Faculty at Michigan State University have been creating a new type of robot to study water conditions: mechanical fish. The fish will be able to measure things like water temperature, oxygen levels, contaminants, and more.
What landmarks can be used when traveling in space? The GPS reference satellite constellation uses a map of quasars to determine their location. That same map can guide spacecraft and be used to aim telescopes.
Google Earth can become a powerful tool for people and organizations that are striving to help the environment. Google has applauded their efforts by featuring some of their work in a collection of videos.
Researchers have discovered a way to use data transmitted by remotely-located GPS equipment to estimate the thickness of snowpack. This type of information is especially valuable in mountain areas where snow melt is used as a source of water supply or where it can be a cause of flooding. The next question is an estimate of the water content of that snow.
Two MIT students got a cell phone with camera and GPS up to over 90,000 feet at a cost of about $150. Their work acquired some interesting images of the Boston area and a shot of Earth’s curvature.
If you use a GPS in your car you probably have encountered the frustration of inaccurate maps. For the past few years most GPS makers have offered updated maps that you can download from the web and load into your GPS via a USB cable. The problem: these map updates were expensive and were out-of-date by the time you load them – or they had errors that would be fixed in the next edition. Garmin finally has a good idea and is offering “lifetime downloads” for a price that is just a little over the cost of a single map update. Now you can download updated maps for as long as the GPS is in your possession and working.
Protect your important field notes by writing them in a waterproof notebook with waterproof ink. You work hard to collect important field data, don’t take chances with it. Available in spiral and cloth-bound formats.
Here is a website where you can view and print as many USGS topographic maps as you want for free. You can also switch back and forth between Google Maps and Google satellite images.
In Tasmania, GPS will serve a new purpose: helping drivers to avoid a collision with wildlife. The GPS unit can be programmed to notify drivers when they are approaching areas where animals are most frequently hit.
The new technology of “location-based services”, which provides a cell phone’s GPS information to marketing companies and advertisers, will be available soon. This feature, which is to be optional, will offer people discounts on products or services specific to their current location.
Researchers at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry have obtained a GPS tracklog of a Coyote’s wanderings over an 8 month period. This is the first time a coyote has been tracked with this level of detail.
On February 15 a fireball streaked across the Texas sky producing sonic booms and commanding the attention of millions. Geoffrey Notkin, professional meteorite hunter went straight to the field and after several days of searching came home with a number of meteorites. His article shares several interesting photos and stories from the field.
Google reports that over one million people signed up for their free Google Latitude service during the first week that it was available. Latitude is a mobile phone application that allows you to see the location of your friends, and share your location on a Google Map that can be accessed on a mobile phone or personal computer.
A new service has been introduced for Google Maps: Google Latitude. Users can opt to see each others’ locations on their mobile phone or computer screen.
When people fall overboard from aquatic vessels, rescue efforts can be hampered by inclement weather. A new system has been devised, which uses GPS data to more efficiently locate people in need of help.
Here is a short interview with Dr. Michael Gould, Director of Higher Education with ESRI. He comments on the state of GIS in education and other topics. The article has a link to a podcast about GIS and geography PhDs.
Unearthed Outdoors, LLC is making a selection of True Marble global GIS datasets available for free use (with limitations). You can download the files in two formats (32km to 250m resolution): georeferenced GeoTIFF files for use with GIS programs and PNG files for use with graphics programs. If you work with online maps and images you are probably familiar with the True Marble product. Sample below.
Maria Brumm has a very interesting post that gives a quick explanation of how GPS can be used to monitor volcanoes – complete with data from the 2005-2006 Augustine eruption and original cartoons (cartoon at right used with permission).
When natural disasters strike, aid workers need an accurate map of the area they are being sent to help. An organization called MapAction uses GIS software to help the rescue teams get where they need to go.
Martin O’Malley, Governor of Maryland, has a vision for expanding the role of GIS in state government data management and decision-making. This article includes a brief interview with O’Malley.
This project is a website that features photographs taken at each latitude and longitude degree intersection across the world. Volunteers take the photos, post them to the website and write a short story about their visit. The thumbnail photo at right is from Venezuela 11 degrees south, 108 degrees east.
An article at MSN explains how the GPS system that much of our navigation and geographic information systems are based upon could be vulnerable to vandals. The system itself could be hacked into and individual GPS devices can be remotely compromised.
GPS-enabled phones have been around for a few years, however, Apple, Google and Nokia are coming out with some innovations within the next few months. These phones will be able to determine your location and connect you directly with local weather, shopping comparisons, restaurants, maps and more.
Another map publisher has disappeared. The AAA of Northern California is going out of the map business. Online mapping systems and GPS devices are fantastic things but pretty soon it will be difficult to find a good paper map for many parts of the country. We will be lost if the GPS goes down in our car or worse if the satellite signal dies.
This isn’t geology but it is an interesting use of GPS and the internet. You outfit Fido with a GPS collar with a predefined “fence”. If your pet wanders out of the virtual fence area, a notice is sent to your cell phone, PDA or computer. You could probably also use it to track your kids or field partner.
Here is one of the best Geography Dictionaries on the web with over 1400 clearly-defined terms. It includes terms from physical and human geography as well as many terms from cartography, navigation and geolocation.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are using a new computer algorithm to find the geographic location of photos. The method uses GPS information from the online image collection at Flickr to estimate where a photo may have been taken.
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