May 2008

cga_newsletter

CENTER FOR GEOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS NEWSLETTER 
May 2008 
**

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Georeferencing Workshop Materials Available Online
  • New Harvard Geospatial Library Datasets
  • Photo GPS Now Available for Harvard Use
  • GIS Book Requests
  • LandScan Data – China Earthquake Map
  • ArcGIS 9.3 Available for Evaluation
  • ERDAS Imagine 9.2 Available for Download
  • ASPRS and O’Reilly where 2.0 Conference Summaries
  • Free Registrations Available for the ESRI Users Conference
  • Landscape in Language Workshop Call for Participants
  • UCGIS Summer Assembly
  • Temporal GIS Workshop
  • Remote Mapping of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar
  • AAG’s Achievement Award in GIS
  • ESRI Development Center Program for Universities Launched
  • Summer Course at Boston University
  • Microsoft Enhances Virtual Earth 3D Live
  • More…



**

CGA NEWS

Georeferencing Workshop Materials Available Online 
Material from the Georeferencing Workshop held in March is now available for viewing and download. Material includes presentation videos, PDF files of the presentations, posters, and handouts associated with the workshop.
http://gis.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k235&pageid=icb.page24711

Photo GPS now available for Harvard Use 
CGA has purchased an ATP photofinder GPS that is now available for use by Harvard ID holders. This GPS is simple to use. Synchronizing the GPS time with your camera’s time, turning the unit on while taking photos, and then inserting your camera flash card into the unit will stamp each photo with latitude longitude of the picture location. Uploading the photos to Picasa will automatically make a Google map showing the photo locations. The GPS data can also be exported into KML format. Contact us at contact@cga.harvard.edu if interested in using.

GIS Book Requests 
The CGA has acquired funding to purchase GIS books for inclusion into the Harvard Library system. What books are of interest? Browse a list of potential books and/or add a book of interest. Harvard login is required.
http://gis.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k235&pageid=icb.page105453&pageContentId=icb.pagecontent325094&state=maximize

LandScan Data – China Earthquake Map 
The LandScan Dataset is a worldwide population database compiled on a 30” X 30” latitude/longitude grid. Census counts (at sub-national level) were apportioned to each grid cell based on likelihood coefficients, which are based on proximity to roads, slope, land cover, nighttime lights, and other information. LandScan has been developed as part of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Global Population Project for estimating ambient populations at risk. LandScan datasets are released annually, and CGA has acquired the latest release (2006). More info on LandScan:
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/landscan/landscanCommon/landscan_doc-main.html 
CGA used LandScan and USGS data to create a map showing the affected regions of the recent China earthquake displaying a population density grid and epicenter magnitude and location information:
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic35229.files/Earthquake_May15.jpg

ArcGIS 9.3 Available for Evaluation 
CGA has received from ESRI the ArcGIS 9.3 release candidates for the following products: ArcGIS Desktop (ArcInfo, ArcEditor ArcView), ArcGIS Server (Windows and UNIX), and ArcIMS. If you are a Harvard ID holder and want to evaluate these products, please email contact@cga.harvard.edu to borrow the install DVD.

ERDAS Imagine 9.2 Available for Download 
The latest release of this photogrammetry and remote sensing software is now available for Harvard ID holders to download. Visit CGA’s download page at:
http://gis.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k235&pageid=icb.page28957

CGA Adds Tutorials 
Two tutorials have been added to CGA’s technical support page: How to map tabular U.S. States data, and Geocoding Best Practices. Go to the link below and look on the right side of the page.
http://gis.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k235&pageid=icb.page137934

**

HARVARD GIS COMMUNITY NEWS

New Harvard Geospatial Library Datasets 
The Harvard Geospatial Library has new historic datasets available as part of the Harvard Map Collection’s Imaging the Urban Environment Project. Antiquarian and (copyright free) modern maps were digitally photographed at high resolution, then georeferenced, and these georeferenced images can be downloaded from HGL. New York City is heavily represented with 65 maps dating from 1730 to 1961. Also available are 12 maps of New Orleans, 13 of Washington, DC, and 24 of Philadelphia. Soon to be added are historic maps of San Francisco, Denver, London, Paris and many other cities around the world. Go to http://hgl.harvard.edu to view and download these maps.

**

CONFERENCES

ASPRS and O’Reilly where 2.0 Conference Summaries 
CGA members recently attended the 2008 American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing conference held in Portland, OR, and the O’Reilly where 2.0 conference held in Burlingame, CA. The conference reviews cover new products, tools, data resources, technical sessions, and cite numerous websites featuring the latest developments in geoweb technology. CGA also has some beta programs and data samples available to check out that were made available at the conferences. See the reviews:
http://gis.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k235&tabgroupid=icb.tabgroup7644

Free Registrations Available for the ESRI Users Conference 
CGA has free registration passes available for Harvard ID holders to attend the International Users Conference in San Diego August 4 – 8. This is the world’s biggest GIS conference, showcasing all kinds of innovative geospatial technology. Contact us at contact@cga.harvard.edu for a free pass. Travel expenses are not covered. More info on the conference:
http://www.esri.com/events/uc/index.html

Landscape in Language Workshop Call for Participants 
Participants are sought for a trans-disciplinary workshop on landscape in language and thought to be held on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico and Arizona October 26 - November 1, 2008. Responses are due May 21st. See the flyer for more details:
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic35229.files/Call_Landscape_Nov08.pdf

UCGIS Summer Assembly 
Students can attend this 2 day conference in GIScience for $100. More info:
http://www.ucgis.org/summer2008/

Temporal GIS Workshop 
A workshop titled “Temporal GIS: the past 20 years and next 20 years” will be held September 23 in Park City, Utah. To register and for more info:
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic35229.files/temporal_GIS_9_23.pdf

***

NEWS ON GIS RESEARCH AND SERVICES

Remote Mapping of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar 
GISCorps volunteers performed change detection mapping in areas affected by the cyclone using Google Earth.
http://www.giscorps.org/burma.php

AAG’s Achievement Award in GIS 
The Association of American Geographer’s Marble-Boyle Undergraduate Achievement Awards aim to recognize excellence in academic performance by undergraduate students from the United States and Canada who are putting forth a strong effort to bridge geographic science and computer science as well as to encourage other students to embark upon similar programs. The application period is June 15 - October 15, 2008. See the flyer:
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic35229.files/Marble-Boyle_award_10_08.pdf

ESRI Development Center Program for Universities Launched 
http://spatialnews.geocomm.com/dailynews/2008/may/02/news4.html

Summer Course at Boston University 
BU is offering the introductory course: Geospatial Methods in Environmantal Studies this summer.
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic35229.files/GE360_flyer.pdf

Microsoft Enhances Virtual Earth 3D Live 
Microsoft’s latest release of 3D Live contains vastly enhanced 3D modeling of cities.
http://virtualearth.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!2BBC66E99FDCDB98!14129.entry?wa=wsignin1.0

Historical Aerial Photos 
Viewing aerial photography from the 1930’s to present is possible at this website.
http://www.historicaerials.com/

Federal Government uses Google Earth for Wildfire Response / Prediction 
http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3493588

Google Ocean 
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9931412-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

MapTube 
MapTube is a free resource for viewing, sharing, mixing and mashing maps online.
http://www.maptube.org/home.aspx


***
Editor of this issue: Jeff Blossom 
The CGA Newsletter is published monthly. View previously published issues. 
For the latest information, please visit our website http://gis.harvard.edu 
***
To unsubscribe, send an email to majordomo@mail.hmdc.harvard.edu 
with the following command in the BODY of your email message: 
      unsubscribe newsletter_at_lists_cga_harvard_edu 
**

no links

no file attachments

Share