Introduction to GIS

Mr. M. Y. Asare
Department of Geomatic Engineering
KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana
[email protected]

January 2015
Course content
• Introduction to GIS
• Spatial data types and representation
• Data input and methods of data capture
• Spatial referencing
• Fundamentals of remote sensing
• Sensors and platforms
• Image data characteristics and image interpretation
• Remote sensing applications

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Lecture overview
• Real world and its representations
• Definitions and concepts in GIS
• Spatial data and its representation
• Modules of GIS
• Hardware and software requirement for GIS
• Challenges in the use of GIS
• Applications of GIS

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Real world and its representation
• Models of real world are created in our minds
• To be able to acquire, store, analyse, visualise and
exchange information about real world we need a media
to represent our mind models
• Common media to represent real world models:
• maps
• databases

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Real world and its representation
Example of a map
Continental United States

Title

Fixed scale

Scale 1:20 000 000

Legend
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Real world and its representation
Example of a database

Rivers
Road

Spatial Cities
database

Province

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Defining is GIS
 “A GIS is a computerized tool for solving geographic
problems”

 “GIS is a spatial decision support system”

 “GIS is a mechanized inventory of geographically

distributed features and facilities”

 “GIS is a method for revealing patterns and processes in

geographic information”

 “GIS is a tool to automate time-consuming tasks that are

too tedious or expensive or inaccurate if performed by
hand” 7
Classical Definition of GIS

A system of hardware, software and

procedures designed to support the
capture, management, manipulation,
retrieval, analysis, modelling and display
of spatially-referenced data for solving
complex planning and management
problems

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Defining is GIS
Hardware

Software

Information

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Defining is GIS
GIS also include people and methods

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Defining is GIS
Geographical / Land Information

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What does a GIS?
 A GIS is a computer-based system that provides the
following four sets of capabilities to handle a geo-
referenced data
• Input

• Data management (storage and retrieval)

• Manipulation and analysis

• Output

 Thedefinition above emphasize that a GIS system

deals with geographic or spatial information

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Sources of Geographical or Locational Data

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What does a GIS?

 Works with objects, their attributes, and the

relationships among the objects.
 The objects are stored in a database using geometric
primitives (volumes, areas, lines, points) and the
relationships between them (topology)

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What GIS is NOT
 A computer system for making maps, although
maps can be produced at different scales from the
data which is stored in the computer
 It does not in conventional sense store a map but
stores the data or information from which one can
always make a desired view for a particular
purpose

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Geographic, Information and Systems
• Geographic:
• GIS tend to deal primarily with `geographic' or `spatial'
features.
 i.e. information about places on the earth’s surface
 or knowledge about “what is where and when”
• Information:
• Represents the large volumes of data, which are usually
handled within a GIS
• Information are derived from the spatial (locational) and
the non-spatial (attribute) data
Geographic information and systems
• Systems:
• A technology for the acquisition and management of
spatial information.
• It is the systems approach taken by GIS, whereby
complex environments are broken down into their
component parts for ease of understanding and handling
but are considered to form an integrated whole
Geographic information and systems

• A GIS is typically made up of a variety of information

systems
Why use GIS?
• A GIS is a powerful tool for handling spatial data.
• Data are maintained in a digital format.
• Large quantities of data can be maintained and retrieved
at greater speeds and lower cost
• Manipulate the spatial data and corresponding attribute
information
• Integration of different types of data in a single analysis
and at high speed are unmatched by any manual
methods.
Why use GIS?
• The ability to perform complex spatial analyses rapidly
provides a quantitative as well as qualitative advantage
• Planning scenarios, decision models, change detection
and analysis and other types of plans can be developed
by making refinements to successive analyses.
GIS and Computer Aided Design (CAD)
systems
GIS
•The spatial analysis capabilities of GIS distinguish it
from CAD systems
•The ability to analyse complex, multiple spatial and non-
spatial data sets in an integrated manner forms the major
part of a GIS capabilities
GIS and Computer Aided Design (CAD)
systems

CAD systems
•CAD systems are primarily for 3-D graphic creation (i.e.
engineering design) and display systems
•CAD systems also have limited database ability (especially
for non-spatial data)
•Referencing images in CAD systems via geographic
locations are a disadvantage.
Who can use GIS?
• Anybody who needs to work with spatially referenced data
can use GIS.
• Geologists/Geographers - record locations of rock formations
and for use in resource prospecting operations.
• Municipalities - maintain large and complex databases that
contain the street locations, building footprints, height
contours, sewer lines, land use designations, and much more.
• Utility companies - record locations of their lines, both above
and below ground, and for deciding where to put new ones.
• Emergency services - very detailed municipal address
database in order to route the vehicles to the emergency as
quickly as possible.
What is a Geo-referenced (geo-spatial) data ?
• A data is geo-referenced when coordinates from
geographic space have been associated with it.
• The geographic space is space where locations are defined
relative to the Earths surface.
• The geo-referenced (geo-spatial) tells us where the object
represented by the data is located.
What is a Geo-referenced (geo-spatial) data ?
• Geo-referenced (geo-spatial) data are commonly
characterized as having four fundamental components:
• 1st: Physical dimension or class (i.e..attribute data)
 e.g. of physical dimension: forest canopy, the population of a
city, or the width of a road.
 e.g. of class: rock type, a vegetation type,
• 2nd: Spatial location (e.g. X, Y coordinate system)
• 3rd : Height
• 4th : Time
Components (Modules) of a GIS

Data Management
• Organization of a database, in particular dealing with
spatial features & its attributes
• Data retrieval, search conditions between spatial and/or
non-spatial components

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Components (Modules) of a GIS

Input and conversion

• Sources of spatial data include
• surveying,
• aerial photographs,
• satellite imagery
• existing maps

• A format converter may be necessary for data transfer in

between different systems

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Components (Modules) of a GIS
Data Processing
• Update
• Modification
• Scale & projection changes
• Clipping
• etc..

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Components (Modules) of a GIS
Analysis and Modeling
• Derive new information
• Modeling & simulations to support decision making,
some of the specialized ones have to be custom-built into
the GIS

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Components (Modules) of a GIS
Output & Display
• Graphics display
• Text reports
• Charts

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Data manipulation and analysis

With geometric parameters (2-D or 3-D), GIS

allows:
• Measurement of real ground distance based on a plane, a
sphere or an ellipsoid
• Other geometrical measurements, e.g. area, perimeter, shape,
angle, direction
• Volumetric / 3-D derivations, e.g. modeling a terrain, volume
of subsoil
• Association of other descriptive data (attributes) to features of
a certain location

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Example 1:
Enquire the information of a selected location

Click the building to retrieve

Floor Unit Size Rate Assessment No.

1 A 500 2000 1234567A123
1 B 800 3000 4567899B234
2 A 500 2020 1234567A124
2 B 800 3030 4567899B235
3 A 500 2050 1234567A125
3 B 800 3060 4567899B236
.. .. .. .. 1234567A126
Tenement Information

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Example 2:
Enquire where a piece / group of information is located
Estate Building Floor Unit Assessment No.
Chun Man Court Man Fok House 5 A 1234567A123
Chun Man Court Man Fok House 5 B 4567899B234
Chun Man Court Man Fok House 6 A 1234567A124
Chun Man Court Man Fok House 6 B 4567899B235
Chun Man Court Man Fok House 7 A 1234567A125
Chun Man Court Man Fok House 7 B 4567899B236
.. .. .. .. 1234567A126

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Example 3:
Enable geometric measurements based on real ground
coordinates

? 26 m

198.67m
Area? 2

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Data manipulation & analysis

• Geometric transformation
• Spatial and attribute data retrieval
• Measurement and proximity analyses
• Reclassification, e.g. based on common attributes

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 Data manipulation & analysis

• Overlay operations, i.e. overlapping two or more layers

of features, and find out their intersection, union set etc.
• Buffering, i.e. defining an area of influence
• Network analysis
• Terrain analysis
• And many others, ….

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Buffer and Overlay

Total no. of companies affected

= 134

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Hardware & software requirements

• A simple GIS setup includes:

• Basic PC set up
• Perhaps with a digitizer
• GIS software installation
 ArcView
 GeoMedia Professional,
 MapInfo
 Smallworld
 Manifold
 ArcGIS, etc

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Challenges in the use of GIS
• Data volume slows down data revision
• Data integration is not easy. It highlights
inconsistencies of data from different sources
• Effective use of GIS requires training
• It is not cheap

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Hardware and software aspects
• They get outdated in a short time.
• The upgrading of one could force the upgrading of the
other.
• Annual maintenance cost could be 10% or more of
purchase cost.

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Data Aspect
• A GIS without data is like a car without fuel.
• Data is a very valuable investment.
• Data can cost 70% or more of system cost.
• Data must be well maintained and well documented.

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Human aspect

• A GIS is more than software, hardware, and data.

• It requires a support team.
• A GIS could fail because of poor implementation plans.
• A GIS could fail because of poor management.

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GIS Applications - Examples

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Environmental and risk assessment
• 3D visualization based on a digital terrain model and
digital surface model is created
C-B Identification of areas where flooding has increased as
result of land use changes and inadequate practices
GIS in Environmental Impact Assessment

Mining pits

Settlements affected by
the stone and sand
mining operations

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Real estate information management
• Management of real property inventories for the land
market
• Management of accurate tax ratings on property
• Tax mapping
• Assets management

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GIS in Tourism

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Transportation and natural resources mgt

• Renewable Resource Management

• Forest Fire prediction and prevention
• Monitoring declining natural recourses

• Transportation
• Design and planning
• GPS integrated GIS for emergency response services
• Management and maintenance schedules

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Settlement planning and land management

• Site selection
• Zoning
• Suitability analysis
• Encroachment and reallocation of land resources
• The nearest resources available for an area

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GIS in Land Management

Land Certificate
Plotting new parcel
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Urban planning and infrastructure management
• Urban and Regional Planning
• Access to appropriate data sets
• Integrated approach to planning
• Landuse mapping

• Infrastructure Management (water, electricity,

telecom etc)
• Planning and Design
• Maintenance and management

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GIS in Water Utilities

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GIS in Water Utilities

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Public health and safety

• Public Health and Safety

• Disease mapping and monitoring
• Crime mapping and analysis
• Travel time analysis for emergency response facilities( fire
service, ambulance service, police striking force)

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GIS in Crime Prevention

Crime Hot spots on KNUST Campus

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Conclusions

• GIS is a powerful and complex tool

• Geographic database is valuable investment
• Geographic data for Ghana and the world is becoming
available
• GIS applications are picking up
• There will be challenge ahead

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