Modeling the evolution of spatio-temporal database structures for GIS applications

Managing the evolution of spatial and spatio-temporal database structures is a complex task which involves implementation of temporal strategies in order to effectively model the changing database structure, the data definitions and the data instances within one framework. Although geospatial information systems (GISs) can effectively manage spatial phenomena and provide a solid mathematical foundation for spatial analysis and querying, they are limited in the temporal support that they offer. This limitation is typically a limitation of the database management system (DBMS) employed.; This research proposes a framework for modeling the evolution of spatio-temporal database structures through the application of a temporally-oriented conceptual meta-model. This meta-model is based on a conceptual modeling formalism Modul-R 2.01. The meta-model is translated to a relational representation and theoretical analysis is conducted in terms of this implementation. The meta-model facilitates database design/redesign, documentation and control throughout the life cycle of a GIS.