Extending the cartographic capabilities of desktop GIS – Implementing less common statistical mapping methods as web services together with students

For various reasons statistical mapping is receiving increased interest within the technological shift towards service-oriented web cartography. At the same time new teaching approaches are required at universities which combine both, the motivating of students to get a grip on active programming while learning also about less common thematic mapping methods. The paper points to those cartographic representation methods of visualizing areal distributions of quantitative area characteristics which are often overlooked either due to not being readily available in GIS software or because they are simply not known. Of the nine methods discussed in regard to their abilities and limitations, five are not readily implemented or supported by the ArcGIS Pro software. Within the new teaching course on web processing services (WPS) as part of the International Geomatics master programme at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, the students learn how to conceptualize, program and publish a WPS by gaining a solution for those less common methods. The alternate band map method serves as teaching example, but students are asked to independently work on other methods, too. The WPS course acts here as an eye-opener for the students to the wider pool of cartographic visualization options, of how to get around the limitations of GIS software, and of how to automate processes including making them available to others. With that we hope to contribute to automatically rendered thematic maps becoming more versatile again.

Impact of water salinity on long-term dynamics and spatial distribution of benthic invertebrates in the Small Aral Sea

In 1996–2008, macrozoobenthos of the Small Aral Sea was investigated. A total of 320 macrozoobenthos samples were collected. Statistical analysis and statistical mapping were performed using Statistica and Photoshop software. Ten taxa of macrozoobenthos were identified, with an average water salinity of the Small Aral Sea ranging from 6.3 to 19.0 PSU. Average annual community abundance reached 1962 specimens m−2, with biomass of 107.1 g m−2. Quantitative variables of macrozoobenthos decreased by an order of magnitude by the end of the analyzed period. The polychaete Hediste diversicolor and mollusks Abra ovata, Cerastoderma glaucum, Caspiohydrobia sp. were the dominant taxa. Statistical mapping and correlation analysis revealed that the high biomass of A. ovata and Caspiohydrobia sp. occur in areas with high water salinity. Aggregations of the mollusk C. glaucum were observed in various areas of the sea. The polychaete H. diversicolor preferred areas with relatively low salinity. Analysis of the results showed that the optimum salinity gradient with Aral salt composition was 17–27 PSU for A. ovata, Caspiohydrobia sp. and C. glaucum, while 1–27 PSU for H. diversicolor. Along with changes in water salinity, the currently growing pressure from freshwater fish is an additional factor affecting the structure of benthic communities in the Small Aral Sea.