Virtual Geographic Information Systems

Interactive visualization is of prime importance to the effective exploration and analysis of integrated geospatial data. For systems dealing with geospatial data of any extent, the two capabilities of interactive visualization and integrated data organizations are inextricably intertwined. This chapter discusses both the capabilities in the context of virtual geographic information systems (GISs). One of the main ways in which a virtual GIS differs from a traditional GIS is that it supports highly interactive visualization of the integrated geospatial data. Visual navigation is a prime way of investigating these data, and queries are by direct manipulation of objects in the visual space. Virtual GIS systems are almost universally useful. With appropriate urban data, virtual GIS can also be used for urban planning. The chapter discusses the key work in the development of current virtual GIS capabilities, geospatial data-collecting organizations, and multiresolution techniques. The chapter reviews interactive techniques for navigating and interacting with data at the wide range of scales in global geospatial systems. The chapter then discusses the application of virtual GIS to urban visualization and to 3D, time-dependent weather visualization.

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