VECTOR

ANALYSIS

Cecilia Akselsson
cecilia.akselsson@nateko.lu.se

Overview of Topics

• Basic Geometric Vector Operations

• Vector Overlay
• Vector Data Editing and Clean-up
• Buffer Zones

1
 Basic Geometric Vector Operations

Computation of distance b/w 2 features:

1.Euclidian distance
2.Manhattan distance
3.Distance in a network
4.Topographical distance
5.Sperhical distance

Euclidian Distance
(’as-the-crow-flies’)

Pythagorean Theorem
B
z2=x2+y2
z= x2+y2
z

A x

2
Euclidian Distance
(’as-the-crow-flies’)

B (Xb;Yb)
2 2
D (A,B) = (Xa-Xb) + (Ya-Yb)

A (Xa;Ya)

Manhattan distance (Taxicab Distance)

(catheti in a right-angled triangle)

B (Xb;Yb) B

MaD (A,B) = |Xa-Xb| + |Ya-Yb|

A (Xa;Ya)
A

3
Distance in a network
(ex: sum of segments 1,3,5,7, using PT b/w
breakpoints)

6 B

7
5
4

3
2
1

Topographical Distance
(DEM analysis)
Use the PT 3-dimensionally and repetitively

4
 Topographical Distance

B (Xb;Yb;Zb)
2 2 2
D (A,B) = (Xa-Xb) + (Ya-Yb) + (Za-Zb)

Pythagorean Theorem

A (Xa;Ya;Za)

Sphericalavstånd
Sfäriskt Distance
(avstånd
(airline routes)
mellan två objekt på jordensyta med
hänsyn tagen till jordens form)

B
A

5
Length of a line:
Line Length: 5+7+3+4 = 19
Sum of all line segments b/w start
and end node.
● Line segement lengths are computed
using the Pythagorean Theorem.
●
7
4
5
3 ●
●
●

Computing Polygon Area:

Also equals
point # 5
1

Given by the the y-values of

Also equals each point multiplied by
point # 0 4 the differences in the x-
values of the following,
2 and preceding points,
counting clockwise, all
summed up and divided
3 by 2

1 n
Area = ∑ y i ( x i +1 − x i −1 )
2 i =1

6
Computing Polygon Area:

5 Point # xi yi
(i)
0 1 4
4 1 3 4
2 5 2
3 2 1
3
4 1 3
5 3 4
2

1
= * [4 * (5 - 1) + 2 * (2 - 3) + 1 * (1 - 5) + 3 * (3 - 2)]
1 2

1
= 2 * [16 + (-2) + (-4) + 3]
0 1 2 3 4 5
= 6.5

Computing Polygon Area:

Important to think about:

An ’island’ (hole) in the polygon,
must be subtracted

Result depends on:

* type of projection
* generalization
* precision
* Different methods and degrees of precision in different
GIS programs.

7
 Find intersection b/w two line
segments:
[eg. bridge/river, flight paths, find
combinations (new polygons) b/w districts
and land use, etc.]
Equation of a straight line: y=mx+b
Y 1
●

●2
m = slope
●2 b = y-intercept
1 ●
X

m och b are constant for the whole segment

( y 2 − y1) ( y 2 − y1) b = y − mx
m= m=
( x 2 − x1) ( x 2 − x1) b = y − mx
Y 1
●  y = mL1 x + bL1

 y = m L 2 x + bL 2

mL1 x + bL1 = mL 2 x + bL 2 →
● 2
mL1 x − mL 2 x = bL 2 − bL1 →

x=
(bL 2 − bL1)
●2
1 ● (mL1 − mL 2 )
X

8
m, b och x are now known, therefore the value of y at
the intersection can be derived: y=mx+b

Y 1
●

●2

●2
1 ●
X

Point-in-polygon:
Draw a straight line in any direction from the point of
interest. Count the number of intersections with the
polygon border. If the # of intersections is odd, the
point is in the polygon
Polygon No. Of
Intersections

1 1
2 2
3 4

WHY?
-Identify polygon using the mouse
-Idenfity which polygon (disctrict) a certain town (point) is in

9
Point-in-polygon:
Algorithm fails: When the plumb line completely
coincides with the border of a polygon (d), or when
the plumb line passes right through a node (b,c)

Vector Overlay

1.Points on Polygons

2.Lines on Polygons

3.Polygons on Polygons

10
 Points on Polygons:
ID Well depth
1 8m

●2 ●7 2 3m
●4 ●6
●1 3 5m
●3 ●5
4 7.5 m
5 4m
6 12 m
+
7 6m

ID Soil type
1 2 3 1 Clay
2 Loam
3 Sand

Points on Polygons:
1. Decide which points lie in which polygons (as previous)
2. Transfer the ATTRIBUTES from the polygons to those points
that fall within them (many-to-one)
3. Result: POINT LAYER with their original + polygon attributes!
NOTE – The opposite is impossible
●2
1 ●4 2 ●7
●6 3
●1 ●3 ●5
ID Well depth Soil type
1 8m Sand
2 3m Clay
3 5m Loam
4 7.5 m Loam
5 4m Sand
6 12 m Loam
7 6m Sand

11
 Lines on Polygons:
ID Stream
length
2 ●
● 1 24 m
1 3 2 14 m
● ●
3 37 m

ID Land
Parcel
1 2 3
1 A
2 B
3 C

Lines on polygons:
Decide which line segments fall into which polygons
Transfer the attributes from the polygons to those parts
of the line segment that fall within them
New start and end nodes are established (lines divided
into smaller lines)
Calculation of intersections required, lines divided into
smaller lines ● 5
4●
3 ●
6 7 ID Stream Land
● 1 2 ● ● ● length Parcel
●
1 24 m C
2 24 m B
3 24 m A
4 24 m B
5 14 m B
6 37 m B
7 37 m C

12
 Polygons on Polygons:
ID County
A Lund
B Malmö

A B

ID Radon
1 Concentration
2 1 Low
2 High

Polygons on Polygons:
All points of intersection are assigned
- new nodes
- new polygons are created with attributes from both input
layers

Note: Very computationally intensive

Common Problem – slivers
ID Radon County
A1 B1 Concentration
A2 B2 A1 Low Lund
A2 High Lund
B1 Low Malmö
B2 High Malmö

13
 Vector Data Editing and Post-
overlay Clean-up Operations

1.Clip
2.Update
3.Dissolve
4.Merge
5.Eliminate

CLIP: -Same priniple as polygon on polygon overlay

-Use of a template to adjust polygon borders

Input Clip feature

14
Clip: Same principle as polygon on polygon overlay

Update: Data is modified in a separate layer, and

is added to the original data, replacing the old
features

15
Update:

Dissolve: uses attributes to aggregate unit polygons into

new, larger polygons which contain at least one common
attribute from the smaller polygons

16
Merge: Bringing together 2 adjacent (in space) data
layers in order to create a larger database

+ =

Eliminate: used to eliminate polygons with an area

less than a certain threshold value – used to remove
slivers

17
 Advanced Distance Operations -
Buffer Zones

Buffer Zones

18
 Buffer Zones
1. Create parallel lines on each side of the original line
segment, with the same length, but at a distance equal
to the buffer distance

Buffer distance

Buffer Zones
2. Connect end points with arcs having a radius equal
to the buffer distance

Buffer distance

Buffer distance

19
Buffer Zones
Two major steps:
• Calculation of co-ordinates (buffer) for every single
element
2. Merging of overlapping buffer zones

Tranport of toxins on
large raod

Select all roads

> 7 metres wide

Shown in attribute table
and map

20
Create 50 m buffer around the roads

21
Critical for an operation’s accuracy,
precision: Degree of generalization

22