全球离散格网:回顾与展望(英文)

全球离散格网是数字球体表达的基本数据模型,它提供了一种栅格化表达地球弯曲表面的方法,催生了数字地球。该文回顾全球离散格网与数字地球的发展史,评析了以谷歌地球为代表的第一代数字地球的技术实现。在为科学界及社会公众提供地表与近地表信息交流方面,数字地球的有效性面临挑战,第一代数字地球在很多方面存在不足,其中最显著的缺陷是不能基于社会与环境过程模型模拟地球的将来状态。展望未来,简要分析了下一代数字地球应具有的基本特征。

DISCRETE GLOBAL GRIDS:RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT

Discrete global grids provide a means of rasterizing the curved surface of the Earth.They form the basic data models for digital globes,and thus enable the vision of Digital Earth.The author reviews the history of discrete global grids and Digital Earth,and the first generation of implementations,exemplified by Google Earth.Digital Earth challenges us to provide effective communication of information about the surface and near-surface of the Earth to the scientific community and the general public,but the first generation falls short of this vision in several respects,most notably the lack of an ability to simulate future states based on models of social and environmental processes.A summary is presented of previous work on a vision for the next generation of Digital Earth.