Geographic data and information is defined in the
ISO/TC 211 series of standards as data and information having an implicit or explicit association with a location relative to
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
(a
geographic location
In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...
or
geographic position
The geographic coordinate system (GCS) is a spherical or ellipsoidal coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on the Earth as latitude and longitude. It is the simplest, oldest and most widely used of the various ...
).
It is also called geospatial data and information, georeferenced data and information, as well as geodata and geoinformation.
Approximately 90% of government sourced data has a location component. Location information (known by the many names mentioned here) is stored in a
geographic information system (GIS).
There are also many different types of geodata, including
vector files,
raster files,
geographic databases
A spatial database is a general-purpose database (usually a relational database) that has been enhanced to include spatial data that represents objects defined in a geometric space, along with tools for querying and analyzing such data. Most s ...
, web files, and multi-temporal data.
Fields of study
Geographic data and information are the subject of a number of overlapping
fields of study
Fields may refer to:
Music
* Fields (band), an indie rock band formed in 2006
* Fields (progressive rock band), a progressive rock band formed in 1971
* ''Fields'' (album), an LP by Swedish-based indie rock band Junip (2010)
* "Fields", a song b ...
, mainly:
*
Geocomputation
Geocomputation (sometimes GeoComputation) is a field of study at the intersection of geography and computation.
See also
*Geoinformatics
Geoinformatics is the science and the technology which develops and uses information science infrastructur ...
*
Geographic information science
*
Geoinformatics
Geoinformatics is the science and the technology which develops and uses information science infrastructure to address the problems of geography, cartography, geosciences and related branches of science and engineering, such as Land Surveying.
...
*
Geomatics
Geomatics is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as the "discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, presentation of geographic data or geographic information". Under another definition, it ...
*
Geovisualization Geovisualization or geovisualisation (short for geographic visualization), also known as cartographic visualization, refers to a set of tools and techniques supporting the analysis of geospatial data through the use of interactive visualization.
Li ...
This is in addition to other more specific branches, such as:
*
Cartography
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an i ...
*
Geodesy
*
Geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...
*
Geostatistics
Geostatistics is a branch of statistics focusing on spatial or spatiotemporal datasets. Developed originally to predict probability distributions of ore grades for mining operations, it is currently applied in diverse disciplines including p ...
*
Photogrammetry
*
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Eart ...
*
Spatial data analysis
Spatial analysis or spatial statistics includes any of the formal techniques which studies entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties. Spatial analysis includes a variety of techniques, many still in their early dev ...
*
Surveying
*
Topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...
See also
*
Earth observation data
*
Geographic feature
A feature (also called an object or entity), in the context of geography and geographic information science, is a discrete phenomenon that exists at a location in the space and scale of relevance to geography; that is, at or near the surface of E ...
*
Georeferencing
*
Geospatial intelligence
*
Ubiquitous geographic information
References
Further reading
* Roger A. Longhorn and Michael Blakemore (2007), ''Geographic Information: Value, Pricing, Production, and Consumption'', CRC Press.
External links
*
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