|
|
|
Finding Noah’s Ark through GIS
FOLLOWERS of all three major religions of the world, Christians, Jews, and Muslims believe in the story of Noah’s Ark, the big boat built in anticipation of the great flood. The Ark is believed to have landed on the mountains of Ararat. However, more than a 100 expedition in search of Noah’s arc have not been able to produce conclusive scientific evidence of the Ark’s presence.
Mount Ararat, located in Turkey, is about 15,500 feet high and the site of Ark is supposed to be about ,2000 feet below its summit. Positioned in permanent glacier, the site is frequently covered in deep snow making the access difficult under the ordinary situation.
A 600-foot rectangular-shaped object near the top of Mount Ararat is suspected to be the remnant of Noah’s Ark. It was first discovered and photographed by the US Air Force pilots in 1949 after which US spy satellites (including Keyhole-9) have confirmed that the object does not naturally fit into the mountain’s landscape. What raises suspicion is the argument from a number of CIA imagery analysts that the object appears to have nautical structure.
Due to Turkey’s virtual war with Kurdish guerrillas in eastern Turkey during the 80s and 90s, Mount Ararat is essentially under emergency military rule. All expeditions and tourist visits are banned. But now with the advancement of commercial GIS and remote-sensing technologies, further investigation is possible. It is now more convenient to conduct detailed research in this issue without even having to set foot onto the research site.
The primary GIS and remote-sensing technologies that are being used for Noah’s Ark research project are:
High-resolution satellite: Aerial photos taken in multi-spectral Hyper-spectral imagery is composed of multi-spectral images in many, very narrow, contiguous spectral bands throughout the visible, near IR and mid IR portions of the spectrum. Hyper-spectral imagery can detect objects such as wood, rock and even identify petrified wood. It can also identify species of wood.
According to the Bible, Noah was instructed by God to build the Ark from “gopher wood.” The experts believe the year-round glacial conditions will help preserve any remnants of the wood on the mountain.
High or medium resolution thermal IR photos: Thermal infrared can photographically measure direct temperature effects of objects, by sensing radiation emitted from solids, liquids, and gases in the thermal infrared region of the spectrum. Thermal IR imagery would benefit Ark research by identifying surface features by their thermal characteristics. For instance, various exposed rocks could be separated from exposed wood.
Synthetic aperture radar: Sub-surface imagery data from radar capable of ice penetration. Since Mt Ararat is covered with a glacier that never entirely melts, it is difficult to analyze visual data. Alternatively, a remote sensing technology, known as Synthetic aperture radar (SAR), is used for this purpose, which removes the icecap-like medical sonar to see layer by layer. The SAR data are digitally processed and provides high quality digital images. A single SAR mission flown around Mt. Ararat can image the entire mountain.
Ground penetrating radar: GPR is another available method which utilizes radio waves to penetrate the ground, similar to SAR. Unlike conventional radar, GPR equipment is typically mounted on a cart or sled and moved over the area to be surveyed. This results in a series of measurements, which can be analyzed by the operator. GPR equipment produces a plate showing distance verus depth, which is extremely useful when combined with SAR data for verification of any Ark like candidates, discovered in the SAR imagery.
Digital elevation model: Also known as DEM. It is a digital file consisting of terrain elevations for ground positions at regularly spaced horizontal intervals. A DEM of Mt Ararat can be integrated with other datasets to aid analysis of imagery and create simulations of the anomaly area. DEM can help scientists compare the suspected Ark’s characteristics with the mountain’s natural terrain (see figure).
GIS analysis: In this research, geographical information systems (GIS) will allow researchers the capability to combine, query, sort and display remote sensing information. All the imagery is aligned to map coordinates and place into a GIS database with the help of global positioning satellite (GPS) measurements that can be useful to establish absolute location of data points. Thus the data points could be used as a data overlay on the GIS maps. Remote sensing data such as GPR readings can be correlated with GPS allowing the measurement locations to be shown on GIS map. Thus all the imagery is registered into GIS database that is capable of interpolating spatial features and preferably 3D display of imagery.
After the collection and analysis of usable research data, it must then be combined so interpretations can be made across large amounts of data. The objective of this would be to find commonalties across the data. For instance, anomalies on the surface could be associated geospatially with subsurface anomalies.
The ultimate analysis of collected data would be the creation of a 3D Rota table view of Mt Ararat showing both surface and subsurface features utilizing terrain data, SAR imagery, multispectral or hyperspectral imagery and thermal IR imagery. This data would be processed by a GIS database allowing classification to be made across all imagery sources. GPS equipped ground penetrating radar (GPR) could be used to inspect any anomalies found in the SAR imagery. This database would then serve as proof of whether or not Noah’s Ark is on Mt Ararat.
So far, despite using the most modern GIS techniques, researchers have not been able to acquire conclusive proof about this research. The quest to utilize the most modern available technology is still going on.
In 2000, Space Imaging’s IKONOS satellite captured several shots of the anomaly over Mt. Ararat. Images were also taken from the Space Shuttle. However, the imagery did not conclusively end the mystery. Work is now being done with a commercial remote sensing satellite called “Quick Bird,” launched last year by the US company Digital-Globe.
Quick Bird is a new two-foot high-resolution satellite, which is acquiring new photos. It flies over Mt Ararat between one and three times a week and will attempt to obtain imagery of Mt Ararat, focussed on a 500-600-foot bulge 15,000 feet up the mountain on the northwest side. So far this satellite has already returned four images of Mt Ararat, but conditions were too cloudy to make out any details. Clear photos at this resolution would be a major stepping-stone for the project.
It will not be too long from now when GIS would unravel the mystery of this great epic related to the world’s three greatest faiths. This finding would be one of the greatest landmarks in the annals of history, theology and science.
The writer
|
|
|
|
