A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer-based system designed to collect, store, integrate, manipulate, analyze & display data in a spatially referenced environment. It allows you to analyze data visually and see patterns, trends, and relationships that might not be visible in tabular or written form.A GIS can be represented as several different layers where each layer holds data about a particular kind of feature. By layering information such as wells, industries, and population, spatial relationships among the objects being mapped can be emphasized. Someone might see that the highly contaminated wells are located next to a particular industry. Or, they could see how many families are potentially at risk if their drinking water comes from a contaminated well. This is probably the most asked question posed to those in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) field and is probably the hardest to answer in a succinct and clear manner. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) can be regarded as the high- tech equivalent of the map. GIS is a rapidly growing technological field that incorporates graphical features with tabular data in order to assess real-world problems. The key word to this technology is Geography - this usually means that the data (or at least some proportion of the data) is spatial, in other words, data that is in some way referenced to locations on the earth. Coupled with this data is usually data known as attribute data. Attribute data generally defined as additional information, which can then be tied to spatial data. An example of this would be schools. The actual location of the schools is the spatial data. Additional data such as the school name, level of education taught, school capacity would make up the attribute data. It is the partnership of these two data types that enables GIS to be such an effective problem-solving tool. GIS operates on many levels. On the most basic level, GIS is used as computer cartography, i.e. mapping. The real power in GIS is through using spatial and statistical methods to analyze attribute and geographic information. The end result of the analysis can be derivative information, interpolated information or prioritized information. An individual map contains a lot of information, which is used in different ways by different individuals and organizations. It represents the means of locating ourselves in relation to the world around us. Maps are used in diverse applications from locating telephone wires and gas mains under our streets, to displaying the extent of de-forestation in the Brazilian Amazon. The map has been in existence in much the same form for thousands of years. In the traditional form it suffers from a number of problems. Firstly maps are static and therefore difficult and expensive to keep up to date. This relates to a second problem, in that because they are static they lose flexibility, for example maps exist as discrete sheets and inevitably your area of interest lies on the corner of four adjacent sheets. In addition maps are often very complex and may require an expert to extract the particular data which are of interest. GIS provides the facility to extract the different sets of information from a map (roads, settlements, vegetation, etc.) and use these as required. This provides great flexibility, allowing a paper map to be quickly produced, which exactly meets the needs of the user. However, GIS goes further, because the data are stored on a computer, analysis and modeling become possible. For example, one might point at two buildings, ask the computer to describe each from an attached database (much more information than could be displayed on a paper map) and then to calculate the best route between these. Other Quotes defining GIS "In the strictest sense, a GIS is a computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information, i.e. data identified according to their locations. Practitioners also regard the total GIS as including operating personnel and the data that go into the system." USGS "A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing things that exist and events that happen on earth. GIS technology integrates common database operations such as query and statistical analysis with the unique visualization and geographic analysis benefits offered by maps." ESRI "GIS is an integrated system of computer hardware, software, and trained personnel linking topographic, demographic, utility, facility, image and other resource data that is geographically referenced." NA |
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