Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Data

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Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems
and Spatial Data

• Laurie Schretlen Leah Vanderjagt
• Netspeed October 20, 2005

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GIS Spatial Data - Today

• Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
  (GIS) technology basics, applications, and
  directions
• Spatial data information resources for GIS
  research
• Spatial data access
• in Canada and in Alberta
• GEODE

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GIS Components

• Map data
• Information about location w/graphics

http//www.zoology.unimelb.edu.au/stats/Eworksheet
s/images/RandomCoordinates.jpg
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GIS Components

• Attribute data
• Information about what can be found at a
  particular location

http//www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalr
esources/images/5740f02.gif
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GIS as database
http//utca.eng.ua.edu/projects/final_reports/0240
3fnl_files/image004.jpg
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Spatial data examples

• Road networks
• Vegetation inventories
• Soil inventories
• Census results
• Municipal boundaries
• Elevation values
• Climate readings
• Habitat ranges

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GIS Components

• Software
• A technology for storing and analyzing location
  and attribute data

http//www.l.hsr.ch/skripte/gisscripts/media/softw
arescreen1.jpg
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GIS Components

• Hardware
• Systems to support rapid graphic analysis and
  processing

http//www.gdf-hannover.de/pics/gisrechner.png
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GIS Personnel

• People
• Project coordinators
• Data analysts
• Programmers
• Data and knowledge managers
• Librarians

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GIS Components

• Methods
• The analysis to be performed on the data

http//www.wwf.org.co/colombia/images/a28_c.gif
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GIS Methods and Analysis

• GIS is used to answer questions and support
  decisions
• The quality of the answer depends on
• The METHODS chosen
• The DATA (more on that later)

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Data Layers

• The ability to stack layers in a GIS allows us
  to ask questions about the relationship between
  different objects of study

Image courtesy of Charlene Nielsen, Department of
Biology, University of Alberta
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Overlay

• What two things occur at the same location?

http//www.orthogate.com/guide/workshops/images/im
age002.gif
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Overlay GIS

• What residences lie beneath this toxic plume of
  ammonia?

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Overlay GIS
http//www.saultc.on.ca/GIS/images/RedPineTraill_s
m.jpg
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Buffering

• What lots are located near this road?

http//news.sina.com.cn/duihua/sars/LearnMoreAbout
GIS/gis4.files/buffer.gif
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Modeling

• GIS is used to ask what if?
• Testing scenarios and possible outcomes

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Modeling
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Image created by Leah Vanderjagt, 2005 Data
NRCan CDED City of Edmonton 2001 Digital
Orthophotos
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Modeling - Site Selection

• Combining best conditions from multiple layers to
  come up with the best location for a proposed
  facility
• Eg. Good slope drainage enough distance from
  streams access to roads Best site

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Modeling
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GIS Applications

• GIS applications combine multiple analytical
  processes to support decision-making
• Some examples from non-profit and government
  sectors

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Habitat tracking and analysis

• maps.gov.bc.ca/imf406/imf.jsp?sitelibc_habwiz

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www.shim.bc.ca/atlases/shim/shim.htm
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Health Care Disease outbreak monitoring and
modeling
Avian Flu
Affected and at-risk poultry farms
Dispersion of Avian Flu in Thailand
http//www.gisdevelopment.net/application/health/l
inks/ma04184pf.htm
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SARS Mapping
Distribution map
Outbreak model Buffalo, NY
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Facilities Management for Municipal Government
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Route Optimization Modeling
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Crime Analysis
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Other uses

• Many groups still need to create paper maps to
  support operations - nearly always GIS-based
• GIS is also used for storage of information
  there is an archiving function

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Directions for GIS

• WEB APPLICATIONS
• Standards
• Unlocking the GIS black box -distributed
  experimentation and collaboration
• GIScience

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GIS in Academic Institutions

• GIS is used extensively in science/ecology
  disciplines
• Renewable resources management
• Forestry
• Biology (ecology)
• Geography
• Earth and atmospheric sciences
• Geology

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GIS in Academic Institutions

• Also used in
• Civil engineering
• Business
• Economics
• History
• Psychology
• Health

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GIS and Libraries

• Community demographic analysis

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GIS - Bibliography
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Spatial data access

• Map Attribute data is usually referred to
  as spatial data
• Locating the right spatial data and obtaining the
  rights to use it is a major component of every
  GIS project

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Spatial data quality Inconsistencies
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Spatial data quality Projections
http//www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/map
proj/gif/twoproj.gif
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Spatial data access

• Spatial data is expensive to create and update
• Government agencies and large corporations can
  afford it
• Data sharing is not necessarily a part of the
  plan

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Spatial data access

• If its shared, spatial data is either sold by
  the producer or by a designated value-added
  reseller
• Public consultations have resulted in open
  sharing of more and more spatial data sets at the
  federal level
• Some federal data is made available through the
  Depository Services Program

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Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure
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Spatial data access

• There is much more data available for purchase
• Therefore, there is a spatial data economy in
  Canada
• This economy is driven by cost-recovery policies
• Government agencies charge other agencies,
  corporations, and individuals for data access

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Different models of access

• United States wide, very open access to drive
  commercial development
• Canada stewardship model of cost-recovery
• Provincial economy examples
• Manitoba
• Alberta

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Alberta Policy Environment

• Government agencies cost-recovery sales
• Third party vendors data enhancers and resellers
  for profit
• Data producers who do not sell or distribute
  their data

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Challenges to Access

• What is the result of Albertas policy
  environment?
• Data creators dont have sufficient resources to
  respond to individual researcher demand
• Data suppliers do not document or support data
  products
• Data suppliers primary business is not data
  supply, ie. creating happy data customers

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Post-secondary Response

• Underground data economy have and have-not
  departments at one institution
• Some data creators provide data in exchange for
  research results
• Individuals or projects receive licenses for
  data cannot be shared with institution
• Academic libraries began to acquire data through
  license (database model)
• Successful examples NRCan, DMTI

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GEODE

• To address issues of access to spatial data in
  Alberta, the GEODE project was launched in 1999
• Participating institutions
• University of Alberta
• University of Calgary
• SAIT
• University of Lethbridge
• Miistakis Institute for the Rockies

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GEODE

• Access to Alberta-based spatial data
• Digital elevation models
• Topographic data
• Alberta Vegetation Index
• Census boundaries
• Landsat 7 imagery
• Metadata development
• Data browser
• 10,000 files downloaded

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Benefits to GIS Researchers

• Consortium-wide access to high quality data
• Centralized price and acquisition negotiations
• The opportunity to work with industry-standard
  Alberta data

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Benefits to suppliers

• One point of access for post-secondary
  institutions
• Data support coordinated through library and
  departments
• Institutional licensing
• Training of future employees with industry
  standard data

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GEODEs Transformation

• GEODE was reconceived in late 2004 as a
  consortium to facilitate and promote access to
  spatial data for post-secondary education in
  Alberta
• Objectives
• Develop new funding strategies
• Enhance contents of collection
• Expand institutional membership

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Benefits of institutional membership

• Access to GEODE collections
• Training and assistance with GEODE service
  delivery
• Advocacy and liaison with vendors
• Cost-sharing
• Technology/infrastructure guidance
• Collaborative development of best practices

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GIS for Post-secondary Education

• For access to spatial data for GIS research and
  teaching to continue and thrive in Alberta,
  academic libraries need to collaborate to
• Develop spatial data collections according to
  shared research priorities
• Lobby for access with producers and vendors
• Share resources and expertise

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Moving forward

• Long-range technology goal database-driven web
  service delivery of spatial data files
• GEODE is seeking assistance with the development
  of a province-wide licensing model for spatial
  data use in research and teaching

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Questions? Discussion?

• Laurie Schretlen lschretl _at_ ucalgary.ca
• Leah Vanderjagt leahv _at_ ualberta.ca

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Web Citations

• Google Local www.google.ca
• Google Earth earth.google.com
• BC Habitat Wizard maps.gov.bc.ca/imf406/imf.jsp?s
  itelibc_habwiz
• Sensitive Habitat Inventory and Mapping
  www.shim.bc.ca/atlases/shim/shim.htm