Presented by:

Mr. Bhartendu Sajan

Assistant Professor
Centre for Climate Change and Water
Research, SGVU, Mahal Road, Jaipur
 Introduction

• Why use a GIS?

• What can a GIS do?
• How does a GIS work?

• GIS definitions_
 Why use a GIS?

• An extension of the paper map, but much more

than a map, as you will see
• GIS uses the analytical power of the computer to
complete complex tasks
• Computer's storage power to manage large data
sets.
• Integration of many different types of data from
many different sources
• GIS maps a variety of different data to the same
coordinate space (allows for combination of
data)_
 Why use a GIS?

• Digital media are more stable than paper media,

and easier to distribute via the Internet
– Faster and easier update
– Creation and use of "one-time" maps
– Tailor-made maps
• Elimination of some user bias (identical
systematic routines, machine calculations)

• GIS brings new tools for thinking differently

about the properties of objects in space._
 What can a GIS do?

• Generically
– Find features with known properties but unknown
location
(“Where is a particular feature on the landscape?”)
(“Where are features with specific properties?”)
– Identify properties of features with known location
(“What type of features are at a specific location?”)
– Analyze the relationship between/among features
and location
(“Is there a reason these features are found at this
location?”)_
 What can a GIS do?
• Specifically
– Estimate economic effects of land-use regulation
(Spotted owl, salmon)
– Determine the optimal locations of new
businesses
(demographics, transportation)
– Generate optimal routing and scheduling delivery
and repair services
(network & routing)
– Determine the ground area covered by a new
cellular phone network
(visibility and line-of-sight analysis)_
 What can a GIS do?
• Specifically
– Delineate watershed boundaries for estimates of
sedimentation effects on fish-bearing streams
– Predict vegetation types based on elevation,
slope, and aspect
– Predict landslide hazard for forest harvest units
– Calculate the correlation between demographics
and HIV infection rates
– Locate natural areas that need protection
– Make communicative, colorful, and interesting
maps_
 Examples of what a GIS can do
Example 1: Where is a given feature or set of features?
“Where are forest stands greater than 100 years of age?”

query criteria are defined

location is shown
 Examples of what a GIS can do
• Example 2: What features are at a given location?
“What is the age of the forest near the 1050 Road?”

1st step:
select road
 Examples of what a GIS can do
• Example 2: What features are at a given location?
“What is the age of the forest near the 1050 Road?”

2nd step:
3rd step:
select adjacent
examine records
stands
of adjacent
 Examples of what a GIS can do
• Example 3: Where are areas that meet a given
complex set of criteria?

“What parts of the forest are located:

– within 100 ft of a stream,

– beyond 50 ft from a road,
– on greater than 30% slope?”
 Examples of what a GIS can do

• closer than 100 ft to a stream, and

• farther than 50 ft from a road,

• on > 30% slope?

 Examples of what a GIS can do
• Example 4: How can GIS calculate distance of
features?
“How far away is a bird nest from the rest of the patch
of nesting habitat?”

essentially a calculus problem

approximated quantitatively
 Examples of what a GIS can do
• Example 5: How can data to support watershed
analysis be generated within a GIS?
“What are the road and stream densities (mi / sq. mi)
for the forest area?”

area length density

2
forest 6.67 mi
roads 54 mi 8.13 mi / mi 2
streams 31 mi 4.62 mi / mi 2
 Examples of GIS generated maps

detailed
topographic maps
 Examples of GIS maps
orthophoto
image maps

good for
validating other
data
 Examples of GIS maps
surface drapes & 3-D modeling
 Examples of GIS maps
classified (thematic) maps

good for understanding data with many unique values

Examples of GIS maps
documentation of research
 How does GIS work?

Combination of coordinate data

and

tabular data each feature has

a record
 GIS definitions
"A system of hardware, software, and
procedures designed to support the
capture,
management,
manipulation,
analysis,
modeling and
display of
spatially-referenced data for solving complex
planning and management problems."
 GIS definitions
A working GIS integrates five key
components:

• hardware,
• software,
• data,
• people, and
• methods