Week 12: Bobwhite-Manatee Transmission Line Project

Attached is my map of the preferred corridor for the Bobwhite-Manatee Transmission Line Project. This map will be used as the visual basis for the PowerPoint presentation for the Introduction to GIS Final Project (click below to view). This project drew from various techniques and skills that we have learned over the semester. It also brought the project full circle by including a preparation component, analysis component, and formal presentation. The Florida Geographic Data Library and Land Boundary Information System sites are critical resources for anyone hoping to develop an effective GIS for activities or circumstances related to the state of Florida.



PowerPoint Presentation

Summary of Presentation

Happy GIS-ing everybody! :)

Week 11: Labels, Spatial Analyst, and 3D Analyst

This week's assignment spanned a variety of content including "Labels and Annotations", Spatial Analysis, and Three-dimensional (3D) Analysis using a variety of newly introduced functions and concepts. The ESRI Modules for the two latter units were effective and useful. The Module for Labels and Annotations was exceedingly cryptic and, in my opinion, sorely lacking in instructional value. I would certainly recommend the two other modules as a learning guide, but the module I think that it might be more effective if UWF personnel develop a more effective practicum for the Labels function given the morasse of crypticism, ambiguity, and tedium asscociated with the ESRI module. I would also suggest that these three modules not be assigned in a single week at the end of the semester given that there have been a few weeks in the Intro to GIS course that were significantly shorter.

The first map shows a layout of information that demonstrates various manipulations of labels including changes in font type, color, etc. and placement.



The second map delves further into prioritization of labelling, placement, and selection of various map symbols within a single layer class.



The first assignment in the Spatial Analyst section of this week's very broad course content was to learn about building a model from an existing database.



This spatial analysis map examines drought tolerance variations within a confined region of a larger map presentation. This exercise introduced us to function in the Spatial Analyst tools section of ArcToolbox.



The figure (below) is a 3D presentation of a hiking trail along a characterized topographic relief. Various function in ArcScene were performed to achieve the resulting figure.



Overall, this week was a discouraging week in what I believe was a good semester...more recently, there have been a number of documents/assignments that have indicated that the class is somehow falling short of the course expectations. However, these comments/remarks have not been accompanied by documentation that the class could follow for improvement. Further, the criticisms have been nebulous to the extent that, when I look at my assignment grades and see that they are all good, ...my question is, "Am I screwing up that bad?...is everyone falling short?...do I know what I'm doing that is not meeting expectations?" ...or are the broad class-wide criticisms a way to pull folks up who may be faltering without telling him/her directly? I'm really enjoying these classes, but it is discouraging to keep reading open-ended criticisms without seeing any solutions being offered to remedy them. Maybe this cumbersome assignment was a way to let us know that "You don't know as much as you think you do". Sorry for the rant, ...just feeling a bit demoralized and deflated right now.

Week 9: Vector Analysis II

This was a great lab! I learned many new functions in the Toolbox and got a chance to cover "old ground" as well. I used Adobe Illustrator to put some finishing touches on my map. Regarding the two questions in the assignment: Q1: I used the Intersect tool in place of the Union tool. I didn't notice a difference in the appearance of the shapefile layer, but the attribute table didn't have the same number of records. Q2: I used the Erase tool to eliminate the Conservation Area portions from the possible camping sites in the overlay of the water and road buffers. This could have also been accomplished using the Union tool in the same manner that was used to create the buffers_union_export layer...we also determined a textstring that could be used in Select by Attributes that can accomplish this as well. Much like so many modern software packages, clearly one can get similar (if not identically the same) results using a variety of approaches. The last three lab assignments in this class have been fantastic! ...and I learned alot from each of them.

Spring Break Assignment

This special project was a great exercise that taught me how to join a database with a corresponding shapefile, to calculate acreage of land parcels, and then to use the selection functions to identify the four primary landowners of the county. I enjoyed this exercise and produced the map entirely in ArcMap except for the canvas background color which was generated in Macromedia Fireworks.
:) ...thanks for this one...lots of fun.

Week 7: Data Editing in ArcGIS

The map presented is a modification of the previous map project that examined georeferencing of raster datasets to pre-existing georeferenced map layers. After learning some of the basics of data editing in ArcGIS, this map was modified to create and edit various shapefiles including a service road, athletic fields, and large building, and two other smaller buildings. The smaller buildings already had pre-existing shapefiles associated with them, so I pulled the vertices into better alignment with the raster image. I need to go back to the ESRI Module 5 to go over some of these techniques again...Spring Break will be a good time to do that! :)

Week 6: Georeferencing Tools

Attached is a map that demonstrates the outcomes from using the georeferencing tools for raster images that are not rectified with the coordinate system and may be distorted. The RMSE (root mean square error) estimate defines that precision of the transformation of the map as it is reconciled with the layer that has a defined coordinate system. The georeferencing tools are particularly powerful and fairly straightforward to use considering the significance of these tool functions. Also, as part of the state university system of Florida...UWF is a prized cousin of my alma mater, UF...and so this map possesses great inherent worth! :)

Week 5: GIS Data Search

Attached are three maps that resulted from gathering data from various file sources for Charlotte County, FL. I learned quite a bit about downloading data from the internet, and, specifically from the comprehensive data clearinghouse offered for the state of Florida. I had some difficulty with certain types of downloads...and am still trying to get the hand of downloading tar.gz files. In Map 1, I focused on roadways, cities, hydrography, and public land boundaries. I also incorporated wetlands and mangrove areas. The hydrography-lines was especially difficult to consider because it incorporates MANY lines throughout the county and I couldn't determine a way to distinguish prominent water features as compared to highway drainage canals...so I faded the blue color to diminish its appearance in the map view. Also, all of the canals along the coast are outlined in the county boundary, and since there are so many, they end up creating large blackened zones. Fortunately, I could cover most of that with other layers.



Map two exams zones of ecological concern based on identified frequencies of endangered wetland and upland plant species. I worked for quite some time trying to identify color combinations that would look balanced. Finally, given the shape of the county, laying out the map was challenging for me (i.e. when expanded to full width, it was not "pleasingly" tall). As a remedy, I tried to construct the legend and add other map features to give a better balance to the map layout.



Map 3 examines three different data types: DRG, DOQQ, and DEM. In retrospect, I should have probably selected map quads that would fall more toward the center of the county (i.e. to make the final map more aesthetically pleasing). As a remedy, I placed the legend in the right hand side of the county so that area of the map would not look open and void.



I have ALOT more to learn about this, but I certainly recognize the value of the wealth of information that is accessible for GIS.