Requirements for Planetary Symbology in Geographic Information Systems

Abstract

A large number of developments have significantly influenced digital mapping in the last few years which also affected the field of planetary mapping. Like in Earth-based geosciences the mapping nowadays are mainly conducted in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). In order to simplify the geological/geomorphological planetary mapping process on the mapper’s side, and harmonise the variety of mapping results we currently work on embedding a set of standardized mapping symbols within GIS. Such a symbol catalogue enables the user to visualise unit entities that were delineated during analysing and interpreting planetary surface in a homogeneous and cartographically correct way. As the symbols are to be used by different mappers at various locations, our main aim is to develop a portable symbol catalogue. In this context, we here describe a number of different approaches in order to find an efficient storage of symbol sets and to create an appropriate interface between a symbology layer and the (physical) underlying database model. This entire task forms one component in an overarching project that focuses on the generation of an extensible and modular geodatabase model to meet growing scientific and technical needs in planetary mapping.