Center for Geospatial Technologies

The basic aim of the project is to set up a Geospatial Analysis Laboratory at the Department of Geography, University of Zadar, and to gather an interdisciplinary team of scientists from various fields (geography, archaeology, geodesy, agronomy) who will contribute through their work to the achievement of the project goals. There are multiple advantages in gathering an interdisciplinary team of scientists and setting up a laboratory which will concentrate on applying GIS and Remote Sensing to research into various scientific topics. Geospatial analysis relates to applying technical and procedural methods for the purposes of processing and interpreting gathered spatial data, with the aim of identifying new information on the object being studied. In this, a key role is played by devices designed for information-gathering (a terrestrial laser scanner, 3D scanner, airborne LiDAR, unmanned aerial vehicle, and multispectral and thermal cameras), which allow scientific research to be carried out regardless of the surface under investigation (micro-meso-macro), or the required precision. Through the successful implementation of this project, such devices would be made available to all GAL users and interested young scientists. The use of GIS in combination with RS technology (unmanned aerial vehicle, 3D scanner, LiDAR, infrared camera, thermal camera, etc.) facilitates the study of certain processes or phenomena at close range, while their characteristics are measurable, i.e. can be described quantitatively. The importance of quantitative analyses lies in their precision and comparability, but their potential application in Croatia in geomorphology, the management of protected areas, archaeology, and agronomy has not been sufficiently researched.