G EO G R A P H I C

The g e o g ra p h ic in fo rm a tio n sys tem (GIS) has d ra m a tic a lly cha ng ed th e ra te a t w h ic h g e o re fe re n c e d

data can be p ro d u ce d , u p d ate d, an d dissem inated. It has m ade th e p ro d u c tio n and analysis o f ge og ra ph ic
in fo rm a tio n m o re e ffic ie n t, an d has cha ng ed th e w ay th is in fo rm a tio n is p e rc e iv e d a n d used. GISes n o w
p la y an esse ntial ro le in th e m a n a g e m e n t o f la n d re so u rc e s fro m th e local to th e g lo b a l scale, fro m
m u n ic ip a l p la n n in g to n a tu ra l re so u rc e assessm ent.
Th is b o o k p ro v id e s a co ncise a n d p ra c tic a l in tro d u c tio n to th e use o f GIS te c h n o lo g y . G en era l c o n ­
G EO G R A P H IC

A
c e p ts a re in tro d u c e d w ith ex a m p le s th a t sh o w a w id e ra ng e o f a p p lic a tio n s in c lu d in g a g ric u ltu re , lan d
use p la n n in g , m in e ra l e x p lo ra tio n , an d m u n ic ip a l in fo rm a tio n m a n ag e m en t. T hen th e c o m p o n e n ts o f
IN FO R M A T IO N

M a n a g e m e n t P e r s p e c tiv e
a GIS a re d e s c rib e d in th e c o n te x t o f p ra c tic a l in fo rm a tio n re q u ire m e n ts . A c h a p te r is d e v o te d to th e
fu n d a m e n ta ls o f re m o te sensing, w h ic h has b e c o m e a m a jo r GIS d a ta source.
The p ro c e d u re s a n d e q u ip m e n t used fo r d a ta in p u t a n d o u tp u t a re re v ie w e d , h ig h lig h tin g tra d e o ffs
in th e use o f c o m p e tin g te c h n o lo g ie s lik e sca nning a n d m anual d ig itiz in g . D ata q u a lity , d a ta m a na ge ­
m e nt. a n d GIS an alysis fu n c tio n s a re th e n p re s e n te d fro m th e p e rs p e c tiv e o f p ra c tic a l m e th o d s th a t S Y S T EM S :

IN FO R M A T IO N
a re used to g e n e ra te in fo rm a tio n p ro d u c ts . Fin ally, th e proc es s o f GIS im p le m e n ta tio n is ex a m in e d ,
a d d re ssin g such o rg a n iz a tio n a l issues as ne ed s an alysis, system ev a lu a tio n s, th e ju s tific a tio n fo r a c q u ir­
in g a GIS. c o s t-b e n e fit analysis, a n d th e in te g ra tio n o f a GIS in to an o rg a n iz a tio n 's e xistin g in fo rm a tio n
e n v iro n m e n t. P o litica l a n d legal issues in th e c o n tro l o f in fo rm a tio n a n d th e lia b ility fo r its d is s e m in a tio n
o fte n arise in th e o p e ra tio n o f a GIS. These c o n ce rn s a re c le a rly ad d re sse d w ith stra te g ie s fo r m in im iz­
in g th e risks to b o th th e p ro d u c e r a n d user o f GIS p ro d u c ts .
A M a n a g e m e n t P erspective
The a u th o r's p ra c tic a l a p p ro a c h p ro v id e s c o m p re h e n s iv e co ve ra g e o f th e d iv e rs e p ro c e d u re s a n d
te c h n o lo g ie s used in a GIS. The b o o k sh o u ld a p p e a l to p ro fe ssio n a ls a n d d is c ip lin e spe cia lists new to
GIS as w e ll as e xp e rie n c e d users in v o lv e d in th e m a n a g e m e n t o f GIS facilities .

Dr. A ro n o ff re c e iv e d his Ph D. fro m th e U n iv e rs ity o f C a lifo rn ia a t B erke le y. Since 1976 he has be en

a c tiv e ly in v o lv e d in co n su ltin g , resea rch , an d te a ch in g . He has sp e cia lized in th e a p p lic a tio n o f re m o te
St an A r o n o f f
sen sing a n d GIS m e th o d s to such fie ld s as e n v iro n m e n ta l m o n ito rin g , h a b ita t assessm ent, m in e ra l
e x p lo ra tio n , an d la n d use p la n n in g .

S Y S T EM S : QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

WDL
Publications ISBN 0 -9 2 18 0 4 -9 1 -1 FEDCBA
G EO G R A P H I C
IN FO R M A T IO N
S Y S T EM S : RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

St an A r o n o f f
G EO G R A P H I C
IN FO R M A T IO N
S Y S T EM S : RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

A M a n a g e m e n t P erspective QPONMLK

St an A r o n o f f

W D L Pu b licat io n s
O t t a w a , Can ad a
T o jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
M ich a el S ch a cter (1 9 5 2 - 1 9 8 9 ),
m y o ld e s t a n d c lo s e s t f r ie n d , w h o w a s mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQ
a lw a y s a s o u r c e o f e n c o u r a g e m e n t a n d c o u n s e l.
 P R E F A C E jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

This b ook p res en ts th e p rin cip les o f geog ra p h ic in form a tion s ys tem s (G IS). It is d es ign ed
to p r ovid e a com p lete in trod u ction to th e su b ject, a d d res s in g b oth th e tech nical and
orga n iza tion a l issues.
Perh a p s m ore im p orta n tly, th e b ook as a w h ole illu strates an a p p roa ch to using
geogra p h ic in form ation. Th e many exa m p les o f practical G IS a pp lica tions p rovid e th e con ­
text within which a G IS can b e u sefu lly a p p lied . This is n ot a tech n ical b ook d es crib in g
h ow to op er a te a particu la r s ystem or com p a rin g s p ecific p rod u ct offerin gs . Th e prin ­
cip les discu s sed h ere a p p ly to all G iS es.
Th e b ook is a d d res s ed to th e w id e ra n ge o f p ra ctition ers a nd stu dents w h o a re n ow
using or learn in g to u se G IS tech n ology in th eir w ork. Th e b ook 's a p p roa ch is a m a n a ge­
m ent p ers p ective, in th e s en s e that th e G IS is p res en ted as a s ys tem for making m a n a ge­
m ent decis ion s. W h eth er it is planning th e cons tru ction o f a roa d w a y, th e h a rves tin g o f
tim b er, or th e loca tion o f a natu re p res erve, th es e a ctivities can b e b etter a s s es s ed and
m a n a ged u sing G IS m eth od s .
U nusual for a b ook o f this typ e is th e inclu sion o f a section on rem ote sensing. R em ote
sens ing p rovid es a p ow erfu l da ta s ou rce that is often p oorly u n d ers tood b y th os e w h o
cou ld b en efit m os t from its use. In my exp erien ce, th e in form a tion ob ta in a b le from
rem otely s en s ed d a ta is n ot on ly m ore effective w hen u sed within a G IS, b u t th e G IS can
also b e u sed to im p rove th e a ccu racy o f th e rem ote sen sin g analysis.
I w ou ld like to a ck n ow led g e th e frien d s and collea gu es w h o r eview ed ch a p ters o f th e
manu script. Th ey a re: Tom Alfold ii, Ron B row n, Russ C on ga lton , Jack D a n germ on d , Earl
E pstein, A n d rea Fa b b ri, E rnest H ardy, Roy M ea d , Paul Pearl, D onna Peu qu et, M icha el
S cha cter, Randy Th om a s, D ana Tom lin , and R oger Tom lin son .
I w ou ld like to thank th e m an y individu als w h o r eview ed s ection s of th e manu script,
p rod u ced graphics, or h elp ed to ob ta in existing illu strations for u se in th e b ook. Th ey
are: Larry Am os, Bill B rooks, Jean C hartrand, M algosia C helkowska, Richard D ob b ins, N eil
G rant, D on H em en w a y, Karl H u m ph reys , M ike Kirb y, Ken Korp ora l, V la d Kratky, B ob
LaM acchia, A n d ré Leclerc, M ike M a nor, Blair M oxon , D avid N ys trom , E lizab eth O tta w a y,
Simsek Pala, Rick Pierce, Jerry Porter, Brian Rizzo, G ary Rob erts, Vincent Rob inson. G rafton
Ross, R ob ert Ryers on , Pa m ela S allaw ay, B arry S ch n eid er, Régin S im ard, Roy S laney,
Roger S lothow er, Susan Smith, Susan Till, M a rgu erite Trinda de, D a ve W hite, Elaine W ilson,
Brian W right, and Joel Yan.
M a n y individu als a nd orga n iza tion s gen erou s ly con trib u ted illu strations, in s om e ca ses
p rod u cin g th em s p ecia lly for this b ook . Th ey a re in dividu ally a ck n ow led ged in th e figu re
captions. H ow ever, I w ou ld like to make special m ention o f th e O n ta rio C en tre for Rem ote
S en s in g and th e E n viron m en ta l S ys tem s Res ea rch Institute.
Th e O n ta rio C en tre for R em ote S ens ing p rod u ced cu s tom - en h a n ced La nd sa t im a ges
and p r ovid ed financial assistance for th e p rod u ction o f colou r pla tes.
Th e E nviron m ental S ys tem s Res ea rch Institu te p r ovid ed m an y illu strations from th eir
rep orts and map b ooks . I w ou ld like to thank Karen Hu rlbu t at ESRI in Redlands. California,
and C orien G r een w o od a t ESRI C anada in Toron to, O n ta rio, for th eir help in a ss em b lin g
and rep rod u cin g th os e graphics.
vi RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

Tom Lillesand gen erou s ly p rovid ed s evera l illu strations from th e b ook R e m o t e S e n s in g
I m a g e I n t e r p r e t a t i o n (pu b lish ed b y John W iley and S on s Ltd.) that he co- a u th ored with
Ralph Keifer.
In res ea rch in g this b ook I m a d e exten s ive u se of th e lib rary facilities and th e RESO RS
in form a tion retrieva l s ervice of th e C anada C en tre for R em ote S ensing, as w ell as the
CISTI Lib rary of th e N ationa l Research Cou ncil o f C anada. 1 w ou ld like to thank th e staff
o f th es e facilities for th eir assistance.
I w ou ld also like to a ckn ow led ge th os e w h o w ere in volved in the produ ction of th e b ook:
cop y ed itin g w as d on e b y C orien G reen w ood and A u d rey Kaplan, Hal Shu ster and Patrick
W h ite p rovid ed va lu a b le a d vice on p rod u ction m eth od s , jerry Ta ra s ofs ky first s u gges ted
that I w rite this b ook. His sou nd a d vice and en cou ra gem en t w er e grea tly a p p recia ted .
Th e w riting and p rod u ction o f a b ook is a long, hard p roject for which la rge d os es of
m oral s u p p ort a re regu larly n eed ed . M y clos es t frien d , M ich a el S cha cter, w a s on e o f my
m os t a rd en t s u p p orters . H e r eview ed s evera l ch a pters, and p rovid ed much en cou ra ge­
m ent and g ood cou nsel throu gh ou t th e project. Tragically, he w as not a b le to s ee its com ­
p letion. H e w as a rem a rka b le individu al. H e had a solid scientific b a ckgrou n d , a s en sitive
a p p recia tion of th e arts, and th e w is d om to u nd ers ta n d th e in terrela tion s h ip s b etw een
th e tw o. M ich ael w as keen ly in teres ted in th e b ook and d es p ite his illness he in ves ted
a g rea t d ea l of tim e in its p rogres s . I d eep ly a p p recia te his efforts and feel that s om e
o f his thou ghts and a p p roa ch live on in th e b ook.
I w ou ld es p ecia lly like to thank my w ife, A u d rey, w h os e enthu siasm ca rried throu gh
all ph ases of this p roject. S he p rovid ed qu ality control for the graphics, and critical review
of m any a s p ects o f th e b ook prod u ction .

Stan A ron off

O tta w a . April 1989
 F O R E W O R D jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGF

b y Jack D a n germ on d , P res id en t

E n viron m en ta l S ys tem s Res ea rch Institu te
Red la n ds , C alifornia

I b elieve that G eogra p h ic In form ation S ystem (G1S) tech n ology is im p orta n t tod a y b eca u se
it offer s an im p orta n t — p erh a p s even a critically im p orta n t — m ean s o f u n d ers ta n d in g
and d ea lin g w ith s om e o f th e m os t p res s in g p rob lem s o f ou r tim e; p rob lem s like trop ica l
d efores ta tion , th e fu tu re o f th e glob a l clim ate, th e n eed for th e ecologica lly s en s itive
d evelop m en t o f glob a l natu ral res ou rces , acid rain, and ra p id u rb an ization, to n am e b u t
a few . A s Stan A r o n o ff d es crib es in m ore d eta il in this b ook , C IS tech n ology h elps us
orga n ize th e d a ta a b ou t such p rob lem s and u nd ers ta n d th eir spatial as socia tion s, and
p r ovid es a p ow erfu l m ean s for a n a lyzin g and s yn th es izin g in form a tion a b ou t th em . I look
forw a rd to th e d a y w hen G IS tech n olog y will b e p a rt o f th e d ecis ion s u p p ort en viron ­
m en t o f e ve r yo n e w h o m a kes d ecis ion s tha t a ffect eith er th e natu ral w orld or th e w orld
w e h a ve b u ilt — from d ecis ion s a b ou t loca l a rea s to d ecis ion s a b ou t th e ea rth as a w h ole.
For that d a y to com e, G IS tech n olog y mu st b e m ore w id ely know n, m ore w id ely
u n d ers tood , and m ore w id ely a p p recia ted . This b ook can p la y an im p orta n t role in that
p roces s .
Th e b ook is a im ed at b oth u sers a nd m a n a gers o f G IS tech n ology, and assu m es that
th e rea d er has n o p reviou s b a ckgrou n d in th e field . Th e b ook is d es ign ed to p r ovid e a
n ovice u ser or m a n a ger with a logica lly com p lete in trod u ction to w ha t sh e or he n eed s
to kn ow in o r d er to d ea l effectively w ith G IS tech n ology. For such p ers on s it shou ld p r o­
vid e a real s ervice.
M a n a gers will fin d in th e b ook a b r oa d in trod u ction to th e field that th ey can eith er
rea d throu gh com p letely, u se for qu ick referen ce, or u se as a w a y o f gettin g into th e cu r­
ren t tech nical litera tu re sin ce th e b ook has a g o o d s election o f cita tion s to recen t w ritin g
in th e field . Th e orga n iza tion o f th e ch a p ters follow s th e s eq u en ce o f s tep s tha t m os t
orga n iza tion s w ou ld g o throu gh in con s id erin g, s electin g, and im p lem en tin g a G IS. Th e
ch a p ter on "Im p lem en tin g a G IS " will b e es p ecia lly va lu a b le for th os e w h o a re in th e
p roces s o f a cqu irin g G IS tech n ology. It p r ovid es g o o d a d vice a nd id en tifies m an y o f th e
pitfalls that a re h id d en in that p roces s .
Th e ch a p ter on rem ote sens ing is an a p p rop ria te and n eces s a ry p a rt o f this b ook , given
th e es s en tia l r ole that rem ote sen sin g is n ow p la yin g in d a ta ga th erin g, rectifica tion , and
u p d a tin g in m a n y G IS a p p lica tion s. This is es p ecia lly s o since m ore and m ore rem ote
sen sin g d a ta a re b ein g u sed ch iefly within th e con text o f G IS es. Th e ch a p ter p rovid es
a ver y g o o d in trod u ction to m an y fa cets o f rem ote s en s in g and p la ces rem ote sen sin g
clea rly in th e con tex t of G eogra p h ic In form a tion S ys tem s tech n ology as a w h ole.
Th e b ook is u p - to- d ate, discu sses con cern s critical to m a n a gers, and d o es n ’t h es ita te
to dea l with con trovers ia l topics. A la rge selection o f very useful illustrations, which rea d ers
may w ant to retu rn to again and again, s u p p lem en t and illu minate th e text. Actu al exa m p les
o f G IS p rojects , w hich also in d ica te th e ra n ge o f G IS a p p lica tion s , a re cited exten s ively
th rou gh ou t th e b ook .
viii RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
C IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

Th e b ook has a clear, crisp w riting style that m a n a ges to b e com p reh en s ive and th orou gh
w ithou t b ein g cu m b ers om e or overw h elm in g to p ers on s n ew to th e field. Th e w ell- b a la nced
a ccou n ts o f top ics , es p ecia lly con trovers ia l top ics , m a y b e rea d with p rofit even b y
ex p er ien ced p rofes s ion a ls in th e field . In its trea tm en t o f m an y top ics , th e b o ok p r ovid es
w is e a d vice o ffe r e d from th e p er s p ective o f ex p erien ce. S evera l ch a p ters a ls o con vey
s om e o f th e h is tory o f G1S tech n ology.
Stan A r o n o ff has w ritten a ver y g o o d b ook a b ou t an im p orta n t top ic. If it is w id ely rea d ,
I b e lie ve it can m a ke a d iffer en ce in th e qu a lity o f life on this p la n et.
1 h op e tha t will h a p p en .
 L IS T O F C O L O U R P L A T E S jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPON

Plate 1 Fores t C over M a p for th e O cala N ational Forest, Florida.

Pla te 2 C om b ining V ector G raphics and Raster Im ages.

Pla te 3 S atellite Telem etry to M a p th e M igra tion Pa ttern s o f

C arib ou in N orth ern Alaska.

Pla te 4 M in eral E xplora tion for Tu ngsten.

Pla te 5a Pres en t E coclim atic Provin ces o f C anada.

Pla te 5b P red icted E coclim atic Provin ces of C anada.

Pla te 6a C olou r C om p os ite Im a ge o f th e Toron to A rea Prod u ced

from La ndsat TM B ands 1, 2, and 3.

Pla te 6b C olou r C om p os ite Im a ge o f th e Toron to A rea Prod u ced

from La ndsat TM B ands 2 , 3 , and 4.

Pla te 6c C olou r C om p os ite Im a ge o f th e Toron to A rea P rod u ced

from La ndsat TM B ands 3, 4, and 5.

Pla te 7 S PO T C olou r C om p os ite Im a ge of O tta w a , O n tario.

Plate 8 Top ogra p h ic M a p P rod u ced from S PO T Im agery.

Plate 9 S PO T C olou r C om p os ite O rth o- Im a ge.

Pla te 10 C olou r C om p os ite AVFIRR Im a ge o f W es tern C anada.

Pla te 1 1 Land C over M a p Prod u ced from La ndsat M S S D ata.

Pla te 12 C lassification of Pota to C rop la n d U sing Landsat TM D ata.

Pla te 13 P ers p ective V iew G en era ted from a D igital S a tellite Im age
and D igital Terra in D ata.

Pla te I 4 M a p o f C h loroph yll C on cen tra tion in San Francisco B ay

Prod u ced from Landsat-5 TM D ata.

Plate 15 Th erm a l Infrared Im a gery to D etect H ea t Loss from

Buildings.
C IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e r s p e c t iv e
 T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLK

PRE FAC E ............................................................................................................ v

FO RE W O RD ........................................................................................................ vii
L IS T O F C O L O U R P L A T E S ................................................................................ ix
TA B L E O F C O N TE N T S ...................................................................................... xi

1. A N IN TR O D U C TIO N TO G E O G R A P H IC IN F O R M A T IO N S Y S TE M S 1
IN TRO D U C TIO N ............................................................................................ 1
G IS O V E R V IE W .............................................................................................. 1
E XAM PLE S O F G IS A P P L IC A T IO N S .............................................................. 4
Agricu ltu re and Land U se Planning .......................................................... 4
Fores try and W ildlife M a n a gem en t .......................................................... 7
A rch a eolog y .............................................................................................. 13
G e o l o g y ...................................................................................................... 14
M u nicipal Ap p lica tion s .............................................................................. 16
G lob a l S ca le A p p lic a tio n s .......................................................................... 20
E cologica l E ffects o f In crea sed A tm os p h eric C arb on D io x id e .............. 20
Th e C O RIN E S ystem — A G IS for th e E u ropean C o m m u n ity................ 21
G IS Ap p lica tion s at th e U nited N a tions E n viron m en t Progra m ............ 24
C O N C LU S IO N ................................................................................................ 26
R E F E R E N C E S .................................................................................................. 27

2. W H A T IS A G E O G R A P H IC IN F O R M A T IO N S Y S TE M ? ................................ 31
IN TRO D U C TIO N ............................................................................................ 31
U S IN G A G IS FO R D E C IS IO N - M AKIN G U N D E R U N C E R T A IN T Y .................... 33
G ettin g th e Releva n t D ata ........................................................................ 35
Th e D ata O rganiza tion .............................................................................. 36
Th e D ecis ion M od el .................................................................................. 37
Valid C r ite r ia .............................................................................................. 37
G E O RE FE RE N C E D D A TA .............................................................................. 38
W H A T IS A G IS? ............................................................................................ 39
Land Inform ation S ystem s ........................................................................ 40
Th e C om p on en ts of a G IS ........................................................................ 42
D ata In p u t.............................................................................................. 42
D ata M a n a gem en t ................................................................................ 42
D ata M anipu lation and A n a ly s is ............................................................ 42
D ata O u tpu t .......................................................................................... 43
W h y U se a G IS? ........................................................................................ 43
Th e G IS and th e O rganiza tion .................................................................. 43
C O N C LU S IO N ................................................................................................ 44
R E F E R E N C E S .................................................................................................. 44
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3. R E M O TE S E N S IN G ........................................................................................ 47
IN TR O D U C TIO N .............................................................................................. 47
A B RIE F H IS TO R Y O F RE M O TE S E N S IN G ..................................................... 48
S IX P O P U L A R M IS C O N C E P TIO N S A B O U T RE M O TE S E N S IN G .................. 51
A C O N TE X T FO R U S IN G RE M O TE LY S E N S E D D A T A ................................... 59
TH E A R T A N D S C IE N C E O F RE M O TE S E N S IN G ........................................... 62
E n ergy S ou rces a n d Ra d ia tion P r in c ip le s ................................................... 64
S en s or S ys tem s C om m on ly U s ed in R em ote S en s in g ............................... 68
P h otogra p h ic C a m era s ............................................................................ 68
E lectro- O p tica l S ca nn ers ........................................................................ 72
L a n d s a t................................................................................................ 76
S P O T .................................................................................................... 81
U ses o f La n d s a t a nd S P O T D ata ....................................................... 83
O cea n M on itorin g S a tellites — Th e C oa stal Z on e C olou r S cann er. . 84
M eteorolog ica l S a tellites — N O A A a nd G O E S ................................. 85
M icr ow a ve .............................................................................................. 86
R em ote S en s in g Ana lysis E xa m p les ........................................................... 92
M ea s u rem en t A n a ly s e s ............................................................................ 92
C lassification A n a lys es ............................................................................ 93
E stim ation A n a lys es ................................................................................ 96
RE M O TE S E N S IN G A N D G E O G R A PH IC IN F O R M A TIO N S YS TE M S ............ 100
R E F E R E N C E S .................................................................................................... 100

4. D A T A IN P U T A N D O U T P U T ........................................................................ 103
IN TR O D U C TIO N .............................................................................................. 103
D A TA IN P U T .................................................................................................... 103
K eyb oa rd E ntry and C oord in a te G eom etr y P roced u res ........................... 105
M anu al D ig itizin g .......................................................................................... 105
S can ning ...................................................................................................... 106
S can ning V ers u s M anu al D ig itizin g ......................................................... 107
D irect U se o f Ra ster S ca n n ed Im a ges ................................................... 108
R em otely S en s ed D ata ................................................................................ 110
Existing D igital D ata .................................................................................... Ill
B as e C a rtogra p h ic D ata .......................................................................... 112
G ra ph ics F o r m a t.................................................................................. 113
Top ologica lly- S tru ctu red F orm a t ....................................................... 113
N atu ral R es ou rce D ata S ets ................................................................... 114
La nd U se, Land C over, a nd A s s ocia ted D ata ................................... 115
C en s u s - Rela ted D ata S e t s ........................................................................ 115
D ata A va ila b ility .................................................................................. 116
G B F/D IM E -Files a n d TIG E R Files ....................................................... 117
C ARTLIB D a t a ...................................................................................... 118
A r ea M a s ter File D ata ........................................................................ 119
D igital E leva tion D a t a .............................................................................. 121
A va ila b ility o f D TM D ata ................................................................... 123
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D A TA O U TP U T ................................................................................................ 123
H a rd cop y D e v ic e s ....................................................................................... 124
S oftcop y D evices ........................................................................................ 126
R E F E R E N C E S .................................................................................................... 131

5. D A T A Q U A L IT Y .............................................................................................. 133
IN TRO D U C TIO N .............................................................................................. 133
C O M P O N E N TS O F D A TA Q U A L IT Y ............................................................... 135
M icro L evel C om p on en ts ........................................................................... 135
Position a l A c c u r a c y ................................................................................. 135
A ttrib u te A ccu ra cy ................................................................................. 135
Logica l C o n s is te n c y................................................................................. 136
Res olu tion ................................................................................................ 137
M a cro L evel C o m p o n e n ts ........................................................................... 138
C om p leten es s ......................................................................................... 138
Tim e ........................................................................................................ 140
L in ea ge .................................................................................................... 140
U s a ge C o m p o n e n ts ...................................................................................... 141
Acces s ib ility ............................................................................................ 141
D irect and In d irect C osts ....................................................................... 141
S O U RC E S O F E RRO R ..................................................................................... 141
A N O TE A B O U T AC C U RAC Y ......................................................................... 144
An E x a m p le .................................................................................................. 144
A ccu ra cy Tes t Ass u m p tion s ....................................................................... 147
C o n c lu s io n .................................................................................................... 147
R E F E R E N C E S .................................................................................................... 148

6. D A T A M A N A G E M E N T .................................................................................... 151
IN TRO D U C TIO N .............................................................................................. 151
TH E D A TA B AS E A P P R O A C H ....................................................................... 151
A d va n ta g es o f th e D ata B ase A p p roa ch ................................................... 154
D is a d va n ta ges o f th e D ata B ase A p p roa ch ............................................... 154
TH RE E C LAS S IC D A TA M O D E LS ................................................................... 155
Record s , Fields, an d Keys ......................................................................... 155
Th e H ierarchical D ata M od el ..................................................................... 156
Th e N etw ork D ata M o d e l ........................................................................... 157
Th e Rela tiona l D ata M o d e l ......................................................................... 158
Q u ery La n gu a ges for th e Th ree Classic D ata M od els .............................. 161
TH E N A TU RE O F G E O G RA PH IC D A TA ......................................................... 162
G eogra p h ic Position ................................................................................... 162
A ttrib u tes .................................................................................................... 163
S patial Rela tions h ip ................................................................................... 163
Tim e ............................................................................................................ 163
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S P A TIA L D A TA M O D E LS ................................................................................ 164

Th e Ra s ter D ata M o d el .............................................................................. 166
Ru n - Len gth E n cod in g .............................................................................. 168
Q u a d trees ................................................................................................. 168
Th e V e c to r D ata M o d el .............................................................................. 172
Th e S p a gh etti D ata M o d e l ...................................................................... 173
Th e Top olog ica l M o d e l ............................................................................ 174
Tra d e- O ffs o f th e To p olog ica l M o d e l ................................................. 177
Th e Tria n gu la ted Irregu la r N etw ork (TIN ) ............................................. 177
D A TA B AS E S FO R G IS: M A N A G IN G S P A TIA L A N D A TTR IB U TE D A TA
TO G E TH E R ....................................................................................................... 180
O rga n izin g G eog ra p h ic In form a tion W ithin a D B M S ................................. 181
Lim ita tion s o f G en era l P u rp os e D B M S es fo r G IS A p p lica tion s ................ 182
Practical A p p r oa ch es U s ed to Im p lem en t a G IS ....................................... 183
C O N C L U S IO N ................................................................................................... 186
R E F E R E N C E S ..................................................................................................... 186

7. G IS A N A L Y S IS F U N C T IO N S .......................................................................... 189
IN TR O D U C TIO N ............................................................................................... 189
O R G A N IZ IN G G E O G R A PH IC D A TA FO R A N A L Y S IS ..................................... 191
D ata L a y e r s ................................................................................................... 193
Pa rtition in g th e C over a g e A rea .................................................................. 193
A C LA S S IF IC A TIO N O F G IS A N A L Y S IS F U N C TIO N S ................................... 195
M A IN TE N A N C E A N D A N A L Y S IS O F TH E S P A TIA L D A TA ........................... 195
Form a t Tra n s form a tion s .............................................................................. 197
G eom etr ic Tra n s form a tion .......................................................................... 197
Regis tra tion b y R ela tive Pos ition ............................................................ 197
Regis tra tion b y A b s olu te Pos ition .......................................................... 198
Tra n s form a tion s B etw een G eom etr ic P rojection s ..................................... 198
Th e La titu d e/ Lon gitu d e S ys tem .............................................................. 201
C on fla tion ..................................................................................................... 201
E d ge M a tch in g ............................................................................................. 202
E diting F u n c tio n s ........................................................................................... 203
Lin e C oord in a te Th inning ............................................................................ 204
M A IN TE N A N C E A N D A N A L Y S IS O F N O N - S P A TIA L A TTR IB U TE D A TA ... 204
A ttrib u te E ditin g F u n c tio n s .......................................................................... 204
A ttrib u te Q u ery Fu n ctions .......................................................................... 205
IN TE G RA TE D A N A L Y S IS O F S P A TIA L A N D A TTR IB U TE D A T A .................. 206
Retrieva l, C lassification, a n d M ea s u rem en t F u n c tio n s ............................... 206
R etrieva l O p e r a tio n s ................................................................................ 206
C la ssification a n d G en era liza tion ............................................................ 206
M ea s u rem en t Fu n ctions .......................................................................... 207
O ver la y O p e r a tio n s ...................................................................................... 208
N eig h b ou r h ood O p era tion s ........................................................................ 211
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S e a r c h ......................................................................................................... 212
L in e- in - P olygon a n d P oin t- in - P olygon O p er a tion s ................................. 214
T o p o g r a p h ic Fu n ction s ............................................................................. 216
Th ies s en P olyg on s .................................................................................... 218
In terp ola tion .............................................................................................. 218
C on tou r G en era tion .................................................................................. 220
C on n ectivity Fu n ction s .................................................................................. 220
C on tigu ity M ea s u res .................................................................................. 222
P r o x im ity .................................................................................................... 223
N e tw o r k Fu n ction s .................................................................................... 225
S p rea d Fu n ction s ...................................................................................... 228
S eek o r S trea m Fu n ction s ....................................................................... 233
In tervis ib ility F u n c tio n s ............................................................................. 233
Illu m ination ................................................................................................ 236
P er s p ec tive V iew ...................................................................................... 237
O U TP U T F O R M A TTIN G .................................................................................... 237
M a p A n n ota tion ............................................................................................ 238
T ex t L a b els .................................................................................................... 238
Tex tu re P a ttern s a n d Lin e S tyles ................................................................. 239
G ra p h ic S y m b o l s ............................................................................................ 239
C A R TO G R A P H IC M O D E L L IN G : A G IS A N A L Y S IS P R O C E D U R E .................... 240
A Tra n s m is s ion Lin e Pla n n in g E xa m p le ...................................................... 243
R E F E R E N C E S ...................................................................................................... 246

8. IM P L E M E N T IN G A G IS .................................................................................... 249
IN TR O D U C TIO N ................................................................................................ 249
P H A S E 1: A W A R E N E S S ................................................................................... 252
A p p r o a c h e s to In trod u cin g th e N e w T ec h n o lo g y ..................................... 252
Th e Im p etu s fo r A cq u irin g a G IS ................................................................. 253
P H A S E 2: D E V E L O P IN G S YS TE M R E Q U IR E M E N TS ..................................... 254
P H A S E 3: E V A L U A TIO N O F A L TE R N A TIV E S Y S T E M S ................................. 255
P H A S E 4: S YS TE M JU S TIFIC ATIO N A N D D E V E L O P M E N T O F A N
IM P L E M E N TA TIO N P L A N ............................................................... 259
Ju stifying a G IS A c q u is itio n ........................................................................... 259
C os t- B en efit A n a lys es ............................................................................... 259
Th e Ju stification fo r C ollectin g G eog r a p h ic In form a tion ......................... 261
Th e D ata B a s e as an A s s et ..................................................................... 262
Th e Im p lem en ta tion Plan ............................................................................. 262
T ec h n o lo g y ................................................................................................ 262
D ata B a se D e v e lo p m e n t........................................................................... 264
P e o p l e ........................................................................................................ 265
P H A S E 5: S YS TE M A C Q U IS ITIO N A N D S T A R T - U P ........................................ 266
C on tra ctin g .................................................................................................... 266
S ta r t- U p .......................................................................................................... 267
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PH A S E 6: TH E O P E R A TIO N A L S YS TE M ....................................................... 268

W H O IS RE S PO N S IB LE ? ................................................................................. 268
Fou r Issu es o f Res p on s ib ility ..................................................................... 271
A ccu ra cy o f C o n te n t............................................................................... 271
A ccu ra cy o f C on text ............................................................................... 272
D ata Form a t ............................................................................................ 274
P rob lem s in C om b in in g D ata S ets ......................................................... 275
P reven tive M e a s u r e s ................................................................................... 276
V erifica tion o f D ata Q u ality b y th e O riginal P rod u cer ........................ 276
V erifica tion o f D ata Q u ality b y D isciplin e E xp erts .............................. 276
S ettin g and M a in tain in g D ata Q u ality S ta n d a r d s ................................... 277
In trod u cin g C h a nges in D ata A va ila b ility ............................................... 277
C onclu sion .................................................................................................... 277
R E F E R E N C E S .................................................................................................... 278

9. C O N C L U S IO N ....................................................................... 281
A N ew W a y o f Lookin g at G eogra p h ic D ata ............................................. 281
G IS T e c h n o lo g y ............................................................................................ 282
D ata B ase C r e a tio n ..................................................................................... 282
O vercom in g Institu tional B a r r ie r s ............................................................... 283
N e ed for Tra in ed Individu als ..................................................................... 284
Lia b ility ........................................................................................................ 284
Th e Political N a tu re o f a G IS ..................................................................... 285
R E F E R E N C E S .................................................................................................... 286

A P P E N D IX A : A b b r e via tio n s fo r U n its o f M ea s u r e ......................................... 287

A P P E N D IX B: D a ta S ou rces ............................................................................... 289
IN D E X .................................................................................................................... 291
 1. A N IN T R O D U C T IO N
IN F O R M A T IO N
This b ook is a d d res s ed to th os e u sers w h o
I N T R O D U C T I O N jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G eog ra p h ic in form a tion s ys tem s (h erea fter
a b b r evia ted to G IS) a re com p u ter- b a s ed
s ys tem s th a t a re u sed to s tore and m a n ip ­
u late g eog ra p h ic in form a tion . This tech ­
n olog y has d e ve lo p e d s o ra p id ly o ve r th e
p a s t tw o d eca d es th a t it is n ow a ccep ted as
an ess en tia l tool for th e effective u se of
g eog ra p h ic in form a tion .
Th e recen t and w id es p rea d in trod u ction
o f th e G IS has cr ea ted a s u d d en n eed for
u sers o f g eog ra p h ic in form a tion to b ec o m e
k n ow led g ea b le a b ou t this tech n ology. M a n ­
a gers within pu b lic and p riva te organ izations
a re b ein g ca lled u pon to m a ke d ecis ion s
a b ou t th e in trod u ction o f G IS tech n olog y
a nd to esta b lish p olicies for its use. Politi­
cians a re b ein g a s ked to s u p p ort ex p en s ive
p rogra m s to con ver t m a p p ed d a ta into
digita l form su ita b le for u se w ith a G IS.
S tu dents and ed u ca tors w h o u se geogra p h ic
in form a tion a re ga in in g a cces s to G IS
tech n olog y th a t can b e u sed to in crea s e th e
d ep th a n d b rea d th o f th eir a na lyses .
Th e tech n olog y has p r ovid ed an excitin g
p oten tia l for g eog ra p h ic in form a tion to b e
u sed m ore s ys tem a tica lly a n d b y a g r ea ter
diversity o f disciplines than ever b efore. H ow ­
ever . th e ea s e w ith w hich a G IS can m a n ip ­
ulate geogra p h ic information has also crea ted
a m a jor difficu lty. U sers u nfam iliar w ith G IS
tech n iqu es or th e n atu re o f g eog ra p h ic
in form a tion can just as ea sily con d u ct invalid
a n a lys es as va lid on es . V a lid or not, th e
resu lts h a ve th e air o f p recis ion a s s ocia ted
w ith s op h is tica ted com p u ter gra p h ics and
volu m es o f nu m erical tab u la tions . A b etter
u n d ers ta n d in g o f G IS tech n olog y b y u sers,
m a n a gers , and d ecis ion - m a kers is cru cial to
th e a p p r op r ia te u se o f th e tech n ology.
TO G E O G R A P H I C mlkjihgfedcbaZ
S Y S T E M S FEDCBA
may h a ve no p reviou s ex p er ien ce with
compu ter-b ased geographic information handl­
ing b u t w h o n eed to u se or d irect th e u se
of G IS tech nology. It p rovid es a concise intro­
du ction to th e fu ndamentals o f GIS, th e ca pa ­
b ilities o f th es e sys tem s , a nd s om e o f th e
issu es that aris e w h en a G IS is im p lem en ted .
This first ch a p ter in trod u ces g eog ra p h ic
in form ation system s b y d es crib in g rep res en ­
ta tive a p p lica tion s for w hich a G IS can b e
su ccessfu lly u sed. Th e exa m p les span m any
discip lines, inclu ding such w id ely- a ccep ted
a p p lica tion s as mu nicipal fa cilities m a n a ge­
m en t, agricu ltu re, and fores try. S evera l
m ore unusual applications a re also presented,
such as p red ictin g th e loca tion o f a rch a e­
ologica l sites or m a p p in g pla nt distrib u tions
from m u seu m record s . Th es e s a m p le a p p li­
cations a re n ot d eta iled p roject descriptions;
ra th er th ey p res en t id ea s a n d con cep ts to
give a sen se o f th e ra n ge of G IS applications.
Th es e ex a m p les d o, thou gh, rep res en t
a p p lica tion s th a t h a ve b een im p lem en ted
operationally or dem ons tra ted and describ ed
in th e litera tu re. M o r e d eta iled discu ssions
o f th es e top ics a n d oth ers can b e fou n d
th rou gh ou t this b o ok a nd in th e referen ces
lis ted at th e en d o f th e ch a p ters .
G I S O V ER V I EW
A G IS is d es ign ed for th e collection , s tora ge,
a nd analysis o f ob jects a nd p h en om en a
w h er e g eog ra p h ic loca tion is an im p orta n t
ch a ra cteris tic or critical to th e analysis. For
exa m p le, th e loca tion o f a fire station or th e
loca tion s w h er e soil eros ion is m os t s e ver e
a re key con s id era tion s in u sing this in form a ­
tion . In ea ch ca se, w h a t it is a nd w h er e it is
mu st b e ta ken in to accou nt.
2 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
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W hile handling and ana lyzing data that a re
referen ced to a g eog ra p h ic loca tion a re k ey
capab ilities of a G IS, th e p ow er o f th e system
is m os t a p p a ren t w h en th e qu a n tity o f d a ta
in volved is to o la rg e to b e h a n d led m anu ­
ally. Th er e m a y b e h u n d red s or th ou s a n d s
o f fea tu res to b e con s id ered , or th ere m a y
b e h u n d red s o f fa ctors a s s ocia ted with ea ch
fea tu re or loca tion . Th es e d a ta m a y exis t as
maps, tab les of data, or even as lists of names
a nd a d d res s es . Such la rg e volu m es o f d a ta
a re n ot efficien tly h a n d led u sing manu al
m eth od s . H o w e ver , w h en th os e d a ta h a ve
b een inpu t to a C IS , th ey can b e ea s ily
manipu lated and analyzed in w a ys that w ou ld
b e to o cos tly, to o tim e- con s u m in g, or p ra c­
tically impossib le to d o using manual methods.
Th e a p p lica tion s a re d ivers e, for ex a m p le:
• fin d in g th e coin cid en ce o f fa ctors , such as
th e a rea s with a certain com b in a tion o f soil
typ e and veg eta tion , or th e a rea s in a city
with a high crime rate and low incom e level;
• u p d a tin g g eog r a p h ic in form a tion , such as
for es t co ve r m a p s to s h ow recen t loggin g,
or u p d a tin g land u se m a ps to s h ow recen t
con vers ion o f agricu ltu ral land to res id en ­
tial d evelop m en t:
• m a n a gin g m u nicipal s ervices , such as
s ch ed u lin g m a in ten a n ce a ctivities, n otify­
ing loca l res id en ts o f re- zon in g a p p lica ­
tions, or a ss ign in g p olice p a trol a rea s .
Th e n u m b er a n d typ e o f a p p lica tion s a nd
analyses that can b e p er form ed b y a G IS a re

A n In tr o d u c tio n to G e o g ra p h ic In fo r m a tio n S y s te m s mlkjihgfed
a s la rg e a n d d iver s e as th e a va ila b le g e o ­
gra p h ic d a ta sets.
D es p ite th e a n a lytica l p ow er of
tech n olog y, a G IS, like a n y o th er s ys tem ,
d o es n ot a nd ca n n ot exis t on its ow n ; it mu st
exis t in a con text. T h er e m u st b e an o r g a ­
n iza tion o f p eo p le, fa cilities , a n d eq u ip m en t
res p on s ib le fo r im p lem en tin g a n d m a in ta in ­
ing th e G IS. M o r eover , tha t orga n iza tion , like
a n y orga n iza tion , m u s t h a ve a m a n d a te —
a rea s on to exis t — a n d th e res ou rces to
s a tis fy th a t m a n d a te. W ith ou t th e orga n iza ­
tion a l con text, it b e c o m e s u n clea r w h y th e
con s id era b le ex p en s e o f im p lem en tin g a G IS
has b e e n m a d e, w h o s h ou ld con trol th e
facility, a n d h ow its su ccess or fa ilu re shou ld
b e ju d ged .
U ltim a tely, a G IS is u sed to p r od u ce in for­
m a tion th a t is n e e d e d b y a u ser, a clien t.
Th a t clien t m a y b e a p ers on or a g r ou p o f
p eo p le. Th ey m ay b e m em b er s o f th e pu b lic
o r rep res en ta tives o f an orga n iza tion w ithin
gover n m en t or p riva te indu stry. M os t im p or­
tantly, th e in form a tion requ ired b y th e clien t
p r o vid e s th e fu n d a m en ta l con tex t in w hich
th e G IS sh ou ld fu n ction . T o b e u sefu l to th e
clien t, in form a tion m u st b e o f th e righ t kind
a nd qu ality, p res en ted in an a p p r op r ia te for­
m a t fo r th e clien t to u se, a n d b e a va ila b le
a t th e righ t tim e. Th e in form a tion in a G IS
is p res en ted in tw o b a sic form s: as m a p s and
a s ta b les . F or ex a m p le, a m a p can s h ow
w h e r e pa rticu la r typ e s o f la n d u se or a ctiv­
ities occu r. O n th e o th er h an d, in form a tion
on h ow mu ch o f a res ou r ce exis ts can b e
g iven in ta b u la r form . F or ex a m p le, th e
qu a n tity a n d typ es o f tim b er in a fo r es t can
b e s h ow n as a ta b le o f qu a n tities b y tr e e
s p ecies . In th e en d , th e p e r fo r m a n ce o f a
G IS is ju d ged b y th os e w h o w ill u se th e
in form a tion it p rod u ces — th e clien t.
A s a res u lt of th e con tex t in w hich a G IS
o p er a tes , in trod u cin g a G IS is a mu ch la rger
ta sk than a d d in g a n ew o ffic e m a ch in e. Th e
G IS w ill fu n d a m en ta lly ch a n g e th e
in form a tion flow s w ith in th e orga n iza tion
a n d b e tw e e n orga n iza tion s . Th is ch a n g e is
3 jihgfe
orga n iza tion a l m o r e than it is tech n ica l. A
G IS can p r od u ce in form a tion mu ch m o r e
this qu ickly, a ch ieve h igh er m a p p in g s ta n d a rd s ,
and k ee p d a ta m ore cu rren t than was
p r eviou s ly d on e. But, fa r m o r e fu n d a m en ­
tal to th e orga n iza tion a r e th e issu es o f w h o
has a cces s to th e in form a tion , a n d w h a t
p o w e r th os e p er s on s ex ercis e in its a na lysis
a n d d is trib u tion .
F or ex a m p le, a m u nicipa l p u b lic w ork s
d ep a r tm en t m a y m ain tain th e m a p s o f th e
city’s w a te r and s ew a g e fa cilities . Th ey
w ou ld b e res p on s ib le fo r th e qu a lity o f th e
d a ta a n d w ou ld a ls o con trol a cces s to th em .
A n y oth er d ep a r tm en t w a n tin g to u se th os e
m a p s w ou ld h a ve to firs t con s u lt th e p u b lic
w ork s d ep a r tm en t. A s a resu lt, th e p u b lic
w ork s d ep a r tm en t w ou ld b e m a d e a w a r e o f
a ctivities con d u cted b y oth er d ep a rtm en ts .
Th e p r oces s o f th e en g in eer in g d ep a r tm en t
req u es tin g m a p s cou ld b e an in form a l w a y
for th e pu b lic w orks d ep a rtm en t to b e a w a re
o f a n y con s tru ction a ctivities in th e city.
H o w e ve r , if a G IS w e r e im p lem en ted a n d
th e m a p d a ta b e c a m e p a rt o f th e on - lin e
d a ta b a s e, th e d ep a r tm en t cou ld los e con ­
trol o ve r a cces s to th e d a ta a n d its u se. A n y
d ep a r tm en t cou ld u se th e m a p s w ith ou t th e
k n o w led g e o f th e p u b lic w orks d ep a rtm en t.
Th e in form a l flo w o f in form a tion a b ou t con ­
s tru ction a ctivities w ou ld cea s e a n d con trol
o f th e in form a tion w ou ld no lon g er b e in th e
h a n d s o f th e p u b lic w ork s d ep a r tm en t.
In them s elves, th es e organizational changes
a re n eith er g o o d n or b a d . If th e ch a n ges a re
anticipated, then su itable information m a n a ge­
m en t con trols can b e p u t in p la ce. Th erein
lies the challenge. For a G IS to m eet the n eed s
o f an organization, th e information flow s within
th e orga n iza tion m u s t b e exp licitly d efin ed .
M an y o f th e m ost im portant information flow s
a re th rou gh in form a l n etw ork s . Im p lem en t­
ing a G IS can disru pt th es e informal networks,
ch a ngin g w h o has con trol of th e in form a tion ,
way a n d in s o d o in g ch a n gin g w h o has p o w er .
Issu es r ela ted to th e flow a n d con trol o f
in form a tion a r e la rg ely m a n a g em en t issu es
4 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

a n d m u st b e d e a lt w ith a s su ch. T h ey a re d e v e lo p e d as a sta tis tica l r ep or tin g a ctivity

a d d res s ed in C h a p ter 8, I m p le m e n t in g a G IS . ra th er than a m a p p in g on e. Th e a s s es s m en t
T h e fo llow in g s ection p r o vid e s an o ve r v ie w o f m a jor agricultural a rea s is a w ell- d evelop ed
o f th e ra n g e o f a p p lica tion s to w h ich G IS s cien ce ca rried ou t b y n a tion a l a g en cies
m eth o d s a r e b e in g a p p lied . FEDCBA u sing p roced u res th a t w ere d e v e lo p e d
b e fo r e p o w er fu l G IS s o ftw a r e b eca m e

EX A M P L ES O F G I S A P P L I C A T I O N S a va ila b le. M a p p in g a ctivities a r e g en er a lly

focu s s ed on s oils a n d a gricu ltu ra l s u ita b ility
m a p p in g. Th ey a re im p orta n t m a n d a tes
A G R IC U L T U R E A N D L A N D USE a s s ign ed to n a tion a l a n d reg ion a l g o ve r n ­
P L A N N IN G m en t orga n iza tion s .
M a n y o f th e orga n iza tion s r es p on s ib le fo r
Agricu ltu re, th e p rod u ction o f food , is o f such
m on itorin g a gricu ltu ra l la n d u se h a ve n ow
n a tion a l a n d e c o n o m ic im p or ta n ce th a t it is
a d op ted G IS m eth od s. Land u se and w ea th er
usually b etter in ven to ied and m on itored than
oth er natural resou rces. Indu strialized nations d a ta p r o vid e d from s a tellites and field
m ea s u rem en ts a s w ell as p rod u ction in for­
h a ve w e ll- d e ve lo p e d n a tion a l sta tistical
rep ortin g s ervices th at s u rvey fa rm ers , m on i­ m a tion fr om p r eviou s yea r s a r e a n a lyzed

tor g r ow in g con d ition s , m on itor annu al p r o ­ to g e th e r to p r ed ict fo r ea ch reg ion th e

du ction, and p red ict national and international e x p e c te d yield o f o n e o r m o r e crop s . O ften

a gricu ltu ra l m a r k et d em a n d a n d s u p p ly. th e p r o c e d u r e is r e p e a te d a t regu la r in ter­

P r iva te co m p a n ies a r e a ls o in volved in va ls th rou g h ou t th e g r o w in g s ea s on as co n ­

d ir ect c r o p in ven to r y a n d m on itorin g. Th e d ition s ch a n ge. S u ch cr op s a s rice, w h ea t,

C R O P C A S T r e p o r tin g s e r vice o ffe r e d by ca n ola , p o ta to , co co a , and c o ffe e a re

E arth S a tellite C o r p or a tio n is o n e ex a m p le m o n ito r ed u sing th e s e tech n iqu es .

(M er r it et. al. 1984). M a n y fo o d p r od u ct In a d d ition to c r o p p rod u ction , G IS p r o ­

com p a n ies th a t a r e d e p e n d e n t on la rg e ced u r es h a ve b e e n u s ed to eva lu a te m a n ­

volu m es o f a gricu ltu ra l p rod u cts from fo r ­ a g e m e n t p ra ctices fo r gra zin g la nds. By
eign n a tion s h a ve w ell d e v e lo p e d in - h ou se tra ckin g gra zin g ty p e a n d in ten s ity o v e r

a gricu ltu ra l m on itorin g grou p s . T h e y u se a tim e, a n d collectin g d a ta on veg eta tio n con ­

w id e r a n g e o f d a ta s ou rces in clu d in g field d ition a n d w e a th e r d a ta , gra zin g p ra ctices

r ep or ts , in form a tion on p a s t p rod u ction , can be a s s es s ed and im p r o ve d (G ra etz
m e te o r o lo g ica l s a tellite d a ta , a n d th e d a ta et. al. 1986).
from ea rth res ou r ces s a tellites su ch as Th e first n a tion a l s ca le g e o g r a p h ic in for­
La n d s a t a n d S P O T (d is cu s s ed in C h a p ter 3). m a tion s ys tem w a s th e C a n a d a G eo g r a p h ic
Th es e d a ta m a y b e u s ed in a n a lys es o f In form a tion S ys tem (C G IS ). Th is s ys tem has
rela tive p rod u ction levels b y com p a rin g cu r­ b e e n o p er a tin g con tin u ou s ly s in ce th e la te
ren t w ith p a s t ye a r s ' cr o p con d ition . M o r e 1960s . It e v o lv e d from a p r o je c t to d e v e lo p
s op h is tica ted a n a lys es m a y in volve th e u se a n a tion a l la n d ca p a b ility cla s s ifica tion to
o f co m p u ter m o d e ls to s im u la te th e g r ow th co m p ile an in ven to r y o f all p oten tia lly p r o ­
o f a c r o p u sing w e a th e r d a ta ( e.g. te m p e r ­ d u ctive la nd in C a n a d a . In a d d ition to a gri­
a tu re, p recip ita tion , a n d h ou rs o f d irect sun) cu ltu ral ca p a b ility in form a tion , o th er la nd
a n d la n d u se in form a tion (e.g. fa rm in g p ra c­ u se in form a tion ca te g o r ie s w e r e in clu d ed
tices a n d p r evio u s p rod u ction levels ). M u ch su ch a s fores tr y, recrea tion , a n d w ild life.
o f this in form a tion can b e o b ta in ed from O ve r th e tw en ty yea r s s in ce its in cep tion ,
s a tellite ob s er va tion s . th e C G IS has b een ex ten s ively m od ified a nd
At th e n a tion a l level, th e m on itorin g n ow o p e r a te s as o n e c o m p o n e n t o f an
o f a gricu ltu ra l p r od u ction has g en er a lly in teg ra ted g r ou p o f co m p u ter - b a s ed g e o ­
 5 jihgfe
A n In tr o d u c tio n to G e o g ra p h ic In fo r m a tio n S y s te m s mlkjihgfed

g ra p h ic in form a tion s ys tem s , ter m ed th e A similar G IS application w a s d em on s tra ted

C a n a d a La n d D ata S ys tem s (C LD S ). Th is
fa cility o p e r a te s on a cos t- r ec ove r y b a sis ,
p r ovid in g a n a lysis s er vices to n ationa l, p r o ­
vin cia l, a n d m u nicipal a g en cies th rou gh ou t
Canada. It is a ls o u s ed b y in tern a tion a l
orga n iza tion s su ch as th e U n ited N a tion s
F ood a n d A gricu ltu re O rga n iza tion (F A O )
(Crain 1987, Tom lin s on et. al. 1976).
In E u rop e th e C O RIN E system , a G1S b ein g
d e ve lo p e d b y th e E u rop ea n C om m u nity, will
b e u s ed ex ten s ively fo r th e co m p a r a tive
a n a lys is o f a gricu ltu re a nd oth er la nd u ses
o f th e m em b er cou n tries .
A t th e loca l level, a gricu ltu re- rela ted p la n ­
ning has u su ally b een d o n e in th e con tex t
o f m ore gen era l land u se plan nin g activities .
F or ex a m p le, th e O kla h om a C on s erva tion
C om m is s ion a n d O kla h om a S ta te U n iver­
sity's C en ter for Applica tions o f R em ote S ens­
ing u sed a G IS for soil con s erva tion planning.
Th e in teg ra ted a n a lysis o f soil typ e, s lop e,
fa rm in g p ra ctices , a nd cr op typ e w e r e u s ed
to p r ed ict soil eros ion s o th a t eros ion con ­
trol p r og ra m s cou ld b e ta r g e te d to
h igh es t risk a rea s . This typ e o f a p p lica tion
is illu strated in Figu re 1.2 (s ee W alsh, 1985).
in th e D a n e C ou n ty La n d R ecord s P roject.
B egu n in 1982, th e p r oject b rou gh t tog eth er
loca l, s ta te, a n d fed er a l a g en cies w ith th e
U n ivers ity o f W is con s in to d em on s tra te th e
u se o f G IS tech n iqu es for rural land u se pla n ­
n in g in D a n e C ou n ty, a m a jor agricu ltu ral
cou n ty in W is con s in . C ou n ty con s erva tion
officia ls u s ed a G IS to a n a lyze d a ta on land-
ow n ers h ip , soils, a n d land u se to id en tify
fa rm s th a t w e r e in com p lia n ce w ith con s er­
va tion s ta n d a rd s . U sing th e G IS, th ey w e r e
a b le to s creen the 100 to 200 farms in a tow n ­
ship in a b ou t 4 hou rs. Th e few farm s th a t did
n ot a p p ea r to b e com p lyin g w ith th e con ­
serva tion stand ards w er e then field ch ecked.
Th e m eth od u sed p reviou s ly req u ired s om e
2 to 4 h ou rs to a s s es s ea ch fa rm .
E con om ic fea s ib ility w a s d em on s tra ted b y
th e ca refu l r ecor d in g o f all cos ts . S u b sta n ­
tial s a vin gs w e r e rea lized b y th e u se o f scan­
ning tech n iqu es for digitizing, th e a u tom a ted
classification o f sa tellite da ta to p rod u ce land
u se m a ps , and th e u se o f s a tellites to
th e p r ecis ely id en tify grou n d con trol p oin ts
in s tea d o f u sing tra d ition a l s u rveyin g tech ­
n iqu es . Th e p r o jec t d em on s tra ted th a t th e

(a) (b) (e) (d) (e)

SOURCE MAPS L A N D D A T A FIL E S Q D E R IV E D D A T A A N A L Y S IS O UT PUT
-C2 "ö-T
f0 O I
S 5 — -c/i
Cl -r
c. a
2C 05 —

§2
T ra
5 «
< °
c5 -C
o u
Topography
Slope

T op ography Soils E ro d ib iiity

Soils Cover
R u n o ff

Land cover G eology

G eology Owner.

O wnership
(+ Others)
Pote ntial soil erosion

Figure 1.2 Analysis P ro ced u re fo r Soil Erosion Planning. (From R e m o te S e n s in g a n d Im a g e In te r p r e ta tio n by

Lillesand and K eife r 1987, p u b lish e d b y John W ile y and Sons.)
6 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

p a rticip a tin g a g en cies cou ld u se a u tom a ted th e tech n olog y to th e d ecis ion - m a kers . Th e
m eth od s to co llect th e s a m e in form a tion U n ivers ity of Kan sa s S p a ce T ech n o lo g y
m ore qu ickly a nd a t low er cos t than b y using C en ter u sed this a p p roa ch w h en it p r ovid ed
manu al techniqu es. It w a s a ls o d em on s tra ted G IS tech n olog y to th e w a ter res ou rce
that th ere w ere substantial additional b enefits. m a n a gers in H a rvey C ou nty, Kansas. Th e
Th e G IS w a s u s ed to p er for m a n a lys es th a t G IS w a s u s ed to s u p p ort p la n n in g d ecis ion s
w e r e p r eviou s ly to o cos tly or n ot fea s ib le. fo r g r ou n d w a ter a n d s u rfa ce w a ter qu a lity,
(F or m or e in form a tion s e e V en tu ra et. al. irriga tion , a n d m u n icip a l w a ter su p p ly. Th e
1988 a ,b ; a n d M o ye r et. al. 1988). p ers on a l com p u ter- b a s ed G IS w a s o p er a ted
It is p er h a p s a t th e loca l level th a t G IS by th e la nd m a n a g em en t p rofes s ion a ls
tech n o lo g y will h a ve th e g r ea tes t a ffect on th em s elves . T h ey s p ecified th e d a ta inpu ts,
th e way a gricu ltu ral la n d is m on itored . ou tpu ts , a n d a n a lytica l ca p a b ilities n eed ed ,
R ela tively s im p le G IS tech n iq u es can p r o ­
stru ctu red th e planning and decision- m a kin g
vid e a level o f in form a tion p roces s in g th a t
a na lyses , ex ecu ted th e a n a lys es on th e G IS,
a llow s a ltern a tive s cen a rios to b e eva lu a ted ,
a nd eva lu a ted th e res u lts (M erch a n t a nd
a m en d ed , a n d re- eva lu a ted a t a rea s on a b le
C a ron , 1986).
cos t. Th e p rod u ction o f m a p s s h ow in g th e
P erh a p s o n e o f th e m os t origin a l effor ts
coin cid en ce o f con d ition s im p orta n t for plan­
to m a ke G IS tools w id ely a va ila b le is th e
ning a n d m a n a gem en t, su ch as eros ion con ­
D oom s d a y Project, led b y th e British B roa d ­
trol, g r ou n d w a ter p ollu tion con trol, and
ca s tin g C orp ora tion in th e U n ited Kin gd om .
ch a n ges in land u se, b e c o m e s rela tively
B a s ed on a m icrocom p u ter a nd vid e o disk
s tra igh t forw a rd u sing a G IS.
tech n olog y, s om e 21,000 files o f m aps ,
Land u se m a n a gem en t and policy decisions
p h otos , s a tellite im a gery, ta b u la r, a n d tex t
a r e a lm os t a lw a ys b a s ed on th e a n a lys is o f
in form a tion can b e view ed a nd m a n ip u la ted
th e in terp la y o f fa ctors p erta in in g to an
(Figu re 1.3). Th e d a ta in clu de g e o lo g y, soils,
issu e. F or ex a m p le, th e p r es er va tion of
g eoch em is try, p op u la tion , em p loym en t,
p rim e agricu ltu ra l land in volves p olitica l,
agricu ltu ral p rod u ction , land use/land cover,
in stitu tional, a n d eco n om ic fa ctors . A G IS
a n d oth er ca teg ories .
can p r o vid e b e tte r in form a tion to s u p p ort
Th e co m p le te s ys tem , h a rd w a re a n d s oft­
this typ e o f com p lex d ecis ion - m a kin g. Su ch
w a re, w a s m a d e a va ila b le to s ch ools for
b a s ic in form a tion as th e d is trib u tion o f cu r­
£3,000 s terlin g in N o ve m b e r 1986. Th e
ren t land u se a ctivities , th e rela tion s h ip o f
th es e a ctivités to agricu ltu ral ca p a b ility, land gen era l pu b lic cou ld pu rch a se th e s ystem for

p rices , a n d u rb an d em a n d fo r land can b e £4,600 sterlin g. Th es e p rices in clu d ed th e

d e ve lo p e d qu ickly u sing G IS tools . G IS tech ­ h a rd w a re a n d th e d igita l d a ta b a s e (con ta in ­

n iqu es can fos ter b e tte r d ecis ion - m a kin g b y ing c o ve r a g e o f th e en tire U n ited Kin gd om

a llow in g m a n a gers to con d u ct a n a lys es that a n d va lu ed a t o ve r £ 25 0,00 0 sterlin g).

w ou ld b e im practical or in fea s ib le oth erw is e. Th e G IS s o ftw a r e w a s d e v e lo p e d to b e

A m a jor issu e in th e a d op tion o f G IS ea s ily u sed b y s ch ool ch ild ren . O n e o f th e

tech n iq u es for land u se p la n n in g a t th e loca l m a jor effects o f th e s ys tem w a s to m a ke

level has b ee n h ow to pu t th e tech n olog y la rg e a m ou n ts o f g eog r a p h ic da ta , w hich
in th e h a n d s o f th e d ecis ion - m a kers . O n e w ere p reviou s ly con tr olled by th e d a ta
a p p roa ch has b ee n to orga n ize c o o p er a tive ga th erers , a cces s ib le to th e pu b lic. P erh a p s
p r ojects in w hich a p oten tia l u s er a g en cy this is th e u ltim a te exten s ion o f p u ttin g th e
m a kes u se o f a fa cility o p e r a te d b y G IS g eog r a p h ic d a ta a n d d a ta h a n d lin g tools in
ex p erts , a s w a s d o n e in th e D a n e C ou n ty th e hands o f th e u ser (Rh ind et. al. 1988,
p roject. A n oth er a p p roa ch has b een to b rin g Rhind and O p en s h a w 1987).
 7
A n In tr o d u c tio n to G e o g ra p h ic In fo r m a tio n S y s te m s mlkjihgfedc

Figure 1.3 The D oom sday GIS D e ve lo p e d b y th e BBC. The m ic ro co m p u te r-b a se d GIS uses a v id e o disk p la ye r
to s to re som e 2 1.000 file s o f m aps, p h o to s, s a te llite im a g ery, ta b u la r, and te x t in fo rm a tio n . An easily le a rne d
in te rfa ce enable s the user to v ie w and m a n ip u la te th e data sets to g e th e r. (C ourtesy o f The D o o m sda y P ro je ct
a nd B irkb e ck College. L o n d o n . U.K.)

F O R E S TR Y A N D W IL D L IF E va tion a n d res ou r ce u se a ctivities m u st b e

M A N A G E M E N T jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
a cco m m od a ted .
A s s es s in g th e com p a tib ility o f m u ltip le
F ores try en com p a s s es th e m a n a g em en t o f
u ses a n d tra d in g - off co m p etin g va lu es a re
a w id e ra n ge o f natu ral res ou rces th a t occu r
d ifficu lt p la n n in g p r oces s es th a t a r e g r ea tly
in fores t a rea s. In a d d ition to tim b er, fores ts
a id ed b y u sing G IS tech n iqu es . F or ex a m ­
p r o vid e su ch res ou rces as gra zin g la nd for
p le, th e G IS fo r F la th ea d N a tion a l F ores t in
lives tock , recrea tion a rea s , w ild life h a b ita t,
M on ta n a in clu d es d igita l terra in d a ta ,
a n d w a te r s u p p ly s ou rces . A s a resu lt, th e
vegeta tion associations d erived from La ndsat
p u b lic a g en cies res p on s ib le fo r fo r es tr y
s a tellite d a ta , tim b er com p a rtm en ts , tim b er
m a n a g em en t typ ica lly h a ve b r oa d man­
d a tes . Th e res p on s ib ilities o f th e U S F ores t h a rves t h is tory, land typ es , la nd ow n ers h ip ,

S e r vic e in clu d e m a n a g em en t of fo r es t a d m in is tra tive d is tricts , p recip ita tion , a n d

h a rves tin g, w ild life h a b ita t, gra zin g lea s es , th e d r a in a g e n etw ork . Th e G IS has b ee n

recrea tion a l a rea s, m ining a ctivities, a n d th e u s ed for su ch a n a lys es as tim b er h a rves t

p r otection of en d a n g e r e d s p ecies an d p la n n in g, critica l w ild life h a b ita t p r otection ,
a rch a eologica l sites. T o satisfy th es e d ivers e a n d p la n n in g th e rou te loca tion for s cen ic
res p on s ib ilities , com p etin g res ou rce c o n s er ­ r o a d w a ys (H a rt et. al. 1985).
8 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
O ve r th e p a s t 5 yea r s G1S tech n o lo g y has
b een w id ely a ccep te d b y p u b lic fores tr y
a g en cies a n d p r iva te fo r es tr y com p a n ies
alike. In la rg e pa rt, this has b e e n a res u lt o f
th e clea r b en efits o f m ore cu rren t fores t
in ven tory m a ps . Th e fo r es t in ven tory is th e
p rim a ry m a n a g em en t to o l fo r tim b er p r o ­
du ction in N orth A m erica . It is u sed to assess
th e exis tin g fo r es t res ou rce a n d to d e v e lo p
h a rves t s ch ed u les a nd trea tm en t p rogra m s ,
to p r o jec t fu tu re tim b er s u p p lies , a n d for
oth er o p era tion a l p la n n in g a ctivities. F ores t
in ven tory d a ta a re co llected u sing rem o te
s en s in g tech n iq u es s u p p orted b y field d a ta
collection . Th e b a sic fores t u nit is th e stand,
a fo r es te d a rea w ith rela tively u n iform
s p ecies com p os ition , tr e e s ize, a n d d en s ity.
S killed in terp r eters id en tify sta n d b ou n d ­
a ries on la rg e s ca le a eria l p h otog r a p h s
(s ca les o f 1:10,000 to 1:20,000 a re com ­
m on ly u sed ). In form a tion like s p ecies com ­
position , a ge, height, stru ctu re a nd cond ition
is d e r ive d from th e a irp h otos a nd s u p p ort­
in g field da ta . This in form a tion is en ter ed
in to th e G1S. O th er d a ta s ets com m on ly
in clu d ed in fores try G IS d a ta b a s es a re soils
m a p p in g, lega l s u b d ivis ion s , th e roa d n et­
w ork, and d ra in a ge system s. H istorical infor­
m a tion p erta in in g to ea ch sta nd , su ch as
h a rves tin g, reg en era tion , roa d b u ildin g, or
fo r es t d a m a g e, can a ls o b e in clu d ed in th e
G IS.
Th e con ven tion a l fores t in ven tory w a s
d o n e p rog res s ively, a p ortion o f th e fo r es t
a rea b ein g in ven toried ea ch yea r. H ow ever,
to u p d a te th e th ou s a n d s o f fo r es t c o ve r
m a p s m a n a ged b y a fo r es t a g en cy cou ld
ta k e 20 yea rs or m or e a n d w a s an ex p e n ­
s ive m anu al d ra ftin g op era tion . D u ring th e
yea rs b e tw e e n in ven tories , ch a n ges to th e
fo r e s t c o ve r m a p s m igh t b e h a n d - d ra w n
on to th e exis tin g m a p b a s e b y loca l p er s on ­
nel, b u t re- d ra ftin g o f th e m a p s on an annu al
b a sis w a s p roh ib itively ex p en s ive. W ith a
G IS, fo r es t c o ve r m a p s can b e u p d a ted on
a contin u al b a s is a n d th en ou tp u t from th e
G IS as n eed ed . In this w a y fo r e s t m a n a gers
a re p r ovid ed w ith in form a tion m ore cu rren t
than p reviou s ly a va ila b le. W ith G IS tech ­
n ology, th e a ver a g e a ge o f in form a tion in th e
fores t d a ta b a s e cou ld b e red u ced from
yea rs to w eek s . This fa ctor a lon e has led to
w id e a ccep ta n ce a n d d em a n d fo r G IS tech ­
n olog y in th e for es tr y s ector.
In its elf th e u se o f a G IS to u p d a te fores t
in ven tory m a p s is little m or e than a u to­
m a ted ca rtog ra p h y, u sing com p u ter tech ­
n olog y for an exis tin g manu al p roces s . It is
th e a n a lytica l p o w e r o f th e G IS th a t s ets it
a pa rt. Th e G IS can b e u sed to s tore a nd
a n a lyze th e fo r es t in form a tion in w a ys th a t
cou ld n ot p reviou s ly b e d on e. It can b e u sed
to ca lcu la te th e h a r ves ta b le tim b er in an
a rea , m od e! th e s p r ea d o f fo r es t fires , or
d e ve lo p a n d eva lu a te a ltern a tive h a rves t
plans. Th e p roces s in g p o w e r o f a G IS a llow s
s evera l a ltern a tives to b e eva lu a ted rela ­
tively qu ickly. Th is has led to a qu a lita tive
ch a n ge in th e w a y m a n y a n a lys es can b e
a p p r oa ch ed . Plan s can be p r og r es s ively
refin ed a nd re- eva lu a ted to op tim ize a solu ­
tion, a p roced u re that w ou ld b e p roh ib itively
ex p en s ive u sing m anu al tech n iqu es .
Virtu a lly all g o ver n m en t fo r es t m a n a ge­
m en t a g en cies in N orth A m erica h a ve
a cqu ired or a re con s id erin g a cqu irin g a G IS.
G IS es h a ve b een w id ely u s ed b y th e U S
F ores t S ervice. U ntil recen tly th ey w e r e
u sed p rim a rily on a p r oject basis, such as for
th e d eve lo p m e n t o f en viron m en ta l im p a ct
a s s es s m en ts . W h en th e p r oject w a s co m ­
p leted th e d a ta often w e r e n ot m a in ta in ed
a n d b eca m e ou t- d a ted .
In th e m id - 1980s th r ee n ation a l fores ts
w e r e s ele cted as G IS E va lu a tion S ites. Th ey
w ere th e G eorg e W ashington N ational Forest
in V irginia, th e Ton ga s s N a tion a l F ores t in
Alaska, a n d th e S iu s law N a tion a l F ores t in
O reg on . A t ea ch o f th es e s ites a G IS w a s
installed a n d com p r eh en s ive d a ta b a s es for
th es e n a tion a l fores ts w e r e im p lem en ted .
D ata w e r e collected on th e va riou s costs and
b en efits a s s ocia ted with im p lem en tin g th es e
sys tem s . A fte r a th r ee yea r eva lu a tion

A n In tr o d u c tio n to G e o g ra p h ic In fo r m a tio n S y s te m s mlkjihgfedcb
p er iod , th e U S F ores t S er vice has d ec id ed
to im p lem en t a s ta n d a rd ized G IS d a ta b a s e
fo r th e en tire fo r es t s ervice. A $ 150 million
p r ocu r em en t has b ee n in itia ted fo r G IS
h a r d w a re a n d s o ftw a r e to b e in s ta lled in
600 loca tion s b egin n in g in 1991. This ex p en ­
d itu re is e x p e c te d to r e p r es en t on ly 15% o f
th e tota l im p lem en ta tion b u d g et. S even ty-
five p er cen t o f th e b u d g et will b e d e v o te d
to d a ta b a s e crea tion , 5% fo r w or k loa d
a n a lys is a n d d a ta b a s e d es ign , a n d 5% fo r
tra in in g (M ea d 1989).
In R egion 8 o f th e F ores t S er vice (w hich
c o ver s th e s ou th - ea s tern p ortion o f th e
U n ited S tates), s ta n d a rd ized G IS d a ta b a s es
a re b ein g c o m p le te d a t th e ra te o f 2 ra n g er
d is tricts p er m on th . It ta kes a b ou t 3 yea r s
to c o m p le te th e fo r es t d a ta b a s e fo r ea ch
dis trict, w hich in this region ra n ge in s ize
from 150,000 to 250,000 a cres . Tw en ty-
eig h t o f th e 105 d is tricts h a ve b een com ­
p leted , a n d h a lf a re e x p e c te d to b e com ­
p le te b y th e en d o f 1990. G IS s o ftw a r e and
h a rd w a re a re b ein g p r ovid ed b y con tra ctors
until th e final s ys tem is a cq u ired . H o w e ver ,
th e d a ta b a s e collection e ffo r t a nd s ys tem
s p ecifica tion s h a ve b een d es ig n ed to en su re
com p a tib ility w ith w h a tever G IS is s elected .
A s th e d a ta b a s es a re co m p le te d , th ey a r e
im m ed ia tely pu t in to op era tion a l u se and
a re m a in ta in ed . A s et o f s ta n d a rd a n a lys is
p rod u cts has b e e n d efin ed th a t can be
o r d er ed rou tin ely from th e con tra ctor. P la te
1 is an ex a m p le o f a s ta n d a rd F ores t C o ver
T yp e m a p p r od u ced u sing th e G IS. S p ecia l
p u rp os e a n a lys es a re h a n d led on an a d h o c
b asis.
A m o n g th e m a jor b en efits th a t R egion 8
has r ea lized from this G IS im p lem en ta tion
has b een th e im p roved analysis o f a llow a b le
s a le qu a n tities (A S Q ) fo r p la n n in g fo r es t
harvest op era tion s and m ore accu rate hab itat
a s s es s m en t for th r ea ten ed a nd en d a n g er ed
s p ecies (e.g. s ee th e s tu d y on G o p h er
To r to is e h a b ita t in M ea d et. al. 1988).
In Canada, ever y provincial fores try a gen cy
has eith er im p lem en ted a G IS to m a n a g e
9 jihgfed
th eir fo r es t d a ta b a s e or is in th e p r oces s o f
a u tom a tin g th eir fo r es tr y m a ps . Th e B ritish
C olu m b ia M in is try o f F ores ts a n d La n d s has
b ee n on e o f th e lea d er s in d e ve lo p in g
op era tion a l G IS a nd rem ote sen sing a p p lica ­
tion s for fores try. F ores try is on e o f th e m os t
im p orta n t in du stries in th e p rovin ce. British
C olu m b ia 's fores ts c o ve r s om e 50 m illion
h ecta res a n d con ta in a lm os t 8 b illion cu b ic
m etr es o f m erch a n ta b le tim b er, a b ou t 40%
o f C a n a d a ’s tim b er s u p p ly. Th e M in is try o f
F ores ts a n d La n d s is res p on s ib le fo r m a in ­
ta in in g an in ven tory o f th e fores t res ou rce.
In 1978 a n ew p rovin cia l F ores t A ct requ ired
th e M in istry to p r ovid e m ore d eta iled fores t
in form a tion a nd to u p d a te th e fo r es t in ven ­
to r y a t m o r e fr eq u en t in terva ls . A ls o, th e
con vers ion to m etric m a p s ca les req u ired
th a t all o f th e 7,0 00 fores t c o ve r m a p s b e
re- d ra w n .
T o sa tis fy th es e n ew req u irem en ts a d ec i­
sion w a s m a d e to a u tom a te th e fores t in ven ­
tor y m a p s a nd to in trod u ce or d e ve lo p state-
of- th e- a rt G IS a nd r e m o te s en s in g m eth od s .
Tra d ition a lly, th e fores t in ven tory d a ta b a s e
h ad b ee n d e v e lo p e d a n d u p d a ted u sing
1:20,000 s ca le a eria l p h otog r a p h y a nd field
s a m p lin g m eth od s . F ores t c o ve r m a p s w e r e
u p d a ted by manu al d ra ftin g and fo r es t
statistics w e r e m a in ta in ed s ep a r a tely from
th e m a p b a s e.
U n d er th e G IS im p lem en ta tion p rog ra m ,
m ore than half o f th e fores t c o ver m a ps h a ve
n ow b een d ig itized a n d en te r e d in to th e
fo r es tr y G IS . C on vers ion of all of th e
7,0 00 m a p s is to b e c o m p le te d b y 1991.
Each d igita l m a p s h eet con s is ts o f as m a n y
as 19 la yers o f g e o r e fe r e n c e d in form a tion ,
inclu ding fores t c o ve r da ta, roa d s , d ra in a ge,
land ow n ers h ip d a ta , a nd s evera l levels o f
a d m in is tra tive a n d regu la tory b ou n d a ries .
D igital eleva tion d a ta has a ls o b een e n ter ed
in to th e G IS to a llow eleva tion , s lop e, a nd
a s p ect in form a tion to b e u sed in a n a lys es .
All d es crip tive s ta nd in form a tion is lin ked to
th e m a p d a ta w ithin th e G IS , p r ovid in g a
ve r y flex ib le in form a tion s ys tem .
10 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e d eta iled fo r es t in ven tory is b ein g
u p d a ted on a 10 ye a r cycle u sing a eria l
p h otog ra p h y. In a d d ition , La n d s a t s a tellite
im a g ery is b ein g u s ed to u p d a te ind ividu al
m a p s on an annu al b asis. D ep letion s from
fores t h a rves t op era tion s or fire a re digita lly
m a p p ed d irectly from th e d igita l s a tellite
im a gery. Th e im a g e d a ta and m a p in form a ­
tion a re p r es en ted to th e in ter p r eter on a
colou r m on itor. C h a n ges a re m a p p ed in ter­
a ctively on th e d is p la y a nd a re then u s ed to
u p d a te th e fo r es t d a ta b a s e (s ee P la te 2). In
this w a y th e fo r es t in form a tion for an a rea
rem a in s cu rren t th rou gh ou t th e 10 yea r
in ven tory cycle.
In a d d ition to p r ovid in g d a ta s tora g e a nd
retrieva l fu n ction s, th e B.C. F ores t G IS
g e n er a te s a w id e ra n ge o f in form a tion u sed
in fo r es t h a rves t plan ning, reg en era tion
s u rveys a n d m on itorin g, en viron m en ta l sen ­
sitivity a ss es sm en t, recrea tion planning, and
w a ters h ed m a n a gem en t (H egyi and S allaw ay
1986). Th e p r ovin ce- w id e d a ta b a s e is a ls o
b ein g m a d e a va ila b le at the D istrict level. By
1 9 9 1 ea ch fo r es t D is trict w ill b e p r o vid ed
w ith a G IS a n d th e corr es p on d in g g e o ­
g ra p h ic d a ta for th e region .
In m a n y s u b - trop ica l a nd trop ica l cou n ­
tries , fores ts a re p o o r ly m a p p ed a n d inac­
ces sib le. D efores ta tion is a seriou s p rob lem ,
contrib u tin g to soil d egra d a tion , soil eros ion ,
flood in g , a n d w a ter qu a lity p rob lem s . Th e
a b ility o f an a rea to s u p p ort fo r es t h a rves t­
ing d ep en d s on such en viron m en ta l fa ctors
as th e to p o g r a p h y (s teep s lop es erod e
qu ickly w h en fo r e s t is r em o ved ), th e soil
typ e, th e m eth od u s ed to cu t th e trees
(e.g. clea r cu ttin g o r s elective cu tting), as
w ell as econ om ic fa ctors (e.g. m a rk et p rice,
p rod u ction a n d tra n s p orta tion costs). Y e t
th es e region s often d o n ot h a ve th e fu nds
to collect fo r es t in form a tion u sing con ven ­
tion a l m eth od s . R em ote s en s in g a n d G IS
te c h n iq u e s ca n p r o v id e c o s t- e ffe c tiv e
a ltern a tives to g en er a te b asic res ou rce plan­
ning in form ation. Recon n ais sa nce level in for­
m a tion can b e u s ed to in itia te res ou rce
m a n a gem en t p rog ra m s qu ickly a nd to id en ­
tify u rgen t p r ob lem s such as a rea s ex p o s ed
to s eriou s eros ion . O n ce a res ou rce d a ta
b a s e s ys tem is in p la ce, m or e d eta iled in for­
m ation can b e a d d ed p rog res s ively as fu nds
a n d m a n - p ow er b e c o m e a va ila b le. (S ee for
ex a m p le H u ta ch a reon 1988).
G IS m eth od s h a ve b een u sed to ta ke
a d va n ta ge o f unusual s ou rces o f information.
M a p p in g th e dis trib u tion o f n on - tree p la n t
sp ecies is a com m on fores t resou rce m an age­
m en t a ctivity, es p ecia lly for p rotection o f
en d a n g er ed s p ecies . H erb a riu m s a re "p la n t
m u s eu m s " th a t p r e s e r ve and ca ta logu e
p la n t s p ecim en s u s ed for s cien tific res ea rch
a n d ed u ca tion . In a d d ition to th e scien tific
n a m e a n d cla s s ifica tion o f ea ch s p ecim en ,
r ecor d s a r e k ep t o f such in form a tion as th e
d a te and loca tion o f collection . A t th e
U n ivers ity o f H a w aii, a G IS w a s u s ed to
a n a lyze th e h erb a riu m record s .
Th e s pecim en name, date, and p la ce of col­
lection w e r e en ter ed in to a G IS. Th e system
w a s then u sed to s elect and m a p th e location
o f s p ecim en s a ccord in g to th eir s p ecies ,
genu s, or collection d a te. Th e sea rch a rea
cou ld b e s elected b y la titu d e a n d lon gitu d e
coord in a tes or b y island. In this w a y th e d is ­
tribu tion o f plant sp ecies a m on g th e d ifferen t
H aw aiian islands cou ld b e m a p p ed and com ­
p a r ed (M cG ra n a gh a n and W es ter 1988).
Figure 1.4 illustrates the results of on e analysis
from this stu dy. It is a m a p o f th e loca tion s
throu ghou t th e H awaiian islands w h ere s p ec­
im en s o f C y r t a n d r a p a lu d o s a h ad b een col­
lected. Th e m a p p rovid es an indication of h ow
w id es p rea d is th e distrib u tion o f th e species .
B y com b in in g this typ e o f s p ecies m a p p in g
with the b ou ndary data for existing preserves,
hab itat a rea s a lrea d y p rotected can b e id en ­
tified . This r ela tively s tra igh tforw a rd G IS
a p p lic a tio n illu s tr a te s th e d iv e r s e
a p p lica tion s to which th e tech n ology is easily
a p p lied .
An im p or ta n t com p on en t of w ild life
m a n a g em en t is th e p red iction o f th e effects
o f hu man activities and natural even ts on th e
 11
A n In tr o d u c tio n to G e o g ra p h ic In fo r m a tio n S y s te m s mlkjihgfedcba

Figure 1.4 G e o g ra p h ic D is trib u tio n o f C y rta n d r a p a lu d o s a . A t th e U n iv e rsity o f H aw aii th e lo ca tio n in fo rm a ­

tio n fro m h e rb a riu m specim ens was used to d e v e lo p a m ic ro -c o m p u te r based system to m a p th e d is trib u tio n
o f p la n t species. The m ap show s th e lo ca tio n s w h e re specim ens o f C y rta n d r a p a lu d o s a have been co lle cte d .
(C ourtesy o f M. M cG ranaghan a nd L. W ester. U n iv e rsity o f H a w aii. H o n o lu lu . Hawaii.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQP

a b u n d a n ce a n d qu a lity o f w ild life p op u la ­ fores t c o ve r typ e, fores t con d ition class, a n d

tions. This in form a tion is u sed in m akin g such
d ecis ion s as ch oos in g a righ t- of- w a y for roa d
con s tru ction or clos in g critical w ild life a rea s
to p u b lic a cces s . W ild life d e p e n d s on th e
p r es en ce o f an a p p r op r ia te m ix o f res ou rces
w ithin a g eog r a p h ica lly d efin ed a rea . A G1S
can b e u s ed to a n a lyze su ch fa ctors as th e
a va ila b ility o f fo o d a n d co ver , p r otection
fr om p r ed a tor s , a n d th e su ita b ility o f a rea s
fo r n es tin g o r d en n in g sites. G IS tech n iq u es
h a ve b e e n u s ed to a n a lyze th e h a b ita t o f a
w id e ra n g e o f a n im a l s p ecies , in clu d in g
grizzly b ea r, elk, d ee r , ca rib ou , a n d va riou s
b ird s p ecies . D a ta la yers for w ild life h a b ita t
su itab ility a n d critical w ild life a rea s a re com ­
m on ly in clu d ed in fo r es tr y d a ta b a s es in
N orth A m erica .
Figu re 1.5 is a p lo t o f G o p h er To r to is e
h a b ita t s u ita b ility in th e O ca la N a tion a l
F ores t in Florid a. (Th e G op h er Tor tois e is an
en d a n g er ed s p ecies .) A G IS w a s u sed to p ro­
du ce this m ap from fou r data layers; soil typ e,
u n d ers tory c o ve r typ e . Th e G IS w a s a ls o
u s ed to p r e d ic t th e tor tois e p op u la tion a n d
h a b ita t a va ila b ility forw a rd a n d b a ck w a rd in
tim e. F igu re 1.6 is a h is togra m o f th e qu a n ­
tity o f a va ila b le G o p h er T o r to is e h a b ita t
o ve r s evera l yea rs . This typ e o f analysis w a s
u s ed to eva lu a te th e tren d of h a b ita t
a va ila b ility a n d to d e v e lo p a m a n a g em en t
p la n fo r th is s p ecies . (S ee a ls o M ea d et. al.
1988.) S im ilar G IS tech n iqu es a r e a ls o b ein g
u s ed to p r e d ic t a n d con trol fo r es t p es t ou t­
b rea k s su ch a s s p ru ce b u d w orm in N e w
B ru nswick (Jordan an d V ietin gh off 1987) and
gyp s y m oth in M ich igan (M on tg om ery 1987).
O n e o f th e m os t in n ova tive u ses o f G IS
an d rem o te s en sin g tech n olog y has b een th e
tracking o f w ild life b y s a tellite telem etry. Th e
U .S. Fish a n d W ild life S er vice has b ee n
m on itorin g ca rib ou in Ala s ka s in ce 1985. A
s a tellite tra n s m itter is in cop or a ted in to a
colla r on th e an im a l a n d th e signa ls a r e
received b y on e o f th e N O A A m eteorologica l
12 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

GOPHER TORTOISE HABITAT DEMONSTRATION

HALFMOON LAKE QUADRANGLE
FINAL INDEX

■ OPTIMAL CONDITION (0 .9 0 - 1 .0 0 )
m SUB-OPTIMAL CONDITION ( 0 . 7 6 - 0 .8 9 )
E3 MARGINAL CONDITION < 0 .0 1 - 0 .7 5 )
□ UNSUITABLE (0 .0 0 )
Cj WATER

FOREST STAND BOUNDARIES AND SOIL TYPE BOUNDARIES DISPLAYED

HSI - (SOILS VALUE * FOREST TYPE VALUE * CONDITION CLASS VALUE) X 1 /3 WHERE UNDERSTORY IS NOT AVAILABLE
HSI - 0 IF SOILS VALUE, FOREST TYPE VALUE. CONDITION CLASS VALUE OR UNDERSTORY VALUE ■ 0 jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQ

2000 4000 2|
N

Figure 1.5 M ap o f G opher T o rtoise H a b ita t S u ita b ility in th e Ocala N atio nal Forest. Florid a. (Courtesy o f the
US Forest Service. A tla n ta . G eorgia.)

s a tellites . Initially, 10 fem a les
Porcu p in e h erd , a nd 10 fem a les from th e
C entral A rctic h erd w e r e tra cked . Th e p r o ­
gra m has since b een ex p a n d ed so that m ore
anim als can b e m on itored . D ata, collected
five or m ore tim es a d a y, g ive th e g e o ­
gra p h ic loca tion o f ea ch anim al (with an
from th e a ver a g e p os ition a l a ccu ra cy o f 500 m), an
in d ex o f air tem p era tu re, a nd a m ea s u re o f
a ctivity level.
A G IS w a s u sed to a n a lyze th e animal loca ­
tion da ta to a ss es s th e p oten tia l im p a ct o f
p ip elin e, infrastru ctu re, a nd oth er d e v e lo p ­
m en t on carib ou that use th e Alaska N ational
 13 jihgfed
A n In tr o d u c tio n to G e o g ra p h ic In fo r m a tio n S y s te m s mlkjihgfedcba

G O PH E R T O R T O IS E H A B IT A T T R E N D
I 8000

I 7000

I 6000

I 5000

I 4000

3000
00
UJ 25C0 QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
cr
o
< 2000

! 500

1000

500

I 957 I9 6 0 1963 1966 1969 1972 1975 1978 198 1984 1987

□ OPTIMAL H A B I T A T
E3 SUB-OPT I MAL H A B I T A T
m i MARGINAL H A B I T A T

Figure 1.6 H isto gra m o f G op h e r T o rto ise H a b ita t A v a ila b ility O ver Tim e. The histogra m show s th e area o f
a va ila b le to rto is e h a b ita t in th e Ocala N ational Forest in each year. Land co ve r changes such as n a tu ra l p la n t
succession, fire , and fo re s t h arve stin g can change th e a m o u n t o f h a b ita t availa b le to this species o v e r tim e.
(Courtesy o f th e US Forest Service. A tla n ta . G eorgia.)

W ild life Refu ge. Pla te 3 is a p lot from th e G IS n ot on ly to s tu d y w ild life but a ls o to
o f th e m ovem en ts o f th e a nim als du rin g five in flu en ce p la n n in g d ecis ion s th a t a ffec t th e
d iffer en t tim e p er iod s b e tw e e n A p ril 1985 h a b ita t o f th es e animals.
a nd D ece m b er 1986. This s tu d y has s h ow n
th a t s om e ca rib ou m igra te as mu ch as
AR C H AEO LO G Y
2000 km in a sin gle yea r a nd th a t individu als
d o n ot con s is ten tly u se th e s a m e m igra tion Th e p r otection o f a rch a eolog ica l s ites is a
rou tes , w in terin g area s, or post- ca lvin g area s com m on m a n d a te o f N a tion a l Pa rk a nd
ea ch yea r. S im ilar s tu d ies a r e b ein g con ­ F ores try a gen cies . A r ch a eolog is ts h a ve
d u cted to track musk-ox, walru s, w olf, m ou n­ m a d e u se o f G IS tech n iqu es b oth to a n a lyze
tain s h eep , d eer , elk, a nd p ola r b ea r u sing kn ow n s ites a n d to p red ict th e loca tion o f
s a tellite telem etr y fo r da ta a cqu is ition , a nd u n d is covered sites. A rch a eologica l m ea s u re­
G IS ana lysis m eth od s (Pa n k 1989). Th es e m en ts, su ch as s ite size, loca tion , a ge,
tech n iq u es h a ve en a b led w ild life b iologis ts n u m b er o f artifa cts, n u m b er o f d w ellin gs ,
to tra ck a nim als o ve r la rg er d is ta n ces m ore tog eth er w ith en viron m en ta l m ea s u rem en ts
a ccu ra tely a n d m ore efficien tly than cou ld (such as eleva tion , s lop e, a s p ect, loca l
b e d o n e p reviou s ly. An im a ls can a ls o b e terra in r e lie f a nd d is ta n ce from w a ter) h a ve
tra cked across international b ou n d a ries . Th e b een u s ed to p r ed ict th e loca tion of
d a ta , co llected in digita l form , can b e u sed a rch a eolog ica l sites. Th a t th es e fa ctors a re
14 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

good p red ictors is n ot su rp ris in g s in ce m ore a ccu ra tely, a nd in w a ys that w ou ld n ot

hu m ans s elect s ettlem en t sites b a s ed on th e b e p ra ctica l u sing m anu al m eth od s .
p rox im ity o f res ou rces like w a ter a n d fo od , M a n y im p orta n t m in era l d ep os its a re n ot
a co m fo r ta b le m icroclim a te, and s a fety e x p o s ed a t th e ea rth 's su rface. T o loca te
(C u ster et. al. 1983). th em , it is n eces s a ry to in fer th eir p res en ce.
To d e v e lo p a p r ed ictive m od el, th es e Tungsten is o n e econ om ica lly im p orta n t
m ea s u rem en ts a re co llected fo r kn ow n m in era l th a t is com m on ly fou n d a s s ocia ted
a r c h a e o lo g ic a l s ites in a s tu d y a r ea . w ith g e o lo g ic stru ctu res ca lled plutons,
E n viron m en ta l d a ta a r e collected fo r th e w hich a re fo r m ed d e e p b en ea th th e ea rth 's
en tire stu d y a rea as w ell. Th e m o d el is then s u rfa ce w h en a la rg e m ass o f m olten rock
ca lib ra ted u sing a s et o f loca tion s kn ow n to is fo r ced in to a d eep ly- b u r ied exis tin g rock
b e a rch a eologica l sites and a s et o f loca tion s unit. A s this m olten rock or magma s low ly
kn ow n n ot to b e sites. Th en th e m od el is cools , m in era ls a re fo r m ed w ithin a n d a d ja ­
a p p lied to th e en tire s tu d y a rea u sing th e cen t to it. D ep en d in g on th e com p os ition o f
en viron m en ta l d a ta a lon e. Th e G IS is u sed th e s u rrou n d in g rock, th e m a gm a , a n d th e
to g e n e r a te m os t o f th e en viron m en ta l physical en viron m en t, econ om ica lly va lu a b le
m ea s u rem en ts for th e a rea from digital da ta m in era ls m a y b e form ed . U n d er th e righ t
o f th e land s u rfa ce, ter m ed d igita l terra in con d ition s , th e flu ids m igra tin g a w a y from
da ta . R ep orts a r e p r od u ced in m a p form th e m a gm a will form scheelite, a m in era l
s h ow in g th e d en s ity a n d d is trib u tion of rich in tu ngsten . Th e m in eral is d ep os ited in
kn ow n a n d p r ed icted a rch a eolog ica l s ites a la yer, ca lled a skarn, a b o ve th e m a gm a .
and a r c h a e o lo g ic a l and en vir o n m en ta l O ver tim e, th e m a gm a cools form in g a
m ea s u rem en ts a re p rovid ed in tab u lar form . la rge m a s s ive rock unit, th e p lu ton . If th e
o ver lyin g rock is e r o d e d a w a y, th e p lu ton
may b e ex p os ed a t th e ea rth ’s su rface.
G EO LO G Y
U n fortu n a tely, th e p r oces s of eros ion th a t
Th e a n a lys is o f th e g e o lo g y o f a region , ex p os es th e plu ton a ls o d es tr oys mu ch o f
w h eth er fo r m in era l exp lora tion , p etroleu m th e tu ngsten skarn, th e va lu ab le mineral. For
ex p lora tion , or recon n a is s a n ce level m a p ­ this reason, econom ically w orthw hile tungsten
pin g, is fu n d a m en ta lly a d a ta in tegra tion ore d ep os its a re m ore likely to b e a s s ocia ted
p r oced u r e. Th e g e olo g is t s eek s to id en tify w ith b u ried p lu ton s than w ith e x p o s ed
u sefu l g e o lo g ic p a ttern s in th e la n d s ca p e b y plu tons . Th e p r ob lem o f cou rs e is h ow to
rela tin g d ive r s e g e o lo g ic d a ta sets. id en tify a b u ried p lu ton .
Field s k etch es a r e u s ed to r ecor d d ir ect In a recen t study, GIS techniqu es w ere u sed
ob s erva tion s ; th e con cen tra tion o f elem en ts to id en tify sites likely to b e s h a llow ly- b u ried
d is s olved in loca l s trea m s p r o vid es clu es to plu tons with tu ngsten skarns. Th e stu dy a rea
th e com p os ition o f rock m a teria ls w ithin th e w a s loca ted in th e N a h a nn i R egion o f th e
d r a in a g e b a sin ; a er om a g n etic a n d gra vity Yu kon and N orth w es t Territories in C anada.
s u rveys a re u s ed to m a p s u b tle ch a n ges in The M actu ng and Cantung deposits, tw o o f the
th e ea rth ’s m a gn etic and gra vita tion a l field s la rges t tu ngsten skarn d ep os its in th e w orld ,
th a t m a y in d ica te th e p r es en ce o f significant a re loca ted in this region . B y s tu d yin g th e
o r e d ep os its . T o b e o f u se, all th es e d a ta know n o r e d ep os its , geologis ts w e r e a b le to
mu st b e a n a lyzed with r e fe r e n c e to th eir d efin e a s et o f ch a ra cteris tics th a t m igh t b e
g e o g r a p h ic loca tion . By p r ovid in g th e used to indicate the presence o f other deposits
ca p a b ility to d is p la y a n d a n a lyze d iver s e in th e region . (M o r e d eta iled dis cu ss ion s o f
d a ta s ets tog eth e r , a G IS en a b les th e this w or k can b e fou n d in A r o n o ff et. al.
geologis t to w ork with th e data m ore qu ickly, 1986 a n d in G o o d fe llo w a nd A r o n o ff 1988.)
 15 jihgfedc
A n In tr o d u c tio n to G e o g ra p h ic In fo r m a tio n S y s te m s mlkjihgfedcbaZ

Th e d a ta s ets u s ed in th e a na lys is a re 2. Th e p r es en ce o f cu rvilin ea r fea tu res

s h ow n in Figu re 1.7. Th ey in clu d ed a vis ib le on th e s a tellite im a g ery th a t
1:125,000 sca le geologica l m ap, stream s ed i­ m ight in d ica te ring fra ctu res a s s ocia ted
m en t geoch em ica l d a ta for 1 1 elem en ts from w ith b u ried p lu ton s
s om e 1000 s a m p le p oin ts, a ca tch m en t
3. A low Ph va lu e in th e s trea m s a m p le
b asin m a p s h ow in g th e d ra in a g e a rea a s s o­
cia ted w ith ea ch s trea m s a m p le, a d igita l 4. A high con cen tra tion o f a rs en ic in th e
L a n d s a t s a tellite im a ge o f th e s tu d y a rea , s trea m s ed im en t s a m p le
a n d th e loca tion s o f kn ow n m in era l occu r-
5. A high con cen tra tion o f c o p p e r in th e
an ces in th e region . Th e non- digital da ta sets
s trea m s ed im en t s a m p le
w e r e c o n ver ted in to d igita l form a nd inpu t
in to th e G1S, in this ca s e a s ys tem b a s ed on A cod in g s ch em e was d e v e lo p e d to
im a g e a n a lysis tech n olog y. S ep a r a te digita l in d ica te th e coin cid en ce of fa vou ra b le

d a ta s ets w e r e p r od u ced fo r ea ch o f th e in d ica tors a s in d ex va lu es from 0 to 127.

11 elem en ts in th e g eoch em is tr y d a ta set, P la te 4 s h ow s th e La n d s a t s a tellite im a g e o f

th e m in era l occu ra n ces , a n d th e g e o lo g y th e s tu d y a rea . E xp os ed p lu ton ic rock units

m ap. Th e elem en t con cen tra tion in a s trea m a re s h ow n in red . F ive o f th e h igh er ra n ges

s ed im en t o r w a ter s a m p le reflects th e com ­ o f in d ex va lu es a re d is p la yed . From h igh es t

p os ition o f rocks u n d erlyin g th e en tire a rea (m os t fa vou ra b le) to low es t, th e s eq u en ce

is pink, ora n g e, yellow , g r een , b lu e. T h r ee
d ra in ed b y th a t s trea m (i.e. th e en tire ca tch ­
n ew ex p lora tion ta rg ets w ere id en tified
m en t b a sin ), n ot just th e rock units at th e
b a s ed on this analysis.
s a m p le site. T o s h ow this rela tion s h ip g e o ­
C ritical to th e p r oces s w a s th e a b ility to
gra p h ica lly, in ea ch o f th e 1 1 g eoch em ica l
overla y and mathematically com b in e s elected
overla ys , th e en tire ca tch m en t b asin w a s
d a ta la yers a n d th e a b ility to d is p la y th e
a s s ign ed th e con cen tra tion va lu e o f th e
resu lts o ve r la ye d on th e s a tellite im a ge, th e
s a m p le p oin t.
top og r a p h ic map, o r th e g e o lo g ic m a p,
Th e m ore im p orta n t fa ctors th a t w er e con ­
fea tu res th a t r eq u ir e com p u ter- b a s ed G1S
s id ered to b e p os itive in d ica tors o f tu ngsten
ca p a b ilities . Th es e fea tu res en a b led th e
skarns w er e:
g eog r a p h ic rela tion s h ip s a m on g th e d if­
1. T h e p r es en ce o f high s trea m s ed im en t fer en t g eoch em ica l in d ica tors , th e s u rfa ce
tu n gs ten con cen tra tion s g e o lo g y, a n d th e stru ctu ral g e o lo g y vis ib le

Figure 1.7 Data Sets Used to Id e n tify P ote n tial Tungsten Skarn E xp lo ra tio n Targets.
16 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
on th e s a tellite im a g ery to b e a n a lyzed in an
in tegra ted m a n ner.
This stu dy is b u t on e o f m a n y ex a m p les o f
G IS a pp lica tions for mineral exp lora tion n ow
a p p ea rin g in th e literatu re. Th e recen t stu dy
b y B on h a m - C a rter et. al. (1988) p res en ts a
s om ew h a t d iffer en t a p p roa ch b a s ed on a
B a yes ia n sta tistical m od el.
M U N IC IP A L A P P L IC A T IO N S
M os t o f th e in form a tion n e e d e d to o p e r a te
a m u n icip a lity is g e o r e fe r e n c e d , i.e. it is
referen ced to a s p ecific geog ra p h ic loca tion .
Inform ation a b ou t zoning, p rop erties , roads,
sch ools, a nd parks all p erta in to g eog ra p h ic
loca tion s. Th ou gh com p u ter u se is com m on ,
th e a d op tion o f G IS es b y m u n icip a lities has
b een s low . In p a rt this has b een a resu lt o f
th e high start- u p cos ts o f crea tin g th e G IS
d a ta b a s e. P erh a p s m ore fu n d a m en ta l a re
th e cos ts o f ch a n gin g th e a d m in is tra tive
orga n iza tion o f th e m u n icipa lity s o th a t th e
G IS ca n be e ffe c tiv e ly im p le m e n te d .
(O rga n iza tion a l issu es a re d is cu s s ed
C h a p ter 8.)
M u n icipa l G IS a p p lica tion s p r o vid e sys ­
tem a tic collection , u pdating, p rocessin g, and
d is trib u tion of la n d - rela ted d a ta . Th e
ca p a b ility to h a n d le land s u rvey d a ta is also
a com m on r eq u ir em en t o f th es e system s.
M u n icipa l G IS es a re u sed for lega l, a d m in ­
is tra tive, a n d econ om ic d ecis ion - m a kin g, as
w ell as for va riou s pla n n in g a ctivities . Th e
Land Information System (LIS ) and
term s
Land Records Information System (LRIS)
a re freq u en tly u sed to r e fer to G IS es th a t
h a ve b een sp ecia lized for th es e applications.
Th e first in trod u ction o f com p u ters to
m u n icip a lities w a s for a ccou n tin g a p p lica ­
tion s. B ook k eep in g , p a yrolls , and b a s ic
a ccou n tin g qu ickly b eca m e s ta n d a rd com ­
p u ter tasks a n d s o th e com p u ter fa cilities
w e r e orga n ized to s erve th e fin a n ce d ep a r t­
ment. As com pu ter- aid ed drafting d evelop ed
in th e 1970s, en gin eerin g d ep a rtm en ts
b eg a n to recog n ize th e va lu e o f com p u ter
s ys tem s for gra p h ics a p p lica tion s such as
drafting, m a p p rod u ction a nd u pdating, and
s u rveyin g, as w ell as for cos t con trol a nd
p r oject m a n a gem en t. H ow ever , th e existing
com p u ter facilities w e r e com m on ly orien ted
to financial fu nctions a nd th e com p u ter facil­
ities s ta ff w e r e eith er d is in teres ted or w e r e
u n qu a lified to s u p p ort th es e en gin eerin g
requ irem en ts . As a resu lt, en gin eerin g
d ep a rtm en ts ten d ed to d e ve lo p th eir ow n
com p u ter fa cilities to m eet th eir n eed s .
In a sim ilar w a y, p la n n in g d ep a rtm en ts
d e v e lo p e d th eir ow n com p u ter fa cilities to
s u p p ort such a ctivities as statistical analysis,
m a p p in g o f land use, m a p p in g o f n eigh b ou r­
h ood d em og ra p h ics , p rojection o f s ch ool
a nd recrea tion a l n eed s , a nd pla n nin g for
com m ercia l and industrial d evelop m en t. Th e
com p u ter p r o vid ed a p ow erfu l m ea n s to
d e v e lo p and co m p a r e a ltern a tive plans.
W ith th e s u b s equ en t in trod u ction o f m icro­
com p u ters th rou gh ou t th e a d m in is tra tive
orga n iza tion , m u n icipa lities w e r e fa ced with
m u ltip le com p u ter s ys tem s th a t cou ld n ot
in s h a re in form a tion . This in tu rn res u lted in
th e s tora ge o f mu ltiple cop ies o f information.
S in ce all cop ies cou ld n ot b e u p d a ted a t th e
s a m e tim e, th e s a m e in form a tion cou ld b e
m or e ou t- of- d a te on on e s ys tem than on
a n oth er, crea tin g a ccu ra cy p r ob lem s (L iley
1987).
M u nicipalities h a ve b egu n to recogn ize the
p oten tia l b en efits of a m ore in tegra ted
a p p roa ch to th eir com p u ter ized d a ta in
gen era l, a nd to th e orga n iza tion of g e o ­
refer en ced in form a tion in particu lar. D u ring
th e 1980s m a n y m u n icip a lities d id m a ke
su b sta ntial in ves tm en ts in G IS. Th e G IS es
d e v e lo p e d for th e cities o f M in n ea p olis ,
M in nesota ; Los A n geles , C alifornia; Hou ston,
Texa s ; C a lga ry, A lb erta ; B u rnab y, British
C olu m b ia ; a n d p rop os ed for San D iego,
C a liforn ia (to n a m e b u t a few ) a re s om e o f
th e m ore w id ely dis cu s s ed N orth A m erica n
exa m p les . Th ey a re b ein g u s ed to s u p p ort
su ch m u n icip a l fu n ction s as p r o p e r ty
m a n a gem en t, p r o p e r ty a p p ra is a l, p erm it
 17
A n In tro d u c tio n to G e o g rap h ic In fo rm a tio n S ystem s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

Figure 1.8 Residential infill Analysis fo r the City o f W oodstock. O ntario. The land parcels potentially available
for residential infill developm ent were identifie d using data on th e land parcel, zoning regulations, and the size,
age, and cond ition o f the main structure. (Courtesy of the De partm ent of Planning and Development. O xford
County, Ontario.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

and license issuing, su b division planning, b y the E nvironmental S ystem s Research

transportation analysis and planning, em er­ Institute for the city and cou nty of San
gen cy veh icle rou ting and dispatching, D iego, California — a large m etrop olita n
en gin eerin g des ign , in ven tory of such area. Th e system w as des ign ed to m eet the
facilities as w ater/ sew er systems and elec­ needs of som e 37 municipal departm ents for
trical cab ling, and land use planning. inform ation on land d evelop m en t, pu b lic
Figu re 1.8 illu strates the results of a facilities, and th e en viron m en t. O th er
residential infill analysis for the City of
W ood s tock, O ntario. Th e G IS was u sed to
calcu late the area of th e main stru ctu re in
each parcel and com p a re it to the parcel
land area. This d eterm in ed the amou nt of
land potentially a va ila b le for residential
infilling. Th e age, size, and condition infor­
mation for each stru ctu re w as analyzed to
assess w h eth er it w as a can dida te for
dem olition. The zoning b ylaw s that a p p lied
to each parcel w ere also assessed in this
manner. A map w as then gen era ted sh ow ­
ing the th ree infill classes requ ired for plan­
ning and the s treet n etw ork and parcel
b ou ndaries.
Figu re 1.9 is the conceptu a l design for a Figure 1.9 Conceptual Design of a M unicipal Data
municipal GIS data b a se. It was d evelop ed Base. (Courtesy of ESRI 1986.)
18 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
municipal G ISes p rovid e similar fu nctions to
th os e discu ssed h ere, thou gh th ey may dif­
fer in the means o f im p lem en ta tion and the
size of data b a se. Thou gh the system was
d es ign ed for a la rge organ ization, th e prin­
ciples can b e a p p lied to smaller mu nicipal­
ities as well.
in th e San D iego study, th e data b a s e is
divid ed into six categories of data: b asemap,
land records, s treet netw ork, areas, facility
networks, and en viron m en ta l data
Figu re 1.9). For each ca tegory, data a re
s tored in the form o f maps and ta b les of
data. Th e tw o form s of data a re linked b y
a geogra p h ic id en tifier that is a u niqu e ID
number. Each map in the data base represents
on e typ e of data (such as the road locations)
for th e entire geogra p h ic covera g e area of
the data b ase. Th e ass ocia ted tab u lar data
contains such inform ation as the nam e of
Table 1.1 D a ta S e ts T y p ic a lly H e ld in a M u n ic ip a l G IS . ( A d a p t e d f r o m
E S R I 1 9 8 6 ). GFEDCBA
D a ta C a te g o ry
A r e a D at a
B a se m a p D a t a
En v i r o n m e n t a l D a t a
La n d R e c o r d s D a t a
N et w o rk Fa c ilit ie s D at a
St r e e t N e t w o r k D a t a
each street, th e length of each section of
street, th e a d d res s range, etc. Ta b le 1.1
su mmarizes the maps p rop os ed for each of
the six data b a s e ca tegories.
Th e m ap layers and tab u lar data a re p re­
sented to the user as a continuous geographic
data base. That is, any map layer can b e used
as if it w er e a single continu ou s map sh eet
exten d in g over th e en tire covera ge area.
W ithin the system, the maps are divided into
(s ee smaller map s egm en ts for m ore efficien t
com p u ter s tora ge and handling.
Th e ob jective of the San D iego G iS design
w as to p rovid e a fully in tegra ted data b a se
to s u pp ort administrative and decis ion ­
making functions at all levels in the organiza­
tion. It was to
— p r ovid e a u tom a ted p roces s in g of
p rojects and b u ilding permits;
E x a m p le M a p L a y e rs QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
D e m o g r ap h ic A r e a s
T a x Rat e A r e a s
Sc h o o l D i s t r i c t s
Em e r g e n c y Se r v i c e A r e a s
Co n t r o l Po in t s
To p o g r a p h ic Co n t o u r s
B u i l d i n g Fo o t p r i n t s
S o i l s M ap
Fl o o d p l a i n M ap
N o i se Le v e l M ap
St r e a m s a n d W a t e r b o d i e s
Lo t B o u n d a r i e s
La n d P a r c e l B o u n d a r i e s
Ea s e m e n t s an d Ri g h t - o f - W a y s
Se w e r Sy st e m
W a t e r Sy st e m
El e c t r i c a l C a b l i n g
Te le c o m m u n ic a t io n s
Ro a d C e n t e r l i n e s
Ro a d I n t e r s e c t i o n s
St r e e t L i g h t s
St r e e t T r e e s
 19
A n In tro d u c tio n to G e o gra p h ic In fo rm a tio n S ystem s mlkjihgfedcbaZY

Table 1.2 S a m p le M u n ic ip a l G IS A p p li c a t i o n s . ( A d a p t e d f r o m E S R I 1 9 8 6 ). GFEDCBA

T y p e o f A p p lic a t io n E x a m p le s QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

A r e a M a p p i n g a n d Re p o r t i n g A n a ly sis an d d isp la y o f m ap s

B u i l d i n g Pe r m i t P r o c e ssin g o f b u ild in g p e rm it

D e v e lo p m e n t T r a c k in g A n a ly ze d e v e lo p m e n t t re n d d a t a
D isp la y m a p s o f d e v e lo p m e n t t r e n d s

El e c t i o n M a n a g e m e n t Pr o v i d e e l e c t i o n m ap u p d a t e s
D isp la y an d a n a ly z e e le c t io n an d p r e c in c t
in f o r m a t io n

Em e r g e n c y R e s p o n s e Pr o v i d e d i s p l a y o f e m e r g e n c y v e h i c l e r o u t i n g
A n a ly ze f r e q u e n c y an d lo ca t io n o f e m e r g e n cy
even ts

Fa c ilit ie s M an ag em en t Su p p o r t t h e p l a n n i n g an d d e l i v e r y o f m a i n t e n a n c e
t o ro ad , se w e r , w a t e r , an d c a b le f a c ilit ie s
U p d at e , d isp la y , an d a n a ly z e f a c i l i t i e s d at a
Pla n f o r f a c i l i t i e s e x p a n sio n

F a c i l i t y Si t i n g Se l e c t i o n o f o p t i m u m l o c a t i o n s f o r n e w
f a c i l i t i e s s u c h a s p a r k s, p o l i c e s t a t i o n s ,
f ir e h a lls

La n d D e v e l o p m e n t U p d a t i n g o f lo t b o u n d a r i e s
A n a ly z e an d d isp la y lan d r e c o r d s d a t a
P r o c e ss lan d d e v e lo p m e n t m a p s

La n d U se / En v i r o n m e n t a l Pl a n n i n g D i s p l a y a n d a n a l y z e e n v i r o n m e n t a l a n d la n d
u se d a t a
P r o c e s s c o m m u n i t y l a n d u se p l a n u p d a t e s

La n d U se R e g u l a t i o n P r o c e ssin g zo n in g c h a n g e s
A n a l y s i s a n d d i s p l a y o f la n d u se r e g u l a t i o n s

Pe r m i t t i n g a n d L i c e n s i n g P r o c e ssin g an d t r a c k in g
D isp la y an d a n a ly sis o f d at a

Pr o p e r t y M a n a g e m e n t In v e n t o r y a n d m a n a g e m e n t o f p u b l i c l y o w n e d
p ro p ert y
D isp la y an d a n a ly z e d a t a

Sa f e t y In sp e c t i o n / C o d e En f o r c e m e n t
Sc h e d u l i n g a n d t r a c k i n g s a f e t y a n d c o d e
v io la t io n in sp e c t io n s
Lo g g i n g a n d p r o c e s si n g c o m p l a i n t s
D i s p l a y a n d a n a l y s i s o f i n sp e c t i o n a n d e n f o r c e ­
m en t d at a

T r a n sp o r t a t i o n Pl a n n i n g A n a l y s i s an d d isp la y o f st r e e t , a r e a , an d lan d
r e c o r d s i n f o r m a t i o n t o su p p o r t t r a n s p o r t a ­
t io n p la n n in g

V e h i c l e Ro u t i n g A n a l y s i s an d d isp la y o f o p t im u m r o u t e s fo r
o p e r a t io n s su c h a s g a r b ag e c o lle c t io n ,
p u b l i c t r a n sp o r t a t i o n , sc h o o l b u s e s
20 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
— p rovid e on-line information a b ou t each
land p a rcel to fa cilita te th e p rocess in g
of p rojects and perm its;
— m on itor w or k loa d s , d e ve lo p m e n t
activity, and financial in form ation for
planning, b u dgeting, and fiscal control;
— a u tom a te m a p p in g efforts ca rried ou t
manu ally b y s evera l dep artm en ts ; and
— provide au tomated su pport for activities
such as pu b lic notices and advertising.
Ta b le 1.2 lists som e o f th e applications the
G1S w ou ld p rovid e. Th e a pplica tion s ra n ge
from th e d a y- to- d a y transactions o f p rep a r­
ing w ork ord ers to rep a ir roa d s and s ew ers
to p rovid in g com p a ra tive ana lyses o f a lter­
n ative d evelop m en t plans. In conju nction
with th e introdu ction o f th e G IS tech n ology,
p rop os a ls w ere m a d e to adju st th e flow of
inform ation. Th es e ch a nges w ou ld red u ce
du plication o f effort (data w ou ld b e en tered
on ly on ce into a cen tra lized data b ase
instead o f having th e sam e in form ation
en tered in s evera l data b ases), m ake th e
data m ore w id ely availab le (a user wou ld b e
a u th orized to d irectly a cces s th e data sets
he or she n eed ed ), and en a b le th e in form a ­
tion to b e in tegra ted in a virtu ally u nlimited
w a y (any data sets within th e data b a se
cou ld b e u sed togeth er). A w ell- d es ign ed
mu nicipal data b a s e can im p rove th e effec­
tiven es s o f th e orga n ization in maintaining
th e in form a tion b a se on which th e munici­
pality d ep en d s and in making th e b es t u se
of its inform a tion investm ent.
G L O B A L SCALE A P P L IC A T IO N S
G eogra p h ic p roces s es d o not ob ey national
b ou nd aries. A w a ren es s o f th e fragility and
interrelationships of the glob al en viron m en t
h a ve b een b rou gh t into sharp focu s b y such
even ts as th e d rou gh t and fa m in e in th e
Sahel from 1984- 1986, th e d is covery o f th e
"h o le ” in the ozon e layer over th e Antarctic,
concerns that increases in the glob al carb on
d ioxid e concentration may b e causing glob al
w arm ing, and th e d yin g lakes and fores ts of
N orth ern E u rope and N orth Am erica as a
resu lt o f acid rain.
To u nd erstand m any o f th e issues facing
th e w or ld ’s societies, w e requ ire th e ca p a ­
b ility to a na lyze geogra p h ic in form ation for
very la rge areas. N ational and international
orga n izations a re con vertin g existing data
into com p u ter- rea d a b le form . Increasingly,
n ew data a re b ein g collected in digital form .
W ith th e d evelop m en t o f rem ote sensing
tech n ology, it is n ow p os s ib le to collect
geogra p h ic in form a tion on a glob a l basis.
Th e ea rth 's w ea th er systems, vegeta tion ,
and ocea n circu lation a re m on itored on a
da ily b asis using satellites that p rod u ce
digital images and digital measu rements. GIS
tech n ology is b ein g u sed to p erform inte­
gra ted analyses of la rge glob al datasets that
w ere origin ally collected using d ifferen t
resolu tions, scales, and projection s.
To d ea l with th e glob a l en viron m en ta l
issu es fa cing th e human popu la tion , it is
es s en tia l th a t en viron m en ta l d a ta be
m on itored and a n a lyzed at th e national and
international scale. G eogra p h ic inform ation
sys tem s can p rovid e s om e o f th e analytical
tools n eed ed to accom plish this task. FEDCBA
Eco lo g ica l Ef f e ct s o f I n cr e a se d QPONMLKJIHG
A t m o sp h e r ic Ca r b o n D io x id e
O ver th e past d eca d e, evid en ce has b een
p res en ted s h ow in g a s tea d y in crea se in the
con cen tration of ca rb on d ioxid e in the
ea rth 's a tm os p h ere. The C anadian W ild life
S ervice (CW S) is stu dying h ow an increa se
in th e a tm os p h eric ca rb on d ioxid e con cen ­
tra tion and resu lting glob a l w a rm in g cou ld
a ffect the loca tion and exten t o f ecos ytem s
in Canada. A m od el was d evelo p ed using
G IS tech n iqu es to assess th e sensitivity of
C a n a d a ’s ecos ys tem s to climatic ch a n ge as
a resu lt of a dou b ling of a tm os ph eric carb on
d ioxid e (Rizzo 1988). A t p res en t rates,
a tm os p h eric ca rb on d ioxid e is ex p ected to
 A n I n t r o d u c t i o n t o G e o g r a p h ic I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m s
d ou b le b y the yea r 2050 and p oss ib ly as
early as 2030. Plate 5a illustrates the current
distrib u tion o f the E coclimatic Provin ces of
Canada. Th es e geogra p h ic divisions rep re­
sent regional climatic zones as exp res s ed b y
th e vegeta tion and soils fou nd on standard
sites. Shifts in th e glob a l w ea th er system
wou ld cau se changes in the location o f these
E coclimatic Provin ces and w ou ld u ltimately
cau se a ch a nge in the distrib u tion o f eco­
systems in Canada. A significant shift in the
location or exten t of C anada's ecos ys tem s
w ou ld ha ve d irect im plications for
nation's natural resou rce b ase. For example,
changes in th e exten t of agricu ltu ral areas
and fores t lands cou ld significantly a ffect
C anada's ab ility to grow food and p rod u ce
fores t produ cts.
Th e classification m od el u sed in
clim ate analysis w as b a s ed on nine tem p er­
atu re and precip ita tion p a ra m eters. The
m od el w as ca lib ra ted using existing m eteo­
rological data for som e 2000 sites. Predicted
valu es w ere then gen era ted using
G eneral Circulation M od el d evelop ed b y the
G od d a rd Institute for S p a ce S tu dies
W ashington D.C. G IS m eth od s w ere u sed to
extend the results for the grid o f data points
to sh ow th e resu lts in the geogra p h ic con ­
text n eed ed .
Plate 5b illustrates th e changes in E co­
climatic Provin ce b ou n d a ries that cou ld
d evelop if the ea rth ’s carb on d ioxid e con ­
centration w ere dou b le w hat it is today. O ne
of the m ajor shifts p red icted b y this analysis
is the exten s ion o f C anada's w es tern grain-
produ cing G rassland Provin ce northward to
m eet th e Arctic Provin ce. C u rrently th es e
Ecoclimatic Provin ces are d ivid ed from each
oth er b y B oreal Forest, a rich sou rce of
fores t produ cts. Th e northern extens ion of
the G rassland Provin ce w ou ld p rob a b ly not
b e su itab le for grain produ ction, h ow ever,
b eca u s e th e shallow soils and m eta m orp h ic
g eolo g y of the region p rovid e p oor er soils
than th os e of th e cu rrent G rassland P rov­
ince. A n ew Arid E coclimatic Provin ce can
2 jihgfedcb
mlkjihgfed
1
b e seen in th e sou th-central portion o f the
cou ntry. If this region b ecom es w a rm er and
drier, as in dicated b y this m odel, then cu r­
rent agricu ltu ral pra ctices w ou ld no lon ger
b e su ccessfu l (Rizzo 1988).
An a lyses such as th es e p rovid e valu ab le
p red iction s o f climatic tren ds that can b e
u sed for lon g ra n ge planning at th e national
level. If changes can b e anticipa ted then
th ere is th e op p ortu n ity to b en efit from
them and th e possib ility of d evelop in g
mitigation measures in advance. For example,
the instead o f tryin g to su pport agricu ltu ral
m eth od s that a re u nsu ited to a h otter d rier
clim ate, th e land can b e pu t to a ltern a tive
uses. Res ou rces can b e u sed to b ring new
a rea s u nder cu ltivation that are b ecom in g
b etter su ited to agricu ltu re. FEDCBA
the
T h e Co r in e Syst em — A G I S f o r QPONMLKJIH
t h e Eu r o p e a n Co m m u n it y
O rganiza tions res p on s ib le for international
the planning and decision- making h a ve n ow
b egu n to im p lem en t G IS es to s u p p ort their
in data collection, analysis, and reporting func­
tions. In many cases it is the p ow er o f a
com p u ter- b a s ed G IS that makes even the
con tem p la tion of such projects plau sib le.
W ith ou t com p u ter- b a s ed tech n iqu es to
regis ter m aps o f d ifferen t scales and m ap
projection s, th e p roces s o f registerin g the
data to a com m on m ap b a se, let a lon e any
analysis, w ou ld b e p roh ib itively exp en s ive.
Th e w ork o f th e E u ropean C ommu nity (EC)
and th e U nited N ations E nvironment Pro­
gram p rovid e exa m p les of this typ e o f G IS
application.
In 1985 th e EC lau nched the C oord in a ted
Inform ation on th e E u ropean E n vironm en t
(C O RIN E ) progra m . Th e ob jective o f this
p rogra m is to p rovid e a com p reh en s ive
in tegra ted spatial data b a se of en viron m en ­
tal data releva nt to Eu ropean policy-making.
C O RIN E is des ign ed to b e availab le throu gh­
ou t the EC and to b e rela tively ea sy to use.
Th e facilities will p rovid e the ca pa b ility to
22 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive
Figure 1.10 Map of Important Peatland Areas in the European Community. (Courtesy of the In te rn a tio n a l Journal
o f G e o g ra p h ic a l In fo rm a tio n System s.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
in ven tory resou rces, a n a lyze d ivers e geo-
referen ced en viron m en ta l data sets, and
d etect and assess land use ch ange for the
geogra p h ic area o f the en tire EC. W h erever
possible, existing data sets are used, and col­
lab oration a m ong organizations of d ifferen t
m em b er cou ntries is en cou ra ged . It w as
recogn ized that to fulfill th es e ob jectives ,
data at d ifferen t scales and spatial resolu ­
tions w ou ld b e requ ired ranging from EC-
w id e cover a g e dow n to th e 1 km2 ord er of
magnitu de.
An existing GIS. th e ARC/1NFO system
from th e E nvironmental S ystem s Research
Institute (ESRI), w as chosen as a d evelop ­
m ent pla tform for th e C O RIN E system.
B ased on th e p rojects com p leted using this
system , the requ irem en ts for th e C O RIN E
G IS w ere d evelop ed and th e invitation for
ten d er to su pply the system w as issued. Th e
C O RIN E progra m initiated an in ven tory of
en viron m en tal data cu rrently ava ila b le for
th e EC. S om e exa m p les a re an in ven tory of
ecologica lly im p ortan t sites for natu re con ­
servation, th e collection o f w a ter resou rces
data, and an in ven tory o f areas with a high
erosion potential. Analyses are b ein g u nder­
taken using th es e data sets to assess user
n eed s and the op era tion a l fea sib ility of the
GIS.
The system has b een su ccessfu lly op er­
ated over tw o com p u ter networks, enab ling
u sers in d ifferen t cou ntries to access the
system and exch a n ge data sets. Soils,
climatic, top ogra p h ic, and ecologica l data
sets ha ve b een d evelop ed , and projects
have b een u ndertaken to a nalyze specific
environmental issues related to atmospheric
emissions, w a ter pollu tion, and soil erosion.
Figu res 1.10 and 1.11 illu strate s om e of the
results. Th es e p rojects su ccessfu lly d em on ­
strated th e feasib ility and u sefu lness o f a
 23 HGFEDCB
A n In tro d u c tio n to G e o g rap h ic in fo rm a tio n System s mlkjihgfedcbaZ

jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQP
B 3 C A M B I SO L

G L E Y SO L H L U V I SO L

R E G O SO L m P O D Z O L U V I SO L

Ê3 PODZU L

Eg P L A N O SO L

REN DZ IN A ü H I ST O SO L

RA N K ER □ SO L O N C H A K

A N D O SO L □ 'U RB A N '

V E R T I SO L □ ' F R E SH W A T ER’

X E R O SO L □ 'SEA '

PH A EO Z EM

Figure 1.11 Sample Soil Map o f an Area in Scotland at the 1:1 M illio n Scale. (Courtesy of the In te rn a tio n a l
Jo u rna l o f G e o g ra p h ic a l In fo rm a tio n S yste m s .) QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

D a t a B a s e Im p l e m e n t a t i o n Fl o w C h a r t

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

Data Assembly Data Standardization Dala B ase Development Model Iteration Map Production

Odor Maps Color Maps

Africa Afnca
1-25 Million 1 5 Million

AFRICA

Figure 1.12 Data Base Developm ent and Analysis Procedures Used to Produce the Desertification Hazards
M ap o f Africa. (Courtesy o f ESR1. Redlands, California.)
24 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive GFEDCBA

A F R IC A
IRRIGATION AND WATER
RESOURCES POTENTIAL
PRELIMINARY - SUBJECT TO REVISION

SYMBOLS FOR POTENTIALLY

IRRIGABLE SOILS

M ore tha n 50% Irrig able

From 25% to 50% irrig a b le

From 10% to 25% irrig a b le

Up to 10% irrig a b le

No irrig a b le s o ils

te fffé l W ater-lakes

11111| Irrig a tio n no t required jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

Kilometers
APPWOXIVA7C SCAlC

Figure 1.13 Map of the Irrigation and W ater Resources Potential of Africa. (Adapted from m aterial provided
by ESRI. Redlands. California.)

la rge G IS for th e EC. Th e progra m is now oceans, ren ew a b le resou rces, and pollution.
continuing with th e d evelop m en t of the data In 1983 the Environmental Systems Research
b a s e and p rocu rem en t of a G IS for th e full Institute (ESRI) w as s elected b y U N E P to
d evelop a G IS-b ased system to a nalyze and
C O RIN E system (W iggins et. al. 1987). FEDCBA
m ap th e sp rea d o f d es ert a rea s on a glob a l
scale. Th e d es ertifica tion h a za rd w as
G I S A p p lica t io n s at t h e U n it e d QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
assess ed as a fu nction of soil status,
N a t io n s En v ir o n m e n t Pro g ram
vu ln era b ility of land to d es ertifica tion
Th e U nited N ations E nvironm ent Program p rocess es , and animal and popu lation
(U NEP) was estab lished to coordin ate glob al pressu res. Th es e data w ere ob ta in ed from
environmental assessment and management exis tin g m aps or w er e d er ived from
efforts rela ted to th e w orld 's climate, availab le climate, soils, and vegeta tion data.
T a b le 1.3 mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
D e g re e o f D e s e r t if ic a t io n H a z a rd in A f r ic a B y C o u n tr y . ( A d a p t e d fr o m E S R I 1984).

DESERTIFICATION HAZARD RATING DESERTIFICATION HAZARD RATING

None to Very None to Very

Slight M oderate Severe Severe S lig ht M oderate Severe Severe
Country % Area % Area % Area % Area Country % Area % Area % Area % Area QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

A l g e r ia 4 28 39 29 M alaw i 94 6 0 0
A n g o la 86 11 3 0 M ali 13 45 6 36
Ben in 79 21 0 0 M au r it an ia 6 17 23 54
Bo t sw a n a 39 61 0 0 M au r it iu s 100 0 0 0

A n I n t r o d u c t io n to G e o g r a p h ic I n f o r m a t io n S y s te m s
Bu r u n d i 100 0 0 0 M o rr o cco 34 27 36 3
Cam er o o n 95 5 0 0 M o zam b iq u e 80 20 0 0
Ca n a r y Isl a n d s 0 28 54 18 N am ib ia 26 50 24 0
Cap e V e r d e 0 0 0 100 N ig er 0 18 53 29
Ce n t r a l A f r i c a n Re p u b li c 97 3 0 0 N ig e r ia 63 31 6 0
Ch ad 22 29 40 10 Reu n io n 100 0 0 0
Co m o r o s Isl a n d s 100 0 0 0 Rw a n d a 100 0 0 0
Co n g o 100 0 0 0 Sa o To m e an d Pr in c ip e 100 0 0 0
D jb o u t i 0 90 7 3 Se n e g a l 27 72 1 0
Eg yp t 0 23 36 40 Si e r r a Le o n e 100 0 0 0
Eq u at o r ia l G u in e a 100 0 0 0 So m a l i a 8 57 34 1
Et h io p ia 44 36 15 4 So u t h A f r i c a 11 18 33 38
Gab o n 100 0 0 0 Su d an 34 34 8 24
G a m b ia 44 56 0 0 Sw a z i l a n d 70 30 0 0
Gh an a 96 4 0 0 Ta n z a n i a 65 33 1 0
Gu in e a 98 2 0 0 To g o 100 0 0 0
G u i n e a B i ssa u 99 1 0 0 T u n i si a 14 26 43 18
Ivo ry C o a st 100 0 0 0 U g an d a 80 19 1 0
Ke n y a 13 64 21 2 U p p er V o lt a 42 58 0 0
Le so t h o 27 57 0 16 W e st e r n Sa h a r a 0 12 70 18
Lib e r ia 100 0 0 0 Z ai r e 100 0 0 0
Lib y a 1 28 48 23 Z a m b ia 97 3 0 0
M a d a g a sc a r 91 6 2 0 Z i m b ab w e 39 55 6 0
M ad eira 0 0 100 0 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

25
26 jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e r s p e c t iv e
All data sets w ere rectified to a common
map b ase and then con verted into digital
form using manual and au tomated digitizing
techniqu es.
O nce the GIS data b ase had b een p ro­
du ced, desertification models d evelop ed b y
the FAO (the U nited N ations Food and
Agricu ltu re Organization) w ere used to pro­
du ce the final desertification hazard map
and summary statistics. Figure 1.12 illus­
trates the data b ase d evelop m en t and
analysis process. Figure 1.13 and Tab le 1.3
are exam ples of the results: a map of Africa
showing the irrigation and w a ter resou rces
potential and a tabu lation of the overall
desertification hazard b y cou ntry for the
African continent. It is this typ e of informa­
tion that is n eed ed to gu ide policy d evelop ­
ment and ta rget those areas that could
b en efit most from remedial action.
In 1985 U N EP im plem ented the G lobal
Resource Information Data Base (GRID). This
project was designed to p rovid e scientists
and planners with access to an integrated
data b a se of glob al environmental informa­
tion and the GIS tech nology to u ndertake
integrated analyses. In the cou rse of the tw o
year pilot phase of the program, a GIS
capability was develop ed , data sets entered,
and several studies com p leted illustrating
the integra ted use of national and glob al
level data for resou rce managem ent and
environmental planning.
Africa was s elected as an area of special
emphasis du ring the pilot phase. In 1987,
the G RID p roject d evelop ed a national
environmental data b ase for U ganda using
existing data from U NEP and other sources.
Existing maps w ere u pdated and new data
sets d evelop ed using information inter­
p reted from satellite imagery. Each factor,
such as soil types, rainfall, and temperatu re,
was input to the GIS as a separate map. The
GIS was then used to model the co-occurrence
of conditions significant for land use and
planning. The conditions most suitable
for differen t crops w ere m od elled using
tem p era tu re data, annual rainfall, and soils
data. Soil erosion can b e a seriou s threat to
a cou ntry heavily d ep en d en t on agriculture.
Erosion potential was first evalu ated b y
analyzing rainfall and soils data. The result
was then comb ined with land use pressu res
data (popu lation density, and croppin g and
grazing practices) and re-analyzed to arrive
at an erosion hazard estimate. In addition,
areas of significant deforestation w ere map­
p ed using satellite imagery.
Th es e analyses w ere d on e relatively
qu ickly (over a 5 month p eriod ) at small
scales on the order of 1:1 million. They drew
heavily on small scale data sets that w ere,
in som e cases, continent-wide. Although the
level o f detail is relatively coarse, this typ e
of data can provid e valu able information for
national or international scale planning when
m ore detailed information is not availab le.
It can also b e used to select areas for m ore
d eta iled analysis and in this w ay limited
funds can b e directed to regions w here they
will p rovid e the grea test b enefit.
The GRID program began a two-year imple­
mentation phase in January 1988. Am ong
the p rojects to b e u ndertaken in this phase
are a glob al assessment of fores t resou rces
and a global assessment of land degradation.
Both o f these studies will d ep en d heavily on
the use of rem otely sensed data from satel­
lites. D uring the pilot phase, a 9- parameter
glob al data b ase was d evelop ed and a
17-parameter data b ase for the continent of
Africa was completed (see Tab le 1.4). During
the implementation phase, efforts will b e made
to increase the nu mber of glob al data sets
and expa nd the accessibility of the system. FEDCBA
C O N C LU SI O N
O ver the past tw o deca d es it has b ecom e
increasingly a ppa rent that resou rces are
b ecom ing more scarce, the effects of human
activities m ore pervasive, and the recogni­
tion and prediction of causes and effects
m ore complex. It has also b een recognized
 27
A n In tro d u c tio n to G e o g rap h ic In fo rm a tio n S ystem s mlkjihgfedcba

Table 1.4 S o m e o f t h e D a ta S e ts H e ld b y th e G lo b a l R e s o u r c e I n f o r m a t io n
D a ta B a s e . ( A d a p t e d f r o m M o o n e y h a n 1 987). GFEDCBA

P a ra m e te r C o v e ra g e S o u rc e QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

Po lit ic a l Bo u n d a r ie s G lo b al U S St a t e D e p a r t m e n t
N at u ral Bo u n d a r ie s G lo b al U S St a t e D e p a r t m e n t
El e v a t i o n G lo b a l N a t io n a l G e o p h y sic a l
D a t a C e n t e r , U SA
So ils G lo b al FA O / U N ESC O W o r l d S o i l s M ap
V e g e t a t i o n In d e x (w e e k l y ) G lo b a l A V H RR sa t e llit e d at a
Pr e c ip it a t io n A n o m a lie s G lo b al C lim a t e A n a ly sis Ce n t e r
(m o n t h l y ) N O AA/ W M O
Te m p e r at u r e A n o m a lie s G lo b al C lim a t e A n a ly sis Ce n t e r
(m o n t h l y ) N O AA/ W M O
Su r f a c e Te m p e r a t u r e G lo b a l N A SA s a t e l l i t e d a t a
(d ay / n i g h t - m o n t h l y )
O z o n e D i st r i b u t i o n G lo b al N A SA , T O M S s a t e l l i t e
V e g e t a t i o n In d e x A frica N A SA , A V H R R s a t e l l i t e
V e g e t a t io n A f r ic a FA O
W a t e r sh e d s A frica U N EP / FA O
A n n u al Ra in f a ll A frica U N EP / FA O jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPON

that b etter resou rce asses sm ent and plan­ Society fo r Photogram m etry and Remote Sensing.
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referen ced inform ation has always b een Area. In P ro ce e d ing s o f the GIS '87 S ym p o sium .
American Society fo r Photogram m etry and Remote
critical to the w elfa re of nations and the
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w elfa re of their citizens. It is th e tech n ology Bonham-Carter. G.F., F.P. Agterberg, and D.F. Wright.
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30 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e r s p e c t iv e
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1627$ rr- ^ n VW.OERNESS AREA
135 OCALA SANDPINE SEED ORCHARD
SIO 1 - 1 RECREATION AREA
m
IBüJ WATERBODSS
m u PRAifllES
c u PRIVATE CWNERSHP

Plate 1 F ore st C o ve r M a p fo r th e O cala N a tio n a l F ore st, F lo rida. See page 9. (Courtesy o f th e US F o re st Service. A tla n ta , G eorg ia .)
Plate 2 mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSR
C o m b in in g V e c to r
G ra phics and Raster Images.
GIS a nd im age p ro ce ssin g
te c h n o lo g y are used to in te r­
actively e d it forest stand bou n d ­
a ries {w hite d o tte d lines) and
ro a ds (yello w lines) th a t are
d is p la ye d o ve r a Landsat TM
sa te llite im age. See page 10.
(Courtesy o f PA M AP G raphics
L im ite d and th e BC M in is try of
Forests and Lands. V ic to ria ,
B ritis h Colum bia.)

Plate 4 M in e ra l E xp lo ra tio n
fo r Tungsten. GIS m ethods were
used to id e n tify p ro m is in g
e x p lo ra tio n targets. The sites
are c o lo u r co ded fro m pin k
(m ost favo u ra ble ) to orange,
y e llo w , green, and b lu e (least
fa vo u ra b le ). The re d areas are
e xposed p lu to n ic ro c k units.
The b ackg ro u nd Landsat satel­
lite image was used to show
stru c tu ra l geolo gy and geo­
g ra p h ic lo ca tio n . See page 15.
The gro un d distance across the
image is appro xim ately 100 km.
Plate 3 mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
S a te llite T e le m e try to M a p th e M ig ra tio n P attern s o f C arib o u in N o rth e rn Alaska. Data on th e p osi­
tio n s o f c a rib o u we re c o lle cte d on a d a ily basis using s a te llite te le m e try . In th e m ap. the lo c a tio n data fro m
1985 a re sh ow n as so lid lin es and th e 1986 data a re sh ow n as dashed lines. The co lo u r co d e is as fo llo w s:
M arch 20 to M ay 25 — gre en. M ay 26 to June 13 — p in k, June 14 to July 14 — d a rk blu e, July I 5 to N o ve m b e r 30
— ora nge, and D e cem ber 1 to M a rch 19 — lig h t blue. The distance across th e m ap is a p p ro x im a te ly 560 km.
See page 13. (Courtesy o f the Alaska Fish and W ild life Research Centre and the Division o f Inform atio n Resources
M a n ag e m e nt o f the US Fish and W ild life Service . A nch o ra ge . Alaska.)
 E C O C L IM A T IC P R O V IN C E S mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA E C O C L IM A T IC P R O V IN C E S QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
OF CANADA A r ct ic

P R E S E N T C O N D IT IO N S Su b a r c t i c
M a r i t im e Bo r e al
M o ist C o n t i n e n t a l Bo r e al
D ry C o n t i n e n t a l Bo r e al
Co o l Te m p e r a t e
M o d e r a t e Te m p e r a t e
G r a ssl a n d
U n c l a ssi f i e d

Plate 5a Pre sent E coclim atic P rovinces o f Canada. See page 21. (A d a p te d fro m m aps co urte sy o f th e Canadian W ild life S ervice . Hull. Q uebec.)
 P R E D I C T E D E C O C L I M A T I C mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA E C O C L IM A T IC P R O V IN C E S QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
P R O V IN C E S □ A r ct ic
U N D E R C O N D IT IO N S O F T W IC E Su b a r c t i c
T H E P R E S E N T LE V E L O F I I Bo r e al
A T M O S P H E R IC C 0 2 □ Co o l Te m p e r a t e
M o d er at e Te m p e r at e
□ Tr a n si t i o n a l G r a ssl a n d
G r a ssl a n d
Se m i- D e se r t
U n c l a ssi f i e d

Plate 5b P re dicted E coclim atic Provinces o f Canada. The m ap shows the new E coclim atic Provin ces bou n da rie s th a t could d e ve lo p if th e level o f a tm o sp h e ric carb on
d io x id e was d ou b le the cu rre n t level. See page 21. (A dapted from maps courtesy o f th e Canadian W ild life Service. Hull, Quebec.)
 jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJI
■ •. ■
.

- v,;

H f i K

I jB p
^ ¡¡■ 1

« i

|
id fe iRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

mm

Plate 6a mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
C olo ur Com posite Image o f the T o ro n to A rea Produced fro m Landsa t TM Bands 1, 2. and 3. Each
pixel in th is image re presents a 30 m by 30 m gro un d area. The gro un d distance across this image is a p p ro x ­
im ately 30 km. N o rth is to th e to p o f the page. To cre ate this co lo u r p h o to g ra p h , the d ig ital image data fo r
bands 1, 2, and 3 {d etectin g th e blue, green, and re d visible w avelengths re sp ective ly) w e re assigned to the
blue, green, and red channels o f the o u tp u t device. This assignment o f sensor bands to o u tp u t channels produces
w h a t is te rm e d a n orm al c o lo u r image. See page 80. (Landsat Image ID#: 5 0 5 6 8 -1 5 3 3 0 . a cquisitio n date:
S e p te m b e r 20. 1985. C ourtesy o f the O n ta rio Centre fo r Rem ote Sensing. T o ro n to . O ntario.)
Plate 6b mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
C o lo ur C om posite Image o f th e T o ro n to A re a P ro duced fro m Landsat TM Bands 2. 3. and 4. Each
pixe l in th is image re p re sen ts a 30 m b y 30 m g ro un d area. The g ro un d distance across this image is a p p ro x ­
im ately 30 km. N o rth is to th e to p o f th e page. To create th is c o lo u r p h o to g ra p h , th e d ig ita l im age data fo r
bands 2 . 3 , and 4 (detecting the green and re d visible w avelengths and a near-infrare d w ave length band respec­
tively) w e re assigned to the blue, green, and re d channels o f the o u tp u t device. This assignm ent o f sensor bands
to o u tp u t channels pro du ce s a RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
false c o lo u r im age sim ila r to th a t p ro d u ce d b y false c o lo u r in fra re d aerial
p h o to g ra p h ic film s. See page 80. (Landsat Im age ID#: 5 0 5 6 8 -1 5 3 3 0 , a cqu isitio n date: S e p te m b e r 20. 1985.
C ourtesy o f th e O n ta rio Centre fo r Rem ote Sensing. T o ro n to , O ntario.)
Plate 6c mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
C o lo u r C o m p osite Im age o f th e T o ro n to A rea P ro duce d fro m Landsa t TM Bands 3, 4. and 5. Each
pixe l in th is im age re p re se n ts a 30 m b y 30 m g ro u n d area. The g ro u n d distance across th is im age is a p p ro x ­
im a te ly 30 km. N o rth is to th e to p o f th e page. To cre a te th is c o lo u r p h o to g ra p h , th e d ig ita l im age data fo r
b an d s 3, 4. and 5 (d e te ctin g th e re d vis ib le w avelengths, a n e a r-in fra re d w a ve le n g th ban d , and a m id -in fra re d
b a n d re sp ective ly) w e re assigned to th e blue, gre en, and re d channels o f th e o u tp u t device. This assignm ent
o f sensor bands to o u tp u t channels produces a false RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
c o lo u r image. See page 81. (Landsat Image ID#: 5 0 5 6 8 -15330,
a cq u is itio n date: S e p te m b e r 20. 1985. C ourtesy o f th e O n ta rio C entre fo r R em ote Sensing. T o ro n to , O nta rio .)
Plate 7 mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
SPOT C olour C om posite Image o f O tta w a, O n ta rio . This RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
fa ls e c o lo u r image was p ro d u c e d using data
fro m the th re e m u ltis p e ctra l SPOT w avelength bands; a visib le green, visible red, and n e a r-in fra re d band wh ich
w ere assigned to th e blue, green, and red channels o f the o u tp u t device. Each pixel re pre sents a 20 m b y 20 m
gro un d area. The g ro un d distance across th e image is a p p ro x im a te ly 30 km. n o rth is to the rig h t. See page 81.
(SPOT Image ID#: 1 0 5 3 0-16 2 85 7 , acqu is itio n date: August 5, 1987. Courtesy o f th e Canada Centre fo r Rem ote
Sensing. O ttawa , O n ta rio . Image data © CNES 1987.)
Plate 8 mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
T o p o g ra p h ic M ap P roduced fro m SPOT Im agery. This is a p o rtio n o f a 1:50.000 scale to p o g ra p h ic
m a p w ith a 1 km b y 1 km g rid . The distance across th e im age is a p p ro x im a te ly 7 km. The e le va tio n contours
w e re co m p u te r-g e n e ra te d fro m a s te re o p a ir o f SPOT p a n ch ro m a tic images in which each p ixel re pre sents a
10 m b y 10 m g ro u n d area. The o th e r m ap fe a tu re s w e re p lo tte d using co n ve n tio n a l m ethods. See discussion
on page 82. The accuracy o f th e e le vatio n co n to u rs is a p p ro x im a te ly 10 m RMS at th e 90% level o f confidence.
This m ap area app e ars in th e u p p e r le ft c o rn e r o f Plate 9. (Courtesy o f Digim Inc. M o n tre a l, Quebec.)
Plate 9 mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
SPOT C o lo ur Com p osite O rtho-Im age. This SPOT m u ltis p e ctra l image o f an area in M alaysia has bee n
digitally processed to rem ove all re lie f displacem ent, discussed on page 82. Each pixel represents a 20 m by 20 m
gro und area, and th e distance across th e im age is a p p ro x im a te ly 20 km. The m ap area show n in Plate 8 can
be seen in th e u p p e r le ft co rn e r o f this image. (SPOT Image ID #:034735 2X, a cqu isitio n date: F ebruary 28.
1987. Courtesy o f Digim Inc. M o n tre a l, Q uebec. Image data © CN E S 1987.)
Plate 10 mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Co lo ur C om posite AVHRR Image o f W estern Canada. This im age is a co m p osite cre a te d fro m seven d ig ita l images a cqu ire d d u rin g th e w e e k o f July 3 1 to August 6,
1988. It show s an area 2000 km b y 1000 km e xte n d in g fro m ce n tra l B ritis h Colum bia to w e stern O n ta rio across the Canadian p ra irie pro vinces. The im age was p ro d u c e d
b y assigning th e N o rm a lized D iffe re nce V e g e ta tio n Index (NDVI) im age values to th e red channel a nd th e re fle cta n ce values fro m the vis ib le re d w a ve le n g th b an d to
th e b lu e channel o f th e o u tp u t device. Areas w h e re v e g e ta tio n d e v e lo p m e n t is m o re advanced (i.e. w h e re th e ve g e ta tio n is greener) a p p e a r re d d e r in this im age. The
ye llo w lines are cro p re p o rtin g d is tric t boundaries th a t we re dig itally o verlayed on the image. See page 93. (Courtesy o f the Canada Centre fo r Remote Sensing. O ttawa, O ntario.)
Plate 11 mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Land Cover M a p P ro duced fro m Landsat MSS Data. This la nd co ve r m a p o f the L ittle Jackfish River
Basin in n o rth e rn O n ta rio was p ro d u c e d fro m a supervised cla ssification o f Landsat MSS data. E ight la n d co ve r
classes w e re d e fin e d : tw o deciduous classes (red shades), th re e co n ife ro u s classes (green shades), tw o w e tla n d
classes (orange and yello w ), and a w a te r class (d ark blue). The class c o d e d as lig h t b lu e show s th e areas th a t
w o u ld be flo o d e d b y th e p ro p o s e d h y d ro e le c tric dam . th e ye llo w lines show th e 327 m c o n to u r lin es (the re se r­
v o ir w a te r level), and th e lig h t b lu e lines show th e 350 m contours. T he m a p g rid is 1 km b y 1 km. See page
95. (Courtesy o f th e O n ta rio C entre fo r Rem ote Sensing. T o ro n to . O n ta rio .)
Plate 12 mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
C lassification o f P o ta to C ro p la n d Using L an d sat T M Data. A re as classified as p o ta to c ro p la n d are
c o d e d as re d in th is im age, h ig h lig h te d b o u n d a rie s d e fin e te s t areas. The L an d sat cla ssifica tion was used to
p ro d u c e a regression e stim a te o f th e area p la n te d to p o ta to . The d istan ce acro ss th e im age re p re se n ts a p p ro x ­
im a te ly 15 km o n th e g ro u n d . See page 97. (C ourtesy o f S tatistics Canada. O tta w a , O ntario.)
Plate 13 mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
P erspective V ie w G en e ra ted fro m a D ig ita l S a te llite Im age a nd D ig ita l T e rra in Data. T h is c o m p u te r g e n e ra te d v ie w o f M o u n t M cK in le y in Alaska was p ro d u c e d
b y co m b in in g a Lan dsat MSS s a te llite im age w ith th e c o rre s p o n d in g d ig ita l e le va tio n data. It sim u la te s th e vie w fro m a p o s itio n I 5,000 ft a b o ve th e T o kositn a River.
(C ourtesy o f the Earth Resources O b se rva tio n System (EROS) Data C e n te r o f th e US G eo lo g ica l S urvey. Sioux Falls, S outh D ako ta.)
 2. W H A T IS A G E O G R A P H I C mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQP
IN F O R M A T IO N S Y S T E M ? FEDCBA

I N T R O D U C T I O N jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
rep res en ted as points, lines, and a rea s
d ra w n on a p iece o f p a p er or film. Th ey
From th e ea rlies t civilization s m a ps h a ve
w e r e co d ed u sing s ym b ols , textu res , and
b een u sed to p ortra y inform ation a b ou t th e
colou rs tha t w er e exp la in ed in th e m a p
ea rth ’s su rface. N a viga tors , land s u rveyors ,
leg en d or a ccom p a n yin g text. Th e m ap and
and th e m ilitary u sed m a ps to s h ow th e
its d o c u m e n ta tio n c o n s titu te d th e
spatial distrib u tion o f im p orta n t geogra p h ic
geog ra p h ic da ta b a se.
featu res. Land su rveyin g and m a p m aking
Th e u se of th em a tic m aps o f natural
w ere an integral part of Roman governm en t.
res ou rces b ega n as an in ven tory tool u sed
W ith th e d eclin e o f th e Rom a n E m pire,
to record and classify ob s erva tion s . Th e
su rveying and m a p making d eclin ed as w ell.
analysis m eth od s w er e prim arily qu alitative.
It w as n ot until the eigh teen th centu ry that Th a t is, retrieva l and analysis o f m a p da ta
m ap m aking again ros e to p rom in en ce in d ep en d ed prim a rily on visu al in s p ection o f
E u rop e as govern m en ts rea lized th e va lu e th e m a p and an intu itive analysis o f th e m ap
of m a p p in g as a m ean s o f record in g and da ta . Q u a ntita tive m a p analysis cou ld b e
planning th e use of their lands. N ational insti­ d on e using a scale to m eas u re distances and
tu tes w e r e com m is s ion ed to p rod u ce m a p a d ot grid or a p la n im eter to measu re areas.
cover a g e o f en tire cou ntries. G en era l pu r­ (A p la n im eter is a m echan ica l or electron ic
p os e m a p s s h ow in g th e top og ra p h y o f th e d evice th a t calcu lates th e a rea o f a m a p
land and b ou n d a ries of national or a dm in ­ fea tu re. Th e ou tlin e o f a m a p fea tu re is
istra tive units w er e p rod u ced . As th e stu dy tra ced with th e p la n im eter, and m echanical
of natu ral res ou rces d evelo p ed , th em a tic or electron ic cou n ters ca lcu late th e co r r e­
m aps w er e u sed to p ortra y th e spatial dis­ s p on d in g a rea . It is a ted iou s and s low
trib u tion of such fea tu res as g eolog y, p roced u re.)
g eom orp h olog y, soils, a nd vegeta tion . W h ile it w as rela tively ea s y to retr ieve
In th e tw en tieth cen tu ry th e p a ce of small amou nts of data or cons id er th e spatial
science a n d tech n ology a ccelera ted . This rela tion s h ip s of a fe w elem en ts , th es e
in crea se crea ted th e d em a n d fo r eve r m eth od s b eca m e u n w ield y w h en la rge
grea ter volu m es o f g eog ra p h ic da ta to b e volu m es o f data w e r e in volved . It w a s on ly
p res en ted in m a p form m ore qu ickly and in th e 1970s w ith th e a va ila b ility o f su itab le
m ore a ccu ra tely. W ith th e d evelop m en t of digital com p u ters th a t th e tech n ology to
recon n a is sa n ce tech n ologies , such as aerial h a n d le spatial da ta lea p t forw a rd . Th e
p h otogra p h y and s a tellite- b a s ed rem ote com p u ter- b a s ed g eog ra p h ic in form a tion
sensing, th ere has b een an exp los ion o f system w a s d evelop ed to p rovid e the p ow er
geogra p h ic data prod u ction, w id er use, and to analyze la rge volu m es of geogra p h ic data.
m ore s op h is tica ted analyses. G eogra p h ic Th e physical m a p can b e rela tively ea s y
data a re n ow b ein g g en er a ted fa s ter than to p rod u ce and it s tores a con s id era b le
th ey can b e a n a lyzed . am ou n t o f spatial in form a tion in a com p a ct
G eogra p h ic da ta h a ve tra d ition a lly b een and a cces s ib le form . H ow ever, it has a
p res en ted in th e form o f a m ap. U ntil com ­ n u m b er o f im p orta n t limitations. Th e da ta
pu ters w ere availab le, geogra p h ic data w ere u s ed to m a ke th e m a p u su ally h a ve to b e
32 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

g e n e r a lize d (i.e. th e da ta h a ve to be to rep res en t d ifferen t levels o f constraint for

p res en ted with less detail) for th e m ap to b e a particu lar plan ning a p p lica tion . But th e
ea sily read . A rea s that a re la rge rela tive to p roced u re w a s tim e- consu m ing, and, as the
th e m a p sca le h a ve to b e rep res en ted b y a n u m b er o f fa ctors and n u m b er o f levels of
s eries of m aps. P rob lem s a rise w h en m aps each fa ctor in crea s ed a practical limit w a s
d on ’t match correctly at th e ed g es and a rea s qu ickly rea ch ed .
o f in teres t ex ten d a cros s m a p ed g es . O ften In N orth A m erica , w ork on th e first op er a ­
th es e p rob lem s a re h a n d led b y shifting th e tional com p u ter- b a s ed geog ra p h ic in form a ­
m a ps to a ch ieve th e b es t fit for th e a rea of tion s ys tem s b ega n in th e m id- 1960s. Th e
th e map b ein g u sed. For critical applications, C anada G eogra p h ic In form a tion S ystem
re- d ra ftin g m a y b e n eed ed . (CG IS), s p on s ored b y th e C anadian F ed era l
U p d a tin g a m a p can b e an ex p en s ive p r o ­ G overn m en t, and th e Land U se and Natu ral
ced u re. For ch a n ges to b e m a d e th e film Res ou rces In ven tory o f N ew York S ta te
m a sters o f th e m a p s h eet mu st b e manu ally (LU NR), s p on s ored b y the state o f N ew York,
ed ited and th e m a p rep rin ted . A s a resu lt w ere d e ve lo p e d a t a b ou t th e s a m e tim e.
th e physical m a p is a rela tively static d ocu ­ B oth s ys tem s m a d e ex ten s ive u se o f aerial
m ent. R etrievin g small a m ou n ts o f in form a ­ p h otogra p h y, as w ell as existing m a p p in g to
tion from a physical m a p is rela tively ea sy; m ap res ou rce in form a tion . In form a tion
h ow ever, th e p roces s es o f retrievin g la rge la yers such as agricu ltu re, fores try, w ildlife,
am ou nts o f in form a tion and o f com b in in g soils, and g eolog y, w ere inclu ded. Th e
th e spatial in form a tion from s evera l m a ps geog ra p h ic in form a tion on th e m a ps w as
a re costly and difficult. D uring th e 1960s and then en cod ed into digital form for com p u ter
1970s the n eed to eva lu a te m u ltiple sets o f analysis. A lth ou gh d evelop m en t b ega n in
g eog r a p h ic d a ta was r ecog n ized . For th e 1960s, th e com p u ter- b a s ed p ortion s o f
exa m p le, th e rapid and a ccu ra te in tegra tion th es e s ys tem s b eca m e op era tion a l on ly in
o f such d ivers e da ta as soils, land u se, cu r­ th e ea rly 1970s w h en com p u ter tech n ology
ren t vegeta tion , and a d m in is tra tive districts such as ra n d om a cces s disks b eca m e
w a s n eed ed for a n a lyses such as en viron ­ a va ila b le (H a rd y 1975, Tom lin s on et. al.
mental impact assessments. Even local zoning 1976). Th es e ea rly im p lem en ta tion s of
decisions w ere b eginn ing to requ ire th e con ­ op era tion a l G IS es for res ou rce in form a tion
sid era tion o f m u ltiple g eog ra p h ic fa ctors. stim u lated th e d evelop m en t o f tech nical
Th e a ccu ra te and ra p id analysis o f d ivers e innova tion s. Th ey also p r ovid ed va lu a b le
geog ra p h ic data s ets w a s p er ceived as a ex p er ien ce on h ow to m a n a ge th e crea tion
requ irem en t for m or e effective planning. and op era tion o f la rge g eog ra p h ic in form a ­
D ata in tegra tion cou ld be d on e u sing tion systems. Papers, such as that b y Shelton
physical maps, as M cH a rg pop u la rized in his and H a rd y (1974) and th e in trod u ctory
b ook D e s ig n w it h N a t u r e . M a p in form a tion ch apters o f Tom lin son et. al. (1976), p rovid e
w a s com b in ed and in tegra ted b y overla yin g valu ab le a d vice on m ana gin g th e im p lem en ­
tra n s p a ren t cop ies on a light ta b le and tation and op era tion o f a G IS, a d vice th a t
visually analyzing the co-occu rrence of factors. is as releva n t tod a y as w h en it w a s w ritten .
Then th os e a rea s with th e d es ired com b in a ­ B egin ning in th e 1960s, th e H a rva rd
tion of factors could b e delineated b y drawing G raphics L a b ora tory w a s on e o f th e m os t
th eir b ou n d a ries on a s ep a ra te overla y. Th e a c tive res ea rch grou p s d e v e lo p in g
tra n s p a ren t m a ps w e r e u su ally red ra w n for com p u ter- b a s ed m a p analysis p rogra m s .
th e analysis b oth to tra n s form th e d ivers e Th e ea rly p rogra m s , S YM A P , G RID , and
s ou rce m a ps to a com m on m a p b a s e and to 1MGRID, w e r e d es ign ed to p erform th e
cod e each m ap with d ifferen t sh ades o f grey sam e o ve r la y p roced u res as m a n u al

W hat is a G e o g ra p h ic In fo rm a tio n S ystem ? mlkjihgfedcba
m eth od s b u t w ith g r ea ter s p e ed and flexi­
b ility. Th e ra p id d evelop m en t of com p u ter
tech n olog y o ve r th e p a st tw o d eca d es has
en a b led com p u ter- b a s ed g eog ra p h ic in for­
m ation s ys tem s to d e ve lo p qu ickly from
th os e ea rly s ys tem s to th e fu ll- fea tu red
G IS es n ow a va ila b le. (This b r ief m en tion o f
the d evelop m en t o f G1S ca n n ot d o ju stice to
th e m a n y res ea rch ers and orga n iza tion s
w h o h a ve m a d e im p orta n t con trib u tion s.
Th e July 1988 issu e of The A m e r ic a n
C a r t o g r a p h e r w a s d e vo te d to this su b ject.
This an d oth er referen ces cited h ere p rovid e
an in trod u ction to this litera tu re.)
Th e qu antitative im p rovem en t in the s p eed
of analysis has p rovid ed the means to change
th e w a y th e analysis o f g eog ra p h ic in form a ­
tion can b e a p p roa ch ed . P erh a p s th e tw o
most im portant im p rovem en ts have b een the
ab ility to k eep g e o r e fe r e n c e d d a ta cu rren t
and to in tegra te mu ltiple data sets efficiently.
Th e a b ility to qu ickly u p d a te th e g e o ­
gra ph ic data b a s e cou p led with th e fast and
in exp en s ive p rod u ction o f sin gle m a ps has
m ea n t th a t a ph ysical m a p can b e u sed as
a s n a p s h ot o f a contin u ou sly ch a n gin g g e o ­
gra p h ic d a ta b a s e. S in ce re- a n a lyzin g th e
data is rela tively in exp en s ive and can b e
ra p id ly ex ecu ted , com p lex p la n n in g s ce­
narios can be p rog res s ively refin ed by
re- a n a lyzin g th e plan to a ss es s p r op o s ed
ch a nges . D ecis ion - m a kers can p r o p o s e a
n u m b er o f a ltern a tive plans and assess each
on e b y re-ru nning th e analysis a nd com ­
p a rin g th e resu lts. This itera tive a p p roa ch
w ou ld be p roh ib itively ex p en s ive using
manu al m eth od s . FEDCBA
U S I N G A G I S FO R D EC I S I O N ­
M A K I N G U N D ER U N C ER T A I N T Y
Th ere is a fu n d a m en ta l s tra tegy th at u n d er­
lies all a na lysis o f g e o r e fe r e n c e d da ta . An
u n d ers ta n d in g o f this s tra tegy will n ot on ly
lea d to b etter u se o f th e a va ila b le m eth od s ,
b u t is a ls o n e e d e d to u n d ers ta n d h ow d if­
feren t levels o f da ta a b s tra ction a re rela ted .
33 jihgfedc
W e h a ve to m a ke d ecis ion s th a t requ ire
k n o w le d g e a b ou t ou r com p lex w orld .
B eca u s e w e d o n 't h a ve com p lete kn ow l­
ed g e, w e a re u sed to m aking d ecis ion s with
in com p lete in form a tion . W e s elect releva n t
inform ation to r em em b er and record . U sing
this s election p roces s , w e crea te a con cep ­
tu al m od el o f ou r w orld . Th e term m o d e l is
u sed to m ea n a s et o f rela tion s h ip s or in for­
m a tion a b ou t th e rea l w orld . O u r co n cep ­
tual m od el o f som eth ing is ou r u nderstanding
o f w h a t it is and h ow it b eh a ves . W h en w e
n eed to m a ke d ecis ion s a b ou t th e real
w orld , w e refer to ou r m od el, which is much
sim pler than th e real w orld itself. It is sim pler
b eca u s e w e h a ve p r es elec te d th e in form a ­
tion in th e m od el to in clu de th e things th at
a re releva n t to us. O th er d eta ils th a t w e
d o n 't n eed ten d to b e s electively forgotten .
M os t p e o p le h a ve a rela tively s im p le con ­
cep tu a l m od el o f a " c a r ” , cen tered m ainly
on h ow to o p er a te it, its a p p ea ra n ce, and
its p erform a n ce. F ew p eop le h a ve a con cep ­
tu al m od el o f a car th a t inclu des d eta iled
inform a tion a b ou t all th e com p on en ts o f th e
veh icle, veh icle rep a ir, tes t p roced u res , and
so on. O u r con cep tu a l m od el o f a car is m ore
akin to a b rief p ers on a lized "u s er ’s manu al”
than to a co m p lete s et o f s p ecifica tion s a nd
en gin eerin g d ra w in gs .
Th e p roces s o f u sing a G IS can b e illus­
tra ted b y a fa m iliar g eog r a p h ic in form a tion
p roces s in g task — pla n n in g a va ca tion . Th e
p roces s is illu stra ted in Figu re 2.1. N otice
th at ou r task b egin s a nd en d s w ith th e real
w orld . W e h a ve collected in form a tion a b ou t
th e real w orld . This in form a tion is n eces ­
sarily an ab straction; w e cou ld n 't han dle and
w ou ld n ’t w a n t e ve r y last deta il. W e will u se
this in form a tion to m a ke d ecis ion s , and
finally w e will im p lem en t th os e d ecis ion s —
w e will a p p ly ou r a b s tra ct rea s on in g to th e
rea l w orld , i.e. w e w ill ta ke a real va ca tion .
Th e d ecis ion s o f w h e r e to visit and w h a t
to d o will requ ire th a t w e collect s om e in for­
m ation. W e will w a n t to kn ow a b ou t va ca ­
tion s p ots th a t w e a r e likely to en joy and
34 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

F ig u re 2.1 The Planning Process. G eographic in fo rm a tio n processing begins and ends w ith the real w o rld .

w hen is th e right tim e to visit. P rob a b ly th e
list o f p oten tia l va ca tion s p ots will com e
from such sou rces as ou r ow n exp erien ce,
r e c o m m e n d a tio n s fr om fr ien d s ,
accou nts w e h a ve rea d . Th en w e'll collect
s om e da ta a b ou t th e d ifferen t destina tions .
Th es e data a b ou t th e real w orld com e in th e
form o f maps, b ooks , articles, and even
ta b les o f data such as a ver a g e d a ytim e
tem p era tu res .
This collection o f in form a tion cons titu tes
a data s et or data b a s e that will b e u sed in
th e va ca tion planning p roces s . If th ere a re
s evera l p os s ib le d es tin a tion s and
d ocu m en ts it m ay b ecom e a b it ted iou s
sifting throu gh th e p ile eve r y tim e s om e
useful b it o f inform ation has to b e retrieved ,
so w e m a y d ecid e to orga n ize th e in form a ­
tion. Th e orga n iza tion , such as filing th e
literatu re b y destination, makes th e proces s
of storing and retrieving items m ore efficient.
The organization o f th e data b a s e constitu tes
a sim p le da ta b a s e system . (A data base
systemp rovid es for th e input, s tora ge, and
retrieva l o f data. Th e data base is th e set
of data that a re s tored .)
H aving collected and orga n ized ou r d ocu ­
ments, w e review th e inform ation. This m ay
b e d on e b y ra n d om ly rea d in g th e m os t
a ttra ctive b roch u res or p erh a p s b y s ys tem ­
atically thinking a b ou t w ha t w e en joy d oin g
on a va ca tion . W h a tever th e m eth od of
analysis w e use, in the end w e com e to som e
decision and s elect a destination. To pu t th e
d ecis ion into action w e im p lem en t th e plan
b y goin g on th e trip. If w e m a d e th e right
decis ion w e'll h a ve a g o o d va ca tion and
retu rn sa tisfied tha t w e m a d e a su itab le
choice. A " g o o d ” in form a tion system is on e
that p rovid es us with th e n eces s a ry data
releva n tly orga n ized so tha t w e can m ake
the right d ecis ion s a b ou t th e real w orld .
W hat is really meant b y the "righ t d ecis ion "?
Th e “ right d ecis ion ” is th e on e that b es t
a ch ieves th e ob jectives o f w h o ever th e sys­
tem is to s erve. To d o this it is n eces s a ry to
know w h a t th os e ob jectives a re and to b e
35 jihgfedc
W hat is a G e o g ra p h ic In fo rm a tio n S ystem ? mlkjihgfedcba
a b le to correctly p red ict th e resu lts of a lter­
native choices. To make th e "righ t d ecis ion "
requ ires that th e releva n t data b e p res en ted
and in th e fra m ew ork o f an a p p rop ria te m od el
that is eva lu a ted u sing tru e criteria.
Th e su ccess with which a geogra p h ic infor­
m ation system can b e u sed is d eterm in ed
b y s evera l fa ctors that can b e grou p ed
u nd er fou r hea din gs : th e data set, th e data
orga n iza tion , th e m od el, and th e criteria.
Th e follow in g sections discuss each o f th es e
issues.
many
G E T T IN G THE R E LE V A N T D A T A
Th e data u sed in a G1S rep res en t som eth in g
a b ou t th e real w orld at s om e p oin t in tim e.
Th ey a re a lw a ys an a b s tra ction o f rea lity
b eca u s e w e d o n ’t n eed or w a nt ever y b it o f
data, just th e on es w e think w ou ld b e useful.
Th e b its w e d ecid e to take a re th e first con ­
straint on th e ca p a b ilities o f th e CIS.
Y o u c a n 't u s e d a t a y o u d o n ' t h a v e .
Th en w h y n ot ta ke all th e da ta ? First, you
cou ld n ever collect all th e data, and s econ d,
you w ou ld n ’t w a n t all th e data even if you
cou ld g et it. D ata a re costly to collect.
T h e m o s t c o s t - e f f e c t iv e d a t a c o lle c t io n is
t o c o lle c t o n ly t h e d a t a y o u n e e d .
It is costly to collect, store, and sift throu gh
la rge qu antities o f u nnecessary data. Excess
data m akes it m ore difficu lt to u se th e data
you really n eed . E very exp en d itu re o f effort
that d o es n ’t con trib u te to th e solu tion
d etra cts b eca u s e it rep res en ts tim e, effort,
and res ou rces tha t cou ld h a ve b een u sed
els ew h er e to im p rove th e analysis. Th e
s a m e a rgu m en t hold s tru e for th e qu ality o f
th e data.
T h e o p t i m a l d a t a q u a l i t y is t h e m in im u m
l e v e l o f q u a l i t y t h a t w il l d o t h e jo b .
Th e m ost im portant aspects of data qu ality
a re accu racy, precision, tim e, cu rrency, and
com p leten es s . Accu ra cy m ea s u res h ow
36 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
often , b y h ow much, and h ow p red icta b ly
th e da ta will b e correct. Precis ion m eas u res
th e fineness o f th e scale u sed to d es crib e the
data. Tim e in dica tes a t w h a t p oin t or o ve r
w h a t p eriod o f tim e th e data w er e collected .
Tim e can often b e a critical fa ctor o f da ta
qu ality. S om e in form a tion may qu ickly
b ecom e ou t- da ted . C u rren cy m ea s u res h ow
recen tly th e da ta w er e collected . In s om e
ca s es th e su itab ility o f th e d a ta will d ep en d
on th e s ea s on or th e yea r th ey w er e col­
lected . In C anada, for exa m p le, su m m er
p h otogra p h y is usually s p ecified for m a pp in g
fores t co ver typ es . C om p leten es s refers to
th e p ortion o f th e a rea o f in teres t for w hich
data a re availab le. Th e term is also u sed with
r efer en ce to th e classification s ys tem th at
has b een u sed to rep res en t th e da ta. (D ata
qu a lity is dis cu ssed in ch a p ter 5.) Th ere is
a lw a ys a tra d e- off b etw een h igh er data
qu ality a nd h igh er da ta cost, a nd th ere is a
ten d en cy for ea ch unit gain o f qu a lity to b e
m ore cos tly than th e last. This is illu s tra ted
in Figu re 2.2.
I t c o s ts m o r e a n d m o r e t o g a in le s s a n d
le s s d a t a q u a lit y .
H ow d o th es e principles a p p ly to ou r vaca ­
tion exa m p le? O u r data b a s e m a y cons ist o f
roa d maps, vacation b rochu res , tra vel gu id e
b ook s , as w ell as ou r ow n p ers on a l kn ow l­
e d g e o f va ca tion spots. If w e h a ve s elected
an a p p rop ria te s et o f data w e shou ld b e a b le
to retr ieve s om e in form a tion a b ou t s evera l
Figure 2.2 The Relationship of Data Q uality and Data
Cost.
likely va ca tion s p ots th a t m eet ou r criteria.
Th ere is o f cou rs e a tra d e- off; w e cou ld
ea s ily s w a m p ou rs elves w ith tra vel gu ides,
m aps, etc., m aking it difficu lt to find any
pa rticu lar p iece o f in form a tion , n ot to m en ­
tion ex p en s ive to a cqu ire. Fu rth erm ore, if
w e a re n ot ca refu l in s creen in g for data
qu ality, w e cou ld en d up w ith b ox es o f
m aterial, mu ch o f it u nrelia b le.
A m ore effective a p p roa ch is to s elect a
s et o f in form a tion th a t w e con s id er to b e
relia b le a n d th a t cover s all th e region s w e
m igh t realis tica lly con s id er visitin g on this
trip. By ju diciou sly s electin g ou r data in this
w a y, w e can m ake it much ea s ier to retrieve
relia b le in form a tion . We tra d e o ff data
qu ality and cos t th rou gh ou t this p rocess .
Tra vel gu id es can b e ex p en s ive. W e will
p rob a b ly b e w illing to s p en d m ore m on ey
on in form a tion for a s ix- w eek trip to India
than for a w eek en d tou r in ou r a rea . W e
w ou ld a ls o b e m ore ca refu l in a ssess in g th e
a ccu racy o f in form a tion a b ou t th e India trip
b eca u se th e con s equ en ces o f in correct infor­
m ation cou ld b e m ore seriou s.
TH E D A T A O R G A N IZ A T IO N
Th e orga n iza tion o f th e d a ta is th e s econ d
m a jor fa ctor for su ccessfu l u se o f a C IS.
A data b a s e is u sed to p r ovid e this orga ­
nization. Th e da ta b a s e is critical b eca u s e:
D a t a is o f n o v a lu e u n le s s t h e r i g h t d a t a c a n
b e in t h e r i g h t p la c e a t t h e r i g h t tim e .
O u r va ca tion data m igh t b e orga n ized b y
a lp h a b etica l filing or b y s im p ly pu tting th e
m a p s in on e b ox and th e b roch u res in
an oth er. D ep en d in g on th e qu an tity o f data
and th e p erform a n ce w e n eed from ou r data
b a s e system, th es e sim ple form s o f organiza­
tion m ay su ffice. In a com p u ter- b a s ed G IS,
h ow ever, th e qu a n tity o f d a ta is la rge
en ou gh th a t th e form a nd p erform a n ce o f
th e data b a s e a re critical to th e overa ll
u sefu lness o f th e system .

W h a t is a G e o g ra p h ic In fo rm a tio n S y ste m ? mlkjihgfedcba
TH E D E C IS IO N M O D E L jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
m od el will b e u s ed to a n a lyze
A m od el rep res en ts an o b ject or p h en om ­
en on th at exists in th e rea l w orld . A g o o d
m od el is th e s im p les t m od el th at correctly
and con s is ten tly p red icts th e b eh a viou r o f
the real w orld forthe phenomena of inter­
est. M od els a re cr ea ted to p red ict h ow c e r ­
tain a s p ects o f th e real w orld will b eh a ve.
Th ey d es crib e th e rela tion s h ip s a m on g d a ta
elem en ts in o r d er to p red ict h ow even ts in
th e rea l w orld will occu r. Th e qu a lity o f th e
m od el is lim ited b y th e data th a t has b een
s elected a nd th e w a y th ey a re orga n ized . It
is also lim ited b y th e cos t to u se it. Th e m ore
com p lex th e m od el, th e m ore cos tly it is to
use. Th e cos t m ay b e com p u ter ch arges, th e
tim e o f exp erts . Th e m os t cos t- effective
m odel is the sim plest m od el that gives results
that a ch ieve th e minimu m requ ired level o f
a ccu racy with th e m inimu m cos t da ta.
T h e m o s t c o s t - e f f e c t iv e m o d e l is t h e s im p le s t
m o d e l t h a t d o e s t h e m o s t w it h t h e le a s t .
W h y this con cern w ith cost? Th e rea s on
is th at th ere is a lw a ys a cost. It m a y n ot b e
m on ey; it m a y b e tim e, it m a y b e in correct
an sw ers. O n ly b y p red ictin g a nd eva lu a tin g
th es e costs can a ra tion a l d ecis ion b e m a d e
a b ou t p erform a n ce. Th ere is a lw a ys a tr a d e­
off b etw een cos t a n d p erform a n ce. T o o low
a p erform a n ce level can b e to o cos tly in
errors ca u sed b y inaccu racies , b y gettin g
resu lts to o la te, or b y missing b etter solu ­
tions. T o o high a p erform a n ce level can a ls o
b e to o cos tly b y p a yin g for effo r t th at d o e s
n ot im p rove su ccess.
I t is e x p e n s iv e t o t o l e r a t e p e r f o r m a n c e
le v e ls t h a t a r e t o o h ig h o r t o o lo w .
For ou r va ca tion , a rela tively s im p le d ec i­
sion m od el can b e u sed. W e w an t a tw o- w eek
h olid a y th a t is en joya b le to all m em b ers o f
th e fa m ily and fits within ou r b u d get. This
m ay cons tra in us to a rea s th at can be
rea ch ed within a tw o- d a y d rive and limit th e
typ es o f a ccom m od a tion and activities. O u r
37
ou r da ta ,
i.e. to tes t d ifferen t ca n d id a te d es tin a tion s
p r op o s ed a fter stu d yin g th e in form a tion w e
collected . Th e decis ion p roces s will p rob a b ly
b e a fairly in form a l on e b a s ed on cons ens u s
— with s en ior fa m ily m em b ers having p o w e r
o f veto. Th e rela tive m erits o f d ifferen t
d es tin a tion s will b e com p a r ed a ccord in g to
s om e m ore or les s w ell- d efin ed criteria .
V A L ID C R IT E R IA
Th e fou rth m a jor fa ctor in su ccessfu l C IS
a p p lica tion s is th e d e g r e e to w hich th e
criteria u sed to eva lu a te th e m od el tru ly
r eflect th e va lu es o f th e p e o p le to b e satis­
fied . A t th e en d o f th e in form a tion analysis
p roced u re, a ction is to b e ta ken . Th e a ction
to b e taken m u st b e d ec id ed b y w eigh in g
th e alternatives, a n d b y cons id erin g th e con ­
s eq u en ces o f ea ch a ltern a tive as p red icted
b y ou r m od els . Th e d ecis ion m a y b e as
s im p le as s en d in g an over d u e n otice fo r an
u npaid bill, or it m a y b e as com p lex as
d ecid in g to b u ild a da m and d row n a va lley.
Fu n da m enta l to th e p roces s a re th e
d ecis ion - m a kers . Th e d ecis ion - m a kers a re
th os e w ith th e m a n d a te, th e res p on s ib ility
for th e con s eq u en ces o f th e action to b e
taken. N o m a tter h ow high th e qu ality o f th e
da ta, h ow a p p r op r ia te th e m od els u sed, if
th e w ron g criteria a re u sed to eva lu a te th e
in form a tion p r od u ced b y a G IS, th en th e
resu lts will p r ob a b ly n ot b e s a tis fa ctory.
P e o p le m a ke d ecis ion s gu id ed b y criteria .
T h e c r i t e r ia u s e d b y t h e p e o p l e m a k in g
t h e d e c is io n m u s t b e t h e s a m e o n e s u s e d
b y t h e p e o p l e w h o a r e t o b e s a t is f ie d .
In th e con tex t o f ou r va ca tion ex a m p le, if
on e m em b er o f th e fa m ily is d es ign a ted as
th e d ecis ion m a ker, th en his or h er su ccess
in ch oos in g a d es tin a tion will d ep en d on
w h eth er th e s election criteria u sed tru ly
rep res en t th e va lu es and w is h es o f th e res t
o f th e fam ily, i.e. th e p e o p le w h o a re to b e
sa tis fied.
38 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e su ccess o f ou r va ca tion d ep en d s on
th e d ecis ion s w e con s ciou s ly or n ot- s o con ­
sciou sly made th rou gh ou t this pla nnin g
p roces s , just as th e d ecis ion s m a d e using a
G IS d ep en d on th e su ccess o f each step. W e
b ega n b y d ecid in g w h a t typ e o f in form a tion
to collect. Th ou gh p erh a p s d o n e in a ra th er
in form a l w a y, it is a critical s tep . T o o mu ch
da ta a nd w e'll b e res ea rch in g fo r ever , to o
little a nd w e m igh t miss a k ey a ttra ction or
m a ke a p o o r ch oice o f d es tin a tion . A s p a rt
o f m aking this tra d e- off d ecis ion , w e mu st
a ccep t th a t w e ca n 't r eview e ve r y p os s ib le
va ca tion sp ot, b u t w e will b e s a tis fied with
s om e minimu m level o f qu a lity. B eca u s e it
w ou ld ta ke too lon g to find th e b es t p os s ib le
va ca tion spot, w e'll a ccep t a d es tin a tion that
gives us all a g o o d tim e a n d m eets ou r
b u d g et o f tim e a n d m on ey. W e d efin ed a
s im p le d ecis ion m od el. Th es e d ecis ion s
in flu en ced h ow mu ch da ta a n d w h a t kind o f
d a ta w e collected .
Th e accu racy o f ou r data is im portan t. Th e
level o f a ccu ra cy w e requ ire will d ep en d on
th e typ es o f d ecis ion - m a kin g for w hich th e
d a ta will b e u sed. In correct in form a tion
cou ld m ea n ch oos in g a b ea ch va ca tion at a
loca tion a nd s ea s on w h en it's to o cold to
swim. Th e cost o f collectin g th e data and ou r
a b ility to a n a lyze it a re a ls o fa ctors . Th ere
a re limits to th e tim e and m on ey w e can
s p en d collectin g and a n a lyzin g d a ta for ou r
va ca tion d ecis ion . Th e e ffo r t w e a re w illing
to ex p en d d ep en d s on h ow im p orta n t th e
d ecis ion s a re to us.
O u r decision m od el has to b e a p p rop ria te.
It mu st ta ke into accou nt th e fa ctors w e con ­
s id er significa nt fo r a "g o o d va ca tion ".
N atu rally th es e fa ctors a re d ifferen t for each
m em b er o f th e fa m ily. If th e o b jective is to
m a ke th e va ca tion en joya b le for ever yo n e,
th en e v e r y o n e ’s likes a n d d is likes n eed to
b e taken into accou nt. Teen a g er s w h o claim
to w a n t a b a ckcou n try ca m p in g trip w hen,
in fact, op p ortu n ities to s ocia lize w ith p eers
is th eir forem os t con cern , a r e p res en tin g a
non - va lid criterion . Th a t is, a ca m p in g trip
in th e b a ckcou n try, an u nlikely p la ce in
which to m eet oth er teen a gers , will p rob a b ly
n ot b e sa tisfactory. Th e d ecis ion m od el may
p er form w ell, and ca m p in g in s om e rem ote
loca tion m a y b e s elected — res u lting in a
ver y d is gru n tled teen a g er . O th er factors,
such as th e tim e a va ila b le for tra vel and
b u d g et cons tra ints , mu st a ls o b e correctly
a s s es s ed . For th e d ecis ion - m a kin g p roces s
to b e su ccessfu l, va lid criteria mu st b e u sed.
This discu ssion has focu s s ed on th e
d ecis ion - m a kin g a s p ect of G IS es. W h ile
s om e o f th es e s tep s a re im p licit in m an y
a p p lica tion s , fu n d a m en ta lly th ey a re all
in volved . Th rou gh ou t this b ook exa m p les
from actu al p rojects a re u sed to illu strate
and exp la in G IS p rin cip les, it shou ld b e
r e m em b er e d th a t th es e ex a m p les a re
excerp ts . It is rela tively ea s y to train s om e­
on e to op era te G IS tech n ology. It is far m ore
difficu lt to ed u ca te s om eon e in h ow to a p p ly
th e tech n ology effectively in o r d er to satisfy
his or h er in form a tion n eed s . For G IS a p p li­
ca tion s to be su ccessfu l, th ey mu st b e
d evelo p ed in th e con text o f p rovid in g a u ser
with th e inform a tion h e or she requ ires. The
su ccess o f a G IS a p p lica tion d ep en d s on an
a p p rop ria te selection o f th e data to b e u sed,
th e w a y th e data will b e orga n ized , th e d eci­
sion m od el, a nd th e d ecis ion criteria . FEDCBA
G EO R EF ER EN C ED D ATA
G eographic data are com m only characterized
as h a vin g tw o fu n d a m en ta l com p on en ts :
1. th e p h en om en on b ein g r ep or ted such as
a ph ysica l d im en s ion or class, and
2. th e spa tial loca tion o f th e p h en om en on .
E xa m p les o f a ph ysical dim en s ion m igh t b e
th e h eigh t o f a fores t ca n op y, th e p op u la ­
tion o f a city, or th e w id th o f a roa d . Th e
class cou ld b e a rock typ e, a vegeta tion typ e,
or th e n a m e o f a city. Th e loca tion is usually
s p ecified w ith refer en ce to a com m on c o o r ­
din ate system such as latitu de and longitu de.

A th ird fu n d a m en ta l co m p o n e n t
geog ra p h ic in form a tion is tim e. Th e tim e
com p on en t often is not sta ted explicitly, b u t
it often is critical. G eogra p h ic in form a tion
d es crib es a p h en om en on a t a loca tion as it
exis ted at a s p ecific p oin t in tim e. A land
cover m ap d es crib es th e location o f d ifferen t
classes o f land co ver as th ey exis ted a t th e
tim e of d a ta collection . If th e a rea
ch anging ra p id ly, this in form a tion
qu ickly b e ou t- d a ted . Th e in form a tion m a y
then b e u nsu itab le for d ecis ion - m a kin g th a t
requ ires th e cu rren t statu s o f th e land.
H ow ever, th e d a ta m a y b e in va lu a b le for
ana lyzin g historical tren d s, such as th e con ­
version o f agricu ltu ral land to oth er uses.
Similarly, w h en an a rea of fores t is clear-cu t,
it los es its tr e e s p ecies com p os ition . Y e t th e
historical inform ation a b ou t th e tree s p ecies
com p os ition may b e in va lu a b le for p r e ­
pa rin g th e fores t reg en era tion plan.
G eogra p h ic data a re in h eren tly a form o f
spatial data. G eogra p h ic da ta can
rep res en ted on a m ap or in a g eog ra p h ic
in form a tion s ystem as eith er p oin t, line, or
a rea fea tu res . Points a re u sed to rep res en t
the loca tion o f g eog ra p h ic p h en om en a a t a
p oin t or to rep res en t a m a p fea tu re th a t is
too small to b e show n as an a rea or line. Th e
loca tion o f a city (on a small sca le m a p ), a
mou ntain p ea k, or an airstrip cou ld
rep res en ted b y a p oin t elem en t. A
feature cons ists o f an o r d er ed s et o f con ­
n ected poin ts . Lines a re u sed to rep res en t
m ap fea tu res th a t a re to o n a rrow to b e
show n as an a rea or fea tu res that th e o r e ­
tically h a ve no w idth, such as a p olitica l
b ou n d a ry. A sh orelin e, a con tou r line, a
roa d w a y, or an adm in istrative b ou n d a ry a re
exa m p les o f line fea tu res . An area feature
is a region en clos ed b y line fea tu res . Th e
geog ra p h ic ex ten t o f a city, a fores t stand,
or a lake cou ld b e rep res en ted b y an a rea
elem en t. A rea elem en ts a re often r e p r e ­
s en ted in a G IS b y p olygon s . (A polygon is
a clos ed p la n e figu re b ou n d ed b y stra ight
lines. By m aking th e straight- line s egm en ts
39 jihgfedc
W h a t is a G e o g ra p h ic in fo rm a tio n S ystem ? mlkjihgfedcbaZ
to small, cu rved b ou n d a ries can b e clos ely
a p p roxim a ted . Th e p olyg on s h a p e is p r o­
d u ced from cu rvilinear b ou n d a ries w hen the
geog ra p h ic in form a tion is en tered in th e
G IS.) S patial d a ta tha t p erta in to a loca tion
on th e ea rth 's su rface a re often term ed
georeferenced data. In this b ook , th e term
spatial data refers to g eor efer en ced data, so
is th e tw o term s a re u sed in terch a n gea b ly. FEDCBA
may
W H A T IS A G I S?
Ta ken in its b r oa d es t sen s e, a g eog ra p h ic
in form a tion s ystem is a n y manu al or com ­
pu ter b a s ed s et o f p roced u res u sed to s tore
and m a n ip u la te geog ra p h ica lly referen ced
data. Th e d efin ition u sed in this b ook is as
follow s : A G IS is a com p u ter- b a s ed s ystem
th a t p r ovid es th e follow in g fou r sets o f
ca p a b ilities to h a n d le g e o r e fe r e n c e d data:
1. inpu t; 2. d a ta m a n a gem en t (d a ta s tora ge
a nd retrieva l); 3. m anipu lation and analysis;
be a nd 4. ou tpu t. Th e res triction to com p u ter-
b a s ed s ys tem s reflects th e focu s o f this
b ook . Th ere a re m an y manu al s ystem s that
a re u sed rou tin ely to p er form th es e fu nc­
tions and a re effective for th e tasks th ey p er­
form and u nder th e con d ition s in which th ey
op era te.
Th e fu ndamental com p on en ts o f a G IS and
be its en viron m en t a re illu strated in Figu re 2.3.
line A G IS d oes n ot o p er a te in a vacu u m. To b e
su ccessfu l it mu st res id e within a su itab le
orga n iza tion a l fra m ew ork . Th e G IS is o p e r ­
a ted b y s ta ff w h o r e p o r t to a m a n a gem en t.
That m a n a gem en t is given th e m a n d a te to
op er a te th e G IS facility in such a m a n n er as
to s er ve s om e u ser com m u n ity within an
indu stry, b u siness, or g overn m en t orga n iza ­
tion. U ltim ately, th e p u rp os e and ju stifica­
tion for th e G IS facility is to assist th e u sers
in a ccom p lis h in g th e goa ls o f th eir r es p ec­
tive orga n iza tion s .
S om e o f th e u sers m a y b e con s id ered
in ternal (i.e. res p on s ib le to th e same
m a n a gem en t tha t con trols th e G IS), w hile
oth ers a re extern a l u sers rep ortin g to a
40 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctiv e
Figure 2.3 The M anagem ent Context in Which A GIS Facility Exists. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFE
d ifferen t m a n a gem en t. For exa m p le,
national geologica l s u rvey will u se a G IS to
s u p p ort its ow n res ea rch and m ay als o p r o­
vid e analysis s ervices to oth er d ep a rtm en ts
or th e gen era l pu b lic. A t th e s a m e tim e, th e
military m ay d evelop an even m ore d eta iled
G IS o f th e sa m e area, bu t its use is rigorou sly
res tricted and con trolled . Th e natu re o f a
G IS is such that it s eem s to requ ire this typ e
o f institu tional settin g in or d er to b e suc­
cessfu l. Th e m a n d a te for a G IS facility is
a lm os t a lw a ys in th e con text o f a long- term
ob jective.
C AD (C om p u ter A id e d D es ign and
D rafting), D B M S (D ata B ase M a n a gem en t
S ystems), and AM - FM (A u tom a ted M a p p in g
and Facility M a n agem ent) system s w ork with
g e o r efer en c ed data. Th ey can p erform
many of th e s am e op era tion s as a GIS. W ha t
distingu ishes a G IS from th es e oth er systems
is th e ab ility to in tegra te g e or efer en c ed
data. This inclu des op era tion s like spatial
searchand overlay. Th es e functions perform
a b u ffer zon e gen era tion (e.g. s h ow all a rea s
within I km o f a stream ) and m a p overla y
(e.g. s h ow all a rea s on w ell- d ra in ed soils,
zon ed for residential d evelop m en t, and cur­
ren tly fores ted ). (G IS analysis fu nctions a re
discu ssed in C h a p ter 7.)
O ften G IS is con fu s ed with ca rtogra p h ic
system s that s tore maps in a u tom a ted form.
Again, h ow ever, th e ab ility to in tegra te data
is w h a t sets G IS a p a rt from th es e m a p p in g
system s. W h ile th e main fu nction o f th e car­
togra p h ic system is to g en era te com p u ter-
s tored maps, th e fu nction o f a G IS is, in a
sen se, to crea te in form a tion b y in tegra tin g
da ta la yers to s h ow th e origin al da ta in d if­
feren t w ays and from differen t persp ectives .
L A N D IN F O R M A T IO N SYSTEMS
A Land In form ation S ystem (LIS), also
term ed a Land R ela ted In form ation S ys tem
(LR1S), is a s p ecia l typ e o f G IS. Th e term s
LIS and LRIS h a ve b een u sed rather b roa d ly
in th e G IS litera tu re to refer to sys tem s that

inclu de land ow n ers h ip in form a tion . In this
discu ssion an LIS is con s id ered to b e a G IS
that is d es ign ed to h a n d le d eta iled land
ow n ers h ip in form ation. This in form a tion is
com m on ly record ed on a large scale m ap (at
scales o f 1:1,000 to 1:10,000) or
recen tly, is s tored in a com p u ter- b a s ed LIS.
It is a d m in is tered and m a intained
govern m en t unit that is lega lly res p on s ib le
for maintaining th e land record s
ju ris d iction . (Th e m os t co m p le te
record s data b a s es a re p rob a b ly th os e of
th e insu rance indu stry and n ot a va ila b le to
th e pu b lic.)
Th e official record o f in teres t in land is
term ed th e cadastre. It is th e legally r ecog ­
nized registration o f th e qu antity, valu e, and
ow n ers h ip o f land pa rcels . A cadastral sys­
tem , th e system u sed to s tore and maintain
th e cada stre, consists o f th ree com p on en ts .
Th es e a re as follow s :
1. R ecord s o f th e cad as tra l p a rcels — th e
continu ou s a rea s o f land (i.e. th e land
units) within which u niqu e and h om o­
gen eou s in terests a re recogn ized .
2. Th e cadastral record — th e gra ph ic
(e.g. m a ps ) and tex t in form a tion
describ in g the natu re and extent o f th e
land interests.
3. Th e pa rcel in dex — th e sys tem for
rela tin g p a rcels an d record s
1983).
A G IS u sed for mu nicipal and cou nty level
app lications is typically stru ctu red as an LIS.
Th e data b a s e will u su ally inclu de such data
la yers as th e s treet n etw ork, loca tion and
attrib u te record s for land p a rcels and lots,
floodpla in hazard, a b a s e map, geod etic con ­
trol (points for which a ccu ra te geogra p h ic
coord in ates have b een measu red), and utility
n etw orks (e.g. w a ter and s ew a g e facilities).
A mu nicipal LIS m ay conta in on th e ord er
o f 50 or m ore s ep a ra te data layers.
C ou nty level LIS es ten d to inclu de m ore
natu ral res ou rce and en viron m en ta l data
41 jihgfed
W hat is a G e o g ra p h ic In fo rm a tio n S ystem ? mlkjihgfedcba
la yers such as w etla n d con s erva tion areas,
grou n d w a ter rech a rge a rea s, soil eros ion
con trol plans, land use, and zon ing. Th es e
b roa d environm ental information ca tegories
a re m ore im p orta n t in d es crib in g th e actu al
m ore in teres ts in th e land at th e cou nty level of
govern m en t. O th er d a ta la yers com m on ly
by a inclu ded a re land pa rcels , g e od e tic control,
zon in g, land cover, and soils. A n u m b er o f
in th e cou nty, state, or fed era l ju risdictions m ay
land exercis e regu latory control over an area. For
this reas on , th e land p a rcel ten d s n ot to b e
as central a unit o f referen ce in a cou nty
level LIS as in a mu nicipal on e.
U tility com p a n ies often u se a u tom a ted
m a p p in g system s to maintain schem atic
diagram s o f their facilities, such as telep h on e
lines, p ow er lines, and ga s pipelines . O ften
th e dia gra m s a re u sed fo r facility m a n a ge­
m en t a p p lica tion s a lon e and a re n ot accu ­
rately referen ced to geogra p h ic coordinates.
Th es e typ es o f facility m anagem ent/au to-
m a ted m a pp in g system s a re not inclu ded in
th e term LIS as u sed h ere.
La n d in form a tion s ys tem s in teg ra te
p rop erty rights information with information
on th e uses, valu es, an d distrib u tion of
natu ral and cultural res ou rces . Th ey a re
u sed for a w id e va riety o f such a p p lica tion s
as th e m a in tena n ce of ta x and pa rcel in for­
m ation, th e analysis o f cha nging land use,
th e sch edu ling o f roa d m ain tena n ce a ctiv­
(N RC
ities, th e m a in tena n ce o f utility in ven tories,
an d th e m a n a gem en t o f w a ters h ed s . Th e
u ser grou p s ra n ge from em erg en cy s ervice
coord in a tors and sch ool b oa rd s to utilities,
pu b lic w orks d ep a rtm en ts , planners, d evel­
op ers , financial institu tions and th e gen era l
pu b lic. Land inform a tion sys tem s rep res en t
o n e o f th e fa s tes t grow in g G IS app lica tion
a rea s, la rgely b eca u s e an LIS p rovid es th e
on ly practical m ean s to orga n ize and in te­
gra te la rge volu m es of land- related inform a­
tion. A s m ore land inform ation is con verted
to digital form , as legisla tion d efin es m ore
s trin gen t in form a tion requ irem en ts , and as
th e tech n ology to s u p p ort an LIS b ecom es
42 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
less exp en s ive and m ore p ow erfu l, th e au to-
m a tion o f land in form a tion will b ec om e a
d e f a c t o requ irem en t.
TH E C O M P O N E N T S O F A G IS
Th e follow in g is a b r ief d es crip tion o f th e
b asic com p on en ts o f a GIS. Each com p on en t
is th e s u b ject o f s u b s equ en t ch a p ters . FEDCBA
D at a Inp ut
Th e da ta inpu t com p on en t con verts data
from their existing form into on e that can b e
u sed b y th e G IS. G eo r efer en ced da ta a re
com m on ly p r ovid ed as p a p er m aps, ta b les
o f a ttrib u tes, electron ic files o f m a ps and
a s s ocia ted a ttrib u te da ta , a irp h otos , and
even sa tellite im a gery. Th e da ta inpu t p r o ­
ced u re can b e as s tra igh tforw a rd as a file
con vers ion from on e electron ic form a t to
a n oth er, or it can b e com p lex. D ata inpu t is
typ ica lly th e m a jor b ottlen eck in th e im p le­
m en ta tion o f a G IS. C on stru ction o f la rge
da ta b a s es can cos t five to ten tim es th at of
th e G IS h a rd w a re and s oftw a re.
It can ta ke m on th s to yea rs to com p lete
th e initial da ta input. S o th e ex p en s e and
tim e n eed ed to b rin g th e G IS into full op er a ­
tion mu st b e b u d g eted as p a rt o f th e overa ll
start- u p plan, oth erw is e p res s u re to s h ow
resu lts can com p rom is e th e da ta inpu t p r o ­
ced u re. C ost- cu tting com p rom is es at th e
d a ta inpu t s ta ge a re ver y cos tly to correct.
Th os e data that m ay b e inaccu rate first h ave
to b e fou nd, a task that m ay in itself b e m ore
ex p en s ive than re- d oin g th e en tire data
en try. O n ce th e in accu racies h a ve b een cor­
rected , th e con fid en ce o f th e u sers mu st
th en b e reb u ilt — and th e first im p res s ion s
o f u sers a re rem a rka b ly res ista nt to ch ange.
For this rea s on , d a ta inpu t m eth od s and
da ta qu a lity s ta n d a rd s sh ou ld b e ca refu lly
con s id ered w ell b e fo r e d a ta en try is to
b egin . Th ey a re p r on e to receivin g cu rs ory
a tten tion in th e m id st o f a flu rry o f data
en try activity. Th e va riou s m eth od s o f data
en try shou ld b e eva lu a ted in term s o f th e
p roces s in g to b e d on e, th e a ccu ra cy stan-
d a rd s to b e m et, and th e form o f ou tpu t to
b e p rod u ced .
D at a M anag em ent
Th e d a ta m a n a gem en t com p on en t o f the
G IS inclu des th os e fu nctions n eed ed to store
a nd retr ieve d a ta from th e d a ta b a s e. Th e
m eth od s u sed to im p lem en t th es e fu nctions
a ffect h ow efficien tly th e s ystem p erform s
all op era tion s with th e da ta. Th ere a re a
va riety o f m eth od s u sed to orga n ize the data
into com p u ter- rea d a b le files. Th e w a y th e
d a ta a re stru ctu red (d ata stru ctu re) and th e
w a y files can b e rela ted to ea ch oth er (the
orga n iza tion o f th e da ta b a s e) p la ce con ­
straints on th e w a y in which da ta can b e
r etr ieved a nd th e s p eed o f th e retrieva l
op era tion . Th e short- a nd lon g- term n eed s
o f th e u sers shou ld b e id en tified and u sed
in eva lu a tin g p erform a n ce tra d e- offs . A
p ers on w h o is ex p er t at G IS da ta b ase
d es ign and analysis p r oced u res is n eed ed
to eva lu a te th es e tra d e- offs .
D a t a M a n ip u la t io n a n d A n a ly sis
Th e data manipu lation and analysis fu nctions
d eter m in e th e in form a tion th a t can b e g en ­
er a ted b y th e G IS. A list o f requ ired ca p a ­
b ilities shou ld b e d efin ed as p a rt o f th e
s ys tem requ irem en ts . W h a t is often n ot
a n ticip a ted is th at th e in trod u ction o f a G IS
will n ot on ly a u tom a te certain activities , it
will a ls o ch a n ge th e w a y th e orga n iza tion
w orks . For exa m p le, financial a nd tim e con ­
straints m a y for ce d ecis ion s to b e m a d e
a fter a stu dy o f tw o or th ree a ltern a tives . If
it b ecom es less exp en s ive and fa ster to gen ­
er a te a ltern a tives , it m a y b ec om e fea s ib le
to su ccessively refin e th e plans. Th e decision
m eth od m a y then ch a nge from selectin g th e
b es t o f th e fe w a ltern a tives p r es en ted to
d evelop in g th e b es t a ltern a tive b y s eekin g
ou t and eva lu a tin g s u gges ted im p r ove­
ments. To a n ticip a te th e w a y in w hich th e
da ta in a G IS will b e a n a lyzed requ ires that

W hat is a G e o g ra p h ic In fo rm a tio n S ystem ? mlkjihgfedcbaZ
th e u sers b e in volved in s p ecifyin g th e
necessary fu nctions and p erform a n ce levels. FEDCBA
d on e effectively with manu al m eth od s or
D ata O u t p u t
Th e ou tp u t or rep ortin g fu nction s o f G IS es
va ry m ore in qu ality, accu ra cy, and ea s e of
u se than in th e ca p a b ilities a va ila b le.
Rep orts m a y b e in th e form o f m aps, ta b les
o f valu es, or text in h a rd - cop y (such as
p a p er) or soft- copy (electron ic file). Th e func­
tion s n eed ed a re d eterm in ed b y th e u s ers ’
n eeds, and s o u ser in volvem en t is im p orta n t
in s p ecifyin g th e ou tpu t requ irem en ts .
W H Y USE A G IS ?
A geogra p h ic information system is a p o w er ­
ful tool for handling spatial da ta. In a G IS,
data a re m a in ta in ed in a digita l form a t. As
such th e data a re in a form m or e p h ys ically
com p a ct than that o f p a p er m aps, ta b u la ­
tions, or oth er con ven tion a l typ es . La rge
qu an tities o f da ta can a ls o b e m a in ta in ed
and retr ieved a t grea ter s p eed s a nd low er
cost p er unit w hen com p u ter- b a s ed sys tem s
a re u sed. Th e ab ility to m a n ip u la te th e s p a ­
tial d a ta a nd corres p on d in g a ttrib u te in for­
m ation a nd to in tegra te d ifferen t typ es of
data in a s in gle analysis a nd a t high s p eed
are u nm atched b y any manual m eth od s. The
a b ility to p erform com p lex spatial a n a lyses
ra p id ly p r ovid es a qu a n tita tive as w ell as a
qu a lita tive a d va n ta ge. Pla n nin g scena rios,
d ecis ion m od els , ch a n ge d etection and
analysis, a nd oth er typ es o f plans can b e
d evelop ed b y making refin em en ts to su cces­
s ive a na lyses . This itera tive p roces s on ly
b ecom es practical b eca u s e ea ch com p u ter
run can b e d on e qu ickly and a t a rela tively
low cost.
It is th e spatial analysis ca p a b ilities o f th e
com p u ter- b a s ed G IS that distingu ish it from
rela ted g ra p h ics - orien ted s ys tem s like
com p u ter- a id ed des ign a nd d raftin g. Th e
analysis o f com p lex, m u ltip le spatial and
non-spatial da ta s ets in an in tegra ted
m a n ner form s th e m a jor p a rt o f a G IS 's
43 jihgfedc
ca p a b ilities. It is a fu nction th a t ca n n ot b e
with com p u ter- a id ed d es ign and d ra ftin g
sys tem s . Th es e spatial analysis ca p a b ilities
o f a G IS tog eth er en a b le g e o r efer en c ed
in form a tion to b e crea ted and u sed in a
com p letely d ifferen t con tex t than b efor e.
N ot only can diverse data sets b e integrated,
d ivers e p r oced u res can a ls o b e in tegra ted .
For exa m ple, data handling p roced u res such
as th e da ta collection , verifica tion , a nd
u p d a tin g p r oced u re can be in tegra ted
instead o f com p a rtm en ta lized into s ep a ra te
op era tion s . A t th e tim e tha t da ta, such as
a ch ange o f land registration or land use. a re
en tered in th e G IS, th e G IS can ch eck th e
a ccu racy o f th e ch a n ges , w h eth er zon in g
and oth er res triction s w ou ld b e viola ted ,
and u p d a te th e releva n t m a ps a nd tab u lar
data. In this w a y, th e u sers ob tain m ore cu r­
ren t in form a tion a nd can m a n ip u la te it to
m eet th eir s p ecific n eed s .
THE G IS A N D THE O R G A N IZ A T IO N
A s an orga n iza tion b ecom es m ore familiar
with a n ew sys tem , p e o p le find n ew w a ys
o f gettin g a job d on e. Th ey will d evelo p
analysis p roced u res d ifferen t from th os e
originally anticipated. W hile it is not possib le
to p red ict w h a t th es e n ew m eth od s will b e,
ch a n ges can b e ex p ected . Th e typ e and
va riety o f fu nctions p r ovid ed b y a s p ecific
system will in flu en ce th e typ es o f in n ova ­
tion s that will occu r. A s ys tem th at excels in
m od ellin g fu nctions, for exa m p le, w ou ld
en cou ra ge th e d evelop m en t o f new analyses
th at ca p ita lize on th es e fu nctions.
Th ere is a ls o a ten d en cy for th e principal
u se o f an inform ation sys tem to evolve. N ew
tech n olog y ten d s first to b e u sed b y an
orga n iza tion to p erform th e tasks in th e
" o ld " w a y using th e n ew tech n ology. Later,
as fam iliarity with th e tech n olog y is ga in ed ,
n ew w a ys o f p rovid in g th e s a m e fu nctions
a re d e ve lo p e d th at m ore fu lly ta ke a d va n ­
ta g e of th e tech n o lo g y. Fin a lly, n ew
44 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
a p p roa ch es a re d e ve lo p e d th a t ta ke full
a d va n ta g e o f th e p oten tia l o f th e n ew
tech n ology and m eet th e in form ation n eeds.
Th e n ew tech n olog y is u sed to p r o vid e n ew
fu nctions. In th e ca se o f G IS es, th e first appli­
ca tion s ten d to b e in ven tory op era tion s .
La ter th e em p h a s is shifts to sa tisfyin g
ana lys is and, finally, m a n a gem en t n eed s .
For this reas on, th e m a n a gem en t en viron ­
m en t o f th e G IS fa cility is p erh a p s th e m os t
im p orta n t sin gle fa ctor in d eterm in in g its
su ccess or failu re. It is th e orga n iza tion th a t
in th e en d d eterm in es w h eth er th e phys ical
eq u ip m en t and hu man res ou rces will fu nc­
tion as an effective in form a tion s ys tem . Th e
p rovis ion of effective u ser s ervices , from
train ing m aterials to qu a lified consu ltants, is
critical to th e effective u tilization o f th e
b en efits that a G IS can offer. B u d getin g and
orga n izin g for u ser s ervices often r eceive
mu ch less a tten tion than th ey w a rra n t. Th e
orga n iza tion mu st a ls o b e a b le to d ea l with
politica l, financial, a nd tech n ica l issu es on a
con tin u in g basis. A su ccessfu l m a n a gem en t
en viron m en t will en a b le th e orga n iza tion to
b e flexib le en ou gh to ch a n ge w h ile con ­
tinu ing to satisfy its m a n d a tes . (Issu es in th e
im p lem en ta tion o f a G IS a re d is cu s sed in
C h a p ter 8.)
A G IS is not th e solu tion to all g e o r e fe r -
en ced inform ation proces s in g requ irem en ts .
A G IS is ex p en s ive to im p lem en t. E xisting
d a ta mu st b e co n ver ted to digital form , a
task tha t is u su ally m a n y tim es th e cos t of
th e h a rd w a re a nd s oftw a re. A G IS r e p r e ­
s en ts a significant over h ea d cos t b oth to
m aintain th e s ys tem a nd for th e con s id er­
a b le d eg r ee of exp ertis e requ ired o f th e p er­
s onn el w h o o p er a te it. Th es e costs a re m ore
ea sily ju stified if th e da ta volu m es a re la rge,
th e d a ta mu st b e freq u en tly a cces s ed ,
u p d a tin g of th e da ta is im p orta n t, a nd th e
d a ta will b e u sed r e p ea ted ly for a w id e
ra n ge o f analyses. If th es e con d ition s d o n ot
a p p ly, th en a G IS m a y n ot in fa ct b e a cost-
effective solu tion. FEDCBA
CO N CLU SI O N
This ch a p ter has p r o vid ed a fra m ew ork , a
con text, w ithin w hich to view th e m ore
d eta iled in form a tion p r es en ted in th e
rem a in d er o f th e b ook . Th e a p p roa ch taken
in this b o o k has b een to p res en t th e fu n da ­
m en ta l p rin cip les and r e leva n t issu es
n e e d e d to u n d ers ta n d h ow G IS tech n olog y
is u sed. Th e tech n ology is d evelop in g at such
a fa st ra te th a t a s s es s m en ts o f individu al
s ys tem s a nd p roces s in g tech n ology a re ou t-
of- d a te b e fo r e th ey g o to p res s. (Th ere a re
n o review s o f G IS s ys tem s in clu d ed .) H ow ­
e ve r th e p rin cip les u sed to a p p ly that tech ­
n ology, th e o b jective in u sing a G IS, a re
m ore fu n d a m en ta l.
Th e m a jor ch a llen ge in a cqu irin g a G IS is
th e d evelo p m en t o f analysis a p p roa ch es
that a d d res s th e p rob lem at hand and m a ke
effective u se o f th e tech n olog y. L ea rn in g to
op era te a G IS is rela tively easy. It is far m ore
difficu lt to learn h ow to a p p ly this skill effec­
tively and crea tively to sa tisfy "r e a l w o r ld ”
n eed s .
G IS tech n olog y a nd a G IS fa cility can
ch a n ge th e ob jectives th a t an orga n iza tion
can attain, b u t it is th e organ ization that must
d efin e w h a t th os e ob jectives shou ld b e. In
th e ca se o f a pu b lic a gen cy, th os e ob jectives
a re u ltim a tely d efin ed b y th e va lu es o f th e
s ociety. This b o ok focu s es on s tra tegies for
u sing G IS tech n olog y and id en tifyin g th os e
issu es th a t in a given situ ation will d efin e
a p p r op r ia te ob jectives . In s o d oin g, an
a p p r oa ch to u sing this te c h n o lo g y is
d e ve lo p e d , w h a tever th e ca p a b ilities o f a
s p ecific s ys tem .
R EFER EN C ES
Beard, M.K., N.R. Chrisman. T.D. Patterson. 1987. Inte­
g ra ting Data fo r Local Resource Planning: A Case
S tudy o f Sand and G ravel Resources. In C IS f o r
R e s o u rce M a n a g e m e n t: A C o m p e n d iu m . A m erica n
S ociety fo r P h o to g ra m m e try and Remote Sensing.
Falls Church, V irg inia.
Burrough, P.A. 1986. P rin c ip le s o f G e o g ra p h ic a l In fo r ­
m a tio n S y s te m s f o r L a n d R e so u rce s A ss es sm e n t.
O xfo rd U n iv e rsity Press. New Y ork, Ne w Y ork.

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C a lk in s, H u g h M . 1976. In fo r m a tio n S y s te m
Developm ents in N orth Am erica. In P ro c e e d in g s o f
th e C o m m iss io n o n G e o g ra p h ic a l D a ta S e n sing a n d
P r o c e s s in g — M o s c o w 1 9 7 6 . In te rn a tio n a l
G eographical Union. Paris, France. p p .9 3 -I 13.
Chrisman, N.R. 1987. Fundam ental Principles o f
G eographic Info rm a tio n Systems. In P ro c e e d in g s o f
th e E ig hth In te rn a tio n a l S y m p o s iu m on C o m p u te r-
A s s is te d C a rto g ra p h y . A m erican Society o f Photo-
gra m m etry and Remote Sensing. Falls Church,
Virginia, p p .3 2 - 4 1.
Cowen. David ). 1987. GIS vs. CAD vs. DBMS: W hat
are the Differences? In P ro c e e d in g s o f th e G IS '8 7
S ym p o s iu m . A m erican Society fo r P hoto gra m m etry
and Remote Sensing, Falls Church, Virginia, p p.46-56.
Crain, I.K. and C.L. MacDonald. 1983. From Land Inven­
tory to Land Management, The Evolution o f an O pera­
tio nal GIS. In P ro c e e d in g s o f th e S ixth In te rn a tio n a l
S y m p o s iu m o n A u to m a te d C a rto g ra p h y . University
o f O ttawa. O ttaw a, O nta rio , p p .4 1 -5 0 .
Dangermond, J. 1983. S o ftw a re C om ponents C o m m o n ly
U se d in G e o g ra p h ic In fo rm a tio n S ystem s. E nviron­
mental Systems Research Institute. Redlands, California.
Hardy, E.E. 1975. The Design, Im plementation, and Use
of a S tatew ide Land Use Inventory: The New Y ork
Experience. In P ro c e e d in g s o f th e N A S A E a rth
R e so urce s S u rv e y S y m p o s iu m . National A eronautics
and Space A dm in istra tio n. W ashington, D.C. Vol. 1C:
157 3-1577.
M arble. Duane F. 1984. G eographic In fo rm a tio n
Systems: An Overview. In P ro ce e d ing s o f th e P ecora 9
45
S y m p o s iu m . IEEE Co m puter Society. S ilver Springs.
M a ryla n d, p p .2 -8 .
M cHarg, Ian L. 1969. D e sign w ith N a tu re . D oubleday
& Com pany. Garden City, New York.
NRC. 1983. P ro c e d u re s a n d S ta n d a rd s f o r a M u lti­
p u rp o s e C a d astre . Panel on a M ultip urpose Cadastre
o f th e N ational Research Council. National Academ y
Press. W ashington, D.C.
Parent, P. and R. Church. 1987. Evolution of Geographic
In fo rm a tio n Systems as Decision M aking Tools. In
P ro c e e d in g s o f the GIS '8 7 S y m p o s iu m . A m erican
Society fo r P hotogra m m etry and Remote Sensing.
Falls Church, V irginia, p p .6 3 -7 1 .
Parker, H. Dennison. 1987. W hat is a G eographic Infor­
m ation System? In P ro c e e d in g s o f th e GIS '8 7
S y m p o s iu m . Am erican S ociety fo r P ho to gra m m etry
and Remote Sensing. Falls Church, Virginia, pp.7 2-80 .
Shelton, R.L. and E. Hardy. 1974. Design Concepts fo r
Land Use and Natural Resource Inventories and Infor­
m atio n Systems, in P ro c e e d in g s o f th e N in th In te r ­
n a tio n a l S y m p o s iu m o n R e m o te S e n sin g o f E n v iro n ­
m e n t. E nvironm ental Research Institu te o f M ichigan.
Ann A rb o r, M ichigan. Vol. 1:5 17-535.
Steinitz, C , P. Parker, and L. Jordan. 1976. Hand-Drawn
O verlays: T heir H isto ry and Prospective Uses. L a n d ­
s ca pe A rc h ite c tu re 66 (5): 4 4 4 -4 5 5 .
Tom linson, R.F., Calkins, H.W. and M arb le , D.F. 1976.
C o m p u te r H a n d lin g o f G e o g ra p h ic a l D a ta . Natural
Resources Research Series X III. The UNESCO Press.
Paris. France.
46 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
C IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e r s p e c t iv e
 3. REM OTE S E N S I N G FEDCBA

I N T R O D U C T I O N jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
ex p lo r a tio n a n d m a p p in g. S a tellite- b a s ed
s ys tem s ca n n ow m ea s u re p h en om en a th a t
F rom tim e im m em oria l p e o p le h a ve u s ed
ch a n g e con tin u ou s ly o v e r tim e a n d c o ve r
va n ta g e p oin ts high a b o v e th e la n d s ca p e to
la rg e, o fte n in a cces s ib le a rea s .
vie w th e terra in b elo w . F rom th es e look ou ts
W e a th e r s a tellites p r o vid e tem p er a tu r e
th ey cou ld g e t a "b ir d 's e y e v ie w ” o f th e
m ea s u r em en ts a t th e ea rth 's s u rfa ce a n d at
region . Th ey cou ld s tu d y th e la n d s ca p e a n d
d iffe r e n t a ltitu d es a b o ve th e s u rfa ce.
in ter p r et w h a t th ey saw . T h e s ea rch m igh t
P a ttern s o f s ea s u rfa ce tem p er a tu r es s h ow
b e fo r g o o d hu n ting grou n d s , ea s y p a s s a g e
th e p os ition of cu rren ts and a rea s of
th rou gh th e reg ion , o r th e b e s t s tr a teg y to
u p w ellin g, im p orta n t fo r m a n a gin g fis h eries .
a tta ck an en em y. Th e a d va n ta g e o f co llect­
S a tellite- b a s ed s ys tem s a re u s ed to es tim a te
in g in form a tion a b ou t th e la n d s ca p e from a
ch lor op h yll levels n ea r th e s ea s u rfa ce, an
d is ta n ce w a s r e co g n ized lo n g a g o. Remote im p or ta n t in d ica tor o f th e a va ila b ility o f th e
sensing as w e kn ow it to d a y is th e tech n iqu e
fo o d on w h ich com m ercia l fish s tocks
o f collectin g in form a tion from a dis ta n ce. B y
d e p e n d . M ea s u r em en ts o f c r o p con d ition
con ven tion , "fr o m a d is ta n c e ” is g en er a lly
can b e m a d e a t regu la r in terva ls th rou gh th e
c o n s id er e d to b e la rg e r e la tive to w h a t a
g r o w in g s ea s on to id en tify p r o b le m a rea s
p er s on can rea ch ou t a n d tou ch , h u n d red s
a n d to p r e d ic t p rod u ction levels . R em o te
o f feet, h u n d red s o f miles, o r m ore. Th e data
s en s in g s ys tem s p r o vid e th e ca p a b ility to
co lle c te d from a d is ta n ce a re te r m e d
remotely sensed d a ta . collect u niform m ea s u rem en ts in digita l form
o v e r la r g e a rea s a t ve r y high s p e e d a n d to
T o d a y m os t natu ra l r es ou r ce m a p p in g is
a n a lyze p h en om en a th a t cou ld n ot b e m on i­
d o n e u sing r e m o te s en s in g. A eria l p h o to g ­
to r e d in a n y o th er w a y.
ra p h y has b e e n u s ed to p r o d u ce virtu a lly all
D es p ite th eir w id e u se, r e m o te s en s in g
to p o g r a p h ic maps and m os t fo r e s tr y,
g e o lo g y , la n d u se, a n d s oils m a p s . M o r e tech n iq u es a r e u n fa m ilia r to m os t u s ers o f

recen tly, a ir b o r n e ra d a r a n d s ca n n er d a ta g e o g r a p h ic in form a tion . Th is ch a p ter p r e ­

a s w ell as s a tellite im a g er y a r e b ein g u s ed s en ts a b r ie f in trod u ction to r e m o te s en s in g

fo r th es e typ e s o f m a p p in g a p p lica tion s . con cep ts . Th e em p h a s is h er e is on th e

A eria l p h o to g r a p h y is u s ed to p rep a re a p p roa ch u sed to p rod u ce u sefu l geog ra p h ic

d eta iled city m a ps . M u n icip a lities h a ve even in form a tion ra th er tha n on th e tech n ica l

u s ed a irp h otos to id en tify u n r ecord ed p r o p ­ d eta ils o f th e s en s or s ys tem s th em s elves .

er ty im p r ovem en ts . Th e in crea s ed ta x H o w e ve r , to u n d ers ta n d h ow r e m o te ly

collection m o r e tha n p a ys fo r th e en tire s en s ed d a ta can b e u s ed , s o m e b a s ic in for­

a na lysis ! m a tion is n e e d e d a b ou t w h a t th e s e d a ta

R em ote s en s in g tech n iq u es a re u s ed r e p r es en t. A eria l p h o to g r a p h y is w id ely

ex ten s ively to g a th er m ea s u rem en ts . M e a ­ a va ila b le from p rovin cia l, s ta te, a n d fed er a l

s u rem en ts o f la n d s ca p e fea tu res a re u sed to
p r o d u ce th e eleva tio n con tou rs on to p o ­
gra p h ic m aps. A ircra ft- b a s ed r em o te sen sin g
m ea s u rem en ts o f ga m m a ra d ia tion a nd m a g­
n etism a re u s ed rou tin ely fo r g e o lo g ica l
a g en cies , a n d a eria l s u rvey co m p a n ies can
a cq u ire origin a l im a g er y to cu s tom er s p eci­
fica tion s . S ou rces o f s a tellite im a g er y th a t
a re p u b licly a va ila b le in C a n a d a a n d th e
U n ited S ta tes a r e lis ted in A p p e n d ix B.
48 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e FEDCBA
A B R I EF H I S T O R Y O F QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
in dica tors, th ey cou ld correctly a n ticip a te
m ilitary a ctivities in tim e for cou n ter m ea ­
R EM O T E SEN SI N G jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e d eve lo p m e n t o f rem ote sen sin g as w e
kn ow it tod a y b ega n with a eria l p h oto g ­
rap h y. B y th e ea rly 1860s p h otogra p h s had
su ccessfu lly b een ta ken from ca p tive b a l­
loon s. Th e first m ilitary u se of a eria l
p h otog ra p h y w a s in th e A m erica n Civil W ar.
In June o f 1862 p h otogra p h s taken b y th e
U nion A rm y w ere u sed to a n a lyze th e
d efen c es o f Rich m on d. B y th e ea rly 1900s
p h otogra p h ic tech n olog y had im p roved to
th e p oin t th at s m a ller ca m era s a nd fa s ter
lenses a nd films w er e ava ilab le. Ph otogra p h s
w er e su ccessfu lly taken using kites and even
p ig eon s as p la tform s . H ow ever , for aeria l
p h otogra p h y to b ecom e practical, it requ ired
a n a viga b le p la tform so th a t th e ca m era
cou ld b e p os ition ed w h er e it w a s n eed ed .
This p la tform w a s s u p p lied b y th e p iloted
a irp la n e.
W ilb u r W righ t is cred ited with ta king th e
first p h otog ra p h s from an a irp la n e in 1909.
It w as s oon a fter that G erm an flying stu dents
training at English flying schools b ega n taking
a irp h otos . A t th e b egin n in g o f W orld W a r I
aerial p h otogra p h y w as not in use. D uring the
w a r, m ilita ry a u th orities w e r e at first relu c­
ta nt to u se th e n ew tech n ology, b u t w h en
semi-official p h otogra p h ic missions prod u ced
a irp h otos o f military facilities in G erm an- held
territory, th ey w e r e qu ickly con vin ced .
P h oto in terp reters b eca m e recog n ized as
th e " e y e s o f th e a rm ed fo r c e s ” b y all cou n ­
tries in th e w a r. Th e u se o f a eria l p h oto g ­
ra p h y had a p rofou n d e ffect on m ilitary
tactics. It w a s difficu lt to h id e m ilitary in for­
m ation from a eria l p h otogra p h y, even with
th e u se o f d ecoys and ca m ou fla ge. Perh a p s
m ore im p orta n t, it w a s fou n d th a t p h oto
in terp reters b eca m e skilled a t p red ictin g
en em y a ctivity from th e in form a tion in th e
a irp h otos . B y stu dyin g th e qu a n tities o f
tra n s p orta tion eq u ip m en t a t ra ilh ea d s and
amm u nition du mps, th e constru ction o f n ew
ra ilw a ys and m ed ica l fa cilities, and oth er
su res to b e p la n n ed . B y recogn izin g s evera l
in d ep en d en t fa ctors , in terp reters can infer
in form a tion th a t is n ot d irectly p res en ted .
(This u se o f m u ltip le in d ica tors to d ed u ce
in form a tion is ter m ed th e p rin cip le o f con­
vergence of information. It is central to the
effective in terp reta tion of all form s of
rem otely s en s ed d a ta .)
B y th e en d o f th e w a r, a rm ies had d e ve l­
o p ed th e ca p a city to p rod u ce la rge qu a n ­
tities o f a eria l p h otogra p h s rap id ly. In 1918,
du ring th e A llied M eu s e- A rgon n e offen s ive,
56,000 prints w er e p rod u ced in fou r d a ys
(C olw ell 1983). M ilita ry p h oto in terp reters
cou ld b e d e p e n d e d u pon to p r ovid e accu ­
ra te a nd tim ely in form a tion . But th eir ex p e­
rien ce, ga in ed b y trial a nd error, w a s not
form a lized .
In th e p er iod b etw een th e W orld W ars,
th e d evelo p m en t o f m ilitary p h oto in ter­
p reta tion virtu ally s top p ed ; h ow ever, signifi­
ca n t a d va n ces w e r e m a d e in com m ercia l
a nd s cien tific a p p lica tion s . C om m ercia l
s u rvey com p a n ies p r ovid ed a irp h oto acqu i­
sition, in terp reta tion , a nd m a p p in g services.
Th e m eth od s o f u sing aeria l p h otogra p h s to
m a ke a ccu ra te m ea s u rem en ts d e ve lo p e d
in to th e field o f p h otogra m m etry. Th e tech ­
n iqu es for p rod u cin g top og ra p h ic m aps
from s ter eo a irp h oto pa irs w e r e a ls o d e ve l­
o p e d d u rin g this p er iod . N ot on ly d id aerial
p h otog ra p h y red u ce th e cos t a nd th e tim e
to p rod u ce top og r a p h ic m aps, it also
en a b led m a ps to b e m a d e o f a rea s with inac­
ces s ib le or difficu lt terra in . Figu re 3 . 1 sh ow s
an a m p h ib iou s b u s h p la n e u sed in C anada
for s om e o f th e ea rly a irp h oto missions in
th e 1920s and 1930s. P h otogra m m etric
m eth od s a re n ow u sed to p rod u ce m ost
top og ra p h ic a nd natu ral res ou rce maps.
Pa p ers w er e pu b lish ed on p h oto in terp reta ­
tion for a rch a eolog y, ecolog y, fores try,
geology, en gin eerin g, and oth er applications
and g over n m en t a gen cies b ega n u sing th e
tech n olog y in th eir m a p p in g op era tion s .
 49
R e m o te S e nsin g mlkjihgfedcbaZY

F ig u re 3.1 V ickers V iking' IV flyin g b o a t e q u ip p e d fo r aerial p h o to g ra p h y in M a n ito b a in 1924 (Courtesy of

the National A rchives o f Canada, #C 259I0). jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

G erm a n y fores a w th e im p orta n ce of of natu ral res ou rces like tim b er an d

p h otoin terp reta tion and was th e w orld agricu ltu re u sed a irp h otos to d er ive qu an ti­
lea d er in th e field in 1939 a t th e ou tb rea k ta tive estim ates o f p rod u ction m ore ch ea p ly
o f W orld W a r II. Th e G erm a n a d va n ce w a s than b y grou n d su rvey a lon e. Aeria l p h otog­
p la n n ed u sing com p lete a irp h oto c o ver a g e ra p h y w a s still th e on ly s en s or s ystem in
o f A llied terra in a nd installations. D u ring practical u se. But exp erim en ta tion w as
W orld W a r U th e A llies d e ve lo p e d s ta te- of- u n d erw a y with n ew typ es o f sensors. Radar
the- art tech n iqu es . For exa m p le, on th e tech n olog y th a t had b een in ven ted du ring
Pacific front, coa stal w a ter d ep th in form a ­ th e w a r w a s d e ve lo p e d in to s ys tem s that
tion w a s es s en tia l for pla nning assau lts b y cou ld contin u ou sly scan a sw ath o f terra in
a m p h ib iou s craft. P h oto in terp reta tion to th e s id e o f th e aircraft. D u ring th e 1970s,
m eth od s w e r e d e ve lo p e d to es tim a te w a ter th es e instru m ents b eca m e rea d ily a va ila b le
d ep th s to an accu ra cy o f 2 ft for d ep th s u p to non - m ilitary users.
to 30 ft. In fra red film w a s d e ve lo p e d du ring th e
A fter W orld W a r II, th e p h oto in terp reta ­ w a r to id en tify ca m ou fla ged m ilitary eq u ip ­
tion tech n iqu es d e ve lo p e d in war tim e m en t and facilities. This film w a s sen sitive to
b eca m e th e es ta b lis h ed p roced u res for red , green , and n ea r- in fra red w a velen gth s .
civilian a p plica tion s. Top ogra p h ic m a pp in g, It p rod u ced a ver y u sefu l im a ge with n on ­
g eolo g ic m a p p in g, and m a p p in g for en gi­ natu ral or "fa ls e ” colou rs (h en ce th e film is
n eerin g w e r e rou tin ely d on e u sing a eria l often called false colou r in frared film). G reen
p h otogra p h y, as th ey a re tod a y. In ven tories p a in t s tron gly reflects g r een w a velen gth s ;
50 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
for this reas on it a p p ea rs green to th e naked
eye. G reen vegeta tion in a d d ition to reflect­
ing green w a velen gth s also stron gly reflects
n ea r- in fra red. Th e hu man e ye is n ot sen si­
tive to th e near- infra red w a velen gth s and so
th e veg eta tion and green pa in t a p p ea r th e
same colou r. H ow ever, in the colou r infrared
photographs, the green vegeta tion a p p ea red
in redd is h colou rs a nd th e green - p a in ted
ob jects a p p ea r ed b lu e. Thu s a clea r distinc­
tion cou ld b e m a d e b etw een natural veg eta ­
tion and ob jects pain ted green . G reen paints
have since b een d evelo p ed that reflect b oth
green and in fra red w a velen gth s , as ve g e ta ­
tion d oes .
A fter th e w a r, military a p p lica tion s also
continu ed to d evelop . H igh er flying aircraft,
such as th e U -2, that w e r e ou t o f reach o f
existing w ea p on s en a b led th e U nited S ta tes
to con d u ct regu la r recon n a is s a n ce o ver
E astern B loc cou ntries. Th e Cu ban M issile
Crisis o f 1962 illu strated th e im p orta n ce o f
ea rly d etection and s u p erior military intelli­
gen ce. It w a s th e recon n a is s a n ce p h otog ­
rap h y from U-2 a ircra ft that a lerted th e
U nited S ta tes to th e n ew Cu ban missile
installations and la ter verified that th ey had
b een dis m a n tled . Th e m ilita ry requ irem en t
for m ore a d va n ced sensors continu es to p ro­
vid e th e res ea rch im p etu s to d evelo p n ew
s en s or s ys tem s and m ore sop h is tica ted
app lica tions .
In a d d ition to its military applica tions ,
colou r in fra red film p r oved va lu a b le for
veg eta tion analysis. C rop and fores t typ es
w er e m ore ea s ily id en tified using this false
colou r film than on norm a l colou r films, and
s tres s ed veg eta tion cou ld b e distingu ished
from n on - stres sed (h ea lth y) vegeta tion . As
discu ssed la ter in this cha pter, near- infrared
reflecta nce is not rela ted to th e tem p era tu re
o f th e ob ject. L on ger w a velen gth s in th e far-
in fra red region p r ovid e this inform ation.
(O b jects a t ver y high tem p era tu res , such as
lava at 1 100°C , will em it radia tion at near-
in fra red w a velen gth s (Lillesa nd and Kiefer
1987). M ost earth ob jects have tem peratu res
on th e o r d er of 3 0 ° C and e m it virtu ally no
n ea r- in fra red radia tion . H ow ever, earth
ob jects m a y s tron gly r e f l e c t n ea r- in fra red
ra dia tion that has b een em itted from a
s ou rce such as th e sun.) It w a s n ot until th e
1970s that detectors to record therm al infra­
red w a velen gth s w er e gen era lly a va ila b le.
Th erm a l in fra red scan ners crea te im a ges
electron ica lly using solid - s ta te d etectors
co oled b y liqu id n itrogen .
Th e 1960s u sh ered in a n ew a g e for
rem ote sensing. W ith th e d evelop m en t of
ea rth - orb itin g satellites, it b eca m e fea s ib le
to ob tain high-altitu de im a ges o f th e ea rth ’s
su rface in d ep en d en t o f political b ou nd aries.
But p erh a p s m ore im p orta n t w a s th e d evel­
op m en t o f digital electron ic imaging systems
that cou ld rela y im a ge d a ta b a ck to earth.
Th es e da ta cou ld b e p r oces s ed to p h oto­
gra p h ic im a ges u sing com p u ter- b a s ed tech ­
niqu es kn ow n as im a ge p roces s in g. Im a ge
p roces s in g cou ld b e u sed to form colou r
com p os ite p h otogra p h s from s ep a ra te d igi­
tal im a ges tha t ea ch rep res en ted a n a rrow
ra n ge o f w a velen gth s o f light. Im a ge p r o­
ces s in g tech n iqu es cou ld also b e u sed to
s h a rp en th e im a ges a nd to overla y im a ges
ta ken a t d ifferen t times.
Th e first non- military s a tellite d es ign ed to
collect in form a tion a b ou t th e ea rth 's land
res ou rces was th e E a rth R es ou rces
Tech n olog y S a tellite (ERTS-1) la u nched in
1972 b y th e U nited States. This satellite was
la ter ren a m ed Landsat-1 and w a s follow ed
b y Lan d sa ts 2 throu gh 5. Th e d a ta w ere
r eceived b y a n etw ork o f grou n d receivin g
stations arou nd th e w orld. Th e U nited States
m a d e th es e data pu b licly a va ila b le with vir­
tu ally no restriction s on its use.
Th e ea rly Landsat data had a grou n d res o­
lu tion o f a b ou t 80 m and im a ged a lm os t the
en tire earth ever y 18 days. Later, Landsat
s a tellites p rod u ced da ta with 30 m res olu ­
tion. A n u m b er o f oth er s a tellite- b a s ed s en ­
sors h a ve p rovid ed data to th e international
com m u n ity. A m on g th em a re da ta from the
A V H R R s en s or with a res olu tion o f ab ou t

1 km, th e CZCS s en s or with a resolu tion of
ab ou t 1 km, and th e S PO T sen sor with res o­
lutions of 20 m and 10 m. Th es e s en s or sys­
tem s a re discu ssed later in this ch a p ter. In
a d d ition to France and th e U nited S tates, a
nu mb er of oth er countries, including Canada,
India, a n d Japan, h a ve an n ou n ced plans for
earth res ou rces satellites that w ou ld p rovid e
data to th e in ternational com m u nity.
Th e rapid d evelop m en t of rem ote sensing
tech n ology has p rovid ed th e ca p a b ility to
gen era te data at a far grea ter ra te than th ey
can b e a na lyzed and used. In fact, th e d evel­
op m en t o f sensor, data receivin g, an d data
s tora ge ca p a b ilities has p r o ce ed ed fa s ter
than th e d evelop m en t of practical a p p lica ­
tions. O ften , th os e w h o cou ld b en efit m ost
from th e tech n ology d on 't h ave the in form a ­
tion or th e con text in which to assess it. For
this rea s on , rem ote sensing has b een given
a m ore p rom in en t trea tm en t in this b ook
than oth er data sou rces com m on ly u sed in
a GIS. FEDCBA
SI X P O P U LA R M I S C O N C EP T I O N S QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
A B O U T R EM O T E SEN SI N G
R em ote sen sin g is u nfamiliar to m os t u sers
of g eog ra p h ic in form a tion even thou gh
much o f the data they use are gen era ted with
this tech n ology. W h en p eo p le lack in form a ­
tion, th e k n ow led ge ga p is often filled b y
h ea rin g a b ou t th e exp erien ces o f oth ers
in form a lly "th rou gh th e g r a p evin e". Th e
information ten ds to b ecom e s om ew h a t dis­
torted a lon g th e w a y to th e p oin t w h ere it
b ecom es myth.
A n u m b er o f myths h a ve d e ve lo p e d over
the p a s t 15 yea rs or so, pa rticu larly a b ou t
digital rem ote sensing analysis. T o s om e
exten t this w as a resu lt o f th e excitem en t
su rrou nding th e first earth res ou rces s a tel­
lites, th e La ndsat series. B efore th e first
La ndsat w as even lau nched in July 1972,
exp erts w ere predicting that resou rce inven­
tory and assessment wou ld b e revolu tionized
b y th e n ew data s ou rce — digital im a gery.
5 ! jihgfedcba
R e m o te S ensing mlkjihgfedcbaZY
Th ey ex p ected th a t b y using th e im a gery
from s a tellite- b a s ed sensors, accu racies
com p a ra b le to th os e a ch ieved with air-
p h otos and field su rveys w ou ld b e a ch ieved
at low er cost.
Th e reality has b een s om ew h a t less than
those optimistic predictions — b u t the reality
has still p r ovid ed in form a tion - ga th erin g
ca p a b ilities p reviou s ly u nattainab le. N e ve r ­
theless , th ere a re many w h o h a ve tried to
u se rem otely s en s ed data and w er e d is a p ­
p oin ted with th e results. Th ere a re many
in form a tion requ irem en ts to which rem ote
sensing tech n iqu es ca n n ot con trib u te and
m any cases w h ere th es e tech n iqu es h a ve
b een in a p p rop ria tely or incorrectly a pplied.
H ow ever, cars regu la rly b rea k d ow n and
p eo p le a re frequ en tly inju red using them ,
yet w e still con s id er th em a va lu a b le m eans
of tra n sp orta tion . In th e sa m e w a y, rem ote
sensing is n ow b ein g u sed as a valu ab le cost-
effective m eans o f acqu iring inform a tion
a b ou t earth resou rces.
Y et m any m yth s rem ain a b ou t th e tech ­
n ology. Th e m yths d o h a ve a b asis in fact,
as d o th e a s s ertion s a b ou t th e d a n gers o f
cars. It is th e over- gen era liza tion s u sed to
dismiss w h ole ca tegories of applications that
a re untrue. A n ecd ota l in form a tion is still
often u sed to in flu en ce or ju stify d ecis ion s
a b ou t using rem ote sensing m eth ods . In an
effor t to dis p el s om e o f th es e myths, six of
th e m ore p op u la r on es a re discu ssed h ere.
M y t h /. " S a t e llit e - b a s e d re m o te s e n s in g
d o e s n o t h a v e s u ffic ie n t re s o lu tio n . ’ ’
Th ere is often confu sion ab ou t w hat spatial
resolu tion is and w h a t n eed s to b e res olved .
Th e term has an im p recis e m ean in g and
th ere a re a n u m b er o f definitions. Fors haw
et. al. ( 1983) p rovid es a review o f th e defini­
tion and significa n ce o f spatial res olu tion in
rem ote sensing. Th e M a n u a l o f R e m o t e
S e n s in g (C olw ell 1983, p.20) a lso p rovid es
a concis e discu ssion of th e com p lexities o f
this term and of measu ring spatial resolu tion.
Th e d efin ition th a t will b e u sed h ere is as
52 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
follow s : "th e spatial res olu tion o f a s en s or
s ys tem is its a b ility to ren d er a sh a rp ly
d efin ed im a ge” (a d a p ted from C olw ell 1983).
A com m on unit o f m ea s u re is th e n u m b er
o f lin e- pairs p er m illim eter th at can be
distingu ished on th e im a ge o f a standard tes t
p a ttern . Th e spa tial res olu tion o f a s en s or
s ys tem is a gu id e to th e s m a llest o b ject th at
can b e " s e e n ” . W h a t is u su ally m ea n t b y
" s e e n ” is detected.
A n o b je c t is d etec te d if th ere is an in dica ­
tion th a t s om eth in g d ifferen t from th e su r­
rou n d in gs is p res en t, e.g. th ere a p p ea rs to
b e an a rea in th e m id d le o f th e corn field
th a t is n ot "cor n fie ld ” . W e often w ou ld like
m ore than just this d etection level o f in for­
mation. W e w ou ld like to recogn ize th e ca te­
g o r y o f o b ject b ein g d etected .
Th e recognition level o f res olu tion ca te­
gorizes th e ob jects b ein g d etected , e.g. is
th e o b ject in th e corn field a d ifferen t typ e
o f vegeta tion , a p ond , a bu ilding, or p erh a p s
s om e typ e o f fa rm m a ch in ery. A m ore
d eta iled level o f res olu tion is term ed th e
identification level or s om etim es th e
analysis level. A t this level m ore s p ecific
in form a tion a b ou t th e ob ject is d is cern a b le.
For exa m p le, at th e recogn ition level, it m ay
b e d is cern ed th at an ob ject is n ot a b u ildin g
or a p on d b u t a d ifferen t typ e o f vegeta tion .
A t th e iden tification level, inform ation on the
s p ecific veg eta tion typ e m igh t b e d er ived .
To s om e ex ten t th es e th ree levels o f res o­
lu tion a r e overla p p in g ca tegories , ye t th ey
a re u sefu l in eva lu a ting th e spatial resolu tion
n eed ed for a sp ecific applica tion . As a rou gh
gu id e, it ta kes a b ou t a 3X im p rovem en t in
spa tia l res olu tion to m ove from th e d e te c ­
tion level to th e recogn ition level, and a b ou t
a 10X im p rovem en t to m o ve from th e rec­
ogn ition level to th e id en tifica tion level
(C olw ell 1983, p .23).
A t each resolu tion level, factors oth er than
th e s ize o f th e o b ject com e into play.
S a tellite- b a s ed d igita l s en s ors p rod u ce
im a ges com p r is ed o f cells term ed picture
elements or pixels. Each p ixel rep res en ts
a grou n d a rea o f a sp ecific size. For exa m p le,
in th e Th em a tic M a p p er s en s or on - b oa rd
th e La n d s a t 4 a n d 5 sa tellites , ea ch p ixel
rep res en ts a grou n d a rea o f a b ou t 30 m b y
30 m. Th e p ixel s ize g ives on ly a rou gh id ea
o f th e size o f ob jects th a t m ight b e vis ib le
in th e im a ge. C on tra s t is a n oth er fa ctor th at
d irectly a ffects resolu tion. Th e m ore contrast
b etw een th e o b ject a n d its su rrou nding, th e
sm a ller th e o b ject th a t can b e d etected .
A tm os p h eric effects , sun a n gle, and oth er
en vir o n m en ta l fa cto r s w ill a ls o a ffec t
w h eth er an o b ject will b e vis ib le in th e
im a ge. For th es e rea s on s , ob jects sm a ller
than a p ixel will s om etim es b e d etecta b le
and s om e ob jects la rger than a pixel m ay not
b e d etecta b le. It w ill d ep en d on h ow w ell
th e o b ject con tra s ts w ith its su rrou ndings,
th e a tm os p h eric a n d illu mination effects ,
and th e w a velen g th s o f light u sed b y th e
s en sor.
In m y ow n w ork in n orth ern C anada, roa d
con s tru ction for res ou rce d evelop m en t
often occu rs so qu ickly th at n o u p - to- d a te
m a p s exis t o f th e roa d n etw ork. In th es e
n orth ern area s, th e ligh t- colou red sand and
gra vel o f th e d irt roa d s con tra s t s tron gly
w ith th e s u rrou n d in g fores ts and b ogs . As
a result, roa d s 20 m w id e w er e clearly visib le
on colou r La n d sa t M S S im a gery th at has a
p ixel res olu tion o f 80 m.
M o r e im p orta n t than th e qu es tion o f h ow
small an o b ject can b e d etec te d is th e
qu es tion o f w h a t n eed s to b e d etec te d to
g en er a te th e in form a tion requ ired . O ften a
su rprisin gly low res olu tion will p r ovid e th e
n eces s a ry in form a tion . In o r d e r to ga th er
in form a tion a b ou t grou n d fea tu res , it is n ot
a lw a ys n eces s a ry to b e a b le to distingu ish
ea ch individu al item on th e im a ge. W e a re
all fam iliar w ith this prin cip al o f rem ote
sen sin g b eca u s e w e u se it d a ily w h en w e
view ou r su rrou n din gs. E very tim e w e look
ou t o ve r a la n d s ca p e and distingu ish
agricu ltu ral field s from th e su rrou n din g
fores t w e do s o w ith ou t b ein g a b le to
res olve individu al tr ee s or crop plants.
 53 jihgfedcb
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W e might even b e able to assess which crops (e.g. A V H R R data, discu ss ed la ter in this
a re p la n ted — s om etim es b e fo r e th e crop ch a p ter) w ith coa rs e spatial res olu tion s on
has even s p rou ted — just b y kn ow in g th e th e o r d er o f 1 k ilom eter or m ore to assess
grow in g s ea son and agricu ltu ral p ractices o f th e con d ition of im p orta n t fo o d and cash
the area. W h a t w e a re using to gen era te this crop s , such as coffee, cocoa , w h ea t, m aize,
crop in form ation a re secondary indicators, and rice. In fact, d a ta with a fin er spatial
i.e. indicators oth er than d irect ob s erva tion s resolu tion is often less su itab le for crop
of th e ob jects to b e a s s es s ed . For exa m p le, m on itorin g. Th e d a ta s ets a re much la rger
rice fields must b e flood ed at a certain p eriod and th er efo r e m ore cos tly to a n a lyze. Also,
in the grow in g sea s on . An a ss es s m en t o f th e h igh er res olu tion da ta ca p tu re fin e
flood ed field s at that tim e can b e u sed to d eta ils such as s h a d ow effects an d th e tran ­
predict the area of cropland b eing planted to sition zon es b etw een veg eta tion typ es that
rice even though no rice plants are detectab le. m ake a u tom a ted a na lyses o f crop con d ition
Perh a p s th e m os t striking exa m p le o f th e and crop a rea s le s s accu rate.
use o f s econ d a ry indicators w a s a prediction Finer resolu tion im a gery, such as La nd sa t
in th e ea rly 1970s o f a failu re o f the Russian and S PO T data (discu s sed la ter in this
w h ea t crop . Th ou gh th e crop is h a rves ted ch a p ter), a re u sed s electively for crop
in th e fall, this p red iction w a s m a d e du ring assessm ent and as th e m ajor data sou rce for
the p r eced in g w in ter! M u ch o f th e w h ea t m a p p in g land u se ch a n ges and certa in m a p
crop p rod u ced in n orth ern cou n tries like u p d a tin g p rogra m s . C anada u ses La ndsat
Canada and Russia is w inter w heat. This typ e d a ta in an on - goin g p rogra m to u p d a te
of w h ea t is p la n ted in th e fall, germ in a tes cultural fea tu res (e.g. roads and urban areas)
and b egin s to g r ow u n d ergrou n d , and then on th e national 1:50,000 top og ra p h ic m a p
must s u rvive th e w in ter and con tin u e series.
grow in g th e follow in g spring. For th e plant R em otely sens ed data from sa tellites h a ve
to su rvive th e w in ter it mu st n ot b e ex p os ed b een fou nd to h a ve su fficient res olu tion to
to ex trem e cold . N orm a lly a s n ow cover be u sed op era tion a lly for m an y earth
du ring th e cold es t p er iod o f th e w in ter res ou rce in ven tory and m a p p in g a p p lica ­
p rovid es su fficient insulation. That particu lar tion s. Visu al in terp reta tion of s a tellite
January th e grou n d w a s n ot co ver ed b y im a gery rem a ins a va lu a b le in form a tion
sn ow and th e tem p era tu res w ere ex trem ely extra ction tech n iqu e th a t often ca n n ot b e
low. Th e lack o f s n ow co ver w as ea sily m a tch ed b y a u tom a ted m eth od s. H ow ever,
d etected b y w ea th er sa tellites with spatial a m a jor a d va n ta ge o f rem otely s en s ed d a ta
resolu tions m ea s u red in kilom eters n ot in digital form a t is that com p u ter tech n iqu es
m eters! G rou nd tem p era tu res w er e also can b e u sed, w h ere a p p rop ria te, to a u to­
d etected from th e satellite. By kn ow in g that m a te the information extraction p roces s and
th es e ex trem e con d ition s p ers is ted con ­ to directly input the d erived inform ation into
tinu ou sly for to o m an y days, analysts cor­ a g eog ra p h ic in form a tion system .
rectly p red icted th e crop fa ilu re — w ith ou t
M y th 2. " R e m o te ly s e n s e d d a ta , p a r t ic u la r ly
ever d etectin g a sin gle w h ea t plant! O n ly b y
s a t e llit e d a t a , a r e n o t s u f f ic ie n t ly
using s a tellite im a gery w a s it p os s ib le to
a c c u r a te f o r p r a c t ic a l a p p lic a t io n s . ”
continu ou sly m on itor such a la rge agricu l­
tural a rea and to d eterm in e that s ever e Th e natu re of "a ccu ra cy" mu st first b e
w ea th er con d ition s had occu rred o ver a con s id ered in a d d res s in g this myth. (A ccu ­
substantial p ortion o f th e w in ter w h ea t area. racy is discu ssed in m ore detail in C hapter 5.
Priva te orga n iza tion s as w ell as p u b lic H ow ever, th e central issu es a re p res en ted
a gen cies regu la rly u se sa tellite im a gery h ere.) Accuracy is th e d e g r e e o f likelih ood
54 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
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that th e information p rovid ed is correct. This
d efin ition focu s es on tw o com p on en ts of
accu racy. Th e first and m ore familiar a s p ect
o f accu racy is that it p red icts th e p rop ortion
o f inform ation that is ex p ected to b e correct
or th e m a gn itu d e o f error to b e ex p ected .
Th e s econ d , and often ign ored , a s p ect of
accu ra cy is that it involves a probability.
Few things a re known with 100% certainty
and m a ps a re n ever 100% accu rate. W hen
a map or other data set is asserted to b e 80%
a ccu ra te it m ean s tha t w h en th e da ta s et is
u sed, it can b e ex p ected tha t on a vera g e
80% o f th e inform ation will b e correct. It will
n ot b e 80% correct eve r y tim e; s om etim es
th e accu racy will b e h igh er and s om etim es
it will b e low er. Th e m ea s u re of this p r ob ­
ab ility o f having a h igh er or low er a ccu racy
than ex p ected is term ed th e level of confi­
dence. Th e level o f con fid en ce is usually
q u oted as a p ercen t. Th e 90% level o f confi­
den ce indicates that the condition is exp ected
to b e tru e 90% o f th e tim e. S o w h en a m a p
is ra ted 80% a ccu ra te with a 90% level of
con fid en ce it m ean s that if a la rge n u m b er
o f a ccu racy tests w er e d on e on th e map,
then 80% or m ore o f th e tes t p oin ts w ou ld
b e correct in 9 ou t o f eve r y 10 tests.
Th e level o f accu racy ob ta in a b le from any
data sou rce, rem otely s en s ed or not,
d ep en d s on th e in form a tion to b e p r ovid ed
and the level of detail requ ired. For example,
a roa d m a p with an accu ra cy o f 1 km m ay
b e su itab le to es tim a te th e d rivin g tim e
b e tw e e n cities . H o w e ver , en g in eer in g
draw ings of a city street a re requ ired to have
accu ra cies on th e or d er of cen tim etres .
In p rod u cin g a th em a tic m ap, such as a
fores t m ap, th e s a m e da ta s et m a y p rovid e
a h igh er level o f accu ra cy if th e in form a tion
is p res en ted at a coa rs er level o f d eta il. It
m ay b e difficult to accu rately in terp ret fores t
typ es at th e s p ecies level o f d eta il from a
sa tellite im a ge. S o th e accu ra cy o f s p ecies
level in form a tion w ou ld p rob a b ly b e qu ite
p oor. H ow ever, if a coa rs er level o f d eta il
w as chosen, a higher level o f accu racy cou ld
b e ob tained. Th ree classes might b e defined:
decid u ou s, con iferou s , and m ixed fores t
typ es . Th es e b r oa d er cla sses a re ea sily dis­
tingu ished on a colou r s a tellite im a ge and
cou ld b e m ore a ccu ra tely in terp reted .
Similarly, th e exa m p le o f p red ictin g a
w in ter w h ea t crop failu re (discu ssed p re­
viou sly) did not requ ire a high level of spatial
accuracy to provide for an accurate prediction
o f w h ea t p rod u ction . Th e in form a tion w as
very valu a b le even thou gh th e level of detail
o f th e p red iction w a s qu ite coa rs e, i.e. the
w h ea t prod u ction w as ex p ected to b e "ver y
lo w " althou gh th e actu al size o f th e h a rves t
cou ld n ot b e accu ra tely d eterm in ed . In fact,
w h eth er th e grou nd w a s 100% clear of snow
or on ly 90% clear, w h eth er th e tem p era tu re
w a s 1° C w a rm er or cooler, did n ot m a ke a
d ifferen ce in th e accu racy o f th e p red iction .
In s p ecifyin g a level o f accu racy w h a t is
im p orta n t is th e level of accu racy that will
a ffect t h e c o r r e c t n e s s o f t h e d e c is io n s t o b e
m a d e w h en that in form a tion is u sed.
In part, th e rea s on that th e coa rs e level
o f detail w a s va lu ab le w as b eca u s e th e infor­
m ation w a s a va ila b le so ea rly, b e fo r e th e
grow in g sea son had even b egu n ! Tim e is an
im portant cons ideration in th e valu e of infor­
mation. D ifferen t kinds o f d ecis ion s a re
p os s ib le d ep en d in g on th e tim e- fra m e.
Th es e d ifferen t kinds o f d ecis ion s will b e
b a s ed on inform ation with d ifferen t levels of
accu racy. Frequ en tly th e tim eliness o f infor­
m ation will offs et its low er accu racy, so less
accu rate information ob ta in ed ea rlier can b e
ver y va lu a b le.
Accu ra cy can u su ally b e im p roved by
ex p en d in g m ore res ou rces . M ore m on ey
can b e s p en t on field in ves tiga tions , m ore
tim e can b e s p en t on analysis, m ore qu ality
con trol can b e exercis ed in a s s em b lin g th e
data. Th e g rea tes t b en efit for th e cos t is
ga in ed b y using th e data that a re th e le a s t
ex p en s ive to a cqu ire and a n a lyze and will
p rod u ce in form a tion with an a ccep ta b le
level o f accu racy. W h a t is a ccep ta b le? An
acceptable level of accuracy is that level
 55 jihgfedcb
R e m o te S e nsin g mlkjihgfedcbaZY

w h ere th e costs o f making th e w ron g d eci­ o f a ltern a tive p rod u cts. Th e digital data for
sions a re equ a l to th e cos ts of a cqu irin g an A V H RR s cen e costs $200 to $300 U S and
m ore a ccu ra te inform a tion . You m ight not p rovid es covera g e of an area a b ou t 2500 km
take th e tim e to ch eck you r ch a n ge w h en it b y a b ou t 1500 km. (Th e exa ct size d ep en d s
is 25C in pen n ies, b u t you p rob a b ly w ou ld on h ow th e im a ge is fra m ed b y th e su pplier.)
cou nt $80 w orth o f $ 10 b ills a s econ d tim e. Th e digital data for a Landsat TM s cen e p ro­
C om p a n ies that a re la rge b u yers o f a gri­ vid es co ver a g e o f an a rea 185 km by
cultural com m od ities u se crop p red iction s , 185 km. It costs a b ou t $800 U S for a colou r
b a s ed in p a rt on sa tellite data, to d ecid e p rint at a sca le o f 1:2 50,000 and $3,600 U S
w hen to b u y com m od ity contracts. W h eth er for th e 7 b ands o f digital data, a b ou t
a crop yield will b e su b stantially h igh er or 250 M eg a b ytes of data. It w ou ld requ ire
low er than usual is va lu a b le in form a tion if 1700 s ta n d ard size a irp h otos (230 mm b y
know n ea rly en ou gh, even thou gh th e level 230 mm or 9 in b y 9 in form a t) at a scale
of d eta il m ay b e qu ite coa rs e. C om p an ies, o f 1:20,000 to cover th e sa m e a rea with no
such as Earth S a tellite C orp ora tion , p rovid e overla p . A b ou t 270 a irp h otos w ou ld be
this typ e o f crop rep ortin g s ervice com m er­ n eed ed at th e 1:50,000 scale, and a b ou t
cially (s ee for exa m p le M errit et. al. 1984). 45 a irp h otos at th e 1:120,000 sca le (the
Agricu ltu re C anada u ses s a tellite- b a s ed s ta n d ard sca le for N ASA high altitu de
rem ote sensing to m onitor w h ea t produ ction p h otogra p h y). Th e cos t o f govern m en t-
in C anada. D u ring the 1988 p ra irie drou ght, s u p p lied a irp h otos is h ea vily s u b s id ized in
this system w as u sed to p r ovid e w eek ly C anada and th e U n ited S tates. E ven so, a
a ss es sm en ts o f crop con d ition and to es ti­ sin gle sa tellite print is con s id era b ly less
m a te farm losses. Th es e da ta w er e la ter exp en s ive than a irp h otos for th e s a m e area.
u sed to m a p th e s everity o f th e d rou gh t so A cqu irin g origin al a erial p h otogra p h y is an
that su b sidies to fa rm ers in d ifferen t regions ex p en s ive u ndertaking. A irp h oto mission
cou ld b e sca led to d rou gh t s everity. costs run in th e ten s o f thou sands o f dollars.
Th e C alifornia D ep a rtm en t of W a ter W h ere sa tellite da ta can p r ovid e th e
Resou rces has u sed satellite- b ased crop area requ ired in form a tion , th ey can o ffer a
es tim a tes for th e p red iction o f irriga tion n u m b er of a d va n ta ges o ver a irp h otos . Th e
w a ter d em a n d . Th e D ep a rtm en t u ses th es e sa tellite s cen e p r ovid es cover a g e of a la rge
es tim ates to s et th e w a ter levels to b e main­ area, grea tly redu cing th e nu m b er of im ages
tained in reservoirs and the rates at which the to b e handled. This redu ces b oth in terp reta ­
w a ter is tra n s p orted throu gh th e irrigation tion tim e and th e tim e n eed ed to a s s em b le
system (Thom as 1988 and W all et. al. 1984). th e s ep a ra te in terp reta tion s from each
Th e accu racy requ ired o f rem otely s en sed p h oto. A sa tellite s cen e is im a ged at es s en ­
data, as with oth er sou rces o f geog ra p h ic tially the s a m e time, p rovid in g a consistency
in form a tion, d ep en d s on th e a p plica tion . difficu lt or im p os s ib le to a ch ieve for la rge
Th e critical fa ctor is th e level o f accu racy a rea s with aerial p h otogra p h y. Ph oto cover­
n eed ed to m a ke correct d ecision s. Th e a ge of a large area must usually b e d on e over
spatial a ccu racy o f s a tellite- b a s ed rem ote s evera l days, or at lea st o ver s evera l hou rs.
sensing system s has b een show n to b e accu ­ As a result, th e im ages will have d ifferen t illu­
rate enou gh to satisfy a w id e range o f op era ­ mination conditions. W h ere existing p h otog­
tional in form a tion n eed s . ra p h y is u sed, th e p h otos for a la rge a rea
often w er e taken at d ifferen t tim es o f yea r
M y th 3. ' 'S a t e llit e d a t a a r e t o o e x p e n s iv e . "
or in d ifferen t yea rs. Th es e incon sisten cies
"E x p en s ive” is a rela tive term . It d ep en d s ten d to m a ke in terp reta tion m ore difficu lt
on w h a t is b ein g pu rch a sed and on th e cos t and less accu rate.
56 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
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La rge sca le a eria l p h otogra p h s of m ou n­ th e pa st d eca d e. Th e tech n olog y has b een

tainou s a rea s p res en t s om e specia l p r ob ­ a p p lied to such d ivers e a p p lica tion s as
lems as a result of relief displacem ent. Relief en ha n cin g th e im a ges from in terp la n eta ry
displacement is th e rela tive shift of p oin ts s a tellites to rob ot vision. D igital im a ge p ro­
in th e im a ge ca u sed b y eleva tion . It has th e ces sing is u sed to en h a n ce sa tellite im a ges
effect o f shifting th e rela tive p os ition s of so th ey can b e m ore a ccu rately in terp reted ,
ob jects b y d ifferen t amou nts, d ep en d in g on to p rod u ce m ea s u rem en ts such as su rface
th eir eleva tion . R elief d is p la cem en t is p r e­ tem p era tu re and crop con d ition , to g en ­
s en t in all aeria l p h otogra p h s o f a rea s with era te es tim a tes o f a rea l ex ten t such as th e
d ifferen ces in terra in eleva tion . In fact, a rea s p la n ted to s p ecific cr op typ es , and to
p h otogra m m etric instru m ents a re u sed to p rod u ce th em a tic classification such as land
m ea s u re this p r op er ty in a irp h otos to p r o­ cover maps.
d u ce th e eleva tion da ta for top og ra p h ic C om p u ter p rocess in g en a b les th e data for
maps. H ow ever, w h en th e relief d is p la ce­ large a rea s to b e an alyzed at high s p eed . For
m en t is to o s evere, it is n ot p os s ib le to exa m p le, Agricu ltu re C anada can assess the
p erform th e n eces s a ry correction s . Relief con d ition o f p ra irie grain crop s on a w eek ly
d is p la cem en t is grea tly red u ced in im a gery b asis. Th e accu ra cy o f a u tom a ted a na lyses
a cqu ired with a lon g er foca l- len gth lens or d ep en d s on th e s p ecific a p p lica tion . O ften ,
at h igh er a ltitu des. W hen m a p p in g m ou n­ a w ell- enhanced image, a na lyzed b y a skilled
tainou s terrain, th e red u ced relief dis­ in terp reter, will p r ovid e th e m ost accu rate
p la cem en t is n eed ed to ob tain su itab le in form a tion . Th e m eth od of ch oice will
im ages. d ep en d on th e size of th e a rea to be
S atellite im a gery p r ovid es virtu ally com ­ a n a lyzed , th e typ e o f in form a tion to b e
p lete glob a l c o ver a g e and is pu b licly ava il­ extra cted , th e skill o f th e p h oto in terp reter,
a b le. Th ere a re m a n y cou n tries tha t d o n ot and th e costs o f th e d ifferen t analysis
a llow a irp h otos to b e issu ed to th e pu b lic m eth od s .
or d o n ot h a ve com p lete a irp h oto covera g e W h ere th e requ ired in form a tion can b e
o f th eir territories . In th es e cases, s a tellite p rod u ced from s a tellite im a gery, it is a far
im a gery m ay b e th e on ly s ou rce o f data less ex p en s ive da ta s ou rce than flying
a va ila b le. Oil exp lora tion in less d e ve lo p e d original aerial p h otogra p h y. W h ere su itab le
cou ntries is com m on ly d on e u sing s a tellite p h otogra p h y exists, th e rela tive cost of using
im a gery as b a s e m a p s b eca u s e th ey a re sa tellite data will d ep en d on th e analysis
m ore a ccu ra te than th e cu rren t maps, or m eth od s that will b e u sed. O ften th e w id er,
b eca u s e cu rrent m a p s a re classified and n ot m ore com p lete, and m ore recen t cover a g e
pu b licly a va ila b le or m a ps sim ply d o n ot of th e sa tellite data m a kes it th e less ex p en ­
exist. Basic field su pport, rou te location, and sive ch oice.
geop h ys ica l da ta acqu isition p rogra m s a re
M y th 4. " R e m o t e s e n s in g o t h e r th a n a e r ia l
all plan ned using th es e images. Th e im a gery
p h o t o g r a p h y is o n ly e x p e r im e n t a l . "
is also u sed for recon n a is s a n ce level g e o ­
logic m a pp in g. Thu s th e sa tellite im a gery This a ss ertion is m a d e a b ou t sa tellite
com m on ly s erves as th e on ly m a p and a im a gery, a irb orn e scanners, im a ging rada r
rela tively in exp en s ive on e at that. and s om etim es even high altitu de aerial
Im a gery in d igita l form can b e en h a n ced , p h otogra p h y. La rge and m ediu m scale aerial
classified, and u sed to g en era te a va riety o f p h otogra p h y h a ve b een u sed su ccessfu lly
m ea s u rem en ts u sing s p ecia lized com p u ter for so lon g tha t th e tech n iqu es for using
h a rd w a re and s oftw a re. Th e field o f digital them a re n ow a ccep ted as sta ndard. Yet, it
im age proces sin g has exp a n d ed rapidly over w as on ly du ring and im m ed ia tely follow in g

W orld W a r II tha t a irp h oto in terp reta tion
b eca m e a system a tic p roced u re. A corolla ry
to this gen era l s cepticis m is that "r e m o te
sensing n ever fou n d a gold m in e", or oil
field, or oth er s ou gh t- a fter fea tu re.
In fact, rem ote sen sin g has b een instru ­
mental in th e d is covery o f many mineral
d ep os its. An ea rly ex a m p le is th e R A D A M
p roject in B razil d on e in th e 1960s. Radar
im a gery o f th e A m a zon Basin p r ovid ed th e
first im a gery e ve r a va ila b le for much o f this
region. C om p lete a irp h oto co ver a g e had
n ever b een ob ta in ed b eca u s e of th e a lm os t
constant clou d cover for much of th e region.
The ra d a r im a ge in terp reta tion in conju nc­
tion w ith field s u rveys led to th e d is covery
o f a w orld class c o p p er d ep os it. O il com ­
panies like C h evron and Exxon a re m a jor
users o f s a tellite im a gery for exp lora tion .
A irb orn e sca n n er im a gery is regu la rly u sed
for m ineral exp lora tion in th e sou th w es tern
U nited S ta tes , Au stralia, and oth er arid
regions.
But has rem ote sen sin g a lon e b een
res ponsib le for d is coveries ? Rarely is this the
case. Y et ra rely is a n y tech n iqu e u sed a lon e
for res ou rce exp lora tion , in ven tory, or
m onitorin g. A com b in a tion o f tech n iqu es is
used. G eoph ysical su rveys (geoph ys ics cou ld
also be con s id ered a form of rem ote
sensing), field g eolog y, and drilling a re u sed
tog eth er to loca te an d d e ve lo p mineral and
p etroleu m d ep os its . W ea th er in form a tion ,
soils data, p a st crop p rod u ction record s ,
and field ob s erva tion s a re u sed in crop
m on itoring.
Res ou rce ex p lora tion , in ven tory, and
m on itorin g a re usually m ore su ccessfu l and
cos t- effective w h en m u ltiple data sou rces
a re u sed. D ifferen t da ta sou rces p rovid e dif­
feren t typ es o f in form a tion , each a d va n cin g
th e in ves tiga tion b y a d d in g n ew k n ow led ge
and servin g as an in d ep en d en t check on the
in te r p r e ta tio n . Th is "c o n ve r g e n c e of
evid en c e” a p p roa ch to u sing m u ltiple da ta
sets lea d s to m ore a ccu ra te and con fid en t
p red iction s.
57 jihgfedcb
R e m o te S e n sin g mlkjihgfedcbaZ
A m u lti- level a p p roa ch is com m on ly u sed
in rem ote sensing, as in oth er typ es o f data
collection . In the m u lti- level a p p roa ch , less
d eta iled and less exp en s ive data a re first col­
lected for a w id e a rea . Th es e d a ta a re then
u sed to gu id e the s election o f th e few , m ore
p rom is in g a rea s for w hich m ore ex p en s ive
and d eta iled su rveys and tests will b e d on e.
In this w a y th e maximu m effor t is focu s s ed
on th e m os t fa vou ra b le a rea s. It is particu ­
larly effective w hen a few occu rren ces a re
b ein g sou gh t o ver a la rge a rea b eca u s e th e
en tire a rea is s ystem a tica lly s creen ed . This
analysis a p p roa ch is rou tin ely u sed in
m ineral and petroleu m exp lora tion . It is also
va lu a b le in loca tin g and m a p p in g a rea s o f
land co ver ch ange. S a tellite da ta and high
a ltitu d e a erial p h otogra p h y a re n ow u sed
rou tin ely to p r ovid e th e les s - d eta iled w id er
view (often term ed th e s yn op tic or "b ir d 's
e y e " view ) in a mu lti- level analysis.
Th e mu lti- level a p p roa ch is also u sed for
es tim a tion . B ecau se it is to o cos tly to
m ea s u re all o f the res ou rce, for m an y a p p li­
cations a sample is m ea su red to estim ate th e
tota l am ou nt. R em otely s en s ed data, such
as digital satellite im a gery and aerial p h otog­
rap h y, a re u sed to p r ovid e a com p lete
c o ver a g e o f th e a rea to b e s a m p led . Th e
im a gery is in terp reted and cla ss ified into
region s with similar ch a racteris tics. Th en
ea ch region is sa m p led . Small a rea s in each
region a re s elected for m ore d eta iled and
m ore ex p en s ive d a ta collection . Field data
m ay b e collected for each sam ple site, or the
s a m p le sites m ay b e fu rth er su b - s am pled,
i.e. a s a m p le o f ea ch s m a ller a rea m ight b e
ch os en . (M u lti- level sa m p ling is discu s sed
la ter in this cha pter.) For many applications,
such as in fores ty and agricu ltu ral crop
inventories, mu lti-level sampling with rem ote
sen sin g and field d a ta collection is th e on ly
econ om ica lly fea s ib le m eth od to assess th e
res ou rce.
Rem otely sensed im a gery is u sed to distin­
guish featu res and conditions that a re difficult
or im p os s ib le to s ee b y u sing w a velen gth s
58 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
n ot vis ib le to th e human eye. M o r e accu rate
veg eta tion m a p p in g a nd a s s es s m en t can b e
d o n e u sing n ea r- in fra red im a gery. Th e far-
in fra red w a velen gth s a re u sed to distingu ish
fea tu res b y d ifferen ces in th eir tem p era tu re
and em issivity (a m ea s u re o f h ow rea d ily th e
in fra red ra d ia tion can es ca p e from th e su r­
fa ce). C lou d - covered region s can b e im a ged
b y ra d a r s en s ors th a t u se m icrow a ve w a ve ­
len gth s th a t p en etr a te clou d. S ter eo ra d a r
images a re then u sed to p rod u ce top ogra ph ic
m aps.
Th e ob jective o f all g eog ra p h ic da ta col­
lection activities, is to u se th e mix o f tech ­
n iqu es th a t p r ovid es th e req u ired in form a ­
tion. N on - p h otogra p h ic rem o te sen sin g sys­
tem s a re u sed rou tin ely to m on itor a nd
inven tory a w id e va riety of natural resou rces.
M y t h 5. " R e m o t e ly sensed d a ta
c o m p li c a t e d t o u s e . "
Th e effective u se o f r em otely s en s ed data
d o es requ ire k n ow led g e a nd skill, as d o
m os t oth er en d ea vors . C on tra ry to
myth, th e m os t im p orta n t k n ow led g e and
skills n eed ed a re n ot th os e in
sen sin g b u t rather a re th os e in th e discipline
to w hich th e tech n iqu es a re b ein g a p p lied .
It has b een fou n d tim e a nd aga in th a t it is
mu ch ea s ier to train a dis cip lin e specia list,
such as a g eologis t, a fores ter, or a pla n n er,
in h ow to u se rem o tely s en s ed d a ta than to
train a specia list in sen sors or digital analysis
to b e exp ert in geology, forestry, or planning.
R em ote sen sin g tech n iqu es a re
a p p lied to th e collection o f in form a tion
a b ou t s om eth in g — "r e m o te s en s in g" is n ot
its elf a res ou rce field .
Th e a m ou n t o f tra in in g n e e d e d for disci­
p lin e specia lists to u se rem o te sen s in g for
u sefu l w ork n eed n ot b e lon g or com p li­
ca ted . Th e rem ote sensing cen ter in N airob i,
Ken ya , p rovid es b a s ic rem ote s en sin g tra in ­
in g to a g r icu ltu r e, fo r e s tr y ,
pla nnin g, and oth er res ou rce s p ecia lists
from th e 20 cou n try region o f A frica tha t it
s erves . Th e cou rs es g en era lly
6 w eek s . W h en th e tra in ees retu rn h om e,
th eir tra in in g con tin u es as th ey u se th eir
r em o te sen sin g k n ow led g e for practica l
res ou rce m a p p in g, in ven tory, and analysis
p rojects in th eir ow n w ork.
A t th e C entre, th e tra in ees u se visual inter­
p reta tion m eth od s to a n a lyze s a tellite
images. This can b e d on e w ith ou t com p u ters
or oth er ex p en s ive equ ip m en t. Just a few
s im p le m a teria ls a re n eed ed , such as clea r
m ylar to p la ce o ver th e im a ges and th e pen s
to w rite on it. Th e colou r a n d b lack- and-
w h ite im a ges for their p rojects a re p rod u ced
p h otogra p h ica lly at th e C en ter. Th e N a irob i
C en ter has im a gery for th e en tire region it
s erves . In this w a y, th e s a tellite im a gery
req u ired b y th es e n ew u sers can b e p r o­
vid ed qu ickly a n d in exp en s ively (F a lcon er
1986).
a re to o
In C a nada, h u n d red s o f m a p s from th e
1:2 50,000 nationa l top og r a p h ic s eries h a ve
b een u p d a ted u sing visu al in terp reta tion of
colou r s a tellite im a ges . Th e im a ges a re p r o­
th e jected on to th e m a p b ein g u p d a ted and th e
ch a n ges a re tra ced b y hand. Th e m eth od is
rem o te sim p le, s tra igh tforw a rd , a nd su fficiently
a ccu ra te to d elin ea te n ew roa ds , tow n s, and
oth er cu ltu ral fea tu res . It is a ls o fa s ter and
les s ex p en s ive than com p u ter- b a s ed tech ­
n iqu es (G a u th ier 1987).
M any r e m o te sen sin g tech n iqu es do
requ ire highly tra in ed p ers on n el with exten ­
s ive b a ckgrou n d s in th e ph ys ics o f rem ote
sen sin g, com p u ter ana lys is tech n iqu es , and
a lw a ys on e or m ore res ou rce disciplines. Th e higher
cos ts for th es e sp ecia lis ts and th eir s op h is ­
tica ted eq u ip m en t is cos t- effective w h en
a ltern a tive m eth od s w ou ld b e to o s low , too
cos tly, or w h en a ltern a tives sim p ly d o not
exist. H ow ever, rela tively sim ple techniqu es,
th ou gh less p u b licized , a re w id ely a nd suc­
ces sfu lly u sed.
M y th 6. " R e m o te ly sensed d a ta a re not
g e o lo g y ,
r e a d i l y a v a il a b l e . "
M os t in du stria lized nations h a ve on - goin g
run for a irp h oto a cqu is ition p rog ra m s to s u p p ort

national and regional mapping. This im a gery
is gen era lly ava ila b le to th e pu b lic at th e cost
o f rep rod u ction , a fra ction of th e full cos t to
p rod u ce it. In C an ada, th e U n ited S tates,
and m os t w es tern E u ropean cou ntries, air-
p h otos w ith a ra n ge o f scales a nd film typ es
a re a va ila b le for th e en tire cou ntry. But for
th e m ajority o f th e w orld 's nations, com p lete
a irp h oto co ve r a g e eith er d oes n ot exis t or
is n ot p u b licly a va ila b le.
It w a s th e in trod u ction o f ea rth res ou rces
s a tellites, such as Landsat, and m ore
recen tly S PO T, th at m a d e rem otely s en s ed
data rea d ily a va ila b le to all. A fter 16 yea rs
of s a tellite im a g e a cqu is ition , en ou gh
pu b licly a va ila b le Landsat, S PO T, and oth er
sa tellite im a ges exis t to s h ow virtu ally any
a rea , no m a tter h ow in acces sib le, for a fe w
hu n dred d olla rs or less. Th e im a gery can b e
o r d er ed d irectly from th e com p a n ies or
g over n m en t a gen cies p rod u cin g th e data.
S evera l s ou rces a re listed in A p p en d ix B.
A irb orn e ra d a r and digital m u lti- spectral
im a gery a re b ein g u sed m ore w id ely and in
s om e cases a re m a d e ava ilab le to th e public.
For exa m p le, In d on es ia has u sed exten s ive
ra dar im a ge su rveys a cqu ired com m ercia lly
to p rod u ce th eir national top og ra p h ic m a p
series. FEDCBA
A C O N T EX T FO R U SI N G QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
o f th e hu nting p a rty, and the res u ltin g d eci­
R EM O T ELY SEN SED D A T A sion w ou ld b e a plan for th e hunt. From th e
W h eth er it b e a p er s o n ’s view o f th e va lley
b elow or a s a tellite view o f th e ea rth,
rem otely s en s ed da ta mu st b e a n a lyzed to
extra ct u sefu l in form a tion . W h en w e stand
at a lookou t w e in terp ret th e la n d s ca p e. W e
m ay distingu ish d ifferen t typ es o f tr ees or
d ifferen t crop s . W e m a y d ra w fu rth er con ­
clu sions from w h a t w e s ee, such as w h eth er
a field is b ein g fa rm ed or has b een a b a n ­
d on ed . Th e s tep s w e u se inform ally to inter­
p ret ou r su rrou n din gs a re th e s a m e on es
u sed to s ys tem a tica lly a n a lyze rem otely
s en s ed da ta.
59 jihgfedc
R e m o te S e n sin g mlkjihgfedcbaZ
Th e prin cip al s tep s u sed to a n a lyze all
rem otely s en s ed d a ta a re as follow s :
1. D efin ition o f in form a tion n eed s
2. C ollection o f data using rem ote sensing
and oth er tech n iqu es
3. D ata analysis
4. V erifica tion o f analysis resu lts
5. R ep ortin g o f resu lts to th os e w h o will
u se th e in form a tion
6. Taking action b a s ed on th e inform ation
Th es e six fu n d a m en ta l step s a re u sed to
a n a lyze eve r y form o f rem otely s en s ed data
a nd in eve r y a p p lica tion . N ot su rprisingly,
this is b a sica lly th e s a m e p r oced u re dis­
cu ss ed in C h a p ter 2 for using g eog ra p h ic
in form a tion in gen era l.
Lon g a g o p rim itive hu nters a s s es s ed th eir
territory u sing this p roced u re, a lb eit in for­
mally. Th e inform a tion n eed ed w a s th e loca ­
tion o f th e b es t hu nting area s. Th e data
collection m a y h a ve b een th e h u n ter’s view
from a lookou t. Th e analysis w ou ld h a ve
b een his clas sification o f th e la n d s ca p e that
he sa w into a rea s for hunting d ifferen t typ es
o f ga m e. H e w ou ld h a ve d e p en d ed on his
ex p er ien ce to ju d ge th e a ccu ra cy o f his
a s s es sm en t. His r ep or t w ou ld p r ob a b ly b e
a verb a l d es crip tion to th e oth er m em b ers
ex p er ien ce he ga in ed du ring th e hu nt he
w ou ld learn th e a ccu racy o f his analysis and
im p r ove his in terp reta tion tech n iqu es for
th e n ext tim e. Th e tech n ology m ay h a ve
ch a n ged and th e execu tion m a y b e m ore
s ys tem a tic b u t th e a p p roa ch u sed is b a s ic­
ally th e s a m e in m od ern rem ote sen sin g as
it w a s for th e hu nter.
B efor e p res en tin g an o ver view o f h ow
rem ote sen sing w orks, this section p res en ts
th e b a s ic s tra tegy n eed ed to u se rem otely
s en s ed da ta effectively. O ften th e overa ll
s tra tegy is lost in w res tlin g w ith tech n ical
d eta ils. Tech n ica l d eta ils a re im p orta n t. But
60 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
th ey are not alw ays th e p rim e cons ideration.
M a n y fu n da m en ta l d ecis ion s a re in d ep en ­
d en t o f tech nical deta ils. Th ey a re m a n a ge­
m en t decisions, such as "W h a t decision s will
th e inform ation influ ence ? " or "W h en is the
in form a tion n eed ed ? " . Perh a p s th e single
fa ctor m ost res p on s ib le for u nsu ccessfu l
rem ote sen sin g a p p lica tion s is th e failu re to
correctly id en tify th e qu es tion s to be
a n s w ered . Th e six s tep s to u sing rem otely
s en s ed d a ta p r ovid e a fra m ew ork within
which to a p p ly this tech n ology a p p rop ria tely
and su ccessfu lly. FEDCBA
ST EP 1. D e f in in g t h e I n f o r m a t io n QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
im a gery from which top og ra p h ic m aps can
N eed ed b e p rod u ced . Th ey h a ve th e a d d ition a l
Th e ob jective o f using rem otely s en sed data
is to g en er a te in form a tion . B efor e an y da ta
acqu isition or analysis can b egin , th e in for­
mation n eed s h a ve to b e d efin ed . O n ly then
can th e tech n iqu es b e id en tified th a t m ight
b es t satisfy the requ irement. This assessment
shou ld take into a ccou n t such fa ctors as th e
accu racy n eed ed , h ow qu ickly it is n eed ed ,
in w h a t tim e p eriod shou ld th e in form a tion
h a ve b een collected (e.g. within th e past
yea r or in a particu la r s ea son ), th e cos t to
p rod u ce it, and th e form (e.g. electron ic
form a t, p a p er m ap, ta b u la ted statistics) in
which it is n eed ed .
ST EP 2 . D a t a C o lle ct io n
Rem otely sen s ed da ta a re ra rely u sed as the
s ole data s ou rce. Field ob s erva tion s and
m ea s u rem en ts as w ell as exis tin g in form a ­
tion such as m aps and rep orts a re u sed
tog eth er in th e analysis. Th e data requ ire­
m ents must b e d efin ed , th e a va ila b le data
a ss es sed, a nd then th e n ew d a ta to b e col­
lected mu st b e s p ecified .
R em otely s en s ed data a re collected u sing
a va riety o f d evices th a t d etect en erg y
reflected or em itted from ob jects . Th e m ost
familiar o f th es e d evices , or sen sors, is th e
p h otogra p h ic ca m era system . It record s
reflected light en erg y in th e form o f b lack-
and- w h ite or colou r im ages. Th e d etector in
this system , i.e. th e m echan ism for sensing
th e light en erg y, is ligh t- sen sitive p h oto­
gra p h ic film. V is ib le light can a ls o be
recor d ed electron ica lly as digita l im a ges
u sing s en s or s ys tem s term ed m u lt i- s p e c t r a l
s c a n n e r s . S ca n n ers a re also u sed to d etect
non - vis ib le en erg y such as em itted therm a l
in fra red to d etect heat, and u ltra - violet to
d etect m a terials such as oil on th e sea sur­
fa ce. Ra da r s ys tem s illu minate th e s cen e
u sing m icrow a ve en erg y and electron ica lly
gen era te im a ges from th e reflected signals.
A irb orn e ra d a r system s can p rod u ce s tereo
a d va n ta ge o f "s eein g th rou gh " clou d cover.
Th e rem ote sen sin g da ta sp ecifica tion s
shou ld b e p la n n ed and in tegra ted with th e
oth er da ta collection activities . Field collec­
tion p roced u res can b e m od ified so that
exp en s ive field sa m p le data can b e p rop erly
in tegra ted into th e rem ote sensing analysis.
Similarly, b y as ses sin g cu rren t field p r o ce­
du res and exis ting da ta sets, th e m os t cost-
effective rem ote sen sin g m eth od s can b e
ch os en.
ST EP 3 . A n a ly sis
Th ere a re th ree prin cip al typ es o f a na lyses
a p p lied to rem otely s en s ed data. Th ey a re
m eas u rem ent, classification, and estimation.
Th es e typ es o f a n a lys es m a y b e u sed indi­
vidu ally or collectively in a given application.
Measurement analyses u se th e va lu es
m ea s u red b y th e s en s or to ca lcu la te en vi­
ron m en ta l con d ition s like su rface tem p era ­
tu re, soil m oistu re, qu an tity o f p la n t m a te­
rial, or th e con d ition o f crops. M ea s u rem en t
resu lts a re usually p rod u ced as a la rge
n u m b er o f individu al va lu es, on e for eve r y
sa m p le point.
Classification analyses d efin e region s
that h a ve th e s a m e cha racteristics. Th es e
resu lts a re com m on ly p r ovid ed in th e form
o f a m ap- like im a ge w h ere region s with th e

same characteristics a re show n cod ed as the
same colou r or pa ttern . Th e im a ge m ay b e
p rod u ced as a p a p er map, a digital im a ge,
or as a s et o f b ou n d a ry ou tlines for each
'eg ion . Th e classification m ay b e u sed to
gen era lize a m ea s u rem en t analysis for p r e ­
sentation. For exa m p le, ra n ges o f tem p er ­
atu re cou ld b e show n as d ifferen t colou red
classes.
Estimation analyses a re com m on ly
a p p lied to classification resu lts. Th e ob jec­
tive o f this typ e o f analysis is to es tim a te th e
qu antity o f a m a terial, such as th e qu antity
of tim b er or th e qu an tity o f w h ea t for each
m a n a gem en t a rea . This typ e o f analysis is
not a m a p p in g a pp lica tion, a nd s o p recis e
d elin ea tion o f b ou n d a ries is n ot u su ally
n eed ed . Th e typ e o f classification u s ed in
this typ e of analysis s erves to d ivid e th e area
into regions, term ed strata, that have statis­
tically similar characteristics. H ow ever, every
sa m p le in a region will gen era lly h a ve a d if­
ferent value. The advantage of using rem otely
sensed data to stratify th e region in this w a y
is that es tim a tes w ith th e s a m e or b etter
accu racy can b e ob ta in ed with few er field
sam ples and, th erefore, at a low er cost. FEDCBA
b etw een th e a u tom a ted classification and
ST EP 4 . V e r if ica t io n o f t h e QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
A n a ly sis Re su lt s
To u se in form a tion effectively w e n eed to
know s om eth in g a b ou t its accu racy. If you
received stock m a rket in form a tion from a
friend w h o regu la rly los es m on ey in th e
market, you w ou ld p rob a b ly give it a low
accu racy rating. In form ation n eed n ot b e
100% correct for it to b e u sefu l, s o lon g as
the ex p ected level of accu racy is know n and
is taken into a ccou n t w h en th e in form a tion
is u sed. A flood m a y b e es tim a ted to h a ve
left 10,000 p eo p le h om eles s . W h eth er th e
actual n u m b er is 8,000 or 12,000 p rob a b ly
will n ot a ffect th e d ecis ion s to b e m a d e
a b ou t em erg en cy relief. H ow ever, kn ow in g
precis ely which roa d s into th e a rea a re op en
will b e critical to pla nning relief op era tion s .
61 jihgfedcb
R e m o te S e nsin g mlkjihgfedcbaZY
For th es e reas on s, th e resu lts o f rem ote
sen sin g analyses, as with a n y oth er g e o ­
gra phic information, shou ld b e accom p a n ied
b y a rep or t on th e qu ality o f th e data. Th e
verifica tion s tep in volves tes tin g th e resu lts
p rod u ced in th e p reviou s analysis s tep, in
o r d er to verify th a t th e resu lts a re o f suffi­
cien t qu ality to b e a ccep ted for use. (D ata
qu a lity is dis cu ss ed in C h a p ter 5).
P eo p le a re gen era lly fa m iliar with m ea ­
su rem ent accu racy and estim ation accu racy.
O p in ion p olls a re u su ally r ep or ted w ith an
indication of their accu racy. For exa m ple, an
op in ion poll m ight r ep or t that 45% plus or
minus 2% w ou ld vo te " y e s ” and th e con ­
fid en ce level o f th e s u rvey m ay b e q u oted
as 95% . H ow ever, th e accu racy o f th e
cla sses sh ow n in m aps (term ed classifica­
tion accuracy) is n ot as fa m iliar a con cep t.
M a p accu ra cy d ep en d s on m any factors.
S om e a re qu ite ob viou s . If you kn ow that
th ere has b een recen t roa d cons tru ction in
an area , you w ou ld n ot ex p ect a m a p m a d e
10 yea rs a g o to s h ow tod a y's roa d s accu ­
rately. O th er fa ctors a re m ore com p lex to
assess, such as th e accu ra cy tra d e- offs
visu al in terp reta tion of sa tellite im ages.
M aps are com piled from variou s sou rces o f
information. M os t m ap p in g tod a y uses aerial
p h otogra p h y or sa tellite im a gery, eith er as
the principle sou rce o f information (e.g. top o­
graphic mapping) or to provid e the b ase map
and oth er su pp ortin g information. Th em atic
m a ps a re m a ps in w hich th e region is su b ­
d ivid ed into classes. A soils m a p or a m ap
s h ow in g th e cou n tries o f th e w orld a re th e­
matic maps. Thematic maps represent a classi­
fication o f s ou rce in form a tion (such as field
samples, airphotos, and satellite images) into
map classes. Associated with this classification
is an accu racy. M a p s a re freq u en tly trea ted
as if th e in form a tion is 100% a ccu ra te w h en
th e a ccu ra cy is actu ally u nknow n! Y et w h en
classifications d erived from rem otely sens ed
da ta a re p res en ted as 85% accu rate, th ere
is often res is ta n ce to u sing th e in form a tion.
62 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e accu ra cy o f m aps m a y b e as ses sed
u sing a form al a ccu ra cy test. N ational
top og ra p h ic m aps a re n orm a lly a ss es sed in
this w ay. S a m p le poin ts a re s elected , m ea ­
su red on th e map, and com p a red with in d e­
p en d en t m ea s u rem en ts like field s u rvey
data. Th e am ou nt o f error is then calcu lated
for ea ch s a m p le point, and, if th e overa ll
er ror is to o grea t, th e m a p is rejected .
Th ere is a cost to accu racy assessment that
mu st b e w eigh ed against th e cos t o f using
in correct information. Th e specification of an
a ccu ra cy level shou ld reflect th e minimum
a ccu ra cy n eed ed for th e in form a tion to b e
u sed as in ten d ed . Th ere is no p oin t in
d em a n d in g position accu racies of vegeta tion
b ou n d a ries to th e n ea res t m eter if, in th e
field , th ey can only b e m ea s u red to the
n ea res t 10 m. ÏÏ th e in form a tion n eed ed is
tota l a crea g e o f each m a jor crop typ e, it is
p rob a b ly not cos t effective to d em a n d high
a ccu ra cy in th e position o f field b ou n d a ries
on a map, b u t it is im portant to dem and high
a ccu ra cy in th e tota l a crea g e cou nts. Th e
m on ey s p en t to a ch ieve exces s ively high
accu racy can b e as wastefu l as specifying too
low an accu racy.
Accu ra cy a ss es sm en t n eed n ot b e an
ex p en s ive p roced u re, b u t it shou ld alw ays
b e con s id ered . Th e a s s es s m en t p roced u re
m ight b e inform al if th e in form a tion is u sed
to m ake decisions that a ren ’t critical. W e use
s tylized roa d m a p s to n a viga te th e highw ay
s ys tem and con s id er th em to b e accu rate
enou gh for ou r pu rposes. H ow ever, the maps
u sed to en gin eer a s ection o f high w a y a re
form ally tes ted to en su re that th ey h a ve th e
requ ired level o f p osition a l accu racy.
A frequ en tly u sed a rgu m en t for not
asses sing m ap accu racy is that "th e r e is no
p oin t in asses sing th e a ccu ra cy o f th e in for­
m ation b eca u s e it is th e b es t inform a tion
a va ila b le". H ow ever, if th e accu racy o f th e
in form a tion is to o low , it m a y b e b etter not
to u se it a t all. S om etim es th e cos t o f using
p o o r in form a tion is to o high and th e d eci­
sion that requ ires that in form a tion shou ld
eith er b e p os tp on ed or b a s ed on oth er
fa ctors. FEDCBA
ST EP 5 . Re p o r t in g t h e Re su lt s
O n ce the qu ality of the information has b een
a s s es s ed and fou nd to b e a ccep ta b le, the
in form a tion can then b e a s s em b led into a
su ita b le rep ortin g form at. Th e form a t may
b e a p a p er map, an a n n ota ted im a ge (such
as a w ea th er map), a com p u ter data file, or
a w ritten r ep or t with diagram s, maps, and
ta b les . Th e form a t s elected shou ld con vey
the requ ired information and take into account
th e w a y the data will b e u sed. Th e map
sca les and p rojection s , units o f m ea s u re­
m ent, and electron ic file form a ts shou ld b e
s elected for com pa tib ility with th e form a t of
Other 'information with which it might b e used.
ST EP 6 . T a k in g A ct io n
Th e ob jective of produ cin g information is for
decision-making. Even a decis ion not to take
a ction is a decision . If in form a tion is b ein g
produ ced and not used, it is generally because
th ere is no user, th e in form a tion n ever gets
to th e in ten d ed user, or th e in form a tion is
n ot in a su itab le form a t. Frequ en tly, orga ­
nizations institu te in form a tion produ ction
p rogra m s that a re a llow ed to con tin u e long
a fter th e rea s on s th ey w er e sta rted have
b een forgotten . A s with a n y oth er service,
w hen th ere is no clearly d efin ed "cu s tom er"
to b e served and when th ere is no systematic
a ss es sm en t of th e qu ality o f th e information
p rod u ced , th e information produ ction tends
to b ecom e self- p erp etu a tin g and th e qu ality
o f th e inform ation ten d s to decline. N othing
p rom otes service and qu ality like having the
p rod u cers o f in form a tion a n s w era b le to
th eir cu stom ers.
T H E A R T A N D SC I EN C E O F QPONMLKJIHGFED
R EM O T E SEN SI N G
R em ote sensing is th e a rt and s cien ce of
ob ta in in g in form a tion from a distance, i.e.

ob ta in in g in form a tion a b ou t ob jects or p h e­
n om en a w ith ou t b ein g in physical con ta ct
with them . Th e s cien ce o f rem ote sensing
p rovid es th e instru ments and th eory to
u nderstan d h ow ob jects and p h en om en a
can b e d etected . Th e a rt o f rem ote sen sin g
is in th e d evelop m en t and u se o f analysis
tech n iqu es to g en era te u sefu l inform a tion .
W h en electrom a gn etic en ergy, such as
light from th e sun, illuminates ob jects on the
ea rth ’s su rface, it interacts with them . S om e
of th e en erg y is a b s orb ed (e.g. w h en an
ob ject is h ea ted , it a b s orb s en ergy), s om e
is tra n s m itted throu gh th e ob ject, s om e is
reflected b a ck from th e ob ject, and s om e is
em itted (as w hen w e feel the heat from a hot
ob ject), s ee Figu re 3.2. It is th e en erg y
reflected and em itted b a ck from an ob ject
that is a va ila b le for d etection . B y record in g
and a na lyzin g th e w a y th e en erg y r eceived
from an ob ject has b een ch a n ged , in form a ­
tion a b ou t tha t ob ject can be d erived .
R em ote sen sin g is th e art and s cien ce o f
d ed u cin g in form a tion a b ou t ob jects by
T R A N S M IT T E D
ENE RG Y HGFEDCBA
Fi gur e 3.2 Intera ctio n Between E lectrom agnetic Energy and a Leaf.
63 jihgfedc
R e m o te S e nsing mlkjihgfedcbaZ
a na lyzin g th e en erg y r eceived from them
and th e en erg y that illu minates them . Th e
s tep s u sed to d o this a re illu strated in
Figu re 3.3.
Items (a) to (d) in Figu re 3.3 s h ow th e p ro­
ces s es tha t g en er a te th e en erg y to be
d etected b y rem ote sensing systems. E nergy
from a s ou rce like th e sun is p r op og a ted
throu gh th e a tm os p h ere, interacts with
ob jects on th e ea rth 's su rface, and is then
re-transmitted throu gh the a tm osp h ere. This
en erg y can then b e d etected b y a s en s or
s ystem (e), such as a p h otogra p h ic ca m era ,
or electron ic d etector. Th e en erg y d etected
b y th e s en s or is con verted into data p r od ­
ucts, such as a irp h otos or digital data files
s tored on a com p u ter ta p e (f).
Th es e da ta p rod u cts mu st th en b e a n a ­
lyzed (g). A va riety o f analysis p roced u res
m ay b e u sed d ep en d in g on the typ es of data
a va ila b le and th e in form a tion to b e p r o ­
d u ced . Typ ica lly, s evera l d ifferen t typ es o f
data a re u sed togeth er. Th e da ta from on e
or m ore rem ote sensing system s a re usually
64 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

D A T A A C Q U IS IT IO N . = = ^ > D A T A A N A L Y S IS

P ic to ria l Visual

—-

Dig ital Dig ital GFEDCBA Cf]

Users HGFEDCBA
1 FEDCBA ü
if)
D3ta p roducts
l.e)
In te rp re ta tio n
(n i
In fo rm a tio n
and analysis p ro d u cts

Fi gu r e 3. 3 The Rem ote Sensing Process. (From R e m o te S en s in g a n d Im a g e In te r p r e ta tio n by Lille sand and
K ie fe r 1987. published by John W iley and Sons.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

a n a lyzed w ith oth er d a ta , such as m ea s u re­ ENERG Y SOURCES A N D

m ents ta ken at s elected grou n d loca tion s or R A D IA T IO N P R IN C IP LE S
exis tin g in form a tion a b ou t field con d ition s
V is ib le light is a form o f electrom a gn etic
like g e o lo g y maps, soils maps, and statistical
en erg y. Ra d io w a ves , h ea t, u ltra violet, and
su m m a ries. It is th e job o f th e a n a lys t to
X- rays a re oth er fa m ilia r form s . All form s of
des ign a s ystem a tic p roced u re to extra ct th e
electrom a gn etic en erg y h a ve certain fu nda­
d es ired in form a tion from th e a va ila b le data. m en ta l p rop erties . E lectrom a gn etic en erg y
Th e in form a tion m a y b e a soils m ap, es ti­ tra vels at th e "s p e e d o f ligh t", 3 x 10s
m a tes o f cr op con d ition or h a rves ta b le m/sec. It is com m on ly trea ted as a w a ve with
tim b er, or a m a p o f r o o f lines for m u nicipal b oth electric a nd m a gn etic com p on en ts , as
m a p p in g. s h ow n in Figu re 3.4. Th e w a velen g th is the
Th e in form a tion is th en a s s em b led in to d is ta n ce from on e w a ve p ea k to th e next.
a form s u ita b le for th e in ten d ed u sers. Th e fr eq u en cy is th e n u m b er o f p ea ks that

C om m on ly u sed form a ts for th es e in form a ­ pa ss a fixed p oin t p er u nit o f tim e.

tion p rod u cts a re th e p a p er m a p, ta b u la r In r e m o te sen sing, th e typ e o f en erg y

su m m ary, or a com p u ter file such as for
inpu t to a G1S (h). U ltim a tely, for th e in for­
m a tion to b e o f va lu e it mu st b e u s ed b y
ind ividu a ls to m a ke d ecis ion s (i). Th e d eci­
sion m ay b e w h er e to con s tru ct a roa d or
h ow mu ch o f a for es t to h a rves t, a nd th e
r em otely s en s ed d a ta m a y h a ve b een on e
o f s evera l d a ta s ou rces u sed to m a ke a
m a p or es tim a te a qu an tity. N everth eles s ,
th e ju stification for th e en tire p r oced u r e is
th a t at s om e p oin t s o m eon e will u se th e
in form a tion .
b ein g d etec te d is ch a ra cterized b y its p os i­
tion in th e electr om a g n etic s p ectru m . As
s h ow n in Figu re 3.5, th e s p ectru m is com ­
m on ly d ivid ed into units o f w a velen gth m ea ­
su red in m icrons (also term ed m icrom eters),
a b b r evia ted as p m . Each m icron is equ a l to
on e m illionth o f a m e te r (1 x 10_ 6 m).
H istorica lly, th e n a m es a s s ign ed to region s
o f th e s p ectru m a re m o r e a resu lt o f the
m eth od s u s ed to d etec t th em than o f the
c h a r a c te r is tic s of th e ir w a ve le n g th s .
U ltra violet, in fra red , vis ib le, a nd m icrow a ve
region s a re s om e fa m ilia r region s o f the

Figure 3.4 Com ponents o f an Electrom agnetic Wave. (From
Lillesand and Kiefer 1987. published by John W iley and Sons.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
spectru m . Th ere is n o p recis e d ivid in g line
b etw een s ep a ra te region s.
Th e vis ib le p ortion o f th e sp ectru m , th e
region to which th e human e y e is s en sitive,
has an extremely narrow range of wavelengths.
It exten d s from a b ou t 0.4 /¿m to 0.7 /¿m (th e
b lu e to red region s ). Th e u ltra violet region
has th e s h orter w a velen gth s n ext to th e
visib le- b lu e region . Th e near- infra red region
has th e lon g er w a velen gth s n ext to th e
vis ib le- red p ortion o f th e spectru m . Th e
visib le, in fra red, and m icrow a ve p ortion s o f
th e s p ectru m a re th e on es m os t com m on ly
u sed for rem ote sensin g o f earth res ou rces .
Figure 3.5 The E le ctrom agnetic Spectrum . (From R e m o t e S e n s in g a n d I m a g e I n t e r p r e t a t i o n by Lillesand and
Kiefer 1987, published by John W iley and Sons.)
65
R e m o te S e n sin g mlkjihgfedcbaZ
R e m o t e S e n s in g a n d Im a g e I n t e r p r e t a t i o n by
Th e sun is th e m ost familiar s ou rce o f elec­
trom a gn etic ra dia tion . H ow ever, all m a tter
at tem p era tu res a b o ve a b s olu te zer o con ­
tinu ou sly em its electrom a gn etic radia tion.
(Ab s olu te zero is 0 ° K or - 2 7 3 ° C ). Th e qu an­
tity o f en erg y em itted b y an ob ject d ep en d s
on its phys ica l characteris tics, such as its
sh a p e, com p os ition , a nd su rface textu re.
Th e ra n ge o f w a velen gth s a t w hich this
en ergy is ra d ia ted d ep en d s on th e tem p era ­
tu re o f th e ob ject. Th e h igh er th e tem p era ­
tu re, th e g r ea ter th e tota l en erg y em itted
and th e sh orter the w a velen gh ts o f emission.
Figu re 3.6 s h ow s th e qu a n tity o f en erg y
66 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e
Figure 3.6 Emission o f Energy fro m a Blackbody. The
graphs show the spectral d istrib u tio n o f the energy
em itted by a standard surface (term ed a b la c k b o d y ) at b ack from th e grou nd. S ince th e human eye
d iffe re n t tem peratures. The area under each curve
represents the to ta l am oun t o f energy em itted. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
em itted and th e w a velen gth s at which th e
en erg y is em itted for ob jects a t th e tem ­
p era tu re of th e sun, an in ca n d es cen t lamp,
and a nominal tem p era tu re o f earth ob jects
(3 0 0 ° K or 27°C ). Th e area u nder each cu rve
rep res en ts th e rela tive a m ou n t o f en erg y
em itted .
From th e Figu re it can b e s een that th e
su n’s h igh est en erg y levels a re em itted at a
w a velen gth o f a b ou t 0.5 /¿m, in th e visib le
region of the spectru m — a fortu nate arrange­
m en t for crea tu res such as hu mans that
d ep en d on light for vision. Ph otograp h ic film
and electron ic d etectors a re u sed for rem ote
sen sin g in this region o f th e spectru m . Th e
en ergy d etected is the solar en ergy r e f le c t e d
from th e ob jects .
N atu rally occu rring earth fea tu res like soil,
w a ter, and veg eta tion ra d ia te much less
en erg y than th e sun (h en ce th e sm aller area
u n d er th e cu rve), and th e p ea k em ission is
at low er w a velen gth s . For earth fea tu res at
a tem p era tu re o f 27°C , th e p ea k en erg y
emission is at a w a velen gth of a b ou t 9.7 /¿m.
It is for this rea s on that w a velen gth s in this
region can b e u sed to m eas u re th e tem p era ­
tu re of earth ob jects and this region o f the
spectru m is term ed th e th erm a l infra red.
W a velen gth s in th e 8 ¿u.m to 14 /¿m portion
o f th e spectru m a re com m on ly u sed for
th erm a l in fra red rem ote sensing.
W a velen gth s in th e th erm a l in fra red
region ca n n ot b e d etected b y th e human
e ye nor b y p h otogra p h ic film, althou gh w e
sen se ob jects em itting high levels of thermal
in fra red radiation as b ein g w arm . Instead,
electr on ic d e te c to r s c o o le d by liqu id
n itrogen a re u sed to m eas u re th e energy-
em itted at th es e w a velen gth s .
S om e rem ote sensing system s u se their
ow n s ou rce o f illu mination. A ca m era with
flash is a familiar exa m p le. A rad a r system
illu minates th e la n d s ca p e with m icrow a ve
rad ia tion and d etects th e en erg y reflected
is n ot s en sitive to m icrow a ve radiation, the
ra d a r a p p ea rs to b e a b le to "s e e in the
d a rk ” . In a d d ition , m icrow a ve radiation is
not b locked b y clouds, and so, radar imagery’
can b e acqu ired over clou d - covered regions.
E lectrom a gn etic radiation interacts with
th e m a tter it conta cts in th ree w ays. It can
b e a b s orb ed , tra n sm itted, and reflected .
Ab s orb ed en ergy can in turn b e re-emitted as
illu strated in Figu re 3.2. W e a re most familiar
with reflected light. V egeta tion a p p ea rs
g reen b eca u s e m ost o f th e vis ib le light
reflected b ack from the lea ves is in th e green
portion of the spectru m. The lea ves are b eing
illu minated b y th e sun, a s ou rce tha t emits
a p p roxim a tely equ a l qu antities of en ergy in
th e red , green , and b lu e p ortion s o f the
spectru m . Mu ch of th e red and b lu e light is
a b s orb ed b y th e lea f so that, proportiona lly,
m ore green is reflected and th e lea f is p er­
ceived b y th e human e ye to b e green . Some
o f th e en erg y is als o tra n sm itted. For this
reason some light can b e seen through the leaf
Th e a tm os p h ere als o interacts with elec­
trom a gn etic radiation. For rem ote sensing
 67 jihgfedcb
R e m o te S e n s in g mlkjihgfedcbaZY

th e a tm os p h eric effects o f m os t con cern a re ch a ra cteris tic o f th e a tm o s p h er e is qu ite

a b s o r p t i o n a n d s c a t t e r in g . Id ea lly th e a tm o­
s p h ere w ou ld b e a p er fect tra n s m itter o f th e
en er g y to b e d e te c te d . H o w e ve r , th e tra n s ­
m ission ch a ra cteris tics o f th e a tm os p h er e
a re fa r from p e r fe c t sin ce th ey va ry w ith th e
w a velen gth . S o m e w a velen g th s a re tra n s ­
m itted a lm os t p e r fe c tly w h ile oth ers a re
virtu a lly b lock ed . Figu re 3.7 p a rt B s h ow s
th e tra n s m itta n ce o f th e a tm os p h er e at
th e ra n ge o f w a velen g th s u s ed in r e m o te
s en s in g. In s om e ca s es th e b lo ck in g
b en eficia l. W ith ou t th e a tm os p h ere to b lock
m os t o f th e u ltra violet ra dia tion, hu man skin
w ou ld qu ickly b e s u n b u rn ed a n d d e v e lo p
skin ca n cer w h en ex p o s e d to su nlight.
Atmospheric scattering is th e diffu sion o f
radia tion b y p a rticles in th e a tm os p h ere. W e
s e e th e sky as b lu e in s tea d o f b la ck b eca u s e
su n ligh t is s ca ttered b y th e ea r th ’s a tm o­
s p h ere and th e s h orter b lu e w a velen gth s a re
s ca ttered m o r e than th e lo n g er g r een a nd
r ed w a velen gth s . A t su nrise a n d su n set th e

F ig u re 3.7 A tm o sp h e ric Effects and Rem ote Sensing Systems. (From R e m o te S en sing a n d Im a g e In te rp re ta tio n
b y Lillesand and K ie fe r 1987, p u b lish e d by jo h n W iley a nd Sons.)
68 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
su n’s rays tra vel a lon g er path throu gh the
a tm os p h ere. A lm os t all th e b lu e p ortion of
th e spectru m is s ca ttered or a b s orb ed so
th a t w e s ee only th e lon g er ora n ge and red
w a velen gth s that have p en etra ted the a tm o­
s p h ere m ore su ccessfu lly.
Atmospheric absorption occu rs w hen
en er g y is lost to constitu en ts o f th e a tm o­
sp h ere. A m on g the m ost efficien t a b s orb ers
are w ater vapou r, carb on dioxide, and ozone.
Th es e gases ten d to a b s orb radiation in only
s p ecific w a velen gth s . Th os e w a velen gth s
that a re transm itted w ell b y th e a tm os p h ere
a re term ed atmospheric windows. It is
th es e region s o f th e spectru m that a re u sed
for rem ote sensing as sh ow n in Figu re 3.7
pa rts B and C. N ote that th e vis ib le p ortion
o f th e spectru m coin cid es with th e w a ve­
len gth o f p ea k en erg y em iss ion o f th e sun
(Figu re 3.7 p a rt A) and an a tm os p h eric
w in d ow (Figu re 3.7 pa rt B). Th es e a re the
w a velen gth s th e human e y e d ep en d s u pon
for sight.
Th e p ea k w a velen gth o f emission from the
ea rth is show n by th e small cu rve in
Figu re 3.7 pa rt A. Th erm al scanners use the
a tm os p h eric w in d ow s at 3 /¿m to 5 /¿m and
8 /¿m to 14 /¿m to d etect en erg y in this p or­
tion o f th e spectru m (Figu re 3.7 part B).
M u lti- spectral s en sors can simu ltaneou sly
collect da ta in s evera l n a rrow w a velen gth
ra n ges . Th e w a velen gth s s elected a re
usually in th e vis ib le an d in fra red regions,
an d s om etim es u ltra violet w a velen gth s a re
u sed as w ell. A ctive m icrow a ve s en s or sys­
tem s (know n as radar) an d p a ss ive micro-
w a ve system s u se th e 1 mm to 1 m p ortion
o f th e spectru m .
B y using sensors that d etect ran ges of the
spectru m that the human eye cannot d etect,
im ages can b e crea ted in which featu res that
n orm ally a p p ea r identical to th e human eye
can be distingu ished. Tw o ob jects that
a p p ea r to b e th e sam e colou r in da yligh t
(i.e. reflect th e sam e am ou nt o f visib le light)
m a y reflect d ifferen t am ou nts o f a n oth er
ra n ge of w a velen gth s, such as near-infrared.
In this w a y s en sor sys tem s can, in effect, b e
u sed to exten d th e ra n ge of w a velen gth s
th a t th e human eye can see.
SENSO R SYSTEMS C O M M O N L Y
USED I N R E M O TE S E N S IN G FEDCBA
P h o t o g r a p h ic C a m e r a s
Th e p h otogra p h ic ca m era w as th e first and
is th e m ost w id ely u sed rem ote sensing
system . W a velen gth s in th e vis ib le (0.4 ¿¿m
to 0.7 ¿im) and n ea r- in fra red (0.7 ¡¿m to
0.9 ¿¿m) p ortion s o f th e spectru m can b e
d etected using ph otographic films. Black-and-
w h ite films a re s en sitive to a single ra n ge of
w a velen gth s . C olou r films contain th ree
la yers , ea ch o f which is s en sitive to a dif­
fer en t ra n ge o f w a velen gth s . In a normal
colou r film, th es e la yers a re m a d e sensitive
to b lu e, green , and red w a velen gth ranges.
In false colou r in fra red films, th e th ree sen ­
s itized la yers a re m a d e s en sitive to the
green , red , and n ea r- in fra red w a velen gth s.
Films a re gen era lly sen s itive to a w id e
ra n ge o f w a velen gth s . For exa m p le, black-
a n d - w h ite pa n ch rom a tic film is s en sitive to
th e 0.35 ¿¿m to 0.70 ^m range. By using filters
that pass a narrow ran ge o f w a velengths, the
film will p rod u ce an im a ge s h ow in g the
reflecta n ce of light in th e b a n d of th e filter.
M u ltisp ectra l p h otogra p h y can b e d on e b y
p h otogra p h in g th e s a m e s cen e using mul­
tip le ca m era s sim u ltaneou sly, each with a
d ifferen t com b in a tion o f film and filter. For
m os t applications, fou r b a n ds a re u sed, cor­
respondin g to the blue, green , red, and near-
in fra red . M u ltispectral p h otogra p h y is not
w id ely u sed as a resu lt of th e difficu lty of
analyzing the multiple images together. Three
s ep a ra te im a ges can b e p rojected on to a
s creen using red, green , and b lu e light
sou rces to p rod u ce a colou r im a ge. Fiow-
ever, th e m echa nics o f d oin g so ten d to b e
ra th er tim e consu ming. Instead, mu ltispec­
tral im a ges a re g en era ted digitally using
scanners. Th e digital im a ges can b e easily

m an ipu la ted and regis tered u sing im a ge
p roces s in g com p u ter system s.
Th e s ca le o f an a erial p h otogra p h d irectly
a ffects th e size o f fea tu res tha t can b e seen.
Th e la rger th e scale, th e sm aller th e grou n d
features that can b e seen on the photographs.
Th e sca le o f a p h otogra p h , as for maps, is
a m ea su re o f th e nu m b er of units m ea s u red
on th e grou n d tha t corres p on d to each unit
as measu red on the map. A scale of 1:10,000
m eans that 10,000 units on th e grou n d cor­
res p on d to ea ch unit on th e m ap. S o a dis­
ta nce o f 10,000 cm on th e grou n d (equ iva ­
len t to 100 m) w ou ld b e sh ow n on th e m a p
as a d is ta n ce o f 1 cm. A sca le o f 1:50,000
is a s m a lle r scale than 1:10,000, b eca u s e th e
fraction is a sm aller nu m b er. A t a sca le of
1:50,000, 1 cm on th e m a p w ou ld rep res en t
500 m on th e grou nd. Th e term in ology u sed
to ca tegorize a irp h oto scales is n ot p recis ely
defined. Small scale airphotos a re cons idered
to b e a b ou t 1:50,000 or sm aller, m ediu m
scale is b etw een 1:12,000 and 1:50,000 and
la rge scale a irp h otos a re 1:12,000 or la rger
(Lillesand and Kiefer 1987).
In gen era l, small sca le a irp h otos a re u sed
for reconnaissance level m apping, large area
resou rce assessments, and gen era l res ou rce
planning. G eologica l m a pp in g, land u se
planning, agricultural monitoring, topograph ic
mapping, and forest monitoring are commonly
d on e u sing small sca le im a gery. M ed iu m
scale a irp h otos a re u sed for iden tifica tion ,
classification, and m a p p in g o f such fea tu res
as fores t typ es, agricultural crop types, veg e­
tation com m u nities, soil typ es , su rface
materials mapping, and geology. La rge scale
a irp h otos a re u sed for in ten s ive m on itorin g
and d eta iled m ea s u rem en ts , such as en gi­
n eerin g su rveys for roa d constru ction,
su rveys of d a m a ge ca u sed by natu ral
disasters, s u rveys o f d is ea s ed vegeta tion ,
and ha za rd ou s w a s te spills.
P h otogra p h ic film can res olve ver y fine
details. U sing high p recis ion instru ments,
m ea s u rem en ts as fin e as .01 mm can b e
relia b ly m a d e from aeria l p h otogra p h s . O n
69 jihgfedcb
R e m o te S e nsin g mlkjihgfedcbaZY
a 1:50,000 s ca le a irp h oto .01 mm co r r e­
s p on d s to a grou n d d is ta n ce o f 0.5 m. O n
a 1:6,000 a irp h oto .01 mm corres p on d s to
a grou n d d is ta n ce o f 0.06 m or 6 cm.
M os t a eria l p h otogra p h y is taken u sing
s op h is tica ted p h otog r a m m etr ic ca m era
s ys tem s w ith a u tom a ted film a d va n ce and
exp os u re controls and using long continu ou s
rolls o f film. P h otogra p h s a re taken a t a
p recis ely con trolled ra te a lon g th e path
d irectly b en ea th th e a ircra ft s o that th ere is
an overla p a rea , usually 60% , b etw een su c­
ces s ive im ages. B y view in g su ccess ive pairs
o f p h otogra p h s throu gh a s ter eos cop e a
3-dimensional im a ge is p erceived . Figu re 3.8
is an a irp h oto s tereop a ir at a sca le of
1:6,000. Th e im a ges h a ve b een p os ition ed
for view in g w ith a p ock et s tereos cop e.
Hu man eyes can u se th e slightly d ifferen t
p ers p ectives o f th e tw o im a ges to p er ceive
d ifferen ces in d is ta n ce in th e scen e, this is
term ed th e stereo-effect. So, w hen looking
vertica lly d ow n at th e la n d s ca p e, on e can
p er ceive d ifferen ces in th e h eights o f fea ­
tu res givin g a 3- dim ensional view . Th e
strength of this s tereo- effect d ep en d s on the
magnitu de of th e differen ce in the tw o views.
Th e clos er th e ob jects , th e m ore d ifferen t
a re th eir rela tive p os ition s within th e im a ge
and th e clos er th ey a p p ea r.
W h en th e la n d s ca p e is view ed from far
a w a y, such as from an aircraft, th e terrain
a p p ea rs much m ore level than w h en view ed
from th e grou n d. This is b eca u s e b oth eyes
s ee th e far a w a y grou n d ob jects as b ein g in
a b ou t th e s a m e rela tive p osition . In an air­
p h oto s tereop a ir, th e p osition s at which the
tw o p h otogra p h s w ere taken w ere hu ndreds
o f m etres apart, much farther a p a rt than th e
few cen tim etres b etw een a p ers on 's eyes .
A s a resu lt, th e d ifferen ce in rela tive p os i­
tions o f ob jects is grea ter in the ph otogra p h s
than w ou ld b e s een b y human eyes , and so,
th e rela tive heights o f fea tu res a p p ea r to b e
ex a g g era ted . This vertica l exa ggera tion in
a erial p h otogra p h s im p roves th e a ccu racy
with which th e eleva tion o f fea tu res can b e
70 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
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Figure 3.8 Airphoto Stereopair of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. This pair o f photographs can be viewed
in stereo using a pocket stereoscope. The com plex o f buildings in the u pper p o rtio n o f the scene
are the Canadian Houses o f P arliam ent o verlookin g th e O ttawa River. In the lo w e r p o rtio n o f the
photographs the locks of th e Rideau Canal can be seen. When viewed in stereo, the relative heights
o f features app ear to be exaggerated, as explained in the text. The ground distance across each
image is 360 m. (Reproduced w ith the permission o f th e National A irp h o to Library. Energy, Mines,
and Resources Canada. O ttaw a, O ntario . Photo ID: A 2 5 9 6 1 -4 4 and A 2 5 9 6 1 -4 5 . © 1982) jihgfedcbaZYXWVU

measu red and im proves im age interpretation.
Th e s tereop a ir in Figu re 3.8 has a vertica l
exa ggera tion of a p p roxim a tely 20,000 tim es
w h en view ed with a p ock et s tereos cop e.
W h en th e tw o aeria l p h otogra p h s
Figu re 3.8 a re com p a red , tall fea tu res like
th e tow ers on th e C en tre B lock (the la rge
b u ildin g at th e top of th e p h oto) slant in dif­
feren t direction s. For an individu al tow er,
th e top is sh ifted d ifferen tly rela tive to its
in b a s e, it is this d ifferen ce in th e am ou n t and
d irection that a fea tu re is sh ifted on th e tw o
 71 jihgfedc
R e m o te S e n sin g mlkjihgfedcbaZ

p h otos th a t d eterm in es h ow high it will W h en view in g a s tereop a ir th e b rain

a p p ea r w h en view ed in s tereo. P h otogra m -
m etric instru ments, such as the s tereop lotter
sh ow n in Figu re 3.9, a re u sed to m ea s u re
this shift p recis ely to p rovid e a ccu rate eleva ­
tion m easu rements. Tod a y m ost top ogra p h ic
maps a re p rod u ced from aerial p h otogra p h s
using p h otogra m m etric instru m ents such
as this.
A s a ru le- of- thu m b , th e a eria l ca m era sys­
tem s and p h otogra m m etric instru ments u sed
to p rod u ce top ogra p h ic maps p rovid e eleva ­
tion a ccu ra cies on th e ord er o f a 10,000th
of th e flyin g height. Th e a irp h otos in
Figu re 3.8 w er e flow n at an a ltitu d e o f
900 m a b o ve grou n d, so eleva tion m ea s u re­
m ents w ou ld b e ex p ected to h a ve an a ccu ­
racy o f a p p rox im a tely .09 m RM S (root
m ean s qu a re error). A eria l p h otog r a p h y at
a sca le o f 1:50,000 is com m on ly flow n a t an
altitu de o f 7600 m. E levation m ea s u rem en ts
from this p h otog ra p h y w ou ld b e ex p ected
to h a ve an a ccu ra cy o f a b ou t .76 m RM S .
(Th es e calcu lations a re for a irp h otos that
h a ve a s ta n d a rd 60% overla p and w er e
p h otog r a p h ed using a 152 mm lens.)
a ssu m es th at an o b ject that looks th e s a m e
and is in a b ou t th e s a m e pos ition in b oth
im a ges is sta tion a ry, in which ca s e all shifts
in rela tive position a re a resu lt o f d ifferen ces
in th e eleva tion o f the ob ject. (Cars that w ere
m ovin g a p p ea r in such d ifferen t positions on
th e tw o p h otogra p h s th at w h en view ed in
s tereo th ey ca n n ot b e fu sed.) In s om e cas es
this "visu al a ss u m p tion ” is in correct and th e
3- dim en sion a l p ercep tion o f th e view er is
fooled . W hen view ing Figure 3.8 in stereo, the
foa m line in th e river at th e top o f th e im a ge
a p p ea rs to b e at a mu ch h igh er eleva tion
than th e roa d a lon g th e sh ore. This illusion
is crea ted b eca u se th e foam line in th e w a ter
had m oved d ow n s trea m in th e s h ort tim e
b etw een th e ex p os u re of th e first and
s econ d p h otos . B eca u s e th e s h a p e o f th e
foa m p a ttern ch a n ged very little, th e e ye is
a b le to fu se th e im a ges o f the foa m line. But
b eca u s e th e rela tive position has shifted, th e
e ye in terp rets this shift as height, and so th e
fea tu re a p p ea rs to b e a hu ge w a ve!
Th e s tereo view grea tly increases th e qu an­
tity and qu a lity o f in form a tion th a t can b e

Figure 3.9 A S te re o p lo tte r. S te re o p lo tte rs are used in m aking to p o g ra p h ic m aps fro m a erial pho tog ra p hs.
An o p e ra to r views th e stereo image throu g h th e eyepieces o f th e in stru m ent. Using tw o han d wheels and a
fo o t wheel, a m easuring m ark appears to flo a t w ith in th e 3-dim ensional image o f th e te rra in . The m easuring
m a rk is m o ved so as to a pp e a r to rest on th e surface o f th e te rra in w h ile tra cin g th e objects o f interest. The
resulting m o tio ns can be tra n sfe rre d to th e p lo ttin g ta b le and d ire c tly d ra w n o n to a map o r th e data can be
stored in dig ital fo rm fo r la ter processing. Elevation co nto urs, bou n da rie s o f regions, and o th e r features are
m apped in this way. (Courtesy of W ild-Leitz.)
72 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

ex tra cted from rem otely s en s ed data. For
exa m p le, th e 3- dimensional sh a p e o f a land-
form is on e o f th e fa ctors u sed to id en tify
its com p os ition . G ra vel, sand, silt, an d clay
materials can b e accu rately in terp reted from
1:40,000 scale b lack-and-w hite aerial p h oto­
graphs view ed in s tereo. A s w ell as provid in g
the 3-dimensional perspective, s tereo view ing
also im p roves th e p erceived resolution of the
p h otos . A irp h otos ten d to a p p ea r s h a rp er
w hen view ed in s tereo than the sam e p h oto­
gra p h s view ed singly. FEDCBA
Ele ct r o - O p t ica l Sca n n e r s
E lectro- op tica l sca n ners u se an op tica l sys­
tem similar to a teles cop e to view th e terrain
b elow . In stead o f u sing film, th e im a ge is
cr ea ted b y ligh t- sen sitive d etectors that
p rod u ce electrical signals p rop ortion a l to the
b righ tn es s o f the light en ergy. A single
d etecto r can b e m a d e to view a strip of
terra in b y u sing a rota tin g m irror to d irect
its field - of- view a cross th e la n d s ca p e b elow .
This process , term ed scanning, is illu strated
in Figu re 3.10. Th e usual scan ning p a ttern
is in sw aths p erp en d icu la r to th e flight path.
Th e scanning ra te is tim ed to th e forw a rd
m otion o f th e a ircra ft or s p a cecra ft so that
su cces s ive scans view a d ja cen t sw aths of
terrain.
In p ra ctice 20 to 40 d etectors or m ore are
u sed to scan th e terra in and sim u ltaneou sly
d etect en ergy in s evera l n a rrow w a velen gth
b ands. Th e b rightness o f th e d etected radia­
tion is ou tpu t as a volta g e level. Th e volta ge

Figure 3.10 An Electro-O ptical Scanner in O pe ra tio n. (From R e m o te S e n sin g a n d Im a ge In te rp re ta tio n by

Lillesand and K iefer 1987, published by John W iley and Sons.)
 73 jihgfedc
R e m o te S e nsin g mlkjihgfedcbaZ

level ch a n ges contin u ou sly du rin g a scan as
th e d etec to r 's view s w eep s a cros s th e ter ­
rain. H ow ever , to efficien tly p roces s th e
data, th e signal level is r e co r d ed at regu la r
in terva ls du rin g ea ch scan. Each va lu e
r ecor d ed is a s a m p le o f th e vo lta g e level at
a particular instant in time. The area of grou nd
b ein g d e te c te d a t th a t instant is term ed th e
instantaneous field of view o r IFOV. Th e
1FOV is th e s m a llest grou n d a rea for w hich
a digital m ea s u rem en t is collected . Th e size
o f th e IFO V d eterm in es th e th eoretica l limit
o f res olu tion o f th e s en sor. Th e size o f th e
IFO V is d eterm in ed b y th e d es ign o f th e
s en s or a n d th e a ltitu d e at w hich th e s en s or
is flown. Th e sm aller th e a n gle o f view o f th e
s en s or an d th e low er th e a ltitu de, th e
sm aller th e resu lting IF O V a n d th e h igh er
th e spa tial resolu tion . (O th er fa ctors , such
as con tra s t, a ffect spatial res olu tion , and
u n d er certa in con d ition s fea tu res sm aller
than th e IF O V can b e d etected .)
To view th e digita l im a ges cr ea ted b y
scanners, a special typ e o f com p u ter system,
term ed an image analysis system, is u sed
to recon s tru ct a nd d is p la y th e data as a
pictu re-like im age. Th e recon s tru cted im a ge
is com p o s ed o f a la rge n u m b er o f small p ic­
tu re elem en ts , term ed pixels, ea ch o f which
is assigned a colou r or shade o f grey. U sually
th e im a ge is d is p la yed so that a pixel r ep r e­
sents an a rea a b ou t th e size o f th e IFO V.
A irb orn e electro- op tica l scanners flow n at
low a ltitu d es can p rod u ce im a g ery o f high
spatial resolu tion . Figu re 3.11 is a near-
in fra red sca n n er im a ge o f an u rb an a rea .
Each p ixel o f th e im a ge rep res en ts a 0.4 m
b y 0.4 m grou n d a rea (i.e. a p ixel resolu tion

Figure 3.1 1 A High Resolution Image fro m an Electro-O ptical Scanner. This near-infrared image was produced
by th e MEIS scanner o pe ra ted b y th e Canada Centre fo r Rem ote Sensing. Green vegetation is light-toned in
the image. Each pixel in th e d ig ital im age repre sents a gro und area o f 0.4 m x 0.4 m. The swath w id th (the
narrow dim ension of this image) is appro xim ate ly 1000 pixels wide, corresponding to a ground distance of 400 m.
(Courtesy o f the Canada Centre fo r Rem ote Sensing. O ttaw a, O ntario.)
74 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
o f 0.4 m). Civilian earth res ou rces satellites,
such as th e Landsat s eries lau nched b y the
U nited States and the S PO T satellite launched
b y France, p rod u ce im a gery with pixel res o­
lu tions on th e o r d er o f ten s o f m eters . Mili­
ta ry sa tellites p rod u ce im a gery o f much
h igh er resolu tion.
O n e o f the principal disadvantages of using
a rota tin g m irror to scan th e terrain is that
it in trod u ces com p lex geom etric distortions
th a t must b e corrected in th e im a gery. Also,
th e d etectors can on ly d w ell on ea ch a rea
Figure 3.12 The Principle of P ushbroom Scanning.
for a ver y sh ort tim e du ring th e scan. Push-
b room scanners o ver com e th es e difficu lties
b y a void in g th e u se o f a m ovin g mirror.
Instea d, a la rge n u m b er o f d etectors are
a rra n ged in a line (term ed a linear array)
a cros s th e field of view so that th e full width
o f th e sw ath can b e d etected at on e tim e
(s ee Figu re 3.12). Th e im a ge data a re p r o­
d u ced on e line at a tim e b y rea d in g th e ou t­
pu t valu es from th e en tire line of d etectors .
Th e forw a rd m otion of th e aircraft or s p a ce­
craft m oves th e linear a rra y o ver su ccessive

swaths o f terrain. Th e S PO T satellite sensors
use p u s h b room scanners w hile th e old er
La nd sat system u ses a m ovin g m irror
des ign.
Th e p u s h b room scan ner has s evera l
a d va n ta g es o ve r th e m irror s ca n n in g
systems. Pu sh b room scanners a re gen era lly
sm aller, lighter, and cons u m e les s p ow er.
W ith n o m ovin g parts, th ey h a ve a higher
relia b ility and lon ger life exp ecta n cy. Th e
imagery they produ ce has a m ore predictab le
geom etry and b etter spatial and radiom etric
(i.e. m ea s u rem en t of th e b righ tn es s levels )
accuracy. Th e principal disadvantage of push­
b room scanners is that a much larger number
of detectors (thousands) have to b e calibrated.
Cu rrent scanner systems com m on ly d etect
3 to 1 1 w a velen gth b a n ds sim u ltaneou sly.
E xperimental scanners are n ow b ein g tes ted
that simu ltaneou sly record hu ndreds o f adja­
cent b ands. Scanners of this typ e a re term ed
imaging spectrometers b eca u s e reflec­
ta nce va lu es a re collected for a la rge
n u m b er o f very n arrow b a n ds (com m on ly
0.01 /¿m b a nd w idths a re u sed) o ve r a con ­
tinu ou s p ortion o f th e spectru m for ever y
pixel. Th e data valu es p ertain in g to a single
pixel can b e u sed to constru ct a spectral plot
for that pixel. In this w ay the ground condition
at ea ch loca tion can b e id en tified from its
sp ectra l plot.
Th e ra tion a le for collectin g this en orm ou s
volu m e of data is that s om e featu res, such as
geologic minerals or stressed vegeta tion , can
b e distin gu ished b y th e fine d eta ils in th e
sh a pe o f th eir sp ectra l p lots that ca n n ot b e
seen using the w id er b ands (which are usually
.1 n m to .2 f im w id e) o f m ore con ven tion a l
scanners (G oetz et. al. 1985, Va ne and G oetz
1988). O n ce a p roced u re is w ell- res ea rch ed
using an im a ging s p ectrom eter, it m a y only
b e n eces s a ry to collect data for th e few nar­
row b a n d s n eed ed to id en tify th e m a terials
of in teres t rath er than for all th e b ands.
S ca nn ers a re u sed to s en se w a velen gth s
in the u ltraviolet, visib le, and infrared bands.
Th e s tra tegy u sed in s electin g b a n d s is to
75 jihgfedcb
R e m o te S ensing mlkjihgfedcbaZY
ch oos e a s et that tog eth er will b es t distin­
guish th e fea tu res o f interes t. Th e m ore
b a n d s u sed, th e m ore data th ere is to s tore
and process, and h en ce th e m ore exp en s ive
it is to ha n dle and p roces s th e data. In th e
ca se o f a irb orn e system s, th e la rge qu a n ­
tities of digital im a ge data can b e s tored on
ta p e du ring th e flight. For s a tellite- b a s ed
systems, th e data mu st b e tra n sm itted b ack
to earth. Th e tim e and electrica l p ow er
n eed ed to tra ns m it th e data thus b ecom es
a limiting fa ctor. In addition , as h igh er data
transmission ra tes a re u sed, th e equ ip m en t
n eed ed to tra nsm it and r eceive th e data
b ecom es m ore com p lex and exp en s ive.
A irb orn e scanner systems h ave b een u sed
w id ely for geologica l m a p p in g and for h ea t
loss d etection . G eologica l inves tiga tions
h ave b een m ost successful in arid areas. Th e
s p a rs e vegeta tion cover en a b les th e light
reflected from th e ex p os ed rock and soil
m aterial to b e d irectly m eas u red . Analysis
of reflecta n ce da ta for th e vis ib le and infra­
red b a n ds has b een u sed to id en tify th e
mineral com p os ition o f th e ex p os ed m a te­
rials (s ee for ex a m p le G oetz et. al. 1985).
A irb orn e th erm a l im a ge su rveys a re often
con d u cted to a n a lyze h ea t loss from b u ild­
ings, to d etect an d m on itor h ea ted flu ids
b ein g ejected in to lakes and rivers, and to
su pport repa ir and maintenance activities b y
d etectin g unusual h ea t s ou rces like steam
es ca p in g from ru ptu red u nd ergrou nd p ip es
(s ee A ro n o ff and Ross 1982). Figu re 3.13 is
a th erm a l in fra red im a ge of a res iden tial
a rea in a C anadian city. W arm a rea s on th e
im a ge a p p ea r ligh ter in ton e. S ince th e
im a ge w as taken du ring th e w in ter and at
night, a rea s that a p p ea r w a rm in the im a ge
indica te pos s ib ly exces s ive h ea t loss. This
im a ge w as u sed to id en tify h om es that
a p p ea red to h a ve w arm roofs , indicating a
high h ea t loss. If th e h om eow n ers w er e
in terested , then a m ore in tensive site in ves ­
tigation w as d on e to verify that th ere w as
exces s ive h ea t loss and to su ggest im p rove­
ments. S ee a lso Pla te 15.
76 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e
F ig u re 3.13 T herm al Infrare d Image o f a Residential interes ts . Th e resu lting w orld - w id e ex p eri­
Area. This th e rm a l image was a cquired on a w in te r
night. W a rm er obje cts, such as the city streets, appear
ligh ter in tone. The roofs of buildings are generally dark w h elm in gly fa vou ra b le resu lts. In fact, that
in tone, indicating a relatively cool tem perature and low th e s a tellites w er e d es ign ed to b e ex p er i­
heat loss. L ig hte r-to ne d ro ofs may indicate excessive
heat loss. (Courtesy o f the Canada Centre fo r Remote
Sensing. O tta w a. O ntario .) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
In s om e ca s es th erm a l in fra red im a gery
has b een u s ed to distingu ish terra in typ es .
D ifferen ces in tem p era tu re, m ois tu re con ­
ten t, and s u rfa ce textu re can m a ke natural
fea tu res a p p ea r d ifferen t on a therm al infra­
red image. Th e therm al infrared im a gery has
b een s h ow n to d ifferen tia te soils and rock
units that a p p ea r similar on visib le and near-
infrared im a gery (s ee for exa m p le Kahle and
G oetz 1983, a n d G illes pie and A b b o t 1984).
S a tellite- b a s ed sca n ners h a ve p rod u ced
m os t of th e pu b licly a va ila b le sa tellite
im a gery in u se tod a y. Th e princip al earth
res ou rces satellites a re th e French S PO T and
U n ited S ta tes ' Landsat. N O A A , and G O E S
satellites (discu ss ed b elow ). Th e follow in g is
a b rief discu ssion o f th e m a jor s atellite scan­
ner s ys tem s cu rren tly in op era tion .
L a n d sa t
Th e Earth Res ou rces Tech n olog y S a tellite
(E RTS - 1, la ter ren a m ed La n d s a t- 1), w a s th e
first u nm anned satellite d es ign ed to p rovid e
s ys te m a tic g lo b a l co vera g e of
res ou rces . La u n ch ed b y th e U n ited S tates
on July 23, 1972, it w a s p rim a rily d es ign ed
as an exp erim en ta l system to tes t th e fea s i­
b ility o f collectin g earth res ou rces data from
satellites. O rigin a lly th ere w e r e to b e six
s a tellites in th e ERTS series. In 1975, the
ERTS p rogra m and sa tellites w e r e ren a m ed
Landsat.
In a d d ition to its scientific a s p ects , the
La n d sa t p rogra m w a s a lso an exp res s ion of
an ideal. Th e data w er e m a d e pu b licly avail­
a b le w orld - w id e. This n on - d is crim in a tory
a cces s to d a ta w as term ed th e O p e n S k ie s
P o lic y . Th e data collected from sp a ce, in
particu lar th e Landsat data, w er e to b e avail­
a b le to all and n ot lim ited by national
m entation with Landsat data p rod u ced over­
m en ta l n ot op era tion a l s ys tem s led to
d em a n d s for levels o f s ervice b etter than
N A S A , and la ter N O A A , had p la n n ed to
p rovid e.
Th e first th ree La nd sa t s a tellites ca rried a
m u ltispectra l sca n n er (M S S ) a n d a retu rn
b ea m vid icon (RB V) ca m era . (An RB V is
similar to a televis ion ca m era b u t is cali­
b ra ted to high sta nd ards o f g eom etric accu ­
racy.) Th e RB V s ys tem s qu ickly b eca m e the
s econ d a ry sensors; in part, this w a s b ecau se
o f technical malfu nctions. M ore im portantly,
th e M S S s ys tem for th e first tim e p rovid ed
digital im a ges su itab le for com p u ter analysis
for m os t o f th e ea rth 's su rface.
Th e M S S on Landsa ts 1 ,2 , a nd 3 im a ged
a 185 km w id e sw ath in fou r b a n d s d es ign ­
a ted b a n d s 4, 5, 6, and 7. (Th e first th ree
b a n ds w ere ass igned to th e RB Vs.) Th e M SS
co ver ed tw o b a n d s in th e vis ib le and tw o in
th e near- infrared, as show n in Ta b le 3.1 and
Figu re 3.14. (Th e eighth band flow n on
La ndsa t 3 fa iled s h ortly a fter lau nch and is
n ot in d ica ted in th e figu re.) Each pictu re
elem en t or pixel in an M SS im a ge rep res en ts
a grou n d a rea o f a p p rox im a tely 79 m b y
ea rth 56 m. Each s cen e s h ow s a 185 km b y
185 km a rea and consists o f a p p roxim a tely
 77 jihgfedcba
R e m o te S ensing mlkjihgfedcbaZY

W a ve le n g th ( g m )

SATELLITE SENSOR

NOAA AVHRR

LANDSAT MSS

LANOSAT TM

S PO T HRV
(m u itis p e c tra l)

s po t HRV
(panchromatic)

NIMBUS-7 C2CS

GOES VISSR

Figure 3.14 W avelengths Detected By O pera tio nal Satellites. The wavelength bands detected by sensors on
several o pe ra tio na l satellites are shown. The num bered boxes re pre sent the individ ual channels, and the w id th
o f the box indicates the range o f wavelengths detected. (A dapted fro m Lillesand and Kiefer 1987.)

Table 3.1 W a v e le n g th B a n d s Used in L a n d s a ts 1 to 5. (A d a p te d From

L ille s a n d and K ie fe r 1987.) QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

Se n so r M issio n s Ban d W a v e le n g t h s Re so lu t io n
in / tm 1-3 4 .5

M SS 1 to 5 4 0 .5 - 0 .6 (g r e e n ) 79 82
5 0 .6 - 0 .7 (r e d ) 79 82
6 0 .7 - 0 .8 (n e a r - l R) 79 82
7 0 .8 - 1 .1 (n e a r - IR) 79 82

3* 8 1 0 .4 - 1 2 .6 (t h e r m a l IR) 240

TM 4 ,5 1 0 .4 5 - 0 .5 2 (b l u e ) 30
2 0 .5 2 - 0 .6 0 (g r e e n ) 30
3 0 .6 3 - 0 .6 9 (r e d ) 30
4 0 .7 6 - 0 .9 0 (n e a r - IR) 30
5 1 .5 5 - 1 .7 5 (m i d - l R) 30
6 1 0 .4 - 1 2 .5 (t h e r m a l IR) 120
7 2 .0 8 - 2 .3 5 (m id - IR) 30

* F a i l e d Sh o r t l y A f t e r L a u n c h
78 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

2340 scan lines with 3240 pixels p er line, a
tota l o f 7.5 million pixels p er scen e. W ith
fou r va lu es p er pixel (on e for each b a n d), a
s cen e contains o ver 30 million pixel valu es.
This volu m e o f da ta w a s collected in a b ou t
25 s econ d s , a data ra te that tes ted th e
tech n ology at that tim e. S atellites n ow
collect da ta at a ra te s evera l tim es faster.
Th e satellite p la tform u sed for Landsats 1,
2, and 3 is sh ow n in Figu re 3.15. Th es e
s a tellites w e r e a b ou t 3 m high, 1.5 m in
d ia m eter, and w eigh ed a b ou t 950 kg. Th ey
w er e lau nched into circu lar orb its with alti­
tu d es o f 900 km. C ircling th e earth ever y
103 m in u tes , th e s a tellites c o m p le te d
14 orb its p er day. Th e spacing b etw een suc­
ces s ive orb its w a s s et to b e 2760 km at th eQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
s a m e tim e o f da y. Th e orb it p r ovid ed a
eq u a tor with a north-sou th path tha t ca m e
within 9 ° o f latitu de o f th e north and south
poles. W ith this orb it th e satellites kep t pace
with th e su n’s w es tw a rd p rogres s as the
ea rth rota tes . Th e resu lt w a s th a t th e satel­
lites alw ays cros s ed th e equ a tor at th e same
loca l sun tim e (i.e. th e tim e d eterm in ed b y
th e su n's pos ition on th e h orizon ). An orb it
tha t a lw ays p as ses o ver th e ea rth at the
same local sun tim e is term ed a sun-
synchronous orb it. S u n-synchronou s orb its
a re usually u sed for ea rth res ou rces s a tel­
lites so that th e sun illu mination cond ition s
a re cons isten t. Sun eleva tion , rela tive p os i­
tion, and intensity still va ry with th e seasons,
b u t eve r y s cen e has th e illu mination of the

Fi g u r e 3 .1 5 Th e Sat ellit e Plat f o rm U sed f o r Lan d sat s 1 .2 , an d 3. (Fro m R e m o te Sensing a n d Im age In te rp re ta tio n
b y Lil le sa n d an d K i e f e r 1 9 8 7 . p u b lish e d b y Jo h n W ile y an d So n s.)
 79 jihgfedc
R e m o te S e nsing mlkjihgfedcbaZ

retu rn p eriod o f 18 d a ys (i.e. eve r y 18 d a ys and ca rries tw o m u ltispectra l sca n n er sys­

the orb it path wou ld rep ea t itself). Landsats 1
throu gh 3 o p er a ted from 1972 to 1983.
Th e La n d s a t 4 and 5 sa tellites, w ere
'.aunched into low er su n- synchronou s ea rth
orb its o f a b ou t 700 km a nd h a ve a retu rn
p eriod o f 16 d a ys (Figu res 3.16 and 3.17).
S ystem en gin eers d ea ctiva ted La n d sa t 4
sh ortly a fter launch as a res u lt o f electrica l
p rob lem s . It rem a ins in orb it an d a va ila b le
for lim ited u se if La n d sa t 5 fails. La n d s a t 5
w as la u nch ed in 1984 and w a s in op era tion
as o f January 1989. Th e 2000 kg s a tellite is
s om ew h a t la rger than th e ea rlier La n d sa ts
tem s , th e M S S and TM sen sors. Th e M S S
s en s or w a s in clu d ed to p r ovid e contin u ity
with th e p reviou s La n d s a t data. It im a ges a
swath 185 km w id e, as b efor e, a nd th e data
is p roces s ed so that it is com p a tib le with th e
ea rlier M S S data. Th e oth er s en s or is th e
Th em a tic M a p p er (TM ), a m ore a d va n ced
m u ltispectral scan ner than th e M S S system .
A s s h ow n in Ta b le 3.1 an d Figu re 3.14, this
s en s or p rovid es 7 b a n d s ra n gin g from th e
vis ib le b lu e to th e th erm a l infra red. (B and 7
is ou t o f s equ en ce b eca u s e it w a s a d d ed la te
in th e des ign s ta ge.) Th e TM s en s or also QPONML

Fi g u r e 3 .1 6 Th e Sa t e ll it e Plat f o r m U se d f o r La n d sa t s 4 an d 5. (Fr o m R e m o te S e n sin g a n d Im a g e In te rp re ta ­

tio n b y Li ll e sa n d an d K i e f e r 1 9 8 7 , p u b lish e d b y Jo h n W i l e y an d So n s.)
80 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctiv e

Figure 3.17 The Sun-Synchronous O rb it o f Landsats 4 and 5. (From R e m o te S en sin g a n d Im a g e In te rp re ta tio n

by Lillesand and Kiefer 1987, published by John W iley and Sons.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDC

p rovid es a h igh er spatial resolu tion; each fea tu res h ave a b ou t th e same colou r as th ey
pixel rep res en ts a 30 m b y 30 m grou n d w ou ld a p p ea r to th e human e ye — from an
a rea (ex cep t in th e ca s e o f b a n d 6 which a ltitu de o f 700 km. Th e im a ges h a ve low
u ses a la rger I 20 m b y 120 m pixel). con tra s t b eca u s e th e a tm os p h ere scatters
Pla tes 6a, 6b , and 6c a re TM im a ges o f an and a b s orb s a significant p rop ortion o f the
a rea s ou th - w es t o f Toron to, O n ta rio. Th ree reflected light, es p ecia lly in th e b lu e b and.
d ifferen t colou r com p os ite im a ges h a ve Pla te 6b is a "fa ls e colou r " im a ge. It is
b een p rod u ced b y using d ifferen t com b in a ­ com p os ed o f th e green and red vis ib le
tions o f b a n d s and assigning on e b a n d to bands, and a near infrared b and (TM bands 2,
each o f th e red , green , and b lu e channels 3, and 4). In this im a ge th e colou rs of
o f th e disp lay. (D ispla y h a rd w a re is dis­ th e fea tu res a re "fa ls e " i.e. d ifferen t from
cu s sed in C h a p ter 4.) Pla te 6a is com p os ed th e w a y th ey w ou ld n orm a lly a p p ea r to
o f th e red , green , and b lu e vis ib le b a n ds th e human eye. Th ey a re similar to th os e
(TM b a n d s 1 ,2 , and 3 res p ectively). It is a p r o d u ce d u sin g fa ls e colou r in fra red
"na tu ra l colou r " rep res en ta tion in that p h otogra p h y.

This false colou r im a ge has m ore con tra s t
than th e norm al colou r rep res en ta tion
show n in Pla te 6a. It a p p ea rs clea rer
b eca u s e th ere is mu ch less s ca tterin g a n d
a b sorp tion o f th e n ear in frared w a velen gth s
u sed in this fa ls e colou r im a ge than o f th e
b lu e w a velen gth s u sed in th e natu ral colou r
im age. H ea lth y veg eta tion is rep res en ted in
sh ades o f red u sing this b a n d com b in a tion .
This typ e o f im a ge is often p r efer r ed o ve r
th e natu ral colou r im a ge b eca u s e it can p r o ­
vid e b etter discrimination a m on g vegeta tion
typ es . H ow ever , as sh ow n h ere, th e s treet
n etw ork in u rb an a rea s m a y b e m ore d iffi­
cult to in terp ret.
Pla te 6c is a d ifferen t fa ls e colou r im a ge
p rod u ced from th e vis ib le red b a n d , a near-
infrared, and a mid-infrared band (TM bands 3,
4, and 5). Th e im a ges h a ve g o o d con tra s t
b eca u s e th e a tm os p h eric effects a t th es e
w a velen gth s a re less than for th e b a n d s
u sed in th e p reviou s tw o im a ges . H ea lth y
veg eta tion a p p ea rs b righ t green and fa llow
field s and clea red a rea s a re pu rp le. Th ere
is rela tively little d eta il in th e u rb an a rea s .
Th e ch oice o f b a n d com b in a tion s and
a ss ign m en t o f th es e b a n d s to th e th r ee
colou r ou tp u t chann els grea tly ch a n ges th e
typ es o f in form a tion tha t can b e d er ived
from th e im a ge data. A discu ssion o f b a n d
s election is b eyon d th e s cop e o f this in tro­
du ction. M o r e d eta iled discu ssions can b e
fou nd in th e rem ote sen sin g litera tu re a nd
in texts such as C a m p b ell (1987)
Lillesand and Kiefer (1987).
Th e TM s en s or p r ovid es a d ra m a tic
im p rovem en t in spatial res olu tion
im p roved s p ectra l res olu tion w ith s even
n a rrow er b a n d s ins tea d o f th e fou r w id er
b a n d s u sed in th e M S S. This a d d ition a l
resolu tion com es at th e cos t o f a grea tly
in crea s ed qu a n tity o f data. A La nd sa t TM
s cen e contains a b ou t 36 million p ixels co m ­
p a red w ith th e 7.5 million in an M S S s cen e.
Th e fou r b a nds o f data in an M S S s cen e con ­
tain a b ou t 30 million d a ta valu es w h erea s
s even b ands o f TM da ta contain
81 jihgfedc
R e m o te S e nsin g mlkjihgfedcba
2 50 million valu es! Th e cos t o f th e d a ta
reflects th e in crea s ed qu ality an d qu an tity
— $660 U S for fou r b ands o f M S S digital data
com p a red with $3600 U S for 7 b a n d s o f TM
d a ta (E O S A T p rices as o f January 1989).
SPOT
Th e S PO T (S ys tèm e Pou r l'O b s erva tion d e
la Terre) p rogra m w a s b egu n b y Fra nce in
1978. It w a s d es ign ed from th e start to b e a
long- term , op era tion a l, com m ercia l system ,
and s u b s equ en t s a tellites in th e s eries a re
a lrea d y b ein g m a n u fa ctu red. S PO T has
d e ve lo p e d into an in tern a tion a l p rogra m
with data ava ilab le from ou tlets in m ore than
thirty cou ntries . SPO T-1 (Figu re 3.18) w a s
lau nch ed in ea rly 1986. It ca rries tw o id en ­
tical H RV p u s h b room sca n ners (H RV for
H igh Res olu tion V is ib le). Each can o p er a te
in on e o f tw o m od es . In th e p a n ch rom a tic
m od e, a sin gle vis ib le b a n d (0.51 ¿un to
0.73 ¿un) is d etected and an im a ge with 10 m
b y 10 m pixels is p rod u ced . In th e mu ltispec-
tral m od e, th r ee im a ges with 20 m b y 20 m
p ixels a re p rod u ced , on e for ea ch o f th ree
b a n ds : 0.50 ¿im to 0.59 ¿un (green ), 0.61 ¿un
to 0.68 ¿un (red ), and 0.79 ¿un to 0.89 ¿un
(near- in fra red). Pla te 7 is a S PO T im a ge p r o­
d u ced from th e th r ee b a n d (20 m pixels)
im a ge da ta o f th e O tta w a , O n ta rio a rea .
S PO T has a su n- synchronou s orb it at an
a ltitu de o f 832 km a nd a retu rn p er iod o f
a nd 26 days. W hen b oth o f th e S PO T sensors a re
p oin ted vertica lly, th ey tog eth er im a ge a
1 17 km w id e sw ath. S ep a ra tely th ey ea ch
and im age a 60 km swath. H ow ever, b eca u s e th e
sen sors a re p oin ta b le, th ere is th e p oten tia l
to view a location m ore frequ ently, from adja­
cen t s a tellite paths. This ca p a b ility to view
th e s a m e a rea from tw o w id ely s ep a ra ted
locations also enab les full scene stereo images
to b e p rod u ced (s ee Figu re 3.19). To p r o­
du ce top ogra p h ic maps, S PO T s tereo im ages
can be a n a lyzed with p h otogra m m etric
instru ments in a m a n ner similar to that u sed
a b ou t for s tereo aerial p h otogra p h s . Th e eleva tion
82 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

Figure 3.18 The SPOT Satellite. (From R e m o te S e n s in g a n d Im a g e I n t e r p r e t a t io n by Lillesand and Kiefer 1987.
published by John W iley and Sons.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

in form a tion p rod u ced from th e S PO T data
is n ot as a ccu ra te as that p rod u ced from
a eria l p h otogra p h s ; h ow ever, th e im a gery
is much less ex p en s ive than
Fi g u r e 3 .1 9 St e r e o sc o p i c Im ag in g w it h t h e SPO T
Sa t e l l i t e . (Fr o m R e m o te S e n sin g a n d Im a g e In te r­
p r e ta tio n b y Lil le sa n d an d Ki e f e r 1 9 8 7 . p u b lish e d b y
Jo h n W i l e y an d So n s.)
p h otogra p h y. M ore recen tly, a u tom a ted
m eth od s h a ve b een d e ve lo p e d to calcu late
th e eleva tion da ta d irectly from th e digital
flyin g n ew QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
im a gery b y using a d va n ced com pu ter- b a sed
im a ge proces s in g.
Pla te 8 is a p ortion o f a 1:50,000 scale
top ogra p h ic m ap of an a rea in M alaysia p ro­
d u ced from S P O T s ter eo im a ges b y D igim
In corp ora ted o f M ontreal. Q u eb ec. Th e map
has a con tou r in terva l of 20 m. Th e eleva ­
tion con tou rs in th e m ap w er e gen era ted
en tirely by com p u ter a n a lysis of th e
im a gery, and th e rem a in d er o f th e m ap was
p rod u ced b y in terp retin g th e S PO T im a ges
visually and using con ven tion a l ca rtograph ic
m eth od s . Th e eleva tion data w er e gen er­
a ted d irectly from pa nchrom atic im a ge data
(10 m pixels) u sing s p ecia lized s ter eo cor­
rela tion s oftw a re. Pla te 9 is an im a ge p ro­
d u ced from a S P O T m u ltispectral im a ge
(20 m pixels) of th e same area acqu ired from
a sa tellite p osition 4.2 d eg r ees to th e w est.
This im a ge is an ortho-image, m ea n in g that
it has b een corrected for all g eom etric dis­
tortion s cau sed b y earth rotation and cu rva­
tu re, sa tellite m otion , attitu de, and view in g
p ers p ective as w ell as relief disp la cem en t.

Th e high d e g r e e o f correction o f th e orth o­
image en ab les it to b e directly su p erim posed
on the map to accurately delineate the b ou nd­
aries o f fea tu res like th e veg eta te d a rea s.
In C anada, 1:50,000 sca le top og ra p h ic
maps are p rod u ced from aerial p h otogra p h s
with sca les o f 1:60,000 to 1:80,000 u sing
con ven tion a l p h otogra m m etric m eth od s .
The N A TO s ta nd ards for class A - l to p o ­
gra ph ic m aps a re 0.5 tim es th e con tou r
interval RM S (root m ean s qu a re error) for
eleva tion con tou rs and 0.25 tim es th e con ­
tou r in terva l RM S for s p ot heights, b oth at
th e 90% con fid en ce level. U sing 1:60,000
scale p h otogra p h y o f terra in similar to that
of th e M alays ian exa m p le an d con ven tion a l
p h otogra m m etric m eth od s, th e eleva tion of
s p ot heigh ts w ou ld b e m a p p ed w ith an
a ccu racy on th e o r d er o f 1 m to 2 m RM S
and th e con tou rs with an accu ra cy on th e
ord er o f 2 m to 4 m at th e 90% con fid en ce
level. It is es tim a ted that th e top og ra p h ic
m ap show n h ere, p rod u ced u sing eleva tion
data calcu lated from th e S PO T im a gery, has
a contou r accu racy o f a b ou t 10 m at th e 90%
con fid en ce level.
C on ven tion a l p h otogra m m etric m a p p in g
m eth od s a re con s id era b ly s low er than using
com p u ter- b a s ed s ter eo correla tion . H ighly
skilled sta ff a re n eed ed to continu ou sly
op era te th e equ ipm en t. W ith th e au tom ated
m eth od s, th e eleva tion data a re g en era ted
m ore ra p id ly, and th e human op er a tor is
n eed ed on ly to r eview and ed it th e resu lts.
D igim Inc. has estim ated th e cost to p rod u ce
top ogra p h ic maps using au tom ated m eth od s
to b e on th e o r d er o f $25 to $35 C D N p er
s qu a re kilom eter com p a red with a b ou t
$50 C D N using con ven tion a l m eth od s .
Th e u se o f digital im a gery and s tereo cor­
rela tion for top og ra p h ic m a p p in g is still
b ein g refin ed . IL is a com p u ta tion a lly in ten ­
sive p roced u re and requ ires g o o d qu ality
digital s ter eo im a ges (difficu lt to ob tain for
clou d p ron e areas) and terrain that is not too
ru gged and n ot to o u niform (so that th e cor­
relation program d oes not "g et lost”). Thou gh
83 jihgfedcb
R e m o te S e nsin g mlkjihgfedcbaZ
th ey ca n n ot ye t p r ovid e th e s a m e level of
accu ra cy as con ven tion a l m eth od s , th es e
au tom ated m ethods a re an attractive solution
to th e d es p era te n eed for m a p p in g o f th e
m a n y p oor ly m a p p ed region s in th e w orld .
Uses o f L a n d sa t a n d S P O T D a ta
La nd sa t and m ore recen tly S P O T im a gery
a re n ow rou tin ely u sed for a w id e ra n ge o f
ap plica tions . In g eolog y, sa tellite im a gery is
u s ed for recon n a is s a n ce level m a p p in g in
m in eral and p etroleu m exp lora tion as w ell
as national m a p p in g p rogra m s . In agricu l­
ture, this im a gery has b een u sed to es tim ate
th e a rea p la n ted to im p orta n t food and cash
crop s and th e condition of th e crop s throu gh
the grow in g season. Landsat im a gery is u sed
rou tin ely to es tim a te crop a rea s and crop
con d ition . E xa m ples o f th es e a pp lica tion s
a re given la ter in this ch a p ter.
In fores try, S P O T and Land sa t da ta h a ve
b een used to estimate forest losses cau sed b y
fires, clearcutting, and disease (see for example
S ad er 1987 and Vogelm an n and Rock 1988).
Th ey have also b een used for quick, compara­
tive fores t land valu ation. In s om e cases,
satellite data have b een u sed with digital ter­
rain da ta to p r ovid e fores t in ven tory da ta
(s ee for exa m p le S tra hler et. al. 1983).
S PO T and La nd sa t da ta a re w id ely u sed
for land u se planning. C u rrent land cover,
th e d etection o f ch a n ges in land u se o ver
tim e, and rou te loca tion pla nning (s ee
A r on off and Ross 1984) a re com m on a p p li­
cations. La nd sa t data h a ve b een u sed to
m onitor rangeland condition, w ildlife habitat,
id en tify w a ter pollu tion (s ee Pla te 14), and
to aid in th e a s ses sm en t of d a m a g e ca u sed
b y natu ral dis asters. La nd sa t and S PO T
p h otogra p h s of the exp losion and fire at the
C h ern ob yl nu clear rea ctor site in Russia pu t
im a gery from th es e s a tellites into n ew s ­
p a p ers a rou nd th e w orld . W ith th e a d ven t
of h igh er res olu tion im a gery, s a tellite
imagery, such as 10 m resolu tion S PO T data,
is b ein g u sed as a su b stitu te for high altitu de
aeria l p h otogra p h y.
84 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
C IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e list o f s u ccess es is a lon g on e and th e
d evelop m en t o f a p p lica tion s o f th es e data
is continu ing. Th er e h a ve b een fa ilu res too.
In fact, in th e ea rly d a ys o f th e La n d sa t p r o ­
gram , th e overs ellin g and s u b s equ en t disa p­
p oin tm en ts o f m a n y La n d s a t a p p lica tion s
ten d ed to overs h a d ow th e su cces ses . It has
b een s h ow n th a t to a ch ieve a ccu ra te, cost-
effective resu lts, it is critical th at rem otely
s en s ed d a ta b e u sed in an a p p r op r ia te con ­
tex t (as dis cu s sed ea rlier) and th at th e data
mu st b e s u p p orted b y a p p r op r ia te r e fer ­
en ce information. An u nderstanding o f w h e n
to u se a pa rticu la r typ e o f im a ge da ta is as
im p orta n t as th e k n ow led g e o f h o w to u se
th os e data.
O c e a n M o n it o r in g S a te llite s
— The C o a s ta l Z o n e C o lo u r S c a n n e r
Th e ocea n s a re an im p orta n t natu ral
res ou rce th at a re difficu lt to m a p a nd m on i­
tor over la rge a rea s or for exten d ed p eriod s
o f tim e. Tra d ition a l ocea n ogra p h ic tech ­
n iqu es d ep en d on th e collection o f w id ely
s p a ced sa m p les usually collected at d ifferen t
tim es. To p r ovid e com p lete co ve r a g e o f
la rge a rea s a t regu la r in tervals, sa tellite-
b a s ed r em ote sen sin g s ys tem s a re th e on ly
p ra ctica l da ta collection m eth od . Tw o
e x a m p le s of s a te llite - b a s e d s en s ors
d es ign ed s p ecifica lly for ocea n m on itorin g
a re th e C oa sta l Z on e C olor S ca n n er (CZCS)
ca rried on th e N imb u s- 7 s a tellite a nd th e
s en s ors ca rried on th e S ea s a t s a tellite.
(S ea s a t is dis cu s sed later, in th e s ection on
m icrow a ve s en s ors ). La n d sa t a nd S PO T
s a tellite data a re a ls o u sed ex ten s ively to
m on itor s ed im en t and ch lorop h yll con cen ­
tra tion s (s ee Pla te 14), p h ytop la n kton , and
pollu tion in m arine and fres h - w a ter en viron ­
m en ts and to m a p w a ter d ep th s (s ee for
ex a m p le A lfold i a nd M u n d a y 1978, H allada
1984, Jupp et. al. 1985, and Lin dell et. al.
1985). (Phytoplanktona re th e sin gle- celled
plants living in su rface w a ters th at form th e
b a s e o f th e m a rin e fo o d chain. Th ey a re
critical to th e b iologica l p rod u ctivity o f the
ocea n , inclu ding th e p rod u ction o f com ­
m ercia l fish and shellfish.)
Th e C ZC S w a s lau nch ed b y th e U nited
S tates in 1978 and op era ted until June 1986.
It w as des ign ed as a proof- of- concept mission
to m ea s u re ocea n color and tem p era tu re in
coa sta l zon es . Th e im a gery has a 1600 km
swath w idth with a pixel resolu tion o f 825 m.
S in gle im a ges , rep res en tin g 2 m inu tes of
da ta collection , p r ovid e co ve r a g e of a
1600 km across- track b y 800 km along- track
a rea . Th e six ch a nn els inclu de fou r n a rrow
b a n d s in th e vis ib le p ortion o f th e spectru m,
a nea r- infrared b and, and a therm al infrared
b a n d (s ee Ta b le 3.2 and Figu re 3.14).
D ata from th e C ZC S h a ve b een u sed to
map s u s p en d ed s ed im en t and p h yto­
plankton in coastal regions. S ee for exa m p le
Clark a n d M a yn a rd (1986) a nd W rigley and
Kloos ter (1983). CZCS stu dies h a ve p rovid ed
va lu a b le physical ocea n ogra p h ic information
a b ou t such p roces s es as th e form a tion of
ed d ies and ring- shaped cu rrents, ch a nges in
ocea n cu rren t locations, sea su rface tem p er­
a tu res and th e p os ition o f u p w ellin g a rea s
th a t a re critical to com m ercia l fish eries.
CZCS da ta h a ve a ls o b een u sed for en viron ­
m en ta l m on itorin g o f coa sta l region s , such
as estim ating th e sed im en t con ten t in coastal
w a ters (Tassan and Stu rm, 1986) a nd the
d etection o f acid w a s te p ollu tion (E lrod,
1988).
Table 3.2 W a v e le n g th B a n d s
Used in th e C o a s ta l Z o n e C o lo r
S c a n n e r (CZCS). GFEDCBA
Channel W a v e le n g t h in ¿¿m QPONMLKJIHGF
1 0 .4 3 - 0 .4 5 (b l u e )
2 0 .5 1 - 0 .5 3 (g r e e n )
3 0 .5 4 - 0 .5 6 (g r e e n )
4 0 .6 6 - 0 .6 8 (r e d )
5 0 .7 0 - 0 .8 0 (n e a r - IR)
6 1 0 .5 - 1 2 .5 (t h e r m a l IR)
 85
R e m o te S e nsin g mlkjihgfedcbaZ

M e te o ro lo g ic a l S a te llite s — N O A A A V H RR da ta h a ve a spatial res olu tion of

a n d G O ES jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA1.1 km (i.e. ea ch pixel rep res en ts an a rea of
1.1 km b y 1.1 km). Th e im a gery is received
M eteorolog ica l s a tellites p r o vid e m ore
as a contin u ou s im a ge coverin g a 2400 km
frequ en t co ver a g e b u t coa rs er resolu tion
w id e a rea (the sw ath w idth). It is gen era lly
im a gery than th e La nd sa t a nd S P O T s a tel­
dis trib u ted as individu al im a ges coverin g an
lites. Alth ou gh d es ign ed p rim a rily to collect
a rea 2500 km b y a b ou t 1500 km. Pla te 10
w ea th er data, th ey a re u sed rou tin ely for
is a colou r com p os ite A V H R R im a ge o f
earth resou rces m onitorin g o ver large areas,
W es tern C anada p rod u ced from th e vis ib le
such as crop and vegeta tion condition assess­
and n ea r- in fra red b a n ds . Th es e im a ge data
m en t and th e m on itorin g o f d es ertifica tion .
w ere u sed for crop condition assessment, an
The coa rs er resolu tion red u ces b y a su bstan­
a p p lica tion dis cu s sed la ter in this ch a p ter.
tial a m ou nt th e volu m e o f da ta to b e p r o­
Each N O A A sa tellite p rovid es da ily glob a l
ces sed and th e data a re much less exp en s ive
A V H R R digital im a ge cover a g e in th e visib le
per unit area than Landsat and S PO T imagery.
and n ea r- in fra red spectru m , and tw ice daily
M any cou ntries h a ve lau nched m eteorolog i­
cover a g e in th e th erm a l in fra red . Th e data
cal satellites. P erh a p s the d a ta m os t w id ely
a re m a d e a va ila b le in tw o form a ts, a Loca l
a va ila b le a re th os e o f th e N O A A and G O E S
sa tellites o p er a ted b y th e U n ited S tates. A rea C over a g e (LAC ) at th e full 1.1 km

The NOAA Satellites. A s eries o f sun- s p a tia l res olu tion a nd a G lob a l A r ea

synchronou s p ola r orb itin g sa tellites w a s C overa ge (G AC ) at a 4 km spatial resolu tion.

lau nched b y th e U .S. N a tion a l O cea n ic and Th e s en s ors p rod u ce d a ta in fou r or five

A tm os p h eric Ad m in is tra tion (N O A A ). Th ey w a velen gth b a n d s d ep en d in g on th e s a tel­

w er e d es ign ed as op era tion a l civilian s a tel­ lite, as sh ow n in Ta b le 3.3 and Figu re 3.14.
lites to p r ovid e visu al and in fra red ob s er va ­ Th e even - n u m b ered sa tellites cros s th e
tion and m eas u rem en t o f th e ea rth ’s su rface, equ a tor north to sou th in d a yligh t (7:30 A M
a tm os p h ere, and clou d cover. S tarting with local sun tim e), th e od d - n u m b ered sa tellites
N O AA- 1 in January 1970, th e first five s a tel­ at night (2:30 A M loca l sun tim e).
lites flew a t a ltitu des o f a b ou t 1,450 km. Th e data, in b oth digital and p h otogra p h ic
N O A A - 6, la u nch ed in O ctob er 1978, and im ages, a re u s ed op era tion a lly in a va riety
s u b s equ en t sa tellites in th e s eries (N O A A 7 o f tim e- critical and la rge a rea a p p lica tion s.
throu gh 10) w e r e p la ced in to low er orb its A V H R R da ta a re u sed to m on itor s n ow
of a b ou t 850 km and p r ovid ed m ore fr e­ covera g e, a ssess s n ow d ep th s and m eltin g
qu en t covera g e. B egin nin g w ith N O A A - 6, cond ition s, m on itor flood s , d etect and m a p
th es e sa tellites h a ve ca rried a s en s or ca lled for es t fires , m on itor cr op con d ition s ,
th e A d va n c e d V ery H igh R es olu tion m on itor du st and sa n ds torm s, id en tify
R a d iom eter (A V H RR). g eolog ic even ts like volca n ic eru p tion s, and

Table 3.3 W a v e le n g th B a n d s Used in th e A V H R R S e n so r. GFEDCBA

Channel N O A A 6, 8, 10 N O A A 7, 9
in QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
f im in f¿m

1 0 .5 8 - 0 .6 8 (r e d ) 0 .5 8 - 0 .6 8 (r e d )
2 0 .7 2 - 1 .1 0 (n e a r - IR) 0 .7 2 - 1 .1 0 (n e a r - IR)
3 3 .5 5 - 3 .9 3 (m i d - IR) 3 .5 5 - 3 .9 3 (m i d - IR)
4 1 0 .5 - 1 1 .5 (t h e r m a l IR) 1 0 .5 - 1 1 .5 (t h e r m a l IR)
5 (c h a n n e l 4 rep eat ed ) 1 1 .5 - 1 2 .5 (t h e r m a l IR)
86 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
m a p region a l d ra in a ge n etw orks, p h ys iog­
raphy, and g e o lo g y (C olw ell 1983, Lillesand
an d K iefer 1987).
Th e daily cover a g e has p roven particu larly
va lu a b le for region a l crop con d ition m on i­
torin g and ra n gela n d a s s es s m en t (s ee for
ex a m p le P a ltrid ge and B a rb er 1988). Th e
data a re u sed as an inpu t to crop m od els for
th e p red iction o f th e crop a rea and th e level
o f p rod u ction for im p orta n t cash and fo o d
crop s . Les s tim e critical region a l a n a lys es
inclu de d rou gh t and d es ertifica tion m on i­
toring and w a ter cu rrent mapping. Th e w a ter
tem p era tu re pa ttern s show n on th e therm al
in fra red im a gery and th e p a ttern s o f w a ter
turbidity shown in the visual red channel have
b een used to d etect algal b loom s and analyze
w a ter cu rrents and w a ter mixing in lakes and
coa stal a rea s (H olb en 1986, S tu m p f and
Tyler 1988).
GOES Satellites. Th e G eos ta tion a r y
O p era tion a l E nvironmental S atellites (G O ES)
p r ovid e contin u ou s m on itorin g o f tem p er a ­
tu re, hu midity, and clou d cover for w ea th er
foreca s tin g. Th e sa tellites orb it th e ea rth a t
an altitude o f 36,000 km in the same direction
as th e ea rth 's rota tion . Th ey maintain a s ta ­
tion a ry p os ition rela tive to th e earth and for
this rea s on a re term ed geo-stationary. Th e
tw o G O E S s a tellites that p r ovid e c o ver a g e
o f N orth A m erica a re o p er a ted b y th e
U n ited S ta tes. G O E S - E ast is p os ition ed a t
longitu de 7 5 ° W es t and G O E S - W est at lon gi­
tu d e 135° W es t. Tw o oth ers a re o p er a ted
b y E u rop e a nd Japan.
G O E S digita l im a ges a re p rod u ced in tw o
b a n ds , a vis ib le b a n d (0.55 /¿m to 0.75 fim )
a nd a th erm a l in fra red b a n d (10.2 \l m to
12.5 fim ). Th e visible imagery can b e p rovid ed
with res olu tion s o f 1, 2, 4, and 8 km. Th e
therm a l in fra red im a gery has a resolu tion of
8 to 14 km. Im a ges in th e vis ib le b a n d a re
g e n e r a te d d u rin g d a ylig h t h ou rs , th e
th erm a l in fra red im a ges a re p rod u ced d a y
and night. G O E S full earth disk im a ges sh ow
th e earth as a circular disc, coverin g a p p roxi­
m a tely 100° of lon gitu d e b etw een latitu des
7 0 ° N and 7 0 ° S (s ee Figu re 3.20). Th ey are
p rod u ced at th e ra te o f 2 p er hou r, on e in
ea ch b a n d. A s an a ltern a tive, sm aller a rea s
can b e im a ged m ore freq u en tly (as s h ort as
3 minu te interva ls) to m on itor th e d e ve lo p ­
m en t and m ovem en t o f s ever e storm s. In
a d d ition to th e im a gin g s en sors , th e G O E S
sa tellite has an instru ment that d etects infra­
red rad ia tion in 12 s ep a ra te w a velen gth
b ands. This instru ment d oes n ot p rod u ce an
image. Rather, it collects data for on e selected
a rea at a tim e. Th e d a ta a re com p u ter-
p roces s ed to gen era te vertica l tem p era tu re
and m ois tu re p rofiles th rou gh th e a tm o­
s p h ere tha t a re u sed in th e analysis and
p red iction o f w ea th er con d ition s.
Th e principal applica tion o f G O E S satellite
d a ta is for w ea th er foreca s tin g and the
d etection and tra ckin g o f s ever e storm
even ts . Th ey a re u sed b y th e U S N ationa l
W ea th er s ervice to p r ovid e a w id e ra n ge of
w ea th er w a rn in gs to s er ve pu b lic, avia tion,
an d m a rin e interes ts . G O E S im a ges a re dis­
trib u ted electron ica lly in n ea r- real tim e
(i.e. a lm ost as s oon as th ey a re received ) for
u se in local w ea th er forecas ting and a re com ­
monly seen on television w ea th er broadcasts.
Q u a n tita tive a n a lys es o f G O E S data p r o­
vid e a ra n ge o f inform ation. M aps of sea sur­
fa ce tem p era tu res s h ow th e loca tion of
m a jor ocea n cu rrents. G O E S data a re u sed
to es tim a te p recip ita tion for a rea s w h ere
d irect m ea s u rem en t is n ot p os s ib le (s ee for
ex a m p le M eis n er and Arkin 1984). S n ow
cover m a p p in g from G O E S data a re u sed to
foreca s t s n ow m elt ru n- off, to p red ict flood
hazards, and for other w ater resource planning
a pp lica tion s . D u ring th e w in ter, clou d - free
G O E S im a gery and oth er sa tellite data o ver
th e G rea t Lakes a re u s ed to chart n a viga b le
p a s s a gew a ys throu gh ice- fas t a rea s (N O A A
1985). FEDCBA
M icr o w a v e
M icrow a ve imaging system s u se antennas as
d etectors . Th ey o p er a te in b a n d s that h a ve
 87 QPONML
R e m o te S e n sin g mlkjihgfedcbaZ

Fi g u r e 3 .2 0 GOES Image o f N o rth and South A m erica. This image was p ro d u ce d fro m the visible w avelength
band (0.55 /xm to 0.75 ¿tm) w ith a pixel re so lu tio n o f 8 km. (Courtesy o f the S atellite Data Services Division,
National O ceanic and A tm o sp h e ric A d m in is tra tio n (NO AA). W ashington, D.C.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJ

b een d es ign a ted b y letters (s ee Ta b le 3.4).

P a s s ive m icrow a ve s ys tem s a re com m on ly T a b le 3 .4 W a v e le n g th B a n d s
u sed on w ea th er s a tellites (such as th e U sed in M ic ro w a v e R e m o te
N im b u s s eries flow n b y th e U S A ) to d etect S e n s in g .
m icrow a ve em is s ion s from th e ea rth . Th es e
d a ta a re u sed to p r od u ce tem p era tu re p r o ­ B a n d D e s ig n a t io n W a v e le n g t h in c m
files o f th e lo w er a tm os p h ere (th e tr o p o ­
Ka 0 .7 5 - 1 .1 0
sphere), a tm os ph eric liquid and w a ter va pou r
K 1 .1 0 - 1 .6 7
con ten t, a nd s u rfa ce and n ea r- s u rfa ce w in d Ku 1 .6 7 - 2 .4 0
con d ition s . Th es e p a s s ive m icrow a ve sys­ X 2 .4 0 - 3 .7 5
C 3 .7 5 - 7 .5 0
tem s com m on ly h a ve p ixel res olu tion s o f
S 7 .5 0 - 1 5 .0 0
25 km or la rger. L 1 5 .0 0 - 3 0 .0 0
In a ctive m icrow a ve r em o te sen sin g, a P 3 0 .0 0 - 1 0 0 .0 0

pu ls e o f m icrow a ve en er g y is s en t from th eGFEDCBA

88 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
s en s or tow a r d s th e ta rget. Th e en er g y
reflected b ack to th e s en s or is m ea s u red and
u sed to p r od u ce im a ges . This tech n olog y,
com m only known as RA D AR (RAdio D etection
A n d Ran gin g), w a s d e ve lo p e d d u rin g W orld
W a r II to d etect en em y a ircraft. B eca u s e th e
s ys tem p r o vid es its ow n m icr ow a ve s ou rce
o f illu m in ation a nd th e m icr ow a ve w a ve ­
len gth s u sed a re n ot b lock ed b y clou ds ,
ra d a r s en s ors can p r o vid e an a ll- w ea th er
d a y- a n d - n igh t im a gin g ca p a b ility.
In ra d a r im a gin g s ys tem s , th e s tren gth o f
th e reflected en erg y d ep en d s on th e su rface
rou gh n es s a n d th e orien ta tion o f th e terra in
a n d th e electrica l p r o p e r ties o f th e s u rfa ce
material. For exa m p le, metal is a much b etter
r e flecto r than soil, a n d w e t soil reflects
b e tte r than d ry soil. F ea tu res th a t r eflect
m o r e o f th e m icr o w a ve en er g y b a ck to th e
s en s or will a p p ea r b rig h ter in th e im a ge.
Th e o p er a tin g p rin cip le o f a S id e L ook in g
A ir b o r n e R a d a r s ys tem (S LA R ) is s h ow n in
Figu re 3.2 1. Th is s ys tem p r od u ces im a g ery
o f th e a rea to eith er s id e o f th e fligh t path,
h en ce th e term "S id e L ook in g ". An anten na
is m ou n ted len gth w is e a lon g th e b elly o f th e
a ircra ft. S h ort p u ls es o f e n er g y a t a s p ecific
w a velen gth a re transmitted from th e antenna
in a fan s h a p e, p erp en d icu la r to th e fligh t
line. W h en th e pu lse strikes a ta rget, a signal
is retu rn ed a n d d e te c te d b y th e r e ceiver
u sing th e s a m e antenn a. Th e signal reflected
from ob jects fu rth er a w a y ta k e lon g er to
retu rn. Th e d iffer en ce in this retu rn p er iod
a nd th e s tren gth o f th e reflection a re u sed
to p r od u ce th e im a ge. Th e im a g e d a ta is
r ecor d ed d irectly on to film or as digital da ta
on to m a gn etic ta p e. A s th e a ircra ft m o ves
forw a rd , s u cces s ive s w a th s o f terra in to on e
or b oth sid es o f th e aircraft can b e record ed ,
p rod u cin g a continu ou s strip o f im a gery. Th e
a rea d irectly b en ea th th e a ircra ft ca n n ot b e
im a g ed u sing this typ e o f s ys tem .
In a S L A R s ys tem , o n e o f th e fa ctors
lim iting th e res olu tion is th e p h ys ica l len gth
o f th e a n ten n a . F or this rea s on , th es e s ys ­
tem s a re ter m ed real aperture ra da rs. Th e
la rger th e a n ten n a , th e b e tte r th e spatial
res olu tion . A 15 m a n ten n a is a b ou t th e
lon g es t p ra ctica l a n ten n a len gth . A S LAR
flow n a t a b ou t a 5 km a ltitu d e p rod u ces
im a g ery w ith a s pa tia l res olu tion on th e
o r d er o f 15 to 20 m. T o a cq u ire high qu a lity
im a g ery from h igh er a ltitu d es or from
sa tellites , a d iffer en t tech n o lo g y w a s d e ve l­
o p ed to o ve r c o m e th e lim ita tion o f a ntenn a
size.
S yn th etic A p er tu r e Ra d a r (S AR) u ses a
s h ort a n ten n a a b ou t 1 m to 2 m in len gth
th a t is electron ica lly m a d e to p er for m as if
it w ere h u n d red s o f tim es lon ger. In this w ay,
a S AR s ys tem can p r o vid e h igh er resolu tion
im a g ery a t fa r g r e a te r a ltitu d es than real
a p ertu re S L A R s ys tem s . S A R s ys tem s o p e r ­
a ted from s a tellites h a ve a ch ieved spatial
resolu tion s o f 25 m eters . Aircra ft- b a s ed S AR
s ys tem s a ch ieve res olu tion s o f a few m eters
from a ltitu d es on th e o r d e r o f 6 km, and
s ter eo S A R im a g ery can b e p r od u ced b y
imaging the s a m e a rea from d ifferen t view in g
p os ition s . P h otog r a m m etr ic m eth od s can
then b e u sed to p rod u ce eleva tion m ea s u re­
m en ts from th e s te r e o im a gery. Figu re 3.22
s h ow s a rectified ra d a r im a ge g en er a ted
from a S A R s ter eop a ir w ith eleva tion con ­
tou rs p r od u ced in this w a y. (S ee a ls o L eb erl
et. al. 1987, a n d M er cer a n d Kirb y 1987.)
S AR s ys tem s p r o vid e h igh er s pa tia l r es o­
lu tion than S LARs a t th e cos t o f m ore
com p lex digital signal p rocess in g. Th e equ ip ­
m en t a nd com p u ter tim e m a ke S AR s ystem s
con s id era b ly m o r e ex p en s ive to b u ild and
op era te. H o w e ver th ey p r ovid e a u niqu e all-
w ea th er, rela tively high res olu tion im a gin g
ca p a b ility.
S easat-1 w a s la u n ch ed in June o f 1978 b y
th e U n ited S ta tes . Th ou gh it fa iled on ly
99 d a ys a fter lau nch, it con vin cin gly d em on ­
s tra ted th e va lu e o f a s a tellite- b a s ed ra d a r
system. S ea s a t p rod u ced ra d a r im a gery with
a 100 km s w a th w id th a n d a 25 m spa tial
res olu tion . It a ls o ca rried a ra d a r a ltim eter
tha t m ea s u red th e sea su rface h eigh t p rofile
a n d w a ve h eigh ts w ith a rela tive a ccu ra cy
 89
R e m o te S e nsing mlkjihgfedcbaZY

(a ) P ro p a g a tio n o f one ra d a r pulse (in d ic a tin g th e w a v e fr o n t lo c a tio n a t tim e in te rv a ls 1 -1 7 )

( b ) R e s u ltin g a n te n n a re tu rn

Figure 3.21 O p e ra tin g Principle o f a Side-Looking A irb o rn e Radar. (From R e m o te S e n sin g a n d Im a ge In te r ­

p re ta tio n by Lillesand and K iefer 1987, published by John W iley and Sons.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJI

o f 10 cm. It w a s fou n d that th e ocea n su r­ p r oved pa rticu la rly va lu a b le for m a p p in g

face top og ra p h y w as a fu nction o f th e ocea n g e o lo g y and w a ter res ou rces . Figu re 3.23 is
b ottom top og r a p h y an d so th e S ea s a t da ta a S ea s a t im a ge o f th e Rocky M ou ntain
w er e u sed to crea te a m a p o f th e ocea n region o f British C olu m b ia, C anada. Th e
floor! O th er S ea s a t s en s ors m ea s u red s ea im a ge is striking for th e textu re and deta ils
su rface tem p era tu re, rain ra te, an d th e s h ow n in th e s teep ly d ip p in g rock strata o f
w a ter va p ou r con ten t o f th e a tm os p h ere. this ru gged terrain.
Th e data h a ve b een u sed to m a p ocea n cu r­ Im aging ra d a r s ys tem s a re rou tin ely u sed
rents, w a ve h eights and direction, and arctic to m a p a rea s with p ers is ten t clou d cover,
ice con d ition s . O ver land a rea s, th e d a ta such as m a n y trop ica l and su b - tropical
m s m mmm&m jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

>vV g

m m
'& { M

Figure 3.22 mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

Radar Image M ap o f the Brazeau Area in A lb erta, Canada. This is a radar image map p ro duced using the STAR-1 synthetic a p e rtu re ra dar system. The
image has a pixel resolution o f 6 m and shows a ground area o f 10.5 km x 17.8 km. An analytical s te re o p lo tte r was used to generate the elevatio n contours and to
pro duce a dig ita l elevation m odel fro m the stereo radar images. The d ig ital elevation data were then used to pro duce this re ctifie d ra d a r image. The elevatio n contours
w ith solid lines are draw n at 100 m intervals which is about 3 tim es the RMS elevation accuracy achieved. The in te rm e d ia te co nto ur lines are dashed to indicate a reduced
level o f confidence. The d o tte d co ntours in areas o f shadow have been in terpo la ted . The pla nim etric accuracy o f this image map is ± 25 m RMS and the elevatio n accuracy
is ± 30 m RMS. The X-band (3 cm) radar data was flo w n at an a ltitud e o f 9.5 km. Near-range o ff-nadir look-angle was 6 6 ° and at far-range was 7 6 °. (Courtesy of Intera
T e c h n o l o g ic “ ; l i m i t e d C a lg a r y A l b e it. i )
 9 1 jihgfedcb
R e m o te S ensing mlkjihgfedcbaZY

regions. Th e im a gery can b e flow n to p ro­ g e o lo g y and h yd rology. Th e a ll- w ea th er

vid e s tereo cover a g e for th e p rod u ction o f ca pa b ility and th e poten tia l to a ch ieve high
top ogra p h ic maps. Ra da r data a re u sed to resolu tion from satellite-b ased systems have
map terrain relief (eleva tion ) for analysis of s p u rred th e d evelop m en t of sa tellite- b a s ed

Figure 3.23 Seasat Image of the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia. The contrasting textures highlight the geology.
Each pixel represents a ground area of approxim ately 25 m x 25 m and the distance across the image represents
approximately 70 km. (Courtesy o f the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing. Ottawa. Ontario. NAPL image ID-SDS04 i 3.)
92 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp ective jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
S AR systems like th e Canadian RAD ARS AT
satellite, E u ropean ERS-1, and Japanese
jERS-1 planned for the ea rly 1990s. Th es e
satellites will have resolu tions of b etw een
25 m and 30 m. Research efforts a re d evel­
op in g n ew m eth od s to use th es e data to
m on itor and in ven tory fores t and agricu l­
tural resou rces for th e tim e w hen satellite
radar b ecom e regu larly availab le.
REM O TE S E N SIN G A N A LY S IS
EXAMPLES
A ra n ge of a p p roa ch es a re u sed to analyze
rem otely s en sed data. Th es e a p p roa ch es
can b e b roadly grou ped into three categories:
measu rement, classification, and estimation.
In this section, exa m p les a re p res en ted of
each typ e o f analysis a pproach. Th es e
exa m p les a re all op era tion a l applications;
that is, th ey a re analysis p roced u res u sed
rou tinely to p rovid e specific information.
The explanations a re necessarily simplified
to highlight the fu ndamental principles b eing
illustrated. H ow ever it is im portant to rec­
ognize that these details, such as radiometric
and geom etric image correction procedu res,
are critical to obtaining accurate results. W hile
th es e p roced u res a re b eyon d th e s cop e of
th e p res en t discussion, th ey a re well-
It falls when vegetation looses its chlorophyll
docu mented in the rem ote sensing literature. FEDCBA
and its green colou r. The N D V I valu e is cal­
M e a su r e m e n t A n a l y se s
Rem otely sen sed data can b e analyzed to
p rovid e m ea s u rem en ts of fea tu res
p h en om en a on the ea rth 's su rface. Earth
su rface tem peratu res, d erived from thermal
infrared data, a re perh ap s the most familiar
typ e o f rem ote measu rement. H ow ever, the
reflected visib le and near- infrared w a ve­
lengths a re u sed to measu re a w id e range
o f earth featu res, from vegeta tion b iom ass
and condition to the m easu rem ent of eleva ­
tion from s tereo images. The exa m p le p re­
s en ted h ere is a crop condition m on itoring
application that is b ein g u sed b y severa l
Canadian G overn m ent Agencies, such as the
Prairie Farm Rehab ilitation Administration
of Agricu ltu re Canada. It was d evelop ed in
coop era tion with the Canada C entre for
Rem ote S ensing in O ttaw a.
Throu ghou t the growing season Agriculture
Canada m onitors the overa ll cond ition of
im portant food crops. This inform ation is
u sed to p red ict th e ex p ected size of the
harvest relative to that of previou s years and
to identify areas w here the crop is developing
p oorly so that rem edia l action can b e taken
and short falls in produ ction can b e antici­
pa ted. The rem ote sensing m eas u rem ent
u sed to assess crop condition is calcu lated
from the reflecta n ce valu es in the red and
near- infrared b ands ob ta in ed from the
N O A A AVH RR sensor (discussed previously).
C om p lete AV H RR im a ge covera g e of the
earth (excep t for th e pola r regions) is
a va ilab le on a daily basis. Both the High
Resolu tion Pictu re Transmission im a gery
(received d irectly from th e satellite) with a
1.1 km resolu tion and the G lob al Area
C overa ge (G AC ) im a gery with 4 km resolu ­
tion a re u sed. Th e crop condition index
calcu lated from th ese data is term ed the
normalized difference vegetation index
(N D VI). The N D V I valu e increases as vegeta ­
tion gains chlorphyll and b ecom es green er.
cu lated as follow s:
NIR + RED
or
w h ere: NIR is the reflecta n ce in the near-
in fr a r ed w a ve le n g th band
(0.72-1.10 fim )
RED is th e reflecta n ce in th e red
wavelength band (0.58-0.68 ¡ i m)
O n e of th e difficu lties in p rovid in g con ­
tinuous earth m on itorin g from satellites has
b een th e p rob lem s of in term ittent clou d
cover and p oor a tm osp h eric conditions. To
overcom e this difficu lty, com p os ite images
a re p rod u ced using the data from severa l

d a tes for th e s a m e a rea . This is ca rried ou t
on a d ed ica ted im a ge analysis s ystem at
the M a n itob a R em ote S ens in g C en tre in
W in n ip eg.
For this crop condition m on itorin g a pplica ­
tion, th e s even d a ily im a ges p rod u ced o ver
a w eek a re com b in ed to p rod u ce a w eek ly
com p os ite im a ge. Th e fou rteen digita l
im a ges (a red and n ea r- in fra red im a ge for
each da y) a re com b in ed b y u sing com p u ter-
b a sed im a ge processing. For each pixel loca ­
tion, th e s even N D V I va lu es (on e for each
d a te) a re ca lcu la ted and th e h igh est va lu e
is u sed to form th e com p os ite im a ge. A rea s
o f clou d s and p o o r a tm os p h eric con d ition s
h a ve low N D V I valu es. S o, u nless an a rea
had p o o r con d ition s du rin g all o f th e s even
satellite passes, it is show n clou d - free on the
com p os ite im a ge. A ls o, since th e pixel with
th e h igh es t N D V I va lu e is u sed, th e maxi­
mum rea d in g for vegeta tion d evelop m en t is
m ea s u red . (H olb en 1986 review s th e u se o f
com p os ite A V H R R im a gery.)
Pla te 10 is a com p os ite A V H R R im a ge
crea ted in this w a y. Th e colou r ren d ition is
p rod u ced b y rep res en tin g th e N D V I va lu es
in s h a d es o f red and th e red w a velen gth
valu es as s h a d es o f b lu e and green . Th e
m ore d e ve lo p e d th e veg eta tion , i.e. th e
g r een er th e veg eta tion , th e r ed d er it
a p p ea rs in this im a ge. Th e p red om in a n tly
b lu e colou r o f th e districts in th e low er right
p ortion o f th e im a ge (sou th ern M a n itob a )
indicates p o or crop cond ition s as com p a red
with norm al yea rs. Th ere w a s a s ever e
d rou gh t du rin g th e 1988 grow in g s ea son
and th e w id e- s p rea d effects a re illu strated
w ell in this im a ge.
Alth ou gh th e crop con d ition m ea s u re­
m ents a re d er ived from th e A V H RR im a ge
data, th e in form a tion is u su ally r ep or ted in
tab u lar form. For each crop and each rep ort­
ing district, th e a ver a g e N D V I (i.e. a ver a g e
N D V I for all th e p ixels within th e district
b ou n d a ry) is rep or ted a lon g with the va lu e
that w ou ld b e ex p ected for that d a te in a
norm a l yea r. D ifferen t crop typ es h a ve
93 jihgfed
R e m o te S e nsin g mlkjihgfedcba
d ifferen t d evelop m en t patterns. So, in ord er
to com p a re th e crop con d ition for d ifferen t
yea rs , a rea s with th e s a m e dis trib u tion o f
crop typ es mu st b e u sed.
Figu re 3.24 illu strates th e ch a n ge in th e
N D VI value for an area over a normal grow ing
sea s on and for a d rou gh t yea r. Th e s h a p e
o f th e cu rves a re similar, b u t th e cu rve for
1988 is su b stantially low er than th e oth ers.
Th e rela tive timing o f th e crop d evelop m en t
can b e com p a red using the d a te at which the
cu rve b egin s to rise. (Th e d a tes a re sh ow n
in Julian da ys , th e n u m b er o f d a ys from
January 1.) In 1988 crop d evelop m en t w as
s low er com p a red with a norm a l yea r and
rela tively little grow th w a s a ch ieved b e fo r e
declinin g. By th e m id d le o f th e grow in g
s ea s on it w a s know n that th ere w ou ld b e
s eriou s sh ortfalls in w h ea t p rod u ction , and
by com p a rin g ND VI crop d evelop m en t
cu rves for ea ch crop rep ortin g district,
es tim a tes o f th e size o f th e sh ortfall cou ld
b e m a d e.
Th e in form a tion p r ovid ed b y this m on i­
torin g p rogra m w a s u sed to id en tify a rea s
w h ere rem edia l efforts might b e w orthw hile,
to id en tify a rea s w h ere no fu rth er effor t
shou ld b e ex p en d ed , to p red ict th e size o f
th e shortfall for a nu m b er o f grain crops, and
to s et com p en s a tion levels s o that h igh er
d rou gh t relief p a ym en ts w ere made to
fa rm ers in a rea s tha t w er e m ore s everely
a ffected . FEDCBA
C l a ssi f i c a t i o n A n a l y se s
C on d ition s as va ried as soil textu re, crop
typ es , fores t s p ecies com p os ition , g eolo g ic
strata, and human a ctivity a re all rou tin ely
a s s es s ed b y visu ally in terp retin g a irb orn e
and s a tellite im a ges . This p r oced u re of
id en tifyin g and m a p p in g a rea s with similar
cha racteristics is th e m ost w id ely u sed form
o f classification.
Th e ex a m p le p res en ted h ere illu strates
s om e o f th e com p u ter- b a s ed classification
p roced u res that h a ve b een d e ve lo p e d o ver
th e p a st 15 yea rs. Th e a p p lica tion o f th es e
94 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive GFEDCBA

V E G E T A T I O N IN D E X vs T IM E

Figure 3.24 Plot of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Values for Agricultural Areas in Manitoba.
The graph shows the change in NDVI values through the grow ing season fo r one agricultural area in M anitoba.
Time is measured in Julian days, the number of days from January I . During the drought of 1988, crop development
was p oo r com pared w ith the average NDVI values for the three previous years. (Courtesy of the Canada Centre
fo r Remote Sensing. O ttawa. O ntario.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

a u tom a ted classification m eth od s com p le­
ments those o f visual interpretation. The use
o f patterns, ton es , and sh apes to d ed u ce
in form ation ten d s to b e m ore efficien tly
d on e b y a human in terp reter than b y com ­
pu ter analysis. H ow ever, com p u ter tech ­
niqu es a re u sed to d erive qu an titative
m easu rements from the reflecta nce data, to
simu ltaneou sly a n a lyze th e data from m ore
than th ree b ands, to classify la rge volu m es
o f data at high s p eed , and to qu antify the
areal exten t o f ea ch class.
H yd roelectric p rojects com m on ly in volve
the constru ction of dams and the flood in g of
significant a rea s of land. In N orth Am erica ,
en viron m en ta l assessments and stu dies are
usually requ ired at variou s stages in the
d evelop m en t and presentation of the project
plan. If th e p roject is a ccep ted , it is often
n eces s ary to condu ct fu rther stu dies du ring
and a fter constru ction to m on itor en viron ­
m ental effects. Rem ote sensing tech n ology
has b een u sed to collect and a na lyze en vi­
ronm ental inform ation to m on itor w a ter
qu ality, assess soil eros ion potentia l, qu an­
tify en viron m en ta l effects such as th e typ es
o f land that will b e flood ed , and m onitor
p os t- d evelop m en t conditions.
O nta rio H yd ro, th e p ow er utility for the
p rovin ce, had p rop os ed constru ction o f a

h yd roelectric gen era tin g facility on the Little
Jackfish River in n orth ern O n ta rio. A ten ta ­
tive dam site had b een s elected and in for­
mation w as n eed ed to p rep a re th e en viron ­
m en ta l a s s es s m en t. O ne in for m a tion
requ irem en t in th e planning p roces s w a s a
qu an titative es tim a te of th e a rea of each
typ e o f land cover tha t w ou ld b e flood ed .
Landsat M S S sa tellite data w er e u sed to
g en era te a classification of th e river basin
into land co ver classes and a tab u lation of
the am ou nt o f each class that w a s ex p ected
to b e flood ed .
Th e La ndsat data w er e class ified b y th e
O n tario C en tre for R em ote S ensing using
im a ge p roces s in g m eth od s . A s u p ervis ed
classification p roced u re w as u sed in which
sam ple areas, term ed trainingareas, w ere
d elin ea ted for each land co ver class to b e
m apped. Th es e samples, areas for which the
land cover w as known (e.g. from field ob s er­
vations), w er e draw n in tera ctively on th e
im a ge d is p la yed on th e colou r m on itor o f
th e im a ge analysis system . A fraction of a
p ercen t o f th e tota l a rea w a s en tered as
training areas. Th e classification p rogra m
then u sed a statistical p roced u re to classify
each pixel in th e im a ge. For ea ch pixel, th e
reflectance values in the fou r M SS wavelength
bands w ere com p ared to those of the training
areas. Each pixel w as a s s ign ed th e class of
the training a rea to which its reflecta n ce
va lu es w er e m os t similar. Th e da ta for any
nu mb er of w a velen gth b ands and for images
of d ifferen t d a tes cou ld b e sim u ltaneou sly
analyzed using this proced u re. Th e classifica­
tion results w ere then regis tered to the top o­
gra ph ic m a p b a s e b ein g u sed for the stu dy,
and ou tpu t as a colou r map. A portion of th e
m ap is show n in Pla te 1 1.
From th e location o f th e dam and the p r o ­
p os ed w a ter level for th e res ervoir, th e
eleva tion o f th e s h orelin e w as d eterm in ed
and p lotted on a top og ra p h ic m ap of th e
area. Th e shoreline b ou nd ary w as then digit­
ized and entered in the image analysis system.
Th e s h orelin e b ou n d a ry o f th e p rop os ed
R e m o te S ensing 5 jihgfed
9 mlkjihgfed
res ervoir is show n as a yellow line in
Pla te 1 1. Th e im a ge analysis s ystem w as
then u sed to d o an overla y analysis to
calcu la te th e a rea o f each land cover class
that w ou ld b e flood ed . Th e com p u ter essen­
tially did a tally of th e n u m b er o f pixels o f
each class that was within the prop osed reser­
voir and m u ltiplied th e n u m b er o f pixels b y
th e grou n d a rea rep res en ted b y ea ch pixel.
Ta b le 3.5 is a ta b u lation of th e results.
Table 3.5 Land C o ver C la s s e s to
be F lo o d e d by P roposed Reservoir.
(C o u rte s y o f th e O n ta rio C e n tre
fo r R e m o te S e n s in g .) GFEDCBA
A re a (in h a) QPONMLK
L a n d C o v e r C la s s
C o n ife ro u s 471
Lo w D e n s i t y C o n i f e r o u s 11
M ixe d C o n if e r o u s 488
D e cid u o u s 195
M ixe d D e c id u o u s 783
W e t l a n d — T r e e d Bo g 241
W e t l a n d — O p e n Bo g 14
T o t a l A r e a t o b e Fl o o d e d 2 ,2 0 3
O C RS has fou nd th e accu ra cy o f this typ e
of classification for areas in northern O ntario
to b e 80% to 95%. A relatively high accu racy
can b e a ch ieved b y definin g rela tively b roa d
classes. For th e p u rp os es of th e stu dy, th e
b roa d classes p rovid ed su fficient in form a ­
tion for th e in term ed ia te sca le river basin
stu dy for which it w a s u sed (Pa tters on and
S ea rs 1986).
Th e a ccu racy level a ch ieved d ep en d s on
such fa ctors as th e resolu tion o f th e im a ge
data, th e a ccu racy o f th e field verifica tion
data, th e classification a lgorith m u sed, and
als o th e w a y th e classes w er e d efin ed . Th e
d efin ition of th e classes is an extrem ely
im portant consideration. In general, the clas­
sification accu ra cy ten d s to b e low er w hen
a fin er division o f classes is s p ecified . For
exa m p le, th e land cover classes u sed in this
stu dy w er e fa irly b roa d ; e.g. decid u ou s
96 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
fores t, coniferou s fores t, m ixed coniferou s,
and w a ter. H ow ever the sam e im a ge data
will give p oor er classification resu lts if the
classes are d efin ed m ore finely, such as pine
fores t, spru ce fores t, w h ea t crop , b a rley
crop , and so on. To a ch ieve an a ccep ta b le
level o f accu racy, th e fin eness of th e class
divisions must b e matched to the distinctive­
ness of their reflecta n ce valu es in the
rem otely sen sed data.
Th e level o f classification accu racy n eed ed
will d ep en d on the application, and s p eci­
fically on the d e c is io n s that will b e m a de
using th e classification inform ation. In this
exa m p le, if the in form ation n eed ed was
w h eth er a significant am ou nt o f agricu ltu ral
land w ou ld b e flood ed , then the level of
accu racy that was p rovid ed w ou ld p rob a b ly
h a ve b een sufficient. H ow ever, if a p recis e
in ven tory o f land cover losses w as n eed ed ,
then the level o f accu racy for this classifica­
tion might not suffice.
A n oth er tra d e- off is cost. By exp en d in g
grea ter effort, and th erefore increasing the
cos t, cla s s ifica tion a ccu ra cies can be
im p roved . As discu ssed in C ha pter 2, the
m os t cos t- effective analysis m eth od is not
necessarily th e most accu rate on e; it is the
least exp en s ive m eth od that p rovid es suffi­
ciently accu rate inform ation with which to
m ake a correct decision. For many a p p lica ­
tions, as in this study, the a u tom a ted classi­
fication o f satellite im a gery p rovid es the
most cost- effective solution. La rge areas can
b e classified qu ickly and rela tively in exp en ­
sively. Also, th e classification resu lts a re in
a digital im age form that can b e an a lyzed
tog eth er with oth er g eor efer en ced data
using im age p rocess in g or G IS equ ip m ent. FEDCBA
or if th ere is no oth er relia b le m eth od avail­
Est im a t io n A n a l y se s
Rem ote sensing- b ased estim ation analyses
are trea ted h ere as a sep arate ca tegory. This
typ e o f analysis is u sed for such assessments
as the area planted to a particular crop type,
th e ex p ected crop produ ction for a region,
or the forest resou rces inventory of a region.
Th e inform ation is usually p rovid ed in the
form o f es tim ates of qu antities for each
adm inistrative or m a n a gem en t unit.
Th e ob jective of an estim ation analysis is
to p rod u ce es tim ates o f tota l amou nts for
each of the s p ecified regions. Althou gh the
estim ation p roced u re gen era lly uses a clas­
sification of th e rem otely sen sed data, the
classification is in corpora ted into a statistical
sample rather than b ein g used as a map. For
this reason, th e position accu racy of indi­
vidu al field b ou n d a ries or th e overa ll accu­
racy of the classification o f the im age data
a re less of a p rob lem .
It is im p ortan t to n ote that field data
collection is an integral p a rt of most su rveys
of this kind. Th e use of rem otely sensed data
d oes not elim inate the n eed for field ob s er­
vations. A rem ote sensing-b ased estimation
procedu re generally uses oth er data sou rces
like field ob s erva tion s , farm su rveys, and
existing su rvey information togeth er with the
im age data. Field data collection is on e of
the m ost exp en s ive op era tion s in a su rvey.
C om p ared with using conventional su rveys,
using rem otely sen sed data can red u ce the
quantity (and th erefore the cost) of field data
that must b e collected to a ch ieve a given
level of accu racy and may also d ecrea s e the
amou nt o f tim e n eed ed to p rod u ce the esti­
mate. O f cou rse th ere a re additional data
and process in g costs a ss ocia ted with the
im age data. Rem ote sensing m eth od s are
th erefore a p p rop ria te if th ey p rovid e an
overa ll redu ction in cost to a ch ieve esti­
mates o f the sa m e or b etter accu racy, if the
information can b e p rovid ed m ore quickly,
ab le. In som e cases, crop a rea estim ates are
p rod u ced w ithou t d irect field ob s erva tion s
if th ese data a re u nob tainab le.
Th e exa m p le p res en ted h ere is an op era ­
tional application o f sa tellite- b a sed rem ote
sensing to estim ate p ota to crop area in N ew
Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, Canada.
In these provinces , p ota to is the single most
 97 jihgfedcb
R e m o te S ensing mlkjihgfedcbaZ

important crop u nder cultivation. La rge fluc­

A. SELECTIO N O F SA M P LE SEGMENTS
tu ations in the annual pota to prod u ction a re
a m ajor p rob lem for econ om ic foreca s tin g
and for planning p rod u ct m arketing. A
rem ote sensing- b ased estimation p roced u re SAMPLING FRAME
WITH SELECTED SEGMENTS
was d evelop ed to im p rove the crop p rod u c­
tion es tim a tes that a re u sed to plan th e
handling and marketing of the crop (Ryerson
CROP CLASSIFICATION FROM SATELLITE
et al. 1983). For th e p ota to crop a rea in for­ IMAGERY AND OUTLINE OF SELECTED SEGMENTS

mation to b e useful, th e es tim a tes w er e B. ANALYSIS OF SEG MENT DATA TO DEVELO P ESTIMATOR
requ ired to b e within 6% of th e tru e va lu e
CROP AREA ESTIMATES RATIO
and to b e a va ila b le b y the en d o f Au gu st. in hectares

(The accu racy requ ired was actu ally a c o ef­ SEGMENT FIELD REMOTE FIELD
NUMBER SURVEY SENSING REMOTE
ficient o f varia tion less than 6%. Th e con fi­ SURVEY SENSING

d en ce level a s s ocia ted with on e coefficien t 1 210 300 .70

o f varia tion is a b ou t 70%, as discu ssed

2 50 67 .75
b elow .) Th e rem ote sensing- b ased sampling
3 175 243 .72
and field verifica tion p roced u re that w as
d evelop ed satisfied th ese tim e and accu racy 4 105 152 .69

requ irem en ts at a low er cost than th e con ­ TOTAL 540 762 .71

ven tion a l farm qu es tion n a ire and field C. CRO P A R E A ESTIMATE FOR ENTIRE A R E A
su rvey m eth od u sed previou s ly. TOTAL CROP AREA
X RATIO = CROP AREA ESTIMATE
FROM SATELLITE IMAGE
Figu re 3.25 illu strates the sam p ling prin­
3675 ha X .71 = 2609 ha
cip le u sed to gen era te crop a rea es tim ates
from sa tellite im a ge data and field data. In Figure 3.25 Crop Area Estim ation Using Remotely
practise, th e estim ation p roced u re is con ­ Sensed Data.
s id era b ly m ore com p lex than th e exa m p le
d efin es th e set of all sam p ling units (entities
p res en ted h ere. Ad d ition a l s tep s a re u sed
on which ob s erva tion s a re m a d e) in th e
to take into a ccou nt such factors as regiona l
stu dy popu la tion . In this exa m p le the
d ifferen ces in p rod u ctivity and missing data
sa m pling fra m e con s is ted o f a grid o f 1 km
for a rea s ob s cu red b y clou ds. By in cor­
p ora tin g th es e fa ctors into th e calcu lation, by 3 km areas, term ed s eg m en ts , that

the accu racy o f th e resu lts a re im p roved . cover ed th e en tire stu dy a rea . A s a m p le of

In this applica tion, th e ob jective w as to th es e s egm en ts w as s elected for field verifi­

es tim a te th e tota l p ota to crop a rea using cation a ccord in g to a strict statistical sample

satellite im a gery and field data. Th e satellite
im a gery w as com p u ter classified using an
im a ge p roces s in g system . This w as d on e b y
defin in g training a rea s in th e im a ge that
w ere know n from field ob s erva tion s to b e
p ota to croplan d. Th e classification p rogra m
then gen era ted a land cover class im age for
th e en tire area. Pla te 12 is a p ortion o f a
Landsat sa tellite im a ge sh ow in g the p ota to
land cover class (red).
N ext, a su itab le s a m p lin g fra m e
s elected for th e stu dy. A sampling frame
des ign. Th e size of th e sa m p le u sed and th e
s egm en ts ch os en d ep en d ed on such factors
as th e accu racy level requ ired, th e exp ected
va ria b ility in th e data, and th e analysis
p roced u re that w ou ld b e u sed.
In Figu re 3.25 pa rt A, fou r s egm en ts h a ve
b een s elected for field verifica tion (in an
opera tion a l su rvey a much la rger nu m b er of
s egm en ts w ou ld b e s elected ). Q u alified p er­
sonn el w ou ld b e sen t to each s elected s eg­
w as m en t to id en tify th e crop typ es and field
b ou n d a ries from th e grou nd. Th ey w ou ld
98 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
d eterm in e th e b ou n d a ries , a rea , and typ e
o f crop for each field in th e s egm en t and
record th eir ob s erva tion s on th e aerial
p h otogra p h for th e s egm en t.
Th e a rea o f p ota to crop in each s egm en t
w ou ld also b e m ea s u red from th e classified
s a tellite im a ge using th e im a ge p roces s in g
system. Th e area estim ates ob ta in ed for the
fou r s egm en ts u sing th e tw o m ea s u rem en t
m eth od s a re show n in Figu re 3.25 p a rt B.
N otice that the crop a rea as calcu lated from
th e im a gery is a significant overes tim a te of
th e crop a rea as d eterm in ed b y field ob s er­
va tion . A m ap p rod u ced from th e classified
im age w ou ld contain significant classification
errors . H ow ever, th e overes tim a te is qu ite
consistent. For th e fou r s egm en ts , th e ratio
o f th e crop a rea d eterm in ed b y field inves­
tigation to th e crop a rea as d eterm in ed b y
classification of th e s a tellite im a ge is 0.71
(i.e. the a vera ge crop a rea b y field investiga­
tion d ivid ed b y th e a ver a g e crop a rea b y
sa tellite classification). Th e ratio for indi­
vidu al s egm en ts ra n ged from 0.69 to 0.75.
B ecau se th e ratio b etw een the field and
s a tellite im a ge m ea s u rem en ts is rela tively
consistent, an estim ate of the total crop area
b a s ed on this ratio shou ld b e fairly accu rate.
An estim ation calcu lation b a s ed on this typ e
of ratio is term ed a ratio estimator.
(Chhikara et. al. 1986 discu sses th e u se of
this and oth er com m on ly u sed estim ators.)
By using an es tim a tor such as this on e, the
n u m b er o f field ob s erva tion s n eed ed and
thus th e cos t to ob tain an es tim a te with a
given level o f accu racy can b e red u ced .
Th e calcu lation o f the ratio estim ate of the
total crop area is shown in Figure 3.25 part C.
Th e total area classified as p ota to crop in the
satellite image was ob ta in ed using a program
in th e im a ge p roces s in g s ystem to cou nt all
th e pixels in th e im a ge th a t a re cla ssed as
p ota to cropla n d. In this exa m p le the p ota to
crop la n d pixels rep res en ted an a rea of
3675 hecta res. Th e es tim a te o f th e area
p la n ted to p ota toes w as then calcu lated b y
mu ltiplying th e im a ge a rea estim ate b y 0.71.
Th is g a ve a crop a r ea e s tim a te of
2609 hecta res.
Th e assu mption m a d e in using this m ethod
is that th e ra tio w ou ld b e con s is ten t a m on g
all th e s a m p le segm en ts , inclu ding th e on es
that w ere not selected for field measurement.
If that assu mption w er e tru e then a field
en u m era tion o f th e en tire a rea w ou ld have
given a resu lt equ a l to 0.71 tim es th e area
classified as p ota to crop la n d on th e satellite
im age. (O f cou rse a field enu meration w ou ld
in volve m easu ring eve r y s egm en t on the
grou nd, a p roh ib itively costly u ndertaking.)
Th e accu racy o f th e im a ge- d erived crop
a rea es tim a te d ep en d s on th e c o n s is t e n c y
of the im a ge classification rather than on the
c la s s ific a tio n a c c u r a c y (i.e. th e p rop ortion of
th e a rea correctly classified). Th e level of
cons istency is eva lu a ted from th e individu al
s a m p le s egm en t m eas u rem ents. Inconsis­
ten cies in th e classification contrib u te to the
non- sam pling error in th e estim ate.
In crop rep ortin g applica tion s, th e (esti­
m a ted ) error o f an es tim a te is gen era lly
ex p res s ed as a coefficien t o f variation (CV).
(Th e coefficien t o f varia tion is th e standard
error of an estimator divided b y the expected
valu e o f th e es tim a tor.) This m eas u rem ent,
given as a p ercen ta ge o f th e estim ate, is
u sed to d eterm in e the range of valu es within
which the tru e valu e is exp ected to occu r for
a given con fid en ce interval. Th e grea ter th e
inconsistency in the classification the higher
th e ex p ected level of error and th e la rger
th e es tim a ted CV.
Th e range of valu es d eterm in ed b y on e CV
has a con fid en ce level o f a b ou t 68%; that is,
if th e crop estim ate had a C V of 5 %, it w ou ld
m ean that th e actu al crop a rea shou ld b e
within + 5 % of the estim ate 68% o f the time.
In oth er w ord s , if this p roced u re w er e
rep ea ted m any tim es then, on a vera ge,
68 times ou t of 100 the tru e crop area wou ld
b e within ± 5 % o f the estim ate.
For the exa m ple in Figure 3.25, the interval
wou ld b e from (2609 - 5% of 2609) hectares
to (2609 + 5% o f 2609) h ecta res, that is
T a b le 3.6 mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
C o m p a r is o n o f P o ta to C r o p A r e a E s t im a t e s O b t a in e d U s in g L a n d s a t D a ta a n d b y C o n v e n t io n a l E s t im a t io n
M e t h o d s . ( S o u r c e : A g r i c u l t u r e D i v i s i o n , S t a t i s t i c s C a n a d a ) . QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

N EW B R U N S W I C K ES T I M A T ES
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988

P u b l i sh e d A r e a Es t i m a t e ( a c r e s ) 1 5 2 ,0 0 0 5 4 ,0 0 0 5 4 ,0 0 0 5 3 ,0 0 0 5 4 ,0 0 0 5 5 ,5 0 0 5 1 ,0 0 0 5 0 ,5 0 0 4 7 ,0 0 0
C e n su s A r e a (a c r e s)2 5 3 ,7 9 3 4 8 ,4 6 6
L a n d s a t R e g r e s s i o n Es t i m a t e (a c r e s ) 5 1 ,1 1 9 5 3 ,8 2 7 5 5 ,2 3 3 5 1 ,7 7 3 clo u d 5 8 ,7 3 4 5 1 ,9 4 8 clo u d 4 6 ,6 1 2
CV o f La n d sa t (% )3 5.1 5 .5 5 .2 7 .4 5 .8 6 .6 2 .2

% D i f f e r e n c e (L a n d s a t - P u b l i sh e d Est i m a t e ) - 1 .7 - 0 .3 2 .3 - 2 .3 5 .8 1.9 - 0 .8
% D if f e r e n c e (La n d sa t - C e n su s) 0.1 7 .2

P R I N C E ED W A R D I SL A N D ES T I M A T ES
1983 19 8 4 1985 1986 1987 1988

P u b l i sh e d A r e a Es t i m a t e ( a c r e s ) 1 7 0 ,0 0 0 7 2 ,0 0 0 7 1 ,0 0 0 7 0 ,0 0 0 6 7 ,0 0 0 6 8 ,0 0 0
C e n su s A r e a (a c r e s)2 6 4 ,2 1 9
L a n d s a t R e g r e s s i o n Es t i m a t e (a c r e s ) 7 0 ,8 7 1 6 9 ,1 6 1 clo u d 6 5 ,3 9 0 6 4 ,6 9 2 6 9 ,6 9 3
C V o f L a n d s a t Es t i m a t e ( % ) 3 1 1 .5 1 0 .9 1 1 .6 9 .6 6 .6

% D i f f e r e n c e (L a n d s a t - P u b l i sh e d Est i m a t e ) 1.2 - 3 .9 - 6 .6 - 3 .5 2 .5
% D i f f e r e n c e (L a n d s a t - C e n su s) 1.8

1. O f f i c i a l S t a t i s t i c s C a n a d a p u b l i sh e d e s t i m a t e o f a r e a p l a n t e d t o p o t a t o .
2. C e n su s o f A g r ic u lt u r e D at a fro m t h e A g r ic u lt u r e D iv isio n , S t a t i s t i c s C a n a d a .
3 . T h e c o e f f i c i e n t o f v a r i a t i o n (C V ) i s c a l c u l a t e d f o r o n l y t h a t p o r t i o n o f t h e st u d y r e g i o n o n t h e s a t e l l i t e i m a g e .
100 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
from 2479 h ecta res to 2739 h ecta res. O n
a vera ge, th e tru e va lu e w ou ld b e ex p ected
to fall within this ra n ge 68 tim es ou t o f 100.
A m ore d eta iled discu ssion o f con fid en ce
levels and intervals can b e fou nd in Chhikara
et al. (1986) and can als o b e fou nd in texts
on s a m p le su rvey des ign.
Ta b le 3.6 s h ow s a com p a ris on
p ota to crop a rea es tim a tes ob ta in ed u sing
a regres s ion - b a s ed rem ote sens ing su rvey
a p p roa ch and Statistics C anada pu b lish ed
es tim a tes . Th e r e m o te s en s in g - b a s ed
es tim a te w a s in m ost ca ses within ± 3% of
th e official pu b lished estimate. Fu rthermore,
th e C V for th e rem ote sensing b a s ed su rvey
w a s usually w ell within a ccep ta b le limits,
a b ou t th e s a m e as ob ta in ed using con ven ­
tional s u rvey m eth od s.
O ne d ra w - b a ck in using th e
sen sin g- b a sed m eth od is tha t th ere can b e
a yea r in which no su itab le im a gery
ob ta in ed . H ow ever, th e rem ote sensing-
b a s ed m eth od has p roven itself to b e a
viab le, cos t- effective and accu rate a pp roa ch
to th e collection of p ota to crop
estim ates . FEDCBA
R EM O T E SEN SI N G A N D QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G EO G R A P H I C I N FO R M A T I O N
SY ST EM S
This ch a p ter has p rovid ed an introdu ction
to rem ote sensing principles and techniqu es.
R em ote sensin g p rovid es much of th e in for­
mation that is inpu t to a G IS, from glob a l
scale vegeta tion and climatic data to the roof
ou tlin es en tered into a mu nicipal G IS. Th e
ob jective for inclu ding this ch a p ter in a G IS
b ook is to m ake G IS u sers m ore a w a re of
th e w id e ra n ge o f in form a tion that can b e
p rod u ced using this tech n ology. As with
oth er fields, to make effective use of rem ote
sensing tech n ology requ ires tech nically
skilled p ers on n el as w ell as th e a p p rop ria te
tech nology. In Canada and the U nited States
b oth th e data and th e exp ertis e to use them
a re rea d ily a va ila b le.
Rem ote sensing and G IS tech n ology d evel­
o p ed s ep a ra tely. In pa rt this w a s a resu lt of
th e use of d ifferen t typ es of equ ip m en t and
th e n eed for d ifferen t technical skills. W hile
a u ser o f rem ote sen sin g tech n ology may
d e ve lo p ex p ertis e in s en s or s ystem s and
im a ge p roces s in g m eth od s , th e ex p ert GIS
o f th e u ser m ay b ecom e m ore familiar with prin­
cip les of m ap p rojection s , spatial analysis,
and the design of spatial data bases. Although
th e tech n ology may en cou ra ge d ifferen t
technical orientations, in b oth cases th e user
must understand the nature of the information
b eing collected — the forestry, geology, build­
ing stru ctu res, roa d w a y des ign , and so on.
U ltim ately, rem ote sensing and G IS tech ­
n ology a re b oth used to collect, analyze, and
report information abou t the earth's resources
rem ote and th e infrastru ctu re w e h a ve d evelop ed
to u se them . Th e tw o tech n ologies p rovid e
is com p lem en ta ry capab ilities. Rem ote sensing
a na lyses a re im p roved b y th e verifica tion
data retrieved from a G IS, and G IS a p p lica ­
tion s can b en efit from th e in form a tion that
a rea rem ote sen sin g can gen era te. O ften the
im a ge data a re th e m ost cu rren t spatial
in form a tion a va ila b le for an a rea . Th e use
o f digital im a ge data offers th e additiona":
a d va n ta ge of a com p u ter com p a tib le form at
that can b e inpu t d irectly to a GIS.
Th e in tegra ted use o f rem ote sen sin g and
G IS m eth od s and tech n ology can n ot only
im p rove th e qu ality o f g eog ra p h ic in form a ­
tion b u t also en a b le in form a tion p reviou s ly
u na va ilab le to b e econ om ica lly p rod u ced .
O ver the past few yea rs manu factu rers have
d e ve lo p e d m ore s op h is tica ted tech n ology
for in tegra tin g rem ote sen sin g s ystem s and
geographic information systems. The effective
use of these tools, how ever, depends on users
su fficiently k n ow led g ea b le to a p p ly them.
R EFER EN CES
A lfo ld i. T.T. and J.C. M unday )r. 1978. W ater Q ualit\
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A ronoff, S. and G.A. Ross. 1984. Use o f Remotely
Sensed Data in Environmental Planning — A Case
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Aronoff, S. and G.A. Ross. 1982. Detection of
Environmental Disturbance using Colour Aerial
P h o to g ra p h y and T h erm a l In fra re d Im agery.
P h o t o g r a m m e t r ic E n g in e e r in g a n d R e m o te S e n s in g
48(4):587-591.
A ronoff. S., G.A. Ross, and W.A. Ross. 1982. Environ­
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Campbell, J.B. 1987. I n t r o d u c t io n t o R e m o te S e n s in g .
The G uilford Press. London, U.K.
Chhikara, R., J. Lundgren. and G. Houston. 1986. Crop
Acreage Estimation Using Landsat-Based Estimator
as an A uxiliary Variable. IE E E T ra n s c a tio n s o n
G e o s c ie n c e a n d R e m o te S e n s in g Volum e GE-24
(11:157-167.
Clark, D.K. and N.G. Maynard. 1986. Coastal Zone Color
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In te rn a tio n a l Society fo r O ptical Engineering.
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Colwell, R.N. (Editor-in-Chief). 1983. M a n u a l o f R e m o te
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Church. Virginia.
Colwell, R.N.(Editor). 1960. M a n u a l o f P h o t o g r a p h ic
In t e r p r e t a t io n . American Society of Photogrammetry.
Falls Church. Virginia.
Dahlberg. R.E. 1986. Creation of a Satellite Image Map
of Illinois — A Case Study o f Technology Transfer and
Linkage. C a r to g r a p h ie s 23(41:14-28.
Elrod. ).A. 1988. CZCS View of an Oceanic Acid Waste
Dump. R e m o te S e n s in g o f E n v ir o n m e n t 25:245-254.
Falconer, A. 1986. Personal comm unication. Regional
Centre fo r Services in Surveying, Mapping, and
Remote Sensing. Nairobi. Kenya.
Forshaw, M., A. Haskell, P. M iller. D. Stanley, and
J. Townshend. 1983. Spatial Resolution of Remotely
Sensed Imagery: A Review Paper. I n t e r n a t io n a l
J o u r n a l o f R e m o te S e n s in g 4(31:497-520.
Gauthier, J. 1987. Topographic Mapping from Satellite
Data: A Canadian Point of View. G e o c a r t o I n t e r ­
n a t io n a l 2(3):61-66.
Gillespie, A. and E. Abbot. 1984. Mapping Compositional
Differences in Silicate Rocks with Six-Channel Thermal
Images. In P r o c e e d in g s o f t h e 9 th C a n a d ia n
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Goetz, A., B. Rock, and L. Rowan. 1983. Remote Sensing
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Hallada. W.A. 1984. M a pping B athym etry with
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Harris. R. 1987. S a t e llit e R e m o te S e n s in g : A n I n t r o ­
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Holben. B.N. 1986. Characteristics o f Maximum-Value
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B. Radke, and T. Ayling. 1985. L a n d s a t B a s e d I n t e r ­
p r e t a t io n o f th e C a ir n s S e c tio n o f th e G r e a t B a r r ie r
R e e f M a r in e P a rk . Natural Resources Series No. 4.
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Kahle, A. and A. Goetz. I 983. M ineralogic Inform ation
from a New A irborn e Thermal Infrared M ultispectral
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Leberl, F.. G. Domik. and B. M ercer. 1987. M ethods
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— A C S M A n n u a l C o n v e n tio n . American Society of
Photogram m etry and Remote Sensing. Falls Church,
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Lillesand, T.M. and R.W. Kiefer. 1987. R e m o te S e n s in g
a n d Im a g e I n t e r p r e t a t io n . Second Edition. John Wiley
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Lindell, L.. O. Steinvall. M. lonsson. and Th. Claesson.
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S e n s in g 6(51:629-642.
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Meisner, B.N. and P.A. Arkin. 1984. The GOES Precipi­
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M ercer. ).B. and M.E. Kirby. 1987. Topographic
M apping Using STAR-1 Radar Data. G e o c a r t o
I n t e r n a t io n a l (3):39—42.
M e rrit, E., L. Heitkem per, and K. Marcus. 1984.
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Based Agricultural in form ation System with a View
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P r o c e e d in g s o f S P IE V o lu m e 4 8 1 . R e c e n t A d v a n c e s
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and Electronic Engineers. New York. New York.
pp.231-2 37.
NOAA. 1985. E n v ir o s a t - 2 0 0 0 R e p o r t: G O E S -N e x t
O v e r v ie w . National Oceanic and A tm osp heric
Adm inistratio n. U.S. Departm ent o f Commerce.
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Grassland Dryness and Fire Potential in Australia with
NOAA/AVHRR Data. R e m o te S e n s in g o f E n v ir o n m e n t
25:3 81-394.
Patterson. W.M. and Sears. S.K. 1986. Remote Sensing
as a Tool fo r Assessing Environmental Effects of
Hydroelectric Developm ent in a Remote River Basin.
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Data in Environmental Planning — A Case Study of
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Environm ental Analysis fo r Gas Field Facilities
D evelopm ent Planning. J o u r n a l o f E n v ir o n m e n t a l
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E ld o r a d o N a t io n a l F o re s t.
of A griculture, Forest Service. W ashington, D.C.
Stumpf, R.P. and M.A. Tyler. 1988. Satellite Detection
of Bloom and Pigment Distributions in Estuaries.
R e m o te S e n s in g o f E n v ir o n m e n t 24:385-404.
Tassan, S, and B. Sturm. 1986. An A lg orithm for the
Retrieval of Sedim ent Content in T u rb id Coastal
W aters from CZCS Data. I n t e r n a t io n a l J o u r n a l o f
R e m o te S e n s in g 7(5):643-655.
Thomas, R.W. 1988. Personal Communication. Research
Fellow. Remote Sensing Research Program. University
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Vogelmann, J.E. and B.N. Rock. 1988. Assessing Forest
Damage in High-Elevation Coniferous Forests in
Verm ont and New Hampshire Using Thematic Mapper
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E n v ir o n m e n t 14:219-233.
 4. D A TA IN P U T A N D
overview of existing digital geogra p h ic data
I N T R O D U C T I O N jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
For a C IS to b e useful it must b e ca p a b le of
receivin g and p rod u cin g inform ation in an
effective manner. Th e data inpu t and ou t­
put fu nctions a re th e m eans b y which a C IS
commu nicates with the w orld ou tside. In the
past, w hen a G IS was im p lem en ted virtu ally
all o f the data to b e input had to b e specially
con verted into a digital form and stru ctu red
in th e form a t s p ecific to th e system . O ver
the past five years, stand ard digital g e o ­
graphic data sets have b ecom e m ore w id ely
ava ilab le. A u tom a ted m eth od s o f data con ­
vers ion, such as scanning, h a ve b een
im p roved and digital m eth od s o f data col­
lection can b e used that gen era te digital files
directly. For exa m p le, G IS - com p a tib le data
sets can b e gen era ted d irectly from digital
satellite im a gery. La rge, com p lete data
b ases at regiona l and glob a l scales can b e
p rod u ced ra pid ly and econ om ica lly in this
manner.
O u tpu t tech n ology has also seen rapid
a dva nces. Th e price of colou r h a rd cop y
d evices has d rop p ed su b stantially. C olou r
graphics terminals have b ecom e increasingly
soph is tica ted with su b stantial com pu tin g
p ow er n ow built into th e d evice. As a result,
system p erform a n ce has b een en h a n ced as
m ore o f th e graphics disp la y gen era tion is
p erform ed b y the dis play h a rd w a re instead
of th e com p u ter ru nning th e G IS softw a re.
Each G IS installation will h ave a s om ew h a t
u niqu e s et o f requ irem en ts . N o on e d evice
or a p p roa ch is optim u m for all situations.
Th e ob jective in d efin in g G IS input and ou t­
pu t requ irem en ts is to id en tify the mix of
equ ip m en t and m eth od s n eed ed to m eet
th e requ ired level o f p erform a n ce and
qu ality. This ch a p ter p rovid es an overview
o f th e principal m eth od s u sed to input and
ou tpu t data in a G IS en viron m en t and an
O U T P U T FEDCBA
sets. A list o f sou rces for pu rchasing these
data can b e fou nd in A p p en d ix B.
D ATA IN PU T
Data input is the p roced u re of en coding data
into a com p u ter- rea d a b le form and w riting
th e data to th e G IS data b a se. D ata en try
is usually th e major b ottleneck in im plem ent­
ing a GIS. Th e initial cost of b u ilding the data
b a s e is com m on ly 5 to 10 tim es th e cos t of
the GIS hardw a re and software. The creation
o f an a ccu ra te and w ell- d ocu m en ted data
b a s e is critical to th e op era tion of a GIS.
Accu rate information can only b e gen era ted
if the data on which it is b a sed w ere accu rate
to b egin with. D ocu mentation is n eed ed that
d es crib es th e qu ality o f th e data in ord er to
assess their su itab ility for a s p ecific ap p lica ­
tion. D ata qu ality in form ation inclu des th e
d a te o f collection , th e pos ition al accu racy,
classification accu racy, com p leten es s , and
th e m eth od u sed to collect and en cod e th e
data. D ata qu ality is discu ssed in C h apter 5.
Th e data to b e en tered in a G IS a re o f tw o
typ es — spatial data and a ss ocia ted non-
spatial attrib u te data. The spatial data rep re­
sent th e geog ra p h ic location o f featu res.
Points, lines, and a rea s a re u sed to rep re­
sent geogra p h ic featu res like a street, a lake,
or a fores t stand. Th e non-spatial attrib u te
data p rovid e descriptive information like the
nam e o f a s treet, th e salinity o f a lake, or
th e com p os ition o f a fores t stand. D u ring
data input th e spatial and attrib u te data
must be en tered and correctly linked
(i.e. the attrib u tes must b e logically attached
to th e fea tu res th ey d es crib e). S u itab le
verification p roced u res a re n eed ed to check
that data qu ality standards a re met.
Th ere a re five typ es of data en try systems
com m on ly u sed in a GIS: keyb oa rd entry,
104 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

coord in a te geom etry, manual digitizing, m eas u red b y th e d evice to gen era te the
scanning, and th e input of existing digital coord in a te data in digital form .
files. Keyb oa rd entry, as its nam e implies, Scanning, also term ed scandigitizing, is
in volves manu ally en terin g the data at a a m ore au tom ated m ethod for enterin g map
com p u ter term inal. Attrib u te data a re data. A raster digital im a ge o f th e m ap is
com m on ly input b y keyb oa rd , w h erea s p rod u ced a fter which additiona l com p u ter
spatial data a re rarely en tered in this w ay. process in g is d on e to im p rove the qu ality of
In coord in a te geom etry procedu res (COG O), th e im a ge and to con vert the raster data to
the s u rvey data a re com m on ly en tered b y vector format. O perator- assisted editing and
keyb oa rd . From th ese data the coord in a tes checking is then d on e to gen era te th e final
o f th e spatial fea tu res a re calcu lated and a G IS - com pa tib le data file.
G IS - com p a tib le data file crea ted . S p a tia l and a ttrib u te da ta s ets a re
M anu al digitizing is the m ost w id ely u sed b ecom in g m ore w id ely a va ila b le in digital
m eth od for enterin g spatial data from maps. form , often in a form a t that can b e directly
The m ap is mou nted on a digitizing tab le and input to a G1S. In C anada and the U nited
a hand held device, term ed a puck or cursor, States, nu merou s govern m en t program s are
is used to trace each map featu re (Figure 4.1). u n d erw a y to con vert existing m ap and
Th e p osition of the cu rsor is accu rately tab u lar data to digital form and to ch ange

Figure 4.1 Manual Digitizing Using a Digitizing Table. (Courtesy o f the O ntario Centre fo r Remote Sensing.
T oro nto, O ntario.)

data collection and m a p p in g p roced u res so
that n ew data a re p rod u ced in a digital
form at. Th es e digital data sets a re p riced at
a fraction o f th e cos t o f digitizing existing
maps. O ver th e next d eca d e, th e in crea sed
availab ility o f digital data shou ld red u ce th e
cu rrent high cos t and len gth y p rod u ction
times n eed ed to d evelop digital geogra p h ic
data b ases.
K E Y B O A R D E N TR Y A N D
C O O R D IN A T E G E O M E T R Y
PROCEDURES
M os t a ttr ib u te d a ta a re e n te r e d by
keyb oa rd . In many cases th es e data can b e
ob tained in digital form from an existing data
b ase into which th ey w er e k eyb oa rd
entered. Field ob servations can b e record ed
in digital form b y keyb oa rd entry of the data
in the field using small hand-held compu ters.
Th es e p orta b le com p u ters u se a b u b b le
m em ory or oth er ru gged s tora ge h a rd w a re
to collect th e data. Th e data files a re then
p eriod ica lly d ow n loa d ed to a n oth er com ­
pu ter or cop ied on to dis kette for s tora ge.
Keyb oa rd en try can be u sed du ring
manual digitizing to en ter th e attrib u te infor­
mation. H ow ever, this is usually m ore effi­
ciently ha n dled as a s ep a ra te op era tion in
which the attrib u tes are en tered with a cod e
to indica te th e spatial elem en t (such as th e
line or p olygon fea tu re) that th ey d es crib e.
Th e attrib u te file is su b sequ en tly linked to
th e spatial data.
C oord in a te geom etry (C O G O ) p roced u res
a re u sed to en ter land record in form ation.
A very high level of precision is ob ta in ed b y
en terin g th e actual su rvey m eas u rem ents .
Th e high level o f precision m ay b e n eed ed
w hen th e m aps must rep res en t th e land
ca d a stre exa ctly as it is exp res s ed in the
legal des crip tion.
For a city with 100,000 parcels, it w ou ld
cost on th e ord er o f $1.50 p er pa rcel or
$150,000 to d igitize the pa rcels manually.
C O G O p roced u res a re com m on ly 6 tim es
105 jihgfedc
D ata In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZY
and can b e 20 tim es m ore exp en s ive than
manu al d igitizin g. Pa yin g this high a
premiu m for C O G O data en try can b e d if­
ficult to justify. S u rveyors and en gin eers
w a nt th e high er accu racy of C O G O for their
com p u ta tion a l a p p lica tion s . H o w e ver ,
planners and m os t oth er u sers o f th e digital
files a re qu ite w illing to a ccep t th e low er
accu racy p rovid ed b y manual digitizing. For
this reas on local govern m en ts h a ve ten d ed
n ot to use C O G O (D a n germ on d 1988).
M A N U A L D IG IT IZ IN G
In manual digitizing th e m ap is a ffixed to a
digitizing ta b le and a pointing d evice is used
to tra ce th e map fea tu res (s ee Figu re 4.1).
Digitizing tables can b e as large as I m x 1.5m
or m ore. A sm aller d evice, term ed a digit­
izing ta b let (usually eq u ip p ed with a m ou se
instead o f th e m ore p recis e cu rsor) is com ­
m only u sed as a d evice to op era te th e GIS.
Th e digitizing ta b le electron ica lly en cod es
th e position o f th e poin tin g d evice with a
precision o f fractions of a m illim etre. Th e
m os t com m on ta b le digitizer uses a fine grid
o f w ires em b ed d ed in th e ta b le. Th e cu rsor
norm ally has a crosshair for p recis e p os i­
tion in g and 16 or m ore control b u ttons that
a re u sed to op era te th e data en try s oftw a re
and to en ter attrib u te data. As th e map
elem en ts a re tra ced , th e coord in a te data
gen era ted from the digitizing ta b le a re either
p roces s ed im m ed ia tely b y th e G IS or a re
s tored for la ter p rocessin g. Th e digitizing
op era tion its elf requ ires little com pu tin g
p ow er and so can b e d on e off-line, ie. not
using th e full G IS. A sm aller and less ex p en ­
sive com p u ter can b e u sed to con trol th e
digitizing p roces s and s tore th e data. Th e
data can later b e tra n s ferred to th e G IS for
processin g.
Th e efficien cy of digitizing d ep en d s on th e
qu ality o f th e digitizing s oftw a re and the skill
o f th e op era tor. Th e p roces s o f tracing lines
is time-consu ming and error pron e. The soft­
w a re can p rovid e aids that su b stantially
106 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
redu ce the effort of detectin g and correcting
errors . Attrib u te data m ay be en tered
du ring the digitizing process, bu t usually only
an identification nu m b er is cod ed . Th e attri­
b u te in form a tion referen ced to th e same
iden tifica tion nu m b ers a re then en tered
s ep a ra tely. If the a ttrib u te data a re a lrea d y
in G IS -compatib le files, th ey may b e en tered
directly.
Manual digitizing is a tediou s job . O p era tor
fatigu e can seriou sly d eg ra d e data qu ality.
W ork schedu ling shou ld limit th e hou rs p er
d a y that an individu al s p en d s digitizing and
suitable quality assurance procedu res should
b e used to ensu re that the digitized data and
associated attrib u te data satisfy the requ ired
accuracy standards. A commonly used quality
check is to p rod u ce a verification p lot of the
d igitized data that is visu ally com p a red with
the map from which the data w ere originally
digitized .
F ig u re 4.2 M ap Digitizing Using A Drum Scanner. (Courtesy o f the US Geological Survey, Reston. Virginia.)
S C A N N IN G
Scanning (or scan digitizing) p rovid es a faster
m eans o f data en try than manual digitizing
In scanning, a digital im a ge of the map is
p rod u ced b y m ovin g an electron ic d etector
across the map surface. Tw o scanner designs
a re com m on ly u sed. In a flat-bed scanner
the m ap is p la ced on a flat scanning stage
over which the d etector is m oved in b oth
X and Y directions. In a drum-scanner
(Figu re 4.2), th e map is m ou nted on a cylin­
drical drum. The d etector is m oved horizon­
tally across th e dru m as it rota tes . The
sensor motion across the drum p rovid es the
m ovem en t in th e X direction . Th e drum
rota tion p rovid es the m ovem en t in th e Y
direction .
Th e ou tpu t from the scanner is a digital
im age. Th e fin en ess o f deta il ca p tu red b y
the scanner d ep en d s on th e size o f th e map

area view ed b y th e d etector, term ed the
spot size. S p ot sizes on th e ord er of
20 m icrons (.02 mm) a re com m on ly u sed.
S canners can record colou r inform ation b y
scanning th e sam e docu m en t th ree tim es
using red, green and b lu e filters. U sually only
a b lack-and- w hite im a ge is p rod u ced . Th e
raster im a ge is com p u ter p roces s ed to
im p rove the im age qu ality and is then ed ited
and ch ecked b y an op era tor. If th e data a re
requ ired in vector format, additional raster-
to- vector con vers ion p roces s in g is d on e.
D uring th e ed itin g p roced u re or a fter con ­
vers ion to vector form at, each spatial
elem en t is ta gged and assigned an identifica­
tion nu mb er. Th e a ttrib u te data a re linked
to th e spatial data b y m eans o f th es e id en ­
tification nu mb ers. FEDCBA
Sca n n in g V e r su s M a n u a l D i g i t i z i n g
Scanning has b een a d op ted b y many orga ­
nizations as th e principal m ean s o f spatial
data en try, yet th e su b ject is controvers ia l.
O n e reas on for th e con trovers y is that
rigorou s trials a re few and of n ecess ity a re
specific to th e organ ization and application.
A n oth er orga n ization will fa ce a d ifferen t
situ ation that cou ld com p letely ch a n ge the
cos t- b en efit tra de- offs .
D ata en try using scanning is claim ed to b e
5 to 10 or m ore tim es fa ster than digitizing
(s ee for exa m p le B lakeman 1987, Chrisman
1987). O rga n iza tion s like E n viron m en t
Canada (for th e C anada Land D ata S ystem),
the U S N ational Parks S ervice, and the
US Forest S ervice use sca n ner- b a sed data
en try system s op era tion a lly.
M a ps n orm ally must b e re- d ra fted b efor e
th ey can b e scanned. Re- drafting is often
con s id ered to b e a m ajor d is a d va n ta ge of
th e scanning op tion . H ow ever, thou gh
re- draftin g may b e an additiona l s tep in th e
digitizing proces s it d oes not necessarily add
to th e overa ll cost. In fact, re- draftin g can
r e d u c e th e total cos t of b o t h scanning and
manual digitizing. S tu dies b y th e U S Fores t
107 jihgfedcba
D ata In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
S ervice h ave show n that b y including a map
p rep a ra tion s tep (with re- draftin g) b efor e
the manual digitizing is d on e can red u ce the
overa ll digital en cod in g cos ts b y as much as
50%. Th e reas on s for this are:
1. The re-drafting process is n ot d on e on
a compu ter system, it is d on e manually.
Th erefor e com p u ter op era tin g costs
and th e higher salaries paid to com ­
p u ter op era tors a re not incu rred.
2. Th e digitizing op era tion p roceed s
much m ore qu ickly and requ ires less
ed itin g if th e m ap has few er errors
and inconsistencies. Polygon s that d o
not close, lines that d on 't correctly
m eet at a djoin in g map b ou ndaries,
b ou n d a ries that a re inconsistent on
different map layers (such as the shore­
line o f a res ervoir that flu ctu ates with
the w a ter level) can b e recon ciled and
corrected du ring the re-drafting stage.
Faster com p letion o f th e digitization
and ed itin g fu nctions red u ces th e
am ou nt and th erefore th e costs of
exp en s ive com p u ter system and com ­
pu ter op era tor time.
3. W h ere many ch a nges must b e m a d e
to a com p lex m ap and many inconsis­
tencies must b e resolved, manual draft­
ing is con s id era b ly fa ster than digitiz­
ing. D rafting and digitizing a re very
d ifferen t op era tion s requ irin g d iffer­
en t skill sets. Th ey a re not equ iva len t
tasks.
4. It is very time- consu m ing and h en ce
very costly to m ake la rge nu m b ers of
ch a nges to a map on ce it is in digital
form . N ot on ly must th e ch anges b e
en tered , th e map cover a g e norm ally
must b e re-processed and re-integrated
into th e G1S data b ase.
W hile a scanning system is for the m ost
part a u tom a ted , and so requ ires less highly
trained personnel for som e tasks, m ore com ­
plex equ ip m en t must b e maintained, m ore
108 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
soph istica ted s oftw a re must b e w ritten or
pu rchased, and th ere a re m ore steps in the
process. Scanners are m ore exp en s ive than
digitizing tab les. A 150 cm b y 100 cm
(60 inch b y 44 inch) digitizing ta b le will cost
on the ord er o f $1 2,000 US. A high qu ality
scanner will cost on the order of $ 100,000 US
or m ore. W h erea s virtu ally all G IS es inclu de
s om e form o f manual digitizing capab ility,
sep ara te special-pu rpose softw are is n eed ed
to op era te a scanning system . A scanner
also requ ires s ophistica ted s oftw a re to ed it
and clean the raster data and then to
con vert th e raster data into vector form (for
input to a vector- b a s ed G IS).
Scanning w orks b es t with m aps that a re
very clean, simple, and d o not contain extra­
neou s inform ation, such as text or graphic
sym b ols. It is m ost cos t- effective for maps
with la rge numbers of spatial elem en ts (such
as 1,000 or m ore polygon s ) and maps with
large nu mb ers o f irregularly shaped featu res
(such as sinuous lines and irregu lar- shaped
polygon s ). Th e volu m e of p rod u ction is also
a factor; the higher equ ip m en t cos t is m ore
easily justified if the su stained produ ction of
large nu m b ers o f maps is n eed ed . Tailoring
the data en try system to ta ke maximu m
a d va n ta ge o f a scanner is also m ore easily
ju stified in a high volu m e prod u ction
en viron m ent.
M anu al digitizing ten ds to b e m ore cost-
effective w hen th ere a re relatively few maps
that a re not in a form that can b e scanned.
M aps tha t contain a lot o f extra n eou s infor­
mation, requ ire interpretation or adju stment
during th e encoding process, or have a small
number of featu res to b e en cod ed are gener­
ally not w orth scanning (D angerm ond 1988).
Th ere is a strong d em an d for faster, m ore
cos t- effective data en try m eth od s than
arm ies of op era tors ted iou s ly digitizing
mou ntains of p a p er maps. Scanning will
n ever com p letely rep la ce manual digitizing.
H ow ever, scanners a re b ein g u sed m ore
w id ely and th e tech n ology has im p roved
significantly. FEDCBA
D ir e ct U se o f Rast er Sca n n e d Im ag es
Much of th e difficulty in using raster scanning
to en ter m ap information is in the extraction
of the points, lines, and p olygon s from the
raster im age. In s om e cases, th e map n eed
only b e u sed as a b ackgrou nd on which to
overla y oth er geogra p h ic inform ation. The
map in form ation can b e read b y the user
directly from the image withou t b ein g explic­
itly en tered as spatial fea tu res or attrib u tes
in the data b ase. Airphotos, satellite images,
and oth er im ages can b e s tored and p re­
sen ted in this w ay.
At first this idea m et with resistance b y the
G IS and ca rtograp h ic comm u nities. Raster
images w ere considered aesthetically inferior
to d ra fted maps. In a coa rs e resolu tion
raster im a ge, lines a p p ea red as staircases.
H ow ever, a high resolution raster image can
p rovid e as sm ooth a line as d es ired , and
elim inate th e b locky a pp ea ra n ces. The cost,
h ow ever, was that the im age requ ired large
amounts, often m ega b ytes , of data storage.
M ore recently, with im p roved data compres­
sion techniqu es, low er cos t s tora ge devices,
and n ew s tora ge tech n ology (such as vid eo
disks and optical disks), th ere has b een
ren ew ed interest in the use of raster images
within a G IS. Also, th e m ore recen t satellite
systems, such as Landsats 4 and 5 and SPOT,
have p rovid ed im a gery with resolu tions of
30 m to as fine as 10 m, a resolu tion that
is com p a ra b le to high a ltitu d e aeria l
p h otogra p h y.
S om e ven d ors of im a ge p roces s in g and
G IS s ys tem s h a ve d e ve lo p e d system s
ca pa b le o f simu ltaneou sly displaying vector
and raster data in correct registration. These
systems en a b le the raster satellite im age to
b e u sed as a b ackgrou nd o ver which a
vector m a p is d is p la yed (s ee Pla te 2). The
vector m a p can then b e u p d a ted or a new
map crea ted b y in tera ctively d ra w in g over
the image. In a similar manner, a p a p er map
can b e ca ptu red as an im age and u sed for
intera ctive in terpretation and u pdating.
 109 jihgfedcb
D ata In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

U sing th e raster im a ge as a b a ckgrou nd
can b e an effective solution w hen a relatively
small am ou nt o f data n eed s to b e extra cted
bu t a la rge area must b e scanned to find that
data. For exam ple, changes in land use, such
as th e clea rin g o f land or constru ction of
roads, a re gen era lly a few isola ted occu r­
ren ces at u n p red icta b le locations. By using
the im a gery d irectly as a b ackgrou nd, th e
ch anges can b e fou nd visu ally and th e G1S
data b a s e u p d a ted as requ ired .
Raster images may b e an attractive option
w hen th e spatial inform ation n eed on ly b e
view ed . A data b a s e can b e p rovid ed that
serves as a map library, retrievin g the im a ge
with the des ired city, street, or oth er featu re
and overla yin g th e a p p rop ria te graphic sym­
b ols, such as political b ou n d a ries or a roa d
network. Th e D oom s d a y system m en tion ed
in C ha pter 1 is a m icro- com pu ter- b a sed G IS
dis tances can b e m eas u red in tera ctively.
D ata can b e retrieved b y a rea name, coor­
dinate position, or b y a pre- defin ed w indow .
Satellite im age maps, air photos, slides, text,
and m aps can b e retrieved as d es ired .
Figu re 4.3 illu strates a m ap d is p la yed on
th e BBC D oom s d a y system from its vid e o ­
disk im a ge data b a se. Th e disp la y can b e
in tera ctively in terroga ted to ob tain a valu e
or nam e for a p oin t o f interest. S patial data
can b e a na lyzed, p lotted , and overla yed .
Th ere is also a flop p y disk so that u sers can
en ter their ow n data or ou tpu t s elected data
from th e vid eo disk (Rhind and O p en s h a w
1987).
Althou gh this system has limited analytical
ca pa b ilities (it w as not d es ign ed to b e a full-
fea tu red G IS), it d oes illu strate th e effective
u se of raster scan ned im a ges to in exp en ­
sively p rod u ce a very la rge data b a se. Th e

that u ses ra ster im a ges for spatial data system also show s that n ew tech n ology can

storage. Th e 500 m ega b yte data b a se is held econ om ica lly store the large im a ge data sets

on tw o vid eo disks and consists of 30 million requ ired .

words, 21,000 spatial data sets, 24,000 top o­

graphic maps, statistical tab u lations, pictu re
lib raries, and even film clips. Th es e data
cover a w id e ran ge o f environ m en tal, socio­
econom ic, and d em ogra p h ic fields. Th e s p e­
cial vid eo disk p la yer d evelop ed for this
system is ca p a b le o f storin g and overla yin g
information held in b oth analogu e and digital
form . Th e sys tem is extrem ely ea s y to use,
d es ign ed for school children to learn in a
cou p le o f hours, and is very in exp en s ive at
u nder $5000 U S to schools (ab ou t $6000 US
to th e pu b lic) for th e h a rd w a re, s oftw a re,
and data b a se.
This system is b a s ed on th e d irect u se of
raster-scanned images. M aps, ph otographs,
and pictu res a re s tored in ra ster form at.
Attrib u te data and vector b ou n d a ries a re
s tored in a com p a cted form linked to the
raster data set. Th e u ser can view maps,
scroll a cross th e en tire cou ntry a t the
national level o f resolu tion, and zoom in on Figure 4.3 M ap of an Urban Area as Displayed on the
BBC Doomsday System. The map is stored as a colour
m ore local data b y m ovin g from small to raster image on a video-disk. (Courtesy o f Birkbeck
large scale maps of th e sam e area. A rea and College. London, UK.)
1 10 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

R E M O TE LY SENSED D A T A jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
As illustrated in C hapter 3, digital elevation
data a re n ow b ein g gen era ted directly from
R em ote sensing, and in particu lar aerial
S PO T digital sa tellite im a gery using s tereo
p h otogra p h y, has lon g b een u sed in m ap
correla tion m ethods. Top ogra p h ic m aps at
p rod u ction . In fact, m ost of the spatial data
the 1:50,000 scale a re b ein g p rod u ced with
n ow u sed in a G1S a re p rod u ced with
com p u ter- gen era ted contou rs (s ee Plates 8
rem ote sensing technology. For exam ple the
and 9). C ontou r intervals o f 20 m to 25 m
inform ation p res en ted on standard to p o ­
with accu racies on the ord er of 10 m RM S
gra p h ic m aps is gen era ted b y ph otogra m -
at the 90% con fid en ce level can b e a ch ieved
m etric means using s tereop lotters to m ap
(s ee for exa m p le G ugan and D ow m an 1988,
eleva tion contou rs, natural and cultural
and S im ard et. al. 1988). Th e p roced u re is
(built) featu res. (Photogrammetryis the art com pu ta tion a lly intensive, requ irin g large
and science o f ob taining reliab le spatial m ea­
amou nts of exp en s ive com pu ter- proces sing
su rem ents from aerial p h otogra p h y and p ow er. H ow ever it can b e less exp en s ive
oth er rem otely sen sed images. It is h ere than u sing aerial p h otogra p h y and con ­
con s id ered to b e an a s p ect of rem ote sens­ ven tio n a l p h o to g r a m m e tr ic m eth od s .
ing.) A eria l p h otogra p h y is also u sed exten ­ S evera l com p a n ies a re n ow produ cin g
sively to map natural resou rces such as soils, digital eleva tion data d irectly from digital
fores t typ es , land use, and geology. S PO T im a ge data on a com m ercia l basis. It
S ince 1972, with th e launch o f Land sat- 1, is n ot yet b ein g u sed op era tion a lly b y
high resolu tion digital rem otely s en sed data m a pping agencies in Canada and the U nited
have b ecom e w idely available. These satellite- S tates.
b a s ed sys tem s n ow p rod u ce pu b licly avail­ Th e field s of digital rem ote sensing and
a b le data for virtu ally all o f th e ea rth 's GIS h a ve ten d ed to remain sep a ra te. Y et
su rface at resolu tions as high as 10 m etres, this division is an artificial on e. U ltimately,
equ ivalent to high altitude aerial photography. th e inform ation p rod u ced using rem ote
A irb orn e digital systems p rod u ce im a gery sensing m eth od s is geogra p h ic information.
with resolu tions m eas u red in cen tim etres. M u ch of th a t in form a tion ca n n ot be
Th es e system s can sense radiation that ob ta in ed as quickly or as inexpensively using
p h otogra p h ic films can not record , such as oth er m eth od s . Th e inform ation gen era ted
thermal infrared and microwave wavelengths. from satellite im a gery is s om etim es dis­
Th e im a ges p rod u ced b y th es e sen sor m is sed as having insu fficient spatial resolu ­
sys tem s rep res en t m eas u rem en ts o f th e tion or as b ein g too exp en s ive. Y et g e o ­
reflected and em itted radiation from the gra p h ic inform ation, com p u ter- gen era ted
ea rth 's su rface. B ecau se the im a gery is in from digital satellite im a gery, has b een
digital form, the data for a single w a velen gth u sed cos t- effectively to p rovid e information
or mu ltiple w avelen gth s used in comb ination for planning at even th e cou nty level.
can b e com p u ter p roces s ed to directly gen ­ N iem ann and Sullivan (1987), for exa m ple,
era te geogra p h ic information. Su rface tem p ­ rep ort the use o f digital satellite data to
eratu re, land use, crop condition , flood in g, assess soil eros ion cond ition s at th e local
w a ter qu ality, and fores t harves ting a re a level, and nu merou s exa m p les o f natural
few exa m p les o f geogra p h ic data that can resou rce mapping applications can b e fou nd
be p rod u ced using com p u ter m ethods. in th e rem ote sensing literatu re. W hat is
C om p u ter en h a n cem en t o f digital im a gery n eed ed n ow is g r e a te r colla b ora tion
en a b les oth er res ou rce in form ation to b e b etw een th e G IS and rem ote sensing
visu ally in terp reted and u sed to u p da te the com m u n ities . Th e b a sic tech n olog y is
in form a tion in a G1S. availa b le.

th e data a re digitized. H ow ever, no data
E X IS T IN G D IG IT A L D A T A jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
In C anada and th e U nited S tates, low - cost
digital geogra p h ic inform ation is b ecom in g
m ore rea d ily ava ila b le. A t th e fed era l level,
th es e data sets a re b ein g p rod u ced b y the
national m a p p in g a gen cies and a gen cies
res p on s ib le for censu s and oth er nation­
w id e statistical data. A t th e state and p ro­
vincial level, data convers ion progra m s vary
w id ely. Au tom a tion of land ow n ers h ip
record s is a high priority. N atu ral res ou rce
inform ation is b ein g con verted to digital
form at b oth th e fed era l and state or p ro­
vincial levels . A t th e cou nty and municipal
levels the con vers ion of data to digital form
is usually d on e in ord er to im p lem en t a GIS
installation. Th e land ow n ership information
is usually a central com p on en t o f th es e GIS
data b ases.
D igital data sets a re p rod u ced to satisfy
a w id e ra n ge o f users. Th e cost o f th e data,
cu rrency, and accu racy vary. Th e accu racy
with which b ou n d a ries a re draw n, th e d a te
of th e inform ation, and th e m eth od o f com ­
pilation may b e su fficiently d ifferen t to
crea te errors w hen d ifferen t data la yers or
a d ja cen t m ap sh eets within a data la yer are
used togeth er. D u laney (1987) p rovid es
exa m p les of th es e typ es of p rob lem s.
Figu re 4.4 is a m ap p rod u ced from th e US
G eological S u rvey 1:250,000 Land Use/Land
C over digital data set. To gen era te this map
covera ge, th e data for tw o a d ja cen t data
sets w er e join ed . N otice th e a b ru p t ch ange
in the land u se ca tegories a lon g a horizontal
line acros s th e cen ter o f th e map. This
ch a n ge co in cid es w ith th e b ou n d a ry
b etw een tw o m ap sh eets from which the
data w ere digitized . Th e d ifferen ces m ay b e
a resu lt o f d is crep a n cies in a irp h oto inter­
p reta tion or o f th e th ree yea r d ifferen ce in
th e sou rce d a tes o f th e aerial p h otogra p h y
used. This typ e of anomaly can produ ce erro­
neou s results, d ep en d in g on th e application.
Ideally, p rob lem s such as th es e a re cor­
rected at th e map prepa ra tion stage, b efore
11 1
D a ta In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
set
can b e p erfect. Prob lem s such as th es e may
occu r in any digital data s et and must b e
id en tified and taken into accou nt. Similarly,
d ifferen t data sets p rod u ced for th e same
a rea m ay n ot regis ter a ccu rately en ou gh to
b e u sed togeth er. O p era tion a l p rob lem s,
such as d ifferen ces in data form a ts or long
d elivery tim es m ay also b e a fa ctor.
As digital data sets b ecom e m ore w id ely
u sed, data form a ts shou ld b ecom e m ore
sta n d ard ized . Priva te com p a n ies a re also
b eginn in g to p rovid e off- the- shelf data b ase
produ cts. Althou gh th ere may b e difficulties,
th e cost o f existing data is usually a fraction
of th e cos t o f crea tin g a n ew data set. For
this reas on, th e ava ilab ility o f in exp en s ive
data sets will m ake G IS tech n ology eco­
nom ically m ore a ttra ctive and ea s ier to
im p lem en t.
N u m erou s digital data sets a re cu rrently
a va ila b le or u nder d evelop m en t. In the
U nited S tates th ere has b een con s id era b le
effort m a d e to coord in a te and stand ardize
th e p rod u ction and distrib u tion o f digital
geogra p h ic data. A t th e fed era l level, the
Federal Interagency Coordinating C ommittee
on Digital C artography (FICCDC) was form ed
for this p u rp os e in 1983. S om e 14 orga ­
nizations p a rticip a te in th e C om m ittee,
which holds regu lar m eetin gs and prod u ces
a n ew s letter and a va riety of reports.
In C anada, s om e p rovin ces h a ve insti­
tu ted coord in a tin g com m ittees . At th e
fed era l level, E nergy, M ines, and Resou rces
C anada recen tly (1988) orga n ized th e Inter-
A gen cy C om m ittee on G eom a tics to coor­
d in a te such activities as qu ality and form a t
standards.
E xam ples o f th e m ore w id ely u sed data
sets a va ila b le from fed era l a gen cies in
Canada and th e U nited States a re presen ted
h ere to illu strate the ran ge of existing digital
information. Th es e data sets can b e b roa dly
grou p ed into fou r ca tegories : b a s e ca rto­
gra ph ic data, natural res ou rce data, digital
eleva tion data, and cens u s - rela ted data.
112 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

Figure 4.4 Illustration o f An A rtifa ct Boundary Between M ap Sheet Quadrangles in 1:250,000 Land Use/Land
Cover Data. (From Dulaney 1987, courtesy o f the Am erican Society fo r Photogram m etry and Remote Sensing.) FEDCBA

political b ou nd aries, cities, and tow ns .)

Ba se Ca r t o g r a p h ic D a t a jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
O ften th es e data sets a re d igitized vers ion s
B ase ca rtogra p h ic data inclu de th e top o ­
o f an existing map series with each typ e of
gra ph ic and pla n im etric inform ation usually
p ortra yed on a map. (Topographicdataare inform ation, such as th e eleva tion contou rs,

th os e data that p ortra y relief, such as eleva ­ assigned to sep ara te data layers. Base carto­

tion contou rs and s p ot heights. Planimetric grap hic data sets a re p rod u ced in tw o b asic
data inclu de roa d s and stream s, as w ell as for m a ts : g r a p h ics and to p o lo g ic a lly -
cultural data such as a dm in is tra tive and stru ctu red.

G ra p h ic s F o rm a t jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
dis trib u ted in SIF and
The graphics form a t data set is d es ign ed for
plotting maps. It is ess entially th e line and
point fea tu res d igitized in vector form at. In
this digital form , th e m ap can b e easily
u p da ted or m od ified to p rod u ce special
pu rp os e maps. H ow ever, th e a b s en ce of
top ology s everely limits their u se for spatial
analysis. (A discu ssion o f graphics and
topologically-stru ctu red form ats is p rovid ed
in C ha pter 6.)
Th es e data sets a re w ell- su ited for th e
C om p u ter A id ed D rafting sys tem s u sed in
digital m a pping. A com m on ly u sed inter­
change form a t d evelo p ed b y th e digital
m app ing indu stry is th e S tan da rd Inter­
change Form a t (SIF). It w as d es ign ed pri­
marily for transferring graphics elem en ts like
lines, points, cu rves, and sym b ols. D raw ing
information like shading, line w eights, and
line colou r is an integral pa rt o f th es e data
sets.
G raphics form at data sets can b e im p orted
into a CIS. H ow ever, th ere can b e con ­
s id era b le difficu lty in using th e data. Th e
data files often h a ve n ot b een ch ecked for
top ologica l consis tency. Th ey m ay contain
such inconsistencies as lines that d o not
m eet precis ely, that overs h oot or u nder­
sh oot th e correct con n ection point. Th ere
may b e missing lines or ga p s that crea te
polygons that a re not closed. For th ese data
to b e u sed b y a vector- b a s ed G IS, th e files
gen era lly h a ve to b e run throu gh an a u to­
m ated "clea n in g” p roced u re to correct
these prob lem s . Resolving th es e errors may
requ ire con s id era b le op era tor- a s s is ted
editin g as w ell (D a n germ on d 1988).
In Canada, the Canada C entre for M appin g
(E nergy, M ines, and Res ou rces C anada) is
compiling a digital top ogra p h ic data set from
the 1:250,000 N a tional Top ogra p h ic M a p
Series. D u e for com pletion in 1990, this data
set is b ein g crea ted b y scanning th e s ep a ­
rate m ap la yers that w er e u sed to p rod u ce
the original p rin ted maps. Th es e data a re
1 13
D ata In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
oth er form ats. Plans
h a ve also b een annou nced to p rovid e m ore
d eta iled cover a g e o f sou thern C anada and
s elected northern a rea s b y scan digitizing
m ap la yers from th e 1:50,000 N a tional
Top ogra p h ic M a p Series. Digital s tereo com ­
pilation will b e u sed to p rod u ce digital
top ogra p h ic data o f th e highest level of accu­
racy for a rea s o f specia l interest.
In th e U nited S tates, th e U S G eologica l
S u rvey p rovid es b a se cartographic data sets
(discu ssed b elow ) in graphics format, as well
as th e top ologica lly- s tru ctu red D igital Line
G raph (D LG ) form at.
T o p o lo g ic a lly -S tru c tu re d F o rm a t
Th e top olog ica lly stru ctu red form a t is
d es ign ed to en cod e geogra p h ic information
in a form b etter su ited for spatial analysis
and oth er geogra p h ic stu dies. M os t G IS es
a re n ow d es ign ed to use this top ologica l
in form a tion . (Top olog y is discu ssed in
C h a pter 6.)
In Canada, top ologically- stru ctu red ca rto­
gra p h ic data sets d es ign ed for G IS use a re
b ein g d evelop ed at th e provincial level. For
exa m p le, th e O n ta rio M inistry o f Natu ral
Res ou rces is com p ilin g digital m a p p in g at
scales of 1:10,000, 1:20,000, and 1:50,000
for th e p rovin ce. Th es e data sets a re
top ologica lly- s tru ctu red in D LG form at.
E ighteen m ap la yers inclu ding vegeta tion ,
hydrology, transportation, cadastre, contou r
lines, and eleva tion a re b ein g p rod u ced .
A s ta n d a rd ized attrib u te cod in g system is
u sed for each o f th e data layers.
USGeological SurveyDigital LineGraph
Data. Th e U S G eologica l S u rvey has d evel­
o p ed a digital ca rtogra p h ic data s et ca lled
D igital Line G raph (D LG ) data. Th e data a re
top ologica lly- s tru ctu red and su pplied in
D igital Line G raph V ers ion 3 form at. This
exch ange form at, d evelop ed and s u pp orted
b y th e U S G eologica l S u rvey, su pports non-
spatial attrib u te as w ell as spatial data.
Th e D LG data set has b een d evelo p ed
from p reviou s m a p p in g at th e 1:2 million,
I 14 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

and m ore recen tly at th e 1:100,000, and co ver a g e is cu rren tly a va ila b le in the
1:24,000 scales. Th e old er 1:2 million data 1:24,000 series.
s et inclu des tra n sp orta tion , h yd rogra p h y, Th es e data sets rep res en t a com p reh en ­
and politica l b ou n d a ry m aps for th e en tire sive, standardized, inexpensive, and publicly
cou ntry. Th e 1:100,000 scale data sets for a va ila b le sou rce o f digital in form ation. Th e

tran sportation and h yd rogra p h y h ave b een com p lete cover a g e (at th e 1:100,000 scale)
m akes it p os s ib le to a s s em b le la rge- a rea
com p leted for th e en tire U nited S tates. The
data b a s es qu ickly and at low cost. Th e
political b ou n d a ry and land net (Pu b lic Land
spatial accu racy o f th e data is d es ign ed to
S u rvey S ys tem ) data layers a re still b ein g
satisfy u rb an a rea planning and n etw ork
d evelop ed . Th e 1:24,000 s eries will inclu de
analysis requ irem en ts . FEDCBA
th e Pu b lic Land S u rvey S ystem , political
b ou ndary, transportation, h ydrography, and
N a t u r a l R e so u r ce D a t a Set s
con tou r data layers. Figu re 4.5 is a map
p rod u ced from the transportation data layer In the U nited States, m ajor fed era l a gen cies
o f th e 1:24,000 D LG series. O nly lim ited h a ve a d op ted G IS m eth od s to a n a lyze their HGFEDCB

Fi gu r e 4. 5 The T ra n spo rta tio n Layer fro m the 1:24,00 scale DLG Data Set. (From Dulaney 1987, courtesy
of the Am erican Society fo r P hotogram m etry and Remote Sensing.)

natural res ou rce in form a tion .
G eologica l S u rvey, Bureau o f Land M a n a ge­
ment, N ational Parks S ervice, and N ational
O cea n ic and A tm os p h eric Adm inistration
are a few examples. N u merou s data sets a re
a va ila b le with d ifferen t restriction s
distrib u tion. O ne of th e m ore
a va ila b le data sets is the Land U se/Land
C over data set.
L an d Use L a n d C o ve r, a n d
>
A ss o c ia te d D a ta
The U S G eologica l S u rvey has d evelop ed a
Land U se/Land C over data s et com p iled
primarily from 1:58,000 colou r
aerial p h otogra p h y and m a p p ed
1:250,000 scale. Th e digital data a re gen ­
era ted b y b oth manual digitizing and scan
'digitizing. The land use and land cover classes
inclu de u rb an areas, agricu ltu ral
rangeland, fores t, w etlands, b arren land,
and tu ndra. A s s ocia ted maps sh ow 4 ca te­
gories o f inform ation: political b ou ndaries,
h yd rologic units (w a ters h ed b ou ndaries),
fed era l land ow nership, and censu s su b divi­
sions (NC1C 1985). D ata a re a va ilab le for
ab ou t 75% o f th e U nited S tates. A s ep a ra te
Land C over digital data s et is b ein g d evel­
op ed for Alaska. This data s et uses a dif­
feren t classification sch em e and is b ein g
p rod u ced b y au tom a ted classification of
digital satellite imagery. The Land U se/Land
C over data sets a re a va ila b le from
N ational C artogra phic Inform ation C enter.
In C anada, the C anada Land D ata S ystem
(incorporating the Canada G eograp h ic Infor­
mation System) of E nvironment Canada and
the C anada Soils Inform ation S ystem of
Agricu ltu re C anada can p rovid e
res ou rce digital data at th e national level.
(Th es e o r g a n iza tio n s a re lis ted
A p p en d ix B.) H ow ever, natural resou rces
a re th e responsib ility of the provin ces . For
this reason, m ost natural res ou rce digital
data sets a re n ow b ein g d evelop ed b y the
provincial governm ents. Forestry is perhaps
1 15 jihgfedcb
D ata In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
Th e US th e m ost w id ely u sed a pplication. M os t p ro­
vincial a gen cies res p on s ib le for fores t
res ou rces h ave im p lem en ted geogra p h ic
information systems for fores t m app ing and
in ven tory.
on British C olu mb ia has p erh a p s th e m ost
w id ely d evelop ed provincial fores try G IS operation
(discu ssed in C ha pter 1). Th e M inistry of
Fores ts is res p on s ib le for maintaining
6,600 fores try maps at a scale o f 1:20,000
and the associated non-spatial attribute infor­
mation (including species, crow n closu re,
age, height, and stand density). Re-inventory
using aerial p h otogra p h y is d on e on a
10 yea r cycle. H ow ever, d ep letion u pdating
infrared is d on e using a u tom a ted classification of
at the digital satellite data. V ector b ou nd aries can
b e gen era ted directly from the satellite data
using a u tom ated ed ge- d etection image anal­
ysis m eth ods . Cu rrently, 1,500 maps are
land, u p d a ted annually. Th e system has b een
d es ign ed to reach a prod u ction level of
3,300 maps annually, giving a 2 yea r cycle
for depletion updates for the entire map base.
Provincial p rogra m s are p rod u cin g digital
data sets for agricu ltu re, g eolog y, soils,
vegeta tion , water, and oth er resou rce typ es
(Tomlinson As socia tes 1984). Th e pu b lic
availab ility of th ese natural res ou rce data
vary. In s om e cases, such as g eolog ic data
from drill logs, the data remain confidential
for a specified p eriod of time. U nfortu nately,
neither the form at nor the mapping accuracy
the h ave b een sta ndardized. As a result, using
th es e data sets togeth er can b e a difficu lt
u ndertaking. FEDCBA
Ce n su s- Re la t e d D a t a Set s
natural In C anada and th e U nited S ta tes the a gen ­
cies res p on s ib le for disseminating censu s
in data p rovid e a nu m b er of digital data sets
that can b e input to a GIS. Census and oth er
statistical data a re p rovid ed in th e form of
attrib u te data sets cod ed b y geogra p h ic
loca tion . E n u m era tion d istricts , s treet
a dd res s es , postal cod es , censu s tracts and
1 16 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
similar area cod es are used. Spatial data sets
a re p rovid ed that can b e linked to th e attri­
b u te data sets b y m eans o f th es e area
cod es . S treet netw orks in m etrop olita n
areas, censu s tract b ou ndaries, and political
b ou n d a ries are exa m p les of the spatial data
sets com m on ly ava ilab le. Typica l attrib u te
data sets a re popu la tion and hou seh old
characteristics, such as incom e, em p loy­
ment, a ge distrib u tion, and ethno-cu ltu ral
data, and d w ellin g characteristics like typ e,
tenu re, a ge, size, equ ip m ent, and facilities.
(The data a re p rovid ed at an a p p rop ria te
level o f a ggrega tion and confiden tiality p ro­
ced u res , such as ra n dom rou nding and cell
su p pression, a re u sed so that data a re not
tra cea b le to the individu al res p on d en t.)
Th e spatial and attrib u te data sets a re
u sed togeth er to p rod u ce special p u rp os e
m aps and to retrieve in form a tion for
s elected geogra p h ic areas. Th ey a re also
u sed for m ore specia lized analyses, th ree of
which are address matching, district delinea­
tion, and rou te selection . Th es e fu nctions
a re discu ssed in C hapter 7 and a re b riefly
n oted here.
Address-Matching. Add ress- m atch in g is
th e tech n iqu e o f linking data from s ep a ra te
files b y m eans o f a com m on attrib u te, the
s treet address . Add ress- m atch in g can b e
u sed to a d d geogra p h ic inform ation from
th e spatial data file to an a ttrib u te data file
that contains street addresses. For example,
w elfa re case record s inclu de th e nam e and
address of each recipient but may not include
th e censu s tract. Th e censu s tra ct in form a ­
tion cou ld b e retrieved from the spatial data
files b y using the a d d res s as a key to find
the da ta in the oth er file. Throu gh an
address-m atching program , the censu s tract
n u m b er cou ld b e retrieved from th e spatial
data file and a d d ed to the attrib u te file. Th e
w elfa re recipient record s cou ld then b e ana­
lyzed b y census tract grou pings (Teng 1983).
District Delineation. D istrict d elin ea tion
is a p roced u re that d efin es com p a ct areas
b a s ed on on e or m ore attrib u tes. For
exa m p le, district- delineation can b e u sed to
d ivid e an area into electora l districts that
each h a ve a b ou t th e sam e popu la tion . C on­
cep tu ally, this in volves starting at on e p oin t
and en la rgin g the a rea until it en com p a s s es
th e s p ecified nu mb er o f p eop le. Then a new
district is started and the p roces s rep ea ted .
Th e p op u la tion in form a tion w ou ld be
retrieved from the attrib u te data file and the
inform ation n eed ed to d efin e and en la rge
th e district b ou n d a ries w ou ld b e retrieved
from th e spatial data file. D istrict-delineation
is u sed to d efin e p olice and fire s ervice
districts, sch ool districts, and com m ercia l
m a rket areas.
Network Analysis. N etw ork analysis is
u sed to op tim ize tran sporta tion rou ting,
such as bus rou tes and em ergen cy veh icle
dispatching. This p roced u re takes into
accou nt th e length o f each tra ns porta tion
s egm en t and fa ctors that a ffect the s p eed
of tra vel or the qu antity of material that can
b e ca rried. S oph is tica ted system s can take
into accou nt, for example, the effects of rush
hou r traffic, roa d closu res, and veh icle avail­
ab ility in ord er to make th e b es t assignment
o f d elivery veh icles and rou tings.
D a ta A v a ila b ility
In th e U nited States, the Bureau o f the
Census p rovid ed s treet n etw ork spatial data
in th e form o f G BF/D IME-Files. Th es e data
sets h a ve n ow b een rep la ced b y the TIG ER
file data set.
In Canada, Statistics C anada p rovid es in
digital form the b ou nd aries o f s evera l levels
of administrative and statistical areas, includ­
ing municipality, county, and census tract for
th e en tire cou ntry. Th es e digital data sets,
called C ARTLIB s, a re a va ila b le in s evera l
form ats , s om e of which a re top ologica lly
stru ctu red. The A rea M aster File (AM F) data
set, a lso from Statistics Canada, p rovid es
digital street network data for over 300 major
mu nicipalities across th e cou ntry. A ra nge
o f oth er geogra p h ic prod u cts a re availab le,

as listed in Statistics C a n a da 's pu b lication
/9 8 6 C e n s u s P r o d u c t s a n d S e r v ic e s (1988).
G B F /D IM E -F ile s a n d TIGER Files
The U nited S tates B u reau o f th e Censu s
d evelop ed a geogra p h ic cod in g sys tem to
au tomate the processing of census qu estion­
naires. This system , ca lled th e GBF/D1ME
system, has b een in u se since 1970. Th e
a cron ym stands for G eogra p h ic B ase Files
(G BF) crea ted using th e Dual In d ep en d en t
M ap E n coding (D IM E ) system . GBF/D IME-
Files a re top ologica lly stru ctu red. Th ey w ere
p rod u ced for s om e 350 m a jor cities and
su b u rb s across th e U nited S tates and w ere
cu rrent to 1980. Th e spatial data inclu ded
s treet netw orks , s treet a d d res s es , political
boundaries, and major hydrographic features.
O ne of th e b en efits of g eog r a p h ic
en cod in g w as that th e censu s data cou ld b e
easily a gg reg a ted b y geog ra p h ic region for
rep ortin g pu rp os es . Loca l govern m en ts
fou nd th e G B F/D IME-Files to b e a rela tively
in exp en s ive data s ou rce for their G IS, and
G IS ven d ors p rovid ed s oftw a re to rea d th e
G B F/D IME-File spatial and attrib u te data.
D igital s treet maps cou ld b e p rod u ced from
the data and a fter ed itin g cou ld b e u sed as
digital b a se maps for municipal applications.
H o w e ver , G B F/ D IM E - Files w ere n ot
d es ign ed to b e u sed as a digital m ap b a s e
and h a ve s om e seriou s limitations for this
application. Th e data d o not accu rately show
the shape of streets b ecau se each street s eg­
m ent is rep res en ted as a straight line con ­
necting tw o adjacent intersections. A cu rved
s treet segm en t thus b ecom es a straight line.
Th e a d d res s ra n ge is p rovid ed for each
s treet s egm en t b u t the geogra p h ic position
of each a d d res s loca tion is n ot inclu ded.
S o th e loca tion o f individu al a d d res s es has
to b e es tim a ted b y assu ming that th ey a re
even ly distrib u ted a lon g th e street.
In p rep a ra tion for th e 1990 censu s, the
Bureau o f th e Censu s d evelo p ed th e TIG ER
(T o p o lo g ic a lly In te g r a te d G e o g r a p h ic
I 17 jihgfedc
D ata In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZY
E n cod in g a nd R eferen cin g) S ystem to
rep la ce the G B F/D IME S ystem . Th e TIG E R
files overcom e many o f th e limitations of the
ea rlier G B F/D IME-Files. Th e TIG E R Files
cover the 50 states, th e D istrict o f Colu mbia,
Pu erto Rico, th e Virgin Islands o f th e U nited
S tates, and th e ou tlying a rea s o f th e Pacific
o ver which th e U nited S tates has ju risdic­
tion. Figu re 4.6 is pa rt o f a m a p p rod u ced
from TIG ER File data. It show s th e tra n sp or­
tation and h yd rology n etw orks and censu s
b lock nu mb ers.
The TIG ER File spatial data originated with
eith er the U SG S D LG -3 h yd rogra p h y and
tra n s p orta tion data sets or with th e 1980
G B F/D IM E-Files; th es e data sets w er e
m erged into a single, seam less data set that
is top ologica lly stru ctu red. Attrib u te data in
th e TIG E R File inclu de fea tu re names, p olit­
ical and statistical geogra p h ic a rea cod es
(such as cou nty, in corp ora ted place, censu s
tract, and b lock nu m b ers), and p oten tia l
a d d res s ra n ges and Z IP cod es for that p or­
tion o f th e file that origin a ted with th e 1980
G B F/D IME-Files. W ith th e relea s e o f th e
TIG E R Files, th e Censu s B u reau no lon ger
su pp orts or sells th e G B F/D IME-Files.
From th e d ecen n ia l censu s (1980 and
1990), th e Censu s B u reau distrib u tes oth er
a ttrib u te data, such as p opu la tion and
hou sing unit cou nts, in com e, occu pa tion,
racial distribution, and hou sing values. Th ese
data a re also a va ila b le in digital form . N ot
all o f th e attrib u tes a re a va ila b le for ever y
geogra p h ic level; for exam ple, only the total
popu lation and housing unit cou nts are avail­
a b le at th e censu s b lock level. S ince all o f
th es e data a re geogra p h ica lly referen ced
using th e censu s geogra p h ic a rea cod es
con ta in ed in th e TIG ER File, th ey can b e
easily in tegra ted into an existing G IS data
b a s e b y file matching, using th e geogra p h ic
a rea cod es as th e match keys. In this w ay,
a rela tively in ex p en s ive top olog ica lly-
stru ctu red digital data s et is a va ila b le that
can b e a n a lyzed using th e full ra n ge o f G IS
fu nctions.
1 18 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive

F ig ure 4.6 TIGER File Data. A section of the Boone County, Missouri, line data p lo tte d at an original scale
o f appro xim ate ly 1:45,000. The tra nsp o rtatio n and stream n etw ork and census block num bers are shown.
(Courtesy o f the United States Bureau o f the Census. W ashington, D.C.)

C A R TLIB D a ta jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
level a re a va ila b le
Statistics Canada recen tly m a d e a va ila b le a
digital cartographic data set called CARTLIB.
Th es e data a re top ologica lly- s tru ctu red
b ou n d ary files. Five data sets a re availa b le;
fed era l electora l districts, and fou r levels
o f censu s rep ortin g areas from the censu s
divisions to th e censu s tract. Figu re 4.7
illustrates the Census Tract b ou nd ary file for
th e O ttawa-H u ll Census M etrop olita n Area .
C ARTLIB data a re in ten d ed for use in
them a tic m a pp in g applications and for spa ­
tial analyses of censu s information. Census
b ou n d a ries as d eta iled as th e Censu s Tract
for all of Canada. Th e
m ore d eta iled E nu meration A rea b ou n d ary
files a re u nder d evelop m en t and ava ila b le
only for limited areas. C ARTLIB files use the
sa m e geogra p h ic cod es as th e national
censu s data. In tegrated spatial analyses can
b e d on e using the attrib u te information from
the national census data files and the spatial
data from th e C ARTLIB files for th e region
o f interest. Ap plica tion s ha ve ra n ged from
grou n d w a ter ana lyses using drill h ole data
to market and sales information analyses for
agricultural machinery. D ata costs vary with
cover a g e and level of detail and a re ava il­
a b le in s evera l formats.
 1 19
D ata In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZYXW

Figure 4.7 CARTLIB File of Census Tracts fo r the O ttawa-Hull M etro politan Area. The insert shows census
tract boundaries and identification codes for a portion of the map area at an enlarged scale. (Courtesy of Statistics
Canada. Hull, Quebec.)

popu lation. These data, term ed

A re a M a s te r F ile D a ta jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA A rea M aster
Files (AM F), a re u sed as a spatial data b as e
Statistics Canada creates and maintains digital to which censu s data can b e rela ted . City
s treet n etw ork files for over 300 mu nicipal­ s treets , ra ilroa d righ t- of- w a ys , rivers ,
ities, repres en tin g over half of the Canadian municipal b ou ndaries and oth er geogra p h ic
120 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

fea tu res a re rep res en ted in digital form
(Figure 4.8). The data are designed to b e used
with censu s attrib u te data like popu la tion ,
household, income, and employment statistics.
Th e A M F data sets s erve th e s a m e fu nc­
tion in C anada as th e G B F/D IME-Files and
TIG ER Files in th e U nited States. H ow ever,
th e stru ctu re of th e files is s om ew h a t dif­
feren t. Th e A M F file is orga n ized b y th e city
b lock- face w h erea s th e G BF/D IME-Files and
TIG ER Files a re orga n ized b y city b lock.
A b lock- fa ce consists of on e sid e of a s treet

b etw een tw o s u cces s ive in ters ection s .
A central p oin t or centroid in the b lock- fa ce
s erves as a lab el p oin t to which attrib u tes
can b e a tta ch ed. In ord er to retrieve in for­
mation for a specific area, the region of inter­
es t is digitized. Then the cen troid s falling
within this region of in terest a re id en tified
a nd u sed to retrieve the requ ired censu s
data. W hen th e qu ery a rea inclu des a la rge
n u m b er of b lock-faces, this m eth od of data
retrieva l p rovid es a rea s on a b le a p p roxim a ­
tion (Statistics Canada 1972).
AM F data a re most w idely u sed for routing
and district- delineation applications. Police
and fire d ep a rtm en ts h a ve im p lem en ted
em ergen cy veh icle dispatch system s b a s ed
on A rea M a ster Files. Mu nicipalities, such as
B u rnab y B.C., M etrop olita n Toron to, and
W innipeg, have used the AM F data to provide
a geogra p h ica lly referen ced s treet n etw ork
with a d d res s ranges. In a ddition to dispatch
app lications , the retrieva l o f inform ation b y
user-specified areas is used for planning. AM F
data can b e linked with postal codes, address
lists, s treet names, and censu s data to p r o­
vid e special pu rpose map produ cts and statis­
tical su mmaries for specified areas. B ecau se
the same area coding is used, the spatial AM F
da ta and censu s data layers like incom e,
occu pation, ethno-cultural, and hou sing can
b e u sed togeth er. For exa m p le, maps of
in com e, hou sing valu e, or p op u la tion infor­
mation can b e p rod u ced . Similar in tegra ted
analyses are used to study purchasing p ow er
and m arket potentia l (Stanton 1987, Yan
and Parker 1985). FEDCBA
D ig it a l Ele v a t io n D a t a
D igital eleva tion data are a set o f eleva tion
m easu rements for locations distrib u ted over
the land surface. They are used to analyze the
top og ra p h y (i.e. th e su rface fea tu res ) o f an
area. Several terms have d evelop ed that refer
to digital eleva tion data and its d eriva tives .
D igital Terrain D ata (D TD ), D igital Terrain
M od els (D TM ), D igital E levation M od el
121 jihgfedcba
D ata In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
(D E M ), and D igital Terra in E levation D ata
(D TED ) are the m ore com m on ly u sed terms.
D igital eleva tion da ta a re u sed in a w id e
ran ge of en gin eerin g, planning, and military
applications. Th ey a re u sed to calcu late cut-
and-fill requ irem en ts for earth w orks en gi­
neerin g, such as roa d constru ction or the
a rea that w ou ld b e flood ed b y a h yd ro­
electric dam. Th ey can b e u sed to a na lyze
and d elin ea te a rea s th at can b e seen from
a location in th e terrain. Such intervisib ility
analyses can b e u sed to plan rou te locations
for roa d w a ys , to op tim ize th e location o f
radar antennas or m icrow a ve tow ers , and
to d efin e view s h ed s , for exa m p le. A m ore
d eta iled discu ssion o f D TM applica tions is
p res en ted in C h a pter 7.
Th e m eth od s u sed to ca ptu re and s tore
eleva tion data can b e grou p ed into fou r
b asic a p p roa ch es : a regu lar grid, contou rs,
p rofiles , and a Tria n gu la ted Irregu la r
N etw ork (TIN ). Th es e a p p roa ch es a re illus­
tra ted in Figu re 4.9. D igital eleva tion data
a re gen era ted from existing contou r maps,
b y photogram m etric analysis of s tereo aerial
photographs, or m ore recently b y au tomated
analysis o f s tereo satellite data (as discu ssed
in C ha pter 3). G u gan and D ow m an (1988)
and Simard et. al. (1988) discuss th e au to­
m a ted gen era tion o f eleva tion data from
S PO T satellite im a gery. Plates 8 and 9 illus­
tra te th e satellite im a gery and th e typ e of
top ogra p h ic m a pping that can b e p rod u ced
in this w ay.
D TM data a re m ost com m on ly p rovid ed
in a grid form a t in which an eleva tion valu e
is stored for each of a s et of regu larly spaced
grou n d positions. Each data point rep re­
sents the eleva tion of th e grid cell in which
it is loca ted. O n e o f th e limitations of the
raster form of rep res en ta tion is that the
sam e dens ity o f eleva tion points is u sed for
th e en tire covera g e a rea . Ideally, the data
points w ou ld b e m ore clos ely s p a ced in
com p lex terrain and sp a rs ely distrib u ted
over m ore level areas. A nu mb er of methods
h ave b een d evelop ed to p rovid e a va ria b le
122 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive

G RID - Planar Form at CO N TO U RS

PRO FILES TIN - Triangulate d Irregular Network

Figure 4.9 Four Basic Forms of Capturing and Storing Digital Elevation Data. The gray solid lines are contours
and the dashed lines indicate distin ct breaks in slope. The black points are the locations fo r which elevation
values are recorded. (From Carter 1988a. courtesy of |.R. Carter and the American Society for Photogram m etry
and Remote Sensing.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

p oin t density. O n e m eth od is to u se a a re u sed to calcu late such terrain p a ra ­

va ria b le grid cell spacing to a ccom m od a te
a varia b le density of points, with smaller cell
sizes b ein g u sed to ca ptu re th e detail in
m ore com p lex terrain.
An oth er a pp roa ch has b een to use irregu ­
larly s p a ced eleva tion points and rep res en t
th e top ogra p h y b y a n etw ork of triangu lar
facets. In this w ay, eleva tion data can b e
s tored and m anipu lated using a vector rep ­
resen ta tion . Th e Tria n gu la ted Irregu lar
N etw ork or TIN is p rod u ced from a set of
irregu larly s p a ced eleva tion points, as
shown in Figu re 4.9. A n etw ork of triangu lar
fa cets is fit to th es e points. Th e coord in a te
positions and eleva tion s of the th ree points
form ing the vertices o f each triangu lar fa cet
m eters as the s lop e and a spect. A nu m b er
o f algorithm s ha ve b een d evelop ed to gen ­
era te the triangu la ted netw ork, each of
which m ay p rod u ce a slightly d ifferen t
solu tion for th e sam e set o f data points.
Triangu lations in which th e tria ngles a re
most equ ilateral in shape tend to m ore accu­
ra tely d es crib e the su rface. Th e a d va n ta ge
of a TIN com p a red with a grid d ed rep res en ­
tation is that the TIN can use few er points,
captu re the critical points that d efin e discon­
tinu ities like rid ge crests, and can b e to p o ­
logically en cod ed so that adjacency analyses
a re m ore easily d on e.
A top ogra p h ic su rface can also b e rep re­
s en ted b y p rofiles s h ow in g the eleva tion of

poin ts a lon g a series of pa rallel lines. W hen
p rod u ced from a s tereo a irp h oto m od el,
eleva tion valu es shou ld b e record ed at all
b rea ks in s lop e and at s ca ttered points in
level terrain, if th e p rofiles a re cons tru cted
from a top ogra p h ic map, then eleva tion
valu es can only b e taken w h ere the p rofile
cros s es a contou r line.
Th e fou rth a p p roa ch is to d igitize contou r
lines. H ere th e top ogra p h ic su rface is rep ­
res en ted b y series o f eleva tion points taken
alon g the individual contou rs. Th es e m ay b e
d igitized from a top ogra p h ic m ap or p ro­
du ced from a s tereo a irp h oto m od el.
Althou gh eleva tion data can b e con verted
from on e form a t to another, each tim e the
data are con verted som e information is lost,
redu cing the detail of the top ogra p h ic sur­
fa ce (C arter 1988a,b).
A v a ila b ility o f D T M D a ta
The first w id ely availab le D TM data in N orth
Am erica w ere d evelop ed for the U nited
S tates b y th e D efen s e M a p p in g Agen cy.
Th ey w ere p rod u ced b y scanning the con ­
tou r overla ys for 1:250,000 scale to p o ­
graphic maps. The data for the contou r lines
w ere in terpola ted to gen era te a regu lar grid
o f eleva tion valu es. A sam pling interval of
3 arc- seconds o f latitu de and longitu de, or
a p p roxim a tely 90 m, b etw een points was
used. Th ese data have an elevation accu racy
o f a p p roxim a tely 15 m RM S (root mean
squ a re error) in level terrain, 30 m RM S in
m od era te terrain, and 60 m RM S in s teep
terrain. Th e data a re sold b y the m ap sh eet
as 1° b y 1° b locks and a re a va ila b le for the
en tire U nited States. Th e U S G eologica l
S u rvey plans to p rogres s ively u p gra d e the
accuracy of this data set and is also produ cing
a high er accu racy D TM file with a sampling
interval of 30 m. Th e 30 m data a re main­
tained in tw o data b ases, on e with a vertical
accu racy o f ± 7 m and the oth er with a ver­
tical accu racy o f ± 1 5 m b u t grea ter than
+ 7 m. The data are availab le for ab ou t 30%
123 jihgfedcb
D a ta In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZY
o f th e U nited S tates and a re sold b y the
7 xh minute qu ad (the coverage of a 1:24,000
scale m ap sheet). B oth digital eleva tion
prod u cts a re a va ila b le from the N ational
C a rtogra p h ic In form ation C en ter (NC1C) of
the US G eological Su rvey. The unit prices for
th es e data d ecrea s e with th e nu m b er o f
D TM s pu rchased. Prices for ord ers o f six or
m ore D TM s consist o f a b a s e ch a rge of
$90 U S and $7 US for each a dditiona l unit.
In Canada, little digital eleva tion data a re
cu rrently availa b le. O nly a few provin ces ,
including Alb erta , N ova Scotia, and O ntario,
h a ve b egu n p rod u ction o f D TM data. FEDCBA
D ATA O U T PU T
O u tpu t is th e p roced u re b y which inform a­
tion from the G IS is p res en ted in a form suit­
a b le to th e user. D ata a re ou tpu t in on e of
th ree formats: h a rd cop y, s oftcop y, or elec­
tronic. H a rd cop y ou tpu ts a re p erm a n en t
means o f display. Th e information is printed
on p a p er, mylar, p h otogra p h ic film, or
similar materials. M aps and ta b les a re com ­
m only ou tpu t in this form at. S oftcop y ou t­
pu t is the form a t as view ed on a com p u ter
m onitor. It m ay b e text or graphics in
m on och rom e or colou r. S oftcop y ou tpu ts
a re u sed to a llow op era tor interaction and
to p review data b efore final output. The soft-
cop y disp lay is gen era lly not u sed for final
ou tpu t b eca u s e o f its small size and th e loss
in qu ality w hen the screen im a ge is p h oto­
gra p h ed or electron ica lly captu red.
H a rd cop y and s oftcop y ou tpu t produ cts
a re not just d ifferen t m edia; th ey a re u sed
in fu n dam en tally d ifferen t ways. A s oftcop y
ou tpu t can b e changed interactively, b u t the
view is restricted b y th e size o f the m onitor.
A la rger m ap a rea can b e s een b u t only at
a coa rs er resolu tion. Th e h a rd cop y ou tpu t
takes lon ger to p rod u ce and requ ires m ore
exp en s ive equ ip m en t. H ow ever, it is a p er­
manent record that is easily transported and
d is p la yed . A la rge m ap can b e show n at
w h a tever level o f detail is requ ired by
124 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
making the physical size of the ou tpu t larger.
Individual map sheets can b e ass em b led into
as la rge a m ap as n eed ed . A h a rd cop y ou t­
pu t is eas ily w ritten on and can b e handled,
fold ed , and view ed from variou s positions.
For this reason, a G IS usually p rovid es b oth
s oftcop y and h a rd cop y ou tpu t.
O u tpu t in electron ic form a ts consists of
com pu ter- com pa tib le files. Th ey a re u sed to
tra n sfer data to a n oth er com p u ter system
eith er for additiona l analysis or to p rod u ce
a h a rd cop y ou tpu t at a rem ote location.
H A R D C O P Y DEVICES
H a rd cop y ou tpu t h a rd w a re can b e d ivid ed
into tw o b roa d ca tegories; vector and raster
d evices . Th e pen plotter is th e most
com m on typ e o f vector- b a s ed equ ipm en t.
It is b asically a m echanical draftin g device.
Figure 4.10 Pen Plotter. (Courtesy Calcomp Canada Inc. Downsview, O ntario.)
Th e p a p er or mylar m a terial is laid flat on
a d raftin g tab le. A p en h old er with on e or
m ore p en s tra vels over th e en tire plottin g
a rea m ovin g in d ep en d en tly in th e X and Y
d irection s u n d er con trol of th e G IS.
S ep a ra te com m an ds m ove the pen dow n to
b egin d ra w in g and lift it up at th e en d of a
line. S om e p lotters han dle la rge ou tpu ts b y
s p oolin g th e d ra w in g m aterial b etw een tw o
take-u p reels, others use a single reel. A nar­
row d ra w in g su rface ru nning th e full width
of the roll is u sed as th e d ra w in g platform .
In this a rra n gem en t, th e p en h old er n eed
m ove on ly in th e X direction since the Y
m ovem en t is con trolled b y s p oolin g th e
p a p er b ack and forth. An exa m p le o f a pen
p lotter o f this typ e is show n in Figu re 4.10.
Th e s oftw a re that d rives th e pen p lotter
gen era tes a list o f d ra w in g com m an d s from

the graphics data. Th e level of sophistication
of this softw a re can significantly im p rove the
p erform a n ce of the plotter b y schedu ling the
d ra w in g actions m ore efficien tly. Th e level
o f d eta il that can b e p rod u ced d ep en d s on
th e sm allest step that can b e regis tered b y
th e m otors controllin g th e p en position.
G ood ca rtogra p h ic w ork requ ires a mini­
mu m step size o f a b ou t 0.025 mm. In a d d i­
tion to pens, th ese p lotters can b e equ ip p ed
with scrib ing tools to p rep a re p eel- coa t
m as ters for printing. O th er p lotter- typ e
d evices use a light b ea m or laser in pla ce of
the p en to d ra w d irectly on to a lithograph ic
or d ia zo film (B ou rrou gh 1986).
Th e first and sim plest raster p lotter w as
th e lineprinter. It w as d es ign ed to ou tpu t
alphanu meric characters. The im age w as dis­
tor ted b eca u s e the chara cters w ere rec­
tangu lar and the raster cells th ey rep re­
s en ted w ere squ are. Tech n iqu es to correct
this dis tortion and to g en era te grey ton e
im a ges b y using overp rin tin g w ere d evis ed
b y in geniou s p rogra m m ers and fru strated
u sers. Th e introdu ction of matrix printers
(also called dot matrixprinters) solved most
of th ese p rob lem s b y using a print head con­
sisting o f pins that can b e in d ep en d en tly
fired . Th e matrix printer can b e u sed to p ro­
du ce alphanu meric and graphics characters,
s qu a re or rectangu lar. M atrix printers a re
in exp en s ive and versatile (they a re the most
com m on h a rd cop y ou tpu t d evices u sed on
p ers on a l com pu ters). Th ey can b e u sed to
p rod u ce simple b lack-and-white maps easily
and inexp en s ively.
C olou r dot- m atrix printers use a th ree-
colou r rib b on to gen era te colou r ou tpu t.
Th rou gh over- prin tin g, the th ree colou r
rib b on can p rod u ce six colou rs (i.e. six com ­
b in ation s o f the th ree colou rs). A w id er
ra n ge o f colou rs can b e gen era ted b y using
a clu ster o f d ots to rep res en t each pictu re
elem en t. Each d ot in th e clu ster can still b e
only on e o f six colou rs, bu t th e human eye
will m erge th e com b in ation o f d ifferen t
colou red d ots and p erceive a single colou r.
12 5 jihgfedc
D a ta In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZY
D ifferen t colou rs can b e crea ted b y va ryin g
the com b in a tion o f colou rs in a clu ster o f
dots. H ow ever, th e resolu tion of th e ou tpu t
is then the size o f the clu ster o f dots, not the
size o f a single dot.
A higher resolu tion and higher qu ality out­
pu t is p rovid ed b y electrostatic plotters,
a va ila b le as colou r or b lack- and- w hite
d evices . Resolu tions o f 200 to 400 d ots p er
inch a re com m on ly availab le. Th es e d evices
u se a la rge nu m b er o f fine n eed les p la ced
in a line across the p a p er path. Th e line o f
n eed les rep res en ts a single row of the
ra s terized ou tpu t im a ge and each n eed le
corres p on d s to a single grid cell. Th os e
poin ts that receive an electros ta tic ch a rge
pick-u p ton er, thus crea tin g an image.
A multi-pass p roced u re is com m on ly u sed.
Th e first pass a p p lies b lack and a set o f
registration marks a lon g the p a p er ed g e for
correct align m en t o f su b s equ ent passes.
Red, green , and b lu e a re then a p p lied in
s ep a ra te passes.
Inkjet plotters g en era te a colou r ou tpu t
b y s h ootin g d ifferen t colou red ink d rop s at
a p a p er or m ylar p lottin g material. Th es e
p lotters ra nge in price from a few thou sand
d olla rs to tens o f thou sands o f dollars
d ep en d in g on the resolu tion and ra n ge o f
colou rs produ ced. Inexpensive plotters have
low res olu tions on th e ord er o f 3 to 5 d ots
p er mm. High resolu tion d evices can ha ve
resolu tions of 12 d ots p er mm and rep ro­
du ce 4,000 colou rs. Earlier m od els w ere dif­
ficult to maintain b eca u s e the ink jets and
lines clog g ed easily. M ore recen tly p lotters
h a ve b een equ ip p ed with d evices and sol­
ven ts that red u ce th e frequ en cy o f clogging.
Th e m a p shown in Pla te I 1 w as p rod u ced
on an ink jet p lotter.
Thermal plotters cos t a b ou t $ 13,000 U S
and a re con s id era b ly less exp en s ive than
electrostatic plotters. Th ey use a non-impact
thermal transfer tech n ology to a p p ly yellow ,
magenta, and cyan colou r onto p a p er or film
ou tpu t materials. C om b inations o f th es e
colou rs prod u ce red, green , blu e, and black,
126 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
a tota l o f 7 colou rs for any on e dot. By using
clusters o f dots, a w id er range of colou rs can
b e p rod u ced . Th es e d evices typ ica lly h ave
resolu tion s o f 200 d ots p er inch and p ro­
du ce small form a t ou tpu t (letter size to 11 in
x 17 in).
Optical filmwriterscan produ ce a smaller
d ot size and a grea ter ra n ge o f colou rs for
ea ch dot. Th es e d evices use th e data from
an im a ge file to m od u la te a light b ea m as
it m oves a cross a p iece o f b lack- and- w hite
or colou r p h otogra p h ic film. S p ot sizes as
fine as 12.5 m icrons (.0125 mm) a re avail­
a b le that p rovid e very high resolu tion p h oto­
gra p h ic produ cts. Typica lly, a b righ tness
ra n ge o f 256 levels is p rovid ed for each of
th e th ree prim a ry colou rs, givin g a th eoret­
ical ra n ge o f 256 x 256 x 256 colou rs. Th e
actu al ra n ge o f colou rs is con s id era b ly less
as a resu lt o f limitations o f th e p h otogra p h ic
film m aterial. Ph otogra p h ic ou tpu t d evices
va ry w id ely in p rice from th e ten s o f th ou ­
sands to hu n dreds o f thou sands o f dollars
d ep en d in g on the resolution and technology.
Th ey a re u sed to gen era te high resolu tion
im a ges from such d igita l im a g ery as
com pu ter- gen era ted graphics, satellite data,
and d igitized p h otogra p h s . Th e satellite
im a gery show n in Pla te 7 w as p rod u ced
using this typ e o f d evice.
O ften a qu ick h a rd cop y ou tpu t o f th e
m on itor screen is n eed ed to record a resu lt
or for u se in p res en ta tions . Screen copy
devices con n ect to th e graphics disp lay
m on itor and rep rod u ce graphics and text.
Th es e d evices u se a va riety o f tech n ologies ,
inclu ding im p act printing, ink jet, therm al,
and electrostatic plotting. Th ey are generally
less expensive ($4,000 to $7,000 US) and have
low er resolu tion than th os e u sed for large
form a t ou tpu t (C ros w ell and Clark 1988).
Raster ou tpu t d evices can gen era te com ­
plex m aps m ore ra p id ly than p en plotters.
Th e ou tpu t s p eed of a raster d evice is n ot
d ep en d en t on th e com p lexity o f th e im age.
Th e m ap m aterial is p a s s ed throu gh th e
raster p lotter at th e sa m e ra te no m a tter
h ow com p lex th e ou tpu t graphics. A pen
p lotter must d ra w every line s ep a ra tely and
so, th e m ore com p lex th e map, th e lon ger
it takes. A typica l vegeta tion or soils
th em a tic m ap s h eet a b ou t 40 cm b y 60 cm
cou ld ta ke from 30 minu tes to a cou p le of
hou rs to p rod u ce using a pen p lotter.
A raster ou tpu t d evice such as a colou r elec­
tros ta tic p lotter w ou ld p rod u ce th e sam e
m ap in a m a tter o f minu tes. H ow ever, th e
pen p lotter can p rod u ce a "d r a fte d " line
b eca u s e it is in fact using a pen. It is also
p os s ib le to attach scrib ing tools in ord er to
p lot m ap s ep a ra tes. In ca ses w hen th es e
fa ctors a re critical, th e p en p lotter may b e
th e p r efer red d evice.
S O F T C O P Y DEVICES
Th e s oftcop y d evice m ost com m on ly u sed
in a G1S is th e televis ion - typ e o f com p u ter
m onitor, th e ca th od e ray tu b e or CRT. Th e
im a ge to b e d is p la yed is sent electron ica lly
from th e com p u ter to an electron gun in th e
CRT which directs a b ea m o f electrons to the
screen. Th e b ea m cau ses th e ph os ph or-
coa ted screen to em it light, the stron ger the
electron b ea m the b righter the light. A mono­
ch rom e screen has a single electron gun and
displays on ly on e colou r. A colou r CRT has
red, green, and blu e light-emitting phosphors
and th ree electron guns, on e for each
colou r. B y va ryin g th e intensity o f th e th ree
guns, a full spectru m o f colou rs is prod u ced.
Th e light em itted from th e screen fa d es
quickly. To retain the im age the screen must
b e refres hed , that is th e electron b ea m must
red ra w th e im a ge on th e screen. If th e
screen is n ot refres h ed often enou gh the
fadin g screen will a p p ea r to flicker. Refresh ­
ing th e screen at a rate of 60 tim es a secon d
is usually su fficient to maintain a clear im age
with no p ercep tib le flicker. (Th e ra te at
which th e screen is refres h ed is term ed th e
scan rate, frame rate or refresh rate.)
In a GIS, th e screen im a ge is gen era ted
using raster-scanning, a m eth od that treats

th e screen as an array of d is crete cells or
pixels. Th e b righ tn ess of each pixel is
in dividu ally con trolled . Th e la rger th e
nu m b er o f pixels into which th e screen is
d ivid ed , th e finer th e deta il that can b e
show n in th e im a ge and the higher the
resolu tion of th e display. Th e screen of a
high resolu tion G1S m on itor is com m on ly
com p ris ed o f 1024 (row s) b y 1280 (col­
umns), 1024 x 1024, or 1024 x 768 pixels,
i.e. on th e ord er o f 1 million pixels a re
u sed to rep res en t th e screen im a ge. O th er
fa ctors that con trib u te to th e p erceived
sharpness of th e m on itor a re th e physical
size and b righ tn ess o f th e screen pixels. A
sm aller screen pixel will give a sh a rp er
im age. High resolu tion colou r m on itors
typ ically can p rod u ce screen pixels as small
as 0.3 mm (term ed th e spot size o f th e
m on itor).
Th e screen pictu re is gen era ted b y b u ild­
ing th e im a ge from top to b ottom , scanning
each line of pixels in succession. D uring each
scan th e intensity o f th e b ea m is va ried
a ccord in g to th e b righ tn ess that each pixel
is to b e d is p la yed . This scanning p roced u re
is rep ea ted continu ou sly, 60 tim es a second.
To red ra w a high resolu tion screen 60 times
a s econ d requ ires a very fast da ta tra n sfer
rate. O n e m eth od to redu ce th e transfer rate
and the ha rdw a re cost is to red ra w only half
th e screen ever y 1/60th o f a s econ d . The
od d n u m b ered scan lines a re red ra w n on
th e first pass and th e even n u m b ered lines
on th e secon d pass. In this w a y only half the
am ou nt o f data n eed s to b e tra n s ferred for
each scan. This typ e o f display is term ed an
interlaced display. In a non-interlaced
disp lay every line is redra w n on every pass.
A higher scan ra te and a n on- in terlaced
disp la y p rod u ce a b righ ter im a ge which
im p roves th e a p p a ren t sharpness of th e
pictu re.
Th e im a ge b ein g d is p la yed is s tored in a
com p u ter m em ory, term ed a framebuffer,
as an array o f nu m b ers rep res en tin g th e
b righ tness that each screen pixel is to
127 jihgfedcb
D ata In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
a p p ea r. Th es e valu es a re u sed to set th e
intensity o f th e electron b ea m as it scans
across th e screen . In th e case o f a colou r
system , th e data in th e fra m e b u ffer simul­
ta neou sly con trol th e intensity o f th e th ree
electron guns. The displayed image is changed
b y w riting n ew data to th e fra m e b u ffer.
G IS display h a rd w a re va ry in resolu tion
and p erform a n ce. M os t system s em p loy a
colou r m on itor to d is p la y graphics. M on o­
ch rom e m on itors a re often u sed to disp lay
text information (like system commands) and
sim ple graphics (such as statistical plots). In
m any sys tem s a single high resolu tion col­
ou r monitor handles all s oftcop y output. The
display h ardw a re may b e part o f a com pu ter
terminal con n ected to a central com pu ter or
may b e in corp ora ted into a p ow erfu l w ork­
station com p ris ed of th e graphics disp lay
with res id en t com p u tin g and data s tora ge
facilities. W ith th e contin u ed tren d tow a rd
low er h a rd w a re prices, th ere is a s tea d y
increa se in th e use o f w orkstation s in G ISes.
A d eta iled discu ssion o f dis play tech n ol­
og y is b eyon d th e s cop e o f this b ook.
H ow ever the differen ces b etw een th e im age
p roces s in g and th e com p u ter graphics or
vector graphics disp lay a p p roa ch es often
cau ses confu sion and is b riefly d es crib ed
h ere. Th es e tw o a p p roa ch es to display
design w ere d evelo p ed to m eet d ifferen t
sets o f requ irem en ts. Th eir m ajor com ­
p on en ts a re illu strated in Figu re 4.11. In
b oth designs a fra m e b u ffer is u sed to s tore
th e im a ge and d rive th e m onitor, b u t th ey
d iffer in th e size and orga n iza tion o f th e
fra m e b u ffer, th e m eth od o f gen era tin g th e
fra m e b u ffer data and th e w a y th es e data
a re u sed to con tol th e s creen image.
The image processing display was designed
to handle photograph- like digital images. To
p rod u ce a high qu ality pictu re from th es e
data requ ires that th e su b tle variations in
ton e and colou r b e d is p la yed . A d ja cen t
screen pixels typically will b e differen t in col­
our. To rep res en t this high level o f spatial
varia b ility th e im a ge data a re s tored in th e
128 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e
F ig u re 4.11 M a jo r Com ponents o f V e cto r Graphics and image Processing Displays. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPON
com p u ter system in a ra ster form , i.e. th e
im a ge is d ivid ed into a la rge n u m b er of
pixels. A colou r im a ge is s tored as th ree
sep ara te raster data sets, on e for each o f the
red , green , and b lu e colou rs. Th e im a ges
u sed for geogra p h ic a nalys es com m on ly
h a ve s evera l tim es th e n u m b er of pixels as
can b e s tored in th e fra m e b u ffer. This is
ea sily a ccom od a ted b y d is p la yin g eith er a
p ortion o f th e im a ge (a su b - area) or b y
displaying a sample of pixels from the image,
e.g. s electin g ever y 10th pixel in ever y 10th
line p rod u ces an im a ge with 1/100th th e
nu m b er o f pixels.
To extra ct inform a tion from a digital
im age, such as satellite data, th e im a ge must
b e in terp reted eith er visu ally or b y a u to­
mated means. (Im age interpretation methods
a re discu ssed in C h a p ter 3.) An in terp reter
can ob tain m ore a ccu ra te in form a tion from
an im a ge that retains as much of th e su b tle
va ria tions in colou r as pos s ib le. Th e im a ge
p roces s in g a p p roa ch excels at dis p la ying
fine gra d a tion s o f colou r and b rightness.
In an im a ge p roces s in g system th e fra m e
b u ffer is comprised of three separate sections
term ed image planes. Each im a ge pla n e
stores the data that controls on e of the th ree
electron guns. (A fou rth im a ge pla ne is often
inclu ded to disp la y graphics overla ys on
th e im a ge.) Th e im a ge p la n es a re norm ally
designed with 8 bits of storage for each pixel.
Eight b its rep res en t th e ra n ge 0 to 255,
providing 256 different values (i.e. 28 values).
Th e colou r g en era ted for each screen pixel
is d eterm in ed b y th e th ree va lu es s tored in
th e fra m e b u ffer for that pixel loca tion , on e
va lu e from ea ch o f th e red , green , and b lu e
im a ge planes. S ince each va lu e can h a ve
256 levels , th e th ree colou r gu ns can
th eoretica lly p rod u ce 256 x 256 x 256
(a b ou t 16.7 million) d ifferen t colou rs.
Look- u p ta b les p rovid e a dditiona l control
of the colou r p rod u ced for each screen pixel.

A look-uptable or LUTis a s et o f valu es
s tored in com p u ter m em ory. Th e LU T con ­
sists o f a list o f input valu es and corres p on d ­
ing ou tpu t valu es. Figu re 4.12 pa rt A characteristics o f the display, th e specialized
illu strates this con cep t. U sing this sim ple
look- u p ta b le, an inpu t valu e o f 4 w ou ld
gen era te an ou tpu t valu e o f 40. A s show n
in Figu re 4.1 1 part B, th ree LU Ts a re u sed,
on e for each im a ge plane. Th e LU Ts a re
p os ition ed in th e data path b etw een the
fra m e b u ffer and th e m onitor. In effect th ey
p roces s th e im a ge data "on th e fly", as th ey
a re sen t to th e display.
Th e overa ll effect o f a look- u p ta b le can
b e con ven ien tly show n as a graph, as in
Figu re 4.1 2 pa rt B. This LU T tra ns form s the
n a rrow ra n ge o f inpu t valu es (0 to 7) into a
much w id er range o f ou tpu t valu es (0 to 70).
Its overa ll effect w ou ld b e to m ake the
im a ge a p p ea r b righ ter. Look- u p ta b les a re
u sed to a lter the colou r b alance, contrast,
and b righ tn ess o f im ages. M athem atica l
fu nctions, such as th e a dd ition o f corres ­
p on d in g pixel valu es in tw o im ages, can
als o b e im p lem en ted b y m ean s o f look- u p
tab les. S ince a LU T is a ver y small data set,
it can b e loa d ed alm ost instantly and th e
im a ge will b e ch a n ged in th e tim e it takes
to refres h th e screen . In this w a y LU Ts
can p rovid e in tera ctive im a ge m odification
so that an im a ge can b e adju sted con ­
tinu ou sly to ob tain th e d es ired en h a n ce­
ment. This capab ility is particu larly valu ab le
129 jihgfedcb
D a ta In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
to en h a n ce s a tellite im a ges for visual
in terp retation .
Th e im a ge p rocess in g disp lay a p p roa ch is
d es ign ed to han dle very la rge raster data
sets. In th e sa m e w a y that th e red, green ,
and b lu e com p on en ts of a colou r im a ge can
b e rep res en ted as th ree raster data sets for
pu rposes o f display, geogra p h ic information
can also b e s tored and m an ipu la ted in th e
form o f m u ltiple ra ster data sets, as dis­
cu ssed in C h a pter 6. Althou gh im a ge p ro­
cess ing system s may display th ree raster
data sets at a time, th ey a re usually design ed
to p erform com pu tations simu ltaneou sly on
m ore than th ree data sets and can handle
any n u m b er of s equ en tia l op era tion s .
Althou gh this discussion has focu ssed on the
com p u ta tion al ca pa b ilities o f an im a ge p ro­
cessing system a re perh a ps m ore important
in th e con text o f a G IS. Im a ge p roces s in g
systems a re specifically des ign ed to perform
calculations on large single or mu ltiple raster
data sets at very high sp eed . S om e G IS func­
tions, such as n eigh b ou rh ood op era tion s ,
a re m ore efficien tly p roces s ed in th e raster
domain of an im a ge process in g system than
in th e vector domain.
To recogn ize geogra p h ic fea tu res in an
aerial p h otogra p h or a sa tellite pictu re it is
im p orta n t to retain th e fine gra d a tion s o f
shading and colou r. S ince it is n ot known in
a d va n ce which details will b e n eed ed to
in terp ret th e im age, th ere is an a d va n ta ge
to retaining as much detail as possib le.
H ow ever in a map the individual featu res are
a lrea d y ca tegorized . C olou r, shading, line
w idth, and oth er gra p h ic deta ils a re chosen
b y th e m ap d es ign er to s ym b olize th e g e o ­
gra ph ic featu res. It is im p orta n t to h a ve a
sufficient range o f colou rs to rep res en t these
fea tu res, h ow ever if to o many colou rs
a p p ea r in a single map it b ecom es difficu lt
to distingu ish th e individu al ca tegories . Th e
fine gra d a tion s o f colou r that an im a ge p r o­
cess ing system can p rod u ce a re gen era lly
not requ ired. Th e display of m aps and oth er
130 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
th em a tic in form a tion in which th e fea tu res
a re a lrea d y ca tegorized can b e efficien tly
h an d led b y a vector gra ph ics (also term ed
computer graphics) typ e of display. (This
assu mes o f cou rs e that th e da ta a re s tored
in vector form as w ell. V ector data s tora ge
is discu ssed in C h a pter 6.)
In a vecto r gra ph ics dis p la y th e data u sed
to crea te th e im a ge can b e th ou gh t o f as a
set o f draw in g instructions, term ed a display
list or vector list. Th es e instru ctions d efin e
w h ere and h ow a fea tu re is to b e draw n. For
exa m p le, th e in form a tion n eed ed to d ra w
a straight line w ou ld consist o f an op era tion
cod e to in d ica te that a line is to b e draw n,
cod es to d efin e the start point and end point
o f th e line, an d cod es for th e line ch a ra cter­
istics such as th e line colou r and thickness.
Th e d ra w in g in form a tion is p roces s ed b y
special vector genera tion hardw are and soft­
displaylist processor or
w a re, term ed the
graphics engine, th a t g e n e r a te s th e
b righ tn es s va lu es to p rod u ce th e screen
im a ge and w rites th em to th e fra m e b u ffer
(s ee Figu re 4.11 p a rt A). N ote that the
graphics da ta a re s tored as d ra w in g instruc­
tions bu t th e fram e b u ffer contains an im a ge
p la n e which s tores th e s creen im a ge in
ras ter form and th e m on itor is a ras ter
d evice, as in th e im a ge p roces s in g display.
U nlike an im a ge p roces s in g typ e o f display,
th e vector gra p h ics dis play has on ly on e
im a ge pla n e. In a G1S an 8-b it im a ge plan e
is norm ally u sed, so th e va lu es that r e p r e­
sent th e s creen im a ge can ra n ge from 0 to
255, i.e. 256 d ifferen t valu es. Each nu m b er
s tored in th e im a ge p la n e rep res en ts th e
colou r to b e d is p la yed at a s p ecific pixel
loca tion on th e m on itor. S ince th e fra m e
b u ffer can only a ccom m od a te nu mbers in the
ra n ge 0 to 255, a maximu m o f 256 d ifferen t
colou rs can b e p rod u ced in th e screen
im a ge, m ore than en ou gh to disp la y even
th e m ost com p lex maps.
A specia l p u rp os e look- u p ta b le, term ed
a VideoLook-UpTable, gen era tes th e data
to d rive th e colou r m on itor from th e fra m e
IN P U T O U T P U T VA L U E
VALU E RED GREEN BLUE
0 0 0 0
1 255 0 0
2 220 170 0
3 80 250 20
4 60 180 45
5 150 120 170
• • • •
F ig u r e 4 . 1 3 A P ortion o f a V ideo Look-Up Table.
b u ffer valu es. Figu re 4.13 illu strates the
con cep t of a vid eo look- u p tab le. Instead of
gen era tin g on e ou tpu t valu e for each input
valu e as in th e LU Ts discu ssed previou s ly,
the vid e o look- u p ta b le gen era tes th ree
valu es, ea ch in th e range 0 to 255. Th e th ree
valu es con trol th e b righ tn es s levels of th e
red, green , and b lue electron guns. U sing the
vid eo look- u p ta b le in th e Figu re, an input
va lu e o f 0, w ou ld p rod u ce ou tpu t valu es of
0 for all th ree electron gu ns and th e pixel
w ou ld a p p ea r b lack on th e m onitor. A pixel
w ith an inpu t va lu e o f 1 w ou ld gen era te an
ou tpu t va lu e of 255 for th e red gun and 0
for th e oth er tw o gu ns and th e pixel w ou ld
a p p ea r red. Similarly, an inpu t va lu e of
2 w ou ld p rod u ce a yellow screen colou r.
S ince each o f th e th ree ou tpu t va lu es in
th e vid e o look- u p ta b le can h a ve a ra n ge o f
256 valu es, th e com b in a tion o f th e th ree
va lu es gives a ra n ge of 256 x 256 x 256
colou rs. H ow ever, u nlike an im a ge p roces s ­
ing disp lay, a vector graph ics display can­
not p rod u ce this very la rge ran ge of colou rs
at th e s a m e tim e, i.e. in a single im a ge. This
is b eca u s e th e nu m b ers s tored in th e fra m e
b u ffer can h a ve only 256 d ifferen t valu es.
Each va lu e can rep res en t any on e of th e full
ra n ge o f colou rs, b u t on ly 256 s ep a ra te

colou rs can b e s p ecified in th e vid eo look­
up ta b le. As with oth er look- u p ta b les , th e
colou r representation can b e quickly changed
b y m od ifyin g th e va lu es in th e vid eo look ­
up ta b le.
A ra n ge o f 256 colou rs is m ore than suffi­
cien t to display th em a tic inform ation b u t is
qu ite limiting for th e dis play o f p h otogra p h ­
like im ages. R em otely sen s ed data a re an
im p orta n t sou rce o f geogra p h ic inform ation
and for m any fu nctions th ere is a con ­
s id era b le a d va n ta ge to view in g and mani­
pu lating rem otely s en s ed im a ges in raster
form and m aps in vector form togeth er.
Pla te 2 illu strates this typ e o f in tegra ted
dis play for u pda ting fores try maps. Th e
fores t cover map (vector format) is registered
and overla yed on a Landsat TM sa tellite
im a ge which has b een en h a n ced to sh ow
h a rves ted and regen era tin g fores t areas,
Th e m ap can b e u p d a ted b y in tera ctively
d ra w in g th e n ew fores t class b ou n d a ries on
th e screen and th e u p d a tes can b e d irectly
tra n s ferred to th e G IS data b a se.
A va riety o f tech n iqu es h a ve b een d evel­
op ed to display vector graphics on an im age
p roces s in g display a nd colou r im a ges on a
vector graphics display. For exa m p le, to
disp la y a raster im a ge on a vector graphics
system , s oftw a re rou tines can b e u sed to
transform the th ree ra ster input im a ges into
a single raster im a ge w h ere th e pixel valu es
a re colou r cod es . Th es e colou r cod es can
then b e loa d ed into th e single im a ge plane.
Th e s oftw a re als o gen era tes a vid eo look ­
up ta b le that con verts th e colou r cod es into
a p p rop ria te screen colou rs. Th ere is a con ­
s id era b le redu ction in th e p os s ib le ra n ge of
colou rs, b u t im a ges com m on ly contain on ly
a fraction o f this ra n ge. S o b y optim izin g th e
colou r selection high qu ality displays of
p h otogra p h s and s a tellite im a gery can b e
a ch ieved . H ow ever, con vertin g th ree raster
input images for display on a vector graphics
system and then loa d in g th em into th e dis­
p la y is con s id era b ly s low er than displaying
th em on an im a ge p roces s in g system.
13 1 jihgfedc
D ata In p u t a n d O u tp u t mlkjihgfedcbaZY
Th e vector graphics a p p roa ch is w ell-
su ited to th e dis play of geogra p h ic fea tu res
rep res en ted as points, lines, and areas.
M a ps o f city streets, natural resou rces,
a dm in is tra tive districts, and d em ogra p h ic
data a re familiar examples. Th ere is no varia­
tion within th e graphics elem en ts . A red line
rem ains th e sa m e colou r red th rou gh ou t its
length. Th e im a ge p roces s in g a p p roa ch is
w ell- su ited to th e display o f data that rep re­
sent p h en om en a with a high spatial variab il­
ity, such as th e ch a nges in colou r and
brightness across a photograph. The phenom­
en on rep res en ted can just as eas ily b e
ch a nges in w a ter tem p era tu re over th e sur­
fa ce o f a lake, or increm en tal ch a nges o f
dis ta n ce (s ee for exa m p le th e discu ssion o f
s p rea d fu nctions in C h ap ter 7).
A n oth er w a y to view this com p a ris on is
that th e im a ge p roces s in g a p p roa ch is
d es ign ed to trea t an im a ge as a la rge grid
of measurements taken at regu larly s pa ced
locations in an area . It is well-su ited to situa­
tions w h ere th e information o f interest is the
variab ility in a m ea s u rem en t o ver space.
E ven w hen them a tic inform ation, such as a
roa d, a re rep res en ted th e data a re trea ted
as a collection o f individu al pixels with the
sa m e valu e.
In the vector graphics a pproach the point,
line, and a rea fea tu res a re conceptu a l; th ey
a re symbols n ot m eas u rem ents . Th e in for­
mation o f in teres t is th e loca tion of a p a r­
ticu lar typ e o f roa d, n ot a set o f m ea su re­
m ents a lon g th e roa d . For this reas on th e
roa d fea tu re can b e m ore efficien tly rep re­
sen ted as a single graphics elem en t (A ron off
and Jones 1985).
In th e past, th e data in a G IS w er e s tored
eith er in ra s ter or vector form and w ere
d is p la yed w ith im a ge p roces s in g or vector
graphics tech n ology res p ectively. H ow ever
th ere is con s id era b le d em a n d for th e
ca pa b ility to dis play and m anipu late raster
and vector data sets togeth er. It has b een
a m ajor technical ch a llen ge to p rovid e this
typ e o f in tegra ted dis p la y fu nctionality. G IS
132 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
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hardware and softw are are now available that
p rovid e s om e in tegra ted ra ster and vector
capab ilities and th ere is rapid d evelop m en t
o f th e tech n ology to p rovid e a m ore sophis­
tica ted level o f integra tion (A ron off et. al.
1987). FEDCBA
R EFER EN CES
Amos. L.L. and M.J. Chambers. 1988. Revising the
N a tio n ’s Maps. Paper presented a t the 1988 ACSM-
ASPRS Annual Convention held in St. Louis, Missouri,
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o f th e G IS '8 7 C o n fe r e n c e . Am erican Society fo r
P hotogram m etry and Remote Sensing. Falls Church.
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m a t io n S y s te m s f o r L a n d R e s o u r c e s A s s e s s m e n t.
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Carter. J. R. 1988a. Dig ital Representations o f
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a n d R e m o te S e n s in g 54(1 1): I 577-1 580.
Carter, J. R. 1988b. Digital Representations of
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o f G e o g r a p h ic a l I n f o r m a t io n S y s te m s 1(3):265—2 77.
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R e m o te S e n s in g 54( I 1): I 571-1 576.
Dangerm ond, J. 1988. A Review o f Digital Data
Com m only Available and some o f the Practical
Problems o f Entering Them into a GIS. In P r o c e e d in g s
of th e 1988 A C S M -A S P R S Annual C o n v e n tio n .
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Sensing. Falls Church, Virginia. Volum e 5:1 -10.
Dulaney, R.A. 1987. A Geographic Inform ation System
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Sensing. Falls Church, Virginia, p p .2 06 -2 1 5.
Elassal. A.A. and V.M. Caruso. 1985. D ig it a l E le v a tio n
M o d e ls . Geological Survey Circular 895-B. U.S.
Geological Survey. Reston, Virginia.
Gugan, D.J. and I.J. Dowman. 1988. To pographic
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E n g in e e r in g a n d R e m o te S e n s in g 54( 10): 1409-1414.
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Teng. A po llo T. 1985. Interfacing with GBF/DIME and
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C o n fe re n c e . Urban and Regional Information Systems
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A u to m a te d C a r t o g r a p h y . University of O ttawa.
O ttawa. O ntario , p p .3 48-3 54.
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Cartographic Status and Developm ents in Canada —
Final Report (6 Volumes). O ttawa. O ntario.
Yan, J.Z. and J.P. Parker. 1985. A Framework for Coordi­
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tems Association. Washington. D.C. Volume 2: 132-143.
 5. D A TA
I N T R O D U C T I O N jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e cos t o f as ses sin g da ta qu ality va ries
P eo p le rou tin ely m a ke ju d gm en ts a b ou t
data qu ality. A d en tis t frien d exp la in ed to
m e that he w ou ld n ot a u tom a te his office
record s b eca u s e he w ou ld not b e a b le to
recogn ize from the com p u ter print-ou ts w h o
had en tered th e in form a tion . H e kn ew that
s om e assistants w er e m ore p er cep tive and
m ore a ccu ra te than oth ers . From th e h an d­
writing, he cou ld identify which assistant had
r ecor d ed th e data and he in terp reted th eir
entries accordingly. He was judging the quality
o f th e data b y th e assistant w h o en tered
th em . Th e qu ality o f th e data w as en cod ed
in th e ha n dw ritin g! Similarly, hikers learn
from ex p er ien ce that on top ogra p h ic maps
the position of trails are less accurately shown
than th e pos ition o f roa ds . Th eir ju d gm en t
o f th e rela tive qu ality o f th e trail and roa d
information gu ides their use of the map data.
Kn ow in g th e qu ality o f data is critical to
ju dging th e a p p lica tion s for which th ey a re
a p p rop ria te. W hen spatial analyses a re d on e
manu ally u sing m a p overla ys , u sers qu ickly
learn to shift th e m a p slightly to align b ou n d ­
a ries that shou ld overla p . A m ap overla y
m ay n ot b e p recis ely regis tered b u t with
th es e manu al a d ju stm en ts it can b e sh ifted
s o that any local a rea can b e regis tered
clos ely en ou gh for th e w ork at hand. This
typ e o f inform al a ss es s m en t o f da ta qu ality
and a llow a n ce for inaccu racies b rea k d ow n
w hen an a u tom a ted G IS is u sed. Im plicit
a ssu m p tion s a b ou t da ta qu ality mu st b e
m a d e exp licit so that th ey can b e p r op erly
a d d res s ed . In a com p u ter- b a s ed GIS, roa d s
eith er m eet or d o n ot m eet. Th e com p u ter
mu st b e p rog ra m m ed to trea t a line en d in g
1 mm s h ort o f th e roa d as con n ected . M is­
a lign m en t ca u sed b y position a l error is on e
of s evera l data qu ality issues to b e taken into
a ccou n t in using and maintaining G IS data.
Q U A L I T Y FEDCBA
with th e d eg r ee of rigou r n eed ed . Th e m ore
rigorou s th e d a ta qu ality testing, th e m ore
cos tly it b ecom es . This cos t is n ot on ly a
resu lt o f th e exp en s e o f p erform in g th e test,
b u t a lso o f th e d ela ys ca u sed in th e p rod u c­
tion p roces s to p erform th e tests and cor­
rect errors . For this reas on , th e level o f
tes tin g shou ld b e b a la n ced aga ins t th e cos t
o f th e con s equ en ces o f less a ccu ra te data
or a less rigorou sly confirm ed level o f quality.
D em andin g higher levels o f data qu ality than
a re actu ally n eed ed qu ickly b ecom es a sig­
nificant u n n eces sa ry ex p en s e w hen it is
a p p lied to an en tire G IS da ta b a s e. To illus­
tra te th e rela tion s h ip b etw een da ta qu ality
as ses sm en t and con s equ en ces , con s id er th e
qu ality a ss es sm en ts p r ovid ed for gen era l
p u rp os e tw in e and clim b in g rop e. P eo p le
u se gen era l p u rp os e tw in e for h ou s eh old
n eed s w ith ou t kn ow in g a b ou t its ten s ile
strength, d eteriora tion o ver tim e, or oth er
s p ecifica tion s. Th e con s eq u en ces o f mis­
ju dgin g th e tw in e's s trength a re gen era lly
n ot seriou s, and w hen p eo p le a re in d ou b t
th ey use m ore twine. But a clim b er's life may
d ep en d on th e p rop erties o f his safety rop e.
C lim b ing rop es u n d ergo rigorou s qu ality
tes tin g and a re p r ovid ed with d eta iled
qu ality tes t resu lts. B eca u s e th e con s e­
qu en ces o f failu re a re seriou s, th e n eed for
a rigorou s tes t o f th e r o p e ’s ch a ra cteristics
is con s id ered to b e w orth th e ex p en s e o f
tes tin g its qu ality. In a similar w a y, th e
exp en s e o f testing and record in g th e qu ality
o f th e da ta in a G IS shou ld b e m a tch ed to
th e con s equ en ces o f its in a p p rop ria te use.
Th e data in a G IS m ay b e u sed for a w id er
ra n ge o f an a lys es than w h en th e s a m e data
w ere in a non-digital form . In d eed this is on e
o f th e a d va n ta ges cited for u sing a G IS, th e
ca pa b ility to in tegra te d ivers e data sets that
134 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
p reviou s ly cou ld not b e a n a lysed togeth er.
H ow ever, the data may b e u sed in w ays not
fores een b y their p rod u cer and b y u sers
w ithou t the kn ow led ge or ex p erien ce to
ju dge w hether the application is appropriate.
An ira te la n d ow n er in W isconsin su ccess­
fully su ed th e state for in a p p rop ria tely
s h ow in g the h igh w a ter mark arou nd a lake-
s h ore on a standard top ogra p h ic map. In
this ca s e (discu ssed in C ha pter 8), th e user
did n ot realize that this typ e o f top ogra p h ic
m ap w a s n ot su fficiently a ccu ra te to sh ow
land p a rcel b ou nd aries in the con text of the
eleva tion data. As a con s equ en ce, it
a p p ea red that a portion of th e ow n er's land
w as b elo w th e high w a ter mark. A ccord in g
to th e laws of the state, land b elow the
h igh w a ter mark w as th e p rop erty of the
state. Thou gh th e error was su b s equ ently
corrected , th e ow n er su ccessfu lly su ed for
d a m a ges b eca u s e in the interim a reas on ­
a b le in terp retation of the m ap w ou ld have
cau sed her title to th e land to b e in d ou b t
(E pstein and Roitman 1987).
This is an exa m p le w h ere a m a p of known
quality, a US G eological S u rvey top ogra p h ic
map, w as u sed to p res en t data (the high­
w ater level) of unknown quality. An incorrect
assumption had b een made ab ou t the quality
of th e com b in ed da ta set (the top ogra p h ic
m ap w ith the hand- drawn h igh w a ter mark).
It had in correctly b een assu m ed to b e as
accu rate as th e top ogra p h ic m ap itself. Pro­
ducers o f geographic information are increas­
ingly b ein g held res p on s ib le w hen rea s on ­
ab le reliance on their data results in financial
losses or persona l injury. In a n oth er case,
the U .S. fed era l govern m en t w as held
resp on sib le for inaccu rately a nd negligently
show ing the location o f a b roadcasting tow er
on an aeronau tical chart. This w as shown to
h ave b een a contrib u ting fa ctor in a fatal
plan e crash (Epstein and Roitman 1987).
Th e qu ality of geogra p h ic data is often
exam ined only after incorrect decisions have
b een m a d e and financial losses or personal
injury h ave occu rred. Increasingly, produ cers
of geogra p h ic inform ation a re b ein g held
liab le w hen their produ cts a re fou nd to con ­
tain errors, a re p oorly design ed, or a re u sed
in w a ys and for p u rp os es u nintended b y
their des ign ers (Epstein 1987a). D ata qu ality
standards, a p p rop ria tley d efin ed , tes ted ,
and rep orted , can p rotect b oth th e p ro­
d u cer and u ser of geogra p h ic information.
W hen data a re p rovid ed in a standard for­
mat and at a d efin ed and a ccep ted level of
qu ality, th e p rod u cer is p rotected from
liab ility in the case of in a p p rop ria te use.
Such standards also p rotect th e u ser from
relyin g on in a p p rop ria te inform ation.
A G IS p rovid es th e m eans for geogra p h ic
inform ation to b e u sed for a b roa d er range
of applica tions and b y u sers with a w id er
range of skill than ever b efore. In ord er for
th ese data to b e u sed in decision-making,
their quality must b e predictab le and known.
A m ajor contribu tion tow a rd standardizing
the definition, assessment, and rep ortin g of
G IS data qu ality has b een m a d e b y the D ata
S et Q u ality W orkin g G rou p of the N ational
C ommittee for Digital Cartographic Data Stan­
dards. A su mmary of the data qu ality stan­
da rd s d evelop ed b y this w orkin g grou p, as
well as w ork on other aspects of cartographic
data standards, is p res en ted in the January
1988 issue of T h e A m e r ic a n C a r t o g r a p h e r .
This ch a pter p rovid es an overview of the
data qu ality factors that shou ld b e con ­
s id ered w hen using geogra p h ic information.
The im p orta n ce o f each fa ctor and th e level
of d eta il n eed ed to rep ort them will vary
d ep en d in g on th e con text in which th e GIS
is u sed. Th e standards of qu ality requ ired
of th e data in a GIS data b a s e and the
m eth od s u sed to m easu re qu ality must b e
explicitly d efin ed b efor e data en try b egins.
U ltim ately, th es e data qu ality standards
must s erve the n eed s of th e users, so the
u ser com m u nity must b e d irectly in volved
in s p ecifyin g th e data qu ality standards for
th e G IS data b a se and in d ea lin g with prac­
tical constraints like b u d get, technical
capab ilities, and rate of produ ction.

using the data. A measu re o f positional accu­
C O M P O N EN T S O F D A T A QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
racy comm only used in su rveying and photo-
Q U A L I T Y jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e characteristics that a ffect th e usefulness
o f data can b e d ivid ed into 9 com p on en ts .
Th es e have b een grou p ed into 3 categories:
m icro level com p on en ts , m acro level com ­
p onents, and u sage com pon en ts .
M IC R O LEVEL C O M P O N E N T S
M icro level com p on en ts a re data qu ality
fa ctors that pertain to the individu al data
elem en ts . Th es e com p on en ts a re usually
eva lu a ted b y statistical tes tin g of th e data
p rod u ct against an in d ep en d en t sou rce of
h igh er qu ality inform ation. Th ey inclu de
position al accu racy, attrib u te accu racy,
logical consistency, and resolu tion.
Po sit io n a l A ccu r a cy
Positional accu racy is the exp ected deviance
in th e geogra p h ic location of an ob ject in the
data set (e.g. on a map) from its tru e grou nd
position. It is usually tes ted b y selectin g a
s p ecified sam ple o f points in a p res crib ed
m anner and com pa rin g th e position coord i­
n ates with an in d ep en d en t and m ore accu ­
ra te sou rce o f inform ation. Th ere a re tw o
com p on en ts to positional accu racy: the bias
and the precision. Th e b ias refers to
s ystem a tic d is crep en cies b etw een th e rep ­
res en ted and tru e position. Idea lly th e b ias
shou ld b e zero, indicating no systematic ten ­
d en cy for the map position to differ from the
tru e position. Bias is com m on ly m ea su red
b y th e mean or a vera ge position al error of
th e sa m p le points.
Precis ion refers to th e dispers ion o f the
positional errors of the data elements. Preci­
sion is com m on ly es tim a ted b y calcu lating
th e standard d evia tion o f th e s elected tes t
points. A low standard d evia tion indicates
th a t th e disp ersion o f the positiona l errors
is narrow, i.e. the error tends to b e relatively
small. Th e higher th e precision of the m ea ­
su rem ent, th e grea ter th e con fid en ce in
135 FEDCBA
D a ta Q u a lity mlkjihgfedcbaZY
gra m m etry is th e root mean square error
(RM S ). It is calcu lated b y d eterm in in g th e
position al error o f th e tes t points, squ a ring
th e individu al devia tion s an d taking th e
squ are root of their sum. This m easu re d oes
not distinguish b etw een the bias and precision
com p on en ts o f accu racy. Th ere a re m any
applica tions w h ere th e data can b e m ore
effectively u sed if this information is known.
For exa m p le, a high precis ion b u t b ia s ed
data set m ay b e b etter u sed b y su b tracting
ou t the bias. A discu ssion o f th e m eth od s
u sed to calcu late positional accu racy can b e
fou nd in su rveying or p h otogram m etry texts.
A concise review o f positional accu racy stan­
da rds for la rge scale top ogra p h ic m a p p in g
can b e fou nd in M erch an t (1987).
A t t r ib u t e A ccu r a cy
Attrib u tes m ay b e d is crete or continu ou s
varia b les. A d is crete va ria b le can ta ke on
on ly a finite nu m b er o f valu es w h erea s a
continu ou s varia b le can take on any nu m b er
o f valu es. C a tegories like land use class,
vegeta tion typ e, or adm in istrative a rea a re
d is crete va riab les . Ratings a re a lso d is crete
va riab les . Th ey are, in effect, o r d er ed
ca tegories w h ere th e ord er indicates th e
hierarchy o f th e attrib u te. For exa m p le, th e
s everity o f soil eros ion might b e ranked on
a 4 p oin t scale from 1 indicating low soil
eros ion levels to 4 indicating s evere soil er o­
sion. Tree heights might b e given in h eigh t
classes on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 indicating
a height less than 1 m and 5 indicating heights
grea ter than 20 m. H ow ever, th e ra n ge o f
cond ition s in ca tegory 1 is n ot n ecess arily
equ al to the range of conditions in category 2.
C a tegory 2 m ay b e a heigh t ra n ge o f 1 m to
3 m. In s om e cases, ran ges that d on 't occu r
might not even b e given a rank at all. S o a
rank of 2.5 wou ld not b e valid. Variab les like
tem p era tu re, or a vera ge p rop erty valu e a re
continu ou s, th e va ria b le can take on a ny
valu e so in term ed ia te valu es a re valid.
136 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
The m eth od of assessing accu racy for con­
tinuous va riab les is similar to that discu ssed
for positiona l accu racy. Th e assess m en t of
the accu racy of d is crete va ria b les is the
dom ain of classification accu racy assess­
ment. Th e assessment o f classification accu ­
racy is a com p lex and s om ew h a t con trover­
sial p roced u re. It has received cons id era b le
a ttention in th e rem ote sensing literatu re.
Th e difficu lties in assessing classification
accu racy arise b eca u se accu racy m ea su re­
m ent is significantly a ffected b y such factors
as the nu m b er of classes, the sh a pe and size
o f individu al areas, th e w a y tes t points a re
s elected , and th e classes that a re confu sed
with each other.
For exa m p le, w etla nd s a lon g stream s are
typically long narrow areas. Thou gh they are
often im p orta n t for planning pu rposes,
these areas comm only make up less than 1%
of the total map area. In a random ly selected
sam ple of tes t points, th es e a rea s w ou ld
p rob a b ly not b e chosen. A classification
accu racy cou ld b e calcu lated from these test
points, b u t if no w etlan d points w ere tes ted
it w ou ld p rovid e little information ab ou t the
m ap accu racy o f the w etla n d class.
Even if tes t points a re s elected s ep ara tely
for each class, th ereb y ensu ring that the
w etla nd areas w ou ld b e assessed, the preci­
sion n eed ed to accu rately loca te th e test
points in the field may exceed the positional
accu racy of th e data b ein g tes ted . That is,
the b ou n d a ry may b e m a p p ed to within
10 m o f the tru e position, b u t the w etla nd
area m ay itself b e less than 10 m across. It
might n ot even b e poss ib le to loca te the
position in the field accu rately enou gh to b e
su re that th e correct s p ot is b ein g sampled.
A fu rther difficu lty is that sharp b ou nd aries
often d o n ot actu ally exist even thou gh th ey
a re m a p p ed with clean sharp lines. A fores t
ed g e or w etla nd ed g e is usually a zon e
s evera l m eters or ten s o f m eters in width.
As a resu lt of factors such as these, the
assessm ent of classification a ccu racy is not
en tirely ob jective. D esp ite th es e difficulties,
a nu m b er of useful a p p roa ch es to classifi­
cation accu racy h a ve b een d evelop ed . An
a p p r op r ia te, w ell- a ccep ted , and w ell-
d ocu m en ted a ccu ra cy tes t sh ou ld be
s elected . The test results, tes t data, and the
a ssessm en t m eth od should all b e rep orted .
By rep ortin g the test data u sed in the
classification assessment, th e u ser can
re- in terp ret th e tes t in form ation for a
s p ecific application. Recen t discussions of
classification accu racy can be fou nd in
A ron off (1982 a,b ), C ongalton and M ea d
(1983), S tory and C ongalton (1986), and
W alsh et al. (1987). FEDCBA
Lo g ica l Co n sist e n cy
Logical consistency refers to how well logical
relations a m on g data elem en ts a re main­
tained . For exa m ple, it w ou ld not b e con­
sistent to map som e fores t stand b ou ndaries
to th e cen ter of a dja cen t roads, and som e
to th e road ed ge. Th ey a re norm ally all
m a p p ed to th e roa d ed g e. Political and
a d m in is tra tive b ou n d a ries d efin ed by
physical fea tu res shou ld p recis ely overla y
those featu res. Th e ed g e of a p rop erty that
b ord ers a lake shou ld coin cid e with the lake
b ou nd ary.
An unusual p rob lem is en cou n tered when
m a pp in g a rea s with reservoirs. The w a ter
level in a res ervoir will flu ctu ate over the
year. D ifferent G IS data layers may show the
res ervoir b ou n d ary at d ifferen t locations,
d ep en d in g on th e d a te of th e mapping. As
a resu lt, th e res ervoir b ou n d a ries may b e
accu rately delin ea ted, bu t logica lly inconsis­
ten t a m on g data layers. In this case, the
prob lem was s olved b y provid ing a standard
outline for each reservoir. The representation
of the res ervoir on each data la yer was then
m a d e to conform to th e standard ou tline.
It is important to realize that tw o data sets
may b e correct to their s p ecified level of
positional accu racy and yet n ot b e logically
consistent. This is b eca u se th e same b ou n d ­
ary can b e m a p p ed in slightly d ifferen t

p osition s in tw o data sets, yet still m eet the
requ ired level o f position al accu racy. W hen
th e data sets a re overla yed , this slight
d is crep en cy in position will crea te a thin
u niqu e a rea , term ed a sliver, in th e region
b etw een th e tw o b ou n d a ries (as discu ssed
in C h a p ter 7). S om e G1S s oftw a re a re a b le
to a ccom m od a te this typ e o f pos ition a l dis­
crep a n cy b y assigning a b an d o f u ncertainty
a rou nd a fea tu re. Then tw o fea tu res that
h a ve overla p p in g b a n ds of u ncertainty
w ou ld b e trea ted as if th ey w ere coinciden t.
(A b ou n d a ry that is trea ted as a b a n d of
u n certa in ty is o ften ter m ed a fuzzy
boundary.)
Th ere is no sta nd ard m ea s u re of logical
consistency. D iscrepen cies in th e position of
coin cid en t fea tu res can b e m ea s u red . H ow ­
ever, th ere m ay b e m any com b in a tion s of
elem en ts that shou ld h a ve a logica lly con ­
sistent relation sh ip. M ea su ring th e d is crep ­
ancies o f all p os s ib le overla y com b in a tion s
w ou ld n ot b e practical.
Logica l cons is tency is b es t a d d res s ed
b e fo r e data a re en tered in th e G1S data
b ase. A map p repa ra tion sta ge is com m on ly
u sed du ring which individu al m a ps that are
to b e digitized a re checked and, if necessary,
re- d ra fted to correct errors an d recon cile
d is crep a n cies like logical inconsistencies.
(This p roces s o f recon cilin g data la yers has
b een term ed conflation. It is discu s sed in
C h a p ter 7.) FEDCBA
Re so lu t io n
Th e resolu tion o f a data s et is th e sm allest
d is cern a b le unit or th e sm allest unit r ep r e­
s en ted . in th e ca se o f im ages, such as air-
p h otos or satellite im agery, resolu tion refers
to the smallest ob ject that can b e discerned,
also term ed spatial resolution. For ca m era
system s this is usually rep orted in lines/mm.
A resolu tion of 80 lines/mm is typ ica l for
a eria l m a p p in g ca m era system s. For digital
scanning systems, such as s a tellite sensors,
th e spatial res olu tion is d efin ed as the size
137 jihgfedc
D a ta Q u a lity mlkjihgfedcbaZY
o f th e pictu re elem en ts or pixels of which
th e im a ge is com p os ed . A pixel is th e a rea
o f th e ea rth 's su rface rep res er.ted b y a
single digital im a ge valu e. A m ore d eta iled
discu ssion of spatial res olu tion in im a gery
can b e fou nd in C h a p ter 3.
For them atic maps, such as soil maps, land
u se maps, and oth er ca tegorized data, th e
resolu tion is th e size o f th e sm allest ob ject
th at is rep res en ted , term ed th e minimum
mappingunit. Th e decision o f h ow small an
ob ject to inclu de in a m ap is m a d e du ring
th e m ap com p ila tion p roces s . Factors like
th e ex p ected use o f th e map, legib ility,
s ou rce data accu racy, and draftin g exp en s e
a re con s id ered in s electin g th e minimu m
m a p p in g unit. Th e s election of th e m ap
resolu tion is fu n da m en ta lly a ju d gm en t call
in which b oth th e p res en ta tion o f the in for­
mation and th e s tora ge of that inform a tion
mu st b e a d d res s ed .
In a G IS, th e p res en ta tion o f th e in form a ­
tion and th e s tora ge o f th e data a re s ep a ­
rate. Th e geogra p h ic data s tored in th e G IS
data b a s e can b e p res en ted at any scale.
La b ellin g and oth er m ap d eta ils can b e
a d d ed as n eed ed to suit th e scale of th e
ou tpu t. In this sense, th e geogra p h ic data in
a G IS d o n ot rea lly exist at a sp ecific scale,
and so th e minimu m m a p p in g unit can b e
s et ver y small, even for la rge cover a g e
areas. Th e am ou nt of d eta il to b e show n on
a m ap ou tpu t can b e s elected w h en s p eci­
fyin g th e ou tpu t. For a m ap o f a la rge
covera g e area, th e plotting of small fea tu res
can b e su p p res sed .
Th e ea s e with which th e geogra p h ic data
in a G IS can b e u sed at any scale highlights
th e im p orta n ce o f a ccu rate data qu ality
in form ation. Althou gh th e data d o n ot h a ve
a s p ecific scale, th ey w er e p rod u ced with
levels of accu racy and res olu tion that m ake
it a p p rop ria te to u se them at on ly certain
scales. U sing a GIS, a 1:50,000 scale map for
exa m p le, cou ld b e p rod u ced from data that
w er e d igitized from a 1:500,000 scale
g eolo g y map. H ow ever, th e m ap w ou ld not
138 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
h a ve th e qu ality o f geologica l m a pp in g
origina lly d on e at that scale. S o the map
shou ld b e u sed as if th e data had the qu ality
o f th e 1:500,000 scale m ap from which th e
data w er e taken, not th e 1:50,000 scale at
which it w as p lotted .
M A C R O LEVEL C O M P O N E N T S
M a cro level com p on en ts o f data qu ality
perta in to th e data set as a w h ole. Th ey a re
not generally am enab le to testing but instead
a re eva lu a ted b y ju d gm en t (in th e ca se of
com p leten es s ) or b y rep ortin g in form ation
a b ou t th e data, such as the acqu isition date.
Th ree macro level components are discussed:
com p leten es s , tim e, and lin ea ge. FEDCBA
Co m p le t e n e ss
Th ere a re s evera l a s p ects to com p leten es s
as it pertains to data qu ality. Th ey a re
grou p ed h ere into th ree ca tegories : com ­
p leten es s of covera g e, classification, and
verifica tion .
Th e com p leten es s o f cover a g e is the p r o­
p ortion of data a va ila b le for th e a rea of
interes t. A data set m ay not p rovid e com ­
p lete a rea l cover a g e of th e a rea o f in terest
or attrib u te data m ay not b e a va ila b le for
s om e portion of th e data set. Ideally, a data
s et w ou ld p r ovid e 100% covera ge. H ow ­
ever, many data sets a re p rogres s ively
u p d a ted . A gen cies res p on s ib le for la rge
m a p p in g p rojects regu la rly pu blish a m ap
in dex sh ow in g th os e m aps cu rrently avail­
ab le. W hen information is n eed ed ab ou t the
cu rren t status o f a resou rce, th e m ost cu r­
ren t in form a tion m ay b e th e m os t su itab le.
In oth er cases, such as com p a ra tive anal­
yses, it may b e m ore im portant to have con­
sis tency within th e data set. An old er data
set for th e en tire stu dy a rea m ay b e m ore
a p p rop ria te than a p a tch w ork of m ore
recen t data collected in d ifferen t years.
Th e com p leten es s o f classification and the
com p leten es s o f verifica tion a re im p orta n t
data qu ality fa ctors that can d eterm in e the
su itab ility o f a data set for an applica tion.
Th es e m ore su b tle aspects of data com p lete­
ness a re m ore difficu lt to assess. W h erea s
p ercen ta g e cover a g e can be m ea su red,
th es e m ore su b tle characteristics a re ju dged
qu a lita tively and r ep or ted as a des crip tion
rath er than as a nu merical valu e, it shou ld
n ot b e con s id ered that th es e necess arily
qu a lita tive a ss es sm en ts a re any less im p or­
tant than th e qu an tita tive ones . In fact, the
op p os ite is usually th e case.
C om pleten es s of classification is an assess­
m en t o f h ow w ell th e ch os en classification
is a b le to rep res en t th e data. Th e com p lete­
ness o f a classification m ay b e eva lu a ted
with referen ce to a standard classification or
on its ow n m erits with referen ce to s p ecific
applica tions . Ta b le 5.1 is an exa m p le of a
classification that exhib its s evera l typ es of
in com p leten es s . For a classification to b e
com p lete it shou ld b e exhau stive, that is it
shou ld b e p os s ib le to en cod e all data at the
s elected level o f detail. In this exa m p le, the
su b divisions of th e liv e s to c k ca tegory are not
exha u s tive. If th e liv e s t o c k ca tegory h o r s e s
occu rs, it ca n not b e en cod ed at this level.
It w ou ld h a ve to b e en cod ed at th e s econ d
level as liv e s t o c k .
Th e su b divisions of th e t r u c k c r o p ca te­
gory a re exhau stive in that th ere is an a p p ro­
pria te ca tegory for any possib le occu rrence.
H ow ever it m ay lack com p leten es s of deta il
for a s p ecific use. P o t a t o w ou ld fall into th e
O t h e r ca tegory. So, an es tim a te of p ota to
crop a rea cou ld n ot b e ob ta in ed if th e data
had b een en cod ed using this classification.
A m ore su b tle com p leten es s p rob lem
can a ris e w h en th e d efinition s o f th e ca te­
gories a re overla p p in g, i.e. an ob s erva tion
cou ld b e a ss igned to m ore than on e class.
Th e w a y classes a re d efin ed will a ffect h ow
consistently and accu rately th e fea tu res can
b e a ssign ed to classes. An in a p p rop ria te
classification can significantly b ias th e data.
In Ta b le 5.1, th e F o r e s t class has b een su b ­
d ivid ed into th ree classes. It is often difficu lt
to d efin e th es e fores t classes p recis ely
 139
D a ta Q u a lity mlkjihgfedcbaZY

Table 5.1 S a m p le C la s s ific a tio n to Illu s tra te C o n c e p ts o f C o m p le te n e s s .

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

A g r ic u lt u r e y— G ra in s
— T r u c k C ro p s t — B r o c c o li
— C a r r o ts
— T o m a to e s
— O th e r

I— L iv e s to c k — C a ttle
— Hogs
— Sheep

F o re s t C o n ife r o u s t — P in e
— S p ru c e
L F ir jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONM
— D e c id u o u s
— M ix e d w o o d

U rb a n

Water

b ecau se th ere is usually a continu ou s gra d a ­
tion of fores t typ es from pu rely d ecid u ou s
throu gh variou s mixtu res o f con iferou s and
decidu ou s species to pu re coniferou s stands.
D ep en d in g on th e d efinition s u sed, th e
rep orted a rea o f each fores t typ e will va ry
significantly. Also, distinctions a m on g the
classes a re difficult to assess close to the cut­
off point. Th e d ifferen ce b etw een 20% conif­
erou s and 25% con iferou s is difficu lt to
d eterm in e visu ally on mediu m s ca le aerial
p h otogra p h s . This will ten d to m ake the
classification inconsistent.
Class d efin ition s m ay also d iffer a m on g
m ap s h eets as a resu lt of th e individu al or
th e orga n ization that p rod u ced them . A d ja ­
cent fores t districts may use slightly differen t
class definition s. As a resu lt th e m aps may
b e a ccu rate in term s of p osition and classi­
fication, b u t th e b ou n d a ries from a d ja cen t
maps m ay not match if th ey w er e p rod u ced
b y d ifferen t fores t districts. By kn ow in g the
w a y th e classes h ave b een d efin ed , the u ser
can assess w h eth er th e classes a re a p p r o­
p ria te for th e a p plica tion at hand. U n for­
tu nately, th e inform ation n eed ed to assess
th e classification is usually b u ried in lengthy
and com p lex internal d ocu m en ts , such as
p roced u re manuals, that a re not easily
ob tained or assessed b y the user of the data.
C om p leten es s o f verifica tion refers to the
am ou nt and distrib u tion o f field m eas u re­
ments or oth er in d ep en d en t sou rces o f
in form a tion that w er e u sed to d evelo p th e
data. G eologis ts indica te this a s p ect of data
qu ality b y using solid lines to map rock typ es
for which th ey h a ve d irect field evid en ce,
such as b ou n d a ries th ey cou ld actu ally s ee.
B ou ndaries that w ere inferred bu t cou ld not
b e verified a re show n as d a s h ed or d otted
lines. This is the convention u sed in geology,
b u t th ere is no sta ndard m eth od to rep ort
com p leten es s o f verificia tion in GIS. D ata
sets a re usually p rovid ed w ith ou t this in for­
mation and so the u ser w ou ld not know that
d ifferen t b ou ndaries or classes w ere verified
to d ifferen t d egrees . C om p leten es s of verifi­
cation m ay b e in dica ted within th e data s et
as an attrib u te of th e geogra p h ic featu res.
It m ay also b e rep orted in th e form o f a
s ep a ra te map show ing the location and typ e
of verifica tion data collected .
Th e as ses sm en t of com p leten es s has
usually b een lim ited to rep ortin g covera ge.
140 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Reporting of qu alitative assessments of com ­
pleteness, such as classification and verifica­
tion, ha ve b een la rgely ign ored . H ow ever,
th ey a re as pects of data qu ality that can b e
critical to th e a p p rop ria te u se of th e data. FEDCBA
tion w hen mu ltiple data sets, collected in de­
T im e
Tim e is a critical fa ctor in using many typ es
o f geogra p h ic information. D em ogra p h ic
inform ation is usually very tim e sensitive. It
can ch ange significantly over a year. Land
cover will ch ange qu ickly in an area of rapid
u rb anization. S om e data will b e significantly
b ia s ed d ep en d in g on th e tim e p eriod over
which th ey a re collected . For exa m p le, in
areas that p rod u ce mu ltiple crop s p er year,
th e crop typ es grow n in an area change with
the seasons. Th e tim e p eriod over which the
land cover is m a p p ed will then significantly
a ffect the in form ation ob ta in ed a b ou t crop
a rea s and distribu tion.
Th e tim e a s p ect o f data qu ality is m ost
com m on ly rep orted as the d a te of the
sou rce material, such as the d a te o f aerial
p h otogra p h y. Top ogra p h ic m aps usually
inclu de u pda ting inform ation, and sh ow
u pd a ted featu res like roads and urban areas
in a s ep a ra te colou r. O n th e n ew map the
d a te o f th e original aerial p h otogra p h y and
th e d a te o f the u pda te information are b oth
n oted. Similar rep ortin g shou ld b e inclu ded
in th e G IS data b ase.
For geogra p h ic in form ation that changes
rela tively qu ickly over time, the d a te of
acqu isition m ay b e a very im p orta n t attri­
bu te. For example, a municipal GIS is usually
orga n ized so that th e d a y- to- d a y transac­
tions a re u sed to u p d a te th e data b a s e
directly. In this w a y th e p roced u re u sed to
constru ct a n ew roa d or regis ter a ch ange
o f land ow n ers h ip inclu des tran s action s th at
d irectly u p d a te the data b ase. In natural
res ou rce applications, such as fores try and
agricu ltu re, geogra p h ic data a re u p d a ted
p eriod ica lly. Fores t in ven tory maps m ay
b e u p d a ted on a 5 to 10 yea r basis. C rop
cond ition cha nges rapidly over th e grow in g
season and is com m on ly u p d a ted on a
w eekly basis.
Tim e is a frequ ently overlooked considera­
p en d en tly, a re u sed togeth er. Th e b ou n d ­
aries o f a flood p la in taken from a land
cover m ap m ay ha ve b een m a p p ed much
m ore recen tly than th e top ogra p h ic map
from which th e river b ou n d a ries w ere
ob tain ed . W hen the in d ep en d en t mappings
a re com b in ed , the position of th e river m ay
b e inconsistent with its floodpla in. Th e posi­
tion o f th e river may ha ve ch an ged signifi­
cantly (s ee Logica l C onsistency discu ssed
previou sly).
Lin e a g e
Th e lin ea ge of a data set is its history, the
sou rce data and proces s in g steps u sed to
p rod u ce it. Th e sou rce data m ay inclu de
transaction record s , field notes, airph otos,
and oth er maps. Th e p roced u res m ay va ry
from sketch m a pp in g to s tereocom p ila tion
using p h otogra m m etric instru ments o f high
precision. A lin ea ge rep ort docu m en ts this
information. For example, the lineage rep ort
for a top ogra p h ic map w ou ld inclu de the
d a te o f the aerial p h otogra p h y u sed, the
p h otogra m m etric m eth od s u sed to map the
contou r lines and cultural fea u res from the
a irp h otos, th e u se o f check points for
p h otogra m m etric control, and the m eth od s
u sed to gen era te the final map.
Each data sou rce and proces s in g m eth od
introd u ces a level of error into the in form a ­
tion that is u ltimately p rod u ced . In s om e
cases, a kn ow led ge of the lin ea ge can b e an
im p ortan t con s id era tion in ch oosin g a data
set for a specific application. Lin ea ge in for­
mation. if it exists, is com m on ly in the form
of p roced u re manu als or oth er internal
docu m ents b u t is not usually p rovid ed with
the data set. Ideally, s om e indication of
lin ea ge shou ld b e inclu ded with the data set
since th e internal docu m en ts a re rarely

a va ila b le and usually requ ire con s id era b le
exp ertis e to evalu ate. U nfortu nately, lineage
information m ost often exists as th e personal
exp erien ce of a few staff m em b ers and is not
rea d ily a va ila b le to m os t users.
USAGE C O M P O N E N TS
Th e u s a ge com p on en ts o f da ta qu ality are
sp ecific to th e resou rces o f th e organization.
Th e effect of da ta cost, for exa m p le,
d ep en d s on th e financial res ou rces o f the
orga n iza tion . A given data s et m ay b e too
exp en s ive for on e orga n iza tion and b e con­
s id ered in exp en s ive b y a n oth er. A ron off
(1985) discu sses h ow the sa m e satellite data
w er e in exp en s ive for an oil com p a n y to use
for exp lora tion b u t to o ex p en s ive for a
w ild life a gen cy to u se for hab ita t m apping.
A n oth er u sa ge fa ctor is acces sib ility. The
a cces s ib ility of th e d a ta d ep en d s
im p os ed u sa ge restriction s (e.g. th e data
m ay b e restricted ) and th e human and com ­
pu ter res ou rces o f th e orga n iza tion . FEDCBA
A cce ssib ilit y
Acces s ib ility refers to th e ea s e o f ob ta in in g
and using data. Th e acces sib ility o f a data
s et m a y b e res tricted b eca u s e th e da ta a re
p riva tely held. A cces s to govern m en t- h eld
inform ation m ay b e restricted for reas ons of
national secu rity or to p rotect citizen rights.
Censu s data a re usually res tricted in this
w a y. E ven w h en th e right to u se res tricted
data can b e ob ta in ed , th e tim e and effort
n eed ed to actu ally receive th e in form a tion
m a y red u ce its overa ll su itab ility.
D ir e ct an d I n d ir e ct Co st s
Th e d irect cost of a data s et pu rchased from
a n oth er orga n iza tion is usually w ell- know n;
it is th e p rice paid for th e data. H ow ever,
w hen th e data a re g en er a ted within the
organization, the tru e cost may b e unknown.
As s es s in g th e tru e cos t o f th es e da ta is
usually difficu lt or im p os s ib le b eca u s e the
141 jihgfedc
D a ta Q u a lity mlkjihgfedcbaZY
s ervices and equ ip m en t u sed in th eir p r o­
du ction s u p p ort oth er a ctivities as w ell.
Th e in d irect costs inclu de all th e tim e and
m a teria ls u sed to m a ke u se o f th e data.
W h en da ta a re pu rcha sed from a n oth er
orga n ization , th e in d irect costs m ay actu ally
b e m ore significant than th e d irect on es . It
m ay take lon ger for staff to handle data with
which th ey a re u nfamiliar, or th e data m ay
n ot b e com p a tib le with th e oth er da ta sets
to b e u sed. For exa m p le, th e data may b e in
a non-digital form a t or in a digital form at that
ca n n ot b e d irectly inpu t to th e G IS on which
it is to b e u sed. C on vertin g th e data to a
compatib le format may simply involve running
an existing convers ion program . It might also
b e proh ib itively exp en s ive if non-digital data
mu st b e d igitized or if specia l con vers ion
s oftw a re must b e written. In th es e cases, the
human and technical res ou rces o f th e orga ­
on
nization m ay la rgely d eterm in e w h eth er th e
data a re u sab le and h ow exp en s ive it will b e
to h a n d le th e con vers ion .
S O U R C ES O F ER R O R
Th ere is error ass ocia ted with all geogra p h ic
in form a tion . E rror is in trod u ced at eve r y
s tep in th e p roces s o f gen era tin g and using
geog ra p h ic inform a tion , from collection of
th e s ou rce da ta to th e in terp reta tion o f th e
resu lts o f a com p leted analysis. Th e follow ­
ing discu ssion review s th e m a jor typ es of
errors that a re in trod u ced at each s ta ge of
geogra p h ic inform ation processin g. S om e of
th e m ore com m on errors a re listed in
The objective in dealing with
Ta b le 5.2.
error should not be to eliminate it but to
manage it. A ch ievin g th e low es t p os s ib le
level o f error m ay n ot b e th e m os t cost-
effective a p p roa ch . Th ere is a tra d e- off
b etw een red u cin g th e level o f error in th e
data b a s e and th e cos t to crea te and main­
tain th e data b a se. Th e level o f error in a
G IS n eed s to b e m a n a ged s o tha t data
errors will n ot invalidate th e information that
th e system is u sed to p rovid e.
142 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

Table 5.2. C o m m o n S o u rc e s o f E rro r E n c o u n te re d in U sing a G IS. GFEDCBA

S ta g e S o u rc e s o f Error

D a ta C o lle c tio n e rro rs in f ie ld d a ta c o lle c t io n

e rro rs in e x is tin g m a p s u s e d a s s o u r c e d a ta
e rro rs in th e a n a ly s is o f r e m o te ly s e n s e d d a ta

D a ta In p u t in a c c u r a c ie s in d ig it iz in g c a u s e d b y o p e r a to r a n d e q u ip m e n t
in a c c u r a c ie s in h e r e n t in th e g e o g r a p h ic fe a tu r e (e .g . e d g e s , s u c h
a s fo r e s t e d g e s , t h a t d o n o t o c c u r a s s h a r p b o u n d a rie s )

D a ta S to ra g e in s u f f ic ie n t n u m e r ic a l p r e c is io n
in s u f f ic ie n t s p a tia l p r e c is io n

D a ta M a n ip u la tio n in a p p r o p r ia te c la s s in te r v a ls
b o u n d a r y e rro rs
e r r o r p r o p o g a tio n a s m u lt ip le o v e rla y s a re c o m b in e d
s liv e r s c a u s e d b y p r o b le m s in p o ly g o n o v e rla y p ro c e d u r e s

D a ta O u tp u t s c a lin g in a c c u r a c ie s
e r r o r c a u s e d by in a c c u r a c y o f th e o u t p u t d e v ic e
e r r o r c a u s e d b y in s t a b ilit y o f th e m e d iu m

U s e o f R e s u lts th e in f o r m a tio n m a y be in c o r r e c t ly u n d e r s to o d
th e in fo r m a tio n m a y be in a p p r o p r ia te ly u s e d

DataCollectionErrors. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
E rror exists in the tra ced , and th e accu racy with
origin al s ou rce m aterials that a re en tered
into th e G1S. Th es e errors m ay b e a resu lt
o f inaccu racies in field m eas u rem ents , inac­
cu rate equ ip m en t, or In correct record in g
proced u res . Mu ch of th e data inpu t to a G IS
a re gen era ted using rem ote sensing tech ­
niqu es. Th ere a re inaccu racies in th e photo-
gra m m etric m eth od s u sed to d ra w m aps
and m eas u re eleva tion s . A irp h oto or sa tel­
lite image interpretations introdu ce a d egree
o f error in th e classification and
delin ea tion of b ou nd aries.
Data Input. Th e data inpu t d evices u sed
to en ter geogra p h ic data all in trodu ce p os i­
tional errors. For exa m p le, digitizin g ta b les
a re com m only accu rate to fractions of a milli­
m etre, but the accu racy varies over the digit­
izing su rface. Th e cen ter o f a digitizing ta b le
com m on ly has a high er position al accu racy
than the ed ges . Th e op era tor in trodu ces
error in th e w a y th e m a p is regis tered on
th e digitizing ta b le, th e b ou n d a ries
which the
attribu tes and lab el information a re en tered .
E rror is in trod u ced in th e w a y spatial in for­
m ation is rep res en ted . C u rved b ou n d a ries
a re a p p roxim a ted b y a series o f straightline
segm en ts . Th e sm aller th e s egm en ts u sed,
th e m ore clos ely the b ou n d a ry is a p p roxi­
m a ted . H ow ever, the sm aller th e line s eg­
ments th e m ore data points a re g en era ted
and, con s equ en tly, the la rger th e data files
p rod u ced . N o m atter h ow ca refu lly b ou n d ­
in the aries and poin ts a re en tered , s om e residu al
error will a lw ays remain. E rrors in th e p os i­
tion o f natural b ou n d a ries a re often intro­
d u ced b eca u s e th e b ou n d a ry d oes not in
fact exist as a sharp line. A fores t ed g e,
thou gh draw n as a definite line, usually exists
as a zon e that may b e severa l m eters or tens
of m eters w id e.
Data Storage. W hen data a re s tored in
digital form, th ey must b e stored with a finite
level of precision. A com m on ly u sed s tora ge
a re form in a vector- b a s ed G IS is th e 32-b it real

nu m b er format. This p rovid es at m ost seven
significant digits. All th es e digits m ay b e
n eed ed . For exa m ple, U TM geogra p h ic
coord in a tes use seven significant digits.
A G IS data b a s e that contains inform ation
with levels of detail ranging from fractions
of a m eter to full U TM coord in a tes w ou ld
requ ire grea ter precision. To retain the accu­
racy o f such d ivers e data, m ore than seven
significant digits wou ld b e n eed ed . O ne solu­
tion is to s tore all valu es in d ou b le precision
form at, i.e. u se 64 b its instead o f 32 b its for
each value. H ow ever, using d ou b le precision
valu es increases the volu m e of data to b e
s tored .
This typ e of limitation can b e much m ore
critical w hen th e data a re s tored in raster
form . Each valu e in a raster file rep res en ts
a unit of th e terrain, term ed a pixel. The
pixel size s elected determ in es the positional
accu racy with which the data will b e stored.
If th e data a re en cod ed u sing a pixel size of
10 m b y 10 m, then even if th e geogra p h ic
position of a point is exactly known to a frac­
tion o f a m eter it can only b e rep res en ted
to the n ea rest 10 m. Th ere is a loss of accu ­
racy h ere b ecau se the terrain has b een regu ­
larly s u b d ivid ed into d is crete squ a re areas,
th e pixels. In th eory, higher levels of spatial
resolu tion cou ld b e ob ta in ed b y simply
d efin in g a la rger nu m b er of pixels. In prac­
tise, th e limitations o f th e com p u ter hard­
w a re a re qu ickly ex ceed ed b eca u s e the file
size increa ses b y th e squ are o f the resolu ­
tion. Thus, increasing the resolution 10 times
from 10 m pixels to 1 m pixels w ou ld
in crea se th e file size b y a b ou t 100 times.
For b oth vector and raster-b ased systems,
in ord er to ob tain higher levels of precision
th ere is a d irect cost as a resu lt of the
in crea sed s tora ge and the d ecrea s ed p er­
form an ce. As discu ssed in C h apter 6, the
vector data m od el is b etter su ited to storing
high precision coord in a tes for discrete map
elements. The raster data m od el tends to b e
b etter su ited for rep res en tin g m ea su re­
m ents that va ry continu ou sly over an area.
143 jihgfedc
D ata Q u a lity mlkjihgfedcbaZY
Data Manipulation. M any G IS analysis
p roced u res in volve the com b in in g of mul­
tip le overla ys . As the n u m b er of overla ys
u sed in an analysis increase, th e nu m b er of
p os s ib le op p ortu n ities for error increase.
Th e highest accu racy p os s ib le will not b e
b etter than the least accu rate inpu t overla y.
M a ny manipu lation errors arise from the
rep res en ta tion of b ou nd aries. As n oted
previou sly, th e sam e b ou n d a ry may b e
draw n slightly d ifferen tly in tw o overla ys.
Th e m ore com p lex the sh ape o f th e b ou n d ­
ary, th e m ore of a p rob lem this b ecom es .
In an overla y op era tion , this mismatch will
create inaccuracies in the results (N ew com er
and Szajgin 1984).
Th ere is also a level of inaccu racy inherent
in th e w a y classes a re d efin ed . M any con ­
tinuous ph enom ena, such as vegeta tion and
soils, a re m a p p ed as h om ogen eou s map
units with sharp b ou ndaries. Th es e maps are
term ed choropleth or thematic maps.
H ow ever, in reality th ere is variab ility within
each map unit. The map p olygon lab elled as
a Pine stand may very w ell contain oth er
sp ecies of trees in small nu mb ers. W hen the
data a re com p iled a decision is m a d e that
mini­
areas b elow a certain size (term ed the
mummappingunit) will not b e recogn ized
within an oth erw is e h om ogen eou s map unit.
W hile this m ay b e qu ite a ccep ta b le for the
applications en vision ed b y th os e creating
the m ap, it may b e u n a ccep ta b le w hen
a p p lied to analyses th ey did not fores ee.
(S ee c la s s if ic a t io n a c c u ra c y d is cu s s ed
previou sly.)
A soil materials map may s h ow an area to
b e sandy soil. In an a pplication like forestry,
the p res en ce of 15% clay soils in this map
unit w ou ld not norm ally restrict the use of
th ese data. H ow ever, in siting housing, th e
p res en ce of clay inclusions is important.
A hou s e sited partly on clay and partly on
sandy soil will tend to settle u nevenly, crack­
ing the walls and fou ndation. To a void these
s ettlem en t p rob lem s, an intensive soil
su rvey w ou ld b e n eed ed . By u nderstanding
144 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
th e accu racy o f th e class des ign ations th e
n eed for a m ore d eta iled su rvey cou ld b e
anticipated.
Data Output. A t th e data ou tpu t stage,
error can b e in trod u ced in th e p lottin g of
m a ps b y th e ou tpu t d evice and b y th e
shrinkage and sw ellin g o f th e m ap material.
As p a p er shrinks and swells, m eas u rem ents
taken from th e m ap will b e ch a nged . O n a
small scale map, th e m illim eter ch anges can
rep res en t s evera l m eters at th e grou nd
resolu tion.
Use of Results. E rror is also in trod u ced
w hen th e rep orts gen era ted b y a C IS a re
in correctly u sed. Results m ay be mis­
in terp reted , accu racy levels ign ored , and
inappropriate analyses accepted. This sou rce
o f error w ou ld s eem to b e in d ep en d en t of
th e G IS. But, in fact, th e resu lting errors in
decision-making rep res en t errors in the p ro­
cess o f using geogra p h ic information. U nless
critically eva lu a ted , th es e errors a re often
a ttrib u ted to th e G IS facility. FEDCBA
A N O TE A BO U T A CCU R A CY
Accu ra cy is a term that is w id ely u sed and
com m on ly m is u n derstood. Accuracy is the
likelih ood that a p red iction will b e correct.
In th e case of a map, th e positional accu racy
is th e likelih ood that th e position o f a point
as d eterm in ed from th e m ap will b e the
"tr u e” position, i.e. th e position d eterm in ed
b y m ore accurate information, such as b y field
su rvey. C lassification accu racy is th e p rob a ­
b ility that th e class assigned to a location on
th e m ap is th e class that w ou ld b e fou nd at
that location in th e field.
N o m ap can b e 100% accu rate. Th ere will
a lw ays b e s om e level o f error. Th e d eg r ee
o f accu racy is often s ta ted as a ra n ge or a
value. A distance is measu red as I 50 m "plu s
or minus" 0.5 m or the classification accuracy
is stated to b e 90% correct. H ow ever, these
sta tem en ts a re in com p lete in an im p orta n t
w ay; th ey h a ve not inclu ded th e p r o b a b i l i t y
on which the accu racy a sses sm ent is b ased.
A N EXAM PLE
To illu strate th e im p orta n ce o f p rob a b ility
in accu racy assessm ent, an exa m p le is p re­
sen ted in Figu re 5.1. For simplicity, only fou r
poin ts a re con s id ered , althou gh in practise
ten s o f points w ou ld b e u sed. A ls o for sim­
plicity, th e a b s olu te distan ces b etw een the
m a p p ed and tru e positions are u sed instead
o f s ep a ra tely evalu a ting th e error in th e X
and Y direction s and distingu ishing p os itive
and n ega tive errors.
In Figu re 5.1 pa rt A th e tru e coord in a te
position s of fou r points and their position s
on the map a re shown. Th e small differen ces
b etw een th e tru e loca tion s and map loca ­
tions a re the positional errors of the points.
(Positional errors h ave b een exa ggera ted in
th e illu stration for clarity.) Th e a ccom ­
p a n yin g ta b le lists each p oin t and its p os i­
tional error (the distan ce b etw een its tru e
and m ap position).
Th e a vera g e error is 1.46. This is a
m eas u re o f th e errors for th es e fou r points.
But w ha t if oth er points a re s elected from
the m ap? W ha t w ou ld th e positional error
o f th es e points b e? A first gu ess might b e
that th eir error w ou ld b e 1.46, on a vera ge.
But w hat w e really w ant to know is th e likely
error for an individual point, not an a vera ge.
Lookin g at th e fou r sa m p le points w e s ee
that th e positional errors ra n ged from 1.00
to 2.00. But th ere a re on ly fou r tes t points
for th e en tire map. Perh a p s th e tes t points
h a p p en ed to b e rela tively a ccu rate on es
b eca u s e th ey w er e taken from an area that
had b een m ore a ccu rately m a p p ed . W e
w ou ld p rob a b ly feel m ore con fid en t in the
error es tim a te if m ore points had b een
s elected and th e variation in error a m on g
the points w as rela tively small. A useful
m ea su re of th e variab ility o f error valu es is
th e standard devia tion. The standard d evia ­
tion valu e d ecrea s es as th e errors for each
poin t b ecom e smaller. It also d ecrea s es as
th e sa m p le size increases. This p r op erty of
th e standard d evia tion in corp ora tes ou r
 A. mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
T E S T O F P O S IT IO N A L A C C U R A C Y

M a p o f T e s t P o in t s P o s it io n a l A c c u r a c y o f T e s t P o in t s HGFEDCBA
200 GFEDCBA
T RU E T RU E MAP MAP D I ST A N C E
POIN T
X Y X Y ERRO R

A 50 50 49 51 1. 41

B 150 35 148 35 2. 00

C 170 130 170 131 1. 00

D 100 170 101 169 1. 41

Average Distance Error = 1. 46

Standard Deviation of Distance Error = 0. 36

100 200
METRES

O - True Position
+ - Map Position

B . A S S E S S E M E N T O F P O S IT IO N A L A C C U R A C Y U S IN G FEDCBA

C. C A L C U L A T IO N O F A C C U R A C Y L E V E L S

For: Mean of Distance Error = 1.46 m

Standard Deviation of Distance Error = 0.36 m

Confidence
Z-Value Accuracy*
Level

80% 0.84 1.76 m

85% 1.045 1.84 m

90% 1.28 1.92 m

95% 1.645 2.05 m

* Accuracy = Z-Value x SD + Mean

The accuracy is the maximum expected error at the selected
level of confidence.

Figu re 5. 1 I l l u st r a t i o n o f A c c u r a c y a n d Pr o b a b ilit y .
146 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
increased confiden ce in the measu rem ent of
error w hen th ere a re m ore d a ta points.
Th e standard d evia tion is also useful in
p red ictin g th e ex p ected frequ en cy with
which a given level of error can b e exp ected
to occur. This is d on e b y selecting an a p p ro­
p ria te m athem atical m od el. Th e stra tegy is
to s elect a m od el that has b een shown from
past exp erien ce to b e a g ood p red ictor of
th e distrib u tion of errors for this typ e of
map. A sa m p le of tes t points can then b e
chosen from the map, checked, and th e test
results u sed to calib rate th e m od el to the
map. Th en pred iction s can b e m a d e ab ou t
th e frequ en cy with which any m agnitu de of
error w ou ld b e exp ected to occur. O f cou rse
t h e c o r r e c t n e s s o f o u r p r e d ic t io n s w o u ld
d e p e n d o n w h e t h e r a s u it a b le m o d e l w a s
b e in g u s e d .
A frequ en tly u sed m od el is th e normal
distribu tion, shown in Figu re 5.1 part B. This
m od el has b een fou nd to b e a g ood p re­
d ictor o f th e distribu tion of m eas u rem en t
errors like th e positional errors b ein g
a s ses sed here. It is also an ea s y m od el to
use. Th e data n eed ed to calib rate the m odel
for a specific case are the mean and the stan­
da rd d evia tion o f th e sample. In this case,
the calibration valu es are the mean and stan­
d a rd d evia tion of th e positiona l errors,
i.e. th e dista n ce b etw een th e m a p p ed and
tru e position of the test points. O n ce the
mean and standard devia tion h ave b een
d eterm in ed , th e frequ en cy with which an
error o f a s pecified magnitu de will occu r can
b e rea d from standard statistical tab les.
An yon e w h o stu died b asic statistics has com ­
p leted nu merou s assignments using this dis­
trib u tion to m od el m ea s u rem en t errors of
a vera g e heights of p eop le, a vera g e lengths
of lea ves , and cou ntless oth er sam ple
p rob lem s.
Th e tw o graphs rep res en t th e exp ected
frequ ency for each test result. Th e test in our
case is th e positional error o f a p oin t on the
map. Each point on the cu rve represents the
frequ en cy (Y axis) with which a specific
ou tcom e (the valu e on the X axis) will occur.
The area u nder each cu rve represents all the
p os s ib le tes t ou tcom es . For con ven ien ce,
the graphs a re scaled so that the area u nder
each cu rve sums to 1. To make th e m od el
ea s y to use, the X axis is d ivid ed into units
of standard d evia tion term ed Z-valu es. Th e
Z-valu e o f a sa m p le m ea s u rem en t is calcu ­
la ted b y divid in g the m eas u rem en t b y the
sam ple standard deviation.
In Figu re 5.1 p a rtB , 95% of the area u nder
th e cu rve is low er than th e Z- valu e 1.645.
This in dicates that a ccord in g to th e m od el
a test s core with a Z-valu e of 1.645 or less
w ou ld b e exp ected to occu r 95% of the time.
Th e sa m p le valu e corres p on d in g to this
p oin t is easily calcu lated b y mu ltiplying th e
Z-valu e by th e standard d evia tion and
ad din g th e mean sa m p le valu e. (The mean
is a d d ed b eca u s e the m od el is ca lib rated to
h ave a mean o f zero.) As show n in the
Figu re, this w orks ou t to b e 2.05. I f t h e
m o d e l is a g o o d p r e d i c t o r o f e r r o r in th is
t y p e o f m a p , then for this map th e positional
error for any poin t is exp ected to b e 2.05 m
or less, 95% of th e time. W hy 95% of the
tim e? B ecau se w e s elected a Z- valu e that
wou ld include 95% of the expected ou tcomes
in ou r m od el, which is rep res en ted b y 95%
of the area u nder the cu rve. C onversely, the
m od el p red icts that 5% o f th e points w ou ld
have errors grea ter than 2.05 m.
In selecting the 95% value, w e a re choosing
a level o f certainty or a level o f con fid en ce.
W e a re ' con fid en t’ ’ that 9 5 % of th e time the
ob s erved errors will b e 2.05 m or less. W e
are also accep tin g that 5% of the time errors
exceed in g 2.05 m will occu r. Ourc h o ic e of
the confidence level directly affects the
valuewe obtainforthemapaccuracy. The
same analysis can b e done using an 80% level
of confiden ce and the p red icted error wou ld
b e 1.76 m or less. At the 85% level, the accu­
racy level w ou ld b e 1.84 m and at 90% it
w ou ld b e 1.92 m (s ee Figu re 5.1 pa rt C). A
higher accu racy level can b e qu oted b y
simply accepting a low er level of confidence.

S o what then is the p red icted accu racy of
this map? Th e level o f accu racy p red icted
for this map directly d ep en d s on the con ­
fid en ce level chosen. W ithou t s p ecifyin g a
level of con fid en ce, th e sta ted accu racy
valu e is actually qu ite meaningless. The accu­
racy of this map cou ld b e claimed to b e 2.05,
1.92, 1.84 or 1.76 m, d ep en d in g on the con­
the
fid en ce level chosen. For this reason,
properreportingof anyaccuracymeasure
must includethelevel of confidence. In this
w a y the u ser o f the data can ju dge w h eth er
the level of con fid en ce is su fficient for the
application.
A C C U R A C Y TEST A S S U M P T IO N S
Th e assu mptions u sed in a p p lyin g an accu ­
racy test must b e carefu lly con s id ered in
ju dging the reliab ility o f an accu racy valu e.
In the a b ove exa m p le, it w as assu med that
the errors w ou ld b e ra n dom ly distrib u ted
over the map. But w hat if on e area was
m ore difficu lt to field check and, as a result,
was less accu rately m a p p ed than the rest of
the map. A sample of points taken from this
region might then have a low er level of accu­
racy than p red icted b y the accu racy assess­
ment. This is b ecau s e the errors w ou ld tend
to b e concentrated in on e region of the map,
and the assu mption of random ly distrib u ted
errors wou ld have b een violated. In practice,
minor violations of this m odel d o not greatly
a ffect the results, b u t oth er m od els may b e
m ore sensitive. S ystem atic errors such as
th es e make accu racy valu es less accu rate
p redictors.
A n oth er assu mption w as that the sam ple
points w ere rep res en ta tive o f all the points
on the map. In practice, "con ven ien t" test
points a re often ch osen to red u ce the cost
o f testing. For exa m p le, tes t points may b e
chosen close to roads for easier access. As a
result, the nu mb er, typ e, and distribu tion of
test points may not in fact b e representative.
It was also assu med that the m odel chosen
w as in fact a g ood p red ictor of the p rob a ­
147 jihgfedcba
D ata Q u a lity mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
bility for the typ e o f errors b ein g assessed.
The accu racy prediction m ade in the p reced ­
ing exa m p le u sed the normal distribu tion to
p red ict m eas u rem ent accu racy. It was
assu med that the map errors r e a lly w e r e
w ell p red icted b y the normal distribu tion.
E xp erien ce has show n this to b e a reas on­
ab le assumption. H ow ever, the m odels used
for errors of m eas u rem ent a re usually not
a p p rop ria te for classification errors. In the
ca se o f m eas u rem ent errors, the error can
th eoretica lly b e any real nu m b er b ecau s e
the va ria b le is continu ou s.
In a classification, th e va ria b le (i.e. the
class des ign ation) is discrete. Th ere a re a
finite nu m b er of classes, and th es e are the
only a llow a b le classes. As a result, the errors
a re restricted to la b elling a location with an
incorrect class des ignation. For this reason,
classification errors in on e class a ffect the
accu racy of th e class with which it is con ­
fused. Ideally errors in on e class should have
no a ffect on the accu racy of oth ers (in sta­
tistics this p rop erty is term ed indepen­
dence). In the case of classification accuracy,
an error in on e class designation crea tes an
error in the class with which it was confu sed,
and so the errors a re not in d ep en d en t of
each oth er.
C lassification accu racy will d iffer am ong
the classes o f a map, so ideally, each class
shou ld b e tes ted s ep ara tely. This can signi­
ficantly in crease th e cost o f th e accu racy
assessment and is usually not d one. Instead,
a single sample of test points can b e selected
from the map. H ow this sam ple is s elected
will a ffect which classes a re tes ted and how
in tensively th ey a re tes ted . A class that
covers only a small map area is not likely to
b e tes ted at all!
C O N C L U S IO N
Accu racy as sessm en t can b e an exp en s ive
p roced u re. Althou gh it is valu ab le, its cost
must b e w eigh ed a gainst the b en efits of the
accu racy inform ation. Less rigorou s tests
148 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
that a re less exp en s ive can b e u sed for data
sets w h ere th e con s equ en ces of errors a re
less critical. Accu racy assessments usually
involve a comparison o f values from the data
s et to b e tes ted with valu es from an in d e­
p en d en t sou rce of higher accu racy, such as
field verification. Field verifica tion of a
statistically valid nu m b er of points may b e
m ore exp en s ive than th e application can
justify.
Instead, less exp en s ive a p p roa ch es may
b e u sed. For exa m p le, indirect verifica tion
of tes t points m ay b e d on e b y in terp retin g
a irp h otos instead o f b y field ob s erva tion s.
Th e requ irem en t for an in d ep en d en t data
sou rce might also b e rela xed . Th e accu racy
test points might b e checked b y re-interpreting
th e same a irp h otos u sed to gen era te the
map b ein g tes ted . In p rojects w h ere the
same mapping procedu re is used repeatedly,
accu racy assessments might b e d on e on
only a sample o f maps of similar terrain con­
ditions. The accu racy o f all th e maps in th e
grou p is then assu med to equ al that o f th e
sample maps. This is one of the least rigorous
m eth od s since con s id era b le faith is p la ced
in th e consistency of th e m a pp in g p roce­
du re. S om e maps w ou ld b e assigned accu­
racy levels w ithou t any form al testin g at all.
In the end, the specification of an accuracy
level and the rigou r with which it is assessed
a re ju dgm en t calls. Th ey must take into
accou nt h ow th e inform ation is b ein g used,
th e con s equ en ces of inaccu racies, and
w h eth er th e accu racy m eas u rem ents a re
in d eed valid. U sers often specify their accu­
racy n eed s on th e b asis o f past exp erien ce
(i.e. "th e data h ave alw ays b een p rod u ced
this w a y") or for reasons o f consistency
(i.e. "a ll classes on a map mu st h ave the
sam e level o f accu ra cy"). Th es e ap p roa ch es
a re often in ap propria te.
Forest ed ges are usually "fu zzy” transition
zones, not sharp b ou ndaries. Requ iring that
fores t b ou n d aries b e m a p p ed with a p os i­
tional accu racy of 1 m is prob ab ly not a pp ro­
priate or even valid, b ecau se in th e field the
b ou n d a ry cou ld n ot b e reliab ly p os ition ed
that precisely. On the oth er hand, it may b e
critical to measu re the position o f an u nder­
grou n d ca b le m ore accu rately than 1 m.
Requ iring d ifferen t levels of accu racy for
d ifferen t fea tu res in th e sa m e map or in the
sa m e data b a s e is m ore cost effective than
dem a n d in g that all featu res b e rep res en ted
at the sam e accu racy level. For this reason,
th e exp en d itu re on accu racy assessment
and data qu ality rep ortin g in gen era l must
b e m atched to th e con s equ en ces o f errors.
Higher levels of accuracy and m ore expensive
accu racy assessments can b e ju stified w hen
th e con s equ en ces of error a re m ore costly.
Th e tra d e- offs in accu racy assessm ent
costs, th e m an da te and b u d get o f the p ro­
d u cer o f the data, and the willingness o f the
u ser to p a y for data will all influ ence the
assessment methods chosen. A rigorous accu­
racy assessment may not b e justified for every
data set in th e G IS. But an accu racy rating
of some form and a description of the method
u sed to gen era te that rating shou ld alw ays
b e p rovid ed . U sing data for which th e level
of accu racy or the data qu ality in gen era l is
u nknown amou nts to h op in g for the b es t
in stea d of recognizin g th e risk of th e w orst. FEDCBA
R EFER EN CES
A ro noff, S. 1985. Political Im plications of Full Cost
Recovery fo r Land Remote Sensing Systems.
P h o t o g r a m m e t r ic E n g in e e r in g a n d R e m o te S e n s in g
5 I(l):4 1 -4 5 .
A ro noff, S. 1982a. Classification Accuracy: A User
Approach. P h o to g r a m m e tr ic E n g in e e rin g a n d R e m o te
S e n s in g 48(8):1299-1307.
Aronoff, S. 1982b. The Map Accuracy Report: A User's
View. P h o t o g r a m m e t r ic E n g in e e r in g a n d R e m o te
S e n s in g 48(81:1309-1312.
Chrisman, N.R. 1984. The Role o f Q uality Inform ation
in the Long-Term Functioning o f a Geographic Infor­
m ation System. C a r to g r a p h ie s 21(21:79-87.
Congalton, R.G. and R.A. Mead. 1983. A Q uantitative
M e tho d to Test fo r Consistency and Correctness in
P hoto-Interpretation. P h o t o g r a m m e t r ic E n g in e e r in g
a n d R e m o te S e n s in g 49( 1):69—74.
Croswell, P.L. 1987. Map Accuracy: W hat Is It, Who
Needs It, and How Much is Enough. In P r o c e e d in g s
o f th e U R IS A '8 7 C o n fe re n c e . Urban and Regional
Inform atio n Systems Association. Washington, D.C.
Volum e 2:48-62.

Epstein, E.F. and H. Roitman. 1987. L ia b ility fo r Info r­
m ation. In P r o c e e d in g s o f t h e U R IS A '8 7 C o n fe re n c e .
Urban and Regional Inform ation Systems Association.
W ashington, D.C. V olum e 4:1 15-125.
Epstein, E.F. 1987a. L itig atio n O ver Inform ation: The
Use and Misuse o f M aps. In P r o c e e d in g s o f t h e I n t e r ­
n a tio n a l G e o g ra p h ic I n f o r m a t io n S y s te m s S y m p o s iu m :
T h e R e s e a rc h A g e n d a . Association o f Am erican
G eographers. W ashington, D.C.
Epstein. E.F. 1987b. C om patible Data fo r Land
Decisions. In P r o c e e d in g s o f t h e C o n fe r e n c e o n
C o m p a t ib le D a ta f o r D e c is io n s . National G overnors'
Association. W ashington, D.C.
Fung. T. and E. LeDrew. 1988. The De term in ation of
O ptim al Threshold Levels fo r Change Detection Using
V a rio u s A c c u ra c y In d ic e s . P h o t o g r a m m e t r i c
E n g in e e r in g a n d R e m o t e S e n s in g 54(10): 1449 -1 454.
M erch ant. D.C. 1987. Spatial Accuracy Specifications
149
D a ta Q u a lity mlkjihgfedcbaZY
fo r Large Scale Topographic Maps. P h o t o g r a m m e t r ic
E n g in e e r in g a n d R e m o t e S e n s in g 53(7):958—961.
Newcom er, J.A. and ). Szajgin. 1984. A ccum ulation o f
Them atic M ap Errors in Digital O verlay Analysis. T h e
A m e r ic a n C a r t o g r a p h e r 1 I ( I):5 8—62.
S tory. M. and R.G. Congalton. 1986. Accuracy
Assessment: A User's Perspective. P h o t o g r a m m e t r ic
E n g in e e r in g a n d R e m o t e S e n s in g 52(3):397—399.
V onderohe, A.P. and N.R. Chrisman. 1985. Tests to
Establish the Q uality o f Digital C arto graphic Data:
Some Examples fo r the Dane County Land Records
Project. In P r o c e e d in g s o f A u t o C a r t o 7. Am erican
Society of Photogramm etry and Remote Sensing. Falls
Church, Virginia, p p .552 -5 5 9.
Walsh, S.J.. D.R. Lightfoot, D.R. Butler. 1987. Recognition
and Assessment o f E rro r in G eographic Info rm a tio n
Systems. P h o t o g r a m m e t r ic E n g in e e r in g a n d R e m o te
S e n s in g 5 3 (1 0 ):I4 2 3 -1 4 3 0 .
150 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e r s p e c t iv e
 6 . D A T A M A N A G E M E N T FEDCBA

I N T R O D U C T I O N jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
T H E D A T A BA SE A P P R O A C H

For an organization to function effectively it A data b a se is a collection o f inform ation

requ ires accu rate and timely information. a b ou t things and their relationships to each
Business en terp ris es a re d ep en d en t on other. For exam ple, a data b a s e may con ­
effective inform ation handling to carry on sist o f names and a dd resses. Th e names
their activities and maintain th eir com ­ m ay th em s elves b e ca tegorized b y oth er
petitiveness . N ot su rprisingly, it w as the relationships, such as "clien t", "fr ie n d ", or
b u siness commu nity that first a d op ted "fa m ily". The items to b e s tored in the data
com pu ter- b a sed data s tora ge and retrieva l b a s e may also b e p rocess es or concepts.
tech n ology. In the 1960s, com p u terized W ithin a data b a s e en viron m en t, the p ro­
data b as es w ere first u sed for materials ces ses of erosion, w a ter pollu tion, and
m a nagem ent. La rge en gin eerin g p rojects agricultural d evelop m en t may b e rela ted to
like the sp a ce p rogra m requ ired a parts the item "ra in fores t clearcu ttin g” .
in ven tory of u n p reced en ted volu m e and Th e ob jective in collectin g and maintain­
diversity. Efficient tracking and ord erin g ing inform ation in a data b a se is to rela te
o f m aterials grea tly red u ced produ ction facts and situ ations that w ere previou sly
expens es. separate. This may simply require the retrieval
Th e oth er m ajor data b a se application in of facts in the data base, such as th e retrieval
th e ea rly 1960s w as the S ab re airline res er­ of the a d d res s associa ted with a p ers on 's
va tion system d evelop ed by IB M for name. O r it may requ ire exten s ive data p ro­
Am erica n Airlines. This system requ ired a cessing in which mu ltiple relationships are
la rge commu nications n etw ork and for the evalu a ted, such as the analysis o f a hou sing
first time a d d res s ed the p rob lem o f high- d evelop m en t or projectin g th e exten t of
volu m e, simu ltaneou s access to th e data rain fores t clearcu tting.
b ase. Since th ese ea rly b eginnings, the Early data b a se systems, like oth er com ­
bu siness commu nity has invested hea vily in pu ter softw are, w ere d evelop ed to p rovid e
data b a s e tech n ology to gather and main­ a w ell- d efin ed set o f fu nctions using a
tain information. In d eed it was the d em a n d s p ecified set of data. Th e data w er e s tored
o f the b u siness commu nity that led to the as on e or m ore com p u ter files that w ere
com m ercial d evelop m en t of com p u terized a cces sed b y the special p u rp os e data b ase
inform ation tech n ology. s oftw a re in w h a tever manner th e d es ign er
As the information system field d evelop ed b elieved to b e most efficient. This file pro­
du ring the late 1960s and 1970s, the cessing approach to data b ase managem ent
data base (i.e. th e in for­
con cep ts o f the is illu strated in Figu re 6.1 for a u niversity
mation to b e s tored ) and the data base administration application.
management system(the system u sed to File p rocessin g is the m ost com m on
manage the data b ase) w ere d evelop ed and a pp roa ch to using a data b ase. H ow ever, it
refined. Tod a y, sophisticated data b a se has s om e seriou s drawb acks. S ince each
m a n a gem en t systems a re u sed to handle application p rogra m must d irectly access
enorm ou s data b ases, such as national scale each data file that it uses, the progra m must
censu s information or glob al scale statistical know h ow the data in each file a re stored.
data. This can crea te con s id era b le redu ndancy
152 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive
Figure 6.1 Sharing Data Files Among Applications in the File Processing Environment. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQP
b ecau s e the instructions to access a data file
must b e p res en t in each application p ro­
gram. If m odification s are m a d e to the data
file, th es e access instru ctions must b e
m od ified in each application program .
A n oth er m ajor p rob lem arises w hen data
a re sh ared b y d ifferen t application p ro­
grams and b y differen t users. If data files can
b e a cces sed and m od ified b y s evera l p ro­
grams and several users, then th ere must b e
s om e overa ll control over which users a re
given access to the data b a s e and w hat
m odifications th ey a re p erm itted to make.
A lack o f central control can seriou sly
d egra d e the integrity (i.e. the qu ality) of the
data b ase. Th e integrity of a data b a s e is
critical. Information of u npredictab le qu ality
can b e w ors e than no inform ation at all.
A data b a s e m a n a gem en t system (D B M S)
is com p ris ed of a set of p rogra m s that
Figure 6.2 QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Sh ar in g D at a Fi le s A m o n g A p p licat io n s in a D at a Base M an ag e m e n t Sy st e m En v ir o n m e n t .
manipu late and maintain the data in a data
b a se. Th ey w ere d evelop ed to m an age the
sharing of data in an ord erly manner and to
ensu re that the integrity of the data b a se is
m aintained. Th e D B M S con cep t w as an
im p orta n t a d va n ce over the file process in g
a pp roa ch . A D B M S acts as a central control
over all interactions b etw een th e data b a se
and the application program s, which in turn
interact with th e u ser (Figu re 6.2). A p p li­
cation p rogra m s p rovid e th e fu nctions that
th e u ser sees, such as in ven tory control
tra n sa ction s, ord er en try s ervices , or
geogra p h ic analysis fu nctions. W hen th ese
p rogra m s requ ire access to the data b ase,
th e D B M S acts as the in term ed ia ry and
su pervisor.
O n e of the m ajor b en efits o f a D B M S is
that it p rovid es dataindependence. That is,
th e application progra m d oes not n eed to
 153 jihgfedcba
D ata M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZYXW

know h ow th e data is physically s tored ra n ge of data retrieva l and manipu lation

b ecau se all access to th e data b a se is via the
D B M S. Th e application p rogra m issues a
com m and to the D B M S that retrieves and
"re- p a ck a ges ” th e data into th e form a t
n eed ed b y the application. W hen changes
a re m a d e to a data file, the D B M S ensu res
that th e data will still b e correctly p rovid ed
to th e application p rogra m s that use them;
modifications d o not have to b e m ade to the
app lication progra m s. Similarly, if an appli­
cation progra m requ ires d ifferen t data or a
differen t data format, the D B M S can handle
th e changes. In this way, the D B M S can
greatly redu ce the effort n eed ed to maintain
the application program s and the data b ase.
operations can b e execu ted using the D B M S
services alone, w ithou t w riting a len gth y
progra m .
A D B M S is also u sed to tailor the style of
information p res en ta tion to d ifferen t users.
Each style of p res en tin g the data b a s e is
term ed a view. Figu re 6.3 illustrates this con­
cep t using a data b a s e com p ris ed o f client
names, addresses, purchases, and inventory
information. This data b a se is p res en ted to
the accou nt execu tive as if it w ere organized
b y sales accou nts, w h erea s th e same data
b a se is p res en ted to th e in ven tory m anager
as if it w ere orga n ized b y item. By provid in g

Th e s ervices p rovid ed b y the D B M S also d ifferen t view s, th e D B M S tailors the data

simplify the d evelop m en t of new application b a se to each u ser grou p — a very valu ab le
program s. In fact, many data b a s e systems fu nction — w ithou t storing mu ltiple cop ies
in corp ora te a d irect u ser interface. A w id e of all the data. QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

D A TA B A SE
C lie n t n a m e s a n d a d d re s s e s
S a le s in fo rm a tio n
In v e n to ry D a ta
S u p p lie rs

" I '
D BM S

Date__________ Item:
Client Name
Supplier
Addre >s _______ ____

INVENTO RY HISTORY

UNIT UNITS UNITS UNITS

QTV ITEM TOTAL MONTH
PRICE SOLD RECEIVED ON-HAND

JAN

FEB
MARCH

BALANCE APRIL

A C C O U N T E X EC U TIVE VIEW IN VEN TO RY M A N A G E M E N T VIEW

Figure 6 .3 Pre sen t at io n o f D at a Base In f o rm at io n U sin g M u lt ip le V ie w s.

154 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp ective
A D V A N T A G E S O F THE D A T A BASE effective stra tegy must b e
u pd ate the mu ltiple cop ies
A P P R O A C H jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e a d va n ta ges of the data b a se approach
over th e file p rocessin g a pp roa ch can b e
su mm arized as follow s:
1. Centralized Control. A single D B MS
u nder the control of on e person or grou p
can en su re that data qu ality standards
a re maintained, secu rity restrictions are
en forced , conflicting requ irem en ts are
b a la nced, and the integrity o f the data
b a se is maintained.
2. Data CanBe Shared Efficiently. U sing
a D B M S, the information in a data b a se
can b e shared in a flexib le yet con trol­
led manner. Th e data handling services
o f th e D B M S also facilitate the d evelop ­
m ent o f n ew applications of the existing
data b ase.
3. Data Independence. Application p ro­
grams a re in d ep en d en t of the physical
form in which the data a re stored.
4. Easier Implementation of New Data
BaseApplications. N ew application p ro­
grams and u niqu e data b a se searches
can b e m ore easily im p lem en ted using
the services p rovid ed b y a D B MS.
5. Direct User Access. D ata b a se systems
n ow com m on ly p rovid e a u ser interface
so that non - program m ers can p erform
sophisticated analyses. A t the same time,
the data b ase system provid es the means
to control data b a se access and op era ­
tions, to maintain consistency, and to
p rotect the integrity of the data b ase.
6. RedundancyCanBeControlled. In a file
p rocess in g en viron m ent, s ep a ra te data
files a re u sed for each application and
considerab le data redundancy may result.
Th ere a re sound reasons for maintaining
mu ltiple cop ies of s om e data. H ow ever,
exces s ive data redu ndancy is expen sive.
In a ddition to the a d d ed data storage, an
p rovid ed to
of the data.
A D B M S can b e u sed to m onitor and
red u ce the level of redu ndancy and
w here multiple copies of data are retained,
the D B M S can m anage the u pdating
procedu res .
7. UserViews. A D B MS can p rovid e a con­
ven ien t u ser in terfa ce to crea te and
maintain mu ltiple u ser view s.
D IS A D V A N T A G E S O F THE D A T A
BASE A P P R O A C H
N ot all applications o f a data b a se can
b en efit from a D BMS. S om e of the disadvan­
ta ges of using a data b a se a pproach are:
1. Cost. The data b ase system softw are and
any associa ted ha rdw a re can b e exp en ­
sive. As a minimum, th ey rep res en t an
additional acqu isition and m aintenance
cost.
2. AddedComplexity. A data b a se system
is m ore com p lex than a file processing
system. In theory, the m ore com plex the
system, th e m ore su sceptib le it is to
failure and the m ore difficult the recovery.
In practise, fu ll-featu red D B M S es are
p rovid ed with effective back-u p and
recovery systems.
3. CentralizedRisk. In centralizing the loca­
tion of data and redu cing data redu n­
dancy, th ere is a grea ter theoretica l risk
of loss or corru ption o f data w hile run­
ning an application program . H ow ever,
the b acku p and recovery p roced u res
normally p rovid ed in a D B M S minimize
th es e risks.
Th e cost- effectiveness of a D B MS d epend s
on the applications to b e s u pp orted . Th e
first G IS es u sed a file p rocessin g data b ase
en viron m en t and many still do. H ow ever,
the tren d is increasingly tow a rd s the use of
a D B MS, if not to m an age all th e data in a
G IS at least to m an age the non-spatial
 155 jihgfedcba
D a ta M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZYXW

attribute components. Virtually all commercial
G ISes n ow incorporate som e form of D BMS. FEDCBA
to a particular elem en t or entity, the student.
T H R EE CLA SSI C D A T A M O D ELS
Th e concep tu a l orga nization o f a data b a s e
is term ed th e datamodel. It can b e thou ght
o f as th e style o f d es crib in g and manipu lat­
ing th e data in a data b ase. Th ere a re th ree
classic data m odels that are u sed to organize
electron ic data b ases: the hierarchical, the
n etw ork, and th e relational m odels . Th ey
w ere first d evelop ed to handle th e inform a­
tion n eed s o f th e b u siness com m u nity and
have b een a d a p ted to a w id e ran ge of oth er
applications. Th es e data m od els or their
d eriva tives h a ve also b een a d a p ted for use
in th e G IS en viron m ent.
RECO RDS, FIELDS, A N D KEYS
Th e organ ization o f a data file can be
d es crib ed in term s of record s , fields, and
keys. In a com p u ter- b a s ed da ta - stora ge
system , a small grou p o f rela ted data items
a re s tored togeth er as a record. A record
can b e thou gh t o f as on e row in a ta b le, as
show n for th e stu dent data in Figu re 6.4.
H ere the first record contains the information
for th e stu den t nam ed Randy Thom as. Th e
record represents the information pertaining
(An entity is an ob ject, even t, or con cep t.
Th e term s e le m e n t and e n t i t y a re u sed
in terch a ngea b ly here.)
A record is d ivid ed into fields, each of
which contains an item of data. A field defines
w h ere a particular typ e of data can b e fou nd
in the record. In this example, the data fields
are L a s t N a m e , F ir s t N a m e , Y e a r, and M a jo r .
A record is retrieved from th e data file b y
means of a key, i.e. a lab el com prised o f on e
or m ore fields. Th e L a s t N a m e and F ir s t
N a m e data field s cou ld b e d es ign a ted as
keys. Fields that a re not d es ign a ted as key
field s a re term ed attributefields. Th e s oft­
w are used to search the data b ase is designed
to efficien tly search for record s that h a ve a
particu lar valu e of th e key.
In genera l, th e few er th e key fields, th e
m ore com p a ct the data file, and th e m ore
qu ickly the data file can b e sea rch ed . H ow ­
ever, since the keys d eterm in e h ow the data
can b e a cces sed, th e few er th e key fields,
th e m ore restricted th e typ es o f search es
(also term ed queries) that can b e perform ed.
For th e stu dent data file in Figu re 6.4, if the
first and last nam e fields w ere th e keys then
th e record s for a s p ecified first and last

Last First
Nam e Nam e Y ear M ajor
Field Field Field Field

I_____ i____ i____ 1___

Record 1 T hom as Randy 2 Forestry

Record 2 G ansm o O ve 3 E ngineering

Record 3 Kaplan A udrey 5 A rchite cture

Record 4 Schacter M ichael 3 P sychology

Figure 6.4 O rganization o f Info rm ation as Records in a Data File.

156 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
nam e cou ld b e easily retrieved . If the year
data field was not a key, retrieva l o f the stu­
d en t record s for a s p ecified yea r w ou ld b e
m ore cu m b ersom e or might not b e possib le
at all (d ep en d in g on th e s oftw are).
THE H IE R A R C H IC A L D A T A M O D E L
In the hierarchical data m od el, th e data are
orga n ized in a tree stru ctu re as shown in
Figu re 6.5 pa rt A. Th e relations a m on g the
five entities (U n iv e rsity , D e p a rtm e n t, S tu d e n ts ,
P r o fe s s o r s , and C o u rs e s ) a re d efin ed b y the
organization of th e hierarchy. Th e organiza­
tion is en cod ed in th e data record s for each
entity, as show n in Figu re 6.5 part B. The
field names are shown in the top half of each
b ox and a sa m p le data record is shown in
th e low er half. Th ere is on e field that is
d es ign a ted as the key field. It is u sed to
orga n ize the hierarchy. In Figu re 6.5 part B,
th e hierarchy is rep res en ted b y the arrow s
connectin g the key field in each data record
(the key field s a re stippled).
Th e top of th e hierarchy is term ed the
root. It is com p ris ed o f on e entity, in this
(a) Organization of the Hierarchy of Entities
Figure 6.5 QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
O rg an izat io n o f a D at a Base U sin g t h e H i e r ar ch ical D at a M o d el.
case a U n iv e rs ity , the U niversity of California.
Th e root may b e rep res en ted b y a record
containing a single data field (as shown
here), or b y a record containing many fields.
E xcept for the root, every elem en t has on e
higher level elem en t related to it, term ed its
parent, and on e or m ore su b ordin ate
elem ents, term ed children. An elem en t can
h ave only on e p a ren t b u t can have mu ltiple
children.
In the hierarchical data m odel, every rela­
tion is a m any- to- one relation or a one- to-
on e relation. Th e many departm ents b elon g
to on e u niversity, th ere a re many stu dents
in each departm ent, and so on. In the figu re
th e m a n y side of the relation has an a rrow
head, the o n e side d oes not.
In a hierarchical data m od el, information
is retrieved b y tra versing the tree structure.
Retrieva l of all th e stu dents or all the p ro­
fes sors in a specific d ep a rtm en t is a very
efficient search b ecau se th ere is a direct link
b etw een student and department entities and
b etw een p rofess or and d ep artm en t entities.
H ow ever, to find all th e cou rses offered
b y a specific d ep a rtm en t requ ires a tw o
C o u rs e R e c o rd
(b) O rganization of the Data Records

s ta ge search. First, th e record s for all th e
p rofes s ors tea ch in g in that d ep a rtm en t
w ou ld b e retrieved and then th e cou rses
th a t each o f th os e p rofes s ors tau ght w ou ld
b e retrieved . This is a less efficien t typ e of
retrieval b ecau se an in term edia te entity, the
p rofes s ors , mu st b e retrieved . H ow ever,
b ecau se th e links b etw een th e key fields are
en cod ed in th e data stru ctu re, this typ e o f
retrieva l can still b e qu ite efficien t if it d oes
n ot in volve to o m any in term ed ia te levels .
Th e search w ou ld b e m ore efficien t if a
cou rse cou ld b e directly rela ted to a d ep a rt­
m en t as w ell as to a p rofes s or. H ow ever, in
th e hierarchical m od el an en tity can h a ve
on ly on e p a ren t, s o th e C o u r s e entity is not
perm itted to h ave b oth th e D e p a r t m e n t and
P r o f e s s o r en tities as parents.
A n oth er lim itation of th e hierarchical
m od el is that sea rch es ca n n ot b e d on e on
th e attrib u te fields. In this exa m p le, th e
retrieva l o f all s econ d yea r stu dents cou ld
n ot b e d on e b eca u s e th e Y e a r data field is
n ot a key. For this search to b e possib le, the
data b a s e w ou ld h a ve to b e res tru ctu red or
special linkages, such as poin ters , w ou ld
h a ve to b e u sed to m od ify th e data b a s e
orga n ization. (A pointer is a cod e that
indicates a location in a file, such as the loca ­
tion in a file w h ere th e attrib u tes o f a
geogra p h ic fea tu re a re s tored .) B ecau se the
relations b etw een en tities a re en cod ed in
th e data b a s e, it is difficu lt to m od ify.
H ierarchical system s a re ea s y to u nd er­
stand and th ey a re ea s y to u pdate. Th ey can
p rovid e high s p eed access to large data sets.
In part, th e high s p eed a cces s is a ch ieved
b y en cod in g th e data relations hips into th e
data b a s e itself. Th ey w ork w ell w h en th e
stru ctu re o f th e hiera rchy is op tim ized for
th e searches to b e perform ed . H ow ever, this
requ ires that th e com p lete ra n ge o f qu eries
be know n in a d va n ce. For app lica tions
similar to b ib liogra p h ic da ta b a s es and
airlin e res erva tion systems, th e typ es of
sea rch es a re ver y p red icta b le, and s o th ey
can b e tigh tly s p ecified .
157 jihgfedc
D ata M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZY
M a jor d is a d va n ta ges o f th e hierarchical
m od el a re that the data relationships a re dif­
ficult to m od ify and qu eries a re res tricted
to tra vers in g th e existing hierarchy. For
a p p lica tion s like en viron m en ta l a ss es sm en t
or geogra p h ic information analysis, the data
s ea rch es a re often ex p lora tory and can not
b e p red icted in a d va n ce. Th e in flexib ility of
th e hierarchical data m od el m akes it too
res trictive for this typ e of applica tion.
A n oth er limitation is th a t m u ltiple p a rents
a re n ot a llow ed . Th ere a re m any a p p lica ­
tion s w h ere an elem en t n eed s to b e r ep r e­
s en ted as a m em b er of mu ltiple grou ps. Th e
n etw ork m od el a d d res s es s om e o f th es e
restrictions.
TH E N E T W O R K D A T A M O D E L
Th e n etw ork data m od el overcom es s om e
o f th e in flexib ility of th e hierarchical m od el.
In th e n etw ork data m od el, an en tity can
have mu ltiple parent as w ell as mu ltiple child
relations and no root is requ ired. As a result,
data record s can b e d irectly s ea rch ed w ith ­
ou t tra vers in g th e en tire h ierarchy a b o ve
th a t record . Figu re 6.6 sh ow s th e u niversity
da ta b a s e orga n ized as a n etw ork m od el.
Th e C o u rs e entity can n ow have tw o parents
and is rela ted to b oth th e D e p a r t m e n t and
P r o f e s s o r en tities. A search o f all cou rs es in
a s p ecified d ep a rtm en t can n ow b e d on e
m ore d irectly than in th e hierarchical
exa m p le.
Th e S t u d e n t - C o u r s e relation is a many- to-
m any relation. That is, ea ch stu den t can b e
en rolled in m any cou rses and each cou rs e
can h a ve m any stu dents. W hile th e n etw ork
model d oes not allow many-to-many relations,
this rela tion can b e h an d led in d irectly b y
using an in term ed ia te relation, often term ed
an intersection record. As show n in th e
Figu re, th e in ters ection record s rep res en t
th e S t u d e n t - C o u r s e com b in a tion s, i.e. th e
regis tra tion o f stu dents in cou rses. Each
S tu d e n t- C o u r s e com b ination is u niqu e. O n e
C o u r s e en tity can h a ve m any R e g is t r a t io n
158 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctive
R e g is tr a ti o n R e c o r d
(a) Organization of the Entity Relations
Figure 6.6 O rganization o f a Data Base Using the N etw ork Data M odel. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHG
entities, and on e S t u d e n t en tity can ha ve
many R e g is tr a tio n entities, so b oth o f th es e
relations a re on e- to- m a n y and a re p erm it­
ted . Intersection record s can also b e u sed
in the hierarchical m odel, although the oth er
restrictions o f that m od el make th e im p le­
m entation s om ew h a t m ore com plex.
N etw ork m od els ten d to ha ve less redu n ­
da n t data s tora ge than the corres p on d in g
hierarchical model. H ow ever, m ore extensive
linkage in form ation must b e s tored , a d d in g
to th e size and com p lexity o f th e data files.
In a com p lex data b ase, the linkage informa­
tion can b e substantial and the tim e n eed ed
to u p d a te th e linkages w hen ch an ges a re
m a d e can b e significant.
W h en th e data stru ctu re to b e rep re­
s en ted is in fact a sim ple hierachy, th ere is
no real d ifferen ce in th e exp res s ive p ow er
o f th e tw o m odels . H ow ever, w h ere a m ore
com p lex real- w orld data stru ctu re mu st b e
repres en ted , the netw ork m odel can accom ­
m od a te th e a d d ed com p lexity. A s with the
hierarchical m odel, the relations am ong data
(b) Organization of the Data Records
elem en ts a re en cod ed in the data b ase. This
p rovid es high s p eed retrieva l, b u t th e data
relationships are difficult to modify. Thus the
principal d is a d va n ta ges o f th e n etw ork
m od el a re that it is m ore com p lex than the
hierarchical and not as flexib le as th e rela­
tional m od el.
THE R E L A T IO N A L D A T A M O D E L
Figure 6.7 illustrates the university data b ase
orga n ized using th e relational data m odel.
In th e relational data m od el th ere is no
hierarchy o f data field s within a record ;
every data field can b e u sed as a key. The
data a re s tored as a collection o f valu es in
th e form o f sim ple record s , term ed tuples.
Each tu ple repres en ts a fact, i.e. a set o f p er­
m an ently rela ted valu es. Th e tu ples are
grou p ed togeth er in two-dimensional tables,
with each ta b le usually s tored as a s ep ara te
file. Th e tab le as a w h ole repres ents the rela­
tionships am ong all the attribu tes it contains,
and so it is often term ed a relation.
 159
D ata M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

2. R e g is tr a tio n
1. C o u rs e In fo rm a tio n In fo rm a tio n
Professor Course Course Course Course Course Student
ID Dept Name Hours ID ID ID
790 8iology Zoology 3 12 247A 12-247A 692214

745 Chemistry Organic 4 14-200A 14-200B 692214

17-340A 692214
807 Chemistry Organic 4 14 200B
17 340A 728437
642 Chemistry Biochem 5 14-280A
14-2006 728437
689 English Medieval 3 17-340A
14-280A 728437

14-2008 745870

3. S tu d e n t In fo rm a tio n 4 D e p a rtm e n t In fo rm a tio n

Student Last First Number of Number of

ID Name Name Yr G PA Dept Dept Number of Support Graduate
Name Professors Statt Students
692214 Smith John 3 3.5 Biology
Biology 17 7 23
728437 Green John 2 24 English
Chemistry 10 8 7
745870 Thomas Randy 4 37 Physics English 11 3 20
French 5 1 15
Physics 6 3 8

5 P ro fe s s o r In fo rm a tio n

Professor Last First Teaching

ID Name Name Years Dept

745 Brown AI 5 Chemistry

790 Newman Elaine 5 Biology
807 Ross Grant 4 Chemistry
642 Geist Vai 8 Biology
689 Colwell Bob 8 English

Figure 6.7 Organization of a Data Base Using the Relational Data M odel.

2. RegistrationQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
1. Course Information Information 3. Studentinformation
P r o fe s s o r C o u rs e C o u rs e C o u rs e C o u rs e C o u rs e S tu d e n t S tu d e n t Last F irs t
ID D ept Nam e H o u rs ID ID ID ID Nam e Nam e Yr GPA D ept

1 2 -2 4 7 A 692214
790 B io lo g y Z o o lo g y 3 1 2 -2 4 7 A 692214 S m ith John 3 3 .5 Biology
1 4 -2 0 0 B 692214
745 C h e m is tr y O r g a n ic 4 1 4 -2 0 0 A 728437 G re e n John 2 2 .4 E n g lis h

1 7 -3 4 0 A 692214
1 4 -2 0 0 B 745870 Thom as Rand/ 4 3 .7 P h y s ic s
807 C h e m is tr y O r g a n ic 4
1 2 -2 4 7 A 728437

642 C h e m is tr y B io c h e m 5 1 4 -2 8 0 A
1 7 -3 4 0 A 728437

689 E n g lis h M e d ie v a l 3 1 7 -3 4 0 A
1 4 -2 8 0 A 728437

1 4 -2 0 0 B 745870

6. Result of Join Operation

S tu d e n t S tu d e n t
C o u rs e C o u rs e C o u rs e Last F irs t
ID Dept Nam e Nam e Nam e

1 4 -2 0 0 B C h e m is tr y O r g a n ic S m ith John

1 4 -2 0 0 B C h e m is tr y O r g a n ic Thom as R andy

1 4 -2 0 0 B C h e m is tr y O r g a n ic • •

■ • • • •

' * FEDCBA
, .

Figure 6.8 The Relational Join O peration. The data from three relational tables are used to generate a student
list fo r a course (Table 6). Common data fields (indicated by the arrows) are used to interrelate the records
in d iffe re n t tables.
 60 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

M ap A t t r i b u t e T a b le 1 A t t r i b u t e T a b le 2

Map Area Perim ete r Stand Stand Dom inant

11 12 ID (ha) (m) Num ber Num ber Specie s Age
R e c o rd 11 435 880 J-227 •J -1 2 7 W . Spruce 45

12 210 580 J-420 J-128 B. Spruce 60

13 628 1140 J-760 J-129 W . Spruce 15

13 / 14
1 • 14 252 650 J-127 • J-130 Hem lock 40

J-131 Hem lock 25

Figure 6.9 Storage o f GIS A ttrib u te In fo rm a tio n in a Relational Data Base. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIH

U sing th e rela tion a l m od el, a search can
b e m a d e o f a n y single ta b le using a n y o f th e
a ttrib u te field s, singly or tog eth er.
exa m p le, th e S tu dent Inform ation Ta b le can
b e s ea rch ed for all stu den ts in yea r 4. ju st
as easily, th e ta b le cou ld b e s ea rch ed for all
s tu den ts w ith th e last n am e Johnson.
Searches of related attributes that are stored
in d ifferen t ta b les can b e d on e b y linking tw o
or m ore tab les using any attrib u te th ey share
in com m on . This p roced u re is term ed a join
op era tion . Th e s h a red a ttrib u te n eed n ot
its elf b e p a rt o f th e rela tion b ein g a n a lyzed .
Figu re 6.8 illustrates h ow the data b ase could
b e s ea rch ed to g en er a te a s tu d en t list for
a specific cou rse. To retrieve this information,
ta b les 1 ,2 , a nd 3 a re join ed b y m ea n s o f
th e C ou rse- ID and th e S tu dent-ID attrib u tes.
In effect, ta b le 1 is joined to ta b le 2 b y means
o f th e C ou rse- ID a ttrib u te tha t th ey h a ve in
com mon. Ta b les 2 and 3 a re joined b y means
o f th e S tu den t- ID a ttrib u te th a t th ey h a ve
in com m on . A n ew ta b le, ta b le 6, can b e
crea ted from this join op era tion . N otice that
on ly a few o f th e field s a re n eed ed for th e
ta b le. B y inclu ding on ly th e d a ta
requ ired, redu ndant data s tora ge is redu ced.
In fact, ta b le 6 n eed n ot b e s tored at all.
Instead it can b e trea ted as a "virtu a l ta b le”
th a t is d efin ed , can b e qu eried , b u t is not
actu ally crea ted . This "logica l join " op era tion
gives the relational m od el trem endou s flexibil­
ity. It is a b le to a ccom m od a te d ivers e qu eries
for w hich it w a s n ot s p ecifica lly d es ign ed .
A s can b e s een from ta b le 6, th ere is a cer­
tain a m ou n t o f red u n d a n cy in a rela tiona l
For ta b le. Th e C o u r s e - ID ,C o u r s e D e p a r t m e n t ,
a nd C o u r s e N a m e in form a tion is rep ea ted .
H ow ever, each tu ple (row) is unique. Since a
tu ple represents a fact, th ere should n ever b e
tw o identical tu ples b ecau s e th ere is no n eed
to s tore th e s a m e fa ct tw ice. Th eoretica lly,
th e a ttrib u tes cou ld all b e s tored in a sin gle
data ta b le; h ow ever, th ere is a p erform a n ce
trade-off. It takes longer to search data stored
in several tab les than to search the same data
stored in on e table. But as the nu mb er of data
ta b les is red u ced , th e red u n d a n cy o f data
storage tends to increase. S o the number, size,
an d orga n iza tion o f th e d a ta ta b les d irectly
affect the amount of data storage requ ired and
th e s p eed with w hich qu eries can b e d on e.
D es p ite th es e p erform a n ce tra d e- offs ,
th ere a re n o restriction s on th e typ es o f
q u eries tha t can b e d on e so lon g as th ere
a re th e n eces s a ry com m on d a ta field s. This
is th e m a jor a d va n ta ge o f th e rela tion a l
m od el o ve r th e n etw ork and hiera rchical
m od els . This flexib ility has m a d e th e rela ­
field s tion al m od el th e on e m ost com m on ly u sed
to s tore a ttrib u te in form a tion in a GIS.
Figu re 6.9 illu strates a typ ica l G IS a p p lica ­
tion. H er e th e fores t stand m a p is linked to
an Attrib u te Ta b le 1 b y m eans o f an ID cod e.
This ta b le contain s th e a rea and p er im eter
m eas u rem en ts. Th e stand n u m b er p rovid es
a link to A ttrib u te Ta b le 2 tha t conta in s th e
d om in a n t s p ecies and a g e in form a tion .
 161 jihgfedcb
D a ta M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZY

Th e m a jor a d va n ta g es o f th e rela tion a l Th e rela tion a l m od el can a ccom m od a te a

m od el o ve r th e h iera rch ica l a nd n etw ork ve r y w id e ra n ge o f rela tion s a n d is ea s ily
m od els can be s u m m a rized as follow s m od ified . A lth ou gh it is n ot n eces s a ry to
(B ow ers 1988, D a te 1983): kn ow in a d va n ce th e typ es o f q u eries to b e
p er fo r m ed , such k n ow led g e can b e u sed to
1 . Th e rela tion a l m od el is m ore flex ib le
d es ign th e relationa l ta b les s o as to op tim ize
than th e oth er m od els . Th e w a y th e
p erform a n ce. Th e sim plicity o f th e relation al
d a ta va lu es exis t in th e rela tion a l
m od el and its flexib ility m a ke it an a ttra ctive
ta b les d o es n ot in a n y w a y res trict th e
ch oice. H o w ever , th e a b s en ce o f p oin ters
kinds of p roces s in g th a t can b e d on e.
and linkages em b e d d e d in th e da ta record s ,
In th e h iera rch ica l and n etw or k
w hich g ives th e rela tion a l m od el its flexib il­
m od els , m a n ip u la tion o f th e da ta is
ity, a ls o red u ces its s p eed o f op era tion .
res tricted b y th e stru ctu re b u ilt in to
th e da ta m od el.
Q U E R Y L A N G U A G E S F O R TH E
2. Th e rela tion a l m od el has a sou nd
th eor etica l b ase in m a th em a tica l
THREE C LA S S IC D A T A M O D E L S
th eory. Th e op p ortu n ity exis ts to u se Th e typ es o f qu eries s u p p orted b y b oth th e
th e m a th em a tics o f rela tion s as th e h iera rch ica l a n d n etw ork d a ta b a s e m od els
b a sis for d a ta p roces s in g p r oced u res a re d efin ed w h en th e d a ta b a s e is con ­
in stead o f p rogra m m in g. H ow ever, stru cted. Physical linkages em b ed d e d in th e
m os t im p lem en ted s ys tem s p r o vid e a d a ta recor d s a re u sed to tra ver s e th e d a ta
p rogra m m in g la n gu a ge in terfa ce, n ot b a se. A s a resu lt, in o r d er to search th e data
a m a th em a tica l on e.
b a s e th e u ser is requ ired to kn ow th e h iera r­
3. Th e orga n iza tion o f th e rela tion a l ch y in w hich th e d a ta h a ve b een s tored .
m od el is s im p le to u n d ers ta n d and, La n gu a ges that requ ire th e u ser to kn ow th e
th er efor e, is a g o o d veh icle to com ­ h iera rch y a re ter m ed procedural query
m u n ica te d a ta b a s e id ea s. languages. O ften th ere is n o sou nd b asis for
d ecid in g in a d va n ce w hich q u eries requ ire
4. Th e s a m e d a ta b a s e can g en era lly b e
th e highest level o f p erform a n ce. This makes
rep res en ted w ith less red u n d a n cy
it difficu lt to op tim ize th es e data b a s e system
u sing th e rela tion a l m od el than th e
d es ign s .
oth er tw o m od els .
In th e rela tion a l d a ta b a s e, m o r e flexib il­
Th e m a jor d is a d va n ta ges o f th e rela tion a l ity is a ch ieved b y a b olis h in g th e h iera rch y
m od el a re: o f a ttrib u tes . A n y a ttrib u te can b e u sed as
a k ey to r e tr ieve in form a tion , a nd th e d a ta
1. It is m ore difficu lt to im p lem en t.
in s ep a r a te ta b les can b e rela ted u sing an y
2. It ten d s to h a ve s low er p erform a n ce. a ttrib u te field th a t th ey s h a re in com m on .
The ab sence of physical links or pointers U nlike in th e h iera rch ica l and n etw ork
(as u sed in th e h iera rch ica l and n et­ m od els , in a rela tion a l m od el th e rela tion s
w ork m od els ) requ ires th a t m an ipu la ­ a re n ot exp licitly e n co d ed in th e d a ta b a s e.
tion o f th e d a ta b e b a s ed on m atch ing S in ce th e rela tion a l m od el d o es n ot
va lu es in th e rela tion a l ta b les . This is res trict th e ra n ge o f q u eries th e u ser d o es
a much m ore tim e- con s u m in g o p e r a ­ n ot n eed to kn ow th e s tru ctu re o f th e d a ta
tion. As a resu lt, a rela tiona l da ta b a s e b a s e to cons tru ct a qu ery. A q u ery la ngu age
system ten d s to b e significantly s low er that is n ot d ep en d a n t on th e stru ctu re o f th e
than the corres p on d in g hierarchical or d a ta b ase is ter m ed a non-procedural
n etw ork d a ta b a s e s ys tem . language. Th e q u ery la n gu a ge S Q L (for
162 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
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S ta n d a rd Q u ery L a n gu a ge) d e v e lo p e d b y
IB M is a w id ely u sed ex a m p le o f su ch a n on ­
p roced u ra l langu age. N on - p roced u ra l q u ery
la n gu a ges h a ve b ecom e ve r y p op u la r
b eca u s e th ey a re ea s y to lea rn ye t p o w e r ­
ful. Th ey h a ve m a d e in form a tion d a ta b a s es
mu ch m ore a cces s ib le to u sers w ith little or
n o com p u ter train ing. A lth ou gh origin a lly
d e ve lo p e d for rela tion a l da ta b a s e s ystem s,
n on - p roced u ra l q u ery la n gu a ges a r e n ow
com m on ly a va ila b le for n etw ork s ys tem s as
w ell (La rs on 1987). FEDCBA
T H E N A T U R E O F G E O G R A P H I C QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
D ATA
Th e m a p is p erh a p s th e m os t fa m ilia r form
in w hich g eog r a p h ic d a ta a re r ep r es en ted .
A m a p cons is ts o f a g rou p o f p oin ts , lines,
and a rea s that a re p os ition ed with referen ce
to a com m on coord in a te system . It is usually
r e p r es en ted in tw o d im en s ion s s o th a t it is
ea s ily p o r tr a yed on a fla t s h eet o f p a p er.
Th e m a p leg en d links th e non - sp a tia l a ttri­
b u tes , such as p la ce n am es, s ym b ols , and
colou rs , to th e spa tial d a ta i.e. th e loca tion s
o f th e m a p elem en ts .
Th e m ap itself s erves to b oth s tore th e data
a nd to p res en t th e d a ta to th e u ser. It is a
rela tively in exp en s ive m ea n s o f s torin g a
con s id era b le a m ou n t o f spatial in form a tion .
H ow ever, its d ou b le s ervice as a m ed iu m o f
s tora g e and p res en ta tion has a n u m b er o f
lim itation s. F or th e m a p to b e leg ib le, th e
a m ou n t o f data rep res en ted in th e m a p mu st
b e lim ited . S im ilarly, th e form o f p r es en ta ­
tion th e m a p p r ovid es is con s tra in ed b y th e
n eed to ca rry con s id era b le in form a tion . Th e
m ap is rela tively exp en s ive to d ra ft manually,
and s o a m a p is com m on ly d es ign ed to s erve
m a n y d ifferen t u ses. This m a y req u ir e th a t
com p r om is es b e m a d e in th e sca le, level o f
information detail, and oth er design con s id er­
ation s. M a p s a ls o b e c o m e ra th er cu m b er­
s om e to u se w h en th er e a re la rg e n u m b ers
o f th em a nd w h en th e in form a tion from
s evera l m a p s mu st b e a n a lyzed tog eth er.
In a com p u ter- b a s ed G IS, th e s tora ge a nd
presentation o f geogra p h ic data a re separate.
Th e da ta m a y b e s tored a t a high level o f
d eta il a nd th en p lotted a t a m ore g en era l
level a nd at a d ifferen t sca le. In a G IS, th e
p lotted m a p b ecom es on e o f m a n y form s o f
p res en tin g th e da ta . It b ecom es , in effect,
a view o f a g eog ra p h ic da ta b a s e. Th e s a m e
da ta m a y b e view ed as m a ny d ifferen t typ es
o f m a p s . Each can b e cu s tom ized for a
s p ecific u se b eca u s e it is rela tively in ex p en ­
s ive to p lot a m a p b y com p u ter. In a d d ition
to m aps, th e d a ta m a y b e p r es en ted in th e
form o f ta b les , or even as tex t d es crip tion s .
In a com p u ter- b a s ed G IS, g eog ra p h ic da ta
a re r e p r es en ted as poin ts , lines, and a rea s ,
as w ith m aps. H o w ever , for efficien t com ­
p u ter im p lem eta tion , th es e elem en ts a re
org a n ized s om ew h a t d ifferen tly than th e
orga n iza tion o f a p a p er m a p. G eog r a p h ic
d a ta h a ve a s et o f ch a ra cteris tics th a t m a ke
th em dis tin ctly d ifferen t from th e m ore
fa m ilia r lists and ta b les o f d a ta u sed in th e
in form a tion s ys tem s d e ve lo p e d for b u siness
a p p lica tion s .
Th e in form a tion for a g eog r a p h ic fea tu re
has fou r m a jor com p on en ts : its g eog r a p h ic
p os ition , its a ttrib u tes , its spatia l rela tion ­
ships, and tim e. M o r e s im ply, th e fou r co m ­
p on en ts a re: w h er e it is, w h a t it is, w h a t is
its relations hip to oth er spatial fea tu res , a nd
w h en d id th e con d ition or fea tu re exist.
G E O G R A P H IC P O S IT IO N
G eog ra p h ic d a ta a re fu n d a m en ta lly a form
o f spa tia l da ta . Each fea tu re has a loca tion
th a t mu st b e s p ecified in a u niqu e w a y. Th e
loca tion a l d efin ition s can b e qu ite com p lex
b eca u s e g eog ra p h ic p h en om en a ten d to
occu r in irregu la r com p lex p a ttern s, such as
a sinu ou s s h orelin e or a w e b o f tra n s p orta ­
tion rou tes.
For geogra ph ic data, locations are record ed
in term s o f a coor d in a te s ys tem like th e
La titu d e/ Lon gitu d e, U TM (U n ivers a l Tra n s ­
ver s e M erca tor), or S ta te Pla n e coor d in a te

system s. In s om e cas es th e coord in a tes of
on e system can b e m a th em a tica lly trans­
form ed into th e coord in a tes o f th e oth er.
But in m an y ca ses this is n ot p oss ib le.
For exa m p le, p r op erty b ou n d a ries w er e at
on e tim e d es crib ed with referen ce to local
fea tu res like fen ces or trees . Th a t typ e
o f referen ce system can not b e m ath em atic­
ally tra n s form ed into a geog ra p h ic co or ­
d in a te system . Similarly, a geogra p h ic coor ­
d in a te ca n n ot b e calcu lated from a s treet
a d d res s .
A G1S requ ires that a com m on coord in a te
system b e u sed for all th e d a ta s ets that will
b e u sed togeth er. For a small stu dy a rea the
coord in a te s ystem can b e any con ven ien t
grid. For la rger co ver a g e a rea s, on e of th e
nationally or intern ationa lly a ccep ted co o r ­
d in a te sys tem s is gen era lly u sed. Th e U TM
coord in a te s ystem is a con ven ien t on e for
scales o f 1:500,000 or larger.
G eographic data may b e stored at different
levels of positional accu racy. To s om e exten t
th e loca tion al da ta a re a lw a ys im p recis e at
s om e level o f detail. S om e da ta m a y b e
a ccu ra te to within a few cen tim eters , w h ile
oth er da ta m a y on ly b e a ccu ra te to 10 m.
A T T R IB U T E S
Th e secon d characteristic of geogra p h ic data
a re th eir attrib u tes, i.e. "w h a t it is” . For
exa m ple, the featu re might b e a fores t stand.
Its attrib u tes m ight inclu de th e s p ecies com ­
p osition , a ver a g e tr ee height, th e crow n
closure, and the da te it was last logged. These
a re often term ed non-spatial
a ttrib u tes
attributes in that th ey d o n ot in th em s elves
rep res en t loca tion a l in form a tion . Th ere is a
level o f inaccu racy in h eren t in non-spatial
a ttrib u te data as th ere is for spatial data. A
com m ercia l district m ay n ot b e 100% com ­
mercial and a stand of pine trees is generally
not 100% pine. O ften this typ e o f inaccu racy
is n ot a d d res s ed b y G IS u sers, b u t for m an y
typ es o f analyses it is im p ortan t to recogn ize
and ta ke into a ccou nt this im p recis ion .
163 jihgfedcb
D a ta M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
S P A T IA L R E L A T IO N S H IP
Th e third ch a ra cteris tic o f geog ra p h ic data
a re th e spatial relations hips a m on g th e g e o ­
gra p h ic fea tu res . Th es e rela tions hips a re
gen era lly ver y nu m erou s, m ay b e com p lex,
and a re im p orta n t. For exa m p le, it is n ot
on ly im p orta n t to kn ow th e loca tion o f th e
fire and th e fire hydrants, b u t also h ow close
th os e fire hydrants a re to th e fire. Th e
effects of an oil spill d ep en d on w h a t it is
near, as w ell as on w h ere it is loca ted . Th es e
relationships a re intuitive to th e pers on look­
ing a t th e a rea or at a m ap. H ow ever, for
a com p u ter- b a s ed G IS, rela tion s h ip s must
b e exp res s ed in a com pu ter- u sa b le manner.
In practical term s, it is n ot p os s ib le to s tore
in form a tion a b ou t all th e p os s ib le spatial
relationships. In stead, on ly s om e o f th e
spatial relationships a re explicitly d efin ed in
th e G IS, and th e rem a in d er is eith er cal­
cu la ted as n eed ed or is n ot a va ila b le. Th e
tra d e- offs m a d e in ch oos in g th e spatial data
m od el d irectly a ffect th e p erform a n ce
ch ara cteristics o f th e system.
T IM E
G eogra p h ic in form a tion is referen ced to a
p oin t in tim e or a p er iod o f tim e. Kn ow in g
th e tim e w h en geog ra p h ic da ta w er e col­
lected can b e critical to using th os e data
a p p rop ria tely. An a rea m ay b e co ver ed b y
trees on e yea r and h a ve b een clear- cu t th e
next. A n u rb an a rea m ay b e zon ed res id en ­
tial for tw en ty yea rs and then b e re- zon ed
com m ercia l. Agricu ltu ral crop s a re grow n in
certain seas on s. In s om e region s o f th e
w orld, differen t crop s a re grow n in th e sam e
a rea at d ifferen t tim es o f yea r. S o, it w ou ld
b e im p ortan t to kn ow th e tim e of yea r w hen
th e crop a rea da ta w er e collected .
H istorical in form a tion m ay a ls o be a
va lu a b le com p on en t o f th e G IS data b a se.
Kn ow in g th e p reviou s con d ition o f a g e o ­
gra p h ic loca tion m a y b e ver y useful. For
exa m p le, kn ow in g th e fores t that p reviou s ly
g r ew on a clear- cu t site th a t has b een
164 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
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h a rves ted can b e useful in d ecid in g h ow b es t en ou gh to p r ovid e useful in form a tion . Th e

to rep la n t an a rea . Kn ow in g th a t a site w a s
on ce a w a ste du m p will restrict its fu tu re use.
Th e rep res en ta tion o f tim e in a G IS is an
a d d ed level o f com p lexity tha t is difficu lt to
han dle. As a resu lt, th e tim e fa ctor has
gen era lly n ot b een a d d res s ed in a s oph is ­
tica ted m an ner.
Ta ken tog eth er th e fou r ch a racteris tics,
geog ra p h ic position , attrib u tes, spatial rela ­
tion sh ip, an d tim e, m ake geog ra p h ic data
u niqu ely difficu lt to handle. It is to o com p lex
to record all th e in form a tion for geog ra p h ic
en tities. A s w ith oth er d a ta b a s e system s,
a d a ta m od el is u sed to rep res en t th e in for­
m a tion con s id ered to b e m os t releva n t to
th e a p p lica tion s a t hand. If th e m od el is
a p p rop ria tely d es ign ed , th e G IS will m im ic
th e b eh a vior o f th e real w orld a ccu ra tely
da ta b a s e s ystem o f a G IS p r ovid es th e
m ean s to orga n ize th e spatial an d n on ­
spa tial a ttrib u te d a ta for efficien t s tora ge,
retrieva l, and analysis. In th e follow in g s ec­
tions, the common data models used to handle
th e spa tia l d a ta in a G IS a re discu ssed. FEDCBA
SP A T I A L D A T A M O D ELS
Th ere a re tw o fu n da m en ta l a p p roa ch es to
th e rep res en ta tion o f the spatial com p on en t
of geogra p h ic information: th e vector m od el
and th e ra ster m od el. In th e vector m od el,
ob jects or con d ition s in th e real w orld a re
rep res en ted b y th e p oin ts and lines that
d efin e th eir b ou n d a ries , mu ch as if th ey
w e r e b ein g d ra w n on a m ap. Th e p osition
o f ea ch ob ject is d efin ed b y its p la cem en tGFEDCBA

T H E R A S TE R A N D V E C T O R DATA M O D E L S

Figure 6 . 10 Com parison o f the Raster and V e cto r M odels. The landscape in A is shown in a raster repre senta ­
tio n (B) and in a vecto r repre sentation (C). The pine forest stand (P) and spruce forest stand (S) are area features.
The riv e r (R) is a lin e feature, and the house (H) is a p o in t feature.

in a m a p s p a ce th a t is orga n ized by a
coord in a te r efer e n ce system , as sh ow n in
Figu re 6.10 pa rt C. E very position in th e m ap
s p a ce has a u niqu e coord in a te valu e. Points,
lines, an d p olyg on s a re u sed to rep res en t
irregu larly distrib u ted geogra p h ic ob jects or
con d ition s in th e rea l w orld . (A p olyg on is
an area b ou n d ed b y a closed loop of straight-
line s egm en ts .) A lin e m ay rep res en t a road,
a p olygon m a y rep res en t a fores t stand, and
s o on. Th e spatial en tities in th e vector
m od el corres p on d m ore or less to th e
spatial en tities that th ey rep res en t in th e real
w orld .
In th e ra s ter m od el, th e s p a ce is regu la rly
su b divided into cells (usually squ are in shape),
as show n in th e Figu re 6.10 p a rt B. Th e loca ­
tion o f g eog ra p h ic ob jects or con d ition s is
d efin ed b y th e row a n d colu m n p os ition o f
th e cells th ey occu py. Th e a rea that each cell
rep res en ts d efin es th e spatial resolu tion
a va ila b le. B eca u s e p os ition s a re d efin ed b y
th e cell row and cell colu mn nu m b ers, th e
p os ition of g eog ra p h ic fea tu res is on ly
r ecor d ed to th e n ea res t cell. F or exa m p le,
if th e a rea is d ivid ed into 10 m x 10m cells,
then th e p os ition q f an o b ject can on ly b e
recor d ed to th e n ea res t 10 m x 10 m a rea .
Th e va lu e s tored fo r ea ch cell in d ica tes th e
typ e o f o b ject or con d ition th a t is fou n d at
th a t loca tion . Thu s in th e ra s ter a p p roa ch ,
th e s p a ce is p op u la ted b y a la rge n u m b er
o f regu la rly d is trib u ted cells, ea ch o f w hich
can h a ve a d ifferen t va lu e. Th e spa tial units
a re th e cells, ea ch o f w hich corres p on d s to
an a rea at a specific location, such as an area
on the ea rth 's su rface. Th e cell valu es rep ort
a con d ition at a loca tion and th a t con d ition
p erta in s to th e en tire cell. U nlike th os e o f
th e vector m od el, th e units o f th e ra s ter
m od el d o n ot corr es p on d to th e spatial
entities th ey rep res en t in th e real w orld . Th e
spatial en titities or units in th e ra s ter da ta
m od el a re n ot th e ob jects w e concep tu a lize;
th ey a re th e in dividu al cells. For exa m p le,
a roa d d oes n ot exis t as a distinct ra s ter
en tity; th e cells rep res en tin g th e roa d a re
165 jihgfedc
D a ta M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZY
th e en tities. Thu s, a roa d is r ep res en ted b y
a grou p o f cells w ith th e con d ition r o a d . Th e
roa d is n ot its elf recog n ized as a sin gle
en tity.
In b oth m od els , th e spatial in form a tion is
In
r ep res en ted u sing h om og en eou s units.
the raster approach, the homogeneous
units are the cells. (Th e a rea within a cell
is n ot s u b d ivid ed and th e cell a ttrib u te
a p p lies to eve r y loca tion w ithin th e cell.) A
ver y la rge n u m b er o f rela tively small cells,
all th e s a m e size, a re u sed. Ra ster da ta files
com m on ly con ta in m illions o f cells a nd th e
Inthe
pos ition o f each unit is rigidly defin ed .
vector approach, the homogeneous units
arethe points, lines, andpolygons. Relative
to th e raster a p p roa ch , th es e h om ogen eou s
units a re rela tively fe w in n u m b er and
va ria b le in size. In a vector file, th e elem en ts
m ight n u m b er in th e ten s o f thou san ds, b u t
n ot in th e m illions as com m on ly occu rs in a
ra s ter file. Th e p os ition s o f th es e h om o­
gen eou s vecto r units a re d efin ed u sing a
n ea rly contin u ou s ra n ge of coord in a te
va lu es. This m eth od p rovid es a mu ch m ore
flexib le and usually m ore p recis e coord in a te
p os ition than th e r ow and colu m n p os ition ­
ing u sed in th e ra s ter a p p roa ch .
Th e d iffer en t a p p r oa ch es h a ve th eir
a d va n ta ges and d is a d va n ta ges . Th e m a jor
tra d e- offs a re su m m arized in Ta b le 6.1. Each
a p p roa ch ten d s to w ork b es t in situ ations
w h ere th e spa tia l in form a tion is to be
trea ted in a m a nner that closely m atches th e
d a ta m od el. W h er e th e geog ra p h ic in form a ­
tion o f in teres t is th e spatial va ria b ility o f a
p h en om en on , th e ra s ter rep res en ta tion is
gen era lly b e tte r su ited. Th e su b tle colou r
va ria tion s from p oin t to p oin t in a digita l
im a ge a re w ell rep res en ted b y ver y la rge
n u m b ers o f cells ea ch a s s ign ed a s et o f
va lu es to rep res en t th e red, green , and b lu e
intensity a t th a t cell p os ition . S im ilarly, th e
s h a p e o f a su rface, its top og ra p h y, is w ell
rep res en ted b y a set o f even ly s p a ced eleva ­
tion m ea s u rem en ts . W h er e th e in form a tion
o f in teres t is th e dis trib u tion o f ob jects in
166 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e GFEDCBA
T a b le 6.1 C o m p a ris o n o f R a s te r an d V e c to r D a ta M o d e ls .
RASTER M O D EL
A d v a n t a g e s : QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
1. It i s a s i m p l e d a t a s t r u c t u r e .
2 . O v e r la y o p e r a t io n s ar e e a sily an d e f f ic ie n t ly
im p le m e n t e d .
3 . H ig h sp a t ia l v a r i a b i l i t y is e f f i c i e n t l y
r e p r e se n t e d in a r a s t e r f o r m a t .
4 . T h e r a st e r f o r m a t is m o re o r l e s s r e q u ir e d
fo r e f f ic ie n t m a n ip u la t io n an d e n h a n ce m e n t
o f d ig it a l im a g e s.
D is a d v a n t a g e s :
1. T h e r a st e r d a t a st r u c t u r e is l e s s c o m p a c t .
D a t a c o m p r e ssio n t e c h n iq u e s c a n o ft en
o v e r c o m e t h is p r o b le m .
2. To p o lo g ic a l r e la t io n sh ip s are m o re d if f ic u lt
t o r e p r e se n t .
3. Th e o u t p u t o f g r a p h ic s is le ss a e st h e t ic a lly
p l e a si n g b e c a u s e b o u n d a r i e s t e n d t o
h ave a b lo ck y a p p e a r a n c e ra t h e r t h an t h e
sm o o t h l i n e s o f h a n d - d r a w n m a p s. T h i s c a n
b e o v e r c o m e b y u si n g a v e r y l a r g e n u m b e r
o f c e l l s , b u t m a y r e s u l t in u n a c c e p t a b l y
la r g e f i l e s.
s p a ce or the cond ition s that a p p ly to an area
fea tu re (such as th e soil u nit or fores t stand
o f a thematic map), then the vector approach
ten d s to b e b etter su ited . Th e ra s ter and
vector a p p roa ch es a r e exa m in ed in grea ter
d eta il in th e follow in g sections .
TH E RASTER D A T A M O D E L
In its sim p les t form , th e ra s ter d a ta m od el
cons ists o f a regu la r grid o f s qu a re or rec­
tangu la r cells. Th e loca tion o f ea ch cell or
pixel (for p ictu re elem en t) is d efin ed b y its
row and column numbers. The valu e assigned
to th e cell indicates th e valu e o f th e attrib u te
it rep res en ts . A s sh ow n in Figu re 6.10, a
p oin t (th e h ou se) is rep r es en ted b y a sin gle
cell, a line (the river) b y s evera l cells with th e
s a m e va lu e form in g a linear grou p in g, and
an a rea (the fores t stand) b y a clu m p o f cells
VEC TO R M O D EL
A d v a n ta g e s :
1 . It p r o v i d e s a m o r e c o m p a c t d a t a s t r u c ­
t u re t h a n t h e r a st e r m o d e l.
2 . It p r o v i d e s e f f i c i e n t e n c o d i n g o f
t o p o lo g y , a n d , a s a r e su lt , m o re e f f ic ie n t
im p le m e n t a t io n o f o p e r a t io n s t h a t re q u ire
t o p o lo g ic a l in f o r m a t io n , su c h a s n e t w o rk
a n a ly sis.
3 . T h e v e c t o r m o d e l i s b e t t e r su i t e d t o s u p ­
p o rt in g g r a p h ic s t h a t c l o s e l y a p p r o x ­
im a t e h an d - d r aw n m a p s.
D is a d v a n t a g e s :
1. It i s a m o r e c o m p l e x d a t a s t r u c t u r e t h a n
a sim p le r a st e r .
2. O v e r la y o p e r a t io n s are m o re d if f ic u lt to
im p le m e n t .
3 . T h e r e p r e se n t a t io n o f h ig h sp a t ia l
v a r ia b ilit y is in e f f ic ie n t .
4. M a n ip u la t io n a n d e n h a n c e m e n t o f d ig it a l
i m a g e s c a n n o t b e e f f e c t i v e l y d o n e in t h e
v e c t o r d o m a i n .jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIH
all h avin g th e s a m e va lu e. M o r e com p lex
im p lem en ta tion s h a ve u sed regu la r s h a p es
oth er than a s qu a re, such as tria n gles and
h exa gon s. H ow ever, th e squ a re cell is easily
h a n d led as a n u m erica l a rra y b y th e m ore
com m on p rogra m m in g langu ages. Th e raster
d a ta m od el is a ls o ea s ily in terfa ced to th e
hardware devices commonly used for the input
and ou tp u t o f spa tial data. For this rea s on ,
th e firs t G IS es w e r e w ritten in th e Fortran
programming language and w ere raster-based.
Each cell in a ra s ter file is a s s ign ed on ly
on e valu e. So, d ifferen t attrib u tes a re s tored
in s ep a ra te files. Th e soil typ es an d fores t
cover for an area w ou ld b e stored as separate
soil a nd fores t d a ta files. O p era tion s on
m u ltiple raster files in volve th e retrieva l and
p roces s in g o f th e da ta from corres p on d in g
cell p os ition s in th e d ifferen t d a ta files.

C on ceptu a lly, th e p roces s is like stacking th e
files as shown in Figure 6.11 and using the ver­
tica l stack o f cell va lu es to a n a lyze ea ch cell
location. For exa m p le, in ord er to find all th e
cells w ith a P in e fores t co ve r a n d a S a n d y
soil typ e, ea ch cell in th e soil file and ea ch
corres p on d in g cell in th e fores t file w ou ld b e
r e tr ieved and eva lu a ted . All th os e cells th at
w e r e cod ed as P in e fores t and also as S a n d y
soil w ou ld b e id en tified and cou ld b e ou tp u t
to a n ew d a ta file. This p roced u re, ter m ed
o v e r la y a n a ly s is , is discu s sed in C h a p ter 7.
In the raster data model, each cell represents
an a rea o f th e land su rface. S in ce th e a ttri­
b u te o f ea ch cell is s tored as a u niqu e va lu e,
th e tota l n u m b er o f va lu es to b e s tor ed is
th e p rod u ct o f th e n u m b er o f colu m ns tim es
DA T A L A Y E R S
IN M A P F O R M
Figure 6.11 QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
O v e r l a y A n a l y si s U sin g Rast e r
167 jihgfedc
D a ta M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZY
th e n u m b er o f row s . Th e s m a ller th e a rea
o f la nd th a t ea ch cell rep res en ts , th e h igh er
th e resolu tion o f th e data, a nd th e la rger th e
file n eed ed to s tore th e data. Th e size o f th e
file in crea ses ra p id ly with resolu tion. If a cell
rep res en ts a 250 m x 250 m a rea on th e
grou n d , th en a d is ta n ce o f 1 km w ou ld b e
r ep res en ted b y 4 cells. A 1 km x 1km a rea
w ou ld b e rep res en ted b y 16 cells. If a higher
resolution w as u sed and the cells rep res en ted
100 m x 100 m a rea s, th en a d is ta n ce o f
1 km w ou ld b e rep res en ted b y 10 cells and
th e s a m e 1 km x 1 km a rea w ou ld requ ire
a tota l o f 100 cells. S ince th e file size is
rela ted to th e a rea o f co ver a g e, it in crea s es
b y th e s qu a re o f th e in crea s e in resolu tion.
For th es e rea s on s , ra s ter files ten d to b e
R E P R E S E N T A T IO N O F D A T A O V E R L A Y A N A L Y S IS
IN R A S T E R F O R M A T
D a t a Fil e s.
168 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
rela tively la rge. It is com m on for a raster file
to b e com p ris ed o f s evera l m illion cells.
H ow ever, m an y o f th e cells m a y contain th e
s a m e va lu e as n eigh b ou rin g cells. W h ere
th ere is con s id era b le red u n d a n cy o f this
typ e, significant redu ction s in th e size o f th e
ra s ter file can b e a ch ieved b y u sing va riou s
m eth od s o f d a ta com p res s ion , such as r u n -
le n g th e n c o d in g and q u a d tre e s .
(Th e rep res en ta tion of data in a m ore
com p a ct form is term ed datacompression.)FEDCBA
va lu e colu mn.
R u n - Le n g t h En co d i n g
If th e d a ta a re highly va ria b le from cell to
cell, as w ith d igita l terra in d a ta or a Th e
p h otogra p h ic im a ge, then th e la rge n u m b er
o f cells s er ve to ca p tu re th e high spatial
va ria b ility. If th e n u m b er o f va lu es w er e
red u ced , s om e o f th e spatial in form a tion
w ou ld b e lost. H ow ever, in m an y ca s es th e
spa tial va ria b ility is n ot high and th e in for­
m a tion can b e rep res en ted with less red u n ­
d a n cy and w ith ou t loss o f d eta il. This often
occu rs w h en th e da ta a re them a tic. S ince
cells rep res en tin g a rea s o f th e s a m e class
h a ve th e s a m e valu e, th e p a ttern o f va lu es
ten d s to b e spatia lly clu m p ed . Th e qu an tity
o f d a ta n eed ed to ca p tu re a clu m p ed p a t­
tern o f spatial variab ility can b e con s id era b ly
red u ced b y u sing d a ta stru ctu res th a t co d e
th es e rep ea ted valu es m ore com p a ctly than
th e sim p le ra s ter da ta stru ctu re. Tw o com ­
mon m eth od s of com pa ct raster data storage
a re ru n- length en cod in g and qu a d trees .
In run-length encoding, a d ja cen t cells
a lon g a row th a t h a ve th e s a m e va lu e a re
trea ted as a grou p term ed a run. In stea d o f
r e p ea ted ly s torin g th e s a m e va lu e for ea ch
cell, th e va lu e is s tored on ce, tog eth er with
in form a tion a b ou t th e size and loca tion o f
the run. Several run-length encoding strategies
h a ve b een d e ve lo p e d , tw o o f w hich a re
illu strated in Figu re 6.12. In standard run-
length encoding th e va lu e o f th e attrib u te,
th e n u m b er o f cells in th e run, a n d th e row
n u m b er a re r ecor d ed . In this exa m p le, th e
100 cell va lu es h a ve b een red u ced to a file
o f 54 va lu es, s ee pa rt B.
Th e s econ d d a ta com p res s ion tech n iqu e
shown in part C is term ed valuepoint encod­
ing. H er e th e cells a re a s s ign ed pos ition
n u m b ers sta rting in th e u p p er left corn er,
p r oceed in g from left to right and from th e
top to b ottom . Th e p osition n u m b er for th e
en d o f each run is stored in the point column.
Th e va lu e for ea ch cell in th e run is in th e
U sing va lu e p oin t en cod in g,
on ly 32 en tries w e r e n eed ed to en co d e th e
s a m e da ta. H ow ever, la rger va lu es (requ ir­
ing m ore digits a nd h en ce m ore s tora ge)
occu r in th e p oin t colu mn.
d egree of com p res s ion ob ta in ed
u sing th es e m eth od s d ep en d s on th e com ­
p lexity o f th e m ap. Th es e form s o f data
com p res s ion b ec om e less efficien t as th e
nu m b er o f ed g es or transitions increase. Th e
g rea tes t d e g r e e o f com p res s ion is a ch ieved
w h en th ere a re on ly a few cla sses and th ey
occu r in la rge clu mps. As th e spatial variab il­
ity in crea ses, i.e. w hen th ere a re m an y d if­
fer en t cla sses d is trib u ted in small clu mps,
then th e com p res s ed form ats cou ld actu ally
requ ire m o r e s tora ge s p a ce than th e full
ra ster file.
Ru n-length en cod in g can significan tly
red u ce th e s tora ge n eed ed for a ra s ter data
file, b u t th e tra d e- off b etw een cell size and
file size still remains. A coa rs e grid (la rge cell
size) gives s m a ller data files tha t u se less
s tora ge s p a ce and a re fa s ter to p roces s .
H ow ever, b ou n d a ries can b e p os ition ed
only as accu rately as the size o f a cell. A finer
grid (smaller cell size) p rovid es m ore accu rate
p os ition in g b u t grea tly in crea s es th e s ize o f
th e file and increases processin g tim es w hen
u sing th e file. Th e q u a d tree stru ctu re
a d d res s es b oth th e resolu tion as w ell as th e
red u n d a n cy issu e.
Q u ad t re es
Th e quadtree data model p r ovid es a m ore
com p a ct ra ster rep res en ta tion b y u sing a
 169 GFEDCBA
D a ta M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZY

RASTER D A T A C O M P R E S S IO N

COLUMNS QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
ROWS
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

MAP

A . jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Full R a s te r E n co din g B . R u n -L e n g th E n co din g C . V a lue P oint E ncoding
(100 V a lu e s ) (54 V a lu e s) (32 V alues)

COLUMNS HGFEDCBA VALUE L EN G T H RO W VALUE PO IN T

A 10 0 A 23
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A 10 1 B 29
RO W S A 4 2 A 32
B 6 2 B 39
0 A A A A A A A A A A
A 3 3 D 43
1 A A A A A A A A A A
B 7 3 B 49
2 A A A A B B B B B B
D 4 4 D 54
3 A A A B B B B B B B
B 6 4 B 59
4 D 0 D D B B B B B B
D 5 5 D 64
5 D D D D D B B B B B
B 5 5 C 69
6 D D D D D Ç c c C C
D 5 6 D 74
7 D D D D D c C c C c
C 5 6 C 79
8 D D D D D c c C C c
D 5 7 D 84
9 D D D D D c c c c c
C 5 7 C 89
D 5 8 D 94
C 5 8 C 99
D 5 9
C 5 9

Figure 6.12 Run-Length Encoding o f Raster Data.

va ria b le- s ized grid cell. In stea d o f d ivid in g p olygon b ou n d aries. A la rge a rea o f a single
an a rea in to cells o f on e size, fin er su b ­ class w ou ld b e ju st as a ccu ra tely en cod ed
d ivis ion s a re u sed in th os e a rea s w ith w ith on e la rge cell as w ith m an y small cells
fin er d eta il. In this w a y, a h igh er level o f b eca u s e th ey all h a ve th e s a m e a ttrib u te
res olu tion is p r o vid ed on ly w h ere it is valu e. U sing th e q u a d tr ee d a ta stru ctu re, a
n eed ed . coa rs e res olu tion (la rge cells) is u sed to
For a th em a tic m a p, th e fin e grid is on ly en co d e la rge h om og en eou s a rea s . A fin er
n eed ed in th e vicin ity o f lines, points , and res olu tion (small cells) is u sed for a rea s o f
170 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

high spatia l va ria b ility, i.e. w ith
rela tively sm all fea tu res .
C on cep tu a lly, th e con s tru ction o f a q u a d ­
tr e e can b e th ou gh t o f as a p r oces s o f
regu la rly s u b d ivid in g a m a p. If th e en tire
map is a s s ign ed th e s a m e class, e.g. is
c o ve r e d b y th e s a m e fores t typ e, th en th e
p r oces s s top s a nd th e map w ou ld
rep res en ted as on e cell rep res en tin g a ver y
la rge a rea . (In th e con ven tion a l
m od el, th e m a p w ou ld b e rep r es en ted b y
a la rg e n u m b er o f sm all cells ea ch w ith th e
s a m e va lu e.) If th er e is m ore than on e class
p res en t, th en th e m a p is s u b d ivid ed into
fou r equ a l- s ized qu a d ra n ts . Th e s a m e tes t
is r e p ea ted fo r ea ch qu a d ra n t.
qu a d ra n t th a t con ta in s m ore than on e class
is again s u b d ivid ed into fou r, w h erea s h om o­
g en eou s qu a d ra n ts a re n ot s u b d ivid ed .
Th e resu lt is a q u a d tr ee rep res en ta tion as
s h ow n in Figu re 6 . 13. N otice that m ore cells
a n d sm a ller cells a re cr ea ted a t fea tu re
b ou n d a ries . Th e d ivid in g p roces s is lim ited
to a ch os en m a xim u m n u m b er o f itera tion s .
This in e ffe c t es ta b lis h es th e minimu m cell
size that can b e rep res en ted . S o, th e resolu ­
tion is lim ited b y cell size. H o w ever , a ve r y
many small minimu m cell size can b e u s ed w ith ou t
crea tin g an en orm ou s data file b eca u s e m ost
o f th e a rea w ill n ot a ctu ally b e rep r es en ted
a t th e fin es t res olu tion .
Figu re 6.14 p r ovid es a m ore d eta iled look
a t th e q u a d tr ee stru ctu re. Pa rt A in th e
Figu re s h ow s a la nd u s e m a p fo r an u rb an
be a rea a nd p a rt B s h ow s its rep res en ta tion as
a q u a d tree. Th e s ch em a tic d ia gra m (p a rt C)
ra s ter illu strates th e com p on en ts o f th e q u a d tree.
Th e root is d efin ed as th e p oin t from w hich
all oth er b ra n ch es exp a n d . A leaf is a p oin t
from w hich th ere is n o fu rth er b ranching. All
oth er p oin ts in th e tr e e a re ter m ed nodes.
S evera l s ys tem s h a ve b een d e ve lo p e d to
E very assign id en tifica tion or k ey n u m b ers to th e
qu a d tree n od es. Th e M orton matrix n u m b er
is p erh a p s th e m os t w id ely kn ow n b eca u s e
it is con ven ien t for com p u ter im p lem en ta ­
tion (s ee P eu q u et 1984). Th e n u m b erin g
s ch em e s h ow n in p a rt D o f th e Figu re is that
d e ve lo p e d b y A b el a nd S mith (A b el and
Smith 1983). This typ e o f qu a d tree is term ed
a lin ea r q u a d tr ee b eca u s e th e n u m b er
a s s ign ed to ea ch cell is an o r d e r e d list o f its
p a ren t n od es . F or exa m p le, cell 2 12 is con ­
ta in ed in cell 21, w hich is con ta in ed in cell 2.

Figure 6.13 QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

V a r i a b l e D iv isio n o f Sp a c e U sin g t h e Q u a d t r e e D at a M o d e l.
 171 GFEDCBA
D a ta M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

T H E Q U A D T R E E R E P R E S E N T A T IO N

A. L a n d -U s e M a p B. Q u a d t r e e R e p r e s e n t a t io n

INDUSTRIAL 0 1

Commercial 210 211

R e s id e n tia l
20 — 21 —
D e ta c h e d QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
a b 212 213
/■ HGFEDCBA
RURAL £
3
R ES I D E N T I A L
22 23
M U LTI- U N IT

a. C o m m u n ity S e rv ic e s
b. R e c re a tio n

C. S c h e m a t i c R e p r e s e n t a t io n D. T a b le of A t t r i b u t e s
o f th e Q u a d tre e
Q u ad t ree Le v e ls
ATTRIBUTES
MAP 1 2 3

0 In d u st r ial

1 In d u st r ial

2 Re si d e n t i a l

20 R e si d e n t i a l , D e t a c h e d

21 Se r v i c e s

210 Co m m e r cial

211 Co m m e rcial

212 Co m m u n i t y Se r v i c e s

213 Re c r e a t i o n

22 R e si d e n t i a l . M u lt i- U n it

23 Re si d e n t i a l , M u lt i- U n it

3 Ru r a l

Figure 6.14 Th e O r g an i za t io n o f D at a U sin g t h e Q u a d t r e e M o d e l.

172 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e nu mb ering schem e o f a linear qu a d tree
has several useful properties. Th e neighb ou rs
o f any poin t can b e efficien tly id en tified from
its key nu mb er. For exa m p le, th e neigh b ou rs
o f cell 2 12 will b e th e oth er 21 x cells (2 10,
211, and 213) an d th e 2x cells (20, 21, 22,
a n d 23). Th e phys ica l stru ctu re o f th e com ­
p u ter file is a ls o orga n ized a ccord in g to th e
nu m b ering schem e. A s a result, cells th a t a re
clos e togeth er on the m ap are close togeth er
in th e file. For op era tion s that u se d a ta for
a neighb orhood, this storage organization pro­
vid es efficien t d a ta retrieva l, w hich in turn
im p roves s ys tem p erform a n ce. Q u a d trees
a re pa rticu la rly efficien t for id en tifyin g th e
n ea res t n eigh b ou r o f a s elected p oin t and
for id en tifyin g th e a rea (p olyg on ) in w hich
a p oin t is loca ted (term ed a point-in-
polygon sea rch).
A n oth er p r op er ty o f q u a d trees is th a t th e
a ttrib u te cod in g m akes it rela tively ea s y to
gen era lize th e da ta to an y level o f d eta il. If
a low er level o f detail is n eed ed , a low er level
o f b ran ch in g is s p ecified . In p a rt D o f Figu re
6 .14, the attribute tab le lists the class o f every
cell, including the parent cells of the finer divi­
sions. To p rod u ce a map with a minimum cell
s ize at th e s econ d level o f su b division, th e
attrib u te for cell 21 (S ervices) is u sed instead
o f th os e for cells 210, 211, 212, a n d 213.
As with oth er data models, th ere are tra d e­
offs in u sing qu a d trees . O n e o f th e m a jor
d is a d va n ta ges o f qu a d trees is th e tim e it
takes to crea te and m od ify them . C om p a red
w ith a s im p le ra s ter stru ctu re, th e m or e
com p lex q u a d tr ee da ta stru ctu re requ ires
m ore p roces s in g tim e to g en era te th e qu a d ­
tr ee with its in d exes and ta b les . For com ­
p lex a rea s, th e p roces s in g tim e to g en er a te
a q u a d tree can b e significant and w h en ever
th e m a p is ch a n ged , th e q u a d tr ee stru ctu re
mu st b e m od ified — a ls o a m ore com p lex
task than m od ifyin g a ra ster file. D ep en d in g
on th e s oftw a re and th e spatial com p lexity
o f th e data, th e u p d a tin g p r oced u re can b e
m a d e rela tively efficient. Th e overh ea d tasks
n eed ed to maintain th e q u a d tree can b e
op tim ized . H ow ever, th ey ca n n ot b e elim i­
n ated . Th e sign ifica n ce o f this overh ea d
d ep en d s h ea vily on th e typ e o f data, th e
a p p lica tion , an d th e des ign o f th e s oftw a re.
Q u a d trees can p r ovid e m ore efficien t
s tora ge o f da ta b u t on ly if th e data a re fairly
h om ogen eou s . Th e fe w e r th e cla sses and
th e la rger th e clu mps, th e g r ea ter th e
d e g r e e o f d a ta com p res s ion a nd th e m ore
efficien t th e q u a d tr ee stru ctu re. But if th e
clu m ps a re small and th ere a re m an y d if­
feren t classes, then q u a d tree en cod in g can
actu ally p rod u ce a file l a r g e r than a ra s ter
file for th e s a m e data.
In su m m ary, th e u se o f q u a d trees can
m a ke certain spatial analysis fu nctions (such
as set op era tion s and point- in - p olygon sea r­
ches) m ore efficien t than w h en a con ven ­
tion al ra s ter d a ta stru ctu re is u sed. Q u a d ­
trees ten d to h a ve th eir g rea tes t a d va n ta ge
w h en th e da ta a re rela tively h om ogen eou s ,
and d o n ot requ ire freq u en t u pd ating, and
w h en fas t execu tion o f certain typ es o f fu nc­
tions a re n eed ed . Th eir a d va n ta ges diminish
as th e m a p b ecom es m ore com p lex, as th e
da ta h a ve to b e u p d a ted m ore frequ en tly,
and w h en a n a lys es less su ited to qu a d trees
a re d on e (W au gh 1986).
TH E V E C TO R D A T A M O D E L
Th e vecto r d a ta m od el p r ovid es for th e
p recis e p os ition in g o f fea tu res in sp a ce.
Th e a p p roa ch u s ed in th e vector m od el is
to p recis ely s p ecify th e p os ition o f th e
points , lines, and p olyg on s u sed to r e p r e ­
s en t fea tu res o f in terest. Th e m a p a rea is
a ss u m ed to b e a contin u ou s coord in a te
s p a ce w h ere a p os ition can b e d efin ed as
p recis ely as d es ired . Th e vecto r m od el
as su m es tha t p os ition coord in a tes a re
m a th em a tica lly exa ct. In fact, th e level o f
p recis ion is lim ited b y th e n u m b er o f b its
u sed to rep res en t a s in gle va lu e w ithin th e
com p u ter, althou gh it is a ver y fin e res olu ­
tion com p a red w ith th e cell sizes gen era lly
u sed in ra s ter sys tem s .

Th e loca tion o f fea tu res on th e ea rth ’s
s u rfa ce a re refer en ced to m a p p os ition s
u sing an X Y coord in a te s ys tem (term ed a
Cartesiancoordinate system). G eogra p h ic
fea tu res a re com m on ly r e co r d ed on tw o-
d im en s ion a l m aps as poin ts , lines, and
a rea s. Th e vecto r m od el u ses a similar
a p p roa ch . A p oin t fea tu re is r ecor d ed as
a sin gle X Y coord in a te pair, a line as a
s eries o f X Y coord in a tes , an d an a rea as a
clos ed lo op o f X Y coord in a te pa irs th a t
d efin e th e b ou n d a ry o f th e a rea . (An a rea
b ou n d ed b y a clos ed lo op o f straight- line
s egm en ts is term ed , a polygon.)
Figure 6.15 R e presentin g Points. Lines, a n d Po lygo ns
as XY C o o rd in a te S trin gs.
Figu re 6.15 illustrates h ow geogra p h ic fea ­
tu res a re digita lly en cod ed u sing X Y coord i­
nates. Th e position o f p oin t A is rep res en ted
b y the single coordin ate pair 2,3, and the line
is represented b y an ord ered list of coordinate
pairs 1,7; 3,6; 3,4: 5,3. The area is represented
b y an o r d e r e d list o f coord in a te pa irs that
b egin s and en d s a t th e same p os ition ,
th er eb y form in g a clos ed loop . Th e coor d i­
n ates for th e a rea fea tu re are; 7,10; 9,8; 8,7;
9,5; 7,5; 5,7; 7,10. In this exa m p le, th e coor­
d in a tes a re in a rb itra ry units. H ow ever , in
a G IS, p os ition s a re u su ally s tored u sing a
sta n d ard geog ra p h ic coord in a te system like
U TM , State Plane, or Latitu de and Longitu de.
173 jihgfedcb
D ata M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
A n u m b er o f s ystem s h a ve b een d evis ed
to orga n ize th e s tora ge o f p oin t, line, a n d
p olygon coord in a te data. Th e ea rly system s
w e r e d es ign ed to m eet th e n eed s o f a u to­
m a ted m a p p in g w h ere th e p rin cip al o b jec­
tive w a s to s tore th e position s o f th e points,
lines, an d p olygon s , as w ell as th e d ra w in g
instru ctions to p lot them (such as line w eight,
colou r, a nd p a ttern ). Little in form a tion w a s
n eed ed a b ou t th e g eog ra p h ic fea tu res tha t
th es e gra p h ic elem en ts rep res en ted .
These systems w ere later d evelop ed to p ro­
vid e for s tora ge o f geogra p h ic attrib u tes and
recognition of the graphic elements that repre­
s en ted a particu lar geogra p h ic fea tu re (such
as a grou p o f line segm en ts that rep res en ted
a particular roadway). H ow ever, the data w ere
s tored as a m ore or less u n orga n ized collec­
tion o f elem en ts . An exa m p le o f this typ e o f
vector m od el is th e spaghetti model.FEDCBA
T h e Sp a g h e t t i D a t a M o d e l
Th e s p a gh etti da ta m od el is illu strated in
Figu re 6.16. In this m od el th e p a p er m a p is
tra n s la ted lin e- for- line into a list o f X Y co or ­
din a tes. A p oin t is en cod ed as a sin gle X Y
coord in a te pa ir an d a line as a string o f X Y
coord in a te pairs. An a rea is rep res en ted b y
a p olyg on a nd is recor d ed as a clos ed loop
o f X Y coord in a tes that d efin e its b ou n d a ry.
Th e com m on b ou n d a ry b etw een a d ja cen t
p olyg on s mu st b e r ecor d ed tw ice, on ce for
ea ch p olyg on . A file o f spa tial d a ta con ­
stru cted in this manner is essentially a collec­
tion o f coord in a te strings w ith no in h eren t
structure — hence th e term spaghetti model.
Th e stru ctu re o f this m od el is ve r y sim p le
and ea s y to u ndersta nd. Th e d a ta m od el is
rea lly th e m a p ex p res s ed in C artesian co o r ­
din ates. Th e data file o f X Y coord in a tes is
actu ally th e data structure, th e form in
which th e spatial data a re s tored in th e com ­
p u ter. Alth ou gh all th e spatial fea tu res a re
record ed , th e spatial relations hips b etw een
th es e fea tu res a re not en cod ed . For exa m ­
ple, in form a tion is n ot recor d ed a b ou t th e
174 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e GFEDCBA

T h e T o p o lo g ica l M o d e l

The topological m odel is th e most w idely used

T H E " S P A G H E T T I"
m eth od o f en cod in g spa tial rela tion s h ip s in
D A T A M O D E L HGFEDCBA
a G IS. Topology is th e m a th em a tica l
m eth od u sed to d efin e spatial relationships.
O r i gi n a l Map Figu re 6.17 illu strates a m a p a nd its a s s oci­
a ted d a ta ta b les . This pa rticu la r form o f
top olog ica l m od el is ter m ed th e Arc-Node
d a ta m od el. Th e b a sic logica l en tity is th e
arc, a s eries o f p oin ts th a t sta rt a nd en d at
a n od e. A node is an in ters ection p oin t
w h er e tw o or m ore arcs m eet. A n od e can
a ls o occu r a t th e en d o f a "d a n g lin g " arc,
i.e. an a rc th at is n ot con n ected to a n oth er
arc, such as th e en d o f a d ea d - en d s treet.
Is ola ted n od es , n ot con n ected to arcs,
rep res en t points. A p olyg on is com p ris ed o f
(Data Model) a clos ed chain o f arcs th a t rep res en ts th e
b ou n d a ries o f th e a rea .
In Figu re 6.17, th e to p o lo g y is r ecor d ed
D a ta S t r u c t u r e in th r ee da ta ta b les , o n e fo r ea ch typ e o f

FEATURE NUMBER LO C ATIO N

spatial elem en t, and th e coord in a te data a re
s tored in a fou rth ta b le. In a G IS, p olyg on s
Point 10 X Y (S in g le Point)
a n d p oin ts a re often s tor ed in on e typ e o f

23
data la yer and lines a re s tored in a s ep a ra te
Une X Y . X Y .......... X Y (String)
d a ta la yer, in w hich ca s e a s ep a ra te s et o f
63 X , Y r X ,Y 2 .......... X ,Y , (Closed Loop) to p o lo g y and coor d in a te ta b les w ou ld b e
Polygo n
a s s ocia ted w ith ea ch d a ta la yer. For pu r­
64 X, Y,, X2 Y 2.......... X, Y1 (Closed Loop)
p os es of illu stration, p oin ts , lines, and
p olyg on s a re s h ow n h er e tog eth er in th e
s a m e d a ta la yer.
Fi gur e 6. 16 T he S p aghe tti Data M o d e l. (A d a p te d fro m Th e Polygon Topology Table s h ow s th e
D a n g e rm o n d 1982). jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
arcs th a t m a ke u p th e b ou n d a ries o f ea ch
p olygon . For exam ple, p olygon A is b ou n d ed
fea tu res a d ja cen t to ea ch p olyg on . This
b y arcs a I , a 3 , a nd a 5 . (B y con ven tion , th e
in form a tion w ou ld h a ve to b e g en er a ted b y arcs th a t m a ke u p a p o lyg on a re d efin ed
sea rchin g all th e fea tu res in th e data file and m ovin g in a clockw is e d irection .) P olygon s
calculating w hether or not they w ere adjacent. can h a ve islands w ithin th em . P olyg on C is
Th e s p a gh etti m od el is ver y in efficien t for an island in p olyg on B. Th is is in d ica ted in
m os t typ es o f spatial a n a lys es sin ce any th e arc list for p olygon B b y a zero p reced in g
spatial rela tion s h ip s mu st b e d er ived b y th e list o f arcs th a t m a ke u p th e island. In
com p u ta tion . H ow ever , it is an efficien t this ca se, th ere is on ly on e a rc (a 7) in
m odel for digitally reprodu cing maps b ecau se p olyg on C. Th e p oin t in p olyg on B is also
in form a tion extra n eou s to th e p lottin g p r o ­ trea ted as a p olyg on , p o lyg on D , w hich is
cess, su ch as spa tial rela tion s h ip s , a re n ot com p ris ed o f th e s in gle a rc a 6 . A p oin t can
s tored (P eu q u et 1984). FEDCBA b e con s id ered a p olyg on w ith no a rea . In
 -I------------1----------- 1----------- 1------------1------------1------------1------------rQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

X - A X I SGFEDCBA

S P A T IA L D A T A E N C O D IN G HGFEDCBA

PO LYG ON T O PO LO G Y NO DE T O PO LO G Y A RC T O PO LO G Y mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUT
START END LEF T R IG H T
PO L YG O N A RCS NODE A RCS ARC
NODE NODE PO LYG O N PO LYGO N

A a1 , a5 , a3 N1 a 1 , a 3 , a4 a1 N1 N2 E A
B a 2 , a 5 , 0 , a 6 , 0 , a7 N2 a 1 , a 2 , a5 a2 N2 N3 E B
C a7 N3 a 2 . a 3 ,a 5 a3 N3 N1 E A
D a6 N4 a4 a4 N4 N1 A A
E a r e a o u t sid e N5 a6 a5 N3 N2 A B
m ap c o v e r a g e N6 a7 a6 N5 N5 B B
a7 N6 N6 B C

A R C C O O RD IN A T E DA T A

START IN T E R M E D IA T E END
A RC
X. Y X. Y X. Y

al 4 0 .6 0 70, 60 7 0 ,5 0
a2 70. 50 7 0 ,1 0 ; 1 0 ,1 0 10, 25
a3 10, 25 1 0 ,6 0 4 0 ,6 0
a4 40, 60 3 0 ,5 0 3 0 .4 0
a5 1 0 ,2 5 2 0 ,2 7 ; 3 0 ,3 0 ; 5 0 ,3 2 70, 50
a6 30, 20 30, 20
a7 55, 27 5 5 ,1 5 ; 4 0 ,1 5 ; 4 5 ,2 7 5 5 .2 7

Figure 6.17 Th e To p o lo g ic a l D at a M o d e l.
176 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
this exa m p le, it is a ls o trea ted as an is ola ted
n od e and as an a rc com p ris ed o f a single
point. (D etails such as th es e m a y b e trea ted
d ifferen tly, d ep en d in g on th e s oftw a re
u sed.) In o r d er to com p lete th e spatial
d efin ition s , th ere mu st b e a w a y to r efer to
th e a rea that is ou ts id e th e m a p b ou n d a ry.
This ou ts id e a rea is d es ign a ted as p olyg on
E, for w hich th e a rcs a re n ot exp licitly
d efin ed .
In th e Node Topology Table, ea ch n od e
is d efin ed b y th e arcs to w hich it b elon gs .
For exa m p le, n od e N 1 is an en d p oin t for
a rcs a l , a 3 , and a 4 . N o d e N 5 is a single point
that is also d efin ed a s arc a 6 and as p olygon
D. Th e ArcTopologyTable d efin es th e rela­
tion sh ip o f th e n od es a nd p olyg on s to th e
arcs. Th e en d p oin ts a re distingu is hed b y
d es ign a tin g on e n od e as th e s t a r t or f r o m
n od e and th e oth er as th e e n d or t o n od e.
For exa m p le, a rc a 5 starts at n od e N 3 and
en d s at n od e N 2 . M ovin g from N 3 to N 2 , the
p olyg on to th e left is P olygon A and th e
p olyg on on th e righ t is p olyg on B .
From th e to p o lo g y a lon e, i.e. th e th ree
to p o lo g y ta b les , a n a lys es o f th e rela tive
p os ition o f th e m ap elem en ts can b e d on e.
For exa m p le, all p olyg on s a d ja cen t to
p olygon B can b e fou nd b y searching the Arc
T o p o lo g y Ta b le. E very p olyg on p a ired with
B in this ta b le is a d ja cen t to it b eca u s e th ey
h a ve a com m on arc. For exa m p le, p olygon
A an d B a re p a ired in th e en try for a rc a 5 .
Th erefore polygon A is adjacent to polygon B.
Th e to p o lo g y ta b les can b e u sed to find
all fea tu res con ta in ed within a p olyg on b y
searching th e p olygon top olo g y ta b le for arc
lists th a t contain a zero. Th e arcs follow in g
ea ch zer o a re then s ea rch ed in th e A rc
T o p o lo g y Ta b le to id en tify th e elem en ts .
P olyg on B is s een to h a ve tw o con ta in ed
fea tu res , on e d efin ed b y arc a 6 and th e
oth er b y a rc a 7. From th e A rc and N o d e
T o p o lo g y Ta b les , a rc a 6 is s een to b e a
sin gle p oin t (it has th e s a m e right and left
p olyg on and has on ly on e n od e). A rc a 7 is
an island p olyg on (it has a d ifferen t p olygon
on its right and left and on e n od e). S patial
q u eries o f this typ e can b e p roces s ed much
m ore qu ickly u sing th e top olo g y ta b les than
th ey can b e d o n e b y calcu lation from th e
coord in a te d a ta (as requ ired for non-
top olo g ica l d a ta m od els , such as th e
s p a gh etti m od el).
To rela te th e m a p fea tu res to "rea l w or ld ”
position s, th e X Y coord in a tes a re n eed ed .
Arc Coordinate
Th es e a re s tored in th e
DataTable. Each a rc is rep res en ted b y on e
or m ore stra igh t- line s egm en ts d efin ed b y
a s eries o f coord in a tes . Th e m ore com p lex
th e shape, th e m ore coord in a tes a re n eed ed
to rep res en t it as a s eries o f straight- line
s egm en ts. A rc a I m akes on e sharp turn and
can b e r ep r es en ted b y its en d p oin ts and
a single in term ed ia te point. To rep res en t the
cu rved sha pe o f a r ea ?, s evera l in term ed ia te
points mu st b e en cod ed . Th e coord in a tes o f
th e n od es can b e ob ta in ed from this ta b le
b y r efer en ce to th e A rc T o p o lo g y Ta b le in
w hich th e n od e nu m b ers for th e sta rt and
en d p oin ts a re id en tified .
Attrib u te data a re com m on ly s tored in th e
form o f rela tion a l ta b les in which on e data
field conta in s an id en tifica tion co d e for th e
spatial entity. This is illu strated in Figu re 6.9
(discu s sed p reviou s ly). A rela tion a l data
b a s e is ea sily a d a p ted to h an d le la rge qu an­
tities o f a ttrib u te d a ta and p rovid es a very
flexib le a p p roa ch to da ta retrieva l.
A top olog ica lly stru ctu red da ta m od el is
w ell-su ited to such spatial op era tion s as con ­
tigu ity and con n ectivity a n a lyses (discu ssed
in C h a p ter 7). Contiguity is th e spatial rela ­
tion o f a d ja cen cy, i.e. elem en ts th a t tou ch
each oth er a re a d ja cen t. C on tigu ity analysis
is a p p lied to a w id e ra n ge o f a p plica tion s.
A b iolog is t m igh t b e in teres ted in th e
hab itats that occu r next to each oth er. A city
p la n n er m ight b e in teres ted in zon in g con ­
flicts, such as indu strial zon es b ord erin g
recrea tion a l a rea s.
Connectivity refers to in tercon n ected
p a th w a ys or n etw ork s th a t tra n s p ort s om e­
thing. Th e s treets o f a city, th e ca b les o f a

te le p h o n e s ys tem , a n d th e s trea m s a n d
rivers in a la n d s ca p e a re ex a m p les of
tra n s p orta tion n etw orks . C on n ectivity fu nc­
tion s a r e u s ed to fin d op tim u m rou tin gs
throu gh a n etw ork, such as th e m os t efficien t
d eliver y rou te or th e fa s tes t tra vel rou te. A
n etw ork ana lysis can a ls o be u s ed to
op tim ize tra n s p orta tion s ch ed u lin g, such as
in b u s rou te planning. N etw ork fu nctions can
a ls o b e u s ed to p r ed ict loa d in g a t critica l
p oin ts in a n etw ork , such as th e w a ter flo w
a t a b r id g e cros s in g th a t w ill res u lt from
h ea vy s torm ru noff.
T ra d e -O ffs o f th e T o p o lo g ic a l M o d e l
O n e o f th e a d va n ta ges o f a top ologica l stru c­
tu re is th a t s pa tia l a n a lys es can b e d o n e
w ith ou t u sing th e coor d in a te d a ta . M a n y
s pa tia l a n a lys es , such as con tigu ity a n d
con n ectivity a n a lys es , can b e d o n e la rgely,
if n ot en tirely, u sing th e top olog ica l d a ta
a lon e. Th is a void s th e tim e- con s u m in g ca l­
cu la tion s n e e d e d to d e r ive s pa tia l rela tion ­
ships from th e geogra p h ic coordin ates . W hen
spatial data a re stored using a non- topological
m od el, ex ten s ive calcu lations a re n eed ed to
d e r ive th e top olog ica l in form a tion w h en
th ey a r e n eed ed . A s a resu lt, m a n y sp a tia l
op er a tio n s a r e p er fo r m e d mu ch m or e e ffi­
cien tly b y a top olog ica lly- b a s ed G IS.
C rea tin g th e top olog ica l stru ctu re d oes ,
h o w eve r , im p os e a cost. W h en a n ew m a p
is en tered or an existing m a p is ch a n ged , th e
to p o lo g y mu st b e u p d a ted . This u p d a tin g
p r oced u re can b e rela tively tim e- con su m in g
(on th e o r d e r o f m in u tes to an hou r or tw o),
d ep en d in g on th e size o f th e m ap, efficien cy
o f th e s oftw a re, a nd s p eed o f th e h a rd w a re.
M a n y s ys tem s op tim ize th e u p d a tin g p r o ­
ced u r e b y s a vin g all th e ch a n ges from an
ed itin g s es s ion a n d th en u p d a tin g th e to p o l­
o g y at a la ter tim e as a b a tch job (i.e. a
p roces s th a t can b e run w ith ou t o p e r a to r
in tera ction ).
S ys tem s th a t d o n ot h a ve a top olo g ica l
s tru ctu re can u se a s im p ler in tern al d a ta
177 jihgfedc
D a ta M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZ
s tru ctu re b u t req u ir e m ore com p lex a lg o ­
rithms to a n a lyze spatial relations hips. M o r e
p ow erfu l h a rd w a re can b e u s ed to h a n d le
th e m or e com p lex s pa tia l a n a lys is o p e r a ­
tion s, or s lo w er p er fo r m a n ce fo r th es e
op era tion s m igh t b e a ccep ta b le. Th e tren d
has b een s tron gly tow a r d s th e inclu sion o f
to p o lo g y in G IS d a ta b a s es . V irtu a lly all full-
fea tu red , vector- b a s ed G IS es n ow u se a
top olo g ica l d a ta m od el. FEDCBA
T h e T r ia n g u la t e d I r r e g u l a r N e t w o r k QPONM
(TIN )
Th e Tria n gu la r Irregu la r N e tw o r k or TIN is
a vector - b a s ed top olog ica l d a ta m od el th a t
is u sed to r ep r es en t terra in d a ta . A TIN
rep res en ts th e terra in s u rfa ce as a s et o f
in tercon n ected triangu lar fa cets . F or ea ch o f
th e th r ee vertices , th e XY coor d in a te
(g eog ra p h ic loca tion ) a n d th e Z coor d in a te
(eleva tion ) va lu es a r e en co d ed .
Th e stru ctu re o f a TIN is illu stra ted in
Figu re 6.18. Each tria n gle o r fa cet is d es ig ­
n a ted b y a letter a n d is d efin ed b y th r ee
n od es d es ig n a ted b y n u m era ls . Th e c o o r ­
d in a te d a ta a n d to p o lo g y fo r th e TIN a re
s tor ed in a s et o f ta b les . Th e Node Table
lists ea ch tria n gle a n d th e n od es w hich
d efin e it. Th e Edge Table lists th e th r ee
tria n gles a d ja cen t to ea ch fa cet. Tria n gles
th a t b o r d e r th e b ou n d a ry o f th e TIN s h ow
XY Coor­
on ly tw o a d ja cen t fa cets . Th e
dinate Table a nd ZCoordinate Tables tore
th e n od e coor d in a te va lu es . TIN a lgorith m s
d iffer in th e w a y th ey g e n e r a te th e n etw ork
o f tria n gles , a n d s o th e res u ltin g s olu tion s
w ill be s ligh tly d iffe r e n t. In p ra ctis e,
triangu lations in which th e tria n gles a re m os t
equ ila tera l in s h a p e ten d to m os t a ccu ra tely
r e p r es en t th e su rface. F igu re 6 . 19 s h ow s a
section o f th e U S G eologica l S u rvey 1:24,000
La H on d a Q u a d ra n gle a n d a TIN fo r th e
s a m e a rea .
U sing a TIN m od el, terrain p a ra m eters like
s lop e a n d a s p ect a r e ca lcu la ted for ea ch
fa cet a n d s tored as an a ttrib u te o f th e fa cet
178 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

X“ Y coor dinat es jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

EDGES NODES
node coordinaies GFEDCBA
A adjacent A A node

A B ,K A 1 ,6 ,7
1 x l.y l
2 x2, y 2 B A .C ,L B 1 ,7 ,8
3 x3, y 3 C
C B ,D 1,2,8
•
• D
D C ,E 2,3,8
11 x l 1, y 11
E d ,f , l E 3 ,8 ,9
F E ,G F 3,4,9

G F ,H ,M G 4 ,9 ,1 0
H G ,I H 4 ,5 ,1 0
Z C O O R D IN A T E S
I H J ,N I 5 ,10,11
node coordinate

1 zl J I,K J 5,6,11
2 z2
K A ,J ,N K 6,7,11
3 z3
• L B ,E ,M L 7,8,9
•
M G ,L ,N M 7 ,9,10
11 zl 1
N I,K ,M N 7 ,1 0 ,1 1

Figure 6.18 T h e S tru c tu re o f a T IN . T h e T IN is a to p o lo g ic a l d a ta m o d e l. T h e d a ta a re s to re d in a s e t o f ta b le s

th a t re ta in th e c o o r d in a te v a lu e s as w e ll as th e s p a tia l re la tio n s o f th e fa ce ts , as e x p la in e d in th e te x t. (A d a p te d
fro m an illu s tra tio n b y ESRI. R e d la n d s , C a lifo rn ia .)
 179 HGFEDCB
D a ta M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

Fi gu r e 6 . 19 A T o p o g ra p h ic M a p a n d th e C o rre s p o n d in g TIN R e p re s e n ta tio n . T he m a p o n th e le ft is a s e ctio n

o f th e US G e o lo g ica l S u rve y 1:2 4 ,0 0 0 La H o n d a , C a lifo rn ia Q u a d ra n g le . It re p re s e n ts a g ro u n d d is ta n c e a b o u t
2.4 km across. The T IN o n th e rig h t w as g e n e ra te d fro m 6% o f th e va lu es (a b o u t 70 0 p o in ts ) fro m th e d ig ita l
e le v a tio n m o d e l fo r th e area. (F rom R.J. Pike et. al. 1987, c o u rte s y o f th e US G e o lo gica l S u rve y a n d th e A m e ric a n
S o c ie ty fo r P h o to g ra m m e try a n d R e m o te Sensing.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

in th e s a m e w a y as a ttrib u tes a re s tored for regu la r grid o f p oin ts can b e g en er a ted b y

p olygon s . Th es e va lu es can then b e q u eried
using the same types o f data b a se operations.
Figu re 6.20 s h ow s exa m p les o f th e s lop e
a n d a s p ect in form a tion tha t can b e g e n e r ­
a ted u sing TIN data.
Terrain data in digital form a re usually p ro­
vid e d as a ra s ter d a ta set. Th e regu la r grid
o f va lu es a re p rod u ced b y p h otogra m m etric
analysis o f a irp h oto or s a tellite s tereop a irs .
W h er e th e eleva tion va lu es a re an irregu la r
s et o f d a ta points, such as eleva tion con ­
tou rs, or s p ot eleva tion m ea s u rem en ts , a
es tim a tin g va lu es for th e cells tha t d o n ot
contain data points. Th e p roces s o f estim at­
ing th e va lu e for missing p oin ts is term ed
interpolation. Th e va lu es d er ived in this
w a y a re n ot neces sa rily th e tru e valu es; th ey
a re a m a th em a tica l "b e s t gu es s ” b a s ed on
th e kn ow n valu es.
A major limitation o f the raster representa­
tion o f eleva tion da ta has b een th e u se o f a
u niform cell size. If a small cell size is ch osen,
a la rg e d a ta file is p rod u ced a nd a rea s with
low spatial variab ility, such as gen tle terrain,
180 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e GFEDCBA

d en s ity o f eleva tion points. A s a result, th es e

D is t r ib u t io n o f A s p e c t D ir e c t io n s fea tu res can b e m or e p r ecis ely en c o d e d in
f o r T IN F a c e t s (in m 2 x 1 0 6 )
o
a TIN than in a grid cell rep res en ta tion w h ere
th es e s h a rp fea tu res m a y b e s m ooth ed .
Th e d is a d va n ta ge o f th e TIN co m p a r ed
w ith a ra s ter rep res en ta tion is th a t signi­
fican tly m ore p roces s in g is n eed ed to g en er ­
a te th e TIN file itself. H ow ever, on ce th e TIN
file is p rod u ced , th e m ore com p a ct r e p r e ­
sen ta tion can b e m ore efficien tly p roces s ed .
Im a ge p roces s in g h a rd w a re a nd s oftw a r e
can efficien tly h a n d le ve r y la rg e ra s ter d a ta
files at high s p eed , b u t vector- b a s ed G IS
R e p o r t o f S lo p e F r e q u e n c y b y T IN F a c e ts
h a rd w a re is n ot d es ig n ed to p roces s la rge
SLO PE C LAS S No. o f P e rc e n ta g e ra s ter files . Th e va riou s tria n gu la tion
T ria n g le s T o ta l A re a
P e rce n t D e g re e s
a lgorith m s u s ed to g e n e r a te TIN s d iffer in
£ 5 < 3 498 4.6
5.1 - 15 3.1 - 8 5,116 36.5 th e resu lts a nd typ es o f errors th ey p rod u ce,
15.1 -3 0 8.1 - 17 12.608 52.1
30.1 - 50 17.1 - 26 2,516 5.9 and ed itin g is often n eed ed to r e m o ve
50.1 - 70 26.1 - 35 49 0.4
>70 >35 60 0.5 u n w a n ted a rtifa cts n ea r th e e d g e s o f th e
HGFEDCBA
m od el. H ow ever , TIN m od els can rep res en t
a s u rfa ce m or e a ccu ra tely a n d w ith fa r less
Fi gu r e 6 .2 0 E x a m p le s o f S lo p e a n d A s p e c t R e p o rts
s tora g e than a ra s ter m od el. Th e orga n iza ­
G e n e ra te d fro m th e TIN A ttr ib u te D ata. (A d a p te d fro m
R.J. Pike e t. al. 19 8 7 ). jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA tion o f th e TIN a n d its s m a ller d a ta volu m e
h a ve a ls o m a d e it a ttra ctive for in tera ctive
u se m or e cells than a re a ctu ally n eed ed .
ed itin g a n d m a n ip u la tion p roced u res , such
C on vers ely, if a la rg e cell s ize is u s ed , th e
as in tera ctive s u rfa ce m od ellin g. FEDCBA
d a ta file is s m a ller b u t th e grid m a y n ot b e
su fficiently fin e to ca p tu re th e deta il in highly
D A T A BA SES F O R G I S : M A N A G I N G QPONML
va r ia b le ter r a in . R a s ter fo r m a ts w ith
va ria b le- s ized grid s h a ve b een d e v e lo p e d
SP A T I A L A N D A T T R I B U T E D A T A
th a t a llow a p r ed eter m in ed ra n ge o f cell T O G ET H ER
s izes to b e u s ed w ithin a s in gle terra in
O ver th e pa st th ree d eca d es , a con s id era b le
m od el. H o w e ver , this d o e s n ot co m p letely
b o d y o f th eory a n d practical ex p er ien ce has
s olve th e p r ob lem o f p recis ely rep res en tin g
b een d evelo p ed in handling non-spatial data.
terra in b rea k- p oin ts , such as rid ges . Th e d e ve lo p m e n t o f d a ta b a s e s ys tem s to
O n e o f th e a d va n ta g es o f a TIN is th a t h a n d le spatial in form a tion w ith th eir a ss oci­
extra in form a tion is e n c o d e d fo r a rea s o f a ted a ttrib u te d a ta has b e e n mu ch m ore
co m p lex r e lie f w ith ou t requ irin g la rg e recent, mainly within the past five years. Spatial
a m ou n ts o f d a ta to b e co llected from a rea s in form a tion is an in h eren tly m or e com p lex
o f s im p le relief. B eca u s e th e s ize o f ea ch typ e o f d a ta to s tore a n d to m a n ip u la te than
fa cet is va ria b le, s m a ller tria n gles a nd n on - s pa tia l da ta .
th e r e fo r e a m o r e d eta iled rep res en ta tion M os t spa tia l d a ta a re still b ein g s tor ed in
can b e p r o vid ed w h er e th er e is a h igh er th e form o f p a p er m aps, im a gery, ta b les , or
d en s ity o f d a ta p oin ts . B rea k- p oin t fea tu res tex t d es crip tion s a nd a re a n a lyzed u sing
in th e terra in , such as rid g e lines, va lley b o t­ manual techniqu es. H ow ever, th ere is a rapid
tom s, highpoints, and s a d d le- s h a p ed passes, in crea s e in th e a m ou n t o f g eog r a p h ic in for­
can b e a ccu ra tely en cod ed b y u sing a h igh er mation that is n ow b ein g collected and stored

in digita l form su ita b le for com p u ter- b a s ed
retrieva l a nd analysis. M a n y o f th es e da ta
sets a re digita l rep res en ta tion s o f con ­
ven tion a l maps. But com p u ter- b a s ed p r o ­
ces s in g has en a b led a g r ea ter ra n ge o f
geogra p h ic da ta sets, many o f which a re n ot
u su ally r ep res en ted in m a p form , to b e
a ccom m od a ted within th e sa m e spatial data
b a s e.
O R G A N IZ IN G G E O G R A P H IC
IN F O R M A T IO N W IT H IN A D B M S
D igital m a p p in g w a s h is torica lly view ed as
a s et o f tools for a u tom a tin g th e d ra ftin g
fu nction. It w a s a task gen era lly con fin ed to
a s in gle u nit within an orga n iza tion , such as
a ca rtogra p h y s ection or a mu nicipal p u b lic
w orks d ep a rtm en t. Th e d igita l m a p p in g
fu nction w a s n ot view ed as an in tegra l p a rt
o f th e d a ta m a n a gem en t s ys tem
orga n iza tion .
E arly G IS es and a u tom a ted ca rtogra p h y
s ys tem s u sed da ta files d irectly w ith ou t
u sing a d a ta b ase m a n a gem en t
(D B M S ). This file p roces s in g a p p roa ch to
d a ta m a n a gem en t (d iscu s sed p reviou s ly) is
still u sed in m an y G IS es tod a y.
a u to m a te d c a r to g r a p h y en vir o n m e n t,
spa tial d a ta han dling ten d s to b e grea tly
sim plified. Th e w ork is gen era lly p er form ed
b y a sin gle o p er a to r u sing a sta n d - a lon e
system . Th e da ta files u su ally contain a
s ta n d a rd ized s et o f in form a tion for a stan­
d a rd size a rea , such as a m a p s h eet. Ra pid
res p on s e tim e is critical in a high volu m e
a u tom a ted m a p p in g en viron m en t, and so
ven d ors h a ve ten d ed to fa vou r th e file p r o­
ces s in g a p p roa ch , w hich d oes n ot su ffer
from th e overh ea d s im p os ed b y a D B M S .
S in ce a u tom a ted ca rtogra p h y s ys tem s and
G IS es p erform similar g eom etr ic m a n ip ­
ulations, it is often ex p ected that th ey shou ld
p r ovid e com p a ra b le levels o f p erform a n ce.
H ow ever, th e a d d ition a l com p lexities
h andlin g th e d a ta com p on en ts oth er than
th e g eom etric on es a nd p rovid in g a mu lti­
181 jihgfedcb
D a ta M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
u ser en viron m en t, m akes this exp ecta tion
difficu lt to satisfy.
In a G IS, geog ra p h ic in form a tion is n ot
a p p roa ch ed as a d raftin g task b u t as a d a ta
b ase application. The advantages of organizing
d a ta u sing a D B M S w er e d is cu s sed ea rlier.
Th ey inclu de minimizing red u n d a n cy o f data
s tora ge, p rovid in g cen tra l con trol o f d a ta
access, manipu lation, integrity, and secu rity
o f th e d a ta b a s e, and m aking a p p lica tion
p rogra m s in d ep en d en t o f th e form in w hich
th e d a ta a re s tored .
Following a re s om e of the w a ys that D B M S
con cep ts a re a p p lied in th e con text o f a GIS.
1. Th e view s o f th e data a re in d ep en d en t
o f th e w a y th e data a re s tored . S o for
exa m p le, instead o f s torin g d ifferen t
m aps, th e d a ta tha t d es crib e th e
g eog ra p h ic elem en ts (i.e. th e spatial
and a ttrib u te in form a tion ) a re s tored
o f th e
w ith minimu m red u n d a n cy, a nd th en
m a ps or oth er typ es o f ou tp u t a re
g en er a ted as n eed ed in th e form b es t
su ited for a s p ecific analysis.
s ys tem
2. Au tom a ted updating o f interrelated data
files is provided. As changes occur within
In an an orga n iza tion , th e sin gle tra n sa ction
th a t regis ters that ch a n ge, such as th e
sa le o f a land p a rcel, can b e u sed to
u pdate all the data files that are affected.
Th en all u sers im m ed ia tely h a ve th eir
view s o f th e data b a s e u p d a ted .
3. Th e rela tion s h ip s a m on g all th e spatial
and a ttrib u te in form a tion a re explicitly
d efin ed . Keys a re u sed to rela te th e
attribu te information to the corres p on d ­
ing spatial fea tu res , and to p o lo g y is
u s ed to rela te all th e spatial elem en ts
to ea ch oth er.
4. Th e cen tra l con trol o f th e D B M S p r o­
vid es b etter con trol o f th e in tegrity o f
th e data b a s e b y m eans o f secu rity and
of consistency checking to p reven t misuse
or d egra d a tion o f th e in form a tion as it
is m a n a ged .
182 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e HGFEDCBA

Fi gu r e 6. 21 T h e C a scadin g E ffe c t o f C han ge s in a GIS Data Base. (A d a p te d fro m an illu s tra tio n c o u rte s y o f
ESRI. R e d la n d s. C a lifo rn ia .)

L IM IT A T IO N S O F G E N E R A L th e c o r r e s p o n d in g p r o p e r ty record is
P U R P O S E D B M S E S F O R G IS a ltered .
S pa tia l in form a tion
A P P L IC A T IO N S jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA is m o r e com p lex and
th e transactions p erform ed on them a re m ore
Th e d a ta m o d el m os t w id ely a ccep te d for com p lica ted . In s tea d o f a ch a n ge ca u sin g a
h a n d lin g n on - sp a tia l a ttrib u te d a ta in G IS sin gle d a ta recor d to b e a ltered , a m od ifica ­
a p p lica tion s has b een th e rela tion a l m od el.
tion to th e sp a tia l in form a tion com m on ly
Th e orga n iza tion o f a ttrib u te d a ta in to a
in volves th e s im u lta n eou s u p d a tin g o f la rg e
s eries o f ta b les th a t can b e u sed in d ivid u ­
n u m b ers o f recor d s in m u ltip le files. Th is is
a lly or to g eth e r is sim p le to u n d ers ta n d a n d
illu strated in Figu re 6.2 1 for a tra n sa ction to
p r o vid e s efficien t d a ta s tora g e. Rela tion a l
d ivid e a land parcel. Th e transaction ch a nges
d a ta b a s es u se n on - p roced u ra l q u er y lan­
th e g eom etr ic s h a p e from o n e p a rcel to tw o
gu a ges (d iscu s sed p reviou s ly) tha t a re ea sily
s m a ller p a rcels . A s a resu lt, th e to p o lo g y o f
lea rn ed b y G IS u sers a nd p r o vid e ve r y flex ­
th e lin es b ou n d in g th e p a rcel m u st b e
ib le a n a lys is ca p a b ilities . Th e rela tion a l
a ltered , w hich in turn requ ires that th e co o r ­
m od el is thu s w ell- s u ited to h a n d lin g th e
d in a tes be ch a n g ed and th e a rea and
s tora ge o f th e non-spatial a ttrib u te d a ta and
p er im eter m ea s u rem en ts for th e p a rcels b e
is w ell- a d a p ted to th e u n p red icta b le n atu re
reca lcu la ted . Th e a ttrib u tes o f th e land
o f G IS a n a lys es . U sing a rela tion a l D B M S to
p a rcels (su ch as ow n ers h ip , p r o p e r ty ID,
s tor e th e s p a tia l d a ta a nd a d a p tin g th e
a s s es s ed va lu es, a nd s o on ) will b e u p d a ted ,
D B M S q u er y la n gu a ge to p r o vid e spatia l
and th e keys th a t link th e a ttrib u tes to th e
analysis fu nctions has b een a mu ch m ore d if­
spatial d a ta w ill a ls o h a ve to b e m od ified .
ficu lt p r ob lem to h a n d le.
Th e fu n ction s n eed ed to h a n d le geo­
W h en a rela tion a l d a ta b a s e is u s ed to
gra p h ic da ta a re n ot d on e w ell in th e ta b u lar
m a n a ge ta b u la r da ta , th e typ e s o f ch a n ges
da ta b a s e en viron m en t o f a s ta n d a rd rela ­
or transactions m ost com m on ly d on e in volve
tion a l D B M S . S om e o f th e m a jor d ifficu lties
a d d in g, d eletin g , and ch a n gin g a recor d
a re lis ted b elo w :
(i.e. a lterin g th e con ten ts o f a field ). For
ex a m p le, in a p r o p e r ty d a ta b a s e, if a n ew 1. Th e s pa tia l d a ta recor d s u sed in a G IS
p r o p e r ty is a d d ed , a n ew r ecor d is a d d ed . a re va ria b le len gth r ecor d s w hich a re
If th e o w n e r ch a n ges , th e n a m e field o f n e e d e d to s tore va ria b le n u m b ers o f
 183 jihgfedcb
D a ta M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

coor d in a te poin ts , w h erea s gen era l o f G IS d a ta b a s e m a n a gem en t s ys tem s still

pu rpose data b as e systems a re designed d ep en d s h ea vily on a d h o c tech n iqu es to
to h a n d le fixed len gth record s . A ls o, a b rid ge th e gaps in ou r theoretical fram ew ork.
ra th er com p lex to p o lo g y th a t is in ter­
rela ted with th e spatial coord in a te data
P R A C T IC A L A P P R O A C H E S U SED
mu st b e correctly m a in ta in ed . To p r o ­
T O IM P L E M E N T A G IS
vid e th es e d a ta b a s e fu nctions, a d d i­
tional s oftw a re is n eed ed to exten d th e O ver th e p a s t d eca d e, va riou s practical
capab ilities o f th e relational D B M S (s ee a p p roa ch es w e r e ta ken to p r ovid e da ta
for ex a m p le W au gh a n d H ea ley 1987, m a n a gem en t s ervices for a G IS. Th ey m a y
C h a rlw ood et. al. 1987). b e b r oa d ly g r ou p ed into th e follow in g fou r,
s om ew h a t over la p p in g , s tra teg ies (s ee
2. M a n ip u la tion of g e o g r a p h ic d a ta
Figu re 6.22):
in volves spatial con cep ts , such as p rox­
imity, con n ected n es s , con ta in m en t, 1. D evelop a p rop r ieta ry s ys tem p ro­
and overla y, that a re n ot ea sily a ccom ­ vid in g th e individu al da ta m a n a gem en t
m od a ted b y gen era l p u rp os e data b a s e s ervices requ ired by th e d ifferen t
q u ery la ngu ages . application m odu les. This is th e file p ro­
ces s in g a p p roa ch .
3. A G1S requ ires s op h is tica ted gra p h ics
ca p a b ilities th a t a re n ot n orm a lly su p­ 2. D evelop a h yb rid s ys tem u sing a com ­
p o r ted b y a gen era l p u rp os e D B M S . m ercia lly a va ila b le D B M S (u su ally a
rela tion a l on e) for s tora g e o f th e non-
4. G eogra p h ic in form a tion is com p lex.
spatial a ttrib u tes. D evelop s ep a ra te
Th e rep res en ta tion o f a sin gle g e o ­
s oftw a re to m a n a ge th e s tora g e and
graphic featu re requ ires multiple records
analysis o f th e spatial da ta , u sing th e
in mu ltiple files. It m ay in volve geod etic
s ervices o f th e rela tion a l D B M S to
networks, featu re coordinates, top ology,
a cces s th e a ttrib u te da ta.
m ea s u rem en ts o f spatial featu res , keys
to th e non- spatial a ttrib u te da ta, and 3. U se an exis tin g D B M S , u su ally a rela ­
th e non - spatial a ttrib u tes th em s elves . tional on e, as th e core o f th e G IS. Then
d e ve lo p exten s ion s to th e s ystem
5. Th e highly in terrela ted natu re o f G1S
w h e r e n eed ed . A lth ou gh th e spatial
da ta recor d s requ ires a m ore s op h is ­
and a ttrib u te data m ay b e m a n a ged b y
tica ted secu rity system than th e record
th e D B M S , a significant a m ou n t o f s oft­
lockin g a p p roa ch u sed b y gen era l pu r­
w a re is gen era lly a d d ed to th e D B M S
p os e D B M S es . To en s u re th e in tegrity
to p r ovid e th e spatial fu n ction s and
o f th e g eog ra p h ic da ta b a s e, th e secu ­
gra p h ics d is p la y u sed in g eog ra p h ic
rity s ystem mu st p r otect th e in tegrity
analysis.
o f th e m u ltiple files in w hich th e spatial
d a ta a re s tored . A ch a n ge in on e 4. S tart from scratch a nd d e ve lo p a
recor d can cr ea te m u ltip le errors in spatial da ta b a s e ca p a b le o f han dlin g
m u ltip le files. th e spatial a nd non - spatial d a ta in an
in tegra ted fashion.
Th e u rgen t n eed fo r op era tion a l spatial
d a ta han dlin g in com p u ter- b a s ed G IS a p p li­ Th e first ca teg or y inclu des m os t exis tin g
ca tion s has ou ts trip p ed th e a b ility o f th e G IS es. Th e w id ely d is trib u ted M a p An a lysis
res ea rch com m u n ity to d e ve lo p th e n eed ed Pa cka ge d e ve lo p e d b y Tom lin (1983) is on e
spatial data b a s e th eory and practical spatial ex a m p le of m an y G IS es th a t u se this
d a ta b a s e system s. A s a resu lt, th e d es ign a p p roa ch . Each d a ta s et is s tored as a
184 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e HGFEDCBA

Fi gu r e 6 .2 2 F o u r A p p ro a c h e s to GIS S ystem Design. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

s ep a ra te file. Th e u ser can invoke a s ep a ra te PAN D A. (An object-oriented data base

analysis fu nctions to manipu late on e or m ore trea ts a s et o f a ttrib u tes p erta in in g to a
o f th es e da ta files. Resu lts a re p rod u ced in fea tu re as a sin gle unit, term ed an ob ject.
th e form of n ew data files that can b e ou t­ An o b ject m ay be com p os ed o f oth er
pu t u sing su ita b le rou tines. ob jects , thus a llow in g in terrela ted fea tu res
Th e m a jor com m ercia l G IS es u se on e of to be rep res en ted as a h iera rch ica lly
th e rem a in in g th r ee a p p roa ch es . Th e stru ctu red s et o f ob jects .) P A N D A u ses a
ARC/1NFO s ystem from th e E n viron m en tal q u a d tree stru ctu re for da ta s tora ge, and
S ys tem s Res ea rch Institu te (ESRI) is an th e d a ta b a s e system is orga n ized on th e
exa m p le o f th e h yb rid a p p roa ch . Th e non- n etw ork m od el. S patial and non-spatial
spatial attrib u te data a re s tored in th e IN FO da ta can b e m a n ip u la ted tog eth er using
d a ta b a s e m a n a gem en t system . (ESRI has th e S Q L q u ery la n gu a ge to w hich h a ve
a ls o im p lem en ted th eir G IS u sing th e b een a d d ed s p ecia l com m a n d s to ha n dle
O RAC LE and IN G RE S relational D B M S .) Th e s p a tia l fu n ction s (In gra m and Ph illip s
com m ercia l D B M S p r ovid es b oth s tora ge 1987).
and m an ipu lation fu nctions for th e non- S ys tem 9, d e ve lo p e d b y W ild H eerb ru gg
spatial a ttrib u te data. Th e ARC system and Prim e C om p u ters, is an exa m p le o f a
(m a n u fa ctu red b y ESRI) p r ovid es for th e G IS b u ilt a rou n d an existing D B M S . In this
s tora ge and manipu lation o f the spatial data. case, a rela tion a l D B M S op era tin g in th e
Spatial analysis fu nctions a re p rovid ed using U N IX en viron m en t w a s u sed. B oth th e
th e "to o lb o x ” a p p roa ch . In ARC , individu al spatial coord in a te and top ologica l da ta as
m od u les a re p r ovid ed for such fu nctions as w ell as th e non- spatial a ttrib u te da ta a re
data entry, editing, n etw ork analysis, and so s tored u sing th e rela tion a l da ta m od el. Th e
on. Th es e m od u les a re then u sed s eq u en ­ rela tion a l D B M S su p p orts va ria b le len gth
tially to p erform th e requ ired g eog ra p h ic fields and extensions w ere a d d ed to th e S Q L
a n a lys es (M oreh ou s e 1985). qu ery la n gu a ge to h a n d le spatial referen c­
Th e G IS from Kork S ys tem s als o uses a ing (such as th e p oin ts and lines tha t com ­
h yb rid a p p roa ch . Th e non- spatial a ttrib u te prise a geogra p h ic featu re) and spatial qu ery
d a ta a re m a in ta in ed in a rela tion a l D B M S fu n ction s (e.g. overla y, con n ectivity, and
a n d th e spatial data a re m a in ta in ed in an n eig h b ou rh ood op era tion s ) (C h a rlw ood
ob ject- orien ted da ta b a s e system , ca lled et. al. 1987).
 185 jihgfedcb
D a ta M a n a g e m e n t mlkjihgfedcbaZY

Th e G E O V IE W s ys tem u n d er d e v e lo p ­ fu nctions p r ovid ed a re qu ery- a n s w erin g,

m en t at th e U niversity o f E dinb u rgh is b ein g learning, editin g, and training. D ata s tora ge
u sed to res ea rch a p p lica tion s o f th e rela ­ u ses th e qu a d tree stru ctu re and rou tines a re
tion a l d a ta b a s e m od el to s tore spa tial a nd in clu d ed to op tim ize th e execu tion of com ­
non - spatial a ttrib u te da ta. Th e s ystem p lex s ea rch es . Th e s ys tem d o es not ye t
h a n d les b oth ra ster and ve c to r form a t p r ovid e th e ca rtogra p h ic ca p a b ilities and
spa tia l da ta . Th e ra s ter d a ta a re en co d ed p olyg on p roces s in g fu nction s a va ila b le in a
eith er as p oin t data, da ta b locks, or u sing fu ll- fea tu red com m ercia l G IS. H ow ever, it
qu a d trees . Th e vector d a ta a re en co d ed has p r ovid ed an in tera ctive s ys tem that can
u sing a top olog ica l m od el. All d a ta a re u se A l m eth od s to m od ify its k n ow led ge
s tored u sing rela tion a l ta b les a n d q u eries b a s e, can h a n d le la rge m u lti- la yered d a ta
a re d o n e u sing an ex ten d ed S Q L la n gu a ge. sets, a n d in tegra te b oth im a ge a nd digita l
Th e first im p lem en ta tion w a s b u ilt on th e ca rtogra p h ic data.
O R A C LE d a ta b a s e s ys tem (W au gh and Th e M A P S s ys tem b ein g d e ve lo p e d at
H ea ley 1987). C a rn egie- M ellon U niversity (M cKeow a n and
A n u m b er o f G IS es u nd er d evelop m en t at Lai 1987, M cK eow a n 1987) has taken a
resea rch facilities have in corp ora ted artificial s om ew h a t d ifferen t a p p roa ch than m os t
in telligen ce (A l) tech n iqu es so th a t th e oth er G IS es. In s tea d o f tryin g to d e ve lo p
s ys tem its elf can cr ea te n ew in form a tion on e or p erh a p s tw o rep res en ta tion s of
a b ou t ob jects as th e s ys tem is u sed (i.e. to spatial d a ta th a t a re s u fficiently gen era l for
''le a r n ’’ a b ou t ob jects from ex p er ien ce). A all typ es o f spa tial in form a tion , th e M A P S
k n ow led g e- b a s ed G IS, KBG1S-I1, has b een system s u p p orts s evera l d ifferen t rep res en ­
d e ve lo p e d a t th e U n ivers ity o f C a liforn ia at tations in a m an ner that is tra nsparent to th e
S anta B arb a ra to ex p lore th es e p oss ib ilities u ser. D ata in a n u m b er o f vecto r a nd ra s ter
(Smith et. al. 1987). Th e m a jor s ys tem form s can b e a ccom m od a ted a n d data b a s e

MAP DATA BASE LANDMARK DATA BASEHGFEDCBA

H ie r ar ch ic al Co n c e p t u a l D B
D L M S Po l y go n D B L a n d m a r k T e x t D e sc r i p t i o n

M a p O v e r l a y Fi l e s L a n d m a r k Im a g e Fr a g m e n t

Co v e r a g e Fi l e s

TERRAIN IMAGE DATA BASE

DATA BASE
Sc e n e D e sc r i p t i o n Fi l e

T e r r ain Im a ge

C o n t o u r a n d Sl o p e
A c q u i si t i o n P a r a m e t e r s

Them at ic Co v e r a ge
Im a g e r y

Figure 6 .2 3 T h e M APS S yste m O v e rv ie w . (A d a p te d fro m M c K e o w a n 1987.)

186 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
q u eries a re op tim ized to u se th e r e p r es en ­
ta tion b es t- s u ited to ex ecu te a pa rticu la r
fu nction.
Th e system is u sed to s tore and manipu late
a d a ta b a s e o f s om e 200 h igh - resolu tion air­
ph oto images, digital terrain data, and a variety
o f m a p d a ta s ets fo r th e W a s h in gton , D .C.
a rea . M A P S has a ls o b een u s ed as a com ­
p on en t o f s evera l ex p er t s ys tem s such as an
a u tom a ted roa d fin d er a n d fo llo w e r a n d a
s ys tem to in terp r et a irp ort s cen es .
s ys tem o ffer s th e typ es o f fu n ctions n e e d e d
fo r ch a n ge d etection , a u tom a ted im a ge
in terp reta tion , a n d r e p or t gen era tion tasks.
F ive d a ta b a s es a re m a in ta in ed w ithin
th e M A P S s ys tem : a d igita l terra in d a ta
b a s e, a m a p d a ta b a s e, a la n d m a rk d a ta
b a s e, an im a g e d a ta b a s e, a n d th e C O N -
C E P TM A P d a ta base (s ee Figu re 6.23).
T o g e th e r th ey p r o vid e fo r th e s tora g e a n d
in tegra ted analysis o f such d ivers e d a ta sets
as d ig itized a eria l p h otog r a p h y, d igita l
s a tellite im a gery, d igita l terra in d a ta , to p o ­
logica lly en c o d e d m a p d a ta , s ym b ols , a nd
n on - sp atia l a ttrib u tes . C O N C E P TM A P con ­
tains th e in form a tion a b ou t spatia l en tities
a n d m a n ip u la tion p r oced u res th a t a re u s ed
to in tera ct d irectly w ith a u ser or w ith an
a p p lica tion s p rog ra m . In this w a y, M A P S
p r ovid es a s in gle u niform a cces s to
spa tia l da ta , in d ep en d en t o f th eir in tern a l
stru ctu re. FEDCBA
CO N CLU SI O N
A D B M S p r o vid es a n u m b er o f fu n ction s
critical to th e e ffe c tive op era tion o f a G IS.
H ow ever, th e difficu lties o f a d a p tin g exis ting
D B M S es to handle spatial data h a ve requ ired
th a t h yb rid or m od ified D B M S es b e d e ve l­
o p e d . Th es e d evelo p m en ts a r e lea d in g to
im p r oved m eth od s o f r ep res en tin g
m a n ip u la tin g s pa tia l a n d n on - s pa tia l d a ta
w ith in a s in gle en viron m en t. C on tin u ed
res ea rch is n e e d e d to d e v e lo p im p r o ved
s pa tia l D B M S es th a t can m e et th e p e r fo r ­
m a n ce req u irem en ts o f op era tion a l G IS es.
Th ere is a s tron g d em a n d for s ys tem s th a t
can in tegra te d iver s e ra s ter a nd vec to r
form a t d a ta s ets w ith ou t requ irin g th e
o p e r a to r to first co n ver t th e d a ta to a
com m on form a t. R es ea rch ers a re d e v e l­
op in g n ew m eth od s to p r o vid e th es e
ca p a b ilities .
R EFER EN C ES
A b e l. D.J. a n d J.L. S m ith . 1983. A D ata S tru c tu re a n d
Th e
A lg o rith m Based o n a L in e a r K e y fo r a R e cta ngle
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Im a g e P ro c e s sin g 2 4 :4 -1 4 .
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188 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e r s p e c t iv e
 7 . G IS A N A L Y S IS
I N T R O D U C T I O N jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
it m im ics. In m a n y ca ses , th e m od el is u sed
W h a t d is tin gu is h es a G IS from o th er typ es
o f in form a tion sys tem s a re its spatial analysis
fu n ction s. Th es e fu n ction s u se th e s pa tia l
a n d n on - s pa tia l a ttrib u te d a ta in th e G IS
d a ta b a s e to a n s w er qu es tion s a b ou t th e
rea l w orld .
Th e G IS d a ta b a s e is a m o d el o f th e real
w or ld th a t can b e u s ed to m im ic certa in
a s p ects o f rea lity. To m im ic b eh a viou r,
a m od el m u st r ep r es en t certa in en tities
(i.e. thin gs ) a n d th e rela tion s h ip s a m on g
th em (i.e. th e ru les th a t g o ver n h ow th ey
in tera ct). Th e en tities m igh t b e th e n a m es
o f in d ivid u a ls a n d a list o f p r op er ties . Th e
rela tions hips m ight inclu de o RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
w n e r s h ip , m o r t ­
g a g e e , a nd m o r t g a g o r . T o g e th e r th es e en ti­
ties a n d rela tion s h ip s p r o vid e a m od el for
land ow n ers h ip . A m od el m a y b e r e p r e ­ s treet. Th is a b ility to m od el w h a t w ill occu r
s en ted in w ord s , in m a th em a tica l equ a tion s ,
o r as a s et o f sp a tia l rela tion s d is p la yed as
a m a p or s tor ed in th e com p u ter h a rd w a re
a n d s oftw a r e o f a G IS.
It is im p orta n t to r ecog n ize th a t m od els
a re d es ig n ed to m im ic on ly s elected a s p ects
o f rea lity. In gen era l, th e m o r e fa ctors th a t
a m o d el ta k es in to a ccou n t, th e m o r e com ­
p lex it b ecom es , a n d th e m or e ex p en s ive it
is to u se a n d m ain tain. A m o r e com p lex
m od el m a y o r m a y n ot p r o vid e " b e tte r "
a n s w ers ; it d e p e n d s on th e qu es tion s to b e
a d d r es s ed .
M o d els a re u sed w h en it is m o r e c o n ve ­
n ien t or it is n ot p os s ib le to collect th e in for­
m a tion d irectly. It is m or e con ven ien t to
rea d roa d d is ta n ces o ff a m a p than to g o ou t
a n d m ea s u re th em , a n d it is n ot p os s ib le to
m ea s u re th e h eigh t a fo r es t will rea ch in
100 yea r s tim e. Th e va lu e in u sing a m od el
is th a t it can b e tes ted a n d m a n ip u la ted
m o r e con ven ien tly, a t a fa s ter (or s low er)
rate, and less exp en s ively than th e conditions
F U N C T I O N S FEDCBA
to r e p e a te d ly p er fo r m a n a lys es th a t tes t
a ltern a tive s cen a rios , su ch as th e e ffe c tive ­
n es s o f an em er g en c y eva cu a tion pla n in
r es p o n s e to d iffer en t kinds of even ts .
A m o d el is u s ed to a n s w er qu es tion s a b ou t
w h a t exis ts n ow o r ex is ted a t s om e p oin t in
th e pa st. P erh a p s m os t im p orta n tly, it can
b e u sed to p r ed ict w h a t w ill h a p p en o r has
h a p p en ed in a n oth er loca tion or a t a n oth er
p oin t in tim e. A G IS p r o vid e s th es e ca p a ­
b ilities b y m ea n s o f its a n a lys is fu nctions .
A n im p orta n t G IS a p p lica tion is p red ictin g
th e co n s eq u en ces o f p r o p o s e d a ctivities .
Th ey m a y in volve la rg e a rea s , e.g. w h en a
r e s er vo ir is fo r m ed b eh in d a d a m , o r th ey
m a y in volve rela tively sm all a rea s , su ch as
th e e ffe c t on tra ffic flo w o f clos in g a city
p rovid es th e op p ortu n ity to s elect th e "b e s t"
a ltern a tive. B u t w h a t is " b e s t” ? A G IS can
u se spatial ana lysis fu nctions to p r ovid e p a rt
o f th e a n s w er to "W h a t is b es t?” . Th e p a rt
it ca n n ot a n s w er is th e hu m an va lu e ju d g­
m en ts th a t d efin e th e w an ts , goa ls , a nd
va lu es o f th e orga n iza tion or s ociety th a t a re
u sing th e in form a tion . Th es e ju d gm en ts
d efin e th e a llow a b le tra d e- offs a m on g a lter­
n a tives . A fa ilu re to con s id er th e releva n t
va lu e ju d gm en ts in a G IS a n a lysis can m a ke
th e p r oced u re a th eoretica l ex ercis e instead
o f a practical tool. O r w or s e yet, th e analysis
resu lts m a y b e m is lea d in g.
T o d e v e lo p th e b e s t a n s w ers from th e
in form a tion a va ila b le req u ires a s ys tem a tic
fra m in g o f th e q u es tion s to b e a d d r es s ed .
T h er e is often a s tron g ten d en cy to b eg in
th e a n a lysis w ith on ly a g en er a l id ea o f th e
q u es tion s to b e a n s w er ed a n d th e d a ta
n e e d e d . Th is is a p a rticu la rly com m on ten ­
d en cy w h en ever a n ew com p u ter- b a s ed sys­
tem , such as a G IS, is in trod u ced .
190 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

In o r d er to find u sefu l a n s w ers , on e mu st 3. W h a t cou ld th e d a ta b e? This typ e o f

ask th e right qu estions . W orkin g b a ckw a rd s qu es tion im p lies that a p red ictive
throu gh an analysis is often a g ood approach. m od el will b e u sed. Th e m od el m ay b e
Th a t is, b egin at th e en d. As su m in g th a t as s im p le as p red ictin g th a t a field will
g o o d a n s w ers h a ve b een p rod u ced , w h a t prod u ce the sam e crop next year as this
qu es tion s w ou ld th ey h a ve a n s w ered , w h a t yea r. It m a y b e as com p lex as p r e­
con cern s w ou ld th ey h a ve a d d res s ed , a nd d ictin g th e ch a n ge in strea m flow a fter
w h a t data, inclu ding ju dgm en ts, w ou ld h a ve a fores t has b een r em oved from a
b een u sed in th e analysis tha t p rod u ced w a ters h ed .
th os e an s w ers . This a p p roa ch to th e d es ign
Th e fu n ctions u sed to p rod u ce th es e
o f an analysis en s u res that th e effor t is
a n s w ers can sim ilarly b e ca teg orized b y th e
focu s s ed on a n s w erin g th e a p p r op r ia te
typ es o f a n s w ers th ey p rovid e;
qu es tion s. Th e follow in g fra m ew ork a n d
exa m p les illu strate this a p p roa ch . 1. s tora ge and retrieva l fu nctions,
Th e a n s w ers p r ovid ed b y a G1S can b e
2. con s tra in ed q u ery fu nctions, and
ca tegorized into th ree typ es as illu strated in
Figu re 7.1: 3. m od ellin g fu nctions.

1. a p res en ta tion o f th e cu rren t da ta ,

i.e. th e data in th e da ta b a s e such as
a m a p o f th e city s treets ,

2. a pattern in th e cu rrent data, such as all

h ou ses va lu ed at o ve r $100,000, and;

3. a p red iction o f w h a t th e d a ta cou ld b e

at a different time or place. For example,
p red ictin g th e s ervices tha t w ou ld b e
los t in th e even t o f an ea rth qu a ke. This
typ e o f analysis m ight b e u sed to
d e ve lo p em erg en cy res p on s e plans.

Th e typ es o f qu estions to b e a n s w ered can

a ls o b e ch a ra cterized b y th r ee ca tegories :

1. W h a t a re th e data?, i.e. w h a t is th e
inform ation cu rrently s tored in th e data
b a s e. For exa m p le, w h a t is th e n a m e
and a d d res s o f th e ow n er o f a sp ecified
p rop erty?

2. W h a t is th e p a ttern in th e da ta ? This
typ e o f qu es tion is a search for en tities
that p os s es s a s p ecified s et o f ch a ra c­
teristics. For exa m p le, p lottin g a m a p
o f all lots with h ou ses va lu ed a t o ve r
$100,000 w ou ld b e d efin in g a p a ttern
in th e d a ta th a t m ay n ot b e ob viou s
w h en all th e d a ta a re view ed tog eth er F ig u re 7.1 Categorizing Q uestions. Functions, and
— th e p a ttern for this typ e o f hou se. Answers in a GIS Analysis.

Th es e ca teg or ies o f qu es tion s , fu nctions ,
a n d a n s w ers a re n ot m u tu ally exclu s ive. A
given a n s w er, fu n ction, a n d qu es tion will
h a ve a s p ects o f ea ch ca tegory. This is r e p r e ­
s en ted con cep tu a lly b y th eir p os ition in th e
circles. Th e follow in g exa m p les illu strate this
id ea . Th e letter rep res en tin g ea ch ex a m p le
is s h ow n in th e Figu re.
A. R etrievin g th e s tr eet m a p for an a rea
prim a rily in volves th e retrieva l o f exis t­
ing in form a tion . Th e m a p exis ts in th e
G1S a n d n eed on ly b e reca lled a nd
ou tpu t.
B. R etrievin g th os e lots w ith h ou s es
va lu ed o ve r $ 100,000 is an ex a m p le o f
th e s econ d ca teg o r y o f u se. H er e th e
va lu e o f ea ch lot mu st b e con s id ered
and on ly th os e satisfying th e constraint
a re a ccep ted .
C. D eterm in in g th e op tim u m rou tin g o f a
p ow er lin e is an ex a m p le o f m od ellin g.
M u ltip le la yers o f in form a tion a re u sed
tog eth er to w eigh d ifferen t a ltern a tives
in o r d er to op tim ize th e d es ign .
Th e s tra tegy for u nd ertakin g a s p ecific G1S
analysis will d ep en d on th e a n s w ers th a t a re
to b e p r ovid ed . B y d efin in g th e m os t im p or­
tant an s w ers to b e p rovid ed , an a p p rop ria te
s et o f qu es tion s a nd a na lysis m eth od s can
b e s p ecified .
Th e rem a in d er o f this ch a p ter p res en ts th e
d ifferen t fu n ction s u s ed in a G IS to m a n ip u ­
la te a n d a n a lyze g eog r a p h ic in form a tion .
Th e a rt and s cien ce o f u sing a G IS is to kn ow
h ow to com b in e th e analysis fu n ction s a va il­
a b le on a p a rticu la r s ys tem to p r o vid e th e
req u ir ed in form a tion u sing th e a va ila b le
da ta . Th e p u rp os e o f firs t p res en tin g this
fra m ew ork o f a ns w ers , qu es tion s , and fu nc­
tion s is to h igh ligh t th e fa ct th a t in dividu a l
a na lysis fu n ction s mu st b e u sed in th e con ­
tex t o f a co m p le te a na lysis s tra tegy. O n e o f
th e u n w a n ted ch a ra cteris tics o f com p u ter
tech n o lo g y is th e a b ility to p r od u ce in cor­
rect in form a tion a t a ra p id ra te, a n d w ith all
! 91 jihgfedc
G IS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY
th e a p p a ren t a u th en ticity of th e "r e a l
M cC oy." Th e qu a lity o f th e in form a tion p r o­
d u ced from a G IS d ep en d s on th e in telligen t
u se o f a s ys tem a tic ana lys is a p p roa ch . FEDCBA
O R G A N I Z I N G G E O G R A P H I C QPONMLKJIHG
D A T A F O R A N A LY S I S
G eogra p h ic inform ation a re orga n ized within
a G IS s o as to op tim ize th e con ven ien ce a nd
efficien cy w ith w hich th ey can b e u sed. Th e
form of organization chosen will b e influ enced
b y th e typ e s o f d a ta to b e u sed, th e typ es
o f a n a lys es to be p er for m ed , and th e
m eth od s u sed to en co d e th e data. M eth od s
u sed to r ep r es en t g eog ra p h ic d a ta w ithin a
G IS w e r e d is cu s sed in C h a p ter 6. In this
s ection , th e logica l orga n iza tion o f th e d a ta
is a d d res s ed .
O n a p a p er m a p , g eog r a p h ic in form a tion
is u su ally orga n ized as a s et o f th em es , such
as roa d s , s trea m s , land co ve r typ es , a nd
politica l b ou n d a ries . Th ey a re often th ou gh t
o f as m a p layers, and each la yer m ay actu ally
h a ve b een p lotted s ep a ra tely in th e p roces s
o f com p ilin g th e final m a p. T o c o ve r a la rge
a rea , such as a cou n try, it m a y b e n eces s a ry
to u se s evera l m a p s h eets , a nd s o a co n ve­
n ien t s ys tem is u sed to d ivid e th e c o ve r a g e
a rea in to in dividu a l m a p s h eets . Th e level
o f d eta il u sed to p r es en t th e g eog ra p h ic
in form a tion is ch os en a ccord in g to th e in for­
m a tion n eed s th a t w e r e s p ecified a n d th e
lim ita tion s o f th e s tora g e m ed iu m . In th e
ca s e o f a p a p er m a p , th e m a p its elf is b oth
th e m ea n s o f s torin g th e g eog r a p h ic in for­
m a tion, as w ell as th e form o f p res en ta tion .
S ym b ols, colou rs, line widths, and oth er m ap
elem en ts a re s elected to su it th e n eed for
visu al a na lysis o f th e m a p d a ta . Th e d ou b le
s ervice o f th e p a p er m a p as b oth a s tora g e
a nd p res en ta tion m ed iu m requ ires th a t
tra d e- offs b e m a d e b etw een th e a m ou nt and
a ccu ra cy o f in form a tion th a t can b e s h ow n
a nd th e n eed fo r th e m a p to b e legib le.
In a com p u ter- b a s ed G IS, th es e orga n iza ­
tional con s id era tion s a re h an dled s om ew h a t
 192 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

d ifferen tly. S in ce th e d a ta s tora ge a nd p r e­ pres en t m ore detailed information than exists

s en ta tion (or ou tpu t) a re s ep a ra te, th e level
o f detail at which th e geogra p h ic information
can b e stored is limited b y the stora ge capac­
ity o f th e h a rd w a re and th e m eth od u sed b y
the s oftw a re to rep res en t th e data. Th e legi­
b ility o f an ou tpu t p rod u ct like a m a p can
b e con trolled b y selecting the scale, amou nt,
an d level o f d eta il o f in form a tion , and s ym ­
bols at the time when the map is to b e plotted.
(O n e can p res en t in form a tion at a
d eta iled level than it w a s s tored b u t ca n n ot
in the data b ase. For this reason, information
n eed on ly b e en ter ed on ce, at th e fin est
level o f d eta il tha t will b e requ ired . H ow ­
ever, in th e ca s e o f p a p er m aps, s ep a ra te
maps a re n eed ed to sh ow in form ation at d if­
feren t levels o f d eta il and d ifferen t scales.)
La rge co ver a g e a rea s a re s u b d ivid ed into
sm aller units for m ore efficien t s tora ge, in
a m a n n er similar to th e m a p s h eet con cep t.
less Each unit is com m on ly s tored as a s ep a ra te
set o f data files. U nlike the p a p er map, a G IS

LAYER N AM E: A T T R IB U T E S :

T E R R A IN U N iT S (polygons) •S o il T ypes
In put Scale: 1 :50,000 to 1 :100.0 00 C om po nen t
Texture
Depth
Slope
Drainage
Erosion

S tro g e n
Ph osphorus
Potassium
•Lan dco ver/U sa
D om in ant Species
C anopy Closure
Ste m Denisity
M id-Story
DBH
•G e o lo g y
•L ake s a nd W ate rb odies
•Lan dfo rm
•W a te rsh e d Basin
•T o p o gra p hy Typ e

• Typ e
FA U LT (lines) • Nam e
In put Scale : 1 :50,000 to 1 :100 ,0 00 • Haza rd

ELEV AT IO N (lines and points)

In put Scale : 1 :50,000 to 1 :100,000 ■ Elevation

S L O P E -A S P E C T (p oly gons) • Slope

In put Scale: 1:50,00 0 to 1 :100,000 • Asp ect
D erived from E LEV AT IO N S • Surfa ce -are a

ST R EA M S (lines) • Nam e • Perio dic ity

In put Scale : 1:50 ,000 to 1 :100,000 •T y p e ■ O rde r
•W id th

• W ell Num b er >Springs

W E LLS -G A U G IN G S T A T IO N S (points) • Basin Num b er
• G a ugin g Station
In put Scale : 1:50 ,000 to 1 :100,000
Num b er

• O w ner(s) • Local Districts

O W N E R S H IP /A D M IN IS T R A T IV E (polygons) • T o w n s h ip v R a n g e • S ta te D istricts
In put Scale : 1 :50,000 to 1 :100,000 • Section • N atio na l Districts
• C ou nty • M ineral Lea ses

TR A N S P O R T A T IO N L IN ES (lines) • N am e
(R oad s, railroads, etc.)
In put Scale : 1 :5 0,0 00 to 1 :100 ,0 00

S E T T LE M E N T /P O IN T S O F IN TE R E S T (poin ts) •T y p e
In p u t Scale : 1 :50,000 to 1 :100,000 • Description (house, historic, archae log ica!)

Figure 7.2 GiS QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

D at a La y e r s Co m m o n ly U se d in N at u r al Re so u r ce GIS A p p licat io n s. (Co u rt esy o f ESRl , Red lan d s.
Cal if o r n ia .)
 193 jihgfedcb
G IS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

can p rovid e sophisticated functions to ensu re
th a t a d ja cen t units m atch p recis ely a lon g
th eir b ord ers . In a d d ition , m a n y s ys tem s
h id e th es e su b d ivision s from th e u ser, p r e­
s en tin g a s ea m les s c o ver a g e o f th e en tire
a rea as if it w e r e a sin gle ver y la rge m ap.
Th e d ifferen t typ es o f th em a tic inform ation,
rep res en ted as d ifferen t m ap layers in p a p er
maps, a re trea ted as d ifferen t data la yers in
a G1S.
D A T A LAYERS
th ey rep res en t. For exa m p le, roa d s and rail­
w a ys m igh t b e com b in ed as a sin gle tra ns ­
p orta tion d a ta la yer and s trea m s and lakes
as a h yd r olog y d a ta la yer. Figu re 7.2 illus­
tra tes th e orga n iza tion o f data la yers for a
natural res ou rce applica tion, and Figu re 7.3
illu strates an u rb an a p p lica tion . Th e org a ­
nization o f th e da ta la yers will a ls o d ep en d
on th e res triction s im p os ed b y th e G1S s oft­
w a re u sed. It m a y b e n eces s a ry or m ore
con ven ien t to s tore poin t, line, and a rea
fea tu res in s ep a ra te d a ta layers.

A data layer cons ists o f a s et o f logica lly

rela ted g eog ra p h ic fea tu res an d th eir attri­
bu tes. Th e fea tu res to b e grou p ed in a single
d a ta la yer a re ch os en for th e con ven ien ce
o f th e u sers. Th e orga n izin g princip al m a y
be to grou p similar fea tu re typ es .
exa m p le, the data m ay b e orga n ized th em a t­
ically, i.e. b y th e typ e o f geogra p h ic fea tu res
P A R T IT IO N IN G TH E C O V E R A G E
AREA
W h en a G IS mu st h a n d le la rge am ou nts o f
spatial data, th e co ver a g e a rea m ay b e su b ­
For d ivid ed into s m a ller units term ed tiles, as
s h ow n in Figu re 7.4. Th e a llow a b le s h a p es
and sizes o f tiles d ep en d on th e restriction s

LAYER N AM E: A TTR I B U TE S :

• Site Addresses
• Assessor Parcel Number
PARCELS/LAND RECORDS (p otion and line) (to relate assessor fibs)
Input Scab 1inch - 200 test or 1 inch - 400 feel • Zoning
Features Lots, RoacJcasings • Owner Name. Address
• Lot. Curve dimensions
• Legal Area

•Type »Capacity
STREET NETW ORK (lm©) • Address Range • Left-Right Blocks
Scab 1 24.OCX) •Width • Traffic F tow
F&atures Street Centerlines • PavemenVCondrtion
• Poweriines (High Voltage) • High Voltage Towers
FACILITIES NETW ORKS (1me and pomt) • Lew Voltage Wires • Low Voltage Poles
input Scab in c h - 200 feet • Underground Cables • Height
Ebctncal Network High Voltage Powerlines. •Voltage - P ole»
Low Voltage Lines. Underground Cables. Power - Year of Construction - Pole Type
Poles. Switching Stations • Last Maintenance - Cable ID
Other networks include sewer, water, storm dram, • Maximum Capacity • Switching Stations
gas. telecommunications, etc - Service Region
• Demographic Areas • Z p Codes
DISTRICTS (polygoa) • School Districts • Assessment Districts
Scale 1 rch - 200 feet • Election Precincts » Planning Areas
(Derrved from Land Records layer) • Law Entorcement Areas • Land Use
• PoliisaWurisdictonai
• Fir© Protection

TOPOG RAPHY (line and point) • Ebvation

Input Scab 1 inch - 100 feet • Surveyed X. Y
Features Control Points. • Pavement Type
Topographic Contours.
Pavement Edge

BUILDINGS (polygon) * Bulbing Type

Input Scab 1 inch « 100 teet
Features 8ulWmg Footprints

ENVIRONMENTAL (polygon) • Soil Types • landfonm

Input Scab t 24.000 to 1 SO.000 • Vegetation • Floodplain
Features Terrain Unfts • Geology
• WatertxxJbs

ENVIRONMENTAL (line and point) • Streams

input S cab 124.000 to 1 50,000 • Spnngs and Wells
Features: Streams and Special Features • Htstonc. Archaeloglc HGFEDCBA

Fi gur e 7. 3 GIS Data Layers Com m only Used in Urban GIS Applications. (Courtesy o f ESR1, Redlands, California.)
194 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

D A TA LAYER
U N IF IE D D A T A L A Y E R C O M P R IS E D O F N IN E T IL E S
R E P R E S E N T E D B Y A S IN G L E F IL E E A C H O F W H IC H IS A S E P A R A T E F IL E

O R G A N IZ A T IO N
OF
T IL E S

DATA REPRESENTED
IN T IL E D D A T A
LAYER S HGFEDCBA

Fi gu r e 7. 4 U nifie d and T ile d Data Layers. G eographic in fo rm a tio n can be organized as a single unified data
layer, o r m ay be su bd ivid e d in to separate units te rm e d tiles. By using tiles, a large coverage can be stored
as a set o f small files. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

o f th e s oftw a re. In gen era l, tile b ou n d a ries
sh ou ld b e ch os en th a t w ill b e s ta b le fo r th e
life o f th e d a ta b a s e a n d th a t will en h a n ce
the perform a nce and use o f the system. A grid
d efin ed b y la titu de a n d lon gitu d e or U TM
coord in a tes is com m on ly u sed. Tiles m a y
also b e orga n ized b y in terest areas. Each tile
m igh t rep res en t a d ifferen t ra n ger district in
a national fores t. S ea rch es a re fa s ter w h en
th e a rea s to b e r etr ieved corres p on d to th e
tile stru ctu re u sed. If u sers m os t freq u en tly
a cces s da ta b y 7.5’ qu a d ra n gle m a p sh eets,
then tiles rep res en tin g on e or even mu ltiples
o f m a p s h eets might b e su itab le.
In s om e s ys tem s th e u ser mu st d irectly
cr ea te and m a n a ge th e tiles as s ep a ra te
c o ve r a g e a rea s, re- a s s em b lin g th e files for
adja cen t areas w hen n eed ed . A m ore sophis­
tica ted a p p roa ch is to p r ovid e s p ecia l pu r­
p o s e s oftw a re to a u tom a tica lly cr ea te and
m a n a ge th e tiling s o th a t th e d a ta a re
re- a s s em b led as n eed ed w ith ou t o p er a to r
interaction . Th e a u tom a ted m a n a gem en t o f
tiling is a d a ta b a s e op era tion th at p rovid es
a s ervice a n a logou s to a m a p lib rary. (For
this rea s on th e s oftw a re is often term ed
map library software.) In a d d ition to
m anaging th e pa rtitioning and re- assemb ling
o f da ta la yers , m a p lib ra ry fu nctions m a y
inclu de ch ecks on d a ta con s is ten cy, con trol
o f a cces s a n d u p da ting, and s tora ge o f
r ep ea ted ly u sed m a p ou tp u t form ats.
Th e w a y that a m ap lib rary is im p lem en ted
will a ffect th e overa ll p erform a n ce o f th e
system, th e ea s e with which u sers can access
and a n a lyze th eir data, and th e m aintenance
o f th e da ta b a s e. O n ce th e m a p lib rary has
b een s et u p it is u su ally difficu lt to ch a n ge.
For this rea s on , th e d es ign o f a m ap lib ra ry
shou ld b e given ca refu l con s id era tion b y
ex p er ien ced p ers on n el. Th ere shou ld b e a
s ys tem a tic d es ign s ta ge, fo llow ed b y a p ilot
im p lem en ta tion a nd eva lu a tion . In terview s
can b e u sed to d efin e th e c o ver a g e a rea s

a nd th e typ es a nd level o f d eta il o f d a ta
requ ired b y th e d ifferen t u ser grou ps. O th er
im p orta n t fa ctors in d evelop in g th e d es ign
a re th e freq u en cy with w hich th e d a ta w ill
b e u sed and th e volu m e o f data to b e s tored
an d a cces s ed . If th ere a re d ifferen t u ser
grou p s th a t h a ve com p etin g n eed s , it m a y
b e n eces s a ry to p r ovid e them with s ep a ra te
m a p lib ra ries in o r d er to op tim ize s ys tem
p erform a n ce.
Th e p a rtition in g o f d a ta la yers in to tiles
can in crea s e s ys tem p erform a n ce b y p r o ­
vid in g efficien t retrieva l o f a su b s et o f da ta .
H o w e ver w h en an en tire co ver a g e a rea
must b e retrieved , tiling will s low th e s tora ge
and retrieva l op era tion s b eca u s e a d d ition a l
s tep s a re n eed ed to re- a s s em b le th e da ta .
For sm aller d a ta volu m es , th e over h ea d o f
partitioning th e data la yers m a y not b e justi­
fied and th e oth er d a ta b a s e fu nctions p r o­
vid ed b y m a p lib ra ry s oftw a re, such as con ­
sis ten cy checks and a cces s con trol, m a y n ot
b e n eed ed . H ow ever, for large data volu mes,
th ere is n o ch oice b u t to u se tiles. A t s om e
p oin t th e size o f th e file n eed ed to s tore a
data la yer will ex ceed th e file size limit o f th e
s ystem an d th e a rea will h a ve to b e su b ­
d ivid ed into units tha t can b e s tored in
s m a ller files. FEDCBA
A C LA SSI FI C A T I O N O F G I S QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
A N A LY SI S F U N C T I O N S
Th e d evelop m en t o f G IS tech niqu es has p r o­
vid ed a con s ta n tly g row in g n u m b er o f e ve r
m ore s op h is tica ted a n a lys is fu n ction s .
A d es crip tion o f even th e m os t com m on
fu nctions w ou ld qu ickly overw h elm th e
u ninitiated. Th e a p p roa ch u s ed h ere is to
g r ou p th e fu n ction s in to fou r m a jor
ca tegories , ea ch w ith s evera l su b divisions .
Figu re 7.5 p res en ts a cla ssification o f G IS
analysis functions. Th e first level o f classifica­
tion conta in s fou r grou ps : 1. M a in ten a n ce
and Ana lysis o f th e S patial D ata, 2. M a in te­
n an ce an d An a lysis o f th e A ttrib u te D ata,
3. In teg r a te d A n a lys is of S p a tia l and
195 jihgfedc
GIS A n a ly s is F u n ctio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY
A ttrib u te D ata, a nd 4. O u tp u t Form attin g.
Each m a jor grou p is fu rth er s u b d ivid ed in to
typ es o f fu nctions. Th e distin ctions a m on g
th es e ca tegories a re s om ew h a t artificial and
n ot clear-cu t, b u t th ey d o p r ovid e a u sefu l
fra m ew ork.
Th e w a y tha t a G IS fu nction is im p le­
m en ted d ep en d s on such fa ctors as th e data
m od el (e.g. ra s ter versu s vector), th e h a rd ­
w a re, and p erform a n ce criteria (e.g. h ow
fa st it mu st run, w h a t op tion s mu st b e p r o ­
vid ed ). Th es e d eta ils a re im p orta n t and
requ ire con s id era b le ex p ertis e to p r op erly
eva lu a te. H ow ever, this level o f d eta il is n ot
n eed ed to u n d ersta n d th e typ es o f analysis
fu nctions th a t a G IS can p rovid e, h ow th ey
a re u sed, and w h y th ey a re va lu a b le. Th e
rem a in d er o f this ch a p ter discu sses G IS
analysis a nd m an ipu lation fu nctions in this
con text.
M A I N T EN A N C E A N D A N A LY SI S
O F T H E SP A T I A L D A T A
M a in tena n ce and analysis fu nctions a re u sed
to transform spatial data files, ed it them, and
a ssess th eir accu racy. Th ey a re p rim a rily
con cern ed w ith th e spatial da ta and requ ire
little if a n y refer en ce to th e a s s ocia ted non-
spatial attrib u te information. Th e a pp roa ch es
u sed to p rovid e th es e fu nctions differ a m on g
G IS es. All G IS es requ ire th e ca p a b ility to
tra n s form s ou rce d a ta into th e data stru c­
tu re u sed within th e s ys tem a nd to ed it
th os e files on ce th ey h a ve b een crea ted . In
a d d ition , th e d a ta m a y n eed to b e tran s­
form ed s o tha t d ifferen t data la yers for th e
s a m e a rea a re p r op er ly reg is tered to ea ch
oth er or to a s elected geogra p h ic coord in a te
system .
It m a y also b e n eces s a ry to a s s em b le files
for a d ja cen t a rea s in to a sin gle file (term ed
mosaicing). In o r d er to im p rove s tora ge
efficien cy, it m a y b e d es ira b le to red u ce th e
qu an tity o f d a ta u sed to s tore th e in form a ­
tion. Coordinate thinning is a p r oced u re
that red u ces th e n u m b er o f coord in a te pairs
196 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

1. M AINTENANCE AND ANALYSIS F O R M A T T R A N S F O R M A T IO N S

OF THE SPA TIAL DATA
G E O M E T R IC T R A N S F O R M A T IO N S

T R A N S F O R M A T IO N S B E T W E E N M A P P R O J E C T IO N S

C O N F L A T IO N

E D G E M A T C H IN G

E D IT IN G O F G R A P H IC E L E M E N T S

L IN E C O O R D IN A T E T H IN N IN G

2. M AINTENANCE AND ANALYSIS A T T R IB U T E E D IT IN G F U N C T IO N S

OF THE ATTRIBUTE DATA
A T T R IB U T E Q U E R Y F U N C T IO N S

3. INTEGRATED ANALYSIS OF R E T R IE V A U C L A S S IF IC A T IO N / R E T R IE V A L
SP AT IA L AND ATTRIBUTE DATA MEASUREMENT
C L A S S IF IC A T IO N

M EASUREMENT

----- O V E R L A Y O P E R A T IO N S

----- N E IG H B O U R H O O D O P E R A T IO N S SEARCH

L IN E -IN -P O L Y G O N A N D
P O IN T -IN -P O L Y G O N

T O P O G R A P H IC F U N C T IO N S

T H IE S S E N P O L Y G O N S

IN T E R P O L A T IO N

C O N T O U R G E N E R A T IO N

------C O N N E C T IV IT Y F U N C T IO N S C O N T IG U IT Y M E A S U R E S

P R O X IM IT Y

NETW O RK

SPREAD

SEEK

IN T E R V IS IB IL IT Y

IL L U M IN A T IO N

P E R S P E C T IV E V IE W

4. OUTPUT FORMATTING ------ M A P A N N O T A T IO N

---- TEXT LABELS

----- T E X T U R E P A T T E R N S A N D L IN E S T Y L E S

----- G R A P H IC S Y M B O L S HGFEDCBA

Fi gu r e 7.5 A Classification o f CIS Analysis Functions.


u s ed to d efin e b ou n d a ries . It m a y a ls o b e
n eces s a ry to recon cile lines th a t rep res en t
th e s a m e b ou n d a ry in d ifferen t d a ta la yers
b u t d o n ot coin cid e. A p a rticu la r G IS m a y
in clu d e all of th es e fu n ction s or d ep en d on
th e u ser to s u p p ly d a ta th a t h a ve b een
su itab ly p re- p roces s ed .
F O R M A T T R A N S F O R M A T IO N S
D ata m a y b e su pp lied to a G IS in th e form o f
lists o f p oin ts th a t w e r e g en er a ted from a
digitizer. Th ey m ay b e input as a digital file of
g r id d ed eleva tion va lu es or as b a s e m a p s in
D igital Lin e G raph (D LG ) form a t. Th es e files
mu st b e tra n s form ed into th e da ta stru ctu re
a n d file form a t u s ed in tern a lly b y th e G IS.
Th e tra n s form a tion p r oced u r e m a y b e fa s t
a n d s tra igh tforw a rd in ca s es w h er e little
ad ditiona l p rocess in g is n eed ed . A ra ster file
th a t is inpu t to a ra s ter- b a s ed G IS m a y
req u ir e virtu a lly no re- form a ttin g. Th e
in tern al files m a y on ly d iffer from th e orig ­
inal d a ta b y th e a d d ition o f s om e in form a ­
tion (often term ed header information or
s im p ly a header) to id en tify th e nam e,
origin , size, and oth er p a ra m eters u s ed b y
th e s ystem .
In th e ca se o f top olog ica lly s tru ctu red
vector- b a s ed system s, it is u su ally n eces s a ry
to "b u ild ” or cr ea te th e to p o lo g y from th e
coor d in a te data. This p r oced u r e is critical,
for w ith ou t it th e to p o lo g y o f th e over la y is
n ot availab le to th e system. It is also relatively
tim e- con su m in g, ta kin g m in u tes to hou rs
d ep en d in g on th e n u m b er o f m a p elem en ts
(i.e. th e n u m b er o f p oin ts, lines, and p oly­
gon s ) a nd th e ca p a b ilities o f th e h a rd w a re
a nd s oftw a re.
Th e form a t tra n s form a tion p r oced u re can
b e c o m e a ver y cos tly a nd tim e- con s u m in g
op era tion w h en th e d a ta a re n ot collected
in a form well-su ited to th e GIS. For exa m ple,
m a p in form a tion is often d igitized fo r a u to­
m a ted d ra ftin g a p p lica tion s in a form a t th a t
is n ot top olog ica lly stru ctu red. W h en th es e
files a re la ter u sed as inpu t to a G IS, th ey
a re often difficu lt or im p os s ib le to tra n sform
197 jihgfedcb
G IS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY
into th e top ologica l stru ctu re n eed ed b y th e
G IS. Such p r ob lem s as p olyg on s th a t d o n ’t
clos e a nd lin es th a t d o n 't m eet m a y req u ire
con s id era b le ed itin g. It m ay, in fact, b e less
ex p en s ive to re- d igitize th e en tire m ap. For
this rea s on , th e cos t o f form a t tra n s form a ­
tion can s ign ifica n tly a ffect th e cos t o f u sing
digital data sets and will influ ence th e s ou rce
d a ta s elected for inpu t to th e G IS.
G E O M E T R IC T R A N S F O R M A T IO N
G eom etr ic tra n s form a tion s a re u sed to
assign grou n d coord in a tes to a m a p or d a ta
la yer w ithin th e G IS or to a dju st on e da ta
la yer s o it can b e corr ectly o ver la yed on
a n oth er o f th e s a m e a rea . Th e p r oced u r e
u s ed to a ccom p lish this correction is term ed
registration (i.e. th e d ifferen t d a ta la yers
a re reg is tered to a com m on coord in a te sys­
tem or to on e d a ta la yer th a t is u s ed as a
s ta n d a rd ). D ata la yers for th e s a m e a rea
mu st all b e reg is tered so that th e s a m e loca ­
tion in ea ch overla y has th e s a m e m a p co o r ­
d in a tes . Th e d a ta m a y n ot h a ve b een p r e­
cis ely reg is ter ed d u rin g d a ta en try b eca u s e
th e d igitizin g w a s in accu ra te, th ere w e r e
inaccu racies in th e s ou rce m aps, or d ifferen t
m a p p rojection s w e r e u sed.
T w o a p p r oa ch es a re u s ed in regis tra tion :
th e adju stm ent o f a b s olu te pos ition s and th e
a d ju s tm en t o f rela tive p os ition . Th e term
relative position refers to th e loca tion o f
fea tu res rela tive to oth er fea tu res . Th e term
absolute position refers to th e loca tion of
fea tu res in rela tion to a g eog ra p h ic c o o r ­
d in a te s ystem . FEDCBA
R e g ist r a t io n b y R e la t iv e P o sit io n
In this p r oced u re, o n e d a ta la yer, term ed
th e slave, is reg is ter ed to a s econ d da ta
la yer, ter m ed th e master. Th e rela tive p os i­
tion o f th e s la ve d a ta la yer is a d ju s ted b y
ch oos in g fea tu res that can b e ea sily and p re­
cis ely id en tified on b oth th e d a ta la yers to
b e reg is ter ed . A roa d in ters ection , th e con ­
flu en ce o f tw o stream s, or a small island a re
198 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
s om e exa m p les o f fea tu res th at can b e u sed
fo r regis tra tion .
Th e loca tion s of th es e fea tu res a re then
inpu t to th e G IS, a p r oced u re th a t is u su ally
d on e gra phically and in teractively. O n e com ­
m on ly u sed p roced u re is to position a cu rsor
on a d is p la y o f th e d a ta la yers or to u se th e
cu rsor o f a digitizer to identify th e registration
points. A fter th e corres p on d in g poin ts h a ve
b een en ter ed for b oth d a ta la yers, th e G iS
th en ca lcu la tes a m a th em a tica l fu n ction to
tra n s form th e coord in a tes o f th e s la ve into
coord in a tes th at m ore clos ely fit th e m a ster
d a ta la yer. Th e o p er a to r is th en u su ally
p res en ted with statistics indicating the qu ality
o f th e regis tra tion , i.e. h ow w ell th e data
la yers match. If the op era tor ch oos es to p ro­
ceed , th en th e data la yer is p r oces s ed and
n ew coord in a te va lu es a re a s s ign ed to th e
fea tu res in th e s la ve d a ta la yer.
This typ e o f registration op era tion is often
term ed rubber sheeting. (Th e p roced u re is
a n a logou s to stretch in g on e d a ta la yer, as
if it w e r e a ru b b er s h eet, to fit a n oth er.) It
is an em p irica l solu tion th a t m a kes few
a ss u m p tion s a b ou t th e coor d in a te s ys tem s
b ein g u sed in th e tw o da ta layers. Th e accu ­
racy o f this registration is p red icted from th e
p os ition errors o f th e regis tra tion points . It
is a s om ew h a t b ia sed p red iction b eca u s e th e
tra n s form a tion w as ca lcu la ted u sing th es e
s a m e points . O th er a rea s o f th e m a p m a y
n ot b e as a ccu ra tely regis tered . (In s om e
s ystem s, a s et o f p oin ts th at w a s n ot u sed
to ca lcu la te th e tra n s form a tion fu n ction can
b e u sed fo r a ccu ra cy a s s es s m en t.) If th e
regis tra tion p oin ts can b e a ccu ra tely id en ti­
fied on b oth m a ps a n d th e p oin ts a re w ell
d is trib u ted th rou gh ou t th e m a p, th en this
m eth od o f as ses sing regis tra tion a ccu ra cy
d oes p r ovid e a rea s on a b le p red iction o f th e
regis tra tion for th e d a ta la yer. FEDCBA
R e g ist r a t io n b y A b so lu t e P o sit io n
Th e oth er a p p roa ch u sed to regis ter data
la yers is to correct th e a b s olu te p os ition o f
ea ch data layer. In this case, ea ch data la yer
is s ep a ra tely reg is ter ed to th e sa m e g e o ­
gra p h ic coor d in a te s ys tem (such as U TM
coordinates). Th ey shou ld then b e registered
to ea ch oth er. W h en d a ta la yers a re regis ­
tered b y rela tive position , pos ition errors in
th e m as ter da ta la yer a re p r op og a ted to th e
s la ve d a ta la yers . Th e a d va n ta g e of regis ­
terin g ea ch d a ta la yer b y a b s olu te p os ition
is that this typ e o f er ror p rop og a tion d oes
n ot occu r. Als o, th e a ccu racy o f p osition s as
rep res en ted on a da ta la yer (i.e. th e digital
m ap) can b e d irectly a s s es s ed with r e fer ­
en ce to grou n d coord in a tes . Th e d is a d va n ­
ta g e is th a t th e small p os ition errors th at
occu r in each data la yer will b e in d ep en d en t,
a n d s o b ou n d a ries th a t shou ld p recis ely
overla y m a y b e slightly m is align ed . Th es e
d is crep a n cies can b e recon ciled using an
additional proces s in g s tep term ed c o n f la t io n
(discu ss ed b elow ).
T R A N S F O R M A T IO N S BETW EEN
G E O M E T R IC P R O JE C T IO N S
Th e earth has a s p h erica l s h a p e. In ord er to
u niqu ely r efer en ce loca tion s on th e ea rth ’s
su rface, th e s ystem o f latitu de and longitu de
coord in a tes w a s d e ve lo p e d . A s show n in
Figu re 7.6, this s ys tem is b a s ed on th e
a n gles form ed b y a line d ra w n from th e
cen ter o f th e earth to a p oin t on th e su rface.
(A m ore d eta iled exp la n a tion is given in th e
n ext s ection .)
Th e sp h erica l su rfa ce o f th e ea rth can b e
easily rep res en ted on a sph erica l map, such
as a g lob e, u sing this coor d in a te sys tem .
H ow ever, a g lob e is not as con ven ien t to use
as a flat 2-dimensional map. A map projection
is a m athematical tra nsform ation that is u sed
to rep res en t a s p h erica l s u rfa ce on a flat
m ap (Figu re 7.7). Th e tra nsform ation assigns
to ea ch loca tion on th e s p h erica l su rface a
u niqu e loca tion on th e 2- dim en siona l m ap.
H ow ever, this tra n s form a tion ca n n ot b e
d on e w ith ou t s om e d is tortion . M a p p r ojec­
tion s d iffer in th e d e g r e e o f d is tortion that

Fi gu r e 7. 6 Latitu de /L on g itud e System o f G eographic Coordinates. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDC
is in trod u ced in th e rep res en ta tion o f area ,
sh a pe, dis ta nce, and d irection . Th e tra d e­
offs in th e d e g r e e and typ es o f dis tortion s
th a t will b e a ccep ted shou ld b e con s id ered
in s electin g a m ap p rojection . H ow ever, a
m ore im p orta n t s election criterion m ay b e
to u se th e p rojection com m on ly a ccep ted
for th e discip line or a p plica tion . W h er ever
199 GFEDCBA
C IS A n a ly sis F u n ctio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
SHGFEDCBA
p os s ib le, geog ra p h ic in form a tion shou ld b e
s tored in th e G IS so that it can b e ou tpu t in
a form tha t is familiar to th e u ser, i.e. a m a p
shou ld u se th e com m on ly a ccep ted m a p
p rojection for th e discipline.
Th e da ta la yers to b e u sed tog eth er in a
G IS shou ld all b e rep res en ted u sing th e
s a m e coord in a te system . A G IS com m on ly
200 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e HGFEDCBA

Fi gu r e 7. 7 M ap Projections. A m ap p ro je ctio n is used to re p re sen t a spherical surface on a 2-dim ensional

m ap. (A dapted fro m m aps p ro v id e d b y S. Prashker. Carleton U niversity, O ttaw a, O ntario .)
 201 jihgfedcb
G IS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY

s u p p orts s evera l p rojection s and has s oft­ a n gle form ed b y a line d ra w n from th e p oin t
w a re to tra n sform d a ta from on e p rojection to th e ea rth 's cen ter a nd a line from th e
to a n oth er. Th e m a p p rojection s m os t c o m ­ eq u a tor to th e ea rth ’s cen ter. La titu d es in
m on ly u s ed for m a p p in g at s ca les of th e n orth ern h em is p h ere a re term ed north
1:500,000 or la rger in N orth A m erica is th e latitudes, th os e in th e sou thern h em is p h ere
U TM (U n ivers a l Tra n s vers e M erca tor) p r o ­ a re south latitudes. In Figu re 7.6, p oin t X
jection . In th e U n ited S tates, th e S ta te Pla n e is loca ted at 55° north latitu de and 4 5 ° w es t
coor d in a te s ys tem is a ls o u sed for region a l lon gitu d e.
s ca le m a p p in g. F or m a p s o f con tin en ta l
extent, th e Alb ers , L a m b ert's Azimu thal, and C O N F L A T IO N
P olycon ic p rojection s a re com m on ly u sed.
M a p p rojection s ten d to b e s ta n d a rd ized in
Conflation is th e p r oced u r e o f recon cilin g
th e p os ition s o f corr es p on d in g fea tu res in
a given field eith er b y con s ciou s d ecis ion or
d ifferen t d a ta layers . For exa m p le, con s id er
b y tra d ition . It is im p orta n t to en s u re th a t
tw o for es t c o ve r m a p s for th e s a m e a rea
th e G IS can u se th e m ap p rojection s in which
m a p p ed in d ifferen t yea rs . Id ea lly, w h en
th e inpu t data will b e p rovid ed and m a p ou t­
th es e tw o m a p s a re d ig itized and regis ­
pu ts a re to b e p rod u ced . W h er e m ore than
ter ed , fea tu res th a t had th e same geo­
on e p rojection is to b e u sed, then a p p r o ­
gra p h ic p os ition sh ou ld p recis ely coin cid e
p ria te p rojection tra n s form a tion s sh ou ld b e
w h en th e tw o m a p s a re over la yed . In p ra c­
p r ovid ed as w ell. FEDCBA
tise, th ey m a y n ot p recis ely overla y b eca u s e
small errors w e r e in trod u ced du rin g th e
T h e La t it u d e / Lo n g it u d e Sy st e m
inpu t op era tion , th e s ou rce maps w ere
Figu re 7.6 illu strates th e p rin cip les o f th e sligh tly d ifferen t, th e p os ition of such
la titu d e/ lon gitu d e s ys tem of g eog r a p h ic fea tu res as s trea m s had actu ally s h ifted
coord in a tes . Lin es o f lon gitu d e a re d ra w n sligh tly o ve r th e in terven in g yea rs , or for
from th e north p o le to th e sou th p ole. Th e oth er rea s on s .
lin e of lon g itu d e p a s s in g th rou gh th e C on fla tion fu nctions a re u sed to recon cile
G reen w ich O b s er va tor y in E n gland has th e th es e d ifferen ces s o tha t th e corres p on d in g
va lu e o f 0 ° . M ovin g w es t, th e va lu e o f a n y fea tu res overla y p recis ely. This is im p orta n t
line o f lon gitu d e is th e h orizon ta l a n gle w h en data from s evera l data la yers a re u sed
form ed b etw een th e line d ra w n from th a t in an analysis. If th e b ou n d a ries a re slightly
p oin t to th e cen ter o f th e ea rth a nd a line in error, " n e w ’' p olyg on s , often ter m ed
draw n from th e cen ter o f th e earth to a p oin t s liv e r s , m a y b e cr ea ted that d o n ot r e p r e ­
a lon g th e 0 ° line o f lon gitu d e. S in ce th es e s en t in form a tion a b ou t th e a rea b u t a re
va lu es a re w es t o f 0 ° lon gitu d e, th ey a re ra th er in a ccu ra cies in th e m a p p in g.
term ed west longitudevalu es. In th e Figu re, A manu al p r oced u r e to m in im ize th es e
p oin t X is loca ted a t 4 5 ° w es t lon gitu d e. errors is to re- d ra w th e s ou rce m a ps using
S im ilarly, lines o f lon gitu d e ea s t o f 0 ° lon g i­ fea tu re b ou n d a ries in on e o f th e overla ys as
tu d e a re term ed east longitude valu es. Th e a s ta n d a rd or tem p la te. Th e rep res en ta tion
tw o s ets o f lon gitu d e va lu es m eet a t 180 ° o f roa d s , s trea m s , a nd la kes a re com m on ly
lon gitu d e on th e o p p o s ite s id e o f th e ea rth recon ciled in this w a y. Th e tem p la te is
from 0 ° . dra w n on a m a p that b ecom es th e b a s em a p
Th e lines o f la titu d e a re d ra w n p e r p e n ­ w h ich is th en u s ed to gu id e th e red ra ftin g
dicu lar to th e lines o f lon gitu d e. In this ca s e o f th es e fea tu res on all th e maps. Tem p la tes
th e lines o f la titu d e a re r e fer e n ce d to th e a re a ls o u sed to s ta n d a rd ize th e s h a p e o f
eq u a tor d es ig n a ted as 0 ° la titu de. Th e la ti­ fea tu res w ith g eog ra p h ic p os ition s that
tu d e o f a n y p oin t is d efin ed as th e vertica l ch a n ge b u t th a t a re m ore con ven ien tly
202 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
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h an dled as having a fixed location over time.
Th e p os ition o f th e s h orelin e o f a w a ter
res ervoir will ch a n ge o ve r th e yea r as w a ter
accu m u la tes and is then relea s ed . If ea ch
d a ta la yer u ses th e p os ition o f th e s h orelin e
at th e tim e o f mapping, th ere will b e dis crep ­
ancies in its position on d ifferen t data layers.
To stand ardize th e sh orelin e position, a stan­
d a rd tem p la te can b e u sed to rep res en t th e
s h orelin e a t th e s a m e loca tion on ea ch d a ta
la yer in stea d o f u sing th e actu al s h orelin e
position at th e tim e o f m apping. All m a pping
is then ex ten d ed to th e s h orelin e o f th e
tem p la te. In this w a y, th e rep res en ta tion o f
th e res ervoir is m a d e to b e con s is ten t for
all d a ta la yers.
C om p u terized tech n iqu es can b e u sed to
p erform a similar fu nction. Th e p roced u re
usually requ ires th e op era tor to iden tify cor­
res p on d in g fea tu res in th e tw o m aps or data
la yers that shou ld h a ve th e s a m e loca tion .
A s m ore p oin ts a re id en tified , on e or b oth
m a p s a re a d ju sted . In s om e ca s es this p r o ­
ced u re can b e in tera ctive so tha t th e b es t
match can b e d e ve lo p e d b y a d d in g p oin ts
w h er e d is crep a n cies exist. C om p u terized
conflation is a relatively recen t d evelop m en t.
It is an im p orta n t fu nction in a p p lica tion s
BEFORE EDGE-MATCHING
M AP SHEET A M AP SHEET B
N o t e t h at f e a t u r e s a l o n g t h e m a p
e d g e d i f f e r i n t h e d e g r e e o f p o si t i o n
d i sc r e p a n c y .
Fi gu r e 7.8 Edge M atching. Edge m atching is used to re co ncile th e p o sitio n o f features th a t extend o n to an
a dja cent map b u t are n o t co rre c tly aligned a t the m ap b oundary.
w h ere in tegra ted a n a lyses o f d a ta sets from
d ivers e s ou rces will b e requ ired . H ow ever,
it is gen era lly much less ex p en s ive to recon ­
cile m a p s m anu ally in th e m a p p rep a ra tion
sta ge, b e fo r e th ey a re digitized . Reconciling
m a p s tha t a re a lrea d y in th e G IS d a ta b a s e
incu rs th e a d d ed ex p en s es o f th e com p u ter
system , th e m ore highly tra in ed and higher-
p a id op era tor, a nd th e n eed to re- p roces s
th e ed ited files.
E D G E M A T C H IN G
E d ge m atching, illu strated in Figu re 7.8, is
a p r oced u re to adju st th e pos ition o f fea ­
tu res th a t ex ten d a cros s m a p s h eet b ou n d ­
aries . Th e c o ver a g e a rea s tored in a G IS is
u su ally la rg er than a sin gle m a p s h eet. D ata
en tered from sep arate map sheets are usually
orga n ized within th e G IS so as to p res en t the
d a ta to th e u ser in th e form o f a contin u ou s
geogra p h ic covera g e. Th eoretica lly th e data
from a d ja cen t m a p s h eets shou ld p recis ely
m eet at the m ap ed ges . H ow ever, in practise,
fea tu res that exten d a cros s m ap b ou n d a ries
often d o n ot align p erfectly. M in or errors
can b e ca u s ed b y such fa ctors as errors in
th e origin a l m a p p in g, d ifferen ces in th e
d a tes o f m a p p in g, p a p er sh rin kage in th e
AFTER EDGE-MATCHING
HGFEDCBA
D i s c r e p a n c i e s i n p o si t i o n h a v e b e e n
reconciled to p rod u ce a con t in u ou s
m ap cove r age .
 203 jihgfedcb
GIS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

s ou rce m aps, or errors in th e d igitizin g p r o­
ces s. Th e d is crep a n cies m a y b e difficu lt to
corr ect b eca u s e th e fea tu res a lon g th e m a p
e d g e m ay n ot b e sh ifted to th e sa m e d eg r ee
or in th e s a m e d irection . S om e G IS es p r o ­
vid e s oftw a re to recon cile th es e d ifferen ces
b y m a kin g a d ju s tm en ts to th e p os ition o f
fea tu res in o n e or b oth m aps. E d ge m a tch­
ing mu st b e d o n e for th e g eog ra p h ic in for­
m a tion from s evera l a d ja cen t m a ps to b e
r e p r es en ted as a s in gle con tin u ou s da ta
la yer.
S oftw a re d iffer con s id era b ly in th e d eg r ee
o f au tomation p rovid ed . B eard and Chrisman
( 1986) r e vie w th e a p p roa ch es u sed in e d g e
matching a nd p rovid e an exa m p le of a highly
a u tom a ted p roced u re.
lon g thin shapes. As a resu lt, s om e op era tor
su pervision is requ ired to ch eck that on ly th e
slivers a re r em oved , n ot th e va lid fea tu res .
O ften a d igitized line is s h ort b y a fe w
m illim eters and d o es n ot qu ite reach th e
fea tu re to w hich it is con n ected . A u tom a ted
line-snappingcan corr ect this typ e o f er r o r
b y con n ectin g lines to a n o d e if th ey en d
w ithin a s p ecified d is ta n ce. O th er ed itin g
aids will sea rch for such in con s is ten cies as
lines th a t a re left d a n glin g (i.e. a re n ot con ­
n ected to a n oth er elem en t) or p olygon s that
d o n ot close. In s om e cases, th e progra m will
aid th e o p e r a to r b y m ovin g th e cu rs or to
ea ch in con s is ten cy a nd w a itin g for th e
o p er a to r to corr ect th e p rob lem . HGFEDCBA

E D IT IN G F U N C T IO N S

E diting fu n ction s a re u sed to a d d , d elete,

and ch a n ge th e g eog ra p h ic p os ition of
fea tu res . Th e s op h is tica tion o f th e ed itin g
s oftw a re can grea tly a ffect th e s p eed and
a ccu ra cy w ith w hich th es e ess en tia l fu nc­
tion s can b e d on e.
Slivers or splinters a re thin p olygon s that
a re often cr ea ted du rin g d igitizin g a nd
overla y op era tion s . In Figu re 7.9 p olyg on s
Aand Bs h a re a com m on b ou n d a ry. If th e
b ou n d a ry b etw een th es e p olygon s w a s m is­
ta ken ly d igitized tw ice a s liver w ou ld b e
cr ea ted as sh ow n . P olyg on s Cand Dr e p r e ­
sen t fea tu res in tw o d ifferen t data layers that
sh a re a com m on b ou n d a ry. For exa m p le, a
fores t stan d a nd an a d ja cen t agricu ltu ral
field will s h a re a com m on b ou n d a ry. If th e
b ou n d a ry is n ot c o d e d w ith p recis ely th e
s a m e g eog r a p h ic coord in a tes in th e tw o
da ta la yers , th en, as s h ow n in th e Figu re, a
s liver may be cr ea ted if th ey a re u sed
tog eth er in an overla y op era tion . S om e s oft­
w a re p a cka ges p rovid e a u tom a ted d etection
and correction o f slivers or splinters . Th es e
fu n ction s can s u b sta n tia lly red u ce th e
ed itin g tim e n eed ed to r e m o ve slivers, b u t Fi gu r e 7. 9 Slivers. Slivers m ay be cre a te d d urin g
s om e fea tu res a re correctly rep res en ted as dig itiz in g and o ve rla y ope ra tio ns.
204 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
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L IN E C O O R D IN A T E T H IN N IN G jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

This fu nction is u sed to red u ce th e qu an tity

o f coor d in a te da ta th a t mu st b e s tored b y
th e GiS. O ften, m ore coordin ates a re en tered
than a re actu ally n eed ed to d efin e a line or
a p olyg on . This u su ally occu rs du rin g d igit­
izing or sca nnin g op era tion s . C oord in a te
thinning, b y red u cin g th e n u m b er o f c o o r ­
d in a te points , red u ces th e s ize o f th e data
file, th er eb y red u cin g th e volu m e o f d a ta to
b e stored and p rocess ed in the GIS. Redu cing
th e data volu m e will ten d to im p rove system
p erform a n ce.
Th e thinning fu nction review s all th e coor ­
d in a te d a ta in a file, id en tifies and then
rem oves u n n eces s a ry coord in a tes . Th e
d e g r e e o f coor d in a te thinning is con trolled
b y th e op era tor. A s th e level o f thinning is
in crea s ed , fe w e r coord in a tes a re s tored .
This resu lts in a less d eta iled b u t m ore com ­
pact repres enta tion o f lines (see Figu re 7.10).
In practise, th e n u m b er o f coord in a te points
can u su ally b e significan tly red u ced w ith ou t
a p er ceive d loss o f d eta il. FEDCBA

M A I N T EN A N C E A N D A N A LY SI S QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
O F N O N - SP A T I A L A T T R I B U T E D A T A

This grou p o f fu nctions is u sed to edit, check,

and a n a lyze th e non- spatial a ttrib u te da ta.
M a n y G IS a n a lys es can b e p er fo r m ed u sing
th es e attrib u te fu nctions alon e. For exa m p le,
in a vector- b a s ed G IS, th e a rea a nd p er i­
m eter o f p olyg on s a re com m on ly s tored in
th e a ttrib u te file, a lon g with th e class, and
oth er ch ara cteris tics. To p rod u ce a ta b le o f
a rea s for all p olyg on s o f a certa in class, th e
data can b e retrieved from th e attrib u te file,
w ith ou t r efer en ce to th e spatial data.
In a s im p le ra s ter- b a s ed G IS, non- spatial
attrib u te data m ay b e em b ed d ed in th e spa ­
tial da ta file. For exa m p le, a legen d , th e lati­
tu de and longitu de coordinates o f the corners
o f th e da ta la yer, a nd a title fo r th e da ta
la yer m igh t b e a tta ch ed to th e b egin n in g or
en d o f th e file. HGFEDCBA
Fi gu r e 7. 10 Line C oord in a te Thinning. C oo rd in a te
th in n in g reduces th e num ber o f c o o rd in a te pairs used
to store a lin e segm ent w ith in th e GIS.
In m ore s op h is tica ted s ystem s, th e a ttri­
b u tes a re s tored s ep a ra tely from th e spatial
da ta, often in a s ep a ra te d a ta b a s e system .
Th e g r ea ter com p lexity o f this typ e o f G IS
a ls o can p r ovid e g r ea ter analysis flexib ility
a nd th e p o w e r and ca p a city to h a n d le la rge
da ta sets.
A T T R IB U T E E D IT IN G F U N C T IO N S
E diting fu n ction s a llow th e a ttrib u tes to b e
retr ieved , exa m in ed , and ch a n ged . N ew
 205 jihgfedcb
GIS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

attrib u tes can b e a d d ed or old on es d eleted .

In s om e system s, it is difficu lt to a d d n ew
ca teg ories o f a ttrib u tes on ce th e da ta b a s e
has b een d efin ed . This is u su ally rela ted to
res triction s of th e d a ta b ase s oftw a re.
W h er e th e a ttrib u tes a re n ot w ell- kn ow n in
a d va n ce, as is th e ca s e w ith m a n y natu ral
res ou rce a p plica tions , such restriction s m a y
b e an im p orta n t system limitation. It is often
va lu a b le to im p ort da ta from oth er sou rces.
For exa m p le, in mu nicipal a p plica tions , files
con ta in in g o w n e r s h ip d a ta k eyed to
a d d res s es m igh t b e a d d ed to th e a ttrib u te
file for a s treet m a p s o th a t th e ow n er 's
n a m e a n d a d d res s b ec om es an a ttrib u te o f
th e spatial da ta . M a n y s ys tem s p r ovid e a
fu n ction to m atch corres p on d in g record s in
th e tw o a ttrib u te d a ta s ets u sing a com m on
d a ta field , in this ca s e th e a d d res s . This
ca p a b ility is ter m ed file matching or
address matching.
A T T R IB U T E Q U E R Y F U N C T IO N S

Q u ery fu nctions r etrieve record s in th e attri­

b u te da ta b a s e a ccord in g to con d ition s s p e­
cified b y th e op era tor. D ep en d in g on th e
s oftw a re, q u ery fu nctions can b e res tricted
to ve r y s im p le retrieva ls , such as fin din g th e
class a s s ign ed to a s elected p olygon . A full-
fea tu red G IS will h a ve a d a ta b a s e th at su p­
p orts m ore com p lex q u eries th a t in volve
s elective s ea rch es o f all th e a ttrib u tes for
on e or m ore da ta la yers and th e gen era tion
o f a r ep or t th a t ta b u la tes th e resu lts.
Figu re 7.11 illu strates th e u se o f an attri­
b u te q u ery to g en er a te a r e p or t o f fores t
a rea b y dom in a n t sp ecies . Th e attrib u tes for
th e fores t cover data la yer a re s tored as tw o
ta b les . Th ey can b e q u eried tog eth er, as
show n, to g en era te a rep ort o f th e total a rea
o f for es t m or e than 30 yea rs old . Th e stand
nu mb er, a data field com m on to b oth tab les,
is u sed as th e link b etw een th e ta b les . (Th e
p roced u re o f retrievin g in form ation from th e
tw o ta b les b y m ean s o f a com m on data field
is ter m ed a relational-join op era tion .) Th eHGFEDCBA
form a w id e ra n ge o f q u eries a n d to ou tp u t
Fi gu r e 7. 11 An A ttrib u te Q uery Used to Produce a
Forest Cover Sum mary Report. The figure illustrates the
use o f an a ttrib u te q ue ry to generate a re p o rt o f forest
co ver by species fo r stands o ld e r than 30 years. The
data are re trie v e d fro m tw o a ttrib u te s table s b y using
a com m on data field, th e stand num ber, to id e n tify
corresponding records in the tw o tables. This procedure
is term e d a re la tio n a l-join .
in form a tion is s u m m a rized b y d om in a n t
s p ecies in th e rep ort. N o te th at to g en er a te
th e rep ort, it w a s on ly n eces s a ry to q u ery
th e a ttrib u te data files, th e spatial data w ere
n ot n eed ed .
A ttrib u te a n a lys es can b e ver y p ow erfu l
and efficient b eca u s e com p lex spatial op era ­
tion s a re n ot u sed. A fu ll- fea tu red da ta b a s e
p rovid es com m a n d s for an op er a tor to p er ­
206 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

th e resu lts in th e d es ired r ep or t form a t. In R e t r ie v a l O p e r a t i o n s

m an y op era tion a l applications, th e attrib u te
Retrieva l op era tion s on th e spatial and attri­
en try and retrieva l fu n ction s a re th e prin ­
b u te d a ta in volve th e s elective search,
cipal d a y- to- d a y op era tion s . Such qu es tion s
manipu lation, and ou tpu t o f data w ithou t th e
as h ow la rge an a rea w a s p la n ted to a s p e­
n eed to m od ify th e g eog ra p h ic loca tion o f
cific crop , w h o is th e o w n er o f a s p ecified
fea tu res or to cr ea te n ew spa tia l en tities.
p r op erty, a n d w h a t is th e p r op e r ty va lu e,
Th es e op era tion s w ork w ith th e spatial e le ­
can b e a n s w ered b y op era tion s on th e a ttri­
m ents as th ey w er e en ter ed in th e data
b u te da ta b a s e alon e. FEDCBA
b a s e. Th e p rod u ction of a city m a p s h ow in g
b u ildin gs cla ss ified by th eir a ge is an
I N T EG R A T ED A N A LY SI S O F QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
ex a m p le o f this typ e o f op era tion (s ee
SP A T I A L A N D A T T R I B U T E D A T A
Figu re 7.12).
Th e p o w e r o f a G IS lies in its a b ility to
a n a lyze spatial and a ttrib u te d a ta tog eth er. Cla ssif ica t io n a n d G e n e r a l i z a t i o n
It is th es e ca pa b ilities that m os t distingu ish a
Th e s ets o f elem en ts (th e land p a rcels with
G IS from au tom ated m apping and com pu ter-
b u ild ings o f a certa in a g e ra n ge) retrieved
a id ed draftin g systems. Th e ra n ge o f analysis
in th e p reviou s ex a m p le (Figu re 7.12) cou ld
p roced u res in this grou p o f fu nctions is very
b e assigned class nam es such as "p re- 1 9 0 0 ",
la rge. Th ey h a ve b een s u b d ivid ed in to fou r
"1 9 0 0 - 1 9 3 0 ", "1 9 3 1 - 1 9 5 0 ", a n d "p o s t-
ca tegories ; retrieval/ classification/ m easu re-
1950". Th es e class n am es cou ld b e s tored
ment, overla y, n eigh b ou rh ood , and con n ec­
as a ttrib u tes o f th e b u ildin gs in th e da ta
tivity or n etw ork fu nctions.
b a s e. This n ew class des ign a tion cou ld then
A s p ecific G IS m ay im p lem en t a fu nction
b e u sed to s elect th es e b u ildin gs for fu rth er
as a s in gle com p u ter task or b y linking s ev­
analys es.
era l tasks tog eth er. Th e w a y a s p ecific fu nc­
This p r oced u r e o f id en tifyin g a s et o f
tion is im p lem en ted affects the ea s e and flexi­
fea tu res as b elon g in g to a grou p is term ed
b ility o f op era tion , th e s tora ge requ irem en ts
(e.g. for in term ed ia te files), a n d th e level o f
classification. S om e form o f classification
function is p rovid ed in ever y GIS. In the case
p erform a n ce. Th ou gh im p orta n t for s ys tem
o f a s in gle d a ta la yer, classification m a y
eva lu a tion s a n d com p a ris on s, th es e con s id ­
in volve th e a s s ign m en t o f a class n am e to
era tion s a re to o d eta iled to b e con s id ered
each p olyg on as an a ttrib u te. Th e classifica­
h ere. For th e p u rp os e o f u nderstanding h ow
tion m a y b e for land cover , and so th e class
G IS analysis and manipu lation fu nctions a re
n am es m ight b e f o r e s t la n d , a g r ic u lt u r a l
u sed, th e m eth od o f im p lem en ta tion is o f
la n d , u r b a n a r e a s , and so on. In this case,
s econ d a ry con s id era tion . Th e em p h a s is in
th e classification p roces s in volves lookin g at
this s ection is on th e con cep tu a l p roced u res
th e a ttrib u tes for a s in gle da ta la yer a nd
u sed to g en er a te d ifferen t typ es o f in form a ­
assigning an a d d ition a l a ttrib u te, th e n ew
tion from th e G IS d a ta b a s e.
class nam e. In a ra ster- b a sed G IS, nu merical
va lu es a re often u sed to in d ica te classes.
RETRIEVAL C L A S S IF IC A T IO N
, ,

A cell m igh t b e a s s ign ed th e va lu e 1 to indi­

A N D M E A S U R E M E N T F U N C T IO N S
ca te agricu ltu ral land, 2 for fores t land, and
In this s et o f fu nctions, spatial a n d a ttrib u te s o on. Th e classification p roces s w ou ld then
d a ta a re retrieved , b u t on ly th e a ttrib u te in volve a ssign in g nu m erical va lu es to th e
d a ta a re m od ified or crea ted . N o ch a n ges cells (s om etim es term ed recoding) a nd
a re m a d e to th e location o f spatial elem en ts w ritin g th es e n ew va lu es in to a n ew data
a n d no n ew spatial elem en ts a re crea ted . la yer.

Fi gur e 7 . 12 M ap o f an Urban Area Showing Buildings Classified by Age. (Courtesy o f O xford County, O ntario.) jihgfedcb
C lassification is im p orta n t b eca u s e
d efin es patterns. O n e o f th e im portant fu nc­
tion s o f a G IS is to assist in recogn izin g n ew
pa ttern s. Th es e p a ttern s m ight b e a rea s o f
the city with th e h igh es t crim e rate, a rea s
o f fores t land su itab le for tim b er harvest, or
a rea s o f agricu ltu ral land m os t likely to b e
con verted to resid en tia l d evelop m en t.
C lassification is d on e u sing sin gle da ta
layers, as illu strated in th e b u ilding a ge clas­
sification, as w ell as with mu ltiple data layers
as p a rt o f an overla y op era tion (overla y
op era tion s a re d is cu s sed la ter in
ch a p ter). For exa m p le, a d es ira b le site for
a cotta ge might b e a fores ted area, with well-
d ra in ed soils, a sou th ern exp os u re, and a
non-agricultural land use zon e. Each of these
fa ctors m ight b e rep res en ted as s ep a ra te
data la yers in th e C IS . An overla y analysis
cou ld b e u sed to id en tify th e a rea s m eetin g
th es e criteria and to assign them th e class
nam e " g o o d cotta g e a rea s ".
Generalization, also called mapdissolve,
is th e p roces s o f making a classification
less d eta iled by com b in in g classes
Figu re 7 . 13). G en era liza tion is often u sed to
207 HGFEDCB
GIS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY
it red u ce th e level o f classification d eta il to
m ake an u nderlying pa ttern m ore ap pa rent. FEDCBA
M e a su r e m e n t Fu n ct io n s
E very G IS p rovid es s om e m ea s u rem en t
fu nctions. Spatial m eas u rem ents inclu de dis­
ta nces b etw een points, lengths o f lines, p eri­
m eters and a rea s o f p olygon s , and th e size
o f a grou p of cells with th e s a m e class.
S a m p le a p p lica tion s a re: fin din g all fores t
a rea s la rger than 200 sq km that a re p oten ­
this tially su ita b le for u se as a con s erva tion area
or loca tin g a irp orts less than 10 km a p a rt
that might b e u nn eces sa ry. W h er e digital
terra in d a ta a re u sed, 3- dim ens iona l m ea ­
su rem en ts a re often n eed ed for en gin eerin g
a pplica tion s, such as calcu lating th e am ou nt
o f cu t and fill m aterial in volved in roa d con ­
stru ction. (M ea s u rem en ts a lon g a netw ork,
such as a lon g a roa d system , a re a special
ca s e discu ssed in th e s ection on n etw ork
fu nctions.)
In a vector- b a s ed G IS, spatial elem en ts
(s ee can va ry in size and sh a p e. N ew attrib u tes
can b e ca lcu lated for th e spatial elem en ts
208 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e HGFEDCBA
Fi gur e 7. 13 Generalization. Generalization is the process o f com bining classes to reduce the level o f classification
d eta il. A land use data la ye r w ith fo u r d iffe re n t classes has been generalized to tw o classes to em phasize the
b o u n d a ry b etw een th e urb an and ru ra l areas. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
o f an overla y. Th e calcu lation o f a rea s and
cen troid s (th e cen ter p oin t o f a p olyg on ) is
com m on ly d on e au tom atically as pa rt o f th e
p olyg on crea tion p roces s . M ea s u res of
sh a p e, n a rrow es t a nd b r oa d es t d is ta n ce
a cros s a p olyg on , th e len gth and sinu osity
o f a line a re oth er u sefu l m ea s u rem en t
fu nctions. In a ra ster- b a sed GIS, th es e typ es
o f fu nctions b ecom e n eigh b ou rh ood o p er a ­
tion s b eca u s e th ey in volve th e iden tification
o f con n ected cells. A s a resu lt, th e s oftw a re
a lgorith m s a re d ifferen t and th e s tra tegy
for u sing th em is con cep tu a lly d ifferen t as
w ell.
O V E R L A Y O P E R A T IO N S
A rith m etic and logica l overla y op era tion s
a re p a rt o f all G IS s oftw a re p a cka ges .
Arith m etic overla y inclu des such op era tion s
as ad d ition , su b traction, division, and multi­
plication o f ea ch va lu e in a d a ta la yer b y th e
va lu e in th e corres p on d in g loca tion in a
s econ d data la yer. A logical overla y in volves
fin din g th os e a rea w h ere a s p ecified s et o f
con d ition s occu r (or d o n ot occu r) togeth er.
For exa m p le, d es ira b le a rea s for cotta ges
m ight b e d efin ed as th os e a rea s that h a ve a
fores t veg eta tion cover, h a ve w ell- d ra in ed
soils, an d h a ve a sou th- facin g exp os u re. If
veg eta tion , soils, and exp os u re a re r ep r e­
s en ted as s ep a ra te da ta la yers in th e G IS,
then a logica l overla y op era tion cou ld b e
u sed to id en tify th e loca tion s w h ere th es e
con d ition s occu r tog eth er.
Th e flexib ility p r ovid ed to th e o p er a to r
and th e level o f p erform a n ce o f overla y
op era tion s va ry w id ely a m on g G IS es. O n e
o f th e m a jor fa ctors a ffectin g th e p er fo r ­
m a n ce o f th es e fu nctions is th e d a ta m od el
b ein g u sed. Ra ster and vec to r m od els d if­
fer significantly in th e w a y a rith m etic and
logical op era tion s a re im p lem en ted . O verla y
op era tion s a re usually p er form ed m ore effi­
cien tly in ra ster- b a sed systems. B ecau se this
has b een a critical issu e, th e d ifferen ce in
a p p roa ch will b e illu strated b y th e follow in g
exa m p les .
Figu re 7.14 illu strates an a rith m etic fu nc­
tion, m u ltiplication, a p p lied to rain gu a ge
data. Th e ex a m p le s h ow s a ra s ter and a
vecto r im p lem en ta tion . Th e p roced u re is
b ein g u s ed to con vert th e da ta from units
o f in ches to units in m illim eters b y mu lti­
plying each rain gu age value b y 25.4 mm/inch.
In th e ra s ter ca se, th e rain ga u ge d a ta for
th e five loca tion s a re en tered d irectly into
a d a ta la yer (th e inpu t data la yer in th e
Figu re). Th e cells with no rain ga u ge data are
s h ow n to b e b lan k in th e figu re for clarity,
 209
GIS A n a ly s is F u n ctio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY

RASTER VECTOR

IN P U T D A T A L A Y E R IN P U T D A T A L A Y E R

M U L T IP L IC A T IO N
OF EACH CELL A T T R IB U T E T A B L E
B Y 2 5 .4
SAM PLE R A IN R A IN
P O IN T in In c h e s in m m HGFEDCBA
A 2 .0 50. 8

o
B 1.7 43. 1

C 2.1 53. 3

D 1.8 45. 7

O U TPU T DATA LAYER E 1.8 45. 7

Fi gu r e 7. 14 An A rith m e tic O pe ra tio n on a Single Data Layer in th e Raster and V ecto r Domains. jihgfedcbaZYXW

h ow ever ea ch cell w ou ld b e assigned a valu e

(com m on ly th es e b lanks w ou ld b e zeroes ).
Th e mu ltiplication op era tion is p erform ed on
e ve r y cell o f th e inpu t data la yer a n d th e
resu lt is w ritten to th e corres p on d in g cells
o f th e ou tp u t d a ta la yer. Th e op era tion is
p er form ed as m a n y tim es as th ere a re cells,
regardless o f the fact that most cells are blank.
In th e vector case, th e rain ga u ge loca tion s
a re rep r es en ted as p oin ts in th e inpu t da ta
la yer. Th e attrib u tes o f th e points a re s tored
s ep ara tely in an attrib u te tab le, as illustrated.
Th e attrib u te data consist o f only th e five rain
ga u ge va lu es a n d th e m u ltiplication p r o ce­
Fi gur e 7. 15 Arithm etic Operations on Two Data Layers
d u re can b e d o n e u sing th e a ttrib u te data in the Raster Domain. An a d d itio n o pe ra tio n is a pplie d
a lon e. In th e Figu re, a s econ d colu m n con ­ to cells w ith c o rre sp o n d in g positions in th e tw o in p u t
data layers and the result is written to the corresponding
ta in in g th e ca lcu la ted m illim eter va lu es is cell position s in th e o u tp u t data layer. Since each data
s h ow n to h a ve b een a d d ed to th e a ttrib u te la ye r is organized using th e same grid o f cells th e re is
ta b le. O n ly five mu ltiplications w er e n eed ed . no need to cre ate any new boundaries betw een spatial
entitie s.
For s p a rs e da ta , this op era tion on on e da ta
la yer is mu ch m ore efficien tly p r oces s ed in
th e vector dom ain than in the raster domain. to th e va lu e in th e corres p on d in g loca tion
Figu re 7.15 illu strates an a rith m etic fu nc­ in Inpu t D ata L a yer B. Th e resu lt is to b e
tion o f tw o d a ta la yers as im p lem en ted in w ritten to th e corres p on d in g cell o f th e ou t­
th e ra s ter d om a in . Th e va lu e a t ea ch loca ­ pu t d a ta la yer. B eca u s e th e m a p a rea is
tion in Inpu t D ata L a yer A is to b e a d d ed regu la rly s u b d ivid ed in to cells a nd th e cells
210 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

o f each data la yer a re in p erfect registration, da ta la yers, n ew p olyg on s mu st first b e

th ere is no u n certa in ty in th e loca tion of
b ou n d a ries since th ey a re th e cell b ou n d ­
aries and alw ays coincide. The valu e assigned
to a cell rep res en ts th e con d ition for all
p oin ts w ithin th e cell, i.e. th e cell is th e
sm allest unit o f division.
Figu re 7.16 illu strates th e s a m e op era tion
in th e vector dom ain. H ere a rea s a re rep re­
s en ted as polygon s . Each p olygon can d iffer
in size and s h a p e and s o th e b ou n d a ries of
th e p olyg on s in on e data la yer usually will
n ot coin cid e w ith th e b ou n d a ries o f p oly­
gon s in th e oth er da ta la yer. Th e p olygon
va lu es a re s tored s ep a ra tely in a ttrib u te
ta b les , as show n . Th e va lu e a s s ign ed to a
p olyg on rep res en ts th e con d ition for ever y
loca tion within th e p olygon , as for a ra ster
cell. H ow ever, th e size o f th e p olyg on is
va ria b le. In o r d er to a d d th e tw o p olygon
cr ea ted in th e ou tp u t data la yer. Th e a rea
w h ere p olyg on s A a nd D overla p mu st b e
d efin ed as a s ep a ra te n ew p olygon and then
a s s ign ed th e n ew a ttrib u te valu e. This p r o­
cess o f s u b d ivid in g p olyg on s is term ed
clipping. Alth ou gh th ere will be few er
a rith m etic op era tion s , b eca u s e th ere a re
fe w e r p olyg on s than cells, clip p in g m akes
overla y op era tion s con s id era b ly m ore com ­
p lex in th e vector d om a in than in th e ra ster
dom a in . W h en a la rge n u m b er o f irregu la rly
s h a p ed p olyg on s a re in volved , th e vector
over la y p roced u re gen era lly requ ires signi­
fica n tly m ore p roces s in g tim e than ra ster
overla y.
In th e raster dom a in , th e data file consists
o f an o r d er ed list o f valu es. Th e spatial loca ­
tions to which th es e valu es refer (i.e. th e row
and colu m n p osition s) a re d eterm in ed b y

SPATIAL DATA ATTRIBUTE DATA

PO LYGO N C O M B IN A T IO N SUM
OUTPUT
D ATA LAYER E B -C 7

F A -C 6

G D -B 12

H A -C 6

1 D -B 12

J A -D 11 HGFEDCBA

Fi gu r e 7. 16 A rith m e tic O perations on Two Data Layers in the V ecto r Domain. To perfo rm an overlay operation
in th e ve cto r dom ain, polygons A and D in the in p u t data layers m ust be su bdivid ed o r clip p ed to create the
new boundaries fo r the o u tp u t polygons (F,G,H,I,J). Then the a d d itio n o p e ra tio n is p e rfo rm e d using the values
fro m the a ttrib u te table . The clip p in g o p e ra tio n is com plex and can re q uire considerable processing tim e when
th e re are large num bers o f irre g u la rly shaped polygons.
 2 1 1 jihgfedc
C IS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY

th e p os ition o f th e va lu e w ithin th e file. As N E IG H B O U R H O O D O P E R A T IO N S

a resu lt, overla y p roces s in g in volves retriev­
ing a nd com p a rin g th e da ta in cor r es p on d ­
ing p os ition s in th e d a ta files. Th ere is no
n eed to calcu late in tersections o f b ou n d aries
or m a ke a n y m od ifica tion s to th e fea tu re
b ou n d a ries b eca u s e ea ch spatial elem en t is
a s in gle cell o f sta n d a rd size.
Th e regu la r su b d ivis ion o f s p a ce m a kes
overla y op era tion s ea s y to im p lem en t in th e
ra s ter d om a in . H ow ever , s p a rs e d a ta sets
requ ire as mu ch p roces s in g as d en s ely
p op u la ted on es b eca u s e th e op era tion is
p er fo r m ed on e ve r y cell rega rd les s o f th e
d a ta it contains. In th e vec to r d om a in on ly
th e data o f in terest a re p roces s ed . Th e m ore
s p a rs e th e d a ta set, th e fa s ter th e p r o ­
cess ing. H ow ever , th e over la y op era tion is
mu ch m or e com p lex to b egin with. W h er e
op era tion s a re p er fo r m ed on th e a ttrib u te
d a ta for a s in gle d a ta la yer, th e s tora g e o f
a ttrib u tes s ep a ra te from th e spa tial d a ta is
a d va n ta gou s . A s in gle data la yer can h a ve
an a ttrib u te ta b le ass ignin g m u ltip le attri­
N eig h b ou rh ood op era tion s eva lu a te th e
ch a ra cteris tics o f th e a rea s u rrou n d in g a
s p ecified loca tion . C ou ntin g th e n u m b er o f
res id en tia l d w ellin gs w ithin a 5 km radiu s o f
a fire station (Figu re 7.17) is an ex a m p le o f
a n eigh b ou rh ood op era tion . E very n eigh ­
b ou rh ood fu nction requ ires th e specification
o f at lea st th r ee b a s ic p a ra m eters : on e or
m ore ta rget loca tion s , a s p ecifica tion o f th e
n eigh b ou rh ood a rou n d ea ch ta rget, a n d a
fu nction to b e p er fo r m ed on th e elem en ts
w ithin th e n eigh b ou rh ood . In this exa m p le,
th e ta rget is th e fire station, th e s p ecified
n eigh b ou rh ood is th e a rea within a 5 km
radiu s, a nd th e fu nction is to cou n t th e
n u m b er o f elem en ts th a t a re res id en tia l
b u ildings.
Virtu ally all G IS s oftw a re p a cka ges p rovid e
s om e form o f n eigh b ou rh ood op era tion s .
Th ey va ry in th e flexib ility and soph istication
w ith which th e th r ee b a s ic p a ra m eters can
b e s p ecified and in th e s p ecia lized o p e r a ­
tion s p rovid ed . Th e m ost com m on typ es a re

b u tes to ea ch spa tial elem en t. O p era tion s th e search fu nction (which in clu des th e

on th es e a ttrib u tes a re effectively in d ep en ­ gen era tion o f su m m a ry statistics), to p o ­

d en t o f th e spatial data. gra p h ic fu nctions, and in terp ola tion .

N eigh b ou rh ood op era tion s a re p a rticu ­
In m an y G IS es a h yb rid a p p roa ch is u sed
la rly va lu a b le in eva lu a tin g th e ch a ra cter o f
th a t ta kes a d va n ta g e o f th e ca p a b ilities o f
a loca l a rea , for ex a m p le to find all res id en ­
b oth d a ta m od els . A vector- b a s ed s ystem
tial a rea s th a t a re in th e vicin ity o f a s ch ool, HGFEDCB
m a y im p lem en t s om e fu nctions in th e ra ster
d om a in b y p erform in g a vector- to- ra s ter
con vers ion on th e inpu t data, d oin g th e p ro­
cessing as a raster op era tion , and con vertin g
th e ra s ter resu lt b a ck to a vec to r file. In a
ra s ter- b a s ed G IS, d a ta com p res s ion tech ­
n iqu es can be u sed in effect to crea te
elem en ts th a t rep res en t con tigu ou s a rea s
(a con n ected grou p o f cells) th a t h a ve th e
sa m e valu e. (S ee th e discu ssion o f data com ­
p res s ion in C h a p ter 6.) Th ere is a tren d to
in trod u ce m ore in tegra ted ra s ter- vector p r o­
ces sin g in G IS b eca u s e th e tw o data m od els
o ffe r d ifferen t a d va n ta g es and b eca u s e
m an y digita l da ta sets a re a va ila b le in on ly Fi gu r e 7.17 D efining a Search Area W ith a 5 km
on e o f th e tw o form ats. Radius.
2 12 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e
park, and a s h op p in g a rea . A n oth er 5 km
a jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
ex a m p le is th e a s s es s m en t o f th e qu a lity o f
an a rea as w ild life hab itat. W ild life requ ire
a sp ecific com b in a tion o f vegeta tion and ter­
rain typ es w ith a cces s to w a ter, food , and
shelter within a limited size of neighb ou rhood.
M a n y n eigh b ou rh ood op era tion s mu st b e
im p lem en ted using s om e regu la r divis ion o f
th e stu dy a rea . For this reas on , a ra s ter
m od el is com m on ly u sed. In s om e vector-
b a s ed system s, th e g eog ra p h ic d a ta is con ­
verted into a raster form for th e analysis and
then con verted b ack to vector form at. O th er
vector s ys tem s g en er a te th e n eigh b ou r­
h ood s d irectly an d in ters ect th em w ith th e
geog ra p h ic d a ta as an overla y op era tion . FEDCBA
Se a r ch
Th e search fu nction is on e o f th e m os t com ­
m on o f th e n eigh b ou rh ood op era tion s . This
fu nction assigns a va lu e to ea ch ta rget fea ­
tu re (such as th e fire stations in th e p reviou s
ex a m p le) a ccord in g to s om e ch a ra cteris tic
o f its n eigh b ou rh ood . (Th e search fu nction,
as p res en ted h ere, is d efin ed in a gen era l
w a y. G IS es will d iffer in th e n am es u sed to
refer to this fu nction, an d s evera l individu al
p roced u res m a y b e n eed ed to p rovid e som e
o f th e search op era tion s dis cu ssed.)
Th e th ree b a s ic p a ra m eters to b e d efin ed
in a n eigh b ou rh ood sea rch a re th e ta rgets ,
th e n eigh b ou rh ood , and th e fu nction to b e
a p p lied to th e n eigh b ou rh ood to gen era te
th e n eigh b ou rh ood valu e. Th e ta rg et e le ­
m ents a nd th e elem en ts o f th e n eigh b ou r­
h ood a re com m on ly s tored in on e or m ore
data la yers . In th e p reviou s exa m p le, th e
loca tion s o f th e fire sta tions and resid en tia l
b u ildin gs cou ld b e in a sin gle d a ta la yer o f
th e b u ildin gs in th e m u nicipality or in
s ep a ra te d a ta la yers, o n e conta in in g th e
loca tion s o f all em erg en cy fa cilities and th e
oth er con ta in in g th e d a ta on hou sing.
Th e search a rea is m ost com m on ly squ are,
rectan gu la r, or circu lar w ith a s ize s elected
b y th e o p er a to r (e.g. a circu lar a rea with a
radiu s). Th e search fu nctions a re
usually p red efin ed and th e op era tor selects
on e o f th os e o ffer ed . S ea rch fu nctions a re
o f tw o typ es : th os e that o p er a te on n u m er­
ical da ta and th os e that op era te on th em a tic
data. Typ ica l nu m erical fu nctions a re th e
tota l, a vera g e, maximu m, minimu m, and
m easu res o f d iversity (see Ta b le 7.1). In each
case, th e fu nction is a p p lied to th e co r r e­
s p on d in g n eigh b ou rh ood for ea ch ta rget.
Table 7.1 N e ig h b o u rh o o d GFEDCBA
F u n c tio n s .
F U N C T IO N D E S C R IP T IO N QPONMLKJIHGFED
A V ER A G E T h e a v e r a g e o f t h e v a l u e s in
t h e n e ig h b o u rh o o d .
D I V ER S I T Y A m e a su r e o f d i v e r s i t y o f t h e
v a l u e s in t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d
is c a lc u la t e d su c h as the
v a r i a n c e o r st a n d a r d d e v ia t io n .
M A JO R I T Y Th e n u m b er o f o c c u r a n c e s o f
e a c h v a l u e in t h e n e i g h b o u r ­
h o o d is e v a lu a t e d . Th e v a lu e
o c c u r r i n g m o st f r e q u e n t l y i s
t h e c a lc u la t e d r e su lt .
M A X IM U M , Th e v a lu e s o f e a c h e le m e n t
M IN IM U M in the n e ig h b o u rh o o d are
e v a lu a t e d an d t h e m a xim u m
o r m in im u m v a lu e is ret u rn ed .
TO TA L T h e t o t a l o f t h e v a l u e s in t h e
n e ig h b o u rh o o d .
Th e da ta la yer u sed to d efin e th e n eigh ­
b ou rh ood m a y b e d ifferen t from th e data
la yer to w hich th e fu nction is a p p lied . For
exa m p le, con s id er an analysis o f th e a vera ge
d olla r va lu e o f residen tial b u ildin gs within
5 km o f th e fire stations in a m etrop olita n
a rea . Th e ta rget loca tion s (fire stations) may
b e id en tified on a data la yer o f em erg en cy
s ervice facilities, th e res id en tia l b u ildings
id en tified on a s econ d da ta la yer, and th e
va lu es o f ea ch residen tial b u ild in g s tored in
a s ep a ra te attrib u te file. Th e n eigh b ou rh ood
w ou ld b e d efin ed using th e first d a ta la yer
b u t w ou ld b e a p p lied to th e d a ta o f th e

s econ d da ta la yer — to id en tify th e res id en ­
tial b u ild in gs w ithin th e 5 km search radiu s.
Th e va lu es o f th es e res id en ces w ou ld then
b e r etr ieved from th e a ttrib u te file and
a ver a g ed . Th e res u lt o f this analysis cou ld
b e p r ovid ed in th e form o f a m a p s h ow in g
th e fire sta tions a nd th eir 3 km su rrou n din g
n eigh b ou rh ood s s h a d ed a ccord in g to th e
a ver a g e va lu e o f th e res id en ces in th eir
n eigh b ou rh ood s . Th e resu lts cou ld also b e
ou tp u t as a ta b le listing ea ch fire station and
th e a ver a g e va lu e o f th e res id en ces in each
n eigh b ou rh ood .
N eig h b ou rh ood fu nctions u sing th em a tic
data com m on ly u se th e follow in g op era tors :
th e m a jority (a lso term ed th e m od e), th e
maximu m, th e minimu m, an d d ivers ity m ea ­
su res (such as th e n u m b er o f d ifferen t
cla sses in th e n eigh b ou rh ood ).
In m ore s op h is tica ted im p lem en ta tion s o f
th e search fu nction, m ore flexib ility in th e
s p ecifica tion o f th e th ree b a sic con trol p a ra ­
m eters is p r ovid ed . In stea d o f u sing on ly
p r ed efin ed fu nctions, th e o p er a to r m a y b e
a b le to en ter an equ a tion . Th e s election o f
th e ta rg et p oin ts or ta rg et a rea s m igh t b e
d efin ed u sing a q u ery such as "s e le c t h os­
pitals that h a ve m ore than 500 b ed s and a re
Fi gu r e 7. 18 An O verla y O pe ra tio n Used to De fine a Region o f Inte rest. A land use re p o rt fo r County 25 is
genera ted b y o verla ying th e C o u n ty and L a n d Use data layers.
213 jihgfedcb
GIS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY
less than 5 yea rs o ld ” . This typ e o f q u ery
m igh t u se d a ta from b oth th e a ttrib u te and
spa tial d a ta b a s es to g en er a te a list o f loca ­
tion s that w ou ld then b e u sed b y th e search
rou tine.
In m an y applica tion s, it is u sefu l to s p ecify
a n eigh b ou rh ood a rea that m a y b e d ifferen t
for ea ch ta rg et an d m a y n ot b e a regu la r
sh a p e. Th e n eigh b ou rh ood m ight b e a p olit­
ical region like a cou n ty o r sta te. Th e n eigh ­
b ou rh ood m ight a lso b e g en era ted b y oth er
G IS fu nctions, such as an overla y op era tion .
Th e a p p lica tion o f a fu nction to a u ser-
d efin ed n eigh b ou rh ood is term ed regionof
interest p roces s in g, th e in tera ctive d efi­
nition o f a search a rea is often term ed
windowing, and th e search a rea its elf is
term ed a window.
C on s id er th e ex a m p le in Figu re 7.18 in
w hich th e b ou n d a ries from th e cou n ty d a ta
layer are u sed to d efin e a processing w in d ow
for a n a lyzin g land u ses in C ou nty 25. N o te
that th e land u se p olygon s and cou n ty p oly­
gon s d o n ot h a ve th e s a m e b ou n d a ries . In
effect, th e cou n ty p olyg on has b een u sed
like a "cook ie- cu tter” to extra ct th e co r r e­
s p on d in g p ortion s o f th e land u se p olygon s .
Th en th e a rea for ea ch typ e o f land u se in HGFEDC
21 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
4 GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

th e cou n ty has b een tota lled and rep or ted
in tab u lar form .
Th e p olyg on s u sed as w in d ow s can b e
qu ite com p lex. A n etw ork fu nction m ight b e
u sed to d efin e a rea s within a 20 m inu te
a m b u la n ce rid e from a hospital, as sh ow n
in Figu re 7.19. In this ca se, th e w in d ow
m ight b e qu ite irregu la r b eca u s e it w ou ld
d ep en d on th e tra ffic ca p a city and s p eed o f
tra vel a lon g th e su rrou n din g streets. O n ce
th e a rea has b een d efin ed , it cou ld b e u sed
to fu rth er a n a lyze that s ervice area , such as
to retr ieve in form a tion a b ou t th e res id en ts
o f th e a rea . In this exa m p le, a r ep or t is
show n o f th e popu lation a g e stru ctu re within
th e 20 minu te s ervice a rea .
In s om e cases, particu larly in a raster-
b a s ed G IS, search fu nctions a re a p p lied to
eve r y location (i.e. ever y cell is a ta rget). Th e
p roces s in g is then in effect like m ovin g a
w in d ow th e size o f th e n eigh b ou rh ood
th rou gh th e da ta la yer, cell- b y- cell. A t ea ch
s tep th e n eigh b ou rh ood fu nction is eva l­
u a ted an d th e resu lt a s s ign ed to th e co r r e­
s p on d in g p osition in th e ou tp u t d a ta la yer,
as illu strated in Figu re 7.20. H ere th e ob jec­
tive w a s to find all loca tion s s u rrou n d ed b y
at least a 3 km b y 3 km a rea o f fores ted land.
S in ce ea ch cell rep res en ts a 1 km b y 1 km
area, a 3 cell b y 3 cell w in d ow w as u sed. This
w in d ow w a s a p p lied at ea ch cell loca tion in
th e inpu t d a ta la yer. (N o va lu es a re calcu ­
la ted for th e cells at th e e d g e o f th e data
la yer b eca u s e s om e o f th e cells o f th e neigh­
b ou rh ood w ou ld b e o ff th e m ap.) Th e fu nc­
tion a p p lied to ea ch n eigh b ou rh ood is to
cou n t th e n u m b er o f n on - fores ted cells
(sh ow n h ere in b lack) and assign th a t va lu e
to th e cell in th e ou p u t d a ta la yer th a t has
th e s a m e pos ition as th e cen ter cell o f th e
w in d ow . FEDCBA

Aft INDICATES HOSPITAL Lin e - in - Po ly g o n a n d QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

w LOCATION
Po in t - m - Po ly g o n O p e r a t io n s
AGE DISTRIBUTION OF RESIDENTS
WITHIN 20 MINUTE SERVICE AREA In a vector- b a s ed G IS, th e id en tifica tion o f
p oin ts a nd lines con ta in ed within a p olyg on
YEARS POPULATION PERCENT
a rea is a s p ecia lized sea rch fu nction. In a
0-5 200 16 ra s ter- b a s ed GIS, it is es s en tia lly an overla y
6-10 100 8 op era tion , with th e p olyg on s in on e data
11-15 50 4
la yer and th e points and/or lines in a s econ d
16-20 25 2
data la yer (s ee the section on overla y op era ­
21r30 300 23
31-40 250 19 tions ea rlier in this chapter). Q u a d tree- b a s ed
41-50 100 8 s ys tem s a ls o d ea l w ith this typ e o f fu nction
51-60 175 13 in a s p ecia lized w a y. U sing a q u a d tree data
60+ 90 7 stru ctu re, this typ e o f sea rch op era tion can
TOTAL 1290 100 HGFEDCBAb e im p lem en ted very efficiently, usually with

p erform a n ce levels significantly h igh er than

Fi gur e 7. 19 T w enty M inute Am bulance Service Area. vector- or raster- b ased system s can p rovid e.
To define the areas th a t can be reached b y am bulance
w ithin tw e n ty m inutes, a n e tw o rk function is used to Figu re 7.21 is a m a p s h ow in g th e m a jor
evaluate tra ve l tim es along th e stre e t netw ork. highw ays (lines) crossing a m etrop olita n area
 2 15 jihgfedcb
C IS A n a ly sis F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

IN PU T
D ATA
LAYER

O U TPU T
D ATA
LAYER HGFEDCBA

Fi gu r e 7. 20 A N eig hbourhood Search Using a M oving W in dow . A 3-cell b y 3-cell neig h b ou rh o od is used as
a w in d o w th a t is, in effect, m oved through the in p u t data layer. A t each location, the num ber o f non-forested
(black) cells are counted and the value ente re d in the o u tp u t data la yer in the cell location co rre sp on d in g to
the center o f th e w in d ow . The w in d o w is then m oved one step, and the evaluation process is repeated.

and th e loca tion o f th ree rep a ir d ep ots
(p oin ts P I, P2, and P3). A sim ple point- in ­
p olygon op era tion might b e to find all repa ir
d ep ots in th e m etrop olita n a rea . This typ e
of search w ou ld requ ire that th e coord in ates
o f all rep a ir d ep ots b e eva lu a ted and th os e
that fall within th e p olygon rep res en tin g th e
city limit b e rep or ted .
A search for all highways that cross th e city
is an exa m p le of a line- in- polygon op era tion .
A t first gla n ce, it w ou ld a p p ea r tha t this
search cou ld b e d on e as a poin t- in - p olygon
op era tion b y sea rch in g for p oin ts tha t com ­
p ris e th e line and fall inside th e b ou n d a ry
o f th e p olygon . H ow ever, in a vector- b a s ed
G IS, lines or arcs a re s tored as a s eries of
points con n ected b y straight-line segm ents.
Th e lin e itself is on ly crea ted w h en n eed ed ,
such as w h en a m ap is prod u ced . If a straight
line cros s es a p olygon it m ay b e rep res en ted
b y a single line segm en t with b oth en dp oin ts
ou ts id e th e p olygon .
In Figu re 7.21, th e b la ck d ots in d ica te th e
p oin ts in th e line for w hich coord in a tes a re
actu ally record ed . N otice that H igh w a y 80
has n o coord in a te points within th e city limit,
w hich is th e search p olygon . To id en tify all
highw ays crossing th e city, a search for coor­
d in a tes tha t fall within th e p olyg on w ou ld
miss H igh w a y 80. For this reas on m ore
s op h is tica ted a lgorith m s a re u sed tha t can
p r op er ly ha n dle th es e cases.
A m ore ch a llen gin g exa m p le is th e m ap
en qu iry s ystem u sed b y th e U S G eologica l
216 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e
Figure 7.21 L in e -in -P o ly g o n a n d P o in t-in -P o ly g o n m od els and TIN s a re discu ssed in C h a p ter 6.
O p e ra tio n s . T he m a p sh o w s th e b o u n d a ry o f a
m e tro p o lita n are a a n d th e lo c a tio n o f th re e ve h ic le
re p a ir d e p o ts , la b e lle d P ,. P2, a n d P3. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
S u rvey. This s ys tem is u s ed to find th e m a p
tha t conta in s a n y s p ecified p oin t in th e
U n ited S tates. In effect, th e op era tion is to
find th e p olygon (the a rea cover ed b y a p a r­
ticu lar m a p) in which th e s p ecified point,
a n yw h ere in th e cou ntry, is loca ted . Thou gh
th ere a re thou sa n ds o f m a p a rea s, th e sys ­
tem res p on s e tim e is less than a minu te
u sing a q u a d tree data stru ctu re.
Th e d eta ils o f th e a lgorith m s u sed to op ti­
m ize p oin t- in - p olygon and lin e- in - p olygon
fu nctions a re b eyon d th e s cop e o f this dis­
cu ssion. S oftw a re p a cka ges va ry w id ely in
th e levels o f p erform a n ce th ey a ch ieve. If
th es e op era tion s a re frequ en tly u sed, th e
s p eed and flexib ility o f this fu nction shou ld
b e ca refu lly eva lu a ted . FEDCBA
T o p o g r a p h ic Fu n ct io n s
Top og r a p h y refers to th e su rface ch a ra c­
teristics, i.e. th e relief, o f an a rea . Th e
top og ra p h y o f a land a rea refers to th e hills,
va lleys , and plains o f w hich it is com p ris ed .
Th e top ogra p h y is thus d efin ed b y th e eleva ­
tion o f ea ch loca tion within th e a rea . Th e
top og r a p h y o f a land su rface can b e r e p r e­
s en ted in a G IS b y digital eleva tion data. This
d a ta s et consists o f th e eleva tion o f a la rge
nu mb er o f sample points distribu ted throu gh­
ou t th e a rea b ein g rep res en ted . Th es e
s a m p le p oin ts a re com m on ly orga n ized as
a grid o f points, es s en tia lly a ra s ter form o f
orga n iza tion .
An a ltern a tive form o f rep res en ta tion is
th e Tria n gu la ted Irregu lar N etw ork or TIN
u s ed in vector- b a s ed system s. In a TIN , a
n etw ork o f triangu lar facets is g en era ted b y
th e G IS from a set o f elevation sa m p le points
that can b e irregu la rly d is trib u ted . Th es e
fa cets can then b e m an ipu lated as p olygon s
a nd th e eleva tion , s lop e, a s p ect, and oth er
p a ra m eters can b e a ssigned to th e fa cets as
p olyg on attrib u tes. Raster an d vecto r data
Top og r a p h y can b e u sed to stu dy data
oth er than eleva tion . An y ch aracteristic that
has a contin u ou sly cha nging va lu e o ve r an
a rea can b e rep res en ted as a su rface. In
geology, a erom a gn etic data and geochem ical
data a re often rep res en ted as a su rface. Th e
n ois e levels in th e vicinity o f an a irp ort, th e
in com e levels o f n eigh b ou rh ood s in a city,
or th e levels o f pollu tion in a lake can also
b e rep res en ted in this w a y.
Top ogra p h ic functions a re u sed to calculate
valu es that d es crib e the top ogra p h y at a s p e­
cific g eog ra p h ic loca tion (e.g. th e eleva tion
a t th e loca tion ) or in th e vicin ity o f th e loca ­
tion (e.g. th e s lop e o f the a rea im m ed ia tely
su rrou nding th e location). M os t top ogra p h ic
fu nctions u se a n eigh b ou rh ood to ch a ra c­
terize th e loca l terrain. Th e tw o m os t com ­
m only u sed terrain pa ra m eters a re th e s lop e
an d a s p ect, w hich a re ca lcu la ted u sing th e
eleva tion d a ta o f th e n eigh b ou rin g points.
S lo p e is d efin ed as th e ra te o f ch a n ge o f
eleva tion . A s p e c t is th e d irection that a sur­
fa ce fa ces . C on ceptu a lly, th e calcu lation o f
th e s lop e and a s p ect at a p oin t can b e
th ou gh t o f as fitting a p la n e to th e eleva tion
va lu es o f th e neigh b ou rin g points. Th e s lop e
o f this p la n e a nd th e d irection it fa ces a re
th e s lop e and a s p ect of th e point. A s show n
in Figu re 7.22, th e s lop e m a y b e ca lcu la ted
in th e X- d irection , th e Y- d irection , or in th e
d irection o f maximu m s lop e. Th e maximu m
s lop e is term ed th e g r a d ien t.
 217
GIS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

Figure 7.22 M e a s u re m e n t o f S lo p e . T he s lo p e a t a p o in t is th e an g le m e a s u re d fro m th e h o riz o n ta l to a p la n e

ta n g e n t to th e su rfa ce a t th a t p o in t. The v a lu e o f th e s lo p e w ill d e p e n d on th e d ire c tio n in w h ic h it is m e a su re d .
S lo p e is c o m m o n ly m e a s u re d in th e d ire c tio n o f th e c o o rd in a te axes e.g. in th e X -d ire c tio n a n d Y -d ire c tio n s .
T he s lo p e m e a s u re d in th e d ire c tio n a t w h ic h it is a m a x im u m is te rm e d th e gradient.jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPO

S lop e is u su ally m ea s u red in d eg r ee s o f a rea s m ight rep res en t zon es o f p oten tia l
a rc or as a p er cen ta g e (th e ch a n ge in eleva ­ social conflict, or th ey m ight a ls o in d ica te
tion d ivid ed b y th e corres p on d in g h orizon ­ a rea s w ith g o o d in ves tm en t p oten tia l.
tal dis ta n ce). A s p ect is d efin ed b y th e h ori­
zon ta l an d vertica l a n gles th a t th e su rface
fa ces . Th e h orizon ta l a n gle is usually m ea ­
su red in d eg r ee s o f azimu th, th e a n gle
form ed b y m ovin g clockw is e from north, as
s h ow n in Figu re 7.23. Th e vertica l a n gle or
a n gle of eleva tion , th e p os itive a n gle
m ea s u red from th e h orizon ta l to a line
d ra w n p erp en d icu la r to th e su rface, is
s om etim es u sed as w ell. This a n gle is equ a l
to 9 0 ° minu s th e gra d ien t.
Althou gh com m on ly u sed in th e analysis o f
eleva tion data, s lop e and a s p ect can b e u se­
fully a p p lied to oth er data sets as well. S lop e
measu rements are commonly used in the anal­
Figure 7.23 M e a s u re m e n t o f A s p e c t. T h e re a re
ysis of gravity and a erom a gnetic data in geol­
tw o c o m p o n e n ts in th e m e a s u re m e n t o f a spect. T he
ogy. In an u rb an setting, s lop e va lu es cou ld h o riz o n ta l a n g le o r a z im u th is th e a s p e c t d ire c tio n . It
b e ca lcu la ted for la nd costs. High va lu es o f is th e an g le fo rm e d b y m o v in g c lo c k w is e fro m n o rth
to th e d ire c tio n o f m a x im u m slo p e . T he v e rtic a l a n g le
s lop e w ou ld then in dica te a rea s w h ere land o r e le v a tio n a n g le is m e a s u re d fro m th e h o riz o n ta l to
costs ch a n ge a b ru p tly w ith dis ta n ce. Such a lin e d ra w n p e rp e n d ic u la r to th e surfa ce.
2 18 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

O th e r im p o r ta n t fu n ction s u s ed in d ep en d en t on th e loca tion o f th e ob s erva ­

to p o g r a p h ic a n a lys es a re illu m in ation, tion poin ts . This can p rod u ce p olyg on s with
view s h ed m od ellin g, and p ers p ective view s h a p es th a t a re qu ite u n rela ted to th e p h e­
gen era tion . Th es e a re dis cu s sed in su b ­ n om en on b ein g m a p p ed . Th e pos ition of
s equ en t sections. FEDCBA rain ga u ges m ay p rod u ce lon g thin polygons ,
a pattern in which rainfall wou ld not normally
occu r. Th e va lu e a ss igned to ea ch p olygon
T h ie sse n Po ly g o n s
is es tim a ted from a s a m p le o f on e, th e
Th ies s en or voron oi p olygon s d efin e indi­ ob s erva tion point. E stimates of error cannot
vidu al a rea s o f influ en ce a rou nd ea ch o f a b e ca lcu la ted from a sin gle s a m p le. Finally,
s et o f points. D ata from rain gau ges a re com ­ Th ies s en p olyg on s do n ot as su m e that
m on ly an a lyzed in this w a y. It is an a pproach p oin ts clos e tog eth er a re m ore similar than
to extending point information which assumes p oin ts fa r apa rt, an as su m ption that is
that th e "b e s t" information for locations with usually a p p r op r ia te in geog ra p h ic a na lyses
no ob s erva tions is the valu e at th e closest (B u rrou gh 1986).
p oin t with a know n valu e. Thiessen p olygon s
a re com m on ly u sed in the analysis of climatic
I n t e r p o la t io n
data, such as rain ga u ge data. In the ab s en ce
o f a local ob s erva tion , th e da ta from th e In terp ola tion is th e p roced u re o f p red ictin g
n ea res t w ea th er station a re u sed. u nknow n va lu es u sing th e know n va lu es at
Thiessen p olygon s a re constru cted arou nd n eigh b ou rin g loca tion s. Th e n eigh b ou rin g
a set o f points in such a w a y that th e p olygon p oin ts m ay be regu la rly or irregu la rly
b ou n d a ries a re equ id is ta n t from th e n eigh ­ s p a ced . Figu re 7.25 is a sim p le exa m p le of
b ou rin g points. In oth er w ord s , ea ch loca ­ this fu nction, in this ca se p res en ted using
tion within a p olyg on is clos er to its con ­ ra ster da ta layers. (The fu nction can also b e
ta in ed p oin t than to any oth er point. im p lem en ted u sing TIN s in a vector- b a s ed
Figu re 7.24 illu strates th e u se o f Th ies sen s ys tem .) Th e s tip p led cells conta in th e
p olyg on s to a n a lyze rain ga u ge data. Th e kn ow n valu es. A sim p le linear fu nction,
rain ga u ge loca tion s a re rep res en ted in th e d er ived b y an a lyzin g th e know n points, has
G IS as points. Th iess en p olygon s a re then b een u s ed to g en er a te th e missing valu es.
gen era ted arou nd each poin t and the rainfall In terp ola tion p rogra m s em p loy a ra n ge of
valu e for th e rain ga u ge is assigned to its sur­ m eth od s to p red ict u nknown valu es, includ­
rou nding p olygon . Th e rainfall at all locations ing p olyn om ia l regres s ion , fou rier series,
within ea ch Th ies sen p olygon is con s id ered splines, m ovin g a vera ges , and kriging.
to b e that of the contained rain gau ge station. Th e qu a lity o f th e in terp ola tion resu lts
Th e am ou n t o f rain falling on ea ch p olyg on d ep en d s on th e accu racy, nu m b er, and
can th en be calcu la ted as th e am ou n t distrib u tion of th e kn ow n p oin ts u sed in th e
record ed b y th e rain ga u ge mu ltiplied b y th e calcu lation and on h ow w ell th e m a th e­
a rea o f th e p olygon . For th e en tire stu dy matical fu nction correctly m od els th e p h e­
a rea th e total rainfall w ou ld b e es tim a ted b y n om en on . In terp ola tion assu m es tha t th e
tota llin g th e rainfall calcu la ted for ea ch p h en om en on b ein g p red icted (e.g. terra in
Th iess en p olygon . eleva tion ) is clos ely a p p roxim a ted b y th e
Th iess en p olygon s , in effect, a re u s ed to m a th em a tica l fu nction u sed. Th e u nknown
p red ict th e va lu es at su rrou n din g poin ts va lu es a re then ca lcu la ted a ccord in g to this
from a single poin t ob serva tion . Th e m eth od fu nction. Th e ch oice o f an a p p rop ria te
has a n u m b er o f limitations. Th e divis ion o f m od el is th er efor e ess ential in o r d er to
a region into Thiessen p olygon s is com p letely ob tain rea s on a b le resu lts.
 GIS A n a lys is F u n c tio n s 19 GFEDCB
2 mlkjihgfedcb

P O IN T D A T A T H IE S S E N P O L Y G O N S

P O IN T A T T R IB U T E S QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA P O L Y G O N A T T R IB U T E S

P O IN T R A IN FA L L PO LYG O N A R EA

A 2 A 1500

B 2 .5 B 1700

C 3 C 1660

D 4 D 1200

F ig u r e 7 .2 4 Thiesse n P o lyg o n s Used to A n a ly z e Rain G auge D ata. A T hiessen p o ly g o n is c o n s tru c te d a ro u n d

each ra in gau ge lo c a tio n . The ra in fa ll valu e fo r e v e ry lo c a tio n w ith in th e p o ly g o n is c o n s id e re d to be th a t o f
th e c o n ta in e d ra in ga uge s ta tio n .

1 3 4 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

2 1 2 3 4 5 6

2 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 3 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

4 1 2 3 4 5 6

KN O W N V A L U ES KN O W N A N D P R ED I C T ED
V A L U ES A F T ER IN T ER P O LA T IO N

F ig u r e 7 .2 5 In te rp o la tio n . In te rp o la tio n is th e p ro c e d u re o f p re d ic tin g u n k n o w n values using th e k n o w n value s

a t n e ig h b o u rin g lo c a tio n s , u sually b y m e a n s o f a m a th e m a tic a l fu n c tio n .
220 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e b es t resu lts a re ob ta in ed w h en th e
m athem a tical fu nction b eh a ves in a m a n ner
similar to th e ph en om en on . For exa m p le, air
tem p era tu res o ve r a u niform la n d s ca p e
w ou ld b e ex p ected to h a ve gradu al changes.
An a lgorith m tha t in terp ola tes tem p era tu re
va lu es b y a vera g in g th e ch a n ges s m ooth ly
o ve r d is ta n ce m ight b e a p p rop ria te. H ow ­
ever, for elevation data in rou gh terrain, such
an a lgorith m w ou ld ten d to s m ooth a b ru p t
eleva tion ch a n ges , such as s teep cliffs and
rid ges , fea tu res that shou ld b e reta in ed .
A ltern a tive fu nctions tha t p r es er ve a b ru p t
changes can b e used to overcom e these types
o f p rob lem s . O f cou rse, m ore com p lex a lgo­
rithms ten d to exa ct higher p rocess in g costs.
M a n y d ifferen t m a th em a tica l m od els a re
u sed for in terp ola tion . S om e o f th e m ore
com m on on es u sed for eleva tion da ta a re
th e a ver a g e o f th e n eigh b ou rin g va lu es or
a w eig h ted a ver a g e w h ere th e w eigh ts a re
in vers ely p rop ortion a l to th e distance. M ore
com p lex op era tion s , such as k r ig in g , ta ke
into a ccou n t th e tren d o f th e kn ow n va lu es
in th e vicinity o f each p oin t to b e p red icted .
A d eta iled discu ssion o f in terp ola tion is
b eyon d th e s cop e o f this w ork. It is im p or­
tant to rea lize tha t in calcu lating missing
va lu es from n eigh b ou rin g points, th e da ta
a re assu med to b eh a ve in a spatially p red ict­
a b le m a n n er o ve r th e m a p a rea . As th e
assu mptions o f th e m od el a re m ore s everely
viola ted , th e in terp ola tion resu lts w ill
b ec o m e less a ccu ra te. For this rea s on , th e
qu ality o f th e in terp ola tion resu lt shou ld b e
r ep or ted as w ell as th e resu lts. FEDCBA
C o n t o u r G e n e r a t io n
C on tou r lines a re u sed to p ortra y su rface
relief as a s et o f lines th a t con n ect p oin ts o f
th e s a m e valu e. In a top og ra p h ic m ap, p er ­
haps th e m os t fam iliar a p p lica tion , con tou r
lines con n ect points with th e sam e eleva tion
value. C ontou rs a re rou tinely u sed to portra y
a w id e ra n ge o f spatial data sets that can b e
rep res en ted as a surface: crime rates, housing
va lu es, geoch em is try, w ild life p op u la tion
counts, and climatic data a re a few examples.
Althou gh con tou r gen era tion is u sed to p r o­
d u ce ou tpu t p rod u cts, it has b een in clu d ed
h ere b eca u s e o f th e im p orta n ce o f in terpola ­
tion in its im p lem en ta tion .
Th e p roces s o f gen era tin g con tou rs is a
m ore in volved p roced u re than con n ectin g
d a ta p oin ts w ith th e s a m e valu e. It also
requ ires that predictions b e m a d e for missing
va lu es. C on tou rin g fu nctions m a ke u se o f
in terp ola tion rou tines to g en er a te th os e
m issing d a ta points . Figu re 7.26 s h ow s h ow
a s in gle s et o f d a ta p oin ts can p rod u ce tw o
d ifferen t pa ttern s o f contou r lines. Althou gh
b oth resu lts a re rea s on a b le, th ey d iffer in
the w a y th e elevation valu es h ave b een inter­
p ola ted at key locations to gen era te th e con­
tou rs. Th e top og ra p h y th a t can b e in ferred
from th e 30 m d a ta p oin ts is am b igu ou s. As
a resu lt, th ere is m ore than on e rea s on a b le
solu tion. In Result A, no additional 30 m data
p oin ts w er e p rod u ced . A s sh ow n in th e p er­
s p ective view , th e con tou rs p ortra y a sur­
fa ce w ith a north-sou th rid ge. In Resu lt B,
a d d ition a l 30 m p oin ts w er e gen era ted , and
th e res u lting con tou rs p ortra y an a rea with
tw o hills s ep a ra ted b y an ea s t- w es t gap.
S oftw a re p a cka ges will d iffer in th e w a y
th ey h a n d le a m b igu ou s con d ition s such as
this. O ften th e resu lts a re ju d ged b y com ­
pa ris on with th e w a y a ca rtogra p h er w ou ld
h a ve d ra w n th e contou rs , w ith th e on e that
m ore closely matches the hand drawn version
b ein g d e e m e d th e "b e tte r ” solu tion. Th e
eva lu a tion o f con tou rin g s oftw a re must,
th erefore, ta ke in to accou nt th e ex p ecta ­
tion s o f th e u sers. U sers tha t h a ve b ec om e
a ccu s tom ed to a particu lar s tyle o f con tou r­
ing m a y ju d ge a d ifferen t, th ou gh equ a lly
corr ect style, to b e u n a ccep ta b le.
C O N N E C T IV IT Y F U N C T IO N S
Th e distingu ishing fea tu re o f con n ectivity
op era tion s is th a t th ey u se fu nctions that
a ccu m u la te va lu es over th e a rea b ein g
tra vers ed . Th a t is, th ey requ ire th a t on e or
m ore a ttrib u tes b e eva lu a ted and a ru nning
 221 GFEDCBA
GIS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY

C O M P A R IS O N O F IN T E R P O L A T IO N R E S U L T S QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

60
50 # • #50

# 40
30# #30

30#
40# • 30

40« •
50
I N T ER P O L A T I O N I N T ER P O L A T I O N

R ESU L T A R ESU L T B

CO N TO U R
M AP
O U TPU T

Figure 7.26 D iffe re n t In te rp o la tio n Results P ro d u c e d F ro m th e Sam e S et o f D ata P oin ts . T h e re can b e m o re

th a n o n e s o lu tio n to th e in te rp o la tio n o f a s e t o f values. T h e fig u re illu s tra te s tw o d iffe re n t re s u lts th a t c o u ld
reasonab ly be o b ta in e d fro m th e sam e set o f da ta po ints. Each result is sho w n as a c o n to u r m ap and in pe rsp e ctive
v ie w . T h o u g h b o th s o lu tio n s a re te c h n ic a lly c o rre c t, o n ly o n e s o lu tio n c o rre c tly d e p ic ts th e a c tu a l la n d sca p e
w h ic h th e s e d a ta d e s c rib e .
222 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
tota l o f th e resu lts b e reta in ed in a s tep - b y-
s tep fashion. Each s tep rep res en ts a m o ve­
m ent in s p a ce, such as a 100 m s egm en t
a lon g a s treet. Th e ru nning total m a y b e
qu an titative, such as th e accu m u la ted dis­
ta n ce tra velled or th e accu m u la ted tra vel
tim e. Th e ru nning tota l can a ls o b e qu alita ­
tive, such as w h eth er a p oin t is or is n ot still
vis ib le. E very con n ectivity fu nction mu st
inclu de th e follow in g:
1. a s p ecifica tion o f th e w a y spatial e le ­
ments (such as roads) are interconnected;
2. a s et o f ru les that s p ecify th e a llow ed
m ovem en t along these interconnections:
3. a unit o f m ea s u rem en t.
C onsider, for exa m p le, a conn ectivity func­
tion for tra vellin g a lon g city streets. A s treet
m a p cou ld b e u s ed to d efin e th e w a y th e
elem en ts (the s treets ) a re in tercon n ected .
Th e ru les for m ovem en t m ight inclu de
ob s ervin g on e- w a y s treets and s p eed limits.
Th e m ea s u rem en t unit m ight b e dis ta nce,
e.g. find th e tra vel d is ta n ce b etw een tw o
p oin ts a lon g th e s treet n etw ork. To find th e
dista n ce a lon g th e s treet n etw ork, th e rou te
mu st first b e d efin ed and then th e m ea s u re­
m ent o f each s egm en t p rogress ively totalled.
This is a con s id era b ly m ore com p lex p r ob ­
lem than calcu lating th e straight-line distance
b etw een tw o points , w hich can b e d on e as
a sin gle ca lcu lation u sing th e coord in a tes o f
th e start and d es tin a tion points.
Connectivity functions p rovid e considerab le
flexib ility in d efin in g units o f m easu re. O ften
th e unit o f m ea s u rem en t is n ot dista nce. In
th e tra vel exa m p le, th e tra vel tim e m ight b e
of g r ea ter in terest. D ep en d in g on th e
sophistication o f th e s oftw a re pa cka ge, such
fa ctors as th e tra ffic flow a t d ifferen t tim es
o f d a y an d a u tom a ted rou te- fin din g m ight
also b e p rovid ed . Then an a u tom a ted rou te
s election p roced u re cou ld m a p ou t th e op ti­
mum rou te (i.e. th e rou te with th e lea st
tra vel tim e) to g o from a given sta rting loca ­
tion to a n y s p ecified des tin a tion .
S oftw a re p a cka ges va ry con s id era b ly in
th e con n ectivity fu nctions th ey p r ovid e and
th e a lgorith m s u s ed to im p lem en t th em .
B oth vector- and ra s ter- b a s ed m eth od s a re
u sed. Th e a p p roa ch u sed in a s p ecific s oft­
w a re p a ck a ge d ep en d s on th e d a ta m od el
b es t su ited to th e p rob lem and th e form a t
in w hich th e da ta a re s tored in th e G IS.
C onvers ion s b etw een raster and vector data
stru ctu res a re s om etim es u sed w h en a fu nc­
tion is m ore ea sily im p lem en ted in a data
stru ctu re oth er than th e on e u sed for s tor­
a ge. In th e follow in g discu ssion, con n ectivity
fu nctions h a ve b een grou p ed into th e follow ­
ing ca tegories : contigu ity, p roxim ity, n et­
w ork, s p rea d , stream , a nd in tervis ib ility. FEDCBA
Co n t ig u it y M e a su r e s
C ontigu ity m easu res eva lu a te characteristics
o f spatial units that a re con n ected . A con ­
tigu ou s a rea consists o f a grou p o f spatial
units th a t s h are on e or m ore s p ecified char­
a cteris tics a nd form a unit, as illu s tra ted in
Figu re 7.27. Th e con tigu ou s a rea s m a y b e
s p ecified to h ave u n b roken a d ja cen cy,
i.e. no ga p s a re p erm itted . In oth er cases,
ga p s m a y b e a llow ed , e.g. w h en a green -
s p a ce is con s id ered to b e con tigu ou s even
thou gh it is cros s ed b y a roa d .
Th e d efin ition o f u n b r o k e n m a y ch a n ge
with th e a p p lica tion . A corn field conta in in g
an u n p la n ted a rea m a y still b e con s id ered
on e con tigu ou s unit even thou gh th e field
a rea w ou ld inclu de b oth th e p la n ted and
u n p lan ted portions . In oth er cases, on ly th e
p la n ted p a rt m ight b e con s id ered th e con ­
tigu ou s a rea .
C om m on ly u sed m ea s u res o f contigu ity
a re th e size o f th e con tigu ou s a rea and th e
s h ortes t an d lon ges t straight- line dista n ces
a cros s th e area. A com m on a p p lica tion o f
th es e m eas u res is to iden tify a rea s o f terrain
with s p ecified size and sh a pe characteristics.
F or exa m p le, a s ea rch for a land unit to b e
u sed as a pa rk m ight b e s p ecified as a con ­
tigu ou s land unit o f fores t having a minimu m
 223 jihgfedcba
GIS A n a ly sis F u n ctio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

a rea o f 1000 s qu a re km with no s ection s p ecified to m ea s u re p roxim ity: th e ta rget

n a rrow er than 20 km. FEDCBA loca tion s (e.g. a roa d , a hospital, a park), a
unit o f m ea s u re (e.g. dis ta n ce in m etres ,
P r o x im it y tra vel tim e in minu tes), a fu nction to calcu ­
la te p roxim ity (e.g. straight- line dis ta n ce,
Proxim ity is a m ea s u re o f th e dista n ce
tra vel tim e), and th e a rea to b e a n a lyzed .
b etw een fea tu res . It is m os t com m on ly
Figu re 7.28 illu strates on e a p p lica tion o f
m ea s u red in units of len gth b u t can b e
a p roxim ity fu nction. In this exa m p le, th e
m ea s u red in oth er units, such as tra vel tim e
300 ft b u ffer zon e draw n a rou nd th e dirt
or n ois e levels . Fou r p a ra m eters mu st b eQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
roa d s d efin es th e fores t a rea w h ere loggin g
is n ot p erm itted . This typ e o f p roxim ity
analysis is often ca lled b u f f e r z o n e g e n e r a ­
t io n . A b u ffe r zo n e is an a rea o f a s p ecified
w idth d ra w n a rou nd on e or m ore m a p ele­
2 1
ments. A rep or t can b e g en er a ted o f th e
4 1 1 fores t sta nd s within th e b u ffer zon e and th e
a rea u n a va ila b le for h a rves t b y overla yin g
6 3 2 1
th e b u ffer zon es on a fores t cover m ap, as
8 5 2 1 1 1 illu s tra ted in Figu re 7.29. Th e resu lts o f this
analysis can b e rep or ted in tab u lar form as
2 4 3 1 1 1
sh ow n in Ta b le 7.2.
1 6 8 4 8 7 M or e com p lex p roxim ity a na lyses m ay

3 1 7 2
8
Figure 7.27 C o n tig u o u s Area s. The area o f Is w o u ld
b e a single co ntiguo us area if c o rn e r-to -c o rn e r a dja cen­
cies a re c o n s id e re d c o n tig u o u s. If c o n tig u ity w e re
lim ite d to e d g e -to -e d g e co n n e c tio n s , th e re w o u ld b e
tw o c o n tig u o u s areas o f Is. The p a rk , fie ld , a n d b ird
s a n c tu a ry a re g ro u p e d as a single c o n tig u o u s gre e n -
space area . In th is case, th e ro a d cro ssin g th e area is
tre a te d as an a llo w a b le gap.
requ ire va lu es to b e ca lcu la ted for a la rge
n u m b er of p oin t loca tion s and m ay also
in volve overla y op era tion s with m u ltiple
data la yers . For exa m p le, th e n ois e level
from an a irp ort w ou ld be ex p ected to
d ecrea s e w ith dista nce. This cou ld b e ana­
lyzed u sing a p roxim ity fu nction to calcu late
th e distan ce of each location from th e sou nd
sou rce. A m athem a tica l m od el o f sou nd
p rop og a tion w ou ld b e u sed to ca lcu la te the
red u ction in sou nd level fo r ea ch in crem en t
o f d is ta n ce. Then, u sing th e m athem a tica l
m od el tog eth er with th e p roxim ity data, a
s ep a ra te data la yer cou ld b e g en era ted
s h ow in g th e ex p ected sou nd levels at each
g eog ra p h ic loca tion .
Figu re 7.30 illu strates th e resu lts o f this
typ e o f G IS analysis for n oise levels . Th e
m ap sh ow s th e ex p ected n oise levels for the
a rea su rrou n din g a p r op o s ed a irp ort. Th e
ou term os t con tou r rep res en ts th e 65 LD N
n oise level. Th e inner con tou rs rep res en t
h igh er n ois e levels . This m a p w as p rod u ced
b y com p u tin g th e n ois e levels ex p ected
w h en ea ch typ e o f a ircra ft la n d ed . Th e
224 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

Figure 7.28 Buffer Zone G eneration. A 300 ft b u ffe r zone a ro un d the d irt roads defines the fo re st areas wh ere
lo gging is n o t p e rm itte d . (Courtesy o f ESRI. Redlands, California.)
 225 jihgfedcba
GIS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

resu lts o f this analysis w er e over la yed with
th e land u se da ta la yer to assess th e a rea
o f res id en tia l land tha t w ou ld b e a ffected .
B y eva lu a tin g d ifferen t landing pa ttern s and
a ircra ft typ es , an a ircra ft tra ffic sch ed u le
cou ld b e d evelop ed that w ou ld minimize the
a m ou n t o f res id en tia l land ex p os ed to high
n ois e levels .
M os t G IS p a cka ges inclu de s om e form o f
p roxim ity fu nction. Th ey d iffer w id ely in th e
s op h is tica tion o f th e a n a lyses th a t can b e
p er form ed . O ne fu n da m en ta l distinction
a m on g p roxim ity fu nctions is w h eth er th ey
can g en er a te an a c c u m u la t io n s u r f a c e (s ee
discu ssion o f s p rea d fu nctions). An accu mu ­
lation s u rfa ce is g en er a ted b y m ovin g ou t­
w a rd in crem en ta lly from a ta rget. A t each
s tep, a fu nction (such as a tra vel tim e calcu ­
lation) is a n a lyzed for tha t geog ra p h ic loca ­
tion a n d a d d ed to a ru nning total. Th e valu e
in th e ou tp u t da ta la yer for that geog ra p h ic
loca tion is s et to th e cu rren t total. Then p r o­
ces sing m oves to th e n ext in crem en t w h ere
th e p roces s is r ep ea ted . Th e va lu es in th e
ou tp u t da ta la yer a re thu s tota ls, ea ch of
which h a ve b een accu m u la ted over th e p r e­
viou s in crem en ta l step s . This typ e o f p rox ­
imity fu n ction is su fficiently d ifferen t tha t it
is discu s sed la ter as th e S p r e a d fu nction. FEDCBA

Figure 7.29 R eportin g Forest Cover Area W ithin A

Buffer Zone. A previously generated buffer zone is used N e t w o r k Fu n ct io n s
as a search w in d o w to evaluate the area and types o f
forest that fall w ith in the buffer zone. (Courtesy of ESRI. A n etw ork is a s et o f in tercon n ected linear
Redlands, California.) fea tu res that form a p a ttern or fra m ew ork.

Tab le 7.2 R e po rt o f F o re s t A rea s in Road B u ffe rs . (A d a p te d fro m ESR11984). GFEDCBA

MANAGEMENT STAND STAND AREA BUFFER AREA

U N IT NUMBER (a c r e s ) (a c r e s ) QPONMLKJIHGFE

1 1 3 2 7 .7 8 4 .8
1 2 9 2 .1 1 8 .9
1 3 4 2 .9 2 .8
TO TA L 4 6 2 .7 1 0 6 .5

2 3 1 9 .7 0.0
2 7 9 7 .1 4 3 .4
2 12 8 7 .1 2 4 .7
2 23 6 9 .5 0 .9
2 24 5 7 .0 2 1 .4

TO TA L 3 3 0 .4 9 0 .4
226 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

Figure 7.30 P re diction o f A irp o rt Noise Levels. A GIS was used to p re d ic t exp ected noise levels fo r th e area
surro undin g a proposed a irp o rt. The o ute rm o st co nto ur line represents th e 65 LDN noise level, the inner contours
re p re se n t pro gressiv e ly hig he r noise levels. (Courtesy o f ESR1. Redlands, California.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPON

N etw ork s a re com m on ly u sed for m ovin g A G IS is u sed to p er for m th r ee prin cip al
res ou rces from on e loca tion to a n oth er. typ es o f n etw ork a n a lys es : p red iction o f
A city’s s treets, a grid o f p o w er transmission n etw ork loa d in g, rou te op tim iza tion , and
lines, an a irlin e's s ervice rou tes , or th e res ou rce a lloca tion . Th e tra n s p ort o f w a ter
s trea m s o f a d ra in a ge b asin a re fa m iliar a n d s ed im en t in a river s ys tem can b e
ex a m p les o f n etw orks . p r ed icted u sing a n etw ork m od el. W h en
 227 jihgfedcb
GIS A n a ly sis F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

s evera l storm s occu r in a region th e effects 3. an ob jective, to d eliver th e res ou rces

of the increased stream flow can b e complex. to a s et o f d es tin a tion s (such as th e
B y correctly p red ictin g th e flow s o f w a ter loca tion o f th e cu s tom ers w h o will
throu gh th e strea m n etw ork, th e m agnitu de receive th e good s ) or to p rovid e a mini­
a nd loca tion o f a flood can b e p red icted in mu m level o f s ervice to an a rea (such
a d va n ce s o th a t em erg en cy s ervices can b e as a p olice p a trol zon e);
p rep a red . Rou te op tim iza tion a p p lica tion s
4. a set o f constraints that p la ces limits on
ra n ge from em erg en cy rou ting o f a m b u ­
h ow th e ob jective can b e m et (such as
lances, fire, and p olice veh icles to airline
th e maximu m s p eed that veh icles can
sch ed u lin g and th e rou ting o f b u s s ervices ,
tra vel). GFEDCBA
mail d elivery, and mu nicipal g a rb a ge collec­
tion. A com m on resou rce allocation a pp lica ­
tion is th e divis ion o f a m etrop olita n a rea
into zon es that can b e efficiently s erviced b y R O U T IN G
individu al p olice and fire stations. For exa m ­
ple, an a rea to b e p oliced m ight b e d ivid ed
into zon es th at can b e p a trolled in equ a l
am ou nts o f tim e. In th e u p p er d ia gra m of
Figu re 7.31 th e solid line d efin es an op ti­
mum rou te throu gh a n etw ork o f s treets. In
th e low er d ia gra m th e s treet n etw ork has
b een d ivid ed into tw o zon es ea ch o f which
can b e p a trolled in the sam e am ou nt of time.
N etw ork s h a ve u niqu e p rop erties tha t
requ ire s p ecia l analysis fu nctions. Th e
res ou rces to b e tra n s p orted a re usually
d is p ers ed th rou gh ou t th e n etw ork. For
exa m p le, traffic is d is p ers ed throu ghou t city
s treets, p o w e r is d is p ers ed th rou gh ou t th e
A L L O C A T IO N
p o w e r grid, w a ter and s ed im en t a re dis­
p ers ed throu ghou t th e stream netw ork. Th e
links within a n etw ork h a ve ch ara cteristics
that d eterm in e th e typ e o f resou rces and th e
con d ition s u nd er w hich th ey can b e trans­
p orted . For exa m p le, s om e city s treets a re
on e w a y, s om e a re clos ed to trucks, and
s treets h a ve d ifferen t s p eed limits and
ca p a cities — as w e a re rem in d ed w h en
cau ght in ru sh-hou r traffic.
N etw ork a n a lyses usually in volve fou r
com p on en ts :

1. a s et o f res ou rces (such as g ood s to b e

d elivered );

2. on e or m ore loca tion s w h ere th e Figure 7.31 N e tw o rk Functions fo r Routing and

Resource Allocation. N etw ork functions can be used to
resou rces a re loca ted (such as the w a re­ o ptim iz e vehicle ro u ting and to d iv id e an area in to
h ou s e w h ere th e g ood s a re s tored ); service districts to optim ize the allo cation o f resources.
228 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

Th e n etw ork fu nctions o f a G IS a re u sed to

simulate th e b eh a vior o f netw orks that w ou ld —
©
b e to o difficu lt, ex p en s ive, or im p os s ib le to

c\i
00
2 .4 2 2 .4 2 .8
m ea s u re. In a n etw ork m od el, th e elem en ts
o f th e actu al n etw ork a re r ep r es en ted b y a
s et o f ru les (such as th e p erm itted d irection 2 .4 1 .4 1 1 .4 2 .4

o f tra vel a lon g a s treet) and m a th em a tica l

TARGET
rela tion s h ip s (such as th e p o w e r los s a lon g CELL ®
2 1 ------ » 1 2
a transmission line as a fu nction o f distance).
1 UNIT
Th e m ore s op h is tica ted th e n etw ork fu nc­ 1_4 X
tions and th e rep res en ta tion o f th e n etw ork, 2 .4 1 .4 2 .4
th e m ore clos ely th e b eh a viou r o f th e m od el ®r*
can b e m a d e to mim ic reality.
Th ere is con s id era b le variab ility in th e net­ 2 .8 2 .4 2 2 .4 2 .8

w ork ca p a b ilities o f com m ercia lly a va ila b le

G IS s oftw a re. Th ey d iffer in th e size and
com p lexity o f n etw ork m od el th a t can b e Figure 7.32 The Calculation o f Distance Using a
d efin ed , th e level o f p erform a n ce, a n d th e Spread Function.

d e g r e e o f in tera ctive con trol. FEDCBA th e starting poin t. (This is th e ca s e in a p rox ­

Sp r e a d Fu n ct io n s
Th e s p rea d fu nction is a ver y gen era l yet
p ow erfu l op era tion th at can b e u sed to
a n a lyze a w id e ra n ge o f p h en om en a . It can
b e u sed to eva lu a te tra n s p orta tion tim e or
cos t o ve r a com p lex su rface. It can a ls o b e
u sed to d efin e d ra in a ge b asin s (e.g. b y
s p rea d in g ou t from a p oin t and a llow in g
m ovem en t on ly to a d ja cen t cells w ith th e
s a m e or h igh er eleva tion ).
Th e s p rea d fu nction has ch a ra cteris tics o f
b oth n etw ork a nd p roxim ity fu nctions. A
s p rea d fu n ction eva lu a tes p h en om en a that
a ccu m u la te w ith dista n ce. Its op era tion can
b e th ou gh t o f as m ovin g s tep - b y- s tep ou t­
w a rd in all d irection s from on e or m ore
sta rtin g p oin ts a nd calcu la ting a va ria b le,
such as tra vel tim e, a t each s u cces s ive step .
Th e distingu ishing fea tu re o f a s p rea d func­
tion is that a ru nning tota l is k ep t o f th e fu nc­
tion b ein g eva lu a ted . It is th e va lu e o f th e
ru nning tota l a t ea ch loca tion th a t is w ritten
to th e ou tp u t file. (Th e ou tpu t is s om etim es
term ed an accumulationsurface or friction
surface.) In a s im p le ca se, th e a ccu m u la ted
va lu e m a y b e th e straight- line dis ta n ce from
im ity analysis, w hich is, in effect, a s p ecia l
ca s e of th e m ore gen era l s p rea d fu nction.)
In m ore com p lex a p p lica tion s , th e accu m u ­
la ted va lu e m a y rep res en t tra vel tim e and
take into accou nt mu ltiple constraint factors.
B ecau s e va lu es a re a ccu m u la ted in crem en ­
ta lly over rela tively small spatial units, con ­
straint fa ctors w ith irregu la r spatial distrib u ­
tion s can b e a ccom m od a ted . For exa m p le,
m ovem en t m a y b e con s tra in ed b y partial
b a rriers th a t red u ce th e ra te o f m ovem en t
or b y a b s olu te b a rriers th a t stop .
In Figu re 7.32, a s p rea d fu nction has b een
u sed to eva lu a te th e tra vel d is ta n ce from a
ta rget cell. Th e dista nce w a s accu mu lated b y
s tep p in g ou tw a rd on e unit in e ve r y d irec­
tion . All th e cells a d ja cen t and in line with
th e ta rget w e r e a s s ign ed th e va lu e 1, in di­
ca ting 1unit o f d is ta n ce (e.g. cell A). C ells
d ia gon a lly a d ja cen t to th e ta rg et w er e
a ss ign ed a va lu e o f 1.4 (th e d ia gon a l dis­
ta n ce b etw een th e cen ters o f th e tw o cells,
e.g. cell B). C ell Ccan b e rea ch ed b y m ov­
ing diagonally across on e cell and up on e cell
for a tota l d is ta n ce o f 2.4 units. It can a ls o
b e rea ch ed b y m ovin g up tw o cells and
across on e cell for a tota l dista n ce o f 3 units.
Th e s p rea d fu nction assigns th e s h orter

distance in th e case o f mu ltiple rou tings. This
p r oced u re is u sed to calcu late a va lu e for
ea ch cell.
Ra th er than w ritin g in all th e va lu es for
ea ch cell, th e s p rea d fu nction resu lts will b e
rep res en ted b y contou rs. In Figu re 7.33, th e
con tou rs rep res en t d is ta n ces in km a w a y
Figure 7.33 Travel Zones Defined Using a Spread
Function. E quid ista nt tra ve l zones in ] km increm ents
fro m the target (A) are indicated by the concentric rings.
The shorte st tra ve l distance fro m A to B is shown by
the dashed line.
Figure 7.34 The Effect o f an Absolute Barrier on Travel
Zones De fin ed Using a Spread Function. Travel zones
in 1 km increm ents fro m th e ta rg e t (A) are d efin e d by
the tra ve l distance contours. The shorte st tra vel
distance fro m A to B m ust fo llo w a ro u te aro un d the
b a rrie r as tra ced b y th e dashed line.
229 jihgfedcb
GIS A n a ly sis F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
from th e starting p oin t a t A. Th e s h ortes t
d is ta n ce from loca tion Ato loca tion B is
given b y th e d a s h ed straight line con n ectin g
th em . In this case, th e fu nction is ess entia lly
th e sa m e as th e proxim ity fu nction discu ssed
p reviou s ly.
Figu re 7.34 sh ow s th e effect o f an ab solu te
b a rrier, i.e. o n e tha t d o es n ot a llow an y
m ovem en t a cros s it. A lake w ou ld b e an
a b s olu te b a rrier to tru ck tra vel, for exa m ple.
A s b efor e, a s p rea d fu nction has b een u sed
to g en er a te th e tra vel distan ces . N o w th e
s h ortes t tra vel d is ta n ce is n ot th e stra ight
line con n ectin g loca tion s Aa nd Bb eca u s e
th e rou te mu st g o a rou n d th e ob s ta cle. Th e
s p rea d fu nction eva lu a ted th e d is ta n ces
increm en ta lly and accu m u lated th e distan ce
to g o a rou n d th e ob s ta cle. This typ e o f
analysis in volvin g ob s ta cles ca n n ot be
a ccom m od a ted b y p roxim ity fu nctions.
In Figu re 7.35, th e effect o f a partial
b a rrier is illu strated. A pa rtia l b a rrier, such
as rou gh terrain, im p ed es p rogres s b u t d oes
n ot s top tra vel. In s tea d o f m ea s u rin g dis­
ta n ce, th e s p rea d fu nction is u sed h ere to
Figure 7.35 The Effect o f a Partial B arrie r on Travel
Tim e Defined Using a Spread Function. The tra vel tim e
from the target (A) to any location on the map is defined
by the tra ve l tim e contours. The label on each line
indicates tra ve l tim e in m inutes. The rate o f tra ve l is
6 km /h r except throu g h the p a rtia l b a rrie r where the
rate o f tra ve l is reduced.
230 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
C IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

eva lu a te tra vel tim e. Th e fa s tes t tra vel tim e
from Loca tion Ato Bis 90 minu tes. Th er e
a r e tw o rou tes with equ a l tra vel tim es : a
lon g er rou te a rou n d th e ob s ta cle a t a fa s ter
ra te o f tra vel and a s h orter b u t s low er rou te
th rou gh th e ob s ta cle.
O n e o f th e a d va n ta g es o f a s p rea d fu n c­
tion is that irregu larly distrib u ted fa ctors can
b e a ccom m od a ted . In Figu re 7.36, a land
u se m a p is s h ow n on th e left. Th e w a lkin g
tim e is to b e m a p p ed from a d es ign a ted
p oin t to a n y loca tion in th e m a p a rea . First
a tra vel tim e da ta la yer in ra s ter form a t is
gen era ted . B as ed on testing, p reviou s e x p e ­
rien ce, or oth er in form a tion , th e tra vel tim e
to tra ver s e on e cell is d eter m in ed for ea ch
la nd u se typ e. A n ew da ta la yer, s h ow n on
th e right in Figu re 7.36, is p r od u ced b y
a ss ign in g to ea ch cell th e tra vel tim e fo r its
land u se typ e. R oa d w a y cells
low es t valu es b eca u s e th ey can b e tra vers ed
th e m ost qu ickly. O th er typ es o f terrain h a ve
h igh er va lu es, in dica ting th e s low er ra te o f
tra vel a cros s th em . O n ce th e tra vel tim e
d a ta la yer has b een g en er a ted , th e s p rea d
fu n ction can b e u sed to eva lu a te th e tra vel
tim e from on e or m ore ta rg et loca tion s to
a n y p oin t on th e m ap. Th e tw o inpu t d a ta
la yers and resu lting tra vel tim e con tou rs a re
s h ow n gra p h ica lly in Figu re 7.37.
Th e calcu lation u sed to g en era te the tra vel
tim e m a p is illu strated in th e sim p lified
ex a m p le s h ow n in Figu re 7.38. H ere on ly
tw o cla sses a re u sed. An a d d ition a l sim­
p lifyin g a ssu m p tion is m a d e a b ou t th e cal­
cu lation o f d is ta n ces: th ey a r e ca lcu la ted
from cell ed g es instead o f th e m ore usual cell
cen ters . Th e tra vel tim e da ta la yer d efin es
th e tim e to tra vers e ea ch cell. Th e m ore
gen era l term friction surface is often u sed
to d es crib e this typ e o f da ta la yer (th e valu e
in ea ch cell rep res en ts th e d e g r e e to which
m ovem en t a cross it is reta rd ed ). Th e s econ d
da ta la yer id en tifies th e loca tion o f th e start
p oin ts (in this ca s e on ly on e p oin t is u sed).
M u ltip le sta rtin g loca tion s a re often u sed,
e.g. to ca lcu la te th e minimu m tra vel tim e
h a ve th e from a n y o f s evera l em er g en cy facilities.
Th e third data la yer s h ow s th e cu m u lative
tra vel tim e to a n y p oin t from th e ta rget.
It is p rod u ced b y accu m u la ting th e tra vel
tim es for ea ch cell w h ile m ovin g ou tw a rd
from th e sta rtin g loca tion . W h er e a cell can
h a ve tw o va lu es, th e s m a ller va lu e is
s elected . Th e com p u ter im p lem en ta tion is
s om ew h a t d ifferen t in o r d er to im p roveGFEDCB

LAND USE DATA LAYER T R A V E L T IM E D A T A L A Y E R

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 QPONMLKJIH
C RO PLA N D 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

RO A D 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
c >
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 + + + + + 4-

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 + + + + + 4-

RA N G ELA N D 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 + + 4- + 4- 4-
Q U A RRY
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 + + + + 4- 4-

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 + + 4- + 4- 4-

T RA V EL TIM ES A RE IN km / hr

Figure 7.36 Ge n e r at io n o f a Tr av e l- Tim e D at a La y e r . Th e t im e t o t r a v e r se c e l ls o f e ach lan d u se c la ss is assig n e d

t o a t r a v e l t i m e d a t a l a y e r . C r o p la n d is assig n e d a t r a v e l t im e o f 6 m in u t e s p e r c e ll , t h e r o a d w a y is 2 m i n u t e s
p e r ce ll, an d t h e r an g elan d is t r a v e r se d a t 4 m in u t e s p e r cell. Th e q u a r r y can n o t b e t r a v e r se d an d is assig n e d a + .
 2 31
GIS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY

IN C R E M E N T A L
T R A V E L TIM E
DATA LAYER

S TA R T PO IN TS
DATA LAYER

T R A V E L TIM E
M AP

Figure 7.37 Travel-Tim e Analysis Procedure. A spre ad function is used to calculate a tra ve l-tim e map fro m
the in crem ental tra vel tim e values and the lo cation o f the sta rt points. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGF

proces s in g efficiency, b u t th e principle is the S p rea d fu nctions h a ve b een im p lem en ted

sa m e. in res ea rch G1S s oftw a re p a cka ges . Th e
O n e a p p lica tion o f this typ e o f analysis is s p rea d fu nction w a s originally d evelo p ed b y
in p red ictin g th e tim e n eed ed to tra vers e D ana Tom lin and is in clu ded in th e M a p
terra in with va ria b le con d ition s. It is an A n a lys is P a ck a g e, a va ila b le from th e
a p p lica tion often en cou n tered in m ilita ry H a rva rd G ra p h ics L a b ora tory, H a rva rd
op era tion s , and has b een term ed terrain U nivers ity. Alth ou gh s om e fea tu res o f th e
trafficability. Th e tra ffica b ility, or ea s e s p rea d fu nction a re p r ovid ed in com m ercia l
an d s p eed o f m ovem en t, will va ry w ith th e G IS s oftw a re, th e m ore gen era l vers ion o f
typ e o f grou n d cover, top og ra p h y, m od e th e s p rea d fu nction as d es crib ed h ere is
o f tra n s p ort, and s ea son o f tra vel. Th e to th e a u th or's k n ow led g e a va ila b le on ly
analysis is com p lex b eca u s e th e rou te taken in n on - com m ercia l res ea rch s oftw a re. In
to reach a given d es tin a tion is n ot n eces ­ part, this m a y b e a resu lt o f th e difficu lty
sarily a stra ight line and th e tra vel tim e o f im p lem en tin g th e task for la rge nu m b ers
to cros s ea ch u nit o f terra in m a y ch a n ge o f cells. Th e fu nction requ ires tha t th e a rea
s u d d en ly a lon g a rou te as a resu lt o f b e regu la rly s u b d ivid ed into rela tively small
ch a n ges in land co ver or oth er fa ctors . Th e terrain units to p r ovid e th e cells o ver w hich
s p rea d fu nction is a b le to in corp ora te th es e va lu es a re p rog res s ively accu m u la ted. For
d ivers e and irregu larly distrib u ted constraint this rea s on th e s p rea d fu nction is im p le­
fa ctors. m en ted u sing ra s ter- b a s ed tech n iqu es .
232 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

FRICTION S U RFAC E S TART PO INT

D ATA LAYER D ATA LAYER

2 2 2 1 1 1

2 2 2 1 1 1

2 2 2 1 1 1

2 2 2 1 1 1

2 2 2 1 1 1

4.8 4 4.8 4.2 4.8 58

2.8 2 2.8 3.4 4.4 5.4

2 © 2 3 4 5

2.8 2 2.8 3.4 4.4 5.4

4.8 4 4.8 4.2 4.8 5.8

CU M U LATIVE TRAVE L
TIME D ATA LAYER

Figure 7.38 Spread Function Sam ple Calculations. The ra te o f tra ve l across each u n it o f the te rra in is sto re d
in the tra ve l tim e data la ye r o r fric tio n surface. The tim e re q u ire d to tra v e l to th e a djace n t cell is calculated
b y m u ltip ly in g th e ra te o f tra v e l b y th e distance . The distance b etw een cell centres is 1 u n it in the h o riz o n ta l
o r ve rtic a l d ire c tio n and 1.4 units across th e dia gonal. The tra v e l tim e to reach any cell fro m the sta rtin g p o in t
is fou n d by m o vin g o u tw a rd fro m the s ta rt p o in t, sum m ing the in d iv id u a l tra v e l tim e s a t each step. W here th e re
is m o re than one ro u te to reach a ceil, th e lo w e r value is used.

W h a t m a kes th e s p rea d fu nction p a rticu ­ for ca rtogra p h ic m od ellin g. A s u sers b ecom e

la rly im p orta n t is th a t it can in cor p ora te m ore in volved w ith ca rtogra p h ic m od ellin g
in form a tion a b ou t th e va ria b ility o f con d i­ and m ore fa m ilia r w ith con tigu ity fu nctions,
tion s a nd ta lly th e cu m u la tive effects o f this th e d em a n d fo r gen era l s p rea d fu n ction
va ria b ility. S p rea d fu n ction s a re a va lu a b le c a p a b ilities may lea d to th eir w id e r
and ver y flexib le G1S ca p a b ility, p a rticu la rly a va ila b ility.
 233 FEDCBA
GIS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

terra in . This va lu e cou ld b e u sed as a m ea ­

Se e k o r St r e a m Fu n ct io n s jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
su re o f eros ion p oten tia l from s u rfa ce run­
Th e s eek fu nction (also ter m ed a s t r e a m
off. O th er fa ctors th at a ffect eros ion p oten ­
f u n c t io n ) p erform s a d ir ected sea rch ou t­
tial, such as veg eta tion co ver a n d soil typ e,
w a rd in a s tep - b y- s tep m a n n er from a start
cou ld also b e in corp ora ted into th e analysis.
loca tion u sing a s p ecified d ecis ion ru le. Th e
Th e s eek fu nction can b e u sed w ith th e
p r oced u re is r e p ea ted until a n y fu rth er
s p rea d fu nction to p r ovid e an a u tom a ted
m ovem en t w ou ld viola te th e d ecis ion ru le.
rou te s election ca p a b ility. Figu re 7.39 illus­
Th e ou tp u t from th e s eek op era tion is a
tra tes this con cep t u sing th e tra vel tim e
tra ce o f th e on e or m ore pa ths ta ken in
overla y d e ve lo p e d in th e p reviou s figu re.
m ovin g from th e start p oin t(s) until th e fu nc­
Th e s p rea d fu nction w a s u sed to g en er a te
tion stops. For exa m p le, a s eek fu nction can
a d a ta la yer in w hich th e va lu e a t ea ch loca ­
b e a p p lied to a digita l eleva tion m od el to
tion is the s h ortes t tra vel tim e from th e start
tra ce th e path o f w a ter flow . Th e ru le u sed
poin t. Th e fa s tes t rou te from a n y p oin t b ack
m igh t b e to m o ve from a s ta rt loca tion to
to th e sta rt can b e d efin ed u sing a s eek
th e a d ja cen t p oin t with th e low es t eleva tion .
fu nction with th e d ecis ion ru le to s eek th e
This op era tion w ou ld b e r e p ea ted until a
a d ja cen t cell h avin g th e low es t valu e. S ince
loca tion is rea ch ed w h ere all th e a d ja cen t
th e tra vel tim e d a ta la yer w a s con s tru cted
points h a ve higher eleva tion s (a local d ep res ­
ou tw a rd from th e s ta rt p oin t, th e s eek
sion) or the ed g e of the study area is reached.
fu nction mu st en d a t th a t s a m e point, and
This p r oced u re cou ld b e u sed to eva lu a te
in th e p roces s tra ce th e qu ickes t rou te.
eros ion hazard. Th e seek op era tion cou ld b e
a p p lied u sing a regu la r grid o f sta rt points.
I n t e r v isib ilit y Fu n ct io n s
Th e n u m b er o f tim es ea ch loca tion or cell
is tra vers ed w ou ld b e a m ea s u re o f th e In te r vis ib ility fu n ction s , a ls o te r m e d
p oten tia l flow o f w a ter o ve r ea ch unit o f viewshed modellingor viewshed mapping,
is a ls o a cu m u la tive typ e o f op era tion . Th e
view s h ed is th e a rea th at can b e " s e e n "

4.8 4
(i.e. is in d ir ect lin e- of- s igh t) from th e
4.8 4.2 4.8 5.8
s p ecified ta rg et loca tion s. In tervis ib ility
fu nctions can b e u sed to m a p th e a rea
2.8 2 2.8 3.4 4.4 5.4
vis ib le from a scen ic lookou t, m a p th e a rea
that can b e d etected b y a ra d a r antenna, or
2 0 GFEDCBA
2 3 4 5 assess h ow effectively a roa d will b e hidd en
A from view . It is va lu a b le for such d ivers e
2.8 2 2.8 3.4 5.4 a p plica tion s as la n d s ca p e planning, military
planning, a n d com m u n ica tion s.
Intervisib ility fu nctions use digital eleva tion
4.8 4 4.8 4.2 4.8 \ 5.8
data to d efin e th e su rrou n din g top og ra p h y.
B * D ep en d in g on th e s op h is tica tion o f th e
s oftw a re, a d d ition a l data can b e in clu ded in
Figure 7.39 Use o f a Seek Function to O ptim ize Route th e analysis such as th e h eigh ts o f in di­
Locatio n. The cu m ulative tra ve l tim e data la ye r fro m vidu al fea tu res (e.g. b u ildings or tran s­
Figure 7.38 can be used to pro vid e a simple autom ated
route selection ca pa b ility. The ro u te w ith th e shortest
mission tow ers ) or th e h eigh ts o f d ifferen t
tra ve l tim e fro m p o in t B to A can be fo u n d b y startin g land cover classes. Th es e fea tu res m a y b e
at p oint B and selecting the adjacent cell with th e lowest rep res en ted in s ep a ra te d a ta la yers or as a
value. Because the data layer was generated by spread­
ing o u t fro m cell A , th e seek p ro ce d u re w ill tra ce the
list o f p oin t loca tion s a nd corres p on d in g
fastest ro u te back to th a t cell. heights.
234 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

Figure 7.40 The Concept o f In te rv is ib ility . An in te rv is ib ility analysis id e n tifie s lo ca tion s th a t are w ith in the
u n o b stru cte d lin e-of-sight o f a vie w in g p o sitio n . A reas th a t are screened fro m vie w are shaded in th e diagram .
(A d a p te d fro m an illu stra tio n b y D. T om lin . O hio State U niversity. Colum bus. O hio.) GFEDCBA

N jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

VIEW ING
PO SITIO N

VIEW FROM AB O VE

Figure 7.41 V ie w in g P aram ete rs fo r In te rv is ib ility Analysis. The vie w in g p a ra m e te rs used in an in te rv is ib ility
analysis are: th e 3-dim ensional p o sitio n o f th e vie w e r, th e horizon ta l and ve rtic a l angles o f view, th e view ing
d ire c tio n , and th e m a xim um vie w a b le lin e-o f-sig ht distance.
 235 jihgfedc
G IS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY

Th e con cep t o f in tervis ib ility analysis is d e g r e e s o f azim u th, w hich is th e a n g le in

illu strated in Figu re 7.40. Th e a rea s th at a re d e g r e e s m ea s u red clockw is e from n orth ).
h id d en from th e vie w e r a re s h ow n s tip p led . In Figu re 7.42, th e com p on en ts o f an
Th e data u sed in th e analysis a re th e view in g in tervis ib ility or view s h ed a na lysis a re
p a ra m eters, 3-dimensional data for th e land­ s h ow n u sing s ep a r a te d a ta la yers for ea ch
s ca p e to be a n a lyzed , and a n y s p ecific com p on en t. Th e ta rg et d a ta la yer is n eed ed
ta rgets to b e con s id ered . Figu re 7.41 illus­ if th e visib ility o f s p ecified ta rgets is to b e
tra tes th e view in g p a ra m eters n eed ed . Th ey a s s es s ed . O ften th e p u rp os e o f th e analysis
a re th e m aximu m view a b le lin e- of- s igh t d is ­ is to g en er a te a view s h ed m ap, in w hich
ta n ce, th e 3- d im en sion a l loca tion o f th e ca s e a ta rg et d a ta la yer w ou ld n ot b e
view in g p os ition w ithin th e la n d s ca p e, th e requ ired .
vertical and h orizon tal an gle o f view , and th e Th e in tervis ib ility fu n ction is a p ow erfu l
view in g d irection (u su ally s p ecified as tool for p la n n in g th e siting o f fea tu res in a HGFEDC

Fi gu r e 7. 42 Data Sets fo r In te rv is ib ility Analysis. Conceptually, an in te rv is ib ility analysis re q uires th re e sets

o f spatial data: a surface to p o g ra p h y and a surface features data set to define th e landscape, and a set o f vie w in g
p o sitio n s fro m which in te rv is ib ility is to be assessed. A set o f targets m ay b e inclu ded as a fo u rth data set,
in which case th e o u tp u t o f the analysis could be a ta b u la tio n o f the targe ts vis ib le fro m each vie w in g p o sitio n .
The m ore co m m on o u tp u t is a m ap show ing th e areas visib le fro m each v ie w in g positio n.
236 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

la n d s ca p e. It is a tool tha t len ds itself w ell

to a tria l- a n d - error analysis p r oced u re in
which th e p la cem en t o f ob jects is p r og r es ­
s ively refin ed b y re- eva lu a tin g th e view -
s h ed as th e loca tion o f ob jects is ch a n ged .
Th e siting o f such fa cilites as m icrow a ve
and ra d a r s ys tem s th a t requ ire an u n ob ­
s tru cted line- of- sight can b e op tim ized in
this w a y. In la n d s ca p e planning, th ere is
often th e n eed to des ign fa cilities that a re
h id d en from view , e.g. m inim izing th e roa d ­
w a y or clea red land tha t can b e s een from
a scen ic lookou t. A ltern a tive loca tion s for
th e look ou t a nd th e fa cilities can b e eva l­
u a ted b y gen era tin g a view s h ed m a p u sing
th e scenic lookou ts as th e view in g positions.
S u cces s ive m od ifica tion s to th e plan cou ld
b e as ses sed b y gen era tin g revis ed view s h ed
maps.
A s com p u ter p roces s in g p o w e r b ecom es
les s e x p e n s ive , in te r a c tive v ie w s h e d
Fi gu r e 7. 43 Shaded Relief Image o f the La Honda.
m od ellin g will p r ob a b ly b ecom e m ore California M ap Area. Digital elevation data w ith a p o in t
rea d ily a va ila b le. T w o similar a n d m ore spacing o f 30 m was used to generate this shaded relief
image w ith an a p p a re n t illu m in a tio n fro m the left. The
w id ely a va ila b le fu nctions a re p e r s p e c t iv e distance across th e im age represents a p p ro xim a te ly
v ie w g e n e r a t io n and i ll u m in a t i o n m a p p in g 1 1 km. (From Pike et. al. 1987, courtesy o f the US
(u sed to g en er a te a s h a d ed r elief im a ge). G eological Survey and the A m erican Society fo r
P ho to gra m m etry and Remote Sensing.)
Th ey a re com p u ta tion a lly similar to in ter­
vis ib ility analysis since th ey in volve tra cin g Figu re 7.43 is th e ou tpu t from on e o f th e
rays o f light, and can b e im p lem en ted u sing m ore com m on typ es o f illu mination fu nc­
th e m ore gen era l in tervis ib ility fu nction. shadedrelief image or
tions. It is term ed a
H ow ever, th ey a re u su ally discu s sed as shaded relief model and w a s p rod u ced
s ep a ra te fu nctions, and th a t con ven tion is from digital eleva tion da ta. Th e la n d s ca p e
follow ed h ere. FEDCBA is rep res en ted as if it w er e com p os ed o f a
m a teria l o f u niform reflecta n ce illu m ina ted
from th e left o f th e im a ge. Th e p os ition o f
I llu m in a t io n
th e illu mination s ou rce w a s ch os en to p r o­
Illu mination fu nctions p ortra y th e effect o f vid e su fficient s h a d ow for th e relief to b e
shining a light on to a 3- dim ensional su rface. ea s ily p er cieved .
Th e th ree sets o f fa ctors that con trol this Th e human mind can p erceive sh a p e from
fu nction a re th e natu re and p os ition o f th e an im a ge much b etter than from data points
illu mination s ou rce, th e top og ra p h y and p lotted on a m ap. Similarly, th e relations hip
reflecta n ce o f th e su rface, and th e p osition b etw een th e m a gn itu d e o f a va ria b le and its
a nd d irection from which th e m od el is spatial loca tion is ea sily u n d ers tood as a
view ed . S oftw a re d iffer in th e p a ra m eters 3- dimensional su rface. Th e su rface n eed not
u n d er o p er a to r con trol. For exa m p le, th e even rep res en t eleva tion . It cou ld rep res en t
view in g position and su rface reflecta n ce a re any d a ta th a t b eh a ve as a m ore or less con ­
often fixed p a ra m eters . HGFEDCBA tinu ou s su rface, such as gra vity or m a gn etic

field data, w hich a re m ea s u rem en ts com ­
monly used in geology. In view in g the shaded
relief im a ge o f th es e data, th e g eolog is t can
p er ceive th e spatial distrib u tion o f a s et of
m ea s u rem en ts as a m ore ea sily in terp reted
la n d s ca p e.
Illu mination fu nctions a re als o u sed to
assess natural conditions. G row ing conditions
a re a ffected b y th e qu an tity and d irection
of sunlight. E rosion poten tial and vegeta tion
regen era tion rates can b e influenced b y solar
illu mination cond ition s. B y m od ellin g illumi­
nation conditions, this fa ctor can b e inclu ded
in pla nning activities.
S h a d ed relief im a ges p r ovid e a ren d erin g
o f th e la n d s ca p e tha t can a d d th e su rface
information to thematic maps or digital images
like satellite imagery. The p rocess of applying
a n oth er da ta s et over a s h a d ed relief im a ge
is term ed draping. It is as if th e m ap w ere
p la ced or d ra p ed o ver a 3-dim ensional
m od el o f th e terrain. D ra pin g fu nctions a re
a va ila b le in s evera l com m ercia l G IS pa ck­
ages. Th es e m od els a re usually p ortra yed as
if view ed from th e s id e and a re term ed
perspective views, as discu ss ed in th e
s u b s equ en t section .
Th e resu lts o f an illu mination analysis a re
usually p res en ted in th e form o f an im age,
althou gh ta b u la tions a re s om etim es u sed
(e.g. th e a vera g e illumination for each fores t
stand m ay b e u sed as a stand attrib u te).
A p h otogra p h ic im a ge can b es t rep rod u ce
th e su b tle g r ey ton es o f a s h a d ed relief
im a ge so tha t it a p p ea rs 3- dim ensional.
W h ile s om e typ es o f p lotters can p rod u ce
a ra n ge o f g r ey ton es , th ey ca n n ot p r ovid e
th e fine gra da tion s o f a p h otogra p h ic image.
In s tea d , p lo tte r ou tp u ts a re u s u a lly
p res en ted as mesh d ia gra m s view ed from
term ed
an ob liq u e p osition , i.e. a p ers p ective view . FEDCBA
m on itors .
P e r sp e c t i v e V i e w
A su rface p ortra yed from a view in g position
oth er than vertica l is term ed a p ers p ective
view . P ers p ective view s a re p rim a rily a
presentation tool. Th ey a re useful in show ing
237 jihgfedcb
GIS A n a ly sis F u n ctio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY
th e 3- dim en siona l con tex t o f fea tu res on a
surface, such as a natural landscape. W hereas
th e vertica l view ten d s to fla tten th e p er ­
ceived relief, in a p ers p ective view th e relief
can b e exa gera ted to em ph a size su rface fea ­
tu res. Pers p ective view s a re com m on ly gen ­
er a ted as p h otogra p h ic ou tpu ts or p lotted
as m esh dia gra m s. In a mesh d ia gra m , th e
top og r a p h y is rep res en ted as if a grid of
regu larly s p a ced lines had b een d ra p ed over
it. A lin e- s h a d ed im a ge u ses p a ra llel lines
with va ria b le w idth to p rovid e a p ers p ective
ren d erin g, as sh ow n in Figu re 7.44. In a
sim ilar w a y, th em a tic m a ps or sa tellite
im a gery can b e d ra p ed o ver a s h a d ed relief
m od el to give a 3- dim ensional p ers p ective
view o f th e landscape. Plate 13 is a p ers p ec­
tive view gen era ted in this w a y from a sa tel­
lite im a ge and digital eleva tion data. By
gen era tin g a s eries o f p ers p ective view s like
this on e, a m otion pictu re flyin g s equ en ce
can b e p rod u ced . Perh a p s th e m os t sop h is ­
tica ted use o f com p u ter- gen era ted p ers p ec­
tive view s has b een in th e p rod u ction o f
flyin g s equ en ces for th e com m ercia l film
indu stry.
O U T P U T FO R M A T T IN G
O u tpu t form attin g is th e p rep a ra tion o f anal­
ysis resu lts for ou tpu t. In th e ca se o f tab u lar
data su mmaries, th e prep a ra tion is gen era lly
in corp ora ted into th e analysis fu nction itself
and th e ou tp u t file n eed on ly b e sen t to th e
p rin ter. O u tpu ts in th e form o f m a ps a re
g en er a ted in h a rd cop y form a ts b y such
d evices as pen plotters, electrostatic plotters,
and p h otogra p h ic d evices . M ap-like ou tpu ts
a re als o d is p la yed as electron ic im ages (also
softcopy) on m on och rom e or colou r
Th e s oftw a re fu nctions p rovid ed to crea te
these typ es of ou tpu t vary w id ely in flexibility
and ea s e o f use. Th e s im p les t a p p roa ch has
b een to provide one or m ore standard presen­
tation formats. The opera tor may b e restricted
in th e p la cem en t of titles, legen d b locks, and
238 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
C IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

F ig u r e 7 .4 4 M a p Area. This im age was p ro d u ce d fro m 30 m

L in e - S h a d e d I m a g e o f t h e L a H o n d a . C a l i f o r n i a
ve rtic a l e x a g g e r a t i o n o f 1.5. It shows th e same area as in Figure 7.43 vie w e d fro m
d ig it a l e le v a tio n d a ta w ith a
the southwe st. The distance in the east-west d ire c tio n is a p p ro x im a te ly 1 1 km. (From Pike et. al. 1987. co urtesy
o f the US G eological Survey and th e A m erican S ociety fo r P h o to g ra m m e try and Rem ote Sensing.) jihgfedcbaZYXW

oth er annotation. M ore sophisticated systems th ey o ver w r ite a p ortion o f th e m a p in for­

p r ovid e a ra n ge o f digital ca rtogra p h ic fu nc­ mation. Th ey a re n ot gen era lly in ters p ers ed
tions , such as th e g en era tion o f coor d in a teGFEDCBA
w ith th e m a p in form a tion itself.
g r id s , a w id e s e le c tio n of te x t fo n ts , lin e

w eigh ts and colou rs , th e d efin ition o f s ym ­

b ols, a nd even th e a u tom a ted p la cem en t o f
text lab els within th e map. S om e o f th e m ore
com m on typ es o f ou tp u t form a ttin g fu nc­
tion s a re discu ssed in th e follow in g sections.
M A P A N N O T A T IO N
Titles, legen d s, sca le b ars, and north a rrow s
a re p erh a p s th e m os t com m on
a n n ota tion . In its s im p les t form th e title
b lock and legen d b locks h a ve fixed pos ition s
on th e m a p and th e o p er a to r can on ly en ter
th e tex t and legen d s ym b ols . M o r e flexib le
im p lem en ta tion s a llow th e op era tor to s elect
th e p la cem en t a nd s ize o f th es e m a p fea ­
tu res. Th es e typ es o f m a p a n n ota tion a re
p la ced eith er ou ts id e th e m a p b ou n d a ry or
TEXT LABELS
Tex t la b els (a ls o ter m ed n a m e la b els ) a re
p la ced within th e m ap a rea and in ters p ers ed
w ith th e m a p in form a tion . Th ey m a y b e
p la ced n ext to a p oin t loca tion (city n am es ),
a lon g a lin ea r fea tu re (th e n a m e o f a river
p la ced a lon g th e cu rvilin ea r river ed g e), or
w ithin a p olyg on (the n a m e o f a cou n try).
form of Tex t la b els form an im p orta n t p a rt o f a map.
N ot on ly d o th ey p r ovid e th e n a m e o f th e
g eog r a p h ic fea tu re, th ey can a ls o b e u sed
to s h ow th e orien ta tion o f th e fea tu re, its
rela tive size, a n d even its class. This is d on e
th rou gh th e fon t, size, spa cin g, a nd p la ce­
m en t o f th e la b el. La b els a ls o a ffect th e
a p p ea r a n ce o f th e m a p — w h eth er it looks
clu ttered or is clea rly legib le. S om e o f th e

gen era l p rin cip les u sed in m a p lab el des ign
and p la cem en t a re as follow s (Im h of 1975):
1. The names should b e legib le and located
clos e to th e fea tu re th ey d es crib e.
2. Th e association b etw een th e n am e and
th e o b ject it id en tifies shou ld b e ea sily
recogn ized .
3. La b els shou ld n ot overla p an d th e
coverin g or con cea lin g o f map in form a ­
tion shou ld b e m in im ized.
4. Th e form a t a nd p os ition in g o f a n a m e
la b el shou ld d irectly assist in s h ow in g
rela tive im p orta n ce, territoria l exten t,
con n ection s , a nd in distingu ish ing
a m on g grou p s o f m a p fea tu res . For
exa m p le, th e n a m e o f an a rea fea tu re
sh ou ld span th e en tire a rea and con ­
form to th e gen era l sh a p e o f th e
elem en t.
Th e b a sic requ irem en t o f any s ys tem o f
la b ellin g is th a t th e n am e la b el mu st u nmis­
takab ly refer to th e fea tu re it des ign ates and
must not overla p p oin t data. To a ch ieve this
in a s ys tem a tic w a y, n am e la b els w ith a
sm aller d e g r e e o f fr eed om a re p os ition ed
b efo r e th os e with a g r ea ter d e g r e e o f fr e e ­
dom . A rea n am es h a ve th e sm allest d e g r e e
o f freed om . Th ey mu st b e s p rea d from on e
en d o f th e fea tu re to th e oth er, con form in g
to th e gen era l s h a p e o f th e fea tu re w ith ou t
overla p p in g any p oin t fea tu res . Th ere is a
grea ter d eg r ee o f freed om in the p la cem en t
o f poin t fea tu re lab els. Th ey must b e p la ced
n ea r th e p oin t d es crib ed , usually with a
p r efer red p la cem en t (such as a b o ve and to
th e right) to give th e m ap visual consistency.
Line fea tu re lab els h a ve th e grea tes t d eg r ee
o f fr eed om and a re p os ition ed last. Th e
nam e can b e p la ced a lm ost a n yw h ere a lon g
th e line, althou gh tigh t cu rves and th e en d ­
points o f th e line a re b es t a void ed . As th e
n u m b er o f la b els and restriction s on o ve r ­
laps in creas e, th ere a re ver y few d eg r ees o f
fr eed om and th e la b el p la cem en t task
b ecom es qu ite com p lex.
239 jihgfedcb
GIS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
M os t G IS s oftw a re has s om e text lab ellin g
ca p a b ility. M ore lim ited im p lem en ta tion s
s ever ely restrict th e s ize and orien ta tion o f
the labels. M ore com p reh en s ive text labelling
s oftw a re can a llow th e o p er a to r to pos ition
la b els in tera ctively w h ile view in g an im a ge
o f th e ou tpu t map. In tera ctive scaling o f text
size, th e a u tom a ted retrieva l o f la b els from
th e d a ta b a s e, and even a u tom a ted la b el
p la cem en t m ay also b e p rovid ed . S ystem s
d es ign ed origin ally as digital ca rtogra p h ic
s ys tem s to which G IS fu nctions h a ve b een
a d d ed h a ve ten d ed to p rovid e m ore sophis­
tica ted capab ilities, such as a u tom a ted lab el
p la cem en t. H ow ever, o ver th e pas t few
yea rs th e ca rtogra p h ic qu ality o f G IS sys­
tem s has im p roved con s id era b ly.
TEXTURE PATTERNS A N D L IN E
STYLES
Th e s election of line w id th s an d colou rs is
d ep en d en t on th e ou tp u t d evice. M os t
d evices can g en er a te textu re pa ttern s. Lin e
w idths and colou rs a re u sed to p ortra y attri­
b u tes o f th e line. Lines that rep res en t such
fea tu res as highw ays, railw ays, or political
b ou n d a ries a re com m on ly distin gu ish ed in
this w a y. Line typ es , such as d a s h ed lines
or d otted lines, a re also u sed to distingu ish
elem en ts . S om e s ys tem s p r ovid e for u ser-
s p ecified dash pa ttern s. In a similar w ay,
pattern s (including solid colou rs) can b e u sed
to distingu ish d ifferen t typ es o f a rea s. Th e
p a ttern s gen era lly inclu de d ifferen t pa ttern s
o f cross-hatching, shading, and colou rs. S oft­
w a re d iffer in the a m ou n t o f effor t n eed ed
to s elect th es e draw in g p a ra m eters. In s om e
cases, standard d ra w in g p a ra m eters can b e
s a ved and a p p lied to oth er m aps containing
th e s a m e typ es o f elem en ts . O th erw is e, th e
d efin ition o f th e d ra w in g p a ra m eters m ay
h a ve to b e d on e s ep a ra tely for ea ch map.
G R A P H IC S Y M B O LS
G raphic sym b ols a re u sed to rep res en t m ap
ob jects . Th e s ym b ols u s ed to d es ign a te a
240 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
city, a mou ntain peak, a b rid ge are com m on
examples. S om e systems p rovid e a standard
s et of s ym b ols b u t d o n ot a llow the op era tor
to crea te sym b ols. O th ers p rovid e th e ca p a ­
bility to crea te symb ols and store them within
th e G IS s o th ey can b e reca lled as n eed ed ,
termed a symbol library. S om e systems enable
s ym b ols to b e a s s ign ed a ccord in g to a user-
s p ecified attrib u te. In this w a y th e a p p r o ­
p ria te s ym b ol can b e au tom a tically p lotted . FEDCBA
th os e land u se typ es m os t critical to w ildlife.
C A R T O G R A P H I C M O D ELLI N G :
A G I S A N A LY SI S P R O C ED U R E
Th e p reviou s s ection s p res en ted an o ve r ­
view o f th e analysis fu nctions a va ila b le in
geogra p h ic inform a tion system s. Th e k ey to
using th es e fu nctions effectively is to u se a
system atic a p p roa ch in defining the in form a­
tion n eed ed and in d es ign in g the analysis
p roced u re to m eet th em . C a rtogra p h ic
m od ellin g is on e p roced u re that has b een
u sed for p red ictive m od ellin g using a G IS.
Th e term cartographic modelling w as
coin ed b y Tom lin ( 1983) to m ean th e u se o f
b asic G IS manipu lation fu nctions in a logical
s equ en ce to solve com p lex spatial prob lem s.
It w as d evelop ed to m od el land use planning
alternatives, an applica tion that requ ires the
integrated analysis o f mu ltiple geographically
d is trib u ted fa ctors .
Th e ca rtogra p h ic m od ellin g con cep t is
illu strated first u sing a con trived ex a m p le
and then an actu al a p p lica tion . Figu re 7.45
d ia gra m s a land u se pla nning a p p lica tion o f
ca rtogra p h ic m od ellin g to site a roa d w a y in
a h yp oth etica l N a tion a l Park. Th e d es ign o f
a ca rtogra p h ic m od ellin g p roced u re is b es t
a p p roa ch ed b y w orkin g b ackw ards from the
requ ired final resu lt. In th e Figu re, th e final
resu lt, a m a p o f th e final rou te loca tion , is
g en era ted b y P roced u re 6, at the ex trem e
right. It is an ou tp u t form a ttin g p r oced u re
that p lots th e rou te s elected in th e p reviou s
step.
P roced u re 5, th e im m ed ia tely p reced in g
step, is th e s election o f th e final rou te from
s evera l p rop os ed altern atives. Th e selection
is gu id ed b y an evalu ation o f th e qu antifiab le
cos ts a nd b en efits o f th e com p etin g rou tes,
as w ell as b y th e con s id era tion o f qu alita tive
factors, such as aesthetics, pu b lic sentim ent,
an d so on. In this exa m p le, th e com p etin g
con cern s a re to minimize constru ction costs,
to m inim ize th e visib ility o f th e roa d from
scen ic lookou ts , and to m in im ize th e loss o f
Tra d e- offs must often b e m a d e b etw een
qu a lita tive and qu a n tita tive ob jectives . Is it
w orth an additional $ 10,000 to minimize th e
visib ility o f a roa d w a y from scenic lookou ts?
Is th e va lu e o f p res ervin g an a d d ition a l
15 sq km o f w etla n d w orth th e cos t o f con ­
structing an additional kilom eter o f roa dw a y?
Th e cartographic m odelling proces s p rovid es
a s ys tem a tic m ea n s to exp licitly id en tify
th es e issu es and p r ovid e in form a tion to
s u p p ort th e d ecis ion . H ow ever , it d o es n ot
a u tom a tica lly p r ovid e th e d ecis ion ; su b jec­
tive va lu e ju d gm en ts mu st still b e m a d e.
P roced u re 4 is th e p roces s o f gen era tin g
th e a ltern a tive rou tes. Th e inpu ts u sed a re
a m ap sh ow in g the rela tive cos t o f roa d con ­
stru ction in th e stu dy a rea , a m a p o f th e
a rea s visib le from th e scenic lookou ts, a map
o f th e land cover typ es , th e loca tion o f th e
start and en d p oin ts for th e roa d , and ju d g­
m ents that reflect th e design ob jectives . Th e
idea l solu tion might b e a roa d with th e mini­
mu m cons tru ction cost, that is n ot vis ib le
from th e lookou ts , and d oes n ot distu rb any
critical w ildlife habitat. U sually the ideal solu ­
tion is u nattainab le, in which ca se tra d e- offs
mu st b e m a d e a m on g th e com p etin g o b jec­
tives. An itera tive p roces s is u sed to d evelop
rou te loca tion s that satisfy th es e ob jectives
to d ifferen t d eg rees . Th e rela tive im p or­
tance o f th es e ob jectives is a ju dgm en t m a d e
b y th e pa rticip an ts in th e plan nin g p roces s
to gu id e th e search for a ltern a tive rou tes .
O f th e m a n y a ltern a tives con s id ered in this
s tep th os e con s id ered to b e th e "b e s t''
w ou ld b e p a ss ed to th e final rou te s election
p roces s (P roced u re 5).
 LEGEND
LOCATIONS

1
OF SCENIC
LOOKOUTS
□ SP A T IA L DATA
o VA LUE JU DG EM EN TS

NO N -SP AT IAL G IS PR O C ES SIN G

ZZ7 AT TR IBU TE DATA
> FUNCTIO NS
LOCATION OF
ROAD START
AND END
POINTS HGFEDCBA

Fi gu r e 7. 45 C a rto g ra p h ic M o d e llin g fo r Route S election. The flo w c h a rt illu stra te s th e use o f ca rto g ra p h ic m o d e llin g to d e fin e an o p tim u m ro u te lo ca tion .
242 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e HGFEDCBA

Fi gu r e 7. 46 A g ric u ltu ra l Land Use System s M ap. This m ap was p ro d u ce d fro m one GIS data layer. Som e
23 classes o f land use are shown. During the planning process, a GIS was used to group these classes in to co nstrain t
categories relevant to transmission line route selection. In the figure, the darker areas have m ore severe constraints
fo r transm ission line ro uting. (Courtesy o f th e E nvironm ental Planning Branch, O n ta rio H yd ro . T o ro nto . O ntario.) jihgfedc

P r oced u re 3 is th e gen era tion o f th e roa d
con s tru ction cos t d a ta la yer th a t s h ow s th e
cos t o f roa d w a y con s tru ction a t ea ch loca ­
tion in th e stu dy area. Th e fa ctors ta ken into
accou nt a re th e s lop e o f th e terrain, th e typ e
o f soil m a teria l, a nd th e typ e o f la nd cover.
Ru les a re u sed to ca lcu la te th e con s tru ction
cos ts for ea ch terra in con d ition . Th es e
va lu es a re th en u sed to p r od u ce th e con ­
stru ction cos t d a ta la yer u sed as o n e o f th e
inpu ts to P r oced u re 4.
Procedu re 2 is a view shed analysis to identify
th e park areas that a re visib le from th e scenic
lookou ts. Th e inputs to this p roced u re a re th e
lookou t locations, th e a ver a g e h eights o f th e
different land cover types, the land cover data
layer, and digital eleva tion data for th e stu dy
a rea . Th e ou tp u t from th e view s h ed analysis
is a d a ta la yer s h ow in g th os e a rea s vis ib le
from th e lookou ts and th os e that a re hidd en .
P r oced u re 1 is th e gen era tion o f a s lop e
d a ta la yer tha t is ca lcu la ted from th e d igita l
eleva tion data.
Th e p roces s of w or k in g b a ck w a r d s
th rou gh th e a na lysis en s u res th a t all d a ta
th a t will b e n e e d e d a re id en tified , d a ta th a t
 243 HGFEDCB
GIS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

Fi gu r e 7. 47 Environm ental Constraint M ap fo r Transmission Line Routing. Environm ental constra in t categories
were produced using the data from ten resource data sets weighted according to priorities expressed by regulatory
agencies and th e public. (Courtesy o f the E nvironm ental Planning Branch, O n ta rio H ydro . T o ro nto , O ntario .) jihgfedcb

will n ot b e u sed a re n ot collected , a nd that u sed b y O n ta rio H yd ro to s elect a right- of-

s tep s w h ere va lu e ju dgm en ts mu st b e m a d e
a re explicitly id en tified . It is a s ys tem a tic
approach that can b e applied to a w id e range
of planning activities. This approach also facil­
itates the d ocu m en ta tion of h ow design d eci­
sions w ere reached, making it easier to refine
th e analysis an d to scru tinize th e p roces s .
A T R A N S M IS S IO N L IN E
P L A N N IN G E X A M P LE
Figu res 7.46 to 7.49 illu strate s evera l s tep s
in th e ca rtogra p h ic m od ellin g p roced u re
w a y for a p o w er transm ission line. Th e
planning p roces s requ ired that en gin eerin g,
en viron m en ta l, and social fa ctors b e con ­
sid ered and that the design tra d e- offs b e jus­
tified b efore internal review s as well as b efore
g overn m en t regu la tory a gen cies and pu b lic
hearings. It is requ ired that th e criteria u sed
to s elect a rou te loca tion b e d ocu m en ted
and that ou ts id e con cern s b e a d d res s ed .
To s u p p ort this typ e o f plan nin g activity,
O n ta rio H yd ro u sed an in- hou se G IS. Th e
s ou rce da ta cons ist o f exis ting geog ra p h ic
244 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e HGFEDCBA

Fi gu r e 7. 48 A lte rn a tiv e Transm ission Line Routes. M aps o f in d iv id ua l resource categories as w e ll as d eriv ed
maps p ro du ce d b y GIS analyses we re used to deve lo p several transm ission line ro u tin g alternatives. (Courtesy
o f th e E nvironm ental Planning Branch, O n ta rio H yd ro . T o ro nto , O ntario.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHG

in form a tion in m a p and tab u lar form , as w ell
as origin a l d a ta collected b y field su rveys
and analysis o f aerial p h otogra p h y and satel­
lite im a gery. D igitizing facilities a re a va ila b le
to con vert non - digita l d a ta sets for inpu t to
th e G IS. An im a ge analysis s ystem is u sed
for recon n a is a n ce level land cover and land
u se m apping. Th e rem ote sensing results a re
ou tp u t in a digita l form tha t can b e inpu t
d irectly to th e G IS d a ta b a s e.
Figu re 7.46 is a m a p p rod u ced from on e
o f th e G IS data la yers u sed in th e rou te loca ­
tion stu dy. It is a m a p o f agricu ltu ral land use
s ys tem s p rod u ced b y th e O n ta rio M inistry
o f F ood and Agricu ltu re. S om e 23 classes
a re s h ow n in this m ap. Th e G IS w a s u s ed to
grou p th es e d eta iled land co ver an d land
use classes into constraint ca tegories a p p ro­
p ria te for th e rou te selection analysis. O th er
data sets u sed in th e stu dy w er e agricu ltu ral
ca p a b ility, cu rren t land use, fores try ca p a ­
bility, mineral potential, recreation, hydrology,
h erita ge fea tu res , and hu man s ettlem en ts .
Figu re 7.47 is a con s tra in t m a p tha t ta kes
into accou nt all th e en viron m en ta l concerns.
It is n ot a s im p le a d d ition o f th e cons tra in t
 245 HGFEDC
GIS A n a ly s is F u n c tio n s mlkjihgfedcbaZY

Fi gur e 7. 49 M ap o f Agricultural Resources Along the Proposed Route Locations. This map illustrates the process
o f e xtractin g resource in fo rm a tio n fo r areas defined b y a b u ffe r zone aro un d th e p ro posed transm ission line
routes. (Courtesy o f th e E nvironm ental Planning Branch, O n ta rio H yd ro . T o ro nto , O ntario.) jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTS

ratings for th e in dividu al res ou rces . Th e w ere d evelop ed using maps o f th e individual
cons tra in ts w ere w eigh ted a ccord in g to res ou rces and d er ived m aps p rod u ced b y
th e p riorities ex p res s ed by th e p a rtici­ in tegra ted G IS ana lys es, such as th e con ­
p a tin g a d vis ory and regu la tory grou p s . straint map. Th e rou tes w er e actu ally draw n
A tota l o f nine cons tra in t ca teg ories w e r e on an a irp h oto m osaic and then d igitized for
d efin ed . Th es e w er e com b in ed into five inpu t to th e G IS. Th es e p r op o s ed rou tes
ca teg ories to p rod u ce a m ore leg ib le m a p w er e then a n a lyzed to d eterm in e th e
for illustration. H ow ever, th e nine ca tegories qu an tity o f va riou s res ou rces that w ou ld
w e r e reta in ed in th e data b a s e. In th e b e a ffected by ea ch righ t- of- w a y. This
Figu re, th e m ore s ever e con s tra in t cla ss es w a s d on e b y gen era tin g b u ffer zon es (the
a re d a rker. s h a d ed a rea s in th e figu re) a rou n d th e
Figu re 7.48 sh ow s th e a ltern a tive rou tes transm ission line rou tes (sh ow n as h ea vy
p r o p o s ed for th e transm ission line. Th ey b lack lines).
246 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e GFEDCBA

T a b u la tio n
T a b l e 7 .3 HGFEDCBA o f C o n s tr a in ts fo r A P ro p o s e d T ra n s m is s io n L in e
R o u te . (C o u rte s y o f th e E n v iro n m e n ta l P la n n in g B ra n c h , O n ta rio
H y d ro . T o ro n to , O n ta rio .)

A F F EC T ED A F F ECT ED % OF
A R EA L EN G T H RO U T E C O N ST R A I N T S
(ha) (km ) A R EA QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

2 .3 2 .2 m a jo r n o n - u rb an se t t le m e n t
6 .7 9 .5 m ilit a r y b a se , c o m m u n ic a t io n t o w e r s
26 3 .4 7 2 .2 p r o p o se d s e t t l e m e n t o r a i r p o r t
2 .3 2 .2 w e t la n d , w a t e r f o w l n e st in g / st a g in g
84 1 1 .0 6 7 .0 d eer yard s
6 .7 9 0 .5 c l a s s e s 1 ,2 ,3 w e t l a n d h a b i t a t
43 5 .6 9 3 .6 se n sit iv e w o o d la n d w ild lif e h a b it a t
6 .7 9 .5 c l a s s 1- 4 p r o d u c t i v e w i l d l i f e h a b i t a t
461 6 0 .6 7 3 8 .4 c l a s s 1- 3 f o r e s t l a n d
127 1 6 .9 1 1 0 .7 c l a s s 4- 5 f o r e s t l a n d
63 8 .3 7 5 .3 p r in c ip a l f r u it & v e g e t a b le p r o d u cin g a r e a s
687 9 0 .5 3 5 7 .3 c l a s s 1 a g r ic u lt u r a l so il
201 2 6 .5 4 1 6 .8 c l a s s 2- 3 a g r i c u l t u r a l s o i l
22 3 .0 0 1 .9 e x ist in g su r f a c e an d m in e r a l e x t r a c t io n
480 6 3 .2 0 4 0 .0 p o t e n t ia l su r f a c e an d m in e r a l e x t r a c t io n
22 3 .0 0 1 .9 c la s s 4 w e t la n d s
109 1 4 .3 8 9.1 c o ld w a t e r f i s h , a r e a s s e n s i t i v e t o e r o sio n e f f e c t s
2 .3 2 .2 w arm w a t e r f i s h , a r e a s s e n s i t i v e t o e r o sio n e f f e c t s
383 5 0 .4 0 3 1 .9 c o l d w a t e r f i s h , a r e a s w i t h l o w s e n s i t i v i t y t o e r o si o n
effects
20 2 .6 9 1 .7 a r e a s w it h r isk o f e r o sio n e f f e c t s f o r w h ic h n o f ish
i n f o r m a t i o n i s a v a i l a b l e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHG

An overla y op era tion w a s th en u s ed to
g en er a te qu a n tita tive in form a tion for th e
a rea s th a t w ou ld b e a ffected b y ea ch o f th e
rou tes. Figu re 7.49 illu strates this p roced u re
gra p h ica lly u sing on e o f th e res ou rce m aps.
that w a s d ocu m en ted , cou ld b e scru tin ized
b y in tern al a n d ou ts id e review ers , and w a s
d efen s ib le. B y m ean s o f this system a tic anal­
ysis p r oced u re, th e logic u s ed to reach th e
d es ign a ltern a tives cou ld b e r e vie w e d and

Th e agricu ltu ral res ou rce typ es a re s h ow n
on ly in th e b u ffer zon e a rea s . Th e d eta iled
con s tra in t da ta w e r e a n a lyzed in a similar
m a n ner. Ta b le 7.3 is a ta b u la tion o f th es e
con s tra in ts for a rea s w ithin on e
p r o p o s ed tra n sm is s ion line rou tes . In fact,
it w a s th e tab u lar data su m m aries m ore than
th e b u ffer zon e m a ps that w er e u sed to com ­
p a re th e a ltern a tive rou tes .
B y u sing th e m a p and ta b u la r in form a tion
p rod u ced in this w a y, a ltern a tive rou te loca ­
tions cou ld b e d e ve lo p e d throu gh a p roces s
refin ed th rou gh ou t th e p roces s , and e ffe c ­
tive u se w a s m a d e o f th e analytical ca p a b ili­
ties o f th e G IS. FEDCBA
o f th e R EF ER EN C ES
Ahn, ). and H. Freeman. 1983. A Program fo r A utom atic
Nam e Placem ent. In P ro c e e d in g s o f th e S ixth In te r ­
n a tio n a l S y m p o s iu m o n A u to m a te d C a rto g ra p h y .
U n ive rsity o f O tta w a . O ttaw a. O n ta rio , p p .4 4 4 -4 5 3 .
Beard, M .K. and N.R. Chrism an. 1986. Zipping: New
S oftw a re fo r M e rg in g M ap Sheets. In P ro c e e d in g s o f
th e 1986 ACSM -ASPR S A n n u a l C o n ve n tio n . Amercian
Society o f Photogram m etry and Remote Sensing. Falls
Church. V irg in ia . V olu m e 1:15 3-16 1 .

Berry, Joseph K. 1987. Fundam ental O pe ra tio ns in
Computer-Assisted M ap Analysis. In te rn a tio n a l Journal
o f G e o g ra p h ic a l In fo rm a tio n S ys te m s Vol 1. (2):
119-136.
Burrough, P.A. 1986. P rin c ip le s o f G e o g ra p h ic a l In fo r ­
m a tio n S y ste m s f o r L a n d R e so urce s A sse ssm e n t.
Clarendon Press. O xford, U.K.
Congalton, R.G., R.G. O derw ald, and R.A. M ead. 1983.
Assessing Landsat Classification Accuracy Using
Discrete M u ltiv a ria te Analysis Statistical Techniques.
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S e n sin g 49(1 2): 16 7 1 -1 6 7 8 .
D a n g e rm o n d , J. 1983. S o f t w a r e C o m p o n e n ts
C o m m o n ly U se d in G e o g ra p h ic In fo rm a tio n S ystem s.
Environmental Systems Research Institute. Redlands,
California.
ESR1. 1984. A n n u a l M a p B o o k . Environm ental Systems
Research Institu te. Redlands, California.
Jackson, M.J., and D.C. Mason. 1986. The Developm ent
o f Integrated G eo-inform ation Systems. In te rn a tio n a l
J o u rn a l o f R e m o te S e n sin g 7 :7 2 3 -7 4 0 .
Im hof, E. 1975. P ositioning Names on Maps. The
A m e ric a n C a rto g ra p h e r 2(2): 128 -1 44.
Lam, N.S., P.J. Grim, and F. Jones. 1987. Data Integration
in Geographic Inform ation Systems: An Experiment.
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C o n v e n tio n . V o lu m e 5. A m e rc ia n S o cie ty o f
Photogram m etry and Remote Sensing. Falls Church,
Virginia, p p .5 3 -6 2 .
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Church, Virginia, pp.343-3 52.
Lupien, A.E. and W.H. M oreland. 1987. A General
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Remote Sensing. Falls Church, Virginia, p p .6 30-6 39.
McKeown, D.M., and R.C.T. Lai. 1987. Integrating Multiple
Data Representations fo r Spatial Databases. In
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Them atic M ap E rro r in Digital O verla y Analysis. The
A m e ric a n C a rto g ra p h e r I 1(1):58—62.
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P ho to gra m m etry and Remote Sensing. Falls Church,
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S e n sin g 53(10): 1 4 2 3 -1430.
248 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e r s p e c t iv e
 8 . IM P L E M E N T IN G
I N T R O D U C T I O N jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e im p lem en ta tion of a G IS is w h ere
Th e design and im plem en ta tion of a G IS
is a major, long-term undertaking. The entire
process, from w hen an organ ization first
b ecom es a w a re o f th e tech n ology throu gh
to w hen a system is finally opera tion a l com ­
m only takes on e or m ore years. To the
u ninitiated, th e acqu isition of a G IS cen ters
on technical issues of compu ter system hard­
w a re and software, functional requ irements,
and perform a n ce standards. But exp erien ce
has shown that, as important as th es e issues
may b e, they are not the ones that in the end
d eterm in e w h eth er a G IS im plem en ta tion
will su cceed or fail.
The issues responsib le for im plementation
failures a re almost always pRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
e o p le p r o b le m s . mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
n ot tech n ology p rob lem s. U pon reflection,
this is to b e exp ected for it is the tech n ology
that has a con crete existence. In principle,
th e ca pab ilities of the tech n ology can b e
rationally ass essed b y m eans o f a physical
test. Th e resu lts can b e ex p ected to b e
rep ea ta b le. If you can p rod u ce a certain
map ou tpu t on ce, th e sam e p roced u re will
p rob a b ly p rod u ce it again. E ven u np redict­
a b le system failu res can b e a nticipa ted and
contingencies can b e planned. H ow ever, the
decisions that p eop le make a re not nearly
as p red icta b le. P eop le a re significantly
influ enced not only b y the facts pertaining
to the tech n ology b u t also b y th e con text of
the situation. A personality clash or a p ow er
stru ggle can revers e a seemingly logical deci­
sion. It is n ot that the decisions m a d e b y
p eop le lack a logic, it is that the p eop le
in volved have mu ltiple ob jectives . Th e pa r­
ties to a decision a re com m on ly op era tin g
with s evera l d ivers e a gen d a s that can
change abru ptly. W h erever p eop le interact,
th ere a re politics.
A G I S FEDCBA
tech n ology and p eop le m eet. O n e of the
reasons for the com plexity of the im plem en­
tation p roces s is that it is, necessarily,
political. It is th e p eop le in an organization
that a d op t and learn to use a n ew tech ­
n ology. In so doing, th e organization must
evolve, for in a d op tin g any n ew tech nology,
especially on e with an influence as perva sive
as a GIS, th e organization itself is changed.
Inform ation flow s a re shifted, and d ifferen t
p eop le exert d ifferen t d eg rees of control
over information, its distribu tion, and use.
In so doing, th ey exercis e p ow er. Inform a­
tion is p ow er, and th e p ow er of the infor­
mation goes to th e organ ization w h os e
b u d get gen era tes and controls it. C om pu ter
tech n ology is political in that control over
cen tra lized inform ation systems ten d s to
increas e th e p ow er of the administrators
and technical exp erts w h o control them at
the exp en s e of thos e w h o lack the exp ertis e
to use them effectively. For this reason,
th ere is a stron g ten d en cy for each a gen cy
to w ant to control its ow n information.
W hen th e pu b lic w orks d ep a rtm en t of a
municipality has the only u p-to-date facilities
maps, th ey can exercis e control over access
and use of that information. Th ey a re a b le
to control th e inform ation, even if th ey a re
requ ired to p rovid e access to oth er d ep a rt­
ments. H ow ever, if thos e maps a re availab le
on a GIS, then any u ser with access privi­
leges can use th e inform ation directly.
Previou s informal control and review of
inform ation requ es ts may b e lost w hen the
inform ation must no lon ger b e requ es ted
from a single sou rce. It may also b e m ore
difficu lt to d en y access or hide preferen tia l
treatm ent.
C om p u ter- gen era ted data is a p oten t
political tool in its p ow er to influence. Policy­
250 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
m a kers and th e pu b lic gen era lly con s id er
com p u ter- gen era ted inform ation to b e m ore
a ccu ra te, cred ib le, a nd ob jective sim ply
b eca u s e it w a s com p u ter- gen era ted . Th e
technical la n gu age su rrou nding th e p rep a ra ­
tion , u se, a nd eva lu a tion o f com p u terized
d a ta ten d s to b e neu tral, exp res s in g no p a r­
ticu lar va lu e or politica l b ias. This ten d s to
b ia s th e lis ten er to view th e com p u ter­
g en er a ted d a ta as m ore a u th orita tive than
com p a ra b le inform ation g en era ted in a non­
com p u terized m an ner. O f cou rs e, th ere a re
also th os e w h o distru st in form a tion if it is
com p u ter- gen era ted .
C om p u ters and a s s ocia ted a n a lytica l
techniqu es a re often assu med to b e u nb iased
a nd ob jective tools in th e han ds o f neu tral,
u n b ia s ed , non - political tech nical exp erts . In
fact, com p u terized d a ta a nd analysis tech ­
n iqu es a re s u b ject to th e s a m e typ es o f
political b ias and inaccu racies as oth er data.
Th e b ia s en ters in th e s election o f th e d a ta
to b e inclu ded, th e analytical m eth od s to b e
u sed, and th e w a y th e results a re p res en ted .
Th es e ch oices a re in h eren tly p olitica l
b eca u s e th ey in flu en ce th e analysis o f th e
resu lts, th e p ercep tion o f issues, an d th e
ra n ge o f p oten tia l solu tions. An astu te u se
o f com p u ters can effectively h id e politica l
ch oices b en ea th a cloa k of m ys tifyin g
tech n ica l a n a lys es (Klos term a n 1987).
Th e m ere con vers ion o f in form a tion to
digital form can h a ve dra m a tic im plications.
P r op er ty in form a tion tha t is p u b licly a va il­
a b le in th e form o f h a n d- w ritten en tries can
b e u sed in an en tirely d ifferen t w a y than th e
s a m e d a ta in digita l form . B eh ren s (1985)
cites s evera l exa m p les . O n e b eca m e a 1973
N e w H a m p s h ire S u p rem e C ou rt ru ling that
a u niversity econ om ics p r ofes s or had th e
right to acqu ire a com p u ter ta p e o f p rop erty
record in form a tion for 35,000 p r op er ties in
th e city. Th e d a ta w e r e to b e u s ed in a tax
stu dy. Th e city a rgu ed tha t p rovid in g th e
d a ta w ou ld cons titu te an invasion o f p riva cy
for e ve r y citizen on th e file. Th e cou rt ru led
th a t th e in form a tion cou ld n ot b e reg a rd ed
as con fid en tia l b eca u s e it cou ld b e a cqu ired
b y a visu al in s p ection o f th e p rop erty.
Y e t th e d igita l d a ta cou ld b e u sed to
g en er a te in form a tion a b ou t in dividu als that
w ou ld b e im p ractical to d eterm in e oth er­
w is e. Finding th e n am es o f th e on e hu ndred
la rges t p r op er ty h old ers w ou ld b e im p ra c­
tical using a manual search. B y com p u ter the
analysis is fast, sim ple, a nd in exp en s ive.
Th e in trod u ction o f a G IS will ch a n ge th e
exis tin g m a n a gem en t in form a tion sys tem s .
In m os t cases, b y th e tim e an orga n iza tion
con s id ers a G IS, it a lrea d y has s om e form
o f com p u ter- b a s ed in form a tion s ys tem in
place. Th e system may not adequ a tely handle
spatial in form a tion , b u t it d oes s u p p ort
s om e op era tion a l n eed s . Th e exis tin g sys­
tem is also th e on e with which p ers on n el a re
fa m iliar and it p r ob a b ly reflects th e stru c­
ture, valu es, and m a n a gem en t ph ilos op h y of
th e orga n ization . U nless th e existing system
is tota lly in a d equ a te, th e in trod u ction o f a
G IS mu st b e in tegra ted w ith th e exis ting
in form ation system . S om e fu nctions that a re
d u p lica ted will even tu a lly b e r eleg a ted to
on e s ystem or th e oth er. H o w e ver it is
im p orta n t to coord in a te th e in tegration p ro­
ces s s o that th e op era tion o f th e orga n iza ­
tion du rin g th e transition is n ot jeop a rd ized .
Th e in trod u ction o f n ew tech n olog y will
ch a n ge an orga n iza tion in w a ys th a t ca n n ot
b e en tirely p red icted . A tten tion is u su ally
focu s s ed on th e d es ired ch a n ges a nd th eir
ram ifications , b u t th ere will b e n u m erou s
su b tle b u t significant orga n izationa l ch anges
as w ell. For exa m p le, if a d d ition a l s ta ff a re
h ired to o p er a te th e G IS equ ip m en t, th eir
salaries m a y b e significantly h igh er than th e
m anagers u nder w hom th ey will w ork. Th es e
typ es o f ch a n ges a re s tres s ors within th e
orga n iza tion tha t can ea s ily resu lt in n on ­
c o o p e r a tio n . S im ila rly, jea lou s ies a nd
rivalries can d e ve lo p b etw een d ep a rtm en ts
in an orga n iza tion w h en res p on s ib ility for
collectin g and m aintaining d a ta is "ra tion a l­
ize d ” a n d on e d ep a rtm en t los es con trol
o ve r "its ” data.

S tres s es such as th es e will occu r at a tim e
w h en th e orga n iza tion is a lrea d y s tres s ed .
Th e orga n iza tion often d o es n ot h a ve su ffi­
cien t s ta ff to c o p e w ith th e extra w ork of
in trod u cin g a G IS. Th er e is typ ica lly insu ffi­
cien t skill in h a n dlin g th e n ew tech n ology,
less than op tim a l fu nding, and w h a t fu nding
is p r o vid ed m a y b e p la n n ed for too s h ort
a du ration. In addition, th e G IS is often b ein g
implemented in response to external pressures
for im p roved in form ation s ervices at a low er
cost.
Th e orga n iza tion s m a y b e as la rge as a
nationa l a g en cy or o n e p ers on in a rural
com m u nity. Th e s p ecific con s id era tion s tha t
b e c o m e critical w ill d iffer, b u t th e ra n ge o f
issu es fa ced b y ea ch a re b a sica lly th e sa m e.
Th e list o f issu es th a t h a ve b een id en tified
in th e litera tu re a nd d is cu s sed a m on g p ra c­
tition ers is lon g in d eed . A s id e from
im p ra ctica lity o f recou n tin g th e cau ses o f
past su ccesses and failu res, such a list w ou ld
p r ob a b ly n ot b e ver y u sefu l. Instea d, this
ch a p ter p res en ts a fra m ew ork for im p lem en ­
ta tion. G IS im p lem en ta tion is con s id ered
h ere as th e en tire tech n olog y tra n s fer p r o ­
cess, from w h en an orga n iza tion b ecom es
a w a re o f G IS tech n olog y th rou gh to w h en
it a d op ts it. " A d o p tio n " is u s ed h ere to
m ean th a t an orga n iza tion has in corp ora ted
a G IS in to its op era tion s a nd regu la rly u ses
it w h er e a p p r op r ia te in its d a y- to- d a y
a ctivities . Im p lem en ta tion can b e s een as a
six p h a s e p roces s :
/. A w a r e n e s s : P eo p le within th e orga n iza ­
tion b e c o m e a w a r e o f G IS tech n olog y
a nd th e p oten tia l b en efits to th eir
orga n iza tion . Poten tia l u ses and u sers
o f th e G IS a re p os tu la ted .
2. D e v e lo p m e n t o f S y s te m R e q u ir e m e n ts :
Th e id ea th a t a G IS cou ld b en efit th e
orga n iza tion is form a lly a ck n ow led ged
and a m ore s ys tem a tic a nd form al p r o­
ces s is institu ted to collect in form a tion
a b ou t th e tech n olog y a n d to id en tify
p oten tia l u sers and th eir n eed s . A fo r ­
2 5 I jihgfedc
Im p le m e n tin g A G IS mlkjihgfedcbaZY
mal n eed s analysis is often d o n e at this
s ta ge.
3. S y s te m E v a lu a t io n : Altern a tive sys tem s
a re p rop os ed a nd eva lu a ted . Th e
eva lu a tion p r oces s ta kes in to a ccou n t
the n eeds analysis of the previou s phase.
A t th e en d o f this pha se, a form a l d eci­
sion mu st b e m a d e w h eth er or n ot to
p r o c e e d w ith acqu isition o f a G IS.
4. D e v e lo p m e n t o f a n I m p l e m e n t a t io n
P la n : H a vin g m a d e the d ecis ion to p r o ­
cee d w ith a cqu is ition o f a s ys tem , a
plan is d e ve lo p e d to a cqu ire th e n eces ­
sa ry eq u ip m en t a nd staff, m a ke o rg a ­
niza tiona l ch a n ges , and fu nd th e p r o­
ces s. Th e plan may b e a form a lly
a ccep ted d ocu m en t or a m ore or less
in form a l s eries o f actions.
th e
5. S y s t e m A c q u is i t i o n a n d S t a r t - U p : Th e
s ystem is pu rcha sed, installed, sta ff a re
tra in ed , crea tion o f th e d a ta b a s e is
b egu n, and op era tin g p roced u res b egin
to b e es ta b lis h ed . C rea tion o f th e d a ta
b a s e is usually th e m ost ex p en s ive pa rt
o f th e im p lem en ta tion p roces s . C on ­
s id era b le a tten tion is n eed ed to es ta b ­
lish a p p r op r ia te d a ta qu a lity con trols
to en s u re th a t th e data en ter ed m eet
th e req u ired s ta n d a rd s a nd th a t su it­
a b le u p d a tin g p roced u res a re im p le­
m en ted to m aintain th e cu rren cy and
in tegrity o f th e d a ta b a se.
6. O p e r a t i o n a l P h a s e : By this s ta ge th e
initial a u tom a tion o f th e d a ta b a s e is
co m p le te a nd op era tin g p r oced u res
h a ve b een d e ve lo p e d to m aintain th e
d a ta b a s e and p r ovid e th e in form a tion
s ervices that th e orga n ization requ ires .
In this phase p roced u res a re d evelop ed
to maintain th e G IS facility and u p gra d e
s ervices s o th a t th e G IS con tin u es to
su pport th e changing information n eed s
o f th e orga n iza tion . O p era tion a l issu es
concerning the responsibilities of th e G IS
facility to p r ovid e n eed ed s ervices and
252 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G JS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
to gu a ra n tee p erform a n ce sta nd ards
b ecom e m ore p rom in en t.
Th e issu es th a t a ris e a t ea ch o f th es e
s ta ges h a ve b oth a tech nical an d orga n iza ­
tion a l com p on en t. Th e rem a in d er o f th e
ch a p ter discu sses each o f th es e phases, th e
issu es that a re a d d res s ed , an d s om e o f th e
les s on s that h a ve b een lea rn ed . FEDCBA
P H A S E 1 : A W A R EN ES S
Information a b ou t n ew tech n ology can en ter
an orga n iza tion at s evera l levels . Ideally,
n ew idea s w ou ld b e exa m in ed in th e s a m e
w a y rega rd les s o f th e m es s en ger. In fact,
n ew id ea s a re trea ted d ifferen tly w h en
p res en ted b y s en ior m a n a gem en t or ju nior
staff. N ew id ea s, such as G IS, h a ve to b e
"s o ld ” within an orga n iza tion . Th e selling
m a y b e from th e b ottom up, from th e top
d ow n , or from an in d ep en d en t third party.
A P P R O A C H E S T O IN T R O D U C IN G
TH E N E W T E C H N O L O G Y
Top-Down. Top - d ow n p rom otion occu rs
w h en id ea s for d oin g things d ifferen tly a re
p u sh ed from th e m a n a gem en t level to th e
p rod u ction level. Th e a d va n ta g e is tha t th e
p ow er to p rovid e fu nding and organizational
s u p p ort eith er res id es a t this m a n a gem en t
level or is m ore rea d ily ob ta in ed b y this
level. Th e m a n a gem en t level m a y also b e
ca p a b le o f taking a b r oa d er view o f p oten ­
tial b en efits — a view that spans d ifferen t
typ es of a p p lica tion s. For exa m p le, a G IS
m a y b e s een as a m ea n s to orga n ize all th e
spatial data o f a mu nicipality, n ot just th e
land record s. D ivers e d ep a rtm en ts cou ld b e
b en eficia ries . Th e s ystem cou ld b e u sed b y
p olice and fire s ervices for em erg en cy
dispatch ing, b y pu b lic w orks for facility
m a in ten an ce, b y th e s ch ool b oa rd for b u s
rou te a llocation, and so on.
The disadvantage of the top-dow n approach
is that the m a n a gem en t level m a y n ot b e
fu lly a w a re o f h ow in form a tion actu ally
en ters and is p roces s ed b y th e organization.
Th ey m a y n ot b e tech n ica lly com p eten t to
eva lu a te th e fea s ib ility o f actu ally ob ta in in g
the b en efits p rom oted for a GIS. As a result,
th eir p rop os a ls m a y lea d to in fla ted ex p ec­
ta tion s that a re ea sily dism is sed . Th ere is
also th e p rob lem o f res is ta n ce from staff.
C hanging th e orga n iza tion will requ ire the
re- training o f s om e s ta ff and p erh a p s th e
elim ination o f s om e tra d ition a l job s . For
example, w ea th er forecasting on ce d ep en d ed
on large numbers of technicians to draft maps.
N ow m ost o f this w ork has b een au tom ated.
Bottom-Up. B ottom - u p p rom otion occu rs
w hen th os e d oin g th e w ork b ec o m e a w a re
o f im p rovem en ts th a t cou ld b e m a d e to th e
cu rren t p roced u res . Th e in dividu als at this
level in th e orga n iza tion a re p rob a b ly the
m ost ca p a b le o f recogn izin g th e lim itations
o f th e cu rren t s ys tem and m os t keen ly
a w a re o f th e b ottlen eck s that m ight b e
rem oved throu gh th e in trod u ction o f a GIS.
This a p p roa ch is usually ea s ier to im p lem en t
b eca u s e it has th e s u p p ort o f th e w orkin g
level.
O n e o f th e difficu lties with b ottom - u p p ro­
m otion is th e w a y that m a n a gem en t ju stifies
exp en d itu res for a G IS. It is ra re th a t solid
cos t- b en efit ca s es can b e m a d e for com ­
pu ter system s, w h eth er th ey b e as com p lex
as a G IS or as com m on p la ce as th e office
w ord proces s in g system. W h en exa m in ed in
detail, cos t- b en efit ju stifications ten d to
inclu de s om e qu an tifica tion o f b en efits , b u t
still a re m ore or less a lea p- of- faith . M any
of th e ch anges will b e non-tangib les, such as
cond ition s o f w ork, s p eed o f a cces s to infor­
mation, and im p roved levels o f service.
O ften th e d ecis ion m a y b e sta lled until th e
n eed to a d op t th e n ew tech n ology b ecom es
"com m on k n o w led g e". O n ce th e n eed to
a u tom a te spatial d a ta has b een discu ssed
frequ en tly en ou gh and at high en ou gh
levels, it b ecom es a ccep ted as th e s ta tu s
q u o . Th e n eed to ju stify a u tom a tion then
cea ses to b e th e issue and attention focu sses
on th e m echa nics o f im p lem en ta tion .

Independent ThirdParty. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e ch a m p ion m a kin g it n eces s a ry to
fo r th e G IS id ea m a y b e a third p a rty,
i.e. s om eon e from ou ts id e th e orga n iza tion .
Th ey m a y b e a G IS ven d or, a g rou p o f G IS
u sers in th e s a m e field , or a cons u lta nt. If
th ey a re s een as b ein g tech n ica lly c o m p e ­
ten t a nd h avin g n o ves ted in teres t, or at
lea s t a kn ow n in teres t in th e ou tcom e, th en
th eir s u gges tion s m a y ca rry con s id era b le
w eigh t. Th ird p a rty s u p p ort m a y a ls o co m e
from a grou p w ithin th e s a m e orga n iza tion
th a t has similar n eed s . H o w e ver , if th e
a ffilia tion is to o clos e, th e g rou p m a y en d
up com p etin g for control o f the n ew resou rce.
D ata p rocess in g d ep a rtm en ts s om etim es fall
in to th e p os ition o f com p etin g w ith th e
d ep a rtm en ts th ey s er ve for con trol o f com ­
p u ter res ou rces .
T H E IM P E T U S F O R A C Q U IR IN G
A G IS
Pa rt o f th e im p etu s fo r in trod u cin g a n ew
id ea like a G IS is a recogn ition that th ere a re
prob lem s with the current information system.
S om e o f th e m ore com m on p r ob lem s th a t
p r om p t a G IS in ves tiga tion a re as follow s :
1. S patial in form a tion is p o o r ly m a in ­
ta in ed or is ou t o f d a te. This m a y ta ke
th e form o f ou td a ted maps, lon g d ela ys
in p roces s in g m a p revisions , or inaccu ­
ra te data record s and su mm aries. U ser
mistru st o f th e qu a lity o f th e in form a ­
tion m ay lea d to th e u se o f a ltern a tive
da ta sou rces.
2. S pa tia l d a ta is n ot r e co r d ed or s tored
in a s ta n d a rd ized w a y. Th e g eog ra p h ic
coord in a te s ys tem s may d iffer a nd
m a p scales m a y va ry, making it difficu lt
to u se m u ltip le da ta s ets tog eth er.
Th es e p rob lem s can s ignifica n tly limit
th e u sefu lness o f th e exis tin g da ta .
3. Th e spatial d a ta m a y n ot b e d efin ed in
a con s is ten t m a n n er. For exa m p le,
d ep a rtm en ts m a y b e u sing d ifferen t
definitions for their land u se ca tegories ,
253
Im p le m e n tin g A GIS mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
ca p tu re and
s tore m ore than on e data s et for similar
in form a tion . It is often p os s ib le to
d e v e lo p a sin gle cla ss ification tha t will
sa tisfy th e n eed s o f all u sers. In s om e
cases, th e m a n d a tes o f d ifferen t orga n i­
za tion s req u ire th a t sim ilar d a ta b e
org a n ized u sing d ifferen t cla ssification
s ystem s. H o w ever , even th en , a cos t
redu ction can often b e a ch ieved b y col­
la b ora tin g on th e collection and en cod ­
ing o f th e da ta .
4. D ata a re n ot s h a red . This m a y resu lt
from fea r o f misu se or b eca u s e p o ten ­
tial users wou ld not know of the existence
or w h erea b ou ts o f th e data. A s a result,
u sers m a y k eep th eir ow n co p y o f th e
origin a l d a ta b a s e or m a y cr ea te and
maintain th eir ow n da ta b a s e. N ot on ly
can th er e b e cos tly d u p lica tion o f d a ta
s tora g e a n d collection , d u p lica tion o f
d a ta a lm os t gu a ra n tees th a t th ere will
b e d is crep en cies . Th e d ifferen t ve r ­
sions m a y b e cr ea ted in slightly d if­
fer en t w a ys a n d will p r ob a b ly n ot b e
u p d a ted a t th e s a m e tim e.
5. D ata retrieva l a n d m an ip u la tion ca p a ­
b ilities a re in a d equ a te. Th e retrieva l of
in form a tion , such as rou tin e rep orts ,
m a y b e to o s low and th e a b ility to p e r ­
form com p lex o r s p ecia l p u rp os e a n a ­
lys es o f spatial in form a tion may b e
lim ited or n on - exis ten t.
6. N ew d em a n d s a re m a d e o f th e or g a ­
nization th a t ca n n ot b e m et u sing th e
cu rren t in form a tion s ys tem . Th e o r g a ­
nization ’s m a n d a te m ay b e ch a n ged , or
a new legal requ irem en t may take effect
tha t ca n n ot b e s a tis fied w ith ou t th e
ca p a b ilities o f a G IS. T o b e p r ep a r ed
for th e u n exp ected , u n lim ited ex p a n ­
sion o f th e d a ta b a s e is often m a d e a
s ys tem requ irem en t.
For th e s econ d p h a s e o f im p lem en ta tion
to b e rea ch ed , th e p olitica l ch a llen ges mu st
254 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
b e recon ciled to th e p oin t th a t s om e grou p
w ithin th e orga n iza tion can b e a s s ign ed th e
res p on s ib ility o f a na lyzin g th e n eed for a
G iS . Th ere mu st a ls o b e s om e gen era l rec­
ogn ition o f th e p rob lem s that a G IS m ight
a d d res s . Th en on e or m ore in dividu a ls can
b e a s ked to m ore form a lly in ves tiga te h ow
a G IS m ight b en efit th e orga n iza tion . FEDCBAis d erived from th e evalu ation o f th e existing
P H A SE 2 : D EV EL O P I N G S Y S T EM QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
R EQ U I R EM EN T S
M os t discu ssions o f G IS im p lem en ta tion
b egin with this phase. Y et the system requ ire­
m ents d e ve lo p e d h ere will b e in flu en ced b y
which grou p has b een given th e m a n da te for
d efin in g w h a t n eed s and w h os e n eed s th e
system will address. O f cou rse the p rop os ed
s ys tem s will ten d to reflect th e particu lar
orien ta tion o f this grou p .
Requ irem en ts a re com m on ly d e ve lo p e d
by d ocu m en tin g th e d ifferen t w a ys th e
orga n iza tion cu rren tly h andles spatial in for­
functional definition or
m ation, term ed a
user needs analysis o f th e exis tin g s ystem
an d th e a n ticip a ted fu tu re n eed s . This is
d on e u sing in terview s , a n a lyzin g th e in for­
m ation p rod u cts and s ervices h a n d led b y
th e orga n iza tion , a nd th e system s , and p r o­
ced u res u sed to p rovid e them. For pu rp os es
o f analysis th e exis tin g s ystem can b e su b ­
d ivid ed in to a s et o f p roces s in g m od u les.
W ithin each m od u le, a user, th e on e a cces s ­
ing and u sing th e data, ob ta in s th e requ ired
input data, perform s on e or m ore procedu res
on tha t data, and g en era tes an in form a tion
p rod u ct. Th at p rod u ct m a y b e a lega l d es ­
crip tion o f a land p a rcel, a m a p o f critical
w ild life hab itat, or a ta b u la tion o f fores t
stan d s to b e h a rves ted .
Th e analysis o f th e exis tin g in form a tion
s ys tem shou ld p r ovid e a s ys tem a tic rep or t
o f th e in form a tion tasks th e orga n iza tion is
m an dated to p rovid e, the input data n eed ed ,
th e ou tp u t p rod u cts requ ired , a nd th e p r o ­
ced u res u sed to gen era te those ou tpu t p rod ­
ucts. Th e form , a ccu ra cy, tim elin es s, and
volu m e o f th os e prod u cts a re critical charac­
teris tics. Tim e s en s itive da ta, such as
w ea th er in form a tion or em erg en cy rou ting
will h a ve en tirely d ifferen t p roces s in g
requ irem en ts from m a p u p d a tin g or land
record s m a in ten a n ce.
Th e d efin ition o f fu nctional requ irem en ts
s ys tem and th e a n ticip a ted fu tu re p roces s ­
ing n eed s . Th e in form a tion s ystem is then
con s id ered as a w h ole within th e con tex t o f
th e orga n ization . G iven th e requ ired inputs,
ou tpu ts, and p roces s in g to b e d on e, an
a ttem p t is m a d e to im p rove efficien cy b y
red u cin g du plica tion o f effort. W h en in for­
m ation sys tem s evo lve, th ere is a ten d en cy
for specia l p u rp os e fu nctions to b e crea ted
as n eed ed . A fter a w h ile th ere m a y b e
s evera l fu nctions th a t p erform w h a t is fu n d­
a m en ta lly th e s a m e task. O ften th es e fu nc­
tion s can b e rep la ced b y a sin gle s oftw a re
fu nction.
Similarly, d ifferen t da ta form a ts m a y h a ve
d e ve lo p e d . B y s ta n d a rd izin g th e w a y data
a re en cod ed , th ey can b e m a d e a cces s ib le
to a w id er ra n ge o f a p p lica tion p rogra m s .
S ta n d a rd izin g th e w a y d a ta a re en tered ,
a n a lyzed , and d is p la yed m akes a s ys tem
ea s ier to u se an d to learn. It a ls o fa cilita tes
th e in tegra ted analysis o f d ivers e d a ta sets,
p roced u res th a t th e s ys tem d es ign er m a y
not h a ve a n ticip a ted . C om m on h a rd w a re
requ irem en ts a re also id en tified , e.g. h a rd ­
cop y ou tp u t d evices , such as p en p lotters ,
electros ta tic prin ters , gra p h ics term inals,
d igitizers and scanners.
Ideally, th e fu nctional requ irem en ts defini­
tion p roces s will p rod u ce a set o f data input,
p roces s in g fu nction, and ou tp u t p rod u ct
n eed s , and a list o f su ita b le h a rd w a re
d evices . Th e in corp ora tion o f th e com p lete
in form a tion p roces s in g requ irem en ts into a
com m on s ystem p r ovid es th e op p ortu n ity
to m inim ize red u n d a n t d a ta collection and
analysis and to m a xim ize th e sharing o f
in form a tion . O n ce th e fu nctional defin ition
is com p lete, it shou ld b e con s id ered in

rela tion to th e overa ll d irection o f th e
orga n iza tion b y th e a p p r op r ia te level of
m a n a gem en t.
W h ile th e d efin ition o f s ys tem req u ire­
m ents m a y a p p ea r to b e s tra igh tforw a rd at
first gla n ce, th ere a re a n u m b er o f fa ctors
th at m a ke it a difficu lt and n ot en tirely sys­
tem a tic p roced u re. A t on e extrem e, an exist­
ing s ys tem th a t is ch a otic cou ld sim p ly b e
rep lica ted w ithou t im p roving it. On th e oth er
hand, a s ys tem m ight b e p r op o s ed th at
elim in a tes d u p lica ted effor t a n d red u n d a n t
information bu t is u nacceptab le. W hat a p p ea r
to b e "irra tion a l” m eth od s in th e la rger view
h a ve often aris en for qu ite s p ecific rea s on s .
W h en view ed in th e n a rrow er fra m e o f a
s p ecific a gen cy, th e m eth od m a y b e qu ite
rational a nd n eces s a ry. A fa ilu re to u n d er­
stan d th e rea s on s for w h a t a p p ea r to b e
irrational elem en ts in an existing sys tem can
lea d to th e fa ilu re o f th e n ew on e.
As C hrisman (1987) n oted , a u s er- n eed s
analysis has th e potentia l to d o to o little and
rep lica te a su b - optim a l sys tem . Or th e
analysis can d o too much and rationa lize th e
system to th e point o f overru lin g institutional
m a ndates and genera tin g political in-fighting.
If d on e w ell, a n eed s analysis has th e p oten ­
tial to recog n ize th e con s tra in ts th a t d e te r ­
m in ed th e stru ctu re o f th e old system . Then
the im p roved efficiency, sp eed , and analytical
ca p a b ilties o f n ew er tech n ology can b e u sed
to b etter sa tisfy th e n eed s o f th e m a n d a ted
institu tion. To a ch ieve this, th e institu tional
fa ctors , a n d in th e ca s e o f a p u b lic a gen cy
th e social fa ctors , mu st be ta ken into
accou nt, as w ell as th e tech n ica l fa ctors .
W ithin th e pu b lic s ector, g eog ra p h ic in for­
m a tion is a social com m od ity. Im p orta n t
da ta collection fu nctions a re n ot ca rried ou t
for tech n ica l reas on s. Th e crea tion of
top og ra p h ic maps, p r op er ty m aps, or zon ­
ing m a p s a re n ot d riven b y a fa vou ra b le
cos t- b en efit ratio. Th es e in form a tion p r o d ­
ucts a re crea ted b ecau se an organ ization has
b een given a m a n d a te to p rod u ce th em .
(Th e overa ll b en efit to s ociety m a y n ot b e
255 jihgfedcb
Im p le m e n tin g A GIS mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
m ea s u ra b le; h ow ever, th e d em ocra tic p r o­
ces s assu m es tha t th e b en efits ex ceed th e
costs.)
Lega l and p olitica l s ys tem s g ive orga n iza ­
tion s m a n d a tes to collect g eog ra p h ic in for­
mation in res p on s e to social n eed , th e n eed
for a legal d es crip tion o f land ow n ers h ip , or
th e n eed for zon in g regu lation. Th e m an date
m a y b e given within th e con text o f a law, an
administrative regulation, or even a customary
p ra ctis e. A m a n d a te im plicitly or exp licitly
p r ovid es d efin ition s of th e ob jects of
in teres t, th e p roced u res for p roces s in g this
da ta , a nd th e a ction s that m a y resu lt. O ften
w h a t a p p ea r to b e du plica tion s o f effort a re
th e resu lt o f in d ep en d en t m a n d a tes u sing
in d e p e n d e n t d e fin itio n s h a vin g s om e
overla p p in g data needs. For exa m ple, G urda
et. al. (1987) n ote th a t th ree p a rticip a tin g
a gen cies had th r ee d ifferen t a n d o ver la p ­
p in g d efin ition s o f f ie ld . Th ou gh it w ou ld
a p p ea r to b e m ore efficien t to d e ve lo p a
com m on definition for agricu ltu ral fields, th e
th ree definitions p erta in ed to th ree d ifferen t
m a n da tes, a nd so th r ee s ep a ra te field da ta
s ets had to b e reta in ed w ithin th e GIS.
Thus, th e d efin ition o f s ys tem requ ire­
m ents is n ot sim p ly a tech nical issue. It is an
organizational on e as well, with th e orga niza ­
tional n eed s com m on ly ta king p r eced en ce.
W ha t m a y a p p ea r tech n ica lly to b e red u n ­
d a n t efforts m a y in fa ct reflect su b tle yet
ess entia l distinctions. FEDCBA
P H A SE 3 : EV A L U A T I O N O F QPONMLKJIHGFED
A L T E R N A T I V E S Y S T EM S
Th e eva lu a tion p h a s e is u su ally con d u cted
in tw o s ta ges . First, a n u m b er o f ca n d id a te
system s a re id en tified b a s ed on such in for­
m ation as recom m en d a tion s from col­
lea gu es , ven d o r litera tu re, a n d d em on s tra ­
tions at con feren ces and tra d e show s. U sing
th e analysis from Ph a s e 2, a s et o f requ ire­
m ents is d ra w n up. To d o s o requ ires tha t
th e goa ls or ob jectives o f th e G IS be
id en tified . For exa m p le, s ys tem ob jectives
256 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

m ight inclu de im p rovin g th e tim elin es s and 2. E fficient interaction for th e exp ert user.
qu ality o f inform a tion , p rovid in g im p roved A menu stru ctu re m ay b e ea s y for th e
a d h o c qu ery capab ilities, and redu cing data occa s ion a l u ser to w ork with b u t m ay
red u n d a n cy. Th es e b roa d ob jectives must b e to o s low for th e exp ert. Provid in g
then b e u sed to gu id e th e s p ecifica tion of a fa s ter m ean s o f in tera ction , such as
which fu nctions, w hat data, and which p r od ­ a com m a n d line op tion , m ay b etter
ucts th e system will b e ex p ected to p rovid e. satisfy th e n eed s o f th e exp ert.
It is useful to divid e th e system requ irem en ts
3. E rror m essa ges shou ld clearly state the
into th os e ca p a b ilities con s id ered ess ential
natu re o f th e error, its p rob a b le cau se,
and th os e that w ou ld b e nice to have. S elec­
and give s om e d irection to correct th e
tion criteria a re then d efin ed . M u n ro (1983)
p rob lem .
su ggests d ivid in g th es e criteria into th ree
ca tegories : h a rd w a re, s oftw a re, and user- 4. A con text- s en s itive " h e lp ” fa cility
friend lin es s. shou ld p rovid e a com p lete explanation
User-friendliness is on e of th e m ost over ­ o f w ha t is ex p ected o f th e u ser at a
u sed term s in com p u ter s oftw a re d es crip ­ given p oin t in th e p rogra m .
tions. Thou gh critical to th e p erform a n ce of
S ys tem s will d iffer in th eir a p p roa ch to
a system , u ser- frien dliness is difficu lt to
s p ecific fu nctional requ irem en ts , reflectin g
d efin e. In p a rt this is b eca u s e th e term is
th e tra d e- offs that w er e m a d e in th e system
rela tive; w h a t is p er ceived as u ser- frien dly
design. As a result, system s will d iffer in their
tod a y com p a red with similar s oftw a re m ay
ea s e o f op era tion , system p erform a n ce,
n ot b e con s id ered u ser- frien dly w h en m ore
efficien cy of s tora ge, and flexib ility o f p r o ­
in tera ctive, ea sier- to- u se system s b ecom e
cessing; issues that a re com m only recognized
a va ila b le. U ser- frien dlin es s ten d s to evo lve
and a d d res s ed in an eva lu a tion . W h a t is
as a s oftw a re p a cka ge is u p d a ted , b u gs a re
often n ot con s id ered a re th e potentia l p rob ­
fixed , "h e lp ” fa cilities a re im p roved , and
lem s a s s ocia ted with u n exp ected failu res.
n ew h a rd w a re b ecom es availab le. Th e user-
All com p u ter system s h a ve failu res. C on­
frien d lin es s o f a system will d irectly a ffect
sid era tion shou ld b e given to the p rob a b ility
th e tim e and, th erefore, m on ey n eed ed for
of failu res, th e potentia l effect on op era tion s
training, h ow w id ely th e system will b e u sed
(s om e op era tion s will b e m ore critical than
within th e orga n iza tion , and which levels of
oth ers ), and th e r ecover y p roced u res that
th e orga n iza tion will d irectly in tera ct with
w ou ld b e u sed. Th e m ore seriou s th e con ­
th e system .
s equ en ces o f a failu re, th e m ore im p orta n t
If a G IS is to b e u sed b y a handfu l of
it b ecom es to h a ve a ltern a tive m eth od s to
tra in ed technicians and p rogra m m ers , user-
g en era te sp ecific in form ation. For exa m p le,
frien d lin es s m ight m ean an efficien t com ­
d igitizin g is com m on ly m ore cos tly than
mand la ngu age and g ood p rogra m m in g su p­
ex p ected , s oftw a r e p r ob lem s m ay be
p ort. H ow ever, in m os t orga n izations , on e
en cou n tered w h en a d d ition a l fu nctions a re
o f th e ob jectives o f im p lem en tin g a G IS is
a d d ed , th e s ystem m ay p r ove to b e s low er
to in crea s e th e acces sib ility o f in form a tion
than ex p ected , or tra in ing m ay b e in a d e­
to th e non com p u ter- s p ecia lis t u ser. In this
qu a te (s ee Ta b le 8.1). Thu s a com p a ris on o f
con text th e characteristics of a u s er- friendly
risks sh ou ld b e inclu ded in th e G IS system
system w ou ld inclu de the follow in g (a d a p ted
evaluations. M ost G ISes are complex systems.
from C ros ley 1985):
It is ra re tha t th ey w ork p erfectly w h en
1. S ys tem com m a n d s tha t a re ea sily in stalled. Th e efforts o f a highly tra in ed and
u n d ers tood by th e n on - com p u ter cos tly s oftw a re p ers on (eith er at th e ven ­
specialist. d o r ’s or cu s tom er’s ex p en s e) is com m on ly
 257 jihgfedc
Im p le m e n tin g A C IS mlkjihgfedcbaZY

n eed ed to b rin g th e s ys tem to th e requ ired G IS es a re com m on ly eva lu a ted b y m ea n s

op era tin g level. GFEDCBA o f ven d o r d em on s tra tion s , d em on s tra tion s
at existing installations m eetin g similar n eed s
to th e s ys tem b ein g sou gh t, in terview s with
T a b l e 8 .1 P o te n tia l P ro b le m s o f a
k n ow led g ea b le u sers, and a r eview of
G IS P ro d u c t. (A d a p te d fro m M u n ro
pu b lis h ed s ys tem s p ecifica tion s . Th ere a re
1983). QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
a n u m b er o f im p orta n t lim ita tion s o f this
1. Po o r t r a in in g s election p roces s . It is th e n atu re of
2. Po o r d o c u m e n t a t io n en thu sia stic sa les m a n s h ip to instill high
3. So f t w a r e d o e s n o t p e r f o r m a s e x p e c t e d exp ecta tion s , es p ecia lly w h en th e p oten tia l
4. Sy st e m i n s t a l l a t i o n a n d st a r t - u p i s l a t e
b u yer is as ex cited by th e p r os p ect o f
5. C u st o m e r su p p o r t is to o slo w or
a cqu irin g a n ew G IS as th e s eller is a t th e
in a d e q u a t e
6. D a t a e n t ry is m o re c o st ly an d slo w e r p ros p ect o f m aking a sale. Q u a n tita tive p er ­
t h an exp ect ed for m a n ce m ea s u res r ed u ce but d o n ’t
7. Pr ic e in c r e a se s fo r t h e sy st e m h ard ­ elim in a te th e ex citem en t fa ctor b eca u s e
w a r e , so f t w a r e , o r m a in t e n a n c e
m a n y o f th e ch a ra cteris tics to b e eva lu a ted
8. Ba ck - u p o r r e c o v e r y sy st e m s f a il an d
a re n on - qu an tita tive (e.g. u s er- friendliness).
d a t a a r e l o st
9. So f t w a r e c a n n o t b e m o d if ie d t o p ro v id e Th e data sets com m on ly u sed in d em on s tra ­
a d d it io n a l f u n c t io n s o r h an d le u n ex­ tion s a re d es ig n ed for th a t p u rp os e. Th ey
p e ct e d p r o b le m s a re u su ally small, "w e ll- b e h a ve d ” (i.e.
d es ign ed to s h ow th e s ys tem in its b es t
Im p lem en ta tion cos ts a re high. S ta ff mu st light), and h a ve b een th orou gh ly tes ted . In
b e tra in ed , and a d d ition a l s ta ff m a y b e an op era tion a l settin g, a G IS u su ally mu st
n eed ed . A s th e s ys tem b egin s to s er ve han dle la rge data sets that h ave th e uncanny
u sers, u ser s u p p ort s ervices will b e n eed ed hab it o f p oss es sin g unusual and u n exp ected
to d ea l with th e d a y- to- d a y glitch es that ch a ra cteristics. W h er e on e s ys tem may
occu r such as files that ca n 't b e op en ed , data crash, a n oth er m a y p r o vid e a s im p le o ve r ­
that a re los t d u e to a system crash, or oth er ride. Th es e su b tle nu ances can m a ke th e dif­
in ciden ts com m on to any com p u ter installa­ fer en ce b etw een a p rod u ction s ys tem on
tion . Th en , as G IS p rod u cts b egin to b e w hich an orga n iza tion is w illing to d ep en d
d eliver ed , a d em a n d for s ervice is cr ea ted or a system that m a n a gers a re a p p reh en s ive
th a t th e orga n iza tion will ex p ect to h a ve to u se for critical tasks.
sa tis fied a t th e s a m e tim e th at s ys tem start­ For th es e rea s on s , a s econ d s ta ge o f
u p is contin u ing. If ex p ecta tion s a re ra is ed eva lu a tion is com m on ly u s ed in w hich a few
tha t ca n n ot b e m et, th e G IS im p lem en ta tion s elected system s a re tes ted m ore thorou gh ly
plan will b e ca lled into qu es tion , and s o will u sing d a ta s ets s u p p lied b y th e u ser a nd
th e cred ib ility o f th os e res p on s ib le for th e follow in g a p res crib ed s et o f p roces s in g
G IS. Finally, th e initial en try o f th e orga n iza ­ fu nctions. Benchmarking, th e a d m in is tra ­
tion ’s exis tin g da ta into th e G IS is th e m a jor tion o f a s ta n d a rd ized tes t p roced u re, p r o ­
b ottlen eck en cou n tered in im p lem en tin g a vid es a s ys tem a tic m ea n s o f com p a rin g th e
GIS. Th e cost o f this op era tion va ries w id ely, p erform a n ce level o f com p etin g sys tem s . In
b u t is com m on ly s evera l tim es th e cos t o f this w a y th e p u rch a s er can b etter a ssess
th e h a rd w a re and s oftw a re. Faster, m ore h ow a s ys tem will p er form u n d er th e
a ccu ra te, a nd ea s ier da ta en try p roced u res ex p ected op era tin g con d ition s .
p r ovid e a d irect cos t a d va n ta g e th a t m a y Th e eva lu a tion sh ou ld s ta rt w ith da ta that
o ver s h a d ow d ifferen ces in s ystem pu rchas e th e ven d or has n ot s een b efor e. Th es e data
p rice. shou ld b e s a m p les o f rea l da ta s ets th a t will
258 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rsp e ctiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
actu ally b e u sed in th e G IS. Th e eva lu a tion
shou ld inclu de ever y m a jor p roces s in g fu nc­
tion and ou tpu t p rod u ct that will b e n eed ed
and shou ld b e p erform ed w ithou t significant
interru ption such as to m od ify softw a re. Th e
system shou ld p erform as a d vertis ed w ith ­
ou t requ irin g s oftw a re specia lists to coa x it
along. An evalu a tion o f this typ e, p erform ed
u nd er th e con s ta n t ob s erva tion o f th e
eva lu a tors, will highlight u n exp ected d if­
ficu lties and d em on s tra te th e flexib ility and
rob u stn ess o f th e system . E xa m ples of
system evalu a tion p roced u res can b e fou nd
in Joffe ( 1987), M a rb le and S en ( 1986), and
Tom linson and B oyle (1981). G ood ch ild and
Rizzo (1986) p res en t an a p p roa ch to eva lu ­
ating G IS p erform a n ce taking into accou nt
p r ojected w orkloa d s .
Th e eva lu a tion p roces s can b e taken a
fu rth er and m ore cos tly s tep b y u nd erta k­
ing a p ilot stu dy. A p ilot stu dy is usually
d es ign ed to illu strate th e effectiven es s o f
G IS tech n iqu es to m eet an orga n iza tion 's
n eed s . Th e p roject is com m on ly stru ctu red
to d em on s tra te th e m ore im p orta n t fu nc­
tion al requ irem en ts u sing a real data set.
Such a p roject can p r ovid e a n u m b er of
im p orta n t b en efits. S ince th e orga n iza tion ’s
sta ff a re d irectly in volved , th ey b ecom e
fam iliar with G IS tech n ology and m eth od s .
Th e ex p erien ce p rovid es a realis tic view of
th e difficu lties o f im p lem en tin g a system .
Th e difficu lties of lea rn in g a n ew system ,
inpu tting data, recon cilin g da ta that dis­
a gree, ass essing accu racy, satisfying u ser
n eed s , d evelop in g p rogra m s to ha n dle
unusual situations, w orkin g arou nd s oftw a re
limitations, etc. a re all ex p erien ced first
hand.
Th ere is als o th e op p ortu n ity to qu antify
th e p oten tia l b en efits b y carefu lly record in g
th e res ou rces u sed and prod u cts gen era ted
u sing th e G IS and w h en th e s a m e a na lyses
a re d on e manu ally. By ju diciou s selection of
th e p roject, it can b e u sed to win th e su p­
p ort o f key d ep a rtm en ts or individu als w h o
m a y b e sceptical. It can als o b e u sed to
id en tify p oten tia l p rob lem s such as data
en try th a t is to o slow , a na lyses that ca n n ot
b e effectively p erform ed , or ou tp u t p r od ­
ucts th a t a re n ot of su fficient qu ality or
accu racy.
Th e p ilot p roject, thou gh a costly u n d er­
taking, is th e m ost effective w a y for an
orga n iza tion to p red ict h ow w ell a G IS will
m eet th eir n eed s . It p r ovid es d ifferen t
in form a tion than a s ys tem a tic eva lu a tion .
Th e p ilot p roject p rovid es direct exp erien ce;
th e look- a n d - feel o f u sing a G IS, handling
th e p rob lem s , exercis in g th e s ys tem 's ca p a ­
b ilities, and eva lu a tin g its p erform a n ce
and p rod u cts . B row n (1986) n otes tha t in
his stu dy of G IS sites, all su ccessfu l installa­
tion s had con d u cted p ilot stu dies on their
ow n or with th e assistance of an ou ts id e
consu ltant.
By th e end of th e system evalu ation phase,
a r ep or t is gen era lly p rod u ced that inclu des
recom m en d a tion s for th e system to b e
acqu ired and the financial and staff resou rces
n eed ed to s u p p ort th e G IS im p lem en ta tion .
Th e s ys tem eva lu a tion is u su ally p res en ted
as an ob jective technical analysis. H ow ever,
it is im p orta n t to recog n ize tha t th e ch oice
o f fu nctions that w er e requ ired and th e w a y
in w hich th e eva lu a tion was stru ctu red
reflect the orientation and judgment of
the evaluators. For th e p roces s to h a ve
b een su ccessfu l, th e criteria o f th e eva lu a ­
tion tea m mu st clos ely reflect th os e of th e
the criteria
orga n ization . M ore specifically,
must reflect the needs of those who will
actually use the system. Th e evalu a tion
p roces s can b e ea sily and in a d verten tly
b ias ed tow a rd the interests o f the evalu ators
ins tead o f th e actu al u sers. For exa m p le, an
eva lu a tion m ight em p h a s ize analytical fu nc­
tions tha t a re useful in planning and forecas t­
ing, ye t th e m a jor n eed m ay b e for o p er a ­
tional da ta retrieva l and u pdating. It is
im p orta n t tha t th e orga n iza tion a l issu es b e
a d d res s ed ea rly so tha t th e in terests o f
th e a p p r op r ia te grou p s a re a d eq u a tely
rep res en ted .

P H A SE 4 : SY ST EM
JU S T I F I C A T I O N QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
AN D D EV ELO P M EN T O F A N
I M P LEM EN T A T I O N P LA N jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
2. m ore efficien t retrieva l o f in form a tion ;
An im p lem en ta tion plan is form a lly or in for­
mally d evelop ed in ord er to p roceed tow a rd
th e acqu isition o f a G IS. It m a y b e s ta rted
du rin g th e s ys tem eva lu a tion p h a s e or on ly
a fter th e eva lu a tion s a re com p leted . Th e
plan is com m on ly p a rt o f a form a l su b m is­
sion to p r oceed with acqu isition . Prior to
issuing a pu rchas e o r d er th e plan shou ld b e
d e ve lo p e d and a g r eed u pon b y th os e w h o
will b e in volved in fu nding, im p lem en tin g,
op era tin g, and using th e system. S om e form
o f ju stification for a cqu irin g a G IS m a y b e
in clu d ed in th e im p lem en ta tion plan or
a d d res s ed s ep a ra tely. Th e way a G IS
acqu isition is ju stified will d irectly a ffect th e
s tep s n eed ed to su ccessfu lly im p lem en t it
a nd th e b u d g et tha t can b e ob ta in ed .
J U S T IF Y IN G A G IS A C Q U IS IT IO N
Th e a rgu m en ts u s ed to ju stify a G IS a cqu i­
sition will d efin e w h o in th e orga n iza tion is
to b enefit (i.e. w hose prob lem s will b e addres­
s ed ). W ill it b e m a n a gers w h o n eed b etter
foreca s tin g tools , s ta ff w h o will b e a b le to
retr ieve and maintain da ta m ore easily, or
p ers on n el res p on s ib le for qu ality assu rance
and financial con trol w h o will b e b etter a b le
to m on itor th e orga n iza tion ? A G IS can b e
o f b en efit to all o f th es e grou p s . H ow ever,
th e w a y th e acqu isition is ju stified in term s
o f solu tions in th es e p rob lem a rea s will
d efin e h ow th e su ccess o f th e G IS will b e
recog n ized and a s s es s ed b y th e orga n iza ­
tion. It will a ls o d efin e w h o a re ex p ected to
be th e d irect b en eficia ries and w h ere
p olitica l s u p p ort for th e p r oject is likely to
b e fou nd.
Th e im p lem en ta tion o f a G IS is a costly,
long- term u ndertaking. D ecid in g w h eth er or
n ot to p r o ce ed can b e grea tly a ss is ted b y
a system a tic and qu an titative analysis o f th e
ex p ected costs an d b en efits . S om e o f th e
m ore com m on ly recog n ized b en efits o f a
259 FEDCBA
Im p le m e n tin g A GIS mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
G IS a re:
1. b etter s tora ge and u p d a tin g o f data;
3. m ore efficien t p rod u ction o f in form a ­
tion p rod u cts;
4. rapid analysis of a ltern a tives ; and
5. th e va lu e o f b etter decis ion s.
Th es e b en efits a re p red ica ted on selecting
an a p p rop ria te system and en terin g su itab le
data. If th e right d a ta is n ot in th e system ,
th e b es t d ecis ion will n ot su rface.
It is im p orta n t to recogn ize tha t n o m at­
ter h ow rigorou s and exten s ive th e analysis,
in th e en d th e d ecis ion to a cqu ire a G IS will
b e a ju d gm en t call. W hile that ju d gm en t can
be su b s ta n tia lly a id ed by cos t- b en efit
ana lys es, th ere d oes not exis t an ob jective,
u nb ia s ed analysis p roced u re that can, b y
itself, p r ovid e th e correct "g o/ n o- g o" d eci­
sion. Th ere a re tw o principal rea s on s for
this. First, cos t- b en efit a na lyses , fea sib ility
stu dies, w ork loa d p rojection s an d similar
a n a lys es a re n ot as ob jective and rigorou s
as w e w ou ld like to b elieve. S econ d , and
p erh a p s m ore important, is that the decision
to p r ovid e geog ra p h ic in form a tion is ra rely
ju stified on th e grou nds o f costs and b en efits
in th e first p la ce.
Co st - Be n e f it A n a ly se s
In princip al, a com p a ris on o f th e costs and
b en efits o f th e cu rren t s ystem and th e n ew
G IS shou ld p rovid e solid data to s u p p ort th e
acqu isition d ecis ion . Th e p rob lem is tha t a
g ood d ea l o f ju d gm en t must b e exercis ed in
d ecid in g h ow to d efin e and m ea s u re th os e
cos ts and b en efits . Th e item s s elected for
m ea s u rem en t and th e w a y th ey a re qu an ­
tified d irectly a ffect the resu lt.
First an a ss es s m en t is d on e o f th e costs
a s s ocia ted with th e cu rren t system . Th ere
a re m an y cos ts that can b e com p a red in a
fairly s tra igh tforw a rd manner. For exa m p le,
th e tim e n eed ed to g en era te a given p r od ­
uct, such as a map, using th e cu rrent m eth od
260 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
and using th e p rop os ed system is fairly ea sy
to qu antify. Tim e es tim a tes for la b ou r and
estimates of material costs can b e d evelop ed
for th e existing system b y ana lyzing existing
record s or b y collectin g th e da ta d irectly.
Th e s a m e can b e d on e for th e p r op os ed
system b y p rod u cin g th e sa m e p rod u cts on
a tes t system . H ow ever, th ere will a lw ays
rem a in s om e ju d gm en t n eed ed to es tim a te
such item s as th e cos t o f op era tin g th e n ew
system , th e cu stom p rogra m m in g requ ired ,
the ra te o f d ep recia tion , and th e w a y the
cos t o f s h a red res ou rces (such as facilities
and p ers on - yea rs ) shou ld b e a p p ortion ed .
A t first gla n ce, estim a tin g th e costs o f th e
n ew system shou ld b e ea s ier to qu an tify
than th e cos ts o f th e cu rren t on e. H ow ever,
th ere a re m an y fixed p rice items, such as
h a rd w a re, s oftw a re, system m a in tena n ce,
and training cou rses. Th e costs to crea te the
data b a s e a re less ea s ily p r ed icted b eca u s e
th ey d ep en d on th e ex p ected b u t u nknown
level o f p erform a n ce o f th e s ta ff that h a ve
yet to b e tra in ed . If th e data b a s e crea tion
task is con tra cted ou t, th e costs
b e m ore p red icta b le, d ep en d in g on
contractu a l a rra n gem en ts . Th ere a re also
the u n exp ected difficulties, such as analytical
ca p a b ilities for which specia l s oftw a re must
b e w ritten, s oftw a re th a t d oes not p erform
a dequ a tely, p oor docu m en ta tion or training,
h a rd w a re failu res, and oth er glitch es which
in evita b ly occu r in any m a jor com p u ter
installation. Th es e difficu lties h a ve a d olla r
cos t that can b e es tim a ted b a s ed on past
ex p er ien ce and g o o d ju dgm en t.
S taffing estim ates a re not as ob jective and
qu a n tifia b le as th ey at first s eem . Th e n ew
system will requ ire staff with additional skills.
To s om e exten t, exis tin g s ta ff m ight b e
tra in ed . If n ew sta ff a re hired, p ortion s of
oth er job s m a y b ecom e red u nd an t, b u t it
may not b e p os s ib le to red u ce staffing levels
to ca p tu re th os e p ortion s o f p ers on - yea rs .
Also, the salaries n eed ed to attract n ew staff
m ay requ ire that th e salaries o f exis ting job
ca tegories b e a dju sted . Th e orga n iza tion
m ay not b e a b le to tolera te m a n a gers ea rn ­
ing less than th eir staff.
In cos t- b en efit analyses, th e b en efits a re
th e m ore difficu lt to qu antify. Five typ es of
b en efits n eed to b e con s id ered :
/. T h e b e n e f it o f in c r e a s e d e f fic ie n c y . Th e
m ore efficien t system will requ ire less
res ou rces to p erform an op era tion .
This type of benefit is generally measured
for exis ting tasks, such as p rod u cin g a
map or generating a report. It is assumed
that the tim e saved will b e u sed to b en ­
efit th e orga n iza tion . H en ce th e d olla r
va lu e a ss ign ed to th e tim e savin g is th e
pro- rated salary of the personnel w hose
tim e is s a ved . If the tim e- s avin gs occu r
in such a w a y that th ey can b e u sed for
oth er activities , then this m eth od is
qu ite rea s on a b le. H ow ever, th ere a re
many im p rovem en ts that will s a ve tim e
in qu antities too small to b e o f use. S av­
ing ten or tw en ty m inu tes h ere and
th ere m a y b e o f no b en efit if th ere is
no additional work that can b e scheduled
may
into th os e tim e p eriod s .
th e
2. T h e b e n e f it s o f n e w n o n - m a r k e t a b le
s e r v ic e s . A n ew G IS has th e poten tia l
to p rovid e useful produ cts and services
that w ere previou sly u navailab le. S om e
o f th es e will h a ve b een a n ticip a ted , in
fact, th ey m ay h a ve b een a m ajor
ju stification for th e system . O th ers will
b e u n exp ected b enefits. H ow va lu a b le
is it to p rod u ce m ore im p res s ively for­
m a tted rep orts or to p rod u ce b etter
graphics? Q u antifying th es e b en efits is
not stra igh tforw a rd .
3. T h e b e n e f it s o f n e w m a r k e t a b le s e r ­
v ic e s . If th e orga n iza tion sells its p r od ­
ucts and/or its services, then im p roved
p rod u ction efficien cy m ay b e tu rn ed
into in crea s ed reven u es. Th e orga n iza ­
tion might a ls o b e a b le to sell th e G IS
ex p ertis e that it d evelop s , eith er to
ou ts id e orga n iza tion s or to oth er
d ep a rtm en ts .
 261
Im p le m e n tin g A GIS mlkjihgfedcbaZY

4. M o r e T h e Ju st if ica t io n f o r Co lle ct in g QPONMLKJIHG

T h e b e n e f it s o f b e t t e r d e c is io n s . jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
a ccu ra te in form a tion an d fa s ter and G e o g r a p h ic I n f o r m a t io n
m ore flexib le analysis ca p a b ilities can
W ithin th e p u b lic s ector, g eog ra p h ic in for­
im p rove th e decis ion - m a kin g p roces s
itself. This is recog n ized b y u sers as a m ation is a social com m od ity. Lega l and

ver y im p orta n t b en efit o f a G1S. H ow ­ politica l s ys tem s m a n d a te orga n iza tion s to

ever, p red ictin g h ow d ecis ion s w ou ld collect geog ra p h ic in form a tion for such pu r­

b e ch a n ged a nd th e va lu e o f th os e p os es as social n eed , th e n eed for a lega l

b etter d ecis ion s is an u ncertain ex er ­ d es crip tion o f land ow n ers h ip , th e n eed for

cis e a t b es t. an inven tory o f fores t and mineral resou rces,

th e n eed to p r es er ve w etla n d s , a nd s o on.
5. I n t a n g ib le b e n e f it s . Th es e b en efits If an orga n iza tion can on ly satisfy its m an­
m a y in clu d e b etter com m u n ica tion d a te b y u sing a G IS, then th e cos t- b en efit
within th e orga n iza tion , im p roved argu m en ts m ay not in fa ct en ter th e acqu isi­
m ora le, and a b etter p u b lic im a ge. tion d ecis ion a t all. For exa m p le, w h en
Th ou gh n ot d irectly qu a n tifia b le th es e F lorid a 's 1985 Planning and D evelop m en t
b en efits can a lso h a ve a d irect and A ct ca m e into effect, local govern m en ts w ere
im portant effect on th e efficien cy o f the
requ ired to p r ovid e much m ore d eta iled
orga n iza tion . in form a tion in th e form o f m a p s and m a p
Th ere is exten s ive litera tu re on cost- overla ys . To satisfy th es e n ew legis la ted
b en efit analysis in th e b u siness a d m in is tra ­ in form a tion requ irem en ts , loca l g o ver n ­
tion field . W ithin th e G IS litera tu re, g o o d m ents had to u se G IS tech n olog y (G ilb rook
discu ssions a re p r ovid ed b y Keva n y ( 1986) and S h eld on 1987).
a nd G ood ch ild an d Rizzo (1986). E xa m ples Th ere is a tren d for gover n m en t a gen cies
o f cos tin g th e p rod u ction o f geog ra p h ic to b e requ ired to p r ovid e m ore a ccu rate,
in form a tion can b e fou n d in G reen and m ore d eta iled , and m ore cu rrent geogra p h ic
M o yer (1 9 8 5 ), K en n ey and H a m ilton in form a tion . In crea s ed en viron m en ta l con ­
(1985,1986) and L a roch e and H a m ilton cern s a re d rivin g many o f th es e req u ire­
(1986). m ents. In s om e cases, a gen cies a re sim ply
Th e lim ita tion s o f cos t- b en efit stu dies d irected to a u tom a te th eir data. U n d er
n oted a b o ve a re n ot m ea n t as a criticism o f th ese kinds of conditions, th e justification for
s ystem a tic, qu a n tita tive eva lu a tion . Th es e acqu iring a G IS m ay not b e an issue. Instead
stu dies p r ovid e va lu a b le inpu t to th e d eci­ th e issu es b ecom e w hen, h ow , and a t w ha t
sion m aking p roces s . Th ey must, h ow ever, cost th e G IS will b e im p lem en ted . Th e British
b e view ed as a p a rt o f th e s tory, n ot as th e C olu m b ia F ores t S ervice ju stified its G IS
w h ole s tory. Th ere a re m an y im p orta n t fa c­ acquisition largely on the basis of its expand ed
tors that will n ot b e in clu ded. It is n ot res p on s ib ilities as legis la ted b y a n ew p r o­
unusual for oth er cons iderations, com p letely vincial fores try a ct (H egyi a nd S alla w a y
s ep a ra te from cos t- b en efits , to d eterm in e 1986). Raines ( 1987) p res en ts a similar situa­
w h eth er a s ystem is a cqu ired . A s id e from tion w h ere th e cha nging m a n d a te o f th e U S
u n d es ira b le in flu ences, such as political F ores t S ervice m a d e it es s en tia l for G IS
in- fighting or p o o r decis ion - m a kin g, th ere tech n olog y to b e u sed and H ansen (1987)
a re valid rea s on s w h y oth er con s id era tion s d es crib es a sim ilar s cen a rio from th e
shou ld ta ke p reced en ce. Th es e a rise from p er s p ective o f a mu nicipality.
th e fa ct that th e d ecis ion to collect and p r o­ W ithin p riva te orga n iza tion s , cos t- b en efit
vid e geog ra p h ic in form a tion is ra rely b a s ed con s id era tion s ten d to b e o f g rea ter im p or­
on cos t- b en efit grou n ds . FEDCBA ta nce. C learly, if a G IS will b e m ore cos tly
262 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

and ca n n ot p r ovid e im p roved in form a tion d a ta in a G IS a re u p d a ted , th e old in form a ­

s ervices to th e orga n iza tion , it will n ot tion is lost. Y e t this in form a tion can p r o ve
b e view ed as a cos t- effective step. H ow ever, ex trem ely va lu a b le. Pa st con d ition s can b e
it is n ot sim p ly a m a tter o f m ore cost- im p orta n t in d ecid in g fu tu re land u ses. For
effective w a ys to do th e cu rren t w ork. example, the typ e o f forest that w as rem oved
C h a n ges in analysis m eth od s , n ew lega l can p r ovid e a va lu a b le in d ica tion o f w hich
requ irem en ts , or p res su re from com p etitors s p ecies m igh t b es t b e re- p la n ted . H istorica l
m a y req u ire fa s ter or m ore d eta iled levels record s in th e form o f old m aps, a irp h otos ,
o f in form a tion p roces s in g. For exa m p le, a nd sa tellite im a ges h a ve p r oven invalu ab le
m ore d eta iled in form a tion m a y b e n eed ed for a ss es sin g ch a ra cteris tics o f la n d s ca p es
fo r m ore in ten s ive fores t m a n a gem en t, th a t h a ve sin ce b een ch a n ged .
to u p d a te for es t h a rves t plans m ore fr e ­
qu en tly, o r to a ssess th e va lu e o f p r os p ec­ TH E IM P L E M E N T A T IO N P L A N
tive land p u rch a s es m ore qu ickly than com ­
Th e im p lem en ta tion plan d es crib es h ow
p etitors (e.g. s ee W a k eley 1987). Alth ou gh
tech n ology, in form a tion , a n d p eo p le will b e
s om e form of cos t- b en efit a n a lys is is
m old ed into an op era tin g information system.
gen era lly u sed to h elp ju stify a G1S acqu is i­
Th e fu n d a m en ta l ch a llen ge is th at all th ree
tion , a lea p - of- fa ith is com m on ly n eed ed as
o f th es e fa ctors mu st w ork tog eth er. To d o
w ell. FEDCBA
s o requ ires a significa nt in ves tm en t o f tim e
and m on ey to b ring each on e into op era tion .
T h e D a t a Ba se a s a n A sse t F or th e im p lem en ta tion o f a G IS to b e su c­
cessfu l, th e va riou s d e ve lo p m e n t a ctivities
Th e la rges t ex p en d itu re in im p lem en tin g
mu st b e a p p r op r ia tely s eq u en ced and th e
a G IS is in th e crea tion o f th e d a ta b a s e.
n eces s a ry financial and p olitica l s u p p ort
It in volves orga n izin g exis tin g d a ta and
mu st b e m a in ta in ed .
con vertin g it in to a su ita b le d igita l form .
An orga n iza tion can a cqu ire an o p e r a ­
This has com m on ly b een con s id ered an
tiona l G IS ca p a b ility in s evera l w a ys . Th es e
exp en s e. H ow ever, th e data b a s e is in a very
ra n ge from con tra ctin g fo r all s ervices and
real s en s e a va lu a b le asset. N o t on ly is it
pu rcha sin g virtu a lly n on e o f th e G IS h a rd ­
va lu a b le for th e da ta it contains , but
w a re a n d s oftw a re, to pu rch a sin g a com ­
con vers ion shou ld a ls o h a ve made it a
p lete G IS sys tem , to d evelo p in g th e en tire
m ore va lu a b le asset b eca u s e th e data w ou ld
s et o f h a rd w a re and s oftw a r e com p on en ts
be m ore a cces s ib le, u sab le for a w id er
in- hou se. Ta b le 8.2 illu s trates s om e o f th e
ra n ge o f a p p lica tion s , and h a ve im p roved
c o n s id e r a tio n s of th e s e a lte r n a tiv e
a ccu ra cy (e.g. b y referen cin g th e da ta to a
a p p roa ch es .
m ore a ccu ra te b a s e m a p). In a d d ition , th e
d a ta b a s e has th e p oten tia l to in crea s e in
T e ch n o lo g y
va lu e m ore qu ickly b eca u s e it can b e m ore
ea s ily m a in ta in ed . S ety and C ha ng (1987) C om p u ter h a rd w a re and s oftw a r e a re
discu ss th e ra tion a le fo r con s id erin g a G IS d evelop in g a t an eve r in crea s in g rate. O ver
data b a s e an as set and su gges t an a p p roa ch a on e- yea r p eriod , h a rd w a re p rices ch a n ge
to its eva lu a tion . Th e a s s et va lu e o f th e data significantly, new hardware b ecom es available,
b a s e m a y b e an im p orta n t fa ctor in cost- and n ew s oftw a re vers ion s a re relea s ed . Th e
b en efit a s s es s m en ts o f a G IS. d evelo p m en t o f a d a ta b a s e, tra in in g o f
O n e im p orta n t con s id era tion in da ta b a s e p ers on n el, a nd d e ve lo p m e n t o f in-hou se
m a in ten a n ce th a t is often o ver lo o k ed is th e ex p ertis e to rea ch full op era tion u su ally
va lu e o f historical da ta. U su ally w h en th e requ ires s evera l yea rs . D ep en d in g on an
 263 GFEDCBA
Im p le m e n tin g A GIS mlkjihgfedcbaZY

T a b le 8 .2 A lte rn a tiv e A p p ro a c h e s to Im p le m e n tin g a G IS.

(A d a p te d fro m D a n g e rm o n d and S m ith 1980).

I M P L E M E N T A T IO N A L T E R N A T IV E S

B u y C o m p le t e
User B u y C o m p le t e S o ft w a r e a n d
C r e a te s Buy S o m e S o ft w a re H a rd w a re P u rc h a s e
C O N S ID E R A T IO N S S y s te m S o ftw a re Package P ackage G IS S e rv ic e s QPONMLKJIHG

D e p e n d e n c e o n su p p lie r V e r y Lo w Lo w H ig h V e r y H ig h N e a r ly C o m p le t e

T im e u n t il sy st e m Lo n g Lo n g t o Sh o r t V e r y Sh o r t N o t a Pr o b l e m
f u n ct io n s M o d erat e

In it ia l c o st Lo w M o d erate M o d erat e H ig h H ig h

La b o u r c o st s H ig h Lo w e r M o d erate M o d erate V e r y Lo w
p aid b y u se r

R isk an d u n ce rt a in t y H ig h Lo w e r Lo w Lo w Lo w

C u st o m iz in g C o m p le t e C o m p le t e M o d erat e M o d erate V a r ie s

T e c h n ic a l sk ill Ex t r e m e l y H ig h M o d erat e M o d erate Q u i t e Lo w

r e q u ir e d o f u se r H ig h

U se o f e x i st i n g r e so u r c e s H ig h H ig h M o d erat e Lo w V e r y Lo w jihgfedcbaZYX

orga n iza tion ’s res ou rces and b u d getin g system m igh t b e p u rch a s ed for th e s a m e
n eed s , th e h a rd w a re and s oftw a re m a y b e price. B eca u s e s oftw a re and h a rd w a re
p u rch a s ed b efor e, a fter, or du rin g th e da ta ch a n ge s o ra pid ly, it is u su ally b es t to d ela y
b a s e d evelop m en t. s ystem pu rcha ses as lon g as p os s ib le.
Purchasing the Technology First. If th e Develop the Data Base Before System
h a rd w a re and s oftw a re a re pu rch a s ed ea rly Purchase. A n oth er a ltern a tive is to first
in th e im p lem en ta tion p roces s , th en th e d e ve lo p th e d a ta b a s e a nd th en pu rcha se
da ta b a s e can b e con s tru cted using th e G IS th e tech n ology. In this w a y, th e la tes t
in which it is to op era te. It also in crea ses the tech n ology is a cqu ired . A ls o, a tten tion is
visib ility o f th e p roject b y th e p r es en ce o f focu s s ed on th e m os t cos tly com p on en t o f
ta n gib le evid en ce (th e equ ip m en t) a n d a G IS im p lem en ta tion , th e d a ta b a s e. C on ­
forced a lloca tion of fu nds a n d s p a ce to pu r­ stru ction o f th e da ta b a s e com m on ly costs
ch a s e and a ccom m od a te it. S ta ff can b egin 5 to I0 tim es th at o f th e h a rd w a re and
ga in in g ex p er ien ce on th e G IS th ey will s oftw a re. H ow ever, th e da ta b a s e is an
actu ally use and the organization can directly in ves tm en t, and b ec om es m ore va lu a b le
con trol th e a va ila b ility o f s ys tem tim e. Th e over tim e, w h erea s th e h a rd w a re and s oft­
d is a d va n ta ges o f this a p p roa ch a re tha t th e w a re d ep recia te.
initial in ves tm en t will a p p ea r to b e u n d er­ Th e tra d e- offs in this a p p roa ch a re that the
u tilized until s ta ff a re tra in ed a nd d a ta a re data b a s e mu st b e d e ve lo p e d b y an ou ts id e
en tered . D u ring this start- u p p eriod , n ew con tra ctor u sing a G IS oth er than th e on e
hardw are and softw are will b ecom e availab le in which it will o p era te. Th ere m ay b e d if­
and b y th e tim e th e full ca p a b ilities o f th e ficu lties in con vertin g th e d a ta b a s e to run
system are actually n eed ed , a m ore advanced on th e G IS even tu a lly s elected . A ls o,
264 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

in- hou se s ta ff will n ot gain ex p erien ce from D a t a Ba se D e v e lo p m e n t

th e da ta b a s e d evelop m en t p roces s . D ata
D ata b a s e d evelop m en t in volves convertin g
b a s e m a in ten a n ce, w hich mu st b egin s oon
existing data into a digital form a t and en ter­
a fter th e da ta b a s e is crea ted , will h a ve to
ing th e data into th e GIS. It is th e single m ost
b e p os tp on ed or d on e b y th e contractor. As
ex p en s ive p a rt o f th e im p lem en ta tion p ro­
a resu lt, th ere will b e a d d ition a l exp en s es
cess, rep res en tin g 75% or m ore of th e tota l
for crea tin g th e data b a s e in a d va n ce of pu r­
expenditu re. Data b ase develop m en t requ ires
chasing th e system .
Commit to Purchase aSystemfor Deliv­ ex p er ien ced p ers on n el. A n ew G IS site will

eryAfterDataBase Development is Under­ eith er h a ve to hire or con tra ct for this

way. A va ria tion of th e p reviou s a p p roa ch exp ertis e. A com p lete discu ssion o f data
b a s e d evelop m en t is b eyon d th e s cop e of
is to s elect th e s oftw a re and h a rd w a re first,
n egotia te a firm con tra ct with th e ven d or, this s ection h ow ever s om e o f the m ore

b u t n ot actu ally pu rchas e th e system until im p orta n t m a n a gem en t con s id era tion s a re
p res en ted h ere.
the data b ase has b een partially or completely
cons tru cted. In this w a y, a minimu m p er for­ Th e im p lem en ta tion plan shou ld con s id er

m an ce level and a fixed p rice can b e locked- th e p riority o f data con vers ion that will b e

in with p rovis ion s m a d e to ta ke a d va n ta ge m ost effective in b ringing th e G IS into op era ­

o f price redu ctions or system im p rovem en ts tion early. It shou ld explicitly state w hen th e

that occu r du ring the interim. Th e resistance orga n iza tion will b egin to s ee retu rns from

of vendors to this approach makes the contract its G IS in vestm en t. B y planning s om e ea rly

a difficu lt on e to n egotia te. Th e a d va n ta ge pa yb acks , it will b e ea s ier to maintain th e

to th e cu s tom er is th at th e im p lem en ta tion orga n iza tion 's s u p p ort throu gh a len gth y

effort can still b e focussed on data b ase d evel­ data b a s e d evelop m en t effort. H ow ever, the

opment. Yet much of the risk of incompatiblity p res su re to d em on s tra te b en efits ea rly con ­
is rem oved b eca u s e th e system has a lrea d y flicts with d em a n d s to a d d res s th e n eed s of
b een selected . Th e installation can b e tim ed all d ep a rtm en ts at on ce and to satisfy a
s o that th e com p lete da ta b a s e or a p ortion h igh er level o f accu ra cy than m ay b e im m e­
of it is rea d y for use. S ystem a ccep ta n ce can d ia tely n eed ed . It m ay b e su fficient to
then b e m ade conditional on th e p rop er func­ d em on s tra te s ys tem ca p a b ilities u sing
tioning o f th e G IS using th e actual data b ase. existing digital geog ra p h ic data sets such as
U sing this im p lem en ta tion a p p roa ch , sta ff D igital Line G raph or TIG E R files (s ee
can d evelop exp ertis e using their ow n data, C h a p ter 4).
and maintenance activities will not b e delayed. Th e p rogres s o f th e G IS im p lem en ta tion
Singleversus MultipleVendors. Th e data will b e ju d ged b y th e first produ cts . Th es e
b a se, s oftw a re, and h a rd w a re cou ld be first p rod u cts shou ld b e im p orta n t b u t non-
a cqu ired sim u ltaneou sly, eith er throu gh a es sentia l in form a tion . This ensu res that
single ven d or or mu ltiple ven d ors . W hile the u n exp ected d ela ys a re n ot ca ta stroph ic
single ven d or a p p roa ch can grea tly simplify w h ile th e resu lts a re s een to b e valu a b le. It
p r oject m a n a gem en t, it limits th e ra n ge of shou ld b e ex p ected tha t on ce th es e first
sys tem s ava ila b le. M a n y m a jor system ven ­ p rod u cts a re sh ow n, th ere will b e a s tea d y
d ors d o n ot offer da ta b a s e crea tion s er­ and increa sin g d em a n d for them . S u fficient
vices, thus red u cin g th e system op tion s. res ou rces shou ld b e p la n n ed to satisfy this
C on tra cting data b a s e constru ction s ep a ra t­ d em a n d w ith ou t com p rom is in g the data
ely m akes p roject m a n a gem en t m ore d if­ b a s e d evelop m en t and m a in ten a n ce effort.
ficult as tw o or m ore simu ltaneou s contracts Th e timing o f th e da ta b a s e d evelop m en t
effort will d eterm in e w hen th e first produ cts
mu st b e coord in a ted (Anten u cci 1986). FEDCBA

can b e g en era ted . Th e d a ta b a s e s p ecifica ­
tions and analysis p roced u res will d eterm in e
th eir qu ality. P roced u res shou ld b e d efin ed
to coor d in a te a m on g u sers h ow d a ta typ es
will b e d efin ed and th e typ es o f ou tpu t p r od ­
ucts requ ired. W ritten procedu res are n eed ed
for sou rce data collection, interpretation, accu­
racy verification, and th e p rep a ra tion o f data
for inpu t. It is ess en tial th at high s ta n d a rd s
o f da ta p rep a ra tion and qu a lity con trol b e
m a in ta in ed . Th e ou tpu t o f th e G IS will n ot
b e tru s ted if th e da ta a re u nrelia b le, and
ea rly im p res s ion s ten d to b e lon g rem em ­
b er ed . Als o, data th a t a re in accu ra te or
in correctly en tered can b e difficu lt a nd ver y
cos tly to correct. FEDCBA
P e o p le
U ltim a tely, th e su ccess o f a G IS site will
d ep en d on th e p eo p le w h o im p lem en t th e
G IS. It is th eir enthu siasm a nd com m itm en t
th a t will s ee th e p roject th rou gh th e in evit­
a b le s tu m b les and set- b acks. M a n a gin g th e
p roces s is critical. U ser grou p s must b e coor­
d in a ted , d eta iled data b a s e d es ign mu st b e
com p leted , eq u ip m en t pu rchas es , training,
a nd con tra ctor s ervices mu st b e m a n a ged .
Th e im p lem en ta tion plan sh ou ld d efin e th e
grou p or grou p s within th e organ ization w h o
will b e res p on s ib le for th e im p lem en ta tion
and op era tion o f th e G IS.
O ften , th e m ost a ttra ctive op tion is to
assign this res p on s ib ility to an exis tin g unit
within th e organ ization. This a p p roa ch limits
th e crea tion o f a d d ition a l a d m in is tra tion.
H ow ever, it is usually n eces s a ry to p r ovid e
a d d ition a l staff. Th e n u m b er o f a d d ition a l
s ta ff n eed ed w ou ld d ep en d on th e skills o f
th e exis tin g unit, th eir fa m ilia rity with G IS,
and th eir w orkloa d . Th e sta ff fu nctions to b e
p r ovid ed a re a p roject coord in a tor, a G IS
s ystem m a n a ger, a da ta b a s e m a n a ger, sys­
tem s an alys ts/ program m ers, and data en try
p ers on n el.
Th e a s s ign m en t o f th e G IS fa cility within
th e orga n iza tion will h a ve a d irect effect on
265 jihgfedcb
Im p le m e n tin g A GIS mlkjihgfedcbaZY
th e level o f s ervice th a t will b e p r ovid ed to
th e users. If u ser s ervices a re in a d equ a te,
th e overa ll b en efit o f th e G IS fa cility will b e
significantly red u ced . Res olvin g com p etition
for th e G IS fa cility a nd rea ch in g a g r eem en t
on its pla cem en t within th e organization m ay
b e difficu lt. Th e D ata P roces s in g unit, often
th e first unit s u gges ted to hou se th e G IS, is
p rob a b ly n ot th e b es t p la ce. G eogra p h ic
da ta and p roces s in g op era tion s a re fu n­
d a m en ta lly d ifferen t from th os e u sed in
M a n a gem en t In form a tion S ys tem s (M IS ).
Als o, b y p la cin g th e s ys tem w ithin th e D ata
Proces s in g unit, a non- u ser d ep a rtm en t, th e
G IS m ay n ot b e im p lem en ted in a w a y th at
a d eq u a tely a d d res s es th e n eed s of th e
users. An oth er disadva nta ge o f this approach
is that exis tin g w ork loa d s and res p on ­
sib ilities m a y d ivert a tten tion a w a y from th e
G IS p roject.
To a void this dilu tion o f effort, a s ep a ra te
orga n iza tion a l unit cou ld b e crea ted . This
grou p w ou ld then b e a b le to focu s all its
efforts on G IS implementation and operation.
Th e d is a d va n ta ge h ere is th a t ex p a n d ed
a d m in is tra tive a n d m a n a gem en t s u p p ort
m a y b e n eed ed b oth to s u p p ort th e grou p
and to p r ovid e for its effective in tera ction
with th e rest o f th e orga n iza tion . It m ay also
b e n eces s a ry to adju st th e res p on s ib ilities
a nd m a n d a tes o f exis tin g orga n iza tion a l
units. Increasingly, orga nizations a re coop er­
atin g to s h a re th e G IS d a ta b a s e crea tion
ex p en s e or th e en tire G IS facility. For exa m ­
ple, An ten u cci ( 1988) discu ss es p a rtn ers h ip
a rra n gem en ts b etw een m u nicipalities and
u tilities to s h a re th e cos t o f d a ta ca ptu re.
Thou gh th ere ten d s to b e an in crea s e in
m a n a gem en t effort, sha rin g th e high da ta
con vers ion cos ts can b e qu ite w orth w h ile.
Finally, th e im p lem en ta tion plan shou ld
inclu de a b u d g et th at p r ovid es su fficient
fu nding to com p lete th e job . Th e b u d get
shou ld a llow for u n exp ected set-b acks, such
as data th a t mu st b e re- en tered a nd m a ps
th a t n eed to b e re- d ra fted , as w ell as th e
d evelop m en t o f n ew s oftw a re to han dle
266 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
u n exp ected p roces s in g n eed s and p rod u c­
tion b ottlen ecks . Ru nning ou t o f fu nds lea d s
to goin g b a ck to ask for m ore m on ey and
th e a s s ocia ted qu es tion in g o f th e cred ib ility
o f th e p roject tea m . A con s id era b le m a rket­
ing effor t is n eed ed to ga rn er s u p p ort and
maintain it. Pilot p rojects shou ld b e plan ned
tha t d e ve lo p th e orga n iza tion ’s ex p ertis e
and a ls o p r ovid e a s tea d y stream o f s ystem
d em on s tra tion s and ou tp u t m a terials to
a ttract u sers an d g et th eir a ctive in volve­
ment. Th e im p orta n ce o f th e continu ed sell­
ing o f th e b en efits o f th e G IS facility shou ld
not b e u n d eres tim a ted. M aintaining political
s u p p ort is key to m aintaining th e financial
s u p p ort an d coop era tion n eed ed to com ­
p lete th e p roject. FEDCBA
P H A SE 5 : SY ST EM A C Q U I S I T I O N QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
ten into or referen ced in th e contract. Th ere
A N D ST A R T - U P shou ld also b e gu a ra n tees o f th e com ­
H aving d evelop ed th e im p lem en ta tion plan,
w on th e organization’s su pport, and received
a form al com m itm en t to g o a h ea d , th e n ext
s tep is to con tra ct for equ ip m en t and
services .
C O N T R A C T IN G
Th e b u yer will be b etter p r otected by
ca refu lly review in g and n egotia tin g th e
term s o f a con tra ct ra th er than a ccep tin g
"s ta n d a r d ” a greem en ts . U nless ven d or
ob liga tion s a re clea rly d efin ed , th e b u yer
can b e fa ced with an exp en s ive, ou td a ted ,
and non- fu nction ing system . S ystem pu r­
cha ses gen era lly in clu de h a rd w a re, s oft­
w a re, training, d ocu m en ta tion , installation,
a nd m a in ten a n ce. Pricing, thou gh often th e
focu s o f n egotia tion efforts , is usually n ot
w h ere th e m ost im p orta n t b en efits a re to b e
gained. In the case o f smaller ord ers (relative
to the ven d or's sales volu m e), significant dis­
cou nting usually can not b e su p p orted . H ow ­
ever, terms and conditions, such as guarantees,
w a rra n ties , u p gra d e op tion s , d e live r y
sch ed u les and p en a lty clau ses, can en su re
that th e system d elivered is a p p rop ria te for
th e a p p lica tion , will m eet th e b u yer ’s
s p ecifica tion s and th e ve n d o r ’s claims, and
d ea r ly assigns res p on s ib ilities in th e even t
that th ere a re failu res to m eet ob liga tion s .
In th e cou rs e o f m a rketin g and sellin g a
G IS, m an y claims a re m a d e a b ou t th e ca p a ­
b ilities o f th e system . Th ere a re verb a l
presentations , casual telep h on e discussions,
sa les litera tu re, w ritten sp ecifica tion s , and
d em on s tra tion s . All th es e exch a n ges will
a ffect th e b u yer s ch oice o f system. Y et con ­
tracts com m on ly contain clau ses that n ega te
all claims n ot explicitly sta ted in th e contract
docu m en ts . For th e b u yer to b e lega lly p r o­
tected , s p ecific gu a ra n tees mu st b e w ritten
into th e contract. Th os e claims con s id ered
b y th e b u yer to b e critical to th e in ten d ed
u se o f th e system shou ld b e specifically w rit­
p leten es s o f th e h a rd w a re and s oftw a re, i.e.
all h a rd w a re and s oftw a re n eed ed for th e
s ystem to fu nction as cla im ed shou ld b e
in clu ded in th e pu rcha se p rice ex cep t for
s ta ted excep tion s . G u a ra n tees o f system
p erform a n ce, a d h eren ce to sch edu les , and
p en a lty clau ses for n on - com p lia n ce can also
b e in clu d ed. Ideally, th e pu rcha se con tra ct
shou ld b e review ed b y a la w yer w h o is
k n ow led g ea b le in this a rea .
S ys tem in tegra tion inclu des all th os e
s tep s n eces s a ry to m a ke th e individu al sys­
tem com p on en ts p erform tog eth e r as
s p ecified . A G IS is a com p lex system . H a rd ­
w a re and s oftw a re com p on en ts from severa l
m a nu fa ctu rers mu st b e correctly installed
and initialized for them to op era te correctly.
It is ess ential that th e con tra ct clea rly d efin e
w h o is res p on s ib le for p r op er in tegra tion ,
d efin e h ow th e a ccep ta b ility o f th e in tegra ­
tion will b e d eterm in ed , and w h a t is th e
b u yer's recou rs e shou ld th e in tegra tion b e
u n a ccep ta b le.
An a ccep ta n ce tes t is norm a lly con d u cted
a fter th e sys tem has b een ins talled and
integrated. W arranties, p a ym en t milestones,
and oth er ven d or res p on s ib ilities a re trig­

g er ed u pon su ccessfu l com p letion o f th e
test. V en d ors usually su p ply a "s ta n d a r d "
tes t p roced u re. H ow ever, it is in th e in teres t
o f th e b u yer to en su re th at th e p r op os ed
tes t p roced u re is exhau stive and inclu des all
th e critical fu nctions n eed ed for th e system
to op er a te as cla im ed . In s om e cases, an
a ccep ta n ce tes t at th e site o f m anu factu re
is d on e b e fo r e s h ip m en t as w ell as on- site
tes tin g o f th e system a fter installation.
Tes ting shou ld b e p erform ed using a reas on ­
a b ly la rge data b a s e p rovid ed b y th e b u yer.
Th e en tire tes t shou ld b e o b s er ved b y a
k n ow led g eb le rep res en ta tive o f th e b u yer.
Partial p a ym en t will n orm a lly b e requ ired
u pon successful com p letion of th e test. Final
p a ym en t is often p os tp on ed until satisfac­
tor y p erform a n ce can b e verified with th e
full data b a s e o ver a s p ecified p eriod of
tim e.
M a in ten a n ce con tra cts for h a rd w a re and
s oftw a re shou ld en su re tha t th e system will
p r ovid e an a ccep ta b le level o f s ervice. Th e
ven d or shou ld p r ovid e regu la rly s ch ed u led
p r even tive m a in ten a n ce and shou ld res­
pond prom ptly to rep orted prob lems. Annual
m a in ten a n ce con tra cts cos t on th e or d er of
5- 15 % o f th e pu rchas e p rice. Th e fr e­
qu en cy o f p reven tive maintenance, requ ired
res p on s e tim e, and loca tion o f th e s u p p ort
p ers on n el will all a ffect th e level o f s ervice
p rovid ed . In th e even t th a t res p on s e tim e
is in a d equ a te, equ ip m en t fails rep ea ted ly,
or s oftw a re b u gs a re n ot corrected , a d e­
qu a te rem ed ies shou ld b e id en tified in th e
contra ct. This shou ld inclu de con d ition s
u nd er which th e ven d or will b e requ ired to
rep la ce equ ip m en t that fails rep ea ted ly and
p r ovid e cred its aga in st m a in ten a n ce p a y­
m ents for p o or s ervice.
S oftw a re u p gra d es m a y b e inclu ded as
p a rt o f th e m a in ten a n ce a g reem en t or m ay
b e s old s ep a ra tely. S oftw a re u p gra d es a re
usually d es ira b le and often requ ired for con ­
tinu ance o f th e m a in ten a n ce contra ct. Th e
b u yer shou ld cons id er the s oftw a re u p gra d e
p olicy w h en com p a rin g s ystem op era tin g
267 jihgfedcb
Im p le m e n tin g A GIS mlkjihgfedcbaZY
ex p en s es and en s u re th a t th e s ta ted
u p gra d e p olicy, discou nts, and oth er s oft­
w a re p rotection s a re in clu ded in th e pu r­
ch a se a g reem en t. V en d ors gen era lly try to
p r ovid e for a s m ooth transition b etw een
s oftw a re versions. H ow ever, m ajor ch a nges
in th e ve n d o r ’s p rod u cts can crea te su dden
ob s oles cen ce of h a rd w a re or s oftw a re.
S om e p rotection can b e ga in ed b y stipu lat­
ing a p er iod o f tim e, such as on e yea r, du r­
ing which s oftw a re can b e exch a n ged for full
cred it a ga in st pu rchas e o f th e rep la cem en t
s oftw a re p a cka ge (Anten u cci and Roitman
1987).
S T A R T -U P
Th e issu es su rrou nding th e start-u p of a C IS
installation w er e discu ssed as p a rt of
Phase 4 w h ere th e im p lem en ta tion plan w as
d e v e lo p e d . U n ex p ected p r ob lem s will
alw ays occu r. Th e m eth od s u sed to dea l with
them will d iffer with th e organization and the
situ ation. B ad n ew s usually tra vels m ore
qu ickly than g ood . S o it is im p orta n t to con ­
tinu ally k eep u sers and m a n a gers a w a re of
th e p r og res s b ein g m a d e on th e G IS start­
u p a n d to d em on s tra te u seful a pp lica tion s
and produ cts. In this w ay, u n exp ected p r ob ­
lem s w h en th ey occu r will n ot b e th e on ly
p rog res s rep orts .
Pilot stu dies a re a va lu a b le m eans of
assessing p rogres s and identifying p rob lem s
early, b efor e significant resou rces have b een
w a s ted . A com p lete da ta s et shou ld b e
d e ve lo p e d for a small stu dy a rea if this w as
n ot p reviou s ly d on e in th e s ys tem eva lu a ­
tion pha se. R ep res en ta tive app lica tion p roj­
ects sh ou ld b e d e ve lo p e d that a re form ally
pla n ned a nd execu ted as a full scale a pp lica ­
tion and th en ca refu lly eva lu a ted . Th e
eva lu a tion shou ld d ocu m en t w ha t w en t
right, w h a t w en t w ron g, and inclu de su g­
ges tion s for im p rovem en ts th e n ext tim e
a rou n d . Th e p a rticip ation o f all u sers in
th es e ea rly p os t- m ortem s is im p orta n t so
that th e full tra ining b en efits a re d er ived
268 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

from th es e first p rojects . In this w a y, th e P H A SE 6 : T H E O P ER A T I O N A L QPONMLKJIHGF

p ilot p roject ex p er ien ce can red u ce th e SY ST EM
rep etition o f m istakes a n d a ls o p r ovid e a
Th e G IS fa cility can b e con s id ered to h a ve
s eries o f ta n gib le p rod u cts , such as com ­
rea ch ed th e op era tion a l p h a s e w h en en d -
p leted p rojects .
users a re making effective u se o f th e system.
C onsu ltants and con tra ctors can p r ovid e
Th e d a ta con vers ion m a y n ot h a ve b een
va lu a b le assista nce du rin g th e start-u p
com p leted b u t a s ta n d a rd ized p roced u re
p h a se. Th e G1S sta ff w orkin g w ith a cons u l­
w ou ld b e in - place to com p lete th e task. In
ta n t can lea rn su ccessfu l a p p roa ch es and
th e op era tion a l p h a s e, th e orga n iza tion
tech n iqu es d irectly in s tea d o f b y trial- and-
w ou ld h a ve d e ve lo p e d s u fficient ex p ertis e
error. Visits to similar in stallations and
to ha n dle rou tin e tasks and s p ecia l p rojects
con ta cts w ith similar orga n iza tion s can a ls o
in a s ys tem a tic and effective m an ner.
b e a va lu a b le s ou rce o f u sefu l id ea s and
O n ce th e fa cility is op era tion a l, th e
ex p erien ce. C on tra ctors can b e u sed to
orga n iza tion mu st d e ve lo p p roced u res to
s h orten th e initial da ta con vers ion tim e and
k eep s ta ff cu rren t with n ew d evelop m en ts
b rin g th e full data b ase in to op era tion
in th e G IS field . S oftw a re a nd h a rd w a re a re
s oon er.
u nder con s ta n t d evelop m en t a nd requ ire
H ow ever , in using ou ts id e help , th ere is
p eriod ic u p gra d in g. Perh a p s m ore im p or­
a tra d e- off. It is th e orga n iza tion 's ow n
tant than th e tech n olog y rela ted issu es a re
sta ff that mu st in the en d b e a b le to op era te
th os e th at will a ris e as th e effects o f th e
th e G IS. O u ts id e h elp can b e c o m e a cru tch
inform ation p rovid ed b y th e n ew facility a re
if e ve r y tim e a p rob lem a ris es th e sta ff
recogn ized . In o r d e r to maintain financial
tu rn to a consu ltant. To b e a b le to con fi­
a nd political s u p p ort for th e G IS facility, it
d en tly w ork throu gh difficu lt p rob lem s , it is
is necess ary to a ctively p rom ote th e b en efits
n eces s a ry to h a ve had th e ex p er ien ce o f
o f th e s ystem . Th e com p letion o f p rojects
w orkin g th rou gh difficu lt p rob lem s b efor e.
can b e p u b licized , th e b en efits to s p ecific
O u ts id e h elp can p r ovid e s h ort term effi­
users can b e highlighted, p roject rep orts can
cien cy b y gettin g th e job d o n e s oon er —
b e d is trib u ted , a n d tou rs o f th e facility can
fin d in g ou t h ow similar p rob lem s h a ve
b e given to m a ke p e o p le a w a re of th e
b een su ccessfu lly res olved is mu ch m ore
b en efits o f th e G IS. Th e in crea s ed visib ility
efficien t than re- in ven tin g th e w h eel. If
a ls o d em a n d s th a t th e G IS b e o p er a ted in
ju diciou s u se is m a d e o f ou ts id e assistance,
a m a n n er th at is s een to b e res p on s ive to
th e start-up ph a se can b e s h orten ed and the
th e n eed s o f th e u sers. H a vin g d evelo p ed
lea rn in g p er iod red u ced w ith ou t com ­ an organ ization that satisfies th e op era tion a l
p rom is in g th e d evelop m en t o f in-hou se d em a n d s o f u sers, s om e o f th e m ore con ­
exp ertis e. tentiou s issu es o f op era tin g a G IS facility will
Th e su ccessfu l d evelop m en t o f in- hou se com e to th e fore. O n e o f th es e issues,
exp ertis e will requ ire that at lea st s om e staff e s p e c ia lly critica l fo r p u b licly- fu n d ed
b e p erm a n en tly a s s ign ed to th e G IS fa cility orga n iza tion s , is th e issu e o f a ccou n ta b ility
and given th e op p ortu n ity to b ecom e exp ert for th e con s eq u en ces o f p rovid in g in form a ­
w ith th e s ystem . This ex p er tis e will also tion. This is th e s u b ject o f th e n ext section .
m a ke th em m ore m a rketa b le. S o, in o r d er
to k eep th es e individu als, it may be
W H O IS R ESP O N SI B LE?
n eces s a ry to re- w rite th eir job d es crip tion s ,
ra is e th eir status, and p r ob a b ly raise th eir A m an, s om ew h a t s h a b b ily d r es s ed ,
salaries. G IS ex p er ien ce is a highly sou gh t a p p ea r ed a t th e in form a tion cou n ter o f a
a nd va lu a b le com m od ity. FEDCBA m u nicipality. H e cla im ed to b e d oin g s om e

research and n eed ed a list of the names and
a d d res s es of all single w om en living in a
s p ecific a rea of th e city. Th e m u n icipa lity's
land record s w ere in digital form and th e
clerk ea sily u sed th e analysis ca p a b ilities of
th e G IS to run a search and g en era te th e
rep ort. As th e clerk w as a b ou t to hand th e
listing to th e cu stom er, his s u p ervis or ca m e
b y in teres ted to kn ow h ow th e system w as
b ein g u sed. A fter lookin g at th e rep ort, and
th e cu stom er, th e s u p ervis or d ecid ed to
veto relea s e o f th e in form a tion. Th e s u p er­
visor felt th ere w as a significant risk that the
cu s tom er w ou ld use this in form a tion inap­
p rop ria tely — to ta rget th es e w om en .
In an oth er case, a m a n a ger in a mu nicipal­
ity d ecid ed to p rod u ce a m ap s h ow in g th e
distrib u tion o f p oten tia lly viciou s b r eed s
o f d ogs . His ob jective w a s to d em on s tra te
th e ca p a b ilities of th e m u n icipa lity's G IS
using an in terestin g b u t n on - con trovers ia l
data set. Th e digital files for d o g licens es
w ere im p orted into the mu nicipal GIS. Then
an analysis w as d on e to p lot th e distribu tion
o f th es e d ogs on th e city m ap b y th e
a d d res s es regis tered with th e d o g licences.
Th e m ap s h ow ed a few a rea s o f th e city to
h a ve an unusually high d en sity o f th es e
b r eed s of d ogs . W h ile th e resu lts w ere
in teres tin g and p oten tia lly u seful in a n a lyz­
ing crim e and pu b lic hazards, th e m a n a ger
recogn ized that th e m a p o f this in form a tion
w as p oten tially d a m a gin g to th e la nd ow n ers
in th es e areas. If this information w ere m a d e
pu b lic, th e des ira b ility o f th es e a rea s m ight
b e redu ced, causing a fall in p rop erty values.
As a result, th e in form a tion w as d eem ed to
b e confid en tia l.
A final exa m p le is that o f a mu nicipality
that had b een asked b y th e real es ta te
b oa rd to p rovid e a digital file of la n d ow n er s
names, a d d res s es , and tax arrea rs. Th e
b oa rd a lrea d y had received th e digital file
of th e city a s s es s or’s data b a se. This data
b a se p rovid ed such information as th e p rop ­
erty address, size, land use status, and valu a­
tion. But w ith ou t th e ow n er's nam e and
269 jihgfedc
Im p le m e n tin g A GIS mlkjihgfedcbaZY
a d d res s , it w as still n eces s a ry to g o to th e
land registry office and manually search each
p r op erty for th e ow n ers h ip inform a tion.
Th e city cou ncil d en ied a cces s to a rrea rs
in form a tion b u t cou ld s ee no harm in p ro­
vid in g a digital file o f ow n er's n am es and
a d d res s es , since this in form a tion is pu b licly
a va ila b le at the land registry office. Th e only
d ifferen ce w as that th e search cou ld b e
d on e much fa ster b y com p u ter. To their
su rprise, th ere w as a veh em en t pu b lic ou t­
cry a gains t relea s in g th es e files. D es p ite
gu a ra n tees b y the real es ta te b oa rd that the
data w ou ld on ly b e s ea rch ed on e p rop erty
at a time, th e pu blic b elieved th e data wou ld
b e u sed for com p u ter s creen in g to ta rget
individu als for sales cam paigns, mailings, or
th e da ta m ight b e u sed with oth er files to
find ou t information that individu als consider
p riva te. As a resu lt o f th e pu b lic ou tcry, th e
real es ta te b oa rd w ith d rew its requ es t.
Th es e exa m p les a re not fictitous. Th ey are
recen t even ts that h a p p en ed in N orth
A m erica n mu nicipalities. Th es e exa m p les
highlight w ha t is p rob a b ly th e m ost seriou s
ch a llen ge to th e op era tion o f geogra p h ic
inform ation systems: w h o takes resp ons ib il­
ity for th e con s equ en ces of distrib u ting th e
in form a tion p rod u ced using a G IS. In the
cou rse of researching this b ook, I ha ve fou nd
th e issu e of res p on s ib ility and liab ility to b e
on e o f th e m ost s eriou s issu es fa cin g G IS
m an agers , particu larly at the local level. Yet
it is an issue that has received rela tively little
a tten tion in th e literatu re.
C om p u ter secu rity system s a re w ell-
d evelo p ed . S ys tem s o f pa s s w ord s , record s
o f o p er a to r activities, and data en cryp tion
a re rou tin ely u sed to secu re da ta from
u n a u th orized access. H ow ever, th e res p on ­
sib ilities that arise from th e volu n ta ry
distrib u tion o f data a re not w ell- d efin ed and
ten d to b e ign ored .
In form ation is p ow er. W h ere th e con s e­
qu en ces of exercis in g that p ow er a re signifi­
cant, s ociety assigns resp on sib ility. In such
profess ions as engin eering, architectu re, and
270 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
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m ed icin e th e p rofes s ion a l is h eld lega lly
res p on s ib le for th e qu ality of th e in form a ­
tion he or she p rovid es . Th ere a re p r ofes ­
sional s ta nd ards that mu st b e m et. E ven
w h en th e s ta nd ards ca n n ot b e p recis ely
d efin ed , th e p rofes s ion a l can be
res p on s ib le for d a m a ges . For exa m p le, a
d octor m ay u se on e o f s evera l a p p roa ch es
to d ia gn os e and trea t a particu lar illness.
Yet, even thou gh a sta nd ard p erform a n ce
level ca n n ot b e p recis ely d efin ed , a d octor
can b e held lia b le for m a lp ra ctice if th e p ro­
ced u res h e ch os e to u se did n ot con form
with gen era lly a ccep ted m edica l p ra ctice.
Th e in form a tion in a G IS is for th e m ost
pa rt inform ation p rod u ced b y professionals.
S u rvey en gin eers , soil scientists, geologis ts ,
fores ters , ca rtogra p h ers , and m a n y oth er
p rofes s ion a ls gen er a te th e in form a tion that
com p ris e a G IS da ta b a s e. O n e o f th e grea t
a d va n ta ges o f a G IS is tha t it is d es ign ed to
m a ke th e in tegra tion o f d ivers e data sets
easy. W h ere, in th e past, a skilled technician
or p rofes s ion a l m ight h a ve b een n eed ed ,
tod a y sta ff with rela tively little
u n d ersta n d in g o f th e da ta can m od ify m aps
or ch a n ge da ta record s . In m an y cases, th e
G IS d o es n ot even k eep track o f which
individu al m akes th es e ch a nges. H ow ever,
an individu al with th e ab ility to skillfully
op era te a G IS may n ot h a ve the b ackgrou nd
to asses s w h eth er an analysis p roced u re is
valid.
Perh a p s m ore im p orta n tly in th e con text
o f a G IS facility, critical in form a tion p olicy
d ecis ion s m ay in a d verten tly b e left to th e
discretion o f th e G IS op era tor or researcher.
Such d ecis ion s as w h a t in form a tion shou ld
b e gen era ted , h ow its va lid ity shou ld b e
ex p res s ed , and to w h om th e in form a tion
sh ou ld b e relea s ed shou ld u ltim ately b e
m a d e b y a profes sional w h o has b een explic­
itly a ssigned this responsib ility. Perh a p s the
job title w ou ld b e "G IS Inform ation O fficer".
It w ou ld be th e res p on s ib ility of
individu al to ob tain w h a tever ex p er t a d vis e
he or she m ay requ ire to ta ke into accou nt
th e tech nical, legal, econ om ic, and political
fa ctors in d ecid in g w h a t in form a tion shou ld
b e gen era ted and relea s ed . Th es e decis ions
will often b e ju d gm en t calls. Th ere may
not b e an ob viou s correct answer. H ow ever,
h eld it is im p orta n t tha t th e ju d gm en t call b e
m a d e b y s om eon e with an a p p rop ria te level
of training, au thority, p ers p ective, and
resp on sib ility.
This form a l a ss ignm en t o f res p on s ib ility
shou ld b e an a rra n gem en t analogou s to that
o f an en gin eerin g office. Th e en gin eer w h o
stamps a set of en gin eerin g draw ings accepts
resp on s ib ility for that inform ation. H e p r ob ­
a b ly d id n ot d ra ft ever y line or ch eck ever y
calcu lation, yet th e en gin eer's stam p on th e
d ra w in gs in dica tes tha t a qu a lified p rofes ­
sional has r eview ed and a p p r oved th e w ork
and a ccep ts th e lega l liab ility if th e in form a ­
tion is fou nd not to m eet a ccep ted standards.
Th e m a n a gers o f G IS facilities n eed to b e
a w a re of th e resp ons ib ilities th ey know ingly
or u nknow ingly m a y assu me. Th e ob jective
of this s ection on res p on s ib ility and liab ility
form al is to p res en t a fra m ew ork o f issu es and to
s u gges t s om e a p p roa ch es to m a n a gin g th e
risks. Th e su b ject is a difficu lt on e b eca u s e
each ca s e is u niqu e. Such factors as th e level
of d eta il o f th e inform ation, the potential for
harm to individu als, and th e pu b lic right o f
a cces s to in form a tion will influ ence h ow
in form a tion can a nd shou ld b e dis trib u ted.
H ow ever, th ere a re p reced en ts . O rga n iza ­
tions res p on s ib le for national statistical
rep ortin g, such as Statistics C anada and the
US B u reau of th e Censu s, h a ve w ell-
d e ve lo p e d m eth od s to assess and p rotect
th e con fid en tia lity o f in form a tion.
In th e follow in g section , a few referen ces
a re m a d e to cou rt cases. Th ey a re p res en ted
as in d ica tors o f th e res p on s ib ilities r ecog ­
nized b y society. Th e ou tcom e of a particu lar
ca se m a y d iffer con s id era b ly d ep en d in g on
th e ju risdiction. From a m a n a gem en t p er­
this s p ective, th e poin t b ein g stress ed is that th e
distrib u tion o f in form a tion can h a ve signifi­
cant con s equ en ces for which s om eon e must

a ccep t res p on s ib ility. A s th e con s equ en ces
b ecom e p oten tia lly m ore seriou s, g r ea ter
ca re is n eed ed in s electin g th e analysis p r o­
ced u res and th e form in w hich th e in form a ­
tion will b e dis trib u ted . To m a n a ge th e risks
a s s ocia ted with in accu ra te in form a tion , or
the inappropriate use of information, requ ires
that th e m a n a gem en t stru ctu re o f th e C IS
facility b e orga n ized so th a t th e flow o f
in form a tion to th e ou ts id e w orld can b e
effectively m a n a ged .
F O U R ISSUES O F R E S P O N S IB ILIT Y
Fou r issu es o f res p on s ib ility a re discu s sed
h ere. W h ile th ey a re not an exh a u stive list,
they introdu ce major issues that the m anager
o f a G IS facility sh ou ld con s id er. FEDCBA
A ccu r a cy o f Co n t e n t
Accu ra cy o f con ten t is th e d e g r e e to which
th e d a ta rep res en t th e con d ition th ey
d es crib e. Th e accu ra cy w ith which th e
geog ra p h ic p os ition or th e a ttrib u tes o f a
fea tu re a re recor d ed a re exa m p les of
a ccu racy o f con ten t. E rrors m ay b e in tro­
d u ced du rin g d a ta collection or w h en th e
data a re d igitized , cla ss ified (i.e. w h en n ew
grou pin gs a re crea ted ), or p roces s ed . Th es e
sou rces o f er ror w e r e discu ssed in C h a p ter
5 on D ata Q u ality.
Th e p r ovid er o f in form a tion can b e h eld
liab le for inaccu racies o f content. For exa m ­
ple, th e U n ited S ta tes fed era l g overn m en t
was held legally res p on s ib le for inaccu rately
and n egligen tly s h ow in g th e loca tion o f a
b roadcas tin g tow er on an aeronau tical chart.
This inaccu racy w a s fou n d to h a ve d irectly
contrib u ted to a fatal a irpla ne crash (Epstein
1987, Rem in ga v. U n ited S ta tes 1978).
Issues rela ted to a ccu ra cy of con ten t a re
usually a d d res s ed in th e con text o f stan­
dards. S tandards a re an important issue and
con s id era b le effor t has b een focu s s ed on
estab lish in g su ita b le data sta ndards, not
on ly for accu ra cy b u t a ls o for such char­
a cteristics as form a t and th e d efin ition of
271 jihgfedc
Im p le m e n tin g A GIS mlkjihgfedcbaZY
ca tegories , such as land u se classes. S tan­
d a rd s m a ke it ea s ier for d a ta to b e sh a red
b y ou ts id e u sers b eca u s e th ey kn ow w ha t
to ex p ect. It is in th e in teres ts o f b oth
p rod u cers and consu m ers to h a ve sta nd ard­
ized in form a tion produ cts . Inform ation p r o­
vid ed in a standard form , w id ely distrib u ted
an d com m on ly u sed, m ake it p os s ib le to
p res u m e sta nd ard levels o f in form a tion
qu a lity and sta n d ard levels o f k n ow led ge
a m on g u sers. It im p roves th e p red icta b ility
o f th e en tire p roces s o f gen era tin g, dis­
sem ina ting, and u sing in form a tion . In so
d oin g it makes th e a ss ign m en t o f res p on ­
sib ilities much clea rer.
Th ere a re tw o sid es to standards: th e p ro­
d u cer s id e and th e con s u m er s id e. M os t of
th e effor t has b een focu s s ed on th e p r o­
d u cer s id e, i.e. th e p er s p ective o f the
orga n iza tion gen era tin g th e inform a tion
prod u ct. Th e con s u m er s id e is th e p er s p ec­
tive o f th e u ser o f th e in form a tion produ ct.
It is n ot p os s ib le for in form a tion to b e 100%
a ccu ra te a nd it is usually n ot cos t- effective
to d em a n d th e h igh es t ob ta in a b le level of
accu racy. A t s om e p oin t th e cos t o f p oten ­
tial errors and p rob a b ility o f th eir occu r­
ren ce is n ot w orth th e cos t o f im p os in g a
h igh er accu racy stand ard. Th e level o f error
that rem a ins rep res en ts th e risk in using the
data. S hou ld th e rem a in in g level o f error
resu lt in d a m a ges w h en th e in form a tion is
u sed, then s om eon e will a b s orb th e cos t of
th es e d a m a ges , i.e. th e cos t o f this residu al
error. B éd a rd (1987) has r efer ed to this as
uncertainty absorption. Techn ica l m eans
can b e u sed to red u ce u ncertainty, bu t th ere
will a lw a ys b e s om e risk o f er ror that cou ld
resu lt in d a m a ges for which s om eon e will
h a ve to pa y.
Th e con cep t o f risk as ses sm en t, as u sed
in evalu ating altern ative p olicy decisions, can
b e u sed to eva lu a te d ecis ion s b a s ed on
im p erfect in form a tion . D ecis ion analysis is
a p rob lem solvin g p r oced u re u sed to gu id e
decis ion - m a kin g u n d er con d ition s o f u ncer­
tain in form a tion (s ee for ex a m p le S tokey
272 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
and Z eckh a u s er, 1978). It in volves es tim a t­
ing th e costs an d b en efits o f ea ch p os s ib le
ou tcom e and then discou nting these amou nts
b y th e p rob a b ility o f th eir occu rren ce.
A r o n o ff (1983) p r op os es u sing decis ion
analysis th eory and m a p accu ra cy a ssess ­
m en t m eth od s to com p a re a ltern a tive
d ecis ion - m a k in g p roced u res th a t u se
geog ra p h ic in form a tion . B oth th e risk and
th e cos t o f p oten tia l errors a re ta ken into
a ccou n t in ass es sin g cons tru ction hazard s
in a rou te loca tion a p p lica tion . An in dex
term ed the minimumaccuracyvalue is used
to discou nt th e valu e o f th e m ap information
a ccord in g to th e ex p ected a ccu ra cy o f th e
m a p data. In effect, th e data from th e m a p
a ccu ra cy tes t is u sed to calcu late th e
exp ected "w ors t ca s e" map accuracy. (Tab les
o f minimu m accu racy valu es a re p rovid ed in
A ron off, 1985.) A similar a p p roa ch is
d em on s tra ted for la b ellin g land co ver
cla sses (s ee A ron off, 1984). In this ca s e th e
minimu m accu racy valu e is u sed to minimize
th e cos t o f cla ssification errors b y d efin in g
la n d - cover cla sses such that th e conse­
q u e n c e s o f in correct class a s s ign m en t a re
m inim ized.
For exa m p le, con s id er fores t fire haza rd
m a p p in g. For la rge a rea s it is to o cos tly to
p rod u ce d eta iled veg eta tion typ e maps.
Instea d, digital analysis o f s a tellite im a gery
can b e u sed to id en tify la n d - cover classes.
Each class will contain s evera l veg eta tion
typ es , s om e o f which m a y con s titu te a high
fire risk and oth ers a low risk. Th e cos t o f
a cla ssification er ror will b e ver y d ifferen t
d ep en d in g on th e con s equ en ces . If an a rea
is m iscla ssified into a high risk class, then in
an em ergen cy th ere may b e an over- response
to a fire in that a rea . H ow ever, misclassify-
ing a high risk a rea into a low risk ca teg ory
cou ld h a ve m ore seriou s results, such as th e
ou tb rea k o f an u ncontrolled w ildfire. B y tak­
ing into a ccou n t th e p rob a b ilities o f such
errors and th eir costs, th e d es ign a tion s o f
th e fire risk for ea ch la n d - cover class can b e
a d ju s ted so tha t th e ch a n ce o f a costly error
is minimized. Errors cannot b e eliminated bu t
a ch oice can b e m a d e a b ou t th e freq u en cy
with w hich th ey will occu r. For exa m p le, a
la nd - cover class might b e d es ign a ted as high
risk even thou gh th ere a re on ly m inor occu r­
ren ces o f high risk vegeta tion typ es. As a
res u lt th ere will b e a h igh er risk o f o ve r ­
res p on s e to a fire in volvin g this class, h ow ­
e ve r th e ch a n ce o f an in a d equ a te res p on s e
and resu lting w ild fire will b e red u ced .
Th es e a p p roa ch es a ttem pt to minimize th e
cost o f th e residu al error in geogra p h ic infor­
m ation b y eva lu a tin g th e con s u m er and
p rod u cer risks and in corp ora tin g th es e
residu al u ncertainties into th e d ecis ion ­
m aking p roces s . In so d oin g, th e accu ra cy
o f con ten t is exp licitly recogn ized and taken
into accou nt. FEDCBA
A c c u r a c y o f Co n t e x t
W h en in form a tion is s h ow n in th e con text
o f a m ap, an a ss ertion is b ein g m a d e a b ou t
th e interelation sh ip of all th e m a p elem en ts .
E ven thou gh th e con ten t o f each data s et
m a y b e correct, w hen th e data from d if­
feren t sou rces a re p res en ted tog eth er as a
map, th e in form ation con veyed can b e qu ite
m is lea din g.
C on sider th e follow in g h yp oth etica l exa m ­
ple. Th e loca tion s o f th ree s tora ge sites for
en viron m en ta lly ha za rd ou s PCB w a s tes a re
recor d ed in th e form of a ta b le o f m ap coor­
din ates. To com m u n ica te this in form a tion ,
th e loca tion s a re rep res en ted in th e form o f
a sim p le m a p (Figu re 8.1). Th ere is virtu ally
no in form a tion on this m a p oth er than th e
s ym b ols rep res en tin g th e th ree PCB sites.
A b ou t all that can b e lea rn ed from this m ap
is th e rela tive pos ition s o f th e sites (assu m­
ing that a rectangu lar coord in a te sys tem has
b een u sed to p lot the loca tion s). Th e in for­
m ation co n veyed is fairly innocu ou s.
N ow s u p p ose that the PCB sites w ere p lot­
ted on an exis tin g map, a m a p tha t s h ow ed
th e loca tion s o f th e s ch ools in th e a rea
(Figu re 8.2). Th e inform ation con veyed n ow
 273
Im p le m e n tin g A GIS mlkjihgfedcbaZYX

School Locations A, B, and C. jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPON

is fa r from innocu ou s, it su gges ts tha t th e
schools a re loca ted next to the PCB sites. You
cou ld just im a gin e th e h ea d lin es in th e local
n ew s p a p er! Figu re 8.3 p res en ts s om e o f this
in form a tion at a la rger sca le a nd with m ore
in form a tion a b ou t th e sca le o f m a p p in g, it
is clea r tha t th e PC B site is loca ted a
con s id era b le distance from th e school, s om e
70 km.
Th e p oin t o f this ex a m p le is n ot that
g eog ra p h ic in form a tion mu st b e p res en ted
a t an a p p r op r ia te scale, or that on e ca n n ot
u se a m a p w ith ou t kn ow in g th e b a sic m ap
in form a tion , b oth o f w hich a re tru e. Th e
p oin t is tha t if th e in form a tion is p res en ted
in such a w a y that th e u ser cou ld rea s on a b ly
d ra w an in correct conclu sion, then th e 10 KM HGFEDCBA
Fi gu r e 8. 3 Large Scale Map o f a PCB Site Relative to
in form a tion p rod u ct shou ld b e seriou sly
School C.
re- eva lu ated . A d ifferen t pres en ta tion might
com m u n ica te th e in form a tion in a m ore o f this typ e. Th e s p ecifica tion s for th e
a ccu ra te con text. diagram w ere clearly and correctly indicated.
C on sid er n ow a m ore su b tle exa m p le, that H ow ever, it w a s ju d ged th a t th e u se o f a
of a com p a n y p rod u cin g a eron a u tica l non - s ta nd ard p ers p ective w a s confu s in g to
n aviga tion aids. In a liab ility ca s e it w as th e p ilot a nd con trib u ted to th e p ilot er ror
s h ow n that th e a ircra ft n aviga tion a l charts and fatal crash (E pstein and Roitm an 1987,
p rod u ced b y Jeppeson C om p a n y w er e tech ­ A etn a C asu alty and S u rety v. Jep p es on and
nically correct. H ow ever, th e com p a n y w a s Co. 1981). In oth er w ord s , th e con ten t w as
h eld to b e a t fau lt b eca u s e th e d ia gra m s o f su fficiently a ccu rate, b u t th e con tex t p r o ­
th e a irp ort a p p roa ch u sed a p ers p ective dif­ d u ced an in su fficiently a ccu ra te p rod u ct for
fer en t from tha t u su ally p r ovid ed in charts th e in ten d ed use.
274 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
C IS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e follow in g is a n oth er illu stration o f th e
res p on s ib ility p rob lem s that can a rise from
inaccu racy of con text. At a regu la tory
h ea rin g in W isconsin evid en ce o f th e loca ­
tion of th e ord in a ry high w a ter mark
(O H W M ) o f a lake w a s p res en ted . This
evid en ce w a s in th e form o f ob s erva tion s
a nd m ea s u rem en ts b y b ota n is ts an d sur­
veyor s in dicating th e O H W M to b e a t th e
990 ft eleva tion con tou r. Th e cu rren t lake
level w as 10 ft low er, at 980 ft. Th e h ea rin g
exa m in er d ecid ed to d ep ict this evid en ce in
m a p form in his final rep ort. H e u sed a stan­
d a rd 1:24,000 U S G eologica l S u rvey to p o ­
gra p h ic m a p and h igh ligh ted th e 990 ft
contou r.
A short tim e later, a la n d ow n er with p r op ­
erty a d ja cen t to th e lake su ed th e state. In
W isconsin, land b elow the O H W M is d eem ed
to b elon g to th e state. This la n d ow n er had
n ot b een in volved in th e h earin g, b u t th e
information in th e hearing exa m in er's rep ort
s u gges ted that a significant p ortion o f her
land w a s b elo w th e O H W M a nd th er efor e
th e p r op erty o f th e sta te. E ven th ou gh th e
h ea rin g ex a m in er’s r ep or t w a s w ith d ra w n ,
th e W isconsin S u p rem e C ou rt a w a rd ed
d a m a ges to th e la n d ow n er b eca u s e th e
s ta te had, for a p er iod o f tim e, ca lled into
qu es tion h er title to th e land.
In this ca s e th e h ea rin g exa m in er had not
recog n ized th e im p lica tion s o f p la cin g th e
s u rvey and b ota n ica l ob s erva tion s in th e
con tex t o f a particu la r m ap. Th e s ta tem en t
that "e vid e n c e was p res en ted that th e
O H W M is at an eleva tion o f 990 ft" is not
th e s a m e as highlighting th e 990 ft con tou r
on a top og ra p h ic m ap. Th e s ta tem en t b y
itself requ ires that oth er m ea n s b e u sed to
estab lish th e rela tion b etw een th e O H W M
and oth er grou nd featu res. Th e m a p p res en ­
tation asserts that th e particu lar spatial rela ­
tion b etw een th e highlighted con tou r and all
th e oth er fea tu res on th e m a p a re tru e (to
th e level o f accu ra cy o f th e m a p). Th e h ea r­
ing exa m in er, b y highlighting th e con tou r
line on th e map, had in ad verten tly ren d ered
a ju d gm en t o f th e tru e p os ition o f th e
O H W M (E pstein 1987, Zinn v. S ta te 1983). FEDCBA
D a t a Fo r m a t
A m ore difficu lt issu e arises w hen a ch a n ge
in th e form a t o f existing d a ta ch a n ges th e
w a y th ey can b e u sed. C hanging th e form a t
can significantly a lter th e con s eq u en ces o f
distrib u ting th e inform a tion.
C on s id er land ow n ers h ip in form a tion for
exa m p le. It is lega lly requ ired th a t certain
land ow nership information b e m a d e pu blicly
a va ila b le. Th es e da ta a re usually p r ovid ed
in th e form o f p rin ted land regis try b ook s
tha t mu st b e u sed in a rea d in g room .
Alth ou gh all o f th e in form a tion con ta in ed in
th es e docu m en ts is in the pu b lic domain, the
fa ct th a t th e data is in a p rin ted form a t
s everely limits th e w a y th ey can b e u sed. It
w ou ld b e im practical to find ever y p rop erty
ow n ed b y a s p ecified individu al or to id en ­
tify all ow n ers w h o tra n s ferred p rop erties
tota llin g m ore than $10 million within th e
last yea r. This in form a tion cou ld b e p r o­
d u ced b y manu ally searching every p rop erty
record . H ow ever, for a m etrop olita n a rea a
manu al sea rch w ou ld be p roh ib itively
exp en s ive. By p rovid in g practical limitations
to th e w a y th e da ta can b e u sed, th e form a t
o f th e da ta p r ovid es a d e g r e e o f p rotection
to th e pu b lic.
H ow ever, if th e p rop erty data w er e m a d e
a va ila b le in a digita l form at, th e da ta cou ld
b e easily and qu ickly s ea rch ed b y com p u ter
and could b e matched with data files ob tained
from oth er sou rces . (File matching is th e
p roces s o f com b in in g da ta sets tha t h a ve
com m on data fields, such as a name, address,
or ID nu m b er. Th e p roced u re can b e u sed
to rela te d a ta from files th a t w er e n ot
in ten d ed to b e u sed tog eth er. In this w a y
inform ation a b ou t individu als that w ou ld not
n orm a lly b e relea s ed m ight b e d erived .)
C om p u ter a n a lys es can b e u sed to s creen
la rge d a ta files and id en tify individu als w h o
match a certain p rofile: w h o ow n a s p ecified

a m ou n t o f p rop erty, w h os e land ta xes a re
in a rrea rs and m ight b e p res s u red into s ell­
ing, or to id en tify in dividu als w h o h a ve any
n u m b er of oth er characteristics. Th es e
a n a lyses can b e u s ed to ta rg et individu als
for sp ecia l a tten tion th ey m a y n ot w ant,
ran ging from d eterm in ed real es ta te a gen ts
to th e tax collector. Th e a d d ition a l u ses that
can b e m a d e o f th e da ta on ce th ey a re in
digita l form m a y b e u n in ten d ed b y th os e
p rovid in g th e in form a tion and m a y com ­
p rom is e th e right to priva cy o f the individual.
W h en th e s ys tem o f p r op er ty d a ta dis­
trib u tion w a s first set up, th es e data analysis
ca p a b ilities did n ot exist. Th e b a la n ce
b etw een th e right o f th e p u b lic to h a ve
in form a tion and th e right o f th e individu al
to priva cy w as taken into accou nt in th e con ­
text o f a m anu ally s ea rch ed record system .
H ow ever, w hen th e data a re m a d e a va ila b le
to th e p u b lic in an electron ic form , this
b a la n ce o f rights is significantly ch a n ged
even thou gh th ere has b een n o ch a n ge in
th e con ten t o f th e da ta. S o, even thou gh
digital vers ion s o f da ta sets exist, th ere may
b e u n d es ira b le con s equ en ces o f distrib u ting
it in a digita l form a t even th ou gh th e sa m e
d a ta a re pu b licly a va ila b le in non- digital
form . FEDCBA
P r o b le m s in Co m b in in g D a t a Set s
O n e o f th e grea t b en efits attrib u ted to a G1S
is th e ea s e w ith w hich d ivers e spatial data
s ets can b e com b in ed . Y e t it is often fo r g ot­
ten that th e data b ein g com b in ed a re es s en ­
tially data p rod u ced b y exp erts , and so th e
va lid ity o f th e inpu t data and th e analysis
p r oced u re shou ld b e verified b y qu a lified
p ers on n el. Th e m ore s eriou s th e con s e­
q u en ces o f error, th e g r ea ter th e effor t that
should b e invested in checking the information.
O n e cou ld ta ke en gin eerin g d ra w in gs and
com b in e sections from d ifferen t b u ildings to
crea te a n ew s et o f b u ildin g plans. But for
a n on - en gin eer to even con s id er this w ou ld
b e view ed as ab su rd. Alth ou gh on e cou ld
275 jihgfedcb
Im p le m e n tin g A GIS mlkjihgfedcbaZY
p erform this p roced u re, th e resu lts w ou ld
n ot b e con s id ered va lid — u nless th ey w er e
ch ecked b y a su itab ly qu a lified en gin eer.
O verla y analysis is on e typ e o f G IS p r o­
ced u re w h ere resu lts with u n a ccep ta b le
levels of error can easily b e prod u ced . W hen
tw o spatial d a ta sets a re overla yed , th e
a ccu ra cy o f th e res u lting in form a tion will
gen era lly b e less than th e lea st a ccu ra te
inpu t d a ta set. This is intu itively ob viou s .
E very loca tion that is in er r or in th e lea st
a ccu ra te inpu t da ta s et will still b e in er ror
in th e ou tpu t. In a d d ition , th os e p oin ts in
er ror in on e da ta s et p rob a b ly will n ot all
occu r a t th e s a m e loca tion in th e oth er, so
th ere will b e s om e additional points in error.
N ew com er and S zajgin (1984) con clu d e
th a t th e er ror ra te in th e in form a tion p r o­
d u ced from an overla y analysis will b e no
low er than that o f th e lea st a ccu ra te inpu t
da ta s et and cou ld b e as high as th e sum o f
th e error ra tes o f all th e inpu t da ta sets.
W alsh et. al. ( 1987) p r ovid e a fu rther discu s­
sion o f er r or p rop oga tion in G IS analysis
p roced u res .
W h en d a ta sets a re com b in ed , b oth
exp licit and implicit inaccu ra cies can b e
crea ted or in crea s ed . E xplicit in accu racies
inclu de errors in th e geog ra p h ic loca tion or
th e a ttrib u te a s s ign ed to a fea tu re. Im plicit
inaccu racies m ay resu lt w hen th e com b in ed
da ta p rod u ct is in correctly a ssu m ed to h a ve
th e a ccu ra cy level o f th e d a ta sets from
w hich it w a s p rod u ced . For exa m p le, w h en
n ew in form a tion is p lotted on an exis ting
b a s e m ap, such as a top og ra p h ic map, th e
u ser will as su m e th a t th e a ccu ra cy o f th e
n ew inform a tion m eets th e sta nd ards o f th e
top og ra p h ic map. Th ere is an im p lied p os i­
tion al a ccu ra cy and a ttrib u te accu racy.
W h en d a ta sets a re com b in ed , n ew rela ­
tion sh ip s a re es ta b lis h ed a m on g all th e
fea tu res n ot p reviou s ly rep res en ted in th e
origin al d a ta sets. S om e o f th es e rela tion ­
ships m a y n ot b e in ten d ed or m eet th e
requ ired level o f accu racy. Finally, th ere is
th e im p lied a ccu ra cy that m a y resu lt from
276 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
CIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

similarity to oth er in form a tion produ cts. Th e
Jep p es on ca s e d is cu s sed p reviou s ly is an
exa m p le involving a single data set. A similar
p rob lem cou ld ea s ily a ris e w h en m ore than
on e d a ta s et is in volved .
Th e a ccu ra cy o f com b in ed d a ta s ets is a
com p lex a n d con trovers ia l on e. It requ ires
th e skills o f dis cip line exp erts . H ow ever, th e
a ccu ra cy o f com b in ed d a ta s ets is often not
a s s es s ed a t all. Th e res p on s ib ility often falls
on th e m a n a ger to en s u re th a t a p p r op r ia te
levels of accuracy assessment are undertaken.
P R E V E N T IV E M EASU R ES
G IS tech n olog y p r ovid es th e ca p a b ility for
p ers on n el, a ctin g en tirely w ithin th eir
des ign ated level o f au thorization, to gen era te
in form a tion th a t is n ot va lid. S op h is tica ted
ou tp u t ca pa b ilities give all rep orts a nd m aps
th e a u th orita tive look tha t high qu ality
p rin ters and p lotters p rovid e. H ow ever, th e
qu a lity o f th e d a ta u sed m a y n ot h a ve b een
d a ta and ver ify its accu racy. In this w a y th e
organ ization with th e m a n d a ted resp on sib il­
ity and the a p p rop ria te p erson n el w a s asked
to verify th at
1 . the d a ta w e r e corr ect a s r e p r e s e n t e d
w it h in t h e G IS , and
2. th e data w er e su fficiently accu ra te for
th e s ca le o f m a p p in g a t w h ic h t h e y
w o u ld b e u s e d w it h in t h e G IS .
B y w orkin g d irectly with th e m a n d a ted
p rod u cer o f th e da ta , th e u ser en s u red that
th e data qu ality w a s su itab le for th e a p p lica ­
tion. Such an a rra n gem en t can b e a ttra ctive
to th e p rod u cer o f th e d a ta as w ell as to th e
u ser. If th e data h a ve n ot yet b een digitized,
th ere is th e op p ortu n ity to sh a re th e d igitiz­
ing costs. Als o, in p rep a rin g th e da ta for
digitizing, th ere m a y b e op p ortu n ities to
en h a n ce th e d a ta qu ality, e.g. b y im p rovin g
th e g e o d e tic con trol o f th e m a p p in g b a s e.
W h er e data a re p rod u ced within th e s a m e

su itab le for th e analyses p erform ed , th ereb y orga n iza tion , this con s u lta tive p roces s can
in va lid a tin g th e resu lts. M a n y o f th es e d if­ b e m a d e qu ite rou tine.
ficu lties can b e a vo id ed b y recogn izin g key
decision points in the data selection, analysis, V e r if ica t i o n o f D a t a Q u a l i t y b y
and d is trib u tion p roces s and in corp ora tin g D i sci p l i n e Ex p e r t s
r eview p roced u res a t th es e s ta ges . FEDCBA
In ca s es w h ere th e orga n iza tion p rod u cin g
th e data ca n n ot b e d irectly in volved , p r oce­
V e r i f i ca t i o n o f D a t a Q u a l i t y b y t h e QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
dures can b e implemented to ensure that qual­
O r i g i n a l P r o d u ce r
ified p ers on n el a ssess th e su itab ility o f da ta
An orga n iza tion can be p r otected from for an analysis. B y exp licitly recogn izin g th e
in a p p rop ria te u se o f d a ta from ou ts id e n eed for a specialist to review analysis p roce­
s ou rces b y cons u ltin g d irectly w ith th e p r o ­ du res, the chance o f produ cing and distribu t­
vid er o f tha t da ta . For exa m p le, a C ou nty in ing invalid resu lts can b e red u ced . Als o, with
S ou th ern O n ta rio n eed ed to en ter th e th e grow in g a w a ren es s o f ex p er t s ys tem
flood p la in b ou n d a ries in to th eir G IS. Th ey m eth od s , th e G IS can b e u sed to m on itor
ob ta in ed th e d a ta from th e local C on s erva ­ and disallow ana lyses for which th e da ta a re
tion A u th ority (th e orga n iza tion lega lly in a p p rop ria te or o f insu fficient qu ality.
res p on s ib le fo r d efin in g th e flood p la in Q u ality a ssu ra n ce p r oced u res a re u sed
b ou n d a ries in th e a rea ). Th e C ou nty r e c o g ­ rou tin ely in th e m a p p in g p rofes s ion . Th e
n ized th at th e p r oced u re o f d igitizin g th e qu ality assu rance a p p roa ch can b e exten d ed
b ou n d a ry data from p a p er maps cou ld intro­ to th e op era tion o f a G IS fa cility b y d ocu ­
d u ce errors in th e b ou n d a ry p os ition s . S o m en tin g rou tin e analysis p roced u res and
an a rra n gem en t w a s m a d e for th e C on s er­ institu ting com p u ls ory qu a lity a ss es s m en ts
va tion A u th ority’s p ers on n el to d igitize th e o f resu lts. In th e ca s e o f n on - s ta nd ard

analyses, a mandatory review can b e instituted.
This review shou ld b e d on e b y exp erts in th e
s u b je c t b e in g a n a ly z e d (not just GIS techniques)
to en su re that th e manipu lation o f th e data
is a p p rop ria te to tha t discipline. O n ly a fter
th e qu ality of the results h ave b een assessed
and a ccep ted shou ld th e da ta b e relea s ed
for internal or extern a l use. Als o, b y d ocu ­
menting the procedu res used to generate each
typ e o f inform a tion , th e p roced u re is m ore
easily an alyzed and a m en d ed w hen deficien ­
cies in th e in form a tion a re recogn ized . FEDCBA
Set t in g an d M a in t a in in g D a t a Q u a lit y QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
A G IS p rovid es th e m ea n s for geog ra p h ic
St a n d a r d s
Th e qu ality of geog ra p h ic da ta is often
exam in ed only a fter in correct decisions have
b een m a d e and financial loss es or p ers on a l
injury have occu rred. Increasingly, produ cers
o f geog ra p h ic in form a tion a re b ein g held
lia b le w hen th eir in form a tion p rod u cts a re
fou nd to contain errors, are p oorly designed,
or a re u sed in w a ys and for p u rp os es
u n in ten ded b y th e p rod u cers . D ata qu ality
sta ndards, a p p rop ria tely d efin ed , tes ted ,
and rep or ted , can p rotect b oth th e p ro­
d u cer and u ser o f geog ra p h ic inform ation.
W h en data a re p r ovid ed in a s ta n d ard for­
mat and at a w ell- defin ed and a ccep ted level
o f qu ality, th e p rod u cer is p r otected from
liab ility if th e data a re in a p p rop ria tely u sed.
Such s ta nd ards a ls o p rotect th e u ser from
relyin g on in a p p rop ria te inform a tion .
I n t r o d u cin g Ch a n g e s in D a t a
A v a ila b ilit y
Tech nological changes can b e introdu ced far
m ore qu ickly than th e legal, political, and
social sys tem s o f ou r s ociety can a b s orb
them . It ta kes tim e for th es e s ystem s to
b ecom e a w a re o f th e con s equ en ces o f n ew
tech n ology like G IS and to d e ve lo p a p p r o­
p ria te sa fegu ards. It takes tim e for a gen cies
to identify potential ab u ses of data files, such
as file matching, to d erive inform ation ab ou t
individu als from grou p ed data. A con s er­
277 jihgfedcb
Im p le m e n tin g A GIS mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
va tive a p p roa ch is to b egin b y a llow in g th e
n ew tech n olog y to p r ovid e th e s a m e typ es
o f in form a tion p rod u cts as w e r e p reviou s ly
a va ila b le. For exa m p le, in th e ca s e o f land
record s , th e pu b lic m ight b e a b le to ask an
in form a tion clerk for a s p ecific p r op erty
record and th e clerk might qu ery th e G IS to
g en er a te th e rep ort. But individu als w ou ld
not b e a llow ed u nrestricted access to the GIS
to g en er a te rep orts on m u ltiple p rop erties .
C O N C L U S IO N
in form a tion to b e u sed for a b roa d ra n ge of
a pp lica tion s and b y u sers with a w id e ran ge
o f skills. In or d er for th es e da ta to b e u sed
in decision - m akin g, th eir qu ality mu st b e
reliab ly known. Pu blic organizations ch a rged
with produ cing and disseminating geogra ph ic
in form a tion mu st b e a w a re o f th e res p on ­
sib ility issu es that m a y arise w hen their data
a re u sed. Th es e issues arise from th e sta ted
or im p lied accu ra cy o f th e data. Th ey also
arise from th e u nanticipated uses o f the data
that m a y com p rom is e individu al rights of
p riva cy or ca u s e injury. It is in th e in terests
o f th e p r ovid er of in form a tion to clarify
th os e responsib ilities in adva nce, rather than
b y d is coverin g them in a cou rt o f law or in
th e m id st o f a politica l con trovers y.
Th e orga n iza tion a l stru ctu re o f th e G IS
facility shou ld reflect th es e concerns, n ot for
fea r o f lawsu its b u t to trea t s eriou sly th e
resp on s ib ilities that com e with th e p o w er of
con trollin g inform a tion . U ltim ately, it is th e
m a n a gem en t of a G IS facility that will d eter ­
m ine th e qu ality o f in form a tion and th e
exten t o f its distrib u tion. If fores igh t and
pu b lic s ervice a re not su fficient in centives to
recognize and deal with these responsibilities,
then th e th rea t o f litigation m ay p rovid e the
n eces s a ry en cou ra gem en t. Rather than
w a itin g for res p on s ib ility to b e en forced
from ou ts id e, orga n iza tion s shou ld ta ke
steps to anticipate and deal with th ese issues
w h en im p lem en tin g a G IS.
278 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e FEDCBA
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IUFRO W o rld Congress held S e p te m be r 1986 in
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280 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
G IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e r s p e c t iv e
 9 . C O N C L U S I O N jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHG
H u man s ocieties h a ve b e c o m e in crea s in gly
d ep en d en t for th eir w ell- b ein g on th e ab ility
to collect a nd a n a lyze g eog r a p h ic in form a ­
tion . Th e w orld is b ecom in g m ore cr o w d ed
and res ou rces a re b ecom in g m ore s ca rce.
A n ew u rb an s u b d ivis ion , a m in e, a p o w e r
plant, or a w a s te d is p os a l s ite a re p rojects
n ow scru tin ized b y d ivers e regu la tory a gen ­
cies a nd frequ en tly su b ject to pu b lic o p p os i­
tion . A t th e in tern a tion a l sca le, nu clea r
fa llou t, a cid rain, d es ertifica tion ,
ch em icals , a nd d efor es ta tion h a ve b ec o m e
w id ely recog n ized p rob lem s th a t d irectly
a ffect th e econ om ic a nd socia l w ell- b ein g o f
th e glob a l hu man p op u la tion .
G eog r a p h ic in form a tion s ys tem s a re a
p ow erfu l res ou rce for a n a lyzin g th e in ter­
rela ted s ys tem s in volved in th es e typ es o f
p rob lem s . Th ey p rovid e flexib le m eth od s for
ex p lorin g rela tion s h ip s a m on g g eog ra p h ic
data and assisting exp erts from d ivers e fields
in p oolin g th eir k n ow led g e to s olve com p lex
prob lem s. Indeed, ou r success in dealing with
many glob al environmental issues will d ep en d
on this typ e o f m u ltid is cip lin a ry effort.
U sing G IS tech n ology, g eog ra p h ic in form a ­
tion can b e a s s em b led a nd a p p lied in n ew
w a ys . Th e G IS o ffer s a p ra ctica l m ea n s to
m a n a ge la rge a nd d ivers e spatial da ta b a s es
a n d p r ovid es effe c tive tools to u n d ers ta n d
th e relationships a m on g d ivers e ph en om en a.
An in crea s in g n u m b er o f d ecis ion - m a kers
a nd m a n a gers h a ve recog n ized tha t G IS
tech n olog y will b e es s en tia l if th ey a re to
a d d res s th e ex p a n d ed m a n d a tes a n d com ­
p lex d ecis ion s th ey n ow fa ce.
G IS tech n o lo g y has d e v e lo p e d
rem a rka b le p a ce o ver th e pa st tw o d eca d es .
Yet, th e tech n ologica l ch a n ges h a ve occu r­
red mu ch m ore ra p id ly than th e institu tional
on es . W e a re on ly b egin n in g to gra p p le with
th e m a ny m anagerial, legal, and social issu es
tha t a re a ccom p a n yin g th e w id e- s p rea d u se
o f g eog ra p h ic in form a tion system s. RQPONMLKJIHGF
A N E W W A Y O F L O O K IN G A T mlkjihgfedcbaZ
G E O G R A P H IC D A T A
Th e p rin tin g p res s n ot on ly m a d e th e p r o ­
du ction o f w ritten m a teria l fa s ter a nd less
ex p en s ive, it revolu tion ized th e w a y in for­
m ation flow ed within th e society. In a similar
way, GIS tech nology has dramatically changed
toxic
th e ra te a t which geogra p h ic inform ation can
b e p rod u ced , u p d a ted , a n d d is s em in a ted .
M a p u pd a tin g tasks tha t requ ired m on ths o f
manu al e ffo r t a re n ow d o n e in hou rs, and
s p a tia l a n a lys is ca p a b ilities th a t w ere
u n a va ila b le a d e c a d e a g o a re n ow com m on
p la ce.
Th e G IS has n ot on ly m a d e th e p rod u ction
and analysis o f geogra p h ic in form ation m ore
efficien t, it is ch a n gin g th e w a y g eog ra p h ic
in form a tion is p er ceive d a nd u sed. It is a
tech n olog y tha t m a kes g eog ra p h ic d a ta
m ore m a llea b le, m o r e ea s ily s h a p ed b y th e
u ser into th e form b es t- s u ited to th e a p p lica ­
tion a t hand. It m a kes g eog ra p h ic in form a ­
tion m ore ea s ily cu stom ized . In th e past, th e
p rod u ction o f a s p ecia l p u rp os e m a p w a s a
cos tly u n d erta kin g. T o d a y a G IS can m a ke
th e s p ecia l p u rp os e p res en ta tion o f d a ta
qu ick a nd in exp en s ive.
Th e tra d ition a l m a p is like a "s n a p s h o t"
o f th e g eog r a p h ic d a ta from w hich it w a s
com p iled . It rep res en ts a s et o f g eog ra p h ic
in form a tion , usually a t a sin gle p oin t in time.
Th e m a p is u p d a ted a t in freq u en t in terva ls,
ow in g to th e cos t a n d tim e to p r od u ce an
at a u p d a ted vers ion . For this rea s on , th e m a p
ten d s to b e a s ta n d a rd ized , gen era l p u rp os e
p rod u ct d es ig n ed to s er ve as w id e a ra n ge
o f u sers as p os s ib le.
In a G IS, th e s tora g e o f th e d a ta is
in d ep en d en t o f th e m o d e o f p res en ta tion .
282 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Th e physical map b ecom es a rela tively
in exp en s ive ou tpu t p rod u ct that can be
g en er a ted qu ickly and cu s tom ized for a
sin gle a p p lica tion . In a d d ition , th e g e o ­
gra p h ic data b a s e u sed to p rod u ce th e m a p
can b e contin u ou sly u p d a ted . A s a resu lt,
th e physical m a p b ecom es a cu s tom ized
"s n a p s h ot” of a contin u ou sly ch a n gin g
geog ra p h ic da ta b a s e, it is a view o f th e
data, s elected and orga n ized b y th e u ser to
b es t s er ve th e a p p lica tion at hand.
Th e p roces s in g p o w er o f th e G IS has a ls o
en a b led geog ra p h ic in form a tion to b e u sed
in a qu a lita tively d ifferen t w a y. C om p lex
a n a lys es can b e itera tively refin ed tow a rd s
an op tim u m solu tion, an a p p roa ch th a t
w ou ld be p roh ib itively ex p en s ive u sing
manu al m eth od s .
G IS T E C H N O L O G Y
G IS tech n ology has con tin u ed to d e ve lo p at
a rapid pace. An ever increasing dem an d has
created a competitive environment for produ c­
ers o f h a rd w a re and s oftw a re. G IS tech n ol­
o g y has b ecom e less ex p en s ive and m ore
relia b le. H a rd w a re p rices contin u e to fall.
H ow ever, s oftw a re p rices h a ve ten d ed to
rem ain s tea d y, reflectin g th e increasing cos t
o f d evelop in g and m aintaining e ve r m ore
com p lex s oftw a re.
Th e increasingly k n ow led gea b le u ser com ­
mu nity has b een a significant fa ctor in th e
d irection o f tech n ology d evelop m en t. G IS
users are demanding that systems accept data
in d ivers e form a ts from exis tin g digital d a ta
bases, that th ey b e easier to use, and a ch ieve
ever higher levels of perform ance. As a result,
G IS es h ave in corp ora ted a d va n ced graphics,
m ore p ow erfu l com p u ters, m ore com p eten t
data exch a n ge and data b a s e functions, and,
in s om e cases, ex p er t s ystem tech n iqu es to
red u ce th e o p er a to r 's w ork loa d . Alth ou gh
important tech nology issues still remain, parti­
cularly in the area of data capture, current mar­
ket forces a re p rovid in g th e necess ary incen­
tive to continue the fast pace of developm en t.
D A T A BASE C R E A T IO N
Perh a p s th e g rea tes t tech nical im p ed im en t
to im p lem en tin g a G IS is th e crea tion o f th e
d a ta b a s e. It is a difficu lt and cos tly u n d er­
taking to d e ve lo p a su itab ly a ccu ra te data
b ase from d ivers e er ror p ron e s ou rce
m aterials. It is a task that com m on ly r e p r e­
sen ts 75% or m ore o f th e tota l cos t o f
im p lem en tin g a GIS. O n ce th e data b a s e has
b een d evelo p ed , th ere is a ls o th e su b stan­
tial on - goin g m a in ten a n ce cos t to k eep the
d a ta b a s e cu rrent.
Mu ch o f the sou rce material u sed to crea te
th e g eog ra p h ic data b a s e is in th e form o f
p a p er maps. M anu al d igitizin g rem a in s a
very versatile and important means of en cod ­
ing p a p er maps. H ow ever, in m an y situ a­
tions, scanning s ystem s a re p rovid in g a
m ore cost- effective m eans of data entry. The
continu ing im p rovem en ts in scan ning tech ­
n ology, pa rticu larly th e in trod u ction of
ex p er t s ys tem tech n iqu es , will fu rth er
exten d its u se. Th ere is also a s tea d y
in crea s e in th e u se o f digita l m eth od s in the
d a ta collection p roces s its elf, th e r eb y
elim in a tin g th e digitizin g s tep en tirely.
Alth ou gh th e d a ta en try p rob lem is acu te,
it is on e that will even tu a lly lessen.
U n fortu n a tely, th e rush to d igitize often
com p rom is es th e n eed for a ca refu l data
b a s e d es ign . Th e crea tion o f a la rge data
b a s e d oes n ot in its elf gu a ra n tee tha t th e
da ta n eed ed will b e in clu ded or will b e o f
a d eq u a te qu ality. D ata ca n n ot b e sim ply
d u m p ed into s tora ge; th ey must b e in a form
that can b e efficiently retrieved and analyzed.
Also, th e priorities u sed in crea tin g th e data
b a s e mu st ta ke in to a ccou n t th e u ser n eed s
to b e s u p p orted . This requ ires con s id era b le
planning b y ex p erien ced and highly tra in ed
p ers on n el — w hich a re cu rren tly in ver y
s h ort su pply.
O n e o f th e p erp lex in g p rob lem s in data
b a s e d evelop m en t has b een ju stifying th e
con s id era b le ex p en s e to crea te and main­
tain it. It rep res en ts a significant in ves tm en t

with an u ndefined asset value. The value of the
data b eing collected and the information b eing
p rod u ced is la rgely u nknown. To d e ve lo p a
m ore rational m ean s o f settin g data ca p tu re
and analysis priorities , a realistic m ea s u re is
n eed ed o f th e va lu e o f G1S data and th eir
actu al e ffect on final decision s.
O V E R C O M IN G IN S T IT U T IO N A L
BARRIERS
It is th e political and institutional issues m ore
than th e tech nical on es tha t h a ve b een th e
m a jor ob s ta cles to th e introd u ction o f G IS
tech n ology. A G IS is not "b ou g h t” , it evolves
and b ecom es p a rt o f th e inform ation system
o f an orga n iza tion . Its in trod u ction fun­
dam en ta lly ch a nges th e w a y an organization
can and will u se data. It a ffects th e political
p ow er stru ctu re o f th e organ ization as much
as it affects the mechanics of work. M anagers
n eed to u nd ersta n d n ot on ly the p rin cip les
o f the G IS tech n ology th ey u se, bu t a ls o th e
a s s ocia ted social, econ om ic, and political
issues. For exa m p le, th e digitizing o f m aps
can in volve in ter- a gen cy n egotia tion s to
sh are d a ta costs, issu es o f da ta ow n ers h ip
and cop yrigh t, and con s id era tion o f legal
liab ility and individu al p riva cy rights.
The im p lem en ta tion o f a G IS with its many
d ivers e d a ta sets, all a ccu ra tely regis tered ,
and with th e analytical p ow er to s erve multi­
p le orga n iza tion s is a very costly and lon g­
term u ndertaking. It is a p roject with la rge
u p- front cos ts and fu tu re b en efits that a re
difficu lt to qu an tify. Tom lin s on (1989) has
n oted tha t th ere is com m on ly a 4 to 5 yea r
p eriod b efor e successful installations ach ieve
a p os itive cos t- b en efit.
In m an y ca s es coop er a tive a greem en ts
a m on g g over n m en t a gen cies and with th e
p riva te s ector h a ve en a b led con vers ion
cos ts to b e s h a red and qu ality sta nd ards to
b e set. H ow ever, th e con s id era b le adm inis­
trative overh ea d to initiate and m an age data
sharing a greem en ts has p r oved to b e a
significant ob s ta cle. A s a resu lt, th ere is an
283 jihgfedcb
C o n clusion mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
in cen tive for individu al p u b lic orga n iza tion s
to m in im ize their d igitizin g efforts and m ax­
im ize th eir use o f pu b licly p r ovid ed data.
C oop era tion a m on g g overn m en t a gen cies
has b een m ore su ccessfu l in th e sharing o f
G IS ex p ertis e and exis tin g digital data.
Th e d em a n d b y local levels o f g o ver n ­
m ent, such as mu nicipalities, for geog ra p h ic
data in digital form has pu t pressu re on map­
p in g a gen cies to s p eed u p th e d igitizin g o f
geog ra p h ic data. It has a ls o led s om e u sers
to g en er a te th eir ow n d a ta sets. W h ile this
m ay s olve their im m ed ia te sh ort- term in for­
m ation n eed s , it com p rom is es lon ger- term
ob jectives .
Th es e short-term solu tions h a ve ten d ed to
u n d erm in e efforts to sh are d a ta con vers ion
cos ts and to s ta n d a rd ize da ta form a ts and
qu ality. Instead, th e d a ta collection effor t is
d u p lica ted and th e da ta qu ality a nd com ­
pa tib ility issu es a re h a n d led on an a d h o c
b asis. This ten d en cy has b een pa rticu larly
evid en t in land in form a tion s ys tem a p p lica ­
tion s at th e mu nicipal and cou nty levels. For
exa m p le, utility com pa n ies and d ep a rtm en ts
o f p u b lic w orks h a ve p r o c e e d e d qu ickly in
con vertin g land record s into digital form and
im p lem en tin g a G IS to m a n a ge th em . Th ey
h a ve ten d ed to p r oceed m ore qu ickly than
th e a gen cies actu ally res p on s ib le for th e
land record s (D u ecker 1987). S tron g institu­
tional in cen tives a re n eed ed to en cou ra ge
coop era tive, longer- term p ers p ectives in the
crea tion and m a in ten a n ce o f G IS es.
Tra d ition a l con cep ts o f d a ta ow n ers h ip
h a ve a ls o b een an im p ed im en t to th e in tro­
du ction o f G IS tech n ology. For exa m p le,
th ere is often a ten d en cy for individu al
d ep a rtm en ts or orga n iza tion s to think o f
d a ta as "th eir d a ta ” , w hen, in fact, th e data
w e r e g a th ered at th e ex p en s e and for th e
b en efit of a la rger con s titu en cy. It is
s om etim es difficu lt to shift this p ercep tion
to a view o f th e G IS da ta b a s e as a "c o r ­
p ora te res ou rce” to b e m a n a ged p rim a rily
for th e b en efit o f th e en tire u ser cons titu ­
en cy it w a s crea ted to s erve, n ot for th e
284 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tive jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
conven ience of the data b a se custodian. C on­
trovers y o ve r con trol o f data has com p r o­
m is ed m an y G IS im p lem en ta tion efforts .
N E E D FO R T R A IN E D IN D IV ID U A L S
Perh a p s th e grea tes t ch a llen ge to making
G IS tech n ology m ore w id ely availab le will b e
to find com p eten t p ers on n el. Th ere is a
critical s h orta ge o f p eo p le to satisfy cu rren t
res ea rch , d evelop m en t, ed u ca tion ,
op era tion a l n eed s, and th e d em a n d for p er­
sonnel is acceleratin g. Th ere a re not enou gh
ed u ca tion a l institu tions to p r ovid e training,
and it is n ot even clea r w ha t edu ca tion a l
b a ckgrou n d is n eed ed .
M os t G IS - related training ten ds to focu s on
technology training, that is, training individuals
to op er a te a G IS. But u sers mu st d evelo p
ex p ertis e in m eth od s o f a p p lyin g th e tech ­
n ology. By its ver y natu re a G IS is a data
integration machine. To use a G IS effectively,
the analyst requ ires su fficient b ackgrou nd to
u nd ers ta n d th e natu re o f th e p rob lem s
b ein g a d d res s ed and th e chara cteris tics of
th e data b ein g analyzed . Yet. on e can not b e
ex p er t in all field s. It is this com p etin g n eed
for b rea d th a cross dis ciplines and d ep th
within a discipline, and for th eory as w ell as
p ractical ex p erien ce, tha t m akes th e d efin i­
tion of training n eed s so difficult. In addition,
ex p er ien ce is in sh ort su p ply and b etter
m eans a re n eed ed to diss em in ate that hard-
w on k n ow led ge.
Th e n eed for tra in ed p ers on n el is even
m ore s ever e in les s - d evelop ed cou ntries. In
th es e countries, the stature a ccord ed individ­
uals with s p ecia lized technical training often
b rin gs them im m ed ia te a d va n cem en t to
m a n a geria l p os ition s in which th ey d o n ot
u se th os e tech nical skills. A ltern a tively,
tech n ica lly c o m p e te n t in d ivid u a ls
a ttra cted to m ore d e ve lo p e d cou n tries that
offer h igh er sta n d a rd s o f living and m ore
op p ortu n ity for ca reer a d va n cem en t. A s a
result, th e few tech nically tra in ed p ers on n el
m ay qu ickly b ecom e u navailab le.
L IA B IL IT Y
Th e legal and political liab ility of distribu ting
g eog ra p h ic in form a tion is p oten tia lly th e
m os t ex p los ive issu e to a ccom p a n y th e
in trod u ction of G IS tech n ology. A G IS facil­
ity is cr ea ted for th e p u rp os e o f gen era tin g
and d is s em in a tin g in form a tion. In so d oin g,
th e individu als w h o con trol that inform ation
res ou rce exercis e substantial p ow er. W h ere
th ere is p ow er, th ere shou ld b e accou ntab il­
and
ity. In th e op era tion o f a G IS, th e issu e is
w h o is res p on s ib le?
Th os e given a cces s to a G IS m a y h a ve at
th eir d is p os a l a w ea lth o f va lu a b le in form a ­
tion a b ou t individu als, th eir a ctivities, and
th eir p rop erty. Th e p ers on n el o f a G IS
facility m a y b e w ell tra in ed to maintain high
tech n ical standards, b u t w h a t a re th eir
eth ica l stand ards? Th eir k n ow led g e will
d efin e w ha t th ey a re a b le to d o, b u t w ha t
ch ecks will limit w ha t th es e individu als m ay
ch oos e to d o? W h o will p rovid e th e legal and
ethical gu id elin es for th eir w ork, and w h o
will h a ve final a u th ority and as su m e final
res p on s ib ility for th eir actions? Is th ere a
sin gle individu al w h o is given th e a u th ority
and res p on s ib ility to m a n a ge th e G IS, or is
res p on s ib ility jointly held, with no single
individu al held a ccou n ta b le? Th e p o w er of
a G IS is a d ou b le- ed g ed s w ord . In p r ovid ­
ing instant a cces s to va s t am ou nts o f data,
it p r ovid es th e op p ortu n ity to ab u se, to
m isinform , and to in va d e th e p riva cy of
individu als on a g rea ter sca le than ever
b efor e.
Th ere is pu blic concern a b ou t coord in a ted
ga th erin g and analysis of digital in form ation
a b ou t individu als and th eir p rop erty. Th ere
is a grow in g a w a ren es s o f th e ea s e with
w hich digita l da ta files can b e tra n s ferred ,
a re a cces sed, and com b in ed in w a ys u nforeseen
b y th e p r ovid er and w ith ou t th e k n ow led ge
or con s en t of th e individu als a ffected .
U n a u th orized a cces s and cop yin g o f data
can b e d on e instantaneously, withou t leaving
a tra ce. In W es t G erm a n y, citizen con cern

o ver p riva cy forced a fed era l censu s to b e
cancelled, and, in S w eden , stringent laws for­
b id file m atching o f digital da ta on in d ivid ­
uals. In th e U nited S tates, s om e 70 pu b lic
law s rega rd in g in form a tion dis closu re, con ­
fidentia lity, and rights o f p riva cy h a ve b een
p a s s ed in recen t yea rs (A b ler 1987).
Th e p o w er o f a G IS to ra p id ly a n a lyze
la rge data files has th e p oten tia l to com ­
p rom is e individu al rights. M a n y record s ,
such as th os e o f m u nicipalities, contain
information ab ou t th e holdings and activities
o f individu al citizens. Thou gh m any o f th es e
record s a re a lrea d y pu b licly a va ila b le, th e
tim e and ex p en s e to manu ally a cces s them
makes it impractical to search the entire data
set. Th e in efficien cy o f retrieva l s erves to
p rotect th e in d ivid u a l’s priva cy. H ow ever,
th e com p u ter m akes s elective search and
retrieva l fa st and efficien t. D ata files that
w er e n ot in ten d ed to b e in tegra ted can b e
eas ily com b in ed or m atch ed using any com ­
m on da ta field , such as a s treet a d d res s or
a nam e. La rge da ta sets can b e efficien tly
s ea rch ed to ta rget individu als b y th e va lu e
o f th eir h om e, th eir tax arrea rs, th e sch ools
th eir ch ild ren a tten d , p erh a p s th eir ethnic
b a ckgrou n d , and so on. Th e cou rts a re on ly
b egin n in g to deal with th e difficu lt tra d e- offs
o f p rotectin g p riva te in terests w h ile making
a va ila b le th e in form a tion that pu b lic a gen ­
cies requ ire to fulfill th eir m an da tes.
Th ere a re seriou s u n res olved con cern s
a b ou t th e liab ility o f th e p rod u cer for th e
qu ality o f its data produ cts . In th e U nited
States, many cou rt decis ions ha ve fou nd the
p rod u cer lia b le for fatal inju ries cau sed, in
part, b y in correct or non-standard data. Th e
introdu ction and a d op tion o f data standards
can n ot only p rotect th e interests o f th e p ro­
du cer, b u t can also p r ovid e th e u ser with a
m ore d ep en d a b le and p red icta b le in form a ­
tion sou rce.
Th ere is a ls o an u n com forta b le political
d im en s ion to G IS m a n a gem en t. To w h a t
exten t can th os e w h o con trol th e b u d g et o f
a G IS facility in flu ence th e in form a tion that
285 jihgfedcb
C onclusion mlkjihgfedcbaZYX
is p rod u ced ? H ow im m u ne a re th e in d ivid ­
uals w h o op er a te that facility from requ es ts
to su ppress or m od ify potentia lly emb arass-
ing in form a tion . W h eth er it is a loca l city
cou ncillor or high-ranking officia ls at th e
region a l or national levels , th ere is a p oten ­
tial conflict o f in teres t if th e G IS th ey fu nd
can g en era te in form a tion con tra ry to th eir
in terests.
TH E P O L IT IC A L N A T U R E O F A G IS
C om p u ters in gen era l, and G IS es in p a r­
ticu lar, a re n ot ob jective decision- m a kin g
system s. A s Klosterm a n (1987) has n oted ,
com p u ters a re inherently political. Th ey can
b e u sed to hide or d ow n p la y th e im portance
o f th e assu m ption s on which th eir a na lyses
a re b a s ed . C en tra lized con trol o f com p u ter
da ta b a ses, such as a G IS, ten d s to in crea se
th e p o w er o f th e b u reau crats, adm inistra ­
tors , tech n ica l exp erts , and com p u ter
literate grou ps w h o use them at the exp en s e
o f th os e w h o lack th e exp ertis e or a cces s to
th es e s ys tem s . Policy- m a kers a nd th e
gen era l pu b lic ten d to view in form a tion as
m ore accu rate, m ore ob jective, and m ore
cu rren t sim ply b eca u s e it w a s com p u ter­
g en era ted . N ot on ly d o th e data a p p ea r
m ore a u th orita tive, th e politica lly neu tral
langu age u sed to d es crib e th e data p rep a ra ­
tion, analysis, and resu lts rein forces th e air
of ob jectivity. C om p u ter m od ellin g and
analysis d oes , h ow ever, requ ire that nu m er­
ou s ch oices b e m a d e in th e selection o f data,
ch oice o f analysis m eth ods , and the p res en ­
tation and in terp reta tion o f results. Th es e
ch oices a re in h eren tly political since th ey
d irectly a ffect th e resu lts that will be
ob ta in ed .
C om p u ter- b a s ed a n a lyses can b e u sed to
m ystify as ea sily as th ey can b e u sed to
clarify. Political ch oices can easily b e hidden
within p roced u res m a d e too com plex for th e
u ninitiated to d ecip h er. For this reas on , it
is im p ortan t that p olicy ch oices and assu mp­
tion s b e m a d e exp licit and tha t analytical
286 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
p roced u res b e fu lly d ocu m en ted , a va ila b le
for scru tiny, and m a d e clea r to th os e w h o
will u se th e in form a tion .
Th e G IS has p r ovid ed th e op p ortu n ity to
grea tly im p rove th e s p eed and accu ra cy
with which geog ra p h ic data can b e h a n d led
and th e d ivers e issu es to which th ey can b e
a p p lied . To rea p th e b en efits requ ires not
on ly tech n ica lly qu a lified users. It requ ires
m a n a gers w h o u nd ersta n d G IS tech n ology
and th e issu es that su rrou nd its u se. Th e
ch a llen ge a h ea d is to p r ovid e th e m a n a ge­
m en t p er s p ective and d irection to en su re
tha t th e p o w er o f G IS tech n olog y is chan­
n eled so as to a d va n ce ou r va lu es and
ob jectives n ot com p rom is e th em . FEDCBA
R EFER EN CES
Duecker, K.J. 1987. M ulti-P urpose Land Info rm a tio n
Systems: Technical, Economic, and Institutional Issues.
In P r o c e e d in g s o f th e E ig h th I n t e r n a t io n a l S y m p o s iu m
o n A u t o m a t e d C a r t o g r a p h y . Am erican Society fo r
P ho to gra m m etry and Remote Sensing. Falls Church.
Virginia, pp. 1-1 1.
Klosterm an, R.E. 1987. Guidelines fo r Com puter-Aided
Planning M odels. In P r o c e e d in g s o f t h e U R IS A '8 7
C o n fe re n c e . Urban and Regional Inform ation Systems
Association. W ashington, D.C. V olum e 4 :1 -1 4 .
Tom linson. R.G. 1989. G IS C h a lle n g e s f o r t h e I 9 9 0 's .
P re s e n ta tio n at th e N a tio n a l C o n fe re n ce on
G eographic Info rm ation Systems — Challenge fo r the
1990's. Held February 2 7 -M a rch 3, 1989 in O ttawa,
Canada.
 A P P E N D IX A:

A b b r e v i a t i o n s f o r U n i t s o f M e a s u r e jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSR

A b b r evia tion U nit E qu iva len ce

m m etr e
km k ilom etre 1000 m
cm cen tim etr e .01 m
mm m illim etre .001 m
/¿m m icron .000001 m
ha h ecta re 10.000 sq m

in inch 2.54 cm
ft fo o t 0.305 m
a cre a cre 0.405 ha
288 C IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e r s p e c t iv e
 A P P E N D IX B:

D a t a S o u r c e s FEDCBA

N A T I O N A L SC A LE S O U R C ES O F D I G I T A L D A T A I N T H E U N I T ED ST A T ES

D LG File s, D ig it a l Ele v a t io n D a t a ,
La n d sa t D a t a jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
a n d La n d U se / La n d C o v e r D a t a
E O S AT
4300 F orb es B lvd. Earth S cien ce In form a tion C en ter
Lanham , M a ryla n d 20706 U S G eolog ica l S u rvey
(301) 552- 0500 507 N a tion a l C en ter
(800) 344- 9933 (U S a nd C a na da ) Res ton , V irgin ia 22092
(703) 860- 6045
SP O T D a t a (800) 872- 6277 (U S on ly)

S P O T Im a ge C orp ora tion

T I G ER File D a t a a n d Ce n su s
1897 Pres ton W h ite D rive
A t t r ib u t e D a t a Set s
Res ton . Virgin ia 22091
(703) 620- 2200 C u s tom er S ervices B ranch
D ata U ser S ervices D ivision
A V H R R , Co a st a l Z o n e C o l o u r QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
B u reau o f th e C ensu s
Sca n n e r , G O ES , a n d Se a sa t D a t a W a s h in gton , D .C. 20233

U S D ep a rtm en t o f C om m erce (301) 763- 4100

N a tion a l O cea n ic a n d A tm os p h eric

A d m in is tra tion (N O A A )
N a tion a l E n viron m en ta l S a tellite D ata
a n d In form a tion S ervice (N E S D IS )
U s er S ervices
C od e E/OC2 1
1825 C on n ecticu t A ve N .W .
W a s h in gton . D .C. 20235
(202) 606- 4549
290 GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e FEDCBA

N A T I O N A L SC A LE S O U R C ES O F D I G I T A L D A T A IN C A N A D A

N a t io n a l D ig it a l T o p o g r a p h ie D a t a jihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
D a ta b a s e In form ation S ervices
Prod u ct and S ervices D ivision
E nergy, M ines, and Res ou rces C anada
6 ! 5 B ooth S treet, Room 408
O tta w a , O n ta rio Kl A 0E9
(613) 995-0314
D a t a f r o m t h e Ca n a d a So ils
I n f o r m a t io n Sy st e m
C anS iS P roject L ea d er
Land Res ou rce D ivision
C en tre for Land and B iologica l
Res ou rce Research
Agricu ltu re C anada, Research Branch
K.W . N ea tb y B u ilding
O tta w a , O n ta rio K IA 0C6
(613) 995-501 1

D a t a f r o m t h e N a t io n a l A t la s
D a t a f r o m t h e Ca n a d a La n d D a t a QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Sy st e m ( in clu d e s t h e Ca n a d a o f Ca n a d a
G e o g r a p h ic I n f o r m a t io n Sy st e m )
Prod u ct D evelop m en t and C lient S ervices
Environmental Information Systems Division N a tion al Atlas Inform ation S ervice
State of the Environment Reporting Branch C anada C en tre for M a p p in g
E n viron m en t C anada E nergy, M ines, and Res ou rces C anada
O tta w a , O n ta rio Kl A O H 3 615 B ooth S treet, Room 650
(613) 997- 2510 O tta w a , O n ta rio K IA 0E9
(613) 992-4252

La n d sa t a n d SP O T Sa t e llit e D a t a N O A A / A V H R R Sa t e llit e D a t a

D ata C en tre O rd er D esk

Ra darsa t Interna tiona l Inc. S a tellite O p era tion s C en tre
13800 C om m erce Pa rkw a y C anada C en tre for R em ote S ens ing
Richm ond, B.C. V 6V 2J3 2464 S h effield Roa d
(604) 244- 0400 O tta w a , O n ta rio K IA 0Y7
(613) 990- 8033

D I G I T A L D A T A FR O M ST A T I ST I C S C A N A D A

Ce n su s D a t a A r e a M a st e r File an d C A R T LI B
D ata
E lectron ic D ata D issem ination D ivision
S tatistics C anada C lien t Liason
9th Floor, R.H. C oa tes B u ilding G eog ra p h y D ivision
O tta w a , O n ta rio K IA 0T6 Statistics C anada
(613) 951- 8200 Jean Ta lon B u ilding, 3rd floor
(800) 465- 1222 (C anada only) O ttaw a , O n ta rio K IA 0T6
(613) 95 1-3889
 I N D E X mlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

A bsolu te position , 197 -1 98 Com pleteness, 1 38 -1 4 0

Accessibility, 14 I C onfidence level, 54. 144-147
A ccum ulation surface, 225, 228 C onflation, 201
Accuracy, 5 3 -5 5 ,6 1 -6 2 , 135-136, 1 4 4 -1 4 8 ,2 7 1 -2 7 6 C onnectivity. 176, 2 2 0 -2 3 7
A ddress m atching, I 16. 205. See RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
a lso File m atching C ontiguity, 176, 2 2 2 -2 2 3
A dva nce d V ery High Resolution R adiom eter Co ntouring, 220-221
(AVHRR sensor). 8 5 -8 6 . 9 2 -9 3 . p i. 10 Contracting, 2 6 6 -2 6 7
A eria l p h o to g ra p h y. 6 8 -7 2 Convergence o f in fo rm a tio n , 48
h is to ry. 4 8 -5 0 C o o rd in a te th in n in g . 195 -1 96, 204
A gric u lture , 4 -6 , 53, 9 2 -9 3 . 9 6 -1 0 0 . p i. 10. 12 CORINE System, 2 1 -2 4
AI (a rtificial intelligence). 185 Cost-b enefit analysis, 2 5 9 -2 6 1 , 2 7 1 -2 7 2
A irp o rt noise, 2 2 3 -2 2 5 C riteria, 37
A llo catio n , 2 2 6 -2 2 7 C rop area e stim ation, 9 6 -1 0 0 , p i. 12
AM -FM , 40 CV (coefficient o f variation). 9 8 -1 0 0
Arc. 174 CZCS sensor, 84
A rc-N ode data m odel. 174
ARC/INFO, 184 Data base. 35, 151
A rchaeolo gy, 13-14 Data base d eve lo p m en t. 2 6 4 -2 6 5
Area M aster File data. I 19-121 Data Base M anagem ent System (DBMS). 40. i 51-1 55
A rtific ia l in tellig ence (AI), 185 Data com pression. 168
Aspect. 2 1 6 -2 1 7 Data in dependence, 152-153
A tm o sp h e ric carb on d io xid e . 2 0 -2 1 , p i. 5a, 5b Data in p ut, 103-1 23
A tm o sp h e ric effects, 6 7 -6 8 c o o rd in a te g e o m e try (COGO), 105
A ttrib u te accuracy, 1 35-1 36 ke ybo a rd . 105
A ttrib u te fie ld . 155 m anual digitizing. 105-1 08
AVHRR sensor. 8 5 -8 6 . 9 2 -9 3 , p i. 10 scanning, 106 -1 09
A zim uth. 21 7 Data layer, 193
Data m odel, 155, 164 -1 66
Base ca rto g ra p h ic data, 1 12—1 14 hierarchical, 1 56-1 57
Benchm arking, 2 5 7 -2 5 8 n etw o rk, 157-1 58
B ottom -u p te ch n olog y in tro d u c tio n , 252 q u a d tree , 168-172
Buffer zone, 2 2 3 -2 2 5 . 245 raster, 164-172
B uilding heat-loss, 7 5 -7 6 , p i. 15 re la tio n a l, 158-161
spaghetti, 173-174
CAD, 40 to p o lo g ica l, 174-1 77
Cadastre, 41 ve cto r. 1 64-1 66. 1 72-1 80
Canada G eogra phic In fo rm a tio n System Data o u tp u t. 123-131
(CGIS). 4 -5 . 32 Data q ua lity. 1 33 -1 4 8
Canada Land Data System (CLDS), 4 -5 , 32 accessibility, 14 1
Canada Soils In fo rm a tio n System (CanSIS), I I 5 accuracy testing, 1 44-1 48
Caribou, 1 1-13 , p i. 3 a ttrib u te accuracy, 135-1 36
Cartesian c o o rd in a te system . 173 com pleteness. 1 38-1 40
CARTL1B data. 118 -1 19 com ponents, 135-144
C a rtographic m odellin g, 2 4 0 -2 4 6 d ire c t and in d ire c t costs, 1 4 1
Census tra ct, I 15-1 16 lineage, 140-141
CGIS. 4 -5 , 32 logical consistency, 1 36-1 37
C h lo ro p h yll m apping, 84, p i. 14 o p e ra tio n a l. 2 7 6 -2 7 7
C h o ro p le th m ap, 143 p osition a l accuracy, 135, 1 44-1 48
Classification, 206 re solutio n, 137 -1 38
Classification accuracy, 61, 135 -1 36, 147 sources o f e rro r, 141-144
CLDS. 4 -5 . 32 tim e, 140
Clipping, 2 10 Data structure , 173
Coastal Zone Colour Scanner (CZCS sensor), 84 DBMS, 40, 151 -1 55
C oefficie nt o f va ria tio n . 9 8 -1 0 0 Decision m odel. 37
COGO, 105 DEM. 121
Colour gun, 127 D e sertificatio n, 2 4 -2 6
292 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
GIS: A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

D igital elevatio n data, 121-123 GIS, I c o n t in u e d )

Digital Line G raph (DLG) data, 113-114 m ineral e xplora tio n, 14-16, p i. 4
Digital Line G raph (DLG) form a t, 113-114 m unicipal, 16-20, 193, 2 0 6 -2 0 7
Digitizing, 105-108 natural resources data base, 192-193
Display, 126-131 raster scanned images, 108-109
integ ra ted ra ster/vector, 108, p i. 2 re m o te ly sensed data input, 1 10
D istrict delineatio n, 116 w ild life m anagem ent. 10-13, p i. 3
D iversity function, 212 G lobal Resource Info rm a tio n Data Base (GRID), 26
DLG, 113-114 Global w arm ing, 2 0 - 2 1, p i. 5 a. 5 b
Doom sday System, 6 -7 , 109 GOES satellite, 8 5 -8 7
D ot m a trix p rin te r, 125 G ra dient, 216-21 7
Draping, 237 Graphics display. 126-132
Drum-scanner. 106 Graphics engine, 130
DTD, 121
DTED, 121 H ard copy, 123-126
DTM, 121 Header, 197
Hierarchical data m odel, 156-157
Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-I), 76
Ecoclim atic Provinces o f Canada, 2 0 -2 1 , p i. 5a, 5 b 1FOV, 73
Edge matching, 2 02 -2 0 3 Illu m in ation function, 2 36 -2 3 7
E lectrom agnetic energy, 6 3 -6 4 Image analysis system, 73, 126-131
E lectrom agnetic spectrum , 65 Image plane. 128
E lectrostatic p lo tte r, 125 Imaging sp ectro m e ter, 75
Electro-optica l scanner, 7 2 -8 6 Im p le m e nta tion plan, 2 6 2 -2 6 6
Energy emission, 63,65 Independence (statistical), 147
Entity, I 55 Infrare d film , 49
Enum eration d istrict, 115-116 INGRESS, 184
ERTS-1, 76 Ink je t p lo tte r, 125
Instantaneous field o f view (IFOV), 73
Federal Interagency Coordinating Comm ittee on Digital In te rp o la tio n , 179, 218-221
Carto graphy (FICCDC), 1 1 1 Intersectio n re cord , 157
Field (data field), i 55 In te rvis ib ility functions, 2 3 3 -2 3 6
File m atching, 205, 2 7 4 -2 7 5 . See a ls o Address Inter-A gency C om m ittee on Geom atics (Canada), 11 1
m atching
Forestry, 7 -1 3 , 2 2 3 -2 2 5 , p i. 1. 2 jo in o p e ra tio n , 159, 2 0 5 -2 0 6
Fram e buffer, 127
Frame rate, 126 KBG1S, 185
F riction surface, 228, 230 Key, 155
Functional d e fin itio n , 2 54-2 55 K eyboard data input, 105
Fuzzy bou n da ry, 137 Kriging, 2 18, 220

GBF/DIME-Files, 117 Land In fo rm a tio n System (LIS), 16, 4 0 -4 2

G eneralization, 32, 207 Land Records Info rm a tio n System (LR1S), 16
G eographic data, 162-164 Land Use and Natural Resources Inventory of New York
G eographic In fo rm a tio n System. See GIS State (LUNR), 32
G eology, 14-16, p i. 4 Land use planning, 4 -6 , p i. I . See a ls o Forestry
G eom etric p ro je ctio n , 198-201 Land Use/Land Cover data set, 1 15
G eom etric tra nsfo rm a tio n, 198-201 Landsat, 76-81
G eoreferenced data, 38, 162-164 applications, 83-84, 9 6 -1 0 0 . p i. 2 , 4. 6a, 6 b . 6 c . 1 2 .1 4
GEOVIEW. 185 Latitu de /L on g itud e System. 201
GIS, L ia bility, 133-134, 2 6 8 -2 7 7 , 2 84 -2 8 5
agriculture, 4 -6 , 53, 9 2 -9 3 . 9 6 -1 0 0 Line, 39
applicatio ns, 4 -2 7 Lineage, 140-141
archaeology, 13-14 Linear a rra y, 74
com ponents, 4 2 -4 3 L in e p rin te r, 125
data bases, 18 0 - 186 Line-in-Polygon ope ra tions, 2 1 4 -2 1 6
d e fin itio n , 3 9 -4 0 Line-snapping, 203
d ese rtifica tio n, 2 4 -2 6 LIS, 16, 4 0 -4 2
e rro r sources, 141-144 Logical consistency, 136-137
fo re stry, 7 -1 3 , 2 2 3 -2 2 5 , p i. I . 2 Longitude, 201
geology, 14-16, p i. 4 Look-Up table, 129
herba riu m specimens, 10 LUNR, 32
land use planning, 4 -6 , p i. I LUT, ¡2 9
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M a jo rity function, 212 Positional accuracy, 135, 144-1 48

M andates, 255, 2 61 -2 6 2 Postal code file, 115-1 16
M anual digitizing, 105-108 Power transm ission line planning, 2 4 3 -2 4 6
M ap Analysis Package (MAP), 183, 231 Procedural q u e ry language, 161
M ap ann o ta tio n, 238 P roxim ity, 2 23 -2 2 5
M ap dissolve, 207 Pushbroom scanning, 7 4 -7 5
M ap labels, 2 3 8 -2 3 9
M ap lib ra ry , 194 Q ua dtree data m odel, 168-172
M AP (M ap Analysis Package), 183, 231 Q uery language, 161
MAPS system, 1 85-1 86
M aster data layer, 197 Radar, 8 8 -9 2
MEIS scanner, 73 Raster/vector display (simultaneous), 108, 131, p i. 2
M in era l e xp lo ra tio n , 14-16, p i. 4 Raster data m odel, 164-166, 166-172
M inim um accuracy value, 272 Raster display, 126-13 i
M in im um m apping unit, 137, 143 Ratio estim ator, 98
M odel, 33,37 RBV, 76
accuracy assessment, 146-147 Recoding, 206
data, 155 Record, 155
spatial data. 164-166 Reflected energy, 63, 65
Mosaicing, 195 Region o f in terest, 213
M ovin g w in d ow , 2 14-21 5 Registration, 197
MSS (Landsat), 7 6 -7 9 , p i. 4 Relation, 158
M u ltis p ectral p h o tog ra p hy, 68 Relational data m odel, 158-161
M ulti-leve l appro ach, 57, 9 6 -1 0 0 Relational-Join, 2 0 5 -2 0 6
M unicipal CIS, 16-20, 193, 2 0 6 -2 0 7 Relative positio n, 197 -1 98
Relief displacem ent, 56, 69-71
National Com m ittee fo r Digital C artographic D
Data Remote sensing,
S tandards (NCDCDS), I 34 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR),
Natural resources data base, 192-193 8 5 -8 6 , 9 2 -9 3 , p i. 10
NCDCDS, 134 aerial p h o tog ra p hy, 6 8 -7 2
NDV1, 9 2 -9 3 , p i. 10 agriculture , 53, 9 2 -9 3 , 9 6 -1 0 0 , p i. 10, 12
N eig hb o urho o d opera tions, 21 1-2 20 analysis pro cedure , 5 9-6 2
N e tw o rk analysis, 1 16, 2 2 5 -2 2 8 a tm o sp h e ric effects, 6 7 -6 8
N e tw o rk data m odel, 157-1 58 classification accuracy, 61, 135-1 36, 147
NO A A satellite, 8 5 -8 6 , p i. 10 classification analysis, 60, 9 3 -9 6
Node, 174 Coastal Zone Colour Scanner (CZCS), 84
N o n -procedural q ue ry language, 161 d e fin itio n , 47
Non-spatial a ttrib u te s, 163 estim ation analysis, 61, 9 6 -1 0 0
Norm al d istrib u tio n , 146-147 GOES satellite, 8 5 -8 7
Norm alized Difference Vegetation Index (NDV1), 9 2 -9 3 history, 48-51
land use, 9 3 -9 6
O bje ct-o rie n te d data base, 184 Landsat, 7 6 -8 1 , 8 3 -8 4 , 9 6 -1 0 0 , p i. 2, 4, 6a, 6b,
O ptical film w rite rs , 126 6c, 12, 14
ORACLE, 184 m easurem ent analysis, 60, 9 2 -9 3
O rganization m andate, 255. 2 61 -2 6 2 m u ltis p e c tra l p h o to g ra p h y , 68
O rtho-im age, 82, 90, p i. 9 NO AA satellite, 8 5 -8 7
O u tp u t fo rm a ttin g , 2 3 7 -2 4 0 Seasat-1, 8 8 -9 2
O ve rla y o pera tio ns, 2 0 8 - 2 1 1 Side Looking A irb o rn e Radar (SLAR), 88
SPOT, 8 1 -8 3
PANDA, 184 supervised classification, 95, p i. I I
Pen p lo tte r, 124 S ynthetic A p e rtu re Radar (SAR), 8 8 -9 2
Perspective view, 237, p/. 13 th e rm a l in fra re d, 50, 66, 68, 7 5 -7 6 , p i. 15
P ho to gra m m etric instrum ents, 71 w a te r q ua lity, 84, p i. 14
P ho to gra m m etry, 48, 83 Resolution,
d e fin itio n , 1 10 data q ua lity, 137-1 38
P hytoplankton, 84 display, 127
Pixel, 52, 126 -1 29, 166 -1 68 re m o te sensing, 5 1-53
P lanim eter, 3 1 Root M ean Square E rro r (RMS), 71, 135
Planim etrie data, 112 Rotating m irro r, 74
Point, 39 Routing analysis, 2 2 6 -2 2 7
Pointer, 157 Run-length encoding, 168
P oint-in-Polygon opera tions, 2 14-2 16
Polygon, 39, 173 Sample estim ate, 9 6 -1 0 0
294 RQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
C IS : A M a n a g e m e n t P e rs p e c tiv e

S am pling fram e, 97 T h em atic M a p p e r (Landsat TM). 7 9 -8 1 . p i. 2. 6a. 6b.

SAR, 8 8 -9 2 6c. 12. 14
S ate llite w a velength bands, 67. 77, 8 4 -8 5 . 87 T herm al in fra re d , 50, 66, 68. 7 5 -7 6 . p i. 15
S a te llite te le m e try , I 1-1 3. p i. 3 T herm al p lo tte r, 125
Scale, 69 Thiessen p olygo n . 2 1 8 -2 1 9
Scanner, TIGER files. 1 17 -1 1 8
d ru m , 106 Tile, 193-1 94
e le ctro -o p tic a l. 7 2 -8 6 Tim e. 39, 140. 1 63-1 64
fla t-be d , 106 TIN, 1 21 -1 2 2, 1 7 7 -1 8 0
im aging sp e ctro m e te r. 75 TM (Landsat sensor). 7 9 -8 1 . p i. 2. 6a. 6 b . 6c. 12. 14
p u sh b ro o m . 7 4 -7 5 T o p o g ra p h ic data , 112
th e rm a l, 7 5 -7 6 T o p o g ra p h ic functions. 2 1 6 -2 1 8
Scanning, T o po lo g ical data m o d el, 1 74 -1 7 7
co m p aris on w ith m anual d ig itizin g, 1 07 -1 0 8 T o p o lo g y. 174
m a p. 104. 1 06 -1 0 8 T o p-do w n te ch n o lo g y in tro d u c tio n , 252
re m o te sensing, 7 2 -7 5 Transm ission lin e pla nnin g, 2 4 3 -2 4 6
Screen co p y devices, 126 T ra n sm itte d energy, 63
S easa t-1, 8 8 -9 2 T rian g ula te d Irre g u la r N e tw o rk (TIN). 1 21-1 22,
S econdary in d ic a to rs. 53 1 7 7 -1 8 0
Seek fu n ctio n, 233 Tuple, 158
Shaded re lie f im age, 2 3 6 -2 3 7
Side Loo kin g A irb o rn e Radar (SLAR). 88 U n ce rta in ty a b s o rp tio n . 271
Slave data la yer, 197 U nited N atio ns E n viro n m e n t P rogram (UNEP), 24
S liver, 203 U n ite d N atio ns Food and A g ric u ltu re O rg anizatio n
Slope, 2 1 6 -2 1 7 (FAO), 26
S o ftco p y. 123, 1 26 -1 3 2, 237 Universal Transverse M e rc a to r (UTM), 162, 201
S paghetti data m o d el, 173-174 UNIX, 184
S patial data, 39 User needs analysis. 2 5 4 -2 5 5
S p lin te r, 203 U se r-frien d ly, 256
SPOT. 8 1 -8 4 . 237, p i. 7, 9 UTM. 162, 201
S p o t size, 107
S pread functio ns, 2 2 8 -2 3 2 Value p o in t encoding, 168
SQL. 1 61 -1 6 2 . 185 V e c to r/ra s te r d is p la y (sim ultaneous), 108, 131. p i. 2
S tan d ard d e via tio n . 146 V e cto r data m o d el, 1 6 4 -1 6 6 , 1 7 2 -1 8 0
S ta n d a rd Q ue ry Language (SQL), 1 61 -1 6 2 . 185 V e cto r gra phics d isp la y. 1 27-1 32
S tere o-e ffe ct. 69 V e c to r list, 130
Stream fun ctio n, 233 V e rtica l exaggeration, 69-71
Sun-synchronous, 78 V id e o lo o k-up tab le , 130
S upervised classifica tion, 95 View , I 53
S ym b ol lib ra ry , 240 V ie w shed analysis, 2 3 3 -2 3 6
S yn th e tic A p e rtu re Radar (SAR), 8 8 -9 2
System 9. 184 W a ter q u a lity, 84. p i. 14
W avelength. 65
T echnolo gy tra n sfe r, 2 5 2 -2 5 4 W ild life m anagem ent, 10-13 . 212, p i. 3
T e m p la te , 202 W in d o w in g , 2 13
T e rra in tra ffic a b ility . 231
T e xt labels. 2 3 8 -2 3 9 Z-Value, 146-147
T h em atic m ap, 143
The geo g ra ph ic in fo rm a tio n system (GIS) has d ra m a tica lly changed th e ra te a t which geore feren ce d
data can be pro duced, updated, and dissem inated. It has m ade the p ro d u ctio n and analysis o f geographic
in fo rm a tio n m o re effic ien t, and has changed th e way this in fo rm a tio n is p erceiv e d and used. GISes now
p la y an essential ro le in th e m anagem ent o f land resources fro m th e local to th e g lo bal scale, fro m
m unicip al pla nn in g to natura l reso urce assessment.
This b o o k p ro vid e s a concise and p ra ctical in tro d u c tio n to th e use o f GIS te ch n olog y. G eneral con­
ce pts are in tro d u c e d w ith exam ples th a t show a w id e range o f a p p lica tio n s in clu ding agricultu re , land
use pla nnin g, m in era l e xp lo ra tio n , and m unicip al in fo rm a tio n m anagem ent. Then the co m p o n e n ts o f
a GIS are d escribed in th e co n te xt o f pra ctical in fo rm a tio n re q uirem en ts. A ch a p te r is d e vo te d to the
fundam entals o f re m o te sensing, which has becom e a m a jo r GIS data source.
The p ro ce d u re s and e q u ip m e n t used fo r data in p u t and o u tp u t are re vie w e d, h ig h lig h tin g tra d e o ffs
in th e use o f c o m p e tin g te ch n olo g ie s like scanning and m anual dig itizin g. Data q u a lity, data m anage­
m ent, and GIS analysis fun ctio ns are the n pre sen ted fro m th e perspe ctiv e o f pra ctical m e tho d s th a t
are used to g enera te in fo rm a tio n pro du cts. Finally, the process o f GIS im p le m e n ta tio n is exam ined,
add re ssin g such o rganizational issues as needs analysis, system evaluatio ns, th e ju stific a tio n fo r a c q u ir­
ing a GIS, co st-be n efit analysis, and the in te g ra tio n o f a GIS in to an o rg a n iz a tio n 's existing in fo rm a tio n
e n viro n m e n t. P olitical and legal issues in th e c o n tro l o f in fo rm a tio n and th e lia b ility fo r its dissem in ation
o fte n arise in th e o p e ra tio n o f a GIS. These concerns are cle a rly addresse d w ith stra tegies fo r m in im iz­
ing th e risks to b o th th e p ro d u c e r and user o f GIS pro ducts.
The a u th o r's pra ctical a p p ro a ch p ro vid e s co m p re he n sive coverage o f th e diverse p ro ce d u re s and
te ch n olo g ie s used in a GIS. The b o o k should appeal to pro fessio nals and discip lin e specialists new to
GIS as w ell as expe rie n ced users in vo lv e d in th e m anagem ent o f GIS facilities.

Dr. A ro n o ff re ceived his Ph D. fro m th e U n iv e rsity o f C alifornia a t Berkeley. Since 1976 he has been
a ctive ly in vo lv e d in consulting, research, and teaching. He has specialized in th e a p p lic a tio n o f re m o te
sensing and GIS m e tho d s to such fie ld s as e n viro n m e n ta l m o n ito rin g , h a b ita t assessment, m in eral
e x p lo ra tio n , and land use planning.

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