A versatile, low-cost mapping utility has been developed as part of a decision support system for water resources planning in developing regions of South Africa. The utility runs on IBM-compatible microcomputers.
| Title | Development of a decision support mapping utility for water resources planning |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 1991 |
| Authors | Sutherland, FR, Lambourne, JJ |
| Pagination | p. 281-288: 6 fig., 1 tab. |
| Date Published | 1991-01-01 |
| Keywords | computers, decision making, geographic information systems, mapping, planning, south africa, south africa transkei, water resources management |
| Abstract | A versatile, low-cost mapping utility has been developed as part of a decision support system for water resources planning in developing regions of South Africa. The utility runs on IBM-compatible microcomputers. It can establish separate databases for each of 5 default scales ranging from 1:10,000 to 1:1,000,000. The vector data storage format was chosen as the primary method of data storage. An unlimited number of layer files can be created to display any combination of data on the screen at any one time. A windowing facility allows the screen display to be scaled up 8 times (magnification). Indexing and overlay methods allow for rapid screening of unsuitable project proposals and can be used for sensitivity analysis. The utility has been used to input and analyze spatially variable data such as rainfall, evaporation and infiltration. An example is given of mapping utility plotter output showing bar graphs of mean annual runoff superimposed on the basic map of a river basin in Transkei. |
| Notes | 11 ref. |
| Custom 1 | 202.5, 210 |
