An Overview of Geographic Information System and its Role and Applicability in Environmental Monitoring and Process Modeling

The geographical information system (GIS) is a tool used generically for any computer-based capability for manipulating geographical data. The hardware and software functions of GIS include data input, data storage, data management (data manipulation, updating, changing, exchange) and data reporting (retrieval, presentation, analysis, combination, etc.). All of these actions and operations are applied to GIS as a tool that forms its database. The paper describes the types of the GIS data formats (vector, raster), database object definitions, relationships, geometric features, and the data organization structure. Some GIS applications and examples are given for better understanding of how GIS data can be used in GIS applications, with the respect to data formats, including surface elevation and slope from digital elevation model data (DEM), with the applicability in water industry.