علاقة درجة الوضوح المكانية بمقياس رسم الخريطة : مراجعة أدبية و حلول مقترحة

Abstract EN

This study aims at reviewing the relationship between spatial resolution and map scale.

The study focuses on the relationship between DEM resolution and scale.

It begins by clarifying the scale definitions within mapping and spatial contexts, followed by reviewing and discussing the most notable propositions regarding the relationship between scale and spatial resolution.

It appeared necessary to revisit this important subject principally due to disagreement among researchers as well as mapping agencies as to how to formally determine the relationship between spatial resolution and mapping scale for both the vector and raster data models.

Based on the critical reviewing and discussion adopted in this study, few recommendations are proposed.

Map scales shall be classified into two main categories.

The first category includes small and intermediate scales (Less than 1:25,000) for which the value of (0.0005) should be used as being the minimum spatial resolution on the map.

The second category includes large Scales (1:25,000 and Higher) using the value of (0.00025).

Also, it has been noticed that no study has been concerned with the relationship between scale and DEM resolution regardless of the terrain except for the Rao's (1994) and Kimerling’s (2009, 2011).

Based on the work of Rao (1994), this study presents a formal relationship between map scale and DEM resolution.

The proposed model incorporated two new DEM resolutions corresponding to the scales of 1:10,000 and 1:25,000.

Two models are proposed for the relationship between scale and DEM resolution using a power-law function allowing for determining the appropriate map scale for a given DEM resolution (model 1), and the appropriate DEM resolution for a give map scale (model 2).

The two models ensure a balance among the requirements of map scale, DEM resolution and nature of the terrain surface, in which the level of feature detection proved consistent with better sampling intervals for representing linear features (i.e., 1/5) as well as area features (i.e., 1/25).