The amount of spatial data sets and archived remotely-sensed data has increased enormously over the last decade. These data can provide useful temporal information, such as changes in land ownership and the monitoring of environmental processes such as deforestation. Analogous to its positional and attribute components, the quality of spatial data may also be assessed in terms of its temporal accuracy. For a static feature this refers to the difference in the values of its coordinates at two different times.
Temporal accuracy includes not only the accuracy and precision of time measurements (for example, the date of a survey) but also the temporal consistency of different data sets. Because the positional and attribute components of spatial data may change together or independently, it is also necessary to consider their temporal validity. For example, the boundaries of a land parcel may remain fixed over a period of many years whereas the ownership attribute may change more frequently.
Student is abel to explain and apply quality assessment procedures (level 1, 2 and 3).