GIS300: Principles of Geographic
Information Systems
Ass. Prof. Nabil Moustafa AbdelAziz
Associate Professor and Head of Information
Systems Department.
Coordinator of Medical Informatics BSc. Program,
Coordinator of Master of Computing in Geographic
Information Systems and Remote Sensing Program,
Faculty of Computer and Informatics,
Director of Communication and Information
Technology Center, Zagazig University
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Agenda
GIS
Geospatial data
Components of GIS
GIS Software Products
Elements of GIS
GIS Applications
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Geotechnology
(Nanotechnology)
(Biotechnology)
Geotechnology is one of the three "mega technologies" for the 21st century and
promises to forever change how we conceptualize, utilize and visualize
spatial relationships in scientific research and commercial applications (U.S. Department of Labor)
Geographic Information
Systems (map and analyze)
Global Positioning
System (location and navigation)
Remote Sensing
(measure and classify)
GPS/GIS/RS
The Spatial Triad
Mapping involves
precise placement
(delineation) of
physical features
(graphical inventory)
Where
is
Descriptive
Mapping
Why
What
Prescriptive
Modeling
and
So What
Modeling involves
analysis of spatial
relationships and
patterns
(numerical analysis)
Spatial Technologies
Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
a system of earth-orbiting satellites which can
provide precise location on the earth’s surface (in
lat/long coordinates)
Remote Sensing (RS)
use of satellites to capture information about the
earth’s surface
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
at a minimum, comprises a capability for input,
storage, manipulation and output of geographic
information
GPS and RS are sources of input data for a GIS.
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Geographic Information System
A geographic information system is a computer-based
information system that enables capture, modeling,
storage, retrieval, sharing, manipulation, analysis, and
presentation of geographically referenced data”
(Worboys and Duckham, 2004, p.2).
Geospatial data (or geographically referenced data)
describe both the location and characteristics of spatial
features
The ability of a GIS to handle and process geospatial
data distinguishes GIS from other information systems.
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Where did GIS come from?
GIS is built upon knowledge from
geography, cartography, computer
science, Information Systems, and
mathematics
Geographic Information Science is a
new interdisciplinary field built out of
the use and theory of GIS
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Is GIS a tool or a science?
GISystems = a technology for collecting,
managing,
storing,
analysing
and
visualising geographic information
GIScience = a fundamental field of
study
which
examines
the
representation, storage, analysis and
visualisation of geographic information
(Longley et al, 2005)
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Why does GIS Matter?
Almost everything happens somewhere
Knowing where some things happen is
critically important
Position of country boundaries
Location of hospitals
Routing delivery vehicles
Management of forest stands
GIS is a special class of information
systems that keeps track not only of
events, activities, and things, but also of
where these events, activities, and things
happen or exist
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Why Study GIS?
80% of local government activities estimated to be
geographically based
plats, zoning, public works (streets, water supply, sewers), garbage
collection, land ownership, …etc
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.)
agriculture
civil engineering and construction
scientific research employs GIS
geography, geology, botany, criminology, political science
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Agenda
GIS
Geospatial data
Components of GIS
GIS Software Products
Elements of GIS
GIS Applications
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Geospatial Data
Geospatial data describes both the
locations and characterstics of spatial
features
To describe a road, for example, we refers
to its location (where it is) and its
characteristics (e.g., length, name, speed,
limit, and direction)
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Figure 1.1
An example of geographically referenced data. The street network is based on a plane
coordinate system. The box on the right lists the x- and y-coordinates of the end
points and other attributes of a street segment.
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Geospatial data
To use geospatial data properly in
GIS we must understand:
Coordinate system
Projection: the process of transforming from geographic
coordinate system to a projected coordinate system
Data model
Defines how spatial features are represented in a GIS
There are vector and raster data models
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Agenda
GIS
Geospatial data
Components of GIS
GIS Software Products
Elements of GIS
GIS Applications
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Geographic Information System
Organized collection of
Hardware
Software
Network
Data
People
Procedures
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Brief History of GIS
First GIS – Canada Land Inventory (by
Tomlinson 1960
Harvard Laboratory for Computer
Graphics (symap, GRID,..) by fisher
throughout 1970s
1980s, Major vendors started (e.g.
ESRI, Intergraph, GRASS, MapInfo,
TransCAd, and Smallworld)
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Agenda
GIS
Geospatial data
Components of GIS
GIS Software Products
Elements of GIS
GIS Applications
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GIS Software Products
ESRI---> ArcGIS *
Autodesk---> Map 3D
Clark Labs---> Idrisi
Intergraph---> Geomedia **
MapInfo---> MapInfo
SIS---> TransCAD
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Agenda
GIS
Geospatial data
Components of GIS
GIS Software Products
Elements of GIS
GIS Applications
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Data Storage
There are two basic models used for geographic
data storage: vector and raster. A GIS should be
able to store both types of geographic data
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Analyzing data
Geographic analysis usually involves more
than one geographic dataset and requires
working through a series of steps to reach a
final result. A GIS must be able to analyze
the spatial relationships among multiple
datasets to answer questions and solve
problems.
There are many types of geographic analysis,
the two common types of geographic analysis
are
Proximity analysis
Overlay analysis
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Proximity analysis
Proximity analysis uses the distance between
features to answer questions like:
How many houses lie within 100 meters of
this water main?
What is the total number of customers
within 10 kilometers of this store?
What proportion of the alfalfa crop is within
500 meters of the well?
GIS technology often uses a process called
buffering to determine the proximity
relationship between features.
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A 50-foot buffer is created on either side of the road
to find those parcels within the 50-foot distance
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Overlay analysis
The integration of different data layers
involves a process called overlay. At its
simplest, this could be a visual
operation, but analytical operations
require one or more data layers to be
joined physically (i.e., combined into one
layer in the database). Overlay analysis
could be used to integrate data on soils,
slope, and vegetation or land ownership
data with tax assessment data.
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Overlay analysis results can help
determine appropriate land uses.
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Displaying data
A GIS also needs
tools for displaying
geographic features
using a variety of
symbology.
Using a GIS, you can
display data in a
variety of ways to
suit your purpose and
your audience.
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Outputting data
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GIS & Related Mapping Technologies
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Types of Questions a GIS can Answer
A.
Location : WHAT exists here - what is at a particular location?
Examples : "What is at 1 000 000N and 546 000E ?"
B.
Condition : WHERE are specific conditions
Examples : "Where does it rain 250 cm per year ?"
C.
Trends : WHAT HAS CHANGED (over time)
Examples : "How far has the river bank receded in the past 2
years ?"
D.
Patterns : HOW are patterns related
Examples : "How does proximity to salmon streams affect the
number of bear attacks“.
E.
Modelling : WHAT IF ..?
Examples : What if the climate warmed by 2 degrees? (effect on
habitats)
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Agenda
GIS
Geospatial data
Components of GIS
GIS Software Products
Elements of GIS
GIS Applications
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Examples of GIS Application
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
Modeling stormwater runoff
Management of watersheds, floodplains, wetlands,
forests, aquifers
Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazardous or toxic facility siting
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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GIS daily internet news/jobs
http://www.geoplace.com
http://www.giscafe.com
http://www.gis.com
http://www.geographynetwork.com
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/faq-index.html
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/giswww.html
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/abbrev.html
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Sources of Information on GIS
The amount of information available about GIS can
be overwhelming
Sources of GIS information include journals and
magazines, books, professional societies, the
World Wide Web, and conferences
GIS has Web Home pages, network conference
groups, professional organizations, and user groups
Most colleges and universities now offer GIS
classes in geography departments
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