Representation: Fields
Hugo Ledoux · International Encyclopedia of Geography · 2017
A field is a model of the spatial variation of an attribute over a spatial domain, and it is used to represent continuous geographical phenomena such as the elevation of a terrain, the salinity of a body of water, or the humidity of the air (phenomena that can change over time). Fields are more problematic than objects to store in a computer, first because they are intangible, and second because they are continuous (while computers are discrete machines). This entry presents an overview of the different strategies for representing fields as found in geographic information system‐related applications. These strategies take into account the fact that while geographical fields are continuous, we first have to collect samples to study them. Higher‐dimensional representations, where for instance time is integrated as an extra dimension to spatial ones, are also discussed.