The Geographical and Geospatial Sciences Committee provides a forum for innovative scientific, technical, and policy discussions on geographical theory and knowledge, geospatial data, mapping and spatial analysis, and the applications of these theories, knowledge, and methods to society’s most pressing challenges. The committee focuses on understanding the responses to and impacts of changing physical and human environments, including:

• Human–environment interactions and dynamics
• Theory and practice of geographic information science (GIScience), mapping, and geospatial technologies
• Basic and applied research in the development and application of geographic theory, knowledge, and methods to complex problems that bridge the natural and social sciences
• Place-based processes, location intelligence, and their interconnections at local to global scales

The committee also serves as the official U.S. liaison to the International Geographical Union (IGU) and promotes and facilitates participation of U.S. geographical and geospatial scientists in the IGU.

This committee was formed in 2022 by merging the Geographical Sciences Committee and the Mapping Science Committee, both of which were overseen by the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources over several decades.