Michell's GIS Journey

  This week’s assignment was to create a Google Earth map of southern Florida. In this map, we converted data from ArcGIS into KMZ format for Google Earth.   Google Earth is an interactive, powerful, free 3D Mapping environment platform that allows users to explore the Earth’s surface. It’s a platform that most everyone is familiar with and makes it easier to share data with other users. The map includes: A Dot density map representing population distribution, Hydrography layers symbolized by layers, County boundaries, and other map elements.  I also recorded a tour of southern Florida’s Major Cities that navigates through: Miami Metropolitan Area, Downtown Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa Bay Area, St. Petersburg, and Downtown Tampa. The tour highlights both 3D building models and how data layers interact in a virtual environment.   This module was a great mix of technical GIS skills and real-world applications. It also reinforced the value of making GIS data...

  This week’s assignment was to create an isarithmic map of precipitation data for the state of Washington. Isarithmic maps depict smooth, continuous phenomena across an area using various symbology methods. They are especially useful for visualizing gradual spatial changes, such as temperature, elevation, or in this case, precipitation. The precipitation data used was derived from a raster dataset representing average annual precipitation in inches. I manually classified this data into 10 categories which helps with clearer interpretation. The dataset was interpolated using the PRISM (Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model) interpolation method, which combines point data with an underlying grid to produce gridded estimates of monthly and annual precipitation, temperature, and other climatic parameters. To create the isarithmic map, I used ArcGIS and its tools. I imported and edited the data, selected appropriate color schemes and classification methods, a...

This week’s assignment was to create a choropleth map showing the population densities of countries in Europe and then using proportional symbols to visualize the total wine consumption in those countries.             Two  of the data classification schemes that I used for this map are the color scheme and the Quantile scheme. I chose the yellow-green (5 classes) color scheme because I like the way green represents the data and highlights the countries, and the greens are calm and easy to look at. I chose the Quantile scheme to represent the data because all of the classes are visible on the map and it spreads the color nicely around the map, making it look better than the other monotone classification schemes. There are 5 classes represented in the Quantile scheme and all of them have at least a couple countries in them which makes the class sizes just right, and makes it easy for the viewer to understand and differentiate the data.   ...

      This week's lab was to learn basic techniques used to classify data for choropleth mapping. We were to create maps focusing on the Senior Population of Miami Dade County and classify them in different ways. The four classifications were; Equal Interval, Quantile, Standard Deviation, and Natural Breaks. We had to use cartographic design to make the maps look good while analyzing the different classification methods to determine which is the most accurate way  to present the data.     My map is divided into the four classification methods, the first is Equal Interval.  In this classification, the created classes will all have equal ranges in the data. The range values are calculated by dividing the total data range by the amount of classes.  This map is very general with its information, it doesn't get too specific with its classes.     The second classification is Quantile;  This classification distributes the number of ob...

  This week’s lab was based on Cartographic design focusing on the Gestalt’s principles of perceptual organization. The objectives for this assignment were to create a map of public schools in Ward 7 Washington, DC, making sure to comply with Gestalt’s principles.   The design of the map was one of my main focuses. I chose different colors for specific elements to highlight them. I used different shades of gray for the ground to direct the readers’ focus. The lighter shade of gray was our focus area for this assignment, or Ward 7. For the symbols, I used different shades of red to help further differentiate between the type of schools. Lastly, I used shades of orange for the different types of roads present in the map. The green areas on the map represent parks, and blue represents the water. The principle objectives were to follow Gestalt’s principles of Visual Hierarchy, Contrast, Figure Ground, and Balance. The map was created wholly in ArcGIS, using the information tha...