Geovisualization Techniques of Spatial Environmental Data Using Different Visualization Tools

Abstract

The appearance of online map services and frameworks (e.g., KML, QGIS) has increased the possibilities to easily, quickly and—in many cases—cost-effectively publish spatial data stored in databases. The aim of this study is to present the geovisualization of spatial databases of a Hungarian settlement on the web, using the open source webGIS system and Google application programming interfaces (APIs). The interactive point and interpolated distribution maps available online provide a detailed picture of the level of contamination, the spatial distribution of the ground water supply of the investigated settlement, and the changes which have occurred following the establishment of the sewage system. In the case of PO43− we determined that in the year before the sewage system was constructed, most of the area of the settlement could be considered contaminated, with the highest level of contamination measured in the central area of the settlement. Five years after the construction of the sewage system, the ratio of the contaminated areas had significantly decreased. In the case of NO3− we found a high level of contamination before the construction of the sewage system with a concentration increase in a North–West direction. After the establishment of the sewage system, the increase in concentration was the most intense in the central parts of the settlement, while the characteristic spatial distribution could no longer be observed. The geovisualization techniques developed are able to provide information about the different spatial data for users in a visual way, and also help to understand better the spatial information using a cognitive approach. The advantage of interactive web maps created with the technologies applied over traditional static maps is a new approach, which allows the user to manipulate the temporal and spatial data directly in the most appropriate way.