A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR PHYSICAL-GEOGRAPHIC REGIONALIZATION

The design and functioning of a geographic information system established for the purpose of objectively delineating the boundaries of major physical geographic regions in the USSR is described. The basic components include an information input block for data collection and preliminary image processing; a recognition block for feature classification and analysis; a data base management system providing for repeated revision, addition, and use of spectral information; and a block for displaying results of processing in various forms. Applications of the system are demonstrated in the mapping of physical regions in a steppe and semi-desert area of the southern USSR. Translated from: Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, seriya geograficheskaya, 1988, No. 2, pp. 89-94.