In “Temporal GIS and Spatio-Temporal Modeling”, Yuan describes the different issues of temporal GIS. The main problem is that geographic information systems were built off of the tenets of cartography, and still follow the logic of static maps. Many different data models are presented in this paper, and whilst all of them have benefits, none of them can be applied universally. Researchers have been building models for their specific needs, and therefore they don’t fit most datasets. The article, as well as the field of TGIS, is convoluted and there is no clear answer. Yuan shows that none of the models answer the needs of spatiotemporal analysis completely.
Time seems like such an obvious factor to consider in any kind of analysis, yet it is still hard to incorporate into classic data models for GIS and computer science. Creating a working temporal model for geographic information systems should be a top priority for everyone involved in the field.
It seems unlikely that the best method for spatiotemporal analysis is comparing different layers manually? Temporal GIS will revolutionize the study of processes, changes, trends, flows, etc.
-IMC