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art. 
Mapping and Geographic Information Systems 
Foreword 
This volume of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) 
Archives devoted to Commission IV, *Mapping and Geographic Information Systems" com- 
pletes the transition of Commission IV from a focus on mapping to a focus on mapping, database 
and geographic information system (GIS) applications. To this end, Commission IV sponsors the 
seven working groups listed below. 
WG IV/1 GIS Data and Applications 
WG IV/2 International Mapping from Space 
WG IV/3 Map and Database Revision 
WG IV/4 Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and Digital Orthoimages for 
Mapping/GIS Applications 
WG IV/5 Extraterrestrial Mapping 
WG IV/6 GIS and Expert Systems for Global Environmental Databases 
ICWG III/IV Conceptual Aspects of GIS 
In May of 1994, the Commission IV Symposium was held in Athens, Georgia where approx- 
imately 200 participants attended 12 technical sessions and 3 poster sessions that represented the 
efforts of authors from more than 28 countries. In addition to the 147 papers presented in the 
Technical Program, Symposium activities included a Technical Workshop entitled, “Introduction 
to Desktop Mapping and GIS” and exhibits from leading vendors of mapping, GIS and remote 
sensing equipment and products. 
A special issue of the ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing also was organized 
that focuses on topics of interest to Commission IV. A total of five articles that define state-of- 
art utilization of digital image data for mapping applications were selected for the Aug. 1996 
issue. The subjects of these articles include international mapping from space, orthophotos as a 
GIS database reference layer, softcopy photogrammetric techniques for map revision, 3-D 
modeling of urban environments and global database development. 
Over the next four years, we can expect continued developments in GIS, softcopy photo- 
grammetry and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies, along with improvements in data 
processing capabilities and the acquisition of high-resolution satellite image data to be particularly 
critical to the successful preparation of maps and databases in digital format. It is anticipated that 
the upcoming years will be exciting times for Commission IV. 
Roy Welch Marguerite Remillard 
President, ISPRS Commission IV Secretary, ISPRS Commission IV