View source for Geomatics

{{Short description|Geographic data discipline}}
{{distinguish|Geoinformatics}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2021}}
{{Geodesy}}
[[Image:Survey instruments-2.png|thumb|A surveyor's shed showing equipment used for geomatics]]

'''Geomatics''' is defined in the [[ISO/TC 211]] series of standards as the "[[academic discipline|discipline]] concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, presentation of [[geographic data or geographic information]]".<ref>ISO/TR 19122:2004(en) Geographic information/Geomatics — Qualification and certification of personnel [https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:tr:19122:ed-1:v1:en]</ref> Under another definition, it consists of products, services and tools involved in the collection, integration and management of geographic (geospatial) data.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.appliedgeomatics.net/about-us.html|title=About Us|website=Applied Geomatics Research Laboratory|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> [[Surveying engineering]] was the widely used name for geomatic(s) engineering in the past. Geomatics was placed by the [[UNESCO]] [[Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems]] under the branch of [[technical geography]].<ref name="Haidu1">{{cite journal |last1=Haidu |first1=Ionel |title=What is Technical Geography – a letter from the editor |journal=Geographia Technica |date=2016 |volume=11 |pages=1–5 |doi=10.21163/GT_2016.111.01|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=Sala1>{{cite book |last1=Sala |first1=Maria |title=Geography Volume I |date=2009 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems|EOLSS]] UNESCO |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |isbn=978-1-84826-960-6 |edition=1}}</ref>

==History and etymology ==

The term was proposed in French ("géomatique") at the end of the 1960s by scientist Bernard Dubuisson to reflect at the time recent changes in the jobs of [[Surveying|surveyor]] and [[Photogrammetry|photogrammetrist]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://acsg-champlain.scg.ulaval.ca/index.php?id=9|title=ACSG - Association canadienne des sciences géomatiques (Section Champlain) /// Des références utiles en géomatique|website=acsg-champlain.scg.ulaval.ca|access-date=2019-11-04}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The term was first employed in a [[Minister of Public Works (France)|French Ministry of Public Works]] memorandum dated 1 June 1971 instituting a "standing committee of geomatics" in the government.<ref>{{Citation|title=Arrêté du 27 décembre 1994 relatif à la terminologie de la télédétection aérospatiale|url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000735431&categorieLien=id|access-date=2019-11-04}}</ref>

The term was popularised in English by French-Canadian surveyor Michel Paradis in his ''The little Geodesist that could'' article, in 1981 and in a keynote address at the centennial congress of the Canadian Institute of Surveying (now known as the [[Canadian Institute of Geomatics]]) in April 1982. He claimed that at the end of the 20th century the needs for geographical information would reach a scope without precedent in history and that, in order to address these needs, it was necessary to integrate in a new discipline both the traditional disciplines of land surveying and the new tools and techniques of data capture, manipulation, storage and diffusion.<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Paradis|first1= Michel|title= De l'arpentage à la géomatique|journal= Le Géomètre Canadien|date= September 1981|volume= 35| issue = 3|page=262 |language=fr}}</ref>

Geomatics includes the tools and techniques used in [[land surveying]], [[remote sensing]], [[cartography]], [[geographic information system]]s (GIS), [[Satellite navigation|global navigation satellite systems]] ([[Global Positioning System|GPS]], [[GLONASS]], [[Galileo (satellite navigation)|Galileo]], [[BeiDou]]), [[photogrammetry]], [[geophysics]], [[geography]], and related forms of earth [[map]]ping. The term was originally used in Canada but has since been adopted by the [[International Organization for Standardization]], the [[Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors]], and many other international authorities, although some (especially in the United States) have shown a preference for the term ''geospatial technology'',<ref name="Boehm Mohan 2010 pp. 26–39">{{cite journal | last1=Boehm | first1=Richard G. | last2=Mohan | first2=Audrey | title=Geospatial Technology: Curricular Keystone of Applied Geography | journal=International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research | volume=1 | issue=1 | year=2010 | issn=1947-9654 | pages=26–39| doi=10.4018/jagr.2010071602 }}</ref> which may be defined as synonym of "geospatial [[information and communications technology]]".<ref name="Scholten Velde van Manen 2009 p. 1">{{cite book | last1=Scholten | first1=H.J. | last2=Velde | first2=R. | last3=van Manen | first3=N. | title=Geospatial Technology and the Role of Location in Science | publisher=Springer Netherlands | series=GeoJournal Library | year=2009 | isbn=978-90-481-2620-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SAod59fNlPEC&pg=PA1 | access-date=2022-01-28 | page=1}}</ref>

Although many definitions of ''geomatics'', such as the above, appear to encompass the entire discipline relating to geographic information – including [[geodesy]], [[geographic information system]]s, [[remote sensing]], [[satellite navigation]], and [[cartography]] –, the term is almost exclusively restricted to the perspective of [[surveying]] and [[engineering]] toward geographic information.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} ''[[Geoinformatics]]'' and ''[[Geographic information science]] has been proposed as alternative comprehensive term; however, their popularity is, like geomatics, largely dependent on country.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Krawczyk |first=Artur |date=2022-11-09 |title=Proposal of Redefinition of the Terms Geomatics and Geoinformatics on the Basis of Terminological Postulates |journal=ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |language=en |volume=11 |issue=11 |pages=557 |doi=10.3390/ijgi11110557 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2022IJGI...11..557K |issn=2220-9964}}</ref>

The related field of ''hydrogeomatics'' covers the area associated with surveying work carried out on, above or below the surface of the sea or other areas of water. The older term of [[hydrography|hydrographics]] was considered{{by whom|date=April 2015}} too specific to the preparation of marine charts, and failed to include the broader concept of positioning or measurements in all marine environments. The use of different data processing technologies in hydrography does not change the purpose of its research.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 December 2003 |title=Invited reply: Hydrography or hydrogeomatics? |url=https://www.tib.eu/en/search/id/BLSE:RN141836194/Invited-Reply-Hydrography-or-Hydrogeomatics-?cHash=92039c0082b3714a552e85b53b247548 |journal=Hydro International |volume=7 |pages=34–37 |issn=1385-4569 |via=GITC BV.}}</ref>

''Health geomatics'' can improve our understanding of the important relationship between location and health, and thus assist us in Public Health tasks like disease prevention, and also in better healthcare service planning.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kamel Boulos |first1=M. N |last2=Roudsari |first2=A. V |last3=Carson |first3=E. R |date=2001-06-01 |title=Health Geomatics: An Enabling Suite of Technologies in Health and Healthcare |journal=Journal of Biomedical Informatics |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=195–219 |doi=10.1006/jbin.2001.1015 |issn=1532-0464|doi-access=free |pmid=11723701 }}</ref> An important area of research is the use of open data in planning lifesaving activities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gianquintieri |first1=L. |last2=Caiani |first2=E. G. |last3=Brambilla |first3=P. |last4=Pagliosa |first4=A. |last5=Villa |first5=G. F. |last6=Brovelli |first6=M. A. |date=2019-08-23 |title=Open Data in Health-Geomatics: Mapping and Evaluating Publicly Accessible Defibrillators |url=https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLII-4-W14/63/2019/ |journal=The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences |language=English |volume=XLII-4-W14 |pages=63–70 |doi=10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-4-W14-63-2019 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019ISPAr4214...63G |issn=1682-1750|hdl=11311/1121207 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> 

''Mining geomatics'' is the use of information systems to integrate and process spatial data for monitoring, modelling, visualisation and design of mining operations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Krawczyk |first=Artur |date=July 2023 |title=Mining Geomatics |journal=ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |language=en |volume=12 |issue=7 |pages=278 |doi=10.3390/ijgi12070278 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023IJGI...12..278K |issn=2220-9964}}</ref> 

A growing number of university departments which were once titled "surveying", "survey engineering" or "[[topographic]] science" have re-titled themselves using the terms "geomatics" or "geomatics engineering", while others have switched to program titles such as "spatial information technology", and similar names.<ref>{{cite web |title=Geomatics engineering & geographic information systems (GIS) |url=https://engineering.ucdenver.edu/civil-engineering/research-specialty-areas/geomatics-gis |website=University of Colorado Denver- College of Engineering |publisher=University of Colorado Denver |access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=White Mountains Community College- Spatial Information Technology Transcript Checklist |url=https://www.pdffiller.com/jsfiller-app10/?requestHash=dcf2e7d301b7267873d1b581fc7df522abc1cdfe0cd7cb5cf9a907e7e4d94126&projectId=822065265&loader=tips#d297570f6feb33f9ccccc5bea774598e |website=PDFFiller |access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref>

The rapid progress and increased visibility of geomatics since the 1990s has been made possible by advances in [[computer]] hardware, [[computer science]], and [[software engineering]], as well as by airborne and space observation [[remote-sensing]] technologies.

== Geomatics engineering ==

[[File:TS by The sea.jpg|thumb|Surveyor using a [[total station]]]]
'''Geomatics engineering''' is a rapidly developing engineering discipline which focuses on [[spatial information]] (i.e. information that has a location).<ref>{{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|202972772}} |last1=Hazelton |first1=N W J |title=Surveying, Geomatics, and Engineering: A 'Structure' for a Rapidly Evolving Profession |journal=Surveying and Land Information Science |volume=65 |issue=3 |date=September 2005 |pages=211–222 }}</ref> The location is the primary factor used to integrate a very wide range of data for spatial analysis and visualization. Geomatics engineers design, develop, and operate systems for collecting and analyzing spatial information about the land, the oceans, natural resources, and manmade features.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Department of Geomatics Engineering {{!}} Kathmandu University |url=http://geom.ku.edu.np/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=Department of Geomatics Engineering}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lam |first1=Steve Yau-Wah |last2=Yip |first2=Tsz Leung |title=The role of geomatics engineering in establishing the marine information system for maritime management |journal=Maritime Policy & Management |date=February 2008 |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=53–60 |doi=10.1080/03088830701848896 |s2cid=154941027 |hdl=10397/27671 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Geomatics engineers apply engineering principles to spatial information and implement relational data structures involving measurement sciences, thus using geomatics and acting as spatial information engineers. Geomatics engineers manage local, regional, national and global spatial data infrastructures.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-981-13-7067-0 |title=Applications of Geomatics in Civil Engineering |series=Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering |date=2020 |volume=33 |isbn=978-981-13-7066-3 |editor1-first=Jayanta Kumar |editor1-last=Ghosh |editor2-first=Irineu |editor2-last=da Silva }}{{page needed|date=December 2023}}</ref> Geomatics engineering also involves aspects of Computer Engineering, Software Engineering and Civil Engineering.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marshall, Wesley |url=https://engineering.ucdenver.edu/civil-engineering/research-specialty-areas/geomatics-gis |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=engineering.ucdenver.edu |language=en}}</ref>

== Applications ==
Application areas include: 
*[[Aeromagnetic survey]]s
*Airborne [[geophysics]]
*[[Air navigation]] services
*[[Excavation (archaeology)|Archaeological excavation]] and [[Archaeological field survey|survey]] for [[GIS]] applications
*[[Coast]]al zone management and mapping
*[[Disaster informatics]] for disaster risk reduction and response
*[[Environment (biophysical)|The environment]]
*[[Infrastructure]] management
*[[Land management]] and reform
*[[Natural resource]] monitoring and development
*Seismic Interpretation
*[[Subdivision (land)|Subdivision]] planning
*[[Urban and regional planning]]
*[[Oceanography]]
*[[Meteorology]]
*[[Parks]]
*[[Resource Management]]
*[[Climate Change]]/Environmental Monitoring

==Areas of knowledge==
Geomatics integrates science and technology from both new and traditional disciplines:
*[[Geodesy]]
*[[Geodynamics]]
*[[Global positioning system]] (GPS) or [[global navigation satellite system]] (GNSS)
*[[Surveying]] (including land, cadastral, aerial, mining and engineering surveying)
*[[Hydrography]]
*[[Navigation]]
*[[Location-based services]]
*[[Cartography]] and [[digital mapping]]
*[[Geographic information system]]s (GIS), spatial database management and geographic information technology (GeoIT)
*[[Spatial analysis]], spatial data mining and knowledge discovery, and spatial statistics
*[[Computer-aided design]] (CAD) and [[scientific visualization]]
*[[Geovisualization]], Geovisual Analytics, [[Visual communication design]], [[graphic design]] and multimedia technology
*[[Remote sensing]]
*[[Digital Earth]]
*[[Image processing]]
*[[Photogrammetry]] 
*[[Computer vision]]
*[[Land information system]]s (LIS) 
*[[Land management]], [[cadastre]], real property law
*Applications programming
*[[Project management]]
*[[Land Surveying]]
*[[LIDAR]]
*[[Digital terrain modelling]]

== See also ==
* [[Geographic Information Science]]
* [[Geoinformatics]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*''Geomatics Canada'' Ottawa: [[Natural Resources Canada]] ISSN 1491-5480
*{{cite book |last1=Dermanis |first1=Athanasios |last2=Grün |first2=Armin |last3=Sansò |first3=Fernando |year=2000 |title=Geomatic Methods for the Analysis of Data in the Earth Sciences |location=New York |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-540-67476-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Kavanagh |first=Barry F. |year=2003 |title=Geomatics |publisher=[[Prentice Hall]] |isbn=978-0-130-32289-0}}
* Yvan Bédard, "Geomatics" in Karen Kemp (2008), Encyclopedia of Geographic Information Science, Sage. [https://books.google.com/books?id=FrUQHIzXK6EC&pg=PT221]
* Yvan Bédard (2007), "Geomatics": 26 years of history already!, ''Geomatica'', 61(3):269–272. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297115209_Geomatics_26_years_of_history_already]
*{{cite book |last=Gomarasca |first=Mario A. |year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAQ3FJiXDGsC |title=Basics of Geomatics |publisher=Springer  |isbn=978-1-402-09014-1}}
** "Geomatics", Chap. 1 in Mario A. Gomarasca (2009) Basics of Geomatics, Springer.[https://books.google.com/books?id=BAQ3FJiXDGsC&pg=PA1]
* "Geomatics", sec. 1.3 in Mathias Lemmens (2011), Geo-information: Technologies, Applications and the Environment, Springer. [https://books.google.com/books?id=n_tUAWYg4UQC&pg=PA12]
*{{cite book |last=Ogaja |first=Clement |author-link=Clement Ogaja |year=2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZkDOBQAAQBAJ |title=Geomatics Engineering: A Practical Guide to Project Design |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-439-89511-5}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*International Master's Program [https://www.hs-karlsruhe.de/geomatics/ Geomatics] at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences
*Namibia's [http://fnrss.nust.na/?q=department/geo-spatial-technology/geomatics/ Geomatics Program] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123132931/http://fnrss.nust.na/?q=department/geo-spatial-technology/geomatics/ |date=2021-11-23 }}
*[http://www.nicholls.edu/doas/degree-programs/geomatics/ Bachelor of Science in Geomatics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728165700/https://www.nicholls.edu/doas/degree-programs/geomatics/ |date=2016-07-28 }} at Nicholls State University
*[http://sfrc.ufl.edu/geomatics/ Geomatics program] at the University of Florida
*Canada's [http://www.geomatics.gov.nt.ca/nwtdp.aspx Northwest Territories Centre for Geomatics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128163239/http://www.geomatics.gov.nt.ca/nwtdp.aspx |date=2020-01-28 }}
*UK's [https://web.archive.org/web/20140508061951/https://www.geomatics-group.co.uk/geocms/ Environment Agency Geomatics Group]
*[http://www.gim-international.com/ ''GIM International''] Lemmer, the Netherlands: Geodetical Information & Trading Centre ISSN 1566-9076
*{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.geometres-sans-frontieres.org  Géomètres sans Frontières] : Association de géometres pour aide au développement.
* [http://www.survey.ntua.gr/en/ School of Rural and Surveying Engineering] at National Technical University of Athens (MEng)

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