| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ABM | Agent Based Models (ABM) are dynamic models with a collection of autonomous decision-making agents moving in a virtual environment. |
| AI | Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the study and design of machines or computational methods that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. |
| ANN | Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is a computer algorithm that emulates a biological neural network to conduct regression and classification tasks. |
| area-class map | A thematic map that categorizes geographic regions into distinct classes or categories based on specific criteria such as land use, vegetation type, or geological formations. |
| atmospheric correction | The process of inferring the surface reflectance component of a signal from a measured radiance spectrum. |
| boolean logic | A type of algebra in which results are calculated as either TRUE (1) or FALSE (0). |
| BRDF | Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF): An approach to simulate reflectance from a standard solar and viewing geometry using diverse directional reflectance measurements. |
| BRF | Bidirectional Reflectance Function (BRF): The fraction of incident light that is reflected from a surface. It is a function of incidence angle, exitance angle, and wavelength. |
| CA | Cellular Automata (CA) is collection of "colored" cells on a grid that evolves through discrete time steps based on the neighborhood's conditions. |
| classification | Methods that seek to place data into known groupings or categories. |
| clustering | Methods that seek to identify groupings or place data into groups. |
| combination rule | A mathematical function that aggregates criterion values with weights into a single summary score for each alternative. |
| compensatory model | A decision model where poor performance in one criterion can be offset by better performance in another. |
| continuous data | data that represent geographic phenomena that vary over space and have no distinct boundaries (e.g., elevation, rainfall, slope) |
| contour | An isoline, all points of which are at the same elevation above or below a specified reference surface. |
| decision matrix | A table representing alternatives and their performance across criteria. |
| deliberative democracy | Democratic processes based on thorough consideration and discussion of issues from a variety of perspectives, especially going beyond the aggregation of preferences by voting or other ways of tallying opinions. |
| digital economy | complex of economic activities increasingly characterized by the transaction of digital products and services through digital networks. |
| discrete data | data that represent geographic features that exist independently and have clear, definable boundaries (e.g., administrative unit, building footprint, road, tree) |
| elevation | The distance of a point above a specified surface of constant potential; the distance is measured along the direction of gravity between the point and the surface |
| epistemology | The branch of philosophy concerned with the study of knowledge, particularly as pertaining to the status and range of scientific and sociological knowledge; explaining how we “come to know” things. |
| First Law of Geography | Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things. See Tobler (1970). |
| fuzzy operator | A mathematical function for combining or transforming membership degrees to model relationships. |
| geodetic height | The perpendicular distance from an ellipsoid of reference to a point. |
| geographic accuracy | degree to which spatial data representation matches the spatial extent and dimensions of the geographic phenomena being mapped |