Cartographic Symbol Design Considerations for the Space–Time Cube

The cartographic representation of geographic phenomena in the space–time cube comes with special challenges and opportunities when compared with two-dimensional maps. While the added dimension allows the display of attributes that vary with time, it is difficult to display rapidly varying temporal data given the limited display height. In this study, we adapt 2D cyclic point symbols to construct 3D surfaces designed along a helical path for the space–time cube. We demonstrate how these complex?3D helical surfaces can display detailed data, including data reported daily over 100 years and data reported in four-hour intervals over a year. To create the point symbols, each value is plotted along the curve of a helix, with each turn of the helix representing one year or week, respectively. The model is modified by varying the radii from the time axis to all points using the attribute value, in these cases maximum daily temperature and four-hourly ridership, and then creating a triangulated surface from the resulting points. Using techniques common to terrain representation, we apply hue and saturation to the surface based on attribute values, and lightness based on relief shading. Multiple surfaces can be displayed in a space–time cube with a consistent time interval facing the viewer, and the surfaces or viewer perspective can be rotated to display synchronized variations. We see this method as one example of how cartographic design can refine or enhance operations in the space–time cube.     

Cartographic Design Matters – A Comparison of Thematic Polygon Design

The number of web services providing cartographic data is increasing. A main challenge is to enable a user to combine these services, not only from a technical perspective, but also from a cartographic one. One common use case for these services is to create mashups based on thematic polygons on top of background maps. In this study we compare four cartographic designs of thematic polygons: only boundaries, transparencies, hatches and icons. The aim of the comparison is to investigate whether the designs are good for identifying the extent of the polygons and if the design disturbs the reading of the background map. The comparison is based on an eye-tracking study, where 24 participants performed polygon identification tasks as well as background search tasks. The study revealed that hatches were more efficient than the other designs for polygon identification. Hatches had significantly shorter total fixation times as well as scanpath lengths, possibly since the participants were able to identify the extent of the polygon solely based on the interior (i.e. the hatches), while for the other designs the participants were extensively reliant on the boundaries. However, the results also indicate that the hatches design disturbs the reading of the background map more than the other designs; hatches also appear visually unpleasant for many users. Since each design had its strengths and weaknesses, we recommend producers of services for thematic data to provide several designs so users can select an appropriate design for their own use cases.     

Adaptive Relative Motion Representation of Space–Time Trajectories

Abstract

In this article the author explains how military geography information is being exploited by modern Armed Forces. In doing so he highlights some of the underlying principles of surveying and cartographic that define paper mapping, and that are still applicable in the digital era.

This article reflects the personal views of Lieutenant Colonel Prain who is currently serving in the Headquarters of the Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency.     

Fifty Years of the British Cartographic Society, 1963–2013

The British Cartographic Society has been in existence for 50 years. During that time it has sought to pursue its central aim of promoting the art and science of cartography through a variety of publications and events to its members and beyond. The Society has been on a journey of continual development in response to the way maps are created and used. In this short history we touch on some of the factors that have influenced its evolution and what the future may hold.     

A Cartographic Animation of Average Yearly Surface Temperatures for the 48 Contiguous United States: 1897–1986

Animation is an important method of communicating information that lends itself to cartographic display. Cartographers may be delinquent in their utilization of this technique. Meteorologists, medical researchers, and physical scientists, employing mini-, mainframe, and supercomputers, are creating today's most sophisticated animated maps and continue to develop high-quality systems for data display. Though today's cartographers are concerned with the geometric accuracy and computer automation of their map products, they may be overlooking current developments in spatiotemporal display within other disciplines. Creating a method to bridge the current animation gap between cartography and these disciplines has been the primary goal of this research. Since personal computers are the platforms most commonly available to cartographers, development of animated cartographic displays is feasible with this technology. As a result of this research, an interactive microcomputer-based animated map of U.S. surface temperatures was designed to help understand the rapid climatic change occurring during the 20th century.     

Design and use of web lectures to enhance GIS teaching and learning strategies: the students’ opinions

The goal of this research is to design, use and evaluate a set of web lectures, specifically tailored to the needs of students in higher education who follow geographic information system -related courses. Since education in geographic information system includes theoretical concepts and practical experience, both of these teaching strategies will be implemented in the web lectures. The user-centered design approach is used in the design process to increase the acceptance of the web lectures and the motivation to use them: perceived usefulness and ease of use. The results show that the students appreciate the initial set of web lectures, but that they need to be motivated more to use them (especially when theoretical topics are covered). Students still value the “traditional” face-to-face lectures and see the web lectures as an ideal complement.     

Time geography in a hybrid physical–virtual world

Journal of Geographical Systems - Time geography was conceptualized in the 1960s when the technology was very different from what we have today. Conventional time-geographic concepts therefore were...     

Chinese Surveying and Control Network for Earth-Orbit Satellites and Deep Space Detection

Introduction Astorealizetheprojectofspatialgeodesyby geodeticsatellites,itisnecessarytoestablisha satellitecontrollingandsurveyingnetwork(SC SN)totrack,tosurvey,toremotelycontroland tocommunicatewithearth orbitsatellite,forre alizingtheprojectofdeepspaced…     

Design of the Urban Land Grading Information System

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Bartholomew and the Half-Inch Layer Coloured Map 1883–1903

Abstract

In their pre-war heyday Batholomew, that most famous of British commercial mapmakers, had a huge worldwide business in every sort and scale of map and atlas for every purpose; not to mention, at one time, an extensive general printing trade. But, even so, their name became firmly associated in the public consciousness with one particular design of map on one particular scale — the half-inch to one mile (1.126 720) layer colored map of Great Britain. This study deals with the early history of the phenomenon, in the context of the firm's other work. It concludes with the completion of the England and Wales series, and the moment when it could be said, in the most elevated and objective of contexts, that the British map buyer — trade and public both — had, thanks to this map, acquired 'the Bartholomew habit'.     

Space Rockets, Polar Bears, and Tundra Buggies – And a GPS Link to the Seventeenth Century

The use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for position and attitude determination has been exploited for many years. In these systems, it was required that multiple antennas maintained phase lock to common view satellites for long periods of time in order to determine integer ambiguities. The challenge to overcome with the ballistic space probe is the high rotational spin of this particular rocket. The antennas, mounted on the outside skin of the rocket, are in full view of each satellite only for a fraction of a second before the rocket core eclipses them as it rotates. The antennas rarely see common satellites. This article describes as system that overcomes these obstacles and provides position, acceleration, attitude, and rotation rate. The approach uses a two-antenna system. One antenna is mounted either side of the rocket facing out. A hybrid tracking channel combines signals from both antennas to overcome the signal blockage due to the rocket core as well as to defeat the effect on the tracking channel due to the spin. The amplitude and phase of the spin rotation signature from each satellite is extracted from the dual antenna data and used to compute the attitude and spin rate of the vehicle. ? 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An Adaptive Noise Reduction Method for NDVI Time Series Data Based on S–G Filtering and Wavelet Analysis

In order to reduce the noise in advanced very high-resolution radiometer global inventory modeling and mapping studies normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) version 3g time series data, we propose an adaptive noise reduction method based on the Savitzky–Golay filter and wavelet analysis and on curve-fitting and spectrum analysis. The noise reduction effect was analyzed and evaluated. Studies have shown that the denoising of data using asymmetric Gaussian and double logistic curve-fitting methods results in the loss of details of the NDVI changes and is not conducive to the extraction of vegetation phenotypic characteristics. The wavelet function, wavelet decomposition layer number, and the threshold determination method have a large influence on the noise reduction effect, and the adaptive method has high noise reduction efficiency and effectively reduces the noise in the NDVI data. The proposed method does not require the determination of the smoothing window size and threshold for each year, which represents an advantage for processing large amounts of data.     

German Maps and Survey on the Western Front, 1914–1918

Abstract

Fighting the 1914–18 war largely on enemy territory in both the east and the west, German was at a disadvantage compared to the Allies when it came to survey and mapping as it did have access to much of the geodetic, topographic and cartographic data, relating to this terrain, necessary for modern warfare — in particular for artillery survey. German and Austria did, however, have a commanding lead in terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry, and the latter was to prove crucial in the production of accurate large-scale maps of enemy and occupied territory. Despite strong forces of conservatism in the high and field commands and in the artillery and military survey organizations, new air survey methods based on the photogoniometer and radial triangulation were rapidly developed. Through continual laboratory and field experimentation and testing, German was to increase her lead in aerial photogrammetry, and by the end of the war had not only set up a completely new air survey organization but was developing a new generation of optical-mechanical stereoplotting instruments of great precision. German progress was not, however, evident in all fields of military survey, and this paper examines the approaches taken by German to survey and mapping on the Western Front, and briefly compares and contrasts them with those of the Allies.     

Monitoring disasters with a constellation of satellites – type examples from the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’

In the case of a major disaster, information derived from satellite observation is not only highly useful, it may at times be indispensable because of the damage caused by the disaster to ground infrastructure. The International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’ (‘the Charter’) has been one of the primary sources of satellite data for the past 11 years to cover events like floods, fires, tsunamis, ocean storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and oil spills. With the growing membership of the Charter, an increasingly large number of sensors are now available, which can be planned with the required temporal frequency and spectral range to cover a disaster event. Some of the type Charter activation cases are reported in this article to demonstrate the innovative use of multi-satellite imagery for disaster response.     

An Urban Open Space Extraction Method： Combining Spectral and Geometric Characteristics

This paper introduces an advanced method based on remote sensing and Geographic Information System for urban open space extraction combining spectral and geometric characteristics. From both semantic and remote sensing perspectives, a hybrid hierarchy structure and class organization of open space are issues and mapped from one to another. Based on per-pixel and segmentation mechanism separately, two classification approaches are performed. Owing to prior of spatial aggregation and spectral contribution, the segmentation-based classification exhibits its superiority over a pixel-based classification. Finally a GIS-based post procedure is hired to eliminate some unsuitable open space components in both spatial and numerical constraints on the one hand, and separate open space some fabrics from fused remote sensing classes by defining their Shape Index on the other hand. The case study of Beer Sheva based on ASTER data proves this method is a feasible way for open space extraction.     

Discovering the space–time dimensions of schedule padding and delay from GTFS and real-time transit data

Schedule padding is the extra time added to transit schedules to reduce the risk of delay. Where there is more random delay, there should be more schedule padding. While schedule padding is a product of transit planners, a method for detecting when and where it exists could provide valuable feedback as transit agencies continually develop their networks. By analyzing transit schedules and real-time vehicle location data at the level of stop-to-stop segments, we can locate padding in space and time and identify the places that may be most effected by stochastic delay. Such information could be used to target delay-reduction interventions such as fare prepayment or transit-only rights of way. The Toronto Transit Commission is used as a case study, and initial results suggest that highly delayed segments appear mostly in the expected, but some surprising, places.