bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Euphorbia duvalii (Euphorbiaceae) in the Iberian Peninsula
Authors: Bou Jordi , Bou i Tomàs Josep
Published: November 2018

Euphorbia duvalii Lecoq & Lamotte is an endemic species from the Catalan-Occitan territory -western Mediterranean area- and is usually found in the south of France. Euphorbia duvalii has been cited from some localities of the Iberian Peninsula, but in later reviews all of these citations were finally identified as other species of Euphorbia L. One of these citations, from the Alt Empordà -Girona, Spain-, was of specific interest because not all the sources agreed on what the species was. To clarify whether or not this species is really present in the Iberian Peninsula, we examined new material from this population in order to establish whether the species is in fact E. duvalii. Once the morphology of the specimens from the Serra de Bac Grillera population had been analysed, we were able to confirm that they were indeed E. duvalii. This means that this is the only area on the Iberian Peninsula where this endemic species has been identified. The population is located in a rocky meadow that contains some scrub and is surrounded by pinewoods. Because this is the one and only Iberian population, a management and conservation plan needs to be drawn up to ensure its preservation.
Los hušūd andalusíes durante el Emirato omeya (756-929): un concepto ambiguo utilizado para designar las movilizaciones de tropas
Authors: Suñé Arce Josep
Published: November 2018

El concepto ḥašd (pl. ḥušūd) es el que más repiten los cronistas árabes para referirse a los contingentes andalusíes que practicaron el ŷihād durante el Emirato omeya. Diferentes autores lo han estudiado, pero continúan existiendo dudas acerca de cómo definir a los sujetos que se veían englobados bajo ese término. El presente artículo pretende resolver estas cuestiones y establecer qué papel jugaban los ḥušūd en la organización militar omeya. Con esta finalidad se han seleccionado treinta y dos episodios bélicos extraídos de las fuentes árabes. Los diferentes casos se han analizado y se han clasificado según las características comunes que presentan. El estudio concluye que el concepto ḥašd/ḥušūd es un término ambiguo que hace referencia a movilizaciones de diferente alcance geográfico donde tanto los soldados regulares como los combatientes no profesionales podían estar incluidos. La principal característica de estas concentraciones durante el Emirato sería la procedencia local de sus integrantes.
Monedas del litoral marítimo. Un tesoro Emiral compuesto por monedas de plata procedente de un asentamiento portuario del Cerro da Vila (Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal)
Authors: Heidemann Stefan , Schierl Thomas , Teichner Felix
Published: November 2018

El Cerro da Vila se fundó como asentamiento romano de producción y puerto (“aglomeración secundaria”) al final de la época republicana. Con el tiempo, se convirtió en un pequeño asentamiento costero (“aldeia do mar”), con una actividad basada en gran medida en la explotación de los recursos marítimos, aunque es poco probable que su explotación excediera el nivel de subsistencia. El abandono del asentamiento fue probablemente resultado de un ataque violento y destrucción a finales del siglo XI / comienzos del siglo XII. Un tesoro de 239 monedas de plata y fragmentos fue descubierto en el fondo de un silo de almacenamiento de época islámica, excavado en el suelo en una zona del antiguo emplazamiento romano, donde los restos de edificios y la estratigrafía confirman la actividad de asentamiento en los periodos visigodo e islámico. la cronología de la última moneda encontrada data de 270/883-4, pero el tesoro podría haber sido enterrado algunos años después. Es probable que el tesoro represente una pequeña muestra aleatoria de la circulación de monedas en Garb al-Andalus. la mayoría de las monedas están fragmentadas. Como es típico de este período, un gran número de las monedas están cortadas y ranuradas; y algunas de éstas están conectadas con pequeñas piezas de plata. Con la excepción de dos denarios carolingios, todas las monedas identificables proceden de Córdoba, lo que demuestra un estricto control de la circulación de monedas en al-Andalus. El tesoro pertenece a una zona del sur y el sudoeste de al-Andalus en la que se han encontrado tesoros similares que fueron enterrados en los años 260, 270, 870 y 880. Este artículo discute la composición de las monedas. Estas pertenecen al período de la sublevación del terrateniente muwallad ‘Umar Ibn Ḥafṣūn entre los años 267/880-1 y 303/915-6, contra el Emirato de Córdoba.
IL-17 in Renal Immunity and Autoimmunity
Authors: Biswas Partha S.
Published: November 2018

The kidney is an organ particularly susceptible to damage caused by infections and autoimmune conditions. Renal inflammation confers protection against microbial infections. However, if unchecked, unresolved inflammation may lead to kidney damage. Although proinflammatory cytokine IL-17 is required for immunity against extracellular pathogens, dysregulated IL-17 response is also linked to autoimmunity. In this review, we will discuss the current knowledge of IL-17 activity in the kidney in context to renal immunity and autoimmunity and raise the intriguing question to what extent neutralization of IL-17 is beneficial or harmful to renal inflammation.
Social involvement, food safety and food security
Authors: Liuzzo Gaetano , Bentley Stefano , Giacometti Federica , Piva Silvia , Serraino Andrea
Published: November 2018

The paper describes the terminology of risk assessment in the view of food safety: different aspects of social involvement are defined and discussed; the terms Document, Expert, Risk manager, Lay Knowledge, Participant, Participation, Citizens’ involvement, Community of interest, Consultation, Trust and Social trust are presented. Also, the terms Adverse effects, Human Illness Source Attribution, Food hygiene, Emerging disease, Safety, Food security and Food safety are discussed.
Study on endocrine disruptors levels in raw milk from cow’s farms: Risk assessment
Authors: Santonicola Serena , Ferrante Maria Carmela , Di Leo Genni , Murru Nicoletta , Anastasio Aniello , Mercogliano Raffaelina
Published: November 2018

Diet represents the primary route for human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA). As endocrine disruptor (ED), BPA has raised concerns about its adverse effects on human health. Therefore, EFSA recommended a tolerable daily intake (t-TDI) of 4 µg/kg bw/day and the EU Regulation n. 2018/213 fixed a specific migration limit (SML) of 0.05 mg/kg for BPA in food from plastic materials intended to come in contact with food. Considering the widespread consumption of milk and milk products, the contamination of dairy products is a matter of public health concern. The aim of the study was to investigate the BPA contamination levels of raw cow’s milk from two farms located in Campania region, Italy. The milk samples (n.22), weekly collected from the cooling tank, were analyzed using liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. In raw milk from both farms, preliminary results showed the occurrence of BPA levels lower than the SML limit, ranging from not detected to 2.34 µg/L. The consumer exposure calculated considering hypothetical raw milk consumption and three possible scenarios was below the t-TDI. BPA could be present in milk due to environmental contamination, and also as a result of the migration from contact materials used during milking and storage. Despite the low levels of exposure through milk consumption, low doses can have lasting effects during human development. Thus, new approaches, methods, and plans should be applied to monitor the ED contamination, such as BPA and other pollutants, and to assure milk safety.
A Comparison of High School Boys' and Girls' Lacrosse Injuries: Academic Years 2008–2009 Through 2015–2016
Authors: Warner Keegan , Savage Jennifer , Kuenze Christopher M. , Erkenbeck Alexandria , Comstock R. Dawn , Covassin Tracey
Published: November 2018

Context

The sex-based differences in the structure and rules of boys' and girls' lacrosse result in very different styles of play, which may have significant implications for the rates and patterns of injuries.

Objective

To compare the epidemiology of injuries sustained by boys' and girls' lacrosse players.

Design

Descriptive epidemiology study.

Setting

Web-based online surveillance system.

Patients or Other Participants

The High School Reporting Information Online database was used to analyze injuries reported by certified athletic trainers from 2008–2009 through 2015–2016.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Practice and competition injury rates, body site, diagnosis, and mechanism.

Results

Boys had a higher injury rate than girls (20.9 versus 15.7 per 10 000 athlete-exposures, respectively; rate ratio = 1.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.2, 1.4). The most commonly injured body sites for boys and girls, respectively, were the lower extremities (38.0%, 56.4%) and the head/neck (28.3%, 29.8%). More specifically, the most frequently diagnosed injuries for both boys and girls, respectively, in competitions were concussions (23.1%, 25.6%), ankle ligament sprains (7.8%, 15.3%), upper leg strains (4.8%, 6.7%), and knee ligament sprains (4.2%, 6.7%). The most cited mechanism of injury overall was contact with another player (22.0%); among boys, it was contact with a stick (14.8%) and among girls, the most frequent mechanisms were overuse (25.0%) and contact with a stick (14.7%).

Conclusions

Injury rates and mechanisms of injuries differed between high school boys' and girls' lacrosse players. Boys had a higher rate of injury, with the most common mechanism of injury being contact with another player compared with overuse in girls. However, similarities were seen between sexes for the most frequently injured body sites and injury diagnoses. Future authors should continue to compare differences in injury rates, equipment upgrades, and rule changes in boys' and girls' lacrosse.
Boekbespreking
Authors: Dreyer P.S. , Pont A.D.
Published: November 2018

No abstract available.
Boekbespreking
Authors: Koekemoer P.J.T. , Pont A.D. , Viljoen C.J. , Koekemoer J.H.
Published: November 2018

No abstract available.
Boekbespreking
Authors: Dreyer P.S. , Stolz D.J.P. , Muller J.J.P.
Published: November 2018

No abstract available.
Die metafisiese wêreld
Authors: Antonites A.J.
Published: November 2018

No abstract available.
Die verhouding liggaam en hoof by Paulus
Authors: Pelser G.M.M.
Published: November 2018

No abstract available.
Eksegese in die praktyk
Authors: Breytenbach A.P.B.
Published: November 2018

No abstract available.
Die reformatoriese grondbeskouing oor die Christen as simul iustus et peccator in die lig van Rom 7:14–25
Authors: Pelser G.M.M.
Published: November 2018

No abstract available.
Comparison of seven wind gust parameterizations over the European part of Russia
Authors: Kurbatova Maria , Rubinstein Konstantin , Gubenko Inna , Kurbatov Grigory
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Wind gusts are extreme events which can cause severe damage. Gusts can reach
significant values even during medium winds. However, numerical atmospheric
models are designed to reproduce average wind speed, not gusts. There are
several approaches to estimating wind gusts. Seven different methods are
applied to WRF-ARW model output. Results are compared to high-frequency wind
speed measurements using ultrasonic anemometers and temperature profiler
measurement at the same point in Moscow. Data gathered from synoptic station
network over the European part of Russia were also included in the analysis
to increase the statistics. None of the wind gust estimation methods shows
best results at every skill score. The proposed hybrid method shows good
balance between the probability of detection and the false alarm ratio estimates.
Greenhouse gas and energy fluxes in a boreal peatland forest after clearcutting
Authors: Korkiakoski Mika , Tuovinen Juha-Pekka , Penttilä Timo , Sarkkola Sakari , Ojanen Paavo , Minkkinen Kari , Rainne Juuso , Laurila Tuomas , Lohila Annalea
Published: November 2018

Abstract. The most common forest management method in Fennoscandia is rotation forestry including clearcutting and forest regeneration. In clearcutting, stem wood is removed and the logging residues are either removed or left on site. Clearcutting changes the microclimate and vegetation structure at the site, both of which impact the site's carbon balance. Peat soils with poor aeration and high carbon (C) densities are especially prone to such changes, and significant changes in C stocks and greenhouse gas exchange can be expected. We measured carbon dioxide (CO2) and energy fluxes with the eddy covariance method for two years (April 2016–March 2018) on a peatland drained for forestry. After the clearcutting, we observed a significant rise (23 cm) in the water table level. The site was also a large CO2 source (first year: 3086 ± 120 g CO2 m−2yr−1, second year: 2072 ± 141 g CO2 m−2 yr−1) after the clearcutting. These large CO2 emissions resulted from the collapse of gross primary production (GPP) following the removal of photosynthesizing trees and the decline of ground vegetation. During the second summer (June–August) after the clearcutting, GPP had already increased by 96 % and total ecosystem respiration decreased by 14 % from the previous summer. As a result, net CO2 emissions decreased during the second summer after clearcutting compared to the first one. The Bowen ratios were different in 2016 and 2017, starting at 2.6 in May 2016 and decreasing to less than 1.0 in August 2016, while in 2017 it varied mostly within 0.6–1.0. This was due to a 33 % decrease in the sensible heat flux and a 40 % increase in the latent heat flux from the 2016 values, probably due to the recovery of ground vegetation that increased evapotranspiration and albedo of the site. In addition to CO2 and energy fluxes, we measured methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes with manual chambers. After the clearcutting, the site turned from a small CH4 sink into a small source and from N2O-neutral to a significant N2O source. Compared to the large CO2 emissions, the global warming potential (GWP100) of the CH4 emissions was negligible. Also, the GWP100 due to increased N2O emissions was less than 10 % of that of the CO2 emission change.
Seasonal behaviour of tidal damping and residual water level slope in the Yangtze River estuary: identifying the critical position and river discharge for maximum tidal damping
Authors: Cai Huayang , Savenije Hubert H. G. , Garel Erwan , Zhang Xianyi , Guo Leicheng , Zhang Min , Liu Feng , Yang Qingshu
Published: November 2018

Abstract. As a tide propagates into the estuary, river discharge affects tidal damping primarily through a friction term, attenuating tidal motion by increasing the quadratic velocity in the numerator, while reducing the effective friction by increasing the water depth in the denominator. For the first time, we also demonstrate a third effect of river discharge that may lead to the weakening of the channel convergence (i.e., landward reduction of channel width and/or depth). In this study, monthly averaged tidal water levels (2003–2014) at six gauging stations along the Yangtze River estuary were used to understand the seasonal behaviour of tidal damping and residual water level slope. Observations show that there is a critical value of river discharge, beyond which the tidal damping is reduced with increasing river discharge. This phenomenon is clearly observed in the upstream part of the Yangtze River estuary (between the Maanshan and Wuhu reach), which suggests an important cumulative effect of residual water level on tide-river dynamics. To understand the underlying mechanism, an analytical model has been used to quantify the seasonal behaviour of tide-river dynamics and the corresponding residual water level slope under various external forcing conditions. It was shown that a critical position along the estuary is where there is maximum tidal damping (approximately corresponding to a maximum residual water level slope), upstream of which tidal damping is reduced in the landward direction. Moreover, contrary to the common assumption that larger river discharge leads to heavier damping, we demonstrate that beyond a critical value tidal damping is slightly reduced with increasing river discharge, owing to the cumulative effect of residual water level on the effective friction and channel convergence. Our contribution describes the seasonal patterns of tide-river dynamics in detail, which will, hopefully, enhance our understanding of the nonlinear tide-river interplay and guide effective and sustainable water management in the Yangtze River estuary and other estuaries with substantial freshwater discharge.
NEW TRENDS IN GIS AND BIM FOR FACILITY MANAGEMENT IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Authors: Vach K. , Holubec P. , Dlesk A.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Most of the state bureaus and ministries in the Czech Republic are located in the capital city Prague. The buildings are situated mostly in historical part of the city, where are high demands on compliance with the cultural heritage laws. Currently, the buildings are in unsatisfactory building conditions, their maintenance is expensive and due to complicated legislation and political processes the buildings are in a state of “permanent repairs”. More than twenty years our company operates and co-develops GIS/BIM application for facility management of administrative buildings in the Czech Republic. The main topics of this contribution is to present our general experiences in GIS and BIM development which is based on our concrete cases dealt with Czech ministries, to present basic legislation requirements in Czech facility management and to evaluate current trends in the field of GIS and BIM for facility management in the Czech Republic in response to other official state registries.
3D CITYGML BUILDING MODELLING FROM LIDAR POINT CLOUD DATA
Authors: Jayaraj P. , Ramiya A. M.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. With recent government initiatives for smart cities, 3D virtual city models are in demand for managing and monitoring the urban infrastructure. 3D building models forms an important component of 3D virtual city model. LiDAR remote sensing has revolutionized the way the third dimension can be precisely mapped and proved to be an important source of data for 3D models. The model thus generated should be in an open data format to be used across various applications. CityGML is an open data model framework that enables storage and exchange of 3D models which can be used for diversified applications. The main objective of this research is to develop a methodological workflow to create 3D building models in CityGML standard from airborne LiDAR point cloud. Initially building points were isolated from the airborne LiDAR data using point cloud processing algorithms. 3D building models with levels of detail (LoD1 and LoD2) were generated from the building points in CityGML standard using commercial (ArcGISPro) well as open source packages (3dfier, Citygml4j). Results prove that the models developed using open source packages are comparable to that provided by commercial packages.
MULTITEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF FOREST COVER CHANGE USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS OF KANHA TIGER RESERVE, CENTRAL INDIA
Authors: Devi R. M. , Sinha B. , Bisaria J. , Saran S.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Forest ecosystems play a key role in global ecological balance and provide a variety of tangible and intangible ecosystem services that support the livelihoods of rural poor. In addition to the anthropogenic pressure on the forest resources, climate change is also impacting vegetation productivity, biomass and phenological patterns of the forest. There are many studies reported all over the world which use change in Land Use Land Cover (LULC) to assess the impact of climate change on the forest. Land use change (LC) refers to any anthropogenic or natural changes in the terrestrial ecosystem at a variety of spatial or temporal scale. Changes in LULC induced by any causes (natural/anthropogenic) play a major role in global as well as regional scale pattern which in turn affects weather and climate. Remote sensing (RS) data along with Geographic Information System (GIS) help in inventorying, mapping and monitoring of earth resources for effective and sustainable landscape management of forest areas. Accurate information about the current and past LULC including natural forest cover along with accurate means of monitoring the changes are very necessary to design future adaptation strategies and formulation of policies in tune of climate change. Therefore, this study attempts to analyze the changes of LULC of Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR) due to climate change. The rationale for selecting KTR is to have a largely intact forest area without any interference so that any change in LULC could be attributed to the impact of climate change. The change analysis depicted changes in land use land cover (LULC) pattern by using multi-temporal satellite data over a period of time. Further, these detected changes in different LULC class influence the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. As the study site is a Sal dominated landscape; the findings could be applied in other Sal dominated landscape of central India in making future policies, adaptation strategies and silvicultural practices for reducing the vulnerability of forest-dependent communities.
IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL ZONES FOR KIMBERLITE
EXPLORATION – AN EARTH OBSERVATION APPROACH
Authors: Guha A. , Rani K. , Varma C. B. , Sarwate N. K. , Sharma N. , Mukherjee A. , Kumar K. V. , Pal S. K. , Saw A. K. , Jha S. K.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. In the present study, we have prepared the thematic evidence layers for identifying the potential zones of kimberlite emplacement in parts of Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh. These thematic layers or evidence layers are geological structure, alteration zones, lineament density, surface alteration and geomorphic anomaly and these layers are prepared from the remote sensing data. As orientation of the geological structures (i.e fault system) and their density have the major role in the emplacement of kimberlite; both of these evidence layers are integrated using “AND” Boolean Logical Operator. On the other hand, two evidential layers regarded as the proxy to indicate the “surface expressions on kimberlite (i.e. alteration zones and geomorphic anomaly) are combined using “OR” operator as either of these two surface expression is indicative of kimberlite. Consequently, conjugate evidence layers on the surface expressions of kimberlite are integrated with the causative evidence layers of kimberlite emplacement using “AND” operator to identify the potential zones of diamond occurrences. Potential zones of kimberlite are overlaid on the residual gravity anomaly map derived from space-based gravity model of European Improved Gravity of Earth by New Technique (EIGEN6C4) to relate potential zones of kimberlite with the similar structural alignment (delineated in the residual gravity map) of known occurrence of kimberlite. We also have carried out indicator mineral survey around these potential zones and some of the kimberlite specific indicator minerals are identified in the stream sediments within these potential zones.
FOREST CANOPY DENSITY ASSESSMENT USING HIGH RESOLUTION LISS-4 DATA IN YAMUNANAGAR DISTRICT, HARYANA
Authors: Mothi Kumar K. E. , Kumar R. , Kumar P. ,   Sattyam, Sihag V. ,   Partibha, Singh K. , Rani S. , Sharma P. , Hooda R. S. , Singh T. P.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Forest plays an important role not only in providing ecological services but also economic goods to human beings. However, with increase in population there is a wide gap between demand and supply of these goods and services. This has lead to reduction in forest cover which needs to be taken care on regular time interval. To manage the existing forest area and also to increase the forest cover Forest Canopy Density (FCD) methodology is the main factor which was given by International Tropical timber Organization (ITTO). High resolution remote sensing LISS-4 data gives us chance to assess the quality of forest in terms of FCD as Rikimaru et al (1999) stated that FCD is one important parameter to assess forest cover quality. High resolution LISS-4 data analysis for FCD was never attempted before. Authors here attempted to assess the FCD utilizing methodology adopted by Rikimaru (1999), Huang (2001), Azizia (2008). The adopted methodology is one of the most efficient and cost effective way to derive the FCD. For this study Resourcesat-2 LISS-4 post monsoon data of year 2017 for Yamunanagar district was used to assess FCD within notified forest boundary. Notified forest boundaries at cadastral level prepared previously by Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC) was used. The degree of forest canopy density is expressed in percentages: i.e. < 10% FCD (scrub land), 10–20% (Open Forest-I), 20–40% (Open Forest-II), 40–60% (Moderate Dense), 60–80% (Medium Dense) and > 80% (Highly Dense). Forest Canopy Density was based on three indices i.e. Advanced Vegetation Index (AVI), Bare Soil Index (BSI) and Canopy Shadow Index (CSI). Accuracy assessment was done based on ground data and comparison with Coterminous Google Earth imagery and it was found that the devised methodology has achieved overall accuracy of 93% with kappa coefficient of 0.9153. The result shows that maximum forest area in Yamunanagar district is in medium dense FCD category which is approximately 23948.08 acres. This study tells us that 24.2% of the total forest area is under scrub land and open forest which should be focussed for activities in working plan to increase the forest cover. This paper highlights the utility of high resolution satellite data for monitoring and management of forest and improvement in its quality. This attempt provided large scale (1 : 10,000) maps to the forest managers to better equip them in planning for afforestation, reforestation and rehabilitation of water logged areas, environment management and their future aspect.
MAPPING OF STRIP FOREST IN ADAMPUR RANGE (HARYANA) A GEO-INFORMATICS APPROACH
Authors: Mothi Kumar K. E. , Kumar R. , Kumar R. ,   Shashikant, Bishnoi R. ,   Sarika,   Pratibha, Hooda R. S. , Singh T. P.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Haryana state is an intensively cultivated state, and deficient in natural forests. One of the mandate of Haryana Forest Department (HFD) is to afforest for maintenance of environmental stability and restoration of ecological balance affected by serious depletion of forests, woodlands and water, and to increase tree cover in the state. National Forest Policy (1988) has set a goal to bring one third of Country’s area under forest and tree cover. Stock and dynamics of Trees Outside Forests (TOF) along with natural forests need to be understood holistically to appreciate the ecosystem services e.g., timber and non-wood products as tangible benefits along with services like carbon, water and weather moderation. The present study has attempted to demonstrate the utility of High Resolution Worldview-II (WV) satellite data (ortho rectified) that offeres immense scope to analyze the strip forests in Hisar district (Haryana, India). The study area Adampur Range (Hisar District) lies between the north latitudes 29°0′52.229″ to 29°25′6.746″ and east longitudes 75°14′0.266″ to 75°45′11.093″ with a total geographical area of about 1092.04 sq. km. The adopted methodology involves onscreen digitization of the strip forest areas in the Adampur range (Hisar Distirct). The ToF formation identification and delineation includes the forest land besides roads, river, streams, canals, distributaries and railway lines etc. The shape files were converted into .kml files and overlaid on the Google Earth data for validation. An attempt has been made to compare the area difference between the Haryana Forest Department (HFD) notification details with that of the digitized strip forest lands. It was observed that the surveyed forest area is found to be 1717.37 ha. against the notified forest area of 1714.45 ha. showing a difference of 2.92 ha. approximately in the studied beat boundaries.
MODELING OF PARAMETERS FOR FOREST FIRE RISK ZONE MAPPING
Authors: Pandey K. , Ghosh S. K.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Forest fire has been regarded as one of the major reasons for the loss of biodiversity and dreadful conditions of environment. Global warming is also increasing the incidence of forest fire at an alarming rate. That’s why, one need to understand the complex biophysical parameters, which are responsible for this disaster. As it is difficult to predict forest fire, fire risk zone map can be useful for combating the forest fire. So the main aim of this study is to generate a Fire risk model to map fire risk zone using Remote Sensing & GIS technique. Pauri Garhwal District, located in Uttarakhand, India, has been selected for this study as it continually faces the problem of forest fire. Landsat-8 data of 18th April, 2016 have been used for land use land cover mapping. Slope and other information have been derived from topographic maps and field information. For thematic and topographic information analysis ArcGIS and ERDAS Imagine software have been used. Forest fire risk model was generated by using AHP method, where each category was assigned subjective weight according to their sensitivity to fire. Three categories of forest fire risk ranging from very high to low were derived. The generated forest fire risk model was found to be in strong agreement with actual fire-affected sites.
ESTIMATION OF INSTANTANEOUS EVAPOTRANSPIRATION USING REMOTE SENSING BASED ENERGY BALANCE TECHNIQUE OVER PARTS OF NORTH INDIA
Authors: Sett T. , Nikam B. R. , Nandy S. , Danodia A. , Bhattacharjee R. , Dugesar V.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Evapotranspiration (ET) is an essential element of the hydrological cycle and plays a significant role in regional and global climate through the hydrological circulation. Estimation and monitoring of actual crop evapotranspiration (ET) or consumptive water use over large-area holds the key for better water management and regional drought preparedness. In the present study, the remote sensing based energy balance (RS-EB) approach has been used to estimate the spatial variation of instantaneous evapotranspiration (ETinst). The (ETinst) is evaluated as the residual value after computing net radiation, soil heat flux and sensible heat flux using multispectral remote sensing data from Landsat-8 for the post-monsoon and summer season of 2016–2017 over the parts of North India. Cloud free temporal remote sensing data of October 12, 2016; November, 13, 2016; March 05, 2017 and May 24, 2017 were used as primary data for this study. The study showed that normalized difference vegetation index and LST are closely related and serve as a proxy for qualitative representation of (ETinst).
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS ON FLOOD SUSCEPTIBILITY MAPPING IN ANKARA (TURKEY) USING MODIFIED ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS (M-AHP)
Authors: Sozer B. , Kocaman S. , Nefeslioglu H. A. , Firat O. , Gokceoglu C.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Susceptibility mapping for disasters is very important and provides the necessary means for efficient urban planning, such as site selection and the determination of the regulations, risk assessment and the planning of the post-disaster stage, such as emergency plans and activities. The main purpose of the present study is to introduce the preliminary results of an expert based flood susceptibility mapping approach applied in urban areas in case of Ankara, Turkey. The proposed approach is based on Modified Analytic Hierarchy Process (M-AHP), which is an expert-based algorithm and provides data based modeling. The existing spatial datasets are evaluated in the decision process and the specified number of decision points according to the degree desired can be formed. The parameter priorities can be identified at the beginning of the modeling with this approach by the responsible expert. The spatial datasets used in the modeling and mapping process have been provided by the General Directorate of Mapping (HGM). Additionally, the slope gradient of topography, drainage density, and topographic wetness index of the site being one of the second derivatives of topography have been evaluated to identify the main conditioning factors controlling water accumulation on ground. Considering the uncertainties in flood hazard assessment and limitations in sophisticated analytic solutions, the proposed methodology could be evaluated to be an efficient tool to detect the most influential parameters representing the flood vulnerability and assessing the mitigation applications in urban environment.
FUZZY INTEGRATED DESERTIFICATION VULNERABILITY MODEL
Authors: Dave V. A. , Sur K.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Desertification and Land Degradation have constantly affected the global environment over the years. Land degradation is a reduction or loss of productivity over land due to natural processes, climate change and human activities. It involves complex set of processes, which interacts over space to decrease in land productivity. In the present study, regional desertification vulnerability assessment was carried out for Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, India. A vulnerability is a basic concept which explains the flaw in any structure of a system. A vulnerability may also refer to any type of shortcoming in systems, sub system parameters or processes, or in anything that leads the system to be exposed to a threat. Fuzzy Logic (FL) method combined with remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) techniques has several advantages for assessing vulnerability. Technically FL combines the intricate classical analytic hierarchy process and grey clustering method for estimation of coefficients. Climate, soil, vegetation and land use play a significant role in desertification of any area, hence, in this work, several indices have been generated. However, man’s intervention leads to significant changes in the environment, making socio-economic factor as a major input to assess vulnerability for desertification. Thus in this study FL has been integrated with both natural and socioeconomic factors for understanding the vulnerability to desertification in Bhavnagar region.
SATELLITE BASED DROUGHT ASSESSMENT OVER LATUR, INDIA USING SOIL MOISTURE DERIVED FROM SMOS
Authors: Kolekar D. , Vanama V. S. K. , Rao Y. S.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Climatological variables such as rainfall, temperature have been extensively used by researchers for drought monitoring at a larger spatial region. These variables have a direct influence on the soil moisture which in turn extends the application of soil moisture in drought assessment. With the advancement of technology, various satellites provide soil moisture data at different spatio-temporal resolutions. In this article, soil moisture obtained from Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) is used to analyze the drought condition over Latur district in Maharashtra, India. The monthly soil moisture derived by averaging the daily data for the years 2010 to 2015 is compared with two drought indices, i.e. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) calculated for years 2010 to 2015 and Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) calculated for years 2010 to 2013. Even though the overall correlation among the indices with the soil moisture is not significant, the seasonal (summer) correlation is significant. From the results, it is identified that SMOS derived soil moisture can be used as a potential parameter in drought assessment.
POST PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS OF STORM SURGE: A CASE STUDY OF HUDHUD AND PHAILIN CYCLONES
Authors: Preethi K. , Murty P. L. N.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Tropical cyclones affect the east coast of India due to its distinctive topography which is formed with a network of estuaries, bays, rivers, and inlets that causes inland flooding. The inland inundation of sea water is inflicting severe damage to the life and property. The ocean water entering the beachfront zone results to storm surges. In order to mitigate these storm surges, real-time monitoring and warnings are essential. For better visualization and analyzing the outputs from storm surge models, efficient post-processing tools are required. Hence post-processing of storm surge using GIS is carried out for taking protective measures. Storm surge vulnerable locations along the east coast of India have been identified in perspective of the number of storm surge events. Blue Kenue and SMS softwares are used to generate the unstructured triangular mesh over the study domain. Cyclones Phailin and Hudhud are selected in the current study and the associated surge heights and inundation extents are examined.
LANDSLIDE HAZARD ZONATION MAPPING OF CHAMOLI LANDSLIDES IN REMOTE SENSING AND GIS ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Tripathi M. K. , Govil H. , Champati ray P. K. , Das I. C.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Landslides are very common problem in hilly terrain. Chamoli region of Himalaya is highest sensitive zone of the landslide hazards. The purpose of Chamoli landslide study, to observe the important terrain factors and parameters responsible for landslide initiation. Lithological, geomorphological, slope, aspect, landslide, drainage density and lineament density map generated in remote sensing and GIS environment. Data information of related geological terrain obtain through topographic maps, remote sensing images, field visits and geological maps. Geodatabases of all thematic layers prepared through digitization of topographic map and satellite imageries (LISS-III, LISS-IV & ASTER DEM). Integrated all thematic layers applying information value method under GIS environment to map the zonation of landslide hazard zonation map validation and verification completed by field visit. The landslide hazard zonation map classified in four classes very high, high, medium and low.
LANDSLIDE HAZARD ZONATION IN AND AROUND KEDARNATH REGION AND ITS VALIDATION BASED ON REAL TIME KEDARNATH DISASTER USING GEOSPATIAL TECHNIQUES
Authors: Uniyal D. , Purohit S. , Dangwal S. , Aswal A. , Bisht M. P. S. , Kimothi M. M.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Landslides are one of the frequently happening disasters in this hilly state of Uttarakhand which accounts to the loss of lives and property every year especially during the rainy season which lead to affect the families. With the development of satellite observation technique, advanced data analysis tool and new modeling techniques landslide hazard zonation map can be prepared.In the present study, Landslide Hazard Zonation (LHZ) for Kedarnath to Augustmuni region of Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand state was carried out using Remote Sensing and GIS technique. For the preparation of LHZ map, year 2010 high resolution satellite data have been used. After preprocessing of the data various thematic layers are prepared in GIS environment. The weighted-rating system technique were used for the LHZ map showing the five zones, namely “very low hazard”, “low hazard”, “moderate hazard”, “high hazard” and “very high hazard” . This map has been validated after the tragedy of Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, Total no. of 224 Landslides has been marked from Kedarnath to Augustmuni region just after the kedarnath tragedy in year 2013. When this landslides thematic layer is overlaid on LHZ, the study shows that approximately 50% landslides was there where in LHZ map high and very high hazard zones have been identified. After the tragedy our team workers have gone to the field, with the help of DGPS around 40 ground control points have been taken to validate our result. So by using this geospatial technique around 50% people’s life can be saved.
ABSORBING AEROSOL LEVELS ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN HIMALAYAN REGION – A REMOTE SENSING APPROACH
Authors: Ghosh A. , Mehta M. , Biswas S. , Gumber M. , Mittal M.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Studies have shown that aerosol loading particularly due to the absorbing particles over Himalayan region might impact the snow properties and cover. Hence, a comprehensive study on the aerosol distribution over this large mountain ecosystem, particularly focussing on the absorbing particles requires utmost attention. The purpose of this study is to provide a statistical view of Aerosol Absorption Optical Depth (AAOD) levels derived from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) at 388 nm wavelength during the time period 2005–2017 over the Central and Western Himalayan region (25 – 40° N and 70 – 88° E). To extract the aerosol data for the specified Himalayan region the NOAA Digital Elevation Model (DEM) has been utilized, followed by geo-processing of the daily AAOD data. Outcomes of such studies could provide useful inputs for capacity building activities using the remote sensing resources. We have presented the yearly, monthly and seasonal variability of absorbing aerosols levels over the study region.
SYNOPTIC OBSERVATIONS OF CALVING EVENTS IN ANTARCTICA USING SPACEBORNE IMAGES
Authors: Jawak S. D. , Singh S. S. , Luis A. J.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Iceberg calving is the detachment of ice from ice shelves or glaciers. Although calving is a natural phenomenon, an abnormal rate of calving can be a threat to ice shelves. Some of the events were so large, that an iceberg of approximately 150 × 50 km area was calved in a single event. The most recent reported iceberg calving event was Larsen C and it took place in July 2017. In addition to the large and widely reported calving events, there are several small calving events, which are also of great significance and contribute to the overall mass loss from Antarctica. This study focuses on small calving events in Antarctica along various coasts. Three calving events are studied here, all of them have occurred in the past. This study was performed using Google Earth and Landsat satellite imageries. The first event is identified to have occurred at the Knox coast in 2016. Even after the icebergs were calved, they remained intact with the ice shelf due to ice fronts. The second event took place at the Queen Mary Coast in the year 2014. This event was studied from 2009 to 2016 using Landsat satellite images and many rifts were observed. The third event took place at the Princess Astrid Coast in the year 2016. This event was monitored from 2014 and three icebergs were calved between the years 2014 to 2016. This study emphasizes the exploitation of optical satellite data for studying calving events in Antarctica. Various crevasses and rifts are observed on Landsat imageries, which can be the first sign of a calving process.
SWAT BASED ASSESSMENT AND PREDICTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT IN THENPENNAI SUB-BASIN OF SOUTH INDIA
Authors: Nivedita Priyadarshini K. , Rahaman S. A. , Nithesh Nirmal S. , Jegankumar R. , Masilamani P.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Climate change impacts on watershed ecosystems and hydrologic processes are complex. The key significant parameters responsible for balancing the watershed ecosystems are temperature and rainfall. Though these parameters are uncertain, they play a prime role in the projections of dimensional climate change studies. The impact of climate change is more dependent on temperature and precipitation which contributes at a larger magnitude for characterising global warming issues. This paper aims to forecast the variations of temperature and precipitation during the period of 2020–2050 for the northern part of Thenpennar sub basin. This study is modelled using SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) – a scale model developed to predict the impact of changes that occurs in land, soil and water over a period of time. This study is validated using the base period from 1980–2000 which shows the distribution of rainfall and temperature among 38 watersheds. The results from this study show that there is a decrease in the rainfall for a maximum of about 20% in the month of December during the predicted period of 2020 and 2050. This study assesses the possible adverse impact of climate change on temperature and precipitation of Thenpennai sub-basin. This kind of predictions will help the government agencies, rulers and decision makers in policy making and implementing the adaptation strategies for the changing climatic conditions.
SEMI-AUTOMATED CEMETERY MAPPING USING SMARTPHONES
Authors: Demir N. , Yogeswaran N.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. Cemeteries are being considered as a symbol of love, religion, and culture across the globe. The maps of cemetery and grave are the interest of individuals and communities, who wants to identify the resting place of their beloved ones. It is also crucial to administrators who are building and maintaining cemeteries in urban space. Mapping cemeteries and its graves are complex and challenging since the practices involved in burying and policies for managing are different in regions. It is challenging for an individual to identify the graves of their beloved in a cemetery with thousands of graves. This study aims to address this problem by geotagging individual grave using the smartphone. The developed method allows the user to click pictures of the grave, add information like name, photo, surname, year of birth and death of the individual resting, and also enable the user to add a personal message or poem. These pieces of information are stored along with latitude and longitude are visualised as points on the google map in QGIS platform. In case of gravestones with a proper inscription, the user can mark its boundary so that the text embedded can be recognised automatically using the Google Tesseract OCR library in python environment. The Uncali Cemetery in Antalya had been chosen for this pilot study. The present framework extracted information with the accuracy of 65 %.
ORTHOSEG: A DEEP MULTIMODAL CONVOLUTONAL NEURAL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE FOR SEMANTIC SEGMENTATION OF ORTHOIMAGERY
Authors: Bodani P. , Shreshtha K. , Sharma S.
Published: November 2018

Abstract. This paper addresses the task of semantic segmentation of orthoimagery using multimodal data e.g. optical RGB, infrared and digital surface model. We propose a deep convolutional neural network architecture termed OrthoSeg for semantic segmentation using multimodal, orthorectified and coregistered data. We also propose a training procedure for supervised training of OrthoSeg. The training procedure complements the inherent architectural characteristics of OrthoSeg for preventing complex co-adaptations of learned features, which may arise due to probable high dimensionality and spatial correlation in multimodal and/or multispectral coregistered data. OrthoSeg consists of parallel encoding networks for independent encoding of multimodal feature maps and a decoder designed for efficiently fusing independently encoded multimodal feature maps. A softmax layer at the end of the network uses the features generated by the decoder for pixel-wise classification. The decoder fuses feature maps from the parallel encoders locally as well as contextually at multiple scales to generate per-pixel feature maps for final pixel-wise classification resulting in segmented output. We experimentally show the merits of OrthoSeg by demonstrating state-of-the-art accuracy on the ISPRS Potsdam 2D Semantic Segmentation dataset. Adaptability is one of the key motivations behind OrthoSeg so that it serves as a useful architectural option for a wide range of problems involving the task of semantic segmentation of coregistered multimodal and/or multispectral imagery. Hence, OrthoSeg is designed to enable independent scaling of parallel encoder networks and decoder network to better match application requirements, such as the number of input channels, the effective field-of-view, and model capacity.