ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information

19 pages, 5662 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploiting Two-Dimensional Geographical and Synthetic Social Influences for Location Recommendation

by Jiping Liu, Zhiran Zhang, Chunyang Liu, Agen Qiu and Fuhao Zhang

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 285; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040285 - 24 Apr 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2358

With the rapid development of location-based social networks (LBSNs), because human behaviors exhibit specific distribution patterns, personalized geo-social recommendation has played a significant role for LBSNs. In addition to user preference and social influence, geographical influence has also been widely researched in location [...] Read more.

With the rapid development of location-based social networks (LBSNs), because human behaviors exhibit specific distribution patterns, personalized geo-social recommendation has played a significant role for LBSNs. In addition to user preference and social influence, geographical influence has also been widely researched in location recommendation. Kernel density estimation (KDE) is a key method in modeling geographical influence. However, most current studies based on KDE do not consider the problems of influence range and outliers on users’ check-in behaviors. In this paper, we propose a method to exploit geographical and synthetic social influences (GeSSo) on location recommendation. GeSSo uses a kernel estimation approach with a quartic kernel function to model geographical influences, and two kinds of weighted distance are adopted to calculate bandwidth. Furthermore, we consider the social closeness and connections between friends, and a synthetic friend-based recommendation method is introduced to model social influences. Finally, we adopt a sum framework which combines user’s preferences on a location with geographical and social influences. Extensive experiments are conducted on three real-life datasets. The results show that our method achieves superior performance compared to other advanced geo-social recommendation techniques. Full article

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29 pages, 5759 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Geological Map Generalization Driven by Size Constraints

by Azimjon Sayidov, Meysam Aliakbarian and Robert Weibel

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 284; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040284 - 24 Apr 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3788

Abstract

Geological maps are an important information source used in the support of activities relating to mining, earth resources, hazards, and environmental studies. Owing to the complexity of this particular map type, the process of geological map generalization has not been comprehensively addressed, and [...] Read more.

Geological maps are an important information source used in the support of activities relating to mining, earth resources, hazards, and environmental studies. Owing to the complexity of this particular map type, the process of geological map generalization has not been comprehensively addressed, and thus a complete automated system for geological map generalization is not yet available. In particular, while in other areas of map generalization constraint-based techniques have become the prevailing approach in the past two decades, generalization methods for geological maps have rarely adopted this approach. This paper seeks to fill this gap by presenting a methodology for the automation of geological map generalization that builds on size constraints (i.e., constraints that deal with the minimum area and distance relations in individual or pairs of map features). The methodology starts by modeling relevant size constraints and then uses a workflow consisting of generalization operators that respond to violations of size constraints (elimination/selection, enlargement, aggregation, and displacement) as well as algorithms to implement these operators. We show that the automation of geological map generalization is possible using constraint-based modeling, leading to improved process control compared to current approaches. However, we also show the limitations of an approach that is solely based on size constraints and identify extensions for a more complete workflow. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Map Generalization)

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21 pages, 6997 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Damage Signature Generation of Revetment Surface along Urban Rivers Using UAV-Based Mapping

by Ting Chen, Haiqing He, Dajun Li, Puyang An and Zhenyang Hui

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 283; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040283 - 24 Apr 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2512

Abstract

The all-embracing inspection of geometry structures of revetments along urban rivers using the conventional field visual inspection is technically complex and time-consuming. In this study, an approach using dense point clouds derived from low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry is proposed to automatically [...] Read more.

The all-embracing inspection of geometry structures of revetments along urban rivers using the conventional field visual inspection is technically complex and time-consuming. In this study, an approach using dense point clouds derived from low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry is proposed to automatically and efficiently recognize the signatures of revetment damage. To quickly and accurately recover the finely detailed surface of a revetment, an object space-based dense matching approach, that is, region growing coupled with semi-global matching, is exploited to generate pixel-by-pixel dense point clouds for characterizing the signatures of revetment damage. Then, damage recognition is conducted using a proposed operator, that is, a self-adaptive and multiscale gradient operator, which is designed to extract the damaged regions with different sizes in the slope intensity image of the revetment. A revetment with slope protection along urban rivers is selected to evaluate the performance of damage recognition. Results indicate that the proposed approach can be considered an effective alternative to field visual inspection for revetment damage recognition along urban rivers because our method not only recovers the finely detailed surface of the revetment but also remarkably improves the accuracy of revetment damage recognition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geo-Information Technology and Its Applications)

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17 pages, 3311 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Variation of NDVI in the Vegetation Growing Season in the Source Region of the Yellow River, China

by Mingyue Wang, Jun’e Fu, Zhitao Wu and Zhiguo Pang

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 282; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040282 - 24 Apr 2020

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 3901

Abstract

Research on vegetation variation is an important aspect of global warming studies. The quantification of the relationship between vegetation change and climate change has become a central topic and challenge in current global change studies. The source region of the Yellow River (SRYR) [...] Read more.

Research on vegetation variation is an important aspect of global warming studies. The quantification of the relationship between vegetation change and climate change has become a central topic and challenge in current global change studies. The source region of the Yellow River (SRYR) is an appropriate area to study global change because of its unique natural conditions and vulnerable terrestrial ecosystem. Therefore, we chose the SRYR for a case study to determine the driving forces behind vegetation variation under global warming. Using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and climate data, we investigated the NDVI variation in the growing season in the region from 1998 to 2016 and its response to climate change based on trend analysis, the Mann–Kendall trend test and partial correlation analysis. Finally, an NDVI–climate mathematical model was built to predict the NDVI trends from 2020 to 2038. The results indicated the following: (1) over the past 19 years, the NDVI showed an increasing trend, with a growth rate of 0.00204/a. There was an upward trend in NDVI over 71.40% of the region. (2) Both the precipitation and temperature in the growing season showed upward trends over the last 19 years. NDVI was positively correlated with precipitation and temperature. The areas with significant relationships with precipitation covered 31.01% of the region, while those with significant relationships with temperature covered 56.40%. The sensitivity of the NDVI to temperature was higher than that to precipitation. Over half (56.58%) of the areas were found to exhibit negative impacts of human activities on the NDVI. (3) According to the simulation, the NDVI will increase slightly over the next 19 years, with a linear tendency of 0.00096/a. From the perspective of spatiotemporal changes, we combined the past and future variations in vegetation, which could adequately reflect the long-term vegetation trends. The results provide a theoretical basis and reference for the sustainable development of the natural environment and a response to vegetation change under the background of climate change in the study area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geo-Information Technology and Its Applications)

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16 pages, 4669 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Taxi-Driver Shifts Using Big Trace Data

by Luling Cheng, Xue Yang, Luliang Tang, Qian Duan, Zihan Kan, Xia Zhang and Xinyue Ye

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 281; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040281 - 24 Apr 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2970

Abstract

In taxi management, taxi-driver shift behaviors play a key role in arranging the operation of taxis, which affect the balance between the demand and supply of taxis and the parking spaces. At the same time, these behaviors influence the daily travel of citizens. [...] Read more.

In taxi management, taxi-driver shift behaviors play a key role in arranging the operation of taxis, which affect the balance between the demand and supply of taxis and the parking spaces. At the same time, these behaviors influence the daily travel of citizens. An analysis of the distribution of taxi-driver shifts, therefore, contributes to transportation management. Compared to the previous research using the real shift records, this study focuses on the spatiotemporal analysis of taxi-driver shifts using big trace data. A two-step strategy is proposed to automatically identify taxi-driver shifts from big trace data without the information of drivers’ identities. The first step is to pick out the frequent spatiotemporal sequential patterns from all parking events based on the spatiotemporal sequence analysis. The second step is to construct a Gaussian mixture model based on prior knowledge for further identifying taxi-driver shifts from all frequent spatiotemporal sequential patterns. The spatiotemporal distribution of taxi-driver shifts is analyzed based on two indicators, namely regional taxi coverage intensity and taxi density. Taking the city of Wuhan as an example, the experimental results show that the identification precision and recall rate of taxi-driver shift events based on the proposed method can achieve about 95% and 90%, respectively, by using big taxi trace data. The occurrence time of taxi-driver shifts in Wuhan mainly has two high peak periods: 1:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Although taxi-driver shift behaviors are prohibited during the evening peak hour based on the regulation issued by Wuhan traffic administration, experimental results show that there are still some drivers in violation of this regulation. By analyzing the spatial distribution of taxi-driver shifts, we find that most taxi-driver shifts distribute in central urban areas such as Wuchang and Jianghan district. Full article

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22 pages, 6083 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial–Temporal Evolution and Analysis of the Driving Force of Oil Palm Patterns in Malaysia from 2000 to 2018

by Wenhui Li, Dongjie Fu, Fenzhen Su and Yang Xiao

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 280; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040280 - 24 Apr 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4439

Abstract

Oil palm is the main cash crop grown in Malaysia, and palm oil plays an important role in the world oil market. A number of studies have used multisource remote sensing data to conduct research on oil palms in Malaysia, but there are [...] Read more.

Oil palm is the main cash crop grown in Malaysia, and palm oil plays an important role in the world oil market. A number of studies have used multisource remote sensing data to conduct research on oil palms in Malaysia, but there are a lack of long-term oil palm mapping studies, especially when the percentage of oil palm tree cover was higher than other plantations in Malaysia during the period of 2000–2012. To overcome this limitation, we used the Google Earth Engine platform to perform oil palm classification based on Landsat reflectance data. The spatial distribution of oil palms in Malaysia in five periods from 2000 to 2018 was obtained. Then, the planting center of gravity transfer method was applied to analyze the expansion of oil palms in Malaysia from 2000 to 2018 using Landsat data, elevation data, oil palm planting area, crude palm oil price, and other statistical data. Meanwhile, the driving factors affecting the change in oil palm planting area were also analyzed. The results showed that: (1) During 2000–2018, the oil palm planted area in Malaysia increased by 5.06 Mha (million ha), with a growth rate of 83.50%. Specifically, the increased area and growth rate for West Malaysia were 2.05 Mha and 62.05% and for East Malaysia were 3.01 Mha and 109.45%, respectively. (2) Three expansion patterns of oil palms were observed: (i) from a fragmented pattern to a connected area, (ii) expansion along a river, and (iii) from a plain to a gently sloped area. (3) The maximum shift of the center of gravity of the oil palms in West Malaysia was 10 km, while in East Malaysia, it reached 100 km. The East Malaysia oil palm planting potential was greater than that of West Malaysia and showed a trend of shifting from coastal areas to inland areas. (4) Malaysia’s oil palms are mainly planted in areas below 100 m above sea level; although a trend of expansion into high altitudes is visible, oil palm plantings extend to areas below 300 m above sea level. (5) Topography, crude palm oil prices, and deforestation are closely related to changes in oil palm planted area. Full article

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Graphical abstract

20 pages, 1967 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hierarchical Behavior Model for Multi-Agent System with Evasion Capabilities and Dynamic Memory

by Aydin Cetin and Erhan Bulbul

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040279 - 23 Apr 2020

Viewed by 2497

Abstract

The behavior of an agent may be simple or complex depending on its role. Behavioral simulation using agents can have multiple approaches that have different advantages and disadvantages. By combining different behaviors in a hierarchical model, situational inefficiencies can be compensated. This paper [...] Read more.

The behavior of an agent may be simple or complex depending on its role. Behavioral simulation using agents can have multiple approaches that have different advantages and disadvantages. By combining different behaviors in a hierarchical model, situational inefficiencies can be compensated. This paper proposes a behavioral hierarchy model that combines different mechanisms in behavior plans. The study simulates the social behavior in an office environment during an emergency using collision avoidance, negotiation, conflict solution, and path-planning mechanisms in the same multi-agent model to find their effects and the efficiency of the combinational setups. Independent agents were designed to have memory expansion, pathfinding, and searching capabilities, and the ability to exchange information among themselves and perform evasive actions to find a way out of congestion and conflict. The designed model allows us to modify the behavioral hierarchy and action order of agents during evacuation scenarios. Moreover, each agent behavior can be enabled or disabled separately. The effects of these capabilities on escape performance were measured in terms of time required for evacuation and evacuation ratio. Test results prove that all mechanisms in the proposed model have characteristics that fit each other well in situations where different hierarchies are needed. Dynamic memory management (DMM), together with a hierarchical behavior plan, achieved a performance improvement of 23.14% in escape time without providing agents with any initial environmental information. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geospatial Methods in Social and Behavioral Sciences)

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30 pages, 5421 KiB

Open AccessArticle

IFC Schemas in ISO/TC 211 Compliant UML for Improved Interoperability between BIM and GIS

by Knut Jetlund, Erling Onstein and Lizhen Huang

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 278; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040278 - 23 Apr 2020

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5455

Abstract

This study aims to improve the interoperability between the application domains of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) by linking and harmonizing core information concepts. Many studies have investigated the integration of application schemas and data instances according to the [...] Read more.

This study aims to improve the interoperability between the application domains of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) by linking and harmonizing core information concepts. Many studies have investigated the integration of application schemas and data instances according to the BIM model IFC and the GIS model CityGML. This study investigates integration between core abstract concepts from IFC and ISO/TC 211 standards for GIS—independent of specific application schemas. A pattern was developed for conversion from IFC EXPRESS schemas to Unified Modelling Language (UML) models according to ISO/TC 211 standards. Core concepts from the two application domains were linked in the UML model, and conversions to implementation schemas for the Geography Markup Language (GML) and EXPRESS were tested. The results showed that the IFC model could be described as an ISO/TC 211 compliant UML model and that abstract concepts from ISO/TC 211 standards could be linked to core IFC concepts. Implementation schemas for BIM and GIS formats could be derived from the UML model, enabling implementation in applications from both domains without conversion of concepts. Future work should include refined linking and harmonization of core abstract concepts from the two application domains. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integration of BIM and GIS for Built Environment Applications)

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23 pages, 5272 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Various Atmospheric Corrections on Sentinel-2 Land Cover Classification Accuracy Using Machine Learning Classifiers

by Luka Rumora, Mario Miler and Damir Medak

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 277; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040277 - 23 Apr 2020

Cited by 50 | Viewed by 5451

Abstract

Atmospheric correction is one of the key parts of remote sensing preprocessing because it can influence and change the final classification result. This research examines the impact of five different atmospheric correction processing on land cover classification accuracy using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. Those [...] Read more.

Atmospheric correction is one of the key parts of remote sensing preprocessing because it can influence and change the final classification result. This research examines the impact of five different atmospheric correction processing on land cover classification accuracy using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. Those are surface reflectance (SREF), standardized surface reflectance (STDSREF), Sentinel-2 atmospheric correction (S2AC), image correction for atmospheric effects (iCOR), dark object subtraction (DOS) and top of the atmosphere (TOA) reflectance without any atmospheric correction. Sentinel-2 images corrected with stated atmospheric corrections were classified using four different machine learning classification techniques namely extreme gradient boosting (XGB), random forests (RF), support vector machine (SVM) and catboost (CB). For classification, five different classes were used: bare land, low vegetation, high vegetation, water and built-up area. SVM classification provided the best overall result for twelve dates, for all atmospheric corrections. It was the best method for both cases: when using Sentinel-2 bands and radiometric indices and when using just spectral bands. The best atmospheric correction for classification with SVM using radiometric indices is S2AC with the median value of 96.54% and the best correction without radiometric indices is STDSREF with the median value of 96.83%. Full article

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17 pages, 4568 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparing Machine Learning Models and Hybrid Geostatistical Methods Using Environmental and Soil Covariates for Soil pH Prediction

by Panagiotis Tziachris, Vassilis Aschonitis, Theocharis Chatzistathis, Maria Papadopoulou and Ioannis (John) D. Doukas

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 276; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040276 - 23 Apr 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2903

Abstract

In the current paper we assess different machine learning (ML) models and hybrid geostatistical methods in the prediction of soil pH using digital elevation model derivates (environmental covariates) and co-located soil parameters (soil covariates). The study was located in the area of Grevena, [...] Read more.

In the current paper we assess different machine learning (ML) models and hybrid geostatistical methods in the prediction of soil pH using digital elevation model derivates (environmental covariates) and co-located soil parameters (soil covariates). The study was located in the area of Grevena, Greece, where 266 disturbed soil samples were collected from randomly selected locations and analyzed in the laboratory of the Soil and Water Resources Institute. The different models that were assessed were random forests (RF), random forests kriging (RFK), gradient boosting (GB), gradient boosting kriging (GBK), neural networks (NN), and neural networks kriging (NNK) and finally, multiple linear regression (MLR), ordinary kriging (OK), and regression kriging (RK) that although they are not ML models, they were used for comparison reasons. Both the GB and RF models presented the best results in the study, with NN a close second. The introduction of OK to the ML models’ residuals did not have a major impact. Classical geostatistical or hybrid geostatistical methods without ML (OK, MLR, and RK) exhibited worse prediction accuracy compared to the models that included ML. Furthermore, different implementations (methods and packages) of the same ML models were also assessed. Regarding RF and GB, the different implementations that were applied (ranger-ranger, randomForest-rf, xgboost-xgbTree, xgboost-xgbDART) led to similar results, whereas in NN, the differences between the implementations used (nnet-nnet and nnet-avNNet) were more distinct. Finally, ML models tuned through a random search optimization method were compared with the same ML models with their default values. The results showed that the predictions were improved by the optimization process only where the ML algorithms demanded a large number of hyperparameters that needed tuning and there was a significant difference between the default values and the optimized ones, like in the case of GB and NN, but not in RF. In general, the current study concluded that although RF and GB presented approximately the same prediction accuracy, RF had more consistent results, regardless of different packages, different hyperparameter selection methods, or even the inclusion of OK in the ML models’ residuals. Full article

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19 pages, 2918 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Integrative Approach to Assessing Property Owner Perceptions and Modeled Risk to Coastal Hazards

by Huili Hao, Devon Eulie and Allison Weide

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 275; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040275 - 23 Apr 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2274

Abstract

Coastal communities are increasingly vulnerable to changes in climate and weather, as well as sea-level rise and coastal erosion. The impact of these hazards can be very costly, and not just in terms of property damage, but also in lost revenue as many [...] Read more.

Coastal communities are increasingly vulnerable to changes in climate and weather, as well as sea-level rise and coastal erosion. The impact of these hazards can be very costly, and not just in terms of property damage, but also in lost revenue as many coastal communities are also tourism-based economies. The goal of this study is to investigate the awareness and attitudes of full-time residents and second-home property owners regarding the impact of climate and weather on property ownership and to identify the factors that most influences these attitudes in three coastal counties (Brunswick, Currituck, and Pender) of North Carolina, USA. The majority of previous studies have focused on only full-time residents’ risk perceptions. Given the fact that these coastal communities have a high percentages of second homes, this study fills that research gap by including second-home owners. This study integrates both social (survey data) and physical (geospatial coastal hazards data) aspects of vulnerability into a single assessment to understand the determinants of property owners’ risk perceptions and compare their perceived risks with their physical vulnerability. The study also compared the utility of a global ordinary least square (OLS) model with a local geographically weighted regression (GWR) model to identify explanatory variables in the dataset. The GWR was found to be a slightly better fit for the data with an R² of 0.248 (compared to 0.206 for the OLS). However, this was still relatively low and indicated that this study likely did not capture all of the factors that influence the perceptions of vulnerability in patterns of property ownership (whether full-time residents or second-home owners). The geospatial variables used to determine coastal vulnerability were found not to significantly impact perceptions related property ownership, but did provide additional insight in explaining spatial patterns of the response variable within each county. Full article

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18 pages, 29536 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identification and Extraction of Geomorphological Features of Landslides Using Slope Units for Landslide Analysis

by Kai Wang, Hui Xu, Shaojie Zhang, Fangqiang Wei and Wanli Xie

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 274; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040274 - 22 Apr 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3891

Abstract

A slope unit is commonly used as calculation unit for regional landslide analysis. However, the capacity of the slope unit to reflect the geomorphological features of actual landslides still needs to be verified. This is because such accurate representation is critical to ensure [...] Read more.

A slope unit is commonly used as calculation unit for regional landslide analysis. However, the capacity of the slope unit to reflect the geomorphological features of actual landslides still needs to be verified. This is because such accurate representation is critical to ensure the physical meaning of results from subsequent landslide stability analysis. This paper presents work conducted on landslides and slope extraction in two areas in China: The Jiangjia Gully area (Yunnan Province) and Fengjie County (Chongqing Municipality). Ground-based light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data are combined with field landslide terrace measurements to allow for the comparison of slope unit extraction methods (conventional vs. MIA-HSU) in terms of their ability to reflect the geomorphological features of shallow and deep-seated landslides. The results indicate that slope unit boundaries extracted by the conventional method do not match the geomorphological variations of actual landslides, and the method is therefore deficient in meaningfully extracting slope units for further landslide analysis. By contrast, slope units obtained using the MIA-HSU method accurately reflects the geomorphological features of both shallow and deep-seated landslides, and thus provides clearer geomorphological meaning and more reasonable calculation units for regional landslide assessment and prediction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance Geospatial Artificial Intelligence for Landslide Modeling, Prediction and Management)

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25 pages, 11267 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Testing a Comprehensive Volcanic Risk Assessment of Tenerife by Volcanic Hazard Simulations and Social Vulnerability Analysis

by Weiqiang Liu, Long Li, Longqian Chen, Mingxin Wen, Jia Wang, Lina Yuan, Yunqiang Liu and Han Li

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040273 - 22 Apr 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6988

Abstract

Volcanic activity remains highly detrimental to populations, property and activities in the range of its products. In order to reduce the impact of volcanic processes and products, it is critically important to conduct comprehensive volcanic risk assessments on volcanically active areas. This study [...] Read more.

Volcanic activity remains highly detrimental to populations, property and activities in the range of its products. In order to reduce the impact of volcanic processes and products, it is critically important to conduct comprehensive volcanic risk assessments on volcanically active areas. This study tests a volcanic risk assessment methodology based on numerical simulations of volcanic hazards and quantitative analysis of social vulnerability in the Spanish island of Tenerife, a well-known tourist destination. We first simulated the most likely volcanic hazards in the two eruptive scenarios using the Volcanic Risk Information System (VORIS) tool and then evaluated the vulnerability using a total of 19 socio-economic indicators within the Vulnerability Scoping Diagram (VSD) framework by combining the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the entropy method. Our results show good agreement with previous assessments. In two eruptive scenarios, the north and northwest of the island were more exposed to volcanic hazards, and the east registered the highest vulnerability. Overall, the northern municipalities showed the highest volcanic risk in two scenarios. Our test indicates that disaster risk varies greatly across the island, and that risk reduction strategies should be prioritized on the north areas. While refinements to the model will produce more accurate results, the outputs will still be beneficial to the local authorities when designing policies for volcanic risk reduction policies in Tenerife. This study tests a comprehensive volcanic risk assessment for Tenerife, but it also provides a framework that is applicable to other regions threatened by volcanic hazards. Full article

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19 pages, 497 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

A Holistic Overview of Anticipatory Learning for the Internet of Moving Things: Research Challenges and Opportunities

by Hung Cao and Monica Wachowicz

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 272; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040272 - 21 Apr 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3094

Abstract

The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) systems has received much attention from the research community, and it has brought many innovations to smart cities, particularly through the Internet of Moving Things (IoMT). The dynamic geographic distribution of IoMT devices enables the devices [...] Read more.

The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) systems has received much attention from the research community, and it has brought many innovations to smart cities, particularly through the Internet of Moving Things (IoMT). The dynamic geographic distribution of IoMT devices enables the devices to sense themselves and their surroundings on multiple spatio-temporal scales, interact with each other across a vast geographical area, and perform automated analytical tasks everywhere and anytime. Currently, most of the geospatial applications of IoMT systems are developed for abnormal detection and control monitoring. However, it is expected that, in the near future, optimization and prediction tasks will have a larger impact on the way citizens interact with smart cities. This paper examines the state of the art of IoMT systems and discusses their crucial role in supporting anticipatory learning. The maximum potential of IoMT systems in future smart cities can be fully exploited in terms of proactive decision making and decision delivery via an anticipatory action/feedback loop. We also examine the challenges and opportunities of anticipatory learning for IoMT systems in contrast to GIS. The holistic overview provided in this paper highlights the guidelines and directions for future research on this emerging topic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art in Spatial Information Science)

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24 pages, 19751 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

A Systematic Review into Factors Influencing Sketch Map Quality

by Kateřina Hátlová and Martin Hanus

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 271; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040271 - 20 Apr 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4969

Abstract

Spatial perception is formed throughout our entire lives. Its quality depends on our individual differences and the characteristics of the environment. A sketch map is one way of visualising an individual’s spatial perception. It can be evaluated like a real map, in terms [...] Read more.

Spatial perception is formed throughout our entire lives. Its quality depends on our individual differences and the characteristics of the environment. A sketch map is one way of visualising an individual’s spatial perception. It can be evaluated like a real map, in terms of its positional accuracy, content frequency and choice of cartographic methods. Moreover, the factors influencing the sketch map and/or its individual parameters can be identified. These factors should be of interest to geographers, cartographers and/or (geography) educators. The aim of this paper is to identify and describe the factors that clearly affect sketch map quality, by conducting a systematic review of 90 empirical studies published since 1960. Results show that most empirical studies focus on individual differences more than on environmental characteristics or information sources, even though the importance of these overlooked factors, especially source map characteristics and geographical education, has been proven in most analysed studies. Therefore, further research is needed in the field of sketch map quality parameters, especially in the use of cartographic methods. This paper could serve as a framework for such research. Full article

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24 pages, 2553 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Representing Complex Evolving Spatial Networks: Geographic Network Automata

by Taylor Anderson and Suzana Dragićević

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 270; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040270 - 20 Apr 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3239

Abstract

Many real-world spatial systems can be conceptualized as networks. In these conceptualizations, nodes and links represent system components and their interactions, respectively. Traditional network analysis applies graph theory measures to static network datasets. However, recent interest lies in the representation and analysis of [...] Read more.

Many real-world spatial systems can be conceptualized as networks. In these conceptualizations, nodes and links represent system components and their interactions, respectively. Traditional network analysis applies graph theory measures to static network datasets. However, recent interest lies in the representation and analysis of evolving networks. Existing network automata approaches simulate evolving network structures, but do not consider the representation of evolving networks embedded in geographic space nor integrating actual geospatial data. Therefore, the objective of this study is to integrate network automata with geographic information systems (GIS) to develop a novel modelling framework, Geographic Network Automata (GNA), for representing and analyzing complex dynamic spatial systems as evolving geospatial networks. The GNA framework is implemented and presented for two case studies including a spatial network representation of (1) Conway’s Game of Life model and (2) Schelling’s model of segregation. The simulated evolving spatial network structures are measured using graph theory. Obtained results demonstrate that the integration of concepts from geographic information science, complex systems, and network theory offers new means to represent and analyze complex spatial systems. The presented GNA modelling framework is both general and flexible, useful for modelling a variety of real geospatial phenomena and characterizing and exploring network structure, dynamics, and evolution of real spatial systems. The proposed GNA modelling framework fits within the larger framework of geographic automata systems (GAS) alongside cellular automata and agent-based modelling. Full article

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18 pages, 32065 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhancing Image-Based Multiscale Heritage Recording with Near-Infrared Data

by Efstathios Adamopoulos and Fulvio Rinaudo

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 269; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040269 - 20 Apr 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2968

Abstract

Passive sensors, operating in the visible (VIS) spectrum, have widely been used towards the trans-disciplinary documentation, understanding, and protection of tangible cultural heritage (CH). Although, many heritage science fields benefit significantly from additional information that can be acquired in the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum. [...] Read more.

Passive sensors, operating in the visible (VIS) spectrum, have widely been used towards the trans-disciplinary documentation, understanding, and protection of tangible cultural heritage (CH). Although, many heritage science fields benefit significantly from additional information that can be acquired in the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum. NIR imagery, captured for heritage applications, has been mostly investigated with two-dimensional (2D) approaches or by 2D-to-three-dimensional (3D) integrations following complicated techniques, including expensive imaging sensors and setups. The availability of high-resolution digital modified cameras and software implementations of Structure-from-Motion (SfM) and Multiple-View-Stereo (MVS) algorithms, has made the production of models with spectral textures more feasible than ever. In this research, a short review of image-based 3D modeling with NIR data is attempted. The authors aim to investigate the use of near-infrared imagery from relatively low-cost modified sensors for heritage digitization, alongside the usefulness of spectral textures produced, oriented towards heritage science. Therefore, thorough experimentation and assessment with different software are conducted and presented, utilizing NIR imagery and SfM/MVS methods. Dense 3D point clouds and textured meshes have been produced and evaluated for their metric validity and radiometric quality, comparing to results produced from VIS imagery. The datasets employed come from heritage assets of different dimensions, from an archaeological site to a medium-sized artwork, to evaluate implementation on different levels of accuracy and specifications of texture resolution. Full article

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17 pages, 3280 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Hybrid Prediction Methods in Spatial Assessment of Inland Excess Water Hazard

by Annamária Laborczi, Csaba Bozán, János Körösparti, Gábor Szatmári, Balázs Kajári, Norbert Túri, György Kerezsi and László Pásztor

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 268; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040268 - 20 Apr 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2516

Abstract

Inland excess water is temporary water inundation that occurs in flat-lands due to both precipitation and groundwater emerging on the surface as substantial sources. Inland excess water is an interrelated natural and human induced land degradation phenomenon, which causes several problems in the [...] Read more.

Inland excess water is temporary water inundation that occurs in flat-lands due to both precipitation and groundwater emerging on the surface as substantial sources. Inland excess water is an interrelated natural and human induced land degradation phenomenon, which causes several problems in the flat-land regions of Hungary covering nearly half of the country. Identification of areas with high risk requires spatial modelling, that is mapping of the specific natural hazard. Various external environmental factors determine the behavior of the occurrence, frequency of inland excess water. Spatial auxiliary information representing inland excess water forming environmental factors were taken into account to support the spatial inference of the locally experienced inland excess water frequency observations. Two hybrid spatial prediction approaches were tested to construct reliable maps, namely Regression Kriging (RK) and Random Forest with Ordinary Kriging (RFK) using spatially exhaustive auxiliary data on soil, geology, topography, land use, and climate. Comparing the results of the two approaches, we did not find significant differences in their accuracy. Although both methods are appropriate for predicting inland excess water hazard, we suggest the usage of RFK, since (i) it is more suitable for revealing non-linear and more complex relations than RK, (ii) it requires less presupposition on and preprocessing of the applied data, (iii) and keeps the range of the reference data, while RK tends more heavily to smooth the estimations, while (iv) it provides a variable rank, providing explicit information on the importance of the used predictors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced GIS and RS Applications for Soil and Land Degradation Assessment and Mapping)

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15 pages, 8034 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Deep Learning for Fingerprint Localization in Indoor and Outdoor Environments

by Da Li, Yingke Lei, Xin Li and Haichuan Zhang

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 267; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040267 - 20 Apr 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2705

Abstract

Wi-Fi and magnetic field fingerprinting-based localization have gained increased attention owing to their satisfactory accuracy and global availability. The common signal-based fingerprint localization deteriorates due to well-known signal fluctuations. In this paper, we proposed a Wi-Fi and magnetic field-based localization system based on [...] Read more.

Wi-Fi and magnetic field fingerprinting-based localization have gained increased attention owing to their satisfactory accuracy and global availability. The common signal-based fingerprint localization deteriorates due to well-known signal fluctuations. In this paper, we proposed a Wi-Fi and magnetic field-based localization system based on deep learning. Owing to the low discernibility of magnetic field strength (MFS) in large areas, the unsupervised learning density peak clustering algorithm based on the comparison distance (CDPC) algorithm is first used to pick up several center points of MFS as the geotagged features to assist localization. Considering the state-of-the-art application of deep learning in image classification, we design a location fingerprint image using Wi-Fi and magnetic field fingerprints for localization. Localization is casted in a proposed deep residual network (Resnet) that is capable of learning key features from a massive fingerprint image database. To further enhance localization accuracy, by leveraging the prior information of the pre-trained Resnet coarse localizer, an MLP-based transfer learning fine localizer is introduced to fine-tune the coarse localizer. Additionally, we dynamically adjusted the learning rate (LR) and adopted several data enhancement methods to increase the robustness of our localization system. Experimental results show that the proposed system leads to satisfactory localization performance both in indoor and outdoor environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Deep Learning for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM))

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15 pages, 6932 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A CitSci Approach for Rapid Earthquake Intensity Mapping: A Case Study from Istanbul (Turkey)

by Ilyas Yalcin, Sultan Kocaman and Candan Gokceoglu

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 266; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040266 - 20 Apr 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4324

Abstract

Nowadays several scientific disciplines utilize Citizen Science (CitSci) as a research approach. Natural hazard research and disaster management also benefit from CitSci since people can provide geodata and the relevant attributes using their mobile devices easily and rapidly during or after an event. [...] Read more.

Nowadays several scientific disciplines utilize Citizen Science (CitSci) as a research approach. Natural hazard research and disaster management also benefit from CitSci since people can provide geodata and the relevant attributes using their mobile devices easily and rapidly during or after an event. An earthquake, depending on its intensity, is among the highly destructive natural hazards. Coordination efforts after a severe earthquake event are vital to minimize its harmful effects and timely in-situ data are crucial for this purpose. The aim of this study is to perform a CitSci pilot study to demonstrate the usability of data obtained by volunteers (citizens) for creating earthquake iso-intensity maps in a short time. The data were collected after a 5.8 Mw Istanbul earthquake which occurred on 26 September 2019. Through the mobile app “I felt the quake”, citizen observations regarding the earthquake intensity were collected from various locations. The intensity values in the app represent a revised form of the Mercalli intensity scale. The iso-intensity map was generated using a spatial kriging algorithm and compared with the one produced by The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), Turkey, empirically. The results show that collecting the intensity information via trained users is a plausible method for producing such maps. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Citizen Science and Geospatial Capacity Building)

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15 pages, 3823 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Oil Flow Analysis in the Maritime Silk Road Region Using AIS Data

by Yijia Xiao, Yanming Chen, Xiaoqiang Liu, Zhaojin Yan, Liang Cheng and Manchun Li

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 265; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040265 - 20 Apr 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3259

Abstract

Monitoring maritime oil flow is important for the security and stability of energy transportation, especially since the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” (MSR) concept was proposed. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides public annual oil flow data of maritime oil chokepoints, which [...] Read more.

Monitoring maritime oil flow is important for the security and stability of energy transportation, especially since the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” (MSR) concept was proposed. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides public annual oil flow data of maritime oil chokepoints, which do not reflect subtle changes. Therefore, we used the automatic identification system (AIS) data from 2014 to 2016 and applied the proposed technical framework to four chokepoints (the straits of Malacca, Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Cape of Good Hope) within the MSR region. The deviations and the statistical values of the annual oil flow from the results estimated by the AIS data and the EIA data, as well as the general direction of the oil flow, demonstrate the reliability of the proposed framework. Further, the monthly and seasonal cycles of the oil flows through the four chokepoints differ significantly in terms of the value and trend but generally show an upward trend. Besides, the first trough of the oil flow through the straits of Hormuz and Malacca corresponds with the military activities of the U.S. in 2014, while the second is owing to the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in 2015. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geo-Informatics in Resource Management)

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34 pages, 6333 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Reliability Assessment of Social Media Mining Techniques with Regard to Disaster Domain-Based Filtering

by Ayse Giz Gulnerman and Himmet Karaman

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 245; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040245 - 20 Apr 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3662

Abstract

The data generated by social media such as Twitter are classified as big data and the usability of those data can provide a wide range of resources to various study areas including disaster management, tourism, political science, and health. However, apart from the [...] Read more.

The data generated by social media such as Twitter are classified as big data and the usability of those data can provide a wide range of resources to various study areas including disaster management, tourism, political science, and health. However, apart from the acquisition of the data, the reliability and accuracy when it comes to using it concern scientists in terms of whether or not the use of social media data (SMD) can lead to incorrect and unreliable inferences. There have been many studies on the analyses of SMD in order to investigate their reliability, accuracy, or credibility, but that have not dealt with the filtering techniques applied to with the data before creating the results or after their acquisition. This study provides a methodology for detecting the accuracy and reliability of the filtering techniques for SMD and then a spatial similarity index that analyzes spatial intersections, proximity, and size, and compares them. Finally, we offer a comparison that shows the best combination of filtering techniques and similarity indices to create event maps of SMD by using the Getis-Ord Gi* technique. The steps of this study can be summarized as follows: an investigation of domain-based text filtering techniques for dealing with sentiment lexicons, machine learning-based sentiment analyses on reliability, and developing intermediate codes specific to domain-based studies; then, by using various similarity indices, the determination of the spatial reliability and accuracy of maps of the filtered social media data. The study offers the best combination of filtering, mapping, and spatial accuracy investigation methods for social media data, especially in the case of emergencies, where urgent spatial information is required. As a result, a new similarity index based on the spatial intersection, spatial size, and proximity relationships is introduced to determine the spatial accuracy of the fine-filtered SMD. The motivation for this research is to develop the ability to create an incidence map shortly after a disaster event such as a bombing. However, the proposed methodology can also be used for various domains such as concerts, elections, natural disasters, marketing, etc. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Social Network Analysis – Spatio-Temporal and Semantic Methods)

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17 pages, 3290 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantifying the Characteristics of the Local Urban Environment through Geotagged Flickr Photographs and Image Recognition

by Meixu Chen, Dani Arribas-Bel and Alex Singleton

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040264 - 19 Apr 2020

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4294

Abstract

Urban environments play a crucial role in the design, planning, and management of cities. Recently, as the urban population expands, the ways in which humans interact with their surroundings has evolved, presenting a dynamic distribution in space and time locally and frequently. Therefore, [...] Read more.

Urban environments play a crucial role in the design, planning, and management of cities. Recently, as the urban population expands, the ways in which humans interact with their surroundings has evolved, presenting a dynamic distribution in space and time locally and frequently. Therefore, how to better understand the local urban environment and differentiate varying preferences for urban areas has been a big challenge for policymakers. This study leverages geotagged Flickr photographs to quantify characteristics of varying urban areas and exploit the dynamics of areas where more people assemble. An advanced image recognition model is used to extract features from large numbers of images in Inner London within the period 2013–2015. After the integration of characteristics, a series of visualisation techniques are utilised to explore the characteristic differences and their dynamics. We find that urban areas with higher population densities cover more iconic landmarks and leisure zones, while others are more related to daily life scenes. The dynamic results demonstrate that season determines human preferences for travel modes and activity modes. Our study expands the previous literature on the integration of image recognition method and urban perception analytics and provides new insights for stakeholders, who can use these findings as vital evidence for decision making. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Deep Learning and Computer Vision for GeoInformation Sciences)

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19 pages, 4284 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Household Level Vulnerability Analysis—Index and Fuzzy Based Methods

by Martina Baučić

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 263; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040263 - 19 Apr 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2808

Abstract

Coastal vulnerability assessment due to climate change impacts, particularly for sea level rise, has become an essential part of coastal management all over the world. For the planning and implementation of adaptation measures at the household level, large-scale analysis is necessary. The main [...] Read more.

Coastal vulnerability assessment due to climate change impacts, particularly for sea level rise, has become an essential part of coastal management all over the world. For the planning and implementation of adaptation measures at the household level, large-scale analysis is necessary. The main aim of this research is to investigate and propose a simple and viable assessment method that includes three key geospatial parameters: elevation, distance to coastline, and building footprint area. Two methods are proposed—one based on the Index method and another on fuzzy logic. While the former method standardizes the quantitative parameters to unit-less vulnerability sub-indices using functions (avoiding crisp classification) and summarizes them, the latter method turns quantitative parameters into linguistic variables and further implements fuzzy logic. For comparison purposes, a third method is considered: the existing Index method using crisp values for vulnerability sub-indices. All three methods were implemented, and the results show significant differences in their vulnerability assessments. A discussion on the advantages and disadvantages led to the following conclusion: although the fuzzy logic method satisfies almost all the requirements, a less complex method based on functions can be applied and still yields significant improvement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue GI for Disaster Management)

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26 pages, 10809 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Earthquake-Induced Urban Rubble by Means of Multiplatform Remotely Sensed Data

by Maurizio Pollino, Sergio Cappucci, Ludovica Giordano, Domenico Iantosca, Luigi De Cecco, Danilo Bersan, Vittorio Rosato and Flavio Borfecchia

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 262; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040262 - 19 Apr 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4004

Abstract

Earthquake-induced rubble in urbanized areas must be mapped and characterized. Location, volume, weight and constituents are key information in order to support emergency activities and optimize rubble management. A procedure to work out the geometric characteristics of the rubble heaps has already been [...] Read more.

Earthquake-induced rubble in urbanized areas must be mapped and characterized. Location, volume, weight and constituents are key information in order to support emergency activities and optimize rubble management. A procedure to work out the geometric characteristics of the rubble heaps has already been reported in a previous work, whereas here an original methodology for retrieving the rubble’s constituents by means of active and passive remote sensing techniques, based on airborne (LiDAR and RGB aero-photogrammetric) and satellite (WorldView-3) Very High Resolution (VHR) sensors, is presented. Due to the high spectral heterogeneity of seismic rubble, Spectral Mixture Analysis, through the Sequential Maximum Angle Convex Cone algorithm, was adopted to derive the linear mixed model distribution of remotely sensed spectral responses of pure materials (endmembers). These endmembers were then mapped on the hyperspectral signatures of various materials acquired on site, testing different machine learning classifiers in order to assess their relative abundances. The best results were provided by the C-Support Vector Machine, which allowed us to work out the characterization of the main rubble constituents with an accuracy up to 88.8% for less mixed pixels and the Random Forest, which was the only one able to detect the likely presence of asbestos. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geomatics and Geo-Information in Earthquake Studies)

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15 pages, 1204 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Efficient Indoor Wi-Fi Positioning Method Using Virtual Location of AP

by Fan Xu, Xuke Hu, Shuaiwei Luo and Jianga Shang

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 261; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040261 - 19 Apr 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2467

Abstract

Wi-Fi fingerprinting has been widely used for indoor localization because of its good cost-effectiveness. However, it suffers from relatively low localization accuracy and robustness owing to the signal fluctuations. Virtual Access Points (VAP) can effectively reduce the impact of signal fluctuation problem in [...] Read more.

Wi-Fi fingerprinting has been widely used for indoor localization because of its good cost-effectiveness. However, it suffers from relatively low localization accuracy and robustness owing to the signal fluctuations. Virtual Access Points (VAP) can effectively reduce the impact of signal fluctuation problem in Wi-Fi fingerprinting. Current techniques normally use the Log-Normal Shadowing Model to estimate the virtual location of the access point. This would lead to inaccurate location estimation due to the signal attenuation factor in the model, which is difficult to be determined. To overcome this challenge, in this study, we propose a novel approach to calculating the virtual location of the access points by using the Apollonius Circle theory, specifically the distance ratio, which can eliminate the attenuation parameter term in the original model. This is based on the assumption that neighboring locations share the same attenuation parameter corresponding to the signal attenuation caused by obstacles. We evaluated the proposed method in a laboratory building with three different kinds of scenes and 1194 test points in total. The experimental results show that the proposed approach can improve the accuracy and robustness of the Wi-Fi fingerprinting techniques and achieve state-of-art performance. Full article

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30 pages, 7315 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multitemporal Analysis of Gully Erosion in Olive Groves by Means of Digital Elevation Models Obtained with Aerial Photogrammetric and LiDAR Data

by Tomás Fernández, José Luis Pérez-García, José Miguel Gómez-López, Javier Cardenal, Julio Calero, Mario Sánchez-Gómez, Jorge Delgado and Joaquín Tovar-Pescador

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 260; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040260 - 19 Apr 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3671

Abstract

Gully erosion is one of the main processes of soil degradation, representing 50%–90% of total erosion at basin scales. Thus, its precise characterization has received growing attention in recent years. Geomatics techniques, mainly photogrammetry and LiDAR, can support the quantitative analysis of gully [...] Read more.

Gully erosion is one of the main processes of soil degradation, representing 50%–90% of total erosion at basin scales. Thus, its precise characterization has received growing attention in recent years. Geomatics techniques, mainly photogrammetry and LiDAR, can support the quantitative analysis of gully development. This paper deals with the application of these techniques using aerial photographs and airborne LiDAR data available from public database servers to identify and quantify gully erosion through a long period (1980–2016) in an area of 7.5 km² in olive groves. Several historical flights (1980, 1996, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2016) were aligned in a common coordinate reference system with the LiDAR point cloud, and then, digital surface models (DSMs) and orthophotographs were obtained. Next, the analysis of the DSM of differences (DoDs) allowed the identification of gullies, the calculation of the affected areas as well as the estimation of height differences and volumes between models. These analyses result in an average depletion of 0.50 m and volume loss of 85000 m³ in the gully area, with some periods (2009–2011 and 2011–2013) showing rates of 10,000–20,000 m³/year (20–40 t/ha*year). The manual edition of DSMs in order to obtain digital elevation models (DTMs) in a detailed sector has facilitated an analysis of the influence of this operation on the erosion calculations, finding that it is not significant except in gully areas with a very steep shape. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced GIS and RS Applications for Soil and Land Degradation Assessment and Mapping)

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20 pages, 2447 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Selecting Prices Determinants and Including Spatial Effects in Peer-to-Peer Accommodation

by Rafael Suárez-Vega and Juan M. Hernández

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 259; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040259 - 19 Apr 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2551

Abstract

Peer-to-peer accommodation has grown significantly during the last decades, supported, in part, by digital platforms. These websites make available a wide range of information intended to help the customers’ decision. All these factors, in addition to the property location, may therefore influence rental [...] Read more.

Peer-to-peer accommodation has grown significantly during the last decades, supported, in part, by digital platforms. These websites make available a wide range of information intended to help the customers’ decision. All these factors, in addition to the property location, may therefore influence rental price. This paper proposes different procedures for an efficient selection of a high number of price determinants in peer-to-peer accommodation when applying the perspective of the geographically weighted regression. As a case study, these procedures have been used to find the factors affecting the rental price of properties advertised on Airbnb in Gran Canaria (Spain). The results show that geographically weighted regression obtains better indicators of goodness of fit than the traditional ordinary least squares method, making it possible to identify those attributes influencing price and how their effect varies according to property locations. Moreover, the results also show that the selection procedures working directly on geographically weighted regression obtain better results than those that take good global solutions as their starting point. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Tourism: A GIS-Based Approach)

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23 pages, 5287 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamics of Sediments in Reservoir Inflows: A Case Study of the Skalka and Nechranice Reservoirs, Czech Republic

by Jan Pacina, Zuzana Lenďáková, Jiří Štojdl, Tomáš Matys Grygar and Martin Dolejš

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 258; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040258 - 18 Apr 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2471

Abstract

A wide variety of geographic information system tools and methods was used for pre-dam topography reconstruction and reservoir bottom surveying in two dam reservoirs in the Ohře River, Czech Republic. The pre-dam topography was reconstructed based on archival aerial imagery and old maps. [...] Read more.

A wide variety of geographic information system tools and methods was used for pre-dam topography reconstruction and reservoir bottom surveying in two dam reservoirs in the Ohře River, Czech Republic. The pre-dam topography was reconstructed based on archival aerial imagery and old maps. The benefits and drawbacks of these methods were tested and explained with emphasis on the fact that not all processed archival data are suitable for pre-dam topography modeling. Bathymetric surveying of a reservoir bottom is presently routine, but in this study, we used a wide combination of bathymetric mapping methods (sonar, ground penetration radar, and sub-bottom profiler) and topographic survey tools (LiDAR and photogrammetry), bringing great benefits for bottom dynamic analysis and data cross-validation. The data that we gathered made it possible to evaluate the formation of the inflow deltas in the reservoirs studied and assess the sediment reworking during recent seasonal drawdowns. A typical inflow delta was formed in the deeper of the two studied reservoirs, while the summer 2019 drawdown caused the formation and incision of a temporary drawdown channel and erosive downstream transport of approximately 1/10 of the delta body thickness in approximately 1/10 of the delta transverse size. No inflow delta was formed in the shallower of the studied reservoirs, but unexpectedly extensive sediment reworking was observed in the inflow part of the reservoir. Both the studied reservoirs and the pre-dam river floodplain have accumulated historical contamination by risk elements such as As, Hg, Pb; thus, the enhanced erosion of existing sediment bodies expected in the future, owing to more frequent droughts and global climate change, will endanger the ecological quality of the water and solids outflowing from the reservoirs. Full article

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16 pages, 4104 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Determination of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) with Top-of-Canopy (TOC) Reflectance from a KOMPSAT-3A Image Using Orfeo ToolBox (OTB) Extension

by Kiwon Lee, Kwangseob Kim, Sun-Gu Lee and Yongseung Kim

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9(4), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi9040257 - 18 Apr 2020

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4621

Abstract

Surface reflectance data obtained by the absolute atmospheric correction of satellite images are useful for land use applications. For Landsat and Sentinel-2 images, many radiometric processing methods exist, and the images are supported by most types of commercial and open-source software. However, multispectral [...] Read more.

Surface reflectance data obtained by the absolute atmospheric correction of satellite images are useful for land use applications. For Landsat and Sentinel-2 images, many radiometric processing methods exist, and the images are supported by most types of commercial and open-source software. However, multispectral KOMPSAT-3A images with a resolution of 2.2 m are currently lacking tools or open-source resources for obtaining top-of-canopy (TOC) reflectance data. In this study, an atmospheric correction module for KOMPSAT-3A images was newly implemented into the optical calibration algorithm in the Orfeo Toolbox (OTB), with a sensor model and spectral response data for KOMPSAT-3A. Using this module, named OTB extension for KOMPSAT-3A, experiments on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were conducted based on TOC reflectance data with or without aerosol properties from AERONET. The NDVI results for these atmospherically corrected data were compared with those from the dark object subtraction (DOS) scheme, a relative atmospheric correction method. The NDVI results obtained using TOC reflectance with or without the AERONET data were considerably different from the results obtained from the DOS scheme and the Landsat-8 surface reflectance of the Google Earth Engine (GEE). It was found that the utilization of the aerosol parameter of the AERONET data affects the NDVI results for KOMPSAT-3A images. The TOC reflectance of high-resolution satellite imagery ensures further precise analysis and the detailed interpretation of urban forestry or complex vegetation features. Full article

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ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf., Volume 9, Issue 4 (April 2020) – 100 articles

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