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Defence Engineering College

Engineering Department

Civil

Chapter 5
Spatial Features & Data Structures
Definition of a Spatial Object

Real-world entity with associated attributes

Types of Objects

Points -an object having position in space but no length (0-D)

Lines -an object having length (1-D)

Areas -an object having length and width (2-D)

Surfaces

Volumes -an object having length, width and depth (3-D)

Types of Points

Entity pointidentifies the location of point or line features such as buildings, wells,
utility poles, etc. As such, the accuracy of the location of entity points is important

Label pointused for displaying text associated with map features. The position of the
point is solely a cartographic concern

Area pointdenotes a position within an area feature, and is used to carry the attribute
information associated with the area feature. For example, a point representing the
centroid of a lake may be assigned the statistics for the entire lake

Noderepresents a point location with additional topological significance such as


intersections or end points of line features. This type of point is important in networking

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


By Tariku A.

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

Point Features
Point features. Features that either represents the location of a feature that has no
dimensions or a feature that has width and length but whose perimeter cannot be mapped at
the defined map scale. Elevation control points. Stream gagging stations, oil wells and small
buildings are examples of point features.
A zero-dimensional abstraction of an object represented by a single X, Y co-ordinate. A point
normally represents a geographic feature too small to be displayed as a line or area; for
example, the location of a building location on a small-scale map, or the locations of a
service cover on a medium scale map.
Besides the X, Y coordinate, other data must be stored to indicate what kind of point it is and other
information associated with it. Fig. Shows a typical point data stored in GIS.

North

38.996000
38.994000
38.992000
38.990000
38.988000
38.986000
38.984000
38.982000
38.980000
38.978000
38.976000
8.720000

8.740000

8.760000

East

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8.780000

8.800000

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

Line Features
Liner features. Sets of connected points that represent a feature that either has no width
of that has width but is shown by a single line at the scale of the map being used. Rivers
railroad tracks utility lines and roads are examples of linear features.
A set of ordered co-ordinates that represent the shape of geographic features too narrow to be
displayed as an area at the given scale (contours, street centrelines, or streams), or linear features
with no area (county boundary lines). A line is synonymous with an arc.

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


By Tariku A.

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

Simplest line required the storage of begin point and end point. (Two X, Y coordinates plus a
possible record). An arc, a chain or string is asset of n X, Y coordinate pairs describing a
continuous complex line.
Shorter the line segment and larger the no. of X, Y coordinate pairs, the closer the chain will
approximate a complex curve.

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


By Tariku A.

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

Area Features (Polygon Features)


Area features by closed boundaries counties land parcels and zones are examples of area
features.
A feature used to represent areas. A polygon is defined by the lines that make up its
boundary and a point inside its boundary for identification. Polygons have attributes that
describe the geographic feature they represent.
The boundary of area features separates the interior area from the exterior area.
It may be isolated or connected.

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


By Tariku A.

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

There are two type of data model


1. Vector data model
2. Raster Data Model
Vector Data Model:
Advantages

Good and real representation of geographic data

Compact data structure

Topology can be completely described

Accurate graphic output

Less storage space.

Disadvantages

Data structure is complex

Combination of several vector polygons create difficulties in handling

Simulation is difficult because each unit has a different topological form

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


By Tariku A.

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

Display and plotting are expensive.

Raster data
Raster data records spatial information in a regular grid or matrix organized as a set of rows and
columns. Each cell within this grid contains a number representing a particular geographic
feature, such as soil type, elevation, land use, slope, etc.
Raster data is commonly, but not exclusively, used to store information about geographic features
that vary continuously over a surface, such as elevation, reflectance, groundwater depths, etc.
ARC/INFO grids are raster data. Image data is a form of raster data in which each cell or pixel
stores a value recorded by an optical or electronic device. Raster data records spatial information
in a regular grid or matrix organized as a set of rows and columns. Each cell within this grid
contains a number representing a particular geographic feature, such as soil type, elevation, land
use, slope, etc.
Raster data is highly dependent on the resolution of the regular grid in which it is recorded. The
size of the cells in the grid is fixed, so as you zoom in on raster data displayed on a view, you
will eventually see the shape of the cells.

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


By Tariku A.

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

Figure Raster data representations a regular grid or matrix

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


By Tariku A.

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

Raster Data Model


Advantages:

Simple data structure

The overlay of mapped data with remote sensing data is easy

Simulation is easy because each spatial unit has same size and shape

Good for multiplayer overlay.

Disadvantages:

Data is voluminous and require large storage space

Use of large cell to reduce data volume loses significant information

rough raster maps have ugly look

Network linkages are difficult to establish

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


By Tariku A.

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

Spatial Interpolation

Spatial Interpolation is the process of using points with known values to estimate values
at other points

Through Spatial Interpolation, We can estimate the precipitation value at a location with
no recorded data by using known precipitation readings at near by weather stations.

Elements of Spatial Interpolation

Spatial Interpolation requires two basic inputs:

Control Points.
Type of Spatial Interpolation.
Control Points

Control Points are points with known values.

Also called known points, sample points, or observations, control points provide the data
necessary for the development of interpolator(e.g.. Mathematical equation) for spatial
interpolation.

The number and distribution of control points can greatly influence the accuracy of
spatial interpolation.

Type of Spatial Interpolation

Spatial Interpolation can be grouped into

Global Interpolation:-It uses every known point available to estimate an unknown


value.

Local Interpolation:-It uses a sample of known points to estimate an unknown


value.

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


By Tariku A.

10

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

Similarly Spatial Interpolation can be grouped in to Exact and Inexact interpolation,


Stochastic and Deterministic interpolation
Global Methods

Trend Surface Models: An inexact method, trend surface analysis approximates points
with known values with a polynomial equation. The equation or the interpolate or can
then be used to estimate values at other points.

Where the attribute value z is a function of x and y coordinates. The b coefficients are estimated
from the known points
Example

Figure below shows the five weather stations with known values around point 0 with an
unknown value. The table below shows the x,y-coordinates of the points, measured in
row and column of a raster with a cell size of 2000 meters, and their know values

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


By Tariku A.

11

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

The least squares method is commonly used to solve for the coefficients of b0,b1 and b2 in
the above equations:

x2

y2

69

76

20.82

4761

5776

59

64

10.91

3481

4096

75

52

10.38

5625

2704

86

73

14.6

7396

5329

88

53

10.56

377

318

67.27

7744
2900
7

2809
2071
4

point

sum

z2
433.4
724
119.0
281
107.7
444
213.1
6
111.5
136
984.9
185

xy
5244
3776
3900
6278
4664
2386
2

xz
1436.
58
643.6
9
778.5
1255.
6
929.2
8
5043.
65

yz
1582.
32
698.2
4
539.7
6
1065.
8
559.6
8
4445.
8

Using the values of five known points, we can calculate the statistics and substitute the statistics
in to the equation

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


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12

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

5
377
318
5
377
5
377
318
3004254990
5
377
2933303868

Civil

377
29007
23862
377
29007
67.27
5043.65
286071973
4445.80
2
67.27
284697522
5043.65
0

318
23862
20714
318
23862
318
23862
28607197
20714
32
318
29440601
23862
06

67.27
510034062.6
5043.65
4445.8
67.27
26707.96
5043.65

532989178.
8
377
530428398
29007
23862
377
29007

51045256
3.3
318
52532340
23862
4.1
20714
318
23862

5
377
318
40419246635
5
377
41009063951

377
29007
382718012
23862
63
377
383032046
29007
10

67.27
5043.65
39994301
4445.8
209
67.27
39386760
5043.65
620

605159171

60466302
3.9
63187710
8.2

1355260
522370830.5

13680072.3
644796603
2
620513683

601757881.
5

470125.16

b0
b1
b2

-10.094
0.020
0.347

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


By Tariku A.

13

1 = from left to right


2 = from right to left

1=
2=
1=
2=

1=
2=

1=
2=

87256944
54
87243391
94
15658125
73
15657858
65

1.18685E
+11
1.18699E
+11

18546187
98
18541486
73

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

Remote Sensing and GIS CH-5


By Tariku A.

14

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

Example

point
A
B
C
D
E
F

x
1
4
2
3
2
2

y
2
2
1
1
3
2

z
1
4
3
4
1
?

Show the Table below, the five elevation stations


with known values around point F with an
unknown value. The table below shows the x,ycoordinates of the points. Determined the
unknown elevation by using global Interpolation
method with necessary steps

3.5
3

2.5
2

Coordinate (m)

1.5
1

0.5
0
0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

X Coordinate (m)

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15

4.5

Defence Engineering College


Engineering Department

Civil

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16

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