Month: August 2023

1)

Common uses for geographic analysis: Mapping where things are, Mapping the most and least, Mapping density, Finding what’ s inside, Finding what’s nearby, Mapping change

GIS analysis is a process for looking at geographic patterns in your data and at relationships between features.

Process: Frame the question, Understand your data, Choose a method, process the data, Look at the results.

Geographic features are discrete (the actual location can be pinpointed; at any given spot, the feature is either present or not) , continuous phenomena(blanket the entire area being mapped, but a value can be determined at any given location), or summarized by area (density of a variable within area boundaries,.Data applies to entire area, but not any specific location within it).

Vector Model: Each feature is a row in a table, and feature shapes are defined by x,y locations in space. Analysis involves working with (summarizing) the attributes in the layer’s data table. Better for discrete features and data summarized by area.

Raster Model: Features are represented as a matrix of cells in a continuous space. Analysis occurs by combining the layers to create new layers with new cell values. (must use perfect cell size: too small requires too much storage and takes longer to process, too large will cause detail and information to be lost). Better for continuous numeric values.

Although vector discrete features are usually best represented in vector models they are often better represented in raster models when multiple layers are being analyzed.

Types of attribute values:

Categories: Groups of similar things for example the crime category could include theft, burglaries, assaults, etc.

Ranks: Ranks put features in order, from high to low. Used when measurements are difficult to quantify. Ranks are relative, so they are compared to each other.

Counts and Amounts: Hard data, actual numbers. Can be a measurable quantity associated with a feature.

Ratios: Show you the relationship between two quantities and are created by dividing one quantity by another for proportions or densities.

categories+ranks=noncontinuous / counts, amounts, and ratios= continuous

2)

Pay attention to distribution of features rather than the features themselves.

Should I have a question in mind, or even my hypothesis, before beginning the process of geographic analysis?

GIS stores information such as either a coordinate pair or a set of coordinate pairs to define shapes.

Subsets can be separate layers that convey information with more specificity to reveal patterns that possibly weren’t previously apparent when mapping all features.

Showing a subset of continuous data leaves the features without a context. 🙁

Using different colors or symbols for each type of feature in a category can show a more complex understanding of a specific area and how it functions. If the types within a category are very similar or overlaid it could be beneficial to use separate maps and compare rather than setting all of the data on a single map.

When mapping large areas the use of too many categories can make patterns difficult to see, but fewer categories can be beneficial at conveying patterns. Grouping categories can also be beneficial, for example rather than showing four types of industrial zoning on a large map; the use of one general industrial feature and a possible separate map of subsets could work better.

Use symbols that are easily discernible from each other!

clustered: features likely to be near other features

uniform: features less likely to be found near other features

random: features equally likely to be found anywhere

To determine whether patterns are meaningful the analyst must use statistics to measure and quantify the relationships between features.

How does an analyst determine whether a pattern is meaningful or simply caused by chance?

3)

Mapping using quantity rather than just features gives a more in-depth map that could be more helpful to find places that meet criteria, need action, or to see relationships.

Mapping most and least can be used in many different ways that I had never considered previous to reading this chapter.

Just like in writing you must keep your purpose and intended audience in mind. Are you exploring the data yourself or creating a map to convey information to someone else? “In many cases, you’ll start by exploring the data to see what patterns emerge and what questions arise, and later create a generalized map to reveal specific patterns” (56).

Mapping counts and amounts:

discrete features (ex; number of employees at each business)

continuous phenomena (ex; annual precipitation at any location)

summarizing by area (ex; mapping number of employees per square mile)

Mapping ratios:

Proportions show you what part of a whole act quantity represents

Densities show you where features are concentrated

Ranks can be indicated using varying words- like high, medium, low- or using numerical values- ie 1-10-.

Classes group features with similar values by a signing them the same symbol.

Standard classification schemes:

Natural breaks (Jenks): Classes are based on natural groupings of data values.

• good for mapping data values that are not evenly distributed, places clustered values in same set.
• difficult to compare with other maps, difficult to choose right number of classes

quantile: Classes contain an equal number of features

• good for comparing areas that are roughly the same size
• good for evenly distributed data
• if areas vary greatly, a quantile classification can skew the patterns on the map

equal interval: The difference between the high and low values is the same for each class

• presenting information to a nontechnical audience
• mapping continuous data
• difficult to class clustered data

standard deviation: Features are placed in classes based how much their values vary from the mean

• good for displaying data around the mean
• very susceptible to being skewed from outliers

 

Chapter 1

It’s kind of crazy how fast GIS is growing and how useful it is to know how to use it.

GIS analysis is a process for looking at geographic patterns in your data and at relationships between features.

I honestly struggle sometimes to come up with a research question when using GIS. It’s just such a large storage of data and the endless possibilities are daunting sometimes. It’s also really rewarding to look at your results at the end. Seeing your hard work mapped out and displaying data is super cool.

discrete: It is either there or it’s not, it can be pinpointed. continuous: Like rain/temperature they can be found/measured anywhere. areas enclosed by boundaries. summarized: represents counts or densities of individual features within a boundary (number of businesses in an area, total length of streams of watersheds)

When it started talking about summing certain data for an area I had setnull calculator flashbacks.  I’ve done vectors/rasters in Remote Sensing and I still don’t fully get it. Looking at the pictures it seems like vector is more cookie-cutter in its separation while raster looks gradual.  Figuring out how to overlay layers onto a pre-existing map with a coordinate system almost made me throw the computers last year. Brazil kept ending up in the middle of the ocean instead of overlaying on where it’s supposed to be.

Categories are groups of similar things.  can be represented using numeric codes or text. Ranks put features in order, from high to low. used when direct measures are difficult or if the quantity represents a combination of factors. Counts and amounts show you the total numbers. A count is the actual number of features on a map. An amount can be any measurable quantity associated with a feature.

Counts, amounts, and ratios are continuous values. Categories and ranks are not continuous values.

Chapter 2

This chapter so far reminds me a lot of the Importance of Maps course I took with Krygier. I think he said it’s not a class anymore? but it was based on a lot of map history and the bare structure/make-up of maps.

I also remember that assigning category values is annoying sometimes. The values just just from what you make them and the rules of how it works are really finicky (something for me to remember when doing this work).

why are all of these maps about crimes

At first, I didn’t think that 7 categories was a good max until it showed the map example with more than 7 and it felt very jumbled. This is something I will definitely keep in mind.

I didn’t have a ton of comments for this chapter, it felt very similar to what we learned in Maps so it was mostly a review. It talked about map projections and considerations when displaying maps. It went over the details of maps such as symbols, color, and width that can alter how a viewer perceives the map. I did mention above the few things I learned, but this chapter was also a lot more maps than Chapter 1. I do enjoy looking at them but it makes it harder to take notes sometimes.

Chapter 3

They mentioned the use of graduated colors or line width to show most to least values but this has always been a harder concept for me when making maps. I have a harder time differentiating symbols when they are just gradual transitions of themselves.

I think I have done ratios in ArcGIS and not realized. After reading this chapter I understand what I was doing a bit better now.

Counts and amounts show you the total numbers. Ratios show you the relationship between two quantities and are created by dividing one quantity by another, for each feature. Ranks put features in order, from high to low. Counts, amounts, and ratios are classes. Ranks are individual values.

Creating classes is also frustrating sometimes with Arc Pro. If data is unevenly distributed with gaps: natural breaks. If data is evenly disturbed and I want to emphasize the difference between values: SD or equal interval. If data is evenly distributed and you want to emphasize the relative difference of values: quantile.

I have never used a lot of these features in Arc. Some of them are really cool.

1. Hello! My name is Camille Mattox. I am a freshman planning to major in environmental science. I am also involved in music programs at own like percussion ensemble. I play marimba and its great fun. I glad I can continue that as an interest here ever though I don’t plan to major or minor in music. I have lived in Blacklick, Ohio for all of my life but my family does love to travel. we take trips about every summer to a different chance of the US so I have been to just about all of the states in the US. 
2. Introducing the Identities of GIS

   GIS is extremely versatile and is often used behind the scenes. Being a growing topic, GIS lacks clear cut distinctions between how/where it is used, when it is used, what it should be classified as, and the differences between GIScience and GISystems. GIScience is treated as a theoretical baseline while the GISystems are treated as processes you can apply GIScience through. Arguments of how it should be used focus on GIS as the centerpoint while arguments of where it should be used see GIS as more of an additional appliance. Similarly, arguments of what it should be classified as (vehicle v. emergent power) abide by the distinctions between centerpoint and addition. From all of this, I have learned that GIS definitely did not have the smoothest and most accepted transition into common use. Many people didn’t want to accept it through the same lens that others saw, leading to an inconsistent use of GIS. Regardless, GIS still can show up in just about anything. In some of the other environmental science classes, the connection between human life/economy and nature is highlighted. In GIS I noticed this same relationship being explored. In things like PPGIS social justice is connected with science. I think it is helpful to be able to connect this newer and more independent class to a more familiar course. The method coming from layering was really interesting and gave me a good overall understanding of how people make GIS work. I have explored and learned about the history and origin of GIS as well as where it may be headed. It seems like not a lot of people know about this topic but since it is available and useful in just about everything, I can’t wait to learn more about this.

3. I mentioned in my introduction that one of my  interests is marimba. A lot of marimbas are made of rosewood but with rosewood being close to over exploitation, more marimbas now are synthetic wood. This still led me to looking into GIS of rosewood for my first application:

https://alliancebioversityciat.org/stories/asian-rosewood-trees-face-threats

4.  My second application is just for fun. With being in a new place, I have been exploring a lot and transportation systems led me tunnel system

3630_parks-2

1. Hi! My name is Zoie Pois; I am a senior double majoring in Zoology and Environmental Science with a Psychology minor. I am from Louisville, Kentucky, and attended a middle school similar to a Montessori school that focused heavily on nature and art, so I have been protective of nature for as long as I can remember. I enjoy being out in nature, doing crafts/art, listening to music, and hanging out with my close friends. I am unsure what I want to do after graduation, but I hope that it will revolve around nature and animals in some capacity, which are two things I am very passionate about. The picture of me for my introduction is refusing to act right, so we’ll see if it decides to show up when I post.

2. I have previously worked a tiny bit with GIS, but I am coming into this class with minimal knowledge about it. It was fascinating to read about the uses of GIS in areas that I did know it could even be used in. I had assumed that it could only be used predominantly for geographical and solar purposes. Now I know that it can be used in things that range from infectious diseases to Starbucks. I appreciated the author’s distinction between mapping and spatial analysis by explaining that spatial analysis generates more information or knowledge than can be gathered from maps or data alone, In contrast, mapping is unable to create more data/knowledge than what is already given. It was also interesting to read about Dr. John Snow and the cholera outbreak and how it is linked to a trend in science towards using visual displays to understand patterns. I am personally a person who relies pretty heavily on visuals to understand concepts fully, so I am glad that this trend continued to gain more popularity. After reading, I wondered what else GIS can be used for and how there is a vast amount of information that I was previously unaware of.

3. I am doing an internship with Watson Acres Flower Farm this semester, so I wanted to look at GIS information in relation to pollinators and maybe even pollen itself. One study I found talked about the interaction of lovebugs (Plecia nearctica) and honey bees. Some studies have suggested that honey bees will not visit flowers that have lovebugs on them, and since the distribution of lovebug populations has the potential to change due to the warming climate, the usual pollination pattern of species like honey bees could be disrupted. Using GIS, the authors tracked what areas would remain suitable for lovebugs and how those areas are likely to increase in the future.

Map showing historic/current habitat suitable for Plecia nearctica in the USA.

Map showing future habitat suitable for Plecia nearctica in the USA during 2050.

 

I also looked into a study that took an infrastructural method of pollinators to strategize urban planning for pollinators by pinpointing hotspots and pinch points. The higher the HSI value (darker areas), the more suitable the 100 m cell is predicted to be for this species group.

 

Abou-Shaara, H. F., Amiri, E., & Parys, K. A. (2022). Tracking the effects of climate change on the distribution of Plecia nearctica (Diptera, Bibionidae) in the USA using MaxEnt and GIS. Diversity, 14(8), 690.

Bellamy, C. C., van der Jagt, A. P., Barbour, S., Smith, M., & Moseley, D. (2017). A spatial framework for targeting urban planning for pollinators and people with local stakeholders: a route to healthy, blossoming communities?. Environmental Research, 158, 255-268.

Hi, my name is Rheigna (Ray-Na) Gullatte and I am from Cleveland, Ohio. I am double majoring in environmental studies and geography with a sociology minor. I put a picture of Apollo, my cat, because I miss him…a lot. I hope to get an internship in the future that supports my major 🙂 I don’t know much about GIS, but that is why I’m here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chp. 1

     This was a really interesting read because I am majoring in geography and environmental studies and Dr. Rowley said it would be a very beneficial skill to learn. I’m very obsessed with social justice issues so GIS would only help me in research and mapping things out. Early GIS development happened in the 1960s which is fairly recent but I haven’t heard a whole lot about it. Canada is credited with one of the first cartography systems. I thought spatial analysis was interchangeable with mapping but the article says that spatial analysis generates more information from maps or data. There’s also something called spatial mapping that I looked up. This essentially combines spatial analysis and mapping so that’s cool. 

     This article was kind of a hard read with all new information being presented to me but there’s many outcomes of GIS. There is GIScience and GISystems which were all created for their own purposes. GISystems includes processes like spatial analysis and encoding into software while GIScience uses theory and justification for the way GISystems work. The way these definitions are worded are kind of tricky so I know I will have to do a little bit extra research and reading to understand. The chapter 2 title piqued my interest because I am taking Human Geography with Toenjes and having classes that help each other flow makes me really happy. It just reassures me that the classes I’m taking are all going to help me in the long run.

     My favorite part of the entire article is when it talks about who uses GIS and why. I think it’s interesting how GIS is incorporated into our everyday lives and many people do not realize that. The example they gave to put this into perspective is that GIS is used in the process of where we eat, where our food comes from, and how it gets to the grocery store. Google and Apple maps are very popular GIS systems but a lot of people do not know that. 

 

1. GIS keywords- My keywords were “gentrification” and “poverty” 

The map above is a simple map showing that gentrification happens at a greater scale in major cities than any other rural city. The major cities where it is happening the most include Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York, and San Diego. 

The article is called, “Shifting neighborhoods: Gentrification and cultural displacement in American cities”

• This article explains what gentrification is and why it is so problematic. GIS comes into play because it allows us to map out where gentrification is the biggest problem and why. Like stated, gentrification happens the most in major cities. It disproportionately displaces black and hispanic residents. Gentrification is essentially raising property values, tearing old buildings down to build new and modern buildings. Although this may help the economy, it causes cultural displacement for families who are forced to move because the rent is too high.

Richardson, Jason, et al. “Shifting Neighborhoods: Gentrification and Cultural Displacement in  

      American Cities ” NCRC.” NCRC, 2 Nov. 2022, ncrc.org/gentrification/.  

_______________________________

 

2. I used the same keywords with an additional one, “GIS” “Gentrification” “Washington D.C.”

The pictures above shows the same corner about 40 years apart and you can clearly see how much has changed. 

• This article basically discusses one of the biggest cities and their problem with identification. I’m sure a lot of people have been to D.C. but they might write off gentrification as a good thing. I’ve been to D.C. in 2018 and it was running rampant in the hotel where I stayed. A street down from the four star hotel where I stayed would be considered the “hood”. Families’ houses were not up to code, windows broken, and other things that they could not really control. They were watching their neighborhood turn into a tourist attraction. 

Person. “Mapping Gentrification in Washington D.C.” ArcGIS StoryMaps, Esri, 16 Oct. 2022, 

        storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/009773cc5c224421a66d1ce9ff089849.  

 

Hello everyone my name is Riley Brokaw, I’m a sophomore majoring in Environmental Science. In my free time, I love to go skiing at a ski resort not far from my house where I also am a children’s ski instructor. I grew up on a small family farm not far outside of Mansfield, OH that my great grandpa bought and started raising sheep, and since then we have about a dozen beef cattle we will raise and slaughter every year. I feel this is where my passion for the environment really came room and how important it is to preserve what we have around us and understand where our food comes from. In the summers we plant a pretty large garden with probably everything you could think of and just this past summer we used sunflowers as a cover crop for one of our fields which attracted so many bees. While I’m at school I enjoy getting ice cream with my 2 best friends and watching their field hockey games. I am also on the women’s tennis team here at OWU!

I thought the first chapter of Schuurman was very interesting although somewhat confusing. He really went into depth on GIS and how many purposes it has for humans and how we use it to map out where a disease originated from or how a certain species is decreasing. I liked reading how we use maps to show the path our food originated from around the world and how it got to our grocery stores. I had learned that as a business strategy, farmers use GIS to strategically send their produce to areas with the local interest of course but also purchase pricing and its associated transportation cost and if the community would spend that on the produce. It was also very interesting to read how Amazon tracks and uses information collected digitally to make a rough map of every person on their interests and likes, so Amazon can promote products tailored to what information they have. From what I understood the main similarity between GIScience and GISsystems is that they both share common kinds of literature and ideals and use spatial data. When looking at just GIS systems I learned it is heavily focused on facts, classification, and outputting data into the software. While GIS science is focused on theoretical ideas and justifying the reasons for GIS systems, a GIS scientist would look at the cause and effect and ask questions associated with why and how something would react in a situation. The history of GIS comes from a very practical area of pre-planning infrastructure and looking at the landscape for what the easiest and most cost-efficient path would be. Still to this day, we as humans try to look for those characteristics in everything we do to cause the least disruption to our environment.

I took a search into GIS on vineyards and how water erosion from farming and harvesting practices is affecting the landscape. The dotted circles show where the whole terrace has slid down from an influx of heavy rain.    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2020.104604

The second source I looked into was a watershed and after sediment loss was reported a system was constructed to combat the soil erosion called the GIS-based Sediment Assessment Tool for Effective Erosion Control (SATEEC). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2005.06.013

 

1. Hello everyone my name is Logan McFarland and I am a freshman with plans to major in environmental science. I  love backpacking, fishing, and generally being outside. I was born in Medina, OH but lived in Granville, OH most of my life. My passion for the environment stemmed from being able to visit many wonderful natural places in my life; even being able to go backpacking in four states just last summer. This picture was taken during a week long backpacking/fishing trip in the upper peninsula of Michigan
   .
2. Coming into this class I wasn’t really sure what GIS was, where it came from, or how broad its applications are, so this chapter was quite eye-opening for me. GIS is a very convoluted field of geography with a subsequent convoluted history. It was interesting to me that the beginnings of GIS were far before the beginnings of the digital age, and that in the early stages of digital GIS many geographers  preferred the manually produced maps. The third section of this chapter regarding the convoluted history of GIS that I had previously mentioned, although relatively difficult to follow, gave me a good look into the subtle differences that scientists debate like: Was GIS a mere descendant of the quantitative revolution or did its inclusion of visual intuition transcend the quantitative revolution itself? I liked how the author recognized that the use of visual means of conveying information rather than text or numerical data is seen as generally “unscientific” but when used in this application is often more efficient at conveying patterns and phenomena. Not to mention patterns that would go unnoticed using tables become the keystone discoveries of GIS.  The next section exploring the differences between GIScience and GISystems was equally interesting and and puzzling as the previous section. From my interpretation it is that GIScience is the ideas and theories that are put into application using GISystems, but both require spatial data and analysis to create a mutualistic relationship. The example about the relationship between the spread of Cholera and the use of public wells in London brings to light the importance of local information alongside GIS, but it also shows how tedious GIS can be with much room for error. Previously, I knew that GIS had everyday applications- i.e. GPS- but I did not realize how it is used in almost every aspect of our lives in some way or another.
3. The first application that I came across came from searching for GIS use for trout fishing. In this application Trout Unlimited used arcgis to show where protected lands cross streams with natural brook trout populations
   .
   The second application is from the California department of Fish and Wildlife to use GIS to map chemical spraying in an attempt to restore the population of native cutthroat trout in the remote Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. This stream is the only native area for this rare trout species.
   Will Patterson, Ken DeVore. “Restoring Rare Trout to Its Native Range.” Esri, 6 Feb. 2019, www.esri.com/about/newsroom/arcuser/restoring-rare-trout-to-its-native-range/.

Hello, my name is Logan Fraire, I am a senior majoring in Zoology and Environmental Science with a Botany minor. I’m pretty involved with the ENVS Department, I am a member of the Student Board as well as the Student Department Manager on the Faculty Board. I really love nature and all the arts (books, fashion, applied, etc.). I’m super into plants and hope to work with them using remote sensing when I graduate 😀

Reading this chapter, it’s interesting to think that people wouldn’t be able to give a single example of GIS impacting their day-to-day lives. It just feels like such a prominent tool in my life that I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of things without it. I did agree that as an undergrad student, I knew what GIS was, but not a ton of how scientists use it for their research. (This text feels like they used big words on purpose to sound cool). When it talked about overlay and spatial analysis, it reminded me of Rowley telling us about how he had to manually overlay maps as an undergrad student. I often forget the times before tech and what that would have looked like so it’s always interesting to me to hear about these methods. I knew of ESRI but for some reason, I didn’t know it stood for Environmental Research Systems Inc. It’s also interesting to think of GIS as a new tool in Geography. It makes sense but to my knowledge, it is nearly fundamental for Geography and would be difficult to do without it. In the context of the chapter, I agree with Nancy Obermeyer’s view of GIS being as fundamental as a calculator. The chapter mentioned how GIS users don’t often question the result output from their technology and I related to this because I am also guilty of not questioning it. I just assume the system is right, like many other users. I agree that GIScience is foundational for GISystems, but it just goes well over my head to keep in mind sometimes. It’s interesting to question the relationship of GIScience/systems with humans. It makes me wonder what the evolving world of AI will do to GIS tech and our relationship with it. I knew about a lot of GIS applications, but not about G-commerce/business applications, very cool.

I looked into GIS applications and lizards. I found some cool work using GIS to model lizard habitat sites for research by Branch et al. Here’s a map of those habitat types:

I also found a cool study where they were trying to map the fundamental niche of a nocturnal gecko species using internal, environmental, and climatic data gathered in their work. They used GIS tech to run many models to understand where these geckos might be active in Australia based on multiple factors. Here’s an example of some of those models:

caption: Fig 4: Results of continent-wide 0.05°-resolution biophysical simulations for the physiology of EA6 male Heteronotia binoei for (a) degree-days for egg development, (b) potential activity time, (c) maintenance metabolic costs, (d) food requirements per hour of activity, (e) water loss, and (f) discretionary water. All maps are of annual summations. The dotted line represents the known southern distributional limit of H. binoei”

Branch, L. C., Hokit, D. G., Stith, B. M., Bowen, B. W., & Clark, A. M. (1999). Effects of landscape dynamics on endemic scrub lizards: an assessment with molecular genetics and GIS modeling. Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.

Kearney, M., & Porter, W. P. (2004). Mapping the fundamental niche: physiology, climate, and the distribution of a nocturnal lizard. Ecology, 85(11), 3119-3131.