AUCA（https://auca.kg/en/main/）/ RESEARCH（https://auca.kg/en/research/）/ RESEARCH INSTITUTES/TEAMS（https://auca.kg/en/research_institutes_teams/）/ Presidential Research and Education Fund（https://auca.kg/en/research_presidential_research/）/ 2020 - 2021（https://auca.kg/en/research_pref_2020_2021/）
PREF 2020 - 2021
Climate Change in Kyrgyzstan: Short Movie Series Project
Adina Sulumbekova, Kamila Kurbonmamadova
General overview:
The Climat Change in Kyrgyzstan: Short Movie Series Project aimed to film and produce short movie series reflecting environmental and climate issues. Being aware that creativeness has always been privileged in addressing social and ecological questions, the principal project investigators found visualization of climate problems significant in demonstrating their active position.
Budget of the project: $1600,00 USD
Action plan:
It was planned to start film production in April 2021 after script preparation and the selection of the place. The first short movie was filmed in Balykchy, Issyk Kul region.
Primary outcomes:
Link to this block: https://auca.kg/en/research_pref_2020_2021/#b864
Forward - to the Past: Satellite Images of Chui Region from the 1960s to the Present Day
Talgat Dzhumashev, Graduate student, MAANTH
General overview:
The research project Forward - to the Past: Satellite Images of Chui Region from the 1960s to the Present Day proposed to select the highest quality images of the Chui valley with an interval of 8-10 years from 1962 to the early 1980s. The resulting images are meant to be processed through orthorectification, color correction, and geo-reference using specialized software to compare them with modern maps. A catalog of interactive images will allow tracing the dynamics of changes in the valley's surface over the past 60 years and get published on the AUCA academic web resources to provide students and interested scholars access to conduct their own research works.
Budget of the project: $1500,00 USD
Action plan:
It was planned to find matching series of images for each selected year and order digitizing images while studying literature. 5 months (March-July) were spent on the project work. Acquisition of scanned images was accomplished in May when June and Jule were mainly spent for image processing divided into groups of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s at the beginning of the project.
Primary outcomes:
1. Four time periods were studied with an interval of 5 years between 1962,1967,1972, and 1977
2. In total 81 files, 46 GB of georeferences images and files were produced while covering 1,800,00 hectares of the Chui valley
3. Satellite images of the Chui region in 1962, 1967, 1972, and 1977 were geo-referenced. Now the processed files have embedded information about the coordinates of each point. They can now be superimposed on current maps with the used coordinate system WGS 84 / Pseudo-Mercator EPSG: 3857 (for example, OpenStreetMaps, Google maps, etc.)
Link to this block: https://auca.kg/en/research_pref_2020_2021/#b863
Mapping of Issyk-Kul Rock Art: Prevention and Preservation
Aida Abdykanova, Montana Reid
General overview:
The Mapping of Issyk-Kul Rock Art: Prevention and Preservation is devoted to determining the number and compact locations of cultural heritage sites on the north-western coast of Issyk-Kul and making a detailed map of the cultural heritage objects to protect the cultural heritage. Our previous experience and used methods significantly contributed to the study of this area. In this project, interdisciplinary approaches were used to process aerial and satellite data with advanced survey techniques to reveal, map, and justify cultural heritage objects to protect, document, and preserve them.
Budget of the project: $ 2300,00 USD
Action plan:
The main goal of our research was to create a map of cultural heritage in the surveyed area. All objects revealed as a result of project implementation have to be documented in the future because the open-air cultural landscape is vulnerable to weathering and vandalism. The area of the research (from Balykchi to Cholpon-Ata) is huge and covers more than hundreds of thousands of hectares. In this project, we have focused on areas of the Chet-Koi-Suu River delta and the vicinity of the village of Chok-Tal. The main methods used in the project consist of archaeological pedestrian surveys along planned routes to cover gaps in previous studies and making everyday maps of survey findings to see the progress. The pedestrian survey was conducted by three groups with two people in each of them. Groups were independent and had their area of survey. Discovered cultural heritage objects in the form of rock art motifs, burial places, ritual places, and architectural patterns such as stone fences, walls, lines, etc. were fixed with help of OsmAnd offline mobile maps and navigation applications available to use on smartphones. The accuracy of the application is up to 20 meters because it is based on a phone GPS navigator. But in the field, it was shown as 3-5 meters which is fine for archaeology mapping. From the OsmAnd application, all data as points and tracks were exported as GPS. format files. These format files can be easily opened in Google Maps and Google Earth services and allow users to see all names, descriptions, and coordinates of each fixed object and pedestrian route. This possibility of the OsmAnd application allows us to make mapping easier and faster. We were able to cover more territories and save time on pedestrian surveys because each of us can fix discovered objects. The survey itself was planned from south to north direction because according to our observations most of the rock art motifs were oriented in the southern direction and can be well spotted and seen by surveyors. Objects were fixed according to abbreviations and a minimum set of descriptions. Abbreviations for objects were suggested as follows: RA – rock art object (min. set of description - a type of motifs, number of motifs, preliminary date, and other specifics), K – kurgan, burial mound (min. set of description – diameter/size and height), TK – tash-koroo (stone fencings), W – stone walls/lines/terraces (specifics such as height, one-line stones, etc.).