171
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c images.
the following;
AVHRR
- Meteosat
Aircraft MSS
- Seasat SAR
SIR-B SAR
SAR 580 Campaign
- Image formats (future)
Oceanographic (ERS-1, NROSS, Radarsat)
- ESA ERS-1 campaign data
Simulated SAR imagery (European SAR
database)
- Geophysical data
Oceanographic (SST, significant wave
height)
- Meteorological (temperature, pressure,
rainfall)
Field surveys (land use, soil type,
geology)
- Data collection platforms (DCPs)
Digital map data
- Urban, political and administative
boundaries
- Contour lines
- Soil, geological, hydrological
- Land/sea interfaces
Digital terrain models
- Height
Slope
Aspect.
5.5 GIS functions
Amongst the main tools the GIS will provide are:
Overlay of maps on images
Update of existing maps using imagery
Incorporation of sparse geophysical datasets
Use of maps in contextual classification of
images
- Terrain model analysis
5.6 Output data
The primary output will be in the form of images and
overlays on the GEMS display.
Secondary output in the form of statistics, tables
and other alphanumeric information will be available
on the Facit Twist terminal and at line-printer
output from the existing LANDSCAN facilities.
Should a colour plotting device be available,
"customised" maps will be produced from GIS output.
5.7 Operator control
The operator control of the LANDSCAN MMI has several
features which suit it to GIS control:
Menu system is easy to learn and understand
- Image or geographic coordinates can be used
Use of overlay planes allows data to be
instantly superimposed
Terrain models easily analysed by density
slicing.
Other options to be considered for the GIS
include:
Expert systems development for data
interrogation
Readback of cursor position in map coordinates
- Specification of features by cursor pointing
- More "natural language" input.
5.8 Database management
The LANDSCAN system design is based on a review of
existing GIS. A major stumbling-block to successful
GIS development in the past has been the design of
Geographic databases from a computer science
viewpoint with too little attention paid to the
actual end-user.
To counter this the database for the LANDSCAN
system is as flexible in design as possible with the
major considerations being:
The actual user requirements
The particular characteristics of the data to
be incorporated
- The output format desired by the user.
6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to express their thanks for the
contribution made by the CLOUDSCAN development team
to the paper and are specifically indebted to the UK
NRSC for their support and encouragement.
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