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 Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
(a
geographic location or
geographic position).
Geolexica, the authoritative glossary for geographic information technology from ISO/TC 211
/ref> It is also called geospatial data and information, georeferenced data and information, as well as geodata and geoinformation.
Location information (known by the many names mentioned here) is stored in a geographic information system
A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and Geographic information system software, software that store, manage, Spatial analysis, analyze, edit, output, and Cartographic design, visualize Geographic data ...
(GIS).
There are also many different types of geodata, including vector files, raster files, geographic databases, web files, and multi-temporal data.
Spatial data or spatial information is broader class of data whose geometry is relevant but it is not necessarily georeferenced, such as in computer-aided design (CAD), see geometric modeling.
Fields of study
Geographic data and information are the subject of a number of overlapping fields of study, mainly:
* Geocomputation
* Geographic information science
** Geographic information science and technology
* Geoinformatics
* Geomatics
* Geovisualization
* Technical geography
"Geospatial technology" may refer to any of "geomatics", "geomatics", or "geographic information technology."
The above is in addition to other related fields, such as:
* Cartography
* Geodesy
Geodesy or geodetics is the science of measuring and representing the Figure of the Earth, geometry, Gravity of Earth, gravity, and Earth's rotation, spatial orientation of the Earth in Relative change, temporally varying Three-dimensional spac ...
* Geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
* Geostatistics
* Photogrammetry
* Remote sensing
* Spatial data analysis
* Surveying
* Topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
See also
* Geomatics engineering
* Earth observation data
* Geographic feature
* Georeferencing
* Geospatial intelligence
* Ubiquitous geographic information
References
Further reading
* Roger A. Longhorn; Michael Blakemore (2007).
Geographic Information: Value, Pricing, Production, and Consumption
'. CRC Press.
External links
*
{{geography-stub