ABSTRACT
Geographic information science (GIScience) is the science that underlies geographic information systems (GIS) technology. Roger Tomlinson introduced GIS in his report on computer mapping and analysis to the National Land Inventory in the
Canada Department of Agriculture (Tomlinson, 1962). Yet, when GIS is broadly de¦ned as a system that deals with geographic information, it can be traced far back into the time when humans started recording and sharing knowledge about the environment. Before computer-based GIS technology, oral traditions, and maps were primary means to communicate geographic information. Nowadays, GIS technologies are diverse and thriving in mapping, spatial analysis and modeling, location-based services, cyber geographical applications, and spatial crowdsourcing. GIS technologies are now important research tools for research and operations in environmental sciences, biological and agricultural sciences, public health, urban planning, and economic, political, and social studies. GIScience serves the conceptual, theoretical, and computational foundations for these technologies.
