Cartographic Approaches to Web Mapping Services

The progress of the geospatial community to develop WMS has opened the door to great knowledge sharing. The creation of a cartographic network that is open to all thematic data gatherers for use before and after data collection in a synchronized method can only improve scientific understand of spatial phenomena. WMS are a pathway for the discovery, distribution and understanding of scientific knowledge. As this scientific knowledge base becomes widespread through the Internet, the process of discovery could accelerate and create new and exciting opportunities for research in cartography and all the sciences. Although the current implementation of WMS is limited and has some serious drawbacks, this initial step creates numerous advantages for the cartographic process.