Spatial scale
Spatial scale is a specific application of the term scale for describing or categorizing (e.g. into orders of magnitude) the size of a space (hence spatial), or the extent of it at which a phenomenon or process occurs.
For instance, in physics an object or phenomenon can be called microscopic if too small to be visible. In climatology, a micro-climate is a climate which might occur in a mountain, valley or near a lake shore. In statistics, a megatrend is a political, social, economic, environmental or technological trend which involves the whole planet or is supposed to last a very large amount of time. The concept is also used in geography, astronomy, and meteorology.
These divisions are somewhat arbitrary; where, on this table, mega- is assigned global scope, it may only apply continentally or even regionally in other contexts. The interpretations of meso- and macro- must then be adjusted accordingly.
| Scale | Length | Area | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro | 1 m, 1 km | 1 m2, 1 km2 | local |
| Meso | 1 km - 100 km | 1 km2 - 10,000 km2 | regional |
| Macro | 100 km - 10,000 km | 10,000 km2 - 100,000,000 km2 | continental |
| Mega | 10,000 km - 1,000,000 km | 100,000,000 - 10,000,000,000 km2 | global |
| Giga | >1,000,000 km | >10,000,000,000 km2 | superglobal |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Spatial scale”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- A cosmic sense of scale.webm by ESO/L. Calçada/M. Kornmesser, CC BY 4.0
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