Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

1. Introduction to Geographic Information Systems • In this lesson you will learn: • the definition and basic structure of GIS • the reason for GIS • GIS as a tool of visualization • the ways GIS is used in today’s world

2. Definition of a GIS • A geographic information system (GIS): • focuses on geography and the geographic relationships between places or things • consists of information, or data, describing the characteristics or properties of geographic entities • systematically enables us to manage, organize, manipulate, analyze, and display that information

3. Information Systems

4. Why Geography? “In a closed system, no two electrons can occupy the same state.” -Exclusion Principle of Wolfgang Pauli, describing the behavior of electrons in an atom.

5. Why Geography?

6. Why Geography? The Corn Palace, Mitchell, S.Dak.

7. Geography Matters! • Understanding geography helps us: • make better use of resources and the natural environment • lessen the risk of exposure to natural hazards and reduce the costs of damage • place businesses, schools, parks, and other services in locations where they can best serve our needs • lessen the risk of exposure to human-caused hazards • appreciate human cultures and the sovereignty of nations • allocate personnel or limited resources to where they are most needed and can do the most good • manage or even avoid conflict • produce the abundance of food, fiber, and oil crops that feed, clothe, and house us • minimize destructive impacts on habitats and ecosystems • recognize social injustice • understand the natural world itself

8. Components of GIS • The IS side • data • software • hardware • spatial data capture tools • The Operational side • questions/needs for information • people • skills • management

9. Technology of GIS Montage of photos: computer, CD-ROM disk, GPS unit, scanner, satellite image

10. Visualizing across maps ? Map images from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources GIS gives us the ability to organize spatial data from disparate sources in a single common viewing frame.

11. Asset management: who owns what? A county-level Land Information System. source: De Kalb County Government, Information Management Office, http://www.dekalbcounty.org/imo_index.html

12. Asset management: where is my --------? Photo courtesy of the Arkansas, Louisiana & Mississippi Railroad; www.almrailroad.com

13. Getting help to where it’s needed Hampton Roads Hurricane Evacuation Routes, web-interactive map courtesy of the Virginia Department of Transportation

14. Protecting the environment Invasive species on the island of O’ahu. Source: Pacific Basin Information Node, Mapping Service, http://pbin.nbii.gov/

15. Efficient use of resources Variable rate prescription map for post-harvest application of lime in an Illinois corn/soybean field.

16. Managing costs/increasing profits Optimizing elementary school catchment districts in Fayetteville, AR; image courtesy of the Fayetteville Public Schools G.I.S. Program

17. Preserving the past Interactive Cahokia Map, from the Illinois State Museum GIS Lab,http://www.museum.state.il.us/research/GISlab/

18. Understanding ourselves, understanding our world Naturally occurring arsenic in potable ground-water resources of the continental United States; map imagefrom the U.S. National Atlas, http://nationalatlas.gov

19. What you have learned: • GIS is an information system built upon spatial data, that allows us to explore the geography of places and events in our world and the geographic relationships between phenomena. • GIS applications range from simple mapping and asset management to scientific inquiry and education, • and abound in nearly every industry and scientific field you can imagine.