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    Book 2

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    Book 2

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    Jayasri Arunachalam
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    Book-2

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    Book 2

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    ea a CHAPTER 5 RASTER-BASED GIS DATA PROCESSING 18 Data Processing 136 ME Chapter 5 Raster Based 5.1 INTRODUCTION aster and vector data are ‘as we learned in Chapter 3. t ro different approaches to representing the real world. Roster. and vector-based GIS are distinct not only in the types of data that they use, but also in the areas to which they are applied. While vector-based methods sre used mainly for digital mapping and resource in- Yentories, raster-based methods are more concerned with spatio-temporal modeling in environmental ap- plications, Advances in computer technology have Jargely eliminated the boundaries between raster and vector data for GIS applications. The ability to use both types of data in a single integrated working environ- ment appears to be the rule rather than the exception GIS software packages today. In many organizations, geographic data are mostly acquired in raster form, Raster data have become the primary source of spatial data in geographic databases and are used increasingly in a wide variety of GIS ap- plications. These include topographic and thematic mapping, terrain and hydrologic analysis, wildlife hal tat analysis, predictive and dispersion modeling, as well as scientific visualization. This chapter aims to provide an overview of raster-based techniques in geographic data processing. The focus of discussion will be the generic raster-based processes that will enable users to take advantage of gridded data in spatial problem solv- ing, We start by revisiting the major characteristics of raster data as they pertain to applications in GIS. 5.1.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF RASTER GEOGRAPHIC DATA ‘The term raster data when applied to GIS and mapping includes scanned monochrome and color printing sep- arates, scanned black-and-white and colored aerial pho- tographs, remote sensing images, digital elevation models (DEM), as well as thematic spatial data created by manual and computer-based methods. In these types of raster data, the geographic space of interest is divided into regular cells of specific dimen- sions, and the measurement or attribute of each cell is represented by a digital code. Unlike vector data, which, are explicitly recorded by means of coordinates, raster data are recorded implicitly as the attributes that are found at different points in space. The locations of raster cells are not explicitly recorded but are inferred from their positions in the image. If the ground coordinates of two or more cells are known, the locations of all the cells in the entire raster image can be computed by using their positions in the image as defined by row and column numbers (see Section 5.1.2). This raster ‘model of data presentation allows nonspatial attribute data to be spatially indexed by location and is particu- for answering spatial questions thats larly suitable f teristics of specific points in geog.. find the chara space. pee Logically, raster data are organized into layer, are also variously called bands, themes, OF overlag are 3.1), Depending on the application objec, ver geographic database often contains multine cestof data, Each of the layers depicts a specific eh, seristic of Earth’s surface, such as topography, so hydrology. vegetation cover, of and used in ea da particular layer, therefore, there is one and « one thematic attribute or value. For applications ing hese raster layers must be spatially registered wity smother, and georeferenced 10 a particular map cy, nate system. Raster layers are en best used to represent continu spatial phenomena such as elevation. temperature, pollution concentration, but discrete spatial feans, auch as roads, rivers and lakes, land parcels, as wei, land-use and land cover types may be represented, However, discrete spatial features in raster form, longer exist as distinct individually identifiable eniig ‘This means that although we are able to visually ognize, for example, a lake on a raster map by di. entiating cells that form the lake from surrounding ¢@, the database does not store or identify the lake asa: gle entity. Instead, the “lake is simply stored asa se; contiguous grid cells having the same attribute vaix In the raster database, the stored entities are the c not the individual spatial features that they represe: This characteristic makes raster data particularly vx ful for spatial queries and modeling that focus on & termining the characteristics of geographic fields, rate than the properties of individual features. Raster cells are sometimes referred to as picure ‘ments, or pixels, a term that has its origin in digital ize processing. The minimum linear dimension of the cé expressed in terms of actual ground distance in metes kilometers, is known as spatial resolution. Spatial re tion determines the precision of spatial representait by raster data, Obviously, the smaller the size of the the higher the resolution and the better the precision’ spatial representation. Monochrome scanning of pitt separates for cartographic reproduction and digital? togrammetric mapping are normally carried outata® olution of 2000 dots per inch (dpi). Color-coded" gray-scale scanning of maps usually requires a lowel® olution that is typically between 300 to 600 dpi. Res tions of remote sensing images and DEM dat commonly expressed in terms of actual ground surements, which range from a fraction of a mete” high-resolution remote sensing images to hund?e kilometers for national and global DEM data set. ‘The amount of computer memory space, expr terms of bits, that is used to store the value of 2% cell is called image depth. The minimum depth is 0%" ~~ which allows a raster cell to be stored using only two in- teger values: ones and zeros. These two values denote the presence or absence of a particular spatial feature ot _phenomenon at the locations represented by the raster cells, Binary scanning of black-and-white map separates, Benerates raster data files containing only ones and zeros. This type of raster data is displayed or printed as black- and-white images. Gray-scale scanning of maps and black-and-white aerial photographs is usually carried out using eight bits of computer memory per cell to store the Output data, The resulting raster image, commonly re- ferred to as an 8-bit image, has 256 levels of gray. An 8- bit image may be displayed or printed in color by ‘oss-referencing its cell values to a color look-up table. Such colored images are called pserido-color images in order 10 distinguish them from natural or true-color images. Forest. 5 Innroduetion LST Raster map Vector map. Real world FIGURE 5.1 The raster method of representing real- world features. In color scanning and aerial photography, each cell con- tains a value between 0 and 255 for each of the red, green, and blue primary colors, These colors can be com= bined in different proportions to form black,.white, 254 levels of gray, and over 16 million intermediate colors. ‘Therefore, scanned colored maps and colored aerial pho- tographs are 24-bit true-color images. The conceptual representation of raster data in the form of layered two-dimensional arrays closely resem- bles the architecture of data storage and display in dig- ital computers. Its relatively simple to display a raster layer on the computer screen with colors being con- trolled by the attribute values of its cells. The simple storage structure of raster data also means that it can be effectively used to represent both continuous spatial surfaces and discrete features of points, lines, and 138 Bh chapter 8 *ater-Based GIS Data Processing Polygons. This allows different types of spatial data Stored in multiple layers to be mathematically com- bined in geographic data analysis, Within individual layers, itis possible to use raster data for very sophisti- cated spatial data analysis and modeling applications because of the tight integration between locations and their associated attributes in the raster model of data Tepresentation. All these characteristics of raster data make them invaluable for GIS applications (a 2 FILE FORMATS OF RASTER DATA wey bbe Representing by two-dimensional arrays as explained here is relatiyel ively sim if ,However, when this data structure is impldema eat tore the data physi cally in the computer, it becomes a complex and some- times confusing technical issue, In the computer, raster data can be stored in several ways that are formally re- ferred to as file formats. Different file formats have dif- ferent characteristics, depending on such factors as the Sources of the data, the methods of compression, and the design specifications of different raster-based GIS software packages. Generally, raster file formats can be Classified into the following categories: (1) generic raster file formats, (2) raster data interchange formats, (3) raster data compression formats, (4) remote sensing image formats, and (5) proprietary formats of GIS soft ware products. Generic Raster File Formats A generic raster file format is a simple format that is closest to the concep- tual raster model of data representation. There are two generic raster file formats: the ASCII file format, which stores cell values by means of ASCII characters; and the binary file format, which stores cell values using 32-bit signed IEEE floating-point numbers. ASCII and binary raster files are device-independent, which means that they are usable by different applications regardless of hardware and software platforms. Generic raster fil formats are, therefore, most suitable for cross-platform exchange of raster data. However, since the cell values are stored generically as they are collected, the size of the files are huge for large raster images. Generic raster file formats are commonly used to store satellite image data (such as Landsat Multi-Spectral Scanner and The- matic Mapper data). Their function as a data exchange format has been largely overtaken by the interchange formats described below. Raster Data Interchange Lilie ‘The function of imterc is to facilitate the sharing of raster an imerchange formats t sharngol ser applications. Over the years, the Tagged image File For- mat, or TIPE, has emerged as the most popular raster file format for exchanging raster images Derween application programs, TIFF is nonproprietary and device-indepe and, asa result is supported by 4 wige and image-processing application a raster standard for desktop publishing Ata format has several variants based oy it tions that are not compatible with ane sit

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