Promoting Advancement in Surveying and Mapping

ACSM Bulletin | December 2009 | #242

EDITORIAL

 

Global connectivity and jobs

Here is one incontrovertible fact—there will never again be 2009. Just as well. The last year of the disappointing Aughts went out on a limp. more >>

GEO TECHNOLOGY

 

GeoEye's eyes in the sky

Seemingly overnight, ultra-high-resolution satellite images of breathtaking clarity have become so commonplace that it is easy to take them for granted. Whether getting directions from Google Maps or viewing photographic evidence of a newly disclosed, once secret, nuclear facility in Iran, we are benefitting from a level of detail and precision in geospatial information services technology so revolutionary that it is changing the way many industries do business. Virginia- based GeoEye is at the forefront of this new technology.
more>>

   

The changing face of mapping:
From topo quads to GeoPDFs

"Charting every river, lake, and wetland; every valley, mountain, and plain; each city and railroad, village, and stream, the USGS topographic maps have for years served as vividly detailed portrayals of the geography, natural resources, and land-use patterns of the United States" [125 Years of Topographic Mapping: 1884 -2009].
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SURVEYING&MAPPING

 

The 2009 CORS User Forum

NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Coast Guard, convened the 9th Annual Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) Users Forum on September 22, 2009, in Savannah, Georgia. more >>

   

Mapping America

The U.S. Geological Survey’s topographic mapping program began in earnest toward the end of 1885, after the director of the U.S. Geological Survey John W. Powell successfully convinced Congress of the urgent need for systematic topographic mapping of America. more>>

GIS

 

Storm preparedness

The 2009 Atlantic Ocean Hurricane Season is winding down as it officially ends November 30, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers based in Philadelphia and Baltimore continues to work on safeguarding coastal states in the Northeast from dangerous storm events past and future. more>>

   

The GIS/Geospatial Industry Forecast

Industry CEOs interviewed by Daratech, Inc., a Cambridge, Massachusetts market research firm, were unanimous in their belief that growth consistent with the robust 11 percent compound annual growth rate of the past six years would return in 2010. more>>

WEB

 

Designing web sites for small land surveying businesses

Before you sit down with a consultant to design your web site (or do it yourself), you should consider four key elements of conceptualizing the website. more>>