G.Hudson Mastering GIS

During this week's module, module 4, we learned about Coastal Flooding, which can take place at various speeds, including rapidly via surge or slowly via sea level rise. This week we were tasked with performing analysis on the New Jersey shoreline and the coast of Collier County in Florida. In New Jersey we used LiDAR data to evaluate change post hurricane Sandy. This analysis included observing the raw LiDAR data, followed by the creation of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of pre and post hurricane Sandy for comparison. A more recent building vector file was also used to assist in the assessment of change, although using more recent data should be used with caution as it does not always accurately depict change as a result of a disaster event. This is particularly true as more time passes. The following map displays elevation change on the New Jersey Shoreline.  Map depicting elevation change post hurricane Sandy.   For Collier County, Florida, we were tasked with determ...

For module 3 we continued learning about LiDAR data and analysis with the introduction of visibility analysis. The visibility analysis introduced included Line of Sight (LOS) analysis and View Shed analysis. The lab assignment supplemented the lectures by requiring the completion of four exercises. The following are the exercises and a bit of information about each:  Exercise 1: Introduction to 3D Visualization As the title suggests, this exercise introduced students to 3D visualizations. It began highlighting how 3D can be used and quickly moved into providing hands on experience in displaying and navigating 3D data in ArcGIS Pro, displaying 2D layers as 3D by extruding the 2D feature, and applying effects to the 3D data such as various types of illumination.  Exercise 2: Performing Line of Sight Analysis According to ESRI, line of sight analysis determines if two points in space are intervisible. Intervisibility can be impacted by and obstruction, such as a building, which i...

The second module of the Applications in GIS course introduced students to Watersheds and LiDAR. While I have previously been exposed to LiDAR, I had not had the opportunity to work with LiDAR data and manipulate it until this module. As such, it was exciting to be able to get this opportunity to learn about it. This week's lecture focused more on watershed analysis, while the lab focused on using LiDAR. The lab tasked students with creating a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Digital Surface Model (DSM), calculating forest height and calculating biomass. Below are maps that were produced as a result of the lab assignment.  Map of Canopy Density in the Big Meadows Area of Shenandoah National Park Map of Tree Heights in the Big Meadows Area of Shenandoah National Park LiDAR Scene and LiDAR Derived DEM in the Big Meadows Area of Shenandoah National Park While I enjoyed working with LiDAR data, exploring data in 3D and learning of its power in analysis, this type of data requires hard...