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Nowadays everything we do, every movie we watch, and whatever we want or say have some geographical component associated to them such as zip codes, area codes, tracking numbers, customer addresses, and a vacation destination. GIS is the technical ability to link and visualize all sorts of data geographically.
It is always harder to explain GIS without citing an actual example of its application. But technically, GIS is a computer based technology which allows referencing of traditional type of information stored in database management systems to be linked and attributed to spatial and geographic data. It allows simultaneous visualization and analysis of data stacked as layers of geographically related information.
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For example, GIS is used in preparation for evacuation as a result of hazardous contamination runoff or a hurricane. The spatial data for a road can be integrated with other type of data such as population, major road network, hydrologic features, meteorological, and governmental data. Also average household income, census data, and your target customer addresses can define and map where you need to concentrate your marketing activities. GIS simply allows integration of normal database operations such as query, analysis, and report making with visualization tools resulting in a faster management of large data and making a better business decisions.
GIS offers a whole range of benefits for any industry. Below are some of the examples of GIS solutions for various industries.
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Remote sensing is actually the process of collecting information about an object of interest from space or air through the use of a sensor aboard of a plane or a satellite. The information collected in the form of digital image data are usually about the earth’s surface features such as vegetation cover, a mountain range, a coastal area, and even a small empty lot in an urban area.
There are many satellites providing global coverage using different types of sensor platforms and spatial resolutions. At present, remote sensing data about a particular object can be collected in as many as few hundred distinct wavebands. Another aspect of remote sensing is the repetitive and consistent update potential of collecting data about the same object. These data can be processed and analyzed through the use different techniques and algorithms to provide much more insight and knowledge, which could not be available easily otherwise. In short, remote sensing allows one to look for something of interest and obtain a knowledge about it without going or being at the site, whenever possible, wherever on the globe, and as often intended.
Some of the traditional applications of the remote sensing and examples of the uses are listed below.
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Mineral Exploration:
- Alteration zone identification for priority sampling
- Identification of geologically important features
Urban Planning:
- Tourism
- Pipeline and Utility objects
- Real estate
- Routing
- Emergency response
- Road and Transportation
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Environmental & Ecological Resource Management:
- Wetlands
- Wildlife
- Pollution monitoring
- Flood and Fire
Water Resource Management:
- Identification of new resources
- Water quality
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