Topographic Mapping Evolution: From Field and Photographically Collected Data to GIS Production and Linked Open Data

Abstract

Whither the topographic map? Topographic mapping historically has been approached as a map factory operation through the period 1879–1990. During this time, data were field and photogrammetrically collected; cartographically verified and annotated creating a compilation manuscript; further edited, generalized, symbolized, and produced as a graphic output product using lithography, or more recently, through digital means. Adoption of geographic information systems (GIS) as the primary production process for topographic maps, including digital database preparation (1975–2000) and product generation operations (2001–present), has led to faster and more standardized production in a semi-automated process. However, the topographic product has remained the same static graphic. A new form of topographic map as an interactive, linked knowledge base is now being created. The appearance of the Semantic Web and Linked Open Data allows the map to become an interactive knowledge base. In this current theory and implementation of topographic mapping, the map is a graphics-based interface to a triplestore knowledge base which includes a topographic feature ontology, semantics and relations, and instance data with geometry and topology available. The topographic map graphic becomes an interactive link to the knowledge base and additional linked data through the Linked Open Data cloud.

KEYWORDS:

• Topographic mapping
• cartographic evolution
• digital cartography
• web-mapping
• semantics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. Any use of trade, firm, or product names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Notes on the contributor

E. Lynn Usery is a Senior Scientist of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Director of the Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS). He has worked as a cartographer and geographer for the USGS for more than 29 years and a professor of geography for 17 years with the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Georgia. He has served as President of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS), the Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS), and the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). He is a Fellow of CaGIS and UCGIS and received the CaGIS Distinguished Career Award in 2012. Dr Usery is currently a Vice-President of the International Cartographic Association. His primary research areas are in theoretical cartography and geographic information science, geospatial semantics and ontology, CyberGIS, map projections, spatial data models, and data integration.

ORCID

Dalia E. Varanka http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2857-9600