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raster

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  1. [data models] In imagery and elevation, a spatial data model organized into a matrix of equally sized cells, or pixels, and arranged in rows and columns, composed of single or multiple bands. Each cell contains a numeric value representing information such as temperature at a particular height or depth, elevation, or image brightness value. The scale can be nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio. Unlike a vector structure, which stores coordinates explicitly, raster coordinates are contained in the ordering of the matrix. Groups of cells that share the same coordinate value represent the same geographic feature. Media\raster.gif
  2. [ESRI software] In ArcGIS, an in-memory representation of a raster dataset. A raster can exist as a subset of a raster dataset; it can have a different cell size than the raster dataset or use a different transformation than the raster.

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