This paper proposes a methodology for the fusion of diOE erent geographical domain ontologies with top-level ontologies, in order to provide a solid base for information exchange. The proposed methodology discusses context formation and the formalization of geographical concepts using essential properties.
IntroductionIn order to achieve information exchange between diOE erent geographical databases, it is necessary to develop suitable methods for formally de ning and representing geographical knowledge. However, the plethora and diversity of data standards and terminologies representing diOE erent geographical concepts further complicate the problem of geographical information sharing and reuse. Semantic diOE erences occur between heterogeneous geographical data standards and raise problems during the integration process.The study of ontology, both from the philosophical and the computer science perspective, may contribute to the uni cation of diOE erent conceptualizations of geographical space into an ultimate geographical ontology. However, this integration can be accomplished only if these ontologies are embedded within a more general, top-level ontology, which provides a solid framework for more specialized applications (Guarino 1998, Sowa 2000.The methodology presented in this paper, focuses on fusing diOE erent geographical ontologies with more general top-level ontologies. The methodology uses Concept Lattices as a tool for the formalization and integration of geographical concepts and relationships encoded in diOE erent ontologies, in order to reveal their association and interaction.The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 introduces the principle of complementarity, as well as the concept of context construed for the geographical domain. Section 3 analyses some of the most important components of geographical contexts, especially properties and how they can contribute to the semantic de nition of geographical concepts. Section 4 describes the proposed methodology for the formation and integration of geographical contexts. Finally, an overall evaluation of the proposed methodology is presented in §5.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.