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Enhancing risk assessment and monitoring for cultural heritage sites through data cubes: a multidimensional approach
Heretofore, global Burned Area (BA) products have only been available at coarse spatial resolution, since most of the current global BA products are produced with the help of active fire detection or dense time-series change analysis, which requires very high temporal resolution. In this study, however, we focus on an automated global burned area mapping approach based on Landsat images. By utilizing the huge catalog of satellite imagery, as well as the high-performance computing capacity of Google Earth Engine, we propose an automated pipeline for generating 30-m resolution global-scale annual burned area maps from time-series of Landsat images, and a novel 30-m resolution Global annual Burned Area Map of 2015 (GABAM 2015) was released. All the available Landsat-8 images during 2014–2015 and various spectral indices were utilized to calculate the burned probability of each pixel using random decision forests, which were globally trained with stratified (considering both fire frequency and type of land cover) samples, and a seed-growing approach was conducted to shape the final burned areas after several carefully-designed logical filters (NDVI filter, Normalized Burned Ratio (NBR) filter, and temporal filter). GABAM 2015 consists of spatial extent of fires that occurred during 2015 and not of fires that occurred in previous years. Cross-comparison with the recent Fire_cci Version 5.0 BA product found a similar spatial distribution and a strong correlation ( R 2 = 0.74) between the burned areas from the two products, although differences were found in specific land cover categories (particularly in agriculture land). Preliminary global validation showed the commission and omission errors of GABAM 2015 to be 13.17% and 30.13%, respectively.
In recent decades, and in response to an increased focus on disastrous events ranging from armed conflict to natural events that impact cultural heritage, there is a need for methodologies and approaches to better manage the effects of disaster on cultural heritage. This paper presents the approaches used in the development of a Historic Environment Record (HER) for Syria. It describes the requirements and methodologies used for systematic emergency recording and assessment of cultural heritage. It also presents the type of information needed to record in the aftermath of disaster to assess the scale of damage and destruction. Started as a project at Durham University, the database is now being developed as part of the EAMENA (Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa) project. The core dataset incorporates information and data from archaeological surveys undertaken in Syria by research projects in recent decades and began life as a development of the Shirīn initiative¹.
The focus of this project is to provide a tool not only for the recording and inventory of sites and monuments, but also to record damage and threats, their causes, and assess their magnitude. It will also record and measure the significance in order to be able to prioritize emergency and preservation responses. The database aims to set procedures for carrying out systematic rapid condition assessment (to record damage) and risk assessment (to record threat and level of risk) of heritage places, on the basis of both on the ground and remote assessment. Given the large number of heritage properties damaged by conflict, the implementation of rapid assessment methods to quickly identify and record level of damage and condition is essential, as it will provide the evidence to support effective prioritization of efforts and resources, and decisions on the appropriate levels of intervention and methods of treatment. The predefined data entry categories, use of a data standard, and systematic methods of assessment will ensure that different users choose from the same prefixed data entry and measurement inputs in order to allow for consistent and comparable assessments across different sites and regions. Given the general lack of appropriate emergency response and assessment databases, this system could also be applied in other locations facing similar threats and damage from conflict or natural disasters.
Geographical information systems (GIS) have been a part of archaeological research practices for over two decades, yet many significant questions related to the technology remain unanswered. Long-standing ambiguities about GIS use in archaeology can be associated with a particular research atmosphere within the discipline, where a large number of practitioners consider theory-laden critical approaches to GIS optional, if not peripheral, to conducting spatial analysis. This article calls on archaeological GIS practitioners to carry existing GIS theory and critique to another level. It also argues that the critique of the epistemological implications of GIS use in archaeology has largely (and at times rather implicitly) been structured by representational thinking habits and that a move to non-representational thinking would provide novel considerations of the technology.
Because of advances in methods and theory, archaeology now addresses issues central to debates in the social sciences in a far more sophisticated manner than ever before. Coupled with methodological innovations, multiscalar archaeological studies around the world have produced a wealth of new data that provide a unique perspective on long-term changes in human societies, as they document variation in human behavior and institutions before the modern era. We illustrate these points with three examples: changes in human settlements, the roles of markets and states in deep history, and changes in standards of living. Alternative pathways toward complexity suggest how common processes may operate under contrasting ecologies, populations, and economic integration.
This paper presents an assessment of the use of the DESIS sensor, the imaging spectrometer mounted on the International Space Station (ISS), for the detection of burned areas in sensitive areas. Each DESIS acquisition records continuous spectral information over areas of 30 km × 30 km, a suitable size for such applications, in the visible and near infrared ranges across 235 spectral bands. As DESIS is the first hyperspectral sensor allowing rapid revisit of any site of interest excluding extreme high latitudes, pre- and post-event images can be available, where burned areas can be detected with change detection techniques coupled with suitable, narrow-band spectral indices. Such products may help in timely raising awareness on the endangerment of cultural and natural heritage sites and landscapes, emphasising the importance of Earth Observation (EO) data for monitoring, digitizing and documenting valuable cultural heritage sites. A first assessment for the case of the Arakapas fire in Cyprus is presented. This event started on Saturday, the 3rd of July 2021 in the Limassol district near the village of Arakapas and was controlled after approximately 24 hours. The area affected by the fire is designated as an area of special aesthetic value of the Troodos mountain range to the South West Shores and is included in the Troodos UNESCO global geo-park, which characterizes it as a natural heritage landscape. According to the Department of Antiquities, there are 13 cultural heritage sites in the extended region of the fire. Indeed, several churches of significant cultural value were in danger, being located close to the fire. DESIS acquisitions in cloud-free conditions are available for the pre- and post-event dates of the 10th of June and 31st of July 2021, respectively. The difference of the narrow-band Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI), using the narrow bands centered around 620 and 700 nm respectively was used to identify the burned area. Results are favourably matched to available coordinates of known burned sites, and the affected area looks overall well identified according to the available information on the event. Short wave infrared (SWIR) information is usually characterized by relevant emissions in presence of fires and widely used for this kind of analysis. Nevertheless, results show that DESIS data yield precise burnt area maps, in spite of the lack of this spectral information. Also 10 spectral bands of multispectral Sentinel-2 images from the 12th of June and 27th of July, with spatial resolution between 10 m and 20 m and a swath width of 290 km, were used to calculate different indices frequently applied for burned area assessment using EO data, such as the Normalised Burn Ratio (NBR), Burned Area Index (BAI), and dNBR (differential NBR) Results from these broadband indices are accurate, and are subsequently compared to the results of the narrowband outcomes from DESIS.
Spatial technology is integral to how archaeologists collect, store, analyze, and represent information in digital data sets.
Recent advances have improved our ability to look for and identify archaeological remains and have increased the size and
complexity of our data sets. In this review we outline trends in visualization, data management, archaeological prospecting,
modeling, and spatial analysis, as well as key advances in hardware and software. Due to developments in education, information
technology, and landscape archaeology, the implementation of spatial technology has begun to move beyond superficial applications
and is no longer limited to environmental deterministic approaches. In the future, spatial technology will increasingly change
archaeology in ways that will enable us to become better practitioners, scholars, and stewards.
Book description:
Geographical Information Systems has moved from the domain of the computer specialist into the wider archaeological community, providing it with an exciting new research method. This clearly written but rigorous book provides a comprehensive guide to that use. Topics covered include: the theoretical context and the basics of GIS; data acquisition including database design; interpolation of elevation models; exploratory data analysis including spatial queries; statistical spatial analysis; map algebra; spatial operations including the calculation of slope and aspect, filtering and erosion modeling; methods for analysing regions; visibility analysis; network analysis including hydrological modeling; the production of high quality output for paper and electronic publication; and the use and production of metadata. Offering an extensive range of archaeological examples, it is an invaluable source of practical information for all archaeologists, whether engaged in cultural resource management or academic research. This is essential reading for both the novice and the advanced user.
Encyclopaedia Of The History Of Science, Technology, and Medicine In Non-Western Cultures
- Longuet
A Guide To Risk Management Of Cultural Heritage
- Antomarchi