摘要：Virtual geographical environments (VGEs) utilize multidimensional representation and allow for deep analysis of geoscience problems; therefore, they facilitate rapid transformation of geodata into geo-knowledge. Knowledge engineering of VGEs (VGE-KE) is thus a promising means of providing geo-knowledge. The knowledge in VGEs (VGE-K) is geo-information related to various geoscience questions, the placement of phenomena in a geo-context and the extraction of geospatial rules. Compared with traditional geographical information science (GIS), VGEs can integrate geodata from multiple sources, analyse problems in geo-context, mine spatial and temporal data and simulate evolving processes. The differences between the knowledge embedded in GIS versus VGEs have been ignored by existing studies. Aiming to address this gap in knowledge, this paper reviews studies of geo-knowledge and proposes a research agenda for VGE-KE. The contributions of this paper are as follows: (1) A research review related to geo-knowledge is presented. Existing studies are divided into five classes: definitions of knowledge and geo-knowledge, knowledge acquisition, knowledge presentation, knowledge management and knowledge applications. (2) To systematically understand the geo-knowledge incorporated in VGEs, this paper proposes a basic theoretical concept for VGE-K and analyses it. To clarify the characteristics of VGE-K, this study also discriminates between analyses in GIS and VGEs. (3) A research agenda for VGE-KE is provided. This agenda identifies five main research foci for VGE-KE: VGE-K modelling, VGE-K collaboration, VGE-K visualization, VGE-K evaluation and VGE-K sharing. This research agenda for VGE-KE can help guide future research projects involving VGE-K.
