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Jueves, 07 de Junio de 2012 08:39 |
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ESA’s Mars Express has provided images of a remarkable crater on Mars that may show evidence that the planet underwent significant periodic fluctuations in its climate due to changes in its rotation axis. On 19 June 2011, Mars Express pointed its high-resolution stereo camera at the Arabia Terra region of Mars, imaging the Danielson and Kalocsa craters.
Danielson crater is named after the late George E Danielson, who was instrumental in the development of many spacecraft cameras flown to Mars. Seen to the right (north) in the image, it is the larger crater, roughly 60 km across. Kalocsa crater lies in the centre of the image and is smaller, about 33 km in diameter and a kilometre shallower than Danielson. It is named after a town in Hungary famed for its astronomical observatory.
Danielson crater, like many in the Arabia Terra region, is filled with layered sediments, which in this instance have been heavily eroded over time. Within the crater are peculiarly layered buttes, known as yardangs. Yardangs are streamlined hills carved from bedrock or any consolidated or semi-consolidated material by abrasive dust and sand particles carried in the wind. They are seen on Earth in desert regions, with notable examples in North Africa, Central Asia and Arizona in the United States.
In the case of Danielson crater, it is believed that sediments were cemented by water, possibly from an ancient deep groundwater reservoir, before being eroded by the wind. The orientation of the yardangs leads scientists to theorise that strong north–northeasterly winds (from the lower right in the image) both deposited the original sediments and then caused their subsequent erosion in a later drier period of martian history. A 30 km-long field of darker dunes can be seen bisecting the yardangs and is thought to have formed at a later epoch.
The crater floor of Danielson shows evidence for a series of alternating sedimentary layers with roughly uniform thickness and separation. Some scientists believe that this indicates periodic fluctuations in the climate of Mars, triggered by regular changes in the planet’s axis of rotation. The different layers would have been laid down during different epochs.
By marked contrast, Kalocsa crater shows a completely different topography. Here, no layered sediments are seen. This is thought to be due to the higher altitude of its floor, with the crater not tapping in to the suspected underlying ancient water reservoir. Another hypothesis is that this crater is younger than its neighbour, created when water was not present anymore.
Source: esa.int
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Miércoles, 30 de Mayo de 2012 10:34 |
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Eighty tweeps came to ESA’s technical centre in the Netherlands yesterday to talk to ESA astronaut André Kuipers in a live video call to the International Space Station.
Last April, people were invited via ESA’s Twitter account @ESA, to send a question they would like to ask André. The lucky group was chosen from more than 500 entries to attend the SpaceTweetup in ESTEC, the Netherlands.
10 Twitter followers then had the chance to ask their question directly to André, during the live call.
Mirjam from The Netherlands asked André: “Before you left, what picture did you definitely want to take, and have you already succeeded?”
André replied: “I wanted to take a picture of a little island in the South Pacific where I got married. It is not easy to find as the Pacific is so big and the island is so small.
“I finally managed to find it by comparing the shape of the islands with an atlas.”
Before the video call, the Twitter followers were treated to an interactive 3D tour of the Space Station, saw a zero-gravity drop tower in action and visited ESTEC’s test centre.
Invitees could control ESA’s Eurobot rover by sending commands via Twitter. Orders such as “move backwards 3 m” made Eurobot in Turin, Italy react as instructed.
While waiting for the call, the 80 winners met friends and made new ones. For some, it was an opportunity to see in person people they only knew via social media.
Tweeps from Spain, Italy, Germany, USA and many from André’s home country, the Netherlands, attended the event.
Fuente: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM7V02XN2H_index_0.html
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Jueves, 24 de Mayo de 2012 16:46 |
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Ascena Retail Group, Inc., is a specialty retailer of apparel for both women and tween girls in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Ascena's dressbarn, maurices, and Justice brands are focused on meeting the needs and preferences of three distinct audiences.
To continue tailoring fashion offerings for its growing customer base, strengthen its brands, and more effectively determine the success of retail sites, Ascena is integrating Esri GIS analysis tools, demographic data, and map visualization into its business processes. Esri technology helps Ascena follow a customer centric approach for store development and market planning. It also helps the company identify key demographics and store profiles for each location to stratify and segment the brands. Ascena Retail Group uses GIS to quickly assess the suitability of sites and market potential, streamlining the development process and reducing the cost and time to bring projects to completion.
"Working with Esri is helping our company maintain its distinct market presence across brands and reinforce the specialty store experience throughout its 2,500 locations," says Kevin Ryks, director of financial planning, Maurices Incorporated. "We have found that each brand can be successful in very different and unique types of markets."
Esri spatial analysis helps Ascena quickly assess the suitability of potential store locations and their market potential by viewing possible sites and information about them, such as square footage, what is around them, and the socioeconomic makeup of the community. This analysis is a key element of the ongoing development, evolution, and growth of the brands and store footprint.
"Ascena Retail Group's character and success expresses the same values its founder, Roslyn Jaffe, and her husband defined in the 1960s—a reputation for quality, style, value, and customer service," says Simon Thompson, global director of commercial industry, Esri. "In a world where society and its priorities continually change, GIS is a powerful tool to help Ascena respond to these evolutionary trends."
For more information on Esri and how its GIS technology and data can help retailers, visit esri.com/retail.
Source: http://apparel.edgl.com
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Viernes, 18 de Mayo de 2012 14:57 |
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The NYS GIS conference has a long standing tradition of providing attendees with an opportunity to meet fellow New Yorkers active in the GIS field, exchange information and real experience, and seek solutions to your geographic data management needs. To continue our longstanding shared commitment to excellence in service to the New York State Geospatial Technology community of leaders, practitioners, educators and students, we have moved the 2011 NYS GIS Conference to Spring 2012.
We are excited to announce that Jeff Howe, who coined the term "crowdsourcing," will be our keynote speaker for the 2012 conference! Jeff is the author of Crowdsourcing, a professor of journalism at Northeastern University and a former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He previously worked as a contributing editor at Wire Magazine, where he published "The Rise of Crowdsourcing" in June 2006. For more information on Jeff, visit the Speakers page.
What's new at the 2012 NYS GIS Conference?
App Garden
This year there will be a brand new feature called the “App Garden”. This is the modern, natural evolution of the poster session. You don’t just read about it, you play with it! Visit this exciting exhibit of applications on web-based and mobile platforms. Apps have been blossoming all over. At the same time, devices and computers are becoming ever more powerful and mobile. It’s a perfect storm of location based growth… so we put it in a garden! Sample the fruits of app goodness and see what terrific applications are taking root.
~ 3D Building Capabilities - The Sanborn Map Company
~ Central Adirondack Hiking, Biking, and Paddling for iPhone (custom app) - Linda Rockwood
~ Discover Herkimer County for iPhone and Android (custom apps) - Linda Rockwood
~ Election Districts with Polling Places - Svetla Borovska
~ Environmental Health MapApp for Tompkins County Health Department - Svetla Borovska
~ Geocortex Essentials Mobile Application - Latitude Geographics Groups Ltd.
~ GeoExpress 8.5 - LizardTech
~ Geospatial Solutions - Intergraph
~ Imagery Collection - The Sanborn Map Company
~ HTML App to Collect Pavement Distress Data in the Field for iPad or Android - Transmap Corporation
~ LiDAR (Mobile/Aerial) - The Sanborn Map Company
~ LiDAR Compressor - LizardTech
~ MapGeo - Applied Geographics, Inc.
~ Municity GIS Data Viewer for Android - Software Consulting Associates
~ Municity GIS Web-based Data Viewer - Software Consulting Associates
~ NY Recreation Interactive Webmap (Manifold IMS) - Linda Rockwood
~ NY Snowmobile Trails Interactive Webpage (OpenSource) - Linda Rockwood
~ Snowmobile Trails for iPhone and Android (custom app) - Linda Rockwood
~ Vermont Energy Atlas and/or FastGIS - Fountains Spatial, Inc.
Technology Petting Zoo
So many new devices, so little time. Come spend some quality time with the latest and greatest new technology gadgets, and yes, we will be taking them out of their cages so that you can play with them. The “Technology Petting Zoo” is your opportunity to get your hands dirty, try some things out, before you make your next big purchase. Talk to companies about their latest and greatest toys. This special section of the Exhibitor Hall will feature many of the latest gizmos that will make you want to take one home with you. You won’t be able to resist… don’t miss this one!
~ 3D GIS - Bergmann Associates
~ Capturx Digital Pen Solutions - GIS Services
~ GPS Hardware/Software - Waypoint Technology Group
~ Mobile Attribute Collection - The Sanborn Map Company
~ Rico GIS/GPS Cameras - GIS Services
Thank you to our 2012 sponsors and exhibitors!
Platinum Sponsor
- The Sanborn Map Company
Silver Sponsors
- Esri
- Intergraph
- Waypoint Technology Group
Bronze Sponsors
- Best Buy
- Bowne Management Systems
- Latitude Geographics Group Ltd.
- MRB Group Engineering, Architecture & Surveying, P.C.
- O'Brien & Gere
- Photo Science
- WillowTree Apps
Exhibitors
- ADMAR Supply
- Applied Geographics, Inc.
- Applied Imagery
- Axis Geospatial, LLC
- Bergmann Associates
- Buffalo Computer Graphics
- Carlson Software
- CNY-ASPRS
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Fountains Spatial, Inc.
- GIS Services
- Keystone Precision Instruments
- NYS GIS Association
- Software Consulting Associates
- TerraGo Technologies
- Transmap Corporation
Take a look at Bill Johnson's State of the State Address from 2010!
Also, CLICK HERE to view the winning presentation of GIS Ablaze from 2010!
Source: http://www.esf.edu/nysgisconf/
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