Logical Data Structures for Spatial Analysis

214 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988.Computer readable data have become increasingly difficult to use and integrate in research because of expanding physical file sizes, increasing thematic diversity with concomitant shifts in levels of aggregation and measurement, and a general lack of uniformity and compatibility among data structures. Database management systems support many data types and relationships among data records. They also provide the potential for integrating data sources that are both collected at different levels of aggregation and stored in different file structures. A general spatial database structure is defined to make full use of database software in spatial analysis. The structure exploits the capabilities of the extended network model to support the variety of structural relationships necessary in a database for spatial analysis applications. This structure uses topological information as its organizing principle, and also provides for the organization and analysis of thematic and locational data collected at different levels of spatial aggregation. The structure is implemented for a test region in Eastern Iowa using software written for a microcomputer. Its ability to perform functions necessary in conducting spatial analysis is evaluated. A variety of prospective applications of the spatial data structure in water resources, migration, remote sensing and geomorphology is presented to demonstrate the usefulness of the approach.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD