Ecosystem Integration & Assessment

The world of data can be confusing to those who don't normally interact with it. This page was created in order to clearly explain the basics of data to inform those who are unfamiliar. The information below comes from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)- Geographic Information System (GIS) Dictionary.

Definitions

• Metadata
  Information that describes the content, quality, condition, origin, and other characteristics of data or other pieces of information. Metadata for spatial data may describe and document its subject matter; how, when, where, and by whom the data was collected; availability and distribution information; its projection, scale, resolution, and accuracy; and its reliability with regard to some standard. Metadata consists of properties and documentation. Properties are derived from the data source (for example, the coordinate system and projection of the data), while documentation is entered by a person (for example, keywords used to describe the data).
  

• Data
  Any collection of related facts arranged in a particular format; often, the basic elements of information that are produced, stored, or processed by a computer.

What are some of the data types collected by the EIA Team?

• Spatial Data
  Information about the locations and shapes of geographic features and the relationships between them, usually stored as coordinates and topology.

Examples of Spatial Data Include:

• Topography
  The study and mapping of land surfaces, including relief (relative positions and elevations) and the position of natural and constructed features.

• Bathymetry
  The science of measuring and charting the depths of water bodies to determine the topography of a lake bed or seafloor.

How is data collected?

• Surveying
  Measuring physical or geometric characteristics of the earth. Surveys are often classified by the type of data studied or by the instruments or methods used. Examples include geodetic, geologic, topographic, hydrographic, land, geophysical, soil, mine, and engineering surveys.
  

• Remote Sensing
  Collecting and interpreting information about the environment and the surface of the earth from a distance, primarily by sensing radiation that is naturally emitted or reflected by the earth's surface or from the atmosphere, or by sensing signals transmitted from a device and reflected back to it. Examples of remote-sensing methods include photogrammetry, aerial photography, and satellite imaging.
  
  
  • Photogrammetry: Is the first remote sensing technology ever developed, in which geometric properties about objects are determined from photographic images.
  • Aerial Photography: A photograph of the earth's surface taken from a platform flying above the surface but not in orbit, usually an aircraft. Aerial photography is often used as a cartographic data source for basemapping, locating geographic features, and interpreting environmental conditions.
    
    
• Satellite Imaging
  Satellite imagery consists of photographs of Earth or other planets made by means of artificialsatellites.
  
  
  • GPS: Acronym for Global Positioning System. A system of radio-emitting and -receiving satellites used for determining positions on the earth. The orbiting satellites transmit signals that allow a GPS receiver anywhere on earth to calculate its own location through trilateration. Developed and operated by the U.S. Department of Defense, thesystem is used in navigation, mapping, surveying, and other applications in which precise positioning is necessary.

What is the most common type of data gathered when working on EIA?

• GIS
  GIS is an acronym for geographic information system. An integrated collection of computer software and data used to view and manage information about geographic places, analyze spatial relationships, and model spatial processes. A GIS provides a framework for gathering and organizing spatial data and related information so that it can be displayed and analyzed.

Where is the data stored?

• Server
  A computer that manages shared resources, such as disks, printers, and databases, on a network.
  

• Database
  One or more structured sets of persistent data, managed and stored as a unit and generally associated with software to update and query the data. A simple database might be a single file with many records, each of which references the same set of fields. A GIS database includes data about the spatial locations and shapes of geographic features recorded as points, lines, areas, pixels, grid cells, or TINs, as well as their attributes.