Introduction : Hello and welcome to the distance learning version of
“Introduction to Geographic Information Systems.” My name is Don Leone, and
I’ll be your instructor for this course, which will be an Internet version, otherwise known as the eLearning Version, of a traditional course I taught at the University of Hartford.
(Next Slide Please)
All of the details I’ll discuss today and more are listed on the course web site that should be entered through the Blackboard site for the course. Blackboard will contain information and general correspondence from me. So – it’s important that you visit the Blackboard site regularly – say – 4 or 5 time a week. It’s important that you stay tuned to Blackboard because, since this is a new method of course delivery for us, there may be sudden and unplanned announcements that will only appear on Blackboard, and will most probably cause student distress if not immediately read. Also, access to the course web site will be restricted to those who have registered for a
Blackboard account and have enrolled for the course through Blackboard. If you haven’t done so by now, you should set up a Blackboard account and register immediately. Go to Blackboard.hartford.edu for details as to how to create a new account. (Next Slide Please)
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The course will have five components: Lectures, Lab Exercises,
Homework Assignments, a Term Project, and exams. Let’s review these components: (Next Slide Please)
The Lectures: All lectures will be pre-recorded from a remote location which, depending on how the course goes, I might divulge (and no, I’m not in the witness protection program!). The lectures will contain PowerPoint slides and accompanying dialog, and will be viewed by you at a predetermined time and place for the course, and will last approximately 45 minutes. At the end of the presentation, we will engage in live chat room activities in which you are encouraged to ask questions or make statements, or I can ask questions or make comments myself. The chat session may involve a standard chat room format, or it may take the form of a live web cast in which audio and video input are used. Because of the synchronized chat (that is, a “live” chat room), attendance at lectures is mandatory. I will talk more about grading later, but missing lectures will noticeably affect your grade. It is really the only occasion in the course that you can correspond with me in real time. You can make notes during the lecture as you see fit, but remember that the lectures will be available on line afterward.
The lectures will present material generally covered in the text and lab text, but will be supplemented with other information. The lectures will cover
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GIS principles in general (the whats and the whys), leaving the details (the hows) to the lab sessions which concentrate on the software and analysis techniques. Reiterating, the lectures are meant to give the “big” picture and introduce broad concepts, while the labs are structured to apply general principles to actual problems.
As for the mechanics of how the presentations will work, as you can see by how this is going, the pre-recorded lecture audio is synced to the
PowerPoint slides. If you have any questions that arise during the lecture, jot them down so we can discuss them during the chat session. (Next Slide Please)
The Labs: All labs will be based on the lab text “Getting to Know ArcGIS
Desktop” published by Environmental Systems Research Institute otherwise known as ESRI. ESRI is the world leader in GIS software use. The lab text comes with two CD’s, one of which has the lab exercises, while the other has a version of the ArcGIS software that expires in 180 days after it is installed. This version of ArcGIS is a full-blown version of the software that retails for $2,500, but only lasts for 180 days. You will have to install both CD’s on your computer in order to complete the lab exercises. If you have no computer or your computer is not adequate, then you have to make arrangements with the class on site monitor to come in and use the GIS labs’ computers.
(Next Slide
Please)
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Each lab will have completion time and date range as listed on the course web site. You can complete the labs on your computer at any time and place – but - please do not submit a lab outside the given time range. The last date in the range is the final date a lab can be submitted for full credit. Any tardiness in submission will result in a grade reduction for that lab. At the end of each lab exercise, you will answer some questions and e-mail them to me. I will return them by e-mail with grades and explanations attached.
While the labs do introduce you to GIS principles, they are really meant to introduce you to the software in preparation for completing your term project. You should try to summarize the key components of each lab for handy reference when doing the term project. Again, you may complete and submit the labs from any computer as long as it is connected to the Internet, and at any time within the specified range. (Next Slide Please)
The Homework Assignments: Reading assignments will be assigned from our text, “An Introduction to Geographical Information Systems” by Heywood,
Cornelius, and Carver. At the end of each chapter, there are what are called
“revision questions” (really homework questions) that will be assigned and due according to the date and time range listed on the course syllabus on the course web site. Lateness will be met with the same fate as late lab assignments. I will return - via e-mail - your grade and comments on the homework assignments. Questions on the homework should be submitted to me in a timely manner by e-mail. If you wait until the last minute to do the
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homework assignment, then any questions you might have will, in all likelihood, not be answered in time, thus requiring you to submit your homework with your question unresolved. The purpose of the homework assignments is to acquaint you with the general principles of GIS, without getting into the intricacies of how to run a software program. In fact, the text does not rely on a software product. The lab exercises will teach you how to run the software. (Next Slide Please)
Term Project: The term project is selected to give you the experience of putting together a GIS problem solution from the beginning – that is - acquiring the data before you can begin any analysis, and perhaps more importantly, planning the steps in the analysis. You will see that the lab text has been very well prepared in that the data has been made available to you and in the format directly useable by the software. Normally, this doesn’t happen in real life. The act of acquiring and conditioning data may be the largest most daunting part of your work. You will be required to use the skills learned in the lab exercises, and apply the principles studied in the homework assignments.
We will talk more about the term project, as we get further into the semester.
(Next Slide Please)
Exams: There will be one exam before you begin work on the term project.
The exam will be based on your reading assignments and homework questions.
The exam is meant to prepare you for work on the term project. For more
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information on the lectures, labs, homework assignments, term project and how your grade will be determined, see the course web site.
Now, let’s begin our discussion about Geographic Information Systems and why this technology is rapidly expanding throughout the world. GIS technology, developed in just the past 30 years, represents a billion dollar industry worldwide, and is growing at about 10% per year in 100 countries. (Next Slide
Please)
Before we look at a definition of GIS, let’s go over what GIS can do, or better yet, what questions can GIS answer.
A fundamental question is “Where are features found – features can be any geographic entity that can be represented on a map as a point, line, or polygon. For instance, on a Ski Resort map, points would represent where the emergency services are located.
Another question might be “what geographical patterns exist?”
Continuing with our Ski Resort example, where on the slopes have the most accidents happened?
Another question might be “What changes have occurred?” Avalanches are a serious problem to Ski Resorts and are directly related to the depth of snow cover. By measuring the snow depth over time, changes in snow depth can be determined that could forecast an avalanche.
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Yet another question is “Where do certain conditions occur?” Again using our Ski Resort example, snow depth, avalanche danger and wind strength are factors that can determine which ski trails should be open.
And finally, what happens if certain actions are taken? If the Ski Resort wants to build a new access road that will travel through a nature reserve and farm land, GIS can evaluate different road alignment schemes to determine which scheme has the least environmental impact. (Next Slide Please)
You may be asking yourself, “What’s new here?” These questions and questions like them have been asked by map makers for centuries. The problem has been that because of overwhelming amounts of data, finding all viable answers, or answers that consider all parameters were difficult if not impossible to formulate. GIS removes these restrictions. We’ll be looking at examples of applications relating to these questions later on in the presentation. OK, it’s time to try to write a definition of GIS. As we’ll see, GIS is a visual medium – so it will take quite a few words to define what a GIS is? Before looking at a definition of GIS, let’s look at the meaning of words that appear in the definition.
(Next Slide Please)
Spatial data – data that has a geographic reference that enables it to be located in space. Latitude and longitude would be classified as spatial data.
Features – Spatial entities like points, lines, and polygons that represent actual physical features on a map.
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Attributes – non-spatial information about features. For example, a point on a map may represent a well. Attribute data about the well might include depth, diameter, and water quality analysis results. Now let’s try the GIS definition.
(Next Slide Please)
Let’s read this definition from ESRI that’s pretty much accepted as a valid definition. “GIS is a system (and I emphasize system) of computer software, hardware, and data, and personnel to manipulate, analyze, and present information that is tied to a spatial location”. That’s quite a mouthful!
That definition requires some sub definitions:
Spatial location – Usually a geographic location. This implies that we need to have the coordinates, or spatial data, that describe the geographic location on a map like latitude and longitude. We’ll explore how to specify a spatial location by studying an introduction to cartography – or the art and science of map making.
Information – visualization of analysis of data – A GIS allows you to analyze data. This visualization usually takes the form of a map.
System – linking software, hardware and data. Suffice is to say that we need computers to practice GIS. It is not our intent to study how to configure the optimal system to carry out GIS analysis, or get into the intricacies of the software.
Personnel – a thinking explorer who is key to the power of GIS – that’s you!
(Next Slide Please)
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Our next slide shows a more visual description of a GIS. A simplified definition of a GIS is “a method to visualize, manipulate, analyze and display spatial data”. If you look at the figure, you can see the real situation that includes roads, a river, and geotechnical data on subsurface materials, buildings, and so forth. Note how the GIS organizes these data – in layers. Each layer represents a portion of reality – like all of the streets are organized on the streets layer. A full map can be constructed by overlaying the individual layers. This concept of layering is critical to GIS operations, and we’ll see this concept used over and over again.
And finally, a simplified description of a GIS is “a system that utilizes smart maps”. What makes the maps smart is the link between data in a database to the map. For instance, the streets layer may be linked to a streets database that includes information such as the street name, number of lanes, type of surface, people who live on the street, businesses on the street, etc. The GIS software allows the link between the database and the map – and more importantly, allows you to analyze the data in the database and display those results as a new map. An important word in the first definition on this slide is the word “visualize”. How exactly do we visualize spatial data? (Next Slide
Please)
The question is: how do we display the spatial data visually in the form of a map? One of the things we are going to learn about GIS visual data is that it
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comes in two distinctly different forms – a Raster display and a Vector display.
Each one of these presentation methods has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. On this slide, we see the real world and a paper map of the real world with features like the lake, forest, marsh, and grassland. One of ways we could make the map visible digitally would be to take a digital picture of the paper map (otherwise known as scanning). The new map would be composed of cells. Each cell would have a certain size that would be related to the resolution of the scanning process - and each cell would have a location and a value. The location of a cell could be as simple as its row and column location in the grid of cells - much like a location in a spreadsheet. The value in that location, for this case, would be a number related to type of feature, like lake, grassland, and so forth. If a color is then assigned to the number, a digital map is formed, as seen on the top layer. Rasters are very good at showing continuously varying parameters such as elevation. One of the drawbacks is the large amount of memory needed to store a Raster image.
Another way to get the paper map into the computer is to digitize it using a digitizing tablet. We won’t go into the details of the process, but, in general, an operator mechanically tracing a paper map forms features and capturing digital coordinates at the operator’s discretion. The maps then become a collection of points, lines and polygons. When displayed, this map is called a
Vector image. When you look at a drawing of the lake, the Vector image draws the border of the lake, while the Raster image shows the lake as a filled in shape. Intuitively, you can see that the Vector image takes far less in storage
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capacity than the raster image. However, as was mentioned earlier, Raster images are better at displaying continuously varying properties like temperature. Modern GIS software can combine both Raster and Vector layers to produce a map, as we’ll see on a subsequent slide. (Next Slide Please)
This next slide shows a typical GIS database. It looks a lot like a spreadsheet as it is organized into rows and columns of data. In this particular database, each row or record is a state name. The individual columns or attributes contain information for each state such as state name, area in square miles, population, and more. We shall assume that this database is connected o a smart map of the United States. Suppose we wanted to study the density of population living in each state. As a database operation, much like you would do in a spreadsheet, you would take the population cell and divide it by the area cell, creating a new attribute called population density in people per square mile for each state. Looking at this in a database does not give much insight – it just looks like a lot of numbers.
(Next Slide Please)
Through our smart map concept, we can convert our numbers into a visual display. Here we see a map composed of three layers – a rivers layer, a lakes layer, and a population density layer all overlaid to make the map of population density as shown. The colors of the legend tell us that the densest states, as defined by the criteria, are shown in dark brown, and the least dense
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states in white. Now the data comes to life and we can easily see trends. Of course, all data is open to interpretation. Take New York State for instance.
The whole state is defined as relatively heavily populated. But if you removed
New York City and Long Island, the state would probably plot as white. So the density is in a small area, but it is affecting a much larger area, thereby giving a false impression of the density of people per square mile. So the cartographer must always keep in mind the purpose of the map being produced. Marc Monmonier of Syracuse University has written a book entitled
How to Lie with Maps – it’s very interesting reading.
Well, we’ve looked at some basic fundamentals of GIS. What have your little gray cells retained? (Next Slide Please)
OK - Here’s our “Little Gray Cells” Quiz. I may ask some of you for your answers in the chat session, so you might want to jot down some notes. I’ll give you a few moments now to conjure up some answers. Pause here
What does the acronym GIS stand for?
Formulate your own definition of a GIS.
All maps that appear on a computer screen are part of a GIS. T or
F
Well, how did you do? We’ll review the answers later.
(Next Slide Please)
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One of the fundamental powers of a GIS is the ability to answer questions. Here is a map, which shows major cities in the United States. One of the attributes in the database is a column labeled “Capitals”. The records, or rows, in the database are the individual cities. The attribute under the” Capital” column are the labels Y or N. To find the Capitals, we form a “query” in the form of a mathematical expression which asks the question, “is the attribute in the
Capitals column Y?’ The database operation finds the Capitals and shows them as yellow dots on the map. The ability to query the database and show the results as a new map is a fundamental power of a GIS. This process can also go in reverse. (Next Slide Please)
This is a map of state capitals. If you were to move the cursor over one of the dots and right click, the attributes for that record (capital) opens up and you can read the data associated with that capital, in this case Sacramento, CA.
Also, please note that these are simple examples of the power of a GIS. GIS software is capable of performing multiple complex operations.
(Next Slide Please)
We know that a GIS can be applied to complex problem solving. Let’s look at some of the varied ways GIS is used – keep in mind this is a partial list. We can add to the Emergency Services category – Homeland Defense. Since 9/11, GIS analyses at many levels are helping with the analysis of data, and planning for the future. I don’t want to spend a lot of time on this slide. Have a quick look
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at the entries for each category to get a feeling of the breadth of industries and organizations touched by this technology. The next few slides will deal with specific applications. (Pause for a few seconds).
(Next Slide Please)
As we’ve discussed earlier, one of the basic questions a GIS can answer is
“What geographical patterns exist?” This map shows the results of an environmental analysis of sub-surface water for TCE. The samples from test wells were taken at a level of 80 feet below mean sea level. TCE is trichloroethylene. It is a degreasing agent that is a common groundwater pollutant. It is denser than water so it will sink to the bottom of an aquifer. For drinking water, the maximum contaminant level allowed is 5 ppb, or 5 parts per billion.
We can see that the GIS analysis has taken the well analysis results, and fitted a contoured surface to the numbers, including individual contour levels. From the legend, we see that lower levels are in yellow, and higher levels are the reds. The dotted green line is the 5 ppb boundary. Water from any well above that line should be considered unsafe to drink. Note that this is a Raster base contour surface, with a Vector layer denoting the wells. (Next Slide Please)
Now – let’s look at a business application – the question “Where do certain conditions apply?” The problem to be solved here is to determine which of our service or business locations are in competition with – well – the competition.
First , two maps are made, using GIS software, of the streets that are within a
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10 minute drive from our locations in blue, and theirs in red, where a service area is defined as a 10 minute drive. Note the actual business locations are shown as points. Now – if both Vector maps are overlaid, the area where completion exists is shown in dark red. We can make business decisions based on this new information. Could we have done this analysis by hand? The answer is yes, but it probably would have taken much longer. Also, you may have questioned where the 10-minute drive criterion came from. We could test the sensitivity of the results to this criterion by changing it to 15 minutes. After creating the first analysis, this “what if” analysis is easy to set up and run, since the underlying data is already in place. This concept of “what if” analyses are one of the great features and strengths of GIS.
(Next Slide Please)
This map shows a map of an oil spill off the coast of St. Petersburg, FL. The spill areas were obtained by satellite images and overlaid as a layer over the map of St. Petersburg. It is obvious that the spill shape and location will vary with time. Therefore, if several days of satellite images are overlaid, we can answer the question “What changes have occurred over a given period?” Also notice that attribute data does not have to be in the form of numbers in a table. Here we see that images can also be stored as attribute data – in this case a picture of the polluted beach.
(Next Slide Please)
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Next we see here a Raster elevation map of the White Mountain Region of New
Hampshire. Each cell of the image contains a number representing the elevation of that cell. If we assign a color to that number, then a digital elevation map is produced. The question answered by this map is” Where do
certain conditions occur?” – in this case – what does the elevation of the terrain look like and what are the values. From the legend, the lower values are in gray, while the larger values are in green and yellow. With the color scheme chosen, the image almost takes on a 3-D quality. The software used to produce this image is IDRISI, a product of Clark Labs of Clark University in
Worcester, MA. Clark Labs chose to name their software for a Muslim scholar and mapmaker of international reputation in the Mediterranean world of his day, Muhammed Al-Idrisi who lived from1100-1166 A.D. It is said that
Christopher Columbus used a map originally taken from Al-Idrisi's work. The
IDRISI software allows you to view this elevation data in a 3D flyover form.
(Next Slide Please)
The same elevation data can be used to form a video game like flyover of the terrain. This feature provides yet another way to view and analyze data. (Next
Slide Please)
Aerial photos and satellite images are an important part of GIS analyses. This photo appears a bit blurry because it is a combination of a red and blue stereoscopic pair of photos. When viewed with 3-D glasses, this aerial photo
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takes on a three dimensional character. If this photo was georeferenced – that is tied to the coordinates of known ground control points, it becomes a photo map which means you can measure distances, and plot directions on it just as you would on a paper map of the area. More importantly, as a layer, other maps could be overlaid on it to produce a very interesting map. (Next Slide
Please)
[Slide – CBS TV Show “The District”]
We finish our look at GIS applications by noting that the CBS TV show “The
District”, which chronicles the adventures of the police chief of Washington,
DC, uses a GIS program to track crime statistics and show trends. There aren’t many software packages that can claim this kind of distinction. (Next Slide
Please)
Finally, let’s look at how GIS has grown in the past 40 years. GIS technology is recognized to have begun in 1963 with the development of the Canada
Geographic Information System, by Roger Tomlinson and colleagues, for the
Canada Land Inventory. And from the industry analyst Daratech, for the year
2000, GIS software, hardware, and services totaled $7b and were growing at more than 10% per year in 100 countries. There are now more than 1 m hardcore users and another 5 m casual users. These numbers give you an idea of the magnitude of the technology and the impact it has made in just 40 years. The
40 year figure is a bit misleading because the real explosion of GIS began when
Geographic Information Systems software were modified to run on powerful
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PC’s in the late 1980’s and early 90’s. This brought potent analysis capabilities from research institutions and entities with large mainframe computers to the
PC and the masses. Today, there are GIS programs in K-12 education, showing the versatility and appeal of the technology as an educational tool. (Next
Slide Please)
In summary, let’s go over a few of the terms related to GIS.
We have talked about layers, two kinds of digital map formats, and we have introduced the terms attribute and feature. Take a few seconds to see if you can define these terms in your own words. (Pause a few seconds)
We also showed the interaction between a database and the associated digital map. This “smart map” concept is the underlying fundamental theory of geographic information system software, which allows us to analyze the data and produce new maps based on that analysis.
We discussed applications and examples of GIS analyses. Keep in mind that while we presented examples for varied fields, we barely scratched the surface.
And finally, we showed some advance capabilities of GIS software including terrain flyover views, and 3D photomaps. (Next Slide Please)
In the next lecture we’ll explore the basics of map making. The problem will be how to project a three-dimensional surface of the earth onto a two-
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dimensional plane of a map. Whatever method we choose - and there are many of them – there will be errors and distortions.
We will also take a closer look at Raster and Vector display methods.
That’s all for now – see you next time.
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