This paper discussed the concepts and development of a multimedia geographic information system (GIS) for analyzing and visualizing both spatial and temporal geographic information in image/vector format as well as multimedia information in descriptive text, graphics, ground photographs and digital video clips. The multimedia GIS presents a new way to analyze and visualize geographic informatio...

Geographic information systems (GIS) are becoming more usual due to the improved performance of computer systems. The traditional three-tier architecture for information systems is being used for the software architecture of GIS, but geographic information has some special qualities that make the use of the traditional architecture inappropriate. We analyze in this paper the special characteris...

The current applications of geographic information systems (GIS) applications to non-point-source pollution modeling for agricultural area are reviewed with respect to the requirements for GIS, the hydrological/water quality modeling processes, and integration between GIS and Non-Point-Source Pollution (NPSP) models. Some necessary considerations for future studies are also discussed by summari...

Modern geographical information systems make it possible to integrate information from multiple sources in different forms for querying and analysing information. So the importance of geospatial databases is growing from day to day, and their applications extend beyond the traditional applications of geospatial databases and GIS. One of the most recent challenges is integrating geospatial data ...

We describe a uniied framework for representing and manipulating binary topological relationships between complex regions, which are arbitrary compositions of homogeneous 2-dimensional surfaces, possibly with holes. Previously, compositions of regions and regions with holes were treated separately and in a restrictive scenario, where it is required that the composing regions should be disconnec...

For more than ten years MECOSIG has been used as a method for GIS design and implementation in various national and international projects achieved in our laboratory. During a decade, the method has been progressively improved and extended without modification of its basic principles. However the emergence of distributed GIS, implying several organizations capable to play various roles, require...

A new solution to detect and define the coordinate system of gis data based on geographic names automatically is presented. GIS-Users with almost no knowledge of coordinate systems and projections have often problems to integrate gis data in their projects, because the datasets have a wrong, or no projection definition. Since the solution works in the Austrian Service for Torrent and Avalanche ...

When facing local environmental issues, maps are a very effective tool. They can help in collecting facts about an area, bring issues to the table, allow for comparison between areas, act as a tool of communication with local decision makers, and identify key issues for action. While the maps on their own do not alter the power relationships within which communities live their lives, many studi...

Der Einsatz von Geoinformationssystemen in der Forstwirtschaft durchlebt aktuell einen Wandel. Durch die Konsolidierung der forstlichen Organisationseinheiten und die Vollmechanisierung erwächst mehr und mehr der Bedarf zur Unterstützung der forstlichen Geschäftsprozesse durch Geoinformationssysteme. Diese für den unternehmensweiten Einsatz konzipierten und in andere Business Systeme integriert...

Before addressing the diverse functionalities that can be found in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) today, a definition of a geographic information system, its purpose, and its general architecture shall be given. The different forms of GIS that are found in today’s ever-expanding range of information technology tools will therefore be discussed in Sect. 6.1. The core of each GIS is constit...