IMDEA Water at the Spanish ESRI Conference 2017

The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are instruments that allow us to develop spatial analysis in research on both surface water and groundwater resources.

The relevance of these tools is demontrasted in research projects such as the “Valuation of the Hydraulic Heritage of the Community of Madrid” in which a data bank was created with the digital inventory of hydraulic heritage elements from old maps. It was necessary to carry out an analysis of the quality of the inventoried information by the means of the evaluation of the positional accuracy of the digitalized geometries and the thematic contents represented in the old maps and their revision using fieldwork.

The geographic information systems allowed for a spatial analysis of the information to determine the environmental characteristics that affect the location of the inventoried elements through the superposition of layers.

At IMDEA Water we are currently creating a collaborative spatial structure that will allow project information to be accessed via the Internet. This is done by creating a protocol for the incorporation of information, allowing the project to include new heritage elements.

Dr. Alberto Blanco, IMDEA Water technician, has participated in the Spanish ESRI Conference with the presentation “The use of ArcGIS at the IMDEA Water Institute and the cultural hydraulic heritage project of the Community of Madrid”. This conference brings together experts, developers, technicians and professionals from several GIS technology application sectors. The sessions allowed the discovery of the latest developments, the most innovative projects and the variety of GIS applications tools, the improvement of knowledge and skills of attendees through a number of technical sessions and workshops.