Grovestudies Production
What is GIS?
A geographic information system (GIS) is a system that creates, manages, analyzes, and maps all types of data. GIS connects data to a map, integrating location data (where things are) with all types of descriptive information (what things are like there). This provides a foundation for mapping and analysis that is used in science and almost every industry. GIS helps users understand patterns, relationships, and geographic context. The benefits include improved communication and efficiency as well as better management and decision making.
This is changing the way the world works.
Identify problems
Monitor change
Manage & respond to events
Perform forecasting
Set priorities
Understand trends
Maps
Maps are the geographic container for the data layers and analytics you want to work with. GIS maps are easily shared and embedded in apps, and accessible by virtually everyone, everywhere.
Data
GIS integrates many different kinds of data layers using spatial location. Most data has a geographic component. GIS data includes imagery, features, and basemaps linked to spreadsheets and tables.
Analysis
Spatial analysis lets you evaluate suitability and capability, estimate and predict, interpret and understand, and much more, lending new perspectives to your insight and decision-making.
The First GIS
Roger Tomlinson’s pioneering work to initiate, plan, and develop the Canada Geographic Information System resulted in the first computerized GIS in the world in 1963.
Tomlinson created the design for automated computing to store and process large amounts of data, which enabled Canada to begin its national land-use management program. He also gave GIS its name.
GIS Today
GIS gives people the ability to create their own digital map layers to help solve real-world problems. GIS has also evolved into a means for data sharing and collaboration, inspiring a vision that is now rapidly becoming a reality—a continuous, overlapping, and interoperable GIS database of the world, about virtually all subjects.
The Future of GIS
With its movement to web and cloud computing, and integration with real-time information via the Internet of Things, GIS has become a platform relevant to almost every human endeavor—a nervous system of the planet. As our world faces problems from expanding population, loss of nature, and pollution, GIS will play an increasingly important role in how we understand and address these issues and provide a means for communicating solutions using the common language of mapping.
Remote Sensing
Remote sensing is one of the methods commonly used for collecting physical data to be integrated into GIS. Remote sensors collect data from objects on the earth without any direct contact. They do this by detecting energy reflected from the earth, and are typically mounted on satellites or aircraft.
