1,721,044 research outputs found
Free web mapping tools to characterise landscape dynamics and to favour e-participation
No full textGIS methodologies in combination with Remote Sensing data and techniques are fundamental to analyse and characterise Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) and their evolutionary dynamics. The case study here described, has been conducted in two study-areas: the Serre Regional natural Park and the so-called Conca of Avellino (Southern Italy). This study is part of a wider research allowed to understand how the landscape changes dynamics are linked and have been influenced by several causes (demography, economy, transportation network, people preferences, policies, etc.). A multi-temporal set of images (aerial photos and Landsat scenes) has been processed LULC. Then, through a GIS approach, change detection and spatiotemporal analysis has been integrated to characterise LULC dynamics, focusing on urban growth/sprawl phenomenon and loss of rural/natural lands. This paper focuses the attention on the WebGIS application based on free online tools which has been implemented with the aim to publish and to share with local communities all geospatial data produced. This platform will be further implemented in order to favour e-participation in the planning tools. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Geomatics in analysing the evolution of agricultural terraced landscapes
No full textThe present paper shows the first step of an ongoing research implemented for a dynamic characterisation and valorisation of a historical terraced landscape in Italy, the 'Costa Viola' landscape in the Calabria region. The Costa Viola dry-stone terraces characteristics and the Land Use/Land Cover (LU/LC) evolution between 1976 and 2012 were analysed. In order to better understand the evolution trends and dynamics, an intermediate step in 1989 was investigated. Taking into consideration the very steep slopes of the Costa Viola landscape and the need of precision in analysing the historical evolution of agricultural terraces, the use of precision tools coupled with in situ detailed surveys were implemented. As a result, a comprehensive picture of the evolutionary trends in nearly forty years has been provided also highlighting the dynamic of abandonment still ongoing despite the policies of valorisation implemented up to now. © 2014 Springer International Publishing
Seismic Vulnerability Assessment at Urban Scale Based on Different Building Stock Data Sources
No full textIn this study, a seismic vulnerability assessment at urban scale is carried out in a high-seismic city in Southern Italy using building stock data from different sources: (1) data from an airborne Remote Sensing mission carried out over the municipality, providing a detailed estimate of 3D geometric parameters of buildings, and (2) data from a field survey, providing detailed information on geometrical and structural characteristics of each single building. Such data are used within a multilevel approach in order to evaluate the influence of the detail level of input data on seismic vulnerability assessment at urban scale. Data from the detailed field survey are assumed as a reference, and when using Remote Sensing data, due to the lack of information affecting such source, some of the input parameters to the seismic vulnerability assessment procedure are assumed as random variables, using aggregate information on buildings provided by census data. Hence, the error introduced by the use of less detailed (but easier, faster and less expensive to collect) data is analyzed and discussed in order to evaluate the reliability of alternative data sources within a cost/benefit approach to large scale seismic risk assessment. © 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers
A Mobile Small Sized Device for Air Pollutants Monitoring Connected to the Smart Road: Preliminary Results
No full textThe work in progress on a small sized air pollution monitoring system mountable on board urban vehicles is described. The system exchanges data exploiting a “Smart Road” infrastructure with a central computing facility, the Smart City Platform, a GIS-based Decision Support System designed to perform real time monitoring and interpolation of data with the aim of possibly issuing alarms with respect to different town areas. Early experimental data gathering in the Rome urban area and subsequent spline interpolation processing are presented. Thus, air pollutants distribution maps have been produced. Finally, protocols for data exchange have been designed. Work is in progress on algorithms for data fusion among different monitoring systems and interpolation of data for a geographically denser map
A geospatial decision support tool for seismic risk management: Florence (Italy) case study
No full textSeismic risk assessment, which attempts to predict earthquake-induced physical impacts on structures and infrastructures, casualties and losses can be a powerful tool to support emergency response planning as well as the development of effective mitigation strategies. The Civil Protection (CP) Department of Florence Municipality commissioned this study as historical earthquakes showed an appreciable seismic risk for the city that needed careful civil protection planning. A Decision Support System DSS (CIPCast-ES) developed by ENEA, APIC Lab, in the framework of the EU-funded project CIPRNet, was used to simulate the seismic and impact scenarios for two major historical earthquakes felt in Florence, to assess the earthquake-induced damage at single building level, and the relative expected consequences on population. The possibility to account for the seismic microzonation (i.e. the possible amplification of the seismic hazard and therefore of the expected impacts due to soil conditions) was also included within DSS. The results of the scenario analysis, presented in the paper in tabular format, were provided to the CP of Florence Municipality as queryable, interactive and end-user friendly web-version maps. © Springer International Publishing AG 2017
Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Urban and Natural Areas in the Northern Littoral Zone of Rome: Land-Cover Change Analysis During the Last Thirty Years. Preliminary Results
No full textThe present study is focused on the littoral zone between Rome and Civitavecchia, where the spatio-temporal dynamics of the land cover has been analysed during the last thirty years, by means of Remote Sensing and GIS procedures. In a few decades, the coastal municipalities within the study area have considerably increased their inhabitants. Population and urban expansion have grown in parallel, at the expense of agricultural and natural areas, especially in the narrow coastal strip between the sea and the hills. Landsat satellite data from 1990 to 2019 have been processed and classified in order to describe and map the Land-Cover change (LCc). Maps have been suitable integrated with population data and other geospatial layers (transportation network). The results obtained allowed to understand the natural and rural land transformations, especially those related to the urban growth and expansion that are related to the proximity of Rome City
Sentinel-2 imagery for mapping cork oak (quercus suber L.) Distribution in calabria (Italy): Capabilities and quantitative estimation
No full textThe goal of this paper refers to the potential in using new Sentinel-2 (S-2) remote sensing imagery and in situ surveying for mapping Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) woodlands in Calabria Region (Southern Italy), comparing them to other satellite platforms such as Landsat 8 operational land imager (L8 OLI). Considering that S-2 spectral bands are particularly suitable for estimating different vegetation cover characteristics, we propose a methodology for mapping the actual consistence of this habitat, using the vegetation spectral reflectance to evaluate cork oak spectral response. A set of different S-2 and L8 OLI scenes where freely downloaded and pre-processed (topographic and atmospheric correction, band anomaly detection) in order to better investigate cork oak spectral signature. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and ND Red Edge index where calculated to obtain a high spectral resolution vegetation mask. Digital Elevation Model (DEM), signature training sets, Ground Control Points (GCPs) and ancillary data where used to perform a supervised classification of both S-2 and L8 OLI images. Furthermore, an accuracy assessment was applied to the classified images in order to evaluate user’s and producer’s accuracies. S-2 provides a great opportunity for global vegetation monitoring due to its enhanced spatial, spectral and temporal characteristics compared with Landsat
Geomatics to support the environmental impact assessment in renewable energy plants installation
No full textProjections to 2020 indicate that renewable energy sources (RES) could cover, from 20 to 30 percent of the world's energy needs. To implement an effective e-governance in this direction, it is necessary to implement new methodologies to support decision-making in the local energy planning. The environmental impact is one of the main concern existing at different levels, in addition to the growing soil consumption in Europe. A significant problem for some types of plants, mainly solar and wind power, is the interaction of the devices with the surrounding environment, with possible negative effects in terms of visual impact and soil consumption. It is, therefore, very important to define which weight can have different impacts and to consider all possible scenarios. This work proposes a methodology to investigate, through some specific indicators, these impacts and to support territorial planning processes for the best choice of supply from RES. The processing of geospatial data and environmental information, collected at different scales, has been conducted through the use of GIS tools, allowing the implementation of a criticality index, as an indicator related to weight of the impacts that the construction of RES plants can have on the surrounding environmental features. © 2014 Springer International Publishing
Geographical perspectives in research and didactics from other perspectives. Inputs from J-READING
No full textThis work has been envisaged as a contribution with several viewpoints coming from different scientific and disciplinary sectors, able to underline the potentialities of geographical perspectives in an interdiscipli-nary key, both in research and didactics. Th ese considerations are set out starting from the inputs provided by J -READING in its ten years of publications, contextualizing them in a wider framework of discussion. In particular the attention is focussed in terms of interactions with: hygiene, public health and challenges for social utility; volcanic and natural risks and the active involvement of the population; GIS models and applied research and didactics
A Knowledge Graph for GIS-Based Operational Resilience Assessment of Electricity Networks Against Climate Scenarios
No full textThe existing electricity infrastructures are increasingly challenged by the frequency and intensity of natural adverse events as most of their assets have been built to operate in environmental conditions that are now outdated. Resilience to climate change related events is a new and urgent requirement for infrastructure planning studies, that has led to rethinking the methods and decision support tools commonly used by the electricity operators to address failure scenarios driven by climate factors. Knowledge graphs are a viable technology for integration of data, information and models developed in different scientific fields, such as electricity networks and environmental risk assessments. The paper details the design approach of a knowledge graph to support the resilience analysis process of an electricity network. When linked to a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment, the knowledge graph will support in the configuration of various resilience analysis methods, such as failure forecast and/or simulation. The work is part of the activity line Decision support systems and operational resilience of the Italian project NEST, funded by the PNRR
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