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Over the past two days, an assessment has been undertaken of the knowledge available and gaps present in the information we have on wild species of the land and sea in Ireland. With approximately one hundred experts participating in a series of talks and workshops, the outcomes of the Knowledge Quest event held by the National Biodiversity Data Centre will help guide effort and resources over the coming years. Having accurate biodiversity data to hand allows more appropriate decision making to take place, with potential to reduce conflicts between activities. Read More »
Comhar have just launched a research report focusing on Green Infrastructure, entitled ‘Creating Green Infrastructure for Ireland’. The report sets out a broad definition of Green Infrastructure and explores and proposes an approach and a set of principles that should be followed in Green Infrastructure planning. The report is based substantially on the outcome of a Compass-led baseline study. For more and to download the report please visit our Green Infrastructure page under the Applications menu. Read More »
Ireland has agreed a conservation target to halt biodiversity loss by 2010. Over the last decade our knowledge on Ireland’s biological diversity has expanded greatly, yet we still don’t even know how many species there are in Ireland, where they are distributed and how their populations are changing. This will be the subject of a major meeting of scientists and recorders organised by the National Biodiversity Data Centre in Waterford on 26th and 27th August, as part of Ireland’s contribution to International Year of Biodiversity 2010. Compass operate the Centre on behalf of the Heritage Council, Ireland. Read More »
From ESA: http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMYXY4OJCG_index_0.html Envisat has been observing a rare event in the Arctic since early August - a giant iceberg breaking off the Petermann glacier in North-West Greenland. The Petermann glacier is one of the largest glaciers connecting the Greenland inland ice sheet with the Arctic Ocean. Upon reaching the sea, a number of these large outlet glaciers extend into the water with a floating 'ice tongue'. The ice tongue of the Petermann glacier was the largest in Greenland, with an extension of about 70 km until early August. This tide-water glacier regularly advances towards the ocean at about 1 km per year. During the previous months, satellite images revealed that several cracks had appeared on the glacier surface, suggesting to scientists that a break-up event was imminent. In the Envisat radar image taken on 3 August, the ice tongue was still intact but, on 4 August, a large part of the floating ice tongue was separated from the glacier,... Read More »
One of the resources that has been quietly developed by Stuart Green and colleagues is a blog for EO and RS news in Ireland. Read More »
Over the past 7 months, Compass staff, Roger Longhorn and Manuel Treiber, have been assisting the Turkish Satellite Corporation (Turksat) in preparing the feasibility study for the national SDI for Turkey - one of the largest countries in Europe. Longhorn was nominated the lead external consultant on the project, working with Turksat, and made presentations on 'SDI and Best Practice' in Ankara, Turkey, on 21-22 January 2010 at two major workshops attended by over 150 government officials, all interested in participating in the national SDI and initiative. This is being conducted within the larger umbrella programme for implementing e-government across the whole of Turkey. Read More »
The GSDI (Global Spatial Data Infrastructure)Association will be holding their 12th world conference in Singapore from 19 to 22 October 2010. Compass' SDI expert, Roger Longhorn, will be conducting a half-day workshop on 19 October, focusing on "SDI Policy Best Practice". Roger, who is chair of the GSDI Association Legal Socioeconomic Committee, will also be presenting a paper entitled "Clear steps to SDI building and INSPIRE compliance - with added value", co-authored with Compass' Gearoid O'Riain, Manuel Treiber and Alison Robinson. Read More »
Our next introductory GIS course is on 22/23rd September. Follow-on intermediate courses will follow in October. ERDAS courses are also being planned for the Dublin office in October - express your interest now! Note the GIS courses are certified for AGI CPD points, have maximum six paticipants, and are customised to reflect specific trainee interests. See our training pages for more details Read More »