GeoSES
Extension of the operational "Space Emergency System" towards monitoring
of dangerous natural and man-made geo-processes in the HU-SK-RO-UA cross-border region
About the project
The project entitled "Extension of the operational "Space Emergency System" towards monitoring of dangerous natural and man-made geo-processes in the HU-SK-RO-UA cross-border region", with the acronym GeoSES, is funded by the INTERREG - HUSKROUA programme. The project number is HUSKROUA/1702/8.1/0065/GeoSES. During the last decades, the Carpathian region has been experiencing an increasing frequency of ecological disasters. The areas where land surface deformations have been observed (recent geotectonic movements, landslides) are located in relatively densely populated areas, in industrial, agricultural, urban recreational areas and areas with different levels of nature protection. Any surface deformation can destroy structures of various types on the earth's surface, endangering human life and property and seriously affecting environmental protection options.Due to climate change, the HU-SK-RO-UA border areas are increasingly threatened by sudden and strong meteorological events (heavy rainfall, snowfall, landslides and mudslides) which cause devastating floods, endangering the population and the economy. An example is the ecological disaster 20 years ago, when the Aurul gold mine in Baia Mare, northern Romania, leaked large quantities of cyanide, polluting the Soms River, the Tisza River and, eventually, the Danube River.
In the Somes River, poisonous cyanide has wiped out almost all flora and fauna, and in the Tisza River 80% of the fish population. There is therefore a need for a comprehensive assessment of threats and risks in the Carpathian region. Detailed monitoring of land surface deformation as a suitable method to obtain detailed knowledge of the current situation in the HU-SK-RO-UA region has not been carried out so far. Thus, the aim of the project is to identify regions and areas where surface deformation is occurring and then to assess the risks associated with surface deformation (i.e. landslides, uplifts, subsidence) by targeting and overall analysis of the area. We plan to use state-of-the-art satellite technology ((radar interferometry, GNSS) to achieve this objective. The project aims to reduce the social and economic losses and the risk to life and health of the population caused by natural disasters. GeoSES will provide information and services to help identify the risk of emergencies and alert the population to these events.
In the project entitled Extension of the operational "Space Emergency System" towards monitoring of dangerous natural and man-made geo-processes in the HU-SK-RO-UA cross-border region, we have teamed up with scientific research teams from the Carpathian region. Five institutions from four countries of the Carpathian region are working on the project.
The principal investigator of the project is the National University of Uzhhorod (Ukraine), the other partners are the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice (Slovakia), the Technical University of Cluj Napoca (Romania), the Technical and Economic University of Budapest (Hungary) and the Sabolc-Satmár-Berez County (Hungary).
At the Institute of Geography, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, as participants of the project, we focused on the landslide area in the east of the Slovak Republic, namely in the basin of the Torysa and Olšava rivers. These are the well-known and dangerous landslide areas of Nižná Hutka and Vyšný Čaj.
Total Budget: 179,653 EUR
Project team
prof. Vladimír SEDLÁK
was responsible for the management and coordination of the project until 2021. He supervised the implementation of the tasks in the different activities of the project. He was responsible for communication with foreign partners and other government entities relevant for the implementation of the HUSKROUA cross-border cooperation programme. He was also responsible for the project administration, procurement, as well as for the implementation of the tasks of the individual project activities, the preparation of monitoring reports and payment requests. He coordinated and managed the meetings of the project team.
Since 2021, he took over the role of internal project manager Assoc. RNDr. Ján Kaňuk, PhD
Dr. Ján KAŇUK
is responsible for GNSS field measurements. It also provides testing of unmanned aerial systems in slope deformation monitoring. He has been involved in the development of a mobile application for geohazard data acquisition.
Since 2021, he has been an internal project manager.
Dr. Michal GALLAY
Remote sensing operator, responsible for the processing of terrestrial laser scanning data, in particular for its transformation and integration into the upcoming GIS portal and the preparation of documents for the web portal. He is also responsible for creating a unified data structure, designing the specification for data procurement and sourcing data from freely available sources. He also prepares the data for the web portal and contributes to the development of the manuals.
prof. Jaroslav HOFIERKA
GIS operator, responsible for the processing of terrestrial laser scanning data, in particular for its transformation and integration into the upcoming GIS portal and the preparation of documents for the web portal. He is also responsible for defining the data structure and interfaces of the GIS web portal. He is responsible for defining and describing the data structure, which will be uniform for the Slovak and Hungarian parts of the database.
Dr. Ján ŠAŠAK
Laser scanner operator, responsible for the collection of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data and the implementation of field research. His other activities are focused on the processing of terrestrial laser scanning data and the analysis of slope deformation from these data. The acquired TLS data will be compared with measurements from global navigation satellite systems and the results will be integrated into a forthcoming GIS database.
Dr. Jozef ŠUPINSKÝ
Laser scanner operator, responsible for the collection of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data and the implementation of field research. His other activities are focused on the processing of terrestrial laser scanning data and the analysis of slope deformation from these data. The acquired TLS data will be compared with measurements from global navigation satellite systems and the results will be integrated into a forthcoming GIS database.
Dr. Dušan BARABAS
Research specialist for pedology and hydrology, responsible for the selection and location of the area to be addressed and also for the preparation and implementation of measurements in the selected sites. Responsible for processing and analysing geospatial data and assessing the causes of slope movements at the selected sites.
Simona JUHÁROVÁ
Internal project manager for communication,responsible for the preparation of documents and all activities related to the procurement of individual project items. Communicates by phone and email with selected businesses. Participates in working meetings of the project team.
Katarína PEZLÁROVÁ
Internal Project Finance Manager, responsible for all financial operations, records and control of financial documents, invoices and payments related to the project solution. Controls and coordinates the disbursement of funds in accordance with the project budget. He/she cooperates with the financial assistant of the principal investigator of the grant and with the governmental units relevant for the implementation of the HUSKROUA cross-border cooperation programme. Prepares documents for payment requests. Participates in the working meetings of the project team.
Activities
GIS map portal contains:
- geodatabase from slope deformation mapping campaigns at selected locations
- 3D geodatabase of point clouds from laser scanning mapping campaigns at selected locations
- geodatabase of slope deformations in the Tisza river basin in Slovakia
- geodatabase of floodplains for different scenarios (Q50, Q100, Q500, Q1000) in the Tisza river basin in Slovakia
- maps of selected natural hazards for landscape management and spatial planning
Mobile app for natural hazard mapping
User Manual
TerraMapper is a free mobile GIS application that allows the user to collect geospatial data in the field using a mobile phone. It is developed for Android operating system.
The application allows:
- creation of new vector data layers and their editing for a defined geometry type (point, line, polygon)
- attribute editing for existing data layers
- visualisation of underlying raster data layers
- link to the online PostGIS database, which can be edited in any GIS software.
Testing of database editing was carried out in QGIS and ArcGIS software.
The mobile application was developed mainly as a support for field mapping. The mobile application is linked to the database and can be operated in on-line and off-line mode.
Developed methodology for modelling natural hazards - floods
The project tested and compared several approaches for monitoring natural flood hazards using mobile mapping, ground measurements, satellite data, LiDAR data and unmanned aerial systems. Different sources of remote sensing data are valuable inputs from which input parameters can be derived, e.g. for flood modelling.
A methodology for modelling catastrophic floods has been developed in cooperation with the Košice City Council, Department of Civil Protection and Crisis Management. The Hornád river basin was chosen as a test area. The proposed methodology also includes optimization of input data in terms of spatial resolution and landscape roughness parameter. The modelling was focused on the simulation of a catastrophic flood in the case of a breach of the Ružin dam on the Hornád River.
Thanks to the support of the GeoSES project, the publication Landscapes and Landforms was published by Springer. The team members published a chapter on the georelief of the East Slovak Lowland (Barabas, D., Bóna, J. 2022. Fan-Shaped Drainage Network, Glacis and Loess Tables: East Slovak Lowland), which is drained by the Tisza River, and explained the causes of geohazards in terms of the geological and geomorphological evolution of the area.
Activities
On 30.11.2023 in the framework of a professional conference intended for local governments of the East-Slovak region Dr. Ján Kaňuk presented the topic "Integration of geoinformatics technologies in spatial planning and management of local governments: synergy of GIS, open geodata and remote sensing tools". It was on the basis of the experience and results of the GeoSES project that he highlighted the current technological possibilities for better and more sustainable landscape planning and decision-making of local governments. He demonstrated the functionality of the developed mobile application as well as the online GIS database of geohazards.
One of the results of the cooperation between the Košice Self-Governing Region and the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, which intensified during the GeoSES project and builds on the research activities, is the use of the Geoportal KSK in teaching at the Institute of Geography. Within the exercises of the subject Information Systems on Territory taught at the Institute of Geography, students were trained in GIS tools for the creation of WebGIS in order to create their own map application. For this purpose, the KSK Geoportal and its components were used, the infrastructure of which is based on the open platform geOrchestra, which allowed students to get acquainted with the basic procedures of creating a map application, from data preparation to their visualization. These tools can also be used effectively for monitoring natural hazards
We used the experience gained from monitoring natural hazards in Sardinia
The use of unmanned aerial systems and laser scanning as well as satellite remote sensing brings new opportunities for mapping natural hazards. We used the experience from the GeoSES project at a summer school in Sardinia, where we demonstrated the implementation of an aerial mapping mission, data collection and a mobile application for ground-based field mapping. The summer school was attended by over 30 students from different countries in Europe, America and Africa.
We are building on the results of the GeoSES project with a new APVV research project in collaboration with Comenius University
The experience from the GeoSES project was translated into a successful application for the scientific grant APVV-22-0024: Physical geomorphometry for physical geographic research (2023-27), whose principal investigator is prof. Jozef Minár from the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Comenius University in Bratislava. The aim of the project is to apply the concept of physical geomorphometry developed by him to explain geomorphological evolution. One of the sites is landslides and bank erosion on the Rudava River, and this task will involve the transfer of results from the GeoSES project. The task will be to use laser scanning and 3D modelling of the landscape to determine the causes of the landslides and their relation to the morphometric parameters of the georelief.
The Chief Architect of Košice was intrigued by the results of flood modelling
In April 2023, we presented the results of the GeoSES project to the management of the Chief Architect's Office of the Municipality of Košice. The current legislation requires full digitisation of spatial planning documentation, of which maps are an essential part. Chief Architect, Dipl. Ing. Architect Petr Kropp welcomed the possibility of cooperation with UPJŠ in the field of training of employees for the use of GIS technology and mobile application developed within GeoSES.
Earthquakes, landslides and floods - common natural hazards of Turkey and Slovakia
In April 2023 we were visited by assoc. prof. Arzu Erener from the Turkish University of Kocaeli near Istanbul. She is working on geomatics, i.e. geospatial technologies in engineering applications, with a particular focus on identifying the effects of earthquakes, landslides and floods. Arzu presented her research on satellite radar mapping of earthquake subsidence and induced landslides. She welcomed new information on our results obtained within the GeoSES project and the database developed. She also proposed the implementation of a summer school for students from UPJŠ and Kocaeli University, which would aim at building skills in the use of our mobile application and the created GIS database of geohazards.
Training for professional staff of the Košice Self-Governing Region
With the support of the GeoSES project and in the framework of the CATCHING-UP REGIONS initiative, the training course "Regional Geoportal (training for advanced students)" was held at the Faculty of Science in October 2021. The training was attended by employees of the Košice Self-Governing Region and also by some of our PhD students.
We are glad that the cooperation of our institute with KSK will continue in further joint projects.
We discussed educating young people about natural hazards with secondary school principals
To expand the information about the benefits of the GeoSES project, we took the opportunity of the meeting of the Club of Secondary School Principals, partners of the Faculty of Science of the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, in March 2022. This is a meeting of representatives of schools that educate and raise thousands of students in their regions. In the block dedicated to the Institute of Geography, we informed about the project and the use of the prepared mobile application for data collection in the vicinity of the students' residence in the framework of environmental education, or project-oriented tasks for students.
Within the Geography Teachers' Club Dr. Ján Kaňuk explained the principles of 3D printing and 3D visualization of landscapes, using also the results of landslide monitoring within the GeoSES project. He also informed more than 30 geography teachers from primary and secondary schools present about the importance of the project.
In September 2023, we had the opportunity to discuss with a partner institution from China the methods and technologies used for monitoring natural hazards. Representatives of the Chinese Institute for Karst Landscape Research from Guilin appreciated our results within the GeoSES project and presented the specific problems of the karst landscape, where millions of inhabitants live in the vicinity of Guilin.
Mobile apps are an effective tool for participatory geodata collection
We have prepared a series of educational seminars for high school students aimed at building practical skills in the use of geographic information systems and satellite data on various platforms. The first group was trained at the Institute of Geography in February 2023, the second in November 2023. The students also used the mobile application developed under the GeoSES project to collect geodata around their home area. The geodatabase allowed them to process the collected data in a GIS environment and then link this data to freely available satellite imagery and a terrain model.
In a report for the magazine Science and Technology (VaT) with Gregor Mares on RTVS 1, Dr. Gallay and Dr. Kaňuk explained the principles of laser scanning from airborne autonomous and ground-based platforms, highlighting the benefits for e.g. landslide monitoring and flood modelling with direct relevance to the GeoSES project.
In a report for the show Contacts on Radio Slovakia in July 2020, prof. Hofierka presented modelling of flood risk on the example of Košice and other cities in the Tisza river basin. He explained the link between our research and the GeoSES project, highlighting the use of geospatial satellite technologies for crisis management in the region.
We also presented the project objectives in Ukraine
In February 2020 Dr.. Gallay presented the possibilities of studying Ukrainian students at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Jagiellonian University and joint projects with Ukraine. He explained the objectives of the GeoSES project, the reasons for its solution and introduced the partners in the regional TV channels Uzhinform in Uzhhorod and M-studio in Mukachevo.
