GIS4043/L Final Project: Bobwhite-Manatee Transmission Line Project

This final project required working as if I were a consultant hired to complete an analysis of the approved Florida Power & Light Bobwhite-Manatee transmission line corridor in Manatee and Sarasota Counties for success in meeting certain criteria. Utilizing all skills, techniques, and knowledge gained throughout the semester along with researching some new GIS tools was required to complete this very comprehensive assignment. I feel as though I should be getting a paycheck for this one!

Wetlands and Conservation Lands Map for FPL's
Bobwhite-Manatee Transmission Line Corridor Analysis

Creating the cartographic model itself was time-consuming but was worth its weight in gold by helping keep the project organized and headed in the right direction at all times. It was a solid document frequently referenced throughout the project.

Repeating what has been said in previous blogs, I could expound ad nauseam on what went into putting together this project, from developing the necessary set of maps (including the one to the left) for analysis to creating a PowerPoint presentation with accompanying narrative, but after checking and rechecking methods and details in the maps and accompanying documents, I am ready to let the work speak for itself. Besides, my dog is giving me the "stink eye" for paying more attention to my computer than her for the past 3 weeks. We are way overdue for a long walk. Enjoy the PowerPoint and slide-by-slide commentary!

GIS4043 Week 13: Georeferencing, Editing & ArcScene

Georeferencing, editing and ArcScene were the areas of emphasis while creating two maps of University of West Florida campus. The location of a bald eagle nest on the eastern side of the campus was included in one map. For the first map, aerial photos were brought into a spatial relationship with known points through the use of carefully selected control points. After associating ten points (unknown raster image locations) with the corresponding known building points, the Links Table was reviewed for the total RMS Error. Control points were deleted and additional ones were linked as needed to meet RMS Error criteria along with attaining an accurate appearance. The RMS Error and transformation were recorded before updating the georeferencing which resulted in the image coordinates being converted to real world coordinates. (The recording of the information happened on the second go-around for me, since I forgot to do it the first time.) The new gym and Campus Lane were digitized and added to the pertinent attribute tables through the use of Editor. The important aspect of editing (which I learned in a less convenient way in an earlier lab in which I had experimented with Editor) is that edits must be saved or they will be lost when ArcMap is closed. 

University of West Florida Campus Buildings, Roads

 and Bald Eagle Nest: Georeferencing Aerial Images

and Editing Procedures

A bald eagle nest near the trails on the east side of the campus was included in the map along with two buffer zones, the larger of which is a 660 foot radius. Given that Florida Fish and Wildlife Commisssion acknowledges that their coordinates are accurate to 0.10 mile (528 feet), the buffer zones seem a bit on the low side in my opinion. A hyperlink to a photograph of the nest was included in the map as well.

The ArcScene portion of the lab provided an opportunity to experiment with three-dimensional display of data. After draping the roads, buildings, and image layers over a DEM layer, the buildings were extruded and their heights exaggerated. Playing around with ArcScene was nauseatingly fun. Eventually an image was exported and then used in ArcMap to create a second map of UWF campus. Everything seemed rather straightforward and fun to use for this lab, but an issue that consumed quite a bit of time to resolve was eventually determined to be a relatively easy fix. The exported image resulted in a very pixellated ArcMap document. After a lot of re-checking and re-doing of maps, it was found that the image quality setting had been reduced. Once that was fixed, the image and map were much better. This was also an opportunity to try ArcGIS for Desktop a second time. In an earlier lab there were too many issues to make it worthwhile, but this lab was easy to complete and much more quickly done on personal desktop rather than in eDesktop.

3D View of University of West Florida Campus

The georeferencing and digitizing were especially fun to do, and more is anticipated. As a side note, some of my young charges and I were able to witness one of the resident ospreys shooing a juvenile bald eagle away from the osprey nest on our own school's campus today. The size difference between the birds was impressive!

GIS4043 Week 12: Geocoding, Network Analysis and Model Builder

Week 12 incorporated geocoding, network analysis and ModelBuilder. Geocoding was used to associate street addresses of emergency management service sites with geographic locations. The process involved importing a feature class and table into the provided geodatabase and then setting up an address locator.  The address locator was used to automatically match the addresses to geographic locations. Any resulting unmatched addresses were manually matched utilizing likely candidates returned by the address locator, reference maps such as GoogleMaps with street view and other sources including the Lake County EMS website. The latter was used to verify the correct EMS station addresses in the data. Some sites were especially difficult to match even after consulting several resources, so the "real" answers and how they were determined would be welcome information. Field inspection of such sites would probably be a good idea as well. After the address matching, the attribute table was edited to include missing city names.

EMS Stations and Sample Optimal Route
Lake County, Florida

Building on the information obtained from the geocoding process, a network analysis was performed to determine the optimal route between three points.  A map incorporating two data frames containing the above information was created.

The final part of the lab was an exercise to introduce the ModelBuilder for the purpose of creating and managing models. The use of models enables analysts to put together strings of geoprocessing tools such as selecting, buffering, intersecting, and dissolving, to apply to data in one workflow resulting in one final output. Obviously the success of the model is dependent on the successful completion of each tool in order.

Although this was a lot of information to assimilate in one lab exercise, the practical application and value of each section is readily apparent.

GIS4043: Participation Assignment #2, Week 3

The group project recently completed was designed to expose students to the ways in which GIS is used in different kinds of industries. The group to which I belonged focused on the use of GIS in government. In smaller groups, some members produced a list of available GIS jobs in various governments while others wrote a summary of the group's objectives which was then added to the UWF GIS Group #2 ~ Government's Map Gallery created by the group leader. To the Map Gallery each group member added a map which shows the location of the case study which that member chose to summarize.

The map I contributed to the government group's Map Gallery shows the location of the city of Alexandria, Virginia.  Alexandria is the site of the case study "Alexandria, Virginia Gets Serious about Park and Play Space Improvements" which I summarized for an individual assignment. The case study revolved around the goal of combating childhood obesity by determining where play spaces needed to be added or improved to ensure that every young child in Alexandria would have access to an adequate play area.

This group project enabled students to have the experience of working together toward a common goal by dividing a project into parts.

GIS4043 Week 11: Vector Analysis 2

The lab exercise this week introduced students to the types and methods of creating buffer zones, ArcPy scripting, and overlay operations. After preliminary practice exercises, these were utilized in the creation of a map of sites within a national forest which would be suitable for future development as campgrounds. Buffers were created around roads, lakes and rivers and then the union tool was used to filter out sites which did not fit established proximity criteria. The erase tool then was used to remove areas which met the proximity criteria but were within conservation areas which needed to be avoided. The result was numerous sites which did meet the criteria.  Because of the newness of these techniques, frequent “Save As” of the map provided intermediate progress points from which I could resume work if I ever ended up at a point of no return which would require starting over.

Several different basemaps were tried and deemed unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons. Finally, a topo map was chosen for the basemap so that planners reviewing the sites would have the maximum amount of information in a minimal package. Having topography at hand would enable reviewers to determine suitability of the potential sites relative to the terrain with just a quick glance.

DeSoto National Forest: Potential Campground Sites

A map such as this would give forest planners a starting point for the development of a new campground. If the different sites had been classified according to acreage, planners would be able to compare areas and eliminate those which are too small. This also could be accomplished to a degree just by visual inspection of the map. Reviewing the map on a topographical basemap would enable planners to further determine which sites are reasonably level in general for tents or trailers and which sites are suitable given the river/road relationships. With the possibilities narrowed down by the use of a GIS product, planners would spend their time efficiently going into the field to review the physical sites to determine which site or sites would be best suited for development of a new campground.

Although I love camping in national forests, I probably won’t be visiting this future campground. Mississippi state troopers and I don’t see eye-to-eye on a certain matter of signage, so I’m boycotting the state until I recoup my costs. Although they won monetarily, I won on the matter of principle as the Mississippi state traffic engineer personally confirmed my interpretation of the signage. Life is good. Let’s go camping.

GIS4043 Weeks 7 & 8: GIS Data Search

A subtitle for this lab's project very well could have been "Comprehensiveness". Everything that has been learned to date was put into action, often multiple times, during this lab. Developing a set of maps about one county in Florida which included multiple layers covering everything from general map features (roads, cities, boundaries, water forms) to more specialized environmental topics (in this case invasive plant locations and Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas) was the goal.  To complete the required series of maps, multiple data sites were accessed in the quest for needed data.  This was the most time-consuming portion of the lab because the data files had to be compared against each other for coverage and date in order to find the most complete and recent information.  Many more files than were needed had been viewed in the map itself to visually compare coverage, looking for gaps or overlaps to ensure the most efficient but complete coverage. This was especially the case with the public land layer.  During this process was when I really learned to pay close attention to the details in the metadata to avoid spending time downloading files that would not be helpful.

Map 1 ~ Lake County, Florida: Cities, Roads, Elevation, Aerial

Something that sped up the creation of the map set to cover all the topics was using the same general format between all three maps.  By planning ahead and keeping the main data frame, the locator map, and some essential elements in the same location in the map, I could just duplicate the original map layout for each of the remaining maps. This gave me a jump start on the other maps, and allowed me to make changes to the rest of the layers and map elements easily.  From the map user’s perspective, the same general layout provides a sense of cohesiveness which enables efficient referencing between each of the maps.

The first map provided the general information for the map series.  It included the major roads (labeled), cities and towns (labeled), elevation data, and one aerial photo.  Because of its significant difference from other roads in the area, Florida’s Turnpike was given its own label and symbology in order to stand out.

Map 2 ~ Surface Water, Public Land, and Invasive Plants
 of Lake County, Florida

For purposes of clarity, the aerial photo, elevation data, road names, and city names were eliminated from the remaining two maps. Surface water and public lands were featured on the second map along the locations of invasive plants. Showing these all on the same map seemed important because of the management involved with minimizing the spread of invasive plants.  Retaining the roads and cities in this map is also significant in that the locations of these are likely linked to the spread of invasive plants.  Note the location of invasive plants in the southwest portion of the county.  With other sources of information, this very straight diagonal line is easily identified as the Van Fleet State Trail, a rails-to-trails path. Some relation between the former railroad grade and the spread of invasive plants is very probable.

Map 3 ~ Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas
 of Lake County, Florida

The third map shows the Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas (SHCA), ranked by priority. Showing the surface water and public land layers in this map helps the map user see potential connections between SHCA and water bodies or public lands.  Placing the surface water layer below the SHCA layer ensured that habitats which are water-based would show in their entirety rather than being overlaid by the edge of the water body itself. Retaining the roads layer helps the map user stay oriented with respect to location of the SHCA.

This lab took quite a bit of time to complete, but it was a very practical and pertinent exercise.  I can't wait until the technical aspects of ArcMap become second nature to me and I can allow additional time for experimenting with the  more artistic aspects of map-making!

GIS4043 Projections Part 2/Data Search

As would be expected, the Projections Part 2 Lab continued to build on the skills learned in the previous lab.  The practice exercises preparing for the actual lab project were entertaining, although I will admit to being a bit disappointed that the bald eagle nest data was for Santa Rosa County instead of Escambia County.  At some point I had accidentally deleted the coordinates in my handheld GPS unit for the bald eagle nest on the UWF campus.  I know that it's in the vicinity of the cross country trails, but with the vegetative growth over the past few years, I can't spot it any more.  At least I now know where to locate a source of data for that information!

The final portion of the lab involved the practice of obtaining, defining and projecting datasets. After aerials were loaded into ArcMap and checked against a basemap, vector files were reprojected and added to help identify the subject area.  Finally, an Excel document containing data regarding the petroleum storage tank contamination monitoring sites was edited to convert coordinates in DMS format to DD format to keep ArcGIS satisfied.  (Surveying and geocaching provided plenty of experience for that exercise.)  After all the information was loaded into ArcMap, prettying up the map was all that needed to be done.  I decided to run some queries to sort out tanks by current status.  I'm happy to report that in the area covered by the Perdido Bay and Fort Barrancas quads, there are no abandoned tanks.

Petroleum Storage Tank Contamination Monitoring Sites
Perdido Bay and Fort Barrancas Quadrangles, Escambia County, Florida
Coordinate System: NAD 1983 State Plane Florida North FIPS 0903 (US Feet)

Defining and projecting datasets throughout this lab helped me realize the extensive versatility and applicability of GIS to so many situations.  Many potential uses have come to mind already.

  

GIS4043 Projections Part I

The first part of this week's lab focused on comparing three different projections of Florida and how they affect area.  Flipping back and forth between the Florida projections in the ArcMap was helpful to see some of the differences inherent in projections. Until this lab I had no idea that there were so many projections in use.  The more I use ArcMap, the more I learn that there usually are multiple ways to complete any one task which has been quite helpful.

This particular map did not include an inset map.  Since the purpose of the map is to compare differences in area caused by different map projections, I figured that it would be used by someone either familiar with the location of Florida already or who was primarily interested in the concept of comparing projections themselves in which case the region to which the projections are applied is of lesser importance than the comparison itself.  A locator map would be extraneous in that case.

During the process of creating a map, ideas for improvements or different aspects to explore usually lead to changes in the original plan.  So even though I'll sketch a preliminary map, I may end up with a totally different product for submittal, sometimes having to choose from three or four different workups that evolved out of the initial sketch.  In some respects this is no different than working up different product options for a client to preview before committing to a final.

With this particular map, viewers can see that different projections can affect area figures, and so if accurate area is a priority, then a suitable choice of projection is imperative.  I'm looking forward to developing the expertise necessary to do that.

Four counties across Florida are compared for differences
in area calculated in three different projections.

GIS4043 ArcGIS Online and Map Packages

This lab focused on developing and submitting map packages to ArcGIS online. It has been the most time-consuming lab to date for me.  One map package featured climbing areas and points of interest in Yosemite Valley, while the other focused on the study of trees in the Aguirres Springs drainage.  These procedures are valuable, but I can see that much more practice is needed, so that far less time is spent on referencing multiple sources of help to determine exactly what is needed and how that can be accomplished.  This lab also reinforced that knowing exactly what outcome, result or product is expected must be very clear.  If the goal is not readily determined, prompt clarification must be requested.  This would be of benefit to the producer as well as the client.  The ability to use map packages will be very beneficial, and I'm looking forward to the time when completing similar tasks will be second-nature.

Submittal:  Overview of Map and Tile Packages

Submittal:  Optimize a Map Package

GIS Cartography Lab (GIS4043L)

This week's GIS lab focused on cartography.  While working in ArcMap refining skills already learned, three maps of Mexico were created focusing on population by states, transportation in Central Mexico, and topography of the country.  Additional experience with ArcCatalog was gained during this lab, so I am starting to feel more comfortable with the different ways to navigate to information for maps or for metadata.  Raster pyramids were introduced in preparation for generating the topography map, and creating subsets of data were explored using SQL queries.  I learned by error to keep my layers informed of any changes to filepaths.  It's no fun seeing that angry red exclamation point when a file is opened!  I spent a lot of time checking out other maps to help me decide appropriate color schemes that would clearly depict what I was trying to communicate with each map.  Through experimenting by adventurously clicking on buttons to see what would result (something I was formerly loathe to do), I have stumbled across many things such as masking, shadowing, etc. that I like to include in my maps for clarification purposes or aesthetics.  At times this has caused some disastrous results, so I save my work as soon as I get to the next satisfactory result in my progress.

Annotations and dynamic text are things that I need to work with more before I really have them down.  Adjusting information within a legend was a bit troublesome to me while trying to line up columns or adjust spacing and so on.  With additional labs I anticipate that this will become secondhand.  For each map I chose a title that would clearly identify my contract (populations, transportation, and topography of Mexico) with the end user.  Throughout the lab I sometimes stayed with recommendations of color, placement, etc., while other times I felt justified in straying from the path.  One example is the roads on the transportation map.  Resources recommend red for identifying roads, but the red seemed too overwhelming on the map even when I reduced the line width.  However, I was able to mute the red a bit in the color palette which had better results in my opinion.   Having an idea early on of what my map should look like, but not yet having the skills to execute it was a bit frustrating.  I know that it will come with time!  With each lab I feel more and more confident about the skills I am learning and the product which results from the hard work.  I found this lab to be especially enjoyable.

Map 1 depicts Mexico’s states, ranking them by population.

Map 2 depicts primary transportation routes (rail, highways, rivers)

 in central Mexico.

Map 3 depicts Mexico’s topography.

Own Your Map Lab

The purpose of the Own Your Map Lab was not only to practice finding and utilizing various tools in ArcGIS, but also to begin developing a personal map-making style. Aesthetics in presentation are as important as demonstrating proficiency with cartographic skills.

This lab was a bit time-consuming, much of it due to a significant amount of experimenting. The majority of my cartographic experience has been with manual drafting, but now my drafting board has been relegated to the role of laptop desk for those days when I want to be working while comfortably seated on the sofa.  It works.

Own Your Map ~ Final Product

Because this map may be viewed by someone unfamiliar with UWF, I decided to spell out the university's name in the title.  By doing this, there will be no doubt that "UWF" means the University of West Florida rather than, say, University of Warm Fuzzies or University of What Fun!  I stayed with a color scheme which matches UWF's official colors and opted to minimize the use of colors which might cause issues for people with color-blindness.  A color-blindness resource I found helpful was http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/colorblindness2.htm.

An issue I had was trying to balance the spaces on the map.  While this is easily done when drafting manually, I had a harder time with the data frame of Escambia County.  This was due to the nature of Santa Rosa Island extending so far past the boundary of the main part of the county.  I am hopeful that with more experience I will find ways to compensate for similar situations.  This was an excellent lab for trying out a variety of tools and techniques.

ArcGIS Overview Map

Being unfamiliar with using ArcGIS, the hardest part for me was getting oriented.  Once I was able to access the tutorials (for some reason opening them in eDesktopGIS wasn’t working, but I could get complete video and audio by opening them in Chrome on my personal desktop), I felt much more comfortable cruising around the software. Making changes and adding information seemed straightforward in most cases, although using HELP will continue to be a frequent action on my part.  I experimented with several color ramps before settling on one that I thought really highlighted the differences in country populations.  Making the background color change per lab instructions created an issue with contrast, so I changed the color ramp yet again before settling on the final product.

The North Arrow was placed directly above the Scale Bar which is a preference I have developed while producing and referencing maps and survey plats.  This placement makes the information which is used jointly readily available.  I also tried to place map elements on the drawing so that they would be logically located and yet balance with the open spaces for visual aesthetics in addition to maximum information.  I’m looking forward to our next assignment!

Nervous anticipation is the emotion of the day. My journey into cartography started years ago  (post-Columbus, pre-AutoCAD), back in the days of drawing topo maps by hand. The prospect of collaborating with others, drawing on all of our strengths, experiences, creativity, and interests is very exciting.  I am looking forward to learning how to create contemporary maps which integrate so much data in an interactive format through this GIS certification program.