An Introduction to GIS

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An Introduction to GIS

• How many would like to stay in Montana?
• How many see GIS as part of their careers?
• How many would like to find their inner GIS geek?

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Required Text

• GIS Fundamentals
• A First Text on
• Geographic Information Systems
• Second Edition
• by Paul Bolstad

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Course Topics

• Intro to GIS
• Data Models
• Data file structures
• Geodesy, datums, projections
• Data Sources
• GPS
• Digital data

• Attribute data/databases
• Basic Spatial Analysis
• Modeling
• Data Quality, Standards, Documentaion
• Cartography
• The Future

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History

• Geography applies to everything
• Physical layout of the earths features
• Habitat
• Language
• Religion
• Philosophy

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A Brief History of Geography

• Depending on how you define map
• 8000 years ago, wall painting in Anatolia (now
  Turkey) of a city
• Before the written word
• cave/wall paintings of Babylon
• Greeks were the first to adopt a scientific
  approach to mapping
• chartis map graphein write
• Most people credit Homer as the founding father
  of Geography
• Not as a map maker, but for his inspiring poetic
  descriptions
• Iliad, Odyssey
• 8th Century BC

Presuming Homer was actually a real person.
There is considerable debate that this was just a
the name given to one or more oral poets who sang
traditional epic material.
World map from the Middle Ages.
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartography
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Brief History of Geography Ptolemy

• Claudius Ptolemy --- a more scientific and
  mathematical approach.
• Projections Had been in use since 3rd Century
  BC, but Ptolemy improved.
• Coordinates Latitude/Longitude, but based on
  length of day rather than degrees of arc as it is
  today.
• Thought the earth was smaller than it actually
  is.

A 15th century depiction of Ptolemy's 150 CE
World Map. The British Library Harley MS 7182,
ff 58v-59 From Wikipedia
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GIS Definitions

• Most basic a map with data. Example a map
  some field notes.
• A tool for making and using spatial information
  Paul Bolstad
• a computer based system to aid in the
  collection, maintenance, storage, analysis,
  output and distribution of spatial data and
  information. Bolstad
• input, store, retrieve, manipulate, analyze and
  output geographically referenced data or
  geospatial data, in order to support decision
  making Gabriel Yuras

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Layers
Data
from Jon Henderson, City of Bozeman
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from Eric Spangenberg, Lewis Clark County
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Location, location, location

• Where something is
• Coordinates
• UTM
• Lat/Long
• Addresses
• What is there
• Attributes
• Length of River
• Depth of Water
• Fish Counts
• Contaminants Found

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GIS gives decision-makers the tools to make well
informed decisions

• Natural resources
• Forests, habitat (black footed ferret), hydro,
  mining
• Social issues
• Spread of disease, demographics
• Utilities
• Water, sewer, power
• Business
• Location, routing
• Government
• Planning, infrastructure, E911

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Desperate people do desperate things

• Population growth
• Human population has grown more during the past
  50 years than the previous 5000.
• Resource depletion
• The first 100,000 years of human existance
  caused scant impacts on the Worlds resources,
  while in the past 300 years humans have
  permanently altered most of the earths surface.
• Rising costs
• Pollution/Environmental Impacts
• Global warming

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GPS (a whole week on this later)

• Global Positioning System
• Military
• Satellites
• The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978.
• A full constellation of 24 satellites was
  achieved in 1994.
• Each satellite is built to last about 10 years.
  Replacements are constantly being built and
  launched into orbit.
• from http//www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/
• Trees/mountains/buildings can still be a
  problem!!!

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Weve come a long way baby

• My world in 1989
• Prime computer
• Internet didnt exist
• Pen plotter
• 286 desktop
• Command line
• Green white stripey paper
• No data
• Ouch!!!

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But theres room for improvement

• My world today
• Internet/Servers all over not instantaneous
• Inkjet plotter still expensive, requires
  technician to service
• Intel Core2 Duo going to quads
• Windows whatever
• Dual monitors want 3!!
• Normal paper WYSIWYG nOT.
• There will Always be a need for data

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GIScience

• Theoretical foundation on which GIS is based.
• Bigger picture
• GIS technical aspects, implementation,
  application.
• GIScience is GIS redefine geography in the
  digital age
• Drawing from geography, geodesy, remote sensing,
  surveying, computer sci, cart, math, statistics,
  congnitive science, linguistics, etc.
• How do we perceive space?

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GIS Software

• ArcGIS - ESRI
• Geomedia Integraph, 30 yrs, data from divergent
  sources (more on OpenGIS later)
• Mapinfo MapInfo, focus on business/municipal
  apps.
• Idrisi Clark University, image processing added
  to GIS, focus on teaching research, low cost
• ERDAS (Earth Resources Data Analysis System)
  satellite images (more on rasters later)
• AUTOCAD MAP Autodesk, engineering tool
• TNTmips MicroImages, easily transportable
  between platforms
• Manifold v. inexpensive. Sophisticated image
  editing (Adobe)
• Etc

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Summary

• Hardware
• Software
• Data
• PEOPLE!!