The Spatial Data Transfer Standard: A Catalyst for Change

The Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SOTS), as a standard, is somewhat of a paradox. Standards help to establish order and promote stability. As such, SDTS serves both as a standard and a catalyst for change. Beyond being the first major geographic information systems(GIS) standard, SOTS has invoked—and continues to invoke—significant changes throughout federal organizations and other' organizations that interact with them. The changes inspired by SDTS focus attention on the importance of GIS standards. This importance, in turn, is the underlying force in creating a GIS standards infrastructure. The infrastructure provides a mechanism/process for developing, approving, and coordinating GIS standards in the federal, national, and international communities.     

Developing a Raster Profile for the Spatial Data Transfer Standard

The Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) was designed to transfer both vector and raster data sets. In the early development of the SDTS, the designers recognized that there was a need to transfer raster data in addition to the more challenging vector data. As a result, the SDTS includes a “raster module” that accommodates a variety of raster data structures and formats. A raster profile is being developed that will exercise a selected subset of SDTS capabilities in order to provide a simple-to-use transfer of complete raster data sets.     

An Overview of FIPS 173, The Spatial Data Transfer Standard

The Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS), after nine years of development, was approved on July 29, 1992, as FIPS Publication 173. The SDTS consists of three distinct parts. Part 1 is concerned with logical specifications required for spatial data transfer and has three major components: a conceptual model of spatial data, data quality report specifications, and detailed logical transfer format specifications for SDTS data sets. Part 2 provides a model for the definition of real-world spatial features, attributes, and attribute values and includes a standard but working and expandable list with definitions. Part 3 specifies the byte-level format implementation of the logical specifications in SDTS Part 1 using ISO/ANSI 8211 (FIPS 123), a general data exchange standard.     

The Spatial Data Transfer Standard (FIPS 173): A Management Perspective

The Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) was approved by the Department of Commerce as Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 173 on July 29, 1992. As a FIPS, the SDTS will serve as the national spatial data transfer mechanism for all federal agencies and will be available for use by state and local governments, the private sector, and research organizations. FIPS 173 will transfer digital spatial data sets between different computer systems, making data sharing practicable. This standard is of significant interest to users and producers of digital spatial data because of the potential for increased access to and sharing of spatial data, the reduction of information loss in data exchange, the elimination of the duplication of data acquisition, and the increase in the quality and integrity of spatial data. The success of FIPS 173 will depend on its acceptance by users of spatial data and by vendors of spatial information systems. Comprehensive workshops are being conducted, and the tools and procedures necessary to support FIPS 173 implementations are being developed. The U.S. Geological Survey, as the FIPS 173 maintenance authority, is committed to involving the spatial data community in various activities to promote acceptance of FIPS 173 and to providing case examples of prototype FIPS 173 implementations. Only by participating in these activities will the members of the spatial data community understand the role and impact of this standard.     

Implementation of the Spatial Data Transfer Standard in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Present efforts to implement the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) within the Commonwealth of Virginia are centered in Virginia's Council on Information Management (CIM). Since 1992, mapping, surveying and land information systems activities have been identified as a responsibility of the Council "The promotion of access to federal and other digital data banks through standards" is an area of CIM interest specified in the Code of Virginia. Prior to adoption of the SDTS by Virginia in November 1994, a Technical Advisory on the SDTS was issued and a SDTS Training and Education Plan was adopted. The Council on Information Management has worked with the USGS SDTS Task Force in developing this plan.     

Design of a Spatial Data Transfer Processor

A processor to support the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (NIST 1992) is being designed. The Spatial Data Transfer Processor will support both encoding and decoding operations. The system will have five components: transfer manager, content encoder, format encoder, content decoder, and format decoder. No component will have expertise in more than one area. The system design should be used as a guide when developing software for the SDTS. NOTE: Readers should be familiar with mapping concepts described in the article “An Implementation Strategy for SDTS Encoding,” located elsewhere in this issue.     

Exploratory Analysis of Spatial Data Using Interactive Maps and Data Mining

We present new methods for analyzing geo-referenced statistical data. These methods combine visualization and direct manipulation techniques of exploratory data analysis and algorithms for data mining. The methods have been implemented by integrating two hitherto separate software tools: Descartes for interactive thematic mapping, and the data mining toolbox Kepler. In using these tools, data analysis may proceed as a steady interaction between visual inspiration and insights gained from mathematical–statistical calculations. After introducing the various components of the methods and tools, the paper guides the reader through in-depth examples of using the tools in the context of analysis of urban demographic data. In particular, it is shown how geography-based classifications of urban districts can be related to available thematic characteristics by applying the data mining algorithms classification tree derivation, attribute weighting, and subgroup discovery.     

Cartography/Geographic Information Systems at Southwest Texas State University

Australia and New Zealand are adopting the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) as their transfer standard for geographic data. The standard requires a number of modifications to suit Australia/New Zealand requirements. These modifications primarily involve coordinate reference systems for each country, references to those standards applicable to each country and new spatial feature dictionaries. For other countries adopting SDTS, future revisions to the standard should emphasize a framework for required modifications. Australia/New Zealand have established a support body to ensure the smooth introduction of the standard within these countries. This commercial venture has been successful in promoting the standard, in providing training and in related consulting work. The US Geological Survey has been the maintenance authority for the standard. It is essential that this function continues to be provided through this body to guarantee a single interpretation of the standard.     

Opportunities for Use of the Spatial Data Transfer Standard at the State and Local Level

Dramatic changes in the way that spatial data have been collected and processed over that last 20 years is leading to a rethinking and restructuring on the most efficient ways to handle geographical information. These changes are taking place at the federal, state, and local governmental levels with great potential for the private sector as well. The formal adoption of the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) as the federal database transfer standard for spatial databases signals a new era in this long chain of developments. It offers more flexible and efficient database transfers than earlier tools, and will become the workhorse for implementing the new National Spatial Data Infrastructure. It offers organizations a standard that will make possible and practical a much wider sharing of databases than is currently being done today. Use of the SDTS presents an opportunity to many organizations to share data more easily and reduce the duplication of expensive spatial database resources.     

Exploring the Hidden Potential of Common Spatial Data Models to Visualize Uncertainty

Common Spatial Data Models (SDMs) such the vector, raster, and quadtree have well understood and widely practiced conventions of storage and visualization. This paper explores what happens when the conventions of visualization are not strictly adhered to, and the SDMs are used in an atypical fashion. A framework based on a quasi similarity measure is presented, which quantifies (in terms of "distance") the relationship between the storage format and the visualization output, following an accepted protocol. This research used a transformation process (Tp) to define this distance. Then, the atypical use of the quadtree SDM to represent choropleth spatial boundary uncertainty and attribute uncertainty was quantified using the same framework. This research shows that if a SDM is used outside of its original context, then the distance between the storage format and its visual output can alter; in our case, the distance decreased. This result was interpreted as evidence for the creation of a new spatial data structure. The formalization of the relationship between an SDM and its visual output will be valuable for future exploration of the non-conventional visualization of common SDMs.     

Conversion of a U.S. Geological Survey DLG-3 Data Set to the SDTS Topological Vector Profile

The Digital Line Graph level 3 (DLG-3) is the term for U.S. Geological Survey digital spatial data stored in vector form. Prior to the approval of the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) as a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS), a system was developed to convert a DLG-3 data set to a sample SDTS transfer. The specifications of the SDTS Topological Vector Profile were used for the transfer (U.S. Geological Survey 1992). The process required expertise in cartography, geography, and computer science. Analysis revealed requirements for processes to transform spatial addresses, to translate and map DLG-3 spatial objects and attribute pairs to the SDTS, to compile data not available in computer-readable form, and to convert files to FIPS 123 (ISO 8211) standard. Mapping data to the SDTS proved to be complex and highlighted the need for appropriate training with regard to the SDTS and FIPS 123. Several issues were raised, such as the source of data quality information, platforms supported by the FIPS 123 Function Library software, and attribute translation criteria.     

An Implementation Strategy for SDTS Encoding

Any implementation plan for the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (NIST 1992) must include the following minimum set of tasks: conceptual, logical, and format level mappings; verification of the mappings; and systems development. These tasks are used as a guide in formulating specific project plans. For a data producer to implement an encoding capability, the tasks are learning the SDTS, conceptual mapping, module mapping, building sample modules, format mapping, encoding a sample data set, and developing the system. NOTE: This article assumes familiarity with the SDTS constructs of modules, fields, and subfields and the relationship of the SDTS to ISO 8211 (American National Standards Institute 1986).     

Visual Evaluation of GIS Algorithms Using a Reference Grid

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) algorithms are used to simplify, edge match, and overlay large data sets. Some of these GIS processes can cause considerable positional changes to spatial data which are sometimes difficult to assess. This study presents a visualization technique for the evaluation of GIS algorithms and their positional effects on spatial data. The technique is applicable to vector representations and can be used with any GIS operation that changes vector geometry. The technique employs a uniform reference grid to exploit the visual skills of human operators in the evaluation of positional changes in spatial databases after applying GIS transformations. Changes in grid cell length, area, and shape, along with a set of displacement vectors, can be analyzed to evaluate positional changes in spatial data and to compare the behaviors of different algorithms. The technique can assist GIS users in the documentation of positional changes and in the comparison and selection of algorithms for various mapping tasks. Such a technique may assist software developers in creating and selecting appropriate GIS algorithms.     

Preparation of the National Resources Inventory Data Base for Ground-Truthing Satellite-Collected Land-Use and Land-Cover Data

A low-cost procedure utilizing an acoustical digitizer and a minicomputer to prepare National Resources Inventory (NRI) data for secondary use as material for ground-truthing satellite-collected data is described. A labor-intensive aspect of processing satellite-collected data is the making of ground surveys to determine what land cover is portrayed by a given picture “color” from space. The procedure described covers entering the locational aspects of NRI sample points for later comparisons of satellite data and collected NRI data.     

Towards a National Atlas of the Netherlands as part of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure

Abstract

This paper is about different worlds, and how we try to unite them. One of these worlds is the world of National Atlases: collections of complex, high-quality maps presenting a nation to the geographically interested. The second is the world of National Spatial Infrastructures: highly organized, standardized and institutionalized large collections of spatial data and services. In the paper, we describe the two worlds and their fundamental differences and we present the theoretical framework in which these worlds could be united. We introduce a test bed we are using to try out the theoretical framework in a real-life use case. In the architecture of that test bed, we introduce a National Atlas Services layer and describe how we have created an Atlas Map Viewer component, using the Open Web Platform. We conclude by commenting on the results thus far and taking a look into future developments.     

Conformance Testing for the Spatial Data Transfer Standard

The Spatial Oata Transfer Standard (SOTS) was approved as Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 173, effective February 1993. Federal agencies and geographic information system vendors currently are developing SOTS encoding and decoding capabilities. A program is being developed to test encoders and decoders for conformance to the requirements of SOTS profiles. A series of test points will specify SOTS requirements that can be tested by software or by nonautomated methods. By certifying SOTS products, the conformance testing program will benefit both vendors and users of the SOTS.     

An Evaluation of Fractal Methods for Characterizing Image Complexity

Previously, we developed an integrated software package called ICAMS (Image Characterization and Modeling System) to provide specialized spatial analytical functions for interpreting remote sensing data. This paper evaluates three fractal dimension measurement methods that have been implemented in ICAMS: isarithm, variogram, and a modified version of triangular prism. To provide insights into how the fractal methods compare with conventional spatial techniques in measuring landscape complexity, the performance of two spatial autocorrelation methods, Moran's I and Geary's C, is also evaluated. Results from analyzing 25 simulated surfaces having known fractal dimensions show that both the isarithm and triangular prism methods can accurately measure a range of fractal surfaces. The triangular prism method is most accurate at estimating the fractal dimension of surfaces having higher spatial complexity, but it is sensitive to contrast stretching. The variogram method is a comparatively poor estimator for all surfaces, particularly those with high fractal dimensions. As with the fractal techniques, spatial autocorrelation techniques have been found to be useful for measuring complex images, but not images with low dimensionality. Fractal measurement methods, as well as spatial autocorrelation techniques, can be applied directly to unclassified images and could serve as a tool for change detection and data mining.     

Enhancing Operations with Spatial Access Methods in a Database Management System for GIS

Much attention has been devoted in the past to support classes of applications which are not well served by conventional database systems. Focusing on the application domain of geographic information systems (GIS), several architectural approaches have been proposed to implement commercial or prototype systems and satisfy the urgent needs for geographic data handling. However, those systems suffer from several limitations because they either perform much processing on an application layer, which is at the top of the database management system (DBMS), or the underlying data models are not rich enough to represent the spatial dimension of geographic entities. This study examines the spatial operations that should be provided by a DBMS for the application domain of GIS and focuses on the various techniques which may be used to support the efficient execution of both simple operations and composite procedures that involve the spatial dimension of geographic entities.     

Joint Leadership for Spatial Data Standards

The Defense Mapping Agency, the National Ocean Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey each has earned a reputation among respective user communities as a leader in producing quality data and map products that meet the highest standards. With the increased use of GIS, user communities are rapidly expanding and have now begun to overlap. With adoption of SDTS as a Federal Information Processing Standard, all federal agencies are required to use the SDTS domestically. There is additionally an emerging need to unify efforts in the development of international standards. Existing standards need to be harmonized and future standards activities need to be linked more closely. This paper reviews the roles of each agency in developing spatial data and standards for exchange and outlines leadership activities in standards development that are currently underway.