Characterization of Storage, Transport and Visualization of Geographic Data Formats

La información geográfica se caracteriza por tener una componente espacial y, en muchas ocasiones, adicionalmente una componente temporal. En la última década el uso de esta información se incrementó por la expansión de las tecnologías que la captura. En especial, las ciencias de la tierra, el océano y la atmósfera requieren del análisis de la información que varía en el espacio y en el tiempo para tomar de-cisiones. Los datos espacio-temporales son gestionados por Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG) que definen formatos para su almacenamiento, trans-porte y visualización. El Open Geospacial Consortium es una de las principales organizaciones que definen estándares para estos formatos; sin embargo, existen otros también ampliamente usados. Conocer los diferentes formatos existentes, los elementos que los componen y los ambientes y situaciones para los que fueron creados es de suma trascendencia cuando se ha de decidirse por uno u otro en favor de la eficiencia y optimización de su uso en los SIG. Por lo anterior, este artículo hace una caracterización de los formatos más relevantes para el almacenamiento, transporte y visualización de los datos geográficos: vector, raster y series de datos, mediante esquemas preconceptuales que permiten identificar las relaciones estructurales y dinámicas de cualquier dominio del conocimiento. Palabras clave: Esquemas preconceptuales; Formato raster; Formato vectorial; Series temporales de da-tos; Sistema de Información GeográficaGeographic information is characterized by a spatial component and often an additional temporal component. In the last decade the use of that infor-mation has increased due to the expansion of tech-nologies that capture it. In particular, earth, ocean and atmosphere sciences, requires analysis of the infor-mation that varies in space and time to make deci-sions. The spatio-temporal data are managed by Geo-graphic Information Systems (GIS) that define formats for storage, transport and display them. The Open Geospatial Consortium is one of the leading organi-zations define standards for these formats, but there are also other widely used. Know the different formats available, the component elements and environments and situations for which they were created is of great importance when deciding on one or the other for effi-ciency and optimization of its use in GIS. Therefore, this article gives a characterization of the relevant for-mats for storage, transport and display of geographic data: vector, raster and data sets, using pre-concep-tual schemes that allow identifying the structural and dynamic relations in any domain of knowledge.Keywords: Pre-conceptual schemes; Raster data model; Vector data model; Time series; Geographic Information Syste

Caracterización de Formatos de Almacenamiento, Transporte y Visualización de Datos Geográficos

Geographic information is characterized by a spatial component and often an additional temporal component. In the last decade the use of that information has increased due to the expansion of technologies that capture it. In particular, earth, ocean and atmosphere sciences, requires analysis of the information that varies in space and time to make decisions. The spatio-temporal data are managed by Geographic Information Systems (GIS) that define formats for storage, transport and display them. The Open Geospatial Consortium is one of the leading organizations define standards for these formats, but there are also other widely used. Know the different formats available, the component elements and environments and situations for which they were created is of great importance when deciding on one or the other for efficiency and optimization of its use in GIS. Therefore, this article gives a characterization of the relevant formats for storage, transport and display of geographic data: vector, raster and data sets, using pre-conceptual schemes that allow identifying the structural and dynamic relations in any domain of knowledge.La información geográfica se caracteriza por tener una componente espacial y en muchas ocasiones adicionalmente una componente temporal. En la última década el uso de esta información se incrementó debido a la expansión de las tecnologías que la captura. En especial, las ciencias de la tierra, el océano y la atmósfera requieren del análisis de la información que varía en el espacio y en el tiempo para tomar decisiones. Los datos espacio-temporales son gestionados por Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG) que definen formatos para el almacenamiento, transporte y visualización de estos. El Open Geospacial Consortium es una de las principales organizaciones que definen estándares para estos formatos, sin embargo, existen otros también ampliamente usados. Conocer los diferentes formatos existentes, los elementos que los componen y los ambientes y situaciones para los que fueron creados es de gran importancia a la hora de decidirse por uno u otro en pro de la eficiencia y optimización de su uso en los SIG. Por lo anterior, este artículo hace una caracterización de los formatos más relevantes para el almacenamiento, transporte y visualización de los datos geográficos: vector, raster y series de datos, mediante esquemas preconceptuales que posibilitan identificar las relaciones estructurales y dinámicas de cualquier dominio del conocimiento

Essential Means for Urban Computing: Specification of Web-Based Computing Platforms for Urban Planning, a Hitchhiker’s Guide

This article provides an overview of the specifications of web-based computing platforms for urban data analytics and computational urban planning practice. There are currently a variety of tools and platforms that can be used in urban computing practices, including scientific computing languages, interactive web languages, data sharing platforms and still many desktop computing environments, e.g., GIS software applications. We have reviewed a list of technologies considering their potential and applicability in urban planning and urban data analytics. This review is not only based on the technical factors such as capabilities of the programming languages but also the ease of developing and sharing complex data processing workflows. The arena of web-based computing platforms is currently under rapid development and is too volatile to be predictable; therefore, in this article we focus on the specification of the requirements and potentials from an urban planning point of view rather than speculating about the fate of computing platforms or programming languages. The article presents a list of promising computing technologies, a technical specification of the essential data models and operators for geo-spatial data processing, and mathematical models for an ideal urban computing platform

Open Polar Server (OPS)—An Open Source Infrastructure for the Cryosphere Community

The Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) at the University of Kansas has collected approximately 1000 terabytes (TB) of radar depth sounding data over the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets since 1993 in an effort to map the thickness of the ice sheets and ultimately understand the impacts of climate change and sea level rise. In addition to data collection, the storage, management, and public distribution of the dataset are also primary roles of the CReSIS. The Open Polar Server (OPS) project developed a free and open source infrastructure to store, manage, analyze, and distribute the data collected by CReSIS in an effort to replace its current data storage and distribution approach. The OPS infrastructure includes a spatial database management system (DBMS), map and web server, JavaScript geoportal, and MATLAB application programming interface (API) for the inclusion of data created by the cryosphere community. Open source software including GeoServer, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, OpenLayers, ExtJS, GeoEXT and others are used to build a system that modernizes the CReSIS data distribution for the entire cryosphere community and creates a flexible platform for future development. Usability analysis demonstrates the OPS infrastructure provides an improved end user experience. In addition, interpolating glacier topography is provided as an application example of the system

GeohashTile: Vector Geographic Data Display Method Based on Geohash

© 2020 MDPI AG. All rights reserved. In the development of geographic information-based applications for mobile devices, achieving better access speed and visual effects is the main research aim. In this paper, we propose a new geographic data display method based on Geohash, namely GeohashTile, to improve the performance of traditional geographic data display methods in data indexing, data compression, and the projection of different granularities. First, we use the Geohash encoding system to represent coordinates, as well as to partition and index large-scale geographic data. The data compression and tile encoding is accomplished by Geohash. Second, to realize a direct conversion between Geohash and screen-pixel coordinates, we adopt the relative position projection method. Finally, we improve the calculation and rendering efficiency by using the intermediate result caching method. To evaluate the GeohashTile method, we have implemented the client and the server of the GeohashTile system, which is also evaluated in a real-world environment. The results show that Geohash encoding can accurately represent latitude and longitude coordinates in vector maps, while the GeohashTile framework has obvious advantages when requesting data volume and average load time compared to the state-of-the-art GeoTile system

Web GIS to Enhance Relational Capital: The Case of General Merchandise Retailers

Purpose – This paper aims to study the impact of information and communication technologies in organizations to capture and manage intellectual capital. The paper focuses particularly on the use of Web-based geographical information systems (Web GIS) to increase relational capital. Design/methodology/approach – This paper analyzes in detail the Web sites of 143 general merchandise retailers, which have been grouped according to their dominant operational format. Menus and search tools have been used to find out about the way in which these retailers provide information to the customers about their stores, with special attention to the use of Web GIS. Findings – The results obtained show that most of the companies analyzed use Web GIS to provide information about the location and other characteristics of the stores. The findings in this paper also suggest that the quantity and quality of the information provided by is somewhat related to the company size. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of this study come from the difficulty of predicting whether small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will generalize the use of Web GIS in the future. Practical implications – The findings of the paper suggest that large retail firms have adopted Web GIS to provide information to the customers and for other geomarketing purposes. Moreover, SMEs should use Web GIS to improve their relationship with customers.Administración y Dirección de Empresa

Estruturação e Criação de Indicadores Geodemográficos para Geomarketing em contexto internacional

Geomarketing tem sido uma das áreas da geografia que mais tem crescido nos últimos anos, em grande parte, devido a junção de três disciplinas com um elevado grau de importância: a geografia, o marketing e a cartografia. A evolução do Geomarketing abriu novas portas para o tipo de analise que são feitas e revolucionou a maneira como se utilizam dados espaciais. O estudo ira incidir sobre três países europeus, Itália, França e Espanha. A escolha desta área de estudo passa não só pela proximidade do território nacional, mas também pela grande importância política, económica e social que estes países apresentam não só em contexto europeu, mas também em contexto mundial. Estes três países, em conjunto, representam o Arco Latino europeu, apresentado assim outro fator importante na escolha desta área de estudo. Este estudo tem dois grandes objetivos principais. O primeiro passa por aprimorar e expandir a plataforma do LOCALI. O LOCALI é uma plataforma de consulta de dados demográficos com base nos censos onde é possível consultar o número de pessoas (sendo possível distinguir entre homens e mulheres), o número de famílias e o número de casas. Esta informação aparece para um raio de 250 metros sobre um ponto específico do mapa, sendo que os dados, tal como os censos, são ao nível da subseção. O segundo objetivo passa por mostrar como é possível utilizar dados demográficos para criar variáveis com uma possível utilização empresarial. De modo a ser possível desenvolver novas variáveis, será também utilizado os dados do uso do solo pelo Corine Land Cover (CLC) para complementar e aprimorar a analise. Por fim, serão também apresentados três exemplos práticos que representam um grande leque de possibilidade de possíveis utilizações das variáveis criadas. Devido a pouca disponibilidade de dados demográficos a nível da subseção, ao contrário do LOCALI que tem os dados de 1991, 2001 e 2011, o estudo será feito apenas para o ano de 2011, utilizando os dados do CLC mais recentes, que corresponde a 2018.Geomarketing has been one of the fastest growing areas of geography in recent years, largely due to the combination of three disciplines with a high degree of importance: geography, marketing and cartography. The evolution of geomarketing has opened new doors for the kind of analysis that is made, and has revolutionised the way spatial data is used. The study will focus on three European countries, Italy, France and Spain. The choice of this area of study is not only because of their proximity to Portugal, but also because of the great political, economic and social importance that these countries have not only in a European context, but also in a global context. These three countries together represent the European Latin Arc, thus presenting another important factor in the choice of this area of study. This study has two main objectives. The first one is to improve and expand the LOCALI platform. LOCALI is a census-based demographic data consultation platform where it is possible to consult the number of people (being possible to distinguish between men and women), the number of families and the number of houses. This information appears for a radius of 250 meters over a specific point on the map, and the data, like the censuses, are at subsection level. The second objective is to show how it is possible to use demographic data to create variables with possible business use. In order to be able to develop new variables, the land use data represented by Corine Land Cover (CLC) will also be used to complement and improve the analysis of the data. Finally, three practical examples representing a wide range of possible uses of the variables created will also be presented. Due to the limited availability of demographic data at the subsection level, unlike LOCALI which has the data for 1991, 2001 and 2011, the study will only be conducted for the year of 2011 using the most recent CLC data, which corresponds to 2018

INTELLIGENT CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR BIG DATA ENABLED HYDROLOGICAL MODELING, PREDICTION, AND EVALUATION

Most hydrologic data are associated with spatiotemporal information, which is capable of presenting patterns and changes in both spatial and temporal aspects. The demands of retrieving, managing, analyzing, visualizing, and sharing these data have been continuously increasing. However, spatiotemporal hydrologic data are generally complex, which can be difficult to work with knowledge from hydrology alone. With the assistance of geographic information systems (GIS) and web-based technologies, a solution of establishing a cyberinfrastructure as the backbone to support such demands has emerged. This interdisciplinary dissertation described the advancement of traditional approaches for organizing and managing spatiotemporal hydrologic data, integrating and executing hydrologic models, analyzing and evaluating the results, and sharing the entire process. A pilot study was conducted in Chapter 2, in which a globally shared flood cyberinfrastructure was created to collect, organize, and manage flood databases that visually provide useful information to authorities and the public in real-time. The cyberinfrastructure used public cloud services provided by Google Fusion Table and crowdsourcing data collection methods to provide location-based visualization as well as statistical analysis and graphing capabilities. This study intended to engage citizen-scientists and presented an opportunity to modernize the existing paradigm used to collect, manage, analyze, and visualize water-related disasters eventually. An observationally based monthly evapotranspiration (ET) product was produced in Chapter 3, using the simple water balance equation across the conterminous United States (CONUS). The best quality ground- and satellite-based observations of the water budget components, i.e., precipitation, runoff, and water storage change were adopted, while ET is computed as the residual. A land surface model-based downscaling approach to disaggregate the monthly GRACE equivalent water thickness (EWT) data to daily, 0.125º values was developed. The derived ET was evaluated against three sets of existing ET products and showed reliable results. The new ET product and the disaggregated GRACE data could be used as a benchmark dataset for researches in hydrological and climatological changes and terrestrial water and energy cycle dynamics over the CONUS. The study in Chapter 4 developed an automated hydrological modeling framework for any non-hydrologists with internet access, who can organize hydrologic data, execute hydrologic models, and visualize results graphically and statistically for further analysis in real-time. By adopting Hadoop distributed file system (HDFS) and Apache Hive, the efficiency of data processing and query were significantly increased. Two lumped hydrologic models, lumped Coupled Routing and Excess STorage (CREST) model and HyMOD model, were integrated as a proof of concept in this web framework. Evaluation of selected basins over the CONUS were performed as a demonstration. Our vision is to simplify the processes of using hydrologic models for researchers and modelers, as well as to unlock the potential and educate the less experienced public on hydrologic models