Although the positional accuracy of spatial data has long been of fundamental importance in GIS, it is still largely unknown for linear features. This is compromising the ability of GIS practitioners to undertake accurate geographic analysis and hindering GIS in fulfilling its potential as a credible and reliable tool. As early as 1987 the US National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis identified accuracy as one of the key elements of successful GIS implementation. Yet two decades later, while there is a large body of geodetic literature addressing the positional accuracy of point features, there is little research addressing the positional accuracy of linear features, and still no accepted accuracy model for linear features. It has not helped that national map and data accuracy standards continue to define accuracy only in terms of “well-defined points”. This research aims to address these shortcomings by exploring the effect on linear feature positional accuracy of feature type, complexity, segment length, vertex proximity and e-scale, that is, the scale of the paper map from which the data were originally captured or to which they are customised for output. / The research begins with a review of the development of map and data accuracy standards, and a review of existing research into the positional accuracy of linear features. A geographically sensible error model for linear features using point matching is then developed and a case study undertaken. Features of five types, at five e-scales, are selected from commonly used, well-regarded Australian topographic datasets, and tailored for use in the case study. Wavelet techniques are used to classify the case study features into sections based on their complexity. Then, using the error model, half a million offsets and summary statistics are generated that shed light on the relationships between positional accuracy and e-scale, feature type, complexity, segment length, and vertex proximity. Finally, auto-regressive time series modelling and moving block bootstrap analysis are used to correct the summary statistics for correlation. / The main findings are as follows. First, metadata for the tested datasets significantly underestimates the positional accuracy of the data. Second, positional accuracy varies with e-scale but not, as might be expected, in a linear fashion. Third, positional accuracy varies with feature type, but not as the rules of generalisation suggest. Fourth, complex features lose accuracy faster than less complex features as e-scale is reduced. Fifth, the more complex a real-world feature, the worse its positional accuracy when mapped. Finally, accuracy mid-segment is greater than accuracy end-segment.

No / The orientation-sensitive performance of the Schlumberger array, when used to survey narrow, linear features, has long been recognized in geophysical prospecting for geology. However, in spite of frequent use of the array for archaeological survey, particularly in eastern Europe and the Far East, this directional effect is not apparent in the survey of walls and ditches. In order to examine the array's performance some experiments were carried out in a shallow electrolytic tank using insulating and conducting cylinders. Broadside and longitudinal traverses with systematic expansion of the current electrode spacing facilitated the production of pseudosections. The results confirmed the high selectivity of the Schlumberger response to the orientation of the feature. Broadside traverse of the conductor and longitudinal traverse of the insulator produced very large changes: much smaller signals were recorded for the alternative orientations. A subsequent experiment, however, on a simulated ditch in bedrock revealed no signal. The directional effect for a linear insulator was confirmed in field studies of a simple stone-walled structure. Implications for survey of low-contrast linear archaeological features are discussed.

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Urbanization is viewed as a major threat to global biodiversity because of its role in the loss and fragmentation of low-lying, productive habitats associated with coastal plains and river valleys. My study examines the effects of urbanization on the movements and distribution of songbirds in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I conducted playback and translocation experiments to assess the permeability of small-scale (e.g. transportation corridors, rivers) and large-scale (e.g. multi-lane expressways, areas of urban development) features of the urban landscape, respectively. I then used these empirical data to parameterize spatially explicit models and determine functional landscape connectivity across the study area. Finally, using point surveys conducted at 183 sites across the urban matrix, I examined the role of land cover type, local vegetation characteristics, landscape-level forest cover, and isolation from natural features on the distribution of songbirds. In 563 playback trials involving the responses of 2241 birds, I found that the size of the gap in vegetation was the most important determinant of movement across linear features; the likelihood of movement sharply decreasing as the gap in vegetation exceeded 30 m. The results of 176 translocation trials provided further evidence of the barrier effect of gaps. Multiple gaps, in particular, constrained the movements of both yellow warblers (Dendroica petechia) and black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus). The bird surveys revealed that natural forest stands played a critical role in sustaining regional avian diversity in the study area. Moreover, functional distance to the nearest forested natural area or water body often explained more variation in the probability of occurrence of focal species than straight-line distance, suggesting that barriers identified from the permeability experiments may have affected not only the movements of songbirds but their settlement patterns as well. Taken together, my results suggest that preserving a functionally connected network of natural areas is vital to conserving avian biodiversity in cities. My research describes novel methodologies for characterizing the composition and configuration of highly heterogeneous and fragmented landscapes. It also provides a unique examination of the link between the movement behaviour of individual birds and population-level distribution patterns within this context. / Ecology

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<p>  </p> <p>For the agencies who are maintaining the transportation infrastructure, staying up to date with inspections is a continuing challenge. One approach to addressing that is to allow an inspector to perform most of the inspection process by viewing a digital 3D model, which is accurate and substantially complete. Having a digital 3D model could limit the on-site inspection process to those cases where the virtual inspection suggests more input is necessary. Such models would be defined by point clouds or by a surface composed of textured polygons. One of the advantages of building the 3D model via textured polygons instead of point clouds is that the inspector can zoom in and see the detail as needed. The data required to construct such a model are photographs that can be captured by a combination of handheld cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Having such a model will help these agencies to improve the efficiency of their inspection process in several ways, such as lowering the overall inspection costs, fewer lane closures during the inspection procedures, and having digital archives for their infrastructure. Of course, the time and effort to collect the images and build the model are substantial, but once a model is constructed, subsequent images can be applied as texture without recreating the model.</p> <p>This research will cover the task of building an accurate 3D wireframe model for a bridge that can be used to display texture realistically via rigorous image projection onto the wireframe surface. The wireframe geometry will be substantially derived from extracted linear features. The model’s estimation process will integrate the photogrammetric bundle block adjustment technique with suitable methods to estimate the linear feature parameters. Prior to the developments above, an investigation has been done to determine the possibility of automating the process of selecting the conjugate points using <em>Structure-From-Motion</em> (SFM) algorithms, as implemented in programs such as <em>AGISOFT or PIX4D</em>. </p> <p>In this kind of application, the bridge mostly has two types of linear features: the Straight Linear Features (SLF), which can be found on the component elements of the bridge structure, and the Parabolic Linear Features (PLF) for linear elements spanning the entire bridge length. After estimating the parameters of the linear features, the quadrilateral polygons used in the wireframe/visualization process can be extracted using these parameters. Furthermore, these quadrilateral polygons form the foundation for image texture projection. Also noteworthy, the process of generating these quadrilateral polygons is substantially automated.</p> <p>Whenever doing least squares estimation, one needs a way to express the uncertainty of the computed parameters (unknowns). In the early stages of the project, one may not know the uncertainty of the observations. Often pairs of parameters (typically X, Y position) need their uncertainties to be displayed together, graphically, in the form of a confidence circle with a given probability. Under these conditions, the literature offers no guidance on how it should be constructed rigorously. This research develops such a technique. In geomatics, there are two cases when making confidence statements. The first one is when the observation uncertainties are known. If the case is 1D, the corresponding probability density function is the univariate normal distribution. When the case is 2D, the chi-squared distribution will be used for the elliptical region, and the multivariate normal distribution will be used when making confidence circles. The second condition is when the uncertainties of the observations are unknown. When these uncertainties are unknown, the univariate t-distribution will be used to make the 1D confidence statement. The F-distribution will be used for the elliptical region. For a confidence circle, the multivariate t-distribution must be used. This research will present an algorithm to implement this process and show, numerically, that it is valid. </p>

This diploma thesis is focused on the development of linear features in agricultural area of the Pilsen region border area. Transformation in the landscape microstructure are researched by an evaluation of the linear features changes. The states in the middle of the 20th century and in the present are compared by the indicator 'density of the linear features in the agricultural landscape'. According to the assumption, the number of the linear features has noticeably declined. The biggest declined number refers to the linear features of communications. The number of the dry vegetation and wet watercourses linear features has slightly increased. Concerning length, the biggest decrease refers to the number of the narrowest and narrow linear features, while the number of wide linear features have increased. The decline of the linear features is more noticeable in areas struck by the expulsion of Czech Germans than in areas where Czech inhabitants have lived. The assumption, that demographical changes had influenced changes in the microstructure of the border areas, was proved. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

<p>Static terrestrial laser scanners have been increasingly used in three-dimensional data acquisition since it can rapidly provide accurate measurements with high resolution. Several scans from multiple viewpoints are necessary to achieve complete coverage of the surveyed objects due to occlusion and large object size. Therefore, in order to reconstruct three-dimensional models of the objects, the task of registration is required to transform several individual scans into a common reference frame. This thesis introduces three alternative approaches for the coarse registration of two adjacent scans, namely, feature-based approach, pseudo-conjugate point-based method, and closed-form solution. In the feature-based approach, linear and planar features in the overlapping area of adjacent scans are selected as registration primitives. The pseudo-conjugate point-based method utilizes non-corresponding points along common linear and planar features to estimate transformation parameters. The pseudo-conjugate point-based method is simpler than the feature-based approach since the partial derivatives are easier to compute. In the closed-form solution, a rotation matrix is first estimated by using a unit quaternion, which is a concise description of the rotation. Afterward, the translation parameters are estimated with non-corresponding points along the linear or planar features by using the pseudo-conjugate point-based method. Alternative approaches for fitting a line or plane to data with errors in three-dimensional space are investigated.</p><p><br></p><p>Experiments are conducted using simulated and real datasets to verify the effectiveness of the introduced registration procedures and feature fitting approaches. The proposed two approaches of line fitting are tested with simulated datasets. The results suggest that these two approaches can produce identical line parameters and variance-covariance matrix. The three registration approaches are tested with both simulated and real datasets. In the simulated datasets, all three registration approaches produced equivalent transformation parameters using linear or planar features. The comparison between the simulated linear and planar features shows that both features can produce equivalent registration results. In the real datasets, the three registration approaches using the linear or planar features also produced equivalent results. In addition, the results using real data indicates that the registration approaches using planar features produced better results than the approaches using linear features. The experiments show that the pseudo-conjugate point-based approach is easier to implement than the feature-based approach. The pseudo-conjugate point-based method and feature-based approach are nonlinear, so an initial guess of transformation parameters is required in these two approaches. Compared to the nonlinear approaches, the closed-form solution is linear and hence it can achieve the registration of two adjacent scans without the requirement of any initial guess for transformation parameters. Therefore, the pseudo-conjugate point-based method and closed-form solution are the preferred approaches for coarse registration using linear or planar features. In real practice, the planar features would have a better preference when compared to linear features since the linear features are derived indirectly by the intersection of neighboring planar features. To get enough lines with different orientations, planes that are far apart from each other have to be extrapolated to derive lines.</p><div><br></div>