Geographic information science and Spatial Data types

This GIS overview is intended to be a general introductory section to familiarize

students with the basic GIS knowledge, concepts and examples. The information in
this chapter will be made more specific to the geological study disciplines and its
applications i.e. students should be able build on and apply the information learnt
here, to the geologic GIS Operations section.

AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU BE ABLE TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING

QUESTIONS

 What is GIS?
 What are the main components of a GIS?
 What are typical GIS functions? i.e. what can GIS do?
 Data types and what makes data spatial?
 What is the word used for defining “data about data”?
 What are some real-world applications of GIS?
 What is your GIS project goal?

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What is GIS?

These are some formal definitions of a GIS- “A geographic information system (GIS) is an
organized integration of hardware, software and geographic data designed to capture,
store, edit, analyze, share and display geographically referenced information. It is used to
resolve complex problems of planning and management.

In a more general sense, GIS is a tool that allows its users to perform interactive
requests, analyze spatial information, revise data and maps, and present results of these
operations.

Why is GIS unique?

Geography is information about the earth’s surface and the objects found on it, e.g.
people, trees, buildings, roads, shoreline etc. GIS then provides a system for organizing
this knowledge. GIS helps manage, analyze, and distribute geographic knowledge.

What distinguishes GIS from other information systems?

 GIS integrates spatial and other kinds of information within one system: it offers a
consistent framework for analyzing space
 GIS makes connections between activities based on spatial proximity
 GIS provides the mechanisms for undertaking the manipulation and display of
geographic knowledge

GIS Foundation

This section is intended to introduce users to the foundation aspects or main components
of a GIS. Each of the components will now be examined in further detail.

GIS Components

A working GIS integrates these five key components: hardware, software, data, people,
and methods/applications (Figure 1).

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 Figure 1: GIS components

Hardware

The hardware in the form of the computer is central in this area; it runs the software;
this is where data collected is stored and where the personnel interact with the data.
However, hardware isn’t static. It obviously depends on what your goal is. Devices can be
categorized in four general ways:

 Data collection: GPS, Cameras

 Data Input: Scanners, digitizers
 Data Output: Printers, Computer monitors, plotters
 Data analysis and storage: Computers, hard drives

Software
GIS software provides the functions and tools needed to store, analyze, and display
geographic information. Key software components are:
 A database management system (Arc Catalogue)
 Tools for the input and manipulation of geographic information (Arc toolbox)
 Tools that support geographic query, analysis, and visualization
 A graphical user interface (GUI) for easy access to tools

A well-rounded GIS package has tools to support both vector and raster analysis. Over
time you may develop preferences depending on the type of analysis being done. The main

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GIS software is often referred to as a desktop GIS package since GIS software is a large
collection of tools which is key to the entire system.
There are free (open Source) GIS packages e.g. QGIS as well as proprietary/commercial
ones e.g. ArcGIS, several of which can be run not only on Windows but on Linux and Mac
OS’s. While free GIS packages are useful, it is important to remember that as GIS
integration in your organization grows, investing in software will also be necessary. Well
known commercial applications are known to be more robust in their software functionality
but also tend to be very stable. Also because of the market-share that they command, the
vendors often provide technical support for their products and occasional training
programs.
People
People design, sell and use GIS applications. Without people, there is no GIS. GIS
technology is of limited value without the people who manage the system and to develop
plans for applying it. GIS user ranges from technicians to specialists who design and
maintain the system, and those who use it to help them do their everyday work.
Methods
Methods are well designed plans and/or business rules describing how the technology is or
should be applied. This includes:
 Guidelines
 Specifications
 Standards and
 Procedures
Data
Data fuels a GIS and is the most important component of GIS. Geographic data and
related tabular or attribute data can be collected in-house or bought from a commercial
data provider. Most GIS’s create and maintain a database to help organize and manage
data.

What makes data spatial?

Spatial data simply has to do with geographical representation of an entity or feature on

earth’s surface i.e. it refers to information that is associated with a location or place
(Figure 2). Spatial data has particular characteristics that can be described in terms of:
shape, place and relationship to other spatial data. It may be recorded on a map, held as
records in a database or even be represented as a photograph. Remember that Geography

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is, in fact, the study of spatial information and we are surrounded by geography. You will
also discover that most information is either spatial or has a spatial component.

Figure 2: spatial data

Tabular and attribute data are non-spatial but can be linked to location data – in fact an
important aspect of spatial data is that it often contains attribute information. That
implies that a description of the feature (e.g. road) is held in some form. The description
might be the name or the type of road (A, Secondary, Highway, 3rd class). This
information might be held in a database record or simply written or depicted on a map.
At this juncture it is important to remember what you put into the GIS – i.e. the specific
geographic and tabular/attribute data is what you get out, so make efforts to plan any
data collection, with your outputs or end products in mind.

Data Models

Vector Data – (geo-objects) features are represented as Points, Lines, Polygons - Figure 3
(3) Raster Data – Store features on a grid or as pixels – Figure 3 (2)

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Figure 5 – (1) real world, (2) raster representation, (3) vector representation

Models are ways of storing geographic information in the GIS. By using data models we can
represent the real world in a way that the computer can understand and do analysis that
hold true to the real world. The two most common data models are Vector and Raster.
Vector Data (Database oriented)
 Represents the world using points, lines and polygons, these are useful for storing
data and representations of features such as buildings, trails and roads. The data is
discrete. Examples of vector data models are Shapefiles (Esri), Triangulated
Irregular Networks (TINs) and AutoCAD (.dxf files).
 Points are non dimensional defined by x , y coordinates.
 Polygons are the enclosure of one or more lines
 Points and elevation = Line e.g. pole
 Lines and elevation = A vertical polygon e.g. a wall
 Polygon and elevation = A 3 dimensional feature e.g. volume
Vectors are more database oriented and are very good at representing features such as
rivers, boundaries and roads.

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Advantages
 Compact data structure
 Suitable for cases where data must closely represent hand drawn maps
 Have an accurate advantage
 Good for storing data that need topological information – they can store
information of how a feature connects to others e.g. road networks
 Good system for plotting data
Disadvantages
 Complex data structure
 Overlaying data is not simple
 It doesn’t represent data over surfaces well e.g. topography
Sources – GPS Surveys, manual digitizing
Raster Data (Analysis oriented)
 This model uses grids to store map data. It creates a continuous surface defined by
series of discrete grid cells. Each cell has a value that represents attribute data at
that location.
 Cell size determines resolution. The smaller the cell size the better the resolution.
For example, a 50 meter Landsat image means that each cell is 50 meters on the
ground. A smaller cell size means more details.
 Raster grids can analyze and retrieve data quickly. This is because the raster
structure closely resembles that of a computers.
 The data is a continuous representation of a study area and is therefore suited to
data that is continuous such as terrain, vegetation and natural resources. With
raster data you can create atmosphere models, density models and remotely sensed
data.
 This system is data intensive as it must record data at every cell whether it is
needed or not.
Advantages
 Overlaying easily done
 Variability is well represented
 Easy to understand
Disadvantages
 Not a compact data structure
 Connective relationships are difficult to represent
 Blocky appearance
Sources – User interpolation of vector data, commercially available

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Metadata
‘..the who, what, when, where, how and why of the dataset’
Often referred to as “data about data”, metadata is a summary description of the data set
it is included with. This includes notes on the content, quality, type, creation, condition,
origin/source organizations, data format, accuracy and spatial information about the
dataset. It can be stored in any format such as database files or text format. Esri has
further described it as information about existing data that becomes readily available to
anyone seeking it. Metadata makes data discovery easier, reduces data duplication and
assists users with more informed use of a specific dataset.
Importance
Metadata makes data more useful to users by making it easier to document and locate data
sets and also allows users to interpret and use data properly, as well as the reliability and
currency of data. The growing availability of data, different sources has helped GIS
technology become more useful and widely available. As such it is important to know
whether the data you just have bought or downloaded is useful to you.
Metadata Answers
This is a checklist as to what to include when creating metadata for a dataset
 Who collected the data?
 Who owns the data?
 What is the subject or theme of the dataset? E.g. Rivers dataset
 Projection of the data?
 When was the data collected? (How old is the dataset? currency of dataset)
 Where was the data collected?
 Why was the data collected? (What was the purpose/ rationale for collecting? E.g.
specific project)
 How was the data collected?
 How should it be used?
 What are the use restrictions?
 How much does it cost?
Metadata Management
Both data and time are costly. A GIS development plan that takes metadata into account
from the beginning will save time and money later. Data expense continues to be the
largest part of most GIS budgets, usually more than staff costs. If metadata is part of
standard operating procedures, creating metadata costs virtually nothing. Time and effort
related to metadata should be entered into the budget or project plan of every GIS
operation.

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Database Management: Any system needs guidelines and procedure.
Resources: GIS takes needs to purchase equipment and data. Although the starting up cost
for a GIS is often very expensive, it is much easier for small organisms to adapt to the
changes and minimize costs.
GIS Functions (What can GIS Do?)
The 5Ms of GIS
 Mapping
 Measurement
 Monitoring
 Modeling
 Management
Mapping & measurement
 Where are we?
 How far is the nearest hospital from the site of the accident?
 What is the size of Hawassa university main campus?
Monitoring
 What would happen if . . .
A chemical leaked into Hawassa Lake?
 Where does . . .
Flooding occur most in Hawassa?
 Has . . .
Population changed over the last ten years?
 Is there a spatial pattern related to . . .
Volume rainfall and location of landslide
Modeling
 Simplified representation of a phenomenon or system
 Utilizes a set a of transformation tools that derive new geographic datasets from
existing datasets
 Geo-processing functions take information from existing datasets, apply analytic
functions, and write results into new derived datasets.
 General purpose GIS’s essentially performs six processes or tasks.
 Input
 Manipulation
 Management
 Query
 Analysis

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  Visualization
To be of any value, a GIS must perform a wide range of data manipulation and analysis
functions. Thus, all good GIS systems should be able to answer the types of questions
listed above. The only limitations would be the availability of data and the functions of the
specific software package.
GIS function in an organization is defined by the goals and needs in that organization.
There may be projects where little to no analysis is needed but data capture and
presentation is important. For example, mapping the location of hazards and their impacts
to share with government officials for future preparedness and mitigation planning is of
the process which only needs data capturing and mapping.
In any project situation having a clear outline of each project’s goal, particularly when it
comes to expected GIS output, is important.
Data Capture
Data is derived from primary and secondary sources
Primary data sources include: field data collection, data collected with GPS etc.
Secondary data sources include: Other agencies, data from reports etc.
Information gathering also involves collection of field data, GPS data and satellite imagery.
When starting a GIS, most often the data inputted relies mainly on the field and GPS data
captured by the organization.
What kind of work do you do? What are your main work functions? What are the data
relevant to your organization?
What do you want to do? Applications e.g. hazard mapping
What kind of data do you need? – Hazard locations, what is being impacted, what could be
impacted, at risk? Etc.
Data Management and Storage
After the data is entered into the system it needs to be verified and integrated in a
suitable way for storage and retrieval. It also includes ensuring that the data is updated.
Analysis
GIS provides a way to use data from many sources. It also supplies the tools necessary to
compare and analyze different formats of information. The interdisciplinary nature of GIS
has made it possible to input data from various fields of study such as engineering, water
resources, oil and gas, economics, business enterprise, agriculture and hazards in our own
field analysis. This is a distinctive feature of GIS. This process essentially tries to derive
data from existing data. Here we try to find relationships between the features and
patterns in the spatial data. Some of the functions involved in this included interpolation
(trying to predict missing values from a set of given values), buffering (calculating distance

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functions from geographic features) and overlay operations. These functions can be
essentially defined into several categories.
These are
 Retrieval classification and Measurement
 Overlay
 Neighborhood functions
 Connectivity functions
 Retrieval Classification and Measurement
 Selective search and manipulation of data
 Classification based on attribute data values
Overlay
 Combines data sets to create new ones. Can be done with both vector and raster
data.
 Combining two data layers and performing operations such as intersection, union or
difference
Neighborhood functions
 Search functions within a given area
 Proximity functions – measuring distance from points, lines and polygons
 Contour generations
Connectivity functions
Network analysis
 Best path analysis - useful in situations where moving or delivering resources is
important
 Shortest distance paths
 Least cost path
 Viewshed analysis
Questions you can ask using these functions
Where?
Location Queries
Where are the communities that have been impacted by floods?
Where is the nearest shelter with a population of over 4000?

What is?
Conditions Queries
Which villages are traversed by rivers?
What town has the largest population of special needs persons?

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How has it changed?
Trend analysis
For the last 5 years, which months of the year have highest frequency of hazard
incidents occurring?
What type of hazard is most frequent in the dry season/ in the rainy season?

Is there is pattern?
Pattern analysis
Where has consistently been impacted by floods (or other types of hazard)?

What if?
Modeling
What coastal areas would be inundated if a 15 ft tidal wave hit the eastern side of the
island?
Where are the best areas to site a shelter or early warning point?

Presentation and Output

GIS is a move away from the traditional ways of just tabular and graph data. It maps
spatial data, lists and reports, the attribute data. Map making particularly relies
heavily on some knowledge.

GIS in the Decision-Making Process

The key to establishing this type of technology within an information framework for
the purposes of decision making is INTEGRATION: the linking together of technology,
data and a decision-making strategy (Figure 4).

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Figure 3: GIS in decision making process

Key Points:
 GIS Functions: Determine how GIS will be used in your organization; how will
you apply GIS – to solve what problem? This will set the tone for what you need
to get or put in place – what kind of data, software, hardware etc.

 Hardware: Hardware is an essential component of a GIS. Choose hardware that

is appropriate to the identified needs of the organization

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