Measurement Scales in Cartography
Nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales are a convenient nomenclature adapted to cartographic measurements from other fields. Each is associated with different rules for assigning values and with different permissible operations. Scaling in mapmaking raises such issues as: the lack of one-to-one correspondence between measurement scale and map symbol, combinations of measurement scales in thematic mapping, and the addition of higher order information, such as degree of importance when mapping nominally-scaled data. In the context of map reading, measurement scale is complicated by complex stimulus-response relationships, the meaning of measurement scale in map reading, and problems of accllracy and consistency in the case of responses on interval and ratio scales.
Mapping shallow water bathymetry and benthic habitat with conventional methods is time consuming and expensive. Moreover, many coastal areas are not accessible by hydrographic ships and even small boats. Remote sensing is then the only alternative. We show that collecting of airborne imagery has the same cost per unit of study area than high resolution satellite data even if the size and orientation of the study site is not favorable for airborne campaigns. The bathymetry map produced from HySpex airborne imager data is reliable.