Geospatial Mapping

Type of mapping that reveals the location and characteristics of objects, such as roads, bridges, buildings, and military bases, as well as natural formations such as forests and lakes. Produced in the form of maps and nautical charts, as well as aerial and satellite imagery, geospatial mapping has numerous uses, including intelligence information for the military and homeland security community and responses to natural disasters.

In 1996, the U.S. Congress, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the U.S. Department of Defense combined several defense and intelligence agencies into the National Imagery and Mapping Agency to oversee mapping and imagery analysis. Renamed the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) as part of the 2004 Defense Authorization Bill, the agency has a mission “to provide timely, relevant, and accurate geospatial intelligence in support of national security.” Based in Bethesda, Maryland, the NGA is a Department of Defense combat support agency.

Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States, concerns were raised that extremist groups and others could exploit publicly available geospatial information to launch further assaults. A 2004 study by the RAND Corporation, however, concluded that less than 1% of this information was not available elsewhere and therefore was easily accessible to enemies of the United States. The government has now restricted access to several geospatial information databases that were deemed to have potentially harmful information. The terrorist attacks also increased efforts to use geospatial data to map current infrastructure to assess national vulnerabilities and prepare emergency responses.