The Geoprocessing Web

As Web services technology has matured in recent years, an increasing amount of geospatial resources and processing functions are available in the form of online Web services. Consequently, effective and efficient data processing methods for geospatial information extraction and knowledge discovery over the Web are a major challenge for research and industry. The Geoprocessing Web, which consists of light-weight protocols, crowd-sourcing capability, and the capability to process real-time geospatial data sources provided by sensors, enables distributed, interoperable and collaborative processing of geospatial data for information and knowledge discovery. This paper provides a comprehensive overview about the state-of-the-art architecture and technologies, and the most recent developments in the Geoprocessing Web. & 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.