Geographical Informations Systems (GIS) are used to secure, administer, process, investigate and reveal databases with reference to geospatial locations. Uses of GIS include planning earth surveys, locating facilities, monitoring human population movement and natural resource usage and preparing maps. Global positioning with satellites and topological mathematical analysis together with powerful data processing techniques have led to efficient methods to handle all sorts of earth science related projects. Our alliance partners have enabled us to handle many projects with timeliness that would not have been imaginable only a few years ago. Some of these projects have been directed towards extracting unconventional sources of energy to benefit life on this planet.

Global location involves positioning (three spatial and one time - four coordinates) on an imaginary ellipsoid(or spheroid) that approximates the equipotential gravity surface geoid representing the earth surface terrain.The GPS (Global Positioning System) includes dozens of satellites, land based calibrating stations and a receiver that determine the receiver's location on the ellipsoid to a precision ranging from 1m to 100m - as of now this is changing fast. Differential GPS has recently been used to monitor reservoir subsidence to fractions of a centimeter. The technologies relating to such traditional sciences as geodesy and photogrammetry have been revolutionized. Our projects with alliance partners have used GPS based GIS to analyze earth deformations.