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Abstract:
Discrete global grid system (DGGS) is a hierarchical structure in which the earth surface is subdivided into a series of discrete grids representing spatial regions or points. Map projection-based and polyhedral-based partitions are two broadly employed approaches to generate such a system. Partitioning on a two-dimensional projected plane according to geographic coordinates is a simple and straightforward way for constructing DGGS. This method is flexible for choosing a desirable grid size, but its applications are limited due to escalating distortions of area and shape along with latitude increase, particularly in the Polar region. In this paper, we attempt to develop a new model, called lattice-based model, using direct partitions according to a user-specified grid size on the earth ellipsoid. In this model, it is assumed that the DGGS is composed of points which are distributed over the earth ellipsoid regularly, edges which are the connecting lines between the adjacent points, and cells which are constructed from the adjacent four edges. The key to lattice-based model is the lay-out of the points over the earth surface, in which all the points are placed on latitude lines one by one by the DGGS resolution size. Then four adjacent points are connected to form four edges. The adjacent four edges are grouped into a cell. The theoretical analysis indicated that this model has many advantages over the traditional model in the aspects of distortions of length, area and angle.
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