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.