Raster Data

G.M.W.L. Gunawardena
Department of Town and Country Planning
 Spatial Data Models

• Raster
Uses individual cells in a
matrix, or grid format to
represent real world
entities
A Few Synonyms for Raster

• GRID – the ArcInfo raster type

• Image (generic) – usually relates to satellite imagery
• Image (.img) – Raster data structure used by Erdas
Imagine, a common image-processing software package
• Array – more technical term associated with how raster
data are managed by computer programmers
• Matrix – rarely used because of it’s association with
mathematics, but it does occasionally come up
 Elements of Raster Data Model
• Cell value - Each cell in a raster carries a value, which represents the
characteristic of a spatial phenomenon at the location denoted by its row
and column. The cell value can be integer or floating-point.
• Cell size - The cell size determines the resolution of the raster data model.
• Raster bands - A raster may have a single band or multiple bands.
• Spatial reference - Raster data must have the spatial reference information
so that they can align spatially with other data sets in a GIS.
Types of Raster Data

Discrete raster: land use Continuous raster: DEM

Discrete raster: roads Continuous raster: image

Continuous Data

• Raster is the best way to store

continuously changing values such
as elevation
• Analysis faster and more flexible
than vectors for many applications
• Some analysis only possible using
rasters
Raster Analysis Functions

Distance Interpolation

Density

Least cost path

Viewshed
Buffers 1-7
Cell Size & Resolution
• The size of the cells in the raster data model
determines the resolution at which features can be
represented
• The resolution can have an effect on which features
are represented in what locations:

10 m Resolution 5 m Resolution 1 m Resolution

Impact of Resolution

90m resolution • Storage space increases

by the square of the
resolution
• Portraying large areas at
high precision is
10m resolution problematic
Raster Data Model - Points

1 point = 1 cell

+
+
+
+

What problems do we have here?

• 2 points in single pixel
• Point on the boundary between 2 or more cells
Raster Data Model - Lines
A line = a series of connected cells that portray length

Problems with this representation?

• Lines may be narrower than pixels show
• Curved lines can loose detail (e.g., if the curves are
smaller than the pixel resolution can detect)
 Raster Data Model - Areas

Area = a group of connected cells that portray a shape

What problems could we have with this representation?

• What if a lake’s edge falls in a pixel?
• Area calculations loose accuracy
Raster and Vector Data Model Comparison
Real World Features Raster Vector
•
•
•
 Raster File Formats

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-
app/2.8/help/data/imagery/supported-raster-dataset-file-
formats.htm
 Rules for Assigning Cell Values
Cell values can be assigned to cells according to some set of rules,
and selecting those rules differently can also effect the representation
of features:
 “Boundary Problem” Handled by Mixed Pixels

Effect of a raster representation using: (A) the largest share

rule

(B) the central point rule

Raster and Vector

Flat File
Vector-based line
4753456 623412
4753436 623424
4753462 623478
4753432 623482
4753405 623429
4753401 623508
4753462 623555
4753398 623634

Raster-based line Flat File

0000000000000000
0001100000100000
1010100001010000
1100100001010000
0000100010001000
0000100010000100
0001000100000010
0010000100000001
0111001000000001
0000111000000000
0000000000000000
COMPARISON OF Raster & Vector

Attribute Raster Vector

Volume of Data Depends on cell size Depends on density of
vertices

Sources of data Remote sensing, Socio-economic,

imagery environ. sampling

Applications Environmental Socio-economic,

administrative

Software Raster GIS, image Vector GIS,

processing Cartography

Resolution Fixed Variable

Raster Data Model - Storage

• There is a trade-off between spatial resolution and

data storage when we use the raster data model,
e.g.
• 60 km satellite image with 10m cell size
• 6000 X 6000 = 36,000,000 cells
• 1 byte of attribute value
• ~36 MB of disk storage!
• 60 km satellite image with 100m cell size
• 600 x 600 = 360,000 cells
• 360 KB of data…
Compression and Encoding of Raster Data

• Small cell size – more data record

• Small cell size – high storage capacity
Raster Data Storage – No Compaction
This approach represents each max. cell value
cell individually in the file: rows
columns
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 10, 10, 1
0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0000000000
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0000000000
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0000111100
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0000111100
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0011111100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0011111100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0011111100
0011111100
0000000000
Problem: too much redundancy 0000000000

103 values
Raster Data Storage –
Run Length Encoding
This approach takes advantage of patterns in the data, taking
advantage of the repetition of values in a row:
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
header 10,10,1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0, 10
0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0, 10
0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0, 4, 1, 4, 0,2
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
row 0, 4, 1, 4, 0,2
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
by 0, 2, 1, 6, 0,2
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
0, 2, 1, 6, 0,2
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
row 0, 2, 1, 6, 0,2
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0, 2, 1, 6, 0,2
0, 10
0, 10 45 values
There is a tendency towards spatial autocorrelation; for nearby
cells to have similar values - values often occur in runs across
several cells
 Raster Data Compression Models:
Block Encoding

Run-length encoding in 2-D: Uses a series of square blocks to encode

data
From An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Heywood et al. (2002)
Raster Data Compression Models:
Raster Chain Codes

Reduces data by defining the boundary of entity

From An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Heywood et al. (2002)

Raster Data Compression Models: Quadtrees
–Recursively divides an area into four quadrants until all the quadrants (at all levels)
are homogeneous
Raster Data Compression Models:
Quadtrees Example
ROOT
1 1 2 2

1 1 2 2

3 3 2 2 NW NE SE SW
? ? ?
3 3 3 3
? ? ? ?

ROOT
1 1 2 2

1 1 2 2

3 3 2 2 NW NE SE SW
1 2 3
3 3 3 3
2 2 3 3
 Raster Data Model - Advantages

• The data structure is much simpler

• It is easy to overlay and combine layers
• It is easy to apply equations to the entire surface (map
algebra)
• Example: New GRID = GRID_1 + GRID_2
• Raster data is easily integrated with satellite (and other
remotely-sensed) data
• Writing programs to manipulate raster is easier
• It is easy to do simulation modeling due to uniform size
and shape of grids (i.e. it is easy to define uniform
modeling units)
 Raster Data Model - Disadvantages

• Because a value must be stored for each and every cell

in a grid, there is a great deal of redundancy and large
storage requirements
• Location can be captured only as accurately as the
resolution allows, which is determined by the cell size
• Spatial analyses that are based on topological
relationships are not well supported by this model
• Changing resolution (i.e., cell size) can be complicated
Thank You