Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Intelligence, Geospatial

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of GIS

  • 118 Accesses

Synonyms

GEOINT; Geo‐intelligence

Definition

Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) is defined as the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess, and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on Earth [1]. As a specialized field within the much larger profession of intelligence, GEOINT provides action‐oriented intelligence of a unique and powerful nature. By combining imagery, imagery intelligence (IMINT), and geospatial information with data collected by various other Intelligence Community (IC) components, or INTs (e. g., human intelligence (HUMINT), signal intelligence (SIGINT), etc.), a Common Operational Picture (COP) of an area of interest is developed. This approach provides context and clarity to decision makers such as war fighters, homeland security personnel, and national security policymakers [2]. The inherent spatiotemporal reference frame or geography of these data acts as the common link that fuses...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Recommended Reading

  1. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode10/usc_sec_10_00000467----000-.html (2006)

  2. NGA (National Geospatial‐Intelligence Agency): Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) Basic Doctrine: Publication 1–0 (2006) On-line at http://www.nga.mil/NGASiteContent/StaticFiles/OCR/geo_pub1.pdf

  3. National Academies of Science. Priorities for GEOINT Research at the National Geospatial‐Intelligence Agency. (2006) ISBN: 0–309-65862–4

    Google Scholar 

  4. MacEachren, A.M., Robinson, A., Hopper, S., Gardner, S., Murray, R., Gahegan, M., Hetzler, E.: Visualizing Geospatial Information Uncertainty: What We Know and What We Need to Know. Cartogr. Geogr. Inform. Syst., 32(3), 139–160 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. MacEachren A.M., Taylor, D.R.F. (eds.): Visualization in Modern Cartography. Elsevier, Oxford (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  6. National Geospatial‐Intelligence Agency (NGA) in the United States of America. http://www.nga.mil/

  7. Center for Geospatial Intelligence at the University of Missouri – Columbia (UMC). http://geoint.missouri.edu/

  8. Defence Intelligence Collection Group (ICG) in the United Kingdom. http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/SecurityandIntelligence/DIS/ICG/

  9. Defense Imagery and Geospatial Organization (DIGO) in Australia. http://www.defence.gov.au/digo/

  10. Gordon, M.K.: NGA's Historian Reflects on First 10 Years, Pathfinder 4(5) Sept.–Oct. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (2004)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Environmental & Spatial Analysis, Gainesville State College, Gainesville, GA, USA

    Dwight Lanier

Authors
  1. Dwight Lanier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Shashi Shekhar (McKnight Distinguished University Professor) (McKnight Distinguished University Professor)

  2. Management Science and Information Systems Department, Rutgers Business School Newark and New Brunswick Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    Hui Xiong (Assistant Professor) (Assistant Professor)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer-Verlag

About this entry

Cite this entry

Lanier, D. (2008). Intelligence, Geospatial. In: Shekhar, S., Xiong, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of GIS. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-35973-1_642

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation