Pattern recognition. v- samp - a computer program for estimating surface area from contour maps

Fortran computer program for computing linear approximation of surface area for any given portion of digitized contour ma

Statistical Physics in Meteorology

Various aspects of modern statistical physics and meteorology can be tied together. The historical importance of the University of Wroclaw in the field of meteorology is first pointed out. Next, some basic difference about time and space scales between meteorology and climatology is outlined. The nature and role of clouds both from a geometric and thermal point of view are recalled. Recent studies of scaling laws for atmospheric variables are mentioned, like studies on cirrus ice content, brightness temperature, liquid water path fluctuations, cloud base height fluctuations, .... Technical time series analysis approaches based on modern statistical physics considerations are outlined.Comment: Short version of an invited paper at the XXIth Max Born symposium,Ladek Zdroj, Poland; Sept. 200

Mapping under the Third Reich: Nazi Restrictions on Map Content and Distribution

Based on a presentation at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Philadelphia, March 2004.A 99-page 1947 State Department report discovered in the NOAA Central Library summarized sixty map-related regulations issued by the German government between July 1934 and June 1944. Although the Third Reich pursued cartographic unification and uniformity more vigorously than earlier central governments, regional diversity and the distractions of a multi-front war hindered attempts to standardize map series and develop a national base map at 1:5,000. Pragmatism trumped propaganda when Nazi rule-makers decided to retain Latin lettering for maps, rather than require the more ornate German script used in official government publications and strongly promoted for books and newspapers. Official mapmaking had numerous niches in diverse government departments. In restricting distribution of detailed maps to the public, Nazi cartographic policy recognized the importance of scale by drawing a sharp line at 1:300,000. Covering both large- and small-scale products, a 1937 law gave the Ministry of the Interior authority over private mapmakers, who now had to conform to official policy on geographic names as well as the colors used on political maps

Motives for Patenting a Map Projection: Did Fame Trump Fortune?

John Parr Snyder claimed that patenting a map projection was largely pointless because essentially similar transformations are readily available in the public domain. Map projection patents are rare, many patentees did not attempt to develop their patents, and none who did seems to have made much money. An explanation for their decision to patent lies in recognition that the patent system and peer-reviewed scientific journals are parallel literatures, either of which can satisfy an innovator’s need for attention, as suggested by achievement motivation theory. Moreover, no single factor can account for the invention of a map projection that was patented: not mathematical expertise; not work experience as a draftsman, map publisher, or professional geographer; and not prior experience with the patents system. But for all but one of the seventeen inventors for whom microdata research tools yielded basic details about their lives, at least one of these factors was present

Spatial adventures in energy studies: an introduction to the special issue

This paper has two purposes: first, it makes a case for the development of energy studies perspectives that consider ‘relational space’ as a critical concept organising the provision and use of energy. Second, it presents an overview of this field of research with consideration of the papers included in this special issue. The argument has three parts: first, there is an analysis of the growth of relational perspectives on space and energy looking at current debates within the literature; second, there is an analysis of visual representations of different energy features to demonstrate the empirical importance of a grounded understanding of relational space; third, there is an overview of the papers in this special issue as a means to put forward a diverse research agenda in this area. We conclude that relational perspectives have the potential to inform future energy studies and provide new insights for policy and practice

Genetic signatures of historical dispersal of fish threatened by biological invasions: the case of galaxiids in South America

To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291365-2699Aim: The ecological effects of biological invasions are well documented, but little\ud is known about the effects of invaders on the genetic structure of native\ud species. We examined the phylogeography, genetic variation and population\ud structuring of two galaxiid fishes, Aplochiton zebra and A. taeniatus, threatened\ud by non-native salmonids, and whose conservation is complicated by misidentification\ud and limited knowledge of their genetic diversity.\ud Location: Chile and the Falkland Islands.\ud Methods: We combined microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA (16S rDNA and COI) markers to compare genetic diversity, effective population size and gene flow of Aplochiton spp. populations differentially affected by salmonid presence.\ud Results: We identified two 16S rDNA haplotypes among A.zebra - one dominant in coastal populations and another dominant in inland populations. Populations living on the island of Chiloe displayed a mixture of coastal and inland haplotypes, as well as high microsatellite diversity, as one would expect if the island had been a refugium during the Last Glacial Maximum, or a contact zone among populations. Microsatellite data revealed strong population structuring, indicative of current isolation patterns, and a negative correlation between the genetic diversity of A.zebra and the relative abundance of invasive salmonids.\ud Main conclusions: Our study indicates that population structuring of A.zebra reflects the influence of historical patterns of migration, but also the current levels of reduced gene flow among watersheds. Invasive salmonids, known to compete with and prey on native galaxiids, may have had negative impacts on the genetic diversity of Aplochiton spp. The low genetic variation found in some populations, coupled with potential biases in abundance estimates due to species misidentification, highlight the urgent need for more research into the conservation status of the two species of Aplochiton

A Directory of Cartographic Inventors: Clever People who were Awarded a US Patent for a Map-related Device or Method

As its title and subtitle imply, this book is a collection of short biographies of people awarded United States patents for inventions intended to improve map use or map making. We say “intended” because, as with most patented innovations, their clever ideas seldom made it to store shelves, magazine ads, or mail order catalogs—a fate shared with most improvements proposed in cartography’s scientific-technical journals. This collection is a spinoff of a project focused on inventions rather than inventors. The project’s principal product was Monmonier\u27s book Patents and Cartographic Inventions: A New Perspective for Map History, published in 2017 by Palgrave Macmillan. As its chapter titles confirm, the emphasis was on genres of innovation like route-following devices and map folding, rather than on their inventors, whose diverse life stories could too readily distract from a narrative focused on technological trends, clever ideas, and wider impacts