Participation/Extra Credit Post

I really enjoyed constructing the animation video. Initially I was a little distant and didn’t want to start the project for fear of spending days trying to figure it out. Nonetheless, I completed the project within a normal time frame. I did encounter one problem with the projection of the data. I was able to fix the problem by turning to my fellow students and looking through week 4 discussion board. I used the projection tool in ArcTool Box and changed the projections so that they all matched and voila! I know the instructions prompted me to check and I did, but I didn’t know there was a difference between the NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_16N and the Harn 1983! Well I guess I learned something new.

http://students.uwf.edu/cg22/Animation_DeepWaterOilSpill.avi

The use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in disaster response is an invaluable tool that has proved time and time again to be effective in alleviating some of the distress caused by their affects. GIS in disaster and emergency management can be used at all levels of emergency management, from mitigation to disaster response and recovery. GIS can be used to identify point s of interest, hazardous locations, resources and an overall damage assessment. It provides a visual aid to evaluate the data presented and it gives a real-world depiction of how a particular disaster is affecting or can affect particular areas, the population, our ecosystem and habitats.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has become a media frenzy and a major concern for local, state and federal officials. Experts have used GIS to demonstrate the extent of the oil spill, the areas that can and are affected as well has the habitats, ecosystems and populations prone to exposure. GIs has also been used to help educate the public and give them live video feedback on how the oil spill is progressing and the methods that are being used to help resolve the issue.

GIS is also assisting BP in identifying the area of impact, organization of their supplies, cargo and transportation and impact on the environment. GIS is able to provide maps of the area affected which is helping BP to address particular areas that are more at risk and deploy more resources to those areas in an effort to control the spill.

Hurricanes

This is a map of three coastal counties in Mississppi that were flooded due to Hurricane Katrina. The directions were excellent and I didn't encounter any pitfalls.

The graph below depicts the percentage of flooded lands by category.



The is a map of the Mississippi coast depicting elevation, bathymetry, and hydrology after Hurricane Katrina. The directions were pretty straightforward and I didn't really encounter any pitfalls.

Final Project-Introduction to GIS

http://students.uwf.edu/cg22/Summary.pdf

http://students.uwf.edu/cg22/Bobwhite-Manatee.pptx

I apologize, but I couldn't figure out how to make these links active. So, you must copy and paste the link into your browser. I also couldn't figure out how to start my power point slide automatically once its opened so I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Week 10

This was one of the easier maps this semester and if I had the time over the Spring Break Holiday it would've been very beneifical to complete and earn the extra credit! Nonetheless I learned a great deal and I didn't have many set backs.

Week 9 Map

This map was a lot easier to complete as I finally took the initiative and asked my fellow classmates. Although, my inquires were pretty late in the week because my Spring Break was last week, I got a response back quick with awesome instructions, so thanks you all!

Q1. I used the intersect tool, it gave me the same output, there were 82 records.
Q2. I used the Erase tool because I wanted to exclude areas with the conservation from the buffers_union_single.
Q3. There were 78 features in the layer. The largest area feature was 776503, and the smallest feature was 748.

Week 7

Initially I had a lot of trouble with this lab, mainly because I couldn't relate what I learned in ESRI to the directions that were given. Apparently I was looking too much into the assignment and at the end it was very easy and not time consuming at all, so I hope after all of that I actually did the assignment correctly.

Week 6 UWF Campus

This assignment was a lot more easier to put together. I think the readings fro ESRI really helped me learn the materials and use them while working on this map. In the uwf_n file my RMS error was 17.56 and I used the 1st Order Polynomial. In the uwf_s1 file my RMS error was 14.59 and I used the 2nd Order Polynomial. One problem I did have with the map was trying to select appropriate colors. After SEVERAL attempts I decided on the following, which in my opinion was not the best look, but that is definetely something I need to work on.