02.

GIS DATA

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Coordinate System
• A coordinate system is a reference system used to represent the locations of
geographic features, imagery, and observations such as GPS locations within a
common geographic framework. (ESRI)
• Each coordinate consists of:
• Measurement framework which is either geographic (in which spherical coordinates, Lat -
Long, are measured from earth's center) or planimetric (in which the earth's coordinates
are projected onto a two-dimensional planar surface, X, Y).
• Unit of measurement (decimal degrees for geographic system and meters for planimertic
system).
• Definition of the map projection for projected coordinate systems. (We will talk about
projections later)
• Other measurement system properties such as a spheroid of reference, a datum, and
projection parameters

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Geographic Coordinate System (GCS)

• A geographic coordinate system (GCS) uses a three dimensional spherical surface to define
locations on the earth.
• A point is referenced by its latitude, longitude and altitude values.
• Latitude and Longitude are angles measured from the earth’s center to a point on the earth’s
surface.
• The angles are measured in degrees
• Latitude: In spherical system, ‘horizontal lines’ are lines of equal latitude, or parallels.
• Longitude: ‘Vertical lines’ lines, are lines of equal longitude, or meridians.
• These lines encompass the globe and form a gridded network called a graticule

3
Figure. Geographic Coordinate System showing Longitude and Latitude values
N

W E

S 4
GCS – Cont’d

• The line of latitude midway between the poles is called the Equator. It defines
the line of zero latitude.
• The line of zero longitude is called the prime Meridian.
• For most geographic coordinate systems, the Prime Meridian is the longitude
that passes through Greenwich, England.

5
GCS – Cont’d
N N

W E W E

S S

6
GCS – Cont’d
• The origin of the Graticule (0,0) is defined by where the equator and
prime meridian intersect.
• The globe is then divided into four geographical quadrants
• North and south are above and below the equator
• East and west are to the right and left of the prime meridian.

7
GCS – Cont’d

W E

8
GCS – Cont’d
• Latitude and longitude values are measured in any of the following
format:
• Degrees, Minutes, and Seconds (DoM’S’’)
• Degree Minute Decimal (DoM’)
• Degree Decimals (DDo)

• Latitude
• Latitude values are measured relative to the equator varies from 0o at equator
to 90o on north pole and south pole
• It can be recorded as 90o S or -90o and 90o N or +90o

9
• Longitude
• Longitude values are measured relative to the prime meridian.
• They range from 0o to 180o on East and West of Prime Meridian
• They can be recorded as 180o E or +180o and 180o W or -180
• With reference to Greenwich Prime Meridian, Iraq, is North of the equator
and east of Greenwich and has positive latitude values and positive longitude
values.
• In case of Australia, which is south of the Equator and East of the Greenwich,
has negative latitude value and positive longitude value

10
GCS – Cont’d
• Coordinates of some major locations
• Writing Coordinates
• Latitude: D° M′ S″ N
Longitude: D° M′ S″ E
• Or
• Latitude: Degree Decimal° N
Longitude: Degree Decimal° E

• Coordinates of some places

• Erbil (DMS Format) Lat: 36°11′33″ N , Long: 44°00′38″ E
• Erbil (Degree Decimal Format): Lat: 36.19250° N , Long: 44.01055° E
• Baghdad: 33.3250° N, 44.4220° E
• Greenwich: 51.4791° N, 0.0000° W
• Melbourne: 37.8136° S, 144.9631° E

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GCS – Cont’d

• Converting Coordinates from DMS (Degree Minute Second) to DD (Degree

Decimal)
• Coordinates of Erbil:
• Degree Minute Second Format
• Latitude: 36°11′33″ N
Longitude: 44°00′38″ E
• How to Convert
• 1 Degree = 60 minutes
• 1 minute = 60 seconds
• So 1 Degree = 3600 seconds
• DD = D + M/60 + S/3600
• Coordinates of Erbil in DD Format
• 36°11′33″ N = 36 + 11/60 + 33/3600 = 36.192500o N
• 44°00′38″ E = 44 + 00/60 + 38/3600 = 44.010556o E

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• Converting DD to DMS
• Integer degrees (D) become integer part of the DD
• D = integer(DD)
• Minutes (M) become again integer part of the decimal degrees (DD) minus
integer degrees (D) multiplied by 60:
• M = integer[(DD - D) * 60] Converting decimal degree into minutes
• Seconds (S) become decimal degrees (DD) minus integer degrees (D) minus
minutes (M) divided by 60 multiplied by 3600:
• S = (DD - D - M/60) * 3600 Converting degrees to seconds

Degree Decimal
Original value Degrees Converting minutes to Degrees
Which separated
earlier 13
• Example
• Convert 36.192500o N to DMS:
• D = integer(36.192500) = 36°
• M = integer[(36.192500 – 36) * 60) ]= 11'
• S = (36.192500 – 36 - 11/60) * 3600 = 33“
• In Excel the integer command is “int(number)”
• So
• 36.192500° N = 36° 11' 33” N

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GCS – Cont’d
• Lat. and Long. are not units of Measurement
• Longitude and Latitude locate exact positions on the surface of the globe, but
they are not uniform units of measurement.
• Only along the equator, the distance represented by one degree of longitude
approximate the distance represented by one degree of latitude.
• This is because the equator is the only parallel as large as a meridian.
• Circles with the same radius as the spherical earth are called Great Circles.
(The equator and all meridians are great circles.)

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GCS – Cont’d
• Above and below the equator, the circles defining the parallels of latitude get
gradually smaller until they become a single point at the North and South
Poles where the meridians converge.
• As the meridians converge toward the poles, the distance represented by one
degree of longitude decreases to zero.
• One degree of longitude at the equator equals 111.321 km, while at 60°
latitude it is only 55.802 km.
• Since degrees of latitude and longitude don’t have a standard length, it is
difficult to measure distances or areas accurately or display the data easily on
a flat map.
Concept Quiz
• What is the following format of coordinates?
• Lat , Long
• A. Geographic DMS
• B. Geographic DD
• C. Geographic D MD
• D. Planar DMS

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Concept Quiz
• What is the following format of coordinates?
• Lat 35.952673N, Long 46.542187
• A. Geographic DMS
• B. Geographic DD
• C. Geographic D MD
• D. Planar DMS

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Concept Quiz
• What is the following format of coordinates?
• Lat , Long
• A. Geographic DMS
• B. Geographic DD
• C. Geographic D MD
• D. Planar DMS

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Concept Quiz
• Convert following coordinate from D MD format to DD format.
• Lat , Long

• The answer is:

• Lat 34.759463 N
• Long 46.45596 E

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Concept Quiz
• Convert following coordinate from DD format to DMS format.
• Lat 35.952673N, Long 46.542187

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Concept Quiz
• Why Latitudes and Longitudes are not uniform units of distance
measurement because:
• A. Except equator, the parallels are shorter than the meridians
• B. Parallels are longer than meridians
• C. Parallels are shorter than meridians at every point on the surface of
earth

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Concept Quiz
• Which statement is true for geographic coordinates of Erbil:
• A. 36o 11’ 33’’ N, 44o 00’ 35’’ E
• B. 36o 11.55’ N, 44o 0.5833’ E
• C. 36.19250o N, 44.00972o E
• E. All of the above
• D. None of the above

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• The great circle/plane in between the poles is called:
• A. Meridian
• B. Prime meridian
• C. Equator

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• What is the longitude of Prime Meridian?
• A.
• B.
• C.

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• What is the latitude of Equator?
• A.
• B.
• C.

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GIS Data
• Data Needs
• Data and databases provide the foundation for civil engineering projects.
• Without adequate database having accurate and complete entries, there can
be no reporting and modeling to support the various decisions required
• Sources of spatial data
• Conversion of existing data from archived (stored) records and plans (maps)
to digital maps
• Creation/Collection of new data from measurements.

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GIS Data Capturing Functions

• GIS data capture/collection functions include:

1. Tablet digitizing
2. Scanning
3. Format conversion
4. Surveying and COGO (Coordinate Geometry)
5. GPS (Global Positioning System)
6. Photogrammetric data
7. Image processing
8. Geometric transformations
9. Projection conversions
10. Attribute entry and editing
11. Metadata

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Digitization
• A large amount of current and historic maps are archived as paper.
• Generally, digital data for a GIS project is not available, so it must be
created from other existing sources like paper maps
• Tablet digitizing has been a primary data-conversion function due to
its simplicity and relatively low capital cost.
• Digitizing options range from in-house digitizing for small projects to
professional contracting for large jobs.

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• Digitizing is the process of converting features on a paper map into
digital format
• To digitize a map, we use a digitizing tablet (also known as a digitizer)
connected to computer to trace over the features of the interest.
• Digitizing converts the features on the map into three basic data
types:
• Points
• Lines
• Polygons

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• Coordinates of these features are automatically recorded and stored
as spatial data
• We can digitize features into a new layer and add the layer to an
existing map document or create a completely new set of layers for an
area for which no digital data is available.
• Digitizer is also used to update an existing layer on digital map

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• There are three primary methods for digitizing spatial information:
• Tablet Digitizing
• Heads-up Digitizing
• Scanning and Vectorization

• The first two methods are manual whereas the third one is an
automatic method

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 Digitizing tablet

• Tablet digitizing requires a person to enter coordinate

information through the use of a digitizing tablet and
digitizing puck
• A digitizing tablet is a hardened surface with a fine
electrical wire grid under the surface. Digitizing puck
• Digitizing tablets are either hardened, more stationary
tables or rollup boards designed for portability
• A digitizing puck is an electrical device with cross
hairs and multiple buttons to perform data entry
operations
• An operator then enters the information using the
puck.

33
• Tablet Digitizing – how it works?
• When the user places the digitizing puck over a
location on the tablet, and presses one of the
buttons, the wire mesh beneath the tablet
records the location of the puck
• Digitizing tablets are very accurate, they are
able to measure objects to within 0.006 mm
• This means that if we press the entry button on
the puck several times at one spot, the x,y
coordinate value received from the tablet
would only vary by 0.006 mm.
• The coordinate, as referenced by the tablet is
then stored in the computer.

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• Problems in Tablet Digitization
• Due to environmental conditions (such as humidity), the
source materials (maps) may actually change (due to
shrinking and expansion).
• Consider that on a 1:100,000 scale map a slight shift in
the map on the tablet
• Or a slight shrinking of the map of only 0.1 cm would
equal to 10,000 cm or 100 meters shift in the real world
• The high accuracy is only achieved with more accurate
digitizing tablets.

35
• Tablet Digitizing – why Important?
• Digitizing objects on a map (like a road, river) requires that every bend and turn be
captured using the puck
• Therefore, digitizing is very labor intensive.
• Then why do we go for Tablet Digitization?
• Here are two main reasons:
• Manual digitizing is quite accurate when performed with care.
• It is the most common method for entering spatial information into a GIS.

• Now there is a trend to move from “tablet digitizing” toward “heads-up digitizing” or
raster to vector conversion, especially with the reduction in price for scanners.

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• Heads up digitization
• Heads up digitizing is a combination of scanning and manual digitizing
• The main steps in heads up digitizing typically include:
• Scanning the map – a user can scan the map at a high resolution.
• Registering the map –user can enter control points on screen and transform
the scanned image to real world coordinates.
• Digitizing the map –user can zoom to specific areas on screen and trace
points, lines, or polygons on the map. Because the maps are already in the
correct geographic coordinate system anything digitized on top of the map will
also be in the correct coordinate system.

37
• Digitization – Registration
• The first step in registering a map requires selecting control points
(locations on the map that have real world coordinates assigned to them)
• User will place the puck over the tick marks, and press the button to
record the tablet coordinates.
• User then enters the real world coordinates by hand.
• After control points are selected, a match between the tablet coordinates
and the real world coordinates are established and a mathematical
relationship is formed.
• Tablet coordinates are then transformed to real world coordinates through
the mathematical relationship

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Digitization – Registration

39
• Automated Digitization
• Tools are available to automatically convert a raster scan to vector lines
• It requires a very clean scan
• Scans can be cleaned using raster cleanup tools
• The vector files usually require cleanup after conversion
• If we start with a clean image it can save a lot of time
• If our image is not clean manual digitizing may be faster

40
• Some Automated Tools
• ArcScan Extension in ArcGIS
• New extension since Version 8.3
• Has clean up tools
• Gridline
• Command line ArcInfo command
• Need a near prefect image
• Can have a large amount of cleanup after conversion

41
42
Format Conversion
• Format conversion is to convert digital data from different formats to GIS
format
• One major example is conversion from CAD (computer-aided design) files.
• Most engineering organizations conduct their mapping and plan
documentation using digital measurement and computerized
technologies.
• For conversion to GIS, it is important that the CAD drawings be logically
structured so that the features can be Separated.
• In addition to digital map data, there are other data sources, including
database files, raster maps and imagery, text reports, etc.

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Surveying

• Surveying has traditionally been the primary mapping tool for

engineering projects.
• Surveys are conducted in digital as well as in traditional paper formats.
• Digital formats can be taken directly to the computer, plots are made,
and uploaded to a GIS.
• Paper formats are digitized and uploaded to the GIS
• The availability of automated measurement equipment has increased
the survey data resolution, but knowledge of the principles of
surveying is required to guide the survey.

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Coordinate Geometry (COGO)

• Coordinate Geometry (COGO) is a technique for entering location and

boundary information to GIS by keyboard entry of distances, bearings,
and curve calculations from field surveys and property titles.
• When distances and bearing are entered based on coordinate grids,
GIS uses this information to create a graphic representation of the
lines.

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Global Positioning System (GPS)

• Global Positioning System (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 an unobstructed
line of sight to four or more GPS
satellites
• It is called NAVSTAR (NAVigation
Satellite Timing And Ranging) Global
Positioning System Ghilani, 2012. Elementary Surveying
46
Photogrammetry
• Photogrammetry is mainly applied to collect high resolution spatial
data through aerial images acquired by aerial flights or drones
• Using stereoscopic or spatial modelling techniques, the sense of
elevation can be developed and topographic analysis can be performed
• It needs survey control points and development of spatial analysis
model to perform calculations
• Photogrammetry is mainly applied for:
• Topographic maps
• Land use analysis
• Soil types, etc

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Aerial surveys

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Satellite Remote Sensing
• Remote sensing has become increasing popular to collect low cost spatial-
temporal data on many aspects of spatial analysis
• A variety of RS satellites are in space collecting data on land use, atmosphere, air
quality, geology, soil types, urban infrastructure, land terrain, natural disasters
• Satellites like LandSat, Sentinel, Aqua, Terra, GOES, and many others are
collecting continuous information of land and atmosphere
• RS images are processed and classified in order to derive required information
• Spatial resolution ranges from less a meter to hundreds of kilometers
• RS data is much cheaper than the aerial photogrammetry
• The repetitive images help in temporal analysis

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Predicting and mapping land cover/land use
changes in Erbil /Iraq using CA-Markov synergy
model (Khwarahm et al., 2020)
Earth Science Informatics
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12145-020-00541-x

LULC maps for a) 1988, b) 2002, c) 2007, and d) modelled 2017

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Modelled land cover land use
status of Erbil governorate for the
year 2050

LULC maps for a) 1988, b) 2002, c) 2007, and d) modelled 2017

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Geometric Transformations
• Geometric Transformations are required to convert coordinates of
data points from one coordinate system to other system
• Data sets having different origins, various units of measurement, or
diverse orientations may be resolved to each other using appropriate
linear mathematical transformations such as translations and scaling
to create a common origin and rotation

52
• Projections
• Projections involve mapping of spheroidal shape of Earth on planar surface
• There are many projections used to portray the Earth as a planar surface
• It is a requirement of a GIS to convert between projections so that data layers
can be overlay compared

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Metadata
• Metadata include information about the content, format, quality,
accuracy, availability, and other characteristics of a GIS database.
• They are data about data.
• Metadata can help answer questions about GIS databases so users
can decide which data sources may be useful for their needs.

54
Database Management System
• Database Management System (DBMS) is a computer programme for
systematic storage, retrieval and management of large amount of data.
• DBMS includes:
1. Consistency with little or no redundancy (redundancy is repetition of data)
2. Data updating and maintaining quality of data
3. Data retrieval through query language
4. Report generation
5. Metadata
6. Data security and access control
7. Sharing and dissemination of data

55
• There are four main types of DBMS as:
1. Hierarchical database
2. Network database
3. Relational database
4. Object-oriented database

56
1. Hierarchical Database
• It is a Tree like data structure
• Parent-child or one to many relationship
• Each parent can have many children but each child
only has only one parent
• Applicable in administration, soil types, image
analysis
• Advantages are: simplicity, speedy access, and ease
of updating
• Disadvantages are: linkages are only possible
vertically but not horizontally
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 Hierarchical Data Structure example

President
Office

Vice President Vice President

Academic Administration
office office

Building HR Finance
SSE SoME SSS Dean SoM
Department Department Department

NREM CSE CAE

58
• Quadtree is an extension of Hierarchical data model
• Quadtree accesses a small part of a large map or raster
• First divides a total area into 4, 16, 32, … segments and records whether the quadrant is
homogeneous
• If so, then that quadrant is stored
• If not, further subdivisions are made until all nonuniform quadrants have been reduced up to
even a single pixel

wiki.gis.com
59
2. Network Database Structure
• Network database structure develops links
between features
• Networks are composed of nodes and connecting
links
• Applicable for transportation, river networks
• Valency of network is the number of links at the
node; like 4-valent or 3-valent nodes
• Algorithms are available to model network
transportation
• Features interact with the linked features
60
• A network dataset models the street
network
• The traffic restriction are given in the
graphics like one ways, turn
restrictions
• The analyses requires to find suitable
route from location 1 to location 2
(ESRI)

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• Transportation networks in ArcGIS are modeled as network datasets.
• Transportation tasks include the following:
• Finding shortest or most economical route
• Finding the best path and sequence to visit customers
• Determining the best location for a facility
• Finding distance from every origin in a set of origins to every destination in a
set of destinations

https://
transportgeography.org/
contents/methods/
network-data-models/ 62
3. Relational Database Structure
• A popular data base structure (like Oracle,
MySQL, SQL Server, and others)
• In RDBMS data is stored in multiple tables,
which are linked together
• A table is called a relation
• Each table consists of records (rows), and
fields (columns)
• Attributes are given in columns
• Unique identifiers are built as key attributes

63
4. Object-Oriented Database Model
• Object-oriented database develops spatial and non-
spatial relationships of geographic objects and their
attributes
• An object is a unit that is characterized by attributes, a
set of orientations, and rules
• Object-oriented data models closely resemble the
user's own view and classification of the things
• These data models are therefore intuitive and simple to
use
• It deals with user-oriented concepts like land parcels
and easements, transformers and fuses, not system-
oriented concepts like points, lines, and polygons
64
ArcGIS Geodatabase
• Geodatabase is the spatial data storage format for
ESRI ArcGIS software
• It is a collection of geographic datasets held in a
common file system folder, or a multiuser
relational database management system such
as IBM Db2, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle
• Geodatabases come in many sizes; from a single
user databases built on files or up to millions of
users having enterprise geodatabases
• Datasets can be accessed and worked with ArcGIS
or DBMS using SQL
65
Geodatabase Elements

• All GIS users work with three fundamental dataset

types:
• Feature classes
• Attribute tables
• Raster datasets
• Fundamentally, all geodatabases contain this same
kind of content
• All three primary datasets in the geodatabase are
stored using tables
• Spatial representations are stored as either vector
features or rasters
• A feature class is stored as a table and each row
represents one feature
66
Table Basics
• In geodatabase, attributes are managed in tables based on relational
data concepts
• Tables contain rows and all rows in a table have the same fields
• Each column has a data type, like number, character, and date.

67
• Tables and relationships play a
key role in relational database
• Rows are used to present the
features
• Columns are used to store
attributes
• Database tables can be related
to each other by using “Join and
Relate” function
• Any field (column) can be
related to other table using a
field (column) in the other table
• For example, owner table is
related through field parcel_ID
with Parcel Table

68
• Attribute data types in geodatabase
• Following are the supported attribute types:
• Numbers: integers, floating point numbers (single and double)
• Text: Any set of alphanumeric characters of a certain length
• Date: Holds date and time data
• BLOBs: A BLOB (Binary Large Object) field can hold binary information like
images or files
• Global identifiers: These strings uniquely identify a feature within a
geodatabase and across geodatabases
• XML column can hold any formatted XML content

69
Structured Query Language (SQL)
• Structured Query Language (SQL) is a standard computer language
used for accessing and managing data in databases
• SQL became a standard of the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) in 1986, and of the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) in 1987
• Query expressions in ArcGIS adhere to standard SQL expressions

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• What Can SQL do?
• Execute queries against a database
• Retrieve data from a database
• Insert records in a database
• Update records in a database
• Delete records from a database
• Create new databases
• Create new tables in a database
• Create stored procedures in a database
• Create views in a database
• Set permissions on tables, procedures, and views
71
Some Terminology in GIS
• Vector Data Model
• A coordinate-based data model that
represents geographic features as points,
lines, and polygons.
• Each point feature is represented as a
single coordinate pair, while line and
polygon features are represented as
ordered lists of vertices.
• Attributes are associated with each vector
feature
72
• Raster Data Model
• A raster consists of a matrix of cells (or
pixels) organized into rows and columns (or
a grid) where each cell contains a value
representing information, such as
temperature, elevation.
• Rasters are digital aerial photographs,
imagery from satellites, digital pictures, or
even scanned maps

73
• Feature
• A representation of a real-world object on a map
• A feature is an object that stores its geographic representation, which is
typically a point, line, or polygon, as one of its properties (or fields) in the row
• Attribute
• Nonspatial information about a geographic feature in a GIS, usually stored in a
table and linked to the feature by a unique identifier. For example, attributes
of a river might include its name, length, and sediment load at a gauging
station.

74
• Shapefile
• A shapefile is an ESRI vector data storage format for storing the location,
shape, and attributes of geographic features.
• It is stored as a set of related files and contains one feature class

75
• Feature Class
• Feature classes are collection of features having common geometry, attributes
and coordinate systems
• Points, lines, polygons, and annotation (text) are the main feature classes
• Some feature classes of a project area:
• Manhole cover locations as points
• Sewer lines
• Parcel polygons
• Street name annotation

76
• Feature Dataset
• A feature dataset is a collection of related feature
classes that share a common coordinate system.

77
• Data Themes
• Geographic representations are
organized in a series of data themes
(thematic layers)
• Data theme represents one particular
feature dataset like roads, boundaries,
elevations, well location, etc.

78
Concept Quiz
• What are the fundamental elements of a geodatabase

1. Tables
2. Feature classes
3. Raster datasets

79
Concept Quiz
• The road network shown in the figure is a raster data model.
• A. True
• B. False

80
Concept Quiz
• Which one is the thematic map in the following figures?

A B

81
Concept Question
• If you want to transport concrete from the batching plant to the
construction site, which one of the followings will you select to find
the shortest route?
A. Hierarchical data model
B. Network data model
C. Relational data model
D. Object oriented data model

82
What type of this data model is?

83