UNIT -4

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM

TOPICS TO

BE STUDIED

GIS introduction and definition Components of GIS Data for GIS Data acquisition Raster formats Vector formats Data Models Spatial Modelling Data Output Applications of GIS

INTRODUCTION

Geographic Information System is a System containing Information which is geographic in nature.

SYSTEM Implies that a GIS is made from several inter-related and linked components with different functions.

GEOGRAPHIC
Implies that all data in the system are pertinent to earths feature and resources

INFORMATION

Implies that data in a GIS are organized to yield useful knowledge. E.g.-coloured maps,etc.

DEFINITION OF GIS

GIS can be defined as - A System which involves collecting/capturing, storing, processing and manipulating, analyzing, managing, retrieving and displaying data (information) which is, essentially, referenced to the real-world or the earth (i.e. geographically referenced).

EXPLANATION OF THE DEFINITION:

1. Collection/Capturing The dataset collected for GIS may be in the form of hard copy maps, satellite images, survey data or other data obtained from other primary and secondary sources. Collection of data depends on the objective of the assignment. Data capturing involves digitization of hard copy maps and satellite images. 2. Storage In GIS Storage means not merely storing whatever data we have collected. The collected data is converted in usable GIS format and then finally stored for further use either on computer hard disk or in other storage devices (CD, DVD, magnetic tapes etc.) 3. Processing and Manipulation The collected and stored dataset is imported and converted into layers. Then required attributes are attached. Then data is processed for refinement, removing errors and preparing it for further GIS-based analysis. Data manipulation is essential so that it can be represented in proper understandable form.

4. Analysis Analysis of GIS data is required to convert it into desired outputs. There are many type of analysis in GIS which is (or are) to be done is objective dependent. The analysis may be statistical, spatial or specialized (like network analysis, utility analysis etc. Need not to say GIS analysis requires skilled professionals. 5. Management Data management is essential and very important part of GIS for storing, managing and properly maintaining GIS database. 6. Retrieval In GIS, data can be retrieved through SQL or spatial queries. Some software provide tools to retrieve data by simply selecting the features. Retrieval is used for getting information about the features of our interest. 7. Display Displaying of final output may in many forms. These may be hard copy printouts, on-screen display of maps, internet-based map display (through Internet Map Servers) or in the form of presentation (like power point).

COMPONENTS OF GIS
i)

ii) iii) iv) v)

Computer system (hardware and operating system) Software Spatial data Data management and analysis procedures Personnel to operate the GIS

1.) Hardware Components and Operating System: The hardware components of GIS comprise of a Central Processing Unit (C.P.U), disk drive , tape drive, digitizer, plotter and Visual Display Unit (V.D.U). The disk drive and the tape drive are basically data storage devices. A digitizer is an input output devices to convert graphics into digital data, where as the plotter, an output device, convert the digital the digital data into the graphical form. The scanner is a graphic input device. The Visual Display Unit along with a keyboard or mouse is required to interact with the computer. The Central Processing Unit of a computer interacts with various hardware components and performs computations and analysis. An operating system of a computer is a kind of master control program to manage files, to check the various peripheral devices, and to help have a control over the computer. 2.) Software: The GIS software package has a set of modules for performing digitization, editing, overlaying, networking , vectorising and data conversion analysis and for answering the queries and generating output.

3.) Spatial Data Spatial data are characterized by information about position , connections with other features and details of non-spatial characteristics. All GIS Softwares are designed to handle spatial data. 4.) Data Management and Analysis Procedures The management of data in GIS includes storage, organizations and retrieval using a Database Management System (DBMS). GIS analysis procedures include:a) Storage and retrieval capabilities for presenting the required information b) Queries allowing the user to look at the patterns in the data, and c) Prediction or modeling capabilities to have information about what data might be at different time and place. 5.) Personnel Operating GIS A GIS project requires trained personnel who can plan, implement and operate the system. They should also be capable of making decisions on the basis of the output.

DATA TYPES
GIS data can be broadly classified as :i) Spatial data ii) Non-Spatial data Other types of data are: i) Original data ii) Encoded data iii) Interpreted data iv) Structured or Organised data

SPATIAL DATA

Spatial data is geographical representation of features. In other words, spatial data is what we actually see in the form of maps (containing realworld features) on a computer screen. Spatial data can further be divided into following two types; a). Vector data

b) Raster data

NON-SPATIAL DATA
These describe geographic regions or defines characteristics of spatial features within geographic regions. They provide information such as colour, texture, quantity and quality.

DATA ACQUISITION
Terrain data from Satellite Remote Sensing Terrain data from existing Maps Terrain data collection by photogrammetry Terrain data from Field Surveying Methods Digital Terrain data by GPS

Vector Data:
It represent any geographical feature through point, line or polygon or combination of these. Point: A point in GIS is represented by one pair of coordinates (x & y). It is considered as dimension-less object. Most of the times a point represent location of a feature (like cities, wells, villages etc.). Line: A line or arc contains at least two pairs of coordinates (say- x1, y1 & x2, y2). In other words a line should connect minimum two points. Start and end points of a line are referred as nodes while points on curves are referred as vertices. Points at intersections are also called as nodes. Roads, railway tracks, streams etc. are generally represented by line.
Polygon (or Area) : It is a closed line with area. It takes minimum three pairs of coordinates to represent an area or polygon. Extent of cities, forests, land use etc. is represented by polygon.

Raster Data
Raster data is made up of pixels. It is an array of grid cells with columns and rows. Each and every geographical feature is represented only through pixels in raster data. There is nothing like point, line or polygon. If it is a point, in raster data it will be a single pixel, a line will be represented as linear arrangement of pixels and an area or polygon will be represented by contiguous neighboring pixels with similar values. In raster data one pixel contain only one value (unlike vector data where a point, a line or a polygon may have number of values or attributes) thats why only one geographical feature can be represented by a single set of pixels or grid cells. Hence a number of raster layers are required if multiple features are to be considered (For example- land use, soil type, forest density, topography etc.). The digital satellite images are also in raster format.

DATA MODELS

The conventional paper map represents a general-purpose snapshot or static view of the real world at a given time whereas the digital geographic database allows a range of operations such as sorting, processing, analyzing, and visualizing the spatial data thereby allowing the data to be a dynamic together with the necessary tools for interacting with the data to perform certain specific objectives. The ways of representing data are known as data models. The data model represents the linkages between the real-world domain of geographical and the computer (or GIS representation of the features). The process of linkages involves;Identifying the spatial features from the real world that are of interest in the context to an application and choosing how to represent them in a conceptual model. Representing the conceptual model by an appropriate data model by choosing between raster or vector approach, and Selecting an appropriate spatial data structure to store the model within the computer.

i)

ii) iii)

SPATIAL DATA MODELLING

To make geographic data useful, it should be encoded in digital form, and organized as a digital geographical database that creates a perception of the real world similar to the perception created by the paper maps. Type of spatial data modelling : 1. Object based model. The geographic space is treated to be filled by discrete and identifiable objects. A object which is a spatial feature, has identifiable boundaries ,relevance to some intended application, and can be described by one or moor more characteristics known as attributes. spatial object such as Exact objects (building ,roads etc) Inexact objects(landform features , and wildlife habitat) 2. Field based model. The field based model treats geographic space as populated by one or more spatial phenomena of real world features varying continuously over space with no obvious or specific extend

DATABASE M ODELS
Model is a set of plans for a building, therefore, modelling of database means a methodologies to be followed for some specified purpose. It specify the structure of database. Common approach for this purpose include; 1. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) 2. Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN)

Digital Elevation Model (DEM)

It is a sampled array of elevations (z) that are at regularly spaced intervals in the x and y directions. Two approaches for determining the surface z value of a location between sample points are followed. a). Lattice: each mesh point represents a value on the surface only at the center of the grid cell. The z-value is approximated by interpolation between adjacent sample points; it does not imply an area of constant value. b). Surface grid: considers each sample as a square cell with a constant surface value. Advantages Simple conceptual model Disadvantages Data cheap to obtain Does not conform to variability of the terrain Easy to relate to other raster data Irregularly spaced set of points can be converted to regular spacing by interpolation Linear features not well represented

Representation of DEM
After a satellite image has been combined with a DEM, one gets a representation like that shown here and known as Digital Terrain Model (DTM).

TRIANGULATED IRREGULAR NETWORK (TIN)

It is a set of adjacent, nonoverlapping triangles computed from irregularly spaced points, with x, y horizontal coordinates and z vertical elevations.

Advantages

Can capture significant slope features (ridges, etc) Efficient since require few triangles in flat areas Easy for certain analyses: slope, aspect, volume Analysis involving comparison with other layers difficult

Disadvantages

GIS DATA M ODELS

The real world can only be depicted in a GIS through the use of models that define phenomena in a manner that computer systems can interpret and perform meaningful analysis. There are two types of GIS Data Models
1. Vector Model

2. Raster Model

Raster data model

location is referenced by a grid cell in a rectangular array (matrix) attribute is represented as a single value for that cell much data comes in this form

Vector data model

location referenced by x,y coordinates, which can be linked to form lines and polygons attributes referenced through unique ID number to tables much data comes in this form

images from remote sensing (LANDSAT, SPOT) scanned maps elevation data from USGS elevation temperature soil type land use

best for continuous features:

DIME and TIGER files from US Census DLG from USGS for streams, roads, etc census data (tabular)

best for features with discrete boundaries

property lines political boundaries transportation

DATA OUTPUT

The output products can be of various kinds, and since these products are computer generated, the use/analyst should be used of the desired forms of output options available in GIS software. A brief discussion on various kinds of output of GIS is given below. The most common graphics products produced by GIS are maps. A map is a two-dimensional model of a part of the Earths surface, and it can be of various kind. The common types of thematic maps are as below; Thematic Maps: concentrate on spatial variations of a single phenomenon (e.g. population) or the relationship between phenomena (e.g. different classes of land cover). Choropleth Maps: are typically used to communicate the relative magnitudes of continuous variables as they occur within the boundaries of unit areas (e.g. average annual per capita income as it varies by country). In these maps, different tones, colours, and shading patterns are used to convey the variations in the different areas. Proximal or dasymetric Maps: focus on the location and magnitude of areas exhibiting relative uniformity (e.g. land cover classes). Different colours and shading patterns are used to describe the differences in the thematic values. Contour Maps: represent quantities by lines of equal value to emphasize gradients among the value. Contour lines may be used to indicate variation in topography of a region, high and low pressure regions.

The other kind of map required for a specific purpose are as under: Dot Maps: depict spatial distribution of features by varying numbers of uniform dots (e.g. populations)

Line Maps: show the direction and magnitude of potential or actual flow (e.g. to show sources and destination as well as the volume of product transported from one state to others) Land Form Maps: depict the earths surface as it were viewed from an aerial point view. Animated Maps: are generally used to display sequences through time (e.g. growth of a city as its population and area increase through time).

Some users/analysts prefer to get the results of analysis displayed by mans of non-map graphics. Some of the simple and common graphic presentation techniques are: Bar Charts : used to illustrate difference in an attribute between categories (e.g. time-varying distribution of land use in an area such as urban, sub-urban and rural) Pie Charts: for displaying information by dividing a circle into sectors representing proportions of the whole (e.g. in a state percentage of rural, urban and sub-urban population) Scatter Plots: for displaying the behavior of one attribute verses another attribute (e.g. yield and applied fertilizer) Histograms: to show the distribution of a single attribute to examine the way the attribute is apportioned among the different possible values.

GIS APPLICATIONS
The application of geospatial sciences has spread very fast and wide over the past few decades. User's of GIS's range from indigenous people, communities, research institutions, environmental scientists, health organizations, land use planners, businesses, and government agencies at all levels.

Environment
1. Conservation & Monitoring 2. Planning & Policy 3. Wetland Management 4. Wildlife Management 5. Forest Management 6. Water Pollution 7. Air Pollution 8. Climate Change

Agriculture
1. Overview 2. Crop Production 3. Crop Pattern 4. Crop Yield 5. Irrigation 6. Soil Management

Geology
1. Mineral & Mining 2. Geomorphology 3. Products

Urban Planning
1. Urban Sprawl 2. Fringe Area Development 3. Urban Agglomeration 4. Emerging Technologies

GIS APPLICATIONS
Natural Resource Management
1. Mountain 2. Water Resources 3. Ocean 4. Coastal Zone Management 5. Corporate Case Studies

..cont.

Land Information System

1. Policy 2. Rural & Cadastral 3. Urban

Natural Hazard Management

1. Earthquake 2. Drought 3. Fire 4. Flood & Cyclones 5. Landslide & Soil Erosion 6. Volcano

Utility
1. Power 2. Telecom 3. Transport