Introduction to Technology in Science

Abstract

Geographic information systems (GIS) use computers to acquire, store, process, and analyze geographic information, which is defined as information about features and phenomena at specified locations on or near the Earth's surface. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is one of a growing number of satellite systems that emit precisely timed signals, allowing users on or above the Earth's surface to determine position with great accuracy. Both GIS and GPS have fuelled a major growth in mapping and in services that support various kinds of decision-making, including way finding, management of distributed resources, and modeling of the human and physical processes that affect and modify the Earth. The objective of writing this paper to introduce the technologies GIS and GPS and understand their capabilities.