Southeast Asian coastal zone boasts a concentration of land and marine resources with vulnerable habitats, especially in highly artificial bays. Yet systematic studies on their ecological security assessment are lacking. To investigate the dynamic relationship between land use and ecological security patterns (ESP) in Langsa Bay, we assessed the ESPs for 2002–2023 and four scenarios for 2030 by satellite remote-sensing time series images. We coupled the RF-GLCM algorithm and the InVEST-PLUS model to simulate ecological services. Realizing the ESP construction and relationship dynamics analysis by circuit theory model and ecological security index (ESI) evaluation system. The approach improves the identification of ecological sources, corridors and nodes, providing an explicit spatial framework for conservation prioritization. Results showed that land-use changes strongly influenced ESP, with a 37.55 km2 increase in construction and a 159.78 km2 decrease in forest. Orchards increased by 201.79 km2, leading to a drastic decrease in forest and cropland. Future scenarios suggested that ecological and cropland protections (ESI: 4.56 and 1.98) enhance ecological security, whereas economic development (ESI: −1.20) reduces it. The findings emphasize prioritizing ecological and agricultural land preservation to mitigate ecological risks in bays, offering spatial, temporal and land-use insights for sustainable coastal management.
The purpose of this article is to study the scientific geographical and cartographic heritage of G.L. de Beauplan in order to understand the role of his works in forming the foundations of national geography and cartography. Main material. The main merit of G.L. de Beauplan to Ukraine and its people at that time and its future lies in the creation of unique maps of Ukraine - General, Special and several dozen others based on his own observations and surveys. They indicate both the main hydrological network of Ukrainian lands and hundreds of objects - rivers, cities and towns, villages and fortresses, islands, Dnieper rapids, etc. «Description of Ukraine, several provinces of the Kingdom of Poland, stretching from the borders of Muscovy to the borders of Transylvania, together with their customs, way of life and warfare» by G.L. de Beauplan became one of the most important historical sources of the Cossack past of Ukraine. The map of G.L. de Boplana “Part of the Borysphen River…” or “2. Zaporizhia” has great historical significance, as it shows the area where the five most famous of the seven Zaporizhia Sichs were located – Tomakivska (1568-1593), Bazavlukska (1593-1638), Mykytynska Sich (1639-1652), which became the place of the beginning of the Ukrainian Cossack State (1648-1755) and in the future there were Chortomlytska (1652-1709, 1728-1730) and Novaya Sich (1734-1775). Conclusions. The map of G.L. de Boplana “Part of the Borysphen River…”, also known as “2. Zaporizhia” has extraordinary significance for cartographic source studies of Ukrainian geography. Comparing this map with maps created later, one comes to realize its fundamental role in solving the current problem of the destruction of the Kakhovka reservoir and the restoration of the old Dnieper riverbed and the Great Lug. In addition, the cartographic heritage of G.L. de Beauplan is of great importance in modern urban planning and district planning.
ABSTRACT In the fields of critical geography and cartography, Ukrainians between empires have not lacked states or the national agency to make maps, but there have been severe conceptual and empirical limitations imposed upon map production, consumption, and circulation over the course of Ukraine’s early modern and modern history. Such restrictions can be viewed geopolitically and regionally, and externally and internally to Ukraine. Ukrainian expertise is visible in humanistic stories of displaced map-minded men and women. Ukraine’s ethnographic and diasporic cultures of map collecting exist apart from common educational and functional purposes of previous European ‘ethnic' or Soviet Russocentric nationalities traditions.
Purpose. The article aims to substantiate the importance of the cartographic method in tourism and recreation research, reveal its role in shaping modern tourist cartography, and demonstrate its practical application through the development of the Ukrainian section of the European long-distance trail E8. Methods. The study applies the methodological foundations of the cartographic research method, which is based on the creation of spatial models of tourism phenomena and processes. The research combines the analysis of classical cartographic materials, the historical-geographical approach, geographic information systems, as well as modern digital tools – OpenStreetMap, GraphHopper Route Planner, Google Earth, and mobile GPS applications (OSMAnd, Maps.me). The interdisciplinary approach made it possible to integrate data from various sources, including open geospatial platforms and field observations. Results. The functions of the cartographic method were identified, ranging from data collection to visualization and forecasting of tourism processes. The main types of tourist maps were systematized: general, scientific-reference, specialized, and interactive. The evolution of tourist cartography was demonstrated, from paper-based city plans to interactive digital services. The study analyzed the role of mobile applications such as Google Maps, Maps.me, and OSMAnd as essential tools of modern tourism practice. The practical testing of the method was carried out using the Ukrainian section of the E8 trail project, for which a digital route, GPS track, interactive map, and a system of control points were developed. Scientific novelty. For the first time in Ukrainian tourism studies, a comprehensive analysis of the cartographic method was conducted, integrating traditional, digital, and GIS approaches, which enables the modeling of tourism trends and development scenarios. Practical significance. The findings can be applied to the development of interactive maps and the management of recreational load on territories, as well as the planning and promotion of cross-border trails. The proposed approach contributes to the development of sustainable tourism, the integration of Ukraine into the European tourism space, and the creation of "smart destinations."
ABSTRACT Developing young people’s understanding of geography concepts requires teachers who have detailed, structured, interconnected, and accurate conceptual knowledge and understanding. Accordingly, this study focuses on pre-service geography teachers’ understanding of the exemplar concept of contours on maps and discusses its implications for teacher training programmes. Data collected using a two-tier conceptual test and a questionnaire in a sample of 127 pre-service geography teachers indicated that pre-service teachers should not be perceived as a homogenous group with identical conceptual understandings and educational needs. The results highlighted the necessity to differentiate between pre-service teachers not only based on their conceptual understanding but also on the non-cognitive dimensions of concepts. Four types of pre-service teachers were identified based on success and certainty rates: successful-certain (SC), successful-uncertain (SU), failing-uncertain (FU) and failing-certain (FC). Both SU and FU types were characterised by low confidence in their related skills and a negative relationship to the concept of contours. The non-cognitive dimension manifested in opposite ways in SC and FC types. The specific educational approach required by each type is discussed, and implications for further research are presented.
Lorand Gabriel Parajdi, Xue Bai, David Kegyes
et al.
This study presents a mathematical model describing cloned hematopoiesis in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) through a nonlinear system of differential equations. The primary objective is to understand the progression from healthy hematopoiesis to the chronic and accelerated-acute phases in myeloid leukemia. The model incorporates intrinsic cellular division events in hematopoiesis and delineates the evolution of chronic myeloid leukemia into five compartments: cycling stem cells, quiescent stem cells, progenitor cells, differentiated cells and terminally differentiated cells. Our analysis reveals the existence of three distinct non-zero steady states within the dynamical system, representing healthy hematopoiesis, the chronic phase and the accelerated-acute stage of the disease. We investigate the local and global stability of these steady states and provide a characterization of the hematopoietic states based on this analysis. Additionally, numerical simulations are included to illustrate the theoretical results.
Snow on the Antarctic sea ice is a crucial component of the cryosphere. In response to the dynamic and highly heterogeneous Antarctic snow during the sea ice melting season, this study employed a combined multi-source data and deep learning method to accurately retrieve snow depth on Antarctic sea ice. Initially, we integrate multiple datasets, including satellite remote sensing, geospatial information, and meteorological data. Subsequently, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is utilized to construct a snow depth retrieval model (PSDCNN-5_7 model). Compared to snow depth measurements from Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) snow buoys, the PSDCNN-5_7 model outperforms existing algorithms, exhibiting a deviation of only −3.38 cm. The uncertainty of the snow depth caused by the model input is only 1.64 cm. In West Antarctica, snow depth is more affected by snowfall (SF), 2-m air temperature (T2m), and sea ice velocity (SIV). Conversely, in East Antarctica, snow depth is primarily influenced by SIV. The proposed approach accurately retrieves snow depth on Antarctic sea ice and facilitates the derivation of long-term variations and trends in snow depth, contributing to a better understanding of the relationship between sea ice, snow, and climate change.
Background. Cartography is an important educational component at the bachelor's level of higher education in the training of future geographers. It serves as a foundation for developing students' cartographic worldview, providing a system of knowledge about the methods of representing the surrounding world, and laying the groundwork for basic approaches and cartographic culture in the creation and use of cartographic works. Scientific and technological progress, along with other dynamic processes directly related to the safety of educational activities in higher education, highlight the need to justify and rapidly implement modern forms and methods of teaching cartography in all educational programs for geographers. Methods. The general methodological foundation of the study is based on the core principles of invitation theory. To achieve the set goals and tasks, the following approaches were employed: a systemic approach, methods: of analysis and synthesis, abstraction and concretization, comparison, scientific classification, and information. Results. It has been established that the majority of educational programs in the studied area include a mandatory component, "Cartography," or an integrated course, "Cartography with the Basics of Topography," which are taught in the minimum necessary volumes (90 and 120 hours, respectively) to provide students with a basic level of cartographic competencies. The most optimal placement of cartographic disciplines in the geography curriculum is in the 2nd or 3rd semester. The existing forms of organizing cartography lessons in geography training include lectures, practical sessions, and consultations. Current directions for optimizing cartography education include blended learning, increasing the role of interactive technologies, adaptive learning, and the integration of artificial intelligence elements. A necessary condition for professional teaching of cartography in higher education is the presence of highly qualified personnel with a basic education in cartography and the appropriate competencies at a sufficient level. Conclusions. The current state of cartography education in the training of geographers at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv is characterized by the minimum required volumes, a well-coordinated place in the curriculum, and innovative teaching methods.
After the defeat of Charles XII at Poltava, thousands of soldiers and officers of his army ended up in Russian captivity. Many of them were then exiled beyond the Urals, where they lived from 1711 to 1722. It is the Swedish officers that the beginnings of mathematical cartography of Siberia are associated with. The article analyzes the aspects of the work of the best known Swedish cartographer, Captain Philip Johan Tabbert (Philipp Johann von Strahlenberg) and provides information about other Swedes who engaged in cartography. At the early stage of the formation of mathematical cartography, an important problem was converting Russian linear measures into degrees. Various ratios used by both the Swedish captives and the Russian land surveyors are given. The methodology for longitude coordinates determination was studied based on the analysis of the maps and diary entries, made by Tabbert during D. G. Messerschmidt’s expedition. Indirect evidence of measurements of latitudinal coordinates, carried out by Swedish captives before the arrival of Russian surveyors in Siberia, has been collected. All of this enabled the analysis of mathematical basis of the two manuscript maps made by the Swedes in Siberia. It is concluded that the geographical maps, drawn in the Siberian captivity by Charles XII’s officers, continued the European tradition of mapping Siberia, being a separate stage in this process. What distinguished such maps was that their authors lived in the region they mapped. The Swedish captives became the first cartographers of Siberia, who created mathematically precise geographical maps with a grade grid, rather than hand-drawn, artistic maps. At the same time, Swedish officers’ efforts associated with creating geographical maps of Siberia had no impact on the development of Russian cartography. It was not the Swedes who broke the tradition of cartographic isography but, rather, the Russian graduates of the Maritime Academy who began working in Siberia in 1719.
Roughly speaking, the problem of geography asks for the existence of varieties of general type after we fix some invariants. In dimension $1$, where we fix the genus, the geography question is trivial, but already in dimension $2$, it becomes a hard problem in general. In higher dimensions, this problem is essentially wide open. In this paper, we focus on geography in dimension $3$. We generalize the techniques which compare the geography of surfaces with the geography of arrangements of curves via asymptotic constructions. In dimension $2$ this involves resolutions of cyclic quotient singularities and a certain asymptotic behavior of the associated Dedekind sums and continued fractions. We discuss the general situation with emphasis on dimension $3$, analyzing the singularities and various resolutions that show up, and proving results about the asymptotic behavior of the invariants we fix.
Hong Kong' senior geography curriculum has included GIS since the early 2000s. However, GIS in secondary schools does not play a significant role in Hong Kong secondary geography education. Analyzing GIS benefits by literature review, it is believed that GIS should be included in both the senior and junior geography curriculum. Moreover, the literature review indicates that without clear instruction from the Hong Kong Education Bureau (EDB), low preparedness of Hong Kong geography teachers, and unsupportive attitudes from academia and textbook publishers, GIS cannot be implemented in secondary schools of Hong Kong. Therefore, suggestions are made for the EDB, geography teachers, academia and textbook publishers to facilitate GIS involvement in senior and junior geography curriculums. The EDB can develop clear guidelines for teachers, academia and textbook publishers' references, and offer student-centered GIS educational courses for teachers. It is important for teachers to be prepared for advanced GIS technology and to even learn along with students. Academics and textbook publishers can provide free GIS maps targeted at Hong Kong' junior and senior geography curriculums. Although the report provides brief information towards the GIS implementation in Hong Kong geography education, it can inspire new ideas from other scholars to facilitate the usage of GIS in Hong Kong secondary school geography teaching.
Abstract
Context and background:
The Sagara hills provide key ecosystem services to the communities in Kongwa and Mpwapwa districts in Dodoma region. In particular, the hills provide watershed services which is vital in a challenging semi-arid condition. However, the current situation suggests that the watershed services are at risk due to anthropogenic activities.
Goal and Objectives:
This study assesses the dynamics of land use and land cover changes in Sagara catchment and its implication to watershed services for the surrounding communities.
Methodology:
Remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques were used to analyze changes in land use and land cover in the catchment between 2013 and 2021. The study used two categories of data: Landsat 8 layers and reference data. Landsat 8 layers were used as input data for change detection and quantification of vegetation cover and other land uses at Sagara hills, while field data and higher resolution Google Earth Pro Historical images were used to create reference data for training the classifier and accuracy assessment.
Results:
Results show that the built area increased from 249.4 ha in 2013 to 504.2 ha in 2021 with a net gain of 254.8 ha. Farmland increased with a net gain of 3108.1 ha whereby the farmland area was 10900.7 ha in 2013, but increased to 14008 ha in 2021. It was further observed that there were significant changes in vegetation cover from 2013 to 2021. The woodland forest which was a dominant vegetation in 2013 with an area of 24187.5 ha has been reduced to 12439 ha. This means in 9years; 11,748 ha of forest have been lost due destructive human activities. Grassland area was also observed to decrease from 995.1 ha in 2013 to 751.9 ha in 2021 with a net loss of 243.2 ha. Closed bushes and thickets which increased significantly by 2021 has become the dominant vegetation. Bare land was also observed to have increased. This is attributed to poor farming methods which resulted into soil erosion and loss of land productivity in the catchment.
This paper presents a brief review of risk studies in Geography since the beginning of the 20th century, from approaches focused on physical-natural components or social aspects, to perspectives that incorporate a systemic approach seeking to understand and explain risk issues at a spatial level. The systemic approach considers principles of interaction between multiple variables and a dynamic organization of processes, as part of a new formulation of the scientific vision of the world. From this perspective, the Complex Systems Theory (CST) is presented as the appropriate conceptual-analytical framework for risk studies in Geography. Finally, the analysis and geographic information integration capabilities of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based on spatial analysis are explained, which position it as a fundamental conceptual and methodological tool in risk analysis from a systemic approach.
This paper carries out an analysis and reflection on how technoscience reaches Geography through Geographic Information Technologies, how it impacts the production of geographic knowledge and how it derives in the possibility of digital experimentation in the discipline in an environment called geo-digital reality. It is shown that advances in GIT have allowed overcoming old limitations, enriching more and more the observations made by Geography, and it is also highlighted the promising future of digital experimentation in Geography through all the possibilities offered by current technological developments.
The paper introduces a general mathematical framework for action based field theories on Finsler spacetimes. As most often fields on Finsler spacetime (e.g., the Finsler fundamental function or the resulting metric tensor) have a homogeneous dependence on the tangent directions of spacetime, we construct the appropriate configuration bundles whose sections are such homogeneous fields; on these configuration bundles, the tools of coordinate free calculus of variations can be consistently applied to obtain field equations. Moreover, we prove that general covariance of natural Finsler field Lagrangians leads to an averaged energy-momentum conservation law which, in the particular case of Lorentzian spacetimes, is equivalent to the usual, pointwise energy-momentum covariant conservation law.
Generalized Geography is a combinatorial game played on a directed graph. Players take turns moving a token from vertex to vertex, deleting a vertex after moving the token away from it. A player unable to move loses. It is well known that the computational complexity of determining which player should win from a given position of Generalized Geography is PSPACE-complete. We introduce several rule variants to Generalized Geography, and we explore the computational complexity of determining the winner of positions of many resulting games. Among our results is a proof that determining the winner of a game known in the literature as Undirected Partizan Geography is PSPACE-complete, even when restricted to being played on a bipartite graph.
We consider the mathematical theory of geographical maps, with an emphasis on the eighteenth century works of Euler, Lagrange and Delisle. This period is characterized by the frequent use of maps that are no more obtained by the stereographic projection or its variations, but by much more general maps from the sphere to the plane. More especially, the characteristics of the desired geographical maps were formulated in terms of an appropriate choice of the images of the parallels and meridians, and the mathematical properties required by the map concern the distortion of the maps restricted to these lines. The paper also contains some notes on the general use of mathematical methods in cartography in Greek Antiquity and in the modern period, and on the mutual influence of the two fields, mathematics and geography. The final version of this paper will appear in Ganita Bharati (Indian mathematics).