Sources For Digital Spatial Data

Metadata play a fundamental role in both DLs and SDIs. Commonly defined as "structured data about data" or "data which describe attributes of a resource" or, more simply, "information about data", it is an essential requirement for locating and evaluating available data. Therefore, this book focuses on the study of different metadata aspects, which contribute to a more efficient use of DLs and SDIs. The three main issues addressed are: the management of nested collections of resources, the interoperability between metadata schemas, and the integration of information retrieval techniques to the discovery services of geographic data catalogs (contributing in this way to avoid metadata content heterogeneity).

This book focuses on the modeling and management of spatial data in distributed systems. The authors have structured the contributions from internationally renowned researchers into four parts. The book offers researchers an excellent overview of the state-of-the-art in modeling and management of spatial data in distributed environments, while it may also be the basis of specialized courses on Web-based geographical information systems.

With the turn of the century our ability to collect and store geospatial information has increased considerably. This has resulted in ever-increasing amounts of heterogeneous geospatial data, an issue that poses new challenges and opportunities. As these rich sources of data are made available, users rely, now more than ever, on the geospatial data infrastructure. The availability and accessibility of such data, as well as the ability to effectively manage, model, index and query the data is becoming a cornerstone in numerous applications. Moreover, the ability to formalize and represent data is becoming key to integration and interoperability. With the introduction of distributed geospatial data infrastructure and the implementation of web-based services, the impact of such issues is becoming even more evident. Inspired by these challenges, this book on Next Generation Geospatial Information offers a collection of original contributions from leading experts in spatial information modeling, image processing and analysis, database management, ontologies and data mining. It provides a unique insight into the current state-of-the-art and future challenges in geospatial information through four thematic chapters, each of which represents a primary research theme, namely distributed spatial infrastructure, image-based geospatial information management, indexing and querying geospatial databases, and ontology and semantics for geospatial data.

Over the past few decades the world has been organized through the growth and integration of geographic information systems (GIS) across public and private sector industries, agencies, and organizations. This has happened in a technological context that includes the widespread deployment of multiple digital mobile technologies, digital wireless communication networks, positioning, navigation and mapping services, and cloud-based computing, spawning new ways of imagining, creating, and consuming geospatial information and analytics. GIS: An Introduction to Mapping Technologies is written with the detached voices of practitioner scholars who draw on a diverse set of experiences and education, with a shared view of GIS that is grounded in the analysis of scale-diverse contexts emphasizing cities and their social and environmental geographies. GIS is presented as a critical toolset that allows analysts to focus on urban social and environmental sustainability. The book opens with chapters that explore foundational techniques of mapping, data acquisition and field data collection using GNSS, georeferencing, spatial analysis, thematic mapping, and data models. It explores web GIS and open source GIS making geospatial technology available to many who would not be able to access it otherwise. Also, the book covers in depth the integration of remote sensing into GIS, Health GIS, Digital Humanities GIS, and the increased use of GIS in diverse types of organizations. Active learning is emphasized with ArcGIS Desktop lab activities integrated into most of the chapters. Written by experienced authors from the Department of Geography at DePaul University in Chicago, this textbook is a great introduction to GIS for a diverse range of undergraduates and graduate students, and professionals who are concerned with urbanization, economic justice, and environmental sustainability.

The role open-source geospatial software plays in data handling within the spatial information technology industry is the overarching theme of the book. It also examines new tools and applications for those already using OS approaches to software development.

Several computer programs are available to help Army installations plan military training activities while ensuring environmental quality and protecting natural resources. One such system, the Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS), requires digital spatial information for developing area-specific databases. This information previously was available only on a limited basis. Today, many more digital spatial data sources have come into existence. Use of such sources, compared with generating new data, can usually save an installation a large amount of time and money. In addition, these sources ensure minimum standards for accuracy and quality. This report identifies digital data sources to help installations evaluate the feasibility of implementing systems such as GRASS. Included is a list of the following characteristics for each source: format, scale/resolution, coverage, media, costs, and a textual description. Keywords: Army facilities, Army training.

Geographic Information Systems for Geoscientists: Modelling with GIS provides an introduction to the ideas and practice of GIS to students and professionals from a variety of geoscience backgrounds. The emphasis in the book is to show how spatial data from various sources (principally paper maps, digital images and tabular data from point samples) can be captured in a GIS database, manipulated, and transformed to extract particular features in the data, and combined together to produce new derived maps, that are useful for decision-making and for understanding spatial interrelationship. The book begins by defining the meaning, purpose, and functions of GIS. It then illustrates a typical GIS application. Subsequent chapters discuss methods for organizing spatial data in a GIS; data input and data visualization; transformation of spatial data from one data structure to another; and the combination, analysis, and modeling of maps in both raster and vector formats. This book is intended as both a textbook for a course on GIS, and also for those professional geoscientists who wish to understand something about the subject. Readers with a mathematical bent will get more out of the later chapters, but relatively non-numerate individuals will understand the general purpose and approach, and will be able to apply methods of map modeling to clearly-defined problems.