Written by guest blogger, Kelly To.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is the amalgamation of technology and discovery. It is defined as the gathering and combining of analytic and spatial data through various software to determine solutions with satellite precision, enhanced by human intuition. It is one of the few methodologies that is able to connect researchers to large scale geographic problems, especially when being physically present is not a possibility. It is also what allowed 8 undergraduates from McMaster University, to be published without sacrificing convocation.
In June 2015, I received my Honours B.Sc. In Earth and Environmental Sciences from McMaster University. The article, Delination of Paleowind Direction from Dunes in Simcoe County, Ontario, written by my peers and I as presented in Cartographica 50.3 is the first of hopefully, many successes we will achieve during our scientific careers. Our article presents three main themes as seen in many GIS focused publications: a geographical bound issue, computerized methodology and spatially significant results.
Our focus was to determine paleowind direction using modern day dunes found in Angus, Wasaga Beach and Wyevale. We used Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) to digitize parabolic dunes in Simcoe County. The linear extent of individual dune fields were averaged into dune groupings determined by kernel density maps in order to extrapolate the paleowind direction required to form the dunes in that area. Our results indicated that there are two distinct dune fields created by opposing paleowind directions in this area. This illustrates the dunes are of varying ages through a change in paleoclimate.
GIS is also used in fields outside of the earth sciences, including but not limited to military execution, marketing development and health-care allocation. Many of the problems witnessed in the suggested fields relates back to the first suggested theme shared in GIS publications; a geographical bound issue. When being present is not intrinsically available such as for disaster relief, the ability to execute a plan through effective and accessible computerized methodology is not only alluring but necessary.
We were able to achieve our results while sitting in McMaster’s GIS laboratory simply through the use of GIS. This project began while working towards receiving our degrees in June and therefore, travelling to Simcoe County to study over 100 dune fields was not possible without delaying our graduation and pouring months of funded research into 8 undergraduates. Even if this were to hypothetically be possible, finding large scale trends such as dune direction over hundreds of kilometres would have been left to chance rather than technological skill.
However, this is not to take away the necessity of being present. In order to truly study anything, conducting field research is always a requirement. Geographic information technologies just allows us to find important generalizations within multiple smaller yet, incredibly significant spatial discoveries. GIS takes the concept of “looking at the big picture” without forgetting that intricate details are just as important.
The ability to gather data to find significant patterns introduces a fourth theme in GIS related issues: human intuition. Like all sciences, the methodology used may be repeatable but it is up to the researcher’s discretion to understand the full extent of the discovery. What makes GIS interesting is that this researcher can be anyone with a computer and data. Especially with the trend of free-range data provided by most governments and the ability to create your own data, the accessibility of GIS can only increase from here. That availability is what makes GIS and related technologies enticing and a well-planned progressive step in modern-day problem solving. GIS truly is a rightful depiction of discovery and technology.
Kelly To’s article, “Delineation of Paleowind Direction from Dunes in Simcoe County, Ontario” appears in Volume 50 Issue 3 (2015) of the Cartographica. Read it today by clicking here: http://bit.ly/cart503g
