An event-based archive of soft maps for temporal analysis and visualisation of glacier changes

The purpose of this paper is to describe a system for creating and managing archives of thematic maps derived from remote sensing images by soft classification techniques. Unlike the traditional spatial approach, the main key feature for query formulation is time. This improves the investigation on changes that occurred in time ranges. Both the functionalities of the system and the data structure on which it is based are described. Since the system has been tested in monitoring Alpine glacier variations with the purpose of exploring the effects of climate change, the validation methodology and its results are illustrated as well.