It’s GIS Day!
Most people don’t really think about how geographic information provides the framework for our entire existence. We exist as living organisms in time and space. Our minds may be occupied with far-way thoughts, but our memories are inextricably tied to the place where they were created. As long as we live and breathe, we always have a location.
Blog by Emily Pierce, PLS, CFedS
Most people don’t really think about how geographic information provides the framework for our entire existence. We exist as living organisms in time and space. Our minds may be occupied with far-way thoughts, but our memories are inextricably tied to the place where they were created. As long as we live and breathe, we always have a location. Shakespeare’s Hamlet said “To be or not to be, that is the question.” Surveyors say, “To be is to occupy a position relative to two axes.”
Surveyors are trained to understand the implications of geography and location differently than most people. Precision is applied to location and this information has been the basis for civilizations for thousands of years. I’ve written about ancient surveying instruments in previous blogs: Ancient Egyptian Surveying and Ancient Roman Surveying.
Today, geographic information is more important than ever and is being used in ways that were previously unimaginable. As a surveyor, I had the opportunity to work with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) early on, mainly by being the boots on the ground that provided accurate geographic data that was subsequently used in GIS. We provided accurate survey-grade locations on US Public Land Survey corners (section and quarter-section corners) to be utilized into a county tax parcel database. This not only helped improve how the county taxed its citizens, it also helped citizens with land development, taking into account appropriate building sites, flood zones, wetland preservation, general zoning requirements, just to name a few. Beyond that, the GIS also is used for school and voting districts, changes in municipal boundaries and incorporations, addressing, and emergency response management.
Nothing stays the dame
Change has accelerated quickly in the years since I started working with GIS, as evidenced by a 2009 article entitled the “Top Five Benefits of GIS”, with number one benefit being cost savings from greater efficiency using location-based data.
The example cited was Sears, which was able to use GIS to reduce the time it took for dispatchers to create routes for their home delivery trucks by 75%. I’m sure that was a huge savings, but unfortunately for Sears, Amazon was already taking over on every front. By 2021, the Sears footprint had shrunk from 3,862 stores in 2009 to just 19 stores and a website.
Route optimization is only one of the thousands of applications of GIS technology. From precision farming to spatial econometrics (the intersection of spatial analysis with economics) to creating ultra-precise road maps to facilitate autonomous vehicles. Check out the 1,000 Uses of GIS for a glimpse into the future.
When researching this blog, I learned about a project where Toyota is using a platform that gathers crowd-sourced data from vehicle cameras and combines it with high-precision GPS and GIS to create precise and up-to-date road information. This information will be used for autonomous driving in the future, or probably already is!
What?!
Interestingly, a whole new industry is being created around monetizing the vast amount of data that is generated from vehicles. McKinsey estimates the market for this information might add up to $450-650 billion by 2030. I wish there was some way I could get a cut of these billions!
You may not even realize that the navigation systems in your vehicles are GIS. I’m partial to the Waze app. I love how they incorporate real-time data on reported crashes, speed traps and even roadkill, (important to know, because we have lots of moose and deer up here)! All this can be narrated by people from Dexter on Showtime to PAW Patrol on Nickelodeon.
Other GIS uses
Pretty much everyone knows about the Johns-Hopkins COVID map but did you know that there’s a HealthMap that maps reports the location of all kinds of diseases? For example, in the past month, Legionnaires’ Disease was found in three locations in the U.S. Definitely worth looking at before traveling. NASA is also providing satellite data to cancer researchers to help pinpoint the types of human activity that lead to cancer in geographic areas. The Landsat Program is the longest continuous space-based record of Earth’s land in existence.
As you know, I’m a history buff, and I really like the ArcGIS Online Historical Maps. It makes all the USGS topographical maps accessible. All you need to do is find a place, and any maps that USGS has on it over time will be available. I just downloaded this map form 1890 of New Orleans.
I could go on and on, but I invite you to check out the many ways GIS is being used today.
I know in the past, many surveyors thought that GIS was going to obsolete the profession, but that is definitely not the case. We still need boots in the field tying the data in digital maps to real places in the real world. I’m personally involved in introducing a product that does just that, using RFID to literally tie the physical to the digital. Check it out at inframarker.com. It’s a great product with as many applications as GIS itself.
Emily Pierce is a surveyor and Berntsen’s Business Development Manager. Learn more - email: info@inframarker.com
GIS DAY IS NOVEMBER 18
Little did I know that dusty old geography would become the one of the most interesting (and explosively-growing) fields in science. Today Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is shaking up the world of geography – and statistics, data analysis, spatial data, modeling, geostatistics, cartography, data integration, GPS – and on and on.
By Emily Pierce, PLS, CFedS
When I was in college, geography seemed to be a dying academic field. Nevertheless, it was where I found my true passion for geography, while everyone else was there just to satisfy a required General Ed. requirement. It was, for nearly everyone in my class, something they HAD to do. For me, it felt like home. I realized this was a field I wanted to pursue and learn more about. Fortunately, that class, and that instructor, inspired me to research professions in geography, and soon after, I found surveying – a truly interesting way to use maps to create something of lasting value.
Little did I know that dusty old geography would become the one of the most interesting (and explosively-growing) fields in science. Today Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is shaking up the world of geography – and statistics, data analysis, spatial data, modeling, geostatistics, cartography, data integration, GPS – and on and on.
1854 – The Beginning
Dr. Snow’s waterworks map of 1846 from the UCLA Epidemiology John Snow Site
GIS first appeared as a map created by Dr. John Snow in 1854. He plotted all of the cholera outbreak locations in London, along with roads, property boundaries and water lines. His map revealed that cholera outbreaks were clustered around a water pump, challenging the existing notion that cholera was spread through the air. Along with creating one of the first uses of Geographic Information, Dr. Snow also is credited with starting the field of Epidemiology.
Soon, plotting data on maps became more common – besides public health applications, insurance companies used them to plot firesand thereby compute insurance rates, Governmental tax offices plotted property lands to evaluate tax rates, and natural resource departments plotted wetland areas, flood zones, and water bodies to help protect our waterways and natural habitats. More and more types of data were plotted on maps, but it was painstaking work.
1960 – Computer Mapping
Early Computer Map of the Crime Statistics of Washington,DC
Early Computer Cartography Project, Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress.
Then came computers. Initially, in the 1960s, most maps were still tied to paper because they had to be printed out to be viewed. But as memory increased, maps were finally freed from paper – the maps could be viewed and analyzed on screens.
Enter Roger Tomlinson, a British-trained geographer and geologist who worked for the Government of Canada and for an Ottowa-based aerial survey company. While working on a project to identify the best location for a tree plantation in Kenya, Tomlinson partnered with IBM to find a way to bridge the gap between geographic data and computer services. This initiative was eventually extended to create a national mapping system that created maps of Canada’s commercially-leveraged land used for agriculture, forestry, wildlife and recreation. It was during this project that Tomlinson created the term “Geographic Information Systems” to describe his synthesis of computer mapping with capabilities for overlay, measurement and digitizing.
2020 – GIS Today
On the basis of Tomlinson’s use of geographic location and computing power, a multi-billion dollar industry is now thriving and impacting almost every aspect of modern life. Nearly everyone in the world is now familiar with the Johns-Hopkins Covid-19 map that provides a stunning visual representation of real-time and historical data that shows where disease is most active. This map is based on Esri technology that was developed based on techniques that were created by Tomlinson. Jack Dangermond, founder and president of Esri, says that “Roger always makes me realize that GIS must first and foremost be focused on providing information that really matters (maps, reports, etc.) and that improves our sciences, processes and decision-making.”
The Future
The combination of increasingly “open” systems and software that has driven much of the explosive growth of GIS will continue. The visualization of real-time data in 3D, GIS-enabled augmented reality and virtual reality is already being used in many sectors -- creating immersive experiences that will expedite planning and coordination.
GIS will continue to drive adoption of the Internet of Things – more and more physical tools and objects will be connected and essentially duplicated in a digital environment.
RFID tags link to data in GIS - for easy updating in the field.
No matter how good digital reality becomes, its value is gauged by how well and accurately it reflects physical reality. For example, what is the value of a 3-D map that is used to guide workers to an underground gas valve – but the location in the map is wrong? That’s where connected marking makes all the difference.
Fortunately, technology is available that solves that issue. Berntsen has been working on this issue for nearly a decade and had developed a system that tags any type of asset (above or below ground) and ties its specific location to data in GIS. The InfraMarker system works with Esri’s ArcGIS Online to tie physical assets to their records in GIS.
This simple RFID technology ensures accuracy, enabling users to leverage the full power of GIS.
Today is GIS Day
That brings us to GIS Day, which is November 18 – when this amazing technology is celebrated – and shared with future surveyors, programmers, engineers, geographers – just about anyone interested in the science of our world.
Esri has a whole website that’s dedicated to GIS Day – I found this storymap particularly interesting and definitely worth sharing. Also, don’t miss the Library of Congress’s GIS Day on November 18th - Mapping the Pandemic.
Additionally, I personally found these maps worth a view:
Esri Covid Pulse for some scary truth
In the Shadow of a Volcano – Nice to see from a distance!
Salmon River’s South Fork – I want to visit this place!
NO MAN IS AN ISLAND - CELEBRATE GIS DAY!
GIS means Geographic Information Systems – the technology that allows us to tell a story using data points on a map. Almost any kind of data can be added to a physical location to illustrate everything from rainfall amounts over time understanding patterns of human movement. With GIS, geography is no longer relegated to rooms filled with dusty maps.
John Donne got it right 400 years ago in an essay that includes this famous passage:
No man is an island,
entire of itself,
every man is a piece of the continent,
a part of the main.
Today, we can literally see the truth of what Donne wrote in 1623 . . . just look at The Human Reach Story Map created by Esri. Any view of the story map will illustrate the depth, beauty and power of our interconnectedness.
Today is GIS day.
GIS means Geographic Information Systems – the technology that allows us to tell a story using data points on a map. Almost any kind of data can be added to a physical location to illustrate everything from rainfall amounts over time understanding patterns of human movement. With GIS, geography is no longer relegated to rooms filled with dusty maps.
How it began
Hydrologic Unit Map from USGS
The concept of layering data over a map was first introduced by a German naturalist, Alexander von Humboldt. In 1817, he published the first isotherm map that showed the same average temperature over the globe. Before this map appeared, scientists had just assumed that average temperatures depended primarily on latitude. This map resulted in inquiries that led an understanding of how ocean currents, mountain ranges and other geography contribute to local climates.
In the 1960s, computers spurred the development of a new field of study – computational geography. In 1963, Roger Tomlinson was tasked with creating a manageable inventory of Canada’s natural resources. He realized his vision of using computers to store and process natural resource data with geographic data, and Geographic Information Systems was born. A year later, Harvard created the first computer mapping software, and in 1969, Jack and Laura Dangermond founded Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (Esri).
Today, GIS gives us the tools to create our own digital maps to detect trends that can help solve problems.
3D imaging of Kilahuea Volcano, USGS
3D imaging of Kilahuea Volcano, USGS
This technology is a revelation.
We can now see what has previously been hidden, figuratively and literally. From macro problems such as climate change to locating physical structures, GIS is becoming an essential tool.
For example, during excavation, a utility contractor wants to avoid disturbing buried assets such as gas lines, electrical, water or fiber lines. GIS, combined with location data from physical markers, can reveal what lays underground – before excavation begins. Any type of asset can be marked and mapped, becoming visible and verifiable before digging begins.
InfraMarker mobile app and data management software
How’s it done?
InfraMarker mobile app and data management software
Another common technology, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is combined with GIS to tag, identify and locate physical assets. It’s as simple as placing RFID markers on buried utilities, adding specific information about that location (a place where gas and fiber cross, for example) in a mobile app and then syncing that information with GIS.
This system, called InfraMarker®, was developed to help utilities accurately manage assets by pinning physical locations to virtually unlimited information. These pins contain specific, accurate location information that is linked to a wealth of data that is then displayed on a map – instantly viewable on a mobile app and in a GIS.
RFID markers are used in many industries for accurate tracking of inventory – and when combined with GIS, RFID provides true location intelligence – location verification and precision that can be used to improve operation workflows, reduce inspection reporting time and prevent excavation accidents. Utilities and other infrastructure owners now have a powerful, tool combines GIS accuracy with in-field location precision - making life easier for everyone dealing with infrastructure assets.