Earth Sciences Remote Sensing Lab

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Link to: Egyptian GIS Website

This is a collaborative project to develop a web-based GIS relational database for geological data sets for Egypt. It will be comprised of digital terrain elevation data, digitized geologic maps, remote sensing, seismic, geochronologic, geochemical, and isotopic  data.  We will organize datasets, develop metadata files, and  assemble online tools for visualization.  The GIS and web-based technology will provide cost-effective tools for data integration, visualization, and modeling and will promote interdisciplinary research.

Interdisciplinary research in the geological sciences often requires the compilation and analysis of large and variable spatial data sets.  The application of interdisciplinary research in developing countries is often hindered by difficulties in data compilation and dissemination, and by the high costs of data acquisition.  The variations in scale of existing data sets, their extremely uneven documentation, and the relative scarcity of user-friendly access tools are major obstacles for interdisciplinary research in these countries. The advent of GIS and web-based technology with its massive potential for data integration, visualization, and modeling, has recently provided cost-effective solutions for these problems.  We will establish a web-based database, with state-of-the-art capability for information dissemination and data manipulation to enhance effective interdisciplinary research in Egypt.

The Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA) [formerly the Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority (EGSMA)] is the main agency in Egypt responsible for mapping and mineral exploration. It has generated extensive maps that portray lithological, structural, and mineralization information.  Many of these data sets are only available in hard copy format.  The scientists from the UB Department of Geology have the largest database of digital remote sensing data (e.g., Landsat Thematic Mapper, [TM], Multispectral Scanner, [MSS]), CORONA, SIR-C, and digital elevation data), and digital geochronologic and isotopic data over Egypt. Expertise in the areas of remote sensing, GIS, web-based design, and visualization are present at the EMRA remote sensing facility and at the Earth Sciences Remote Sensing Lab at Western Michigan University.  We will work jointly to develop the web-based GIS.

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Copyright 2003-2008.
For problems or questions regarding this web contact adam.m.milewski@wmich.edu.
Last updated: July 07, 2008.