The definition of scale series for atlas maps depending on the density of mapped objects

Abstract. The definition of scale series i.e. the identification of groups of scales in which maps will be created is one of the important tasks of designing the mathematical basis of the atlas. Map scale calculation based on the map format and the size of the mapping area is the most common approach to calculating the scale of the being created atlas maps. This approach allows to take into account the margins and layout of maps on the page. But usually these parameters aren’t known even at the design stage of a new atlas. So it is also necessary to take into account the completeness and detail of the content of the atlas maps at the stages of designing the atlas and determining the scale series for small-scale maps. The authors propose to carry out the calculation of scale series for atlas maps depending on the density of the mapped objects and the graphical load associated with it. In this case, both the density of general geographical objects (for example, settlements) and the density of objects of a thematic content (for example, volcanoes and earthquake epicentres, industrial centres, etc.) can be taken into account. These factors are important when designing general geographic atlases and when creating atlases containing a large number of thematic maps respectively. The method to determine the scale series for atlas maps depending on the density of the mapped objects is developed by authors and presented in Figure 1.