Exercise 1: Review Geoprocessing

The Objectives

The goal of this assignment was to reintroduce geoprocessing skills learned in Introduction to GIS. This included reviewing how to make a data flow model in Model Builder, as well as using ArcCatalog and ArcMap. In the scenario for this assignment, there was a motive to find suitable areas for a new ski resort expansion in the United States' Rocky Mountain region. The set of criteria for suitable locations included: being within designated National Forest lands, having an average snowfall of more than 240 inches, having an average winter temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, being within 40 miles of a commercial public airport, and having an area of greater than 2 square kilometers.

The Process

The tools used to obtain this data included: project, clip, select, buffer, intersect, dissolve, add field, and calculate field. First, (the correctly projected) "airports" "national forested lands", "snow depth (inches)", and "temperature" shape files were clipped to the "Study Area" shape file. From there, attributes were selected for the "airports", "temperature", and "snow depth" shape files. For "airports", the attributes included being a public airport and having a control tower, then a 40 mile buffer was placed around each location. For "temperature", the attribute was having an average winter temperature less than 32 degrees Fahrenheit. For "snow depth", the attribute was having an average annual snow fall of greater than 240 inches. Once these shape files were specified to the assignment's scenario, the shape files were intersected to bring all of the elements together. Next, the dissolve tool was used to get rid of interior lines in each layer. Then, the "add field" and "calculate field" tools were used to create a new field in the attribute table, this was named "Areakm2". Then the areas greater than two square kilometers were selected using the "select" tool. Lastly, compactness was calculated using "add field" and "calculate field" tools.

The Results

This scenario produced results that found suitable areas located in Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, but none in Wyoming. Some other factors might have to be added to find even more accurate/ appropriate locations for the specific task at hand such as elevation, proximity to other ski resorts, etc.

Sources

All sources provided by Dr. Christina Hupy