Layering-based breakpoint handling in contour line extraction

This paper deals with the automatic connection of contour lines extracted from a scanned brown geographical map. For the variety of topographical elements contained on a map, the factors causing the interruption of contour line are also multiform, which make the connection task very difficult. On the basis of separating those elements always making the contours break and regarding them as referent layers, a layering-based method is presented. The purpose is to take into account property information (like inclination and configuration) of contour lines when they come across other different symbols, such as gully, cliff, dry land and elevation annotation etc. In this paper, the authors propose that it should be far more effective and direct to adopt different algorithmic operators to different factors than using single one operator to all.