Biology 483: Applications of GIS

Fall 2002

Spatial Data I Page 86

APPLICATIONS OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS):

SPATIAL DATA I: VECTOR
A map is a physical model of reality that represents information using three basic feature
types: points, lines and polygons. The same feature type (e.g., line) can be used to represent
different information by using different symbols. For example, a thin blue line can represent a
stream, a dashed black line can represent a trail and a solid black line can represent a road. A
geographic information system uses a spatial database that is a digital model of reality. Objects
in the spatial database represent real-world entities (e.g., rivers) with associated attributes (e.g.,
flow, depth, etc.). Geographic information systems must be able to store and manipulate both
spatial data and attribute data.
Spatial data includes:
locational data, which tells where features are, and
topological data, which tells where features are in relation to other features.
Attribute data tells what features are (e.g., road, trail, stream).
ArcGIS 8.x supports two native spatial data formats: ArcView shapefiles and ARC/INFO
coverages. (ArcMAP can also read and import a variety of other spatial data formats, such as
CAD drawings.) A major difference between ArcView and ARC/INFO is in the data
representation: ARC/INFO uses a topological data structure, called a coverage that allows
efficient data storage and sophisticated spatial analysis. ArcView uses a simpler non-topological
data structure called a shapefile. A new addition to ArcMAP-ArcView are layer files (.lyr)
which just save the data with a predefined legend that shows only features of one column (as
such it is not a true data source, but is linked to a data source). While the details of data
representation are beyond this course, some basic information is useful.
Much data is available in the ArcView shapefile and ARC/INFO coverage format. The
ARC part of ARC/INFO deals with locational data, while the INFO part of ARC/INFO deals
with topological and attribute data. Each ARC/INFO coverage is stored as a directory that
contains a number of files that include spatial and attribute data. The spatial and attribute data
are linked by a unique identifier (number) assigned to each feature. ARC/INFO coverages can
be used by ArcView to create layers (as you have already done many times in this course) which
can be displayed and analyzed within ArcMAP. In ArcView 3.x, ARC/INFO coverages could
not be edited. ArcView shapefiles, however, could be edited within ArcView 3.x. However, in
ArcGIS 8.x, both ARC/INFO coverages and ArcView shapefiles can be edited in ArcMAP using
ArcEditor.
Spatial Data Storage:
Points or labels are stored as a single x,y coordinate pair.

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Spatial Data I Page 87

Lines or arcs are stored as a series of ordered x,y coordinate pairs. The points where arcs start
and end or where two arcs intersect are called nodes. The points along an arc that define its shape
are called vertices.
Polygons or areas are stored as a series of arcs that enclose the polygon. The starting point of the
first arc in the series must be the same as the ending point of the last arc in the series to ensure
the polygon is closed.
Topology:
Topology defines the spatial relationships between features. A topological data model is
very important in a GIS, because many types of spatial analysis rely on topology, as will be
shown later in the course. ArcView and many other mapping, graphics and CAD (computer
aided drafting or design) systems use non-topological data models.
Basic topological concepts:
1. Each arc has a beginning and ending node (this defines direction).
2. Arcs connect to other arcs at nodes (this defines connection).
3. Connected arcs that surround an area form polygons (this defines area and
perimeter).
4. Arcs have a right and left side (this defines adjacency).
2.
Arc-Node Topology: The topological relationship between nodes (points) and arcs (lines) is
specified by FNODE# and TNODE#.
FNODE# (from-node number) is the starting point of the arc.
TNODE# (to-node number) is the ending point of the arc.
FNODE# and TNODE# define the direction of an arc and allow its length to be determined.
Arcs that share a node are connected (e.g., arcs 1, 2 and 3 are connected at node 1 in the
following example).

Biology 483: Applications of GIS

Fall 2002

ARC#
1
2
3
4

FNODE#
2
1
1
3

Spatial Data I Page 88

TNODE#
1
4
3
4

Polygon-Arc Topology: The topological relationship between arcs and polygons is specified by
LPOLY# and RPOLY#.
LPOLY# (left polygon number) is the polygon to the left of the arc.
RPOLY# (right polygon number) is the polygon to the right of the arc.
The left and right polygons are based on the direction of the arc.
ARC/INFO creates a universe polygon to represent all the area outside the polygons in the
coverage. The universe polygon is always POLY# 1.
Polygons are adjacent if they share an arc (e.g., polygons 1 and 2 are adjacent, but polygons 3
and 4 are not adjacent in the following example).
An ARC# value of zero indicates an island (or hole) polygon inside another polygon.

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Fall 2002

Spatial Data I Page 89

ARC# FNODE# TNODE# LPOLY# RPOLY#

1
1
2
1
2
2
1
3
2
1
3
3
2
2
4
4
2
4
1
4
5
4
3
1
4
6
5
5
2
3

POLY# ARC#
1,4,5,2
1

2
3
4

1,3,2,0,6
6
4,5,3

Feature Attribute Tables: ARC/INFO maintains topology in a tabular data file called a feature
attribute table. Feature attribute tables are INFO data files.
Each record (row) in a feature attribute table corresponds to one feature in the associated
ARC/INFO coverage. Each record in the feature attribute table contains:

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Fall 2002

Spatial Data I Page 90

Cover# (a unique number assigned by ARC)

Cover-ID (an identification number assigned by the user - it should be unique)
Note: "Cover" in Cover# and Cover-ID is the name of the ARC/INFO data
coverage.
The unique identifier Cover# is used to link the attribute data with the locational
data.
Feature attribute tables also contain additional attribute information as follows:
1. Points have Point Attribute Tables (PAT) that contain fields for:
Area
Perimeter
Cover#
Cover-ID
(Area and Perimeter always have values of zero for points.)
2. Arcs have Arc Attribute Tables (AAT) that contain fields for:
Fnode#
Tnode#
Lpoly#
Rpoly#
Length

Cover#

Cover-ID

3. Polygons have Polygon Attribute Tables (PAT) that contain fields for:
Area
Perimeter
Cover#
Cover-ID
The first record in a polygon attribute table represents the universe polygon. The
area of the universe polygon is the negative of the sum of the areas of all the other
polygons in the PAT. The perimeter of the universe polygon is the perimeter of
the bounding polygons of the coverage.
A polygon attribute table has a separate record for each polygon. Thus, a polygon
attribute table for a coverage of the 50 United States will have more than 50
records, since many states can not be represented by a single polygon (e.g.,
Hawaii). (Depending on the degree of accuracy, every state could have many
polygons for its islands.)
There are a few other types of features and feature attribute tables available in ARC/INFO.
For example, the route feature is a collection of arcs or parts of arcs and is useful to model a
related set of arcs such as a bus route (or a river system). The region feature is a collection of
polygons and is useful to model a related area that can be represented by a single polygon (e.g.,
the USA).

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To explore spatial data:

? Open the project spatialdata.mxd in j:\arcstuff\arcdata\gisclass\projects.
This project contains six themes for the area around Redlands, California.
Well
Street
Flood Zone
Fault
City Limit
Redusgs

a point theme of water wells

an arc theme of city streets
a polygon theme of flood zones
an arc theme of faults
an arc theme of Redlands city
limits
a scanned topographic map (raster
theme)

? Open the table for the Well layer.

The first field is FID, which is a unique identifier for each row, apparently used
by ArcMAP-ArcView. The second field is Shape. This field is created by
ArcView to indicate the type of theme. The next four fields are the point fields
from the point attribute table (Area, Perimeter, Well# and Well-id). Note that
Area and Perimeter are zero for all records.
The Well layer shows data from the ARC/INFO point coverage named "well" located at
j:\arcstuff\arcdata\loiselle\Redlands\well (indicated in the Source tab of the Layer Properties
window; right click on layer name and select Properties from the drop down menu). The name
of the coverage is reflected in the field names Well# and Well-id. If the name of the Well layer is
changed in ArcMAP (e.g., to Water Wells), the field names Well# and Well-id will not change,
since they depend on the ARC/INFO coverage (still named "well"). The remaining fields in the
Attributes of Well table (Well_loc, Depth, etc.) are attribute data from the ARC/INFO well
coverage.
? Close the table for the Well theme.
? Open the table for the Fault theme.
The first field after FID (Shape) indicates the layer type and the next seven fields
are from the arc attribute table (Fnode#,...,Fault-id). This layer is showing data
from the ARC/INFO arc coverage j:\arcstuff\arcdata\loiselle\Redlands\fault.
? Close the table for the Fault layer.
? Open the table for the Flood Zone polygon layer and explore the available data.
Note that Area and Perimeter are not equal to zero, because these are polygons.
However, the units for Area and Perimeter are not indicated in the table. The units

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Fall 2002

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should be provided by the data source. (For this data, perimeter is in feet and area
is in square feet.)
? Close the table for the Flood Zone layer.
We will now add a route layer to the project. (A route layer is a collection of arcs.)
? Open ArcCatalog and navigate to j:\arcstuff\arcdata\loiselle\Redlands\.
? Click (once) on the +/- box next to freeway to expand it and see the types of layers available.
There should be four data sources: route.i10, point, tic and arc.
? Add the route.i10 layer to the project by dragging it into the ArcMAP window. (I10 indicates
U.S. Interstate Highway 10.)
It is added as freeway route.I10 in the table of contents. This route layer is a
collection of arcs created in ARC/INFO by joining together all arcs that form
Interstate 10.
? Change the line symbol to reflect that more appropriate for a highway.
? Turn on the freeway route.I10 layer and open its table.
Notice there are fields for cover# (I10#) and cover-id (I10-id), but not for Fnode#,
Tnode#, Lpoly#, Rpoly#, or Length, as there would be in an arc layer.
? Close the table for the freeway route.I10 layer.
? Turn on the Redusgs layer.
? Zoom in until it becomes recognizable.
This is a scanned topographic map that covers most of the City of Redlands. This
is a raster data file (it is made of squares of black or white). All other themes in
the project are vector data. There is no topology for a raster theme, nor is it
topologically related to other vector layers in the project.
Because the Well and Fault layers have topology, we can answer questions such as: Which wells
are within 200 feet of a fault? -or- Which faults intersect a flood zone? We can not answer
similar questions about the Redusgs layer, because there is no topology.
? Turn on only the Well, Street and Redusgs layer.
Zoom in on different parts of the view to notice how well (or poorly) the Street
theme matches the streets shown on the topographic map. Which is correct?
? Find the street for Street#=3.

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To do this, open the Street table and select the record for Street#=3 by clicking in
the far left of the row; then select Zoom Data and Zoom to Selected Features
from the View menu.
Does this look correct?
Note that several streets in the Street layer are not shown on the topographic map.
Click on Options in the Table and then select Select by
Attributes. This pops open the Select by Attributes window.
Build the following expression:
STR_NAME = "DUKE" or STR_NAME =
"PRISCILLA". Click on Complete List to see all the street
names, or simply type in the name surrounded by quotes.
Once expression is built (do streets one at a time), click
APPLY and close the Select by Attribute window.
Zoom to Selected Features from the View menu. (You might
want to click the Zoom Out button once or twice to get a
better view).
Also note that some wells are indicated on the topographic
map (e.g., Well# = 2, 9 and 10), but others are not (e.g., Well# = 18, 29 and 32).
You can Clear Selection from the Options in the Table, or by selecting Clear Selected
Features from the Selection menu.
Remember to use the Full Extent or Previous Extent tool to return to full map.
? Close the document and Exit ArcMap, and ArcCatalog. If you wish, you can save the
document under your j:\GIS folder, or simply reopen it later to explore these data some more.
BEFORE LEAVING THE ROOM BE SURE TO DISCONNECT FROM THE SAMBA
WINDOW.