Submitted by Gabriela Lopes (gmachadolopesufpel@gmail.com) on 2017-03-07T16:35:43Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) DISSERTAÇÃO- Gabriel Lemos.pdf: 2973253 bytes, checksum: 5e743c4ca1d0ee9a605f01d0923762e3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2017-03-09T20:37:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 DISSERTAÇÃO- Gabriel Lemos.pdf: 2973253 bytes, checksum: 5e743c4ca1d0ee9a605f01d0923762e3 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-09T20:37:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 DISSERTAÇÃO- Gabriel Lemos.pdf: 2973253 bytes, checksum: 5e743c4ca1d0ee9a605f01d0923762e3 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-19 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul - FAPERGS / A área de soja tem expandido rapidamente nos últimos anos na metade sul do Rio Grande do Sul (RS), a qual é bastante ocupada por solos hidromórficos e pela cultura do arroz irrigado. Entretanto, o cultivo da soja neste tipo de solo pode implicar impactos importantes sobre a produtividade da cultura. No contexto em que os mapas de área cultivada têm grande importância para fins de planejamento da produção e de estudos ambientais, o objetivo principal deste estudo foi desenvolver uma metodologia objetiva para identificar e mapear as áreas de soja em municípios da metade sul do RS a partir de imagens obtidas por sensores orbitais do padrão Landsat. Para tanto, utilizaram-se oito imagens referentes aos munícipios de Bagé e Hulha Negra durante a safra 2013/14. As áreas de soja foram mapeadas primeiramente por um processo de classificação automática não supervisionada seguido de uma criteriosa interpretação visual multiespectral e multitemporal, visando produzir um dado de referência. Em seguida, as quatro principais imagens foram interpretadas individualmente ou em conjunto, objetivando avaliar seu grau de precisão no mapeamento. Visando compreender o ciclo de desenvolvimento da cultura na região. O comportamento espectro-temporal da soja foi avaliado através do perfil do Enhanced Vegetation Index em imagens MODIS. O mapa de referência de soja também foi avaliado em combinação com mapas de solos, altitude e declividade. O maior acerto no mapeamento (~95%) foi obtido na combinação entre as imagens adquiridas no final de dezembro, em meados de janeiro e no início e no final de março e a imagem que mais contribuiu para o mapeamento da soja foi a adquirida no início de março. A análise das imagens Landsat e MODIS indicou que para o mapeamento de soja em municípios da metade sul do RS é necessário a utilização de pelo menos uma imagem adquirida livre de cobertura de nuvens a cada 40-50 dias, desde dezembro até abril, sendo muito importante uma imagem entre meados de fevereiro e meados de março. Os talhões de soja encontraram-se prioritariamente abaixo de 200 metros de altitude (55,7 e 48%, para Bagé e Hulha Negra, respectivamente). A maioria dos talhões encontrou-se localizado em 6 declividades acima de 3% (90 e 99,2%, para Bagé e Hulha Negra, respectivamente). As classes de solo NEOSSOLO LITÓLICO, PLANOSSOLO HÁPLICO e LUVISSOLO HÁPLICO contemplaram cerca de 70% dos talhões de soja mapeados em Bagé. Em Hulha Negra, quase 78% dos talhões de soja estiveram sobre os solos VERTISSOLO EBÂNICO, ARGISSOLO VERMELHO e CHERNOSSOLO ARGILÚVICO. / Soybean cropped area rapidly increased over the last few years in southern Rio Grande do Sul State (RS), Brazil, which is very occupied by hydromorphic soils and irrigated rice. However, the soybean cultivation over those soils can greatly impact crop yield. The context in which cropped area maps are very important for agricultural planning purposes and environmental studies, the main aim of this study was to develop an objective methodology to identify and map soybean fields in municipalities of southern RS by using landsat-like images. Thus, eight images covering the municipalities of Bagé and Hulha Negra during 2013/14 crop year were used. In order to produce a reference map, soybean fields were first mapped by an unsupervised classification followed by a careful multispectral and multi-temporal visual interpretation. The four main images were simultaneous and individually analyzed to evaluate their mapping accuracy. To better understand the soybean crop season over the study area the spectro-temporal profile of MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index was also assessed. Soybean reference map was also evaluated with soil, altitude and slope maps. Results showed that higher mapping accuracy (~95%) was obtained using images acquired in late December, mid-January, and early and late March and major contribution for soybean mapping was provided by the image acquired on early March. The analysis of Landsat and MODIS images indicated that for the soybean mapping in municipalities of southern RS it is necessary at least one cloud free image acquired every 40-50 days, from December to April and it is very important an image acquired between mid-February and mid-March. The majority of soybean fields was below 200 meters (55.7 and 48% for Bagé and Hulha Negra, respectively) and above 3% slope (90 and 99.2%, for Bagé and Hulha Negra, respectively). In Bagé, NEOSSOLO LITÓLICO, PLANOSSOLO HÁPLICO and LUVISSOLO HÁPLICO comprised about 70% of the soybean fields. In Hulha Negra, almost 78% of soybean fields were on the VERTISSOLO EBÂNICO, ARGISSOLO VERMELHO and CHERNOSSOLO ARGILÚVICO.

Orientadores: Jose Geraldo Pena de Andrade, Maria Teresa Françoso / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-04T13:02:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ferreira_CristianoDorca_M.pdf: 2012459 bytes, checksum: e6ea5fd321ecf7ce4c4aab81bff973b9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: Os Sistemas de Informações Geográficas (SIG) são uma forma moderna e eficaz de interligar informações alfanuméricas a uma base geográfica espacial (informação cartográfica), permitindo as mais distintas análises conjuntas. Embora o SIG seja uma ferramenta de gestão desejável, sua implantação efetiva é onerosa e um planejamento mal feito pode levar ao malogro todas as expectativas de benefícios que se objetivavam com a sua implantação. Os pequenos sistemas de abastecimentos de água que atendem as pequenas e médias cidades, via de regra, não dispõem de corpo técnico qualificado e de recursos para a implantação adequada de um SIG. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho apresenta um guia para implantação do SIG para estes sistemas, com base em informações relatadas na literatura / Abstract: The Geographical Information System (GIS) modem and effective form of join alphanumeric information to a space geographical base (cartographic information), allowing the most different united analyses. Although GIS a tool of desirable administration, your implantation it executes it is onerous and a planning badly fact can take to the failure all the expectations of benefits that were aimed at with your implantation. The small systems of water supplies that assist the small ones and averages cities, rule road if they don't have qualified technical body and resources for the appropriate implantation of a GIS this sense the present work presents a systematic of low cost implantation of GIS these systems, based in informations of literature / Mestrado / Recursos Hidricos / Mestre em Engenharia Civil

Digital geographical information systems (GIS) are tools for handling spatial data. Initially developed in First World countries, the technology is fast being taken up as a tool for handling spatial information by many Third World countries. GIS has been used for any number of applications involving spatial data, one of its primary uses has been in various planning fields where the advantages offered to planners by the technology have been highlighted by a number of publications and studies. GIS has been actively used as an urban planning tool in South Africa since the mid-1980s, (Vosloo 1987) however its use as a tool for rural planning has not developed to the same extent. As early as 1986 reference was made to the possible advantages offered by GIS to rural planning in South Africa (Fincham 1986). Despite this early recognition, the use of GIS in the rural planning sphere remains negligible. This study examines the. possible reasons for this by attempting to answer the question, "is GIS appropriate to rural planning in South Africa?" A number of approaches to rural planning are practised in South Africa. This study examines the appropriateness of applying GIS to one of these approaches, rural community development planning. Components of the study included i) an examination of the issues affecting the use of GIS in the rural development field, achieved through the use of a literature and questionnaire survey and ii) a case study examining the feasibility of incorporating GIS as a tool to the Shixini Development Project, Transkei. The study does not examine the intricacies of rural development theory, but it does acknowledge the fact that the approach employed by an organisation to rural development will have important implications concerning the use of a GIS in a project. The approach adopted to a project affects amongst others the administrative structure, the planning process, the flow of spatial data and its use, and consequently the possible role of GIS. The Shixini Rural Development Project was classified as a community development project, and as a result the study concentrates on this approach to rural development. This may limit the study to a particular planning process, however most rural case studies will have certain aims and factors which are unique to its situation. In order to place the results of the Shixini case study in a wider context the results of the study are linked to the questionnaire and literature survey. From this basis the usefulness of GIS in the rural development sphere was examined. Available literature on GIS indicates that the majority of problems associated with GIS rarely reside with the technology itself but rather with its supporting mechanisms. The study identified and concentrated on these support mechanisms, both at the project level and what is referred to in the study as the operating environment in South Africa. The results of the study revealed that a number of problems exist with regard to the attitude with which GIS is regarded in development organisations. It was found that these attitudes are legitimately based on a number of problems associated with incorporating the technology into project based organisations. It was concluded that GIS was appropriate to rural community planning, but is presently limited to certain aspects of the planning process and possibly to certain applications.

Geographic information systems (GIS) are tools used to facilitate locational decision making in interactive, graphic-based environments. GIS and interactive maps allow users to customize displays and manipulate data for accomplishing a variety of tasks, ranging from map interpretation to wayfinding and land use planning. Although originally adopted for professional use, GIS software is increasingly utilized by both expert and non-expert users. Despite the improved availability, training in cartographic design has not followed suit and studies claim that users often employ inefficient displays for task completion. Research on naïve realism indicates that people exhibit a bias for realistic depictions containing irrelevant, extraneous details, leading to increased cognitive load and decreased task performance. This dissertation explores how display realism affects decision making task performance when using a GIS. Prior studies examining naïve realism have primarily had users perform map reading and inference tasks with static displays. Natural resource management was selected as a test case because it often involves the use of geospatial tools and data and people with varying levels of GIS expertise. This research had expert and novice users utilize a GIS to perform site selection tasks for a natural resource management decision making scenario. The results indicate that increased display realism has a negative impact on task performance, especially with regards to task completion time. Individuals in both the expert and novice groups were influenced by naïve realism. It was observed that expert and novice users employed different strategies for task completion and the implications on task performance are discussed. Ultimately, the study results contribute to the theory of naïve realism and make recommendations that inform the use of task-appropriate graphic displays in an interactive mapping environment.

The term “home range” refers to the area in which an animal spends most of its time during everyday activities. This study examined the effects of four different home range estimation techniques on the proportions of habitats located therein. The study utilized a point dataset collected for twenty individual Florida Black Bears (Ursus americanus floridanus), occurring in five different areas throughout the state of Florida. Each dataset was used to create home ranges using the following techniques: (1) Minimum Convex Polygon, (2) Kernel Density Estimation, (3) Characteristic Hull Polygon, and (4) Time-Geographic Density Estimation, a new home range estimator which has not been thoroughly tested prior to this study. A dataset of land cover types was clipped with each home range and the areas of habitats were recalculated. The proportion of each land cover type was evaluated and the results compared first within each dataset, then between all datasets used. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine whether the four home range estimation techniques produced significantly different areas and proportions of each habitat type. These results were then evaluated to determine whether the method of home range estimation has an effect on which land cover types are most utilized by a species and, therefore, which habitats are considered preferable. While the choice of home range estimation did not have an effect on which habitats were determined to be most frequently visited, it did affect the amount of each habitat found within each home range. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant change in the amount of developed areas, specifically between the characteristic hull polygon and kernel density estimation methods. These results suggest the choice of home range estimator affects habitat analysis and that researchers should use the method best suited for the dataset.

A computer-based method for determining the orientation of planar geological structures from remotely sensed images, utilizing digital geological images and digital elevation models (DEMs), is developed and assessed. The method relies on operator skill and experience to recognize geological structure traces on images, and then employs software routines (GEOSTRUC©) to calculate the orientation of selected structures. The operator selects three points on the trace of a planar geological feature as seen on a digital geological image that is co registered with a DEM of the same area. The orientation of the plane that contains the three points is determined using vector algebra equations. The program generates an ASCII data file which contains the orientation data as well as the geographical location of the measurements. This ASCII file can then be utilized in further analysis of the orientation data. The software development kit (SDK) for TNTmips v5.00, from MicroImages Inc. and operating in the X Windows environment, was employed to construct the software. The Watcom C\C++ Development Environment was used to generate the executable program, GEOSTRUC© . GEOSTRUC© was tested in two case studies. The case studies utilized digital data derived from the use of different techniques and from different sources which varied in scale and resolution. This was done to illustrate the versatility of the program and its application to a wide range of data types. On the whole, the results obtained using the GEOSTRUC© analyses compare favourably to field data from each test area. Use of the method to determine the orientation of axial planes in the case study revealed the usefulness of the method as a powerful analytic tool for use on a macroscopic scale. The method should not he applied in area with low variation in relief as the method proved to be less accurate in these areas. Advancements in imaging technology will serve to create images with better resolution, which will, in turn, improve the overall accuracy of the method.

Travelling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs) are said to be produced by atmospheric gravitational waves propagating through the neutral ionosphere. These are smaller in amplitude and period when compared to most ionospheric disturbances and hence more difficult to measure. Very little is known about the properties of the travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) over the Southern Hemisphere regions since studies have been conducted mostly over the Northern Hemisphere regions. This study presents a framework, using a High Frequency (HF) Doppler radar to investigate the physical properties and the possible driving mechanisms of TIDs. This research focuses on studying the characteristics of the TIDs, such as period, velocity and temporal variations, using HF Doppler measurements taken in South Africa. By making use of a Wavelet Analysis technique, the TIDs’ characteristics were determined. A statistical summary on speed and direction of propagation of the observed TIDs was performed. The winter medium scale travelling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) observed are generally faster than the summer MSTIDs. For all seasons, the MSTIDs had a preferred south-southwest direction of propagation. Most of the large scale travelling ionospheric disturbances (LSTIDs) were observed during the night and of these, the spring LSTIDs were fastest when compared to autumn and summer LSTIDs. The general direction of travel of the observed LSTIDs is south-southeast. Total Electron Content (TEC), derived from Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements, were used to validate some of the TID results obtained from the HF Doppler data. The Horizontal Wind Model (HWM07), magnetic K index, and solar terminators were used to determine the possible sources of the observed TIDs. Only 41% of the observed TIDs were successfully linked to their possible sources of excitation. The information gathered from this study will be valuable in future radio communications and will serve as means to improve the existing ionospheric models over the South African region.

Geographic Information System technology today allows for the rapid analysis of vast amounts of spatial and non-spatial data. The power of a GIS can only be effected with the rapid collection of accurate input data. This is particularly true in the case of the South African National Working for Water (WFW) Programme where large volumes of spatial data on alien vegetation infestations are captured throughout the country. Alien vegetation clearing contracts cannot be generated, for WFW, without this data, so that the accurate capture of such data is crucial to the success of the programme. Mapping Invasive Alien Plant (IAP) data within WFW is a perennial problem (Coetzee, pers com, 2002), because not enough mapping is being done to meet the annual requirements of the programme in the various provinces. This is re-iterated by Richardson, 2004, who states that there is a shortage of accurate data on IAP abundance in South Africa. Therefore there is a need to investigate alternate methods of data capture; such as remote sensing, whilst working within the existing WFW data capture standards. The aim of this research was to investigate the use of Landsat ETM imagery as a data capture source for mapping alien vegetation for the WFW Programme in terms of their approved mapping methods, for both automated and manual classification techniques. The automated and manual classification results were compared to control data captured by differential Global Positioning Systems (DGPS). The research tested the various methods of data capture using Landsat ETM images over a range of study sites of varying complexity: a simple grassland area, a medium complexity grassy fynbos site and a complicated indigenous forest site. An important component of the research was to develop a mapping (classification) Ranking System based upon variables identified by WFW as fundamental in data capture decision making: spatial and positional accuracy, time constraints and cost constraints for three typical alien invaded areas. The mapping Ranking System compared the results of the various mapping methods for each factor for the study sites against each other. This provided an indication of which mapping method is the most efficient or suitable for a particular area.

The genlogy of the Namaqua Province is notoriously difficult to map and interpret due to polymetamorphic and multiple deformation events and limlted outcrop. Current maps of the Province reflect diverse interpretations of stratigraphy as a consequence of these difficulties. A Geographic Information System is essentially a digital database and a set of functions and procedures to capture, analyse and manipulate spatially related data. A GIS is therefore ideally suited to the study and analysis of maps. A digital map database was established, using modem GIS technology, to facilitate the collation of existing maps of an area in the Central Namaqua Province (CNP). This database is based on a lithological classification system similar to that used by Harris (1992), rather than on an interpretive stratigraphic model. In order to establish the database, existing geological maps were scanned into a GIS, and lines of outcrop and lithological contacts were digitised using a manual line following process, which is one of the functions native to a GIS. Attribute data were then attached to the resultant polygons. The attribute database consists of lithological, textural and mineralogical data, as well as stratigraphical classification data according to the South African Committee for Stratigraphy (SACS), correlative names assigned to units by the Precambrian Research Unit, the Geological Survey of South Africa, the Bushmanland Research group and the University of the Orange Free State. Other attribute data included in the database, are tectonic and absolute age information, and the terrane classification for the area. This database reflects the main objective of the project and also serves as a basis for further expansion of a geological GIS for the CNP. Cartographic and database capabilities of the GIS were employed to produce a collated lithological map of the CNP. A TNTmipsTM Spatial Manipulation Language routine was written to produce a database containing two fields linked to each polygon, one for lithology and one for a correlation probability factor. Correlation factors are calculated in this routine from three variables, namely the prominence a worker attached to a specific lithology within a unit or outcrop, the agreement amongst the various workers on the actual lithology present within an outcrop, and the correspondence between the source of the spatial element (mapped outcrop) and the source of the attribute data attached to it. Outcrops were displayed on the map according to the lithology with the highest correlation factor, providing a unique view of the spatial relationships and distribution patterns of lithological units in the CNP. A second map was produced indicating the correlation factors for lithologies within the CNP. Thematic maps are produced in a GIS by selecting spatial elements according to a set of criteria, usually based on the attribute database, and then displaying the elements as maps. Maps created by this process are known as customised maps, since users of the GIS can customise the selection and display of elements according to their needs. For instance, all outcrops of rock units containing particular lithologies of a given age occurring in a specific terrane can be displayed - either on screen or printed out as a map. The database also makes it possible to plot maps according to different stratigraphic classification systems. Areas where various workers disagree on the stratigraphic classification of units can be isolated, and displayed as separate maps in order to aid in the collation process. The database can assist SACS in identifying areas in the CNP where stratigraphic classification is still lacking or agreements on stratigraphic nomenclature have not yet been attained. More than one database can be attached to the spatial elements in a GIS, and the Namaqua-GIS can therefore be expanded to include geochemical, geophysical, economic, structural and geographical data. Other data on the area, such as more detailed maps, photographs and satellite images can be attached to the lithological map database in the correct spatial relationship. Another advantage of a GIS is the facility to continually update the database(s) as more information becomes available and/or as interpretation of the area is refined.

The presence of green spaces in cities has been increasingduring recent years. The aim of this thesis is to understand the importance of these areas in the city through the ecosystem services approach, and to provide an example on how that approach is undertaken in two different European cities: Madrid and Stockholm. By using Geographic Information Systems, interviews with planning representatives in both countries, and planning documents, it was found that even though this approach is known and mentioned in both cases, the outcome in the distribution and accessibility of these areas varies widely from one study area to another.