Application of GIS

Distinguishing Characteristics of a
GIS vs. Other Systems
1. provides links between points, lines,
areas, grids and their ATTRIBUTES in
a database

2. provides algorithms for ANALYSIS of

spatial data

3. spatially intelligent - thinks points, lines,

areas, grids are actual spots on Earths surface
- e.g., switching projections, computing
distances

GIS Layers,Themes,Overlays

GIS is a multi-Billion dollar business.

annual software revenues top $1
billion, increasing ~14% yearly
ESRI and Intergraph software
revenues account for 1/2 of industry
total
GIS industry now at $7 BILLION

Advantages of GIS Applications:

Interactive Visualization/Analysis
Planning and Management
Spatial Data Management and
Access
Environmental Risk Assessment
Multi-Dimensional Planning
Custom Applications Development
For Decision Support
Web-accessible Spatial
Information
3/13/16

3/13/16

Area of GIS
Applications
Facilities Management

Large scale and precise maps and network analysis

are used mainly for utility management. AM/FM is
frequently used in this area.
Environment and Natural Resources
Management
Medium or small scale maps and overlay techniques
in combination with aerial photographs and satellite
images are used for management of natural
resources and environmental impact analysis.
Street Network
Large or medium scale maps and spatial analysis are
used for vehicle routing, locating house and streets
etc.
Planning and Engineering
Large or medium scale maps and engineering models
are used mainly in civil enginerring.

DEMs and DTMs

Some definitions
DEM (Digital Elevation Model)
set of regularly or irregularly spaced height
values
no other information

DTM (Digital Terrain Model)

set of regularly or irregularly spaced height
values
but, with other information about terrain
surface
ridge lines, spot heights, troughs,
coast/shore lines, drainage lines, faults,
peaks, pits, passes, etc.
10

Comparison

Landform Panorama

Landform Profile

11

LIDAR data
(LIght Detection And Ranging)

Horizontal resolution: 2m
Vertical accuracy: 2cm
12

Modelling building and topological

structures
Two main approaches:
Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) based
on data sampled on a regular grid
(lattice)
Triangular Irregular Networks (TINs)
based on irregular sampled data and
Delaunay triangulation
13

DEMs and TINs

DEM with sample points

TIN based on same sample

points

14

Advantages/disadvantages
DEMs:

accept data direct from digital altitude matrices

must be resampled if irregular data used
may miss complex topographic features
may include redundant data in low relief areas
less complex and CPU intensive

TINs:
accept randomly sampled data without resampling
accept linear features such as contours and breaklines
(ridges and troughs)
accept point features (spot heights and peaks)
vary density of sample points according to terrain
complexity

15

Derived variables
Primary use of DTMs is calculation of
three main terrain variables:
height
altitude above datum

aspect
direction area of terrain is facing

slope
gradient or angle of terrain

16

Calculating slope
Inclination of the land surface
measured in degrees or percent
3 x 3 cell filter
find best fit tilted plane that
minimises squared difference
z = ain
+ bx + cy
height for each cell
determine slope of centre (target) cell
10

Slope = b2 + c2
17

Calculating aspect
Direction the land surface is facing
measured in degrees or nominal
classes (N, S, E, W, NE, SE, NW,
SW, etc.)
use 3 x 3 filter and best fit tilted plane
determine aspect for target cell
10

Aspect = tan-1 c / b
18

Other derived variables

Many other variables describing
terrain features/characteristics
hillshading
profile and plan curvature
feature extraction
etc.

19

Examples
heigh
t

aspec
t

hillshadi
ng

plan
curvature

slope

Feature
extraction

20

Problems with DEMs

Issues worth considering when
creating/using DTMs
quality of data used to generate DEM
interpolation technique
give rise to errors in surface such as:

sloping lakes and rivers flowing uphill

local minima
stepped appearance
etc.

21

Example applications
Visualisation
terrain and other 3D surfaces

Visibility analysis
intervisibility matrices and viewsheds

Hydrological modelling
catchment modelling and flow models

Engineering
cut & fill, profiles, etc.

22

Terrain visualisation
Analytical hillshading
Orthographic views
any azimuth, altitude, view distance/point
surface drapes (point, line and area data)

Animated fly-through
What if? modelling
photorealism
photomontage
CAD

23

Examples of hillshading
and orthographic
projection

Hillshadi
ng
Orthographic
projection
DEM

24

Example surface drape

Rainfall
Draped
image

DEM

25

Example animated fly-through

26

Photorealism

27

Photo-realism what if? visualisation

Visualisation 1: before felling

Visualisation 2: clearcut

Visualisation 3: strip
felling
28

Wind farm photomontage

before
after

wire-frame
model

29

DTM Conclusions
Need for third dimensional GIS
especially in environmental applications
new data models/structures
new opportunities for analysis

Basic uses and derived variables

Application areas
visualisation
visibility analysis
etc.

30

I. Application of GIS for Watershed Management

Basic Steps

Acquisition of DEM data from

Satellite Image/Toposheet

Conduct DEM processing to

derive stream, catchment, and
drainage point features

Populate data with required

attributes

Use network analysis and

Archydro tools to derive
desired metrics

3/13/16

31

Digital Elevation Model

Processing:

DEM is base data to

derive the following grids:
Flow

Direction
Flow Accumulation
Stream Network
Drainage Basins

3/13/16

32

Network Analysis:
What is stream flow
at a given location?
How many acres of
agricultural land
occur above a given
point?
To which basins does
water flow from a
given location?
3/13/16

33

Watershed analysis

3/13/16

What is the dominant land

use in a basin?
How many miles of road
occur adjacent to a river?
How many ha of intensive
agriculture occur above a
given location?
What is the relationship
between land use and water
quality?
Where are the most
vulnerable habitats?
Where is highest population
densities?
34

Local Spatial Data Infrastructure (LSDI) for Watershed

Management:
Vital components of watershed management:
- Soil and land resource data for planning at micro level
- Creation of a multi-temporal database for natural
resources.
- People's participation
- Awareness for farmers, policy makers, users, soil
conservationists and scientists
People's participation at micro level
Technological Integration:
- GIS along with conventional Database
- Hydrological and Socio-economic analysis
- Technological adoption and Conventional Practices
3/13/16

35

III. Virtual reality GIS Applications

Virtual Reality GIS
supports creation,
manipulation and
exploration of georeferenced virtual
environments
Applications include
3D simulation for
planning with
different scenarios
3/13/16

36

IV. Real-time GIS Application

With the availability of realtime positioning systems, it is
possible to develop GIS that
monitor, transmit, record and
analyse the movement of
mobile agents such as
vehicles, people or animals
and hazards
(telegeomonitoring).

Real time monitoring of a Tropical Cyclone over west coast of India

3/13/16

37

Other GIS Application Areas:

Health and Anemities planning
Market Research, ERP and SAP
Operations Management - Distribution and
Retail Services
Spatial Information Services - Tourist & Tour
Operators
Spatial Services Management Defense and
Disaster Management
Spatial Services Management - Land &
Utilities Planning & Management
& Many Others
3/13/16

38

Spatial Data Infrastructure

Concepts and Components

What is an
SDI?
SDI as a principle
Telecommunications
Transportation
Electricity
Education

SDI

Spatial Data
Infrastructure
(SDI)

recognizes GIS data

as a fundamental
infrastructure
component for
national physical,
cultural and
economic
development, akin to
highways,
telecommunications
networks and
educational facilities.

What is a Spatial Data

Infrastructure (SDI)?
The SDI provides a basis for spatial
data discovery, evaluation, and
application for users and providers
within all levels of government, the
commercial sector, the non-profit
sector, academia and by citizens in
general.
--The SDI Cookbook
http://www.gsdi.org

Components of a Spatial Data

Infrastructure (SDI)
Policies & Institutional Arrangements
(governance, data privacy & security,
data sharing, cost recovery)
People (training, professional
development, cooperation, outreach)
Data (digital base map, thematic,
statistical, place names)
Technology (hardware, software,
networks, databases, technical
implementation plans)

Heres an overview of the

elements and status of SDI

Partnerships
Discovery
Discovery

Access
Access

Processing
Processing

Clearinghouse
(catalog)
Services
Metadata
Metadata
Metadata

Framework GEOdata
GEOdata
Framework

Standards

The first task is to inventory who has what data of what type and quality
A standardized form of metadata was published in June 1994 by the US
FGDC. An international standard (ISO 19115/19139) now exists and is being
adopted by most countries

Metadata
Metadata

Metadata can apply to data,

services, and other resource types
Provides documentation of existing
internal geospatial resources within an
organisation (inventory)
Permits structured search and comparison
of held geospatial resources by others
(catalog)
Provides end-users with adequate
information to take the resource and apply
it in an appropriate context
(documentation)
ISO 19115/TS19139 provide an
international standard for metadata and its
encoding

Services
Services
Metadata
Metadata
Geospatial
Geospatial Data
Data
Metadata describes data and service resources
for order, access, or local use
Metadata is used to describe all types of data,
emphasis on truth in labeling

Special-use thematic layers are built and

described as available geospatial data
Common data layers are being defined in
the Framework activity

Metadata
Metadata
Framework

GEOdata

Framework Data
Standards
Eleven abstract data content
standards are being promulgated
through the ANSI process as
American National Standards
Each theme (layer) is also described
as XML/GML Application Schemas
that can be served over the Web
(OGC Web Feature Services)

Scope: Framework Layers

Elevation
Orthoimagery
Hydrographic Data
Governmental Unit Boundaries
Cadastral
Geodetic Control
Transportation
Roads Air
Rail Marine
Transit

The SDI includes the services to help

discover and interact with data

Services
Services
Metadata
Metadata
Framework

GEOdata

An important common service in SDI is

that of discovering resources through
metadata
Discovery
Processing
Discovery Access
Access Processing
Services

Metadata
Metadata
Framework

GEOdata

This Discovery Service is provided by a

national catalog of geospatial information
which can be accessed by a national portal

National Geo-Portal
capabilities

Help locate data and services

Support download of data, link to related
websites, and applications for others to
access
Support self-organizing communities post
and manage selected content
Share data collection plans and
requirements to support partnerships and
collaboration

Metadata Publication
Options

Users may contribute metadata

one of three ways:
Enter metadata into a form on the
catalog and they are stored and
indexed there
Upload metadata as XML to the
catalog from a GIS or metadata
program
Register their existing metadata
collection or service to be harvested
into the national catalog

data
metadata
form
entry

XML
upload

data
metadata

metadata
catalog

search

Portal
map viewer

map services

data metadata

data metadata

A second category of services provides

standardised access to geospatial
information
Discovery
Processing
Discovery Access
Access Processing

Services

Metadata
Metadata
Framework
This

GEOdata

may be made via static files on ftp or

via web services. These services deliver
raw geospatial data, not maps.

A third class of services provides

additional processing on geospatial
information
Discovery
Processing
Discovery Access
Access Processing
Services

Metadata
Metadata
Framework

GEOdata

Standardization makes SDI work

Standards touch every SDI activity

Discovery
Discovery

Access
Access

Processing
Processing

Services

Metadata
Metadata
Framework

GEOdata

Standards
Standards include specifications, formal
standards, and documented practices

Partnerships extend our capabilities

Partnerships
Discovery
Discovery

Access
Access

Processing
Processing

Services

Metadata
Metadata
Framework

GEOdata

Standards

Partnerships are the glue...

Proper governance of the community is
essential through a variety of roles and
responsibilities
National government or NGOs should
partner with other levels of government
and sectors to promote 2-way
coordination
The government or a foundation may be
able to fund agencies with seed
funding to further existing efforts
toward common goals
Partnerships extend local capabilities in
technology, skills, logistics, and data

Growing Number of
Regional Initiatives

National
Spatial Data
Initiative (U.S.)

Libya Spatial Data

Infrastructure

European
Union INSPIRE

Global
Spatial Data
Initiative

Kuwait SDI

Permanent
Committee on GIS
Infrastructure for
Asia and the
Pacific

Qatar National
GIS

Oman National
GIS

Australian
Spatial Data
Infrastructure

1980

1990

2000

100 Countries Are Now Developing SDI At

Some Level
50 Countries Have Signed To Participate
in Global Spatial Data Infrastructure
The Community Is Growing Every Year

SDI Network Enables

Search,
Discovery,
and Brokering
of access to
geospatial
resources
Data
Applications
Web sites
Documents

Metadata Plays an Integrating Role

National Spatial Data

Infrastructure (NSDI)
Definition - the technology, policies,
standards, human resources, and
related activities necessary to acquire,
process, distribute, use, maintain, and
preserve spatial data
Part of a nations e-Gov strategy
www.GSDI.org

Framework Data (common)/ Reference

Data

Geoditic network
Administrative Boundaries
Hydrography
Elevation
Roads and Railroads
Cadastre (Land System)
Geographical Names

List of Core Layers

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

Transportation network/Roads/rails/Navigation
routes
Population centres / gridded Population density
Hydrography / Hydrology / drainage network/ River
and lake basins
Hydrogeology
Coastlines
Land-cover/Land-use
Hypsographic ( elevation contours)
Bathymetry
Landmine areas
Protected area / Restricted areas
Geology, geomorphology
Airports/Helipad
Health facilities

Main NSDI Components

NationalInformationInfrastructure

SpatialData
Infrastructure

National
Statisticsand
Indicators

ITCNational
Computing
andNetwork
Infrastructure

Other

Growing recognition that SDI is part of a

larger societal issue

WhatAretheCommon
WhatAretheCommon
ComponentsofNII??
ComponentsofNII??

ManyCommonalities
andDependencies

Standards
Technology
Policies
Organization

Some SDI examples

Regional SDI: INSPIRE
INSPIRE: Infrastructure for spatial information in Europe
Adopted on 21 November 2006

UNSDI:
UN Geographic Information Working Group: Umbrella for UN
bodies, in charge of the UN SDI
Second Administrative-Level Boundaries (SALB) Project

Global Mapping Initiative:

Core layers at 1:1 million
More than 130 countries are involved

Geographic Information
Standards

ISO/TC 211
Countries

OpenGIS Consortium
Industry

Basic data

Administrative units
Transport networks
Hydrography including water catchments
Elevation (including terrestrial elevation, bathymetry and
coastline)
Protected sites
Land cover
Cadastral parcels
Ortho-imagery
Coordinate reference systems
Geographical names
Geographical grid systems
Addresses including postal regions

75

Level of harmonization of Basic data

76

Other data

77

Level of harmonization of other

data
Data should be consistent:
Geometrically
Geo-referencing to allow consistent overlay
of data

Semantically
Definition of spatial objects

78

Trends in GIS Technology

GIS technology is constantly

evolving
Software and hardware advances
New types of data collection
techniques and devices
New types of applications of
technology
GIS is gradually becoming a
technology that is being used in most
segments of society, not just natural
resources

Integrated raster/vector
software
GIS software packages were previously
defined as being a raster or vector
software package

Packages were typically designed for one data

structure and could perhaps dabble in another
ArcInfo workstation and ArcView 3: vector

This trend has changed as almost all

packages now have capabilities in both
raster and vector
Previously, the strong differences between
raster and vector data structures
prevented integration
In addition, software manufacturers
created their own proprietary data formats

As software and hardware

advances
Perhaps a fully integrated system, one that
offers a full suite of tools for both raster
and vector data will emerge
Vector databases used for image classification
Raster databases used for buffering, overlay,
and proximity operations

This system would allow users to

seamlessly use raster or vector data for
GIS operations

Linkage of GIS Databases to other

digital data
Connecting mapped data to other
information sources, such as digital
photography, video, or text-based
information sources
Allows us to learn more about a
mapped feature

Linking GIS data to other

information

Figure :A GIS database of urban trees, and an associated hyperlinked

picture of a tree (courtesy of Andrew Saunders).

High-resolution databases
Precision forestry and precision agriculture
have become recognized disciplines
Applications seek to use digital
technologies for improving or making
more efficient natural resource
management activities
The term precision agriculture has been
in use for over ten years while precision
forestry has recently gained popular usage
The first formal recognition was at the 2001
UW Precision Forestry Symposium

Precision agriculture
applications
Using GPS as a navigational aid for
farm equipment
Capturing remotely sensed imagery
to describe the status of soil
properties (to determine the need for
fertilizer or pesticides)
Using digital aerial photographs to
record crop plantings and outcomes

Precision forestry
applications
Using electronic distance measuring tools
to capture precise spatial positions of
forest landscape features
Capturing precise and timely satellite
imagery to assist in monitoring threats to
forest health (fire, disease, floods)
Developing precise, fine-scale DEMs to
identify steep forested areas that may be
susceptible to landslide activity

Raster data collection appears

promising
Data collection and processing
techniques becoming more efficient
and affordable
IKONOS
1-4m resolution

Color aerial photography at 1m

resolution can be captured and made
available to clients within days

IKONOS
satellite image
at 4 m
resolution of
Copper
Mountain
located in the
Colorado Rocky
Mountains
(Image
courtesy of
GeoEye)

Managing raster data

Raster databases have sometimes been
prohibitive to organizations because of their size
Hard drives are becoming larger and faster but raster
data can still quickly consume space

With proper management, raster data have great

potential to assist organizations that manage
large land areas
Keeping land cover information current
Facilitating temporal analysis of land cover change

The challenge will be in deciding how often to

acquire new data and how to integrate new data
into existing databases (update questions)
This is a strong contrast from the recent past when
organizations often struggled to create and/or locate
data

Distributing GIS capabilities to field

offices
The traditional model of GIS use in
organizations was a centralized office that
would attempt to provide GIS services and
support for all parts of the organization
Problems with this model:
Accessibility
Timeliness
Communication

Todays trend: the distributed model

Distributed GIS capabilities

Makes GIS available to many parts of an
organization including field offices
Many factors have contributed to this model:

More people graduating from colleges and universities

with GIS training
Less expensive hardware
More user-friendly software

Benefits include enhanced field office productivity

(timeliness, removing communication barriers,
and giving employees greater involvement in
organizational activities) and a reduction in the
centralized GIS office
This model will likely continue to grow in
popularity

Internet data availability

The Internet has been a primary contributor to
GIS popularity
Many public organizations make data available for
download
Not long ago, data needed to be physically transported
on a storage device (carried or mailed)

Some organizations still charge for data transfer

costs
Some larger databases still cant be efficiently
made available for large land areas
Data compression techniques will likely improve to
accommodate large raster databases

Portable devices for data display

and capture
Handheld and personal data assistants (PDAs) have become
increasingly common for collecting forest inventory and
landscape data
GPS receivers can be coupled with hand-held devices to show
locations and store measurements
Raster maps can be displayed in the background to locate features or
verify measurements

These technologies are reducing the use of field data books

and the need to manually record measurements
Has increased the rate at which data can be integrated into a digital
database
Reduces the opportunity for human error

Handheld data collectors are still expensive ($1,000 to 5,000)

while PDAs are generally inexpensive ($200-300)
Still difficult to place complete trust in these instruments for
data collection

Standards for the exchange of GIS

databases
The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)
has specified standards for data cataloging
These standards guide the construction of metadata:
data about data
All federal agencies are required to comply, most state
agencies that distribute spatial data have also adopted
data standards

Private organizations are not bound to data

cataloging standards
Acquisition and modification of GIS data may go
undocumented

ArcInfo coverages and ArcView shapefiles are the

most prevalent GIS formats made available by
organizations
DXF files are also popular for schematics and
engineering related databases
Most GIS software allows users to import, or at

Legal issues related to GIS

Privacy, liability, accessibility, and licensing are all hot
topics within GIS at present
Privacy
Spatial data are being collected about all of us at an everincreasing rate
Address, family, income, home value, purchasing decisions

Organizations are purchasing and using this data to help direct

advertising
Mailings, phone calls, e-mails

GIS has become a tool, like it or not, to foster business

As private organizations continue to forge new ground in the
collection, sale, and exchange of spatial data that describe the
economic and social behavior of individuals, society will be
challenged to maintain privacy

GIS Interoperability
Interoperability means that software
packages get along with one another
Accomplished through the option of
standard terminology, data formats,
and software interfaces
Rapid GIS growth during the 1990s
led to numerous incompatible GIS
products

Open Geospatial
Consortium
Over 340 member organizations, began in
1994
Promotes accessibility to geoprocessing
tools and location-based services
Accomplishments
Standardized terms: points, lines, and polygons
Created GML (Geography Markup Language),
an open source language for describing spatial
data
Standards for how geographic data can be
requested and accessed from Internet servers

GIS Education
GIS capabilities are now essential for natural
resource organizations
No direct accreditation process or organization
exists to guide geospatial technology instruction
ABET provides accreditation for engineering and
surveying curriculums

A need exists to identify the concepts and

knowledge necessary for geospatial technology
programs in higher-education
The Geographic Information Science and
Technology Body of Knowledge (DiBiase et al.
2006) has attempted to define critical concepts
and skills related to GIScience