Many disciplines are concerned with manipulating geometric (or spatial) objects in the computer - such as geology, cartography, computer aided design (CAD), etc. - and each of these have developed their own data structures and techniques, often independently. Nevertheless, in many cases the object types and the spatial queries are similar, and this book attempts to find a common theme.

When spatial data is digitized for use in geographic information systems and other software, information about its original scale, resolution and accuracy is frequently lost. As a result, using such information at different scales and combining it with data from other sources may be difficult. Mapping vector data at smaller than the original scale requires its generalization, which is usually handled by post-processing in ways that are only weakly supported by databases. The models and methods described in this book overcome many such problems by providing a multi-resolution data representation that allows retrieval of map data at a hierarchy of scales, as well as documenting the accuracy of every spatial coordinate.

The Conference on Spatial Information Theory - COSIT - grew out of a series of workshops / NATO Advanced Study Institutes / NSF specialist meetings concerned with cognitive and applied aspects of representing large-scale space, particularly geographic space. In these meetings, the need for a well-founded theory of spatial information processing was identified. The COSIT conference series was established in 1993 as a biennial interdisciplinary European conference on the representation and processing of information about large-scale space, after a successful international conference on the topic had been organized by Andrew Frank et al. in Pisa, Italy, in 1992 (frequently referred to as 'COSIT zero'). After two successful European conferences with strong North-American participation (COSIT '93, held on the Island of Elba, Italy; COSIT '95, held in Semmering, Austria), the conference became a truly international enterprise when COSIT '97 was held in the Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania, USA. COSIT '99 will take place in Stade, Germany. All aspects of large-scale space, i. e. spaces too large to be seen from a single vantage point, are addressed in the COSIT conferences. These include spaces of geographic scale, as well as smaller spaces in which humans, animals, or autonomous robots have to find their way around. Spatial information theory also deals with the description of objects, processes, or events in spatial environments and it forms the foundation for the construction of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and for spatial information and communication system design in general.

Research on spatial cognition is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary enterprise for the study of spatial representations and cognitive spatial processes, be they real or abstract, human or machine. Spatial cognition brings together a variety of - search methodologies: empirical investigations on human and animal orientation and navigation; studies of communicating spatial knowledge using language and graphical or other pictorial means; the development of formal models for r- resenting and processing spatial knowledge; and computer implementations to solve spatial problems, to simulate human or animal orientation and navigation behavior, or to reproduce spatial communication patterns. These approaches can interact in interesting and useful ways: Results from empirical studies call for formal explanations both of the underlying memory structures and of the processes operating upon them; we can develop and - plement operational computer models obeying the relationships between objects and events described by the formal models; we can empirically test the computer models under a variety of conditions, and we can compare the results to the - sults from the human or animal experiments. A disagreement between these results can provide useful indications towards the re nement of the models.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 1997 International Conference on Spatial Information Theory, COSIT'97, held in Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania, USA, in October 1997. The 31 revised full papers presented were carefully selected from a total of 66 submissions. Also included are seven posters. The volume is divided into sections on representations of change, structuring of space, boundaries and gradations, topological models of space, formal models of space, cognitive aspects of spatial acquisition, novel use of spatial information, wayfinding and map interpretation, representations of spatial concepts, new approaches to spatial information.

Database research in the last decade has increasingly focused on providing support for non-standard applications. One important domain is representation and processing of spatial information, needed, e.g., in geographical information systems. Spatial data types provide a fundamental abstraction for modeling the structure of geometric entities, their relationships, properties and operations. This monograph is an extensive survey of this field and introduces a new, general, sophisticated framework for the formal definition and robust implementation of spatial data types.

S+SPATIALSTATS is the first comprehensive, object-oriented package for the analysis of spatial data. Providing a whole new set of analysis tools, S+SPATIALSTATS was created specifically for the exploration and modeling of spatially correlated data. It can be used to analyze data arising in areas such as environmental, mining, and petroleum engineering, natural resources, geography, epidemiology, demography, and others where data is sampled spatially. This users manual provides the documentation for the S+SPATIALSTATS module.

This book, which is divided into three parts, gives a state-of-the-art report on technical developments in instrumentation and on theoretical advancements in acoustic remote sensing. It explains the utilization of acoustic techniques in studies related to the structure of the lower atmosphere and oceans and discusses various atmospheric and oceanic applications. The potential and limitations of acoustic remote sensing are also described. This book will be useful to researchers, graduate students, and teachers interested in the structure of the atmosphere and oceans.

In an effort to further investigation into critical development facets of geographic information systems (GIS), this book explores the reasoning processes that apply to geographic space and time. As a result of an iniative sponsored by the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA), it treats the computational, cognitive and social science applications aspects of spatial and temporal reasoning in GIS. Essays were contributed by scholars from a broad spectrum of disciplines including: geography, cartography, surveying and engineering, computer science, mathematics and environmental and cognitive psychology.

Lidar or laser radar, the depth-resolved remote measurement of atmospheric parameters with optical means, has become an important tool in the field of atmospheric and environmental remote sensing. In this volume the latest progress in the development of Lidar methods, experiments, and applications is described. The content is based on selected and thoroughly refereed papers presented at the 18th International Laser Radar Conference, Berlin, 22 - 26 July 1996. The book is divided into six parts which cover the topics of tropospheric aerosols and clouds, Lidar in space, wind, water vapor, troposheric trace gases and plumes, and stratospheric and mesospheric profiling. As a supplement to fundamental LIDAR textbooks this volume may serve as a guide through the blossoming field of modern Lidar techniques.

The book contains 31 papers on different fields of application and the problems of modelling and organizing data in structures, the processing techniques of GIS data for queries to the system and the so-called Dynamic GIS have been reported in detail. A final paper on Computer Graphics principles is included. Its contents can be ideally collected in five chapters, in the first one some experiences on data acquisition with low cost DGPS for road survey and overview on Vehicle Navigation Systems (VNS) are shown. The second on "GIS data acquisition and evaluationa collects a sort of papers treating robust statistical techniques applied to pre-processing, analysis and testing for different kinds of GIS data. Within the topic on "image acquisition and preprocessinga in particular some experiences on test and calibration of different scanners for GIS data acquisition are reported as well as some original approaches to the automatic DTM generation for cartographic and close range applications. Finally, some applications to the environmental monitoring and to the use of different kinds of geodetic data in multipurpose regional GIS, together with some examples of the applicability of multimedia technology to architecture and civil engineering is shown.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Conference on Spatial Information Theory, COSIT'95, held near Vienna, Austria, in September 1995.
Spatial Information Theory brings together three fields of research of paramount importance for geographic information systems technology, namely spatial reasoning, representation of space, and human understanding of space. The book contains 36 fully revised papers selected from a total of 78 submissions and gives a comprehensive state-of-the-art report on this exciting multidisciplinary - and highly interdisciplinary - area of research and development.

This book describes the why and how of green infrastructure mapping and implementation through text, maps and on-line illustrations. It explains how to utilize the national green infrastructure model that Esri has built using the Green Infrastructure Center's methodology. It demonstrates though print and online map layers, how to develop a prioritized strategy for conserving or restoring the highest values to natural resources. It also explains how this analysis is then used to inform a host of planning applications from drinking water protection, to endangered species conservation, to recreation, as well as preservation of culturally significant landscapes. The book uses actual data to create two real case studies, one for a western and one for an eastern landscape showing how the Esri model can be adapted using local data to create a custom GI plan. The reason for this is to demonstrate the application of the national GI model to local planning. The book also demonstrates how data from the Esri Living Atlas can be included and used to customize maps.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the ESPRIT Working Group CONTESSA Workshop on Constraint Databases and Applications, held in Friedrichshafen, Germany in September 1995.
The 10 full revised papers selected for inclusion in this volume are written by and for practitioners, researchers, and application users of core constraint database technology; they can be classified in three sections on expressiveness of the various constraint database models; implementation and optimization issues in areas like spatial databases, geographic information systems, scheduling and routing. This book is the first to focus on the extension of the important new programming paradigm of constraint processing to database design and management.

This book is published open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. Over the past decades, rapid developments in digital and sensing technologies, such as the Cloud, Web and Internet of Things, have dramatically changed the way we live and work. The digital transformation is revolutionizing our ability to monitor our planet and transforming the way we access, process and exploit Earth Observation data from satellites. This book reviews these megatrends and their implications for the Earth Observation community as well as the wider data economy. It provides insight into new paradigms of Open Science and Innovation applied to space data, which are characterized by openness, access to large volume of complex data, wide availability of new community tools, new techniques for big data analytics such as Artificial Intelligence, unprecedented level of computing power, and new types of collaboration among researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs and citizen scientists. In addition, this book aims to provide readers with some reflections on the future of Earth Observation, highlighting through a series of use cases not just the new opportunities created by the New Space revolution, but also the new challenges that must be addressed in order to make the most of the large volume of complex and diverse data delivered by the new generation of satellites.

This volume constitutes the proceedings of the International Workshop on Advanced Research in Geographic Information Systems, IGIS '94, held in Ascona, Switzerland in February/March 1994.
The 28 carefully refereed and revised papers address all current aspects of GIS research and their advanced applications to spatial and environmental data engineering. Among the topics covered are GIS theory, spatial databases, spatial data structures, environmental modelling and control, data modelling, object-orientation, pattern recognition, and optimization. In addition, software and non-commercial as well as commercial GIS are analysed.

A concise text presenting the fundamental concepts in Geographical Information Systems (GIS), emphasising an understanding of techniques in management, analysis and graphic display of spatial information. Divided into five parts - the first part reviews the development and application of GIS, followed by a summary of the characteristics and representation of geographical information. It concludes with an overview of the functions provided by typical GIS systems. Part Two introduces co-ordinate systems and map projections, describes methods for digitising map data and gives an overview of remote sensing. Part Three deals with data storage and database management, as well as specialised techniques for accessing spatial data. Spatial modelling and analytical techniques for decision making form the subject of Part Four, while the final part is concerned with graphical representation, emphasising issues of graphics technology, cartographic design and map generalisation.

This volume collects the papers presented at the European Conference on Spatial Information Theory (COSIT '93) held on the island of Elba, Italy, inSeptember 1993. Spatial information theory includes disciplinary topics and interdisciplinary issues dealing with the conceptualization and formalization of large-scale (geographic) space. It contributes towards a consistent theoretical basis for Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Geographic information systems are widely used in administration, planning, and science in many different countries, and for a wide variety ofapplications. Research results which relevant for GIS are distributed between many disciplines and contacts between researchers have been limited. At the same time, the development of GIS has been hinderedby the lack of a sound theoretical base. This conference was intended to help remedies these problems.

Contents:
1. Introduction Andrew Skidmore 2. Taxonomy of Environmental Models in the Spatial Sciences Andrew Skidmore 3. New Environmental Remote Sensing Systems F Van Der Meer, K Schmidt, V Bakker and W Bijker 4. Geographic Data for Environmental Modelling and Assessment Bradley C Reed, Jesslyn F Brown and Thomas R Loveland 5. The Biosphere: A Global Perspective S O Los, C J Tucker, A Anyamba, M Cherlet, G J Collatz, L Giglio, F G Hall and J A Kendall 6. Vegetation Mapping and Monitoring Curtis E Woodcock, Scott A Macomber and Lalit Kumber 7, Applications of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems in Wildlife Mapping and Modelling Jan de Leeuw, Wilbur K Ottichilo, Albertus G Toxopeus and Herbert H T Prins 8. Biodiversity Mapping and Modelling J R Busby 9. Approaches to Spatially Distributed Hydrological Modelling in a GIS Environment L Olsson and P Pilesjo 10. Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems for Natural Disaster Management C J Van Western 11. Land Use Planning and Environmental Impact Assessment Using Geographic Information Systems Egide Nizeyimana, Gary W Peterson and Joan C Looijen

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415125715

Spatial database management has become an important subarea of current database research. Research in this area is often characterized by interdisciplinary cooperation: computer scientists work with geographers andenvironmental scientists to provide better access to spatial databases of steadily increasing size. After the First Symposium on Large Spatial Databases (SSD '89) was held in Santa Barbara, California, in 1989 (and its proceedings published as Volume 409 of this series), a second symposium (SSD'91) was held in Zurich, Switzerland. This proceedings volume contains the papers presented at SSD '91. Topics include spatial data models and access methods, performance studies, geometric algorithms, spatial query languages and user interfaces, geographic information systems, and object-oriented techniques.

This monograph describes methods for extending relational database systems for geographic applications. The ways in which a relational database system is supplemented with unconventional spatial indexing structures, additional spatial subsystems and query processors are described in great detail. The work presents an extensive survey of existing spatial indexing techniques and a taxonomy of the extensions to the multidimensional indexing structures. An extensive experimental analysis of spatial indexes is presented. The work covers the following areas: - the design of geographic information systems (GIS) - extended query languages for GIS - spatial indexing mechanisms - query processing strategies. The author presents his own skd-trees and extended query optimization strategies. The survey of spatial indexing structures for non-zero sized objects provides a framework for workers in the field of spatial information systems to evaluate spatial access methods. The consideration of query optimization will assist understanding of the role of that topic in GIS.

Mapping Space, Sense, and Movement in Florence explores the potential of digital mapping or Historical GIS as a research and teaching tool to enable researchers and students to uncover the spatial, kinetic and sensory dimensions of the early modern city. The exploration focuses on new digital research and mapping projects that engage the rich social, cultural, and artistic life of Florence in particular. One is a new GIS tool known as DECIMA, (Digitally-Encoded Census Information and Mapping Archive), and the other is a smartphone app called Hidden Florence. The international collaborators who have helped build these and other projects address three questions: how such projects can be created when there are typically fewer sources than for modern cities; how they facilitate more collaborative models for historical research into social relations, senses, and emotions; and how they help us interrogate older historical interpretations and create new models of analysis and communication. Four authors examine technical issues around the software programs and manuscripts. Five then describe how GIS can be used to advance and develop existing research projects. Finally, four authors look to the future and consider how digital mapping transforms the communication of research results, and makes it possible to envision new directions in research. This exciting new volume is illustrated throughout with maps, screenshots and diagrams to show the projects at work. It will be essential reading for students and scholars of early modern Italy, the Renaissance and digital humanities.

Ideally, every tract of land has a description on paper and a physical survey on the ground. When boundary disputes arise, all parties concerned must quickly learn the vocabulary and processes involved with real estate. Written for anyone dealing in real estate transactions, Subdividing the Land: Metes and Bounds and Rectangular Survey Systems provides this background. It defines key legal terms, examines key concepts of Metes and Bounds, the structure of the U.S. Land Survey System and offers many illustrations and tables that clearly explain the concepts. Each state has its own property laws, but the book's material is generic enough to be applicable across the entire United States and even Canada. Taking into account that local laws may be influenced by many factors, the book also covers the roots of English property laws and the effects of French, Spanish, and Mexican legacies. The author discusses topics such as water law, mining claims, and the Metes and Bounds and Torrens system of property registry. He provides a section of basic legal concepts applicable to land transactions and a glossary of special or semi-technical terms. Unlike most other topics related to surveying, there is no math associated with the topics given; yet the subjects can be complex and tricky. Subdividing the Land is a resource of many interrelated topics, and thus presents a knowledge base for land surveyors and the background for handling many types of land transactions conducted by real estate agents, engineers, architects, and lawyers.

A close relationship exists between GIS and numerous applications, including cartography, photogrammetry, geodesy, surveying, computer and information science, and statistics, among others. Scientists coined the term "geographic information science (GIScience)" to describe the theory behind these fields. A Research Agenda for Geographic Information Science extensively details the issues and fundamental scientific problems that must be solved if the use of GIS in these and other fields is to advance. Immediately following the founding of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS), the group identified in a Research Agenda the topics that represented major challenges to the GIS research community. The first chapter of this book delivers an introduction to the agenda and to the collective guidance that the agenda provides to researchers. Chapters 2-10 discuss nine original research challenges. Chapters 11-14 provide the basis of the agenda's four "Emerging Themes." Each chapter, written by researchers involved in the conception of the topics, discusses basic research elements, the UCGIS approach, the need for the National research agenda, contributions to knowledge and society, and offers a complete set of references. The final section draws general conclusions about the UCGIS approach and the defined research challenges.