ENV 203/GEO 205: Introduction

to Geography
Lecture 1

Moupia Rahman (MpR), PhD

E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
My Education

PhD in Environmental Science

University of Southampton, UK.

MPhil Leading to PhD

Environmental Science
University of Southampton, UK.

B.Sc. (Hons.) in Agriculture

Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymenshingh

Research Interest
Heavy metal pollution
Bioaccumulation of pollutants
Quantitative genetics
 Outline
Definition of Geography
Dimension of geography
History of geography
Branches of geography
Cartography
GIS (details)
 Chapter 1: Introduction to Geography and
GIS
 History,
 Themes and Concepts,
 Definitions,
 3 approaches of Geography: Physical, Human, Socio-
Economic
 Geography
 Study of interactions between humans and the environment over space
and time.

 “The relationship of the earth and the humans”—Karl Ritter (1779-1859).

 “Geography is the description of the humans on earth”---Sir Dudley

Stamp (1898-1966).

 Geography is the science that helps to determine the relationship

between humans and the earth.

 The environment includes both living things, such as people, plants, and
animals, and nonliving things, such as air, water and soil.
 Dimensions of Geography

• Space (Spatial)
• Time (Temporal)
 History: contributors

The ancient Greeks were also interested in the form, size, and
geometry of the Earth. Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) hypothesized
and scientifically demonstrated that the Earth had a spherical
shape.

Ptolemy (100 - 178 AD) made a number of important

contributions to geography. Ptolemy's publication "Guide to
Geography" compiled and summarized much of the Greek
and Roman geographic information accumulated at that time.

Development of the concepts of geographical latitude and

longitude was one of his (Ptolemy) important contribution.
 History: contributors

Eratosthenes
(276 BC – 194 BC)
--was a Greek Mathematician, geographer, poet and athlete
He was the first person to use the word "geography" in Greek and
he invented the discipline of geography
He also invented the system of latitude & longitude
He was the first person to calculate the circumference of the earth
& calculated the tilt of the earth’s axis
 Development of Modern Geography

Initiators of modern geography.

Alexander von-Humboldt Karl Ritter ((August 7, 1779 –

(September 14, 1769 – May 6, 1859) September 28, 1859)
 Branches of Geography

Physical Geography
Geomorphology, fluvial process,
hydrology,
climatology/meteorology, soil
and biogeography,
Oceanography, glaciology etc.
 Human Geography

Cultural geography, political geography, economic

geography, social geography, historical geography,
regional geography, urban geography, medical
geography, settlement geography, rural geography,
agricultural geography etc.
 Socio-economic Geography
Economic geography Social geography
 Mathematical Geography

Statistical
geography
Cartography
modeling
application
of remote
sensing &
GIS
 Cartography
The science or practice of drawing maps.
The International Cartographic Association defines
cartography as the discipline dealing with the conception,
production, dissemination and study of maps. Cartography
is also about representation – the map. This means that
cartography is the whole process of mapping.
 Key concepts of Geography

The 8 key concepts are:

direction, distance, scale, location, distribution, localiz
ation, spatial interaction  and region 

1) Direction- is a geometric property used to describe

relative location.  The true direction is measured by
reference to a meridian.  
Nations that touch the Equator and the
Prime Meridian
2) Distance- Distance takes into account the dimension of the
surface of a feature to calculate the distance traveled
vertically.

3) Scale- is the size of the area being studied and is related to the
level of precision and generalization applied to the area of
interest.  Scale on a map may be represented three ways:

With a scale bar, as words " one centimeter to a kilometer“ or

as a representative fraction (1/10,000).
4) Location- is either relative or absolute.  Absolute location is restricted to a
reference system similar to Euclidian distance or GPS location. 
Relative location is related to other object as they are seen as
important (one example: the school is adjacent to the hospital). 

5) Distribution- is the spatial pattern in an area.  The three patterns

recognized in spatial statistics are:
6) Spatial data (Space) and temporal data ( Time):
Spatial data have to do with location-aware information, in other
words, data that have co-ordinates (X, Y). Spatial analysis are
the technique involved in analyzing Spatial data. This is a
significant component of GIS.
Temporal data is time series data. In other words, this data is
collected as time progress. Temporal analysis is also known as
Time series analysis. These are the techniques for analyzing
data units that change with time
7) Spatial interaction- is the movement of people, ideas, or
goods between  areas on the earth.  The concept of spatial
interaction is tied closely with human geography.
 
8) Region- A region is defined by the researcher to study the
likenesses and differences of areas.  Regions in GIS are
represented by polygons or raster cells of the same value.  

With the help of GIS we can explore the concepts of geography

and demonstrate how to analyze spatial data based on
these fundamental concepts.
 GIS

A geographic information system (GIS) is a framework

for gathering, managing, and analyzing data.
GIS integrates many types of data.
It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of
information into visualizations using maps and 3D
scenes. ​
With this unique capability, GIS reveals deeper
insights into data, such as patterns, relationships, and
situations—helping users make smarter decisions.
How GIS work
 An example
PROSPECT OF PHYTOREMEDIATION OF ARSENIC BY BRASSICA
JUNCEA (L.) IN BANGLADESH

Map 3. Potential of B. juncea

Map 1. Arsenic Map 2. Area under
for Phytoremediation of
Contamination in Production of Rape and
Arsenic from Soil
Groundwater Mustard,
Application of GIS
Areas where GIS may contribute
 What is Geo-Mapping?
A geo-map is a map of a country, continent, or region map,
with colors and values assigned to specific regions.
Measuring Size, Shape, How long is the Dhanmondi Lake ?
and Distribution How tall is the building at Dhanmondi?
How densely people live at Dhanmondi?
 •Describes a feature in terms of its area;
Measuring size •Perimeter
and shape; •Length
-- shows bigness •height
•volume.
of the object.
Which are the most polluted places in the world?
• Latitude (shown as a horizontal line) is the
angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and
seconds of a point north or south of the Equator.
Lines of latitude are often referred to as
parallels.

• Longitude (shown as a vertical line) is the

angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and
seconds, of a point east or west of the Prime
(Greenwich) Meridian. Lines of longitude are
often referred to as meridians.
• Latitude is a measurement on a globe or map of location north or south
of the Equator. Technically, there are different kinds of latitude—
geocentric, astronomical, and geographic (or geodetic)—but there are
only minor differences between them. In most common references,
geocentric latitude is implied. Given in degrees, minutes, and seconds,
geocentric latitude is the arc subtended by an angle at Earth’s centre and
measured in a north-south plane poleward from the Equator. Thus, a
point at 30°15′20″ N subtends an angle of 30°15′20″at the centre of the
globe; similarly, the arc between the Equator and either geographic pole
is 90° (one-fourth the circumference of the Earth, or 1/4 × 360°), and thus
the greatest possible latitudes are 90° N and 90° S. As aids to indicate
different latitudinal positions on maps or globes, equidistant circles are
plotted and drawn parallel to the Equator and each other; they are known
as parallels, or parallels of latitude.
Latitude and longitude, coordinate system by means of which the position or location of
any place on Earth’s surface can be determined and described.
ude
Equator
Longitude
• https://www.britannica.com/science/latitude