Cephalonia belongs to Ionian islands and consists of two alpine zones, the pro-apoulia and the Ionian one, and pleiocene and quaternary deposits. In this paper we are developing a land use / land cover map of Cephalonia island and an urban map of Argostoli town, the capital of Cephalonia, using GIS techniques and photointerpretation.

Andros is the 2nd biggest island in Cyclades. Its morphology is intense and derives from the lithological and tectonical characteristics of the island. In this paper we studied Andro’s island environmental characteristics using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. A GIS database was developed including all the corresponding geographical, geological, geomorphological and environmental characteristics. Moreover, an environmental map was developed at a 1:50.000 scale that elaborates all the above data. Remote Sensing techniques were also used in combination to the traditional cartographical methods, in order to locate with maximum accuracy all these data and input them in the GIS.

In this paper the erosional process of northeastern coastal Attica is studied. The alpine formation, usually Mesozoic limestones and the post-alpine deposits such as conglomerates, sandstones and marl-limestones characterize the geology of this area. This area has dramatically changed in the last decade as a result of a rapid urbanization. In June 2001 this coastal area experienced a severe fire event with enormous effect of the vegetation cover. Apart from this damage the outcropping of post -alpine vulnerable formations might accelerate erosion during possible intense rainfall. All these taken under consideration turned us to the construction of an erosion risk map based on web-GIS and soft computing technology. Such approach can be very useful for regional planning and environmental management. Indeed since our first abstract (September, 2001) heavy precipitation has been occurred (November, 2001) and a vast quantity of the weathering material has been mobilized. This fact and the new data sets have strongly proved the usefulness of this study.

Thera, along with the islands of Therasia, Aspronisi, Palaea and Nea Kameni, form avast roundly shaped caldera, of 8x10 km. Because of the intense volcanic activity, The shape and morphology of Thera has repeatedly changed through the years. This characteristic makes Thera, from a geological point of view, a very interesting island. Paleo-environmental and volcanic evolution is quite impressive, moreover if it is expressed through modern technology, such as GIS and modern visualization tools. As far as archaeological findings are concerned, Thera is already famous for the existence of the Minoan civilization. Volcanic activity is highly linked to both thepreservation of the archaeological findings and the destruction of the Minoan civilization over Thera Island. In this study with the use of Geographical Information Systems we propose a wide cultural park, combining all physical, geological, geomorphological and cultural characteristics, and through that the connection between volcanic activity and Minoan civilization evolution.

We consider the problem of predicting a risk index of an event on the base of several predictors. The specificity of the problem lies in the fact, that there are no training data; instead we have a set of logical rules describing in a fuzzy way several classes of the risk (’very low’, ’low’, ’medium’, ’high’ and ’very high’ risk). We present several problems and doubts we had met when trying to construct a predictor. After considering several alternatives we stated that a simple neural network architecture (with one perceptron) calculating logistic regression has given the best agreement with expert opinion. Thus,based on the rules, we are able to mimic the expert opinion by a neural network model.

In this study we examined the geomorphological and environmental characteristics of south Attika coastal zone (from Voula area to Lagonisi), a region in which man-made influence is very intense. This paper includes the detection of features of the coastal zone, that are in danger of alteration, because of their exposure to human intervention; it results to the study of the above characteristics and their mapping, with a purpose of using the final thematic maps in future study of the area, after the oncoming changes, because of the Olympic games of 2004. For this purpose we developed a database with geographical, geological, geomorphological and environmental characteristics in GIS and we created the corresponding thematic maps. Data collection took place through photointerpretation of corresponding aerial photos and fieldwork of the coastal zone (from inland and offshore) with the use of GPS.

The flat terrestrial part of the coastal zone of the Paros Island (slope <2,5% forelevations 0-50 m), represents only the 19% of the total area of the island (193 km2). More than 75% of the coastal zone consists of high and lower cliffs, whilst relatively flat and sandy (and/or pebble) beaches do not exceed the 17% of the coastline. The island receives a considerable amount of wave energy; this has its highest values (>1500 W/m) at the NE part of the island and its lowest at the SE “protected” and shallower area. Touristic (sandy/pebble) beaches have been developed along those parts of the coastline that characterized by vulnerable lithology associated with moderate wave activity.

In this paper we study Samaria gorge through recognition, recording and visualization of geomorphological characteristics. Geomorphological characteristics collected through Remote Sensing techniques, are compared with those collected through stereoscopic observation of aerial photos and fieldwork. At the first phase, the aerial photos of the studied area were scanned and through selected digital image processing algorithms, the geomorphological characteristics were stressed and recorded. At the second phase a geomorphological map was created based on data derived from stereoscopic observation of the area aerial photos and fieldwork. During fieldwork a GPS was used, which was connected with the GIS in order toimmediately record and test the measured characteristic position. Finally the combination of two methods took place in order to develop a geomorphological map.

This paper is a preliminary study of an extensive project that will take place at Corfu island (Northern island of Ionian Sea), involving the municipality of Esperion and the Remote Sensing Laboratory (University of Athens). The project’s purpose is to estimate the erosion progress at Sidari bay’s (North part of Corfu island) coastal zone, due to wave activity. Sidari area consists of Neogene formations, which are extremely vulnerable. Moreover, wave impact is also of high energy, causing subsidence of the coastal line. Through this project, our team is developing a GIS database that holds information, deriving from existing maps, bibliographical references, and climatological logs, related to geology, geomorphology and environmental parameters. Apart from those data, aerial photography stereo observation and extensive D-GPS fieldwork resulted to continual coastline monitoring and GIS database updating, for a period of 26 and 5 years, respectively.Project’s conclusions are based on quantitative and spatial analysis through GIS, giving answers on the erosion’s rate, the erosion’s impact on human activities and structures, and finally an estimation on Sidari’s coastal zone future morphology.

In this paper we study the coastal zone in the region of Acheloos’ river mouth and delta. In recent years, this region has been subjected to a series of environmental changes, primarily due to intense human activity concerning large hydroelectricdams. These dams created between 1960 and 1986 are responsible for important changes of the river’s flow. The purpose of this study is to record the changes that have occurred between those years and present time; to define and analyze their possible consequences on the coastal geomorphology of the region. For this reason we used topographical and geological maps (scale 1:50.000), aerial photos (scale 1:33.000) and finally satellite photos. A geographical database has been created in a GIS with environmental, geological, geomorphological and anthropogenic features of the studied area. All digital data were analyzed spatially and quantitative in order to describe the change of delta shape, size and finally the occupied land use. Finally different thematic maps were created showing the geomorphological and environmental changes during those years.

Naxos is the largest island (430km2) οf Cyclades complex. The relief of the island is mountainous, with a central mountain chain crossing it from the north to the south.The geology of Naxos is characterized by a migmatite irruption, metamorphic rocks (schist, gneiss, marble), and sedimentary rocks (Neogenic and Quaternary deposits). Erosion is a complex procedure, which takes place after the forming ofweathered surface material. In this study, an erosion risk map was created, with the use of GIS technology. For this purpose, the maps and fieldwork data concerning the geology of the island, as well as the topography and the geomorphology (of the area) were imported into the GIS. Subsequently, the input data of the final thematicmap were modified with the use of fuzzy logic rules, which was considered to benecessary because of the nature of the studied variables.