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Topography and Cartography
Reference:
Giorgio Vassena
Theme of the research
One of the results of the civil war affecting Uganda in the last 20 years, in the topographic field, has been the destruction of almost all the pillars constituting the fundamental geodetic network of the country.
The project aims at supporting the Land Surveying Department of Uganda in the process of thickening the geodetic network. On this regard the project intends to carry out topographic and cartographic measurements in the Rwenzori range; this activity originated from the meeting of Prof. G. Vassena and Mr. G. Corti with Dr.Bwogi J. L. M., Ag. Commissioner of Lands & Surveys of the Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment, in February 2006.
This activity will start in June 2006, through the materialization and the measurement of some points of reference within the Rwenzori National Park and the geodetic network of the Rwenzori peaks, which will be climbed by alpinists-topographers, remembering the first conquest done by the Duke.
The points of reference built in the park will be useful as solid base for the glaciological, cartographic and environmental studies hereby detailed.
During the year 2006 the project therefore intends to make a GPS connection between at least two vertices positioned within the Rwenzori National Park and two vertices of zero order that are in the process of definition. In this sense, the collaboration with the department of Lands & Surveys of the Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment is of paramount importance.
Starting from such vertices the climbers, once reached the peaks, will determine the exact altitude and the cartographic position of the main peaks of the Rwenzori range; moreover it will be possible to materialise in a discrete way some fixed vertices within the National Park referring to known co-ordinates.
In this way it is possible to create the bases for eventual future studies, such as the GPS measurements of the trekking routes within the park, the support for the creation and/or update of a Geografic Information System (GIS).
During the expedition some low cost GPS instruments will be tested: these instruments, developed within the "Easy GPS" project by the University of Studies of Brescia, have all the potentials, in terms of positioning accuracy, of the much more expensive commercial instrument. Such sensors allow to perform GPS measurements with decimetres accuracy (in relative positioning in relation to fixed GPS stations) and they are particularly fit to be used even by not highly specialised personnel, and in countries with scarce economic resources.
Future Developments
The 2006 expedition should be the base for developing a cooperation project with the department of Lands & Surveys of the Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment. This project can be functional for supporting the Ugandan organisations that intend to realise an adequate geodetic thickening, through GPS instruments, of the newborn network of zero order in Uganda.
In particular this project should provide:
The training of local personnel on the use of sophisticated programs for data management (Bernese Software), for the elaboration of long GPS bases, in order to allow the joining of the Ugandan zero order into the international reference system IGS.
The support of the Ugandan office in charge to realise the compensation computes of the GPS network.
The start of a research plan for the positioning of a permanent GPS station in Entebbe, near the department of Lands & Surveys.
This program will start in 2006. The resources for the full program have been asked to italian foundations and to international research programs. At the moment the project is financed by the University of Studies of Brescia, by L'Umana Dimora Association and by the Italian Minister of University and Scientific Research.
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