Contemporary Geographic Tools Flashcards
Global Positioning System (GPS)
A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth
Geographic Information Science (GIScience)
Analysis of data about Earth acquired through satellite and other electronic information technologies
Geographic information system (GIS)
Captures, stores, queries, and displays the geographical data collected by GIScience
Remote Sensing
The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting Earth or from other long-distance methods
Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI)
The creation and dissemination of geographic data contributed voluntarily and for free by individuals
Citizen Science
Scientific research by amateur scientists
Participatory GIS (PGIS)
Community-based mapping
Mashup
A map that overlays data from one source on top of a map provided by a mapping service
Map Scale
the relationship of a feature’s size on a map to its actual size on Earth
Projection
The scientific method of transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat map
Meridian
An arc drawn between the North and South poles
Longitude
The numbering system that identifies the location of each meridian on Earth’s surface
Parallel
A circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians
Latitude
The numbering system to indicate the location of a parallel
Prime Meridian
The meridian that passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England, at 0° longitude
