Component of geographic information systems Free PDF
What is a Geographic information system (GIS)
A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer-grounded tool for mapping and breaking down things that subsist and events that be on Earth. GIS technology integrates common database operations similar to query and statistical analysis with the unique visualization and geographic analysis benefits offered by maps. These capacities distinguish GIS from other information systems and make it precious to a wide range of public and private enterprises for explaining events, prognosticating issues, and planning strategies.
GIS allows users to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts.
What are the Components of a GIS?
A working GIS integrates these five key components: hardware, software, data, people, and methods.
1. Hardware
Hardware is the computer on which a GIS operates. Today, GIS runs on a wide range of hardware types, from centralized computer servers to desktop computers used in standalone or networked configurations.
2. Software
3. People
GIS technology is of limited value without the people who manage the system and to develop plans for applying it. GIS users range from technical specialists who design and maintain the system, to those who use it to help them do their everyday work.
4. Methods
A successful GIS operates according to a well-designed plan and business rules, which are the models and operating practices unique to each organization.
5. Data
What is Remote Sensing (RS)
GIS includes maps, vector information, and imagery. The collection of imagery is commonly achieved through remote sensing. Remote sensing started with aerial photography in the late 1800s onboard a balloon. Airplanes were used to collect information from above in the early 1900s, and the first image taken from space was aboard the Apollo spacecraft in 1969. In the early 1970s, the first imaging satellite (ERTS-1) collected imagery of the Earth. Images continue to be collected from both space and aircraft and are available for commercial and personal use on the Internet.
What is Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
Space Segment
The space segment consists of a nominal constellation of 24 operating satellites that transmit one-way signals that give the current GPS satellite position and time.
Control Segment
The control segment consists of worldwide monitor and control stations that maintain the satellites in their proper orbits through occasional command maneuvers, and adjust the satellite clocks. It tracks the GPS satellites, uploads updated navigational data and maintains the health and status of the satellite constellation.
User Segment
The user segment consists of the GPS receiver equipment, which receives the signals from the GPS satellites and uses the transmitted information to calculate the user’s three-dimensional position and time.
Geospatial analysis
Geospatial analysis is an approach to applying statistical analysis and other informational techniques to data that has a geographical or geospatial aspect. Such analysis would typically employ software capable of geospatial representation and processing, and apply analytical methods to terrestrial or geographic datasets, including the use of geographic information systems and geomatics.
Geospatial analysis, using GIS, was developed for problems in the environmental and life sciences, in particular ecology, geology, and epidemiology. It has extended to almost all industries including defense, intelligence, utilities, natural resources (i.e. oil and gas, forestry, etc.), social sciences, medicine, and public safety (i.e. emergency management and criminology). Spatial statistics typically result primarily from observation rather than experimentation
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