行了实例分析。     

MODIS数据在广西生态环境监测及评价中的应用方法

利用MODIS数据广西遥感影像,用监督分类法做出了地物覆盖分类图,用主成分分析法做出了土壤侵蚀强度图和生态环境质量综合评价指数图。     

VML在WebGIS图形显示中的应用研究

针对目前被动式WebGIS地图显示的局限,提出了引入VML的解决办法,使客户端容易实现矢量地图显示、地物动态变化显示、专题制图显示等,丰富了WebGIS的地图表现方式。     

关于我国国家基础地理信息系统数据库按内容分级的探讨——以1∶5万数据库为例

在诸多地理信息系统中,基础地理信息系统是各类地理信息系统用户的统一空间载体,面向全社会和各专业部门,因而国家基础地理信息系统数据库的产品需求既是最广泛的,也是最复杂的。本文针对社会上不同行业、部门对国家基础地理信息系统数据库产品的不同需求程度,以1∶5万数据库为例,采用调查、统计分析和空间分析的方法,把国家基础地理信息系统数据库按内容创造性地分为三个等级,并得出“国家基础地理信息1∶5万数据库内容等级划分方案”,为下一步三级数据库产品生产提供了参考。     

基于SVG的地理信息编码与DOM交互解析实现

SVG作为新兴的基于XML的矢量图形描述规范，在很多方面与地理信息系统中的基本概念表述一致。在对地理信息进行SVG编码的基础上，利用DOM对地理信息SVG编码文档进行解析，实现了基于SVG的Web地理信息发布实例。实验表明，采用SVG技术的通用性好、矢量显示质量高、响应速度快的优点来开发地理信息的Web应用，也是顺应Web地理信息发布发展需要的。