Article of the Month in 2015

FIG publishes each month the Article of the Month. This is a high-level paper focusing on interesting topic to all surveyors. This article can be picked up from an FIG conference or another event or it can be a paper written directly for this purpose.

  • December 2015 - Jody Sultan, Gev Ben-Haim, Jan-Henrik Haunert and Sagi Dalyot: Using Crowdsourced Volunteered Geographic Information for Analyzing Bicycle Road Networks. This paper was presented at the joint FIG Commission 3 & 7 Meeting "Crowdsourcing of Land Information" in Malta, 16-20 November 2015. The paper focuses on road infrastructure and road use; more specific on the interactions between traffic participants and to help cyclists navigate safely in the urban environment. The paper aims at exploiting available VGI data sources in the form of crowdsourced base maps (OpenStreetMap) and GPS trajectories collected by cyclists (GPSies).
  • November 2015 - Suelynn Choy, Erjiang Frank Fu, John Dawson, Minghai Jjia and Yuriy Kuleshov (Australia), Fabrice Chane-Ming (France), Chuan-Sheng Wang and Ta-Kang Yeh (Taiwan): Application of GPS Atmospheric Sounding for Climate Studies in the Australian Region  This paper was presented at the FIG Working Week in Sofia, Bulgaria, 17-21 May 2015. The paper presents results of analysis of atmospheric characteristics (temperature and moisture) in the Australian region using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) ground-based meteorology and space-based radio occultation (RO) techniques verified with in-situ radiosonde measurement.

  • October 2015 - Juhana Hiironen, Kirsikka Riekkinen and Hanna Tuominen, Finland: The Impact of a New Subway Line on Property Values in Helsinki Me. This paper was presented at the FIG Working Week in Sofia, Bulgaria, 17-21 May 2015. This paper illiminates whether a new subway line will have an impact on residential apartment values and on public revenues.

  • September 2015 - Haim Srebro, Israel: Implementation of Marine Cadastre in Israel.This paper was presented at the FIG Working Week in Sofia, Bulgaria, 17-21 May 2015. Implementation of marine cadastre in Israel started in 2011. This paper elaborates on the implementation and plans regarding a marine cadastre that will achieve a cadastral coverage over the sovereign area of Israel, including a description of its implementation in the approved marine settlement blocks as a result of cooperation between Survey of Israel (SOI) and the Department of Registration and Land Settlement (The Land Registry) under the Ministry of Justice.

  • August 2015 - Chris Williams-Wynn, South Africa: What People Want. This paper was presented at the FIG Working Week in Sofia, Bulgaria, 17-21 May 2015. Land administration in South Africa is an interesting study because it consists of a dual system that has promoted investment in areas where private property rights were permitted, but relegated the Traditional Communities into poverty and disinvestment. The paper shows that the concept of ownership, land rights and title deeds goes much further than the ability to buy and sell property.

  • July 2015 - Daniel Steudler, Switzerland: Dimension Cadastre – Stepping Beyond Limits. The paper was presented at the FIG Working Week in Sofia, Bulgaria, 17-21 May 2015 and questions what will happen to the traditional surveyor. Many factors have an impact on the way how geographic information systems, including cadastres, are perceived.

  • June 2015 - Zlatan ZLATANOV and Georgi ZLATANOV, Bulgaria: Use of Photogrammetric Methods at the Creation of a Cadastre Map. Three-Dimensional Model of the Cadastre Map. This paper was presented at the FIG Working Week in Sofia, Bulgaria, 17-21 May 2015. The paper elaborates on the use of of photogrammetric methods in the creation of a cadastre map. The paper is based on a field study from Bulgaria.

  • May 2015 - Silvia Marinova, Temenoujka Bandrova, Mihaela Kouteva-Guentcheva, Stefan Bonchev, Bulgaria: Thematic Mapping for Disaster Risk Assessment in Case of Earthquake. In this paper was presented at the FIG Working Week, 17-21 May 2015 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The paper presents a conceptual model for information system for expert express evaluation of the earthquake risk over the Bulgarian territory using GIS. Several damaging earthquakes have shaken the Bulgarian territory since 1818. To reduce the damages it is necessary to have at disposal preliminary estimates of frequency and magnitude of the earthquakes, particular engineering characteristics of the seismic action and relevant opportunities for disaster management.

  • April 2015 - Potsiou, FIG President, Greece: Ensuring the Rapid Response to Change,
    Ensuring the Surveyor of Tomorrow    . In this paper FIG President Chryssy Potsiou unveils her ideas for the FIG action plan, which includes a close cooperation among FIG in order to better prepare tomorrow’s surveyors today to enable them performing in a sustainable way and within the framework of the FIG vision. She also presents a summary of literature research and brainstorming input accumulated mainly from the FIG kick-off seminar and the FIG side event during the World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty.

  • Marts 2015 - Poerbandono, Indonesia: Seafloor Swathe Survey for Search and Rescue Mission of Air Asia QZ8501 On the 28 December, 2014, a commercial airplane, Air Asia QZ8501 flying from Surabaya (Indonesia) to Singapore, was reported missing and believed to crash into the sea. This paper focuses upon the search for the flight. Three survey zones were covered: Area-1 (the position of last contact from the airplane), Area-2 (where debris and bodies from the crashed airplane were recovered), and Area-3 (the last RADAR sighting). Area-2 is about 15 km SE of Area-1 and Area-3 is about 89 km NW of Area-2. The survey is executed as seabed search by using Side Scan Sonar imagery and Multi Beam Echo Sounder point cloud data.

  • February 2015 - Please join us in this very different and unusual article
     of the month - a Manga story, which we hope that you will enjoy as much as we do. This is the amazing and true story of a Japanese survey marker uprooted by Typhoon Talas in September 2011 and travelling for 6 months 8000 km (5000 miles) across the Pacific Ocean. The manufacturer of the survey marker, Ripro Corporation, has turned this incredible story into a traditional Japanese Manga graphic comic book. Enjoy!
    LITTLE ORCA’S 5000 MILE ODYSSEY
  • January 2015 - Anne B. O. Jensen and Anders Almholt, Denmark: Geodetic Infrastructure and Positioning for the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link. This paper describes the solutions and implementations chosen in establishing a geodetic basis, or geodetic infrastructure, for the construction work of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link; a tunnel which is being constructed between Germany and Denmark across the Fehmarnbelt.