Physical measurements, like reflectance from Landsat or water turbidity, are typically continuous. Discrete raster data are things like counts and representation of categorical values (like classification). The only type of direct, discrete measurement I can think of is if you're only measuring occurence of something (which is basically binary classification if you count occurences it's no longer just classification). EDIT: corrected clarification of discrete data based on comment below Answer from sinsworth on reddit.com
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ArcGIS
desktop.arcgis.com › en › arcmap › latest › manage-data › raster-and-images › discrete-and-continuous-data.htm
Discrete and continuous data—ArcMap | Documentation
Discrete data, which is sometimes called thematic, categorical, or discontinuous data, most often represents objects in both the feature (vector) and raster data storage systems. A discrete object has known and definable boundaries: it is easy to define precisely where the object begins and ...
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Esri Support
support.esri.com › en-us › gis-dictionary › discrete-raster
Discrete Raster Definition | GIS Dictionary
[data architecture, geography] A raster that typically represents phenomena that have clear boundaries with attributes that are descriptions, classes, or categories. It is assumed that the phenomena represented by each value fills the entire ...
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Bookdown
bookdown.org › mcwimberly › gdswr-book › raster-geospatial-data---discrete.html
Chapter 7 Raster Geospatial Data - Discrete | Geographic Data Science with R: Visualizing and Analyzing Environmental Change
The previous chapter covered raster datasets with continuous variables, which potentially have an infinite number of values. This chapter introduces raster datasets with discrete variables, which are classified into a limited number of values. We still use numbers to work with discrete data.
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Geospatial
vector.geospatial.science › textbook › chapter-three › discrete-and-continuous-data
Section Four - Discrete and Continuous Data | Vector Based GIS
For example, a vector layer showing ... objects in both the feature (vector) and raster data Raster data is a type of digital data that stores information about a location using a grid of pixels or cells....
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Tilemill-project
tilemill-project.github.io › tilemill › docs › guides › discrete-raster-data
Discrete Raster Data | TileMill - GitHub Pages
After downloading and uncompressing the GeoTiff data, warp each image to the proper projection as we did to the Natural Earth GeoTiff. Warp all the images and move the reprojected ones to a directory called target (using Terminal): ls *.tif > abc mkdir target while read line do file=$(echo $line |awk -F. '{ print $1 }') gdalwarp -t_srs EPSG:3857 $line target/$file.tif done < abc · Since TileMill natively supports GDAL’s Virtual Raster (VRT) format, we can take advantage of a VRT rather than creating a new GeoTIFF mosaic.
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ArcGIS
desktop.arcgis.com › en › arcmap › 10.3 › manage-data › raster-and-images › discrete-and-continuous-data.htm
Discrete and continuous data—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop
Discrete data, which is sometimes called thematic, categorical, or discontinuous data, most often represents objects in both the feature (vector) and raster data storage systems. A discrete object has known and definable boundaries: it is easy to define precisely where the object begins and ...
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GIS Geography
gisgeography.com › home › data sources › vector vs raster in gis: what’s the difference?
Vector vs Raster in GIS: What's the Difference? - GIS Geography
March 10, 2024 - In a discrete raster land cover/use map, you can distinguish each thematic class. Each class can be discretely defined where it begins and ends. In other words, each land cover cell is definable and it fills the entire area of the cell. Discrete data usually consists of integers to represent ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/gis › is my data discrete or continuous?
r/gis on Reddit: Is my data discrete or continuous?
October 25, 2023 -

Hi! I am doing a project for a GIS class and one of the requirements is to include modeling or analysis using a continuous field. My project proposal was using LandSAT bands to determine turbidity in a water body. I am following the methodology of a paper that uses an equation to convert two LandSat bands into turbidity values (FNU). Are these values continuous or discrete? I got brief feedback from my professor that I need to include some sort of continuous data and I am unsure how the turbidity values are not considered continuous? Any ideas how I can include some continuous data into my project if turbidity is discrete? Thanks for the help, I am not the best at GIS and this class is way harder than I expected.

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ArcGIS
desktop.arcgis.com › en › arcmap › latest › manage-data › raster-and-images › what-is-raster-data.htm
What is raster data?—ArcMap | Documentation
Data stored in a raster format represents real-world phenomena: Thematic data (also known as discrete) represents features such as land-use or soils data.
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Descarteslabs
kb.descarteslabs.com › knowledge base › fundamentals › geospatial
Raster Data Model
The raster data model represents data over a grid of evenly spaced rows and columns of cells, with a data value assigned to each cell, or pixel. Digital images, including aerial and satellite imagery, are stored using this data model. Read more about Descartes Labs raster applications in our ...
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Hunter College Geography
geo.hunter.cuny.edu › ~jochen › gtech361 › lectures › lecture05 › concepts › 08 - Raster data formats.html
Raster data formats
Two common data formats based on the raster data model are grids and images. ... Grids are an ESRI file format used to store both discrete features such as buildings, roads, and parcels, and continuous phenomena such as elevation, temperature, and precipitation.
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Geography Realm
geographyrealm.com › home › articles › what is continuous versus discrete data in gis?
What is Continuous Versus Discrete Data in GIS? - Geography Realm
August 13, 2024 - Understanding the difference between these two types of data is important for effective data analysis and visualization. Discrete data is geographic data that only occurs in specific locations.
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Basarsoft
basarsoft.com.tr › ana sayfa › raster veri – eng
Raster Data: Types, Examples, and Conversion | Başarsoft
May 29, 2023 - Climate Data: Represents data collected ... and natural disasters. Categorical (Discrete) Raster Data: These are spatially discrete and categorized data....
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GIS Geography
gisgeography.com › home › gis analysis › raster resampling for discrete and continuous data
Raster Resampling for Discrete and Continuous Data - GIS Geography
June 1, 2025 - While the nearest neighbor resampling takes the cell center from the input raster data, the majority algorithm uses the most common values within the filter window. Similar to the nearest neighbor algorithm, this technique is commonly used for discrete data like land cover classification and other types of raster grids with distinct boundaries.
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ArcGIS
desktop.arcgis.com › en › arcmap › 10.7 › manage-data › raster-and-images › what-is-raster-data.htm
What is raster data?—Help | Documentation
Data stored in a raster format represents real-world phenomena: Thematic data (also known as discrete) represents features such as land-use or soils data.
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ArcGIS
desktop.arcgis.com › en › arcmap › 10.3 › manage-data › raster-and-images › what-is-raster-data.htm
What is raster data?—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop
Data stored in a raster format represents real-world phenomena: Thematic data (also known as discrete) represents features such as land-use or soils data.
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Geography Realm
geographyrealm.com › home › articles › types of gis data explored: vector and raster
Types of GIS Data Explored: Vector and Raster - Geography Realm
August 13, 2024 - Discrete data is typically represented by integer values in raster data, with each unique value representing a different category or class.
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ArcGIS
desktop.arcgis.com › en › arcmap › 10.3 › guide-books › extensions › 3d-analyst › discrete-and-continuous-data-in-3d-analyst.htm
Discrete and continuous data—Help | Documentation
Discrete data, also known as categorical or discontinuous data, mainly represents objects in both the feature and raster data storage systems. A discrete object has known and definable boundaries. It is easy to define precisely where the object begins and ends.
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Gov
geomatics.gov.nt.ca › en › services › spatial-data
Spatial Data | NWT Centre for Geomatics
There are two types of raster data: continuous and discrete. An example of discrete raster data is population density. Continuous data examples are temperature and elevation measurements.