Designing, Querying and Implementing Spatiotemporal Databases

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9302244 Snodgrass This is the first year funding of a three-year continuing award. Many emerging applications, including geographical information systems and scientific databases, such as those associated with global change studies, require simultaneous support for spatial and temporal data. This project considers three areas where previously proposed approaches for handling space or time separately need to be generalized to produce a coherent approach to spatiotemporal (ST) database. The first issue is the design of ST databases. Database administrators use a data model to describe the enterprise to be modeled. A conceptual data model used in temporal databases that employs sets of time instants is being merged with the point set model used in spatial databases. The second issue is that of query processing, specifically efficient execution of ST natural joins and ST aggregates. Extensions of currently proposed temporal query processing methods are under development. Finally, ST indeterminacy, or "don't know exactly where or when" information, must be handled. Again, the merged data model is quite helpful, as it is possible to model indeterminacy in this model as sets of possible instants and points. The result will be enhanced methods of designing ST databases and implementing ST database management systems, in which time and space support is balanced and coordinated. ***