High Performance Computing For Geospatial Applications

This volume fills a research gap between the rapid development of High Performance Computing (HPC) approaches and their geospatial applications. With a focus on geospatial applications, the book discusses in detail how researchers apply HPC to tackle their geospatial problems. Based on this focus, the book identifies the opportunities and challenges revolving around geospatial applications of HPC. Readers are introduced to the fundamentals of HPC, and will learn how HPC methods are applied in various specific areas of geospatial study. The book begins by discussing theoretical aspects and methodological uses of HPC within a geospatial context, including parallel algorithms, geospatial data handling, spatial analysis and modeling, and cartography and geovisualization. Then, specific domain applications of HPC are addressed in the contexts of earth science, land use and land cover change, urban studies, transportation studies, and social science. The book will be of interest to scientists and engineers who are interested in applying cutting-edge HPC technologies in their respective fields, as well as students and faculty engaged in geography, environmental science, social science, and computer science.

The convergence of big data and geospatial computing has brought forth challenges and opportunities to Geographic Information Science with regard to geospatial data management, processing, analysis, modeling, and visualization. This book highlights recent advancements in integrating new computing approaches, spatial methods, and data management strategies to tackle geospatial big data challenges and meanwhile demonstrates opportunities for using big data for geospatial applications. Crucial to the advancements highlighted in this book is the integration of computational thinking and spatial thinking and the transformation of abstract ideas and models to concrete data structures and algorithms.

This book elucidates how cyberGIS (that is, new-generation geographic information science and systems (GIS) based on advanced computing and cyberinfrastructure) transforms computation- and data-intensive geospatial discovery and innovation. It comprehensively addresses opportunities and challenges, roadmaps for research and development, and major progress, trends, and impacts of cyberGIS in the era of big data. The book serves as an authoritative source of information to fill the void of introducing this exciting and growing field. By providing a set of representative applications and science drivers of cyberGIS, this book demonstrates how cyberGIS has been advanced to enable cutting-edge scientific research and innovative geospatial application development. Such cyberGIS advances are contextualized as diverse but interrelated science and technology frontiers. The book also emphasizes several important social dimensions of cyberGIS such as for empowering deliberative civic engagement and enabling collaborative problem solving through structured participation. In sum, this book will be a great resource to students, academics, and geospatial professionals for leaning cutting-edge cyberGIS, geospatial data science, high-performance computing, and related applications and sciences.

This book provides a non-technical introduction to High Performance Computing applications together with advice about how beginners can start to write parallel programs. The authors show what HPC can offer geographers and social scientists and how it can be used in GIS. They provide examples of where it has already been used and suggestions for other areas of application in geography and the social sciences. Case studies drawn from geography explain the key principles and help to understand the logic and thought processes that lie behind the parallel programming.

Geospatial data acquisition and analysis techniques have experienced tremendous growth in the last few years, providing an opportunity to solve previously unsolved environmental- and natural resource-related problems. However, a variety of challenges are encountered in processing the highly voluminous geospatial data in a scalable and efficient manner. Technological advancements in high-performance computing, computer vision, and big data analytics are enabling the processing of big geospatial data in an efficient and timely manner. Many geospatial communities have already adopted these techniques in multidisciplinary geospatial applications around the world. This book is a single source that offers a comprehensive overview of the state of the art and future developments in this domain. FEATURES Demonstrates the recent advances in geospatial analytics tools, technologies, and algorithms Provides insight and direction to the geospatial community regarding the future trends in scalable and intelligent geospatial analytics Exhibits recent geospatial applications and demonstrates innovative ways to use big geospatial data to address various domain-specific, real-world problems Recognizes the analytical and computational challenges posed and opportunities provided by the increased volume, velocity, and veracity of geospatial data This book is beneficial to graduate and postgraduate students, academicians, research scholars, working professionals, industry experts, and government research agencies working in the geospatial domain, where GIS and remote sensing are used for a variety of purposes. Readers will gain insights into the emerging trends on scalable geospatial data analytics.

The convergence of big data and geospatial computing has brought forth challenges and opportunities to Geographic Information Science with regard to geospatial data management, processing, analysis, modeling, and visualization. This book highlights recent advancements in integrating new computing approaches, spatial methods, and data management strategies to tackle geospatial big data challenges and meanwhile demonstrates opportunities for using big data for geospatial applications. Crucial to the advancements highlighted in this book is the integration of computational thinking and spatial thinking and the transformation of abstract ideas and models to concrete data structures and algorithms.

The book deals with the most recent technology of distributed computing.As Internet continues to grow and provide practical connectivity between users of computers it has become possible to consider use of computing resources which are far apart and connected by Wide Area Networks.Instead of using only local computing power it has become practical to access computing resources widely distributed. In some cases between different countries in other cases between different continents.This idea of using computer power is similar to the well known electric power utility technology. Hence the name of this distributed computing technology is the Grid Computing.Initially grid computing was used by technologically advanced scientific users.They used grid computing to experiment with large scale problems which required high performance computing facilities and collaborative work.In the next stage of development the grid computing technology has become effective and economically attractive for large and medium size commercial companies.It is expected that eventually the grid computing style of providing computing power will become universal reaching every user in industry and business. * Written by academic and industrial experts who have developed or used grid computing* Many proposed solutions have been tested in real life applications* Covers most essential and technically relevant issues in grid computing

Integrating Information with GI Technology examines the components necessary for building infrastructure to support the panoly of Geographic Information (GI) research and services. These include novel approaches to two- and three-dimensional spatial analysis and spatio-temporal modelling. The book establishes the case for the Web as the technological backbone of internet and intranet environments, whilst recognising the importance of efficient implementation and the need for high-performance computing to deliver services and share data in an effective manner. This book represents a change in the direction of the Innovation series by focusing on the most innovative current research and professionals in the expanding market for GI services should find this an invaluable resource.