Digital Mapping: 2017

Friday 28 July 2017

Trimble Introduces Penmap, a new Android Application

Trimble introduced Penmap for Android, a cloud-connected application for field surveying and high-accuracy Geographic Information System (GIS) data collection that works on mobile handhelds, smartphones and tablets. The application runs on a variety of Android devices, including the rugged Trimble TDC100 handheld, and supports full-featured Trimble Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers such as the Trimble R10, R8s and R2 receivers.Trimble Penmap for Android is available now for download from the Google Play Store.

"The addition of Penmap expands our portfolio to address the needs of organizations that require a value-packed, flexible survey system," said Matt Delano, general manager of Trimble's Land Administration solutions.

Saturday 22 July 2017

QuickDRI quickly identifies Flash Drought

Quick Drought Response Index, or QuickDRI, went operational in June 2017 as a weekly drought alarm, providing improved sensitivity to early-stage drought conditions and rapidly evolving drought events. QuickDRI relies on a number of remotely-sensed indicators. Decades of satellite data housed at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science, or EROS, Center provide a resource for assessing abnormal vegetation and climate conditions over a longer historical period. QuickDRI was funded through a $1.3 million grant from NASA’s Applied Sciences for Water Resources program and supported with matching funds from the USGS Land Remote Sensing Program.

“QuickDRI fills a gap in drought monitoring because of its sensitivity to short-term changes, We expect it to be especially helpful for decisions related to irrigation and fire management.”said Jesslyn Brown, a project co-investigator and lead for QuickDRI operations at the U.S. Geological Survey.

Saturday 18 March 2017

GeoSciML, an OGC Standard for geological data

OGC Geoscience Markup Language (GeoSciML), amodel for geological features developed by the IUGS CGI (Commission for the Management and Application of Geoscience Information) and version 4.1 is the first version officially submitted as an OGC standard. This specification describes a logical model and GML/XML encoding rules for the exchange of geological map data, geological time scales, boreholes, and metadata for laboratory analyses.

“Earlier versions of GeoSciML have been used for several years by geological data sharing projects around the world when GeoSciML was only an IUGS (International Union of Geological Sciences) standard. These include OneGeology, INSPIRE, the US Geoscience Information Network (USGIN), and the Australian AuScope and AusGIN projects, Having GeoSciML version 4 ratified as an official OGC standard is a huge step forward for GeoSciML, particularly to reassure application developers that GeoSciML is the way forward for geoscience data transfer. The collaboration of the previous IUGS GeoSciML working group and OGC has been a great example of effective cooperation between standards organisations.” said Ollie Raymond, chair of the GeoSciML SWG.

Historic Resources

Interactive GIS Map of Venus

Interactive GIS Map of Venus

Tuesday 3 January 2017

ESRI releases ArcGIS 10.5

Esri, the global leader in spatial analytics technology, releases Esri ArcGIS 10.5. Analytics and sharing are at the heart of this release. At 10.5, the product formerly known as ArcGIS for Server is now called ArcGIS Enterprise. On purchasing ArcGIS Enterprise, we will get the ArcGIS Server, Portal for ArcGIS, ArcGIS Data Store, and ArcGIS Web Adaptor software components; we can install these to deploy Web GIS in your own infrastructure.

New features in Esri ArcGIS 10.5 :

Improved capabilities for handling large-scale analytics and big data.
A drag-and-drop interface that streamlines the creation of spatial analysis through maps, charts, and graphs.
Collaboration features to connect and analyze information across the enterprise.
Improved integration of social media feeds, allowing users to integrate Facebook and Google accounts using their own logins.
Ready-to-build, sharable solutions for raster, vector, and tabular data.
Streamlined deployment to leading cloud providers, including Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and IBM Cloud.
Enhancements to Esri ArcGIS Pro and Esri ArcGIS Online—including batch-analytic toolsets, vector tile basemaps, and code-free app building—that bring 3D data from drones and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs) to mobile devices.

“If organizations are not looking at data spatially—as it exists in the world around them—they will overlook patterns and trends that impact their business and clients,ArcGIS provides the tools to accelerate their digital transformation, helping them master the analysis of big data, real-time data, and information from the Internet of Things.” said Jack Dangermond, founder and president of Esri.