Development of a Geographic Information Systems Baseline Spatial Geodatabase Template for Evaluating Potential and Predicted Environmental Impacts for Sustainable Environmental Impact Assessment of Mining in Sierra Leone

Baseline Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of mining projects in Sierra Leone creates a challenging environment for data collection and impact prediction. Application of geographic information systems provides suitable spatial analysis data collection methods to reduce the challenges created by mining environments. This research develops a baseline spatial geodatabase template for evaluating potential and predicted environmental impacts assessment of mining projects in Sierra Leone. It is observed that spatial analysis of impacts of mining projects on the environmental attributes, especially air, noise, water, land, and socio-economy in mining areas is largely unexplored in Sierra Leone. The literature review revealed that no complete GIS spatial data geodatabase collection template appears to have been developed to date to provide an integrated sustainable spatial analysis and modelling tool for EIA and environmental management of mining in Sierra Leone. Therefore developing a Geographic Information Systems baseline geodatabase template for the evaluation of potential and predicted environmental impact for sustainable environmental impact assessment of mining in Sierra Leone will: 1) provide support to the data acquisition process of environmental impact assessment, 2) offer a concept for developing analysis methods for environmental management of mining, 3) minimize the undesired environmental impacts of mining, and 4) give an optimal proposal for data collection and analysis of mining industry in attaining sustainable development in Sierra Leone. Due to the limited available data, a conceptual GIS database template has been developed rather than a database case study of a mining site. No site investigation and data collection were undertaken. The geospatial database template was designed using ArcCatalog, ArcGIS 10.7.1. software, through the following steps: exploration of the general data requirement of environmental impact assessment studies of mining, the definition of the general baseline datasets requirement of environmental impact assessment in mining, structuring of the environmental impact assessment baseline spatial geodatabase, creating the geographic geodatabase dictionary, selecting, matching geographic data with geodatabase structure, designing the feature class and attributes, creating the baseline GIS geodatabase template. The GIS spatial geodatabase template has several advantages for environmental impact assessment of mining including avoiding data redundancy, integrating data into a single database, creating uniformity in data collection, easy to find and track data, integrated spatial and non-spatial data, and reducing the volume of data.

Determinants of malaria from environmental and poverty aspects in Indonesia:A spatiotemporal perspective,2016-2020

Objective:To investigate the environmental and social aspects of poverty contributing to malaria incidence in Indonesia from 2016 to 2020.Methods:Random forest regression was used to analyse the independent variables contributing to malaria incidence.Environmental conditions were extracted from remotely sensed data,including vegetation,land temperature,soil moisture,precipitation,and elevation.In contrast,the social aspects of poverty were obtained from government statistical reports.Results:From 2016 to 2020,the contribution of each environmental and social aspect of poverty to malaria incidence fluctuated annually.Generally,the top three essential variables were people aged 15 years and above,experiencing poverty(variable importance/VI=32.0%),people experiencing poverty who work in the agricultural sector(VI=14.4%),and precipitation(VI=9.8%).It was followed by people experiencing poverty who are unemployed(VI=9.2%),land temperature(VI=5.2%),people experiencing poverty who have low education(VI=8.0%),soil moisture(VI=7.4%),elevation(VI=6.0%),and vegetation(VI=3.8%).Conclusions:Poverty and variables related to climate have become the crucial determinants of malaria in Indonesia.The government must strengthen malaria surveillance through climate change mitigation and adaptation programs and accelerate poverty alleviation programs to support malaria elimination.

Integration of GIS in the Development of an Environmental Cadastre Administrative System for the Environment Protection Agency Sierra Leone

The Environment Protection Agency Sierra Leone (EPA) is mandated by law to issue Environmental Impact Assessment license. Currently the agency achieves this mandate by issuing environmental licenses manually which always encountered lot of problems of accountability and transparency of the management of environmental licenses and assessment documentation. Client’s information and documentation is usually mixed up while carrying files from one point to the other or from one staff to another. Data on client are stored in a way which makes it difficult for the management to retrieve useful information on time. This paper explores these challenges faced by the manual system of issuing environmental licenses and infer solutions to the current challenges by integrating a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to develop an Environmental Cadastre administrative System (ECAS) which establishes a web-based information repository database developed with open sources software (Java, PHP, MySQL, QGIS) that published revenues online and made the data available to stakeholders and/or the public to complete the cycle of accountability and transparency. The information is presented and downloadable in a comprehensible and user-friendly manner, which in turn improves monitoring and reporting, and increases effectiveness and accountability of the management of environmental licenses and assessment documentation. The findings show these challenges facing the manual system, the back and forth between EPA and the client in the EIA process, the difficulty in the searching a client record, the mixing up of Client’s information and documentation by carrying files from one point to the other, and the storage of data on client in a way which makes it difficult for the management to retrieve useful information on time, and lack of back up when data or information is lost. Problems encountered in the time-consuming nature of the manual retrieval of files and preparation of prompt and accurate reports make it become a difficult task to accomplish as data and information are difficult to retrieve or collect from various files. Based on these findings, this paper provides the possible solution to the above problems. An online Environmental Cadastre administrative System (ECAS) which establishes a web-based information repository database was designed to capture the full lifecycle of environmental licenses including all stages of monitoring, licenses and payments and seamlessly manage the environmental impact assessment (EIA) licenses.

Characterization of Air Pollution in Urban Areas of Yangtze River Delta,China

The hallmark of development in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD) of East China has been sprawling urbanization. However, air pollution is a significant problem in these urban areas. In this paper, we investigated and analyzed the air pollution index(API) in four cities(Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Ningbo) in the YRD from 2001 to 2012. We attempted to empirically examine the relationship between meteorological factors and air quality in the urban areas of the YRD. According to the monitoring data, the API in Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou slightly declined and that in Ningbo increased over the study period. We analyzed the inter-annual, seasonal, and monthly variations of API, from which we found that the air quality had different temporal changes in the four cities. It was indicated that air quality was poor in winter and spring and best in summer. Furthermore, different weather conditions affected air quality level. The wind direction was considered as an important and influential factor to air pollution, which has an impact on the accumulating or cleaning processes of pollutants. The air quality was influenced by the different wind directions that varied with seasons and cities.

Survey of reefs based on Landsat 8 operational land imager(OLI)images in the Nansha Islands, South China Sea

A detailed survey of the reefs in the Nansha Islands＇ sea that are of strategic importance is conducive to their future development. In this study, a total of 50 Landsat 8 operational land imager（OLI） images were used to analyze the geological features and spectral characteristics of the Nansha reefs. The exposed islands/sandbanks,reef flats and sub-tidal reefs were identified with the near-infrared band, the red and green bands, and the blue band, respectively. Based on the relationships among various characteristics and bands illustrated in the OLI images, the maximum between-cluster variance threshold algorithm（OTSU method） and the mathematical morphology were employed to extract characteristic parameters of the spatial geometry of the reefs from top to bottom, which were subsequently operated by a series of post-processing methods such as vectorization,simplification and topological analysis. Among the 132 standalone reefs and 16 atolls that are identified in the study, four reefs have yet to be named in the Standard Names of Various Islands in the South China Sea and the website Nansha Islands Online（http：//www.nansha.org/）. Another 24 ones are exposed to the atmosphere even during high tides. Taiping Island with an area of 0.57 km^2 represents the largest exposed geological feature. This study demonstrated the applicability of medium-resolution satellite images to derive the coral reef information effectively and thus provided information for the related departments that are responsible to manage the coast.An improved resolution of multispectral bands with the panchromatic band in higher spatial resolution（15 m for OLI image） is expected to provide an optimum satellite based approach to map marine habitats.

Analysis of Jiangsu Tidal Flats Reclamation from 1974 to 2012 Using Remote Sensing

Jiangsu has the most abundant tidal flat resources among China＇s coastal provinces. To ease the conflict between the growing population and shrinking usable land and to promote regional sustainable development, large-scale coastal reclamation development activities have been performed in Jiangsu Province since 1949. The present study has integrated multi-source remote sensing images during 1974 to 2012 by using a Multi-point Fast Marching Method （MFMM） to extract the Jiangsu coastal reclamation areas for different time periods. The temporal and spatial patterns of the extent and elevation of the reclamation areas were analysed in order to determine the unused potential for future reclamation. It will provide information necessary to support the development and construction of tidal flats in Jiangsu. Results show that： （1） the reclaimed tidal fiats along the Jiangsu coast cover more than 19.86×10^4 hm^2, of which 13.97×10^4 hm^2 is located in Yancheng, 4.84×10^4 hm^2 in Nantong, and 1.05×10^4 hm^2 in Lianyungang; （2） the average elevation of the reclaimed Jiangsu tidal flats has gradually decreased over the last 40 years, while those in Dongtai and Rudong have showed particularly accelerated decrease since the 1990s; and （3） in 2012, very few unused tidal flats two meters above the sea level are left along the Jiangsu coast, and mainly concentrated in Yancheng. As there are still reserving some coastal land resources between 0-2 m, providing us with a potential for future development. All of these findings may be useful for researchers and local authorities for the development and utilization of tidal flat resources in Jiangsu.

Solution of shallow-water equations using least-squares finite-element method

A least-squares finite-element method （LSFEM） for the non-conservative shallow-water equations is presented. The model is capable of handling complex topography, steady and unsteady flows, subcritical and supercritical flows, and flows with smooth and sharp gradient changes. Advantages of the model include： （1） sources terms, such as the bottom slope, surface stresses and bed frictions, can be treated easily without any special treatment; （2） upwind scheme is no needed; （3） a single approximating space can be used for all variables, and its choice of approximating space is not subject to the Ladyzhenskaya-Babuska-Brezzi （LBB） condition; and （4） the resulting system of equations is symmetric and positive-definite （SPD） which can be solved efficiently with the preconditioned conjugate gradient method. The model is verified with flow over a bump, tide induced flow, and dam-break. Computed results are compared with analytic solutions or other numerical results, and show the model is conservative and accurate. The model is then used to simulate flow past a circular cylinder. Important flow charac-teristics, such as variation of water surface around the cylinder and vortex shedding behind the cylinder are investigated. Computed results compare well with experiment data and other numerical results.

Effect of Uncertainty of Grid DEM on TOPMODEL:Evaluation and Analysis

TOPMODEL,a semi-distributed hydrological model,has been widely used.In the process of simulation of the model,Digital Elevation Model(DEM) is used to provide the input data,such as topographic index and distance to the drainage outlet;thus DEM plays an important role in TOPMODEL.This study aims at examining the impacts of DEM uncertainty on the simulation results of TOPMODEL.In this paper,the effects were evaluated mainly from quantitative and qualitative aspects.Firstly,DEM uncertainty was simulated by using the Monte Carlo method,and for every DEM realization,the topographic index and distance to the drainage outlet were extracted.Secondly,the obtained topographic index and the distance to the drainage outlet were input to the TOPMODEL to simulate seven rain-storm-flood events,and four evaluation indices,such as Nash and Sutcliffe efficiency criterion(EFF),sum of squared residuals over all time steps(SSE),sum of squared log residuals over all time steps(SLE) and sum of absolute errors over all time steps(SAE) were recorded.Thirdly,these four evaluation indices were analyzed in statistical manner(minimum,maximum,range,standard deviation and mean value),and effect of DEM uncertainty on TOPMODEL was quantitatively analyzed.Finally,the simulated hydrographs from TOPMODEL using the original DEM and realizations of DEM were qualitatively evaluated under each flood cases.Results show that the effect of DEM uncertainty on TOPMODEL is inconsiderable and could be ignored in the model’s application.This can be explained by:1) TOPMODEL is not sensitive to the distribution of topographic index and distance to the drainage outlet;2) the distri-bution of topographic index and distance to the drainage outlet are slightly affected by DEM uncertainty.

The Use of AHP within GIS in Selecting Potential Sites for Water Harvesting Sites in the Azraq Basin—Jordan

The identification of potential sites for water harvesting is an important step towards maximizing water availability and land productivity in the arid and semi-arid areas. This research aimed to select the optimum sites for water harvesting in the Azraq basin of Jordan through the use of GIS techniques. The Azraq basin is characterized by flash floods that involve large quantities of runoff. The selection criteria in this research were based on six parameters identified based on an extensive literature review. Five experts were then asked to evaluate the importance of each criterion. The consistency ratio between the experts opinions was evaluated using the pairwise comparison method and a final weight was computed for each criterion. A water harvesting suitability map was then generated following the weighted linear combination (WLC) method. The sites that are not suitable for water harvesting within the study area were identified and eliminated following the Boolean method, and final water harvesting suitability map was generated. Finally, the findings of this research can be used to assist in the efficient planning of the water resources management to ensure a sustainable development of the water in Jordan and in other areas suffering from water shortages.

Control of air pollution sources based on method of consecutive functional approximation

In this article the approach was used to coherent assessment based on the intensity of air pollution sources impact on the impurity concentration at a few fixed points to monitor air quality. The numerical analogue of Duhamers theorem was used to describe processes of propagation of impurity in the atmosphere. Such approach allows you to count on essential increase of calculation accuracy based on mathematical models of reasonable complexity. The inverse problem of pollutants propagation in the atmosphere based on the measurements of the impurity concentration in stationary or mobile control points was solved by the sequential function approximation The solution was presented in the form of a digital filter.

Assessment of land suitability for oilseeds crops(sesame and groundnut)using geospatial techniques:In the case of Diga district,East Wollega zone,western Ethiopia

Sesame and groundnut crops are the major oilseed crops produced for exports and local consumptions in Ethiopia.This study attempted to evaluate land suitability for oilseeds crops using Geographic Information Systems(GIS)and multi-criteria evaluation in Diga district of East Wollega zone,western Ethiopia.To support the growing population,sesame and groundnut land suitability evaluations were carried out to ensure the sustainability of agricultural production.Different data inputs were used,including mainly climate data(temperature and rainfall),topography data(slope),soil data(soil texture,soil depth and soil drainage),and infrastructure data(road and market).In this study,sesame and groundnut land suitability areas were categorized into 4 classes:highly suitable,moderately suitable,marginally suitable,and not suitable.The result revealed that,about 252.1 ha(0.4%)and 113.1 ha(0.2%)were highly suitable for sesame and groundnut respectively.Result showed that most parts of the study area were moderately suitable for sesame and groundnut productions.Specially,the central and western parts of the study area were highly suitable and moderately suitable for sesame production.The study recommended the local communities to utilize the existing potential of the study area for sesame and groundnut productions.Moreover,decision makers should promote the suitability of the area for both small-and large-scale investment on sesame and groundnut production.

Roles of Geospatial Technologies in Hydrographic Practice

Any seafarer or mariner that uses the sea knows that navigation without correct charts is impossible and hazardous because nautical charts are the most essential and indispensable tools for vessels to sail safely at sea.For vessels to safely sail at sea,the seas and the oceans ought to be charted and this falls within the domain of hydrography.However,the seas cannot be charted effectively in the absence of the deployment of human resources and adequate tools like satellite and aerial imagery,survey boats and other equipment that will facilitate the hydrographic operations.The acquisition of data and information about the sea depths,nature of sea bed,waterways,navigational hazards and navigational objects among others,basically falls within the sphere of hydrography which is primarily known as survey at sea.The paper offers a review of geospatial technologies in hydrographic practice for enhanced safety of navigation at sea.The review is important to both the mariners,shipping industry and the government in order to explore the potentials provided by Geographic Information System,Remote Sensing,cloud GIS,big data GIS and Global Positioning System to enhance the practice of hydrography.The data and materials used for the review were obtained from literature in the internet and other published works.The paper looked at hydrography as a profession,roles of geospatial technologies in hydrographic practice,benefits of hydrography to national development and finally,the weaknesses of geospatial technologies in hydrographic practice were equally examined.

Spatial Analysis of Maritime Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea

Humans rely on the sea for food and mineral resources;hence it is vital to their economic survival.Nations all throughout the world rely on the water for trade and commerce.This article looks at the present condition of marine security in the Gulf of Guinea.The Gulf of Guinea has a total shoreline of about 5,000 nautical miles and several natural harbours with dangerous weather.It has a significant crude oil reservoir,as well as fish and other natural resources.These traits provide huge prospects for marine trade and transportation,but the Gulf of Guinea is also riddled with maritime crimes of all types,including piracy and smuggling.Maritime piracy has presented a threat to coastal states’stability and economic viability all across the world,not only in Africa.The study examines sea piracy in general,the Geographic Information System,and the impact of maritime piracy on the world socioeconomic development using secondary data.It then goes on to provide a number of recommendations aimed at addressing the problems caused by maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea in order to improve maritime security.

AHP with GIS for a Preliminary Site Selection of Wind Turbines in the North West of Jordan

The aim of this study was to identify potential sites for wind turbine in the North West of Jordan. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used in a novel approach to identify the potential sites for the wind turbine in the study area based on five physical criteria (Wind Speed, Rainfall, Slope, Altitude and Land use) that affect the wind turbine sites. The importance of each criterion was based on experts’ opinions. The ratings for each criterion were based on the available literature review. The consistency ratio between the experts’ opinions was evaluated using the pairwise comparison method and a final weight was computed for each criterion. A wind turbine suitability map was generated using the weighted linear combination (WLC) method within GIS environment. It was found that 45% of the study area has high and very high suitability for wind turbine. In conclusion, this research will contribute to the enhancement of the available renewable energy resources in Jordan if the selected sites will be utilized for wind turbine.

Relationship between settlements and topographical factors:An example from Sichuan Province,China

Terrain can influence the spatial distribution of settlements. Studies on the terrain characteristics of settlements can help to understand the effects of the environment on human activities. This paper provides a quantitative analysis of the relationship between settlements and topographical factors. A statistically significant sample of residential locations and ASTER GDEM V2 were used to investigate terrain traits and settlements distributions. We selected eight topographical factors and introduced a practical concept, distributive entropy, into assessing the aggregation extent of the settlements' spatial distribution. The study showed that topography varies within the study area, and distributive entropy indicates that settlements have distinctive distribution tendency in statistic approach. According to the results of this study, mountain inhabitants prefer to settle in valleys. Additionally, with distributive entropy, residential suitability was divided to three levels: suitable, normal, and unsuited. The results showed that suitable area is small in Sichuan Province, accounting for 8.2%～29.9%; however, unsuited area is large, accounting for 33%～63.3%.

Relationship Between Urban Road Traffic Characteristics and Road Grade Based on a Time Series Clustering Model： A Case Study in Nanjing, China

With the increasing number of vehicles in large-and medium-sized cities challenges in urban traffic management, control, and road planning are being faced. Taxi GPS trajectory data is a novel data source that can be used to study the potential dynamic traffic characteristics of urban roads, and thus identify locations that show a notable lack of road planning. Considering that road traffic characteristics on their own are insufficient for a comprehensive understanding of urban traffic, we develop a road traffic characteristic time series clustering model to analyze the relationship between urban road traffic characteristics and road grade based on existing taxi trajectory data. We select the main urban area of Nanjing as our study area and use the taxi trajectory data of a single month for evaluating our method. The experiments show that the clustering model exhibit good performance and can be successfully used for road traffic characteristic classification. Moreover, we analyze the correlation between traffic characteristics and road grade to identify road segments with planning designs that do not match the actual traffic demands.

The geographical characteristics of Nansha Islands in the South China Sea

As is well-known, Nansha Islands in the South China Sea(SCS) are of important strategic position and invaluable ecological value. Therefore, many attentions are paid to either the political and legal aspects of exposed features that matter in the maritime delimitation, or the physical and geographical characteristics of coral reefs that are the predominant structures of these islands. However, it seems that they consistently lose the connection of sciences and humanities in the research of Nansha Islands in the SCS. In this study, we carry out a combinative research, based on remote sensing data using satellite imagery analysis together with historical materials using literature investigation, so as to reconsider to the geographical characteristics of Nansha Islands from a standpoint of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS). After thoroughly appraising the statuses of these newly formed sand cays, several high tide features of Nansha Islands are identified. By means of the comparison of satellite images coupled with reference to nautical charting and sailing directions during different time periods, we can conclude that the statuses of these high tide features formed on reef platforms are relatively stable due to the growth of reef-building organisms although their migration patterns are subject to external disturbances, and hence the cursory judgment pursuant to the relevant provisions of the UNCLOS about whether a coral reef belongs to a low tide elevation only based on outdated references or ex parte evidences is not reliable. Moreover, it is accordingly justified to improve further development and perfection of the maritime legislation by eliminating such ambiguities with the growth of coral reefs and the evolution of sand cays being both taken into account.

A Method for Retrieving Water-leaving Radiance from Landsat TM Image in Taihu Lake, East China

The visible and infrared bands of Landsat Thematic Mapper （TM） can be used for inland water studies. A method of retrieving water-leaving radiance from TM image over Taihu Lake in Jiangsu Province of China was investigated in this article. To estimate water-leaving radiance, atmospheric correction was performed in three visible bands of 485nm, 560nm and 660rim. Rayleigh scattering was computed precisely, and the aerosol contribution was estimated by adopting the clear-water-pixels approach. The clear waters were identified by using the Landsat TM middle-infrared band （2.1 μm）, and the water-leaving radiance of clear water pixels in the green band was estimated by using field data. Aerosol scattering at green band was derived for six points, and interpolated to match the TM image. Assuming the atmospheric correction coefficient was 1.0, the aerosol scattering image at blue and red bands were derived. Based on a simplified atmospheric radiation transfer model, the water-leaving radiance for three visible bands was retrieved. The water-leaving radiance was normalized to make it comparable with that estimated from other remotely sensed data acquired at different times, and under different atmospheric conditions. Additionally, remotely sensed reflectance of water was computed. To evaluate the atmospheric correction method presented in this article, the correlation was analyzed between the corrected remotely sensed data and the measured water parameters based on the retrieval model. The results show that the atmospheric correction method based on the image itself is more effective for the retrieval of water parameters from Landsat TM data than 6S （Second Simulation of the Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum） code based on standard atmospheric and aerosol models.

Surface Water Quality Monitoring for River Nile, Egypt Using GIS-Techniques

Egypt faces a severe water scarcity in the last years. Increasing population cause rising in water demands and fast economic growth leads to ecosystem degradation. In addition, ineffective irrigation methods with water misuse result in water quality degradation. River Nile is the main fresh water source in Egypt. This study evaluates, one of River Nile branches;Rosetta water quality through Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques. Fifteen water samples were analyzed for their chemical and biological properties. A mathematical model of Water Quality Index (WQI) has been built to integrate biochemical data as input parameters. This model describes the spatial distribution. On the other hand, the temporal of water quality status has been defined. A spatial variation of water quality index was generalized for the study area. The average water quality index values range between 58.8 and 67.2. Generally, the water quality index values within the study area were about the critical pollution level. The concentrations of most elements in the studied water samples were above the permissible levels for drinking water standards. This study concludes that Rosetta water is not suitable for drinking. Furthermore, it can be used for irrigation and domestic uses with specified treatments.

Greenland Ice Sheet surface melt:A review

Surface melt has great impacts on the Greenland Ice Sheet （GrlS） mass balance and thereby has become the focus of significant GrlS research in recent years. The production, transport, and release processes of surface meltwater are the keys to understanding the poten- tial impacts of the GrlS surface melt. These hydrological processes can elucidate the following scientific questions： How much melt- water is produced atop the GrlS？ What are the characteristics of the meltwater-formed supraglacial hydrological system？ How does the meltwater influence the GrlS motion？ The GrlS supraglacial hydrology has a number of key roles and yet continues to be poorly understood or documented. This paper summarizes the current understanding of the GrlS surface melt, emphasizing the three essential supraglacial hydrological processes： （1） meltwater production： surface melt modeling is an important approach to acquire surface melt information, and areas, depths, and volumes of supraglacial lakes extracted from remotely sensed imagery can also provide surface melt information; （2） meltwater transport： the spatial distributions of supraglacial lakes, supraglacial sarams, moulins, and crevasses demonstrate the characteristics of the supraglacial hydrological system, revealing the meltwater transport process; and （3） meltwater release： the release of meltwater into the englacial and the subglacial ice sheet has important but undetermined impacts on the GrlS motion. The correlation between surface runoff and the GrlS motion speed is employed to understand these influences.