1GIS Applications in the Environment & GeomorphologyGIS• Geographic Information Systems (or Sciences)– Systems implies a software program or suite of programs– Sciences implies the theoretical framework, programming, processes and platformWhat is GIS?• An tool that is used to analyze any data or set of data that is spatial in its distributionRed areas of southern Florida are susceptible to a five-meter rise of sea level, based on elevation. Yellow denotes urban areas.GIS• Many disciplines contribute to GIS– Geography, cartography, geology, computer programming...• Disciplines who use GIS in their work include: – Geography, geology, criminal justice, sociology, meteorology, political science, archeology…GIS is used to…• Facilitate communication between different entities• Solve problems• Make decisions• Understand past and present situations• Anticipate future scenariosUsing GIS in Geology• Geomorphology: mass movements (slope stability, old deposits), channel erosion, barrier island movement• Environment: soil erosion, land use/land cover change, flood zones– Inventories: landslide location, new construction, septic tank location, flora and fauna distribution, flooding history, regional geology, groundwater2How does GIS work? • As a tool, researchers look at how multiple variables intersect with each other– Analyzing HOW the variables interact is done in GIS • Analyzing often done through a series of maps– Advantage of GIS is that is can be instantly updated• Can use spatial data, nonspatial data, and imagesHow does GIS work? GIS and Remote Sensing• Two tools work together very well. • Remote sensing is acquisition of information of an object or phenomenon, with a device not in actual contact with the object – Photographs or satellite images are the most common– Collect information without being thereChina’s Quake LakeFormosat image © 2008 Dr. Cheng-Chien Liu, National Cheng-Kung University and Dr. An-Ming Wu, National Space Organization, Taiwan. 0.5 meter resolution = 1.6 feet3Basic analysis tools• Overlay – stacking data on top of each other• Buffers – drawing a bubble around a variableOverlays• The most fundamental analysis tool in GIS• Display 2 or more variables spatially to understand and interpret their relationship– Example: Topography and vegetation; land use and landslides; hurricane storm surge and residencesErosion potential model-Colby CollegeLand useSoil SeriesRoad typeErosion impact map-Colby CollegeErosion impact map-Colby CollegeOverlay example: landslides• Mapped Pleistocene landslides using aerial photographs and an image that shows the elevation of the area4Digital Elevation ModelsLandslides• Aspect – direction of a slopeLandslides: Lewis Overthrust Fault• Fault in northwestern Montana where older deposits are over younger depositsLandslides, Glacier National Park090180270Study area, Glacier National ParkNESWBuffering• Analytical tool that is used to isolate a certain region based on a particular feature (e.g. river, habitat, type of land use)– Uses buffers set at a distance determined by the analysts– Example: all the restaurants within 5 miles of campus– Reduces the amount of data to analyze5Buffering zones around areas of hazardous contaminationSource water protection areas for the Las Vegas Valley watershed based on the extent of dry weather flows. Zone A is a 500 foot buffer and Zone B is a 3000 foot buffer from Zone A.http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc02/pap0439/p0439.htmDatabases• GIS uses spatial databases (like the distribution of oil rigs in the Gulf) and nonspatial databases (a list of the oil rigs in the Gulf – their owner, age, production)• Databases can be updated and ongoing problems or issues can be constantly observed and re-analyzed Earthquake damageKobe Earthquake, 1995Yamazaki, F. 2001. Applications of remote sensing and GIS for damage assessment. Structural Safety and Reliability, Corotis et al. (eds)Landslide inventoryWildfiresSeismic risk maps6GIS, Geology, and Terrorism• Understanding the basic geology, topography, and important landforms of an area is essential in the use of GIS in any projectProfessional Geographer, Volume 57, Number 4, November 2005Professional Geographer, Volume 55, Number 2, November 2003Professional Geographer, Volume 55, Number 2, November 2003Professional Geographer, Volume 55, Number 2, November 20037Mapping floods• Using an image, a land use map, stream data, road network, precipitation totals, and soil data, the timing of flood inundation can be predictedFlood mapping in urban areas• Floods: Influenced by bedrock, topography, soil, and typical rainfall events• Flash floods: rainfall in a short amount of time– Typical in western US: little soil – Flash floods – need maps showing most recent flooding events– Will flood in same place as overland floods but with greater unpredictabilityOverland flow• Flood zone maps created by FEMA– 100-year & 500-year maps– Uses previous flood history to create maps– Maps should be revised with new construction and new flood history– Overlay flood history, roads, and stream network– Powerful maps – those people in 100-year flood zone required to have flood insuranceFlood zone maps8In summary• Knowledge of land use and topography are necessary in GIS applications• GIS can uses multiple kinds of spatial data, notably field data and existing maps• Combination of remote sensing with GIS makes them a powerful