A Pattern for Features on a Hierarchical Spatial Grid

The integration of data along a common spatial component remains an obstacle in many problem spaces. One promising method for integrating data in such a way is through the use of a common, underlying spatial reference system, such as a Discrete Global Grid (e.g., the S2 Grid System), and pre-computing spatial relations between features and the constituent components at a spatial resolution appropriate for the data and use case. That is, by emphasizing the notion of the cell, we can examine what is in a cell, predict contents of its parent and child cells, and quickly get an overview of spatially co-located features and regions of interest without having to directly compute spatial interactions. This paper provides an ontology design pattern, to be used as a structural template, for modeling how features or regions map onto a hierarchical grid system and addresses how the attributes of these features may be inherited upwards or downwards through the hierarchy. We furthermore provide a motivating example and implementation.