Mark Altaweel

About the Author

Mark Altaweel is a Reader in Near Eastern Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, having held previous appointments and joint appointments at the University of Chicago, University of Alaska, and Argonne National Laboratory. Mark has an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Masters and PhD degrees from the University of Chicago’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.

Author Archive Page

GIS Industry

Optimizing Traffic with Autonomous Vehicles and Machine Learning

December 15, 2018By Mark AltaweelGIS Industry

One way to improve traffic is to integrate technologies within autonomous cars, particularly as they are forecast to be soon on our streets, including sensors for driving, and information from different external sources.

When AI Goes Wrong in Spatial Reasoning

December 14, 2018By Mark AltaweelMaps and Cartography

Machines can learn ‘wrong’ or biased information, creating large problems and poor conclusions when it comes to spatial data.

Using Ground-level Imagery to Map Landscape Change

November 29, 2018By Mark AltaweelSpatial Analysis

Ground-level photographs have great value to demonstrate landscape change from a human eye-level perspective.

Using Satellite Imagery to Map Obesity Rates

October 25, 2018By Mark AltaweelSpatial Analysis

One study recently looked at about 150,000 high resolution satellite images of cities in the United States along with census data of these areas in order to understand obesity rates in the built environment.

The Equal Earth Map Projection

October 13, 2018By Mark AltaweelMaps and Cartography

Researchers recently announced the development of the Equal Earth map projection, which has quickly gained influence due to its ability in maintaining accurate area without distortion.

What Makes Maps Go Viral?

September 26, 2018By Mark AltaweelGIS Learning

The study of viral geography could be a new, emerging field where researchers are now beginning to look at the elements that make a map viral.

Forecasting Cholera Using Remote Sensing

September 20, 2018By Mark AltaweelSpatial Analysis

The NASA cholera forecasting tool effectively takes satellite observations on environmental conditions and combines the data with information on infrastructure and conditions in a country.

Startups and the Future of Spatial Analysis

September 3, 2018By Mark AltaweelSpatial Analysis

A growing number of startups are developing new approaches to advanced spatial analysis for everyday solutions across many fields and industries.

GIS and Security Applications

August 30, 2018By Mark AltaweelGIS Learning

The use of GIS in security software applications allows greater enhancements not just to monitoring but also planning and forecasting potential security threats, both from physical and cyber threats.

Topography of Australia’s Intertidal Zone Available as Open Data

The National Intertidal Digital Elevation Model (NIDEM) is the first 3D model of Australia’s intertidal zone. It is available for downloading as an open source dataset from Australia’s National Map portal.

Tutorial: Introduction to Geospatial Analysis in R

Watch this tutorial “Introduction to Geospatial Analysis in R” to learn how to import files into R, overlay layers, reduce spatial extent, select and reclassify values, and make a map.

Elements of a Map

Map elements such as the map frame, legend, and north arrow are parts of what create a map.

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