Geographic Information SystemsAn Introduction

Stefan Falke

stefan@wustl.edu

U82-200

Pop vs Soda vs Coke

http://www.popvssoda.com/

Pop vs Soda vs Coke by County

2004 Presidential Election Results

Bush

Kerry

62,040,606

59,028,109

Popular Electoral

286

252

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/

States size are adjusted to be proportional to populationStates size are adjusted to be proportional to number of electoral votes

2004 Presidential Results by County

County size is proportional to population

What is GIS?

‘GIS’ is Geographic Information System

Traditional definition is that GIS is a set of computer tools for accessing, processing, visualizing, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting spatial data.

GISystems: Emphasis on technology and toolsGIScience: Fundamental issues raised by the use of GIS,

such as: Spatial analysisMap projectionsAccuracyScientific visualization

Implementation and application of GIS covers a wide spectrum:

Simple mapsOverlaying multiple map “layers”Comparing data sets (simple data analysis)Complex statistical analysis

gis.com

Geospatial Information Science & Technology

GIS&T

Data Creation, Management, and Integration

Spatio-Temporal Data Analysis

Visualization

Remote Sensing

Spatial Mapping (GIS)Web Info Systems

Interoperability

Geospatial Policy & Standards

Reusable Tools

GPS

Location-based Services

Geospatial Information Science and Technology

According to a recent Department of Labor report, the three most important emerging and evolving fields are:

• Biotechnology• Nanotechnology• Geospatial technology(Gewin, V., Mapping Opportunities, Nature, 427 (6972) 376-377, Jan. 2004)

“…acquires, manages, interprets, integrates, displays, analyzes, or otherwise uses data focusing on the geographic, temporal and spatial context.”

(GeoSpatial Workforce Development Center at the University of Southern Mississippi)

Spatial Data Analysis

• Turns raw data into useful information– by adding greater informative content and value

Wisdom

Knowledge

Evidence

Information

Data

Adapted from Bolstad, 2005

The John Snow Map

• A classic example of the use of location to draw inferences

• 1854 cholera outbreak in London

• Point data map indicated some spatial clustering

• Overlaying a map of water pump locations showed many cases were concentrated around a single pump

GIS Layer Overlay

GIS Software Architecture

User InterfaceUser Interface

Data ManagementData Management

Tools / FunctionsTools / Functions

Data Access, Conversion

Display, Analysis, Manipulation

Viewers, Controls

Data

Components of GIS

• Organized collection of– Hardware– Software– Network– Data– People– Management

“GIS should be viewed as a process rather than as merely software or hardware.” (Malczewski, 1999)

PeopleSoftware

Data

Management

Hardware

Network

Views to a GIS

Map view: Focus on cartographic (mapping) aspects of GIS Thematic GIS layers Input map => Output map

Database view: Focus on database management system Simple queries to retrieve and overlay data

Spatial analysis view: Focus on analysis and modeling Views GIS more as information science

Organizational (Enterprise) view:

An approach to managing an organization’s data, information, and knowledge

GIS is "a powerful set of tools for collecting, storing, retrieving at will, transforming and displaying spatial data from the real world for a particular set of purposes"

(Burrough and McDonnell, 1998)

GIS is “a database system in which most of the data are spatially indexed, and upon which a set of procedures operated in order to answer queries about spatial entities in the database” (Smith et al., 1987)

“The true potential value of Geographical Information Systems lies in their ability to analyze spatial data using the techniques of spatial analysis" (Goodchild, 1988)

“ a decision support system involving the integration of spatially referenced data in a problem-solving environment”

(Cowen, 1988)

A Brief History of GIS

• GIS is relatively young but mapping and spatial analysis preceded it by thousands of years

• Manual map overlay as a method was first described comprehensively in a 1950 textbook

• Mathematics for spatial analysis were developed in the 1930s and 1940s

• GIS evolution parallels that of general information technology

http://www.gisdevelopment.net/history/

A Brief History of GIS – 1960s

• The 1960s saw the advent of geographic data and mapping software

• First GIS was the Canada Geographic Information System developed for land resource measuring and inventory analysis

• The Harvard Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis established

• Aeronautical Charting and Information Center in St. Louis

• US Defense Mapping Agency in St. Louis (then NIMA – National Imagery and Mapping Agency, now (as of 11/03) NGA – National Geospatial Intelligence Agency)

A Brief History of GIS – 1970s

• GIS Functions for points and polygons

• Satellite imagery (Landsat)

• Dual Independent Map Encoding (DIME) for census areas

• Gridded data analysis programs

• Rudimentary graphics

• ESRI (Environmental Science and Research Institute) established

• Intergraph founded

• Increased GIS use by government agencies

A Brief History of GIS – 1980s

• ESRI ArcInfo

• Global Positioning System (GPS)

• GIS Journals and Conferences

• MapInfo

• TIGER (Topographically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) Census project

• Academic GIS courses

• Widespread acceptance across disciplines

• Increased availability of satellite imagery

A Brief History of GIS – 1990s

Migration to PC Open GIS Consortium

National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI)

Web GIS

GIS Day (annual event in November)

A Brief History of GIS – 2000s

• WebGIS

• Wireless (PDAs, cell phones)

• Embedded Sensor Networks

• Distributed Databases

• GIServices

Special Spatial Nomenclature

Geographic – Limited to phenomena and problems relating to Earth’s surface and near-surface

Spatial – Any space, including geographic, but not restricted to geographic coordinate space, e.g. medical imaging, Mars

Geospatial – A recent term to represent the subset of spatial applied specifically to the Earth’s surface. (synonymous with geographic)

Course Objectives

Understand the fundamental principles of GIS

Gain background and hands-on experience with software tools for working with spatial data.

Appreciate the complexities involved in data processing, analysis, and mapping

Course Outline

Date Topic Reading

31-Aug GIS Overview Bolstad Chp 1

7-Sep Geospatial Data Longley Chp 3

14-Sep Projections and Coordinate Systems Bolstad Chp 3

21-Sep Feature Analysis Bolstad Chp 9

28-Sep Surface Analysis Bolstad Chp 10/11

5-Oct Spatial Data Analysis Bolstad Chp 12

12-Oct Spatial Modeling / Web GIS Bolstad Chp 13

19-Oct Exam / Project Presentations

Problem Set #1

PS #1 duePS #2

PS #2 due

Texts

Bolstad, Paul GIS Fundamentals: A First Text on Geographic Information Systems, 2nd Edition, Eider Press, 2005. (http://www.paulbolstad.net/gisbook.html)

Longley, Paul; Michael Goodchild; David Maguire and David Rhind Geographic Information Systems and Science, 2nd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2005

Gorr, Wilpen and Kristen Kurland GIS Tutorial: Workbook for ArcView 9, ESRI Press, 2005

All are on reserve at the Earth & Planetary Science Library

Project

The project involves working through a GIS application using data of interest to you. Key aspects of the project are to bring in data into GIS and use GIS to gain new insight into the data.

Paper describing the project data, methods, tools, and results. (3-5 pages)

Presentation summarizing the project. (about 5 minutes)

Paper and Presentation are both due on October 19.

Grading

Problem Sets 30%

Exam 30%

Project 30%

Class participation 10%

Late Policy:

Problem sets are due two weeks after they are assigned. They should not be late.

Information Request

Please send an email to stefan@wustl.edu with the following:

Name:

Email:

Department/Organization:

Level/Position:

Interest in course:

Previous experience with GIS:

Telesis

http://capita.wustl.edu/IntroGIS/

Webpage will contain:

• Class syllabus

• Lecture slides

• Online links to resource materials

Homework

Determine your logistics for this course

• Buy or use library copies of texts?• Next week we will go through Tutorials 2&3 in Gorr

• Where to use ArcGIS outside of class?

• Begin thinking about your project topic

GIS Software Packages

  Autodesk ESRI Intergraph MapInfo Manifold

Viewer AutoCAD LT

ArcReader GeoMedia Viewer ProViewer Custom

Desktop World ArcView GeoMedia MapInfo Professional

Manifold GIS

Profess-ional

AutoCAD / Map

ArcEditorArcInfo

GeoMedia Pro MapInfo Professional

Manifold GIS

Hand-held OnSite ArcPad IntelliWhere MapXtend --

Database Server

Design Server

ArcSDE Uses Oracle Spatial

SpatialWare SQL Server

Component Modeling

In several products

MapObjects

Part of GeoMedia MapX, MapJ Manifold Object Model

Internet MapGuide ArcIMS GeoMedia Web Map, GeoMedia Web Enterprise

MapXtreme, MapXSite

Manifold IMS

GIS Market

Estimated 2004 revenue - $2 Billion (10% growth over 2003) Software (64%)Services (24%)Data Products (8%)Hardware (4%)

Market Share (2003) ESRI - 34% Intergraph - 13%Autodesk - 9%IBM GIS Business Unit- 9% GE Energy - 8%Leica Geosystems- 7%

Mapinfo - 4% Other - 16%

Largest market for GIS Software: Utilities industry (21%), followed by state and local governments

Others: Idrisi

GRASS Manifold

ArcGIS System Architecture

ArcGIS Main Components

ArcMap

ArcCatalog

ArcMap

Central ArcGIS application

Handles map-based tasks

ArcToolbox

Contains the tools for geoprocessing

ArcCatalog

Organizes and manages GIS data

ArcCatalog

GIS Data Formats

Working in ArcGIS

Spatial Analyst

Raster and Vector Analysis

Geostatistical Analyst

Advanced spatial analysis

3D Analyst

ESRI ArcGIS

To start ArcMap:- Select Start Button- Go to Programs-> ArcGIS -> ArcMap

Create a directory with your name under “My Documents”

Copy data for tutorial 1 to your directory

Username: U82-200Password: Ge0graphic