Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
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GeoComputation
Stan Openshaw
CONTENTS
1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Origins ...................................................................................................................................... 1
1.3 So What Is Distinctive about GeoComputation? ...................................................................... 3
1.4 How Does GeoComputation Relate to Quantitative Geography? ............................................ 4
1.5 What Do Others Say about GeoComputation? ......................................................................... 5
1.6 GeoComputation Research ....................................................................................................... 9
1.7 Some Examples of Old and New GeoComputation ............................................................... 11
1.7.1 Parallel Spatial Interaction Modelling and Location Optimisation ........................... 11
1.7.2 New Parameter Estimation Methods .......................................................................... 12
1.7.3 Network and Location Optimisation .......................................................................... 13
1.7.4 Automated Modelling Systems ................................................................................... 13
1.7.5 Parallel Zone Design and Optimal Geographical Partitioning .................................. 14
1.7.6 Parallel Spatial Classification Methods ...................................................................... 15
1.7.7 Parallel Geographical Pattern and Relationship Spotters........................................... 15
1.7.8 Building Geographical Knowledge Systems .............................................................. 16
1.8 GeoComputation and Future Geographers ............................................................................. 17
References ........................................................................................................................................ 19
1.1 INTRODUCTION
GeoComputation (GC) is new, exciting and here, but what is it? Some writers seem to think it has
been around as long as there have been computers being used in geography, whilst others think that
GC is more or less a
brand-new
invention. There is seemingly an understandable confusion, so the
purpose of this chapter is to examine some of the alternative definitions, identify the more appropri-
ate ones and then outline some examples of what it may mean in practice.
1.2 ORIGINS
GC is linked by name to what is broadly termed computational science with which it is clearly
related and shares many of its aims. Computational science is a relatively new multidisciplinary
paradigm for doing science in the late twentieth century. As yet, there is no general consensus as
to a precise definition of what computational science actually is. In broad terms, computational
science involves using computers to study scientific problems and it seeks to complement the use
of theory and experimentation in scientific investigation. It seeks to gain understanding principally
through the use and analysis of mathematical models and computer simulation of processes per-
formed using, and often totally dependent upon, the availability of high-performance computers. It
is a largely or wholly computational approach to scientific investigation in which computer power is
used to supplement and perhaps in some areas supplant more traditional scientific tools. Indeed once
computer hardware became fast and big enough and numerical methodologies clever or flexible
enough, then a computational paradigm provided a substitute for physical experimentation. It allows
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