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Today is National GIS Day!

To celebrate, we’re talking GIS (Geographic Information System) with Charlie Fitzpatrick, K-12 Education Manager for ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute).

Hopefully, the “Ultimate Asia Challenge” and Land of Natural Wonders" activities have you off to an exciting start on this week-long tour of Asia.  If you’re new to KML technology, you’re likely as smitten over this revolutionary tool as we are. I like to think of it as providing me with my own little globe-trotting satellite. But if you think you’ve reached the height of geospatial technology with KML, I’ve got news for you: There’s more. There’s GIS (cue dramatic soundtrack).

Applications like Google Earth and ArcGIS Explorer allow you to visualize relatively modest amounts of data, georeferenced to actual global locations. This is what that whole “zoom to” personal satellite-like feature is all about, and it’s pretty darn cool. By turning layers on and off and overlaying one on top of the other, you can even begin to understand relationships across multiple data sets. And that’s super cool. But GIS kicks it up a notch and allows for even more complex types of analyses.

I first became acquainted with GIS while studying geography as an undergraduate. As far as I'm concerned, GIS is the most advanced contemporary tool for applying a spatial analytical perspective to real-life phenomena. But don’t take it from me: ESRI has been the leading distributor of GIS software for the last few decades, and Charlie Fitzpatrick has the low-down on this high-tech tool:

“GIS is being used all over the world, in all walks of life, because spatial thinking is essential for coping with challenges large and small….People use GIS to study geography: the geography of the human body, behavior of people in a store, the areas of hillsides that most need preventative measures to protect from fire, how Multiple Sclerosis and Lyme Disease vary across the landscape, the local patterns and feedback mechanisms that affect global climate change, and the best potential landing zones on Mars.”

To celebrate Geography Awareness Week 2007: Passport to Asia, ESRI and My Wonderful World collaborated to produce an informative, entertaining video about the power of GIS technology titled “Layers of Asia: A GIS Journey Through Our World.” Utilizing imagery and data sets from Asia, the video features current events including the Avian Flu epidemic, the 2004 Asian Tsunami, and the on-going construction of China’s Three Gorges Dam. What's more, it explores how GIS can be used to better comprehend these issues and develop solutions where appropriate. For example, GIS can be used to help coordinate community evacuation plans. (Look for an upcoming blog feature on 4-H students who are using GIS here in the United States to do just that.)

To learn more about GIS, watch the video (at 10 minutes, it really is an excellent overview). Once you realize all that GIS can do, we’re sure you’ll be hankering to try it out for yourself. Luckily, ESRI’s got you covered. Visit their Geography Awareness Week page for great GIS introductory activities that will have you analyzing Asia’s rivers, cities, people, and geomorphology. My favorite is “Asia’s Big Rivers and Cities,” a step-by-step GIS comparison of Asia’s water resources and settlement patterns. Charlie hopes that these activities “help people see the many ways in which geography matters,” and we do, too.

For information about GIS events occurring across the country, check out        GIS Day.com. If you live in the D.C. area, make sure to stop by the National Zoo tomorrow (Thursday) for their GIS Day celebration.

Sarah for My Wonderful World

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