Linear Referencing System

1
Outline

• Fundamental concepts
• Terminology in ArcGIS
• Query & analysis operations
• Creating & maintaining routes
• Summary

2
Outline

• Fundamental concepts
– Define linear referencing
– Application examples
• Terminology in ArcGIS
• Query & analysis operations
• Creating & maintaining routes
• Summary

3
What is linear referencing?

• Method of storing geographic features by using

relative positions along a measured line feature

A45
D23
F478
A307 D23

B7
B7 A307

A45
F478

A307 is 100 miles long. Where is mile 60?

A
4
Why use linear referencing?

• Intuitive way to model relative locations along

linear features
– E.g., The concrete road surface starts at mile 5,
NOT The concrete road surface starts at 30o40’25’’N, 96o22’32’’W

 mile 5


30 40’25’’N, 96o22’32’’W
o

• Enables the association of multiple sets of attributes to portions

of linear features without segmenting the underlying line each
time attribute values change

A
5
Features using a linear system of measure

• Feature’s location determined using a linear system of measure

values, instead of using x,y coordinates

Accident
occurred 50
meters along
Main St.

Main St
15 95
20 40 60 80

6
Features containing one-to-many relationships

• Two or more pieces of information associated with the same

location on a line

Transportation

Accidents
45 35 45 55
Speed
Railroad
0 20 40 60 80 100

Natural resources

w
Gradient Rapid Slo
Coho Coho/King
Salmon habitat
200 400
River 600
0 100 500
300
7
Features containing frequently segmented data

• Some types of features have attributes that change frequently

concrete asphalt
Material

fair good poor

Quality

Main St. 15 95
20 40 60 80

8
Outline

• Fundamental concepts
• Terminology in ArcGIS
– Routes
– Measures
– Events
– Dynamic segmentation
• Query & analysis operations
• Creating & maintaining routes
• Summary

9
Routes

• Linear features – in a polyline feature class

• Must have an identifier & measurement system
• Store in a geodatabase, shapefile, or coverage

Route
711081

Linear Unique
feature identifier

10
Route geometry and what can they model

• Route geometry

Single part polyline Multi-part polyline

• Routes can model

Looping Branching 180-degree turns

11
Routes in ArcMap

• Layer properties > Route tab

• Route Identifier
– Uniquely identifies each route
– Used by all other linear referencing dialogs in ArcGIS

12
Measures

• The distance along a route from an origin

– Can be miles, meters, feet, time
• Do not have to be the same units as the x,y coordinates
– Can increase, remain constant, or decrease
• Route vertices store measure values (M)
• NaN (unknown) measures may exist
– Not a Number

4.2
1.2
3.7 4.8
NaN
0.0

M at every vertex

13
Route locations

• Use a route identifier to locate the appropriate route

• 2 types
– Point (uses a single measure value)
– Discrete location on a route I10

Accident
Accidentoccurred
occurredat
atmile
mile23
23

– Line (uses from- and to- measure values)

– Describe a portion of a route

Kenai River

Salmon
Salmonfound
foundbetween
between
mile
mile10
10and
andmile
mile20
20

14
Event tables

• Route locations thematically stored in tables are called “ route

events” or simply “events”
• 2 types
– Point event table
• E.g., Accidents, Sample sites
– Line event table
• E.g., Pavement conditions, Riverbank composition

• An event can be any type of table supported by ArcGIS

15
Point event tables

• Two required fields

– Route ID identifies route on which event is located
– Measure is the event’s location on the route
• Other attributes about the event
60
53

Route location Attributes 45

34

Route 1
14

16
Line event tables

• Three required fields

– Route ID identifies route on which event is located
– From Measure and To Measure define beginning and end of line event
• Other attributes about the event
60

Route 48
Route location Attributes

25

0
0
A
17
Dynamic segmentation

• Computing the location of events on routes

– Event locations can change dynamically
• Locations are interpolated
• Use the MakeRouteEventLayer GP tool

A45 D23

OID RKEY MILE ACCTYPE

F478
0 A307 10.2 1 A307
1 A307 15.5 1
2 A307 25.6 0 B7
3 F478 2.5 3
4 F478 9.5 2
5 A45 3.2 4
6 A45 7.1 4

18
Event layers are feature layers

• Created by the dynamic segmentation process

– Underlying route is not fragmented
• Event layers behave just like other feature layers
– Display using custom symbology
– Perform GIS analysis
– Save as a layer file
– Export to feature class

19
Routes, measures, events
& dynamic segmentation

20
Outline

• Fundamental concepts
• Terminology in ArcGIS
• Query & analysis operations
– Route query
– Route symbolization options
– Route events analysis
• Creating & maintaining routes
• Summary

21
Find and Identify route locations

Find: Identify Route Locations:

Query a map using Click on map to determine
a route location route locations

Route: 13000C00158
Measure: 0.5

A
22
Hatching

• Line or point marker symbols placed at an interval along a route

– Distance
• E.g., meters, feet
– Non-distance
• E.g, sample sites
• Create & modify hatch
styles via style manager
• Import hatches from a Seismic
Seismiclines
lines
layer file (.lyr)
• Convert hatches to graphics

Hatch
23
Route event analysis tools

• Overlay events
• Dissolve/concatenate events
• Transform events
• Locate points & polygons
along routes

24
Overlay events

• Logical union or intersection of two input event tables

– Creates new event table with attributes from both tables
• Non-geometric way of performing
– Line-on-line, line-on-point, & point-on-point overlays

Accident
Accidentcount
count
35 45 55 25

Speed GIS
GISQuery:
Query:
Speedlimit
limit
35 65 45 Accident
Accidentcount
count>>5050
Speed
Speedlimit
limit ==65
65
Pavement
Pavementtype
type Pavement
Pavement==Concrete
Concrete
Asphalt Concrete Asphalt Skid
Skidvalue
value>=>=30
30
Skid
Skidvalues
values
34 30 32

Result A
25
Dissolve/concatenate events

• Concatenate: remove redundant information from a table

• Dissolve: split tables having more than one descriptive attribute

26
Transform events

• Transforms event measures from one route feature

class to another
– Route feature classes can be of different measure systems
(e.g., time & length)
• Creates a new event table
• Can update events after road realignments

27
Locate points along routes

• Create a point events table by locating the points

along a route
• Preserves point attributes
• Route-to-point distance can be created

Point
Route location attributes

Optional distance field

28
Locate polygons along routes

• Creates a line events table from the intersection of routes with

polygons
• Preserves polygon attributes

Route location Polygon attributes

29
Find & identify route locations
Route event analysis

30
Outline

• Fundamental concepts
• Terminology in ArcGIS
• Query & analysis operations
• Creating & maintaining routes
– Creating routes
– Calibrating routes
– Editing routes
• Summary

31
Creating routes

• Routes are created by

– Merging linear features based on common identifiers
• E.g., route ID
– Setting measures based on one or two fields
• Create routes
– By creating a new empty feature class & loading data
– By creating a new route feature class from existing line features
– By converting an existing route feature class
• Methods
– ArcToolbox (CreateRoutes & CalibrateRoutes GP tools)
– ArcCatalog
– ArcMap

32
Create a Route Feature Class from Scratch

• Follow standard procedures for creating a feature class

Define
Defineroute
route
identifier
identifierfield
field
Set
Setgeometry
geometrytype
type

Enable
EnableMMstorage
storage

33
Create a route feature class from existing lines

• CreateRoutes GP tool

Input
Inputfeatures
features

Route
RouteID
IDfield
field

Output
Outputfeatures
features

Measure
Measurefield(s)
field(s)or
or
Geometric
GeometricLength
Length

34
Calibrate route feature class

• Setting a route’s measurement system

Points
Pointswith
with 10
measures
measures 5 15 30 55.6

10
25
0.0 28.4

Existing
Existingvertex
vertex
Calibrate
Calibrate Extrapolation
Extrapolation

Extrapolation 10 35.2
Extrapolation 15
5 30
20 25
1.1
New
Newvertices
verticescreated
created
with
withinterpolated
interpolated Existing
Existingvertex’s
vertex’s
measures
measures measure
measureisis
interpolated
interpolated A
35
Editing routes

• Edit routes just like any polyline

– Extend, delete, split, etc Editing
Editing toolbar
toolbar

Sketch
Sketch Properties
Properties

Tasks
Tasks for
for
linear
linear referencing
referencing

Route
Route Editing
Editing toolbar
toolbar
Define
Define line
line Calibrate
Calibrate
portion
portion Route
Route

Make
Make Route
Route A
36
Create a route feature class,
then calibrate its M values

37
Summary

• Fundamental concepts
– Defined linear referencing and its applications
• Terminology in ArcGIS
– Routes, measures, events, & dynamic segmentation
• Query & analysis operations
– Simple querying, symbology, & analysis tools
• Creating & maintaining routes
– How to create, calibration, & editing

• Please complete review surveys

38
Questions?

39