A new gravity map of the Earth suggests that if you want to lose weight you should go to India, where the pull of gravity is slightly less than it is elsewhere on the planet. You would be slightly less than 1% lighter there. The gravity map has been prepared to help scientists plan the forthcoming Grace (Gravity Recovery And Climatic Experiment) satellites, to be launched in a few weeks. Earth is lumpy and so is its gravitational field. The variations are tiny but important for understanding what the Earth is made of and how it is recovering from the last Ice Age. Grace's gravity map will have a spatial resolution of about 300 km (186 miles) so it should reveal gravity fluctuations caused by mountain ranges, tectonic plates and land still uplifting after the ice from the last Ice Age melted. Grace's gravity map will have a spatial resolution of about 300 km (186 miles) so it should reveal gravity fluctuations caused by mountain ranges, tectonic plates and land still uplifting after the ice from the last Ice Age melted. The gravity data will also allow a new look at the oceans. When free from other influences, the ocean surface takes up the shape of the Earth's geoid - the surface on which the pull of gravity is equal everywhere. The problem is that sea level can also be affected by currents and sea temperature. By combining their data, Grace and other ocean-monitoring satellites will separate the various effects. By sensing worldwide fluctuations in gravity, Grace should add a new dimension to our understanding of the planet.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1668000/1668872.stm
Top Stories
Melamedas named Executive Vice President of SPATIALinfo
SPATIALinfo Inc., a specialist supplier of network and spatial information solutions, today announced the appointment of Lenny Melamedas as Executive Vice President. In his new role, Melamedas will have responsibilities for SPATIALinfo's sales, marketing, business development and strategic alliances. "Having Lenny join us adds a critical factor to the next step in our growth plans," said Greg Foster, President of SPATIALinfo. "He brings to the table a wealth of experience in the Broadband and Telecommunications space, as well as an impressive track record of success in both cable and software industries. His executive experience brings a new depth to our organization which we will leverage through the next stage of our expansion," continued Foster. Melamedas is a communications industry veteran. He is a recipient of numerous awards and citations for outstanding sales and technical leadership, and has served on a variety of high profile industry boards and committees.
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http://www.spatialinfo.com
Publication in Nature: increased fire impact in logged-over Tropical Rainforests during droughts
This week's issue of the international science magazine "Nature" features an article on research done by scientists of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Remote Sensing Solutions GmbH (RSS), ZEBRIS Geoconsult and the GTZ (Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit) projects "Integrated Forest Fire Management" (IFFM) and "Sustainable Forest Management Project" (SFMP). Fires associated with the El Niņo/Southern Oscillation climate event devastated huge areas of tropical rainforest in 1997-98. A detailed satellite-based survey of the damage caused to forests in Indonesia, the country with the largest remaining rainforest area in Asia, reveals that over 5.2 million hectares including 2.6 Mio ha of forests burned in East Kalimantan alone. This is much more than previously thought and could spell trouble. If current land use policies continue unchanged, the prospects are that forest fires, boosted by future El Niņos, could lead to an irrevocable loss of important forest resources within a matter of years.
This research was based on the application of advanced satellite image processing technologies using a combination of radar and optical satellite imagery. It is the first to successfully identify fire damages using ERS-Radar satellite imagery on a very large area of tropical rainforest. The new technology allows to map burn scars, fire impact and deforestation even when cloud and haze hamper conventional optical satellites. A detailed spatial analysis of fire impact was done by a combined evaluation of results from the remote sensing survey, data from field studies and official planning data in a geographic information system (GIS).
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http://www.nature.com
City of Springfield Selects SPATIALinfo for GIS and Hansen IMS Integration Requirements
SPATIALinfo, a specialist supplier of network information solutions, today announced that its SPATIALnet(tm), SPATIALmover(tm) and SPATIALmodeler(tm) products had been selected by The City of Springfield, Oregon, after a competitive RFP process, as the core components of its first stage program to integrate GIS and Hansen IMS sewer infrastructure inventories into a single function. The City's vision is to provide reliable, centralized access to engineering-quality sewer infrastructure information. Project objectives include the elimination of duplicated and dissimilar information, and the creation of the framework for a complete, accurate, and up-to-date electronic sewer map inventory which will support detailed map production using Autodesk(r) CAD and ESRI(r) GIS software environments. SPATIALinfo will supply its SPATIALnet development environment, train City staff in its use, and guide the City through implementation by providing on-site support during a short development period. More complex software design tasks - including Hansen integration - will be carried out by SPATIALinfo in conjunction with Hansen Information Technologies, and delivered to the City to support.
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http://www.ci.springfield.or.us,
http://www.spatialinfo.com
Asia News
Korean MIC to set up government backup center
The Ministry of Information and Communication said yesterday it will implement the country's key public database backup center next year, a move that will entice backup solutions providers both at home and abroad.
MIC said it will team up with other government agencies to draw up detailed plans to establish a massive joint backup center for critical public data such as citizen ID, integrated taxation, export-import customs process and local administration database.
MIC said the government plans to finalize successful contractors for the project, valued at 33.7 billion won, by year-end and complete the backup system set-up by the end of June, 2002.
The government-led backup center project is the largest in scale for system integration (SI) companies and foreign vendors, while the critical and confidential nature of databases involved is likely to boost the final winner's credibility.
MIC officials said the government accelerated the backup center project after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the U.S. sparked worries over how critical government-related databases are being projected through secure backup centers.
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http://www.koreaherald.com
