The integration of the 3rd dimension in the production of spatial representation is largely recognized as a valuable approach to comprehend our reality, that is 3D. During the last decade developments in 3D Geoinformation (GI) system have made substantial progress. We are about to have a more complete spatial model and understanding of our planet in different scales. Hence, various communities and cities offer 3D landscape and 3D city models as valuable source and instrument for sustainable management of rural and urban resources. Also municipal utilities, real estate companies benefit from recent developments related to 3D applications. In order to present recent developments and to discuss future trends, academics and practitioners met at the 7th International Workshop on 3D Geoinformation. This book comprises a selection of evaluated, high quality papers that were presented at this workshop in May 2012. The topics focus explicitly on the last achievements (methods, algorithms, models, systems) with respect to 3D GeoInformation requirements. The book is aimed at decision makers and experts as well at students interested in the 3D component of geographical information science including GI engineers, computer scientists, photogrammetrists, land surveyors, urban planners, and mapping specialists.

This book describes a comprehensive framework of novel simulation approaches, conventional urban models, and related data mining techniques that will help develop planning support systems in Beijing as well as other mega-metropolitan areas. It investigates the relationships between human behaviors and spatial patterns in order to simulate activities in an urban space, visualize planning alternatives, and support decision making. The book first explains urban space using geometric patterns, such as points, networks, and polygons, that help identify patterns of household and individual human behavior. Next, it details how novel simulation methodologies, such as cellular automaton and multi-agent systems, and conventional urban modeling, such as spatial interaction models, can be used to identify an optimal or a simulated solution for a better urban form. The book develops a comprehensive land use and transportation integrated model used to explore the spatial patterns of mutual interaction between human mobility and urban space. This model can help forecast the distribution of different types of households, rent prices, and land prices, as well as the distribution of routes and traffic volume based on an appraisal of labor demand and supply. This book shows how geospatial analysis can be a useful tool for planners and decision makers to help in ascertaining patterns of activities and support urban planning. Offering both novel and conventional approaches to urban modeling, it will appeal to researchers, students, and policy makers looking for the optimal way to plan the d evelopment of a mega-metropolitan area.

This book provides an extensive review of three interrelated issues: land fragmentation, land consolidation, and land reallocation, and it presents in detail the theoretical background, design, development and application of a prototype integrated planning and decision support system for land consolidation. The system integrates geographic information systems (GIS) and artificial intelligence techniques including expert systems (ES) and genetic algorithms (GAs) with multi-criteria decision methods (MCDM), both multi-attribute (MADM) and multi-objective (MODM). The system is based on four modules for measuring land fragmentation; automatically generating alternative land redistribution plans; evaluating those plans; and automatically designing the land partitioning plan. The presented research provides a new scientific framework for land-consolidation planning both in terms of theory and practice, by presenting new findings and by developing better tools and methods embedded in an integrated GIS environment. It also makes a valuable contribution to the fields of GIS and spatial planning, as it provides new methods and ideas that could be applied to improve the former for the benefit of the latter in the context of planning support systems. "From the 1960s, ambitious research activities set out to observe regarding IT-support of the complex and time consuming redistribution processes within land consolidation - without any practically relevant results, until now. This scientific work is likely to close that gap. This distinguished publication is highly recommended to land consolidation planning experts, researchers and academics alike." - Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Thomas, Munster/ Germany "Planning support systems take new scientific tools based on GIS, optimisation and simulation and use these to inform the process of plan-making and policy. This book is one of the first to show how this can be consistently done and it is a triumph of demonstrating how such systems can be made operational. Essential reading for planners, analysts and GI scientists." - Prof. Michael Batty, University College London

This book provides a collection of selected articles that have been submitted to the Earth Observation and Global Changes (EOGC2011) Conference. All articles have been carefully reviewed by an international board of top-level experts. The book covers a wide variety of topics including Physical Geodesy, Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing, High-Resolution and Fast-Revisiting Remote Sensing Satellite Systems, Global Change & Change Detection, Spatial Modelling, GIS & Geovisualization. The articles document concrete results of current studies related to Earth Sciences. The book is intended for researchers and experts working in the area of Spatial Data Analysis, Environmental Monitoring/Analysis, Global Change Monitoring and related fields.

This book is an original and novel contribution to flood hazard assessment, climate change and land use change and is intended to serve both as an effective source of information and a valuable basis for priority setting and further technical, financial and political decisions regarding flood hazard assessment. The study area is located on the floodplain of the Ubaye River in the Barcelonnette area, part of the Alpes de Haute Provence in southeast France. The book offers a comparative overview of the major challenges faced when dealing with flood hazards. The research presented is intended to promote a deeper understanding of how climate change and land use change processes have evolved from past to present, and how they affect the flow regime of the Ubaye River based on sound and reproducible scientific arguments. The methodology implemented ranges from remote sensing interpretation to hydrodynamic modeling and includes the application of spatial and statistical modeling. The results of this research provide essential information for policymaking, decision-making support and flood hazard planning in the Barcelonnette area.

These proceedings contain 25 papers, which are the peer-reviewed versions of presentations made at the 1st International Workshop on the Quality of Geodetic Observation and Monitoring (QuGOMS'11), held 13 April to 15 April 2011 in Garching, Germany. The papers were drawn from five sessions which reflected the following topic areas: (1) Uncertainty Modeling of Geodetic Data, (2) Theoretical Studies on Combination Strategies and Parameter Estimation, (3) Recursive State-Space Filtering, (4) Sensor Networks and Multi Sensor Systems in Engineering Geodesy, (5) Multi-Mission Approaches With View to Physical Processes in the Earth System.

This is the first comprehensive volume to explore and engage with current trends in Geographies of Media research. It reviews how conceptualizations of mediated geographies have evolved. Followed by an examination of diverse media contexts and locales, the book illustrates key issues through the integration of theoretical and empirical case studies, and reflects on the future challenges and opportunities faced by scholars in this field. The contributions by an international team of experts in the field, address theoretical perspectives on mediated geographies, methodological challenges and opportunities posed by geographies of media, the role and significance of different media forms and organizations in relation to socio-spatial relations, the dynamism of media in local-global relations, and in-depth case studies of mediated locales. Given the theoretical and methodological diversity of this book, it will provide an important reference for geographers and other interdisciplinary scholars working in cultural and media studies, researchers in environmental studies, sociology, visual anthropology, new technologies, and political science, who seek to understand and explore the interconnections of media, space and place through the examples of specific practices and settings.

This book presents the latest research developments in geoinformation science, which includes all the sub-disciplines of the subject, such as: geomatic engineering, GIS, remote sensing, digital photogrammetry, digital cartography, etc.

This work presents cases studies of applications of Geotechnology such as Geography Information Systems, virtual reality and cellular automaton and multi-agent systems in the field of urban planning and design.These are joint research presentations with students and colleagues from Kanazawa University. All these case studies are about application in Japanese or Chinese cities, which are on-field examples reflecting the enormous spread of geo-computation technology. Nevertheless, the concepts have wide applicability to other contexts. The works can be classified into three types of Geotechnological applications at different levels of urban spaces, which are relevant to different kinds of urban planning and development projects. The book is comprised of three parts: Part 1: Geosimulation and land use plan Part 2: Geo Visualization and urban design Part 3: Geography information system and planning support

There have been major advances in technologies to support crisis response in the last few years. However, many aspects related to the efficient collection and integration of geo-information, applied semantics and situation awareness for disaster management are still open. To advance the systems and make them intelligent, an extensive collaboration is required between emergency responders, disaster managers, system designers and researchers. To facilitate this process the Geo-information for Disaster Management (Gi4DM) conference has been organized since 2005. Gi4DM is coordinated by the Joint Board of Geospatial Information Societies (JB GIS) and the ad-hoc Committee on Risk and Disaster Management. This volume presents the results of the Gi4DM 2012 conference, held in Enschede, the Netherlands, on 13-15 December . It contains a selection of around 30 scientific and 25 best-practice peer-reviewed papers. The 2012 Gi4DM focuses on the intelligent use of geo-information, semantics and situation awareness.

'We need new maps' is the central claim made in this book. In a world increasingly influenced by human action and interaction, we still rely heavily on mapping techniques that were invented to discover unknown places and explore our physical environment. Although the traditional concept of a map is currently being revived in digital environments, the underlying mapping approaches are not capable of making the complexity of human-environment relationships fully comprehensible. Starting from how people can be put on the map in new ways, this book outlines the development of a novel technique that stretches a map according to quantitative data, such as population. The new maps are called gridded cartograms as the method is based on a grid onto which a density-equalising cartogram technique is applied. The underlying grid ensures the preservation of an accurate geographic reference to the real world. It allows the gridded cartograms to be used as basemaps onto which other information can be mapped. This applies to any geographic information from the human and physical environment. As demonstrated through the examples presented in this book, the new maps are not limited to showing population as a defining element for the transformation, but can show any quantitative geospatial data, such as wealth, rainfall, or even the environmental conditions of the oceans. The new maps also work at various scales, from a global perspective down to the scale of urban environments. The gridded cartogram technique is proposed as a new global and local map projection that is a viable and versatile alternative to other conventional map projections. The maps based on this technique open up a wide range of potential new applications to rediscover the diverse geographies of the world. They have the potential to allow us to gain new perspectives through detailed cartographic depictions.

Many important planning decisions in society and business depend on proper knowledge and a correct understanding of movement, be it in transportation, logistics, biology, or the life sciences. Today the widespread use of mobile phones and technologies like GPS and RFID provides an immense amount of data on location and movement. What is needed are new methods of visualization and algorithmic data analysis that are tightly integrated and complement each other to allow end-users and analysts to extract useful knowledge from these extremely large data volumes. This is exactly the topic of this book. As the authors show, modern visual analytics techniques are ready to tackle the enormous challenges brought about by movement data, and the technology and software needed to exploit them are available today. The authors start by illustrating the different kinds of data available to describe movement, from individual trajectories of single objects to multiple trajectories of many objects, and then proceed to detail a conceptual framework, which provides the basis for a fundamental understanding of movement data. With this basis, they move on to more practical and technical aspects, focusing on how to transform movement data to make it more useful, and on the infrastructure necessary for performing visual analytics in practice. In so doing they demonstrate that visual analytics of movement data can yield exciting insights into the behavior of moving persons and objects, but can also lead to an understanding of the events that transpire when things move. Throughout the book, they use sample applications from various domains and illustrate the examples with graphical depictions of both the interactive displays and the analysis results. In summary, readers will benefit from this detailed description of the state of the art in visual analytics in various ways. Researchers will appreciate the scientific precision involved, software technologists will find essential information on algorithms and systems, and practitioners will profit from readily accessible examples with detailed illustrations for practical purposes.

The fast exchange of information and knowledge are the essential conditions for successful and effective research and practical applications in cartography. For successful research development, it is necessary to follow trends not only in this domain, but also try to adapt new trends and technologies from other areas. Trends in cartography are also quite often topics of many conferences which have the main aim to link research, education and application experts in cartography and GIS&T into one large platform. Such the right place for exchange and sharing of knowledge and skills was also the CARTOCON2014 conference, which took place in Olomouc, Czech Republic, in February 2014 and this book is a compilation of the best and most interesting contributions. The book content consists of four parts. The first part New approaches in map and atlas making collects studies about innovative ways in map production and atlases compilation. Following part of the book Progress in web cartography brings examples and tools for web map presentation. The third part Advanced methods in map use includes achievement of eye-tracking research and users' issues. The final part Cartography in practice and research is a clear evidence that cartography and maps played the significant role in many geosciences and in many branches of the society. Each individual paper is original and has its place in cartography.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as GPS, have become an efficient, reliable and standard tool for a wide range of applications. However, when processing GNSS data, the stochastic model characterising the precision of observations and the correlations between them is usually simplified and incomplete, leading to overly optimistic accuracy estimates. This work extends the stochastic model using signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurements and time series analysis of observation residuals. The proposed SNR-based observation weighting model significantly improves the results of GPS data analysis, while the temporal correlation of GPS observation noise can be efficiently described by means of autoregressive moving average (ARMA) processes. Furthermore, this work includes an up-to-date overview of the GNSS error effects and a comprehensive description of various mathematical methods.

This book discusses maps as data with data structure implications; roving windows; spatial data modeling and management; assessing variability, shape, and pattern of map features; overlaying maps; cost-benefit analysis; algorithms involved in slope, distance, and connectivity; and cartographic and spatial modeling. A disk containing four-color graphics, including charts and maps, is also available. Provides a GIS glossary. Includes a list of recommended readings for each topic. Compiles international GIS instructions and presents contact details and information on each.

The Virtual and the Real in Planning and Urban Design: Perspectives, Practices and Applicationsexplores the merging relationship between physical and virtual spaces in planning and urban design. Technological advances such as smart sensors, interactive screens, locative media and evolving computation software have impacted the ways in which people experience, explore, interact with and create these complex spaces. This book draws together a broad range of interdisciplinary researchers in areas such as architecture, urban design, spatial planning, geoinformation science, computer science and psychology to introduce the theories, models, opportunities and uncertainties involved in the interplay between virtual and physical spaces. Using a wide range of international contributors, from the UK, USA, Germany, France, Switzerland, Netherlands and Japan, it provides a framework for assessing how new technology alters our perception of physical space.

This SpringerBrief presents the fundamental concepts of a specialized class of data stream, spatio-temporal data streams, and demonstrates their distributed processing using Big Data frameworks and platforms. It explores a consistent framework which facilitates a thorough understanding of all different facets of the technology, from basic definitions to state-of-the-art techniques. Key topics include spatio-temporal continuous queries, distributed stream processing, SQL-like language embedding, and trajectory stream clustering. Over the course of the book, the reader will become familiar with spatio-temporal data streams management and data flow processing, which enables the analysis of huge volumes of location-aware continuous data streams. Applications range from mobile object tracking and real-time intelligent transportation systems to traffic monitoring and complex event processing. Spatio-Temporal Data Streams is a valuable resource for researchers studying spatio-temporal data streams and Big Data analytics, as well as data engineers and data scientists solving data management and analytics problems associated with this class of data.

The Landscapes and Landforms of Spain provides an informative and inviting overview of the geology and geomorphology of Spain. It incorporates a diverse range of topics, ranging from the fiery landscapes of the Canary Islands and its volcanic formations to the glacial scenery of the Pyrenees. The book devotes attention to granite landforms, karst terrains, coastal dunes and marshes, as well as to heritage and conservation, with the objective of offering the reader a comprehensive insight into the Spanish geological setting. The book presents readers with the opportunity to explore Spanish landforms in detail through its highly illustrated pages and maps, making this an appealing text on the subject field.

Nowadays 3D Geoinformation is needed for many planning and analysis tasks. For example, 3D city and infrastructure models are paving the way for complex environmental and noise analyzes. 3D geological sub-surface models are needed for reservoir exploration in the oil-, gas-, and geothermal industry. Thus 3D Geoinformation brings together researchers and practitioners from different fields such as the geo-sciences, civil engineering, 3D city modeling, 3D geological and geophysical modeling, and, last but not least, computer science. The diverse challenges of 3D Geoinformation Science concern new approaches and the development of standards for above- and under-ground 3D modeling, efficient 3D data management, visualization and analysis. Finally, the integration of different 3D approaches and data models is seen as one of the most important challenges to be solved.

The Workshop Proceedings reflect problems of advanced geo-information science with a special emphasis on environmental and urban challenges. The Proceedings incorporate papers presented by leading scientists doing research on environmental issues from modeling to analysis, information processing and visualization. As well as practitioners engaged in GIS and GIS applications development. The Proceedings pay close attention to the problems of scientific and technological innovations as well application opportunities such as getting environmental and global warming problems under control, as well as the monitoring, planning and simulation of urban systems with respect to economic trends as related to: Artificial intelligence; GIS ontologies; GIS data integration and modeling; Environmental management ; Urban GIS; Transportation GIS; GIS data fusion; GIS and corporate information systems; GIS and real-time monitoring systems; GIS algorithms and computational issues; Landscape studies; Global warming; GIS and the Arctic sea; Novel and emerging GIS research areas; Maritime and environmental GIS; and Coastal GIS.

Significant advances in the scientific use of space based data were achieved in three joint interdisciplinary projects based on data of the satellite missions CHAMP, GRACE and GOCE within the R&D program GEOTECHNOLOGIEN. It was possible to explore and monitor changes related to the Earth's surface, the boundary layer between atmosphere and solid earth, and the oceans and ice shields. This boundary layer is our habitat and therefore is in the focus of our interests. The Earth's surface is subject to anthropogenetic changes, to changes driven by the Sun, Moon and planets, and by changes caused by processes in the Earth system. The state parameters and their changes are best monitored from space. The theme "Observation of the System Earth from Space" offers comprehensive insights into a broad range of research topics relevant to society including geodesy, oceanography, atmospheric science (from meteorology to climatology), hydrology and glaciology.

This book covers up-to-date methods and algorithms for the automated analysis of engineering drawings and digital cartographic maps. The Non-Deterministic Agent System (NDAS) offers a parallel computational approach to such image analysis. The book describes techniques suitable for persistent and explicit knowledge representation for engineering drawings and digital maps. It also highlights more specific techniques, e.g., applying robot navigation and mapping methods to this problem. Also included are more detailed accounts of the use of unsupervised segmentation algorithms to map images. Finally, all these threads are woven together in two related systems: NDAS and AMAM (Automatic Map Analysis Module).

A variety of disciplines and professions have embraced geospatial technologies for collecting, storing, manipulating, analyzing and displaying spatial data to investigate crime, prosecute and convict offenders, exonerate suspects and submit evidence in civil lawsuits. The applications, acceptability and relevance and procedural legality of each geospatial technologies vary. The purpose of this book is to explain the nature of geospatial technologies, demonstrate a variety of geospatial applications used to investigate and litigate civil and criminal activities and to provide a reference of current acceptability of geospatial technology in the production of evidence. This book is an introductory overview designed to appeal to researchers and practitioners across disciplinary boundaries. The authors of this book are researchers and practitioners across disciplines and professions, experts in the field.

This book collects revised versions of papers first delivered at the "Understanding Different Geographies Symposium" held in Puchberg am Schneeberg, Austria in 2011. The Symposium focussed on "Communicating Meaning with [Geo]Graphic Artefacts". The general topics of the chapters cover: - Exploring geographic knowledge - Maps in exhibition spaces - Information and exhibition design with (geo)graphic artefacts - Extracting meaning from visualisations of different geographies - Deconstructing maps of information - and other spaces

No other book can offer such a powerful tool to understand the basics of remote sensing for precipitation, to make use of existing products and to have a glimpse of the near future missions and instruments. This book features state-of-the-art rainfall estimation algorithms, validation strategies, and precipitation modeling. More than 20 years after the last book on the subject the worldwide precipitation community has produced a comprehensive overview of its activities, achievements, ongoing research and future plans.