Adding the spatial and temporal dimensions to the flat maps in a GIS is a subject of current research [125]. None of the standard GIS's support functions of three variables. In such systems, geological cross sections or floors of buildings must be treated as flat, horizontal data sets which offer no geological or architectural interconnections.
Time creates interesting geometric problems. In an agricultural region, the land will be partitioned into different fields in different years, and land ownership or use changes. Some of the dynamic data structures in computational geometry may have a role to play in allowing efficient storage, query, update, and historical summary of changing land uses.