927 
Symposium on Remote Sensing for Resources Development and Environmental Management / Enschede / August 1986 
A comprehensive LRIS of the Kananaskis Valley using Landsat data 
G.D.Lodwick, S.H.Paine, M.P.Mepham & A.W.Colijn 
The University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada 
ABSTRACT: This paper describes the design and development of a general land-related information system (LRIS) 
covering the upper Kananaskis Valley of south western Alberta. Landsat data provide information on surface 
cover, principally vegetation, as well as on land use. In addition, a range of overlays of thematic data 
obtained from conventional sources, such as geology, topography, snow-cover, hydrology and pedology, is being 
added to the LRIS. The land information is stored on a VAX 11/750 computer system using VAX/DBMS a CODASYL 
compliant network data base system. The primary key is the position-based data defined by the geographic 
coordinates of the various data types. Information retrieval by various secondary keys is possible. As well, 
topological relationships have been incorporated into the LRIS design allowing data retrieval in both graphical 
and tabular form. 
RÉSUMÉ: Cette contribution décrit la conception et le développement d'un système général d'information 
foncière (SGIF) couvrant la partie supérieure de la vallée de Kananaskis dans le sud-ouest de l'Alberta. Les 
données de Landsat fournissent l'information pour la couverture de surface, principalement la végétation, mais 
aussi l'utilisation de la terre. De plus, une série de recouvrements de données thématiques obtenues de sources 
conventionnelles telles que la géologie, la topographie, la couverture de neige, l'hydrologie et la pédologie 
est actuellement ajoutée au SGIF. L'information foncière a été emnagasinee sur un système d'ordinateur 
VAX 11/750 utilisant VAX/DBMS, un système de banques de données en réseau compatible avec CODASYL. L'adresse 
primaire est en termes des données de positions définies par les coordonnées géographiques pour les différents 
types de données. Le retrait de l'information selon des adresses secondaires est aussi possible. De plus, 
les relations topologiques ont été incorporées dans le SGIF pour permettre le retrait des données sous formes 
graphique et tabulaire. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
Satellite borne electro-optical systems are being 
used extensively for thematic mapping data col 
lection. The primary system is the Landsat 
Multispectral Scanner (MSS) which is recognized 
world wide as a useful source of map data. This 
system was specifically designed for resource 
mapping, with large area coverage and four spectral 
bands for discrimination of surface cover detail 
(Paine, 1984). It has also been used for collection 
of data for land use mapping (Anderson et al, 1976) 
and terrain classification (Schreier et al, 1982). 
In terms of topographic mapping it has been used 
indirectly for flight planning of photogrammetric 
missions (Myhre, 1982). Landsat has also been used 
for direct topographic mapping of uniform surface 
cover areas, such as ice and snow (Lodwick and 
Paine, 1985). The Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) 
system is also available with roughly the same 
coverage, but with better ground resolution and 
seven wavelength bands for better spectral 
resolution (Holmes, 1984). According to Welch et al 
(1985) the 20 m positional accuracy of the TM system 
meets accuracy standards for maps of 1:50,000 or 
smaller, and is well-suited for image maps of 
1:100,000 scale. 
Electro-optical systems in the future will have 
all of the advantageous characteristics of the 
Landsat series, with even better ground resolution 
and stereo coverage. In the near future, data will 
be available from the SPOT satellite, which has the 
capability for collecting stereo images (Holmes, 
1984). A proposed system called Mapsat will have 
continuous stereo coverage from three overlapping 
detectors (Colvocoresses, 1982). Welch (1985) 
suggests that the SPOT data should permit the 
production of topographic maps of 1:50,000 to 
1:250,000 scale with contour intervals of 40 to 50 m 
or greater. Image maps of 1:25,000 to 1:50,000 
scale should prove satisfactory to most users. 
The use of database management systems (DBMSs) has 
increased sharply over the past few years. 
Important reasons for this are that such systems 
facilitate the design and implementation of data 
bases, which have a very complicated structure, the 
fact that such systems allow data to be treated 
consistently and with greater confidence of correct 
ness, and also that they make it easier for all or 
parts of a database to be shared by many applica 
tions and/or users. In return for these advantages 
there is a price, however. Since a DBMS is an 
additional "layer" of software between the operating 
system and the applications programs, and because it 
is general, instead of being tailor-made for a 
particular application, there is often a significant 
overhead, resulting in decreased execution speed. 
There is also usually a penalty in disk storage 
space, because often a large number of pointers is 
maintained automatically by a DBMS, even if not all 
of them are required for a particular application. 
Nevertheless, the advantages of using a database 
management system usually outweigh the disadvan 
tages. Recent examples of the application of DBMSs 
to LRISs are reported by Moore et al (1984) and 
Dangermond and Burns (1986). 
This research aimed to utilize both the features 
of remote sensing data acquisition techniques and 
the advantages of database technology to develop an 
LRIS containing both natural resources and survey 
data. It was hoped that this prototype LRIS would 
show the value of such multi-layered information 
sets in answering a range of questions in surveying 
and resource mapping, and to indicate the widespread 
gains possible through the synthesization of 
remotely sensed and conventionally derived data.