Detection and correction of inconsistencies between river networks and contour data by spatial constraint knowledge

In the representation of topographic data, the distribution of hydrographic networks should be constrained by the contour model’s landform features. During the integration of topographic databases, however, spatial conflicts may destroy these constraints, generating inconsistencies. This study presents a method to detect and correct inconsistencies between river networks and contour data by spatial knowledge. First, structured terrain features are extracted from the contour-based geometric representation and matching relationships between rivers and contours are constructed based on spatial knowledge of the distribution of rivers and talwegs. We then propose a distance metric for measuring differences and identifying inconsistencies between the matched river and contour features. Three correction approaches are provided for different inconsistency situations, including river adjustment referenced to the contour, contour adjustment referenced to the river and adjustment of both river and contour to middle positions. We apply the proposed method to the integration and maintenance of national topographic infrastructure in order to demonstrate its effectiveness.