Map Creation

Introduction

• Why are proper cartographic skills essential in working with UAS data?

• UAS data is meaningless without properly conveying it in a map to express a situation. It is critical to express UAS data in an accurate way making sure that it is both clear and organized. Cartographic skills are necessary to convert data into a meaningful map to show the true purpose.

• What are the fundamentals of turning either a drawing or an aerial image into a map?

• The fundamentals of turning a drawing or aerial image into a map stems from giving the audience a sense of what they are truly looking at in reference to symbols, scale, area of interest, and direction.

• What can spatial patterns of data tell the reader about UAS data? Provide several examples.

• Spacial patterns can allow the audience to uncover, dissect, and compare the data. Hill shading is one example that allows the reader to see different points of elevation as well as color mapping which allows the reader to pick up on specific areas of interest depending on what the cartographer is trying to show. Spacial patterns can show things like land erosion and even plant health.

• What are the objectives of this lab?

• The objectives of this lab were to familiarize the class with ArcGIS software such as ArcMap, ArcScene, and ArcCatalog. We learned as a class the tools required to effectively make a map using UAS data including the cartographic essentials needed to reference location and scale.

Methods

• What key characteristics should go into folder and file naming conventions?

• Some key characteristics that should go into folder and file naming conventions include the date, the name, and any other important identifiers. Folders should be specific and organized.

• Why is file management so key in working with UAS data?

• File management is so key in working with UAS data because the files can look pretty close to the same thing but when you look deeper the files are indeed very different sets of data. Keeping files managed in an organized fashion will indefinitely help with avoiding mistakes and finding files in a timely manner. 

• What key forms of metadata should be associated with every UAS mission?

• Key forms of metadata that should be associated with every UAS mission includes but is not limited to pilot name, date, conditions, location, altitude, platform used, and sensor used.

• What basemap did you use? Why?

• The basemap that I used was the light gray canvas because it gave insight to the audience by allowing them to see major cites while not jumbling up the map with unnecessary information.

• What is the difference between a DSM and DEM?

• DSM stands for digital surface model and it includes everything on the surface like man made objects. DEM stands for digital elevation model and it does not include objects on the surface but shows the elevation of terrain in reference to sea level.

• Descriptive statistics include Cell Size, Units, Projection, Highest Elevation, Lowest Elevation. Why are these important?

• These statistics are important because they allow the audience to properly analyze what is shown in the map and understand the information.

• What does hillshading do towards being able to visualize relief and topography.

• Hillshading is a very valuable tool that allows for the exaggeration of terrain to show differences in elevation. Hillshading allows the audience to better interpret the map by showing how the differences in the sunlight interacting with the surface.
• How does the orthomosaic relate to what you see in the shaded relief of the DSM?

• The orthomosaic shows specific objects and vegetation more clearly while adding shaded relief of the DSM shows differences related to color more vividly.

• What is the purpose of vertical exaggeration? 

• The purpose of vertical exaggeration is that it allows the audience to really visualize differences in the elevation of the terrain.

• What settings do you have for your data?

• For my data the settings for my data are all multiplied by 1.5 to allow for added emphasis.

• What color ramp did you use? Why?

• The color ramp I used when creating my map was the green to red which I inverted so that green was displaying lower elevation and red showed places that were higher.

• What are the advantages of using ArcScene to view UAS DSM data vs. the overhead shaded relief in ArcMap. What are the disadvantages?

• An advantage of using ArcSene is that it allows you to rotate the map in all directions allowing for different views of the 3D map to make differences more apparent. 

• Is this export a map? Why or why not?

• This is not an export map because it does not include any essential references like scale, symbols, or metadata.

Conclusion

• Summarize what makes UAS data useful as a tool to the cartographer and GIS user

• An unmanned aerial system can allow you to cover a lot of area a lot quicker than a manned aircraft with great resolution that you cannot get with a satellite.

• What limitations does the data have? What should the user know about the data when working with it?

• Limitations the data has would be that it can only be as good as the global positioning system's accuracy.

• Speculate what other forms of data this data could be combined with to make it even more useful.

• Different maps showing changes over time would be extremely useful.

Make sure you answer the questions for your ‘Evaluation’ page:
1. 1. Prior to this activity, how would you rank yourself in knowledge about the topic. (1-No Knowledge at all, 2-Very Little Knowledge, 3-Some knowledge, 4-A good amount of knowledge, 5-I knew all about this)
1
2. 2. Following this activity, how would you rate the amount of knowledge you have on the topic (1- I don’t really know enough to talk about the topic, 2- I know enough to explain what I did, 3-I know enough to repeat what I did, 4-I know enough to teach someone else, 5- I am an expert)
3
3. 3. Did the hands-on approach to this activity add to how much you were able to learn (1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-No real opinion, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree)
4
What types of learning strategies would you recommend to make the activity even better?
Possibly giving us different sets of data over time of an area would allow us to analyze changes.