Initiated by the Governor of the Belgorod region and the Belgorod region Government, the Centre was founded in 2003 as a step for realizing the federal target program “Electronic Russia” for 2002-2010 in the aspect of creating a national rapid monitoring system for the states of natural resources, economically important units and hazardous objects on the territory of Russia. A structural department of Belgorod State National Research University, the Centre answers the need in immediate monitoring and integrated resources management in the Belgorod region.
The Centre was founded in co-operation with a branch of Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Centre, and Eridan-I Science and Technology Centre, LLC (Obninsk, Russia).
Since 2010, the Centre is a Belgorod State National Research University’s base station for developing its top priority in Space, Geo-information, Information and Telecommunication Technologies for Effective Management of Territories’ Sustainable Social and Economic Development.
The Centre’s foundation and development was supported by:
- the 2002-2010 Federal Target Programme “Electronic Russia”;
- the grant from Russian Foundation for Basic Research No01-04-97-46, and the Russian Foundation for Humanities grant for “Complex radiation and physiologic monitoring of the Belgorod region ecosystem”,
- the Programme of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, “State Support for Regional Scientific and Engineering Policies of Higher Education Institutions and Development of Their Potential”, No 449-1632 for 2000-2003, RFBR - No 03.04.96420, RFBR No GM.03.14.;
- the project of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation “Development of Material and Technical Facilities and Founding an Inter-Universities Educational and Scientific Common Use Centre (ESCUC) “Ecological Monitoring and Sustainable Development of Territories”;
- the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation project “Target Financial Support for Developing the Equipment Base for Scientific Research of the BelSU Common Use Centre”;
- BelSU’s innovative educational programme for “Regional Model of a Stable System of “technological corridors” for bridging knowledge to the market of Geo-information and its context” for 2007-2008;
All the listed above programmes, grants and projects were co-financed by the Government of the Belgorod Region.
Structure
- Geo-information Technologies Laboratory
- Laboratory of Remote Sensing Means and Methods
- Laboratory of Air Pollution Sources Control
Equipment
The Centre is presently equipped with modern equipment and latest licensed software, including the following:
- Multi-wave LiDAR MVL – 60, in stationary and mobile design,
- Mobile ecological monitoring complex,
- Electronic geodesy and satellite navigation equipment,
- High-resolution borehole geometry tool (BGT),
- The Zond-12e Ground-penetrating radar (GPR)
- Dedicated research laboratories.
Main Lines of Activities
- Geo-information systems and technologies;
- Land remote sensing;
- Air basin ecological monitoring;
- Monitoring of environment and natural resources;
- Forecasting natural hazard and risk assessment;
- Ecological process and systems modelling.
Research Areas
- Developing geoanalytical systems, based on scientific and educational cluster “Geoinformatics and technologies for remote probing for Natural Sciences”,
- LiDAR measurement of industrial aerosol in urban environment,
- European computer models adjustment and tailoring for contingency planning and optimization of nature management,
- Developing a cultivated land management system based on remote Earth probing data and geo-information modelling,
- Man-induced impact monitoring and harmonious exploitation of natural resources in working and newly established industrial areas (Kursk Magnetic Anomaly),
- Elaborating basin nature management concept,
- Monitoring radioactivity, noise, vibration severity, and electromagnetic emission,
- Designing projects of maximum allowable discharge rates and hygienic zones for enterprises,
- Overall estimation of air pollution caused by industries and transportation in the town and the region.
Major Achievements Summary
For the latest five years, the Centre’s team has created, developed or elaborated:
- a database of anchor points coordinates based on space imagery archive;
- a method of conducting field surveys for setting anchor-point coordinates of visible objects to orthorectify space imagery data; the satellite scenes of the Belgorod region taken from Meteor-3M have been orthorectified;
- a technique for integrating land remote sensing data with possibility of its GIS-processing for creating design-basis documentation for projects in harmonious exploitation of natural resources and environmental safety maintenance;
- a technique of two-wave LiDAR measurements;
- an unparalleled system of cultivated land management for European Forest Steppe occurring across Russia based on land remote sensing data and geo-informational modelling;
- a technique for computer-aided GIS-landscape analysis of the territory conducted in order to detect the monitored objects of similar translocation and pollutants immobilization, with examples of its realization for detecting the monitored objects on the territory of the Stary Oskol – Gubkin industrial hub;
- a method of soil erosion interpretation and soil grading intended for use on the territory of the Belgorod region with alternate strips of black soils and grey forest soils;
- a method for managing water basin surface utilizing space imaging, aimed at detecting numerous smaller bodies of water within a vast territory;
- a method of regional ecological assessment of forest areas, utilizing remote land sensing data designed for improving efficiency of forest resources monitoring;
- a computer-assisted system for freshet and flood risk forecasting (which was granted a diploma at Integrated Safety & Security Exhibition 2013), and original software for this system that allows modelling of hazardous hydrologic events development (water level change and anticipated time of beginning) based on the data acquired;
- a comprehensive set of measures for environmental improvement and rational use of the Belgorod region river basins for agriculture, industry and domestic purposes including biologization of agricultural lands, increasing melliferous potential of river basin territories, assignment of areas for self-restoration of soils;
- a plan for commercial and recreational use of water bodies;
- an optimum soil road network;
- a project for a municipal go-informational analytic decision support system for preventing/minimizing negative influence of anthropogenic sources on natural air (geo-analytical information system “Eco-Atmosphere”).
International cooperation
Among the Centre’s permanent collaboration partners (based on cooperation agreements) are the following:
- Aarhus University , Denmark
- University of Warsaw, Poland
- Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova
- V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine
- Taurida National V.I.Vernadsky University, Simferopol, The Republic of Crimea, Russia
- Odessa I.I. Mechnikov National University, Ukraine
- Kherson State University, Ukraine
- Mykolayiv National Agrarian University, Ukraine
- V.V. Dokuchaev Kharkiv State National Agrarian University, Ukraine