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Articles on Mapping

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The urban landscape is complex and ever-changing in cities such as Perth, but digital aerial photography can now monitor even the smallest changes. Wikimedia Commons

The planner’s new best friend: we can now track land-use changes on a scale of centimetres

Constant, complex changes in cities and mine sites are hard to monitor. Drawing on digital aerial photography, it’s now possible to track land-use and vegetation changes in areas as small as 10-20cm.
Today’s maps boast incredible detail and accuracy - but Smith’s were pretty good. Ordnance Survey

Two centuries of map-making – from William Smith’s survey to satellites

This year marks the 200th anniversary since William Smith published his life’s work, a geological map of England and Wales, in 1815. While “Strata Smith” and his map are well-known among geologists, this…
Most new roads will be built in developing nations. Here, a road-killed tapir in Peninsula Malaysia. © WWF-Malaysia/Lau Ching Fong

Global ‘roadmap’ shows where to put roads without costing the earth

“The best thing you could do for the Amazon is to blow up all the roads.” These might sound like the words of an eco-terrorist, but it’s actually a direct quote from Professor Eneas Salati, a forest climatologist…
Marlgu Billabong in Australia’s Kimberley region, which new research nominates as a smart place to invest in conservation. www.shutterstock.com/Janelle Lugge

Adapt or die: where in the world we should start on cost-effective conservation

As the dust settles on the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on the science of climate change, the obvious question is: what do we do next? Our research, published in Nature…
High-resolution gravity maps – such as this one showing Australia and its northern neighbours – were constructed from three billion calculations. Hirt et al

High-res gravity maps: a fundamental force for engineers

Think back to high-school science. Do you remember what the value of acceleration due to gravity at the Earth’s surface - denoted as “g” in textbooks - is? For those whose memories may need a bit of prodding…
A display of the final Zebedee 3D map of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. CSIRO

Lean on me: Australian inventors help map Pisa tower

Scientists have used a hand-held 3D laser scanner to map the hard-to-reach nooks and crannies of Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa, documenting vital information needed to repair the iconic building if it…
Does Google’s new map point towards the “wisdom of the crowd”? Google

Google’s map of North Korea stirs social media passion and tensions

News that Google has successfully constructed and published maps of North Korea is stirring the imagination of social media aficionados around the world, but may also stir international political tensions…
Locals in Mamberamo, Papua, support conservation, but also want services and development projects; now they’re getting involved in land use planning. Mokhamad Edliadi (CIFOR)

Maps for the people: Papuans planning how their land is used

When people ask us about our research, we answer: we are working on land-use planning. We rarely receive another question. Most of the time, after seconds of embarrassed silence, people move swiftly to…
Replacing Google Maps with Apple Maps has not been without its hiccups. Bert Kaufmann

Get lost: is Apple Maps on a road to nowhere?

Mapping and navigation is at the heart of how we use smartphones today. By extension, the Apple Maps app is at the heart of iOS 6. And so Apple’s decision to swap Google Maps for Apple Maps in its new…

Maths maps out gang territories

An American mathematical model that has been used for more than 80 years to determine the hunting range of animals in the…

Where do you find love in the brain?

A new study has discovered that love and desire activate specific but related areas in the brain. Researchers analysed the…
Stuck between sock stores and sanger stalls? This tech could really help. avlxyz

Can Google kill the Gruen transfer in time for Christmas?

Christmas is fast approaching and there’s a (very big) chance you’ve got some last-minute shopping to do. You won’t be the only one, and with shopping centres packed to capacity, it’s easy to get lost…

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