Tag Archives: map

IBM Taps Big Data to Help Solve Water Challenges Across South Africa

By Guest PostMarch 22, 2013Technologyandroid, big data challenge, california, city of tshwane, creekwatch, Facebook, ibm, kgosientso ramokgopa, leak hot spot, map, project, roadmap, san josé, smarter public safety, sms, South Africa, south african households, tshwane executive mayor, Twitter, water distribution system, waterwatchers, world water day

“WaterWatchers,” a new mobile app, harnesses the power of crowdsourcing

Johannesburg, South Africa – 22 Mar 2013: IBM marks World Water Day with the launch of a crowdsoucing project to help capture, share and analyze information about the water distribution system in South Africa. The project, called “WaterWatchers,” is driven by a new mobile phone application and SMS capability that will enable South African citizens to report water leaks, faulty water pipes and general conditions of water canals. Every update will provide vital data points to an aggregated “WaterWatchers” report to create a single view of the issues challenging South Africa’s water distribution system.

The free app, which is currently available for Android and available for download at www.ibmwaterwatchers.co.za, and the SMS capability* together provide an easy way for anyone to collect and report issues on local waterways and pipes to a centralized portal. After taking a photo and answering three simple questions about the particular water canal or pipe, the data is uploaded in real-time to a central database. After 30 days, the data will be analyzed and aggregated into a meaningful “leak hot spot” map for South Africa. (more…)

Planck Mission Brings Universe into Sharp Focus

By Guest PostMarch 22, 2013Sciencecanadian scientists, charles lawrence, clusters of galaxies, cobe, conundrum, cosmic microwave, cosmology, dark energy, dark matter, early universe, european, european space agency, expansion of universe, fluctuation, hot plasma, jan tauber, jet propulsion laboratory, joan centrella, krzysztof gorski, map, mysterious, NASA, oldest light, pasadena, planck data, planck mission, planck space mission, quantum scales, satellites, standard model, universe, wmap

PASADENA, Calif. — The Planck space mission has released the most accurate and detailed map ever made of the oldest light in the universe, revealing new information about its age, contents and origins.

Planck is a European Space Agency mission. NASA contributed mission-enabling technology for both of Planck’s science instruments, and U.S., European and Canadian scientists work together to analyze the Planck data. (more…)

‘House Hunters Walrus’

By Guest PostDecember 16, 2012Environment, Nature3d reconstruction, alaska, arctic basin, Arctic sea ice, bering sea, calibration, camera reconfiguration, camera system, chandra kambhamettu, chukchi sea, database, delaware, german research vessel, homes for walrus, ice floes, infrared backscatter, lidar, map, marine mammal, metric data, parallax, pixel resolution, polar bear cub, polar bears, polarstern, rohith kumar, russia, satellites, scott sorensen, sea ice thickness, stereo pair, surface topography, triangulation, university, vims, visual texture, walrus habitat, walrus weight

UD camera system records sea ice, identifies ideal walrus habitats

About the video: A University of Delaware research team led by Chandra Kambhamettu has developed a novel camera system to map the surface topography of Arctic sea ice, identifying the best “homes” for walrus.

Walrus use sea ice as a reproductive, migration and resting habitat. However, as sea ice melts and recedes, this marine mammal increasingly is threatened. (more…)

Sandy’s Underwater Sandscapes

By Guest PostNovember 18, 2012Environmentarthur trembanis, artificial reef, autonomous underwater vehicle, auv, broadkill beach, cape henlopen, carter duval, coast, currents, data, delaware, doug miller, ecosystem, fingerprint, floor, geological imprint, geological markings, gps, hard bottom, hugh r sharp, hurricane sandy, indian river inlet, justin walker, map, marine life, maryland, mid atlantic shores, natural environment, new jersey, ocean, post, pre, redbird reef, research vessel, sand formations, seafloor, sediment, sonar, storm, storm metrics, trevor metz, underwater, val schmidt, virginia, weapons

UD researchers studying ‘fingerprint’ left on seafloor by Hurricane Sandy

Beneath the 20-foot waves that crested off Delaware’s coast during Hurricane Sandy, thrashing waters reshaped the floor of the ocean, churning up fine sand and digging deep ripples into the seabed. Fish, crustaceans and other marine life were blasted with sand as the storm sculpted new surfaces underwater.

UD scientists cued up their instruments to document the offshore conditions before, during and after Sandy’s arrival to scrutinize the differences and better predict the environmental impact of future storms. (more…)

MU Students Gain Experience with Advanced Weather Tracking Technology

By Guest PostSeptember 29, 2012Education, Environment, Scienceadvance, atmospheric sciences, brett williams, bridge creek, columbia, data, doppler, dow, dow system, eric brewster, hinkson creek, jason hubbard, job market, kansas city, kayla flamm, map, measure, meteorology technology, missouri, mobile, neil fox, nicole hoban, North America, on, predicting storms, rainfall, raw data, sediment transport, severe, soil erosion, st. louis, stationary, storm research, student, tracking device, university, weather, weather radar, wheels

Students use tornado-chasing technology to research rain’s impact on stream

COLUMBIA, Mo. – With advances in meteorology technology, predicting storms is becoming easier than in the past. While most meteorology students learn about these new technologies in the classroom and don’t get a chance to use sophisticated equipment until they are on the job, a group of University of Missouri students were able to test a mobile weather tracking device, Doppler on Wheels (DOW), made famous by shows such as Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers.

The DOW visiting MU is one of a fleet of radar trucks maintained by the Center for Severe Storm Research. Each radar truck is mounted with a Doppler weather radar dish. The fleet also consists of a support vehicle and three trucks that deploy instruments to track weather patterns in tornadoes and hurricanes. One of the radar trucks was brought to MU so that students could learn about the technology first-hand. (more…)

Importance of Gene-Gene Interactions Shown in Study

By Guest PostSeptember 13, 2012Scienceaggression, alcohol, behavioral trait, building block, chemical, complex disease, diabetes, elephant, epistatic effects, epistatic interactions, epistatic networks, gene, gene interaction, genetics researcher, genetics today, genomewide studies, genotype, knee, map, mutt flies, north Carolina, nucleotide polymorphisms, phenotype, physical, quantitative trait, schizophrenia, sensitivity, single, state university, trudy mackay, variant

Gaining more insight into predicting how genes affect physical or behavioral traits by charting the genotype-phenotype map holds promise to speed discoveries in personalized medicine. But figuring out exactly how genes interact has left parts of the map invisible.

In a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, North Carolina State University genetics researchers reveal some of the hidden portions of the map, showing that complicated networks of gene-gene interactions in fruit flies greatly influence the variance in quantitative traits, or characteristics that are influenced by multiple genes – like sensitivity to alcohol or aggression. (more…)

iPods in Classroom can Boost Academic Time and Resources for English Language Learners

By Guest PostSeptember 4, 2012Education, Technologyacademic advantage, austin, calculator, cesar navarrete, classroom, educational purpose, ells, english language, geographic area, internet, ipod touches, learner, learning resource, map, media creation, middle school, min liu, mobile device, multimedia, online translators, qualitative, quantitative data, sociocultural capital, still camera, texas, tool, university, video camera, voice recorder

AUSTIN, Texas — Providing English language learners (ELLs) with iPod Touches, or similar handheld devices, can increase learning time and motivation, according to a study from The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education.

To find out how ELL students and teachers would use iPods and how they would feel about using the devices for educational purposes, Min Liu, a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, examined elementary, middle and high school classes in a Central Texas school district. She found the devices might be useful tools in closing the achievement gap between ELLs and their English-speaking peers. Qualitative and quantitative data gathered during the 2010-12 school years revealed that students enjoyed educational benefits from the devices’ mobility, flexibility, connectivity and multimedia capabilities.

College of Education graduate students Cesar Navarrete, Erin Maradiegue and Jennifer Wivagg assisted Liu in this study. (more…)

3-D Mapping of Isaac Water Levels

By Guest PostSeptember 1, 2012Environment, Science360 degree, 3d mapping, 3d model, alabama, athena clark, bounce back, data points, flood hazard, flood inundation, geological survey, gulf coast, hurricane isaac, isaac, louisiana, map, marcia mcnutt, Mississippi, objects, point clouds, Science, t lidar, terrestrial lidar, three dimensions, tls, toby minear, topographic data, urban flooding, US, view, water level

A new technology is being deployed by U.S. Geological Survey scientists this weekend to map urban flooding caused by Hurricane Isaac. Called “terrestrial lidar,” or “T-lidar”, this new capability will enable scientists to collect highly detailed information in select population areas in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama where the hurricane had the greatest impact.

The portable instrument allows scientists to quickly generate 3-D maps of buildings, dams, levees and other structures, and can show areas of storm damage as well. In a four-to-five minute scan, the instrument collects millions of topographic data points in a full 360-degree view to quickly produce highly accurate topographic information and can map areas up to two-thirds of a mile away. (more…)