Computer science provides a powerful tool which was virtually unknown three generations ago and new applications have emerged which were technically not feasible without the support of a computer. These developments lead to new high-level domains. One of them is Geographic Information.
Classical fields of knowledge are geodesy (surveying), cartography, and geography. Electronics and computers have revolutionized geodetic methods. Cartography has faced the dominance of the computer that results in simplified cartographic products. All three fields now make use of the internet and databases where geodesy may be interpreted as the input-component, cartography as the output component, and geography as one of many application of geographic information.
Fast and mobile internet access as well as a comprehensive standardization of data exchange have opened the door to many new applications. Typical examples are spatial data infrastructures. They enable an overlay of data that reside on different computers but are geometrically referred to the same area. They revolutionize the relations between citizens and administration and economy. Another field is location based services which link mobile devices with spatial and temporal data. The most advanced concept is called ubiquitous GIS which handles a great number of position-coded mobile objects. The automatic administration of these objects has already gained importance within logistics enterprises.
The contents of the Springer Handbook of Geographic Information reflects these thoughts. It is organized in the parts, Basics, Geographic Information, and Applications. Some parts of the basics part belong to computer science. However, the reader gets a comprehensive view of geographic information because the topics selected from computer sciences have a close relation to geographic information.
About the Author: Wolfgang Kresse is am Emeritus Professor for Geographic Information Systems and Photogrammetry at the University of Applied Sciences Neubrandenburg, Germany. He also held a professorship for remote sensing and image processing at the Politechnika Koszalińska in Poland. As a visiting professor, he was affiliated to the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing in Ottawa (2002/2003) and to the University of Maine, USA (2008/2009). He is the Editor-in-chief of the German journal PFG, Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Geoinformation Science. Formerly, he worked as a software developer and customer trainer for Carl Zeiss Company with a focus on graphics, photogrammetry, and data exchange.
In the ISO/TC 211 Geographic information / Geomatics he was the project leader of the ISO/TS 19159, part 1 and 2, as well as the ISO 19165-1. He was also involved in the development of other ISO standards, as well as in standardization activities of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) and of the European Spatial Data Research (EuroSDR). Wolfgang Kresse holds a Diploma Degree in Geodesy and a Ph.D. in Digital Cartography, both of the University of Bonn, Germany. He is the primary author of the book ISO Standards for Geographic Information.
David Danko is a Senior Consultant for GIS standards, interoperability, and geographic metadata with Esri. He ensures that Esri software and services are interoperable and comply with the appropriate national, international, and industry standards. He has provided workshops on spatial data infrastructures, GIS standards and metadata around the globe and has participated in an advisory role in the development of many regional and national spatial data infrastructures. Before joining Esri, he worked for the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency (DMA), where he was responsible for developing and managing agency policies and programs to ensure standardization and interoperability. He also served as Project Manager for an international research and development initiative that resulted in the development of the Digital Chart of the World (DCW. During his career at DMA he has worked in the areas of remote sensing, analytical triangulation, imagery data extraction and cartographic production.
For the last 25 years while at both Esri and DMA he served as a project leader in ISO Technical Committee 211 for the development of information technology standards. He led a team of national experts from 30 nations in the development of international metadata standard for geographic information (ISO 19115, ISO 19115-1, ISO 19115-2, ISO 19115-3, and ISO 19139). Mr. Danko has received several awards for his work. In 2009 he was awarded the prestigious OGC Gardels Award and in 2006 he received the INCITS Merit Award for his work in standards development on the US national committee. Mr. Danko has a B.S. (Geography/Cartography), Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Maryland.
