Geoinformation

Systems
and Technologies
Overview

GIS - What is it?

Geographic/Geospatial Information
information about places on the Earths surface
knowledge about what is where and when (Dont forget time!)

Geographic/Geospatial Information Technologies

technologies for creating and processing this information
Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
Remote Sensing (RM)
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

GIS - whats in the S?

Systems: the technology
Science: the concepts and theory
Studies: the social context

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 Geographic Information Technologies

Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

a system of Earth-orbiting satellites which can provide
precise (100 meter to sub-cm.) location on the Earths
surface (in lat/long coordinates or equiv.)
Remote Sensing (RS)
use of satellites or aircraft to capture information about
the Earths surface
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
ata minimum, comprises a capability for input, storage,
manipulation and output of geographic information
GPS and RM are sources of input data for a GIS.
A GIS provides for storing and manipulating GPS and RS data.

GI Systems, Science and Studies

Systems
technology for the acquisition and management of
spatial information
Science
comprehending the underlying conceptual issues of
representing data and processes in space-time
the science (or theory and concepts) behind the
technology
Studies
understanding the social, legal and ethical issues
associated with the application of GISy and GISc

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GI Systems, Science and Studies

Defining Geographic Information Systems

The common ground between information processing and

the many fields using spatial analysis techniques.
(Tomlinson, 1972)
A powerful set of tools for collecting, storing, retrieving,
transforming, and displaying spatial data from the real
world. (Burroughs, 1986)
A computerised database management system for the
capture, storage, retrieval, analysis and display of spatial
(locationally defined) data. (NCGIA, 1987)
A decision support system involving the integration of
spatially referenced data in a problem solving
environment. (Cowen, 1988)

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 An Inelegant Definition for GISy

A system of integrated computer-based tools for

end-to-end processing (capture, storage,
retrieval, analysis, display) of data using location
on the earths surface for interrelation in
support of operations management, decision
making, and science.

set of integrated tools for spatial analysis

encompasses end-to-end processing of data
capture, storage, retrieval, analysis/modification, display
uses explicit location on earths surface to relate data
aimed at decision support, as well as at on-going operations
and scientific inquiry

Geographic Information System:

intuitive description
A map with a database behind it.
A virtual representation of the real world
infrastructure.
A consistent as-built of the real world.
Which is
queried to support on-going operations
analyzed and summarized
to support strategic decision
making and policy formulation

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 How GIS differs from Related
Systems
DBMS - typical MIS database contains implicit but not explicit location
information
Automated mapping (AM) - primarily two-dimensional display devices
thematic mapping unable to relate different geographical layers
automated cartography--graphical design oriented; limited database ability
facility management (FM) systems
lack of spatial analysis tools
CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Manufacturing) - primarily 3-D
graphic creation (engineering design) & display systems
dont reference via geographic location
CAD sees the world as a 3-D cube, GIS as a 3-D sphere
limited (if any) database ability (especially for non-spatial data)
scientific visualization systems - sophisticated multi-dimensional
graphics, but:
lack database support
lack two-dimensional spatial analysis tools

The major areas of GIS application

80% of local government activities estimated to be geographically based

plats, zoning, public works (streets, water supply, sewers), garbage collection,
land ownership and valuation
a significant portion of state government has a geographical component
natural resource management
highways and transportation
businesses use GIS for a very wide array of applications
retail site selection & customer analysis
logistics: vehicle tracking & routing
natural resource exploration (petroleum, etc.)
precision agriculture
civil engineering and construction
scientific research employs GIS
geography, geology, botany
anthropology, sociology, economics, political science
epidemiology, criminology

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 The major areas of GIS application

Local Government
Public works/infrastructure management (roads, water, sewer)
Planning and environmental management
Property records and appraisal
Real Estate and Marketing
Retail site selection, site evaluation
Public safety
Crime analysis, fire prevention, emergency management
Natural resource exploration/extraction
Petroleum, minerals, quarrying
Transportation
Airline route planning, transportation modeling
The Geospatial Industry
Data development, application development, programming

Examples of Applied GIS

Urban Planning, Management &
Policy
Zoning, subdivision planning
Land acquisition
Economic development
Code enforcement
Housing renovation programs
Emergency response
Crime analysis
Tax assessment
Environmental Sciences
Monitoring environmental risk
Management of watersheds,
floodplains, wetlands, forests,
aquifers
Hazardous or toxic facility sitting
Groundwater modeling and
contamination tracking
Political Science
Redistricting
Analysis of election results
Predictive modeling
Civil Engineering/Utility
Locating underground facilities
Designing alignment for freeways, transit
Coordination of infrastructure
maintenance
Business
Demographic Analysis
Market Penetration/ Share Analysis
Site Selection
Education Administration
Attendance Area Maintenance
Enrollment Projections
School Bus Routing
Real Estate
Neighborhood land prices
Traffic Impact Analysis
Determination of Highest and Best Use
Health Care
Epidemiology
Needs Analysis
Service Inventory

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 What GIS Applications Do:
manage, analyze, communicate
make possible the automation of activities involving geographic
data
map production
calculation of areas, distances, route lengths
measurement of slope, aspect, viewshed
logistics: route planning, vehicle tracking, traffic management
allow for the integration of data hitherto confined to independent
domains (e.g property maps and air photos).
by tieing data to maps, permits the succinct communication of
complex spatial patterns (e.g environmental sensitivity).
provides answers to spatial queries
perform complex spatial modeling (what if scenarios for
transportation planning, disaster planning, resource management,
utility design)

GIS System Architecture and Components

Data Input

Geographic
Query Input
Database

Output: Display Transformation

and Reporting and Analysis

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 Knowledge Base for GIS

Computer
Science/MIS
graphics Application Area:
visualization
public admin.
database GIS planning
system administration
geology
security
mineral exploration
forestry
site selection
Geography marketing
and related: civil engineering
cartography criminal justice
geodesy surveying
photogrammetry
landforms The convergence of technological
spatial statistics. fields and traditional disciplines.

The GIS Data Model

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 The GIS Data Model: Purpose

allows the geographic features in real

world locations to be digitally
represented and stored in a database
so that they can be abstractly presented
in map (analog) form, and can also be
worked with and manipulated to
address some problem

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 GIS Data model

Implementation
Geographic Integration of Information

Administrative Boundaries
Utilities

Zoning
Buildings
Parcels
Hydrography
Streets
Digital Orthophoto

Data is organized by layers, coverages or themes (synonymous

concepts), with each layer representing a common feature.
Layers are integrated using explicit location on the earths
surface, thus geographic location is the organizing principal.

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 The GIS Model: example

e
tud

roads
lati

longitude Here we have three layers or

themes:
e

- roads,
tud

hydrology - hydrology (water),

lati

- topography (land elevation)

longitude They can be related because precise
geographic coordinates are recorded for
each theme.
e
tud

topography
lati

longitude

The GIS Model: example

Layers are comprised of two data types

Spatial data which describes location (where)
Attribute data specifying what, how much, when

Layers may be represented in two ways:

in raster (or image) format as pixels
in vector format as points and lines

All geographic data has 4 properties:

projection, scale, accuracy and resolution

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 Spatial and Attribute Data

Spatial data (where)

specifies location
Attribute (descriptive) data (what, how much, when)
specifies characteristics at that location, natural or human-
created
stored in a data base table

GIS systems traditionally maintain spatial and

attribute data separately, then join them for display
or analysis

Representing Data with Raster and Vector Models

Raster Model
area is covered by grid with (usually) equal-sized, square
cells
attributes are recorded by assigning each cell a single
value based on the majority feature (attribute) in the cell,
such as land use type.
Image data is a special case of raster data in which the
attribute is a reflectance value from the geomagnetic
spectrum
cells in image data often called pixels (picture elements)

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 Representing Data with Raster and Vector Models

Vector Model
The fundamental concept of vector GIS is that all
geographic features in the real work can be represented
either as:
points or dots (nodes): trees, poles, fire plugs, airports, cities
lines (arcs): streams, streets, sewers,
areas (polygons): land parcels, cities, counties, forest, rock type

Concept of Vector and Raster

Real World
Raster Representation
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
0 R T
1 R T
2 H R
3 R
point
4 R R
line 5 R
6 R T T H
7 R T T
8 R
polygon 9 R
Vector Representation

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 Projection, Scale, Accuracy and Resolution
the key properties of spatial data

Projection: the method by which the curved 3-D surface of

the earth is represented by X,Y coordinates on a 2-D flat
map/screen
distortion is inevitable
Scale: the ratio of distance on a map to the equivalent
distance on the ground
in theory GIS is scale independent but in practice there is an implicit
range of scales for data output in any project

Projection, Scale, Accuracy and Resolution

the key properties of spatial data

Accuracy: how well does the database info match the real
world
Positional: how close are features to their real world location?
Consistency: do feature characteristics in database match those in real
world
is a road in the database a road in the real world?
Completeness: are all real world instances of features present in the
database?
Are all roads included.
Resolution: the size of the smallest feature able to be
recognized
for raster data, it is the pixel size

The tighter the specification, the higher the cost.

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