Geology, geography and global energy

Scientific and Technical Journal

Spatial analysis of soils

2012. №4, pp. 192-198

Barmin Aleksandr N. - D.Sc. in Geography, Professor, Astrakhan State University, 20a Tatishchev st., Astrakhan, Russian Federation, 414000, abarmin60@mail.ru

Yevsyukov Yuriy D. - C.Sc. in Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, , 1g Prostornaya st., Krasnodar reg., Gelendzhik, Russian Federation, 353467, evsgeol@rambler.ru

Kozyreva Vera N. - Post-graduate student, Volgograd State University, 9-137 Aleksandrova st., Volgskiy, 404127, Russian Federation, kozyreva0307@mail.ru

Rudnev Valeriy I. - Younger research assistant, Russian Academy of Sciences, , 1g Prostornaya st., Krasnodar reg., Gelendzhik, Russian Federation, 353467, evsgeol@rambler.ru

Zimovets Petr A. - Post-graduate student, Astrakhan State University, 66 Pushkin st., Volgskiy, Russian Federation, 404104, petrzimovets@yandex.ru

Kuklev Sergey B. - C.Sc. in Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, , 1g Prostornaya st., Krasnodar reg., Gelendzhik, Russian Federation, 353467, kuklev@ecologpro.ru

The article notes that in the wake of the global trend toward increased urbanization, the scientific community and various government agencies tasked with environmental supervision are paying increasing attention to soils located in urban areas. This paper describes the results of a spatial distribution analysis undertaken on soil found in a Volga-based urban district, its classification, and the use of soil-related data to educate the population of the urban area. The critique notes that the study was conducted using a web-mapping service and relevant tools. According to the document, use of a Web-based application has enabled the different soil types to be digitized using detailed, high-resolution satellite imagery. Further processing of the data was implemented using ArcGIS 9.3 software. The result of this study will allow a map to be created covering the soil’s spatial distribution in the Volga’s antropozemov urban district. In parallel, the study will deal with the district as a function of the overall urban area. Spatial analysis of the district’s distribution has revealed the basic laws of human transformation for the Volga land cover. The investigation has revealed that irreversible changes are occurring with respect to anthropogenic soil degradation, and that these include transformation of its physical, chemical, and biological properties. The alterations are likely to disable the soil from performing the full range of its potential ecological functions in Volga’s urban districts. An industrial center, that district is characterized by high levels of chemical air pollution from industrial plants and motor vehicles, as well as an intense pace of development. This study builds upon a preliminary analysis of the soil’s spatial distribution in accordance with the zoning regulations, with the aim of setting forth the necessary measures to adapt urban planning to environmental problems. For the spatial analysis, the researchers have used a territorial zoning map of the urban district from 05.12.2007 (№ 247-IOP), Internet mapping service (geoportal) and GeoMixer WEB-GIS (geographic information system) Web application. The geoportals now contain ecological and geographical information and allow spatial analysis of geo-data, depending on the objectives of the study. The WEB-GIS-based application, by contrast, enables the digitization of different soil samples on detailed high-resolution satellite images. For its part, the ArcGIS 9.3 program has been used to implement additional processing of the Shp-files. In conclusion, the map on hand of the Volga’s antropozemov urban district reflects various types of spatial distribution among urban soils, which had appeared in a 2010 report.

Key words: soils,spatial analysis,urbanized territories,anthropogenic soil,cartographical web service,space images,geographic information system (GIS)

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