Frank Swiaczny

Time-Integrative Geographic Information Systems

Please check the website at http://www.time-gis.de for updates and additions.

Conceptualising real world entities in spatiotemporal GIS

The modelling of real world phenomena is one of the central and most difficult duties in building a GIS. After reflecting some basic thoughts on the perception of space and time in geography and the social sciences, chapter 2 deals with various aspects related to the conceptualisation and modelling of real world entities in GIS.

Processing and analysis of spatio-temporal data inside a GIS

Geographic Information Systems are distinguished from graphics and CAD software packages by the available analysis functions as well as the linkage of geographical and attribute data. The target of all analyses within a GIS can be summarized as the requirement of generating new information by theory-led combination of available data stocks (Strobl 1992: 48). The following chapter discusses basic analysis functions implemented into GIS. We may differentiate between spatial, thematic and temporal queries.

Implementation of time in GIS

GIS projects often fail even before they have started. Careful planning is needed in order to avoid common pitfalls and errors. This chapter is intensively concerned with the construction and implementation of a timeintegrative GIS. Special attention is given to various aspects of data acquisition, storage and processing.

The visualisation of spatio-temporal processes

An important aspect of Geographic Information Systems deals with the functionalities used to visualize spatial data. Unsurprisingly this task is usually accomplished by applying methods and techniques provided by cartography, as maps are both, the means and the product of geographical analysis. Recently, many new impulses from the emerging field of visualisation in scientific computing (ViSC) continue to have a strong influence on the methods used to visualize spatiotemporal data. This chapter deals with some basic insight on the visualisation process as well as with classic and modern approaches of displaying temporal data on paper or a computer screen.