GeomaticsProject Ideas
The Geomatics research group conducts research in a wide-variety of inter-disciplinary areas including coastal zone management, hydrography, geodesy, GIS, GPS & remote sensing. Details of past BSc, MSc and MRes projects are available on-line and a list of suggested projects include:
| Level | Supervisor | Description |
BSc/MSc |
Dr Victor Abbott V.Abbott@plymouth.ac.uk |
An extension of the Plymouth Sound GIS - A number of small pieces of GIS development work involving bathymetry, wrecks and seabed classification over ten years have developed into Bolton's 2006 GIS of Plymouth Sound. This produced analytical activities. With so much data of this area, it is ready for further extension and the increase in applied analysis. |
BSc/MSc |
Dr Victor Abbott V.Abbott@plymouth.ac.uk |
An extension to the detailed mapping of Tamar tidal streams - We now have seven tidal stream observation programmes in the lower Hamoaze and extending out into the Sound (Admiralty, George, Wimpol, Kemp, Abbott, Soenen, Elsworth (plus, possibly Toft)). Each has added to the detailed understanding of this major river, its minor confluence with Stonehouse Creek, its passage through the constriction of the Narrows and its wider movement through the Sound. There is also a detailed swathe bathymetry dataset for most of this. A gyre and counter-currents have been identified. Visualisation has grown from sketches through to GIS-derived scaled & oriented arrows. Further work could extend the detailed observations, improve the visualisation or develop a detailed mathematical model. |
BSc/MSc |
Dr Victor Abbott V.Abbott@plymouth.ac.uk |
GPS geodesy on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall - The O.S. funded the investigation of the geoid model in use for the high quality ETRF89/OSGB36 transformation available from their GPS web site. Nevertheless, it would be an interesting exercise to height tide gauges around the coast of D&C, taking cognisance of the Earth tides and determining the relationships between the levels on the various reference frames. |
BSc/MSc |
Dr Victor Abbott V.Abbott@plymouth.ac.uk |
Planning -You may know of Wreck No 1, as given in the historic wrecks list of the United Kingdom. When cataloguing then known important wrecks, they happened to start with the one at the mouth of the Plym. The Plym has been an important river for shipping since Saxon times, with the original town being Plympton. Even as late as Queen Elizabeth 1st (died ?1601), Drake is said to have sailed up the Plym, turning left (!) at Marsh Mills and anchoring somewhere within sight of Eggbuckland church. The mud in the Plym largely results from mining on Dartmoor. It is likely to cover many hulks and wrecks in the Laira. I am interested in a plan to survey and visualise the area from the first Plympton Castle to Plymouth Sound. I don’t think any practical work could be undertaken (though we could discuss this), but you would be able to develop the project for future years. |
BSc/MSc |
Dr Victor Abbott V.Abbott@plymouth.ac.uk |
ArcPad as digital update tool - Taking examples for the MSc (Payne, 2005) and the BSc (Worsfold, 2006), and the combination of a transport system (variously boats and bicycles so far), a mobile GPS (possibly dGPS, possibly hand-held, possibly hand-held with differential input, possibly post-processed), digital camera, magnetic compass, tape, digital range finder and now utilising a hand-held HP IPaq running ESRI's ArcPad mobile GIS to run updates in the field in real-time. |
BSc/MSc |
Dr Victor Abbott V.Abbott@plymouth.ac.uk |
Chart datum in the upper tidal Tamar - An investigation of chart datums along the river combining levelling, GPS and water level variations. Opportunities to extend to a 1, 2 or 3 dimensional model and/or to include horizontal water movements. |
BSc/MSc |
Dr Victor Abbott V.Abbott@plymouth.ac.uk |
Archiving Change: To collect, geo-reference and display charts of the Sound and rivers Plym and Tamar; to set changes in their historical context. Aim – to investigate the appropriateness of historical data as a source for detecting change in the bathymetry of Plymouth Sound and its tributaries. |
BSc/MSc |
Dr Victor Abbott V.Abbott@plymouth.ac.uk |
Instrumental reliability: to monitor a specific range of sensors (e.g. three magnetometers or GPS sets, or GPS operating in a variety of modes) in a variety of environments where ‘noise’ (e.g. light pollution for Total Stations or survey line direction for magnetometers) might change the received values. Aim: to quantify the significant environmental and operational consequences affecting an instrument and justifying issues for its optimal use. |
BSc/MSc |
Dr Victor Abbott V.Abbott@plymouth.ac.uk |
Replacement survey software: We have used a variety of on-line survey software over the years, most recently transferring from HyPack to Qinsy. We can read in AIS feeds into ArcGIS as demonstrated by the Navigation team to the UKHO and MCA). Using Tracking Analyst ‘Geo-fences’ can be set up which will trigger warnings when a vessel sails into an area it isn’t supposed to be in. Using historical AIS data you can investigate historical movement of shipping, near misses etc. However, we don’t currently have a demonstrator set up. Tracking Analyst is included in the software Plymouth currently have as an extension to ArcGIS. More info about tracking analyst is available here. |
BSc/MSc |
Dr Victor Abbott V.Abbott@plymouth.ac.uk |
An investigation of policy with respect to installation of underwater cables: this study would consider cable laying strategy; permissions; seabed characteristics to be monitored; ownership of the seabed and costs/benefits to the various parties involved. |
MSc |
Dr Victor Abbott V.Abbott@plymouth.ac.uk |
Determining chart cost benefits in risk reduction: Hydrographic surveys cost money. Hydrographic surveys support more than charting. How wide can you rationalise the subjects supported by hydrographic surveyors and what benefits accrue to a country that they are undertaken. Is there a justification for the investment? What is the cost/ benefit ratio? |
MSc |
Gwyn Jones G.E.Jones@plymouth.ac.uk |
Acoustic Positioning Project |
MSc |
Gwyn Jones G.E.Jones@plymouth.ac.uk |
Multibeam projects |
MSc |
Gwyn Jones G.E.Jones@plymouth.ac.uk |
Sonar Imaging of the Seabed and imagery presentation. |
MSc |
Gwyn Jones G.E.Jones@plymouth.ac.uk |
Validity of tidal Height Diamonds on UKHO Admiralty charts – practical studies required in Plymouth Sound |
MSc |
Gwyn Jones G.E.Jones@plymouth.ac.uk |
Archaeological Assessment in Cattewater and Plymouth Environs using Sub-bottom profiling, Multibeam and/or sidescan sonar |
MSc |
Dr Mike McCulloch | Testing a new least squares method for satellite calibration - The MERIS satellite measures ocean colour. The method used to calibrate MERIS is to use ocean reflectances observed by buoys, use an atmosphere model to predict the reflectance visible from space and then multiply the reflectance the satellite actually sees by a factor, until it agrees on average with the buoy. A more flexible method has been proposed in which uncertain parameters in the atmosphere model are adjusted using an least squares inverse technique until the satellite agrees with the buoy. This method can be used to calibrate the satellite, or to infer atmospheric parameters like aerosol concentration. This project involves testing the method by comparison with the present one, or using it to predict known atmospheric parameters. The work would be done at ARGANS Ltd. |
MSc |
Dr Mike McCulloch |
An empirical study of the flyby anomalies. - The flyby anomalies are significant velocity jumps of a few mm/s seen in spacecraft passing the Earth that cannot, so far, be explained by standard physics. The size of the observed anomaly is proportional to the difference between the cosine of the incident and exit latitude of the spacecraft and new theories have been proposed to explain this behaviour. This project would involve the collection or analysis of new data to help test these theories and may involve some liaison with the ESA and NASA |
MSc |
Dr Mike McCulloch |
Evidence for midlatitude rain-formed fresh layers. - The new SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) satellite was launched last year and has seen several salinity anomalies of 1-4 psu (indicating a very fresh ocean surface) under rainbands in winter midlatitudes where wind mixing is strong and surface anomalies are usually mixed-in. This project would involve looking for in-situ evidence for these shallow fresh layers, or using a mathematical stability analysis to determine whether they are feasible. |