GIS APPLICATIONS FOR ENGINEERING GEOLOGY

Geographic Information System (GIS) has quite a few different definitions. For example, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines GIS as a computer system that analyzes and displays geographically referenced information. It uses data that is attached to a unique location. In the strictest sense, a GIS is a computerized system capable of assembling, storing, managing, analyzing, modeling, and displaying spatial information, i.e., data that are identified according to location. Practitioners also regard the total GIS as including operating personnel and the data that go into the system. Simply put, a GIS is a science of where combining layers of information about a location to understand that place better. All the above definitions agree that GIS facilitates data storage and management, geospatial data analysis, visualization, scientific communication, and research collaboration. Since the 1960s, the need for professionals for geospatial technology in fields that utilize geospatial data has never stopped expanding. GIS has implications for many geoscience fields, such as engineering geology, hydrogeology, and environmental sciences. Geospatial data are ubiquitous in these fields and are essential for solving complex problems that need to make decisions based on multiple criteria. This presentation offers a brief introduction to GIS. It then demonstrates the applications of GIS for engineering geology through case studies, such as GIS-based landslide susceptibility studies and land cover classification studies in the context of flood hazards.