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2013 | Buch

Environmental Monitoring and Management Kapitel lesen Erstes Kapitel lesen

Environmental Geoinformatics

Monitoring and Management

verfasst von: Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema

Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

Buchreihe : Environmental Science and Engineering

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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SUCHEN

Über dieses Buch

There is no doubt that today, perhaps more than ever before, humanity faces a myriad of complex and demanding challenges. These include natural resource depletion and environmental degradation, food and water insecurity, energy shortages, diminishing biodiversity, increasing losses from natural disasters, and climate change with its associated potentially devastating consequences, such as rising sea levels.
These human-induced and natural impacts on the environment need to be well understood in order to develop informed policies, decisions, and remedial measures to mitigate current and future negative impacts. To achieve this, continuous monitoring and management of the environment to acquire data that can be soundly and rigorously analyzed to provide information about its current state and changing patterns, and thereby allow predictions of possible future impacts, are essential. Developing pragmatic and sustainable solutions to address these and many other similar challenges requires the use of geodata and the application of geoinformatics.
This book presents the concepts and applications of geoinformatics, a multidisciplinary field that has at its core different technologies that support the acquisition, analysis and visualization of geodata for environmental monitoring and management. We depart from the 4D to the 5D data paradigm, which defines geodata accurately, consistently, rapidly and completely, in order to be useful without any restrictions in space, time or scale to represent a truly global dimension of the digital Earth. The book also features the state-of-the-art discussion of Web-GIS.
The concepts and applications of geoinformatics presented in this book will be of benefit to decision-makers across a wide range of fields, including those at environmental agencies, in the emergency services, public health and epidemiology, crime mapping, environmental management agencies, tourist industry, market analysis and e-commerce, or mineral exploration, among many others.

The title and subtitle of this textbook convey a distinct message. Monitoring -the passive part in the subtitle - refers to observation and data acquisition, whereas management - the active component - stands for operation and performance. The topic is our environment, which is intimately related to geoinformatics. The overall message is: all the mentioned elements do interact and must not be separated. Hans-Peter B ahr, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr.h.c., Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Introduction

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Environmental Monitoring and Management
Abstract
A natural way to begin this monogram is by posing several pertinent questions. Firstly, what exactly does the term “monitoring” mean. Furthermore, is monitoring synonymous to measuring or observing? And more specifically, what does it mean within an environmental perspective? Monitoring has been defined by James (2003) as observing, detecting, or recording the operation of a system; watching closely for purposes of control; surveillance; keeping track of; checking continually; detecting change.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 2. Geodata and Geoinformatics
Abstract
Understanding the characteristics of and possibilities in using geodata is premised on proper comprehension of the underlying concepts of space, time and scale, contextualized within the Earth’s framework. Although these concepts are used in everyday parlance, often without much afterthought, they are not trivial at all. For instance, looking back throughout the entire history of mankind, the concepts of space and time have been the subject of animated philosophical, religious and scientific debates. In this section, we attempt to present a background of each of these dimensions of geodata, both independently and collectively, as well as highlight their relevance in influencing the character of geodata.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema

Environmental Geodesy

Frontmatter
Chapter 3. Fundamentals of Surveying and Geodesy
Abstract
Although the environment has remained at the forefront of scientific interest for well over four decades (e.g., Lein (2012)), it is not until this decade that remote sensing of the environment using geodetic methods started gaining momentum. This has largely been fuelled by the launching and modernization of satellites that enable the environment to be measured, mapped, and modelled.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 4. Modernization of GNSS
Abstract
Throughout history, position (location) determination has been one of the fundamental tasks undertaken by humans on a daily basis. Each day, one deals with positioning, be it going to work, the market, sport, church, mosque, temple, school or college, one has to start from a known location and move towards another known destination. Often the start and end locations are known since the surrounding physical features form a reference upon which we navigate ourselves. In the absence of these reference features, for instance in the desert or sea, one then requires some tool that can provide knowledge of position.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 5. The Global Positioning System
Abstract
The Global Positioning System or GPS is the oldest and most widely used GNSS system, and as such will be extensively discussed in this and the next chapter. The development of GPS satellites dates from the 1960s.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 6. Environmental Surveying and Surveillance
Abstract
In this section, we discuss the quantitative and qualitative data that could be collected using GNSS satellites, and in so doing, attempt to answer the question “what can GNSS satellites deliver that is of use to environmental monitoring?” The observed parameters necessary for environmental monitoring vary, depending upon the indicators being assessed.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema

Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry

Frontmatter
Chapter 7. Fundamentals of Remote Sensing
Abstract
Remote sensing is defined as the art, science and technology through which the characteristics of object features/targets either on, above or even below the earth’s surface are identified, measured and analyzed without direct contact existing between the sensors and the targets or events being observed, see e.g., (Jensen 2009; Lillesand et al. 2010; Richards 1994; Murai 1999) etc.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 8. Optical Remote Sensing
Abstract
There are a large variety of systems for collecting remotely sensed data in operation today.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 9. Microwave Remote Sensing
Abstract
Persistent cloud cover, especially within the tropics, offers limited clear views of the Earth’s surface from space. This presents a major impediment to the application of optical remote sensing discussed in Chap. 8 in providing global remote sensing coverage. Moreover, other than thermal sensors, most other optical imaging technologies best operate during day time when there is sufficient sunlight. The microwave region of the EM spectrum represents a principal atmospheric window that can be employed to overcome the above limitations in optical remote sensing. For instance, in view of their much longer wavelengths and contrary to optical sensors, microwaves can easily penetrate through vegetation canopies and even dry soils. In addition, microwave systems offer the user more choice and control over the properties of the incident microwave energy to be applied. Furthermore, they can be operated round the clock even under rainy or poor visibility conditions.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 10. Image Interpretation and Analysis
Abstract
The interpretation and analysis of remote sensing imagery involves the identification and/or measurement of various targets or objects in an image in order to extract useful information about them. More specifically, this seeks to extract qualitative (thematic) and quantitative (metric) information from remote sensing data. Qualitative information provides descriptive data about earth surface features like structure, characteristics, quality, condition, relationship of and between objects.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 11. Fundamentals of Photogrammetry
Abstract
Like in many other disciplines, there is no universally accepted definition of the term photogrammetry. The Manual of Photogrammetry (2003) defines photogrammetry as the art, science, and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment through processes of recording, measuring, and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic (EM) radiant energy and other phenomena. Notably, the extracted information could be of a geometric, physical, semantic or even temporal nature, although in many photogrammetric applications the geometric information is more relevant. Other popular definitions of this non-contact discipline are given e.g., in Moffit and Mikhail (1980),Wolf (1980),Kraus (1994), Schenk (2005) etc. In a very broad sense, and from a network design point of view, (Fraser 2000) reckons that a photogrammetric system is one that meets the following basic requirements:
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 12. Digital Photogrammetry
Abstract
One of the most fundamental developments in the history of photogrammetry has been the transition from analytical to digital photogrammetry. This was realized in the early 1990s through softcopy-based systems or Digital Photogrammetric Workstations (DPWs). Today, on the one hand, initial applications of digital photogrammetry in performing routine and operational procedures, such as aerial triangulation and map revision, as well as in generating geospatial datasets, including digital elevation models (DEMs) and digital orthophotos, have been essentially standardized. On the other hand, system development in automated feature extraction for diverse geospatial features have been continually improved and refined.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema

Geographic Information Systems

Frontmatter
Chapter 13. Fundamentals of GIS
Abstract
Geographic Information System(GIS) is defined as a special type of information system that is used to input, store, retrieve, process, analyze and visualize geospatial data and information in order to support decision making, see e.g.,Aronoff (1989), Tomlinson (2007), Longley et al. (2005), Konecny (2003), Burrough (1986), Murai (1999) etc.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 14. Data Models and Structure
Abstract
By convention, data in the real world is deemed to exist in a continuous or analogue form usually in three dimensional space as discussed in Sect. 2.1. Such data needs to be digitized or made discrete before it can be input and processed by a digital computer. A GIS database can be viewed as an abstraction of reality. To convert object features observed or measured in the real world into the digital realm in a GIS database it is necessary to structure the data appropriately. Four (4) different generic types of primitive object features can be distinguished, namely: point features (0-D), line features (1-D), area features/polygons (2-D), and surface features (3-D). Incidentally, when surface features are captured in a discrete or non-continuous manner, this is then referred to as 2.5D. In general, an object feature is defined by three (3) properties in GIS, namely: position, attributes and relationship with other features referred to as topology.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 15. Input of GIS Data
Abstract
Precisely because of the expensive cost of GIS data capture and the fact that the procedures involved in this are also fairly time consuming, the sources for GIS data should always be carefully analyzed before selection in order to suit specific GIS application(s). There are many possible sources for GIS data available today. The criteria for assessing the most appropriate sources for GIS data include firstly, collecting only the necessary data and secondly, for cost effectiveness, accepting the minimum data quality that will get the specific GIS job to be successfully accomplished. Moreover, where geospatial data needs to be integrated, it is important that the various sources be critically examined for compatibility.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 16. GIS Database
Abstract
Once digitized and edited GIS data are stored in a spatial database. Evidently, the quality of the decisions made from a GIS will depend on the quality of the data contained in the database. A spatial database is defined as a pool of integrated and structured geospatial data, which is a model of reality, and from which data may be retrieved to provide useful information to users. Hence, a spatial database is comprised of inter-related geospatial data that is maintained efficiently and which is shareable between different GIS applications
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 17. Spatial Analysis
Abstract
The most important function of GIS is the analysis of spatial data and their attributes for purposes of decision support. Indeed, spatial analysis is the very crux of GIS. It is the means of adding value to geographic data that allows the conversion of data into useful information and knowledge. As a data mining procedure, spatial analysis helps the GIS user to reveal inherent anomalies, patterns and relationships in GIS data sets that might not be otherwise apparent. This gives more insight into a place and helps in focusing and prioritizing actions or decisions. Strictly speaking, and at a higher level, one may distinguish between analysis and modeling as shown in Table 17.1. However, for purposes of the discussion here-under, the generic terminology analysis is used.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 18. Web GIS and Mapping
Abstract
The Internet and web-based technology has dramatically influenced the access to and dissemination of information among communities, locally and globally. This is no less true in the domain of geographic information systems (GIS) which have traditionally been constrained in terms of information access and the communities that use them. Geospatial data has traditionally been captured and managed within individual and separate organizational databases with access by a limited number of expert users. Now, with the integrated use of the web, not just geospatial data, but also the functionality of GIS can be accessed globally by citizens and non-experts.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema

Applications to Environmental Monitoring and Management

Frontmatter
Chapter 19. Maps in Environmental Monitoring
Abstract
A map is an abstraction of reality that creates a model of the world or a part thereof, effectively projecting the curved surface of the earth onto a plane surface. Unlike images that model reality at an iconic level of representation, maps accomplish the same at a symbolic level. Maps are important communication, navigation and decision support tools. They also serve as mechanisms for both storage and communication of spatial data and information. In general, maps are required to document and describe resources and the environment. Furthermore, they are an indispensable instrument for planning sustainable development. Hence, they have an important role to play in many economic, environmental and social activities.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 20. Satellite Environmental Sensing
Abstract
GNSS satellites such as GPS are playing an increasingly crucial role in tracking low earth orbiting (LEO) remote sensing satellites at altitudes below 3000 km with accuracies of better than 10 cm  (Yunck et al. 1990). These remote sensing satellites employ a precise global network of GNSS, GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment) and Altimetry ground receivers operating in concert with receivers onboard the LEO satellites, with all estimating the satellites’ orbits, GPS orbits, and selected ground locations simultaneously (Yunck et al. 1990). In this chapter, we illustrate the role played by GNSS satellites in measuring changes in the Earth’s atmosphere, its gravity field, and surfaces (e.g., ice layer density). These changes are found by measuring refractivity, inter-satellite distances, and reflected signals (i.e., multipath), respectively.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 21. Weather, Climate and Global Warming
Abstract
In order to fully appreciate the contribution of geoinformatics in monitoring climate change caused by increase in temperature, a distinction between weather and climate, on one hand, and climate variability and climate change, on the other hand, is essential. Burroughs (2007) points out that weather is what is happening to the atmosphere at any given time (i.e., what one gets), whereas climate is what would be expected to occur at any given time of the year based on statistics built up over many years (i.e., what one expects).
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 22. Water Resources
Abstract
Fresh water is one of the basic necessities without which human beings cannot survive since water is key to the sustainability of all kinds of lifeforms. Water has multiple uses namely; nutritional, domestic, recreational, navigational, waste disposal and ecological as it is a habitat for living and non-living organisms (biodiversity) etc. And, because it is indispensable to different sectors including manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries, wildlife survival, tourism and hydroelectric power generation, it is a vital factor of economic production. For many countries, most freshwater endowments encompass surface waters, groundwater, wetlands and glaciers.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 23. Land Management
Abstract
Land provides the base upon which social, cultural and economic activities are undertaken and as such is of significant importance in environmental monitoring. Social, cultural and economic activities have to be planned and managed in such a way that the sustainable use of land resources is enhanced. Sustainable land use ensures that economic and socio-cultural activities do not benefit at the expense of the environment (see Sect.28.5). Monitoring of changes in land through indicators could help in policy formulation and management issues for the betterment of the environment. Some of the vital indicators for land management include vegetation, soil quality and health, biosolids and waste disposed on land, land evaluation, land use planning, contaminated land, integrity of the food supply chain, mine closure completion criteria, and catchment management, in particular water balance, salinity, eutrophication, and riparian/wetland vegetation. This Chapter presents the possibility of using geoinformatics to enhance the monitoring of some of these indicators.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 24. Marine and Coastal Resources
Abstract
Marine habitats are comprised of zones termed coastal terrestrial, open water, and the ocean bottom until several meters deep. Besides fish, these habitats are home to diverse flora and fauna, with swathes of sandy beaches and sand dunes spread across the globe critical for the survival of many endangered species e.g., turtles, dugongs, migratory birds etc
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 25. Protection and Conservation of Animals and Vegetation
Abstract
This chapter presents ways in which geoinformatics could be useful in supporting management and conservation efforts of animals and vegetation. Ways in which animals and vegetation impact on the environment, and vice versa, i.e., the ways in which the environment impact, through human-induced anthropogenic activities, on the animals and vegetation are considered. Specific emphasis on how geoinformatics could support these efforts through monitoring, thereby enabling remedial measures to be undertaken are presented.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 26. Disaster Monitoring and Management
Abstract
Since time immemorial, natural disasters have continued to plague the history of mankind. They have varied in type, frequency, coverage and severity ranging from earthquakes, landslides, droughts, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions etc. Over the last century, the frequency, severity and impact of natural disasters has increased substantially
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 27. Environmental Pollution
Abstract
There exist various definitions to the word pollution depending on one’s jurisdiction and the laws of a particular country. Springer (1977, see references therein) looks at the meaningful concept of defining pollution in international law by posing the questions: “What are you talking about when you are talking about pollution? What is pollution? How would you define it if you are going to remove the concept of damage from it?” These questions are not easily answerable and as Springer (1977) acknowledges, the term pollution is a word whose precise meaning in law, particularly international law, is not easily discerned Springer (1977). It has been used in a wide variety of contexts, from international conventions to pessimistic speeches about the state of the environment, to describe different levels and kinds of man-induced changes in the natural world Springer (1977).
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Chapter 28. Environmental Impact Assessment
Abstract
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is defined by Munn (1979) as the need to identify and predict the impact on the environment and on man’s health and well-being of legislative proposals, policies, programs, projects, and operational procedures, and to interpret and communicate information about the impact.
Joseph L. Awange, John B. Kyalo Kiema
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
Environmental Geoinformatics
verfasst von
Joseph L. Awange
John B. Kyalo Kiema
Copyright-Jahr
2013
Verlag
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Electronic ISBN
978-3-642-34085-7
Print ISBN
978-3-642-34084-0
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-34085-7