ABSTRACT
The search for a better understanding of natural and anthropic phenomena is one of the major objectives of natural and human sciences . A wide range of applications in both the sciences and planning disciplines have developed models to explain and simulate real-world evolution. The validation and efficiency of these models are highly dependent on data quality and consistency in both space and time. This has led to a need for an inte grated representation of geographical and historical data which corresponds as closely as possible to the way the real world changes . Although various conceptual models combin ing space and time have been proposed (Langran, 1 992; Cheylan, 1 993 ; Peuquet, 1 994; Frank, 1 994; Worboys , 1 994; Galton, 1 995), research on temporal GISs (TGIS) is still in an early stage of development. The development of TGlSs requires a formal foundation comparable to the work realized for spatial models. A comprehensive framework and mathcmatical models of spatio-temporal relationships are needed for the development of flexible and efficient geo-historical information systems.
