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What
is GIS?
Introduction | GIS
Definitions and Explanations | GIS Presentations
GIS is a computer system for capturing,
storing, checking, integrating, manipulating, analysing and displaying
data related to positions on the Earth's surface. Typically, a
Geographical Information System is used for handling maps of one
kind or another. These might be represented as several different
layers where each layer holds data about a particular kind of
feature. Each feature is linked to a position on the graphical
image on a map and a record in an attribute table. GIS can relate
otherwise disparate on the basis of common geography, revealing
hidden patterns, relationships, and trends that are not readily
apparent in spreadsheets or statistical packages, often creating
new information from existing data resources.
Hidden in most data is a geographical
component: an address, postal code, census block, city, county,
or latitude/longitude coordinate. With GIS, you can explore the
spatial element of your data to display soil types, track crime
patterns, analyze animal migration patterns, find the best location
for an expanding business, model the path of atmospheric pollution,
and make decisions for many types of complicated problems.
| Other Definitions
and Explanations of GIS |
These presentations includes both introductory GIS material and
an overview of its application to research in a particular discipline.
Last modified:
March 21, 2006
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