What is "cybergis"

CyberGIS, or Cyber Geographic Information Science and Systems, is an interdisciplinary field combining Cyberinfrastructure, E-Science, and Geographic Information Science and Systems (GIS). CyberGIS has a particular focus on computationally and data-intensive geospatial problem-solving within various research and education domains. The need for GIS systems has extended beyond the traditional forms of Geographic study and analysis, which includes adapting to new sources and kinds of data, high performance computation resources, and platforms for analysis using the networks between existing and emerging information networks . The name cyberGIS first appeared in Geographic Information Science literature in 2010. CyberGIS is characterized as digital geospatial ecosystems. These systems are developed and have evolved through heterogeneous computing environments (see cyberGIS Supercomputer below), as well as human communication and information environments. CyberGIS can be considered a new generation of geographic information systems (GIS). These systems are based on advanced computing and information infrastructure, which analyze and model geospatial data, providing computationally intensive spatial analysis, modeling, and collaborative geospatial problem-solving at previously unprecedented scales.

Further descriptions of CyberGIS includes: "a fundamentally new software framework comprising a seamless integration of cyberinfrastructure, GIS, and spatial analysis/modeling capabilities", and a "GIS detached from the desktop and deployed on the web, with the associated issues of hardware, software, data storage, digital networks, people, training and education." Earlier scientific research demonstrated problems for integration of spatiotemporal data and analytics due to geographic and spatial complexity. CyberGIS attempts to move beyond traditional scientific and technical constraints within conventional GIS by innovating compute- and data-intensive cyber environments, exploiting spatiotemporal characteristics inherent in various scientific domains, and using big data and high-performance computing approaches to collaborative problem solving.