نشریه اطلاعات جغرافیایی (سپهر)
پیاپی 62 (تابستان 1386)

Recently, a tendency toward the combined implementation of space-time information on extended spatial bases has emerged. In geographic information systems and other sciences, studies are conducted in different fields of space-time display and argumentation. Creating a Temporal Geographic Information System (TGIS) leads to a system that is capable of plotting, displaying and analyzing various study areas, storing specific geographic features, and forecasting future characteristics. A Temporal Geographic Information System (TGIS) can be used to identify the steps that cause geographic changes, and connect the various stages of obtaining different data patterns. The main themes of this paper are the development of TGIS, determination of conceptual models and modeling structures. In a TGIS system, several methods for conceptual modeling are proposed. In the past, these methods were performed according to the intended type of search. In fact, questions such as "What?", "Where?" And "When?" were categorized according to space, (land) feature and event (Peuquest and Dauan). Other classifications of these methods are also determined by the tools used in modeling, such as diagrams of symbols relationships, semantic models, orientations ... This article is a comprehensive examination of the various points of view associated with GIS.

An earthquake with magnitude of 6.2 on the scale of Richter (6.2 MW) occurred on May 28, 2004 in central Alborz in northern Iran (Firozabad-Kojour) at 17:08:46 local time. Most earthquake research centers reported the epicenter of this earthquake near Firozabad (latitude of 36.283 and longitude of 51.616) at a depth of 28.3 km. Firozabad-Tovir is a small part of the central Alborz Mountains and is actually one of the highly active zones in the region in tectonic terms and the boundary zone of the region. There are two sides of this zone by which the Saudi Arabia zone (considering Eurasia zone) every year moves about 20 millimeters northwards​​. According to the Eurasian zone. This region of Iran is a unique region on the surface of the earth for studying the reaction of the upper crust against continental collision during the late Miocene, considering that it includes the continental shortening due to the north-south collision of the Saudi Arabia and Eurasia zones. Most of the metamorphosis in the Zagros, Alborz, and Kopet-Day areas is consistent in terms of the direction and length of the horizontally-moving faults.The northernmost part of the Alborz Mountains laterally extends 900 kilometers around the Caspian Sea and 200- 500 kilometers north of the Neo-Tethyan cleavage. (Figure 1)

The study of urban development and recognizing the cities’ weaknesses and strengths, potentials and shortcomings provide a suitable basis for providing strategies and applying appropriate urban development plans, as well as establishing a balanced urban network system. The separate study of the development of each urban settlement on regional scale (province) is not possible due to the diversity of their characteristics and, if done, the results would not be desirable. Therefore, it is possible to categorize urban points according to their developmental level by accessing certain amount of information about urban development and then classifying these points in different ways. Various methods exist in this regard, such as taxonomic analysis (1), Guttman scalogram (2), factor analysis (3), cluster analysis (4), and so on.In this paper, 25 normalized urban development indexes are selected, and using factor analysis method which is one of the most complex and at the same time one of the best methods of classification, the considered indexes and their reduction were analyzed through several more meaningful factors. Then, based on the obtained results (factor scores) and using the cluster analysis method, the classification of the cities of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in terms of the level of development into homogeneous and similar groups has been carried out.

In this article, the effective factor in the process of infrastructural development of roads and the road design using information that is in fact related to the earth's features, which are themselves affected by human’s contact with nature, are studied. Furthermore, the causes of the creation of land features and raised parts of the land (Geomorphologic), which are also of important applications are considered. Therefore, the primitive and physical form of the land helps design environmental maps, so that with methods such as the use of remote sensing data and the GIS technique the risk of natural hazards on the highways and the cost of road construction in these plans is reduced. This situation was surveyed in West Bengal, India. Another important example of this (applied geomorphology) was Italy, which was implemented with the above designs and structural and infrastructural works on highways.

Today, in many countries the sustainable tourism industry is a symbol of cultural identity and one of the important sources of national and private income. This industry is so important in the socio-economic development of countries that economists call it invisible exports. In this regard, with the expansion of urban centers and the growth of the phenomenon of urbanization, the enthusiasm for travel and exploration has grown in such a way that its enthusiasts around the globe have under the title "tourist" evolved the concept of spending leisure time. In this regard, the attention to the nature of tourism and the consequences of it, has revealed the need for research and study on this subject to the scientific community of the world. But one of the major issues in the development of tourism industry in cities is the issue of urban management. In other words, it can be said that city managers and officials have a significant role in organizing and managing this industry in the cities and surrounding areas, especially for countries such as Iran which, despite containing diverse religious, cultural, artistic and natural treasures in cities has failed to overcome the problems and barriers of the tourism industry and achieve a desirable position in the world. In this article, we tried to address the relationship and interaction between urban management and development of tourism industry with a comprehensive geopolitical view and to present solutions and suggestions for the development of this industry. We hope to pave the way for further research.

The poorest communities in the world are often people who live in rural areas without owning land or with little land. Given that income from agricultural activities in these societies may lead to the creation of jobs providing livelihoods, undoubtedly diversification of non-agricultural activities can be considered as an effective factor in reducing rural poverty of these communities. Village industrialization in the form of rural industries is widely recognized as a dynamic lever for development. Creating employment, income distribution, diversification of rural economy, agricultural prosperity and mitigating inequalities in socio-economic development are traditionally the primary goals of rural industrialization. Considering the fact that various factors are effective in determining the location of rural industries and that traditional methods can not implement all factors simultaneously, the following research has tried to use the capabilities of GIS in this regard. The results of the research revealed the necessity of using such techniques in locating rural industries.

Land re-zoning or integrated development can be a tool for the development of new lands or the organization of existing urban areas. All landowners will share their lands for street and other public spaces, implement the necessary infrastructures wholly or separately, adapt the existing boundaries to the new design, and new construction sites are located according to regional conditions or the value of land-related data. This article describes its methods and applications in different countries, and discusses the possibilities, advantages and problems of the above mentioned method for future methodological development.

Urbanization is considered as one of the main causes of formation of tourism. The evolution and concentration of cities has created certain predicaments and constraints for its inhabitants, and continuation of such a process makes people look for an escape to free themselves for some time from the troubles of urban life, and spend some time on entertainment and recreation and renew their exhausted energy. Residents of cities have been forced to make decisions on spending their free time for various reasons, including physical and spatial uniformity of cities, their heterogeneous and unnatural texture, as well as various types of mental disturbances and stresses and environmental and noise pollution. After the eighteenth century and the Industrial Revolution, a great transformation in the growth, development and emergence of cities arose and various factors such as the transformation of transportation and the speed of exchanges, the emergence of specialization and division of labor, progress in medical sciences and hygiene, and as a result the increase of the population combined with decrease in mortality, expanding immigration, development and concentration of industry and commerce, as well as rising level of income, diversity of businesses, emergence and expansion of mass communication and ... led to the expansion of urban settlement. Subsequently, huge changes occurred in social, economic, environmental and occupational systems, mental stresses increased, noise contamination, neurological disturbances, unruly behaviors and conditions and … appeared. Following the disclosure of the negative aspects of urban life, leisure planning was at the forefront of urban priorities, which led to the birth of tourism and globe-trotting. Tourism (or globe-trotting) is a phenomenon that has existed with its particular forms in human societies from time immemorial, and has gradually evolved along with historical developments to the present age. This phenomenon is generally based on travel and displacement, which is itself the result of various mental, cultural, social and economic needs of mankind.

Geography is a creative and constructive knowledge, and the geographer is actually the constructor of his/her environment. He / she is analyst, far-sighted, considerate of all aspects and the leader of future development. Geography, on the one hand, tends to focus on development activities, and on the other, assumes the position of assessing the socio-economic reflection of developmental activities. Geography, as a judge, while accepting the imbalance in the region as a factor in the emergence of regional exchanges and interactions, opposes the imbalance in geographical space and insists on its justice-seeking attitude in the economic-social spheres.It can be summarily said that geography plays a key role in the realization of the main goal of (comprehensive) developmental plans, that is to organize the system of human activity, by providing a systematic recognition, analysis and explanation of capabilities and constraints, land zoning, analysis of socio-economic structure of the area and study of its consequent ecological structure.

Geographic information systems and related computer information technologies are commonly used in planning and management in the present era. An important part of the theoretical and methodological support of GIS is rooted in the "quantitative and qualitative" revolution of geography. It is not surprising, then, that GIS is often accused of being inherently dependent on "rationalism" and "positivism," so it is not beneficial to use it in planning approaches broader than the merely rational model. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of GIS on urban and regional planning and it was attempted to examine the following: development of geographic database for analyses related to planning, alignment of ground-spatial technologies with urban models, building planning support systems, facilitating discourse and participation in the planning process, and evaluating planning activities and the impact of technology on them. While scientific advancements in the development of planning support tools have been significant, there has been no considerable effort to provide scientific guidance on strategic information management, establish the information support and decision-making tools, and transfer technology to the planning stage. This shortcoming in the dissemination of planning tools limits the application of science in decision and policy making, a process that is essential for the development of countries aiming at strong economy and healthy communities and environment. This research attempts to study the effects of GIS on urban and regional planning.

The war in Afghanistan has shown that the US approach in international considerations has shifted toward the east, while in the past it was more oriented towards the Middle East. The foreign policy of the United States in the east has been based on the interests of this country in the Middle East. Central Asia is a tense region with its own security concerns. In addition, the activities of Russia and China in this region add to the region’s complexities. The two countries have strong, traditional and often long-lasting political ties with the countries of the region. Initially, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) included five countries from Central Asia and all East Asian countries. Apparently, the organization's approach was based on economic, social, and political considerations. However, SCO is an organization that often seeks the interests of Russia and China in the region. It apparently does not have any negative attitude toward world powers, but it has, however, shown various signs over time that have aroused international concerns. It has also considered the demands of countries such as Iran, India and Pakistan for membership in the Cooperative Organization. Therefore, it can be said that members of SCO are not merely small political economic partners, but they have developed considerably and are becoming regional powers. SCO policies and practices have often clashed with US policies. Among the challenges facing this relationship are the war in Afghanistan, the US-Taiwan defense treaty and the US missile defense system in this country. Considering these comprehensive issues, we can cite America's serious concerns about SCO plans.

Geo-Info is an advanced drawing system that started operation in land organization in Poland and then developed. This system has now determined standards for preparing large-scale maps. In this paper, applications and capabilities of the Geo-Info system have been discussed. The Geo-Info system was designed in 1992 for the Department of Geodesy and Poland Land Organization at Wielkopolska's local office and is currently utilized to prepare a map for 30 percent of the country's land, especially the western part of Poland. This system is designed for storing and providing data on the subject of land and on scales from 1: 10,000 to 1: 250. System inputs are supported by simple designs and maps, books about land and coordinate-based lists. By this system, each person can create a database for themselves by using batch files (1) and digital maps.

Earthquake is part of the Earth’s natural behavior, occurring more than 150,000 times a year, but only a small number of them are associated with life and financial dangers and losses. Humanity has long been struggling with this phenomenon and has been horrified by it. There have been many human settlements destroyed by the earthquake and their inhabitants immediately buried and annihilated under the debris. Unlike other natural hazards, earthquakes take place on a vast territory and bring about widespread damage and destruction. The sudden occurrence of earthquake and its unpredictability and the inability of man to control this phenomenon are also among the causes of human panic even in our time.
Today, humans have been able to partly protect themselves from earthquake hazards by the construction of earthquake-resistant buildings. Although earthquakes might occur on any point of the earth, but the research suggests that it is more likely in the vicinity of active faults and therefore the severity and damage of earthquake is also more serious in these areas, because the concentration of energy inside the earth causes the flaws to move and take on a new state resulting in an earthquake.Ray is one of the ancient cities of Iran which, due to its proximity to active faults, has great potential for earthquake occurrence and has therefore suffered many devastating earthquakes causing a lot of damage and casualties throughout the course of history. The present paper first reviews the history of Ray’s earthquakes and then examines the probabilities of earthquake occurrence according to the location of faults.

GEONET (GPS geologic observation network), including 1200 permanent stations, is the largest GPS network in the world. This paper briefly examines the history, system, applications and future prospects of the network. Introduction GEONET (GPS geologic observation network) is the national GPS network of Japan with 1,200 permanent GPS stations, which is currently the largest GPS network in the world. This network was created by the Geographic Organization of Japan with the aim of determining the changes in the Crust’s shape and geodetic control. In order to accelerate the process of monitoring the Crust’s shape changes and add this task as a social infrastructure to instant positioning services and other applications, the ability to instantly determine the position is also added to this network. In this paper, we briefly discuss the network’s history, system, applications and future outlook.

India has a vast coastal area of ​​about 7,500 km long with a vast store of sandy minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite, silimanite and garnet. The purpose of this study is to provide map of coastal land forms using multi-spectral remote sensing in order to be able to identify areas suitable for land surveys carried out with the aim of discovering alluvial minerals. Generally, surface substances are the result of the interaction of three different variables:1. The nature of sub-surface rocks; 2. The internal movements of the Earth, called tectonic regimes; 3. Active external processes, mainly controlled by the factor of climate. Therefore, an accurate geomorphological study of formation of alluvial minerals in all scales seems necessary. (Rajamanickam, 1997/ Sutherland et al., 1985) Coastal areas have special advantages for the exploration of coastal alluvial minerals. India has a vast coastal area of ​​about 7,500 km long with a vast store of sandy minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite, silimanite and garnet. Most of these sediments, with the exception of some alluvial deposits on land and sands, are mainly located in the coastal strip of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil Nadu coastline is about 975 kilometers, 915 kilometers of which are on the east coast and 60 kilometers off the west coast of India. Detailed (60 km) and preliminary (519 km) surveys were carried out on 579 km of coastal length. However, 396 kilometers still have to be surveyed. Investigations on sediments containing heavy minerals in the hills and sandy beaches by close grid sample on 508 kilometers of coastal length indicate high concentrations of heavy minerals from surface to depths of several meters.