GIS advances widen the horizons for environmental professionals

The control of the foot and mouth outbreak, which has made a considerable impact

on the environment and public health, represents yet another extension of the

capacity and versatility of GIS.

By creating colour-coded “thematic” maps, of the Foot and Mouth spread,

plotting suspected and subsequently confirmed cases, the rapidly changing scene

has been monitored closely. Accurate geographic information on outbreaks and

the associated 3km buffer zones has been essential for council departments such

as highways, trading standards and emergency planning.

Cumbria’s Emergency Planning Department had not been using GIS, but it was

soon realised that it would be crucial in providing an effective information

service to everyone in the region. The GGP system was installed and fully running

within a few days, providing vital information for a special Foot and Mouth

call centre.

Foot and Mouth data is also needed by the Council’s Highways Contractor so

that footpaths in restricted areas are closed and to ensure that disinfectant

mats are located in the right place. Recently, certain rights of way have been

opened. Road atlas type “raster” maps, produced from GGP, have been

placed at access points and incorporated into a leaflet for walkers, clearly

showing the areas to which access is allowed.

Environmental applications

As an additional aid for environmental professionals, Landmark Information Group

has added new features to its digital Envirocheck product. It allows access

to environmental information, together with current and historical Ordnance

Survey mapping from a desktop. Envirocheck 5.03 has increased the maximum site

area a customer can run an environmental search on to 10 hectares. The new features

also include the ability to customise a report, with the inclusion of a logo

or a customised panel on the site sensitivity maps produced. Envirocheck covers

the whole of mainland Britain on 15CDs and is based on Promap, the digital mapping

system, providing flexible access to current Ordnance Survey large and small

mapping. Envirocheck incorporates all the features of Promap, which enable customers

to view, locate, measure, customise and print large scale Ordnance Survey maps.

New Promap features available to Envirocheck users include the ability to export

Ordnance Survey current large scale mapping into a GIS or CAD system.

In addition, Landmark states that, in response to customer requests to mark

the boundaries of landfill on the Envirocheck Site Sensitivity Map, a start

has been made with the Scottish landfills held by the Scottish Environmental

Protection Agency and the boundaries of closed landfills held by the British

Geological Survey. These datasets have been digitised by Landmark from the paper

records. The corresponding datasets from the Environment Agency for England

and Wales are expected soon.

Other recent developments on the mapping front include the launch of a new,

on-demand, large format plotting service from CRWorld, provider of geographic

image solutions and published by The GeoInformation Group. By combining up-to-date

imagery from CRWorld, which includes over 200 Cities Revealed aerial photography

datasets, with the latest plotting technology from AGFA, City Vues, the new

service, offers users of aerial photography an on-demand printing and plotting

facility.

In order to meet the demands on local authorities to identify contaminated

land sites GIS specialist Cadac BIS has developed specific tools to aid staff.

For example, Ordnance Survey maps and aerial photographs can be downloaded,

sites can be searched using addresses or grid references and there is access

to a wide range of information, including the location of historical buildings,

dating from 1880-1950. Other enhancements include input and output interfaces

for mathematical modelling of air dispersion from transport and industry.