Modeling and reasoning about geospatial event dynamics using semantic web technologies

A data model that explicitly represents events is an important step towards revealing underlying mechanisms for geographic changes, and facilitating the explanatory and predictive analysis of geographic dynamics. In this paper, we propose a Resource Description Framework (RDF) model for spacetime events that integrates spatial, temporal and semantic aspects. A space-time event ontology has been designed that captures the conceptual relations between events and their participants, enhancing the capacity of a semantic reasoning engine to support reasoning about the causal relations among events as well as other semantic properties. A prototype flood event knowledgebase has been developed using Sesame and SWRLAPI. We present a case study using data from a severe flood in Iowa City, IA during 2008, applying the RDF model to analyze the event dynamics caused by river flooding and building closures.