ABSTRACT
For long, paper maps and statistics were probably the most prominent tools for researchers to study their geospatial data. To work with those paper maps, analytical and map-use techniques were developed, which can still be found behind many GIS (geographical information system) packages’ commands. Today, the same researchers have access to large and powerful sets of tools such as spreadsheets, databases and cloud computing and storage facilities, as well as graphic tools, to support their investigations of ever-increasing streams of big data. This answers a clear need since the magnitude and complexity of the available geospatial data sets (for monitoring climate change, for instance) is overwhelming. There is still a prominent but challenging role for maps to transform these data streams into information and ultimately into knowledge. This can not only be done on paper but also as part of immersive and highly interactive virtual environments used to explore and present dynamic geospatial data.
This chapter discusses the functionality of these environments which are often composed of a set of linked views with different representations of the data. These can range from ‘simple’ dashboards to highly complex visual analytics environments.
