This poster on the proposed airport expansion was made possible by the use of ArcGIS. Lab 2 enabled me to utilize ArcGIS and use its features to create such maps. I was able to explore data from various types of files, such as geodatabases, shapefiles, and layers. I learned the basic tools that help construct a map to one’s purpose- i.e. zooming in and out, changing views, manipulating symbols and colors, adding titles and legends, etc. My first experience with ArcGIS went even deeper with the manipulation of the date, such as changing the units of measurement for display, selecting which data to display, adding and joining multiple data frames, creating a graph, etc. I was also able to sample how ArcCatalog functioned by analyzing the metadata and files the geodatabase carried.
The tutorial walked me through some basic steps on how to construct a map that has a purpose, enabling me to make it as easy as possible for an audience to view my maps. Doing steps such as adding titles or legends, or changing the color scheme on a map might make it that much easier for one to understand the map. Re-drawing a map to show only certain features serves to be useful for one to convey a message, and for one to comprehend this message. The user can also gather different data and join them together to make a new and different layer on a map. Furthermore, this layer could be isolated to prove a point, or just to point out some features that are harder to see on a different map. The control that ArcGIS gives the user is tremendous, and it serves as a benefit for both the user and the audience.
The potentials of GIS are numerous. To have such control over the construction of a map becomes very useful for professionals and students alike. For an example, professionals like scientists who are doing research over a mountain side that has potential for mudslides must map out that type of vegetation this area consists of, soil type, etc. With the use of GIS, professionals like these scientists are able to do some research out on the field, and incorporate it into ArcGIS and manipulate the data. They can assign different colors for each different types of vegetation in the area, and similarly with the soil type. They can also incorporate data from another source such as rainfall totals and magnitudes of mudslides for given periods of time. The technology for dealing with GIS has open many opportunities for creation of maps. These maps have only gotten better with details and purpose. GIS software have been used for a wide array of purposes- geographical mapping of locations, environmental studies for surviving ecosystems, population densities, marketing, criminology, climate change, and more. In the case of the scientists using GIS software to map out a mountain side and analyze its mudslide risks is an example of how GIS can help society. With this knowledge, they will be able to construct plans of evacuation, or even better, predict the actual events of mudslides and warn the adjacent neighborhoods of the looming danger.
The use of GIS does come with some pitfalls. Accuracy is a big question when it comes to technology and GIS. The source of the data and how it is utilized or encoded with GIS software is crucial. Research out on the field to gather data plays an important role in the accuracy of the data used in GIS software. One may get information from the field by walking through the region and recording data. Another way of retrieving data could be from satellite images. The fact that there are more than one way to retrieve data changes the accuracy of the resulting maps. Scaling is important as well when incorporating real world data. Most information are able to be mapped, but sometimes the conversion of data into layers on the software may leave out some crucial information (i.e. boundary lines of vegetation). The improvement of GIS technology and electronic data-collecting will ultimately improve the accuracy of maps being made.
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