Handling spatial data with

GIS

By

GUMINDOGA W

NOV 2014
 COURSE SUMMARY

❑ Vector model

❑ Raster model

❑ How a water official makes use of vector and

raster models
Two approaches to handling spatial data with GIS:

🠶 Raster model
🠶 Vector model
🠶 Points,
🠶 lines,
🠶 polygons
A raster data model uses a grid.

🠶One grid cell is one unit or holds one

attribute.
🠶Every cell has a value, even if it is
“missing.”
🠶A cell can hold a number or an index
value standing for an attribute.
🠶A cell has a resolution, given as the cell
size in ground units.
🠶Raster Data Model
🠶Rows and Columns of Cells (Array)
🠶Area of Cell equals Spatial Resolution
🠶Value for each cell records type of object or condition
🠶Cells do not correspond to spatial entities in real
world
🠶 A road is a group of cells, not a single entity
🠶Cells are considered Homogeneous Units
Generic structure for a grid

Grid extent

Grid
cell
Rows

Resolution
Columns
Figure 3.1 Generic structure for a grid.
 Sources of Raster Data

🠶Satellite data
🠶LANDSAT
🠶SPOT
🠶Sentinel
🠶Scanned aerial photography
🠶Digital Orthophotography
🠶Scanned maps and documents
Why use Raster?

🠶 Overlay Analysis/Overlay Operations

🠶 Arithmetic Operations
🠶Addition
🠶Subtraction
🠶Division
🠶Multiplication
🠶 Logical (Boolean) Operations
🠶Where conditions occur or do not occur
together
🠶AND, OR, NOT, >, <, etc.
Why use Raster?
 Raster Applications

🠶Utility Corridor Siting

🠶Environmental Mapping
🠶Resource Coverage Mapping
🠶Pollution Mapping
🠶Spatial data variability decisions
🠶Forest inventory
🠶Flood hazard mapping
 More Raster Applications

🠶Wetlands Vegetation Inventory & Analysis

🠶Agricultural analysis
🠶Planetary analysis (including lunar)
🠶Vector Updating
🠶Digital Terrain Modeling
🠶Flood Control & Emergency Preparedness
🠶Communication System Engineering
 Raster Limitations

🠶Aesthetics
🠶Data storage requirements
🠶Overlay operations performed on every cell
🠶Sparse data sets require as much processing as
dense ones
 RASTER -- summary
🠶 Grids or raster maps are poor at representing points, lines and
areas, but good at surfaces.
🠶 Grids are good only at very localized topology, and weak
otherwise.
🠶 Grids are a natural for scanned or remotely sensed data.
🠶 Grids suffer from the mixed pixel problem.
🠶 Grids must often include redundant or missing data.
🠶 Grid compression techniques used in GIS are run-length
encoding and quad trees.
Vector GIS Data Model

🠶 Precisely position features in space

🠶Points, Nodes, vertex, single X,Y coordinate pair
🠶Lines, Arcs, series of X,Y coordinate pairs
🠶Area, Polygons, area as a closed loop of X,Y
coordinate pairs
Areas are lines are points are coordinates
 The Vector Model
🠶 A vector data model uses points stored by their real (earth) coordinates
and so requires a precise coordinate system.
🠶Geographic Coordinate System
🠶Latitude/Longitude
🠶Cartesian Coordinate Systems
🠶X,Y Coordinate system
🠶State Plane
🠶UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator)
🠶 Lines and areas are built from sequences of points in order.
🠶 Lines have a direction to the ordering of the points.
🠶 Polygons can be built from points or lines.
🠶 Vectors can store information about topology.
Vectors

🠶TIN must be used to represent volumes.

🠶Vector can represent point, line, and area features
very accurately.
🠶Vectors work well with pen and light-plotting
devices and tablet digitizers.
🠶Vectors are not good at continuous coverages or
plotters that fill areas.
 Sources of Vector Data

🠶RASTER-VECTOR conversions from

scanned images
🠶Pre-existing digital data from disks or
internet
🠶DIGITIZING
🠶END
 Extra notes

🠶 Raster - A format for storing, processing, and displaying graphic data

in which graphic images are stored as values for uniform grid cells
or pixels.

🠶 Pixels - Abbreviation for picture element, the smallest indivisible

element that makes up an image. In raster processing, data is
represented spatially on a matrix of grid cells, called pixels, which
are assigned values for image characteristics or attributes.
 Extra notes

🠶 Resolution - A measure of the accuracy or detail of a graphic

display, expressed as dots per inch, pixels per line, lines per
millimeter, etc.

🠶 Spatial Resolution - The accuracy associated with the capture of

ground information as reproduced in a digital format or graphic
display. For example, 10-foot pixels vs. 100-foot pixels.