Application Of GIS-Technologies And RS-Data For Research And Monitoring Of Water Reservoirs And Other Objects

Full text: It is already difficult to imagine the modern world without information technologies, systems and services, that have got into all spheres of human activity. Information technologies, including work with huge data files, provide efficiency, availability and objectivity of the information for a wide range of users. It leads to the situation where increasing number of experts from different spheres and fields of activity require to become familiar with and apply these information technologies. Such tendencies take place in our country as well. Increasing interest in last 15-20 years appeared to so-called geographical information systems - GIS. GIS could be characterized as the information systems that provide gathering, storage, processing, access, display and distribution spatially-coordinated data. GIS contain data about spatial objects in the form of their digital representations (vector, raster and others). The most popular and widely used become integrated GIS, which combine functionalities of GIS and systems of image digital processing (data of space remote sensing - RS) in the uniform integrated environment. The space information in the today's world becomes more and more diverse and exact. The ability to get and update it becomes easier and more accessible. Tens of orbital systems transmit space images of high precision of any region of our planet. Their relative availability to the consumer (quick search, order and download by the Internet), taking images of any territory at consumer's desire, the possibility of further processing and the analysis of space images using various software, integration with GIS-packages and thematic GIS-projects, transform tandem RS-GIS into a new powerful tool of studying natural recourses and geographical and ecological analysis. With a view to respond to these described tendencies a new research group that would be engaged in development of three-dimensional digital models of various objects with application of GIS-technologies and RS-data was created in Astronomical institute. It is well-known, that in the Central Asian region there is a problem of joint rational and effective use of water resources. In the center of this problem there are such important objects as water basins. Therefore studying, monitoring and creation of digital three-dimensional models of water basins and reservoirs with application of GIS-technologies and RS is the important and actual task. From the methodological point of view the process of creation of such projects can be divided into the following stages: 1. Allocation of water basins that would be interesting for the end users, determination of their coordinates, general characteristics and features.; 2. Search and receive the topographical maps, space images, radar data and other accessible information about the chosen objects.; 3. Preliminary processing of images, geographical binding of all data in one uniform system of coordinates.; 4. Creation of the basic GIS-project with the complete set of thematic layers and legends to the chosen objects.; 5. Development of algorithms and techniques of creation of three-dimensional models and estimations of condition of lakes and water basins using radar data, space images for different dates and topographic maps. 6. Final adjustment of the specialized GIS-project with the filled layers and data on objects of research for the analysis and forecasting of their condition for the next years and updating of layers of the GIS-project. Application of such GIS-project with use of RS data will allow to control conditions of water objects, quantitatively estimate the stocks of water resources, plan their rational usage, develop models of forecasting of emergencies (landslides and avalanches, breaks of dams, danger changes of natural reservoirs), and also many other things. (authors)