Newsbytes News Network
In the war on terrorism, American special forces hunt an elusive enemy
through terrain characterized more by boulders and caves than
well-marked roads or developed infrastructure.
Even so, its likely battle planners will turn to geographic information systems, or GIS, to provide troops with detailed views of terrain and elevation. No matter the topography—mountains, deserts, plains, inhabited urban areas—GIS enables commanders to pinpoint distinctive physical characteristics, from back alleys and munitions caches to vegetation and creek beds.
Although 21st-century warfare may be conducted far from the plains of Central and Eastern Europe as envisioned during the Cold War, determining the precise lay of the land remains a central military priority.
"We're seeing GIS being deployed in every level of the defense domain," said David Swann, defense market manager for Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. of Redlands, California, one of the world's largest GIS companies. "Almost every defense decision has geography or terrain factored into it. We're seeing information technology generally, and GIS specifically, providing incredible support to the warfighter."
Such support does, however, remain centralized. Although GIS systems are being deployed on some combat-ready laptops and handhelds, on select naval vessels and soon on next-generation tanks, collecting and disseminating GIS data usually occurs at the headquarters level. Dissemination in the field is not routine, nor is it expected to be for some time.
"GIS is very useful in deployment, moving troops from one area to another. Use on the battlefield is more problematic," said Mary Hiatt, vice president of GIS company EarthData International in Gaithersburg, Maryland, an affiliate of parent EarthData Holdings in Washington. "How do you get this digital information efficiently to units in the field? In battle, conditions aren't exactly ideal."
GIS remains a computer- and labor-intensive endeavor, with much human involvement in compiling spatial databases of facts and figures that have a direct relationship to the physical world.
GIS Imagery Created From Lots of Data
In creating GIS imagery, analysts combine pictures taken from airplanes or satellites with topographical data, leavened by adding other statistical information on general infrastructure and more specific factors, such as agricultural activity, population density, street layouts, location of utilities and the type and number of private- and public-sector enterprises.
Experts also factor in data derived from disparate fields, such as census taking, zoning, utility planning and maintenance, traffic analysis, redistricting, bus routing, city management, land use, forestry, economic development, mining, firefighting, policing and crime analysis.
For the military, such detail has been put to work closer to home. Many military bases have their own customized geographic information systems, which they use in combat-simulating exercises or as a way to monitor land use and environmental monitoring.
