What is GIS?

Josh Bader

spatial@ucsb

April 17, 2008

Outline

• What is GIS?

– Definition

– Context of GIS

• Virtual Globes and Web-based GIS

– Differences to conventional GIS

– Examples

• GIS on the cheap

– Finding data

– Making maps

Space Matters

• Everything that happens, happens in space & time

• Knowing where is critical to:

– Getting from A to B

– Keeping track of assets

– Planning new activities

– Administer zoning regulations

– Forecasting the weather

– Managing natural resources

– Others???

• All are important GIS applications

What is GIS?

• Different definitions of a GIS have evolved in different areas and disciplines

– Wide spectrum of use

– Both academic and professional

• All GIS definitions recognize that spatial data are unique because they are linked to maps

What is GIS?

“GISs are simultaneously the telescope, the

microscope, the computer, and the Xerox machine

of regional analysis and synthesis of spatial data.”

(Ron Abler, 1988)

What is GIS?

• GIS is about managing knowledge of location

– Keeping track

– Making maps

– Assembing inventories

– Planning activities

• How can you tell if something is a GIS?

– Does it involve the recording of locations and attributes?

• Every item in a GIS ties a location to some property, characteristic, attribute, feature, etc.

G = f(x, y, z, t, F)

Geographic primitive

Attributes have units

Attributes Are Grouped into

Databases

Record 1

Attribute Attribute Attribute

Record 2

Record 3

Value Value Value

Value Value Value

Value Value Value

GIS Functionality

• GIS uses the power of the computer and GI to:

– Acquire, assemble, interpret, & compile

– Store, archive, & share

– Measure, analyze, summarize, and manipulate

– Predict, model, & forecast

– Edit & validate

• GIS have 6 components

GIS components

• Hardware

– Desktop

– Mobile (e.g. laptops, PDAs, in-vehicle devices, cell phones)

• Client connected to server that handles a portion of the tasks

• Client is thick, if most of the work is done locally

• Client is thin, if most of the work is sent to the server

• Software

– GIS package (e.g. ArcGIS, Geomedia)

– Web Browser (for remote services)

– Scripts and macros

– $100s to $100,000

• Database

– Static or dynamic

– 1 MB to 1 PB Procedures

GIS components

• Management

– Procedures

– Quality control

• People

– Varied skill levels (e.g. user, programmer)

– Different roles (e.g. database manager, analyst)

• Network

– Allows sharing and transferring of data

– Essential to GIS operation

• Cost-effective

• Interactive and explorative—don’t need a specific reason to look at data

• Search engines to locate spatial data

• Location-based services – mobile GIS services

GIS Locations

• Subject

– The location of interest• Virtual reality if the user isn't at the subject location

• Augmented reality if the user is at the subject location

• User

– Office desk, laptop, in the field

• Data

– Perhaps many locations distributed over the Internet• Geoportals, data warehouses, digital libraries

• Processing

– The user's own computer? A remote server?

• Conventional GIS---U, D, & P in same location

• Mobile GIS---U & S can be in same location

• Web-based GIS---U can be separated from D & P

Context of GIS

• Tool of day-to-day human activities

– The general public

– Consultants, agencies, organizations, corporations

• Tool of science

– Any discipline that deals with Earth’s surface and near

surface

– Geography, Ecology, Geology, Environmental Studies,

Anthropology, Biology

– Criminology, Religious studies, Education, History

GIS vs. GIScience

• Geographic Information Science

– Coined by Michael Goodchild (UCSB)

– The set of question and problems both surrounding and arising from GIS

– The use of GIS in a scientific context

– What researchers in GIS do

– The inventions that will appear in the next generation of GIS

– The accumulated body of knowledge on which GIS is based

• Cartography, computer science, photogrammetry, surveying, remote sensing, spatial cognition

https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/

Critiques of GIS

• Surveillance

– Location privacy?

– Tracking with GPS or RFID

– License plate or facial recognition

• Military and intelligence applications

– Lots of funding

• NGA, NSA, CIA

– Spy satellites, UAVs, and targeting with geographic data

Critiques of GIS• Does GIS present a simplified, biased view

of the world?

– Are there types of geographic knowledge that cannot be represented in a GIS?

• Who does it empower?

– The powerful had it first

– It is used to be expensive

– It allows only one view of the world

– Often reflects view of majority

• May marginalize minority views

• Public-participation GIS (PPGIS)

• Volunteered geographic information

Evolution of GIS

• Hurricane Katrina Response

• August 2005

• What was different?

– Lack of coordination between bureaucracy

– Private sector had much faster response times

– Public access to GIS data

• Maps and imagery used in the media coverage

• Enhanced outrage

Virtual Globes

• Data dissemination

– Simple and free for users

• Can be high impact

– 250 million downloads

– 1000 human lifetimes

• Small file size

• Not as cumbersome as GIS

– Not as simple for creator

• Getting data into GE

• Conversion from Arc

Virtual Globes• Visualization

– Real strength

– Great repository of free

imagery

• Not all created equally

– Ex. Fly to locations on

television news

– Ex. Visual inspection for

finding archeological sites

• Where is the metadata?

Earth SA =

510,000,000

sq. km

* Nintendo Wii Weather Channel (December 2006)

* Microsoft Live Local 3D (11/2006/aka Spaceland)

* Dapple Earth Explorer (July 2006)

* Wayfinder Earth (beta, 2006)

* ESRI ArcGIS Explorer (11/2006)

* Volvo Ocean Race Virtual Spectator (2005)

* Erdas Imagine Virtual GIS (2005)

* Google Earth (6/2005)

* Global-i (~2005)

* Punt (2005)

* Ping 3map (2005)

* EarthSLOT (2004)

* osgPlanet (2004)

* ESRI ArcGlobe (2003)

* NASA World Wind (2003)

* Eingana (2000 to ~2003)

* Keyhole Earthviewer (June 2001/now Google Earth)

•* SINTEF Virtual Globe (2001-2006 / now Norkart)

•* Celestia (2001)

* Skyline Software TerraSuite (~2001)

* GeoFusion GeoPlayer (company formed 2001)

* SRI Terravision (2000)

* Lunar Software Earthbrowser (1998)

* Hipparchus (~1992)

* Mark Pesce's WebEarth (~1996)

* Microsoft MapPoint Virtual Globe

* GeoVirtual GeoShow3D

* Viewtec TerrainView

* Gaia

* Virtual Spectator

* PYXIS

* Talent Cruiser

* Virtual Terrain Project

* Earthsim

* GeoVirtual

* GRIFINOR

* Norkart Virtual Globe

* AGI-STK

a software system for

spatially-referenced

three-dimensional

information

management, analysis,

and visualization

Virtual Globe

Image source: NASA

Beyond traditional Geographic Information Systems....

* visibility

* global systems

* collaborative data collection

* streaming data and unfolding time

* time-space queries (eg. Google Earth Time Slider and

Celestia Eclipse Finder)

* interactive, dynamic spatial data

* volume

* mining images for 3D spatial data (neo-remote sensing)

Image source: ArcGIS

Explorer, data courtey of

Kentucky Geological Survey

and Cave Research Foundation.

Photos by Glennon and Groves

NASA Worldwind: http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov

Sources: Google Earth;

Glennon and Pfaff (2002).

GIS on the cheap

• Ubiquitous data

– Global, national, local depositories

– Many free datasets

– Varying levels of accuracy

• Numerous viewers/platforms

– Virtual globes

– Browser-based

– Free GIS

www.nationalatlas.gov

The National Map

USGS

http://seamless.usgs.gov/

ArcExplorer Java Edition for Education

www.geographynetwork.com

GRASS

http://grass.osgeo.org/

GeoPDF toolbar

www.terragotech.com

HIV Prevalence 2003

www.worldmapper.org

Species at Risk

www.worldmapper.org

Refugee destination 2003—global proportion

www.worldmapper.org

www.unhcr.org

www.unhcr.org

Thank You

• Dr. Michael Goodchild

• Alan Glennon

• Indy Hurt

Questions ??