UPDATING OF GEOSPATIAL DATA: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Geospatial data are fundamental for the analysis and visualization of the environment, but the currency of the data is critical. Out-of-date geospatial data have historical value, but if the data are used for analysis of current events, the results could contaminated to a point where the results are incorrect or completely wrong. There are two possible solutions to the problem of out of date geospatial data. The first solution is to collect the data again and then generate new maps or any other type of geospatial data visualization. This approach is very costly, especially for countries of medium to large size. The second solution is the identification of changes to the landscape and the replacement of these changes by new data. This paper presents the theoretical framework for the updating of geospatial data. Two major issues are discussed: (1) how to detect changes in the data, and (2) how to correct the changes