Vol. 23 (2024)

Suitability Analysis of Solar Photovoltaic Farm Locations Using GIS: A Case Study of Nakuru County, Kenya

Wiso Vincent, John Bosco Kyalo Kiema

Geoinformatica Polonica, Vol. 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 7 - 15

https://doi.org/10.4467/21995923GP.24.001.20196

Renewable energy sources play a crucial role in reducing global reliance on fossil fuels. Advancements in technology has en- abled harnessing of renewable energy from solar, wind, and ocean tides to be viable. Solar energy, in particular, has gained significant global recognition as a renewable energy alternative. This study integrates Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to assess Solar Photovoltaic Farms (SPVFs) suitability in Nakuru County, Kenya.

The study considered seven criteria including; slope, solar radiation, aspect, land use land cover, proximity to roads, power transmission lines, and settlements. These were evaluated using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to generate weights for each decision criterion. The weights were used to overlay independent criteria maps that were formed as a result of the re- classification of each criterion from which a composite rated map was developed. Similarly, a composite restriction map was created by leveraging on constraint criteria including; protected ecosystems, water bodies, settlement areas, slope over 20%, proximity to roads, proximity to the transmission line, and land use land cover.

Results obtained from overlaying the composite rated and restricted maps reveal Nakuru County’s general suitability for SPVFs, except for Kuresoi North and Kuresoi South divisions which exhibit low solar radiation. Extremely-suitable areas ac- counted for 3.00% (224.14 km²), very-suitable areas 34.05% (2541.45 km²), moderately-suitable areas 7.76% (579.55 km²), marginally-suitable areas 1.47% (109.77 km²) while least-suitable areas covered 0.02% (1.39 km²).

The study provides valuable data and information for government agencies and investors to identify potential Photovoltaic (PV) system sites. Furthermore, the government is encouraged to establish a favorable framework for solar PV exploration and provide incentives to the private sector to facilitate the establishment of SPVFs.

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Natalia Mączka, Paweł S. Hachaj, Monika Szlapa

Geoinformatica Polonica, Vol. 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 17 - 24

https://doi.org/10.4467/21995923GP.24.002.20197

The article refers to the engineering thesis. This study describes the behavior of bedload transport and bed morphology in the Wloclawek Reservoir, simulated with the PTM model. Through numerical simulations, the interaction between flow dynamics, material transport and deposition was investigated. This analysis was carried out based on two variables: the height of sediment bedforms and the change in the bed level. The results were obtained for medium to high Vistula River discharges: 780, 1143, 1630 and 2990 m³·s^–1.

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Bilouktime Badjaré, Demirel Maza-Esso Bawa, Fousséni Folega, Liu Weiguo, Kpérkouma Wala, Komlan Batawila

Geoinformatica Polonica, Vol. 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 25 - 46

https://doi.org/10.4467/21995923GP.24.003.20198

This bibliographic analysis focused on various methods for estimating net primary productivity, vegetation indices and their various applications, as well as vulnerability assessment and management strategies for protected areas. To do this, a bibliography on the different topics collected using search engines Scopus, Science Direct, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar via the Publish or Perish portal was analyzed. Of the 1128 scientific papers on the selected topic after refining the database, 978 were journal articles, 59 were books, 52 were reports, 20 were conference proceedings, and 19 were theses. These documents detail numerous methods for estimating net primary productivity, a key parameter for assessing ecosystem performance. Methods using remote sensing data, especially vegetation indices, appear to be the easiest, least costly, and least labor-intensive today, ensuring reliable results. These innovative methods are best suited for assessing fragile ecosystems. This is the case for protected areas which have been facing the combined effects of anthropogenic actions and climate change in recent years. Considering the challenges posed by the management of Togolese protected areas, particularly since the socio-political disturbances of the 1990s, it is urgent to assess the health status of these specific ecosystems, focusing on their performance.

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Tomisław Gołębiowski

Geoinformatica Polonica, Vol. 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 27 - 58

https://doi.org/10.4467/21995923GP.24.004.20471

The ground-penetrating radar (GPR) method is one of the geophysical electromagnetic methods. The standard technique of the GPR surveys is the short-offset reflection profiling (SORP) technique, which can theoretically be described in the same way as the zero-offset (ZO) measurements. During the surveys performed using the SORP technique, the offset (i.e. the separation between the transmitter and receiver antennae) is not adjusted to the depth of the objects located in an examined medium. In more advanced measurements, performed using the wide-offset reflection profiling (WORP) technique, the offset is adjusted to the supposed depth of the underground objects which should be detected using the GPR method. The theoretical background and comparison of the SORP and the WORP surveys were described in the paper. The article also presents theoretical analyses regarding to the shape of the radiation pattern generated by the GPR antennas located on the ground surface, i.e. on the border of two media (i.e. air and geological medium) with different electromagnetic properties. The variability of shapes of the radiation patterns as well as the variability of the reflection coefficients for electromagnetic waves with transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations for different offsets, affect the quality of GPR recordings, which was analysed in the paper theoretically as well as through the field tests. The terrain measurements were performed on a selected part of the Vistula river flood levee in Krakow (Poland), where geotechnical sounding indicated the existence of the loose zones. In order to increase the detection possibilities of the GPR method, surveys were performed after precipitation, which created a temporary two-layer medium, i.e. near-surface, water-saturated zone and deeper located, dry zone. The results of the WORP surveys confirmed the theoretical analysis and allowed to record more readable radargrams for larger offsets than in the case of the short offset, which facilitated further interpretation of the recordings.

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Prashant Patil, Chidanand Patil, Shravankumar Musalvad, Uttam Kumar Sahoo, Satish Tarekodlu Janardhana, Suresh Kumar, Nicolee Lyngdoh

Geoinformatica Polonica, Vol. 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 59 - 75

https://doi.org/10.4467/21995923GP.24.005.20472

The changes in the socio-dynamics and the pattern of occurrences of natural hazards both at larger and regional scales have been influenced by the alterations in the Land use land cover change (LULCC) modifications. The LULCC of Lower Dibang valley of Arunachal Pradesh is investigated using contemporary tools of Remote sensing and Geographic Information system. A temporal analysis is done for the years viz, 2009, 2014, and 2021 using USGS Landsat satellite images. To determine the change in LULCC support vector machine a supervised classification method is used and is cross checked with Google Earth points for achieving accuracy and the temporal analysis is done by comparing each images pixel by pixel. The findings show that between 2009 and 2021, the region had significant changes in land cover in the following areas: forest area (–8%), rangeland/scrubland (–6%), barren land/bare soil/open rocks (–1%), agricultural (-2%), and water body/river (–1%). It was observed that lowland and higher altitude regions saw the majority of the LULCC alterations. In the seven tehsils of the Lower Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh, which are located at varying elevations and slopes, the effects of LULC changes on climatic and environmental variables such as latent/sensible heat flow, temperature, precipitation, and specific humidity have been evaluated independently. This research paper’s methodology and results section includes a full explanation of the procedures followed and the outcomes.

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Jagoda Hauzner, Krystian Kozioł, Izabela Dębska

Geoinformatica Polonica, Vol. 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 77 - 89

https://doi.org/10.4467/21995923GP.24.006.20473

The Crown of Polish Mountains is a list of mountain peaks that has long attracted significant interest, with all included summits being considered worthy conquering. The proposal to expand this list with additional peaks, termed the “New Crown of Polish Mountains” by historian Krzysztof Bzowski, served as the impetus for a study of examining the accuracy of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) point clouds in the areas of the newly proposed peaks. The primary data source analyzed in this study is the LiDAR point cloud with a density of 4 points per square meter, obtained from the ISOK project. As a secondary LiDAR data source, a self-generated point cloud was utilized, created by using the integrated LiDAR sensor in the iPhone 13 Pro and the free 3dScannerApp mobile application within terrestrial scanning. These datasets were compared against RTK GNSS measurements obtained with a Leica GS16 receiver and mobile measurements conducted using Android smartphones. In addition to analyzing the raw point clouds, the study also involved the visualization of the analyzed areas by the creation of Digital Terrain Models in two software programs: ArcGIS Pro and QGIS Desktop. The research confirmed the known accuracy of ALS point clouds and revealed that the integrated LiDAR sensor in the iPhone 13 Pro demonstrates surprising accuracy. The potential for laser scanning with a smartphone, combined with the capability of conducting mobile GNSS measurements, could revolutionize geodetic surveying and simplify the acquisition of point cloud data.

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Natalia Dziuba, Stanisław Szombara

Geoinformatica Polonica, Vol. 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 91 - 99

https://doi.org/10.4467/21995923GP.24.007.20474

With the rapid development of technology and the increasing amount of data being processed, smart cities use real-time information processing to optimise various processes, including navigation and traffic management. In this context, spatial data on traffic incidents plays a key role, enabling drivers to bypass congestion and navigate safely and efficiently through the city. This study focuses on assessing the quality and availability of spatial data on road obstructions provided by the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (pl.: Generalna Dyrekcja Dróg Krajowych i Autostrad, GDDKiA) in Poland. In order to analyse this data, a web application was developed to visualise the data on a map to identify problems related to the accuracy of locations and the lack of key information. During the study, it was found that many of the points that were supposed to represent the locations of road incidents were at a significant distance from the actual road axes, indicating errors in geolocalisation. To improve accuracy, additional algorithms were applied that automatically corrected the position of the points to match the nearest roads. Additionally, in cases where geographic coordinates were missing, a geocoding method based on OpenStreetMap data was used. The analysis showed that the data from the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways is partly incomplete and problematic, which limits its usefulness in further spatial analyses. In addition, the irregular updating of the data at 10-minute intervals and the low number of reported incidents further affect their quality and usefulness. Furthermore, comparison of the visualisation results with the GDDKiA road information map revealed significant discrepancies in the location of obstructions, suggesting that data sources or processing methods may differ. The results suggest the need to improve the accuracy and completeness of the spatial data provided so that it can effectively support cartographic analyses and visualisations.

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Anna M. Barańska, Konrad Eckes

Geoinformatica Polonica, Vol. 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 101 - 112

https://doi.org/10.4467/21995923GP.24.008.20900

In addition to the commonly known stable legal relationships between persons or institutions and fragments of the Earth's surface (real estate), there are widely applied ad hoc relationships to real space, with significantly varying durations. They are a function of acquired rights and remain valid for a strictly defined period of time. They are common in everyday life and take on diverse forms, the basic attribute of which is a reference to a broadly understood fragment of geographical space. Emerging technological achievements, such as digitisation of payments, algorithmisation of procedures, identification of documents and people, autonomous traffic and artificial intelligence - pose a challenge to provide ad hoc relationships to space with formalised notation. The problem of formal notation of legal rules applicable in local space will be presented on the example of the right of entry to the university campus, together with local traffic and parking rules. The space is divided into zones and then into smaller units – parking spaces, according to the hierarchical structure. Social groups that have relationships with these zones are also formed into hierarchical sets. Individual groups have different rights to space – hierarchically – at the zone level. The established hierarchy is the first factor considered. The second factor is variability over time. Relationships to local space change over time, most often in a cyclical form. It can therefore be concluded that in this case the law is a function of time. Parking spaces, as objects in spatial sets, are occupied randomly and subsequent users must start the procedure of searching the remaining objects belonging to the set. This procedure has been written in the form of a flowchart and graph. Objects removed from the set (as they are occupied) may randomly return, so for the purposes of effective searching, this process is presented as repeatable – as a whole or locally (cascading search). The third aspect considered are differences in the way users move around the local road network and in elementary spatial fields. The network structure is represented by intersections, which are noted as node matrices. In order to define how to behave in the local space, a list of rules was prepared and standardised. From a practical point of view, a form of prohibition is advantageous because it can be logically linked to a list (set) of consequences. Following these assumptions, the general form of the behavioural test algorithm was formulated. The presented issues demonstrate complex relationships to space and its integrating rule in relation to legal rules. This approach to law allows for space management using IT methods. The notation of the spatial structure and of legal relationships related to time enable the definition of rules of conduct for diverse groups of local societies. Dissimilarity from equality of law for all and stability over time, occurs in local environments and raises the relationships between community, space and time to a higher level of generality.

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Artur Warchoł, Marek Baścik, Artur Pietrzyk

Geoinformatica Polonica, Vol. 23 (2024), 2024, pp. 113 - 120

https://doi.org/10.4467/21995923GP.24.009.20901

Surveys using LiDAR technology have become very popular over the past several years due to their high accuracy, speed of acquisition and completeness of space capture. Due to the progressive ease of use, these measurements are increasingly being carried out by less skilled field workers. On the other hand, however, more and more knowledge and ‘know-how’ is emerging in the processing stages of the data collected in the field. If both parts of this process are properly organised and supported by technology, satisfactory results can be obtained at the level of efficiency gains in both field work and automatic LiDAR data processing. This analysis presents the results of the work on the SITEPLANNER application developed by 3Deling.

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