A

Seminar Report
On
GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM
(GIS)

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & APPLICATION

COLLGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY, BHUBANESWAR

Submitted By
Sudhangana Panda
Regd. No.-0905106006
Semester-II
 A
Seminar Report
On
Geographical Information System
(GIS)
In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF COMPUTER APPLICATION

SUBMITTED BY:
Sudhangana Panda
Regd. No.-0905106006
Under the Guidance of
Mr. B.S Nag

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & APPLICATION

COLLGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY, BHUBANESWAR

2
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the Seminar entitled “GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
SYSTEM (GIS)” has been submitted by Sudhangana Panda under my guidance in
partial fulfilment of the degree MASTER OF COMPUTER APPLICATION
under Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Bhubaneswar during the academic
year 2009-2010 (Semester-II) .

Date:
Place: Bhubaneswar

Guide Head, Computer Department

(Mr. B. S. Nag) (Dr. R. K. Dash)

3
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The great satisfaction that accompany the successful completion of any

task would be incomplete without mentioning the people who made it possible
so, with gratitude I acknowledge all those guidance & encouragement made to
successfully complete this report.
I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to college of
engineering and technology (CET) Bhubaneswar who is a constant source of
inspiration and strength to me throughout my Seminar.
It is a great pleasure to acknowledge my sincere gratitude to
Mr Bijay Srinivas Nag, Lecturer of MCA, who helped me for successful
completion of this seminar report.

Finally, I thank all those who have helped me directly or indirectly to

collect information for completing this seminar report successfully.

Sudhangana Panda

Page Index

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Sl no. Contents page no.

1. What is GIS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9
2. Components - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10
3. Elements - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -10
4. History- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11
5. Functions- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -13
6. Types of data - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -14
6.1. Spatial data - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -14

6.1.1 Point- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 14
6.1.2 Line - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -15
6.1.3 Polygon - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15
6.2. Attribute data - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -16
7. Types of GIS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 17
7.1. Raster GIS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 17
7.2. Vector GIS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -18
7.3. Advantages & disadvantages - - - - - 19
8. GIS Techniques & Technology - - - - - - - - - - - - -20
8.1. Digitization of data - - - - - - - - - - - -20
8.2. Relating information- - - - - - - - - - - 21
8.3. Data capture - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21
8.4. Co-ordinate System - - - - - - - - - - - -22
8.5. Map projection - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 24
8.6. Geostatistics - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -25
9. Need for GIS - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - 26
9.1. Data Integration - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 26
9.2. Data Organization - - - - - - - - - - - -26

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Sl no. Contents page no.

10. Uses of GIS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 26

11. GIS Application - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 27
11.1. Archaeology - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 27
11.2. Crime mapping - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 28
11.3. Hydrology - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 28
11.4. Public participation- - - - - - - - - - - -29
12. What can one do with GIS- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -30
12.1. Map where things are- - - - - - - - - -30
12.2. Map quantities- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -31
12.3. Map densities- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -31
12.4. Find what’s inside- - - - - - - - - - - - -32
12.5. Find what’s nearby- - - - - - - - - - - - 32
12.6. Map change - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -32
13. Limitations - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - 33
14. Conclusion- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 34
15. Bibliography- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -35

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 FIGURE INDEX

Figure number Name of the figure Page number

1 GIS elements 10

2 GIS: Old and New 13

3 Houses as Points 14

4 Rivers as line 15

5 Area as polygon 15

6 Spatial and non-spatial data 16

7 19
Raster and Vector data representation

8 Map projection 24

9 31
Maps of the locations of earthquake
shaking hazards

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 ABSTRACT
A Geographic Information System (GIS), or Geographical Information System,
is any system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that
are linked to location. Technically, a GIS is a system that includes mapping
software and its application to remote sensing, land surveying, aerial
photography, mathematics, photogrammetry, geography, and tools that can be
implemented with GIS software. In the simplest terms, GIS is the merging of
cartography and database technology.

GIS technology can be used for scientific investigation, resource

management, asset management, archaeology, environmental impact
assessment, urban planning, cartography, criminology, geographic history,
marketing, logistics, prospective mapping, and other purposes.

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 GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM(GIS)

1. WHAT IS GIS? :-

Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer based integrated

technology, where geographic data along with its attributes from various sources
are collected into a system for storage, retrieval, manipulation and presenting the
same. There are many definitions of GIS with each definition reflecting an
individual perception of GIS and the type of problem statement.
A Geographic Information System or Geographical Information System
or GIS is any system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data
that are linked to location. Technically, a GIS is a system that includes mapping
software and its application to remote sensing, aerial photography, mathematics,
photogrammetry, geography and tools that can be implemented with GIS
software.
One definition of GIS is, "an automated system for the capture, storage,
retrieval, analysis, and display of spatial data." (Clarke 1995, 13) Geographic
Information Systems is the combination of data management techniques to
facilitate the understanding of real-world.
The term “GIS” describes any information system that integrates stores,
edits, analyzes, shares, and displays geographic information. In a more generic
sense, GIS applications are tools that allow users to create interactive queries
(user-created searches), analyze spatial information, edit data, maps, and present
the results of all these operations. In the simplest terms, GIS is the merging of
cartography and database technology.

9
2. COMPONENTS OF GIS:-
2.1 Geographic: This is the part of GIS that explains ‘spatially’ where things
are (location of nations, states, cities, schools, roads, rivers etc.). Spatially
means where on the earth's surface an object or feature is located. This can be
as simple as the latitude and longitude of a feature.

2.2 Information: GIS information is the ‘data’ or 'attribute' information

about specific features that one is interested in.

2.3 System: The system in GIS is the computer and the software that is
written to help people analyze the data, look at the data and combine it in
various ways to show relationships or to create geographic models.
3. ELEMENTS OF GIS:-
There are four major elements, which a basic GIS system needs. They are
Hardware, Software, Data (Dataware) and Methods, Persons (Brainware).

Fig.1
4. HISTORY OF GIS:-

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 Earlier the GIS was done mechanically in which different thematic maps
were drawn on a piece of polythene with the same scale, if the scale was
not similar then it was not possible to overlay the maps, hence had to be
laid on one another depending upon the requirement.
 This method was basically used for the Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) and other exercises like this in which various thematic maps were
required.
 "Canada Geographic Information System" (CGIS) was used to store,
analyze, and manipulate data collected for the Canada Land Inventory
(CLI)—an initiative to determine the land capability for rural Canada by
mapping information about soils, agriculture, recreation, wildlife,
waterfowl, forestry, and land use at a scale of 1:50,000. A rating
classification factor was also added to permit analysis.
 CGIS was the world's first "system" and was an improvement over
"mapping" applications as it provided capabilities for overlay,
measurement, and digitizing/scanning. It supported a national coordinate
system that spanned the continent, coded lines as "arcs" having a true
Embedded topology and it stored the attribute and locational information
in separate files.
 CGIS was developed by Dr. Roger Tomlinson in 1962. Tomlinson has
become known as the "father of GIS," particularly for his use of overlays
in promoting the spatial analysis of convergent geographic data. CGIS
lasted into the 1990s and built the largest digital land resource database in
Canada. It was developed as a mainframe based system in support of
federal and provincial resource planning and management. Its strength
was continent-wide analysis of complex datasets. The CGIS was never
available in a commercial form.

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 By the early 1980s, M&S Computing/ Intergraph, Environmental Systems
Research Institute (ESRI) and CARIS (Computer Aided Resource
Information System) emerged as commercial vendors of GIS software,
successfully incorporating many of the CGIS features, combining the first
generation approach to separation of spatial and attribute information with
a second generation approach to organizing attribute data into database
structures. In parallel, the development of two public domain systems
began in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
 The Map Overlay and Statistical System (MOSS) project started in 1977
in Fort Collins, Colorado under the auspices of the Western Energy and
Land Use Team (WELUT) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
 GRASS GIS was begun in 1982 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering
Research Laboratory (USA-CERL) in Champaign, Illinois, a branch of
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to meet the need of the United States
military for software for land management and environmental planning.
 The later 1980s and 1990s industry growth were spurred on by the
growing use of GIS on Unix workstations and the personal computer.
 By the end of the 20th century, the rapid growth in various systems had
been consolidated and standardized on relatively few platforms and users
were beginning to export the concept of viewing GIS data over the
Internet, requiring data format and transfer standards.

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 Fig.2

5. Functions of GIS :-
5.1Data Input/Output :

GIS accepts data from different sources in different forms. Some of the
main sources of GIS data are digital / analog maps, aerial photographs,
satellite imageries and field survey. Once the data is stored it can be
manipulated and analyzed to reach a particular conclusion.
5.2Data Management :

Data management is a process in which the stored data is maintained

systematically and allows proper retrieval of data.
5.3Analysis :

Analysis is an important function of GIS, which answers the queries,

based the geographical feature, their location with respect to other
features in association with attribute data.

13
6. Types of data in GIS:-
GIS mainly consists of two types of data spatial and attribute data (non-spatial
data). Spatial data consists of the geographical features and attribute data
compromises a set of information.

6.1Spatial data:-

Spatial data contains coordinates and identifies information for various map
features. Spatial data means data pertaining to the location of geographical
entities together with their spatial dimensions. Spatial data are classified as
point, line, area or surface to describe particular features on maps like buildings,
streets, or cities as point’s line or area.

6.1.1 Points:-

Zero-dimensional points are used for geographical features that

can best be expressed by a single point reference; in other words,

simple location.

Houses as points
Fig.3
 Points represent any features that can be described by an x, y
location on the face of the earth, such as shopping centres,
electricity poles, banks, and houses.

14
 6.1.2 Lines:-

A line represents a linear feature having length, such as streets,

highways, and rivers.

Rivers, Roads, Power lines etc

Fig.4

Again, as with point features, linear features displayed at a small

scale will be represented as linear features rather than as a polygon.
Line features can measure distance.

6.1.3 Areas or Polygons:-

Areas or polygons are two-dimensional features that represent

features such as states, countries, soil types or land use zones and
cities.

An Area as polygon
Fig.5

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6.2 Non-Spatial/ Attribute Data:-

Attribute data represents a set of information, corresponding to spatial features.

For instance, the spatial data might represent a country and contain information
for city boundaries, streets, and attribute data giving information about the
population, area in square meters and so on.

GIS Data - Spatial, Attribute

Fig.6

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7. Types of GIS:-
GIS data represents real world objects with digital data. Real world objects can
be divided into two abstractions: discrete objects (a house) and continuous fields
(rain fall amount or elevation). Traditionally, there are two broad methods used
to store data in a GIS for both abstractions: Raster and Vector, each having
different methods of displaying and using maps and the data associating with
them.

7.1 Raster GIS:-

Raster is a grid of cells overlaid on a map or picture. On a computer display this

is a matrix / grid of pixels. Each cell location has a value. Raster data
comprises of satellite imagery, aerial photographs, scanned images etc. It is
bulky and requires a large storage capacity. Data are stored in a grid or matrix
like structure as a set of rows and column. Each cell within this grid contains a
number representing a particular geographic feature, such as soil type, and use.

Additional values recorded for each cell may be a discrete value, such as
land use, a continuous value, such as temperature, or a null value if no data is
available. While a raster cell stores a single value, it can be extended by using
raster bands to represent RGB (red, green, blue) colours, colour maps (a
mapping between a thematic code and RGB value), or an extended attribute
table with one row for each unique cell value. The resolution of the raster data
set is its cell width in ground unit.

Raster data is stored in various formats; from a standard file-based structure

of TIF, JPEG, etc. to binary large objects(BLOB) data stored directly in a

Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) similar to other vector-
based feature classes. Database storage, when properly indexed, typically allows

17
for quicker retrieval of the raster data but can require storage of millions of
significantly-sized records.

7.2 Vector GIS:-

Vector data records spatial information as (x,y) coordinates in a rectangular

(planar) coordinate system. Point features are recorded as single (x,y) locations.
Line features, including the outlines of polygons, are recorded as an ordered
series of (x,y) coordinates.

Vector data is suitable for recording the location of discrete geographic

features with precise locations like streets, boundaries, streams, telephone poles,
etc. In the vector data model, features on the earth are represented as :
 Points
 Lines / route
 Polygons / regions

Each of these geometries is linked to a row in a database that describes

their attributes. For example, a database that describes lakes may contain a lake's
depth, water quality, pollution level. This information can be used to make a
map to describe a particular attribute of the dataset. For example, lakes could be
coloured depending on level of pollution. Different geometries can also be
compared.

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 Fig.7

7.3 Advantages and disadvantages:-

There are some important advantages and disadvantages to using a raster or

vector data model to represent reality:-

 Raster datasets record a value for all points in the area covered which may
require more storage space than representing data in a vector format that can
store data only where needed.

 Raster data allows easy implementation of overlay operations, which are

more difficult with vector data.

 Vector data can be displayed as vector graphics used on traditional maps,

whereas raster data will appear as an image that may have a blocky appearance
for object boundaries depending on the resolution of the raster file.

 Vector data can be easier to register, scale, and re-project, which can simplify
combining vector layers from different sources.

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 Vector data is more compatible with relational database environments, where
they can be part of a relational table as a normal column and processed using a
multitude of operators.

Vector file sizes are usually smaller than raster data, which can be 10 to 100
times larger than vector data (depending on resolution).

 Vector data is simpler to update and maintain, whereas a raster image will
have to be completely reproduced.

 Vector data allows much more analysis capability, especially for "networks"
such as roads, power, rail, telecommunications, etc. Raster data will not have all
the characteristics of the features it displays.

8. GIS techniques and technology:-

8.1Digitization of data:-

Modern GIS technologies use digital information, for which various digitized
data creation methods are used. The most common method of data creation is
digitization, where a hard copy map or survey plan is transferred into a
digital medium through the use of a computer-aided design (CAD) program,
and geo-referencing capabilities.

With the wide availability of ortho-rectified imagery (both from satellite

and aerial sources), heads-up digitizing is becoming the main avenue through
which geographic data is extracted.

Heads-up digitizing involves the tracing of geographic data directly on

top of the aerial imagery instead of by the traditional method of tracing the
geographic form on a separate digitizing tablet (heads-down digitizing).

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8.2 Relating information from different sources:-

Location may be annotated by x, y, and z coordinates of longitude, latitude,

and elevation, or by other geocode systems. Any variable that can be located
spatially can be fed into a GIS.

Several computer databases that can be directly entered into a GIS are
being produced by government agencies and non-government organizations.

Different kinds of data in map form can be entered into a GIS. A GIS
(Geographic Information System) can also convert existing digital
information, which may not yet be in map form, into forms it can recognize
and use.

Census or hydrological tabular data can be converted to map-like form,

serving as layers of thematic information in a GIS.

8.3Data capture:-

Data capture—entering information into the system—consumes much of the

time of GIS practitioners. There are a variety of methods used to enter data
into a GIS where it is stored in a digital format.

i. Existing data printed on paper or PET film maps can be

digitized or scanned to produce digital data. A digitizer produces
vector data as an operator traces points, lines, and polygon boundaries
from a map.
ii. Scanning a map results in raster data that could be further
processed to produce vector data.
iii. Survey data can be directly entered into a GIS from digital
data collection systems on survey instruments using a technique called
Coordinate Geometry (COGO).

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 iv. Positions from a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)
like Global Positioning System (GPS), another survey tool, can also be
directly entered into a GIS.
v. Remotely sensed data also plays an important role in data
collection and consist of sensors attached to a platform. Sensors
include cameras, digital scanners and LIDAR, while platforms usually
consist of aircraft and satellites.
vi. The majority of digital data currently comes from photo
interpretation of aerial photographs.
vii. Satellite remote sensing provides another important source of
spatial data. Here satellites use different sensor packages to passively
measure the reflectance from parts of the electromagnetic spectrum or
radio waves that were sent out from an active sensor such as radar.

In addition to collecting and entering spatial data, attribute data is also

entered into a GIS. For vector data, this includes additional information about
the objects represented in the system.

After entering data into a GIS, the data usually requires editing, to
remove errors, or further processing. For vector data it must be made
"topologically correct" before it can be used for some advanced analysis.

8.4 Coordinate system:-

Map information in a GIS must be manipulated so that it registers, or fits,

with information gathered from other maps.

Before the digital data can be analyzed, they may have to undergo other
manipulations—projection and coordinate conversions, for example—that
integrate them into a GIS.

22
 The earth can be represented by various models, each of which may
provide a different set of coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, elevation) for
any given point on the Earth's surface.

The simplest model is to assume the earth is a perfect sphere. As more

measurements of the earth have accumulated, the models of the earth have
become more sophisticated and more accurate.

A coordinate system specifies the units used to locate features in two-

dimensional space and the origin point of those units. The most common
being latitude and longitude coordinate system often called the "geographic"
coordinate system. An intersection of both these values (in degrees, minutes
& seconds) gives the location of geographic feature on the earth surface.
The Prime Meridian and the Equator are the reference planes used to
define longitude and latitude respectively. 

Prime Meridian is referred to the zero degree line that runs from
North Pole to South Pole.

Equator is the zero degree parallel that runs east to west dividing
the earth into two similar hemispheres. It is also called zero degree
latitude.

Latitude of a point is the angle from the equatorial plane to the

vertical direction of a line normal to the reference ellipsoid. These are the
lines running parallel to equator.

Longitude of a point is the angle between a reference plane and a

plane passing through the point, both planes being perpendicular to the
equatorial plane.

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8.5Map projection in GIS:-

Projection is a fundamental component of map making. A projection is a

mathematical means of transferring information from a model of the
Earth, which represents a three-dimensional curved surface, to a two-
dimensional medium—paper or a computer screen. Different projections
are used for different types of maps because each projection particularly
suits specific uses.

Map projection is useful to translate the three dimensional objects

(globe) onto a two- dimensional (flat) surface (map). In other words it's an
attempt to portray the surface of the earth or a portion of the earth on
maps. There are five methods of projections. They are Conical,
Cylindrical, Mercator, Stereoscopic and Orthoscopic.

Map Projection
Fig.8

24
 Since much of the information in a GIS comes from existing maps, a GIS
uses the processing power of the computer to transform digital information,
gathered from sources with different projections and/or different coordinate
systems, to a common projection and coordinate system. For images, this
process is called rectification.

8.6Geostatistics:-

Geostatistics is a point-pattern analysis that produces field predictions

from data points. It is a way of looking at the statistical properties of those
special data. It is different from general applications of statistics because it
employs the use of graph theory and matrix algebra to reduce the number of
parameters in the data. Only the second-order properties of the GIS data are
analyzed.

When phenomena are measured, the observation methods dictate the

accuracy of any subsequent analysis. Due to the nature of the data, a constant
or dynamic degree of precision is always lost in the measurement. This loss
of precision is determined from the scale and distribution of the data
collection.

To determine the statistical relevance of the analysis, an average is

determined so that points (gradients) outside of any immediate measurement
can be included to determine their predicted behaviour.

This is due to the limitations of the applied statistic and data collection
methods, and interpolation is required to predict the behaviour of particles,
points, and locations that are not directly measurable.

25
9. NEED FOR GIS :-

9.1Data integration:-

GIS integrates spatial and other kinds of information within a single system
as it offers a consistent framework for analyzing geographical data by
putting maps and other kinds of spatial information into digital form. GIS
allows us to manipulate and display geographical data in new and exciting
ways. The major advantages of GIS are that it allows you to identify the
spatial relationship with the map features. GIS gives a clear picture of what
exists on earth in relation to non-spatial attribute. GIS stores the data, which
can be utilized in different ways to serve the different purposes.

9.2Organizing data:-

GIS software enables you to create access, manage, analyze, and present the
data with ease. It provides systematic organization of spatial database with
corresponding map layers, to provide rapid access to data elements required
for geographic analysis.

10. USES OF GIS :-

GIS is very useful in various fields where we generally deal with

geographic features. Some of the uses of GIS are :-

 Watershed management

 Network analysis of roads and waterway

 Public health care monitoring

 Vehicle routing

 Empower people to make better decision by increasing access to different

dataset in its spatial context

26
Analysis of spatial and non-spatial data becomes easy and supports querying,
overlay and buffer analysis.

One can combine data in new ways to analyze patterns and trends not evident
in separate databases.

Such an analysis can lead to predictive tools for hazards management, better
decision support system and optimizing sales and services for different sectors.

Thus the use of GIS technologies helps empower people to make better
decisions by increasing access to different dataset in its spatial context.

11.GIS APPLICATIONS:-

User's of GIS's range from indigenous people, communities, research

institutions, environmental scientists, health organizations, land use planners,
businesses, and government agencies at all levels.

Uses range from information storage; spatial pattern identification; visual

presentation of spatial relationships; remote sensing - all sometimes made
available through internet web interfaces, involving large numbers of users, data
collectors, specialists and/or community participants.Some examples include:

11.1 Archaeology:-

Archaeologists were some of the early adopters, users, and

developers of Geographic Information System and Geographic
Information Science.

Increasing numbers of archaeologists have found GIS to be a cost

effective, accurate, and fast means of both analysing large volumes of

27
 data, and visually displaying the spatial dimensions of people's behaviour
within mapped landscapes, through time.

Over a period of 10 years or more, the use of GIS in archaeology has

transformed both the way archaeologists acquire and visualise data, plus
the way in which archaeologists think about space itself.

11.2 Crime mapping:-

Crime mapping is used by analysts in law enforcement agencies to map,

visualize, and analyze crime incident patterns. It is a key component of
crime analysis and the CompStat policing strategy. Mapping crime, using
Geographic Information System (GIS), allows crime analysts to identify
crime hot spots, along with other trends and patterns

Using GIS, crime analysts can overlay other datasets such as census
demographics, locations of pawn shops, schools, etc., to better understand
the underlying causes of crime and help law enforcement administrators
to devise strategies to deal with the problem. GIS is also useful for law
enforcement operations, such as allocating police officers and dispatching
to emergencies.

11.3 Hydrology:-

Geographic Information System (GIS) has become a particularly useful

and important tool in hydrology and to hydrologists in the scientific study
and management of water resources. Climate change and greater demands
on water resources require a more knowledgeable disposition of arguably
one of our most vital resources.

28
 As every hydrologist knows, water is constantly in motion. Because
water in its occurrence varies spatially and temporally throughout the
hydrological cycle, its study using GIS is especially practical.

GIS systems previously were mostly static in their geospatial

representation of hydrologic features. Today, GIS platforms have become
increasingly dynamic, narrowing the gap between historical data and
current hydrologic reality.

The elementary water cycle has inputs equal to outputs plus or minus
change in storage. Hydrologists make use of a hydrologic budget when
they study a watershed.

A watershed is a spatial area, and the occurrence of water throughout

its space varies by time. In the hydrologic budget are inputs such as
precipitation, surface flows in, and groundwater flows in. Outputs are
evapotranspiration, infiltration, surface runoff, and surface/groundwater
flows out. All of these quantities, including storage, can be measured or
estimated, and their characteristics can be graphically displayed in GIS
and studied.

11.4 Public participation:-

Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) was

born, as a term, in 1996 at the meetings of the National Center for
Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA).
PPGIS is meant to bring the academic practices of GIS and mapping
to the local level in order to promote knowledge production. The idea
behind PPGIS is empowerment and inclusion of marginalized
populations, who have little voice in the public arena, through geographic
technology education and participation.

29
 PPGIS uses and produces digital maps, satellite imagery, sketch
maps, and many other spatial and visual tools, to change geographic
involvement and awareness on a local level.

Attendees to the Mapping for Change International Conference on

Participatory Spatial Information Management and Communication
conferred to at least three potential implications of PPGIS which can:

(1) enhance capacity in generating, managing, and communicating

spatial information;

(2) stimulate innovation; and ultimately;

(3) encourage positive social change.

There are a range of applications for PPGIS. The potential outcomes

can be applied from community and neighborhood planning and
development to environmental and natural resource management.
Marginalized groups, be they grassroots organizations to indigenous
populations could benefit from GIS technology.

12. WHAT CAN ONE DO WITH GIS? :-

12.1 Map Where Things Are:-

Mapping where things are lets find places that have the features looking
for, and to see where to take action.

Find a feature—People use maps to see where or what an individual

feature is.

Finding patterns—Looking at the distribution of features on the map

instead of just an individual feature, you can see patterns emerge.

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 Maps of the locations of earthquake shaking hazards

Fig .9

12.2 Map Quantities:-

People map quantities, like where the most and least are, to find
places that meet their criteria and take action, or to see the relationships
between places. This gives an additional level of information beyond
simply mapping the locations of features.

For example, a catalog company selling children's clothes would

want to find ZIP Codes not only around their store, but those ZIP Codes
with many young families with relatively high income. Or, public health
officials might not only want to map physicians, but also map the
numbers of physicians per 1,000 people in each census tract to see which
areas are adequately served, and which are not.

12.3 Map Densities:-

While one can see concentrations by simply mapping the locations of

features, in areas with many features it may be difficult to see which areas
have a higher concentration than others. A density map lets us to measure
the number of features using a uniform areal unit, such as acres or square
miles, so we can clearly see the distribution.

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 Mapping density is especially useful when mapping areas, such as
census tracts or counties, which vary greatly in size. On maps showing the
number of people per census tract, the larger tracts might have more
people than smaller ones. But some smaller tracts might have more people
per square mile—a higher density.

12.4 Find What's Inside:-

GIS is used to monitor what's happening and to take specific action by

mapping what's inside a specific area. For example, a district attorney
would monitor drug-related arrests to find out if an arrest is within 1,000
feet of a school--if so, stiffer penalties apply.

12.5 Find What's Nearby:-

Find out what's occurring within a set distance of a feature by mapping

what's nearby. The Pacific Disaster Center has developed and applied a
Vulnerability-Exposure-Sensitivity-Resilience model to map people and
facilities (what's nearby) exposed to flood risk in the Lower Mekong
River Basin (the feature).

12.6 Map Change:-

Map the change in an area to anticipate future conditions, decide on a

course of action, or to evaluate the results of an action or policy.

a. By mapping where and how things move over a period of time, you
can gain insight into how they behave. For example, a
meteorologist might study the paths of hurricanes to predict where
and when they might occur in the future.

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 b. Map change to anticipate future needs. For example, a police chief
might study how crime patterns change from month to month to
help decide where officers should be assigned.

Map conditions before and after an action or event to see the impact.
A retail analyst might map the change in store sales before and after a
regional ad campaign to see where the ads were most effective.

13. Limitations:-

I. The biggest disadvantage of a GIS is that is requires an enormous amount

of data inputs to be practical for some tasks and the more data that is put
in, the more likely that there will be errors either in the meta data or in the
location of the data points.

II. Another limitation to GIS is that the earth is round and geographic error is
increased as we get into a larger scale from smaller scale.

14. Conclusion:-

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The condition of the Earth's surface, atmosphere, and subsurface can be
examined by feeding satellite data into a GIS. GIS technology gives researchers
the ability to examine the variations in Earth processes over days, months, and
years. GIS technology and the availability of digital data on regional and global
scales enable such analyses.

In addition to the integration of time in environmental studies, GIS is also

being explored for its ability to track and model the progress of humans
throughout their daily routines.

With the popularization of GIS in decision making, scholars have begun to

scrutinize the social implications of GIS. It has been argued that the production,
distribution, utilization, and representation of geographic information are largely
related with the social context.

GIS might allow emergency planners to easily calculate emergency response

times (i.e. logistics) in the event of a natural disaster, GIS might be used to find
wetlands that need protection from pollution, or GIS can be used by a company
to site a new business location to take advantage of a previously under-served
market.

Geographic Information Systems are a very powerful tool for marketing,

environmental studies and many other applications. We can create buffers
around wetlands or other environment places to limit where a project can be
done.

Bibliography

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 I. Bolstad, P. (2005) GIS Fundamentals: A first text on Geographic
Information Systems, Second Edition. White Bear Lake, MN: Eider Press.
II. Burrough, P.A. and McDonnell, R.A. (1998) Principles of geographical
information systems. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
III. Chang, K. (2007) Introduction to Geographic Information System, 4th
Edition. McGraw Hill.
IV. Elangovan,K (2006)"GIS: Fundamentals, Applications and
Implementations", New India Publishing Agency, New Delhi.
V. Heywood, I., Cornelius, S., and Carver, S. (2006) An Introduction to
Geographical Information Systems. Prentice Hall. 3rd edition.
VI. Longley, P.A., Goodchild, M.F., Maguire, D.J. and Rhind, D.W. (2005)
Geographic Information Systems and Science. Chichester: Wiley. 2nd
edition.
VII. Maguire, D.J., Goodchild M.F., Rhind D.W. (1997) "Geographic
Information Systems: principles, and applications" Longman Scientific
and Technical, Harlow.

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