Geographic Information Systems Day (GIS Day)

The first images of objects located on the Earth's surface in computer memory date back to the 1960s. The collection and storage of this information was carried out by the military departments of two superpowers - the USSR and the USA, which used the information to guide missiles of various ranges. GIS was first used for peaceful purposes in the 1970s in cartography. A real breakthrough in the spread of geographic information systems was the advent of personal computers. In the 80-90s. GIS developments became in demand among private PC users, the number of which was constantly growing. Today, geographic information systems are one of the most developing segments of the IT technology market. GIS contains road atlases, topographic maps, metro maps and technical plans of buildings. The system finds, accumulates spatial distribution information in digital format, analyzes and displays it on the device screen in a user-friendly form. Specialists from NASA, Google, Intergraph, Autodesk, Grass Development Team, Microsoft and other companies work in this field of activity. In 1999, a holiday was established to honor GIS. Geographic Information Systems Day is celebrated on the third Wednesday of November. The National Geographic Society celebrates Geographic Awareness Week every year. One of its events is GIS Day. According to experts, almost 90% of the information that a person uses can be displayed in the form of plans, drawings and diagrams. The holiday was established with the aim of expanding the understanding of GIS technologies among non-professionals and disseminating geographical knowledge. GIS Day is celebrated by users and developers of information systems. The advent of digital versions of maps on the computer screen and other advances in GIS are making life easier for the millions of people who use the system's tools every day. Specialists participate in open lessons, seminars, lectures, presentations and other public events. GIS developers talk about the technologies used to create a digital environment in which data about objects is collected taking into account their spatial coordinates. Geographic information systems technologies are actively used in many areas of the national economy: in the work of agricultural enterprises, transport management, land cadastre, monitoring the ecology of the area, etc. With the help of GIS, real-time monitoring of the work of construction sites and visualization of ocean currents is carried out, information is collected and transmitted to aircraft pilots on weather and visibility, data on underground points and the threat of earthquakes is disseminated. Without electrode cards, diagrams, plans and reference books, it is difficult to imagine the life of a modern person. Therefore, all professionals directly related to geographic information systems are sincerely congratulated on the third Wednesday of November on GIS Day.