Spatial Clustering Using Hierarchical SOM

Abstract

The amount of available geospatial data increases every day, placing additional pressure on existing analysis tools. Most of these tools were developed for a data poor environment and thus rarely address concerns of efficiency, high-dimensionality and automatic exploration [1]. Recent technological innovations have dramatically increased the availability of data on location and spatial characterization, fostering the proliferation of huge geospatial databas‐ es. To make the most of this wealth of data we need powerful knowledge discovery tools, but we also need to consider the particular nature of geospatial data. This context has raised new research challenges and difficulties on the analysis of multidimensional geo-referenced data. The availability of methods able to perform “intelligent” data reduction on vast amounts of high dimensional data is a central issue in Geographic Information Science (GISc) current research agenda. The