Technology and its affect to geography research Essay

Technology and its affect to geography research - Essay Example GIS is changing the landscape of geographical technology with its novel ways of data collection, measurement, modeling, structuring, indexing, processing, and visualizing. The recent era has seen many technological improvements in the field of geographic research by advancing spatial technology including aerial photography, aviation, and remote sensing (Shelley, Bigler, and Aspinall, 38). The cold war era was one during which important developments were made in the field of space technology. The pressure and the space race prompted fast response from both sides and so the cold war was significant in sparking a competition which speeded geographic research. This also coincided with generous federal budgets for such projects and hence, many key developments were during this time. The time also corresponds to when people started examining the role of geographic research on the society and lives of the people. Some technologies developed after the cold war era includes GIS, micro-computers, and the internet. Indeed, these three technologies go hand in hand. Without powerful microcomputers it would be nearly impossible to model and analyze large volumes geographical data and without the internet long distance communication would not be so easy. Remote sensing has allowed the gathering of long distance geographical data without direct contact. This has enabled large amounts of spatial data to be captures and stored into a GIS without having to establish close contact. GIS now work to record, store, analyze, and map geographical data obtained from a GIS. There has already been close contemplation regarding the social, economic, and strategic implications of using a GIS. Many organizations and cities have implemented their own GIS and strategies so as to make use of the spatial data to their full potential. A GIS combines many layers of location data to allow a better spatial visualization of a place. The GIS system infrastructure is supported by cartographic