Category: Geospatial data
Polygon
A polygon is a closed boundary used to represent an area such as a field, region, or administrative unit.
Also known as: area polygon, boundary
Expanded definition
Polygons are used to represent areas in vector data. In EO workflows they often represent field parcels, forest stands, or regions of analysis.
Polygon quality matters. Self-intersections, holes, and invalid rings can break GIS operations or produce incorrect area calculations. Simplification can help performance but may remove important detail.
For statistics over rasters, small polygons near the resolution limit can produce unstable results because only a few pixels contribute. In those cases, aggregation or buffering strategies are often used.
Related terms
Vector
Vector data represents geometry as points, lines, and polygons, typically used for boundaries, roads, and field parcels.
AOI (Area of Interest)
An AOI is the geographic area you want to analyze or request data for, defined by a boundary such as a polygon or bounding box.
Raster
A raster is a grid of pixels where each pixel stores a value, commonly used for satellite imagery and elevation models.
Pixel
A pixel is the smallest unit in a raster; it represents the sensor’s measurement over a ground area.