1.

2 CARTOGRAPHY
DATA SOURCES
▪ Data:
- Primary data - captured specifically for use in
mapping by direct measurement
-Secondary data – re-used from earlier studies or
obtained from other systems
▪ Comes with digital and analog format
▪ Analog format must be digitized before it was
processed in geographic database
▪ Process of data collection:
Capture,
Automation,
DATA Conversion,
Transfer,

Interpretation
 PRIMARY SECONDARY
SOURCES SOURCES
Remote sensing Scanned map & photograph

Aerial photograph Well established data

Global Positioning System Attributes data

(GPS)
Ground surveying Census & sampling

Light Detection and

Ranging (LiDAR)
 ▪ Two common data models:
VECTOR DATA RASTER DATA

Assumption: Earth's surface is Earth is represented as a grid of

composed of discrete objects such as equally sized cells.
trees, rivers, lakes, etc.
Objects are represented as point, line, Individual cell represents a portion
and polygon features with well- of the earth such as a square meter
defined boundaries. or a square mile.
Feature boundaries are defined Only (x,y) coordinate pair (called
by (x,y) coordinate pairs, which the origin) is used to define the
reference a location in the real world. location of every cell.
Every feature is assigned a unique Each raster cell is assigned a
numerical identifier, which is stored numeric value, which can represent
with the feature record in an attribute any kind of information about that
table. geographic location e.g. an
elevation measurement in m
VECTOR DATA RASTER DATA

POINT

LINE

AREA
 PRIMARY SOURCE DATA M O D E L

Remote sensing Raster data

Aerial photograph Raster data

Global Positioning Vector data

System
Ground surveying Vector data

LiDAR Vector data

▪ Technique used to derive information about
the physical, chemical, and biological
properties of objects without direct physical
contact

▪ Widely used over mapping larger areas

▪ Aerial photography is equally important in medium- to
large-scale projects
▪ Photographs are normally collected by analog optical
cameras and later scanned
▪ Can provide stereo imagery for the extraction of digital
elevation models (DEM)
▪ Aerial photographs are very suitable for detailed
surveying and mapping projects.
 PROS CONS
Provide stereo imagery which Resolution is often too coarse
are used to create a 3D analog
or
digital model
Consistency of data Many sensors are restricted by
cloud cover

Availability of systematic Maps less "realistic"

global coverage
▪ Ground surveying is based on the principle that the 3-D
location of any point can be determined by measuring
angles and distances from other known points.

▪ Traditionalequipment like theodolites have been

replaced by total stations that can measure both angles
and distances to an accuracy of 1 mm

▪ Ground survey is a very time-consuming and expensive

activity, but it is still the best way to obtain highly
accurate point locations.
▪ Typically used for capturing buildings, land and
property boundaries, manholes, and other
objects that need to be located accurately.

▪ Surveying also used to obtain reference marks

for use in other data capture projects. E.g.
Aerial photographs and satellite images are
frequently georeferenced using points obtained
from ground survey.
▪ GPS have revolutionized the measurement of position, making it possible
for people to know almost exactly where they are anywhere on the surface
of the earth.

▪ The GPS consists of a system of 24 satellites , each orbiting the Earth every
12 hours at a height of 20,200km and transmitting radio pulses at precisely
timed intervals.

▪ Positioning in 3 dimensions (latitude, longitude and elevation) requires

that at least four satellites are above the horizon and accuracy depends on
the number of such satellites.

▪ GPS is very useful for recording ground control points e.g. when locating
objects that move (ship’s navigation, cars, and etc)

▪ Also can direct capture of the locations of many types of fixed objects such
as utility assets, buildings, etc.
▪ LiDAR ( Light Detection and Ranging) is a recent
technology that employs a scanning laser rangefinder to
produce accurate topographic surveys of great detail.

▪ A LiDAR scanner is an active remote sensing instrument; it

transmits EMR and measures the radiation that is scattered
back to a receiver after interacting with the Earth’s
atmosphere or objects on the surface.

▪ The scanner is typically carried on a low altitude aircraft

that also has an inertial navigation system and differential
GPS to provide location.
 PROS & CONS
OF VECTOR DATA

PROS CONS

Compact data structure Complex structure

Efficient for encoding topology Overlay operations difficult

True representation of shape Might imply false sense of

accuracy
▪ It refers to the data obtained from maps, hardcopy
documents etc. Some of the methods to capture
secondary data are as follows:

a) Scanned data:
- A scanner is used to convert analog source map or
document into digital images by scanning
successive lines across a map or document and
recording the amount of light reflected from the
data source.
- E.g. building plans, C A D drawings, images and
maps are scanned
- Helps in reducing wear and tear; improves
access and provides integrated storage .
b) Digitization:

- Digitizing is the process of interpreting

and converting paper map or image data
to vector digital data.
- Two types of digitizing:
i) Heads down digitization
ii) Heads up digitization
▪ Besides ground survey and remote sensing
measurement, readily made data also can be used as
one of the data sources for cartographic purposes

▪ A large amount of information is now available in digital

formats, so there are great opportunities to secure and
use existing digital sources.
▪ The storage of spatial information can also contain attributive data
in spatial locations.

▪ The attributes can be used for symbolization and annotation of

maps, and can be acquired from different sources by different
entering methods:

❑ Importing from GIS databases (ArcGIS,

MapInfo, etc.)
❑ Importing from attributive databases (Ms Access,
Oracle, etc,)
❑ Manually entering from keyboard
❑ Deriving from existing data (e.g. From
classification,computation, etc.)
❑ Importing from field observations
▪ Not all spatial features and phenomena information can
be collected through ground survey, and remote
sensing, therefore we need to captured the data through
field sampling

▪ What aspects is critical in census and data sampling

procedures?

1. Identify the subjects

2. Identify the scope of your subject
3. Collect the data and its location
4. Tabulate it in a proper manner
 CARTOGRAPHY DATA SOURCES
• In modern cartography, the variety of data sources is increasing,
resulting in an exponential growth in the volume of data serving
cartographic applications and GIS. Several new data capture
devices have emerged, many of which generate data in digital form.
• Cartographers acquire data from diverse sources to compile a map.
• For topographic maps, these include air photographs, data from
remote sensors, field notes, coordinate lists, and existing maps.
• Thematic mapping and geographical information system (GIS) rely
on an even wider range of data sources, such as census reports,
meteorological records, and historical documents.
• Various data capture devices and systems including total stations,
satellite positioning systems, photogrammetric workstations, remote
sensors, line digitizers, and raster scanners, systems generate
positional data with various degrees of resolution and accuracy.
Many of the cartographic data capture devices complement each
other. Map making often involves several data capture devices, each
affecting the accuracy of the map in various degrees.