GIS and Big Data Visualization

Geographic information system (GIS) has expanded its area of applications and services into various fields, from geo-positioning service to three dimensional demonstration and virtual reality. Big data analysis and its visualization tools boosters the capacity of GIS, especially in graphics and visual demonstration. In this chapter, I describe major traits of big data and its spatial analysis with visualization. And then I will find a linkage between big data and GIS. There are several GIS-based software and geo-web that deal with big data or similar scaled databases, such as ArcGIS, Google Earth, Google Map, Tableau, and InstantAtlas. For these software and websites are developed based on geography or location, they still have some limits in visualizing big data or persuading people with maps or graphics. I will search a way out of this limitation of GIS-based tools and show an alternative way to visualize big data and demonstrate thematic maps. This chapter will be a useful guide to lead GIS people into a new horizon of big data visualization.