Chapter – IV BASICS OF GIS 4.1 Geographical Information system A Geographic Information System is a system that consists of software, hardware, data and the people that analyze, edit, store, transfer the information linked to any location on earth. The GIS is divided into the following parts: Skilled people Geographical data Software and Hardware People: The most important and powerful part if GIS. With the introduction of the computers, they’ve been used for various purposes and by different experts and institutions, thus with the increasing use of computers, GIS has just not been limited to the GIS experts. It has been used by schools, by botanists to locate and map various plant species, by hydrologists and geologists, police has been utilizing it for solving crimes, also used by disaster management authorities etc. With the availability of various open source softwares and freewares the user community has increased exponentially. Data: Another important and probably the most expensive part of GIS. All the geographic data is fed into the software using a process called digitizing, a process involves digitally inputting various geographic features such as rivers, mountains along with land use features. This can be done with paper map attached to the mapping surface and this process can be very long and sometimes complicated. But then availability of the data can be eased by the government and other various institutions, organizations and companies by making it readily available on various platforms. Hardware/Software: Hardware is the computer and other equipments that can be used to operate GIS. Other hardware may include routers, printers, plotters, external storage systems etc. GIS software contains features needed t... ... middle of paper ... ...kers by providing information regarding such changes which can be integrated in policy making structure of other regions. Creating the past climatic conditions has always been a base for future climatic projections. Maps have traditionally been used to explore the Earth and to exploit its resources. GIS technology in addition to cartography has enhanced the efficiency and diagnostic power of conventional mapping. Now, as the scientific community recognizes the ecological consequences of anthropogenic activities influencing climate, GIS technology is becoming a necessary tool to comprehend the impacts over time. GIS makes it possible the combination of various types of data with existing maps, past data and up-to-date information from earth observation satellites to record the past evidences of change which in turn can be used to project future ecological scenarios.
Thesis Statement: Due to the limitations of global climate models used as predictors for future calamitous climate changes and the lack of fact-based knowledge regarding the climate, we should avoid geoengineering because of the unknown and possibly devastating consequences.
Based on the impacts on a coastal location near point Barrow, Alaska which impacts to the ecological, heath, fresh water and societal life. Increasing temperatures in the next 25 years sea thawing permafrost coastal erosion flooding other climate change. Scientist predict that over the next century the temperature increase will be twice as much over the long term norm as it is now. Statewide average annual temperatures could rise from current levels by as 5 to 13 degrees, an average winter temperature could rise by as much as 22 degrees F in certain locations. Climate change is unavoidable, it’s already under way, and the observable effects are likely to increase with time. In the next century, predict changes of 3 to 10 degrees F. small changes in temperature will cause big changes to life on earth. With planning we can minimize the potential harm from coming changes and in some cases even find opportunities. Most planning for future climate change adaption is simply a matter of addressing current effects of weather extremes. The impacts of climate change are diverse, and vulnerabilities differ across regions and sectors.
Furthermore, this analysis must take place amidst serious gaps in the existing research and technology concerning the developing climatic conditions. For these reasons, global warming stands as one of the most daunting policy issues facing our world today. This is compounded by the debate over the very existence of climate change. While countless sources of empirical evidence testify to the very real presence of climate change the world over, considerable denial of the phenomenon still exists. The argument has been made that evidence of climate change is a gross overstatement, or in some cases, a complete fabrication.
There is no longer any question that our world climate has changed (King, 2004). Over the last 100 years, "temperatures have risen by about 0.6 degrees Celsius and global sea level has risen by about 20cm" (K...
Hillier, A., & Culhane, D. (2013). GIS Applications and Administrative Data to Support Community Change. In M. Weil (Ed.), The Handbook of Community Practice (2nd ed., pp. 827-844). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Retrieved from
GIS is an emerging method of data storage and interpretation. GIS is, simply put a database. It is many tables of data organized by one common denominator, location. The data in a GIS system is organized spatially, or by its physical location on the base map. The information that is stored in the database is the location and attributes that exist in that base map, such as streets, highways, water lines, sewers, manholes, properties, and buildings, etc. each of these items don’t just exist in the database, the attributes associated with the item is also stored. A good example of this would be a specific sewer line, from and arbitrary point A to a point B. Ideally, the sewer line would be represented graphically, with a line connecting the two points or something of the like. When one retrieves the information for that line in particular, the attribute data would be shown. This data would include the size of pipe, the pipe material, the upper invert elevation, the downstream invert elevation, the date installed, and any problem history associated with that line. This is the very gist of what a GIS system is.
Geographic Information Systems (G.I.S.) is one of the fastest growing technologies today. This field covers anything and everything that can be mapped, anything from weeds to urban sprawl, if it can be mapped, G.I.S. can be used. G.I.S. uses computers to store, analyze, and show data collected about a given topic(Kennedy 1), (Zimmerman 5-9, 73-91). G.I.S. basically turns a computer into an atlas(Kennedy 1). With all this information available, how can it help the field of agriculture? G.I.S. has been used to track the spread of noxious weeds, grasshoppers, soil types, and various other factors, which help in agriculture.
Climate change has become of the world’s major issue today. The earth’s climate is always changing in a very fast and also in different ways. Climate changes affect our lives psychologically, emotional and also physically. Climate change is defined as a long term change in the earth’s climate, especially a change due to the increase in the average atmospheric temperatures. Due to this change in temperature, a lot of changes has occurred in our environment, these changes include rising sea levels, flooding, melting of polar ice caps, hotter days, colder nights and heat waves. These climate changes plays an important role in shaping our natural ecosystem, our human economics and also the most important, it affects the human race. For
First, Mr. Al Gore shows some global warming comparison pictures of places over several years. Some rivers become droughty, some snow mountains are melted, some glaciers retreat year by year. Some places depend on the melt water coming off the glaciers, so glaciers are very important. In the following years, because of global warming, many people
Geographers plan new communities, decide where new highways should be placed, and establish evacuation plans. Computerized mapping and data analysis is known as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a new frontier in geography. Spatial data is gathered on a variety of subjects and input onto a computer. GIS users can create an infinite number of maps by requesting portions of the data to plot.
Since 1960s both minimum and maximum temperatures have exhibited a rising trend; with minimum increasing by a range of 0.7-2.0 degrees Celsius and maximum by 0.2-1.3 degree Celsius varying by region and season. Notable also is variability of rainfall patterns such as below normal rainfall in the long rains season and more during the short rainfall season, some regions have recorded more intense rainfall and downpours that have resulted to floods and infrastructural impairments. Extinction or near extinction of flora and fauna, changes in flowering and maturity patterns in crops are all attributable to climate change. These changes have had and are expected to have far reaching impacts on the economic sectors of the economy. Some of the expected sectoral impacts are discussed
Climate change is an inevitable phenomenon that is being experienced globally in various forms such as temperature rise. Sea level rise, droughts, floods, hurricanes, landslides, etc. According to the forth assessment report of the IPCC project even with immediate implementation of mitigation strategies global climate change will continue for decades. Climate change is inflicting serious consequences on human wellbeing and will continue to inflict damages in the future. It is estimated that mean global temperature will rise by 1.8 ºC - 4.0 ºC by end of the 21st century (Izaurraade, 2009). A new global climate model predicts that in the coming decade the surface air temperature is likely to exceed existing records (Smith et al., 2007). Growing season temperatures in the tropics and subtropics by end of the 21st century will exceed the most extreme temperature recorded in the history (Battistic and Rosamond, 2009).
Hardy, J. T. Climate Change: Causes, Effects, and Solutions. New York: J. Wiley, 2003. Print.
These days Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques has become a necessary issue as they help planners and decision makers to create effective and proprer decisions and designs. Remote Sensing is to look at the Earth’s surface with sensors high on top of Earth’s surface. Remote Sensing is mostly of 2 varieties Active Remote Sensing and Passive Remote Sensing. Infrared ,Microwave and Satellite Remote Sensing systems are some of the examples of Remote Sensing systems. Remote Sensing conjointly helps to assign completely different colours to different
The risks and rewards of such efforts being borne by regional members. Scalability of infrastructure projects can be replicated and the lessons learned can be transferred from one regional group to another until all the continent has a robust GIS infrastructure and allow less dependence from image providers Because the regional groupings are already functional dialogue, planning and implementation of GIS projects would be much easier along already established regional