RDC(IDRISI Raster Documentation File)

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Introduction

RDC (IDRISI Raster Documentation File) is a format that stores raster data as a three-dimensional data cube. Each data unit consists of spatial location, time, and attribute values. In RDC, the spatial location can be longitude and latitude, UTM coordinates, or other geographic spatial reference systems. The time can be one or more time series, which can represent data at multiple time points or time series data. The attribute value is the characteristic data of the raster cell, such as temperature, altitude, or other geographic information.

File Structure

3D data cube: RDC files use the form of three-dimensional data cubes to store raster data. This means that the data contains not only two-dimensional spatial location information (such as longitude and latitude), but also time dimensions and attribute value dimensions.

Spatial location: In RDC files, each raster cell has a clear spatial location. These locations are usually represented by row and column numbers or geographic coordinates.

Time dimension: RDC files support the storage of time dimensions. This means that raster data at different time points can be recorded, which facilitates time series analysis and change detection.

Attribute value: In addition to spatial location and time dimensions, RDC files also store attribute values for each raster cell. These attribute values can be various geographic features, environmental parameters, or other related information.

Pros

RDC can adapt to various data formats and data sources, and can be easily integrated into GIS or other geographic information systems.
Because RDC adopts a block-based data storage and processing method, data processing and analysis tasks can be performed faster.

Cons

Since RDC uses a fixed data block size, its spatial resolution is limited, which may affect the performance of some high-precision applications.

Application Scenario

The application scenarios of RDC include weather forecasting, natural disaster warning, environmental monitoring, agricultural production and other fields. At the same time, combined with digital twin technology, RDC can be used to build digital twin models, visualize and simulate the environment and natural resources, and provide more comprehensive decision support.