THE ROLE OF CARTOGRAPHY IN THE FRAMEWORK OF GEO-SPATIAL DATA
INFRASTRUCTURES
D. Gruenreich
Bundesamt fьr Kartographie und Geodдsie, Frankfurt am Main,
Germany
dietmar.gruenreich@bkg.bund.de
Geo-spatial Data Infrastructures (GDI) on the
national and regional level are at the heart of current work in the National
Agencies responsible for Geodesy and Cartography. This presentation is about
the task of cartography in the framework of GDI as there is a sustainable
requirement for well designed maps as well as for new cartographic
products providing the powerful means to
communicate our knowledge about spatial phenomena and structures crucial for
monitoring a liveable environment, fighting natural and man-made disasters and
for spatial planning etc. On one hand side scientific cartography has to
contribute to the development of models of reality and by extracting relevant
object information from the existing topographic and thematic map series for
the establishment of GDI data bases; on the other hand side cartography needs
to further develop and employ design and production methods derived from
cognitive and communication sciences and the modern information technology in
order to communicate geospatial information and knowledge effectively. For this
purpose both latest Internet-based geo-services and analogue maps need to be
produced and used, last but not least in order prevent the so-called digital
divide of the societies. Meeting these requirements in a reliable and
sustainable way will be possible for the first time through GDI with both a
timely, consistent and accurate data base and operational methods of digital
cartography (e. g. generalization) as core components.