“Geographic information systems integrate seemingly disparate information quickly and visually, which facilitates communication, collaboration, and decision-making. ROGER TOMLINSON Created first GIS, 1963 14 The Power of Where A Multidisciplinary Process I’m often asked, “What’s so special about spatial?” In other words, what specifically is it about geospatial data and the geographic approach that makes this way of thinking compelling? Why should someone be interested? I sometimes break the answer to this question into five parts: Science-based: First, the geographic approach is inherently science based. Using this approach, we can combine all the sciences—biology, ecology, climatology, sociology, hydrology, geology, oceanography, and more—from any category of knowledge that science organizes. At a time of increased scientific specialization in academia, the geographic approach enables us to extend the sciences beyond their traditional boundaries to consider and understand their interdependencies. Integrative: Second, the approach is integrative. It unifies information around location, which means all sorts of information across many disciplines can come into play. We’ve seen the power of the common spatial denominator countless times in our GIS user community: When organizations set up enterprise GIS systems, team members with different backgrounds and specialties start collaborating. Instead of working in silos, engineers begin talking to planners about redevelopment, and police officers begin talking to community coordinators, for example, about homeless populations. Holistic: Third, the approach allows us to work holistically, which means to consider all components as parts of the whole. Our economies, societies, and species are interdependent. GIS helps us consider the whole context of any issue. It can support innumerable objectives and solutions by narrowing the focus of the debate and making trade-offs between different interests in a common geographic framework or context. Understandable: Fourth, the approach helps us understand information by generating a new kind of knowledge—spatial knowledge—that has the unique ability to show how seemingly disparate factors are related. Through maps and visualizations, it allows us to filter, parse, and integrate meaningful information from the seemingly unfathomable volumes of data that are collected every day. We can’t act on information if we don’t understand what it’s telling us. Collaborative: Finally, the approach is inherently collaborative because it supports solutions drawn from the contributions of many organizations working together. No problem exists in a vacuum; any solution has a ripple effect that must also be taken into consideration. The geographic approach helps address these tensions because it is inclusive and multidisciplinary by nature. Approaching problems in a geographic context allows us to organize and integrate all available information about the factors and indicators that apply to any problem. Using the connective thread of geography (location), we can mash up environmental elements such as biodiversity and climate data with economic systems, transportation networks, and dynamic social statistics to see connections and relationships through a geographic, or geospatial, lens. The result offers a framework for understanding and applying our knowledge in a unified setting to analyze information layers and predict the outcomes of our actions. That’s what so special about spatial. This map of seafloor age exemplifies a multidisciplinary approach. It’s built from scientific measurements, integrates multiple sources, paints a picture of Earth, is easily readable, and represents the work of many agencies and cartographers. FACING PAGE This map is a compilation of five different layers that can help visualize and understand the different areas of the seafloor: plate boundaries, seafloor crustal age, oceanic vents, bathymetry, and plate isopaths (lines used to illustrate thickness variations within a tabular surface).
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