All combined study questions

What is geomatics?

A modern discipline that integrates the tasks of gathering, storing, processing, modeling, and analyzing spatially referenced data

What is the difference between data and information?

Data is the raw measurments or observations while information is processed or interpreted data

What is geomatics used for?

Cartography, geodesy, photogrammetry, global positioning systems (GPS), remote sensing, hydrography, topography

What are some applications of geomatics in natural resource management (globally)?

Conservation biology, forest ecology and management, agriculture, land reclamation/remediation, environmental soil science, water and land resources, wildlife management, and protected areas/wildland management

What are some applications of geomatics in natural resource management in Alberta?

Oil sands monitoring, wetland mapping, forest fire management, and caribou habitat management

What is nominal location?

Describing places or landmarks with names

What is absolute location?

Using a reference system, like latitude and longitude, to describe locations

What is relative location?

Describing where something is based on another object/place's location

What is direction?

The position of something relative to another thing along a line

What is egocentric direction?

Describing the location of another object/place by using oneself as the reference point

How are landmarks used in regards to direction?

Landmarks/features are often used as reference points

What is distance?

The degree of separation between locations

What is nominal distance?

Using "large," "small," "near," "far" to describe distance

What is absolute distance?

The use of standard metrics to determine distance

What is topological space in GIS?

The relationships and connectivity between locations within a space; it focuses on how places are linked and the paths between places (ex. subway map)

What does true north refer to in regards to standard benchmarks for direction?

Direction is based on Earth's rotational axis, aligning with the North and South poles (The northernmost place would be true north which is at the north pole)

What does magnetic north refer to in regards to standard benchmarks for direction?

The direction of North revolves around magnetic north, which is where Earth's magentic fields coverge

What are all the essential map elements?

Title, legend, scale, compass rose, grid coordinates, labels, and an inset map

What is cartographic or representational scale?

Scale based on a ration (ex. 1:100 000 --> 1 cm on the map represents 100 000 cm in reality)

What is scale in a spatial sense?

The extent that phenomena has affected/spread/is being studied/etc. (ex. global warming)

What are mental maps?

Psycological tools that represent our environment and are stored in our brains; they vary from person to person are usually an imperfect representation of reality

What are geographical questions?

Questions about location, distribution, association, interaction, and change to evaluate real-world environmental problems

What are global positioning systems (GPS)?

The 3D positioning of fixed or moving objects in real time

What is remote sensing?

Remotely aquiring territorial and environmental spatial data by its reflected and emitted radiation from a distance typically from a satellite or aircraft

Who coins the term "geographic information system (GIS)" in the 1960s?

Roger Tomlinson who is also known as the "father of GIS"

Who invents some of the first GIS software and where was this accomplished?

Architect Howard Fisher creates one of the first GIS software at Harvard

What is data (GIS)?

Information put into a GIS system from other sources to perform visualization and analysis

What is spatial data?

Data that represents geographic position and shape of real-world entities; location info such as coordinates and postal codes

What is attribute data?

Data that characterize features, such as locations, names, properties

What does software do?

Provides the functions and tools needed to input, store, manage, analyze, and display geographic data (There are many different software packages)

What is hardware?

What GIS can be implemented on such as desktop computers and other devices

What are some challenges with GIS?

GIS systems can display the traits (good and bad) of their creators, mistakes with defining procedure can lead to incorrect conclusions

What are attribute tables?

Non-spatial data in GIS that contains information about spatial features and stores various data types such as text, numbers, and dates

What is quantitative GIS data?

Numerical data that can be measured, counted, or calculated; it represents the actual quantity of land surface characteristics in each pixel/feature

What is qualitative GIS data?

Categorical or descriptive data that represents the qualities of a phenomenon without giving numeric info; describes attributes

What is continous data?

Something that can take on any value within a range

What is discrete data?

Something that can only take on specific, distinct values

What is binary data?

A type of qualitative or categorical data that is organized into two distinct groups (ex. 1/0, yes/no, presence/absence)

What is nominal data used for?

Categorizing data into seperate groups without order (ex. forest types, tree species)

What is ordinal data used for?

Ordering categories with seperate and distinct labels/levels (ex. poor, moderate, good, excellent; successional stages)

What is interval data used for?

Ordering data with equal intervals between values but no true zero point (ex. farenheit/celcius, pH levels)

What is ratio data used for?

Ordering data with equal intervals between values with a true zero point (ex. Kelvin, tree height, quantifying biomass)

What does a .shp shapefile store?

Stores feature geometry (contains actual shapes)

What does a .shx shape index file store?

Stores a table that indexes the geometry in an .shp

What does a .dbf file store?

Stores feature attributes that appear in an attribute table

What does a .prj file store?

Information about the coordinate system usd in a project

What is a coordinate system?

A standardized method for identifying the location of a point on the Earth's surface or in space using numbers or coordinates

What are the 2 types of coordinate systems?

2D and 3D

What are the two types of 2D coordinate systems?

Cartesian Coordinate System (2D) and Polar Coordinate System

How does a Cartesian Coordinate System (2D) work?

Uses two perpendicular axes (X and Y), points are represented as ordered pairs (x, y), is like a flat grid

How does a Polar Coordinate System work?

Uses distance from origin (r) and angle from a reference direction (θ), points are represented as (r, θ), is like a circular grid that uses angles

What are the three types of 3D coordinate systems?

Cartesian Coordinate System (3D), Cylindrical cordinate System, and Spherical Coordinate System

How does a Cartesian Coordinate System (3D) work?

Uses 3 perpendicular axes (X, Y, Z). poinst are represented as ordered triples (x, y, z), a cube-like coordinate system with points being anywhere in the cube

How does a Cylindrical Coordinate System work?

Uses distance from the z-axis (r), angle in XY-plane (θ), and height (z); points are represented as (r, θ, z); a 3D version of a polar coordinate system in a cylindrical shape with cirular layers

How does a Spherical Coordinate System work?

Uses distance from origin (r), angle from the z-axis (θ), and angle from the z-axis (θ), and an angle in the XY-plane (φ); points are represented as (r, θ, φ); a sphere with latitude/longitude-like lines

How does a Geographic Coordinate System (GCS) work?

Uses latitude and longitude on a spheroid

How does a Projected Coordinate System (PCS) work?

Uses linear units, like meters and feet, on a flat surface

How do Equal-Area Projections work?

They preserve the relative size of areas on the Earth, but distort them more towards the edges of the projection

What can you do with an equal-area projection?

Compare sizes of countires, continents, and other geographic features

How do Conformal Projections work?

They preserve local shapes and angles

What can you do with a conformal projection?

Measure angles or representing the shapes of features accurately, can also be useful for navigation and meteorology

How do Equidistant Projections work?

They preserve distances from one or two points to all other areas of the map

What are equidistant projections useful for?

Measuring distances from a central point

How are projections limited?

No projection can preserve all properties at the same time and the type of projections depends of the purpose of the map

What are projection parameters?

Values/things that define things like the origin or coordinate system used (lat/long). They are used to customize projections for specific areas of interest

What is the purpose of projection parameters?

Minimize distortions in the area of interest, adapt projections to specific mapping needs, ensure accurate representation of Earth's surface

What do angular parameters involve?

The central meridian/longitude of origin (location of the origin which can be a dot or line), standard parallel/latitude of true scale (where projection intersects/touches the globe and there is no distortion) and the latitude of centre/centre parallel (defines where the y-coords begin)

What do linear parameters involve?

False easting/northing (constants added to coordinates to ensure positive values), scale factor (a ratio comparing actual scale on the Earth vs scale on a map)

What does actual scale/true scale refer to?

The real, measurable scale at any specific point on a map; results from the distortions caused by the projection used

What does principal scale refer to?

The intended scale of the entire map that is usually printed on the map or shown as a scale bar, it represents the overall reduction ratio of the map compared to the real world

How is a map affected is the scale factor is equal to 1?

The actual scale matches the principal scale; this is a true scale and the map measurements correspond to those in real life

How is a map affected if the scale factor is greater than 1?

The actual scale is larger than the principal scale; therefore, features appear larger on the map than they would if envisioned in real life

How is a map affected if the scale factor is less than 1?

The actual scale is smaller than the principal scale; therefore, features appear smaller on the map than they would if envisioned in real life

What is a grid system and what are they used for?

A regular pattern made up of squares formed by two sets of lines that intersect at right angles; they are used for precisley identifying locations on a map

What are Eastings and Northings?

Eastings are the vertical lines running from the top to bottom and divide the map from west to east. Northings are the horizontal lines running left to right and divide the map from north to south.

How does a geographic grid system work?

Specifies locations using degrees and measures of longitude and latitude

How does a Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) work?

Locations are specified in meters using an easting and a northing; this coordinate system divides the world into sixty north-south zones, each 6 degrees of longitude wide

What is the Standard Mercator world map of 1569?

A projected grid system that is a cyclindrical map projected of the Earth where the equator is the line of tangency between the planet and the cylinder; it was developed by Gerardus Mercator

What is the "Remarkable Theorem"?

A fundamental concept that explains why we can't have a perfect map projection; it states that the curvature of a surface is an intrinsic property that doesn't change when the surface is bent without stretching

What UTM zones does Alberta fall between?

Zone 11 and 12

What is NAD 1983 10TM AEP Forest?

A projected coordinate system used primarily in Alberta for forestry and resource management

What is the difference between a geographic coordinate system and a projected coordinate system?

A geographic CS defines the shape of the Earth and the reference frame for measuring locations while a projected CS transforms the Earht's curved surface onto a flat plane

What are queries used for?

To search for and select a subset of features and table records from a dataset

What are simple queries?

An expression used to select or filter data based on specific criteria based on a single condition (ex. HEIGHT = 15)

What are complex queries?

Multiple expressions used at the same time to filter data based on 2 or more conditions (ex. HEIGHT > 125 AND MOIST_REG = m)

What is SLQ language?

Structured Query Language; it is used to formulate search specifications using queries

What does the operator "=" mean?

Equal to

What does the operator "<>" mean?

Not equal to

What does the operator ">" mean?

Greater than

What does the operator "

Less than

What does the operator ">=" mean?

Greater than or equal to

What does the operator "

Less than or equal to

What does the operator "AND" mean?

Both conditions must be true

What does the operator "OR" mean?

Either condition must be true

What does the operator "BETWEEN" mean?

Within range (inclusive)

What does the operator "IN" mean?

Matches any value in a list

What does the operator "LIKE" mean?

Pattern matching

What does the operator "IS NULL" mean?

Value is null

What does the operator "IS NOT NULL" mean?

Value is not null

What are the characteristics of point vectors?

Zero dimension; single X, Y coordinate pair; has zero area; represents discrete features; only represents a location