Search

Forest fires are one of the most dangerous events, causing serious land and environmental degradation. Indeed, besides the loss of a huge quantity of plant species, the effects of fires can go far beyond: desertification, increased risk of landslides, soil erosion, death of animals, etc. For these reasons, mathematical models able to predict fire spreading are needed in order to organize and optimize the extinguishing interventions during fire emergencies. This work presents a new system to simulate and predict the movement of the fire front based on free and open source Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies and the Rothermel surface fire spread model, with the adjustments made by Albini. We describe the mathematical models used, provide an overview of the GIS design and implementation, and present the results of some simulations at Etna volcano (Sicily, Italy), characterized by high geomorphological heterogeneity, and where the native flora and fauna may be preserved and perpetuated. The results consist of raster maps representing the progress times of the fire front starting from an ignition point and as a function of the topography and wind directions. The reliability of results is strictly affected by the correct positioning of the fire ignition point, by the accuracy of the topography that describes the morphology of the territory, and by the setting of the meteorological conditions at the moment of the ignition and propagation of the fire.

Biomasses are materials of organic origin that can be used for the production of energy. Among the renewable energy sources, a prominent role is played by woody biomass, which can be retrieved from existing forests or plantations governed in short or middle rotation coppice, the so-called Short and Medium Rotation Forestry. The main environmental benefit resulting from the use of wood biomass consists in the fact that the amount of carbon dioxide released during their combustion process is the same as that absorbed during the development phase. Here, we propose a procedure to manage the traceability of short biomass chains and to schedule the activities for mobile forest construction sites using free and open-source GIS technologies. Firstly, we created a spatial DB to manage the areas where the cutting and logging activities are performed. Then, we overlapped the boundaries of areas with the cadastral sheets to ensure the biomass comes from short chain, i.e., within the range of 70 km from the position of the central. To plan the number of working days required and make an estimation of the production, the total area of the lots, the land clearing, and the net area were calculated. Finally, depending on the characteristics of wooded areas, the type of system to be used for the business of cutting and logging was evaluated. This work demonstrates how GIS allows a fast traceability of short biomass chains and an estimation of the production by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of biomass resource assessment.

This study focuses on the determination and examination of both the Land Surface Temperature (LST) and the atmospheric temperature in the city of Catania Sicily (Italy), through freely available satellite remote sensing images from the Sentinel-2 and MODIS missions. Satellite images were processed as raster data in free and open-source GIS environments. The GIS software allows the retrieval, processing of the satellite images for the estimation of the LST and the atmospheric temperature with a very coarse spatial resolution. In particular, the proposed procedure allows increasing the spatial resolution of satellite images, from 250 m (LRES) to 10 m (HRES) through the principle of “Disaggregation of thermal images”. The analysis provided georeferenced maps which show the LST, as well as the atmospheric temperature within the investigated area with a very fine resolution, 10 m. Such spatial resolution reveals evident correlations between areas with different urban densities and their microclimate. An important result of this study is that significant LST differences can be observed during both day (15–17 °C) and night (2–3 °C) between green and built-up areas. The outcomes of this study highlight the effectiveness of the combined use of satellite remote sensing and GIS for analyzing the thermal response of urbanized areas with different built density.

In Italy, at present, the cadastral cartography and every related service to citizen are managed by the Revenue Agency. It is important to remember the era of cadastral mapping formation, which has undergone many changes over time, dictated by the continuous evolution in the survey discipline.It is important to remember that the original maps were produced in the early 1900 with the Cassini-Soldner Projection on the Bessel's Ellipsoid. In the time, the ancient analogical methodologies for surveying and cartographic production have been gradually replaced with new analytical procedures and digital technologies that give higher accuracy, while new detection techniques and the GPS, in particular, introduced to the definition of a new International Geodetic Datum WGS84.During the eighties a process of digitalization of the cadastral cartography began, also introducing the first computerized procedures for the preparation of the deeds to update the land register. For these causes, the cadastral maps do not have a high metric accuracy and above all they cannot be superimposed on the more recent maps and orthophotos referred to the WGS84 International Datum. Therefore it is necessary and of scientific interest to explore the accuracy of the cadastral maps and its variations due to the digitalization process and the numerous updates made over time.

Satellite-derived data, including an estimation of the eruption rate, proximal volcanic deposits, lava flow morphometric parameters (area, maximum length, thickness, and volume) are here provided for the eruptions occurred at Mt Etna between January 2011 and December 2015. These eruptions took place at the New Southeast Crater (NSEC), the youngest of the summit craters of Etna. The time-series analysis of multispectral SEVIRI images(timeresolution of 15 min)provided an estimation of event magnitude and intensity of the effusive material erupted during effusive events, while tri-stereo Pleiades images (spatial resolution of 50 cm) gave the pre-eruptive topography and the topographic changes due to the volcanic deposits. The level of accuracy of these estimates suggests that the integration of multi-platform remote sensing products represents a new potential of merging capabilities to enable a more comprehensive response to effusive crises.

It has been largely proven that Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide a valuable tool as Decision Support System (DDS) for the assessment and management of environmental hazards. In this work we used the GIS technologies to simulate scenarios associated to possible tsunamis in the Ionian Sea, involving the territory of Acireale (Catania), in East Sicily (Italy). In particular, we implemented a literature model for the propagation of tsunamis using free and open source GIS technologies. Our GIS modelling has been used to identify the inhabited areas and the loose of efficiency of roads possibly interested by the tsunami. For this reasons, the approach can be an efficient DSS for civil protection purposes, providing a prompt answer for the identification and management of people’s risk condition.

Multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing have significantly improved territorial surveys and mapping. However aerial images are often expensive being acquired through aircraft and satellite sensors. Furthermore, the processing and classification of these images need commercial software that increases the entire cost of the analysis. For these reasons, we propose an approach of data acquisition and analysis based on supervised classification to obtain accurately maps of the area of interest in reduced time. The images have been acquired through 3-channels Tetracam ADC-Lite camera, and processed with free and open source software, PixelWrench2 and QGIS. The results obtained demonstrate that the approach can compete with traditional acquisition and classification methods, due to simple operational procedures, low operational costs, and high accuracy of supervised classification. This approach provides promising results that encourage its development and optimization of these technologies for other purposes, such as the mapping of asbestos-cement (AC) roof coverings.

The flight planning for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is extremely useful both in terms of planimetry and altimetry. Regarding the planimetry, it is needed to reach and operate on the region of interest, while for the altimetry, it is functional to plan the flight altitude as function of the obstacles along the navigation path. In this paper we propose an innovative approach for the construction of a georeferenced map of the obstacles based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies. In this way the path planning for the UAV navigation can be accurately managed by defining precise flight plans on a cartographic support where the obstacles are represented in a three-dimensional way. The employment of free and open source software only, makes the approach widely usable and customizable.

After the observation of cases of malignant pleural neoplasm in Biancavilla (Catania, Italy), a new asbestiform fiber, named fluoro-edenite (NaCa2Mg5(Si7Al)O22F2), was found in a stone quarry use for local building industry and in the lung tissue of an 86 years old woman who died from pleural mesothelioma. As a consequence the Italian Ministry of the Environment has included the Biancavilla site in the National Priority List. In this study, a point of view on the results from a large scale environmental monitoring program conducted for the implementation of the site investigation is presented. The obtained dataset from the environmental monitoring program results in more than 3,000 values of concentration of asbestos like fibers and fluoro-edenite fibers in air, water and top soil. These data are spatially and temporally distributed in the Biancavilla site, therefore the development and application of a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was very useful to review, manage and analyze the obtained data and to give direction to the stakeholders in order to define the required remediation activities. A WebGIS was also developed to provide a rapid GIS access and data management by various control bodies.