Assignment #2 Learning ArcGIS Pro

Introduction

This assignment introduced ArcGIS Pro with a guided, step by step, lesson provided by ESRI titled Get Started with ArcGIS Pro.  ESRIs' lesson introduces the many tabs and functions of ArcGIS in a simple way.  As you progress, you are encouraged to recall steps that you have already done, helping to solidify what you have learned. To meet the larger assignment requirements, set forth in my universities course, questions or comments have been inserted at the end of each section in italics for a template approach to this writing.

   What makes data geospatial? That is, what makes the data you worked with today geospatial in nature (think coordinates)?

Data is geospacial when it has a relation to the earths surface.  The data that was worked with today was geospatial in nature because it was statically located in Brazil. A majority of it was vector data because of its boundaries inside a states boarders and focused on the tropical region of the Amazon Basin.  

   What makes data in a GIS different than a digital map?

The data in a GIS is different that a digital map because it has more information overlaid on a base map. You can edit and pull information from the GIS information in reference to provided scale and direction.  

   Why is having an understanding of geospatial concepts and geospatial data so fundamental to working with UAS data?

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operate in a larger three dimensional space then we can achieve on the ground.  Their ability to be adapted with various sensors allow them to be used for the purpose of enhancing and expanding data.  Understanding Geospacial concepts and geospatial data is important to both the interpreter and the inevitable reader because we want to know what is affected.  Geospacial concepts are integrated in everything we do and used regardless of whether or not we use or are actively recording that data. While it is expected in the present environment, UAS data can be collected and used in a limited capacity without a pool of geospacial data.  

   What are some of the key geospatial concepts and fundamentals that this lab addresses?

Some geospatial concepts and fundamentals addressed in the lab were they types of geospacial data that is used in the data processing. Additionally it introduced the overlay methods and interaction of geospacial information on maps. 

Methods/Lab Assignment

For ESRIs Get Started with ArcGIS Pro you begin by logging into there webpage and selecting it of may lessons. You then download and unfold the data onto the computer. The overlay is created in a Catalog template. Catalog templates let you compile data freely without without using an existing map.  You then learn how to map all the information from your computer to the program so that it can use the resources that have downloaded. Cities overlaid to show you centralized locations for roads that are one of the focuses in this exercise.  You then import the road network and the major roads, like highways, and populate them on the map. You then add the known deforested area. You then create a buffer zone around a choice of roads in a squared area. With this you calculate a percentage value for the amount of area in the buffer zone that is deforested. This is the core of your data processing that you will represent on this map, figure 1. 

Figure 1: Core of your Information

From here, a road proposition is laid in to the map.  You change the raster data to vector data by using a tool to connect and trace the route that the road would take through the state.  These lines are kept on the map and the road proposition is removed.  From here you create a buffer on the map with the same buffer that you used in the previous section around the new road.  Then the known deforestation is removed from the buffer zone and the remaining area is filtered to predict the amount of deforestation that would arise from the implementation of that road seen in figure 2. 

Figure 2: Potential Deforestation Calculated

Now that the data was extracted and collected, it was time to prepare it for presentation. A world wide map overlay was added and the region of Rondonia was excluded. This is done so that the GIS map that you have created can standout. The overlay color is changed to a grey then made to be half transparent as to not drown out the background entirely. The title and legend are added to give a description of the map. I explored through the options and was able to find a button to add both a compass and ruler on my own. Lastly, you are guided through the process of adding the world map and locator seen in the bottom left corner.  The added map is a world map and centered in the frame by coordinates (-65, -15). A highlight box is activated on the map after bringing it into onto the map. The color was changed to the white box you see below and the map is completed as seen in figure 3.

Figure 3: Finished Map

   Do not just copy and paste material into this section. Make sure that you provide proper headers/sub-headers that label what you are doing with the material.

   Although I will allow you to copy and paste from the instructions, your material needs to be ‘clean’.

   All graphics should be labeled as a figure or table, and numbered accordingly. That figure should be referred to in your text.

Conclusions

The overall introduction to ArcGIS Pro, with the lesson Get Started with ArcGIS Pro, is well put together. By the end you have a good grasp of the layout within the application. It is easy to visually identify feature with their associated images and functions are organized in a well thought out manner.  The lesson itself is easy to follow and helps you build self reassurance in what you are doing. At the end you can confidently produce visualized representations of your data and even do a little bit of simple data processing. If meta data is not collected during a flight, it is easy to see how you can get very lost and run into a lot of problems.  Road mapping data could be collected with a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) very easily and substitute into this project along with gathering accurate deforestation area around pre-existing roadways. Using ArcGIS as a compiling program for UAS data in this course will be very good and will help propel data collected, along flights, very far.

   Summarize how ArcPro as a GIS software. What makes it stand out

   We talked about all the issues that can come up when working with UAS data in a GIS. After this intro to the software, reflect on how its complexity could create problems with using UAS data.

   Speculate how the data you worked with in this tutorial could be supplemented with UAS data