Introduction to Digital Map Data

Aim: to provide site support staff

with basic knowledge of digital map
data concepts and references to
further information
Session Objectives
To provide an overview of spatial data
concepts
To introduce spatial data terminology
To introduce GIS concepts and applications
To provide pointers to resources and
information about spatial data
Structure
1. Spatial data overview
2. Data entry
3. Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
4. Sources of help and assistance

Digital map data



map detail held in the form of
national grid coordinate values
and codes which can be stored
and manipulated on computer
Source: www.ordsvy.gov.uk (now www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk)
1. Spatial data overview
Are these
spatial data?
Source: www.esri.com
Yes!
Source: www.esri.com
Spatial reference Attributes
Are these
spatial data?
Yes!
Spatial reference
Attribute
Spatial data
Spatial data:
data that have some form of spatial or geographic
reference that enables them to be located in two-
or three- dimensional space (Heywood et al.,
1998)
where (spatial component) and what (attribute)

Spatial referencing:
55
o
45 N 36
o
0 E latitude/longitude
SE 366 923 grid reference
AB14 5UA address/postcode
Spatial data - examples
Digital map data
e.g. Ordnance Survey, Bartholomew
Aerial photographs
Field data
GPS readings, field surveys
Remotely sensed images
e.g. Landsat, SPOT
Paper maps and plans
AA road maps,
Socio-economic data
e.g. census data, marketing surveys
Spatial data - analogue vs. digital
Analogue
paper maps
printed aerial
photographs
tables of statistics
Fixed scale
Need to be converted to
digital format

Digital
digital data files
remotely sensed
images
GPS output files
Scale free/flexible
File format
predetermined
Download or copy
2. Data entry
Getting spatial data into the computer
Analogue to digital conversion
keyboard entry
scanning
manual digitising
automatic digitising

Attributes may have to be coded separately
Preparing data for use
Sources of error
Data collection
misreading GPS
Data encoding
Data exchange

Checking for errors
Visual inspection
Impossible values
crags in the sea
Extreme data values
Australian ozone levels

3. Geographic Information
System (GIS)
What is GIS?
A system for capturing, storing, checking, integrating,
manipulating analysing and displaying data which are
spatially referenced to the Earth
(DoE, 1987)

GIS rests on the assumption that different kinds of spatial
data have common structure, and are processed in
similar ways, and that there is consequently value in
creating common spatial data handling and processing
systems
(Goodchild, 1995)

What is GIS?
Components of GIS
computer system
spatial data
people

How does GIS work?
The layer approach

The object approach
Communication
Landuse
Conservation
Historic sites
Common referencing framework
Subclass
Factory
Behaviour
Attributes
Subclass
Residential
Behaviour
Attributes
Subclass
Retail
Behaviour
Attributes
Superclass
Building
Attributes
Behaviour
Rasters and Vectors
Source: edina.ac.uk/digimap
Digimap vector data
Crown copyright
How to make the data into something useful
Vector data - points, lines and areas

Points - x,y co-ordinates
representing individual points
e.g. trees
Point
[x
1
,y
1
]
Line
[x
1
,y
1
]
[x
2
,y
2
]
[x
3
,y
3
]
[x
4
,y
4
]
[x
5
,y
5
]
[x
6
,y
6
]
Area
[x
1
,y
1
]
[x
2
,y
2
]
[x
3
,y
3
]
Lines - sets of points
representing linear features
e.g. roads, rivers
Areas - closed set of lines
such as woodlands or a city
boundary
Raster model
Raster model - Pixels and
resolution
Resolution - the size of the smallest recording unit or the
smallest feature that can be mapped and measured
(Heywood et al. 1998)
10 m
What can GIS do?
Measurement
distance, area, perimeter
Query
spatial, attribute
Buffering
inside, outside
Neighbourhood operations
reclassification
Interpolation
prediction
Surface analysis
slope, aspect, viewsheds
Network analysis
routes
supply and demand
Overlay


Also includes functions for modelling, data
storage and retrieval, and data presentation
Measurement
Distance


Area


Perimeter
Query
Spatial
- where is 127 New
Bridge Street?



Attribute
- what is the use of this
building?
Crown copyright
Buffering
Point
- specified distance from
road junction


Area
- specified distance from
building


Line
- specified distance from
road centreline
Crown copyright
Neighbourhood operations
Reclassification
- reclassify river Tyne to 1,
everything else to 0
Crown copyright
Interpolation
X 20m
X 15m
X 35m
X 5m
X 18m
Creating isolines

Creating DTMs
Source: www.mapmaker.com
Network analysis
A
B
Shortest routes


Supply and demand
Overlay
Visual
e.g. landscape data
over surface model


Integrative
e.g. landscape data
over surface data to
calculate average
height of forestry
plantations
Source: www.mapmaker.com
GIS output
Maps
Surface visualisations
Tables
Lists
Multimedia
Animated map sequences

Know what you want to get out
Tomlinson R (1999)
80% of data used in business has a geographical
component

MapQuest has nearly 4 million unique visitors per month
and is the 39th most visited Web site on the Internet
(Novak I, 1999)
The bigger picture
Digimap service uses
Clinical medicine
Seal behaviour
Agricultural land use
Religious houses in the 13th Century
Design for the Scottish Parliament
Wind energy
Aircraft and noise pollution in Newcastle
Norse place-names in Scotland
Terrain modelling for air flow/large bird interaction
Beach hazards
Graphics and visualisation
Identifying EU structural and regional fund boundaries
Housing study
Water vole distribution
4. Sources of help and assistance
Resources
Digimap and Go-Geo!
http://edina.ac.uk/digimap
http://www.gogeo.ac.uk
Ordnance Survey
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
ESRI Virtual Campus
http://www.esri.com
Magazines
GINews
GeoConnexion
Association for Geographical Information
www.agi.org.uk
Books, journals etc.