Geospatial Software#
Geospatial analyses (or analytics) use, manipulate, and illustrate data from geographic information systems (GIS). GIS data contain geographically referenced and spatially explicit information of for example gauging stations, terrain elevation, or land use. Efficient processing of geospatial data involves programming methods, where Python is an efficient tool. This page presents desktop software for manual geospatial analyses and the illustration of geospatial data. For geospatial programming, please refer to the Geospatial Python chapter.
QGIS#
For the visualization of geodata (.shp and .tif files), GIS software is required and the analyses described on these pages refer to the usage of QGIS. This eBook uses QGIS within the sections on geospatial programming with Python and numerical modelling with the ETH Zurich’s BASEMENT software.
Install QGIS on Windows#
Download and install the latest version of QGIS for Windows. Even though the developers recommend installing QGIS through OSGeo4W, this pathway for installation is not recommended for working with the hydro-informatics eBook (many plugin errors and outdated library dependencies). Therefore, preferably download and use the latest QGIS Standalone Installer.
Install QGIS on Linux (via Flatpak)#
The QGIS developers provide detailed installation instructions for several Linux distributions, but the instructions will not satisfy all requirements for the use of QGIS described in this eBook. One of the most functional ways for installing QGIS on Linux is to use Flatpak, which requires some system preparation. On Debian-based Linux platforms (e.g., all sorts of Ubuntu such as Lubuntu or Mint) open Terminal and tap (the second line is only needed if you use GNOME):
sudo apt install flatpak
sudo apt install gnome-software-plugin-flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Restart the system and open the Software Manager app. It will update and add the flathub repo. Once the update was successful, search for QGIS and click Install (patience - the installation may take a while).
The QGIS Flatpak installation will most likely not include the important scipy module. To fix this issue, open Terminal (standard Linux application) and type:
flatpak run --command=pip3 org.qgis.qgis install scipy --user
This solution has been tested on Linux Ubuntu and Linux Mint. It potentially also works with Red Hat, openSUSE, Mac OS, Arch, Fedora, Android, Debian, Kubuntu and many more (read installation guides on the maintainer’s website). Read more about the QGIS Flatpak installation on the QGIS website.
Install QGIS on macOS#
macOS and BASEMENT
If you plan to use BASEMENT for numerical modeling: BASEMENT will not run on macOS.
Download and install the latest version of QGIS for macOS. The integrity of using macOS for the applications in this ebook has not yet been tested. Possible troubleshooting with Python is provided, for instance, by kyngchaos.com.
Learn QGIS#
Working with geospatial data editors involves complex tasks that require background knowledge before intuitive comprehension is possible. The QGIS developers provide compound tutorials on their website (also available in other languages including Czech, French, German, and Portuguese). This eBook occasionally uses QGIS for plotting and creating georeferenced data (e.g., the chapters on Geospatial Python and numerical modeling). To this end, this eBook comes along with a tutorial on geospatial analyses with QGIS (read and do the QGIS Tutorial).
Install QGIS conda Environment#
In Anaconda Prompt, you can create a new environment to specifically use QGIS features (i.e., tools and scripts) including its raster calculator. The environment is featured by Open Data Cube (read more and can be installed as follows:
conda create -c conda-forge -n qgiscube python=3.6 qgis=3 datacube
conda activate qgiscube
ArcGIS Pro#
Windows only
ArcGIS Pro is designed for Windows and will not run on macOS or Linux. In addition, a license needs to be purchased.
The proprietary software ArcGIS Pro represents a powerful tool for any kind of geospatial analysis including web applications. ArcGIS Pro is maintained by esri and comes with an own conda env (Windows Preference). With this eBook’s focus on freely available software, the usage of ArcGIS Pro and its Python environment including the arcpy package is just mentioned on this website.
Others#
There are many other tools for geospatial analyses, which all deserve much more than just being mentioned here. Alas, for practical reasons, this website focuses on the usage of QGIS. This is why there is just an absolutely-not-complete list of other GIS tools here:
Geospatial Analyses#
Geospatial analyses involve efficient code practices (e.g., with Python) and this is why detailed descriptions of geospatial data handling are embedded in the Geospatial Python chapter of this eBook.