GIS Applications in the

Environment & Geomorphology

GIS
Geographic Information Systems (or
Sciences)
Systems implies a software program or suite of
programs
Sciences implies the theoretical framework,
programming, processes and platform

What is GIS?
An tool that is used to analyze any data or
set of data that is spatial in its distribution

GIS
Many disciplines contribute to GIS
Geography, cartography, geology, computer
programming...

Disciplines who use GIS in their work

include:
Red areas of southern Florida are
susceptible to a five-meter rise of sea
level, based on elevation. Yellow
denotes urban areas.

GIS is used to
Facilitate communication between
different entities
Solve problems
Make decisions
Understand past and present situations
Anticipate future scenarios

Geography, geology, criminal justice,

sociology, meteorology, political science,
archeology

Using 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, groundwater

How does GIS work?

As a tool, researchers look at how multiple
variables intersect with each other

How does GIS work?

Can use spatial data, nonspatial data, and
images

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

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

Chinas
Quake Lake

Photographs or satellite images are the most

common
Collect information without being there

Formosat 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 feet

Basic analysis tools

Overlay stacking data on top of each
other
Buffers drawing a bubble around a
variable

Erosion potential model-Colby College

Overlays
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 residences

Erosion impact map-Colby College

Road
type
LandSeries
Soil
use

Erosion impact map-Colby College

Overlay example: landslides

Mapped Pleistocene landslides using
aerial photographs and an image that
shows the elevation of the area

Digital Elevation
Models

Landslides

Landslides: Lewis Overthrust Fault

Aspect direction of a slope

Fault in northwestern Montana where
older deposits are over younger deposits

Landslides, Glacier National Park

0

Buffering
270

90

180

Study area, Glacier National Park

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 analyze

Databases
Buffering zones around
areas of hazardous
contamination

Source 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.

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

http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc02/pap0
439/p0439.htm

Earthquake damage

Landslide inventory

Kobe Earthquake, 1995

Yamazaki, F. 2001. Applications of remote sensing and GIS for damage assessment. Structural Safety and Reliability, Corotis et al. (eds)

Wildfires

Seismic risk
maps

GIS, Geology, and Terrorism

Understanding the basic geology,
topography, and important landforms of an
area is essential in the use of GIS in any
project

Professional Geographer, Volume 57, Number 4, November 2005

Professional Geographer, Volume 55, Number 2, November 2003

Professional Geographer, Volume 55, Number 2, November 2003

Professional Geographer, Volume 55, Number 2, November 2003

Mapping floods
Using an image, a land use map, stream data,
road network, precipitation totals, and soil data,
the timing of flood inundation can be predicted

Flood 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 unpredictability

Overland flow

Flood zone maps

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 insurance

In 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 tool