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Copyright 1998 by Kevin C. Remington- Campus GIS Coordinator
Table of Contents
1.0 Background Information 1.1 College of Liberal Arts Support 1.1.1 Geospatial Data Server 1.1.2 Course Offerings 1.2 GIS & the Information Age 1.2.1 Industrial Age to Information Age 1.2.2 Stages of Technological Acceptance 1.3 Why GIS? 1.3.1 Importance of Visualization of Data 1.3.2 The Inevitability of Computer Technology and GIS
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6
2.0 Definition of GIS
3.0 GIS Data 3.1 Data Usage 3.2 Data Sources 3.2.1 Create Your Own 3.2.2 College of Liberal Arts Computing Lab Data Server 3.2.3 World Wide Web 3.2.4 Private Vendors 3.3 Data Acquisition Techniques 3.3.1 Spatial Data 3.3.1.1 Digitizing 3.3.1.2 Scanning
9 9 9 10 10 10 11 11 11 11
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Prepared by Kevin C. Remington- Campus GIS Coordinator, University of South Carolina September 1998
3.3.2
3.3.1.3 Global Positioning Systems (GPS) 3.3.1.4 Remote Sensing Attribute Data 3.3.2.1 Databases 3.3.2.2 ASCII Files 3.3.2.3 Joining and Linking Databases
11 11 11 11 11 13
4.0 Mapping Issues 4.1 Coordinate Systems 4.1.1 Spheroids 4.1.2 Datums 4.1.3 Projections 4.1.4 Common Coordinate Systems 4.2 Raster and Vector Data Structures 4.2.1 Raster Data Structure 4.2.2 Benefits of Raster Data Structure 4.2.3 Vector Data Structure 4.2.4 Benefits of Vector Data Structure 4.3 Data Conversion 4.4 Topology 4.5 Map Scale 4.6 Spatial Accuracy 5.0 Database Issues 5.1 Data Types 5.2 Database Elements 5.2.1 Field Types 5.2.2 Records 5.3 Attribute Accuracy 6.0 Further Reading
14 14 14 14 14 16 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 21
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7.0 References & Acknowledgements
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1.0 Background Information

1.2 GIS & the Information Age 1.1 College of Liberal Arts Support 1.2.1 Industrial Age to Information Age The College of Liberal Arts Computing Lab is one of the central locations of GIS activities on the University of South Carolina campus. The Lab has developed various ways to support users throughout campus. Examine the College of Liberal Arts web page at http://www.cla.sc.edu/gis/ 1.1.1 Geospatial Data Server The Lab has created a data server that describes what spatial information the lab has gathered and has made that information accessible to the public. The server includes spatial data about the USC campus, the City of Columbia, Richland and Lexington County, the State of South Carolina, the United States, and the World. See http://www.cla.sc.edu/gis/dataindex.html 1.1.2 Course Offerings What courses are offered and when is always up for discussion. A set schedule for this course and an introduction to using ArcView course exists for classes through the latter part of October. Other classes will be added based on enrollment and requests. If there is enough demand for a particular topic, a course could be organized. Contact Kevin Remington (777-0957) with concerns about a course you would like offered. Western society has changed from a period when predominant economies and cultures depended on heavy industry, and large centralized factories and semi-skilled workers were the norm. We are currently in a transitional phase whereby sophisticated technology is changing this traditional power base. Computer technologies and other sophisticated electronic equipment (satellites, etc.) are becoming the machinery whereby economies and cultures are being redirected and sustained. Data and information are the currencies of this Information Age, and skilled, technology-trained workers are becoming the labor force. GIS is an important component of this Information Age. 1.2.2 Stages of Technological Acceptance Almost all new technologies usually go through three stages of acceptance that may be seen on an individual, personal, or institutional level. These stages are:
1. Reluctance to Use Technology 2. Cautious Acceptance of Technology
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3. Final Full Use of Technology
GIS is one of the most important new technologies to arrive in recent years, and, therefore, its users will most likely experience these three stages, as well. 1.3 Why GIS? 1.3.1 Importance of Visualization of Data Data visualization is the presentation of data in graphic form. Whereas tables and lists of numbers are often difficult to understand and initially interpret without careful scrutinization, visualization is a convenient and effective way to communicate complex information. Current computer technology supports visualization of data by offering sophisticated techniques of changing data into pleasing and understandable displays. Greater importance is being put on data visualization today, and GIS is a leading technology in this movement. 1.3.2 The Inevitability of Computer Technology and GIS Computers and GIS technology are becoming more and more ever-present and are creating significant change because of this. We can recognize six key principles important to understanding the necessity of this new technology.
1. The computer age is here and that cannot be ignored. Most professions nowadays are using computer technology in some fashion and are utilizing various computerized methods of production and assistance. There is no doubt that this technology will continue to become an increasingly important element in almost all professions. 2. Computer training in most academic and professional fields is essential. Without it, students will be severely handicapped in their chosen professions and undoubtedly will be forced to learn computers on their job without the proper preparation. 3. GIS has become the accepted and standard means of utilizing spatial data. Likewise, the use of spatial data is growing very rapidly in diverse fields, and the adoption of GIS by other fields not currently using it is inevitable. 4. GIS has in most cases proven to have many advantages over older methods of making use of spatial data. When compared to traditional methods, GIS has countless benefits, including the fact that for many users it is simply more fun to use than outdated techniques. 5. Much of traditional pen and ink cartography done by skilled draftspersons and artists is being replaced by GIS. Hand-rendered cartography, other than that desired as art, is becoming quite outdated
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because it is expensive, is not easily altered, is difficult to store, and is expensive to reproduce. 6. GIS is opening new horizons. It is not simply a computerized version of traditional means of accomplishing new tasks, but is an innovative area in which new modes of analysis and new applications are constantly discovered. GIS is a catalyst for many advancements.
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2.0 Definition of GIS

A very brief definition and description of GIS is that GIS is a computerized system that deals with spatial data in terms of the following: Collection: Gathering data from many sources Storage: Efficient digital storage Management of Data: Administering and keeping track of data, including integration of various data sets into a common database. Retrieval: Easy and efficient selection and viewing of data in a variety of ways. Conversion: Converting data from one form to another; that is, conversion from one geometric projection to another, rescaling, and other computer tricks to make the data more useful. Changing one map file to match another. Analysis: Manipulating data to produce insight and new information Modeling: Simplifying the data or the real world and its processes to understand how things work. Display: Presenting data in various ways for easy understanding; example, maps and reports.
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3.0 GIS Data

3.1 Data Usage Being a complete system, GIS performs many integrated data usage functions. 1. GIS accepts data from multiple sources, which can be in a variety of formats. In other words, GIS is very flexible in the types and structures of data it can receive and integrate with other data. This is a special strength of GIS that few other technologies share. 2. Data types include the following: Maps: The most common type of spatial data in existence. Perhaps in the near future, digital or computer format will be the most common form of spatial data storage. Images: Pictures and digital data from aircraft and satellites: normally termed remote sensing data Global Positioning System (GPS): A special governmental satellite system for use by the public, that provides (after some tampering with by our government) highly accurate locational data anywhere in the world, along with other types of information, such as speed of movement, directional bearing, and elevation. Digital Products: Data sets already stored in digital form that come on computer disks, tapes, CD-ROM or DVD disks, or even through
telecommunication networks Text Data: Reports and text dealing with spatial subjects. Tabular Data: Lists of numeric data, such as census data. 3.2 Data Sources There are many places to obtain spatial and database data either for free or for a fee. Information can be coded into a spreadsheet or relational database manager system and pulled into a GIS (if it has coordinate representation of x,y or a character description such as an address, zip code, city name, county name), data can be digitized, scanned, purchased from a private vendor, or requested from various public agencies. 3.2.1 Create Your Own You have the ability to create your own information. The primary issue to be concerned with when creating your own data is that it is spatially referenced. Data can be gathered from a global positional system (GPS) receiver, scanned, or digitized. Collecting your own data is probably the most time intensive. Keep in mind, though, that with this option you have total control about what gets put into the computer. When you inherit someone elses information, you also inherit all of their collection flaws, biases, and errors. Another option is to join databases. If your collected data has a common field to another database the two databases can be joined together.
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3.2.2 College of Liberal Arts Computing Lab Data Server The Liberal Arts Computing Lab has a GIS data server that contains a great deal of information at multiple scales (http://www.cla.sc.edu/gis/dataindex.html). That data is useable directly across the Universitys backbone. However, in todays current computing environment, it is best to peruse the web site to discover what data exists, and then come talk to either Lynn Shirley or Kevin Remington in Gambrell 003F & 003G about accessing that information. The lab also has a myriad of CD-ROMs that have been purchased for distribution. Those data sources include the Digital Chart of the World, US and South Carolina base map features, and 1990 Census data. These CDs can be viewed at any time by stopping in room 003G, Gambrell Hall. A list of the Data CDs currently held by the Liberal Arts Computing Lab can also be viewed at http://www.cla.sc.edu/gis/ref/cdholdings.html 3.2.3 World Wide Web The World Wide Web provides vast new opportunities to access spatial information. Many new web sites offer a chance to view data graphically, examine the metadata, and order the information on-line. Some sites even offer the opportunity to download information directly. A few interesting sites that might be helpful when searching for GIS data are: SC Department of Natural Resources http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/gisdata/index.html
US Department of Transportation http://www.bts.gov/gis/ntatlas/ US Census Bureau http://www.census.gov Environmental System Research Institute http://www.esri.com GeoWeb Interactive http://www.ggrweb.com/data_clog.html USGS Geo Data http://sun1.cr.usgs.gov/doc/edchome/ndcdb/ndcdb.html 3.2.4 Private vendors Many private vendors offer value added data products in which they have taken publicly available data such as the US Census and added information to it. Examples of these companies are Wessex and Business Location Resources. Companies are also providing a great deal of data with the purchase of their software. ESRI produces a publication called ArcData that lists data resources. That publication is available in Gambrell Hall, room 003F.
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3.3 Data Acquisition Techniques 3.3.1 Spatial Data 3.3.1.1 Digitizing Digitizing is the process of tracing paper maps on top of a digitizing tablet to convert the drawing to a digital format. Onscreen digitizing is the process of tracing features off of an image on the screen. For example, vegetation information can be digitized from a Landsat image while the image is drawn to the screen. Digitizing creates vector data, which can be converted to raster. 3.3.1.2 Scanning Scanning will convert hard copy products to a computerized raster (pixel) representation. Scanning can be done at various resolutions (smaller resolution equals larger file size and clearer images) and in color or black/white (see section 3.3.5 for more information on resolution). Scanned data can be vectorized. 3.3.1.3 Global Positional System (GPS) GPS is comprised of a series of approximately 20 Department of Defense satellites, which orbit the earth. These satellites send locational information back to earth. Commercially
available receivers can capture that data (from a minimum of three satellites at any one time) to give the GPS receiver operator a coordinate location. General measurements can be obtained immediately (+/- 100s of feet). Measurements can be collected and post-processed in a computer to obtain very accurate measurements (+/- inches). 3.3.1.4 Remote Sensing Remote sensing is the collection of information with a remote object (camera, balloon, satellite, etc.). Imagery can be of any wavelength in the electro-magnetic spectrum (i.e., infrared, visible, radar, etc.). Images from remote sensing are in raster (pixel) format. 3.3.2 Attribute Data 3.3.2.1 Databases Databases hold descriptive information for spatial features. Database files for spatial data can be stored in a variety of relational database software packages. On a PC, dBase is commonly used as well as Microsoft Access. In UNIX, common databases are Oracle, Sybase, and Informix. 3.3.2.2 ASCII Files An ASCII file of information can often be read into a desktop mapping package and then treated as a database. Some systems can read an ASCII file that is either comma or tab delimited (see examples below). An ASCII file must have a unique feature ID and x and y coordinates. It may also have
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relevant attributes about the features you are mapping. For example, Comma Delimited Xcoord,Ycoord,type,rating 494612,3764140,GASOLINE,1 494671,3763942,GASOLINE,2 495612,3765256,GASOLINE,2 497403,3764664,GASOLINE,3 499460,3761745,GASOLINE,3 496054,3769584,GASOLINE,2 497089,3761839,GASOLINE,2 494612,3761199,CRUDE OIL,1 494671,3760955,CRUDE OIL,2 495612,3760000,CRUDE OIL,2 Tab Delimited This same file could be tab delimited. A tab delimited file would replace all the commas with tabs. For example, Xcoord Ycoord type rating 494612 3764140 GASOLINE 1 494671 3763943 GASOLINE 2 495612 3765256 GASOLINE 2 497403 3764664 GASOLINE 3 499460 3761745 GASOLINE 3 496054 3759584 GASOLINE 2 497089 3761839 GASOLINE 2
494612 494671 495612 497403 499460 496054 497089
3761199 3760955 3760000 3762000 3761370 3764000 3763000
CRUDE OIL CRUDE OIL CRUDE OIL CRUDE OIL CRUDE OIL CRUDE OIL CRUDE OIL
1 2 2 3 3 2 2
As mentioned above, these files can be read into a desktop mapping package. The x and y fields will be used to represent the information (type and rating) as points. All other information will be stored as point attributes.
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3.3.2.3 Joining and Linking Databases Joining one database to another is an efficient way to pull information into a GIS or desktop mapping package. Relational database mangers will join databases together based on a common field (e.g., type in the example above). The fields must be the same type (numeric, character, etc.) with identical information in a record to successfully join. However, the names of the fields do not have to be the same. Successful joins will occur when identical matches of the common attribute are found within each record. For example, if another database existed with the fields type (gasoline and crude oil) and price (numeric values), it could be joined to the database above using the common field type. The end product would be a database with the field price added to the existing database.
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4.0 Mapping Issues

4.1 Coordinate Systems Coordinate systems are comprised of spheroids, datums, and projections, and are specified in terms of units (i.e., feet, meters, yards, etc.). Coordinate systems locate features by x and y coordinates. 4.1.1 Spheroids A spheroid is a mathematical description of the earth. Over time these mathematical expressions have changed from describing the earth as a perfect circle to a spheroid (i.e., an egg shape). For years the US standard has been Clarke 1866 but with improvements in measurement techniques, the US standard is moving toward GRS80. 4.1.2 Datums A datum is a set of control points whose geometric relationships are known, either through measurement or calculation, and is used to define a coordinate system. Datums are based on a particular spheroid. There are two datums used almost exclusively in the US, the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27 based on Clarke 1866) and the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83 based on GRS80). Converting digital data based on NAD27 to NAD83 can migrate features slightly.
New USGS 7.5 minute topographic maps show the corners of the map in both datums. 4.1.3 Projections Projection is the process of representing a three-dimensional surface in two-dimensions. Projections are mathematical expressions that convert data from a geographic location (latitude and longitude) on a sphere or spheroid to a representative location on a flat surface (a map). This process distorts at least one of these properties: shape, area, distance, or direction. The most popular projections are: Conic A cone is placed over the globe touching along one or two standard parallels, and information is transposed onto the cone, Of all the conic projections, the Equidistant Conic, Lambert Conic Conformal, and Albers Equal-Area Conic projections are the most popular.
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Cylindrical A cylinder is placed over the globe touching along one or two standard parallels, and information is transposed onto the cylinder, Of all cylindrical projections, the Mercator projection is the most popular.
The most common projections used in commercial or publicly available mapping data sets are: Transverse Mercator, and Lambert Conic Conformal 4.1.4 Common Coordinate Systems Latitude-longitude Latitude-Longitude is not a two-dimensional coordinate system but is commonly referred to as one. Lines of latitude run eastwest parallel to the equator. Longitude lines run north-south and converge at the poles. Therefore, the length of one degree of longitude varies depending upon the latitude at which it is measured. For example, one degree of longitude at the equator is 111 kilometers in length, but the length of one degree of longitude converges to zero at the poles. Latitude-longitude is measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds, and because degrees arent associated with a standard length, they cant be used as an accurate measure of distance or area. A common coordinate in latitude-longitude for South Carolina is 82.2 degrees west latitude and 34.2 degrees north longitude. In this example, the minutes and seconds are shown as decimals of one degree (i.e., decimal degrees).
Planar Planar projections transpose information onto a flat surface which is touching the earth at one point, Planar projections are most often used to map the poles.
A great deal of commercially available data is packaged in latitude-longitude because it is by definition, not projected.
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That way, the user can project it to whatever projection they are working in.
Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Although UTM is technically a projection and NOT a coordinate system, it is commonly referred to as a coordinate system. This is because UTM is a set of zones with altered offsets and is based on the Transverse Mercator projection. It is used on the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) topographic maps. UTM Units must be in feet or meters, but is most often in meters. Most of the data available from the College of Liberal Arts GIS data server is available in UTM, zone 17 with map units being in meters.
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State Plane Coordinate System Another common coordinate system is the state plane coordinate system. It divides all fifty states into zones. Each state is represented by anywhere from 1 to 10 zones. The shape of the zone(s) that cover the state determine which projection to use. Two projections are used most often: lambert conic conformal for states with an east-west orientation like Tennessee, and Transverse Mercator for states with a north-south orientation like California. State Plane units must be in feet or meters but are most often in feet. South Carolina is mapped into one zone and is projected using the Lambert Conic Conformal projection. A common coordinate for SC data in the State Plane Coordinate System in feet is (1,600,000, 400,000). 4.2 Raster and Vector Data Structures
Raster data is based on a uniform grid of cells or pixels that represent an area of interest. Individual cells can be identified by the row and column they occupy. Each cell is by definition a homogeneous unit with respect to its attributes. Raster data formats are used in satellite imagery and raster based GIS packages such as Grass, IDRISI, Sage, UNIX ARC/INFO, and the Spatial Analyst extension of ArcView 3.1. 4.2.2 Benefits of Raster Data Structure 1. Neighborhood locations can be analyzed, 2. Accommodates discrete data such as soils as well as continuous data such as topography, 3. Processing algorithms are easier than for vector data sets, and 4. Compatible with other data collection and manipulation software such as in remote sensing. 4.2.3 Vector Data Structure Vector data represents features as points, lines, and polygons. A point feature is an x and y coordinate, a line is a string of consecutive points, and a polygon is a string of consecutive points that closes back upon itself. Vector data sets can have topology (see section 3.5). Topology means that, in addition to the position of every feature, the software maintains the spatial relationships of adjacency and connectivity between features (i.e., it knows where all features are and how the relate to each other).
Vector Data 4.2.1 Raster Data Structure
Raster Data
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4.2.4 Benefits of Vector Data Structure 1. Less storage space is needed because many pixels dont have to be stored for a homogeneous area, 2. Feature types can be individually retrieved such as roads or water features, 3. It is easier to associate a variety of descriptive resource data with a single resource feature, 4. Digitized data does not have to be converted, and 5. Vector data set graphics tend to be of a higher quality. 4.3 Data Conversion Just like a WordPerfect document can be converted to a Microsoft Word document, so too can raster data be converted to vector and vice versa. For example, a scanned land use map would be a raster data file. It could be converted into a vector format in order to have discrete polygons, which represent different landuses. 4.4 Topology Topology is a data structure often used in GIS. Topology is the stored relationships between map features. When topology has been created (such as in an ARC/INFO coverage), the file would know its position, know what is around it,
understand its environment by virtue of recognizing its surroundings, and know how to get from A to B. Topological relationships are stored in a series of relational databases. Each database stores information about a feature. For example, a database would store the following information about each individual arc: Number of the arc, Beginning node number, Ending node number, Polygon to its left, and Polygon to its right. In this way, each node, line, and polygon could be defined by its neighbors and what it is connected to. 4.5 Map Scale Map scale is shown as a ratio of reduction between real world distances and distances on a map. The following three statements show the same scale: 1 inch = 2,000 feet 1 inch = 24,000 inches 1:24,000 The left side of the ratio is the distance on the map and the right side of the ratio is the distance on the surface of the earth. When there are no units expressed in the ration, such as in 1:24,000, that means any unit on the map (e.g., 1 inch, a
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centimeter, or a foot) is equal to 24,000 units of that same size on the surface of the earth. Small scale maps (e.g., 1:100) show small areas and large amounts of detail. Large scale maps (e.g., 1:1,000,000) show large areas and small amounts of detail. Feature display is scale dependent. For example, a building might be shown as a polygon at 1:100 but as a point at 1:100000. Minimum mapping units are used to filter out features and determine if a feature should be mapped at that particular scale. For example, at a scale of 1:24,000 a minimum mapping unit for mapping wetlands might be 2 acres because any wetland smaller than that would be too difficult to locate on a 1:24,000 scale map. However, if the mapping was being done at 1:200 the minimum mapping unit could be very small. Therefore, the smaller the scale (larger the area shown) the more details that will be left out. Scale 2 cm2 1 in2 1:24,000 23.04 ha 91.8 ac 1:62,500 156 ha 623.0 ac 1:100,000 400 ha 1594.0 ac 1:250,000 2,500 ha 9964.0 ac 1:500,000 10,000 ha 39856.0 ac Area Equivalents of a 2 square centimeters and 1 square inch at different scales
All maps tell lies. No map is perfectly accurate. No data on any map is exactly where it is shown. Depending on the scale that information was collected and mapped at, its spatial accuracy will vary. That means that depending on the map you are looking at, each feature could be within a certain distance of where it is actually shown. There are national map standards that require features are within set tolerances. A map that meets national map standards will say so in its legend. Spatial accuracy is doubly important when data is computerized (i.e., scanned or digitized). This is because another level of error is built into the digital version when someone digitizes or scans data. For example, people often want to digitize hand drawn field information off of a 1:24,000 USGS Topographic Map. Often the map has been folded, the lines were drawn with a thick pen, and the person doing the digitizing doesnt trace it exactly, etc. All these things add more error to the information than what was already there in the original base map.
4.6 Spatial Accuracy
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5.0 Database Issues

5.1 Data Types Nominal - Nominal data usually refer to things with names such as soil types, owner names, or wetland types. Nominal data is often classified by unique values. Ordinal - Ordinal data refers to data that is ranked in some way such as first, second, third, or suitability ratings such as best, good, fair, and poor. Interval - Interval data can be added or subtracted, but not compared, and are based on an undefined 0. For example, temperature can be added (5 degrees + 10 degrees = 15 degrees). However, it cannot be said that 10 degrees Fahrenheit is twice as hot as 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Ratio - Ratio data is measured or counted from a known, definable zero. Measured microbe levels or rainfall are ratio data types. A liter of water with a microbe level of 20 mg is twice as high as a microbe level of 10 mg/liter. 2 cm of rainfall is a known amount of rain above zero. Zero rainfall is a known, measurable amount. 5.2 Database Elements 5.2.1 Field types Fields within a database are the columns of data. An attribute of acres or owner_name is one field. A field is sometimes called an item or a column.
Numeric- Numeric field types are numbers that contain decimal points. Integer- Integer field types are also numeric but do not contain decimal points. Character- Character fields allow both character and numeric data. However, numeric data in a character field cannot be manipulated with mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Character fields can have no more than 320 characters in ARC/INFO. Dates - Dates in the form of dd/mm/yy or dd/mm/yyyy 5.2.2 Records Records are the rows within a database. A record contains all the known information about a particular feature in your database. 5.3 Attribute Accuracy Just like spatial accuracy, attributes also have accuracy issues that affect them. If an attribute changes often, such as owner name, the accuracy is variable depending on how long ago the field was updated. Another aspect of accuracy is what was input within the record. For example, different organizations have different opinions about how to classify vegetation. If you have access to vegetation data and are unaware of how it was classified, it could be said that the attribute accuracy is low. A third aspect of attribute accuracy is typographic. In many desktop mapping or GIS packages JOHN SMITH is not the same as John Smith. Typing errors can make a large difference in the utility of attributes.
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6.0 Further Reading

Many excellent publications exist that would be worthwhile reading to further your understanding of the principles and concepts behind GIS, as well as introducing you to further uses and applications of GIS that you may not yet be aware of. Listed below is a sample list of sources that the author has found to be especially good. International GIS Dictionary by Rachael McDonnell & Karen Kemp. (available from GeoInformation International)an excellent resource to all GIS users; contains concise definitions for many GIS catchwords Getting Started with Geographic Information Systems by Kenneth C. Clarke (available from Prentice Hall)comprehensive, well-written beginning to intermediate level college GIS textbook Understanding GIS- The ARC/INFO Method (available from ESRI Press)- comprehensive manual using ESRIs ARC/INFO as a model for learning GIS through a workbook format Zeroing In by Andy Mitchell (available from ESRI Press)provides various situational real-life examples of GIS utilization throughout the public sector ArcView GIS means Business by Christian Harder (available from ESRI Press)- excellent examples of GIS usage in the business world Managing Natural Resources with GIS by Laura Lang (available from ESRI Press)- thorough examination of environmental GIS applications
For more information about these publications and other GIS literature, contact Kevin Remington in 003F Gambrell.
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7.0
References and Acknowledgements
Davis, Bruce. GIS: A Visual Approach. OnWord Press. 1996. Environmental Systems Research Institute. Understanding GIS: The ARC/INFO Method. GeoInformation International. 1995.
The author would also like to acknowledge the following: Mr. Paul Braun- his notes and previous course material proved invaluable and were used often Mr. Lynn Shirley- his guidance and general interaction with me teaches me something new about GIS and computing almost everyday USC Liberal Arts Computing Lab Staff- these people somehow manage to keep our computing environment running often enough to allow me to get what I need done
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$Q ,QWURGXFWLRQ WR *,6 &RQFHSWV

8QLYHUVLW\ RI 6RXWK &DUROLQD $UF9LHZ 6KRUW &RXUVH 6HULHV

Copyright 1998 by Kevin C. Remington- Campus GIS Coordinator

2.0 Definition of GIS

7.0 References & Acknowledgements

1.0 Background Information

1. Reluctance to Use Technology 2. Cautious Acceptance of Technology

3. Final Full Use of Technology

2.0 Definition of GIS

3.0 GIS Data

494612 494671 495612 497403 499460 496054 497089

3761199 3760955 3760000 3762000 3761370 3764000 3763000

4.0 Mapping Issues

Vector Data 4.2.1 Raster Data Structure

4.6 Spatial Accuracy

5.0 Database Issues

6.0 Further Reading

References and Acknowledgements

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