REMOTE-SENSING AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION-SYSTEMS - TOWARDS INTEGRATED SPATIAL INFORMATION-PROCESSING

In recent years the demand for timely and accurate information has increased for a number of earth-related disciplines, including urban and regional planning, natural resources management, agricultural studies, topographic mapping, and geological exploration. A much-discussed approach to meeting these demands is the development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which allow for efficient data storage and retrieval, incorporate processing and display functions, and permit the integration of digital remote-sensing data. There are, however, major impediments for the efficient integration of remotely sensed data with GIS that are primarily based on the different concepts of space. This paper identifies these impediments and outlines strategies to overcome them. To date, examples of integrated remote sensing/GIS applications include topographic mapping/ automated DEM extraction, cartographic feature extraction, spatial resolution improvement, and urban and regional planning. © 1990 IEEE