GIS AND REMOTE SENSING

UNIT:5
SPATIAL DATAANALYSIS, TERRAIN MODELLING & ANALYSIS

Spatial analysis is a fundamental component of a GIS that allows for an in-depth study
of the
topological and geometric properties of a dataset or datasets. In this chapteq we discuss the
basic
spatial analysis techniques for raster and vector datasets. Dr. MOHD. MINHAJUDDIN AeUIL

Classification of analytical GIS capabillties

l. Classification, retrieval, and measurement fun
performed on a single (vector or raster) datalayer, often using the associated attribute
data.
o Classification allows the assignment of features to a class on the basisof attribute
values or attribute ranges (definition of data patterns). On the basis of reflectance
characteristics found in a raster, pixels may be classified as representing different
crops, such as potato and maize.
o Retrieval functions allow the selective search of data. We might thusretrieve
all
agricultural fields where potato is grown.
o Generalization is a function that joins different classes of objects with common
characteristics to a higher level (generalized) class. For example, we
might
genetalize fields where potato or maize, and possibly other
crops, are grown as
'food produce fields,.
Measurement functions allow the calculation of distances, lengths, orareas.
2' Overlay functions. These belong to the most frequently used functions in a GIS
application. They allow the combination of two (or more) spatial data layers
comparing
them position by position, and treating areas ofoverlap and of non-overlap
in distinct
ways' Many GISs support over-lays through an algebraic language,
expressing an
overlay function as a formula in which the data layers are the arguments.
In this way, we can find
o The potato fields on clay soils (select the'potato'cover in the cropdatalayer
and the 'clay' cover in the soil datalayer and perform an intersection
of the two

Prepared by: Dr. Mohd. Minhajuddin Aquil

Associate Professor, CED, DCET
 areas found),

' The frelds where potato or :nrtaize is the crop (select both, areas of 'potato' and
'maize' cover in the crop data layer and take their union),

' The potato fields not on clay soils (perform a dffirence operator of areas with
'potato' cover with the areas having clay soil),
. The fields that do not have potato as crop (take the complement of the potato areas).
3. Neighbourhood functions. Whereas overlays combine features at the same location,
Neighbourhood functions evaluate the characteristics of an area surrounding a
feature's location. A Neighbourhood function 'scans' the Neighbourhood of the given
feafure(s), and performs a computation on it.
. Search functions allow the retrieval of feaflrres that fall within a given
searchwindow. This window may be a rectangle, circle, or polygon.
o Buffer zone generation (or buffering) is one of the best-known
It determines a spatial envelope (buf.fer) around. The
neighbourhood functions.
created buffer may have a fixed width, or avariable width that depends on
characteristics of the area. Dr. MOHD. MINHAJUDDIN AQUIL
o Interpolationfunctionspredictun
locations. This fypically occurs for
actually stored does not provide the
4. Connectivity functions. These functions work onthe basis of networks,includingroad
networks, water courses in coastal zones, and communication lines in mobile telephony.
These networks represent spatial linkagesbetween features. Main functions of this type
include:
o Contiguity functions evaluate a characteristic of a set of connected spatial units.
One can think of the search for a contiguous area of forestof certain size and
shape in a satellite image.

o Network analytic functions are used to compute over connected line feafures that
make up a network. The network may consist of roads, public transport routes, high

voltage lines or other forms of transportation infrastructure. Analysis of such

networks may entail shortest path computations (in terms of distance or travel

Prepared by: Dr. Mohd. Minhajuddin Aquil

Associate Professor, CED, DCET
 time) between two points ina network for routing purposes. other forms
are to
find all pointsreachable within a given distance or duration from
a start point for
allocation pu{poses, or determination of the capacity of the network
for
transportation between an indicated source location and sink location.
o Visibility functions also fit in this list as they are used to compute the points
visible
from a given location (viewshed modelling or viewshed mapping)
using a digital
terrain model.

As the name suggests, single layer analyses are those that are undertaken
on an individual feature
dataset' Buffering is the process of creating an output polygon layer
containing a zone (or zones)
of a specified width around an input point, line, or polygon feature. Buffers
are particularly suited
for determining the area of influence around features of interest.
Geoprocessing is a suite of tools
provided by many geographic information system (GIS) software packages
that allow the user to
automate many of the mundane tasks associated with manipulating
GIS data. Geoprocessing
usually involves the input of one or more feature datasets, followed
by a spatially explicit analysis,
and resulting in an output feature dataset. Dr. MOHD. MINHAJUDDIN
AeUIL
. Buffering
Buffers are common vector analysis tools used to
be used on points, lines, or polygons

Figure I Buffers around Red point, Line, and polygon Features

Several buffering options are available to refine the output.
For example, the buffer tool will
typically buffer only selected features. If no features are selected,
all features will be buffered.
Two primary types of buffers are available to the GIS users: constant
width and variable width.

Prepared by: Dr. Mohd. Minhajuddin Aquil

Associate Professor, CED, DCET
 Geoprocessing Operations
"Geoprocessing" is a loaded term in the field of GIS. The term
can (and should) be widely applied
to any attempt to manipulate GIS data. However, the term came into
common usage due to its
application to a somewhat arbitrary suite of single layer and multiple
layer analytrcal techniques
in the Geoprocessing Wizardof ESRI's ArcView software package in
the mid-1990s.
The following represents the most common geoprocessing tools

The dissolve operation combines adjacent polygon features in a single

feature dataset based on a
single predetermined attribute.
D.r. MoHD. MINHAJUDDIN AeuIL
The append operation creates an output polygo

more layers Dep

The select operation creates an output

features from the input layer

Finally, the merge operation combines features within a point, line, or polygon layer into a single
feature with identical attribute information.
(a! DiJsolv"

Figure 2 Single Layer Geoprocessing Funcfions

Among the most powerful and commonly used tools in geographic

a information system (GIS) is
the overlay of cartographic information. In a GIS, an
overlay is the process of taking two or more
different thematic maps of the same area and placing them
on top of one another to form a new
map.

Prepared by: Dr. Mohd. Minhajuddin Aquil

Associate Professor, CED, DCET
 A common example used to illustrate the overlay
process is, "Where is the best place to put a mall?,,

Imagine you are a corporate bigwig and are tasked

with determining where your company,s next
shopping mall will be placed. How would you attack
this problem? With a GIS at your command,
answering such spatial questions begins with amassing

and overlaying pertinent spatial data layers

Dr. MOHD. MINHAJUDDIN AeUIL

M. E.(Iomportation Engg. ), phD
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Figure 3 A Map Overlay Combining Information lrom point,
Line, and Polygon Vector Layers, as Well as Raster Layers

Several basic overlay processes are available in a GIS for vector

datasets: point-inlpolygon,
polygon-on-point, line-on-line, line-in-polygon, polygon-on-line,
and polygon_on_polygon. As
you may be able to divine from the names, one of the overlay
dataset must always be a line or
polygon layer, while the second may be point, line, or polygon.
The new layer produced following
the overlay operation is termed the..output,,layer.

The point-in-polygon overlay operation requires a point input

layer and a polygon overlay layer.
Upon performing this operation, a new output point layer is returned
that includes all the points
that occur within the spatial extent of the overlay

A line-on-line overlay operation requires line features for both the input
and overlay layer. The
output from this operation is a point or points located precisely
at the intersection(s) of the two
linear datasets. Depending on which operator(s) are utilized, the
overlay method employed will
result in an rntersection, union, symmetrical difference, or Identity.

Prepared by: Dr. Mohd. Minhajuddin Aquil

Associate Professor, CED, DCET
 specifically, the union overlay method employs the oR operator.
A union can be used only in the
case of two polygon input layers. It preserves all feafures,
attribute information,and spatial extents
from both input layers
Alternatively, the intersection overlay method employs the
AND operator. An intersection
requires a polygon overlay, but can accept a point, line, or polygon
input. The output layer covers
the spatial extent ofthe overlay and contains features and
attributes from both the input and overlay
The clip geoprocessing operation is used to extract those features
from an input point, line, or
polygon layer that falls within the spatial extent of the clip layer
the identity (also referred to as "minus") overlay method creates
an output layer with the spatial
extent of the input layer

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Figure 4 Vector data analysis

The symmetrical difference overlay method employs
the XoR operator, which results in the
opposite output as an intersection. This method requires
both input layers to be polygons. The
output polygon Iayer produced by the symmetrical difference
method represents those areas
common to only one of the feature datasets

The erase geoprocessing operation is essentially the opposite

of a clip. whereas the clip tool
preserves areas within an input layer, the erase
tool preserves only those areas outside the extent
ofthe analogous erase layer

Prepared by: Dr. Mohd. Minhajuddin Aquil

Associate Professor, CED, DCET
7

The split geoprocessing operation is used to divide an input layer

into two or more layers based
on a split layer

Raster Data Analysis

Raster data are particularly suited to certain types ofanalyses, such

as basic geoprocessing, surface
analysis, and terrain mapping.

Like the geoprocessing tools available for use on vector datasets, raster data
can undergo similar
spatial operations. Although the acfual computation of these operations is
significantly different
from their vector counterparts, their conceptual underpinning is similar. The geoprocessing
techniques covered here include both single layer and multiple layer
operations.

Reclassifring, orrecoding, a dataset is commonly one of the first steps

undertaken during raster
analysis. Reclassification is basically the single layer process of
assigning a new class or range
value to all pixels in the dataset based on their original values.

DT. MOHD. MINHAJUDDIN AQUIL

M.E.Orlrtpori.0ql E,teg.), phD

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Prepared by: Dr. Mohd. Minhajuddin Aquil

Associate Professor, CED, DCET 77
 As described earlier, buffering is the process of
lnput Raster
creating an output dataset that contains a zone (or
456 416 364:316,243
i zones) of a specified width around an input feature.
448 3& 315 276 218 In the case of raster datasets, these input feafures are
t
given as a grid cell or a group of grid cells containing
359 325 268 234 164
a uniform value (e.g., buffer all cells whose value :
306 296 201 : 133 M l). Buffers are particularly suited for determining
the area of influence around feafures of interest.
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21 Figure 6 Raster Buffer around a Target Cell(s)

Dn MOHD, MINHAJUDDIN AQUIL

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A raster dataset can also be clipped similar to a vector dataset.

Here, the input raster is overlain by
a vector polygon clip layer. The raster clip process results
in a single raster that is identical to the
input raster but shares the extent of the polygon clip layer.

Prepared by: Dr. Mohd. Minhajuddin Aquil

Associate Professor, CED, DCET
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Figure 7 Clipping a Raster to a Vector polygon Layer

Surface analysis is often referred to as terrain (elevation) analysis12

when information related to
slope, aspect, viewshed, hydrology, volume, and so forth are calculated
on raster surfaces such as
DEMs (digital elevation models. In addition, surface analysis techniques
can also be applied to
more esoteric mapping efforts such as probability of tomados
or concentration of infant mortalities
in a given region.
Several common raster-based neighborhood analyses provide
valuable insights into the surface
properties of terrain. slope maps ((a) Slope, (b) Aspect, and (c and d) Hill shade Maps) are
excellent for analyzing and visualizing landform characteristics and are frequently used in
conjunction with aspect maps to assess watershed units, inventory
forest resources, deternine
habitat suitability, estimate slope erosion potential, and so forth.
They are typically created by
fitting a planar surface to a 3-by-3 moving window around each
target cell. when dividing the
horizontal distance across the moving window (which is
determined via the spatial resolution of
the raster image) by the vertical distance within the window
(measure as the difference between
the largest cell value and the central cell value), the slope is relatively
easily obtained. The output
raster ofslope values can be calculated as either percent slope
or degree ofslope.
Aspect maps use slope information to produce output raster images
whereby the yalue of each cell
denotes the direction it faces. This is usually coCed as eithe_r_one
of the eight ordinal directions
Prepared by: Dr. Mohd. Minhajuddin Aquil
Associate Professor, CED, DCET
 (north, south, east, west, northwest, northeast, southwest,
southeast) or in degrees from l. (nearly
due north) to 360'(back to due north). Flat surfaces have no
aspect and are given a value of -1.
To calculate aspect, a 3-by-3 moving window is used to find the
highest and lowest elevations
around the target cell. If the highest cell value is located at the top-left
of the window (..top,,being
due north) and the lowest value is at the bottom-right, it can be
assumed that the aspect is southeast.
The combination of slope and aspect information is of great value
to researchers such as botanists
and soil scientists because sunlight availability varies widely between
north-facing and south-
facing slopes. Indeed, the various light and moisture regimes resulting
from aspect changes
encourage vegetative and edaphic differences.

A hill shade map represents the illumination of a surface from some hypothetical,
user-defined
light source (presumably, the sun). Indeed, the slope of a hill is relatively
brightly lit when facing
the sun and dark when facing away. Using the surface slope, aspec
t, angle of incoming light, and
solar altitude as inputs, the hill shade process codes each cell
in the output raster with an g-bit
value (0-255) increasing from black to white. As you can see in
figure hill shade representations
are an effective way to visualize the three-climensional nature
of land elevations on a two-
dimensional monitor or paper map.

Figure 8 (a) Slope, (b) Aspect, and (c and d) Hill shade Maps
viewshed analysis is a valuable visualization technique that
uses the elevation
value of cells in a
DEM or TIN (Triangulated Irregular Network) to determine those
areas that can be seen from one

Prepared by: Dr. Mohd. Minhajuddin Aquil

Associate Professor, CED, DCET
or more specific location(s) "(a) Viewshed and (b) Watershed Maps". The
viewing location can be
either a point or line layer and can be placed at any desired elevation. The output
of the viewshed
analysis is a binary raster that classifies cells as either I (visible) or 0 (not visible).
In the case of
two viewing locations, the output raster values would be 2 (visible from both points), I (visible
from one point), or 0 (not visible from either point).
Similarly, watershed analyses are a series of surface analysis techniques that define the topographic
divides that drain surface water for stream networks (part (b) "(a) Viewshed and (b) Watershed
Maps"). In geographic information systems (GISs), a watershed analysis is based on input
of a
"filled" DEM. A filled DEM is one that contains no internal depressions (such as would be
seen in
a pothole, sink wetland, or quarry). From these inputs, a flow direction raster is created
to model
the direction of water movement across the surface. From the flow direction information,
a flow
accumulation raster calculates the number of cells that contribute flow to each
cell.

Figure 9 (a) Viewshed and (b) Watershed Maps

Source: Data available from U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Resources
observation and Science (EROS)
Center, Sioux Falls, SD

DT. MOHD. MINHAJUDDIN AQUIL

M.E.(Trln porl'llon Erug,), phg

Dep
Dcccan gy
Dar-us-Salam, Hydembad-O l, T.S

Prepared by: Dr. Mohd. Minhajuddin Aquil

Associate Professor, CED, DCET