Fundamentals of geographic information systems

461 Pages·2016·7.49 MB·English

by  DeMers

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FUNDAMENTALS OF
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GEOGRAPHIC
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INFORMATION
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SYSTEMS
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FOURTH EDITION
Michael N. DeMers
New Mexico State University
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DeMers,MichaelN.
Fundamentalsofgeographicinformationsystems/MichaelN.DeMers.—4thed.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
ISBN978-0-470-12906-7(alk.paper)
1.Geographicinformationsystems—Textbooks.I.Title.
G70.212.D462009
910.285—dc22
2007038332
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
P R E F A C E
GISoncemeantonlygeographicinformationsystems.Todayitisevolvingintoa
morecomprehensivedisciplineinitsownrightandthetermnowrepresentsnot
only thesystemitself, buttheunderlying science and technology foundations.
It has even acquiring a new acronym: GIS&T, meaning Geographic Information
ScienceandTechnology.Justthisyearwehavecompletedamajorundertaking
with the publication of the first edition of what is hoped will be an ongoing
set of editions of the GIS&T Body of Knowledge (Dibiase, et. al. 2006). Afer the
culmination of almost seven years of work involving geographers, computer
scientists, researchers, academics, and industry participants, this document
represents a first approximation definition of the discipline as it stands today.
Beyond setting the standards and outlining some 1,660 learning objectives
within ten knowledge areas, it suggests what a student completing a four-year
university degree emphasizing GIS&T would be expected to know. This also
providedbothanincentiveandasetofguidelinesforthe4th editionofthetext
youarenowreading.
When l wrote the first edition of this text over ten years ago there were
few guidelines for content or learning objectives. I was forced to glean what I
could from personal mentors, my own class notes and teaching experiences,
discussions with other GIS faculty teaching GIS, student responses and a gut
reaction.AsIlookattheGIS&TBodyofKnowledgeImustsaythatIwasnottoo
faroffthemark.But,thedisciplineischangingconstantly,andthemanypeople
involvedincreatingthedisciplinarystandardrepresentaninterestingmixofthe
disciplinary historical roots and the future advances in cutting edge research.
AsaresultofworkingwiththisawesomesetofparticipantsandadvisorsIhave
rethoughtsomemajorportionsofthistexttoreflectthenewstandard.
At first blush the structure of the text doesn’t look all that different from
its initial inception, but the content, particularly with regard to the computer
science, cartographic visualization, and design are considerably more robust.
These are meant to reflect both the Body of Knowledge Standard and the
changing level of computer expertise of the students. The percentage of tech
savvystudentsthatIhaveseenoverthepastdecadehasgrownlogarithmically.
This is fortunate because the industry itself is adapting to acknowledge both
a need for new concepts and geographical constructs to include in the toolkit
andnewwaystoimplementthem.ThiseditionofFundamentalsofGeographic
InformationSystemsismeanttotargetstudentswhoarecomfortablewithe-mail
and text messaging, digital file formats(mp3,mp4,jpeg), computer games and
visualizations, and a host of technologies that did not exist ten years ago.
Some educators are now referring to this new generation of students as the
neomillenials, not because of when they were born, but because of their daily
immersioninatechnology-richenvironment.
AtthesametimeIhaveaddedapre-GISchapter(Chapter0)called‘‘ASpatial
Learner’s Permit.’’ This chapter is a reaction to the ever increasing diversity
of student who enters the field of GIS, often with little or no knowledge of
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iv Preface
geographicterminology,explicittrainingingeographicprincipals,orexperience
inspatialcognitionandspatialanalysis.Theconcepthereisthatofapermitting
processwherethosestudentswhoarenewtothefieldofGIS,orthosewhowish
torenewtheirbackground,haveanopportunitytodosowithoutbeingthrown
in head first and watching to see who survives and who doesn’t. There is no
reason why everyone, no matter what their discipline, cannot fully appreciate
andsuccessfullyemploythetoolsandtechniquesofGISaslongastheyhavea
chancetogetthisnecessarybackground.
Beyond their growing technological sophistication, my own students are
increasingly entering my GIS classes from disciplines outside of geography.
They are coming from departments you might expect such as criminal justice,
geology,biology,surveying,wildlife,andanthropology.Morerecentlytheyhave
startedarrivingfromeconomics,history,engineering,publichealth,hospitality,
agronomy, and a host of others. This has made the teaching of GIS and the
production of this supporting text both exciting and difficult. It is stimulating
getting the often wildly different perspectives these students bring to the
classroom but it also highlights a fundamental difficulty with the current state
ofGISeducation.Howdoweteachstudentswithasolidgeographyandmapping
skillsbackgroundwiththesameclass,orthesametextbook,asthosewithlittle
or no background in the spatial sciences? This is an on-going topic of GIS
educational research,but Ihavemadeastabat apartial solution in thisbook.
For geographers and others well versed in spatial tools I suggest they review
Chapters 1–3 and begin studying in earnest with Chapter 4. For the neophyte
I often recommend that they think of the first three chapters, especially 2 and
3, as a GIS Bootcamp. Many GIS software companies provide a set of pre-GIS
exercises as a part of their software training. This has proven successful and
mightprovideamodelforacademicinstructionaswell.
The pressure from students to get more software exposure and less theory
andconceptscontinuestomount.AndasIstatedinthethirdedition,Icontinue
toresist.Itisgettingevenmoredifficultwiththeneomillenialsbecausetheyare
soinextricablylinkedtotechnology.Sowhatdoweinstructorsdo?Myapproach
has been to increase the complexity of the hands-on problems and force the
students to ask questions about the underlying concepts that are required for
them to answer them. My lab components are becoming less recipe-like and
more open ended. For example, it is much more difficult to ask your students
to solve a problem where there is no set recipe of GIS commands to follow
than it is to just take them through the problem. Such an approach requires
morethanjustanabilitytoreadalabmanual,typetheappropriatecommands,
and hand in the results. It requires problem solving. These are the skills the
GIS industry constantly tells me they need! I’ve found it useful to focus on the
learning objectives for each chapter and to ask some of these questions as
requiredoutputforlabreportsoraspracticallabexamquestions.
So what’s new in this edition? As I mentioned before, for those entering
GIS without a substantial background in the geographic underpinnings of the
discipline, I have added a short, gentle introduction called A Spatial Learner’s
Permit.Thisisnotonlyfornon-geographers,butalsoforthosewhosegeography
is a little rusty and would like to brush up a little. Next, I’ve split the old GIS
data models chapter (old Chapter 4) into two separate chapters: Chapter 4–
GIS:ComputerStructureBasicsandChapter5–GISDatamodels.Thisseemsto
havereducedtheconfusionformystudents.Italsoallowsforamorein-depth,
Preface v
although not comprehensive, examination of the underlying computer science
behind GIS, without overwhelming the student with a large single chapter.
Another chapter split came in the old Chapter 10 on statistical surfaces is
now Chapter 11–Statistical Surfaces and Chapter 12–Terrain Analysis. This
suggestion came from a faculty member who used the text and pointed out to
me that there is now a pretty robust set of analytical techniques focusing just
on the terrain type of statistical surface. As with the other split it allowed me
tospend alittle moretimeon techniques that hadbeen neglected before.The
reactioninmyclasseswaspositiveregardingthisaswell.
Someofthemostmassivechangescameattheendofthetextwheretheold
Chapters 16 and 17 dealing with applications and research were eliminated. I
receivedfeedbackfrominstructorsthattheywereunabletofindtimetogetto
thesechapters,andthattheselectionoftopicsforbothwaslimited.Iwasalso
unabletogettothosechaptersandunwillingtorushthroughthematerialtodo
so.AsaresultIhaveexpandedandcompletelyupdatedChapter16(Chapter14
in the 3rd edition) to reflect the increasingly robust literature on cartographic
visualization.GiventhegraphicalsophisticationofthecurrentstudentIthought
this would be a better use of my time. I have also reworked Chapter 17 (old
chapter15)toreflectanequallyimprovedbodyofliteratureonGISdesignand
management. Both of these major changes are also a direct response to the
BodyofKnowledgeDocument.
A cautionary note here: neither Fundamentals of Geographic Information
Systems,noranyotherintroductorytextIcanenvision,iscapableofcontaining
thesumtotalofthe1,660learningobjectivesnorallofthetopicsandknowledge
areasfoundintheBodyofKnowledgewithanyreasonablelevel.Anintroductory
textismeanttointroduce,notoverwhelm.Insteadthistextfocusesontheideas,
concepts,andtechnologiesthatonemightexpectastudenttoencounterinan
early exposure to GIS. More detailed topical coverage of the existing material
and more selection of topics should be expected in advanced coursework and
accompanying textbooks. Still, there is always room for improvement. I look
forwardtoyourexperiencesandfeedback,bothmakemyowncoursesbetter.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Much of this revision came after a long stay in the hospital. There was some
doubt about my chances for survival. That I beat the odds is due in large part
to the actions and expertise of Renee Williams, Dr. Azhir Zahir, Dr. E. Rhett
Jabour,theNMSUemergencyservicespersonnel,thedoctors,nursesandother
medicalstaffofMemorialMedicalCenterinLasCruces(especiallythe4th floor,
andICU).Iamalsogratefultoallwhoseprayers,visits,gifts,andkindthoughts
maintained me during that difficult time, especially Jack Wright, Carol and Jim
Campbell, Chris Brown, Bob and Beth Czerniak, Dan and Karla Dugas, David
andFrancineMcNeil,JafferHanfoosh,mystudents,andallthosewhosenames
I have forgotten. Of course, I am extremely blessed to have had the constant
love and prayers of my wife, Dolores, and my brothers James and Dennis, and
allmyfamilymembers.Youareallresponsibletosomedegreeforthistext.
Thanks to those who taught me and mentored me, especially Bill Dando,
Lee Williams, Duane Marble, Kang Tsung Chang, Vince Robinson, Peter Fisher,
vi Preface
and many others. In this regard I also want to thank all the members of the
GIS curriculum project and my Body of Knowledge co-editors for the ideas,
knowledge,andinsightsyouprovided.Thestudentswhohadtosufferthrough
allthepreviouseditionsdeservethanksfortheirtolerance,and,insomecases,
their criticism. Finally, I want to thank thefolks at Pine Tree Composition, Inc.
for their editorial services, and at John Wiley and Sons for their continued
faith in my work, especially Laura Spence Kelleher, and Ryan Flahive, the
production staff, and graphic artists. A special note to all the following who
tookthetimeoutoftheirbusyschedulesandtheirownprojectstoreviewthis
book: Richard Beck, University of Cincinnati; William Cooke, Mississippi State
University;AlisonFeeney, ShippensburgUniversity;ToddFritch,Northeastern
University; David Fyfe, Penn State University; Alberto Giordano, Texas State
University–San Marcos; Shunfu Hu, Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville;
Dorleen Jenson, Salt Lake Community College; Nicholas Kohler, University of
Oregon;HelmutKraenzle,JamesMadisonUniversity;DebbieKreitzer,Western
Kentucky University; Dean Lambert, San Antonio College; Mark Leipnik, Sam
HoustonStateUniversity;ChorPangLo,UniversityofGeorgia;JiaLu,University
of Wisconsin–Stevens Point; Yongmei Lu, Texas State University–San Marcos;
Robert Martin, Kutztown University; Darrel McDonald, Stephen F. Austin State
University;JaewanYoon,OldDominionUniversity;andMayYuan,Universityof
Oklahoma.Youallshareinthisproduct.
C O N T E N T S
Chapter 0 Spatial Learner’s Permit 1
SpatialTerminology 2
ApplyingSpatialTerms 5
SpatialCognition 8
SpatialQuantities 10
SphericalEarth 11
ConcludingRemarks 13
Terms 14
PracticeExercises 14
References 16
UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION 17
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Chapter 1 Introduction to Digital Geography 19
LearningObjectives 19
GeographicInformationSystemsDefined 19
ABriefHistoryofGeographicInformationSystems 23
GISasaGrowthIndustry 25
SampleApplicationAreasofGIS 26
TheStudyofGIS 29
Terms 31
ReviewQuestions 31
References 31
UNIT 2 DIGITAL GEOGRAPHIC DATA AND MAPS 33
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Chapter 2 Basic Geographic Concepts 35
LearningObjectives 36
DevelopingSpatialAwareness 37
SpatialMeasurementLevels 40
SpatialLocationandReference 42
SpatialPatterns 45
GeographicDataCollection 47
PopulationsandSamplingSchemes 52
MakingInferencesfromSamples 54
Terms 56
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viii Contents
ReviewQuestions 56
References 57
Chapter 3 Map Basics 58
LearningObjectives 59
AbstractNatureofMaps 59
AParadigmShiftinCartography 60
MapScale 61
MoreMapCharacteristics 63
MapProjections 63
GridSystemsforMapping 66
MapSymbolism 73
MapAbstractionandCartographicDatabases 77
Terms 78
ReviewQuestions 78
References 79
Chapter 4 GIS Computer Structure Basics 81
LearningObjectives 82
AQuickReviewoftheMapasanAbstractionofSpace 82
SomeBasicComputerFileStructures 84
SimpleLists 84
OrderedSequentialFiles 85
IndexedFiles 86
DatabaseManagementStructures 88
HierarchicalDataStructures 88
NetworkSystems 90
RelationalDatabaseManagementSystems 92
SomeBasicComputerTerminology 95
Terms 96
ReviewQuestions 97
References 97
Chapter 5 GIS Data Models 99
LearningObjectives 100
GraphicRepresentationofEntitiesandAttributes 100
GISSystemDataModels 104
RasterModels 105
RasterSurfaceModels 106
CompactStoringofRasterData 108
CommercialRasterCompactionProducts 110
VectorModels 111
AnObject-OrientedDataModel 117
CompactingVectorDataModels 117
AVectorModeltoRepresentSurfaces 118
SystemsModels 119
Terms 123
ReviewQuestions 123
References 124