THE NEED FOR GIS

Posted on June 18, 2008 by Rashid Faridi

Any organization, government private is in some way or another strongly linked to the geography in which it operates. A GIS that
has been designed in a proper manner has the capability of providing quick and easy access to large volumes of data of these
geographical features. The user can access & select information by area or by theme to merge one data set with another, to
analyze spatial characteristics of data, to search for particular features, to update quickly and cheaply and asses alternatives.

In simpler terms, GIS allows the user to understand geographic information in an easy manner without having to go
through large volumes of confusing data that is in tabular form. Visualizing the geography of a particular location is
no doubt easier that trying to analyze raw data.

The potential and substantial benefits of using GIS makes it a very important tool making the work of any
organization easier and more productive. Some of the potential benefits of GIS are:
♦ Opportunity to reduce sets of manual maps held and associated storage costs.
♦ Faster and more extensive access to geographic information.
♦ Improved analysis e.g.of areas, distances, patterns, etc.
♦ Better communication of information to public officers, members.
♦ Improved quality of services.
♦ Better targeting and coordination of services.
♦ Improved productivity in providing public information.
♦ Improved efficiency in updating maps.
♦ The ability to track and monitor growth and development over time.
♦Improved ability to aggregate data for specific sub areas.

Thus GIS’s have become indispensable tools for governance, commerce, and environmental and social scienc

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GIS and Cartography

Posted on June 18, 2008 by Rashid Faridi

Maps have been an integral part of the human story for a long time. From cave/wall paintings, ancient maps of Babylon and
Greek philosophers, through the Age of Exploration, and on into the 21st century, people have created and used maps as the
essential tools to help them define, explain and navigate their way through the world.

Cartography is the art, science and technology of making maps. Cartography was used as early as the 23rd century BC in Babylon. In this technique of map making, the artist has to manually draw the map using hand tools, thus making it a time
consuming and difficult method of geographic representation. Also Hand Cartography is less accurate and is limited in the scope
of representation.

Although manual mapping techniques are still used the advent and spread of computers has revolutionized cartography. Most commercial quality maps are now made with map making software that falls into one of three main types; CAD, GIS,
and specialized map illustration software.

(A GIS generated World Map)

The main differences between Cartography and GIS are in their functional components:

A GIS contains these four components:

● Input
● Database
● Analysis
●Output

In contrast, a Cartographic system can be described in three components:
● Input
● Map design
●Output
In the present scenario, Hand Cartography is becoming an obsolete technology and is rapidly being replaced by GIS.

source

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Weather channel on cards for India

Posted on June 16, 2008 by Rashid Faridi

India – The Indian Meteorology Department has plans to launch a dedicated weather TV channel through public-private partnership, said director-general of meteorology Air Vice-Marshal Ajit Tyagi.
Briefing the reporters here about IMD’s modernisation plans, Tyagi said the proposed weather channel would be finalised by end of 2008.

The channel would initially telecast programmes on weather for six hours a day he said, adding that it would be expanded to 24-hours after a while. Insat-III D is likely to be launched by end of this year or early next year and a receiving station will be set up at New Delhi which will send real time data to regional meteorology centres, said the IMD head.

Unfolding the modernisation plans during the 11th Year Plan, Tyagi said an estimated Rs 900 crore would be invested in the first two years. The focus would be on observation, communication, remote sensing and dissemination of information to public.

“We want to cover all districts with automatic weather stations and rain gauge stations which will help us in real-time data collection on intensity of rain and wind speed,” he said. An agro-meteorology service will be launched across the country by the end of this year.

Source : http://www.telegraphindia.com/

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Hot and Dry Desert Biome

Posted on June 16, 2008 by Rashid Faridi

A Hot and Dry Desert is, as you can tell from the name, hot and dry. Most Hot and Dry Deserts don’t have very many plants. They do have some low down plants though. The only animals they have that can survive have the ability to burrow under ground. This is because they would not be able to live in the hot sun and heat. They only come out in the night when it is a little cooler.

A cold desert is a desert that has snow in the winter instead of just dropping a few degrees in temperature like they would in a Hot and Dry Desert. It never gets warm enough for plants to grow. Just maybe a few grasses and mosses. The animals in Cold Deserts also have to burrow but in this case to keep warm, not cool. That is why you might find some of the same animals here as you would in the Hot and Dry Deserts.

Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth’s land surface. Most Hot and Dry Deserts are near the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn. Cold Deserts are near the Arctic part of the world.

Hot and Dry Deserts temperature ranges from 20 to 25° C. The extreme maximum temperature for Hot Desert ranges from 43.5 to 49° C. Cold Deserts temperature in winter ranges from -2 to 4° C and in the summer 21 to 26° C a year

The precipitation in Hot and Dry Deserts and the precipitation in Cold Deserts is different. Hot and Dry Deserts usually have very little rainfall and/or concentrated rainfall in short periods between long rainless periods. This averages out to under 15 cm a year. Cold Deserts usually have lots of snow. They also have rain around spring. This averages out to 15 – 26 cm a year.

Hot and Dry Deserts are warm throughout the fall and spring seasons and very hot during the summer. the winters usually have very little if any rainfall. Cold Deserts have quite a bit of snow during winter. The summer and the beginning of the spring are barely warm enough for a few lichens, grasses and mosses to grow.

Hot and Dry Deserts vegetation is very rare. Plants are almost all ground-hugging shrubs and short woody trees. All of the leaves are replete (packed with nutrients). Some examples of these kinds of plant are Turpentine Bush, Prickly Pears, and Brittle Bush. For all of these plants to survive they have to have adaptations. Some of the adaptations in this case are the ability to store water for long periods of time and the ability to stand the hot weather.

Cold Desert’s plants are scattered. In areas with little shade,about 10 percent of the ground is covered with plants. In some areas of sagebrush it reaches 85 percent. The height of scrub varies from 15 cm to 122 cm. All plants are either deciduous and more or less contain spiny leaves.

Hot and Dry Deserts animals include small nocturnal (only active at night) carnivores. There are also insects, arachnids, reptiles, and birds. Some examples of these animals are Borrowers, Mourning Wheatears, and Horned Vipers. Cold Deserts have animals like Antelope, Ground Squirrels, Jack Rabbits, and Kangaroo Rats.

Further Readings:

World Biomes
source

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