Tecnologia GIS a supporto di indagini ambientali

The strategy of data collection is a very sensitive aspect for any application, and in particular it is true for environmental research: phenomena which take place on a given territory are often known and studied through "readings" which are taken as samples on the same territory. It is therefore important that the distribution of samples be consistent with uniformity rules and be coherent with the aims of the research. We may observe that sometimes, for essentially practical reasons, these aspects do not receive enough attention, while following phases of analysis are instead dealt with in deep detail. GIS technology can give a valid support to a preventive analysis of the territory under examination, and to determine optimal sampling sites. This communication shows as a GIS system was used to help choosing sampling sites for an environmental-epidemiological survey. The sampling of people submitted to the epidemiological survey was done respecting the uniformity of spatial distribution, after the analysis of the whole resident population distribution, and a control of the statistical weight of partial samples chosen in the different territorial sections. On the environmental aspect, the GIS system was used to choose the sites where to collect the samples of soil to be chemically analyzed, having as target a spatial distribution of the sites which covered entirely the area under examination, but such that it privileged the more populated areas; this in view to have the possibility of a significant comparison between the aspects of our survey, the one based on the environment and the other based on people.