IMAGE ANALYSIS AND DIGITAL CARTOGRAPHY WITHIN THE NERC THEMATIC INFORMATION SERVICE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIFIED SPATIAL MODEL

The paper presents research and development at the Thematic Information Service of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) on the topic of integrated geographic information systems. The term integrated is used to describe the incorporation of vector digitised map data and raster scanned remotely sensed data within a single computational environment and with a single interface to the user. Point sampled and statistical data can also be handled by the system. The general structure and working of the Thematic Information Service (TIS) is described only to the extent that it is relevant to providing the background to the research or to highlighting why the specific approach described has been taken.