GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION UNCERTAINTY: THE CONCEPT AND
REPRESENTATIONAL CHALLENGES
I. Drecki
i.drecki@auckland.ac.nz
Understanding
and representing geographical information uncertainty poses a significant
challenge in geographical information science (GIScience) research. The concept
of information uncertainty is not well defined and has different
interpretations across many disciplines of knowledge. In regards to uncertainty
associated with geographical information, the situation is equally complex.
Buttenfield (1993) identifies ambiguous terminology used in uncertainty
characterisation, as one of the impediments to effective representation of
information uncertainty. Terms such as accuracy, error, data quality or
reliability are often used interchangeably, each containing a degree of
ambiguity when applied to describing uncertainty.
The development of
representation tools to assist researchers in understanding and dealing with
geographical information uncertainty has been underway for over a decade.
However, these efforts lack comprehensiveness in their approach to representing
information uncertainty by not considering all known or desirable factors that
influence visualisation of information uncertainty for a particular purpose.
Furthermore, little is known about the parameters that help to create
successful uncertainty representations. Consequently, geographical information
analysis is often not well supported by appropriate and comprehensive
statements on information uncertainty.
This paper examines the
nature of geographical information uncertainty by discussing the concept of
uncertainty and its relevance in GIScience. Although not specifically defined, uncertainty covers a
broad idea of vagueness or doubt, and includes accuracy as a key component. The challenge of
representing geographical information uncertainty in a comprehensive way is
identified and a strategy that involves considering all known or desirable parameters that
influence representation of uncertainty for a particular purpose is proposed.