The Great Lakes Hydrography Dataset: Consistent,Binational Watersheds for the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin

Ecosystem‐based management of the Laurentian Great Lakes, which spans both the United States and Canada, is hampered by the lack of consistent binational watersheds for the entire Basin. Using comparable data sources and consistent methods, we developed spatially equivalent watershed boundaries for the binational extent of the Basin to create the Great Lakes Hydrography Dataset (GLHD). The GLHD consists of 5,589 watersheds for the entire Basin, covering a total area of approximately 547,967 km², or about twice the 247,003 km² surface water area of the Great Lakes. The GLHD improves upon existing watershed efforts by delineating watersheds for the entire Basin using consistent methods; enhancing the precision of watershed delineation using recently developed flow direction grids that have been hydrologically enforced and vetted by provincial and federal water resource agencies; and increasing the accuracy of watershed boundaries by enforcing embayments, delineating watersheds on islands, and delineating watersheds for all tributaries draining to connecting channels. In addition, the GLHD is packaged in a publically available geodatabase that includes synthetic stream networks, reach catchments, watershed boundaries, a broad set of attribute data for each tributary, and metadata documenting methodology. The GLHD provides a common set of watersheds and associated hydrography data for the Basin that will enhance binational efforts to protect and restore the Great Lakes.     

Realizing an effectiveness revolution in environmental management

The environmental movement of the 20(th) century has evolved into a large, diverse and well-financed global community that is increasingly required to prove its worth. Though the environmental sector collects and uses data to determine the status of ecological and social systems, the effectiveness of the programs and policies it uses to affect this status remains largely untested. As governments and donor institutions insist on greater transparency, accountability and evidence of what works and what does not, much is being learned from other fields (e.g. health services, education, international development) and increasingly sophisticated approaches are emerging to manage effectiveness. For example, program evaluation, adaptive management, and systematic review provide frameworks and methods to collect and use information to measure and improve performance. However, the critical data and collaborations necessary for an effectiveness revolution are marginalized by technical, cultural and political obstacles. Learning from other fields, the environmental sector must exploit key leverage points, such as flows of information and self-organization, to overcome impediments and create incentives to initiate and realize an era of effectiveness in environmental management.     

EVALUATION OF LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING (LIDAR) FOR MEASURING RIVER CORRIDOR TOPOGRAPHY1

ABSTRACT: LIDAR is relatively new in the commercial market for remote sensing of topography and it is difficult to find objective reporting on the accuracy of LIDAR measurements in an applied context. Accuracy specifications for LIDAR data in published evaluations range from 1 to 2 m root mean square error (RMSEx,y) and 15 to 20 cm RMSEz. Most of these estimates are based on measurements over relatively flat, homogeneous terrain. This study evaluated the accuracy of one LIDAR data set over a range of terrain types in a western river corridor. Elevation errors based on measurements over all terrain types were larger (RMSEz equals 43 cm) than values typically reported. This result is largely attributable to horizontal positioning limitations (1 to 2 m RMSEx,y) in areas with variable terrain and large topographic relief. Cross‐sectional profiles indicated algorithms that were effective for removing vegetation in relatively flat terrain were less effective near the active channel where dense vegetation was found in a narrow band along a low terrace. LIDAR provides relatively accurate data at densities (50,000 to 100,000 points per km²) not feasible with other survey technologies. Other options for projects requiring higher accuracy include low‐altitude aerial photography and intensive ground surveying.     

基于Web GIS的四川省自然保护区信息管理系统

本文简要介绍了四川省自然保护区信息管理系统的设计思路、框架结构及运行界面。以ArcGIS Server为开发平台,使用SQL Server管理属性数据,采用四川省1∶25万基础地理数据,设计并开发四川省自然保护区信息管理系统,在地图服务的基础上,实现对四川省自然保护区的浏览、查询,为自然保护区的管理提供一个科学、准确的决策支持。     

Risk management of terrorist attacks in the transport of hazardous materials using dynamic geoevents

This paper focuses attention on emergency management associated with a terrorist attack in the transport of hazardous materials in urban areas. The case study is in an urban area, a potential target for terrorist attacks due to its high vulnerability. Since it is not possible to predict where and when an attack will occur, the risk associated with terrorism is complex. It is only possible to identify the critical points for potential actions where counter measure must be applied. In the case of incidents which evolve relatively slowly, mitigation actions can be applied. The use of dynamic geoevents permits the immediate location of the event on a georeferenced map and the possibility of having a dynamic evolution of the scenario and of the number of people involved. The dynamic scenario has been created using the output of a consequence simulation code and a GIS software. Some assumptions were necessary but, since the aim of the paper is to define the procedure for the construction of the dynamic geoevent, these can be considered acceptable. The method will be further implemented in future.     

中国西北地区生态需水研究(2)——基于遥感和地理信息系统技术的区域生态需水计算及分析

在西北干旱、半干旱地区,随着人口增长和经济发展,国民经济需水与生态环境需水成为水资源开发利用和生态环境保护的主要矛盾。因此,合理量化生态环境需水是西北水资源优化配置亟待解决的问题。论文着重研究两方面的内容:一是基于植被生长需水的区域分异规律,采用遥感和地理信息系统技术实现生态的空间分区,以生态分区和流域水平衡为基础量化生态需水;二是基于可持续发展的生态模式,确定生态保护目标和生态建设规模,并预测生态需水。     

基于物联网的起重机智能作业管理系统设计与实现

采用物联网技术,设计一种由主控机PC、无线射频模块和读卡器模块等部分组成的起重机作业管理系统,实现人机互认及作业记录管理。详细介绍了系统硬件结构设计原理及实现方法,给出了作业管理系统软件设计。实际调试表明：该系统能够实现对作业人员身份的识别和起重机作业记录管理等功能,且具有数据传输有效距离远、移动性强、安装简单和扩展性好等特点。     

Ecological network analysis for water use systems—A case study of the Yellow River Basin

Ecological network analysis (ENA) is introduced in this paper as a promising approach to study water use systems. Information indices from ENA involving total system throughput (TST), ascendency and overhead are calculated here. Two related aspects including organization inherent in system structures and synthesized water use intensity related with sustainable development of water use systems are analyzed. The indices of ascendency and overhead are applied for analyzing and characterizing water use network organization. For comparison of sustainability of water use systems from integrated aspects of environment, society and economy and based on TST, a new indicator termed as total system throughput intensity (TSTI) is constructed incorporating parameters of land, precipitation, population, GDP and environmental flow, which can be used as a measure of sustainability in terms of synthesized water use intensity. The Yellow River Basin in China during 1998–2006 is chosen as the case study and divided into subsystems according to the six river sections as from source to Lanzhou (S1-L1), Lanzhou to Toudaoguai (L1-T), Toudaoguai to Longmen (T-L2), Longmen to Sanmenxia (L2-S2), Sanmenxia to Huayuankou (S2-H) and Huayuankou to the mouth of Bo Sea (H-B). The results show that (i) the organization levels of L1-T and H-B are better than those of S1-L1 and T-L2, with those of L2-S2 and S2-H the worst; (ii) the synthesized water use intensity has been improving, of which T-L2, L2-S2 and S2-H are at the highest levels while H-B the lowest. In addition, the comparison between TSTI and other metrics and the relationship between ascendency and TSTI are discussed, from which the importance of TSTI is reflected and the optimization criterions for sustainable development of six subsystems are derived. It can be concluded that the application of ENA in water use systems can provide new angles for water resource management to address the challenges of assessing and optimizing options to obtain more sustainable water use.     

基于气象预测数据的中国洪涝灾害危险性评估与预警研究

基于自然灾害风险理论,借助GIS强大的空间分析功能,采用归一化和层次分析法,对中国全国范围尺度进行了洪涝灾害危险性评估。通过对洪涝灾害危险性因子分析,分别提取当天降雨量、前3 d降雨量、地形高程、地形标准差、河湖网络等因素作为评估因子,提出了各因子危险性指数计算方法,以及全国洪涝灾害危险性指数计算模型公式。根据统计分析危险指数的最小值、最大值,结合历史灾情,利用阈值分割法确定了风险等级分割值分别为0.3、0.45及0.6,将洪涝灾害等级划分为高风险、中风险、低风险与无风险四个等级,从而建立了类似于天气预报模式的全国洪涝灾害危险性评估模型,并以2010年8月22日为例进行了洪涝灾害危险等级评估的实际应用。最后,基于洪涝灾害的危险性评估的结果,结合危险区内人口分布、交通设施等基础数据,生成相应的预警产品。对可能发生的洪涝灾害发出预警与预测,为危险区人们乃至相关政府管理部门采取有效的防灾、减灾措施提供参考依据。     

Household food waste separation behavior and the importance of convenience

Two different strategies aiming at increasing household source-separation of food waste were assessed through a case-study in a Swedish residential area (a) use of written information, distributed as leaflets amongst households and (b) installation of equipment for source-segregation of waste with the aim of increasing convenience food waste sorting in kitchens. Weightings of separately collected food waste before and after distribution of written information suggest that this resulted in neither a significant increased amount of separately collected food waste, nor an increased source-separation ratio. After installation of sorting equipment in households, both the amount of separately collected food waste as well as the source-separation ratio increased vastly. Long-term monitoring shows that results where longstanding. Results emphasize the importance of convenience and existence of infrastructure necessary for source-segregation of waste as important factors for household waste recycling, but also highlight the need of addressing these aspects where waste is generated, i.e. already inside the household.