Part One GIS DBU Chap - 1

Chapter One
Introduction
Debre Berhan University

Department of Natural Resource Management
Dec/2022
Debre Berhan
1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 1

Outline of the
Contents chapter
of the Chapter
o Intro to Geospatial Science & Tech

o Integration of GIS, GPS and RS
o History of GIS
o Definition of GIS
o Why we need GIS
o Components of GIS
o Questions a GIS can answer

Intro to Geospatial Science & Technologies
o Geospatial science & technology is a discipline that focuses on

using information technology to understand people, places, and
processes of the earth.
o It improves our ability :- to collect, store, manage, analyze and

utilize information regarding the features of the Earth's surface .
o Those geospatial information or features shown on maps or

organized in digital databases that are tied to the earth by
coordinates, addresses, or other means are collectively called
geospatial data or geographic data.

Intro to Geospatial … cont’d
Intro continued …….
o They are sometimes called the geospatial information sciences.

o The three sciences and technologies needed to accomplish spatial
project are: Global Positioning System (GPS), Remote sensing, and
Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
o GPS & RS are mainly used for capturing or collecting geospatial

data.
o GIS serves to store, analyze, query and display spatial output.

Intro to Geographic Information System (GIS)
Geographic Information System (GIS):-
o It is an information system which integrates variety of data

with a spatial component from different sources, stores and
manages the data, analyzes the data as a whole and displays
it in various formats.
o The data collected from different sources using GPS and RS

are used as an input for GIS.
o It can be also defined based on its function and

components.

Intro to GIS … cont’d

Intro to GIS… cont’d

Intro. Global Positioning System (GPS)
o GPS is a space-based satellite
navigation system that
provides location and time
information in all weather
conditions, anywhere on or
near the Earth where there is
clear line of sight to four or
more GPS satellites.
o The system provides critical

capabilities to military, civil
and commercial users
around the world.

Intro to GPS…Con’d

Intro to Remote Sensing (RS)
o It is the science (and to some extent, art) of acquiring
information about the Earth's surface without actually
being in contact with it.
o This is done by sensing and recording reflected or

emitted energy and processing, analyzing, and
applying that information.
o Remote sensing is the acquisition of data and

derivative information about objects or materials
(targets) located at the Earth’s surface or in its
atmosphere using sensors mounted on platforms
located at distance from the targets to make
measurements (usually multispectral) of interactions
between the targets and EMR.
Intro to RS ….cont’d

Integration of GIS, GPS, and RS
o Remotely sensed data is almost always processed and stored

in raster data structures. These raster can be used in
subsequent queries and manipulations of the GIS database.
o GPS on the other hand used to collect locations which in

return can be used as an input for GIS to solve a certain
spatial problem.
o GIS facilitates the storage of and the access to these diverse

data types.
o The synergy that exists between RS, GPS and GIS technologies
is built for many applications.

Integration of GPS, RS with GIS
o RS, GPS and GIS have become very important and have been
integrated with each other and nowadays it become difficult
to differentiate them.
o GIS-GPS-RS in combination uses for many applications.

Integration of GPS, RS with GIS
o This association is initiated when the results from GIS

modeling are substantiated in the field, or when more
ground information at positions determined from the
modeled results is collected in the field using GPS.

Applications of GPS, RS with GIS
Applications
o The uses of GIS, GPS, and RS technologies, either

individually or in combination, span a broad range of
applications and degrees of complexity.
o Simple applications might involve determining the location

of sampling sites, plotting maps for use in the field, or
examining the distribution of soil types in relation to yields
and productivity.
o More complex applications take advantage of the analytical

capabilities of GIS and RS software.

Application areas of GPS, RS with GIS
 Here are many application areas in which RS, GPS and GIS used:
 cadastral survey,
 Soil and water assessment
 urban planning,
 land management,
 topographic mapping,
 meteorological forecasting,
 crop monitoring,
 mapping surface mineralogy
 geology and mineral exploration
 natural resource management
 disaster management
 weather monitoring
 water management,
 environmental management. 1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 17
Overview of GIS
o Knowing where something happens is critically

important
to go there ourselves or

send someone there
to find other information about the same place,
o Therefore, almost everything that happens happens

somewhere. Knowing where something happens can
be critically important.
o Problems that are dependent on location, are termed

geographic problems.
Overview of GIS
what exactly is a GIS?
o Is it computer software?
o Is it a collection of computer hardware?
o Is it a service that is distributed & accessed?
o Is it a tool?
o Is it a system?
o Is it a science?
 The answer to all these questions is, “GIS is all of

the above—and more.”

o Hence, current technology has developed tools which
help us to solve geographic problems known as
Geographic Information System (GIS) .

Brief History of GI S
o GIS has its roots in the stimulus provided by the development of

remote sensing, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as a
potentially cheap and effective source of earth observations.
o Today many GIS include extensive functionality for image

processing, and all types of remote sensing are increasingly the
primary data source, particularly for detection of landscape
change, natural resource management and environmental
monitoring and management.

Brief History of GI S
o Work on GIS began in late 1950s, but first GIS software came
only in late 1970s from the lab of the ESRI.
o Canada was the pioneer in the development of GIS as a result of

innovations dating back to early 1960s. Much of the credit for
the early development of GIS goes to Roger Tomilson known as
“father of GIS.”
o GIS has transformed and revolutionized the ways in which

planners, engineers, managers etc. conduct the database
management and analysis.
Reasons for the rise of GIS
o Revolution in Information Technology
 Development of computer Technology
 Development of Remote Sensing
 Development of Global Positioning System
o Declining of cost of computer hardware, and software
o Exponential growth of operational speed of computers
o Enhanced functionality of software and their user-friendliness.
o Visualizing impact of GIS. "a picture is worth a thousand

words."

Why we need GIS?
o GIS are essential tools in business, government, education, and

nonprofit organizations, and GIS use has become mandatory in
many settings.
o GIS have been used to fight crime, protect endangered species,

reduce pollution, cope with natural disasters, treat epidemics,
and improve public health; in short, GIS have been instrumental
in addressing some of our most pressing societal problems.
o GIS tools in aggregate save billions of costs annually in the

delivery of governmental and commercial goods and services.
o GIS regularly help in the day-to-day management of many

natural and man-made resources, including sewer, water, power,
and transportation networks.
o
Basic Concepts GIS
What does GIS stand for?
o Geographic Information Science

 is the science concerned with
the systematic and automatic
processing of spatial data and
information with the help of
computers
 is the theory behind how to

solve spatial problems with
computers
o Geographic Information System
 is a system designed for storing, analyzing, and displaying spatial
data in combination with hardware, software, people,
procedures, and data.

Key elements of GIS
o Geographic:
 It shows the real world or the spatial realities or locations
 Example: the location of a city, location of a school etc.
o Information:
 It is about the data and their meanings
 Example: The name of a city, the area of a city, the population
density of a city etc.
o System:
 The system is also about the computer technology
 Example: Computer hardware & Software
o Science :
 is the observation, identification, description, experimental
investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.

Definitions of GIS
o Definitions of GIS have been somewhat hard to nail down.
o It is no surprise, then, that a geographic information system can be

defined in many different ways.
o Which definition you choose depends on what you seek.
o Common to all the definitions is that one type of data, spatial data,
is unique because it can be linked to a geographic map.
o Spatial means related to the space around us, in which we live and
function.

Definitions of GIS
 Generally GIS is defined based on its function and components:
o Functional Definition of GIS

 GIS is a computerized system for inputting, storing,
manipulating, analyzing, and reporting spatial data.
 A powerful set of tools for collecting, storing, retrieving at will,
transforming and displaying spatial data from the real world.
 A system for capturing, storing, checking, manipulating,
analysing and displaying data which are spatially referenced to
the Earth.
 An information technology which stores, analyses, and
displays both spatial and non-spatial data (Burrough 1986;
Parker, 1988).

Definitions of GIS
o Component based definition of GIS
 GIS is an organized collection of computer hardware, software,
geographic data, procedures, and personnel designed to
handle all phases of geographic data.
o Additional definitions of GIS

 An automated set of functions that provides professionals with
advanced capabilities for the storage, retrieval, manipulation
and display of geographically located data.
 A decision support system involving the integration of spatially
referenced data in a problem solving environment (Cowen,
1988; Crater, 1989).
 GIS is a system, consisting of hardware, software, data, procedures
and proper organizational context, which compiles, stores,
manipulates, analyses, models and visualizes spatial data, to solve
planning and management problems.

Interrelation between different functions of GIS

Components of GIS
o GIS constitutes of five key components.
o These components must be well integrated for effective use of
GIS and complete GIS application.

Hardware
o GIS runs on a wide range of hardware types,

o The Central Processing Unit (CPU) forms the backbone of the GIS
hardware.
o Components of hardware example:

 Computer: on which a GIS software will run and GIS operates
 Scanner: is an input device used to convert paper map to
raster format
 Digitizer: is an input device used to convert raster to vector
 Printer and plotter: output device used for printing purpose
 Storage devices: used to store data eg. CD, Hard desk, etc.

Software
o Software that is used to create, manage, analyze and

visualize and disseminate spatial data and spatial
information (attribute data).
o Main function of GIS software are analytical functions to

provide new information.
o There are many public domain and commercially available

GIS software packages,
o GIS software’s in use are ArcGIS, EARDAS Imagine and

IDRISI.

Software cont’d---
ArcGIS
o It has three main components namely: ArcMap, ArcCatalog
and ArcToolbox.
o ArcGIS mostly used to analyze vector data and used to map
both raster and vector information.
ERDAS
o ERDAS began as primarily an image processing system.
o Used to enter and analyze satellite image data.
o ERDAS output formats are compatible with most common GIS
packages.
IDRISI
o It provides both image processing and GIS functions
o It is relatively low cost and widely used in developing
countries.

Data
o Possibly the most important component of a GIS.

o Geographic data and tabular data (attribute) can be
collected in-house or purchased from other
organizations.

People
People refer who actually links with GIS and can be

categorized into: viewers, general users, and GIS
specialists.
o Viewers: are the public at large whose only need is to

browse a geographic database.
o General users: are people who use GIS to conducting

business performing professional services, & making
decisions.
o GIS specialists: are the people who make the GIS work.
They include GIS managers, database administrators,
application specialists, systems analysts, &
programmers.

Method/procedures
o Procedures include how the data will be retrieved, input

into the system, stored, managed, transformed, analyzed,
and finally presented in a final output.
o The procedures are the steps taken to answer the

question need to be resolved.

Questions a GIS can answer
o The other way to describe GIS is by listing the type of questions

the technology can answer:
o Location, condition, trends or patterns, modeling, spatial
questions and non-spatial questions are the five types of
questions that a sophisticated GIS can answer:
 Location what is at………….?
 what exists at a particular location? Place name
 Condition Where it is………….?
 The second question is the converse of the first and requires spatial data to
answer. Soils suitable for buildings cons
 Trends what has changed since…….?
 to find the differences over time. LULCC
 Modeling What if……………..?
 Spatial and non-spatial questions

What Can a GIS Do?
A GIS can performs six fundamental operations
o Capture data: possible to add data from many sources to a GIS,

o Store data: store and manage information about the real world
o Query data: ask complex questions about features based on
their attributes or their location.
o Analyze data: can integrate multiple datasets to find features

that meet specific criteria and create information
o Display data: can display features based on their attributes,
o Present data: create and distribute high-quality maps, graphs,
and reports to present your analysis results

Thank you!!!

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Chapter One

Debre Berhan University

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 1

o Intro to Geospatial Science & Tech

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 2

o Geospatial science & technology is a discipline that focuses on

o It improves our ability :- to collect, store, manage, analyze and

o Those geospatial information or features shown on maps or

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 4

o They are sometimes called the geospatial information sciences.

o GPS & RS are mainly used for capturing or collecting geospatial

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 5

Geographic Information System (GIS):-

o It is an information system which integrates variety of data

o The data collected from different sources using GPS and RS

o It can be also defined based on its function and

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 6

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 7

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 8

o The system provides critical

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 9

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 10

o This is done by sensing and recording reflected or

o Remote sensing is the acquisition of data and

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 12

o Remotely sensed data is almost always processed and stored

o GPS on the other hand used to collect locations which in

o GIS facilitates the storage of and the access to these diverse

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 13

o GIS-GPS-RS in combination uses for many applications.

o This association is initiated when the results from GIS

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 15

o The uses of GIS, GPS, and RS technologies, either

o Simple applications might involve determining the location

o More complex applications take advantage of the analytical

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 16

o Knowing where something happens is critically

to go there ourselves or

o Therefore, almost everything that happens happens

o Problems that are dependent on location, are termed

 The answer to all these questions is, “GIS is all of

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 19

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 20

o GIS has its roots in the stimulus provided by the development of

o Today many GIS include extensive functionality for image

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 21

o Canada was the pioneer in the development of GIS as a result of

o GIS has transformed and revolutionized the ways in which

o Revolution in Information Technology

 Development of computer Technology

 Development of Remote Sensing

 Development of Global Positioning System

o Declining of cost of computer hardware, and software

o Exponential growth of operational speed of computers

o Enhanced functionality of software and their user-friendliness.

o Visualizing impact of GIS. "a picture is worth a thousand

1/21/2023 GIS for MSc students 23

o GIS are essential tools in business, government, education, and

o GIS have been used to fight crime, protect endangered species,

o GIS tools in aggregate save billions of costs annually in the

o GIS regularly help in the day-to-day management of many

o Geographic Information Science

 is the theory behind how to