The Copperbelt Web Mapping application- an open source solution for environmental monitoring of mining areas Michael Staudt(1); Kestutis Januskevicius(2)(3) (1) Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), Betonimiehenkuja 4, 02151 Espoo, Finland E-mail:
[email protected] (2) Department of Surveying Sciences, Aalto University, P.O.Box 15800, 00076 Aalto, Finland (3) Helsingin DataLogistiikka OY, E-mail:
[email protected]
KEY WORDS: web mapping application, open source, environmental monitoring, mining areas, Copperbelt, Zambia.
Proposed system architecture The different technologies to realize such a system with open source tools is illustrated in Figure 1.
Introduction
The system consists of the following open source tools:
An Environmental Data Management System which was developed during the Copperbelt Environmental Project (CEP) (Staudt, 2009) was further developed towards an open source web mapping application during a co-operation between the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) and Department of Surveying Sciences of Aalto University.
• Content Management System (CMS) on Java • Apache Tomcat web application platform for running GeoServer and CMS • Geoserver: an open source server to publish and edit geospatial data • OpenLayers: a pure JavaScript library for displaying map data in most modern web browsers • PostgreSQL: Open source Database Management System, similar to MySQL • PostGIS: open source software program that adds support for geographic objects to the PostgreSQL object-relational database
The project is a pilot project for such activities in Zambia and can be further developed by involved stakeholders such as the Zambian Environmental Management Authority (ZEMA), Ministry of Environment, University of Zambia, Surveying Department or Geological Survey of Zambia just to name a few. The development environment is open source online applications in order to reduce costs and to give other stakeholders and investors the possibility to establish similar services in the future.
The following Web Services will be supported as GIS data output from the server side: • WFS: Web Feature Service • WMS: Web Map Service • WCS: Web Coverage Service
The application is developed with open source tools which include the software technologies OpenLayers, Geoserver, PostgreSQL, PostGIS and Java. The application is currently able to display mining areas and environmental data that include monitoring stations using Google Maps or Open Street Maps web map services as base layers. The prototype of the The Copperbelt Web Mapping Application was developed using PHP 5.3 and Drupal 6 CMS during a year long lasting course in “GIS Application Development” as a part of the Master’s Programme in Geoinformatics instructed at the School of Science and Technology, Aalto University in 2011 and is currently further developed by the authors. With the application it is possible to add or download data using the content management system and Geoserver after registering as a user. Guest users can only preview data via OpenLayers. The system is intended to be used by ZEMA formerly Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ) as an online tool to manage the environmental monitoring of the mining areas in the Copperbelt. At the moment a PostgreSQL database, which contains historical environmental monitoring data, is part of the system. This database was created by using data provided by the Zambia Consolidated Copper MinesInvestment Holding (ZCCM-IH). Newly monitored environmental data can be easily added or imported by ZEMA inspectors. If the application is accepted by the ZEMA it is possible to provide training in usage and maintenance of the system.
Figure 1 – Overview of the used technologies, tools and services behind the web mapping application.
Results and future work The newly developed web mapping application is a useful tool to organise and manage all relevant GIS and environmental data in connection with the monitoring of mining areas in the Copperbelt (Figure 2). The combination of different open source tools has proved to be competitive with commercial out-of-the-box solutions. The prototype will be further developed adding new functionalities such as the upload of new monitoring data and visualisation tools which will show monitoring values as time series and validate them against existing environmental standards. Figure 2 – Structure of the web mapping output on the screen with display of a mining area.
Acknowledgements
References
The authors would like to thank Pekka Sarkola and Prof. Kirsi Virrantaus from Aalto University for supervising the work. Michael Staudt wants to thank the Finnish Graduate School in Geology for partially funding the work during the years 2010-2011.
Staudt, M. ( 2009) Application of an Environmental Data Management System for the Copperbelt Mining Areas, Zambia In: 6th European Congress on Regional Geoscientific Cartography and Information Systems, Earth and Man, Proceedings Vol.1, 9-12 June, Munich, Bavaria, Germany,pp.94-97
Java Content Management System, GeoServer integration and Server platform development, deployment and maintenance courtesy of Helsingin DataLogistiikka OY from the year 2012.
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