FOR 556: Spatial Modeling

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FOR 356/556 Introduction to Raster GIS
OR Leaning how to use RASTER GIS
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This course is
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• A Critical Thinking course
• Spatial Critical Thinking
• Using Raster GIS
• Grading is based on weekly Exercises
• Exercises are designed to take 6 hrs or less per
  week
• And quizzes
• NO EXAMS

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And

• Since it is a computer course
• You will find it VERY

• FRUSTRATING
• .At times!!!!!!

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Well, thats it in a nutshell
Still interested ???

• OK, on to some details.

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Overview

• What is this tool called Raster GIS?
• Introduction of Instructional Team
• Catalog description
• Goals and Objectives
• Course Environment
• Requirements/Evaluation

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Question 1
What is GIS?

• Geographic Information System
• A computer system that knows how to deal with
  stuff that has spatial coordinates
• The stuff is in layers that lie directly on top
  of one another!
• You can overlay different layers and perform
  operations on them

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Question 2
Layers?

• In GISs data is almost always stored in thematic
  layers for example
• Boundaries
• Rivers
• Roads
• In ArcView, a Vector GIS, it looks like this

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Question 2
Layers?
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Question 2
Layers?

• In that example we used a VECTOR GIS (because
  that kind of data is what you are used to looking
  at e.g. road maps)
• But the same idea applies to RASTER GIS the
  kind of GIS we are going to use in this course!

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Raster Tax Parcels
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Raster Roads
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Question 3
Raster, Vector, what's the difference?

• BIG DIFFERENCE!
• Vector GIS represents the earth and objects on it
  as points, lines, and polygons
• Raster GIS does this by placing a grid over the
  surface and in each cell noting what is under it.

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The Difference
Here is a raster image of the tax parcels in the
Town of Nifkin.
Each tax parcel has a different color
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This image was made by placing a grid over the
tax map and coding each grid cell with the number
of the parcel that was under it.
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The Difference
Here is a raster image of the tax parcels in the
Town of Nifkin.
Each tax parcel has a different color
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The Grid looks like this
This image was made by placing a grid over the
tax map and coding each grid cell with the number
of the parcel that was under it.
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Parcel to Landuse
Classify
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More differences

• Since in Raster GIS every grid has a value we
  cant make a MAP by laying layers over one
  another as was done in the vector example.
• So it is a little hard to make maps that look
  like what you are used to looking at.
• But we can still manipulate the layers in raster
  GIS
• For example ----

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Manipulation w/ a DEM
Low of 32
High
What area of Nifkin is served by a proposed tower?
High of 469
Low
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Piece of Cake!
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The process
Cell Tower Location image Elevation image
VIEWSHED
The Answer!
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And in 3D
Green in View
Ridge Line
Cell Tower
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Here is a more complex one

• State law says I cannot log within 500 feet of a
  stream.
• What impact does that have on the useable
  forested land in Nifkin?

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Landuse
Stream
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Landuse
Stream
Raster of Streams
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Stream
Distance from streams In feet
Raster of Streams
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Binary (1 or 0) map of area of Nifkin more than
500 feet from streams from Reclass of distance
map.
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Red no harvestingOR Not Forested Land Green
Forested Land minus area within 500feet of stream
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(No Transcript)
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Raster vs. Vector

• Vector GIS is good at associating each map
  feature (point, line, poly) with gigantic,
  distributed databases
• Like the NY Centroid database for tax parcels
• Raster GIS is not particularly good at that but
  is very good at spatial analysis (which vector is
  not very good at)

Spatial Query
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Now About the course
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About the Course

• Instructors
• Help
• Course Description
• Purpose the way
• How
• Teaching style
• Learning
• Labs
• First two weeks

• Requirements
• Deliverables

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Instructional Team
Instructor
Instructional Specialist

• Lee P. HerringtonProfessor,Resources Info Mgt
• 414 Bray Hall
• lpherrin_at_esf.edu
• 470-6674

• James P. Halligan
• 415 Bray Hall
• jphallig_at_syr.edu
• 470-4752

TA

• Alexis Ellis

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Help

• You E-mail help556_at_rousmail.esf.edu
• One of us strips your name from the question
• Then answers the question
• And then E-mails the answer to the class

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Help

• You E-mail help556_at_rousmail.esf.edu
• One of us strips your name from the question
• Then answers the question
• And then E-mails the answer to the class

BUTwait until we tell you that it is working
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Course Description

• The Catalog and Extended Descriptions are
  located on the course webpage at
  http//www.esf.edu/for/herrington/556/for556.htm

• The catalog description

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Course Description

• Catalog
• 2 hours of lecture, 3 hours of lab per week
• Intro to spatial thinking
• Intro to raster GIS for spatial query, problem
  analysis, modeling, decision support
• Not an intro to GIS (ERE 450/550 or FOR324)
• BUT we assume you know nothing about GIS

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Course Description

• You will be learning IDRISI primarily through
  hands-on lab exercises based on real problems
• The concepts and terms behind raster GIS are
• in the reading
• are imbedded in the exercises
• are reinforced by quizzes
• Over the semester, the lab exercise problems will
  get harder and we will hold your hand less
• But you will spend less time on the problems as
  you gain experience
• You will find that as your experience, knowledge,
  and confidence grow you may think of other
  potential applications and that lays the
  groundwork for the final project

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Purpose -- The Why

• The purpose of this course is to develop quality
  raster GIS users/professionals who
• understand the nature of raster data
• understand the significance and relevance of
  raster GIS capability,
• have the ability to solve common spatial analysis
  problems,
• can communicate raster GIS work to non-GIS users,

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How?

• Lectures, laboratory exercises, in-class
  assignments, quizzes, logbook, final exam, and
  portfolio
• Building from simple concepts and exercise
  handholding to more complex problems and no
  handholding

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Teaching

• Teaching style
• We are facilitators who will guide your personal
  learning
• We dont know it all, but well help you look for
  answers
• Wednesdays lectures/demos are usually
  background and theory
• Mondays lectures/demos are usually focused on
  the exercise for the week.

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Learning Process

• We start with simple vocabulary, concepts and
  tools but the work becomes more detailed and
  complex with time
• The focus is Problem solving!
• Assignments are made as if you were working in
  the real world and your reports are the kind of
  reports you would write in the real world (NO
  STUPID ACADEMIC LAB REPORTS)
• You learn from frustration and failure so expect
  that to happen
• Hey, its software so problems that you dont
  anticipate come up

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Requirements

• E-mail account
• Internet access -- schedule/announcements/help
• You CANNOT keep data on the College cluster
  computers. Buy a memory stick (thumb drive,
  flash stick) of at least 512 meg for storage of
  your data.
• Textbook -- Spatial Modeling by L.P. Herrington
  at the Marshall Mall Copy Center reader
  20071-1020 cover title is Raster GIS

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E-mail accounts

• We use ONLY the ESF assigned SU e-mail account to
  communicate with you!
• That means that if you are NOT using the ESF
  assigned account you have to go to the SU page
  http//cms.syr.edu/email/aliasing/
• and forward (redirect) mail from your SU account
  to your usual account!
• If you are a Continuing Ed student e-mail me with
  a subject line 557 EMAIL and YOUR NAME in the
  body of the e-mail.

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Review of the course web page

• http//www.esf.edu/for/herrington/

The Schedule is the main working
page http//www.esf.edu/for/herrington/556/shd556.
htm What is assigned and when it is due Download
of Assignments
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NOTE!

• No lab this week or next you can do the work
  without a computer or our help
• Wednesday next there is a quiz on chapters 1 and
  2 in the book
• Chapter 1 is on line from schedule page

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WARNING DONT GET BEHIND OR YOU WILL BE
TROUBLE BECAUSE YOU CANT CATCH UP!
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