geoinformatics 2007 vol04

Ice Losses Now Far Surpass Ice Gains

Satellite Evidence of the Melting Gre

For the first time, NASA scientists have analyzed data from direct, detailed

satellite measurements to show that ice losses now far surpass ice gains in the

shrinking Greenland ice sheet. Will this trend continue? Today, thanks to modern

satellite technology, the quickest and easiest way for scientists to survey the polar

regions on a daily basis is from the unique vantage point of space. We compiled

texts and images from various sources – mostly NASA – to bring you a short

overview of this ‘hot’ subject.

By Joc Triglav

Fourth International Polar YearScientific research into polar regions is particu-larly relevant now that the Fourth IPY(International Polar Year) is underway(http://www.ipy.org/index.php?/ipy/ about/).March 1, 2007, marked the beginning of the IPY.The IPY actually spans two full years – fromMarch 2007 through March 2009 – and includesmore than 200 scientific research projectsinvolving more than 10,000 scientists from 63nations. The goal of the IPY is to increase inter-national cooperation in polar exploration whileadvancing scientific understanding of theseregions. One objective is to observe and mea-

sure the ways in which the polar regions affect,and are affected by, the global climate system.Naturally Greenland’s ice sheet, as the largestremaining relic of the last ice age in theNorthern Hemisphere, is the focus.

100 Billion Tons Greenland, the world’s largest island, containsthe second-largest ice sheet on Earth, with asurface extent of approximately 1.75 millionsquare kilometers and an average thickness of2.3 kilometers. The ice sheet is so massive thatit holds about seven percent of all the freshwa-ter on Earth, enough water to elevate global

sea levels by five meters if it melted complete-ly. Scientists estimate it would take several cen-turies of global warming to melt all the ice onGreenland. Although they are not forecasting asudden disastrous loss of Greenland’s ice, theydo observe considerable melting around thefringes of the sheet. This melting is only partlyoffset by the observed increase in the thicknessof the ice sheet in the island’s interior highland. A 2006 NASA study revealed that Greenland’sice mass decreased about 101 billion tons peryear from 2003 to 2005. Using a novel tech-nique that reveals regional changes in theweight of the massive ice sheet across theentire continent, scientists at NASA's GoddardSpace Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland,reported recently that Greenland's low coastalregions lost 155 billion tons (170.8 cubic kilo-meters) of ice per year between 2003 and 2005from excess melting and icebergs, while thehigh-elevation interior gained 54 billion tons(58.3 cubic kilometers) annually from excesssnowfall. In this new analysis, dramatic ice masslosses were seen to be concentrated in the low-elevation coastal regions, with nearly half theloss coming from southeast Greenland.

GRACEGravity Recovery and Climate Experiment(GRACE) is a joint partnership of NASA and theGerman Aerospace Center, Deutsches Zentrumfür Luft und Raumfahrt. Its satellites, launched in2002, are managed by the Jet PropulsionLaboratory. The pair of GRACE satellites orbit-ing in close formation detects changes in theEarth's mass directly below them by measuringchanges in the distance between the two satel-lites as the gravitational force of the mass caus-es each to speed up or slow down. The study is based on an innovative use of datafrom GRACE satellite observations that revealsdetailed information about where and when theGreenland ice mass has changed. Other recentstudies using GRACE observations have report-ed continent-wide ice mass declines, but nonehas shown these changes in enough detail forscientists to investigate the amount differentareas of the ice sheet are losing.To achieve this more detailed view of the icesheet's behavior, a technique was used thatbrings GRACE's global view of the Earth down toa more frequent, more local view. The studywas based on data collected over Greenlandevery 10 days. Scientists divided the island into

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Elephant Foot Glacier, at the geographic latitude around 81° N along the east coast of

Greenland. The grey zone at low elevation is the ablation zone incised by meltwater channels,

clearly separated from the white surface accumulation zone higher up.

(Image credit: Hans Oerter/Alfred-Wegener-Institut).

Prod_GEO_4_2007:Prod GEO66 29-05-2007 11:36 Pagina 6

separate drainage basins, based on which direc-tion the ice sheet flows from the interior towardthe coasts. They further divided the basins intohigh- and low-elevation terrain. While the twonorthernmost basins were in balance – snowaccumulation equal to melting and iceberg loss– the southeastern basins experienced a rapiddecline in ice mass, especially at low elevations.Overall, Greenland lost 20 percent more massthan it received in snowfall each year. Theseresults are consistent with overall trends in iceloss that other types of observations ofGreenland have documented, including radar-based estimates of accelerating glacier flow offthe ice sheet.Standard GRACE data products infer local masschanges from a global data set of these satel-lite measurements. The new study used onlydata from over the Greenland region. This newdetailed view of the Greenland ice sheet goesa long way toward resolving the differencesamong recent observations and what we knowabout how the ice sheet behaves. A consistentpicture from the different data sets is emerg-ing. The seasonal cycle of increased mass loss

combination of different tools, including laseraltimeters, radar, and field studies, to sort outmore clearly what is happening. All technolo-gies have different strengths and weaknesses.GRACE shows us the big picture, while othermeasurements look at a smaller scale. Scientistsneed to use them all together and they haveto pay close attention, as these ice sheets arechanging much faster than the scientists wereexpecting. Observations are the most powerfultool science has to know what is going on,especially when the changes - and what is caus-ing them - are not obvious. Continued monitor-ing is needed, the authors of the NASA studypoint out, to determine whether this ice loss isa long-term trend.

DMSP Special SensorMicrowave/Imager The DMSP (Defense Meteorological SatellitesProgram) is a US Department of Defense pro-gram run by the Air Force Space and MissileSystems Center. The DMSP designs, builds,launches, and maintains satellites that monitorthe meteorological, oceanographic, and solar-terrestrial physics environments. The DMSP-F13SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave/Imager) sensormeasures microwave radiation emitted natural-ly from the surface of the Earth. Dry snow andliquid water behave differently in the microwaveregion of the spectrum, a fact that allows scientists to distinguish melting snow from drysnow in SSM/I data.The number of days on which melting occurred

during the summer meltseason and growth dur-ing winter is captured

clearly. The new resultsalso capture moreprecisely where

changes are takingplace, showing that theloss of ice mass is occur-ring in the same threedrainage systems whereother studies havereported increasedglacier flow and ice-quakes in outlet glaciers.

Faster ChangeThis is a very largechange in a very shorttime. In the 1990s, theice sheet was growinginland and shrinking sig-nificantly at the edges,which is what climatemodels predicted as aresult of global warming.Now the processes ofmass loss are clearlybeginning to dominate

inland growth, and we are only in the earlystages of the climate warming predicted for thiscentury.While GRACE provides a new and independentway to study Earth's ice sheets, it will take a

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e enland’s Ice Cap

The changes in the ice sheet's mass were measured from space by the GravityRecovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission. GRACE is a pair of satellitesorbiting in close formation that can detect changes in the Earth's mass directly belowthem by measuring changes in the distance between the two spacecraft as the gravi-tational force of the mass causes each to speed up or slow down. GRACE twin satel-lites celebrate their fifth anniversary on orbit this year, completing a successful primary mission that's improved our knowledge of Earth's gravity field by morethan 100 times and is helping to revolutionize our understanding of Earth's climate.But GRACE's mission is far from being over. (Credit: NASA and GFZ).

Monthly changes in the mass of Greenland's ice sheet coverage observed by the GRACE satellites during 2005.Purple and dark blue areas indicate areas of largest mass loss. (Credit: NASA/JPL).


on the surface of Greenland’s ice sheet was determined by comparingSSM/I measurements taken both during the day and at night through mostof the spring and summer of 2006. Specifically, by taking the difference ofthose measurements at frequencies of 19.35 gigahertz and 37 gigahertzeach day, the SSM/I data was used to map where meltwater existed –even meltwater below the surface. Unlike existing techniques, a multi-fre-quency approach allows detection of wet snow at different depths andintensities, providing a tool for improving climatological and hydrologicalapplications. Air temperature values, recorded either by ground-based sta-tions or derived from models, were used for calibrating and validating thetechnique. Long-term results show that the extent of snowmelt has beenincreasing at a rate of approximately 40,000 square kilometers per yearfor the past 14 years.

Further reading More information on the subject can be accessed at the following web-sites which were also used as a source for the compilation of texts,images and captions in this article:

• Gravity Measurements Help Melt Ice Mysteries www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/grace20070320.html

• Greenland Ice Sheet on a Downward Slidewww.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/greenland_slide.html

• Images at NASA Earth Observatory http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ • NASA and IPY video http://ipy.nasa.gov/multimedia/ m000000/

m000000/m000015/mv/index.html • A Tour of the Cryosphere video http://learners.gsfc.nasa.gov/medi-

aviewer/Cryosphere/ • A series of GRACE videos www.csr.utexas.edu/grace/gallery/anima-

tions/ • GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ) GRACE website

www.gfz-potsdam.de/grace/ • Tedesco, M. (2007). Snowmelt detection over the Greenland ice

sheet from SSM/I brightness temperature daily variations,Geophysical Research Letters, 34, L02504, doi:10.1029/2006GL028466.

• National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC)-NOAA Satellite andInformation Service-Earth Observation Group (EOG)-DefenseMeteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) www.ngdc.noaa.gov/dmsp/

Joc Triglav ([email protected]) is a contributing editor of GeoInformatics.

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The research, based on observations made by NASA’s Gravity Recovery and ClimateExperiment (GRACE) satellites, has revealed regional changes in the weight of theGreenland ice sheet between 2003 and 2005. This image illustrates where Greenlandgained mass during the study period and where it lost mass. While the equivalent of10 to 15 centimeters of water per year accumulated over the core of the island (redand orange areas), an even larger area experienced losses (blue) of between 5 and 25centimeters per year. Losses were highest over southeastern Greenland. Low coastalregions (blue) lost three times as much ice per year from excess melting and icebergsthan the high-elevation interior (orange/red) gained from excess snowfall. (Credit:Scott Luthcke, NASA Goddard).

The image above was made using data collected by the Defense MeteorologicalSatellites Program (DMSP-F13) Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) from April 1to September 1, 2006. It shows the number of days snow was melting during that 5-month period. Darker blue shades show where there were more days of melting (up to60 days or more), and lighter blue shades show fewer melting days (down to zero).The topographic shading along the coastlines is based on data collected by NASA’sICESat satellite. (Image by Robert Simmon, NASA’s Earth Observatory, using dataand analysis courtesy Marco Tedesco, University of Maryland-Baltimore County).

One of the largest Greenland’s ice tongues belongs to Petermann glacier, which is the

most influential outlet of ice in northern Greenland. Petermann’s f loating tongue is

also the fastest f lowing, moving between 950 to 1100 meters per year.

The 70-kilometer-long Petermann ice tongue drains a portion of the ice sheet about

71,500 square kilometers in area, pouring 12 cubic kilometers of ice per year into the

Arctic Ocean. (Image credit: NASA/JPL).


Showing Underground Stations in a GIS-based Guide System

The Vienna 3D City Model

In the Vienna metropolis, 3D geo-information is required for noise protection

and city planning tasks but also for managing the underground line systems;

this geo-information should ideally be available as part of the communal GIS.

For this reason, the City of Vienna decided in 2003 to expand the existing

geo-data into a database managed 3D city model that will be regularly

updated and made available to users under ArcGIS.

By Gerald Forkert and Lionel Dorffner

The city of Vienna uses ArcSDE tomanage the elements of the digital map‘MZK’(‘Digitale MehrZweckKarte’ –‘digital multi-purpose map), the digitalterrain model, and the supply line cadas-tre. Within the city of Vienna, this 2.5Dgeo-data is mainly used by GIS ‘PowerUsers’, like city planners, noise protec-tors, water supply or fire brigade. At pre-sent, about 100 workstations areequipped with ArcGIS. The geo-information technicians of thecity of Vienna were recently looking fora 3D solution for buildings and subter-ranean structures compatible with the ex-isting system. This solution was found inthe form of the CityGRID system(www.citygrid.at), which was imple-mented at the city of Vienna from theyear 2003 in several stages. The advan-tage of this system lies in line-oriented3D modelling where the geo-data istopologically processed and saved in a3D database as a result. This principlefacilitates the continuous updating of themodelled objects.

Noise ProtectionIn the first phase of city modelling the roofscenery of the above-ground city modelwas established by completing the existinggeo-data with the help of photogrammetricaerial restitution. This task was managedby only two employees of the surveyingdepartment. This effort is rather small com-pared to the generation of the digital map‘MZK’ which tasks30 employees. Inother words: an ac-curate terrain modeland a well orga-nized digital maplike the ‘MZK’ pro-vide already 90 percent of the citymodel. In the mean-time, an almostcomplete model of500,000 buildingsrepresented by sim-plified flat roofmodels and 25,000buildings represent-

ed by detailed roof shape models is avail-able. On request, a scenery of roof shapemodels can be textured quickly by hand-held photographs.Noise protection departments are amongthe principle users of 3D city models, asthe current model of the entire city is al-ways required for simulating noise propa-gation over a wide area. Noise protectiondepartments are responsible for document-ing existing noise pollution in the form ofnoise maps and for simulating the effect ofany building and protection measures.Topography and buildings affect noisepropagation. A 3D city model is thereforeessential for calculating noise pollution in acity. For an average noise protection departmentproject, an existing 3D city model savesmore than 90 per cent of the time neededfor preparing the geometrical input for theexpert system used to calculate noise. For

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Figure 1: Left: Building represented by structure lines from the 3D database, middle: automatic surface model derivative, right: photo texture applied.

Figure 2: simulation of designed building using 3D visualisation module.


using 3D data as input to noise protectionsystems the city model must be available inthe form of a block model. A simplifiedroof can be included as a prism on top ofthe building if attributive information onthe average height of the eaves and ridgeheight is available. In addition road andgreen areas (stored in the MZK) provideinformation about areas with differentacoustical absorption.

Urban PlanningThe higher highrise-buildings are, the moreinteresting they are to investors. When de-termining the height of buildings, cityplanners try to avoid negative impact onsensitive parts of the city. The aim is to findthe optimum height for the project site atwhich the highrise will not be visible fromcritical points in the city. This optimisationis practically impossible using convention-al methods, but the 3D city model cansolve this task in just a few hours: the citymodel with correct roofs is converted into aGIS-compatible grid height model. Thismodel can then be used in GIS to carry outthe optimisation process using visibilityanalyses.Integration of subterranean structures in the3D city model started in the year 2005. Atthe moment 9 kilometres of the Viennese

pipes must cross underground railway lines.So, 3D simulation and optimization may berealized already in an early state of theplanning process. By that way planning er-rors can be avoided and constructionalmeasures are minimized. Actually, all elements of the supply line‘cadastre’ are at least available in 2D. Theunderground train system managed in thesubterranean city model is available in 3D.The city department of electronic data pro-cessing will take this occasion to improvethe supply line cadastre to 3D also.

Transport ServicesUnderground railway stations are oftencomplex structures, especially those thatare hubs. In addition to the multi-level ar-eas and stairways accessible to the public,stations also include service rooms, venti-lation structures, connecting passages andthe like. In general, all rooms have a firealarm sensor, which, in the case of a fire,reports the code of the room where the fireis located to the central office. Actually lo-cating the room on site in the station is of-ten difficult using conventional 2D plans,even in the case of a false alarm wheresmoke does not obstruct the view. 3D rep-resentations of the station offer a crucialorientation aid and help emergency work-ers reach the position reported by the alarmfaster. Therefore the possibility of showing un-derground stations in a GIS-based guidesystem along with other safety-related con-structions is not only nice to have, but is anessential component of an up-to-date emer-gency system. In this context the above-ground city model also provides valuableinformation on the station’s surroundings.

Gerald Forkert is managing director of the company

Geodata IT ([email protected]) . Lionel Dorffner is

chief of the 3D city modelling task force at the Vienna

Municipal Department 41 - Surveyors

([email protected]).

line network have been recorded to date.The subterranean models are saved inArcSDE for 2D and 3D utilization.Until the middle of 2007 the facilities ofthe 35 km of underground train will be in-corporated with the help of the existing de-sign drawings, which are mostly availablein hard copy only. 3D modelling is carriedout by the CityGRID system using digi-tized structure lines of subterranean facili-ties. Relevant elements in the interior of theunderground train facilities can also bemodelled.

Architectural Competitions Different designs submitted in the courseof an architectural competition should beevaluated using an objective basis. The 3Dcity model can provide a standard frame-work for all participants and ensure that re-sults can be compared. The city model inthe project neighbourhood should be a roofshape model, ideally with textured facades.Using 3D visualisation module, submitteddesigns can be simulated and assessed indifferent variants in an interactive 3D visu-alisation.

Supply Line Management Additional underground supply lines mustbe planned especially carefully in city cen-

tres. The count-less existingsup ply lineslimit the avail-able space, andtraffic obstruc-tions due to ex-cavation shouldbe kept to a minimum.Exact informa-tion on under-ground struc-tures saves con-siderable timeand money, es-pecially when


Art ic le

Figure 3: Left: Structure Lines defining underground buildings, middle: automatic surface model derivative, right: modelling of interior structure.

Figure 4: 3D presentation of an underground train system.


Corruption Is Everywhere.

Transparency and Land Administration

Even in an almost corruption-free country like the Netherlands (in the top ten of

the TI (Transparency International) Corruption Perceptions Index), a 2005

university survey of 341 representatives of public organizations showed they

perceive 3.2% of all civil servants and 5.2% of politicians to be corrupt.

In a survey among 1000 citizens, 0.5% reported encountering corruption in civil

servants. Although already quite embarrassing, both conclusions were

challenged in an investigation by an opinion poll bureau. The findings

of this investigation were even worse: its respondents perceived that c

ivil servants are three times and politicians are five times more

corrupt than was found in the university survey.

By Paul van der Molen and Arbind Tuladhar

What about corruption in land? As corruption is, by nature, hidden, sound sta-tistical data are not available. It is amazing,however, how much has been publishedopenly about land-related corruption practis-es. Before we report on some of these publi-cations, we will refer to some definitions ofcorruption. Although there is no universallyagreed-upon definition, UN/Habitat definescorruption as 'the misuse of office for privategain'. Some common forms of corruption are - Bribery (’abuse of discretion in favour of

a third party in exchange of benefits givenby the third party’)

- Fraud (’abuse of discretion for private gainwithout third parties’ involvement’)

- Favoritism, nepotism and clientelism(’abuse of discretion not for self-interestbut for the interest of family, clan, politi-cal party, ethnic group etc.’)

Our intuition says that all three forms of cor-ruption might occur in land issues. Briberyand fraud might easily apply, as the adminis-

tration and management of land belong tothe domain of government authority (althoughcooperation with private-sector and civil par-ties is common). Formal decisions are neces-sary to register a property, to grant a mort-gage, to impose or lift restrictions and toallocate a particular land use, which impliesdiscretionary powers of the public sector.Favouritism, nepotism and clientelism mightalso easily apply to land issues, as access toland in many situations is kinship-dependent,especially under customary law.

Land issues not free from corruptionA literature search, including internet search-es during March and April 2006, reveals thatland management and land administration arenot free from corruption. We report on caseswhich have been documented and reportedin the free press and in open publications e.g.Transparency International reports, newspa-pers and parliamentary investigations (exactreferences are available). We present high-lights only; much more information is avail-able.

EuropeIn Lithuania 34 per cent of the residentsbelieve land use planning divisions are verycorrupt institutions.

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Transparency through information.


In the 1980s an employee involved in landregistration in the Netherlands (Amsterdamoffice) was convicted of discharging mort-gages in the land book against payment byland owners/debtors. Bribes to speed upcadastral procedures in Prague’s land reg-istry prompted radical changes in the man-agement of its offices. An official in the LandRegistry in Dublin (Ireland) has been sus-pended and is facing 47 corruption chargesfor allegedly receiving money illegally over atwo-and-a-half year period for documents hesold to a Dublin-based legal agent.

Central AsiaA household study of 3000 households inBangladesh shows that 97% of householdsthat bought land had to pay bribes for landregistration, 83% had to pay bribes for landsurveys, and 40% who received land had topay bribes.The India Corruption Study states that 79%of those interacting with the LandAdministration Department in the countryagreed that there is corruption in the depart-ment. Work for which bribes were paidincluded property registration (39%), mutation(25%), land surveys (12% ) and obtainingproperty documents (4%). A household survey in Nepal concludes thatthe respondents perceive land administrationas the most corrupt sector; 6.6% of those whoused land administration services during 2002noted that they had faced corruption.Tehsilders (revenue officers) were found to bethe main actors in land administration corrup-tion, followed by land surveyors. In Pakistan 133 out of 1724 respondentsrecalled encountering corruption when con-tacting the land administration department.The main reasons for contacting the depart-ment were transfer of property (25%), buyingland (24%) and selling land (17%). Surveyorsand tehsilders (revenue officers) appeared tobe the most involved.In Uzbekistan in January 2003 the father of alarge family committed suicide after years ofconflict with the local authorities; they hadtaken the land he had cultivated for manyyears because the relatives of a prosecutorwere interested in it. In Georgia, 0.5% of all corruption pertains tothe registration of property.

East AfricaThe Kenya Bribery Index 2001 and 2002ranked the Ministry of Lands and Settlement4th and 13th. The Kenya Bribery Index 2005shows that 65.7% of the people visiting theMinistry of Lands might be asked for a bribeand 36.3% of refusals resulted in denial ofservice.

full and detailed overview of land and graftin Kenya. It talks about the ‘unbridled plun-der’ of urban, state and ministerial lands, ofsettlement schemes and trust lands, and offorest lands, national parks, game reserves,wetlands, riparian reserves and protectedareas, facilitated by the extensive complexi-ty of professionals (lawyers, surveyors, val-uers, land registrars, etc.) Even the former American embassy was con-structed on lands allocated illegally underthe track of the Southern Bypass of Nairobi. President Kikwete (Tanzania) said that hewould sack officers if it was discovered thatthey had allocated land to more than oneperson. One of the slogans in the first anti-corrup-tion campaign in Mozambique was ‘don’tpay high administration costs asked for byland officers for the registration of landproperty’. In Ghana, the struggle for land and the roleof the chiefs is related. Although accordingto customary law the chief should adminis-ter the land in the interests of the commu-nity, in approximately 65% of case studies

the chief himself is the main beneficiary ofland sales, giving rise to much local resis-tance.

East Asia The Malaysian minister of Lands, KasitahGaddam, was arrested for misusing his posi-tion of chairman of the state lands body toapprove the sales of shares it held in planta-tions, holding 25 per cent of the sales, worth$10 million, for himself.A recent survey on corruption in Vietnamshowed that land management tops the listof ten fields accused of corruption. There area multitude of land corruption crimes commit-ted, but the three most popular are (1) takingadvantage of state projects to appropriateland, share land, especially in forestation, res-idential areas and resettlement programs, (2)making corrupt use of power to confer land,for example leasing land plots of large areas,favourable positions, low prices, quickly com-pleting related formalities and seeking profitthrough the conferring of land, especially forinvestment purposes, and (3) authoritarianbehavior, asking for presents and moneywhile performing formalities related to land,such as land allocation, land lease, land rightstransfer, land use certificate granting, landcompensation and site clearance.A special UN rapporteur on housing rights vis-iting Cambodia reported concerns about sig-nificant land grabbing which appears to beexacerbating land disputes and skewed landownership patterns to the disadvantage ofboth the rural and urban poor. The land man-

The Kenyan Minister of Lands and Settlementssays that since independence, land has beenused as a payback system for political sup-porters, though limited to certain groups ofpeople. He also observes that the state haslarge chunks of land for development andresearch that were irregularly subdivided andsold. The coordinator of the Kenya LandAlliance reports that all land registries, landboards, the land rent collecting offices andthe central registry in Nairobi are very prone tocorruption. Equally prone to corruption are theoffices of the provincial administrationbecause they are in charge of the executiveadministration of land within their adminis-trative areas. Others include the survey officesand the land tribunal offices, right from thechief district officer to heads of municipali-ties. All services offered in these offices arehighly prone to corruption, he said. The man-agement of trust lands, land which is underthe county council for the purpose of nomadiclifestyle and where some leaders havegrabbed lands on the river banks, is alsoprone to corruption, he added. The Ndungu Report (December 2004) gives a


Art ic le

Cadastral boundary survey.

A household study of 3000

households in Bangladesh shows

that 97 per cent of households

that bought land had to pay

bribes for land registration.


agement system in place has been unable toaddress this situation as a combined result of(1) the absence of land records, (2) an under-developed and non-transparent land registra-tion system, (3) the absence of cadastral indexmaps, (4) inadequate land laws and proce-dures, (5) unclear delineation of state land and(6) the weakness of the justice system. China’s Ministry of Lands and Resourcesannounced new measures to crack down oncorruption and inefficiency in the land sector.The new rules forbid officials to receive per-sonal benefits from parties under their admin-istration. It is estimated that in 2003 the coun-try faced 168,000 violations of its Land Law.Complaints about corruption in the land andmining sector have increased in recent years,mainly focused on the illegal approval of usingfarmland for construction and the rights tomine mineral resources at a very low price oreven free of charge. The Chinese prime minis-ter, Wen Jiabao, has warned that the rampantseizure of farmland for development amid arising wave of violent protests is threateningsocial stability in the countryside. There are more than 230 demonstrations every day.Hopefully, the new Property Law as endorsed

by the National People’s Congress on March16 is a step forward.

AustraliaCorruption was reported in a Local AboriginalLand Council in Australia, registering falsetransfers of land in the Land Titles Office.

Southern AfricaThe Directorate on Corruption and EconomicCrime in Botswana is investigating 73 casesof land corruption. The head of the Directoratereported that in the last ten years theDirectorate received 238 allegations relatingto lands that were allocated illegally.

Suggestions for Curbing Land CorruptionTransparency is widely recognized as a coreprinciple of good governance: transparencymeans ‘sharing information and acting in anopen manner’; ‘it allows stakeholders to gath-er information that may be critical to uncover-ing abuses…’ says UN/Habitat (2004). Thetoolkit developed by UN/Habitat andTransparency International includes assessmentand monitoring tools, improved access to infor-

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Open access.


mation and public participation, promotion ofethics, professionalism and integrity, andincreased transparency through institutionalreforms.Although there are many public documentssuggesting various measures to curb corrup-tion, we mention here, as an example, onlythose relating to Cambodia, Kenya, and India. The UN expert on housing rights, visitingCambodia, recommends (inter alia) (1) preparea land use plan that clearly identifies the dif-ferent types of state land and the respectiveauthorities in charge of its management, (2)strengthen public participation, (3) strengthenthe monitoring of illegal land sales, (4)announce a moratorium on land ‘swaps’ andland concessions, (5) declare a moratorium onland sales affecting indigenous people, (6)ensure accountability by disclosing a list of allillegal land ‘swaps’ that have or are beingnegotiated by local authorities, and (7) effec-tively enforce the 2001 Land Law. The NdunguReport in Kenya recommends (1) an inventoryof public lands, (2) computerization of landrecords, (3) a comprehensive land policy, (4)the creation of a Land Title Tribunal chargedwith reviewing each and every case of sus-pected illegal or irregular allocation of land,

tor as follows:• Creation of an inventory of existing land

tenure (‘cadastre’) – no ownership is possible without being

recorded, to prevent land grabbing

• Open access to information about theownership, value and use of land

– open for public inspection, to monitor illegal land sales

– limited personal privacy protection, to prevent the concealment of illegalinterests

• Standardized procedures for the determi-nation, recording and dissemination ofinformation

– no change in inventory without sourcedocument that justifies the change (title application, deed, or other document), toprevent illegal land transactions

– limited discretionary abilities, to preventconcentration of powers

• Supervision and the possibility of appeal– independent audits, to monitor illegal

operations– working with witnesses, to combat bribery– special Land Tribunals to avoid clogging

up regular courts

• Computerization– essential for dealing with large amounts

of data– gives people direct access to services– better monitoring of progress and

processes

EpilogueLand administration systems find their ratio-nale in the difference between movable andimmovable goods. In many legal frameworks,possession of a movable thing suggests own-ership different from possession of an immov-able thing. To identify the ownership of animmovable thing and related land transac-tions, a land register is needed, as well as forsituations of legal pluriformity. The veryessence of land administration systems there-fore is – transparency.

Paul van der Molen ([email protected])

is a professor at the International Institute for

Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC)

in Enschede, the Netherlands. Arbind Tuladhar

([email protected]) is assistant professor at the

department Urban and Regional Planning and

Geo-Information at ITC.

and (5) embarking upon a process of revoca-tion and rectification of such titles.Computerization of land records under the‘Bhoomi’ project in Karnataka, India, increasesefficiency, shortens delay and curbs corruption.

Can Land Administration SystemsHelp?We believe land administration systems canhelp to curb corruption. The proposals of TIand the UN are very suitable for the land sec-tor as possession of land is visible to anyone,land cannot be hidden, and making an inven-tory of land tenure (a 'cadastre') contributesgreatly to openness, transparency and theavailability of information. (The fundamentalmeaning of the 'old' principles of land regis-ters and cadastres, 'publicity' and 'specialty',has always been the provision of transparencyin the land market….).

Based on real life experiences (e.g. theBhoomi project in India), a new approach inGeorgia, the Land Administration Guidelinesof the UN (1996), and the Transparency Toolkitof UN/Habitat (2004), we categorize potentialmeasures against corruption in the land sec-


Art ic le

Cadastral map.

Transparency through property titles.

Transparency through computerization.


Part 1: Standardization of Geo-information

Standards in Practice

The European directive known as Inspire came into force on May 15, 2007.

Its purpose is to achieve an ‘infrastructure for geographic information

in Europe’. Once implemented in national legislation, this ambitious

undertaking will have a considerable impact on the information

management of government organizations.

By: Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk

Various countries have been workingtowards a national geo-information infrastruc-ture for some years. An important aspect ofcreating a national geo-information infrastruc-ture is the adoption of various agreementsbetween suppliers and users of geographicinformation. The terms of these agreementsconcern the organization, but (technical) stan-

dards also play a large role.This series of articles will discuss certain geo-information-related standards: what the stan-dard describes, what it is for, and its impacton everyday processes. This article serves asan introduction and will discuss the varioustypes of standards in the development ofinternational standards.

StandardsOne way to differentiate between standardsis based on the area of application. Whenconsidering information infrastructure we candistinguish between three important types ofstandards:• Technical standards• Semantic standards• Guidelines and directives

Technical StandardsThese standards focus on the technical aspectsof data exchange and storage. They specify howan exchange format such as GML should bedefined or how services between two systemsare to be built. This type of standard is usuallydefined on an (inter)national level by an orga-nization such as the ISO (InternationalOrganization for Standardization) and the CEN(European Committee for Standardization), butInspire is also involved in the development ofthis type of standard.

Semantic StandardsThis type of standard describes the meaning ofthe information or a part thereof. They are notconcerned with the “how” of the exchange butmore with the “what”. Semantic standards areusually developed by a certain sector or domainand are only valid within that domain. Semanticstandards that cross domains are usually frame-work standards developed on an (inter)nation-al level.

Guidelines and DirectivesA guideline or directive is usually a set of agree-ments on how to define certain processes, forexample a guideline on how to perform certainmeasurements. If such a guideline becomesnormative for an entire industry it is usuallystandardized on an (inter)national level.Otherwise, the guideline is more of a ‘best prac-tice’.

Open or ClosedApart from the area of application, we can dis-tinguish standards by the method used todefine them. On that basis there are open andclosed standards. An open standard shouldconform to the following [EuropeanInteroperability Framework]:1. The standard is adopted and will be main-

tained by a not-for-profit organization, andits ongoing development occurs on the basis

June 200716

Art ic le

Standardization trajectory within the CEN(source: www.cen.eu).


of an open decision-making procedure avail-able to all interested parties (consensus,majority decision etc.).

2. The standard has been published and thestandard specification document is availableeither freely or at a nominal charge. It mustbe permissible to all to copy, distribute anduse it for no fee or at a nominal fee.

3. Intellectual property - i.e. patents possiblypresent - of (parts of) the standard is irrevo-cably made available on a royalty-free basis.

4. There are no constraints on the re-use of thestandard.

Based on this definition, standards developedand/or maintained by a company are usuallyclosed since they are not maintained by a non-profit organization.

(Inter)national StandardizationOrganisationsConsidering geographic-oriented standards, themost important international standardizationorganizations are:• OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium), a con-

sortium between various large software ven-dors and users

• ISO (International Organization forStandardization)

• CEN (European Committee forStandardization).

Many geographic-oriented standards weredeveloped primarily by the OGC and from there,through the ISO, were adopted as internationalstandards. Such a standard can then be adopt-ed by the CEN or national standardization bod-ies. But a standard can also be developed bya national standardization body and from there,through either CEN or ISO, be adopted as aEuropean or international standard.

Sector Specific StandardsApart from (inter)national organizations, thereare a number of organizations that operatewithin a certain domain, usually within a certain country. Within the Netherlands, forexample, the IDsW (InformationDesk standardsWater) is responsible for maintaining and developing information standards relating towater management. These standards are usually classified as semantic standards andguide lines/directives.

Standardization ProcessOne of the major differences between an open

and a closed standardlies in decision making.With an open standardeverybody should beallowed to take part inthe standardizationprocess. This leads toa process that is fairly

The first category of data, including orthoim-agery, needs to be made available via Inspirein 2010.

Standardization and InspireInspire not only defines which informationshould be made available, but also the methodby which it should be made available, or whichstandards should be used. For this purposeInspire operates independently from CENalthough they cooperate closely. Inspire hasthree important drafting teams writing the so-called implementing rules:• Metadata• Data specifications harmonization• Network specifications.

At the moment the draft implementing rules forMetadata have been published. These draftimplementing rules are directly based on ISO standard 19115. It is expected that the definitive implementing rules will be published later this year.The data specifications harmonization team isconcerned with semantic standardization,whereas the network specifications team isdefining the implementing rules for the technicalstandardization of the infrastructure.

Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk

([email protected]) is a contributing

editor of GeoInformatics and project manager infor-

mation standards at IDsW as well as a freelance

writer and trainer. For more information:

Inspire: www.ec-gis.org; ISO: www.isotc211.org;

OCG: www.opengeospatial.org; CEN: www.cen.eu.

complicated and takes severalyears to complete. Within theISO the following steps are dis-tinguished in the process:1. Proposal2. Preparation3. Commission4. Enquiry5. Approval6. Publication.

During development of thestandard a relatively smallnumber of specialists form aworking group under the guid-ance of a so-called technicalcommission (TC – ISO: TC211;CEN: TC287). Draft standardsdeveloped by the workinggroup are checked by the tech-nical commission and, duringthe final stages of the develop-ment, also with the nationalstandardization bodies.During enquiry the draft stan-dard is publicized for comment.Based upon the nature of the comments thedraft standard is either changed according tothe comments and then re-sent for additionalcomment, or is considered not viable as aninternational standard. It can then be publicizedas a guideline if deemed important enough.The resulting ISO standard is not mandatory orput into law, but those wishing to do businesson a worldwide basis would be foolish not toadopt it since it provides easier access to newmarkets. Whenever an ISO standard is adoptedby CEN, however, or the CEN develops a spe-cific standard, the situation changes. Europeannational standardization bodies must adopt aCEN standard and must also de-activate all con-flicting national standards. Since national stan-dards are usually referred to in legislation, thiscan have a serious impact on the industry ofthat country if a conflicting standard was inoperation before the publication of the CENstandard.

Inspire Inspire is concerned with the exchange of envi-ronmentally-related geographic informationfrom European governments. The idea is to create a central European InformationInfrastructure wherein national geo-informationsources are coupled to each other within a central infrastructure. It is therefore only concerned with the environmental informationbeing exchanged between levels of governmentand not with the information used within anorganization for its own purposes.Inspire defines which information should bemade available, and against which restrictions.


Art ic le

Differences between the national vertical datums (height reference) withinsignify the need for standardization (source: www.ec-gis.org).

Inspire logo (source: www.ec-gis.org).


HP Graphic Arts Summit in Rome

Saving Ink and Time

With great pride, HP presented its new printers to the international press in

Rome on May 10 and 11. HP uses new technologies to improve its printers and to

save both ink and time, technologies such as DreamColor, the Optical Media

Advance Sensor and Vivera inks.

By Job van Haaften

RomeThe day we arrived, May 9, was Europe Daywhich celebrates the signing of the Treaty ofRome 50 years ago. This treaty established theEuropean Coal and Steel Community, the pre-decessor of the European Union. It was a veryspecial day for GeoInformatics to land inRome, the city where the EU was founded, thecity that was the center of the Roman Empire,and the city that contains the home of thePope, who at that moment was visiting Brazil.

Great opportunityHP put on quite a show. Steve Nigro flew overfrom the USA to welcome the press to the sum-mit. Nigro is Senior Vice President and GeneralManager of Imaging and Printing TechnologyPlatforms, part of HP’s Imaging and PrintingGroup. The audience-the journalists-came fromall over the world including Canada, the USA,Poland, Russia, England, Germany and Israel.Nigro described the summit as “a great oppor-tunity for our customers, a great opportunityfor us.” The challenge for HP, he said, is “to fitour products to various markets, tailored andcustomized solutions for every aspect of thegraphic design industry.”HP presented three printer series of particularinterest to GIS professionals, the HP DesignjetZ6100, the HP T610 and HP T1100—with newtechnologies like HP Optical Media AdvanceSensor (OMAS), Vivera inks and DreamColor.(DreamColor is applicable to the Z6100 but notthe T-series).

Optical Media Advance SensorThe Optical Media Advance Sensor (OMAS) is abuilt-in sensor that follows the advance of themedium in the printer by scanning and com-paring during the printing process. Using thesame technology as in a wireless mouse, itdiagnoses and reports every change in direc-tion or location. Every anomaly in speed ordirection is reported and adjusted so the cor-rect amount of ink gets to the right spot. Ithelps overcome banding issues while allowingthe printer to print at higher speeds.The Vivera inks include matte black, photo blackand grey. These inks produce strong blacks andneutral greys for the background or metallic sur-faces, and strong, clear, accurate colors. DavidM. Ancona, Chief Designer at Volvo in Barcelona,said “we need more good neutral and silver col-ors, and that is what we get.” Another advan-

June 200718

Conferences & meet ings

Steve Nigro f lew over from the USA to welcome the press to the summit.


tage of using more inks is that less ink is need-ed to blend a color, which ultimately saves onink. This means the medium dries more quick-ly and it ripples less than when larger quanti-ties of ink are used. The inks also haveimproved durability, water-resistance andsmudge-resistance, and a better resistance tofading. HP guarantees that prints on interiordisplay and away from direct sunlight, will resistfading for more than 200 years on a wide rangeof photo papers and coated media. Water-resis-tance and smudge-resistance is up to ISO stan-dards.The DreamColor technology consists of anembedded spectrophotometer to ensure con-sistent colors on various media. The printed col-ors accurately match the colors on the displayeven on different printers. The spectrophotome-ter provides feedback on the color workflow.The same design on different media should

of 0.067 millimeters vertically and 0.045 mil-limeters horizontally on HP Matte Film. Thisprinter series can handle media up to 610 mil-limeters or 1118 millimeters in width.

HP Designjet Z6100The most productive large format printer in itsclass is the HP Designjet Z6100. It is suited toteams of GIS professionals that produce morethan 20 prints a day. Speed is always an impor-tant issue when purchasing a new printer, withlabor costs rising and companies expectinggreater personal productivity. The Z6100 pro-duces output up to 92 square meters per houron plain paper. That is four times the produc-tivity of the HP Designjet 5000. On coated paperit produces up to 66.9 square meters and onglossy paper up to 23.4 meters per hour.The Z6100 uses eight Vivera inks, two more(light-cyan and light-magenta) than the T-series.Applying eight inks reduces the quantity of inkused. In addition to DreamColor, the printer isequipped with Double Swath technology: theZ6100 has twice as many nozzles as the HPDesignjet Z2100. The Z6100 uses four pairs ofHP 91 printheads. The maximum resolution onglossy paper is 2400 x 1200 dpi. The mediacan, respectively, be 1067 millimeters or 1524millimeters wide, depending on which printeris chosen.

Translation and compressionThe embedded HP-GL/2 language compressesthe files without losing details or information.A 206 megabyte tiff file is compressed by HP-GL/2 to 6 megabytes which speeds up the print-ing process and reduces hardware and memo-ry use. For the development of this language,HP cooperated with Autodesk, Bentley Systems,ESRI and Dassault.The included drivers support Windows,AutoCADR14, AutoCAD 2000 and higher andCitrix MetaFrame environments. The ps versionof the printers supports all PDF files andPostScript files directly.

Job van Haaften ([email protected]) is

editor of GeoInformatics. For more information on the

subject you can visit www.hp.com.

have the same intensity of color. Ancona: “Wepay great attention to choosing colors andshades for our designs, so we don’t want tospend even more time on correcting the colors.”

HP Designjet T610 and T1100The T610 has been designed especially for GISprofessionals working from home and in small-er studios, producing fewer than ten prints aday. For teams of GIS professionals that produceten to twenty prints a day, HP developed theT1100. It prints one A1 page per minute, whichmakes it three times faster than its predeces-sor, the HP Designjet 800, both in normal mode.The line accuracy is improved at 0.1 per cent;it was 0.2 per cent in the 800 and 1000 seriesintroduced about seven years ago. This allowspresentations with better readability. Theseprinters allow lines with a minimum line width



The HP Designjet Z6100 is four times faster than its predecessor, HP Designjet 5000.

HP Designjet T1100 line accuracy is improved at 0.1 per cent.

The six Vivera inks in the T-series, including matteblack, photo black and grey.


Crop and Yield Monitoring Activities

MARS Stat Action of the European

For implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy, the European

Commission needs timely information on the agricultural production expected

in the current season. This is the main concern of the MARS (Monitoring

Agriculture with Remote Sensing) Stat Sector of the Agriculture and Fisheries

Unit, part of the Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen of the

Joint Research Centre (DG-JRC EC).

By Giampiero Genovese, Bettina Baruth, Antoine Royer, Armin Burger

The need of DG Agriculture for earlyEuropean figures on harvests led to the devel-opment of the MARS Stat activities. A cropyield forecasting system was put in place tosupply early information to DG Agriculture onthe development and growth conditions ofcrops during the campaign. After several yearsof research in co-operation with MemberStates and a pre-operational phase, the MARSStat action is now operational, running whatis called the MCYFS (MARS Crop YieldForecasting System) in accordance with aEuropean Parliament and Council decision(see framed text). Besides this main activity,research is done on crop area estimates, andongoing surveys are also supported, e.g.LUCAS.

MARS Crop Yield Forecasting SystemThe core of the MARS Crop Yield ForecastingSystem (MCYFS) is a geospatialized agro-

meteorological crop growth model (CGMS)monitoring crop behaviour by means ofdecadal crop growth indicators. The crops cov-ered are: wheat, spring barley, grain maize,rape seed, sunflowers, potatoes, sugar beets,field beans, rice and pasture. This system canbe considered as having three levels: 1. Management of a meteorological database

(level 1 – weather monitoring); 2. Management of an agro-meteorological

model and DB (level 2 – crop simulation); 3. Statistical analyses of data produced and

crop yield forecasting at the European level(level 3 – yield forecasting).

It is rounded off by the management of low-resolution satellite information supporting theCGMS at each level. Results are published ina bulletin containing analysis, forecasts andthematic maps on crop yield expectations.This is done approximately monthly, in paperand on a public access internet site

(http://agrifish.jrc.it/marsstat/Bulletins/2006.htm). The following sections briefly describe thesystem components.

Weather MonitoringBased on daily meteorological data comingfrom more than 2000 EU-25 stations, weath-er phenomena are monitored throughout theseason. The data, processed daily and quali-ty checked, is interpolated to a 50 kilometerby 50 kilometer grid. The derived grid weath-er comprises 10 agro-meteorological parame-ters like temperature, rainfall, snow cover,radiation etc. The grid weather is used forcrop yield evaluations in two ways. In the firstit serves as input for the crop growth model,and in the second as weather indicators fordirect evaluation of alarming situations suchas drought or extreme rainfall during sowing,flowering, harvest etc. (see Figure 1).

Crop SimulationThe agro-meteorological model uses thedaily interpolated grid weather to simulatebiomass accumulation and crop develop-ment showing the effect of recent weatheron crop growth. Crop growth is simulated bythe point model WOFOST (version 6.0) on aregional basis by means of geospatializedinput data like soil parameters, weatherinformation and crop parameters. The workis divided into three operational activitiesregional crop simulation; spatial aggrega-tion; and production of crop indicator maps.Besides regional monitoring of crop condi-tions, this component of MCYFS issues warn-ings in the case of abnormal conditions. Theoutcome of the crop monitoring portion isalso one of the inputs for yield prediction.

June 200720

Art ic le

On May 22, 2000 the European Parliamentand Council adopted Decision no.1445/2000/EC on the application of aerialsurvey and remote sensing techniques tothe agricultural statistics for 1999-2003. Theperiod of coverage was later extended to2004-2007 (Ref. PE/CONS 3661/1/03 OJ L309 of November 26, 2003). The currentlegal basis for research activities related tothe system is in the JRC multi-annual work-ing program (FP6 2003-2006 action 1121MARS Stat).

Flowchart of crop simulation.


Crop Yield Forecasting at theEuropean LevelThe main role of the third level of the MCYFSis to provide yield statistics for major cropsat the EU and national levels, in as accurateand timely a fashion as possible, while ensur-ing independence from all external sources ofestimates including national statistical sys-tems. To achieve this, different statistical toolsare used. At the end of the process differentpossible forecasts are available, often ‘statis-tically’ acceptable. The ‘most performingresult’ is then individuated and selectedaccording to statistical tests. Results at thenational level are published in our bulletinsapproximately monthly throughout the sea-son.

Low-Resolution Satellite InformationRemote sensing data is used as an indepen-dent source of information to confirm cropgrowth indicators and forecasts with the helpof vegetation state indicators and weatherindicators. As well, an integrative approachwill be followed by direct ingestion of derivedparameters into the Crop Growth MonitoringSystem. Derived phenology or crop phasingparameters in level two and quantitative cropcycle parameters in level three are also underdevelopment.As real-time crop monitoring is performed

of the two similar sensors increases thechances of permanent data availability. Mainlyvegetation state parameters are derived fromthese two sensors, like NDVI, VCI, VPI, SAVIand fAPAR. They are currently the main remotesensing information used in the context of theMCYFS. They allow interpretation of vegeta-tion conditions, biomass development etc. Atpresent the data is used as an independentsource of information to check convergenceof results. These products are widely used byour analysts, as they allow vegetation condi-tions to be evaluated in an historical context.This low-resolution data with 1 kilometer pixelsize is completed by MODIS data at 250 meterspatial resolution. As well, MSG – SEVIRI datawith 5 kilometer spatial resolution is used.The derived meteorological products are distributed by the LSA SAF (Land SurfaceAnalysis Satellite Applications Facility[http://landsaf.meteo.pt/]) and adapted toMCYFS requirements throughout an operational processing chain. They supportweather monitoring and crop simulation.

Data Access and DistributionIn order to allow our users to access informa-tion, two main tools have been put in place:the MARS-OP website showing a comprehen-sive picture of the agricultural campaign; andall the information derived from the MCYFS andthe MARS Stat ImageServer giving access to thefull-resolution vegetation state parametersderived from low-resolution satellite imagery.

MARS-OP WebsiteThe MARS-OP website offers a wide variety of information about the current agriculturalseason in Europe and other important agricul-tural areas of the world. Available productsinclude maps of weather indicators based onobservations and numerical weather models,maps and time profiles of crop indicators basedon agro-meteorological models, and maps ofvegetation indices and cumulated dry matterbased on remote sensing images. The extranetsite can be freely accessed under www.marsop.info/ upon login request throughthe web site.

MARS Stat ImageServerThe MARS Stat ImageServer is a Web mappingapplication that allows searching for vegeta-tion state parameters using various search fil-

throughout the season, there is high demandfor the timely availability of remote sensingdata products. Operational chains are put inplace to regularly produce 10-daily andmonthly vegetation state parameters coveringEU-25 and neighboring countries. All data ismosaiced to a pan- European extent and com-piled with the same spatial extent and pro-jection. A variety of different sensors is used to sup-port the MCYFS, starting with data from 1987:a time series with almost 20 years ofNOAA–AVHRR (Advanced Very High ResolutionRadiometer) which is the cornerstone of theremote sensing database with pan-Europeancoverage. In addition, spot vegetation data isavailable from 1998 on. The apparent overlap


Art ic le

n Commission

Flowchart of crop simulation.

MARS Stat ImageServer.


ters like sensor, product and time period (see Figure 3). The identified datasets can bepreviewed interactively by zooming and panning to the area of interest. Additional thematic map layers, like country borders,NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units forStatistics) regions or municipalities, allow bet-ter navigation on the map. The selecteddatasets can be downloaded in full resolution,either as the full dataset or clipped to an areaof interest. Administrators can predefinereusable user-specific areas of interest thatmake it easy for users to clip the downloadeddatasets to the same area every time. In addi-tion, users can define the area interactively orinsert the bounding coordinates manually.Image formats provided for download areGeoTIFF and ERDAS Imagine (HFA). As well, theinteractive map with the selected image prod-uct and geographic extent can be printed outas HTML or downloaded as a PDF file.The Image Server is based on the OpenSourceWeb mapping framework of UMN MapServer(http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu) and uses thePHP MapScript interface of MapServer. Theadvantage of UMN MapServer is its flexibilityand extendibility for working with various kindsof data sources and integration into an exist-

ing application framework. The built-in supportof a large number of raster formats permitsdirect access to image products in their nativestorage format ENVI Labeled Raster without theneed for pre-processing or conversion.The processed images are uploaded by thecontractor into a pre-defined directory struc-ture. An automated task scheduler checks fornew data and references them with theirrequired metadata in a PostgreSQL database.Directly afterwards the images are available forvisualization and download: users select theproduct parameters and the time frame theyare interested in; a request is sent to the meta-database; and the identified image data isoffered as dynamic layers in the Image Serverapplication.Visualization including printing and PDF cre-ation is available to everybody. Downloadingimagery data requires registration. Upon regis-tering in the database, users are permitted acertain download quota.

OutlookThe MARS Stat activities will continue underthe 7th Framework Programme of the EU andexpansion of crop yield forecasts to addition-al countries is envisaged. The MCYFS itself

will be enhanced in terms of spatial resolu-tion, and direct ingestion of remote sensingdata into the model is foreseen. Moreover, cli-mate-change scenarios will be developed andimplemented into the MCYFS to study theimpact on crop production systems at the EUlevel.

Giampiero Genovese, Bettina Baruth, Antoine Royer

and Armin Burger ([email protected]) work at the

Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and

Security of the Citizen, Agrifish-Unit, TP 268, 21027

Ispra (Va), Italy. More information can be found at

http://agrifish.jrc.it/marsstat/,

http://imageportal.jrc.it, www.marsop.info.

ReferencesGenovese, G. (2004) (editor): Methodology of the MARS

Crop Yield Forecasting System. Vol. 1 to Vol. 4,

EUR-report 21291 EN

Baruth, B., Royer, A., Genovese, G., Klisch, A. (2006):

The use of Remote Sensing within the MARS Crop

Yield Monitoring System of the European

Commission. In ISPRS Archives Vol. XXXVI, Part 8,

‘Remote Sensing Applications for a Sustainable

Future’ (in print).

June 200722

Art ic le


History of Positioning

From Sextant to Satellite

Nowadays general access to positioning systems such as GPS seems a natural thing. The turbulent developments of the

last decade appear almost an anti-climax when we consider the history of positioning.


Until well into the Middle Ages, positioning as we know it today wasvirtually non-existent. Of course ships needed to know where they were,but they usually trusted their eyes and landmarks along the coast.During the Middle Ages, the predecessor to our modern compass obtainedits place in the history of navigation. And although the compass is todaya trusted navigation and positioning instrument, in those days it was pri-marily used for navigation.By determining how long (far) a certain course was sailed, an approxi-mated position was obtained, a technique called dead reckoning. Thismethod is excellent for navigating over short distances between knownpositions that, for example, can be obtained from landmarks.

Determining LatitudeWhen making longer voyages over open water, dead reckoning does notprovide positions that are accurate enough. Under these circumstances atrue position in latitude and longitude is needed.For determining the latitude of a position, the star Polaris (or the sun)can be used in the Northern hemisphere. For example, the angle betweenthe horizon and Polaris is nowadays almost equal to the geographic lati-tude.For the determination of that angle, specialized instruments such as theastrolabe, quadrant and octant were developed from the Middle Agesonwards. These provided latitude with a precision of some tens of kilo-meters on open water, which was accurate enough for those days.Those instruments have, of course, evolved into the modern sextant. Thebasic principle, however, has remained the same over more than 500years.

Determining LongitudeThe determination of longitude is somewhat more complex. The theoryis simple enough and uses the rotation of the sun around the earth. Sincea complete revolution takes 24 hours, the sun covers 15 degrees of lon-gitude for every hour. If we measure the time difference between twolocations on earth, we can also determine the difference in longitude.For centuries man sought a method for accurately determining this timedifference. To speed up the process, the English offered a prize to thefirst person who could solve this problem. For a long time the moneywas bet on astronomic and magnetic methods.The solution was finally found in a series of exceptionally accurate clocksor chronometers developed by the Englishman, John Harrison, between1728 and 1761. His clocks were found to have a deviation of less than afew seconds during a crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. It took years, how-ever, before John Harrison, who had no formal education, was awardedthe prize; this despite the fact that his clocks were found to work aspromised.The use of chronometers was enhanced over the following centuries as

June 200724

Art ic le

Octant equipped with

artificial horizon for use

on land (source:

www.photolib.noaa.gov).


well with, amongst other developments, theintroduction of radio time synchronization sig-nals. The basic methods for position determi-nation on the oceans remained the same,however, until the introduction of inexpensiveGPS receivers around the mid 1990s.

Radio Acoustic PositioningAlthough radio communication was intro-duced in the 19th century, it was only usedin positioning as a time reference. The speedof the signals was so fast that no measure-ment technique could be developed that was

1990s,Loran is still activeand is currently selected by the United Statesas a backup to satellite navigation systems.

Satellite NavigationIn 1964 the American Transit global naviga-tion satellite system became operational,offering a precision of around 400 meters. Thegreatest disadvantage of the system was therelatively low update rate and precision com-pared to other terrestrial electronic positioningsystems. As a result, the American governmentstarted developing the successor to Transit,the Navigation by Satellite Timing andRanging (NAVSTAR) system. The system waslater rechristened Global Positioning System(GPS), and we all know the GPS success story.In Russia a similar system, Glonass, becameoperational in the 1990s. It seems that nowa-days every self-respecting country needs tohave at least one satellite navigation system.



editor of GeoInformatics and project manager

information standards at IDsW as well as a freelance

writer and trainer.

accurate enough. In the United States a sys-tem of radio acoustic positioning wasdeveloped as an alternative duringthe 1920s. This method includedthe under water detonation ofa bomb near the vessel tobe positioned. The soundwave thus producedwas received by a list-ing station and fromthere broadcastedback to the shipby radio. The two-way travel timewas used todetermine thedistancebetween shipand station.Ships on hydro-graphic surveyswere positionedthis way whenaway from land. In itsmodern form, thetechnique is still used inthe offshore industry forpositioning underwaterrobots and pipelines using thelong baseline acoustic positioningmethod.

Electronic Positioning SystemsThe current positioningsystems originated inthe development ofradar during the SecondWorld War. At first thetechnique was primarilyused for finding enemyaircraft, but later wasadapted for precisionbombardments andpositioning as well.After the war, duringthe 1950s and 60s, thetechnique was furtherdeveloped, resulting inthe creation of a largenumber of electronicpositioning systems.Probably the mostfamous were Decca andLoran, although bothwere used primarily fornavigation. The preci-sion of electronic posi-tioning systems variedfrom a few meters tohundreds of meters.Although most systemswere phased out in the


Copy of Harrison’s chronometer H4 used by JamesCook (source: www.portcities.org.uk).

The Tellurometer was one of the first electronic positioning systems used in land survey (source: www.photolib.noaa.gov).

Art ic le


Means to Command Resources and Influence Ground Actions M o

The Natural Absorption of Airborne G e

A curious trait found within most moments of progress is that any technological

advancement saves work and yet, at the same time, creates more work.

Airborne surveying is no exception. Pessimists reading this should not assume

that more work is a bad thing and proof of a failed idea. On the contrary,

it illustrates that airborne surveillance work, much like nature, abhors a

vacuum. With developments in processing speed and simplicity come reduced

costs, new applications, and rising demand for airborne-derived data

resources – in short, the opportunity for more work.

By Anthony Melihen

Best Use of Available ServicesMore important for its intended purpose, thebird’s-eye perspective has provided a meansto command resources and influence groundactions more effectively, making the best useof available services and limited numbers ofpeople. If one is fortunate enough to investin airborne earth observation surveillance, thereturns are almost immeasurable, and if sucha level of visualization is indeed the only pos-sible option for managing a large-scale geo-graphic challenge, the investment price willquickly disappear.Only a decade ago, when commercial sub-meter satellites were being launched, it wasfeared that much of the airborne surveyingmarket would quickly dry up. This might wellhave been the case had it not been for the

development of new technologies and newapproaches. The moment for progress wasideal, with several key factors arriving at theperfect time. The combination of the digitalrevolution, the removal of GPS restrictions,and the development of modern INS (inertialnavigation systems) for direct georeferencingsuddenly made aerial survey operations prac-tical and profitable again. It also made theoverflowing amounts of data produced moreaffordable, and their application in many newpurposes more sensible.

Reaping the Rewards of TechnologyAny organization that recognized the initialinvestment opportunity could potentially reapthe rewards of technology and would finditself well positioned at the threshold of a new

and burgeoning spatial market. Aerial cam-eras like the Applanix DSS (Digital SensorSystem), featuring precision GPS-supportedinertial measurement technology, made thedirect georeferencing of every captured imagepixel a far faster and more accurate feat ofprocessing. These strengths added to theinherent advantages of airborne platformsplus the time/cost/risk savings of no longerneeding people on the ground collectingground control points for image correction.Suddenly, not only could aerial surveyingcompete very well with satellites, it was obvi-ous that airborne earth observation assetscould operate with near impunity within wholenew market segments.

The Demand for DataOne application to emerge from this plot twistcomes from the rising demand for data dur-ing or immediately following a sizable disas-ter. Calls for high-priority site and situationinformation in the wake of a forest fire, flood,tornado, or hurricane now come not only fromemergency response leaders and politiciansbut insurance agencies and public engineersalike. Airborne rapid ortho solutions are closeto producing data products on demand inmarkets that satellite data can generally onlysupport before and/or after all circumstanceshave played out. This will not likely change,and as a result, the rapid response segmenthas become one of the newest market nichesto be carved out, explored, and dominatedby aerial survey teams looking to expandbusiness revenues and market share.

The Demand for ResultsA by-product of the race to deliver on these dataneeds is the demand for increasingly effectiveremote sensing tools capable of delivering evermore immediate results. Geospatial solutionsuppliers see this as a sign of a healthy indus-try and recognize the developmental and finan-cial opportunities that come from being respon-sive to changing user requirements. Applanix,recognized early as a rapid-response solutionprovider by organizations such as the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA), has begun serving the disaster-reliefsurveying market with a DSS RapidOrtho solu-tion that encompasses new rapid responseortho products, each designed with specificspeed and data precision goals.

June 200726

Art ic le

Airlift Over New Orleans. Flood victims lifted from rooftops by helicopter. Image: Courtesy U.S. Air Force.


Geospatial companies are not alone in theirrapid response market agendas. Numerousorganizations, such as those involved withcommunications or robotics, are joining in thepursuit, some going so far as to specializeheavily in delivering specific emergencyresponse technologies within singular geo-graphic markets that experience cyclical envi-

may eventually be applied to build better pre-diction and action models or to study the hourlyprogression of an event in incredible detail. Atthe very least, it will provide a durable anddetailed record of events, the likes of whichwere never before possible. The fate of technological developments issomewhat more difficult to track. In simplestterms, most leading-edge technologies enter-ing the market begin their product lifecycle posi-tioned as a premium technology. Singular inpurpose and design, unit market price mesheswith specialized advantages. What takes placenext can best be described as a downward fil-tration. While proven technologies may holdtheir position through further development andclient brand insistence, competitive substitutesenter the market in due course, creating choic-es and trade-offs based on fundamental crite-ria (price, performance, etc.) One inescapablederivative of this process is that the highestperformance standards established today even-tually become tomorrow’s minimum expecta-tions. To reach the stage where rapid-responseortho production could capture, orthorectify,and mosaic map-grade data for immediate GIS

ronmental misfortunes. The Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue at the Universityof South Florida, for example, is uniqueamong academic institutions in that they havedeveloped and hold on standby a cache ofrobots (both ground and aerial), sensors, anda team of specialists to assist with an emer-gency situation within hours.

Detailed Record ofEventsOnce the time for fear has fullypassed, both the compilation ofdata produced plus the technol-ogy applied as remedy becomethe subject of study. The data


Art ic le

M ore Effectively

G eospatial Technology

As population growth and climate change become critical issues, the number of people at high risk of f looding is expected to rise dramatically over the next half century.Image: Courtesy of Flickr.com.

Typical product lifecycle and adop-tion curves. Depending on the condi-tions surrounding a product, its lifecycle may last months or decades.Adoption rates vary depending onsuch things as recognized advan-tages, price and operational costs,substitutes, promotional marketingefforts, and risk. Image: Courtesy ofApplanix Corp.


application within hours took years of develop-ment. It is easy to imagine, however, that oneday soon the advantages of this technology willpermeate into far less critical applications.Foresters and town planners may grow increas-ingly accustomed to having the immediateaccess to data resources enjoyed by crisis cen-ters. Without fanfare, leading-edge technologygradually becomes one among many competi-tive advantages or a product-differentiator foot-note.

Something We Call ProgressSuch may be the nature of growth. And suchmay be the nature of the market. How thework of the metaphorical ‘invisible hand’ mayperiodically be seen within the economics ofthe geospatial industry could be the subject ofmuch longer discussions in the future. Andsimilarly, despite our best intentions, thealtruism we feel every day, whether develop-ing geospatial technology or using it, isarguably guided by the same Adam Smithaltruism that guides Walmart and Microsoft,that is to say that any social benefits thathave accrued are simply a by-product of play-ers within the industry striving for reward. But

this is all part of a larger process taking placein our geospatial world that we like to callprogress. To ignore the economics that fuelsthis machine is almost as dangerous as notfully capitalizing upon the exceptional endow-ment it grants.

Anthony Melihen ([email protected]) holds aposition in marketing communications, and technicalwriting at Applanix Corporation. For more information on the company’s IntegratedInertial/GPS technology, visit www.applanix.com.

June 200728

Art ic le

GPS supported INS provides highly accurate position and orientation for direct georeferencing of captured grounddata. Image: Courtesy of Applanix Corp.


Menno-Jan Kraak (1958) has a Doctors (PhD)

degree in Cartography of Delft Technical

University (1988). In 1981 he graduated in

Cartography from Faculty of Geographical

Sciences, Utrecht University (cum laude).He was

(senior) lecturer in Cartography starting in

1983 at Faculty of Geodesy, Delft University of

Technology. In 1996 he started at ITC as profes-

sor in Geovisualization. In 1998 an additional

appointment followed as professor in New visu-

alization techniques in Cartography at

Department of GeoSciences, Utrecht University.

Currently he is head of ITC’s Geo-Information

Processing Department. He is a member of the

editorial board of several international jour-

nals in the field of Cartography and GIS.

Is Distance Dead?

About maps and….Distance in our Internet-age it is often heard we face the dead

of distance. Location would no longer matter since we can obtain our goods via a

web portal, mail or chat with the other side of the world without worrying about

distance.

Of course we were able to phone to theother side of the world before but with ourmobile phone this goes much easier, with-out worry about distance or location. Theonly problem might be time. Did you everwake up because you were called by some-one forgetting about time zones? Mobilityhas also increased due to an improve roadnetwork and cheap tickets. In Europe stu-dents are stimulated to spend part of theirstudy in another country (the EU Erasmusprogramme). Thirty years ago it was specialif you would follow a course at another uni-versity in your own country. Is distancedead? I wonder, but indeed distance is notalways just distance. Borders have also their influence on dis-tance, although this is changing rapidly withthe disappearance of the borders as physi-cal barriers. They somehow remain mentalbarriers. To illustrate, I'm now living tensyear very close to a border and it took meseveral years to look equally on both sidesof the border to obtain goods. At the begin-ning I would look only in one direction,instead of considering the shortest distance. Recently I visited the United States and foran appointment with my host I told him Iwould walk to their office from the hotel.Only two kilometres, so just a nice twentyminute morning stroll. No way, my col-leagues insisted in picking me up be car.Here I learned that walking distance in NorthAmerica is different from European walkingdistance. Over there it is as long as you cansee the car.

Distance and time are also closely related.If one travels from A to B the moment of theday does influence the travel time. Duringrush hours it takes more time to get intothe city then out, and this changes frommorning to evening. For some this resultedin an interesting optimization problem.Where do I position my ambulances and towtruck to be able to deliver optimal services?From the above it is obvious that their loca-tion will change during the day dependingon the time of the day to get them as close

as possible to potential problem areas. Tocover a certain distance within a certaintimeframe will depend on the kind transportavailable. In GIS terminology, a simplebuffer operation will not work because onehas to consider the network in use (forinstance being streets or rail). This bringsback the concepts of time geography likepotential path space.

From a cartographic perspective it would beinteresting to have graphic representationsavailable to map all these different kind ofdistances, and to be able to compare them.Interesting examples do exist like the mapsof shrinking France that show the effect ofthe TGV on travel time from Paris, or theinteractive London Underground mapswhere you can click on a station to see howdistant other destinations are (rememberthis map itself does not exist in theCartesian world anyhow). Even in a plan-ning environment where maps are oftenindicative (Place instead of Space) andobjects are often connected based on rela-tions, and not necessarily by geographic dis-tance challenging cartographic problemsremain. So-called perception maps do existindicating liked and non-liked areas, some-times even according to the principle of car-tograms. Diagrams representing the Internetshowing connections between servers arewell known. It seems there are still manykinds of distances to be mapped.

Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com June 2007 29

“Walking distance in North

America is different from

European walking distance.

Over there it is as long as you

can see the car.”

Column


Review Topcon GMS-2

Picture GISGeo-information provides an adequate description of the general lay-out of an

area. It cannot, however, capture the truth like a photo or video camera can.

On the other hand, manually referencing your photographs is a painstaking

process. The Topcon GMS-2 offers a potential solution as it is a GPS receiver /

controller with built-in camera, digital compass and GPS receiver.

By Huibert-Jan Lekkerkerk

The GMS-2 can be used as a stand-alonereceiver using the onboard GPS patch anten-na or with an external (geodetic) antenna con-nected to it. When used stand-alone it caneither employ SBAS (WAAS / Egnos) or, in theUSA, coast guard beacon corrections. It canalso log raw GPS data which can then bepost-processed in the office.In addition, the receiver can be used as con-troller with other GPS systems from Topcon.It can replace controllers such as the FC-100and FC-200 in this manner.

ControllerThe reviewed system consisted of a singlereceiver/controller without an additionalantenna or receiver. The purpose of the reviewwas to test the GIS capabilities of the receiv-er/camera combination. The receiver wasoperated using SBAS corrections only.

The receiver feels very robust and has areplaceable battery. However, no separatecharger was supplied for the battery and thereceiver was charged using a power corddirectly connected to the receiver.Furthermore, with the unit off, the battery isstill drained when the GPS board is switchedpermanently on, requiring regular recharging.One needs to get accustomed to the methodof shielding the port covers on the GMS-2.Rubber covers are used that, at first, don’tseem to fit. After some practice, however, theyopen and close without a problem. Something I still dislike on this type of con-troller is the lack of a (numeric) keypad. Alldata entry has to be done using the onscreenkeyboard which covers almost a third of thescreen and has tiny keys. Personally, I preferto have at least a numeric keyboard with cur-sor keys.

June 200730

Product rev iew

Topcon GMS-2 mobile mapping GPS.

Students at work with the Topcon GMS-2 during the Skilltrade-STC Hydrographic Surveying course.

CameraAs mentioned, the GMS-2 has both a cameraand a digital compass. The camera is mountedin front of the receiver in such a way that, withthe receiver in a natural position, the lens pointsforward. The lens itself is very small andrecessed, protecting it from shocks. The down-side of a small lens is that every particle of dust on the lens will show up in thephotograph.The camera itself is 1.3 megapixel, which isquite low resolution compared to modern digital cameras and camera phones. The maximum resolution equals 1280 x 1024, bare-ly enough for full-screen viewing on a moderndisplay. The default resolution selected by thecamera when storing the photograph in surveymode is 160 x 120; this has to be reset for eachphotograph taken with TopPad.There are few controls on the camera and noflash, making it easy to operate. This makes ithard to operate, though, in disadvantageouscircumstances such as darkness or with fastmoving objects. During testing I found that


under cloudy conditions, only slow-moving orstationary objects could be captured.

CompassThe built-in digital compass provides heading aswell as pitch and roll, making it possible to keepthe camera exactly level when taking a photo-graph. The compass is a so-called fluxgate com-pass, indicating magnetic north instead of truenorth. For a general indication of direction this isno problem, but do not expect miracles fromit. Furthermore, a magnetic compass is influencedby magnetic and steel objects in its vicinity that,depending on the type of disturbing object andthe distance from it, can cause deviations aslarge as tens of degrees.

TopPad SoftwareThe GMS-2 as reviewed came with TopPad sur-vey software installed. This is an extension ofESRI ArcPad software. As seems the case with all

the so-called EXIF part of a jpg image, keepingposition and image together. When storing afull resolution photograph (1280 x 1024),TopPad seems to lose the connection to theGPS receiver. The probable reason is that stor-ing the image to the flash disk takes too muchtime. Resetting the receiver solves the problem,which does not occur at lower resolution. Finally, there seems to be no integrationbetween the camera/receiver on the one sideand the compass on the other. For example, thecompass heading is not used to indicate the direction into which the photo was taken.This addition would be very useful when analyzing the imagery in the office.

ConclusionAs a receiver and/or controller there is nothing amiss with the GMS-2 apart from someminor nuisances that are not specific to thisproduct.The integration of a camera, digital compassand GPS receiver is promising, and the GMS-2 could be a valuable piece of equipment when some of the issues mentioned in this review are ironed out. In particular, the quality of the camera and theintegration of the images with position andheading need more attention.




information standards at IDsW as well as a

freelance writer and trainer. For more information

on this receiver: www.topcon.eu.

ESRI software, loading it takes some time:roughly a minute on this receiver. Moreover, atotal of four toolbars are used which, togetherwith the status bar, take up almost a third ofthe screen. That said, the software performsexactly as expected and behaves like other ESRIproducts. Surveys can be set up using the fea-ture and attribute dialogs that are familiar toArcGIS/ArcPAD users.

Coupling Photograph to a PositionA downside to the current version of the soft-ware is that only shapes created on the receiv-er itself can store photo information. Themethod for storing the photo information is lessthan optimal. The photos are stored in a certain folder on the receiver with the shapefile, including an attribute link to the bitmapfile connected to the surveyed feature. Aftercopying the shape file to the office computer,the attribute link will still reference the original folder on the GMS-2, requiring either afolder at the same location on the office computer or adjustment of all the references inthe shape file.Furthermore, since the format used to store thephotographs is bitmap instead of jpg, no posi-tion information is stored within the actual pho-tograph. Other solutions store the position in


Product rev iew

Number of channels 50 (50 GPS, Glonass & SBAS satellites at L1)Battery Replaceable internal batteryInterface Bluetooth, USB, SD card, external antennaDisplay 3.5” (240 x 320 QVGA touchscreen)Camera 1.3 megapixel fixed focus lensDimensions (receiver / controller) W: 90 x L: 197 x D: 46 mmWeight (receiver / controller) 0.7 kg

GMS-2 particulars as specified by Topcon

We naturally asked Topcon EuropePositioning B.V. to respond to our remarks.They answered as follows: “Our TopPad Mobile GIS software has beenupdated in the meantime. This new releasewill come to the market in June 2007. Atthe International ESRI User Conference inJune 2007 in San Diego, California, Topcon- as a Business Partner of ESRI - will intro-duce the new GMS-2 extension that runson the ArcPad platform and gives everyArcPad customer access to the GMS-2. Withthis update, our customers are assured ofa smooth workflow.”

Shape file with geo-referenced image in Global Mapper software.

Part of an image taken with the internal camera (1.3 MP) and a similar image using a semi-profes -sional 6 MP camera. Both images have been editedand scaled in a similar manner and are directly comparable.


Safe and Convenient Use at Ground Level

Laser Scanning for Change DetectionAdvances in laser scanning are opening up some interesting new applications in

three-dimensional mapping. With recent developments in scanning technology

and processing software, new systems are being developed to electronically

map and monitor change with greater precision than previously possible.

Here we will look at examples in the environmental, mining, construction and

education sectors where the technology is addressing important safety,

security, commercial and research requirements.

By Graham Hunter

June 200732

Art ic le


Laser scanning has been widely used for terrain aerial mapping with airborne LiDAR proving to be an ideal tool for applications suchas flood plain mapping. However, air borne sur-veying does not provide the required accuracyor aspect for many engineering and environ-mental applications and this has required thedevelopment of special land-based systems.Most airborne LiDAR systems are not eye-safe atshort range making it dangerous in populatedareas. In addition, field of view is usually limited and the GPS/Inertial Navigation System(INS) is not effective when satellite visibility isobscured by vegetation or buildings.Laser scanners have therefore been developedfor safe and convenient use at ground level.Manufacturers such as Austrian firm Riegl havepioneered these developments with highlyportable scanners that can be used just about

Unsafe Rock StructuresTripod-based systems are fine for one-off map-ping but it is a slow and therefore costly processand does not address the requirement forchange monitoring. To broaden the scope oflaser scanning, recent developments havelooked at ways of speeding up data capture andthe added portability of devices has led to anumber of vehicle and even back-pack mount-ed systems.Such technology was used in a recent projectto map part of the South Coast of England. Theproject, commissioned by New Forest DistrictCouncil in partnership with the Channel CoastObservatory, employed laser scanning to moni-tor changes in coastal defence structures overtime. A series of lasers mounted on a speciallyequipped Quad Bike scanned the coastal ter-rain capturing millimetre-accurate measure-ments to create a 3D model of the rock andsoil surface.“Laser scanning allows us to record changes inthe rock structure that would be difficult andtime consuming to detect using our existing sur-veying techniques,” said Stuart McVey, CoastalSurveyor. “When you also consider the speedat which the data is captured and the fact thatwe can remotely access unsafe or otherwiseinaccessible parts of the rock structures, thistechnology gives us very valuable data and pro-vides good value for money.”

Major Power CutsEven greater portability is offered by an inno-vative system that can be carried as a back-pack. This has been developed to map over-head infrastructure such as power lines. Majorpower cuts are becoming a common occurrenceboth in Europe and North America and onecause is the increased vegetation growth rates,which are perhaps induced by global warming.Power companies have traditionally used

anywhere. Surveyors can freely move around asite or along a route using a tripod-mountedlaser scanner.

DinosaursThis type of ‘stop and go’ laser scanning hasall sorts of uses for 3D mapping, from construction site mapping to coastal surveysand research. More unusual uses include aEuropean research project to trace the move-ments of dinosaurs by their footprints. TheUniversity of Manchester and UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona are using a scannerwith integrated digital camera and satellitepositioning to accurately record and locateindividual footprints. In this case a portable Riegl LMS Z420i laserscanner is used that comprises a high perfor-mance long range 3D laser scanner, softwareand an integrated high resolution digital cam-era. The laser transmits a light pulse, from aknown position and at a known angle, which isreflected off a surface or feature and bouncedback to a receiver. Using the time taken foreach individual pulse to be returned and theknown value of the speed of light the systemcan automatically calculate the distance of thefeature from the unit. From this data highlydetailed and accurate 3D models can be pro-duced.“This project would simply not have been pos-sible without the laser scanning system,” saidDr David Hodgetts, Lecturer in ReservoirModelling and Petroleum Geology, School ofEarth, Atmospheric and EnvironmentalSciences at The University of Manchester. “Dueto the fragile environment and the sensitivityof the site we were not permitted direct con-tact and therefore all measurements had to betaken remotely. Laser scanning allowed therapid, high resolution digital mapping of anotherwise inaccessible site.”


Art ic le

European research project involvestracing the movements of dinosaursby their footprints.

Anglo American hasinstalled SiteMonitor at anumber of platinum and

iron ore mines.


airborne LiDAR to survey high voltage powernetworks however low voltage cables are toosmall and too close to the ground to be visi-ble. Their size and proximity to both groundand vegetation make them vulnerable to dam-age therefore increasing the risk of network fail-ure. This system instantly maps the proximity of veg-etation to overhead cables. Special softwareautomatically identifies potential conflictbetween cable and vegetation, determining thelevel of risk, backed up with images from anintegrated digital camera. By maintaining accu-rate and up to date records of the infrastruc-ture and nearby vegetation proactive mainte-nance can be scheduled and the risk andliability reduced.

StreetMapper and WireFinderA similar system has been developed for map-ping overhead telecom networks. In this casethe vehicle mounted WireFinder system accu-rately measures the position of telecom net-work assets, such as poles and wires. TheWireFinder laser scanner with its 360 degreefield of view can capture 12,000 measurementsper second, at distances of up to 300 metreswith a repeatability of less than 10 millimetres. The system, which is mounted on the roof of a4x4 or other suitable vehicle, is used while sta-tionary, making the WireFinder solution signifi-cantly safer than existing systems where surveystaff have to stand in the road while recordingmeasurements. In other sectors there is an increasing demandfor systems that can rapidly map infrastructuresuch as highways and this has led to somemajor developments in vehicle-based systems.Mapping in 3D at normal road speeds threw upsome serious technical issues and 3D LaserMapping formed an alliance with IGI mbH.The two companies spent one and a half years

tackling these technical issues and successfullydeveloped a system now known as Street -Mapper. Operating at speeds of up to 70 kman hour, laser surveys can be undertaken quick-ly and safely to create highly detailed pictureof the road network and associated assets andfeatures. The accuracy is such that the heightsand positions of overhead wires as small as3mm in diameter can be accurately recorded. StreetMapper can be used for a wide range ofapplications including road surface and safetyinspections, landscape mapping, street assetrecording, bridge height surveys and road widthmapping for entire routes. Originally developed as a custom-fit system, thesystem has been further developed as a mod-ular vehicle-mounted system. Suitable for fit-ting to a standard 4 wheel drive vehicle‘StreetMapper 2’ allows surveying off road,extending the scope of use beyond the highway.With easy-fit rack mounting and a roof rack suit-able for any 4x4, 3D Laser Mapping is able toship the system to any location allowingStreetMapper technology to be used worldwidefor the first time.

Mining OperationsAlthough portable laser scanning is proving to bean important innovation for many markets, someof the most important commercial developmentsfor laser scanning have been in the mining sector.Here laser scanning is proving to be a tremendousasset in supporting mining operations through sitemonitoring and improving site safety.A system called SiteMonitor has been designedto provide accurate and repeatable measurementsof surfaces and slopes in hazardous or inaccessibleenvironments. The application was first developedfor monitoring slope stability on old coal minewaste tips in South Wales, UK. Now the system isbeing adopted more widely in the mining indus-try.

SiteMonitor records movements in the slope sur-face as small as 10mm with a distance range ofup to 1000m. It records and analyses up to 8,000measurements per second to create a detailed,accurate and continuous record of the slope pro-file. SiteMonitor can deliver real commercial bene-fits by allowing mining operations to be optimised;allowing greater extraction volumes through steep-er slope profiles; something that is only possiblewith continuous monitoring.

PlatinumAnglo American has installed SiteMonitor at anumber of platinum and iron ore mines. AngloPlatinum is the world’s largest primary produc-er of platinum, with a production target of 2.9million ounces of refined platinum in 2006.Safety is a primary concern for the companywhose operation comprises of 7 mines, 3smelters, a base metals and a precious metalsrefinery. SiteMonitor is used at Anglo Platinum’sPotgietersrust Mine in South Africa. “Tra-di tio nal ly we have used conventional surveymethods to monitor slope stability of open pitslopes. This limited the size and number oflocations we could survey and the frequency ofsurvey,” said Frans Benadé, Section Surveyor.“The combination of highly accurate laser scan-ning units and software specifically engineeredfor this application enables us to cover a largerarea at more frequent intervals.” Anglo Platinum is currently operating two RieglLPM-2K Laser Scanners. These units are specif-ically designed for the automatic and manuallong range profiling of surfaces, operating atdistances up to 2,500 metres with an accuracyof 50 millimetres. The systems perform contin-uous, 24/7, remote scanning at locations deter-mined by Anglo Platinum’s Geotechnical RockEngineering team collecting hundreds of pointmeasurements daily. The point cloud data col-lected by the laser scanners is automaticallyanalysed using SiteMonitor software from 3DLaser Mapping. By comparing readings againstbase measurements the software can detectsurface movement or slope deformations.“SiteMonitor has significantly reduced the riskof injury to personnel, property and equipment,enabled higher production due to decreaseddowntime and reduced the resources requiredfor ongoing safety monitoring.” CommentedBenadé.

Slope deformationNew laser scanning technology is also helpingSouth Africa’s Kumba Iron Ore to improve thesafety of iron ore extraction. Kumba Iron Ore ismajority owned by Anglo American and a newRiegl LMS Z420i laser scanner is being used tomonitor slope deformation at the Sishen Mine,an open pit operation with extraction dating

June 200734

Art ic le

The vehicle mounted WireFinder system measures the position of telecom network assets, such as poles and wires.


back to the 19th Century that achieved a recordproduction of 28.5 million tonnes last year. The Riegl LMS Z420i laser scanner is specifical-ly designed for the mining environment. Thesystem comprises of a high performance longrange 3D laser scanner, associated operatingand processing software and an integrated andcalibrated high resolution digital camera. Theunit is rugged and fully portable and offers anunrivalled combination of wide field of view,high maximum range and fast data acquisition.“The laser scanning system has a number offeatures that make it ideal for our environmentand application. The scanner covers a broadarea so even small failures can be detected andoperates at a range of 800m. Laser scanningcomplements our existing slope monitoringequipment and adds an extra dimension to themonitoring network at Sishen; improving thesafety of personnel and reducing risk in ouroperations” said Glen Mc Gavigan of KumbaIron Ore’s Geotechnical Services.

Scanning UndergroundSafety is a big concern in all mining operationsand the use of laser scanning is not restrictedto open cast mines. Surveying can be taken

Mapping, 3D-R1 allows 3D surveying to be car-ried out in dangerous or hazardous environ-ments. Traditional scanning in hazardous situa-tions often lead to blind spots due torestrictions in access but the RSV is moved byremote control from location to location. It canperform scans and video in areas that are oth-erwise not safe to enter. Even in safe environ-ments, the RSV is a useful tool that can increaseproductivity by 75% be eliminating the need tomanually set up scanners at each location.Being light and easy to use, 3D-R1 can also beused easily elsewhere and potential applica-tions including tunnel surveys and the surveyingof earthquake, fire or blast damaged buildings.

Real-world ViewOne of the most important aspects of develop-ments in laser mapping is the rapid processingof the vast amounts of data generated fromscanning itself. This improved processing isunderpinning many of the new applicationswhere traditional methods of data collection areregarded too slow and too inaccurate. The pre-sentation of the data is also improving all thetime with advances in visualisation and inter-pretation using GIS and 3D modelling software.So, the information provided by laser scanningprovides an important new perspective, enhanc-ing information systems with an accurate real-world view of both the natural and man-madeenvironment. As long as man requires detailedinformation about the world that surrounds himtechnology will continue to develop and inno-vate in order to meet this demand. We alreadyhave laser scanners in aircraft, ground vehiclesand even robots, what comes next could bedown to you.

Dr Graham Hunter ([email protected]),

Managing Director of 3D Laser Mapping Ltd. For

more information visit www.3dlasermapping.com.

underground and one of the latest innovationsis a laser scanning robot called 3D-R1. The ideaof a Remote Sensing Vehicle (RSV) for miningwas first conceived at the UK’s CamborneSchool of Mines and that technology has beenemployed in the 3D-R1. Developed by JoblingPurser RSV LLP in conjunction with 3D Laser


Art ic le

Laser scanning is being used to monitor slope deformation in open cast mines, improving the safety of personnel and reducing risk in operations.

The Sishen Mine, an open pit operation with extraction dating back to the 19th Century.


Hands-on Sessions, Classical Trainings and Other Study Forms

BE Conference 2007 All About Innov

The Bentley BE Conference 2007 was held in the state where Bentley was

founded: California. For the first time this event took place in the west of the

United States, but this was of no influence to the number of visitors. About

2,000 people found their way to the Convention Center in Los Angeles.

By Lambert-Jan Koops

The keynote at the first day of the conferencewas all about innovation. According to CEO GregBentley this is an aspect not only of importanceto the participants of the BE Conference, butalso to Bentley Systems. “This generation needsto undertake different infrastructural tasks.Because of the growth in world population andsteadily increasing environmental problemschanges need to take place. The problem how-ever is that there is a shortage of well educat-ed designers. One option is having these peo-ple work more hours, but this clearly is not thebest solution. It would be better to increaseproductivity per person, a solution in which thesoftware of Bentley Systems can play a role.”

Greg Bentley used a simple graph to indicatewhy increase in productivity is an importantsubject for most Bentley users. Not the amountof work per hour was shown, which has in factincreased, but the commercial proceeds perworking hour. Whereas in other industries thiskind of proceeds has almost been doubledsince 1990, its level remained the same or evenwent down when looking at architects and civilengineers. According to Bentley’s CEO this canonly be improved if changes take place in threeareas. First of all architects and engineers needto make fully use of the software, naturally byfollowing courses. Besides this compatibilityand exchange within the software need to be

maximised. The third aspect is innovation,bringing about solutions that can aid the userin working more effectively.

Cooperation and ExchangeSenior VP Bhupinder Singh went further intothe topic of the keynote by Greg Bentley. Heinformed the audience about ProjectWiseNavigator, developed by Bentley Systems. Thisproduct is capable of collecting all sorts of2D, 3D and accompanying data and willbecome available via a Bentley Select updatereleased in May. Flythroughs and walk-throughs are viewing options that ProjectWiseNavigator offers for studying models. The soft-ware also enables detection of collisions anderrors in the model and the analysis of alter-ations.For optimum communication Bentley Systemsreleases a free version of the product withlimited functionality and aimed at viewing.This way there is no need for third parties ina project to obtain the complete software. Another point of attention was ProjectWisePassport. By using this Passport an end usercan use a random version of the ProjectWisepart anywhere in the world.

June 200738


Buddy Cleveland: “Research does not only imply developingnew techniques but also integrating existing techniques inareas that are relevant for Bentley Systems.”


Design with AttributesLogically there was also a keynote by KeithBentley. He claimed that the DGN file is gettingmore important. According to the CTO ofBentley Systems the relation betweenattributes and the graphic display is chang-ing. A designer used to start with theattributes to add the graphic display later on.Nowadays it is more common to first havethe design (sketch) ready which is afterwardsprovided with attributes. As a consequencemore and more data are connected to onesingle project. Because an increasing amountof detail information is available the files aregetting bigger and bigger. A DGN the size ofa gigabyte is no longer an exception andthe number of models that a single file cancontain can amount to a couple of thou-sands. This is the reason why currentlyBentley Systems focuses on supporting the64 bit platform. At the moment MicroStationis still a 32 bit program functioning properlyon a 64 bit platform, but unable to make useof the benefits speed is bringing about.Besides this Bentley Systems is exploitingthe possibility of using Distributed DGN’smaking optimum use of the double proces-sors present in the next generation PCs.Bentley Systems will develop extra functionsfor publishing models, such as 3D anima-tions. For this reason Bentley’s CTO advisedthe audience to pay special attention to theperformance of the graphics card instead ofonly looking at processor speed.

Awards for the most interesting projects byusers of Bentley software. Thirty-one projectsin the professional portion of the programreceived BE Awards during the BE Conferencein Los Angeles. In the academic portion of theprogram, BE Awards went to the Educator ofthe Year and to the top four student designs.The independent panel of BE Awards jurors,which included accomplished Bentley usersand distinguished industry experts, selectedthe winning projects from more than 280 nom-inations. During his keynote address, BentleyCOO Malcolm Walter announced the winnersof a special new category of BE Awards – ‘BestReturn on Innovation’ – personally selectedthis year by Malcolm based on ROI data supplied by each of the nominees. The winners included: Bechtel, Dutch Ministry ofFinance, GHAFARI Associates, and KentuckyTransportation Cabinet.

Which Version for Which Application?Bentley’s acquisitions and developments might

make it difficult to determine which ver-sion of an application works best with acertain version of MicroStation orProjectWise. To provide insight in the bestcombinations Bentley Systems is workingon a so-called Compatibility Zone onBentley’s website. In due time it will bepossible for an end user to enter the ver-sion of his platform to see which versionof the application is compatible. And viceversa of course. Moreover BentleySystems wants to offer a service in futurewhereby the customer needs to registerhis version of the software only once sothat the software developer can take thisinto account when offering new versionsof the software.

Code Name AthensMost new releases by Bentley Systemsare in the area of applications. Howeverlots of work is being done regarding theplatform software. Gradually the new ver-sion with code name Athens is takingshape. Some of its features areConceptual Design, Dynamic Views andGeo Coordination.With Conceptual Design Bentley Systemsaims at the user group working with pro-grams like Rhino and SketchUp. Though itwill be possible to import the sketch mod-

And the Winners Are…One of the well-known highlights of the BEConference is the presentation of the BE



s

v ation

Bentley Electric XM Bentley released its comprehensive engi-neering design solution to advance GIS forelectric utilities. The solution includes twonew products: Bentley Electric XM andBentley Expert Designer XM. Bentley’s solu-tion for electric utilities supports new levelsof efficiency in managing electric distributionnetworks throughout the plan, design, buildand operate lifecycle. Enabled with config-urable business workflows, the solutionhelps integrate mapping, facilities manage-ment, and design with work managementand asset management workflows. Users canoptimize designs, specify all materials andlabour required to complete work requests,and have flexibility in managing labour andmaterials costs, all in the context of defined

business processes.Bentley Electric XM delivers core mapping,network documentation, facility mapping,and facility management functions. In addi-tion, it provides feature placement, editing,and viewing, supports directional networktrace and highlight, validates feature place-ment against configurable business rules,and enables simple service delivery.Bentley Expert Designer XM extends BentleyElectric XM to add intelligent and optimizeddesign and integrated estimating. It featuresrapid rules-based placement of facilities,provides an interactive catalog with drag anddrop placement, automatically assigns com-patible units (standard materials andlabour), and facilitates design version andcost comparisons.

Keith Bentley: “The relation between attributes and the graphic displayis changing. A designer used to start with the attributes to add the

graphic display later on.”


els from these packages, the company is aim-ing at full integration of the sketch process inthe design phase.On platform level Dynamic Views will becomeavailable within the software of BentleySystems. These views offer different displays ofthe same model. This type of display is alreadyin use in other, competitive packages for archi-tecture and mechanics. But since this capabilityis also released on platform level it is also avail-able for thematic maps and other geospatiallyrelated matters.Bentley VP Styli Camateros showed the func-tion Geo Coordination. First he told that thereare different ways of indicating locations at thisplanet. There are several Geographic CoordinateSystems that contain coordinates with which aplace on earth is determined. As coordinatesdots are used on meridians, half circles withstarting and finishing point in the Poles, andparallels of latitude which are parallel to theequator. This is a general and not perfect sys-tem for the earth. For this reason there are manyvariations to it. Camateros started counting anddiscovered over 1,000 projection methods allworking in a different way.To relate these systems Bentley Systems isworking on Geo Coordination. This functionenables the end user to import and export spa-tial data from and to WMS, Google and GPSaids after which these data are converted tothe desired coordinate system. It is also possi-ble to indicate the spatial location of objects,such as buildings and roads, so that the soft-ware fits it in the coordinate system used. Thisprevents a building being at the right locationbut facing in the wrong way because it isturned. The demonstration by Camateros

but in fact nothing more than a toolkit.Bentley Map will probably be released inAugust and is supposed to be a real applica-tion. The databases are upwards compatibleso that Geographic users can easily move overto Map. Users who like to develop can makeuse of Geospatial Extension, equipped withfeatures already present in BentleyGeographics.It is striking to see that for the developmentof both products the R&D departments of theGeospatial and Civil group have been merged.This is remarkable since Autodesk, an otherbig CAD player, decided to put Civil andBuilding together. According to Bentley’s Civildepartment this has to do with the extent towhich the competitive products are used.Bentley’s software as such is not particularlymeant for developing constructional worksand other relatively small-scale objects butmore related to the geo side of the storyinstead of building. There is another aspect in which the way ofdeveloping changes in the world of Bentley.The third party developers will get a differenttask because of the features that will becomeavailable in Bentley’s Geospatial suite. Insteadof developing functions or building applica-tions they will get local tasks. Not particularlythe conversion of languages but adapting theworkflow will get full attention. This lastaspect is different for every country anddemands local knowledge that can be provid-ed by third party developers.

Lambert-Jan Koops ([email protected]) is

contributing editor to GeoInformatics. Surf to

www.bentley.com for more information.

showed flats, houses and other buildings notonly in the right location but also correctly posi-tioned in relation to each other.Geo Coordination is implemented on platformlevel. This means all applications are compatiblewithout the need for an implementation in eachproduct.

RFID and Remote VideoBentley Systems is an R&D company andBuddy Cleveland, senior VP Applied Research,showed the activities of the enterprise in thisfield. Research does not only imply develop-ing new techniques but also integrating exist-ing techniques in areas that are relevant forBentley Systems. An example is connectingseveral devices for the real-time determina-tion of geo locations to ProjectWise.Exploiting the possibilities of RFID and remotevideos on location are also currently of inter-est to the R&D department. By far the most interesting thing to see wasthe ‘digital pen and paper’, still under devel-opment. The paper of this combination is pro-vided with small dots, so-called microdots.The pen is provided with a reader so that theconnected software can exactly determine thelocation of the pen point. When a digitaldrawing is printed on paper it is possible toput notes and remarks on it. These notes andremarks are registered by the software andentered in the digital version of the drawing.

Geospatial DevelopmentsAt the moment Camateros and his colleaguesare in the process of developing Bentley Map.This is the follow-up of Bentley Geographics,which was the first step in the geospatial area,


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Greg Bentley: “This generation needs to undertake different infrastructural tasks.Because of the growth in world population and steadily increasing environmental problems changes need to take place.”


Military Leaders Have Always Sought the Best Information Abo u

Could the British Have Won at Yorkt o

The victory of the Americans and French at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19,

1781, secured the independence of the United States and was a tribute to their

ingenuity and perseverance. For General Charles Lord Cornwallis, the British

commander, it was an admonition against going into battle without adequate

geographical information and intelligence. Information we today call geospatial

intelligence or GEOINT.

By Bruce Heinlein

Military leaders have always sought the bestinformation about their surroundings.Obviously commanders want to know abouttheir opponents: their strength, location, andability to maneuver and fight. The terrain, theobstacles to movement and the dangers of theenvironment: swamps, rivers, water currents,or an area’s tendency for bad weather, areequally important. How then did the Britishbecome trapped in this small port at a bendin the York River?

A Costly War for Both SidesThe road to Yorktown for Lord Cornwallis wascircuitous, but with no indication that it wouldresult in disaster. The British had fought and wonnumerous victories throughout the SouthernCampaign of the American Revolution which hadbeen costly for both sides. The British won majorvictories at Savannah and Charlestown, andhoped to cut off support for the Revolutionarycause and bolster Loyalist support for the Crown.

But the disaster at Cowpens in January 1781,which inflicted a very unexpected and severeblow to Cornwallis, robbed the British of a siz-able part of its force in the South. Then, twomonths later, near victory for the Americans atGuilford Courthouse further weakened theBritish. Nevertheless, after the battle LordCornwallis thought significant resistance in theCarolinas was over, and he decided to ventureto Virginia. His army moved to Wilmington, North Carolina,for resupply and then into Virginia. Opposing theBritish in Virginia was the General Marquis deLafayette and a small American force. AsCornwallis advanced, Lafayette withdrew to thenorth. But instead of chasing them, Cornwallischose to rest at Yorktown and wait for naval sup-plies. This decision set the stage for disaster.

An Unsuitable Defensive LocationAlthough records do not indicate why LordCornwallis chose Yorktown, he completely mis-

understood Yorktown’s suitability as a fortress.The city had boomed with the advent of thetobacco industry, but was now in decline.Norfolk and Portsmouth had clearly surpassedYorktown as ports. And while Yorktown had 300homes and some docks, the cliff the town stoodupon completely blocked potential British navalsupport of the army. Likewise, the York Riverwas wide at Yorktown, and while warships couldanchor there, an escape attempt across the riverfaced significant challenges from the currents.And finally, while the town offered a smallfrontage for the British to defend, that frontageand the ravines leading out of the town limit-ed avenues for breakout attempts. Thus, thegeography and environment of the site werealmost completely unsuitable for a substantivedefense. The only argument favoring Yorktownwas that access to the river and a defensibleline should have allowed the sheer force of theRoyal Navy and British Army to prevail. TheBritish fleet was expected to control access tothe great Chesapeake Bay and therebyYorktown. The army under Lord Cornwallis couldoutfight any small force the Americans mightthrow against it. This argument was wrong inboth assumptions.

Strategic Mobility LostUnfortunately for the British, a French fleetarrived off the Chesapeake in August, less thana month after Lord Cornwallis, and blockedBritish access to the bay. A British fleet arrived

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A painting of Yorktown prior to the battle. Credit: National Park Service, Colonial NationalHistorical Park, Yorktown Collection.

General Charles Lord CornwallisCredit: National Park Service, Colonial NationalHistorical Park, Yorktown Collection.


in September to find the Chesapeake in Frenchcontrol. The two fleets fought an inconclusivenaval battle that yielded strategic results: theFrench fleet returned to the blockade, and theBritish fleet withdrew to New York. British strate-gic mobility had melted away. Worse, the British commander had no idea thatthe bulk of the Continental Army, led by GeneralGeorge Washington himself, was moving toYorktown for a strategic battle. This movementfrom New York to Virginia was the best decep-tion and greatest strategic mobility effort by theAmericans during the war. The bulk of theAmerican Army arrived in Virginia beforeCornwallis’ headquarters was aware theAmericans were moving. Lord Cornwallis’ intelli-gence failed him, and he was now facing themajority of the American Army which was soonjoined by a French Army. The combined alliedforce quickly besieged the town. The Britishwere now trapped.

Would Reinforcements Arrive?British supremacy over both the land andwaters around Yorktown had been neutralized.The poor geography of Yorktown, once seem-ingly unimportant, was now critical to LordCornwallis’ defense. Cornwallis had alreadybegun to realize that failed geographical andintelligence information had helped put him into

In the end, a third of the British Army in NorthAmerica surrendered at Yorktown. Negotiationsfor peace continued, but the war was over. Themost professional army in the world, with a longstring of military victories in the AmericanRevolution, was suddenly defeated and the warlost, in part because of poor geospatial infor-mation and intelligence.

ImportanceGeospatial information and intelligence, GEOINT,is always important. History, with its manyexamples of military commanders failing toheed its warnings, reminds us how cruciallyimportant GEOINT is, and the profession andthe craft that provide it.

Bruce Heinlein ([email protected]) is a

manager in the Joint Operations Integration Office

of the NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency)

and a retired US Air Force Officer. He commanded the

67th Information Operations Group and the 94th

Intelligence Squadron. He has published research on

the Battle of Yorktown and worked for the National

Park Service at the Yorktown National Battlefield .

An abridged version of this article first appeared in

the March/April 2007 issue of Pathfinder published by

the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Special

thanks to Paul Hurlburt, Editor.

a dire situation. His only remaining hope wasthat the reinforcements promised by GeneralClinton, the British Commander-in-Chief, wouldarrive soon. They did not. As the armies facedeach other at Yorktown, both sides built andreinforced siege lines. The siege began andBritish casualties mounted. The confines of thesmall hamlet quickly became apparent as therewas no shelter from the cannon fire except thesmall beach below the cliff. British naval gun-fire was useless in support of ground forces. TheBritish tried to escape across the York River, butcurrents and a storm prevented the escape.Washington tightened the siege lines and theBritish became more cramped. Approximatelytwo weeks after the siege began, LordCornwallis’ forces surrendered.

A Failure to Use Intelligence WiselyThe strategic success of General Washingtonand the combined Franco-American forces atYorktown was greatly aided by the failure of theBritish to use geospatial and intelligence infor-mation wisely. The defensive site at Yorktownpaled in comparison to others locally available.Also, Cornwallis received intelligence late onthe movement of the large Continental armyfrom New York. If he had received this intelli-gence earlier, Lord Cornwallis might have bro-ken out of Yorktown and escaped.


Art ic le

o ut their Surroundings

t own… with better GEOINT?

The Surrender at Yorktown. Lord Cornwallis’ deputy surrenders to General Washington. Painting by American artist John Trumbull. Credit: Photo courtesy of Architect of the Capitol.


Part 3: The Geoid

Practical Geodesy

In the previous articles we saw that the earth, considering its shape, could be compared to a potato or,

more scientifically, the geoid. It was best approximated by the ellipsoid. But what is this geoid,

the definition of which is: “The equipotential surface at mean sea level”?


The definition says, in short, that if the seawere not influenced by the tides, wind andwaves, and if the entire earth were coveredwith it, its level would represent the geoid.At a smaller scale we can imagine this as thesurface of a small, sheltered lake; the waterwill distribute itself over the lake and, as such,form a level that corresponds to the localgravity.

Gravity PotentialThe important part of the geoid definitiondeals with the gravity potential. Most of uswill have learned at some time in our

academic career that the average gravitation-al acceleration equals roughly 10 m/s2.The actual gravitational pull, however,depends on both the masses and the distancebetween two objects. A larger distance willthus result in gravity being less. On top of amountain the gravity will thus be slightlylower than at sea level.Another aspect is the mass of the earth: themore mass between the object and the center of the earth, the higher the gravity. Ingeneral, water has a lower density than rockand therefore less effect on gravity. But different types of rock have different impacts

on local gravity. We should therefore distin-guish between the density, which influencesgravity, and the actual shape of the earth.

Impact of the Geoid on GeodesySince the geoid equals the local gravity field,and this in turn depends on local circum-stances, it does not form a mathematical surface but instead changes from location tolocation. In the previous article we saw thatthere are many ellipsoids (or, better, horizon-tal datums), but there is only one geoid.When we measure height with a GPS receiverwe always obtain height relative to the

June 200744

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Worldwide geoid model (in meters) relative to the GRS80 ellipsoid. (source: www.gfz-potsdam.de)


ellipsoid. If we use a level instrument to deter-mine height (differences), these are alwaysrelated to the geoid (orthometric height).Therefore, if we want to integrate or compareGPS and leveled heights, we need to knowthe local difference between the ellipsoid andthe geoid.

Geoid ModelsThe ellipsoid is a mathematical surface thesize and shape of which can be determinedwith relative ease. Since the geoid varies withlocal circumstances, gravity measurementsneed to be taken for an accurate determina-tion. The determination of absolute gravity isvery difficult. Determining gravity differencesis less difficult but still not easy, especially atsea. A number of expeditions using sub-marines were undertaken between the 1920sand the 1940s, but the information they gath-ered was fragmented. With the launch of Sputnik in 1957 thischanged. Soon after the launch, scientists discovered small variations in its orbit whichseemed to be correlated with the gravity fieldof the earth. The first, coarse models of thegeoid were developed. The models wereimproved upon, but with the introduction ofcarrier phase GPS systems such as RTK dGPS,they were found to be not precise enough.For this reason, extensive gravity measure-ment campaigns have been carried out fromthe 1990s on.In order to obtain a good understanding ofthe entire geoid, the Gravity Recovery andClimate Experiment, GRACE, was started in

A more common method is the calculation ofa correction grid. The receiver then uses thepositions of base and rover to determine intowhich grid cell they fall and applies the corresponding difference to the height. Theaccuracy of such a model depends on boththe size of the grid cell used and the localvariation of the geoid.

ConclusionThe geoid is, for many people, an abstractconcept. When performing accurate carrier-phase GPS measurements, however, it is ofthe utmost importance to have a good graspof the geoid. The main problem is that errorsare relatively small and thus hard to detect ina practical situation.A good method for checking for geoid errorsis to begin each set of GPS measurements ona benchmark lying at a considerable distancefrom the base. Taking the degradation in precision into account, the average height ofthe benchmark should be found correctly. Anysystematic error in the average height is anindication of either incorrect height of the GPSantenna or the geoid-ellipsoid separation.




information standards at IDsW as well as a freelance

writer and trainer.

2002. This project employs twosatellites that travel the same trajectory with a small distancebetween them. They can deter-mine the gravity field / geoid towithin a centimeter.

Geoid Model and GPSThe geoid plays an important rolein the accurate determination ofheight using GPS. Depending onthe location in the world, the dif-ference between the WGS84 ellip-soid and the geoid can amount to100 meters. Differences regardinglocal ellipsoids are usually small-er, for example within theNetherlands the difference is atmost approximately one meter.Every GPS receiver has a coarse geoid modelbuilt into it, enabling it to calculate height relative to the geoid or mean sea level. Thismodel is not precise enough, however, foraccurate height determination.With carrier-phase GPS it is not the absoluteheight that is important but the differencebetween two points: base and rover. Thegeoid difference between these two pointsdepends on both the local geoid and the dis-tance between the two points. The smallerthe distance between base and rover, thesmaller the potential error.

Practical Application of the GeoidModelWhen using GPS for height determination, the

geoid model needs to betaken into account. Usuallythe base station height isreferenced to WGS84. Therover ‘knows’ the coordi-nates, and thus the height,of the base station. Basedupon this knowledge thereceiver can, using thegeoid model, determine thedifference between thegeoid height at the baseand rover positions. Thisdifference is then appliedto the WGS84 height asdetermined from the rangemeasurements at the rover.The method used to correctfor the geoid differs fromreceiver to receiver. Forsome countries a mathe-matical model describingthe geoid-ellipsoid differ-ences is available. Such amodel will generally givethe best results.


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Dutch geoid model (De Min, 1996) relative to Bessel 1841 and the correspondinggravity measurements (source: www.rdnap.nl).

Relation between the geoid and the ellipsoid with GPS surveys. H = orthometric (geoid) height; h = ellipsoid height; N = ellipsoid-geoidseparation; h = ellipsoid height difference from GPS. (source: staticfree.info - adapted)

Another aspect is the mass of the

earth: the more mass between the

object and the center of the earth,

the higher the gravity.


Geodata Good Enough to Use?

The Big Guys Are Interested in 1Spa t

In 2007 1Spatial, formerly known as

Laser-Scan, attracts important

partners. Next in line to Oracle are

not only Autodesk, Google, HP, the

OGC, but also Tele Atlas and

Intergraph who are interested in this

British geo-think-tank.

1Spatial may continue to be a

specialist company with a suite of

very specific products that deal with

spatial data quality (based on open

standards and interoperability), but

suddenly the world at large is taking

notice.

By: Remco Takken

FDO (Feature Data Objects) as an entrancebridge between their Radius product suite andthe Open Source Community (OSGeo). Zeisstold his audience that he sees Open Source assome sort of box where all standardised andcrystallised technology should be available forfree.In Southampton Zeiss addressed the ‘fieldforce’, workers out in the field who are stillinvisible when it comes to policy making with-in an organisation. “With Web 2.0-technology,which most of you know through the Wikipediaon the web, it’s going to be very easy to updatenewly acquired knowledge directly from thefield. This way the ‘real workers’ will be heardmore easily, while the organisation as a wholecan profit from their knowledge.”

Open Geospatial ConsortiumA striking speaker at the 1Spatial event wasOpen Geospatial Consortium chairman andCEO David Schell. 1Spatial recently becameChair of the OGC Data Quality Working Group,so there was an obvious link. However,1Spatial has been involved in OGC initiativesfor over 10 years now. Schell spoke about the

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It’s remarkable to see how big organisations like Oracle, Autodesk, Intergraph, HP and the OGC show so muchinterest in the world of thought, and the products, of 1Spatial.

The organisation that opened their doors forthe 1Spatial Conference on May 2nd and 3rd;Ordnance Survey Great Britain in Southamptonstands, according to Vanessa Lawrence, CE ofOrdnance Survey “at the beginning of thechain of location intelligent specialists.” Shecontinued: “just like everyone else in this hall,we are aware of the fact that ‘location’ lies atthe core of most decisions.”As early as the first lecture of the first day ofthe conference with the theme ‘Fit ForPurpose’, Lawrence summarized the essencein an amazingly short sentence: “just goodenough is good enough”. 1Spatial CEO Mike Sanderson didn’t let thisbring him down. On the contrary, he made itclear that by using the thinnest possiblestreams of information, ‘sooner or latermachines will be able to talk to machines’.Oracle’s David Pearson agreed with this: “com-puters will tell other computers what to do.”

AutodeskThe presence of Autodesk-prominent Geoff Zeissundoubtedly has a lot to do with the fact thatrecently 1Spatial started supporting Autodesk’s


need for the OGC, the importance of which hefound of equal value as Galileo’s telescope.“The OGC created a new lens, and a newscope.” Of course one needs to come up with anexample to prove it. “Take climate change. Alot of models don’t talk together. The streamof information is a 1000 per cent eclectic andheterogeneous. This field is more in need ofintegration than any other.”Schell: “Geospatial and GIS is just anotherform of data acquisition and it has to do withthe integration of information, putting togeth-er different types of information. So what isit doing in a ‘boutique-environment’, ownedby a few companies that are completelyclosed from IT mainstream?”According to Schell, one of the most impor-tant events of 2006 was when Google cameinto the OGC. “What the OGC has been doingfor the last 15 years, it was to make us readyfor this year. The market was hiding under arock. The traditional vendors couldn’t do it.Google has the ability to harvest enough, notnecessarily perfect, but enough, informationto make you aware.”

Survey Great Britain before he went to Google,where he’s passing through the evangelicalmessage that: “it is our goal to organise -geo-graphically- the world’s information and makeit universally accessible and useful.” “Time Magazine traditionally has its ‘personof the year’. In 2006 it was proclaimed that itwas ‘everybody’. A unique situation, whichwas possible thanks to the mass amounts ofuser generated content of YouTube, MySpace,Wikipedia and of course Google.”Parsons clearly found a way to deal skilfullywith the lesser value of Google Earth for pro-fessional users. An aerial photograph as usedby Google of Schiphol Airport in theNetherlands turned out to be a picture of ascale model, with huge human beings walk-ing around it. “Is our data useful? Is it ‘fit forpurpose’? We have had 200 million downloadssince 2005. Admitted: we, Google, are users ofgeo data. And for Google’s purposes a pho-tograph with a good resolution is more impor-tant than its date.”The Google lecture was spiced with nice anec-dotes concerning the very beginnings ofMash-ups, which reportedly began with the

Schell would like to see that science wouldcontinue to build its models, but that medialike Google Earth will create awareness amongthe masses. “How do we organize ourselvesto make an absolute iron-clad statement toaddress both to Mr Gore and Mr Bush?”

SOA on SteroidsThere were also some concerns for the nearfuture in the geospatial world, ventilated bySchell. “There’s a great deal of new technolo-gy around us, which outruns our ability to useit. There’s a tendency not to look back, but itjust confuses people. Think about the net cen-tric infrastructure, it’s SOA on steroids. Then there’s the Google revolution: we betterintegrate KML and GML. Fortunately Googlecame in and shows concern with harmonisa-tion. Microsoft came into the OGC; Oracle isthere for years now. What worries me is thatwe will have to do it so fast.”“Then there’s what I call ‘the consumer phe-nomenon’. There’s some confusion going onwithin the OGC concerning our deep technol-ogy tradition versus the easy-use lightweightmeasuring. There got to be a way to mix thenew wave of map images. I would also like to mentionthe cost of legacy data madefit for purpose. It is going tobe an expensive endeavourwhen our old machinesaren’t there anymore to readour old data.” To the end of his list of wor-risome concerns, Schellmade a sharp observation,which also put his own posi-tion as a chairman of theOGC in perspective: “I wouldlike to state that there’s toomuch optimism in referenceto liabilities. We made thestandards, all right. But oneday someone might getkilled through an applicationusing the OGC standards. Allhell will break loose at ourend.”

GoogleEd Parsons is a geospatialveteran who has worked forAutodesk and Ordnance


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a tial

OGC-Chairman and CEO David Schell. “Google has the ability to harvestenough, not necessarily perfect, but enough, information to make you aware.”


hacked site Housingmaps.com. This site usedGoogle Maps with housing information.Parsons: “When we were able to tax theadded value of that mash-up to each originalsite, we immediately opened the API ofGoogle Maps. All thanks to some inventivehackers.”

Standards Need RevisionLuckily enough it was not all about big namesand big companies. Brendan Soustal, a youngAustralian GIS-specialist tore the house downby his hilarious presentation of the evidencethat standard measures of American railroadtracks had their origin in the wheel axes ofRoman two-horse chariots. “Apparently wheelmakers and decision makers have neverasked a question concerning the standard.Standards aren’t something you should takefor granted; they can and must be updatedonce in a while. I think it’s a crazy situationthat the space of two horse’s asses is stillmeasured as the ideal size for a 21st centurytrain wagon.”

Generic DataNot all lectures were given by cracks from thegeospatial world. More and more people fromthe mainstream IT world come to recognisethat spatial data quality issues might be appli-cable to ‘normal’ data, too. Bert Oosterhof,European CTO at Informatica, talked about thecrossover between generic data and spatialdata. His organisation deals with non-spatialdata quality, and in hooking up with 1Spatial,tries to broaden its base, essentially offeringa data quality and integration programme.Oosterhof came with a near-to-complete listof requirements for data integration, whichalso makes sense for it spatial counterpart:“80 per cent of data is stored in unstructured

work. Success depends on selected and wide-ly implemented standards. We embrace andengage in the Open Source Community andOpen Technology. Furthermore we work evercloser with Oracle.”Stickler went on to explain how the 1Spatial-products, Radius Topology (for rule-basedgeometric cleaning and consistency) andRadius Studio (for finding business rules andautomatically fixing errors in geodata) alreadyfunction within Oracle Spatial. He went on toannounce the support for Oracle Spatial withthe Radius Vision product (Topological Editingand Management) and explained the visionfor the adoption of Oracle within the RadiusClarity product (for data generalisation). Thelatest version of ‘Studio’ will be totally inte-grated with Autodesk’s Feature Data Objects(FDO). Furthermore there will be a dashboardfor the presentation of data quality, meant fornon-specialists. This ‘health check’ indeedlooks like a car’s dashboard on the PC screen.This seems to be a popular item to convincemanagers. “Now with this new version, RadiusStudio is ready for the rest of the world,”claimed Stickler. Also, he announced the immi-nent release of a new product, Radius Sentry:the first version due in October 2007. It’s anOracle extension for the implementation ofgeometric corrections, based on user-definedrules. This product will show some overlapwith the existing Radius Topology solution,but with one big difference. Radius Sentry willrun on top of Oracle’s own topology exten-sion model, for users who chose that solu-tion. Version 1, Stickler explained, will simplyprovide a data loading function, with subse-quent versions allowing for editing.

World of ThoughtIt’s remarkable to see how big organisationslike Oracle, Autodesk, Intergraph, HP and theOGC show so much interest in the world ofthought, and the products, of 1Spatial. Thespecific solutions that 1Spatial has to offer,like data generalisation, the cleaning of datasets and the measuring of data quality willcontinue to be niche-solutions in a small mar-ket. Well, that is until one of the big boysdecides that all data worldwide will be vali-dated with 1Spatial’s tools. Who wouldn’twant to have Google as a client?

Remco Takken ([email protected]) is a

contributing editor of GeoInformatics. For more

information visit www.1Spatial.com.

data formats, and standards are anything butstandards. Integration means that we canaccess, understand, migrate, check quality,cleanse, aggregate, transform, validate, syn-chronize and move our data without prob-lems.”

Common European FrameworkIngrid Vanden Berghe, CEO and SurveyorGeneral of mapping agency NGI in Belgiumexplained how her mapping agency waspreparing for INSPIRE. “Already in 2001 wewere aiming at creating a seamless GIS, andwe are preparing the NGI to contribute to theNSDI and ESDI initiatives within INSPIRE.”Vanden Berghe went on to show how a gen-eralisation tool like Radius Clarity was used,and the validation process (with RadiusStudio).Ordnance Survey’s Keith Murray reminded allattendees of the fact that from May 15, 2007,INSPIRE was to become European law in hisspeech on data integrity needs from local dataquality to European ESDI’s (European SpatialData Infrastructure).

1Spatial Radius ProductsThis need to share data was picked up by1Spatial Product Director Graham Stickler withthe question of how we could know whendata is fit for purpose. Of course he neatly fit-ted in a little plug for 1Spatial ‘expert tools’,but his message also lends to a broader per-spective. “We need to have a common frame-


Art ic le

An attentive audience for David Schell: “Think about the net centric infrastructural, it’s SOA on steroids.

“sooner or later machines will

be able to talk to machines”


Buried Infrastructure as Prerequisites for Development of a Civ i

Geolocating the Underworld Maze of P

For eight millennia is mankind using buried infrastructure as prerequisites for

development of a civilisation. From ancient clean water and safe disposal of

sewage our society has added enormously to this infrastructure, particularly to

cater for our modern desire for energy and telecommunications. Therefore the

utility companies in the UK have decided to enhance and integrate existing

legacy asset information with dynamically acquired accurately geo-referenced

data and to get this unseen maze of pipes and cables beneath our feet

accurately recorded and mapped.

By Jo Parker

Buried Asset Records In the UK there are currently over 4 millionkilometres of buried pipes and cables provid-ing utility services. These are a combinationof telecommunications, water, gas, sewerage,electricity and drainage. It is estimated thatevery year, on average, 1.5 million holes aredug in UK highways and footpaths by utilitiesin order to install new services, or repair andmaintain existing ones. Over the past 25years, the UK has seen an increase in trafficof 72 per cent, with an increase in cars on theroad of 14 million from 10 million in 1972. Inaddition the amount of freight carried on theroads has increased by 69 per cent since1980. Latest Government figures forecast thatroad traffic will increase by about 40 per centover the next 20 years. Congestion is an every-day part of our lives and has many causes. Busy

roads are very sensitive to small disturbances,such as accidents, weather conditions, trafficvolume and road works. Any unnecessary dis-turbance should be avoided. However, work-ing on apparatus in the street has never beenan easy task for utilities. Every time a hole isdug in the road, it impacts on traffic and thelocal environment, and carries the risk of hit-ting and damaging other utilities’ buried plantand equipment. The highways authoritiesthemselves own extensive cable and pipe net-works used for powering streetlights, trafficlights and other highway signs as well as forroad drainage.Records of different utilities’ assets have beenkept but may be in different formats such aspaper, microfiche and digital and may beincompatible between the various companies.Even where a utility uses the latest techniques

to map their new assets, information on lega-cy services which may have been installeddecades earlier by a predecessor organisationmay be inaccurate or even non-existent. Pipesin older cities may be over 150 years old. Poormapping techniques used at the time ofinstallation and the practice of recording thepipe’s location relative to a physical featurethat may no longer exist means the exactlocations of many of today’s networks areunknown. As a result the only way to reliablyidentify the accurate position of any buriedservice is to excavate a trial hole. Current surface location and detection tech-niques are of limited use, being both unreli-able and slow to operate. Utilities are facedwith the continuing need for high levels ofaccess to an increasingly congested under-ground environment, with little or no realknowledge of it, and the inevitable costs. Asa society, the impact of this work on peopleand the environment continues to grow, withan increasing recognition of the need to miti-gate its effects, evidenced by Landfill Tax, theAggregate Levy and the Traffic ManagementAct.

Economic DisruptionThe direct cost of trenching and reinstatementwork in UK highways for utilities is in excess of£1.5 billion per year, part of which is attributableto ‘dry’ holes (plant or equipment not found)and damage to third party assets which is esti-mated to be as high as £150 million. Largethough they are, direct costs are significantlyless than the societal costs such as delays toroad users, disruption to businesses and envi-ronmental damage which may be as high as £5billion per year. These costs will continue to rise unless betterinformation and more effective technologies canbe made available to those doing the work.Today there is a boom in cable laying. TheGovernment is actively promoting the use ofbroadband and the fibre optic cables requiredfor this are vast. Today there is over 3 millionkm of fibre optic laid under the streets of theUK with 60,000 new connections each week.On the other side, many utilities are reachingthe end of their design lives. National Grid, forexample, has a programme to replace all theiriron mains within 30 meters of properties overthe next 30 years. Thames Water will replaceover 1600 km of iron mains in London over the

June 200750

Art ic le

Utility plan for a highway improve-ment scheme – or an underground

labyrinth?


next five years. Growth in the economy, the introduction ofcompetition into utility services and increasingcustomer demand for essential services hasbrought with it a greater number of excavationsin the streets in order to supply these services.The increase in the number of utilities licensedto lay mains and cables within our streets bringswith it the increased potential for conflictbetween the utilities and a greater need forreadily accessible accurate records. There is alsoa need to develop better ways to display theinformation as utility plans become so compli-cated it is difficult for site operatives to identifywhat they will actually find below the ground.Interestingly this problem is not limited to theUK. Countries in Europe, USA and increasingly inAsia report that they are suffering from prob-lems with locating and accessing their buriedutilities and the disruption that causes particu-larly in urban areas.

Mapping the UnderworldThe UK’s EPSRC - Engineering and PhysicalSciences Research Council announced in2004 that it would establish a programmeas an initial attempt to tackle these issues.It organised an ‘Ideas Factory’, whereby invit-ed academics, industrialists and EPSRC gottogether in the autumn of 2004 to reviewthe problems and agree priority research top-ics. Out of this a £1 million research pro-gramme was identified with four projectsfunded:• Buried asset location, identification and

condition assessment – a multi-sensorapproach

• Enhanced Methods of Detection of BuriedAssets

• Mapping and Positioning• Knowledge and Data Integration.

oped to display the information to diggingteams and network designers. The work willinclude field trials to confirm issues and trialsolutions.

Mapping and PositioningThe research carried out by the University ofNottingham through their IESSG - Institute ofEngineering Surveying and Space Geodesy willdevelop a prototype positioning system whichcan deliver 3D absolute co-ordinates to cen-timetre accuracy, using local transmitters suchas Locatalites, Inertial Navigation Systems(INS), Leica’s Smartstation, commercially avail-able GNSS technology and GNSS simulatorsdeveloped by the IESSG. The accuracy, availability and reliability ofsatellite based positioning are very dependenton the number of tracked satellites and theirspatial geometry. One of the limiting factorsin using GPS is the requirement of havingdirect line of sight with the satellites them-selves and the GPS receiver. Ideally, the GPSreceiver should see at least 5 satellites toallow On-The-Fly ambiguity resolution to takeplace. Most of the utility mapping required willbe in built up areas where line of sight to asufficient number of satellites is not alwayspossible. In addition the presence of trees aswell as buildings can cause masking issuesas well as introducing multipath errors, i.e.interference caused by the signal reflectingfrom a number of surfaces. This part of theproject will research various means of improv-ing the position availability, integrity and pre-cision through a GPS based system augment-ed with other systems such as Galileo,GLONASS, INS and Locatalites.

In addition, a network was fund-ed which has been used toestablish a web site for the pro-gramme and organise regularseminars to disseminate the find-ings from the programme andcollect industry views to informfuture research directions.Further details of the programmecan be found on the web site.The first project investigated thefeasibility of several novel ap -proaches alongside enhanced

exis ting approaches to be combined into asingle multi-modal unit which would locate,identify and condition assess buried assets.These techniques include developing groundprobing radar, acoustic and electro-magnetictechniques as well as considering the inter-action of the utility with the surrounding soilto develop tools which can both operatefrom the surface and through in pipe sys-tems.The second project is developing low costdetectable labels which can be affixed topipes, cables and ducts and which can beremotely interrogated from a surface basedunit to give information on the location andnature of the asset.The final two projects have laid the founda-tion for a further project funded by the DTI -Department of Trade & Industry, ‘VisualisingIntegrated Information on Buried Assets toReduce Streetworks’ (VISTA).

VISTA This project, lead by UKWIR - UK WaterIndustry Research brings together theUniversity of Nottingham andthe University of Leeds as wellas 19 other organisationsincluding various utility com-panies, highways organisa-tions, professional organisa-tions, utility contractors,consultants and survey compa-nies. The research for this pro-ject focuses on the enhance-ment and integration ofexisting legacy asset informa-tion together with dynamicallyacquired accurately geo-referenced data in the street.Novel techniques will be devel-


Art ic le

v ilisation.

f Pipes and Cables

Raster utility data will have to be transformed into digital vector form.

The VISTA vision.


Data IntegrationThe University of Leeds is investigating the various data issues related toburied asset records and is currently developing a schema which can beused to allow organisations to access varied digital records via the web. Inorder to allow other media to be easily included, additional research isinvestigating how raster data can be converted in to vector. Finally the Leedsteam is considering how accuracy can be displayed to allow the users ofasset information to be aware of the confidence the owning organisationhas in the data.

The FutureTraffic Management Regulations are likely to require all utilities to improvethe information they currently hold about their buried assets. This has beensupported by the results of a review of the current process carried outrecently by the NUAG - National Underground Asset Group a group of stake-holders from utility companies, local authorities, contractors, GovernmentDepartments and industry organisations which was established in 2005. Itsrole is to fully represent all industries view to support the Department forTransport’s decision making associated with the Traffic Management Act.Acting under the Departments governance the group is currently developingand implementing standards on recording, storing and sharing undergroundasset data across Great Britain. The research described above will facilitatethis and allow the UK to significantly improve managing of buried assets aswell as help ensure that any excavation carried out is minimised.

Jo Parker ([email protected]) is an independent consultant in the field of project

management and asset management for the utility sector. Further information on the

VISTA project can be found at www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/mtu/vista.htm and

www.vistadtiproject.org. Also relevant on this subject are www.epsrc.ac.uk,

www.dti.gov.uk, www.mappingtheunderworld.ac.uk, www.ukwir.org,

www.nottingham.ac.uk/iessg and www.nuag.co.uk.

June 200752

Art ic le

VISTA team members surveying buried utility assets.


Applanix introduced its most advanced medium for-

mat airborne directly georeferenced imaging solu-

tion, the Digital Sensor System (DSS) 439. The DSS

439 incorporates the latest advances in direct geo-

referencing and 39 MegaPixel CCD imaging technol-

ogy, featuring faster data productivity capabilities,

advanced optics, plus TrueSpectrum Image Chain

Analysis support for the generation of high-resolu-

tion color and color infra-red (CIR) ortho-rectified

imagery. The DSS 439 is built using a rugged and

tightly integrated computer architecture inside a

lightweight and compact modular design. Highly

portable and requiring less space than previous DSS

models, the system is easily transferred and can be

installed in small survey aircraft typically in less than

an hour. The DSS 439 comes with a pressurized,

shock isolated, and temperature controlled remov-

able data storage system, integrated POSTrack

flight management and Direct Georeferencing

system, embedded camera control firmware, and a

custom azimuth mount. POSPac and INPHO image

post-processing software are also

included, which combine to

provide a straightforward,

productive, and results-driven end-to-end ortho-

mosaic production environment.

The DSS 439 is capable of generating high-resolution

colour or CIR digital orthophotographs and ortho-

mosaics using Applanix’s industry-recognized direct

georeferencing techniques. Mission planning, opera-

tions, post-processing, and analysis of data have all

been simplified through a supported workflow that

produces a variety of data products for a mix of

applications ranging from agricultural reconnaissance

and urban/regional planning to rapid response ser-

vices and change detection. Applanix offers DSS

clients world-wide customer support and a yearly

maintenance and warranty program. The new DSS

439 is expected to be available at the beginning of

the third quarter of 2007 through the Applanix sales

network. For more information on the Applanix DSS

439 including specifications, features, and benefits,

please visit www.applanix.com.

Internet: www.applanix.com

BAE Systems Introduces Automation Technology for Map Creation

BAE Systems has released its Next-Generation

Automatic Terrain Extraction (NGATE) software for

creating 3D models from satellite or aerial imagery.

The 3D terrain and surface models generated by

NGATE can be used for geospatial simulations,

mission rehearsals, situational awareness, and

disaster relief and recovery. NGATE uses a hybrid

matching process to create precise elevation data

for 3D terrain and surface models. The software is

particularly useful for mapping urban areas, large

geographic landscapes, mountainous or rough

terrain, and areas with little contrast, such as road

surfaces on large-scale imagery and vast deserts.

Internet: www.baesystems.com

New Leica ALS Corridor MapperLIDAR System

Leica Geosystems announces a new airborne LIDAR

system designed specifically for corridor mapping

and other large-scale mapping applications. The new

system, called the Leica ALS Corridor Mapper, satis-

fies the needs of the lower-altitude LIDAR mapping

market segment.

The Leica ALS Corridor Mapper can be enhanced

over time, since it is engineered to allow incorpora-

tion of the latest MPiA (Multiple Pulses in Air) tech-

nology, and can also be upgraded to full Leica

ALS50-II specifications.

Internet: www.gi.leica-geosystems.com

New Topcon Robotic TotalStation Adds Digital Imaging

The newest addition to

Topcon’s robotic total station

series – the GPT-9000Ai --

now offers the added pro-

ductivity and versatility of

integrated digital imaging.

The GPT-9000Ai robotic total

station provides precise

reflectorless measurement up

to 2,000 meters the longest

in the industry, and can easi-

ly measure on difficult targets like power lines.

Internet: www.topcon.eu

Applanix Unveils 39 MegaPixel Airborne Imaging Solution

Product News

Trimble MultiTrack Target

The Trimble MultiTrack

Target is a premium target

designed for flexibility and

robust survey performance.

The new accessory for the

Trimble S6 Total Station or

Trimble VX Spatial Station

can operate as a normal

passive prism or as an

active target, making it the

first of its kind in the sur-

veying industry. With the

Trimble MultiTrack Target

users can find and lock to

the correct target. Nearby

reflective surfaces, includ-

ing road signs, cars, warn-

ing vests and other on-site prisms, do not impact

tracking during surveys. Active tracking also offers

longer range, and the 360 degree active LED rings

ensure the correct target is tracked from any angle.

Internet: www.trimble.com

June 200754

Industry News 4-2007:GEO 66 industry news 29-05-2007 12:05 Pagina 54

Latest News? Visit www.geoinformatics.com 55

Product News

June 2007

Trimble Introduces Lightweight Solution for Mapping and GIS Applications

Trimble introduced the Juno ST handheld, a portable, low-cost data collection

solution supported by Trimble’s range of field and office software. It comes stan-

dard with a built-in high-sensitivity Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver,

Microsoft® Windows Mobile® version 5.0 software, and has Wi-Fi/Bluetooth®

for wireless connectivity to office networks, cameras and mobile phones. The Juno

ST handheld’s low price point facilitates large-scale deployment, allowing a com-

pany or organization to equip a significant number of its employees; it is espe-

cially practical for use in applications where high productivity is most important.

Examples include natural resources organizations, utility companies, and govern-

ment agencies conducting inspection and permitting tasks. The Juno ST hand-

held is also fully compatible with other Trimble data collection systems, utilizing

the same software and workflows as the entire range of Trimble Mapping & GIS

solutions. Delivering a range of 2 to 5 meter positioning, real-time or postpro-

cessed, the Juno ST handheld incorporates a high-sensitivity GPS receiver and

has been specially designed to maximize yield of positions in hostile environ-

ments, such as under forest canopy and up against buildings. For use in a vehi-

cle, an external antenna can be added.

Purpose-built for streamlined data col-

lection, the Juno ST handheld has 128

MB of non-volatile Flash data storage

and a Secure Digital (SD) card slot for

additional data storage. The removable

Li-Ion battery is rechargeable and lasts

for up to eight hours. The Juno ST hand-

held provides flexibility with Windows

Mobile 5.0 software and includes familiar

Microsoft productivity tools such as

Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, Internet

Explorer Mobile and Outlook® Mobile.

Internet: www.trimble.com.

Trimble R7 GNSS System

Trimble’s new R7 GNSS System is a multi-channel,

multi-frequency GNSS receiver and UHF radio in one

compact rugged unit. The receiver and internal UHF

radio are protected from water, dust, and shock

inside the unit’s metal jacket. This field sturdiness

makes the lightweight Trimble R7 GNSS ideal for

tough environments. The Trimble R7 GNSS combines

advanced receiver technology with proven system

design to provide maximum flexibility, accuracy, and

productivity. Powered by R-Track technology, an

enhanced Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) engine, the

Trimble R7 GNSS now supports both the next-

generation GPS L2C and L5 signals and GLONASS

L1/L2 signals. The GNSS signals are capable of

providing surveying professionals with real field

benefits. With flexible separate antenna options, the

Trimble R7 GNSS System can be used with the

Trimble Zephyr Geodetic 2 ground plane antenna as

a base to minimize signal multipath. As a rover, the

modular system can be used with Trimble Zephyr 2

antenna for flexibility: carry the receiver on the pole,

wear it in the purpose-built Trimble backpack, or

drive with the Trimble R7 GNSS inside a vehicle.

These flexible options allow surveyors to use the

Trimble R7 GNSS system as a base or rover accord-

ing to each job’s needs.

For extra convenience and fewer cable hassles, the

Trimble R7 GNSS includes Bluetooth® capability for

wireless connection to a Trimble controller, such as

the Trimble TSC2® Controller.

Internet: www.trimble.com

Leica Geosystems GMX901 GPS Smart Antenna

Leica’s new GMX901 is an affordable and precise GPS

receiver with integrated antenna and ground plane.

The antenna is specially developed to monitor sen-

sitive structures such as mines, slopes, bridges,

dams and buildings. The GMX901 streams precise

single frequency code and phase data up to 1 Hz,

providing the basis for highly accurate position

determination and deformation analysis. Designed

with a focus on the essential – low power con-

sumption, high quality measurement, simplicity,

durability – the Leica GMX901 is an ideal sensor for

monitoring. It has a robust housing that is water, heat, cold and vibration resistant and which can be easily

mounted on the infrastructure to be monitored. The GMX901 connects seamlessly to the Leica GPS Spider

advanced GPS processing software for coordinate calculation and raw data storage. The Leica GeoMoS moni-

toring software can be used to provide integration with other sensors, analysis of movements and calculation

of limit checks. Third party analysis software can also be easily integrated via the standard NMEA interface of

Leica GPS Spider.

Internet: www.leica-geosystems.com

Magellan Introduces DG14 RTK GPS Board

Magellan’s new DG14 RTK is a cost-effective, sub-meter GNSS (GPS +

SBAS) + Beacon receiver. In the DG14 RTK, BLADE, Magellan’s new

proprietary GNSS processing technology, uniquely incorporates rang-

ing and carrier phase signals from satellite-based augmentation sys-

tems (SBAS), such as WAAS, EGNOS & MSAS in the RTK computation.

An embedded beacon receiver provides sub-meter differential posi-

tioning, when SBAS corrections are not available.

DG14 RTK customers can choose from a fixed centimeter solution or a

“flying RTK” decimeter solution. Because it offers an optimized mix of

speed and accuracy, the decimeter mode makes DG14 RTK the perfect

solution for customers who need decimeter accuracy but don’t want

to spend the typical time necessary to achieve a decimeter fix. BLADE

enables decimeter accurate position collection in about one-third of

the time of the traditional float solution. In addition, BLADE enables

DG14 RTK to support moving base operation and heading plus

pitch/roll computation with auto-calibration for easy initialization. For

best results, DG14 RTK rovers can be configured to use SBAS signals

in addition to GPS for RTK positioning with any RTCM 3.0-compatible

base station.

DG14 RTK was developed to meet the needs of demanding high-precision applications for

machine control, agriculture, aviation, military, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), robotics, marine survey and

navigation. Other applications include marine navigation and survey, aviation, UAV, and military applications

that can take advantage of the DG14 RTK moving base, relative navigation and heading, pitch and roll com-

putation for precise and accurate positioning, navigation and tracking of vessels for demanding operating

environments at sea, land, and air that require reliable decimeter or centimeter accuracies.

Internet: www.magellangps.com


June 200756

NovAtel Licensed to Sell Galileo Receivers NovAtel has received a license valid for 10 years from

the European Space Agency (ESA), which allows

NovAtel to sell receivers that track Galileo signals.

NovAtel received this license based on its participa-

tion in the Galileo Receiver Chain (GRC) program.

Recently, NovAtel announced that it was the first

company outside Europe to be accepted as a Full

Member of Galileo Services, a non-profit organiza-

tion made up of a consortium of businesses and

agencies involved with Galileo satellite system

downstream technology and services.

www.novatel.com

Hexagon Acquires D&P Systems and TopolaserSystem Hexagon has entered into an agreement to acquire

all outstanding shares of the French companies D&P

Systems and Topolaser System s.a.s. D&P Systems

develops and supplies multidimensional systems for

measuring, planning and machine control for exca-

vators, graders, dozers and pavers. Similar to the

recently acquired Svensk ByggnadsGeodesi AB

(SBG), D&P Systems’ main operation is software

development. Topolaser’s main operations are dis-

tribution of surveying and construction equipment

and integration of machine guidance systems in

France. The two companies combined employ 22

people today.

www.leica-geosystems.com

1Spatial Build on Quality Control with OGC1Spatial has successfully deployed an online Quality

Control service as part of the Open Geospatial

Consortium project OWS-4, their fourth web services

testbed activity. The OWS-4 project is based on a

hypothetical major disaster scenario; a toxic bomb

is discovered as a container is unloaded from a ship

in the New York City area. The project incorporates

elements of a multi-faceted operation that requires

setup of a temporary medical response facility with-

in an existing military installation. The scenario

includes the discovery and deployment of remote

imaging and point in-situ sensors, the acquisition

and processing of data obtained with them, and the

integration of these data with other geospatial data

assets.

www.1spatial.com

AED-SICAD Selected “Foundation Partner Award2007”ESRI selected its strategic partner AED-SICAD for this

year’s Foundation Partner Award. This prize category

is awarded to ESRI partners who showed special

commitment in setting up a strong, close and last-

ing cooperation between the companies. Partners

like AED-SICAD are the foundation on which the com-

prehensive ESRI Partner Program is built.

www.aed-sicad

Bentley Acquires TDV GmbH Bentley Systems has acquired TDV GmbH of Austria,

a leading provider of structural modeling, analysis,

and design software for bridge engineering serving

engineers, designers, and owners. TDV’s industry-

leading RM 2006 product for static and dynamic

design and analysis of steel, concrete, and compos-

ite structures is used by hundreds of bridge design

firms worldwide.

www.bentley.com

CREASO Signs Agreement with SARMAPCREASO and SARMAP signed an agreement to

create new solutions based on SARscape for ENVI.

SARscape is a software platform for processing

of SAR data in the remote sensing field.

SARMAP is a spin-off of the University of Zurich

and is now a privately held company. Core

activities are algorithm, software and application

developments in the domain of Earth Observation

(particularly based on airborne and spaceborne

Synthetic Aperture Radar) and consulting services.

SARMAP’s expertise include the production and

analysis of high resolution 3D Digital Surface and

Terrain Model and ground deformation maps as

well as 2D products, such as mapping and moni-

toring of land cover features, agriculture and forestry

anomalies.

www.sarmap.chwww.creaso.com

ESRI's GIS Selected for Analysis of NationwideEducational Facilities in Kenya The Ministry of Education (MOE) in Kenya has con-

tracted Oakar Services Ltd. (OSL), ESRI's distributor

in eastern Africa, to develop a geographic informa-

tion system (GIS) database of the educational facili-

ties in the country. The project, started in December

2006, is valued at US $ 1 million, and is being fund-

ed with a grant from the United States Agency for

International Development (USAID).

www.esri.com

Hexagon Acquires Leading US CatalogueDistribution CompanyHexagon, the parent company of Leica Geosystems,

has entered into an agreement to acquire all out-

standing shares of the American company Allen

Precision Equipment, Inc. (www.allenprecision.com).

Allen Precision is primarily a catalogue company that

represents several major suppliers and sells survey-

ing equipment and related supplies to engineers,

surveyors, contractors and government agencies.

Allen Precision had a turnover of over US $24 mil-

lion in 2006 and has shown consistent growth

exceeding the USA market growth for several years.

The company is based in Duluth, Georgia and

employs 41 people.


Leica Acquires ER MapperLeica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging has acquired

all assets of Earth Resource Mapping Ltd (ER

Mapper). ER Mapper has clients around the world,

with a particularly strong foothold and in Southeast

Asia and Australia that, when combined with Leica

Geosystems’ strengths in the US, Europe and Asia

Pacific markets, creates a much stronger global

enterprise.

www.gi.leica-geosystems.com

Lockheed Martin Receives US$ 6 millionContract to Add Additional GPS Signal The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin

a US $ 6 million contract to develop and integrate

a demonstration payload that will temporarily

transmit a third civil signal on a modernized Global

Positioning System Block IIR (GPS IIR-M) satellite.

This new contract directs Lockheed Martin and its

navigation payload supplier ITT in Clifton, N.J. to

provide an on-orbit demonstration capability for

the new civil signal. The signal, located on the L5

frequency (1176MHz) will comply with international

radio frequency spectrum requirements. The Block

IIR-M spacecraft with the demonstration payload is

planned for launch in 2008. Lockheed Martin Space

Systems, Valley Forge, Pa., is the prime contractor

for the GPS IIR program. The company designed

and built 21 IIR spacecraft for the Global

Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile

Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.

The final eight spacecraft, designated Block IIR-M,

were modernized to enhance operations and navi-

gation signal performance for military and civilian

GPS users around the globe. ITT supplied all 21

navigation payloads for both the IIR and IIR-M

spacecraft.

www.lmco.com

OSGeo Graduates Autodesk MapGuide OpenSource to Full Project Status MapGuide Open Source has achieved a new

status within the Open Source Geospatial

Foundation (OSGeo) as a fully endorsed project.

Open Source is a Web-based platform that enables

users to develop and publish online mapping

applications and geospatial web services. During

its incubation process, the project’s community of

more than 600 members actively engaged in

development and application efforts to validate

the software’s functionality, viability and support.

As part of the project’s graduation, Robert Bray,

platform software manager and architect of

geospatial solutions at Autodesk, has assumed the

role of OSGeo vice-president – MapGuide Open

Source. With more than 25,000 downloads in its

first year and an average of four to five thousand

downloads per month in 2007, the software is

already being embraced by the geospatial open

source community. To date, MapGuide Open

Source has had three version releases, with the

most recent update in January 2007 adding direct

support of KML files for Google Earth mapping

service. In addition to MapGuide Open Source,

Autodesk contributed its Feature Data Object (FDO)

data access technology as an open source project

to OSGeo. Autodesk is also a sustaining sponsor

of OSGeo, further showing their support of the

open source community. For more information

about MapGuide Open Source, visit

http://mapguide.osgeo.org/.

www.autodesk.com

Poland Chooses Trimble Technology to Establishits Nationwide GNSS Infrastructure NetworkTrimble has been chosen by the Polish National

Office of Geodesy and Cartography, GUGiK, to

supply 78 Continuous Operating Reference Station

(CORS) receivers and Trimble VRS (Virtual Reference

Station) technology to establish a nationwide

Global Satellite Navigation Positioning System

(GNSS) infrastructure network for the country of

Poland. The Trimble VRS network will provide a

geospatial infrastructure for surveying, engineering

and Geographic Information System (GIS)

professionals that enables high accuracy real-time

kinematic (RTK) GNSS positioning without the need

of separate base stations or software, significantly

increasing efficiency and productivity.

www.gugik.gov.plwww.trimble.com

ArcGIS Image Server Now Included in ESRIDeveloper Network Program ArcGIS Image Server, a server-based solution

that provides fast access and visualization of

large quantities of file-based imagery processed on

the fly and on demand, has been added to the

suite of software provided to ESRI Developer

Network (EDN) subscribers. Both ArcGIS

Image Server extensions, Orthorectification and

Seamline are also included. For more information

on the ESRI Developer Network, visit

www.esri.com/edn.

www.esri.com

Industry News



Industry News

CARIS Selected for Brunei US$ 6.2 Million NSDIProjectBrunei Darussalam has awarded a US $ 6.3 million

project for delivery of the country’s National Spatial

Data Infrastructure (NSDI). Through the project,

geomatics software company CARIS will deliver its

spatial database and web-mapping technology. The

primary contractor for the project is Selective

Powertech Consulting of Brunei Darussalam, which

has a specialization in information and communica-

tions technology consultation and implementation

for e-government.

www.caris.com.

GeoEye and East-Dawn of China Partner GeoEye has partnered with the East-Dawn Group, a

privately held company based in Beijing, China to

provide satellite imagery and value-added products

in China. To implement this, the East Dawn Group

has formed a new company, Beijing Earth

Observation (BEO). BEO, also headquartered in

Beijing, will focus on the resale of satellite imagery

and value-added products. Under terms of the agree-

ment and subject to U.S. Government approval, BEO

will be GeoEye's exclusive Master Reseller in China

and will have access to GeoEye's archive of more

than 278 million square kilometers of map-accurate

satellite imagery. GeoEye will appoint two directors

to BEO's board to gain a better understanding of

the market and provide strategic advice to the com-

pany. A ceremony marking this new relationship was

held in Beijing on April 19, 2007.

www.geoeye.com

GITA Announces Partnership with INTERGEOGITA has established a new partnership with the

organizers of the INTERGEO Conference, which this

year will take place Sept. 25-27, 2007, in Leipzig,

Germany. GITA will work with the German Association

of Surveying (DVW) on an International Exhibitor

Trade Mission to help their respective exhibitors

build or enhance their presence in the European

market. GITA’s corporate members/exhibitors will be

offered special exhibit packages at INTERGEO, and

European exhibitors from INTERGEO will receive the

same for GITA’s Annual Conference 31, which will

take place March 9-12, 2008, in Seattle, Wash.

www.gita.org

Greece Selects Trimble to Build NationwideGNSS Infrastructure Network Trimble has been selected by the Greek National

Cadastre, KTIMATOLOGIO S.A., to supply Trimble VRS

network hardware and software to establish a

nationwide Global Navigation Satellite System

(GNSS) infrastructure network for the country of

Greece. Trimble will also provide complete network

set up, deployment and operation during the initial

start-up period. The Trimble VRS network will pro-

vide a fixed geospatial infrastructure for surveying,

engineering and Geographic Information System

(GIS) professionals that enables high accuracy real-

time kinematic (RTK) GNSS positioning, significantly

increasing efficiency and productivity.

www.trimble.com

Indonesian Government Partners WithDigitalGlobe to Visually Identify TaxableProperty DigitalGlobe announced a partnership with the

Indonesian Directorate of Property Tax (PBB) and

Ministry of Finance. DigitalGlobe's QuickBird satel-

lite imagery will facilitate visual identification of tax-

able land, to help the Indonesian government prop-

erly classify and categorize property. The partnership

highlights DigitalGlobe's role as a versatile business

solution in both the public and private sector.

www.digitalglobe.com

Intermap Reports Revenue Growth in Q1Intermap Technologies reported financial results for

the first quarter ended March 31, 2007. For the first

quarter, Intermap reported an increase in total rev-

enue to US $ 6.2 million, as compared to total rev-

enue of US $ 2.1 million for the same period in 2006.

For the first quarter of 2007, Intermap reported a

net loss of US $ 2.8 million to a net loss of US $

2.7 million for the same period in 2006.

www.intermap.com

Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging AcquiresAcquis TechnologyLeica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging has acquired

the technology assets of Acquis, Inc., a leader in the

development of web-based data editing software for

Oracle Spatial. Leica Geosystems will use this tech-

nology to provide enterprise functionality on the

Oracle Spatial database. In addition, key personnel

from Acquis will join Leica’s enterprise efforts. Acquis

brings a combination of mobile and web enterprise

tools and services for a variety of user solutions

including spatial database editing tools, Oracle

Spatial data management expertise, solution design

and implementation services.

www.gi.leica-geosystems.com

Leica Geosystems Supports African AFREFProjectThe African Geodetic Reference Frame (AFREF) is con-

ceived as a unified geodetic reference frame for

Africa - the fundamental basis for the national and

regional reference networks. In March, the first per-

manent GNSS reference station was launched in

Kenya. Leica Geosystems supports the project with

its knowledge, as well as via donation of a complete

system. Currently, African countries each maintain

their own geodetic reference system. In the past,

this resulted in mismatched maps at national bor-

ders or even in the same country; in Kenya alone

there are currently two different mapping coordinate

systems in use. The African Geodetic Reference

Frame (AFREF) shall build a fundamental basis for a

continent-wide reference network system, consisting

of permanent Global Navigational Satellite Systems

(GNSS) stations. The goal is to provide users free

access to GNSS data and products, with a maximum

distance of 500 km from the next reference station

- anywhere in Africa.


MDA Acquires Vexcel Canada from MicrosoftCorporationMDA has acquired Vexcel Canada Inc. Financial terms

will not be disclosed. Founded in 1981, Vexcel

Canada is based in Ottawa, Ontario, and specializes

in providing advanced products and services using

the latest radar image data sources. The company

is a subsidiary of Vexcel U.S. that was acquired by

Microsoft in 2006.

Iwww.mdacorporation.comwww.vexcel.com

HAL – Infotech Joint Venture to Offer EngineeringServices to Aerospace Sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Infotech

Enterprises Limited (IEL) have formed a joint ven-

ture company to offer engineering design services for

the aerospace sector. The joint venture, an indepen-

dent business entity, will mainly focus on aero-

engines, technical publications and anticipated work

from various OEMs under the offset programs. HAL

and Infotech Enterprises would be equal partners in

this venture.

www.hal-india.comwww.infotechsw.com

1Spatial and QC Data Offer Solution for UK andIrish Utilities1Spatial and QC Data announced a partnership to

provide an innovative data quality solution for the

UK and Irish utilities marketplace. The partnership

unites industry knowledge, technical expertise and

innovative technology to deliver a combined soft-

ware and services solution for data quality auditing

and improvement. Utility organisations working in

gas, electricity, water or telecommunications in the

UK and Ireland can now take advantage of this pio-

neering approach. For more information on the Asset

Conformance Analysis (ACA) service, visit:

www.1spatial.com/solutions/industries/utilities/aca.php www.1spatial.com

Hexagon Acquires Jigsaw Technologies Hexagon has entered into an agreement to acquire

all outstanding shares of Jigsaw Technologies in

Tucson, Arizona, USA. Jigsaw develops and supplies

software for fleet management, the largest area of

the measurement technologies market segment

machine control for mining. The company’s products

are used mainly for coal or mineral open pit mining.

Jigsaw was founded in year 2004 and today employs

17 people. The business has developed tremen-

dously. Net sales for 2007 are expected to reach

more than 9 Million US $.


NovAtel Expands and Reorganizes Senior TeamNovAtel appointed Colin Maclellan into the newly

created position of Vice President and General

Manager. NovAtel executives Farlin Halsey and

Graham Purves will be taking on new roles. Mr.

Halsey, previously Vice President, Marketing, has

been appointed Vice President, Corporate Strategy

and Alliances. Mr. Purves, previously Vice President,

OEM Sales, has been appointed Vice President, Sales

and Marketing.

www.novatel.com

Infoterra Leads European Mapping Project forEEAA European service provider network led by Infoterra

GmbH will map built-up areas and soil sealing for

Europe. By 2008, the consortium will cover 5.8 mio

square kilometres at 20 m resolution for the

reference year of 2006. This challenging project has

recently been awarded by the European Environment

Agency (EEA) as one of the first seamless pan-

European geo-information services within the GMES

(Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) ini-

tiative of the European Commission (EC) and the

European Space Agency (ESA). The service provider

network consists of GeoVille GmbH (Austria), GISAT

s.r.o. (Czech Republic), Metria (Sweden), Planetek

Italia srl. (Italy), Tragsatec SA (Spain), and Infoterra

GmbH (Germany), gathering essential expertise from

all over Europe.

www.infoterra.de


geoinformatics 2007 vol04

Documents

ice losses

meters of ice

greenlands ice sheet

ice age

largest ice sheet

massive ice sheet

ice ongreenland

ice gainssatellite evidence