Bioenergy Crops as a Promising Alternative to Fossil Fuels in Louisiana: A Geographic Information System (GIS) Perspective

Rising greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate change, and the world’s focus has shifted to the need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. There has been a rise in the published literature on the utilization of crops for bioenergy production in Louisiana. However, very few scholarly documents have used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map the distribution of potential bioenergy crops in Louisiana. This study seeks to fill the void by evaluating the potential of bioenergy crops in Louisiana for energy production using GIS. Given this objective, the agricultural census data for 1999, 2009, 2019, and 2020 obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture were used in the analysis. The quantities of various crops produced in the state were loaded into an attribute table and joined to a shapefile using ArcGIS software. The symbology tool’s graduated option was used to create five maps representing each of the bioenergy crops in Louisiana. The findings of the GIS analysis show that some of the parishes, such as Franklin produced the most bushels of corn (13,795,416), Iberia produced the most tons of sugarcane (1,697,980), East Carroll produced the most bushels of soybean (8,237,991), Tensas harvested the most bales of cotton (80,898) and Avoyelles produced the most bushels of sorghum (630,694). The abundance and availability of crops as raw materials for energy production will translate into lower prices in terms of energy use, making bioenergy crops a promising alternative to fossil fuels. In addition, gasoline price data from 1993-2022 was obtained from U.S. Energy Information Administration. A regression model for the average annual gasoline price over the years was constructed. The results show that the average annual gasoline price variation with respect to years is statistically significant (p 0.05). This suggests that gasoline prices will generally rise despite a price drop over the years. The paper concludes by outlining policy recommendations in the form of assessing the availability and viability of other crop types, such as wheat, oats, and rice, for energy production in the state.

Water Runoff Estimation Using Geographical Information System (GIS) for Alrakhmah Basin Valley Northeast of Iraq

The lack of water resources in many regions is the main challenge for the human being and to extended investigations. Water resources controlling and management is essential in the areas depending on the seasonal rainfall. This research aims to estimate the surface water runoff for Basin of Alrakhmah Valley located in the southwestern part of Kirkuk Province in northeastern of Iraq. Analyzing of Spatial data and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data has been conducted using Geographic Information System (GIS) to estimate the hydrological properties for the watershed valley with 158.5 km2 surface area. The results showed that watershed valley type is from the fifth rank with a longitudinal shape and topography percentage of 0.568. The watershed textures found to be 3.24 and the drain density 1.5 at 3.49 river branching. Finally, the annual estimated surface water retreat according to the morpho-hydro climatic elements found to be 0.01286233 milliard cubic meter.

Spatial analysis and evaluation of a coal deposit by coupling AHP & GIS techniques

Nowadays,the evaluation of coal deposits becomes crucial,due to many uncontrollable factors,which affect the energy sector.A comparative evaluation of coal deposits is essential for their hierarchical classification regarding their sustainable exploitation,when compared to other coal deposits or competitive fuels,which may be used as alternative solutions for electricity generation.In this paper,a method for spatial analysis and evaluation of a lignite deposit is proposed,by creating four spatial key indicators via GIS analysis,which are then aggregated by applying a weighted linear combination.The analytical hierarchy process is applied to estimate the relative weights of the indicators,in order to perform a weighted cartographic overlay.Through the synthesis of the indicators,an overall,total spatial quality indicator is calculated.The weighted analysis was shown to be more effective compared to the unweighted one,because it can provide more reliable results regarding the exploitation of the examined lignite deposit.The implementation of GIS-based analytical hierarchy process in spatial analysis and evaluation of lignite deposits,in terms of sustainable exploitation,demonstrates that this method can be extensively applied for evaluating the economic potential of mineral deposits.

Hazard analysis system of urban post-earthquake fire based on GIS

The authors study the structure, functions and data organization for the hazard analysis system of urban post-earthquake fire on the platform of GIS. A general hazard analysis model of the post-earthquake fire is presented. Taking Shanghai central district as background, a system for hazard analysis of the post-earthquake fire and auxiliary decision-against fire is developed.

Empirical Analysis on Urbanization Patterns in Zhejiang Province Based on Spatial Economy and GIS

Regional core cities are the growth poles for regional economic development, thus the issue about efficient urbanization pattern has always become a hot spot among researchers and policy makers. The Spatial Economy can be employed to improve it. Nevertheless, there actually exists an obvious gap between its theoretical models and the empirical simulation. To do so, this paper modifies the measurement of initial geographical advantages Stelder gave, and implements the empirical analyses of urban distribution in Zhejiang during the period of 1980-1990 by means of computer simulations in GIS environment. There are several interesting results achieved in this process. Firstly, given the values of parameters （transport cost is r, substitution elasticity of manufacturing sector p, and income share of spending on manufacture δ）, initial geographical advantages have the different impacts on urban systems, namely, urban locations, numbers and sizes over time across space. Secondly, the cities were distributed without any overlay in geographical space, which makes the patterns of urbanization generate the largest possible economic efficiencies. Thirdly, the urban systems-the location, number and size of Cities-from the simulation of the study area are suitable for the actual social and economic situations in the real world during the testing periods. Such results may have substantial implications for the policy how to choose the way of urbanization in a region.

The Geographic Information Grid System Based on Mobile Agent

We analyze the deficiencies of current application systems, and discuss the key requirements of distributed Geographie Information serviee （GIS）, We construct the distributed GIS on grid platform. Considering the flexibility and efficiency, we integrate the mobile agent technology into the system. We propose a new prototype system, the Geographic Information Grid System （GIGS） based on mobile agent. This system has flexible services and high performance, and improves the sharing of distributed resources. The service strategy of the system and the examples are also presented.

GIS-Based Spatial Analysis for the Integrated Transport-Land Use-Energy Planning:An Application to the Greater London

This work focuses on examining the possible advantages for the urban sustainability,derived from the integration of transport,land use and energy systems.The main aim is to develop a GIS-based method that can help decision makers,either public or private,improve the economic,social and environmental sustainability of urban areas through an integrated transformation approach.As a result,it was possible to provide a spatial analysis technique based on seven synthetic variables and on the application of a cluster method able to identify the portions of urban areas where investments and urban integrated transformation processes can be more suitable,according to the dynamic relationships among transport,land use and energy systems.The methodology was applied to the Greater London area and led to significant results:the cluster classes follow the transport railway network evolution within the study area boundary.The paper is organized as follows:in Section 1 the integration of transport,land use and energy planning is investigated;following the introduction,in Section 2,the GIS-based method is presented,followed by a description of the application to the Greater London area;in Section 4,findings of the methodology are explained.In the last section,results and future developments are discussed.

应用GIS模糊层次分析法对森林火灾风险区划——以湖南省宁远县为例

应用ArcGIS的模糊逻辑和层次分析法,对湖南省宁远县的森林火灾风险进行评估和火险区划研究,参与评估的火险因子包括环境、人类活动和地形因子。研究结果表明:温度、降水、海拔和归一化植被指数(NDVI)对研究区域林火风险的影响最为显著;宁远县47.6%的区域被确定为四级及以上火险等级,主要分布于该县中部的大部分地区,该县火险情况严峻;编制的森林火灾风险图预测精度达82.7%。模糊层次分析法在森林火灾风险预测中展现出较好的效果,可作为林火预测和火险制图的重要工具,编制的森林火灾风险图为宁远县的林火管理提供了科学参考依据。

基于GIS的青岛市绿地景观生态格局与网络构建

定量化研究绿地景观生态格局和网络构建能够为城市绿地系统和国土空间的科学规划提供理论依据与方法支撑。研究基于无线电高空测候(RS)和地理信息系统(GIS)技术,运用总体景观生态格局分析和梯度分析方法,选取12个景观指数,对沿海城市——青岛市的绿地景观生态格局从斑块类型水平和景观水平两方面进行了定量研究。结果表明:斑块类型水平上,区域绿地以大型斑块为主且占优势地位,防护绿地以大中型斑块为主,二者虽空间分布不均匀,但生态效益较好;附属绿地以中小型斑块为主,缺乏大面积绿地建设,景观破碎度高但符合公众游憩需求;公园绿地以小型斑块为主且数量较少,在城区集中分布。景观水平上,城市绿地景观类型较齐全,但整体破碎度高,中部地区景观破碎度高,南部与中北部地区绿地类型多样,景观破碎度高且景观形状较复杂。在此基础上,进而分析了青岛城市绿地景观生态格局存在的问题,提出了“一轴、三核、廊汇成网、节点密布”的城市绿地生态网络优化与构建方案,以提高各类城市绿地连接度水平,发挥绿地生态系统的整体效益。

An analysis on spatial variation of urban human thermal comfort in Hangzhou, China

Urban human thermal comfort(UHTC) is affected for interacting of weather condition and underlying surface framework of urban area. Urban underlying surface temperature value and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) were calculated using image interpreting and supervised classification technique by ERDAS IMAGE software using 1991 and 1999 Landsat TM images data. Reference to the relational standard of assessing human thermal comfort and other meteorology data of Hangzhou City in summer, air temperature and relative humidity variation of different land types of underlying surface were inversed. By choosing discomfort index as an indictor, the spatial distribution characteristic and the spatial variation degree of UHTC were estimated and mapped on a middle scale, that is, in six districts of Hangzhou. The main characteristics of UHTC spatial variation from 1991 to 1999 were revealed using a GIS-based calculation model. The variation mechanism were analyzed and discussed from the viewpoint of city planning, construction and environmental protection.

Spatial quality evaluation for drinking water based on GIS and ant colony clustering algorithm

To develop a better approach for spatial evaluation of drinking water quality, an intelligent evaluation method integrating a geographical information system(GIS) and an ant colony clustering algorithm(ACCA) was used. Drinking water samples from 29 wells in Zhenping County, China, were collected and analyzed. 35 parameters on water quality were selected, such as chloride concentration, sulphate concentration, total hardness, nitrate concentration, fluoride concentration, turbidity, pH, chromium concentration, COD, bacterium amount, total coliforms and color. The best spatial interpolation methods for the 35 parameters were found and selected from all types of interpolation methods in GIS environment according to the minimum cross-validation errors. The ACCA was improved through three strategies, namely mixed distance function, average similitude degree and probability conversion functions. Then, the ACCA was carried out to obtain different water quality grades in the GIS environment. In the end, the result from the ACCA was compared with those from the competitive Hopfield neural network(CHNN) to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the ACCA according to three evaluation indexes, which are stochastic sampling method, pixel amount and convergence speed. It is shown that the spatial water quality grades obtained from the ACCA were more effective, accurate and intelligent than those obtained from the CHNN.

The application of geographic information technology to coastal geomorphology

With the development of modern oceanic observation technologies, coastal survey data have been experiencing a substantial growth. The integration management of the data from different disciplines, different sources and different formats has become a major research field in coastal geomorphology by using Geographic Information System （GIS）. This paper puts forward a new methodology framework of GIS techniques in coastal ocean geomorphology, including data acquisition, process, analysis, and representation. It focuses on some major GIS techniques to study the land-ocean interaction mechanism, such as spatial analysis, submarine topography model and three-dimension （3D） visualization, and apply its result to coastal urban planning, harbor site selection and geomorphology environment about coral reef and islands on the continental shelf. The case studies cover the whole coastal ocean to serve the social community, economical development and diplomatic rights for decision-making all round in the coastal zone. The research shows clearly that the application of coastal multi-source geospatial platform has changed the traditional coastal geomorphology science dramatically from its research scope, fields and methods, however, as made clear in this paper, extracting accurate information from remote sensing data and GIS databases for coastal geomorphological applications is a nontrivial challenge that requires the combined knowledge and skills of information scientists and geomorphologists.

Lifeline system network reliability calculation based on GIS and FTA

Lifelines, such as pipeline, transportation, communication, electric transmission and medical rescue systems, are complicated networks that always distribute spatially over large geological and geographic units. The quantification of their reliability under an earthquake occurrence should be highly regarded, because the performance of these systems during a destructive earthquake is vital in order to estimate direct and indirect economic losses from lifeline failures, and is also related to laying out a rescue plan. The research in this paper aims to develop a new earthquake reliability calculation methodology for lifeline systems. The methodology of the network reliability for lifeline systems is based on fault tree analysis （FTA） and geological information system （GIS）. The interactions existing in a lifeline system ale considered herein. The lifeline systems are idealized as equivalent networks, consisting of nodes and links, and are described by network analysis in GIS. Firstly, the node is divided into two types： simple node and complicated node, where the reliability of the complicated node is calculated by FTA and interaction is regarded as one factor to affect performance of the nodes. The reliability of simple node and link is evaluated by code. Then, the reliability of the entilre network is assessed based on GIS and FTA. Lastly, an illustration is given to show the methodology.

Application of GIS-Based Spatial Filtering Method for Neural Tube Defects Disease Mapping

This study is to assess the prevalence rates spatial pattern of neural tube defects with geographic information system and spatial filtering technique. A total of 80 infants who diagnosed from neural tube defects in the area being studied between 1998 and 2001 were analyzed. Firstly, the geographic information system （GIS） software ArcGIS was used to map the crude prevalence rates. Secondly, the data were smoothed by the method of spatial filtering. We evaluated that the effect of changes in spatial filtering radius size was assessed by creating maps based on various filtering radius sizes. The 3 miles or larger filtering radius gives better section variability than the 2 and 2.5 miles or smaller ones. The maps produced by the spatial filtering technique indicate that prevalence rates in the villages in the southeastern region are to produce higher prevalence than that in the other regions. The smoothed maps based on Heshun County display a more adequate data representation than the raw prevalence rate map.

Spatial Estimation of Rainfall Distribution and Its Classification in Duhok Governorate Using GIS

Rainfall is a significant portion of hydrologic data. Rainfall records, however, are often incomplete due to several factors. In this study, the inverse distance weighting (IDW) method integrated with GIS is used to estimate the rainfall distribution in Duhok Governorate. A total of 25 rain fall stations and rainfall data between 2000 and 2010 were used, where 6 rainfall stations were used for cross-validation. In addition, the relationship between interpolation accuracy and two critical parameters of IDW (Power α value, and a radius of influence) was evaluated. Also, the rainfall distribution of Duhok Governorate was classified. As an output of this study and in most cases, the optimal parameters for IDW in interpolating rainfall data must have a radius of influence up to (15 - 60 km). However, the optimal α values varied between 1 and 5. Based on the results of this study, we concluded that the IDW is an appropriate method of spatial interpolation to predict the probable rainfall data in Duhok Governorate using α = 1 and search radius = 105 km for all the 25 rainfall stations.

Spatial Distribution of Archaeological Sites in Lakeshore of Chaohu Lake in China Based on GIS

There are about 19 Neolithic Age sites and 120 Shang-Zhou dynasties sites in the western lakeshore of Chaohu Lake,Anhui Province,China.Based on sites data,topographic data,drainage maps,administrative maps and SPOT5 remote sensing data,spatial analysis methods were introduced into the archaeology of Chaohu Lake Basin with Geographic Information System(GIS).The spatial analysis methods include:1) Point Density Analysis with density model to acquire the shift of the sites;2) Distance Analysis to reveal the spatial structure of the sites;3) 3D Analysis based on Digital Elevation Model to get micro-geomorphologic features of the sites;and 4) Buffer Analysis to discover the relationship between the sites and rivers.The results indicate that the archaeological sites spread from the western lakeshore of Chaohu Lake gradually to the northwest,later to the south,and then symmetrically spread.Controlled by productive forces and other factors,ancient people preferred to reside in those places near water,or in plain and fertile land,which resulted in linear and decentralized distribution of the sites,and presented such disciplines as river valley directivity,terrace directivity and soil directivity.This paper indicates that the distribution of archaeological sites was influenced earlier by natural elements and later by human elements in the study period.The research is important for the integration of GIS and archaeology.

ANALYSIS OF CAPITAL FLOW WITH GIS——Two Approaches for Regional Investment in China

GIS technology has been mostly concerned with handling physical data andmodeling physical environment. However, the retirements of GIS for handling socio-economicinformation in many cases are different from those concerning phenomena in the physical environment.Analysis of capital flow among regions requires the transitions both from economic values tophysical landscape and from physical surface to economic explanation. Rapid growth of Chineseeconomy comes mainly from investment. There are two main ways for obtaining high growth ofinvestment. One is government expenditure which usually invests in regional facility and amenityblock, which is regarded as stimulus for attracting investment. The other is the creation ofinvesting center and corresponding capital source areas, both of which need the central city withthe highest growth rate of investment among regions. This paper presents the cluster areas of bothgovernment revenue and total investment, the potential situation of capital flow between centralcity Shanghai and its neighbor provinces by using Classification' and Interpolation' functions ofArcView GIS.

Novel modeling on numerical computing the geo-deformation information in coalmine based on the GIS-Excel

Numerical simulation modeling is a hotspot in the geological engineering computing field. Tak- ing a fast Langrangian analysis of continua in 3 dimensions （FLAC3D） numerical modeling on com- puting the geo-deformation information caused by the mining subsidence in a coalmine for example, a new GIS-Excel modeling method is proposed to build geologic strata within the simulation range combined with the coal-seam dip angle of the underground mining working-planes. First of all, the coal-seam model of the numerical computing is built by using the geographic information system （GIS） according to the stripe-through principle and the calculating formula on the size of the model blocks in the paper defined, then the FLAC3D numerical computing model of all geologic strata with- in the simulation range is also built based on the calculating formula of thickness of each stratum and the Excel fast computing advantages. The GIS-Excel method is good at the higher modeling accuracy, seldom making mistakes and consuming less time. The reliability and validity of the method is veri- fied well by its practical applications in the coalmine area.

Temporal-spatial Analysis on Urban and Rural Drinking Water Health Monitoring of Tianjin in 2013

Objective Grasp quality and health status of drinking water, and provide scientific basis for decision making of health administrative de- partment. Method According to the Standards for Drinking Water Quality （ GB 5749 -2006）, monitoring results of Tianjin urban and rural drinking water health in 2013 were evaluated, and software SPSS 20.0 and GeoDa was used for temporal-spatial analysis on water quality. Result There were 2 882 copies of monitoring samples in total, in which both finished water and tap water of urban district were qualified, while qualified rates of tap water and secondary water supply from the county were respectively 86.36% and 93.91%, and major exceeding indexes were pH and total number of colonies. Qualified rates of tap water and secondary water supply from the county had difference（x2 = 1 576.875, P 〈0.01 ）. Quality of tap water（ X2 = 5.425, P 〉 0.05） and secondary water supply （X2 = 16.009, P 〉 0.05） was stable at temporal distribution （ January-December）, but spatial distribution of tap water had certain regional difference（x2 = 1 255.802, P 〈0.01 ）. Conclusion General quality situation of Tianjin urban and rural drinking water was better, but qualified rate of water quality in some counties was lower, which had safety risk and threatened the health of residents in the corresponding county. The related departments should enhance the supervision and management of drinking water supply, im- prove supply water quality, strengthen water quality monitoring, and guarantee drinking water safety. Geographic information system can better real- ize visualization of drinking water quality monitoring information.

DEFINITION AND CONTENTS OF SPATIAL ANALYSIS

Because of the contents of spatial analysis were a wide range and are very complicated, there hasn’t been any unified theory system about it. In this paper, authors studied thedefinition and contents of spatial analysis. From the view point of the simulation of the geographical space, the authors defines spatial analysis as a system that describes the special relationship and spatial action of the objects in the geographical space. Furthermore, the contentsof spatial analysis to spatial query, spatial interaction analysis and spatial decision supportwere extended.