Development of the concept, technologies and services of Atlas Information System Next Generation for monitoring the parameters of the environmental situations in the regions and cities of Europe and Russia

07.12.2020. The project includes two interdependent tasks: 1) ensuring effective control of the ecological indicators, and 2) developing a qualitatively new toolkit to achieve this task - a “new generation atlas information system”. There is determined, on the one hand, by the need to rethink geospatial tools for working with environmental data, on the other hand, by the importance of environmental data as an extensive, global, and potentially holistic source of geolocalized information that allows to work out the instrumental aspects of research work. Both tasks obviously have both scientific significance and practical relevance. The urgency and significance of the problem of monitoring the ecological state are indisputable and self-evident. The same should be said about the information support of such monitoring - the development of an atlas information system, implemented on a qualitatively new basis and therefore free from the characteristic and unavoidable shortcomings and limitations of classical atlas systems that complicate their use for monitoring the state of the environment and solving other, no less relevant tasks. It is also necessary to rethink even such well-mastered geospatial tools as atlases (Vorobyova et al., 2020). Spatial data is the fundamental basis for our comprehension of external reality. Spatial analysis and tools for it were continuously improved, absorbed the entire amount of knowledge accumulated by mankind. For this reason alone, the need for a critical revision of this toolkit requires an appeal to the fundamental foundations of the scientific way of comprehending the world. The fact that both of the problems posed have not been resolved until now, despite their obvious urgency, recognition, and unresolvedness, indicates the need to involve new scientific approaches to their solution.

As part of the initial work in 2020, the following specific results were obtained.

The models for analyzing the ecological situation were revised and modified, the choice of relevant data sources for monitoring the ecological situation of territories of different scale levels was substantiated. Modifications of the algorithm for calculating the ecological state were carried out, which made it possible to make calculations for European countries and Russia, for individual regions (Arctic, Moscow region, Smolensk region, Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions, Crimea)

A model of a distributed database of ecological orientation about cities and regions of Russia and foreign Europe has been created. Its development is necessary to support decision-making in the field of rational environmental management and to ensure further research of environmental factors, threats, and risks in the all-Russian, pan-European, as well as regional and local contexts, based on regularly updated initial data.

An accompanying additional result is a development, adaptation, modernization of technologies for collecting, storing, and analyzing data for environmental and geographical research.

When comparing the ecological state of cities, it is necessary to integrate indicators of air pollution with indicators of the quality of water, soil, etc. There are still few examples of such integration. Among them are the calculations carried out by V.R. Bityukova of integral indices of the scale and intensity of anthropogenic impact on the environment. (Bityukova, 2015). In these indices, an attempt is made to combine indicators of total emissions and discharges, API, population, area of ​​cities, etc. The resulting dimensionless indicator made it possible to rank according to the intensity of the anthropogenic impact of cities in Russia and Belgium. Specifically for this purpose, an algorithm has been developed for reducing the original arrays formed in Belgium and in Russia to a comparable form and carrying out classifications as a single array.

The possibilities of implementing modern technologies for data collection, information analysis, and management have been studied, such as technologies for working with big data (Big Data), collection, monitoring, and analysis of data from social networks (Social Media Mining), machine learning algorithms, the possibilities of decentralized databases based on blockchain technology.

As part of the work, a concept of a multifunctional blockchain-based information platform was developed for these purposes, which will be useful to regional stakeholders in the areas of traditional nature management in the Russian Arctic. The blockchain solution aims to ensure the optimal use of natural capital through public-private collaboration and reliable accounting of current land-use changes, transaction security for municipal, industrial and indigenous communities of stakeholders for decentralized and sustainable resource management. Currently, the blockchain methodology is being implemented in Russia in the Federal Cadastral Service (Rosreestr). Similar activities exist in Germany, Georgia, Serbia, etc. (Gundelsweileri, Bartoschek, and Marques de Sá, 2007; Chachkhunashvil, 2016, Stefanović, Pržulj, et al., 2018, etc.). But there is no such practice in natural capital management yet. It should be noted that the composition of the datasets is only a general view and can be expanded at the regional level. The proposed information assets may include statistical, descriptive, and spatial information, as well as the results of this information analysis. Assets can be used in two ways: transferring data and creating new data, that is, integrating separate data from assets to create new data useful to stakeholders. For example, the identification of conflicts in the field of environmental management is based on the analysis of pools of ecosystem services (environment / ecological assets), consumption of various ecosystem services by stakeholders (economic assets), and institutional constraints for their exploitation (institutional assets). Integrated data can be very useful at the initial planning stage (Evseev et al., 2019). Blockchain technology provides complete traceability of data history and excludes data manipulation. This transparency creates an opportunity for modern management practice in relation to sustainable development goals.

To achieve this goal, it is planned to test solutions based on blockchain technology for their applicability in the above tasks on the model territory.

The concept of a new generation atlas information system has been developed within the framework of the typology of geospatial visualizations, consisting of four main elements (geovisualization approaches) and reflecting the internal logic of the development of geospatial methods in the direction of ensuring ever greater integrity of the presentation, due to the expansion of the range of viewing angles and observation distances available to users ( or scale in the particular case of a cartographic product). Classic atlases are one of the basic types of visualizations, which, in addition to atlases, are now widely represented by so-called “geoportals” (products of the GoogleMaps class). However, this type of visualization is also limited in its capabilities and palliative in nature and is transitional to the geovisualization mode known as “Digital Earth”. It is shown that it is Digital Earth that is by now the result of the evolution of geospatial tools, which is an atlas of a fundamentally new type with a wide range of functional capabilities. The definition of the Digital Earth is given (an updated version of the definition of 22 years ago, by the founder of this scientific direction, Albert Gore), revealing its meaning as a single global "super atlas". The semiotic prerequisites for the qualitative expansion of geospatial tools are shown. Within the framework of this approach, the formation of a database on the level of air pollution in cities of Russia and Europe has begun.

Thus we can say that the concept, software has been developed and ways have been outlined for introducing a new generation of AIS for monitoring indicators of sustainable development of the territory; the creation of a unified poly-scale geodatabase is being formed, consisting of the following thematic blocks: 1) economic, 2) environmental, 3) social and 4) sustainable development. A comprehensive analysis of economic, ecological, social processes, assessment, and system forecasting at various territorial levels was carried out; the formalization of the criteria for sustainable development of the territory for the future expert knowledge base has been carried out. The system being developed should solve the following main tasks: determination of long-term trends in sustainable development; identification of territorial imbalances; identification of links between economic, environmental, social factors; assessment of the impact of economic, environmental, social factors on the tendencies of sustainable development of territories at various levels; comparative analysis of various territories, their grouping by the nature of problems and dynamics of the situation change, rating, etc.; regular updating and visualization of information (including dynamic), which allows you to clearly demonstrate the spatial and temporal tendencies of processes, to generate reports with the highest quality and prepare recommendations at all territorial levels, which will be carried out already next year.

Протвино на космосъёмке: 40 лет спустя

15.04.2013. Высокодетальной космической съёмке Земли исполнилось уже полвека. Привлекая архивные данные, можно сравнить в деталях жизнь страны тогда и теперь - и призадуматься.

Представляем космические снимки высокого разрешения бывшего подмосковного академгородка Протвино, сделанные с интервалом в четыре десятилетия - в 1971 и 2010 гг. Использован сервер ERDAS APOLLO.

Начато предварительное тестирование портала

14.04.2013. Сегодня, 14 апреля 2013 года, начато предварительное тестирование портала Российского центра Мировой системы данных по географии.