LECTURE 3: GEOG205

BUILDING BLOCKS OF GIS Introduction to GIS

GEOG205 INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS 1

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Understand what geographic information is

List 5 geometric characteristics of features

Give examples of GIS data models

Give examples of GIS data structures

Describe uses for a digital elevation model

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GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

data
measurements

information
data + meaning
communication

knowledge
information + experience/learning

mountain height tourism

corcovado 700 *** ... from representations of the world
copa cabana 0 *****
cristo 38 **

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GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

geographic feature types:

discrete
continuous

geographic feature types:

point-like features
line-like features
area-like features
… and volumes
 IDENTIFICATION OF DISCRETE AND
CONTINUOUS GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES
Many real-world features do not fit neatly into feature categories

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/5-lake-classic.html
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TWO BASIC SPATIAL DATA TYPES

Vector Raster
Vector formats
­ Discrete representations of reality

X,Y X,Y X,Y

X,Y

Raster formats
­ Use uniform grid cells to model reality

Rows Reality
(A highway)

X,Y Columns
WHAT KIND OF ENTITIES ?
Features/phenomena/processes need to be
represented in a GIS
(e.g,. forests, roads, glacier flows, commuter flows, etc.)

What geometric characteristics does the

feature have? Is it…
­ Point-like (e.g., tree, building, etc.)
­ Line-like (e.g., street, river, etc.)
­ Area-like (e.g., neighbourhood, forest patch, etc.)
­ Surface-like (e.g., elevation, population density, etc.)
­ Network-like (e.g., stream-order, streets, etc.)

Which data model fits the geographic feature best?

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CHALLENGE: ANALYSIS VS. DISPLAY SCALE?
Is the city a point … a line … or a polygon ?

Heywood et al 2011
GEOGRAPHIC DATA LAYERS
efficient organization method needed
­ a geographic database

data organization
­ a spatial data model (e.g., layer cake)
­ a spatial data structure (e.g., file storage type)

data models
­ Entity: discrete objects (e.g., parcels, streets, customers)
­ Field: continuous surface (elevation, land use, vegetation)

entity model (discrete features)

­ The world is empty, filled with discrete objects

field model (continuous features)

­ The world is continuously filled with equal basic units (e.g., cells)
source: Westfield State University

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HOW ARE DATA STORED ?
Spatial data storage, containing…
­ points (e.g., tree, building, etc.)
­ lines (e.g., street, river, etc.)
­ polygons (e.g., neighbourhood, forest
patch, etc.)
­ surfaces (e.g., elevation, population
density, etc.)
­ networks (e.g., stream-order, streets,
etc.)

Heywood et al 2011
GEOG205 INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS 12
HOW ARE DATA STORED ?
For discrete phenomena, an entity
model with discrete entities, a
discrete (pt., ln., ply.) vector data
structure, with alphanumeric data
values

Heywood et al 2011
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HOW ARE DATA STORED ?
For continuous phenomena, a field model with field-like entities,
a discrete (grid, cell) raster data structure, with zero and 1 cell
values

field

Heywood et al 2011
GEOG205 INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS 14
VECTORS AS DISCRETE RASTER DATA

Point, Line, and

Polygon Features
can all be
represented in
Raster Space

For more information see:

http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcma
p/10.3/manage-data/raster-and-
images/how-features-are-
represented-in-a-raster.htm
Spatial Resolution (80 m)
(30 m)

(4 m)

(1 m)

(0.3 m)

small file size

low resolution
large file size
high resolution
DATA MODEL VS STRUCTURE
GIS Data Model - Vector & Raster
Independent features or cells

GIS Data Structures – Hierarchical, Network, Relational

Data organized not as independent features/cells, but in relation
to other features/cells

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EXAMPLE: VECTOR DATA MODEL
Using points and lines (vectors) to store all feature types

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1. POINTS

A point in space: tree, house, weather station

Has zero spatial dimensions (X2,Y2)

Has location
(X1,Y1)
(X1,Y1)
­ Do not indicate length or width of a feature.

Point features
­ can be real or virtual (e.g., events)

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2. LINES

A linearly extended feature: road, river, power line

Has one dimension (length), but no width, but it can have weights
Has two locations: Start and end locations (X2,Y2)

(X1,Y1) (X2, Y2) (X1,Y1)

Linear features
­ Can be real or virtual (e.g. a relationship)

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3. POLYGONS

An area/zonally extended feature: a land parcels, districts, water bodies

Has two dimensions (length and width), but no volume

Has perimeter and area
(X1,Y1) (X2, Y2) (X3, Y3) (X1,Y1)
Areal features:
­ Can be real or virtual (e.g. a zone of influence)

(X2,Y2) (X3, Y3)

(X1,Y1)

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4. SURFACES

A curved area/zonally extended feature: elevation, density, trends, etc.

Has two dimensions (length and width), can have height, but no volume

Has a value of an attribute at any location in the space

(X1, Y1, Z1) …..(Xn, Yn, Zn)
­ Where X1, Y1 = Location
­ Z1 = measurement or value
­ Infinite set of points?
Areal features:
­ Can be real or virtual (e.g. a cost density surface)
Data structure examples:
­ Rasters (field model) : e.g., digital elevation model (DEM)
­ TINs (entity model)

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TYPES OF RASTER DATA
Continuous Raster: represents geographic phenomena that
can vary continuously across space, such as …?

These rasters are usually hold decimal values rather than integers.
SURFACES GENERATED FROM POINTS
Example: Raster data structure (grid cells)

by spatial interpolation

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BASIC SURFACE EXAMPLE: DEM
Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
A digital model or representation of the Earth’s curved 2D surface
Field model: continuously filled with equal basic units (e.g., grid cells)
Raster data structure: discrete (grid cell) storage of continuous elevation
Resolution of grid defined by frequency of observation/measurement
Geographical coordinates must be known
­ X,Y & Z (i.e., elevation)

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BASIC SURFACE EXAMPLE: DEM
What to do with a DEM?
­ Modelling features including the the curved Earth’s surface
­ Contour, slope, aspect, hillshade mapping
­ Visibility analysis (computing the line of sight of/to features)
­ ID of route susceptible to landslides or flooding
­ Etc.

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BASIC SURFACE EXAMPLE: DEM
One DEM = many data structures and views of the DEM data
possible!

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BASIC SURFACE EXAMPLE: DEM

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BASIC SURFACE EXAMPLE: CONTOUR MAP

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BASIC SURFACE EXAMPLE: CONTOUR MAP

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BASIC SURFACE EXAMPLE: VIEWSHEDS
What can be seen from a specific vantage point?

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BASIC SURFACE EXAMPLE: VIEWSHEDS

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BASIC SURFACE EXAMPLE: SLOPE MAPS

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BASIC SURFACE EXAMPLE: TIN
Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN)

Discrete surface data structure

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BASIC SURFACE EXAMPLE: TIN
Allows extra information to be gathered in areas of complex relief without
huge amounts of redundant data
Data capture can follow critical features like ridges, streams etc

GEOG205 INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS 35

BASIC SURFACE EXAMPLE: TIN VS. CONTOURS

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5. NETWORKS

A network is a set of connected linear features, including intersections and

crossings

Textbook: Heywood et al. 2015

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5. NETWORKS
Common network applications:
­ Direct path analysis
­ Optimum routing
­ Closest facility analysis
­ Drive time analysis
­ Driving directions

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REFERENCES
Read chapter 3 by Longley 4th Edition. 2015. It is an ebook in the
library:
https://ipac.canterbury.ac.nz/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=155054U3I41
2V.74940&profile=a&source=~!culib&uri=full=3100001~!2566320
~!0&ri=3&aspect=basic_search&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&st
affonly=&term=longley+goodchild&index=.GW&uindex=&aspect=b
asic_search&menu

Read chapter 3 by Heywood 4th Edition. 2011. It is in the library.

https://ipac.canterbury.ac.nz/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1550559234X
W5.82552&profile=a&source=~!culib&uri=full=3100001~!166726
3~!0&ri=2&aspect=basic_search&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&s
taffonly=&term=carver+heywood&index=.GW&uindex=&aspect=ba
sic_search&menu=se

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39
 …To a lecture theatre near you

Next lecture:
Locational Reference Systems
and Map Projections

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