Geographic data and information is defined in the
ISO/TC 211
ISO/TC 211 is a standard technical committee formed within ISO, tasked with covering the areas of digital geographic information (such as used by geographic information systems) and geomatics. It is responsible for preparation of a series of Inte ...
series of standards as data and information having an implicit or explicit association with a location relative to
Earth (a
geographic location or
geographic position).
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
A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...
(GIS).
There are also many different types of geodata, including
vector files,
raster files,
geographic databases, web files, and multi-temporal data.
Fields of study
Geographic data and information are the subject of a number of overlapping
fields of study, mainly:
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Geocomputation
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Geographic information science Geographic information science or geographical information science (GIScience or GISc) is the scientific discipline that studies geographic information, including how it represents phenomena in the real world, how it represents the way humans unders ...
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Geoinformatics
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Geomatics
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Geovisualization
This is in addition to other more specific branches, such as:
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Cartography
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Geodesy
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
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Geography
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Geostatistics
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Photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is the science and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment through the process of recording, measuring and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic radiant ima ...
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Remote sensing
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Spatial data analysis
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Surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
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Topography
See also
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Earth observation data
Earth observation (EO) is the gathering of information about the physical, chemical, and biological systems of the planet Earth. It can be performed via remote-sensing technologies ( Earth observation satellites) or through direct-contact sensor ...
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Geographic feature
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Georeferencing Georeferencing means that the internal coordinate system of a map or aerial photo image can be related to a geographic coordinate system. The relevant coordinate transforms are typically stored within the image file ( GeoPDF and GeoTIFF are exam ...
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Geospatial intelligence
In the United States, geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) is intelligence about the human activity on earth derived from the exploitation and analysis of imagery, signals, or signatures with geospatial information. GEOINT describes, assesses, and vis ...
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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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