INTRO GIS4043 - Lab 5 Projections

Your map is only as good as your chosen projection.

This weeks lab focused heavily upon projections and how different projections distort different aspects of a map. It is important to consider these distortions in order to accurately display a given area. In our lab we worked with three different projections: Albers Equal-Area, Universal Transverse Mercator, and State Plane. When displaying the state of Florida differences in the three projections could be observed. Albers is a conical projection that preserves area of bodies through two standard parallels. Albers is a common projection used in global maps. UTM is also a conformal projection that uses a cartesian coordinate system to divide the Earth's surface into 60 zones. State Plane is a coordinate system projection that divides the U.S.A. into 124 geographic zones in order to preserve state areas based on shape and size.

When designing a map it is essential to consider what aspects need to be displayed as accurately as possible. This focus of a map is what is used in order to determine a proper projection. For example, at a county level in the state of Florida the State Plane projection might be the best choice if your map area falls directly on one of the UTM's boundary zones. All projections distort it's just a matter of what is important to the map that you are making.

INTRO GIS4043 - Lab 4 ArcGIS online and Map Packages - ESRI

Mastering multiple platforms will result in a more precise outcome.

In this weeks lab we were tasked with creating a top10 list of our choosing. I chose a top10 list based on U.S. cities with the worst water quality. This top10 list was compilied in 2017 by simplewater.us
(http://www.simplewater.us/simplewater-blog/2017/1/17/10-worst-cities-for-water-quality).
I chose this top10 list because I knew that our very own Pensacola, Florida has a reputation for having remarkably poor water quality and it ranks at number 8 on this list.

The first set of data was compiled in a spreadsheet, using excel, and was arranged according to rank, name, address, city, state, zip, and URL of a picture image. This data was then converted to a .txt file and imported into arcGIS online. Using arcGIS online, symbology was editing to reflect accurate representation of ranking order and ,once finished, the top10 map was created for public viewing. I found that arcGIS online has limited customization when compared to arcMap, but that is to be expected for a web-browser based mapping tool.
The second map we created was done by downloading the the arcGIS online data and opening it directly with arcMaps. A shapefile layer was copied from the features.gdb file we downloaded from arcGIS online. Using the top10 shapefile and the given worlds streets shapefile a .mxd was constructed to reflect the ranking and location of the top10  U.S. cities for worst water quality.  Once finished we were able to use the map package feature and re-upload this new .mxd back into arcGIS for public viewing and downloading.
The final map we created involved the layer to KML conversion tool. This tool allowed us to convert the existing top10 shapefile layer into a .kmz format. The .kmz format is a format used by the Google Earth program. Opening the .kmz file from within Google Earth allowed for overlaying of the top10 layer directly onto Google Earths surface reflecting our originally created symbology and ranking. 
Overall, I really enjoyed this weeks lab. My favorite aspect was converting and uploading shapefiles so that they can be used in different programs. I found that aspect extremely valuable and may prove useful in future mapping projects. 
http://arcg.is/yG0Xm

INTRO GIS4043 - Lab 3 Cartography

By constructing three cartographic maps a better understanding of Arcmaps and Arccatalog is developed.

The lab presented this week had us tackling not one, but three maps utilizing Arcmaps. At first this task seemed daunting but as I progressed through the lesson, recalling skills learned from past labs, I found that this weeks assignment wasn't so bad.

Essentially building upon one data frame, eventually two, of Mexico is how I finished these three maps.
The first map is a population map of Mexico's states. This map utilized a legend with an increasing quantities rate and corresponding color pattern. This color pattern allows for a quick visual description of the populations of Mexico's states.
The second map is a closer look at the more populated central region of Mexico. This map details more features, than just population, such as primary and major rivers, federal highways, railroads, and ,most importantly, the four most densely populated urban areas in Mexico. These urban areas, Guadalajara, Leon De Los Aldama, Distrito Federal, and Puebla, are color coded red for easy visual distinction. This map also features a legend with advanced symbology elements featuring wavy river symbols, railroad tracks, and a polygon symbol for urban areas. A second data frame was included to show where the central region is located in the whole of Mexico's borders.
The third map highlights the topography of the country. A color gradient was chosen based on visual aesthetics, red for high elevations with a gradient into green for low elevations. A legend was included for numerical values. A second data frame was also included in this map to distinguish Mexico's borders in relation to some of the Earth's prominent continents.

Overall this weeks lab really tested my understanding of skills learned so far in the intro to GIS program and I had a great deal of fun building upon the supplied data files to come to these finished products.

INTRO GIS4043 - Lab 2 Own Your Map

Owning ones work is essential for progression. 

This weeks introGIS lab had us creating a vector based map that showed the location of ,our very own, University of West Florida and where it resides within the confines of Escambia County. Working with two layers a primary was set using a map of Escambia County highlighting nearby major rivers, interstates, and towns/cities that lead to UWF. A secondary layer was used to frame a small map of the state of Florida, in it's entirety, with a highlight indicating the location of Escambia County within the state boundaries. New methods and techniques that were learned over the course of this lab included query building to select specific data within a layer, more in depth metadata research, switching between layout and data view, altering symbols and their orientations/positioning and creating a page layout. These skills seem like they will be foundational in future map making projects utilizing arcGIS and arcmaps.

INTRO GIS4043 - Lab1 Overview of ArcGIS

This weeks introduction lab laid the foundation for building my ArcGIS mastery.

The overview lesson delved into the basics of the software program Arcmap. This program is a tool for creating layered maps in a graphic user interface. The program seemed fairly easy to navigate at first glance but the overview lesson lended to a more in depth approach that revealed some of the programs more hidden features such as meta data viewing, and the various different ways to select and view map data. After completing the first lesson I feel like gained a solid understanding of the material and how to go about navigating the program. Overall, I am very pleased with my first map, a global map that color coordinates all of the countries of the world by population, and I look forward to future lessons.