Development

FOSS Tools for Geospatial and Agent Based Modelling to Evaluate Climate Change in an Agricultural Watershed

Session Type: 
Poster
Presenter(s): 
Dr Alireza Ghaffari, York University
Dr Martin Bunch
Dr Rod MacRae
Joseph Zhao

Land-use changes are typically modeled using geographic information systems because of the spatial nature of the data. But the complexity of coupled human and natural systems and the fourth dimension involved with change over time and time-series data expose some limitations of GIS tools when used on their own. In this paper we present the application of REPAST, a free and open source geospatial Multi-agent Model (a.k.a. Agent-based Model or ABM) to the dynamic simulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) changes in a sub-watershed in Ontario, Canada with predominantly agricultural land use. The combination of Geospatial analysis and use of an Agent Based Model is a new way to solve complex problems involving multiple decision makers on the landscape. The combination of these modeling approaches helps to address the time dimension in geospatial modeling problems. ABM can model dynamic systems, their evolutionary changes and importantly, can predict options for sustainable system configurations. As a part of this research project, open source tools were developed to integrate ABM and GIS environments, specifically with respect to data transport and coupling of GIS and REPAST tools. In this paper we present scenarios to estimate the GHG emissions in an agricultural watershed, and the FOSS tools we both adopted and have been developing to undertake this project.

 

Speaker Bio: 

I received my PH.D. in Physical Geography from Nottingham University, England (2006).Since January 2007, I have been working as a researcher and post doc fellow with the Department of Earth Space Science, Emergency Management Program, and most recently at the Faculty Environmental Studies. During this period, I have been involved with various research projects funded by GEOIDE and NSERC. In my current position as a post doc fellow at the Faculty of Environmental Studies, I work on a project that aims to evaluate the effects of organic farming on greenhouse gas using a GIS based agent based model.

At the same time, I have been working as a part time instructor for Wilfred Laurier University and Lakehead University (Orillia Campus), teaching various courses including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Arial Photo Interpretation. My research interest is Spatial Analysis/Modeling and GIS implementation in natural and technological hazards.

 

The Provincial Information System Using Free and Open Source Software in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Session Type: 
Poster
Presenter(s): 
Dr Gatot Haryo Pramono, Bakosurtanal
Mr Edwin Hendrayana
Mr Sajatmiko Wibowo

The province of East Kalimantan located in Borneo island is one of the largest province in Indonesia. With an area and population approximately similar to the State of Oregon, the provincial government tries to manage effectively the natural and human resources. A web-based information system is an option to display and share the potency of East Kalimantan province. The purpose of such application is to provide a complete spatial information of East Kalimantan in a web GIS. The users are not only the local government but also prospective investors who are interested in developing the province. Due to the budget limitation, the government decided to choose free and open source software to implement the system. The application is built using PostgreSQL and PostGIS to store the data in the spatial database. The web GIS interface is developed using OpenLayers with the base map from Google Maps. The natural resource and statistical data are displayed as thematic maps and charts. Such data can be downloaded in a spreadsheet format to allow furhther use. As a conclusion, the provincial information system is found to be a useful and effective approach to manage and share spatial information in East Kalimantan.

Speaker Bio: 

I am the head of topographic database division and system designer for web GIS application using free and open source software.

 

OPeNDAP vs. WCS

Session Type: 
Poster
Presenter(s): 
Fedor Baart
Gerben de Boer
Gennadii Donchyts
Maarten Plieger
Wim de Haas

Numerical models, such as hydrodynamic and climate models, produce output with a large number of variables and a large number of grid cells and time steps. Further use of the resulting data products has been challenging, especially for further use outside the institute of origin. Due to the vastness of the data, simply downloading copies of data is impossible. Web services are therefore used to access subsets of the data. The most mature candidates for working with gridded data are OPeNDAP and WCS. Here we compare these two protocols to serve gridded data through the web.

In the framework of the new Dutch National Model and Data Centre (NMDC) a distributed data storage has been realized by coupling OPeNDAP servers (data cloud). A WCS service layer is provided for the same data. This allows us to compare OPeNDAP and WCS. Using several use cases, we compare the data model, terminology, features and usability, both for developers and end-users.

The data models show the different origin of the two standards. The OPeNDAP data model, called the common data model (CDM), is based on the merge of the data models from the NetCDF software, the HDF5 software and the OPeNDAP protocol. It is based around the use of multidimensional arrays. The Coverage data model uses a more abstract terminology, based on geospatial data types.

The terminology that the CDM uses is more closely related to the terminology used in numerical modelling. A grid of air pressure depending on latitude longitudes is called a DiscreteGridPointCoverage in the WCS terminology, while it is represented by the variables latitude, longitude and air_pressure with the attribute coordinates=”lon lat” and grid_mapping in the CDM model with the CF convention.

Speaker Bio: 

Researcher at TU Delft and Senior Advisor at Deltares. Specialized in the field of morphology, statistics and integrated environmental modelling.

Exploratory visual pattern detection of mobile object data in attribute-time space

Session Type: 
Poster
Presenter(s): 
Dr Tetsuo Kobayashi, University of Utah

Recent years witnessed the emergence of massive individual-based movement data due to the location-aware devices such as global positioning system (GPS), mobile phones and radio-frequency identification (RFID). These data are overwhelming the techniques of traditional spatial analytic techniques. Researchers and practitioners are turning to spatio-temporal knowledge discovery and exploratory visualization techniques to find patterns, trends and relationships hidden in the large volume mobile object datasets. This research develops a method to visualize mobile object data in both space-time and attribute-time to discover hidden knowledge about the evolution of dynamic path properties in concert with its location in space with respect to time. Respatialization techniques project mobile object trajectories from geographic space and time to a multivariate space and time defined by choosing three other dynamic attributes of the path and forming a space from the cross-product of these attributes with time. The attributes may be other spatial or geometric properties of the path, or non-spatial quantitative attributes that are dynamic. Dual visualizations of trajectories within space-time and attribute-time can provide new insights to the dynamic evolution of individual and collective spatio-temporal patterns. In addition, visual summarization of attribute-time trajectories by three-dimensional convex hulls provides intuitive and quantitative comparison of trajectories. A visualization software environment that implements these concepts with a case study application to empirical trajectory data presents the effectiveness of the exploratory visual pattern detection in mobile object data.

Speaker Bio: 

An instructor at the University of Utah. Will be an Assistant Professor at Florida State University from August, 2011.

Decision Support System for Environmental Regulation and Licensing

Session Type: 
Poster
Presenter(s): 
MSc Eduardo Antonio Speranza M.Sc., Embrapa Informática Agropecuária
Dr Silvia Maria Fonseca Silveira Massruhá Ph.D.
Silva, João dos Santos Vila
Akamine, Willlian Hiroki
Vendrusculo, Laurimar Gonçalves
Lima, Helano Póvoas

The Embrapa Agricultural Informatics, decentralized unit of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), is developing a system for environmental regulation and licensing, called SISLA - Interactive System Support for Environmental Licensing. At first, the system is being used by the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, and the peculiarities of the system to specifically meet this state are being developed in partnership with the Environment Institute of Mato Grosso do Sul (Imasul).

The SISLA was conceived with the use of free or open source tools, such as PostgreSQL and its spatial extension PostGIS, MapServer and i3Geo. Among its main features, stand out the analysis of georeferenced surrounding farms applicants for environmental licensing for projects; queries georeferenced of licensing procedures; and technical analysis of the licensing process. The first allows enterprising to check, quickly and simply by the Internet, the proximity or intersection of​ your property in relation to protected areas by the state government. The second allows managers to monitor the evolution of state licensing processes in the various municipalities that comprise the state. Finally, the third allows a visual analysis of the areas of licensing applicants for technical expertise as well as its comparison with other themes, including satellite imagery, in order to find irregularities that might impede the continuity of the process.

Speaker Bio: 

Graduate at Computer Science from São Pauo University (2003) and master's at Electric Engineering from São Paulo Univesity (2008). Systems Analist from Embrapa since 2007.

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