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UNC-Chapel Hill GEOG 070 - Lecture Notes

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Introduction to GIS – Science / Study / SystemsIs Geography Just Place Names?There Are Many Other Sorts of Geographic InformationWe Can Also Map Rates of ChangeGeography Also Looks at the Physical EnvironmentVegetation Biome MapWhat is Geography?What Do Geographers Do?Ten Big Questions that Geographers AnswerThe First Law of GeographyGeographers’ Perspectives on the WorldGeographers’ ApproachGeographic InformationWhat is GIS?What is GIS?What is GIS?Observations?Geographic Features (Vector Model)A Hybrid DefinitionHow Does GIS Work?Capturing DataHow Does GIS Work?Simple Database ExampleHow Does GIS Work?How Does GIS Work?Components of a GISComputer HardwareComputer SoftwareGIS Software PackagesGIS Software VendorsComputer NetworksDataGIS DataComponents of a GISIntroduction to GIS – Science / Study / SystemsIntroduction to GIS – Science / Study / SystemsDavid Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005Introduction to GIS –Science / Study / Systems•What subject matter does geography study?•How do geographers see things / what approach do they take?•What is the role of geographic information?•What is GIS?•How does a GIS work?•What components does a GIS include?David Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005Is Geography Just Place Names?Many think of geography solely as knowing place name attributesDavid Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005The darker the red fill, the greater the populationThere Are Many Other Sorts of Geographic InformationWorld Population by NationDavid Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005We Can Also Map Rates of ChangeThe darker the red, the greater the population growthWorld Population Growth Rate by NationDavid Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005Geography Also Looks at the Physical Environment•Cloud Cover•Land Cover•Sea TemperatureDavid Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005Vegetation Biome MapDavid Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005•Geography is not just about city and country names•Geography is not just about population and growth•Geography is not just about rivers and mountainsGeography is a broad field that studies all sorts of phenomena on the Earth’s surface, including natural and human components, and these are termed human and physical geography.Geography is present in your everyday life: The air you breathe, the water you drink, the place where you live, the people you meetWhat is Geography?David Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005•Primarily, geographers make maps•maps of place names•maps of human population and its growth•maps of temperature•maps of the spatial distribution of vegetation, etc.•Maps are the means by which geographers work•through the analysis of many maps, geographers produce new maps that provide insights into some spatial phenomenon.•Maps are a final product: They are the medium that geographers use to present spatial informationWhat Do Geographers Do?David Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 20051. What makes places different from one another, and why is this important?2. Is there a deeply human need to organize space by creating arbitrary borders, boundaries, and districts?3. How to delineate space?4. Why do people, resources, and ideas move?5. How has the Earth been transformed by human action?6. What role will virtual systems play in learning about the world?7. How do we measure the immeasurable?8. What role has geographical skill played in the evolution of human civilization and what role can it play in predicting the future?9. How and why do sustainability and vulnerability change from place to place and over time?10. What is the nature of spatial thinking, reasoning, and abilities?Susan Cutter et al. Aug, 2002, The Professional Geographer, 54(3):305-317.Ten Big Questions that Geographers AnswerDavid Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005The First Law of GeographyTobler’s Law:•The central tenet of Geography is that location matters for understanding a wide variety of phenomena.•Everything is related to everything else, but things that are closer together are more related to each other than those that are further apartDavid Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005•Location matters•Real-world relationships•Horizontal connections between places•Importance of scale (both in time and space)Geographers’ Perspectives on the WorldDavid Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005⑤Geographic Data①Models④Geographers’ ApproachObservations②Display/Analyze③Geographic InfoDavid Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005Geographic Information•Includes knowledge about where something is•Includes knowledge about what is at a given location•Can be very detailed:•e.g. the locations of all buildings in a city or the locations of all trees in a forest stand •Or it can be very coarse:•e.g. the population density of an entire country or the global sea surface temperature distribution•There is always a spatial component associated with geographic informationDavid Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005GIS is built on the collective knowledge from geography, cartography, computer science, and mathematics. A GIS has many definitions depending on whom you ask.•GIS as a Toolbox•GIS as an Information System•A Hybrid DefinitionWhat is GIS?David Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005What is GIS?GIS as a Toolbox:GIS is a powerful set of tools for storing and retrieving at will, transforming and displaying spatial data from the real world for a particular set of purposes.- Peter Burrough, 1986This definition emphasizes a set of tools designed to solve specific problems.David Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005GIS as an Information System:A geography information system is a spatial case of information system where the database of observations on spatially distributed features, activities or events, which are definable in space as points, lines, or areas. A geographic information system manipulated data about these points, lines and areas to retrieve data for ad hoc queries and analyses.- Ken Dueker, 1979.The information system definition implies that GIS collects data, sifts and sorts them, and selects and rebuilds them to find the right information to answer a question.What is GIS?David Tenenbaum – GEOG 070 – UNC-CH Spring 2005Observations of features, activities, and events. The term feature is a term from cartography, meaning thing to be placed


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