Zombie vs Vampires

The interpolation approach that is best suited for the extent of the data set would be Inverse Distance Weighted. I think that we have enough points and that they are close enough to that this method would work best with the specific data set. The points in the data set looked evenly spaced out and that is the type of data that should be used for that set of sample points. However, the drawback to using IDW would be that it does not look at all of the data trends when interpolating the data.

Based on last year's precipitation events, the Amador-Calaveras area could experience even more drought for the recently burned area. Although the areas that do receive decent rainfall could potentially have a variety of earth flows and slides because the soil is compacted to the ground and is riddled with burned dead material. The soil is no longer being held together by the roots of the vegetation that was once there. The areas that are not as burned and affected by the fire would still have some ability to hold the soil together and therefore would be more stable and be less susceptible to mass movements when precipitation does arrive. Granted in order for mass movements to occur there would have to be an intense amount of precipitation that would saturate the soil enough to cause instability. Although the soil is less stable due to the recent fires in the area.

Aftermath of the Butte Fire

I chose to utilize the before (August NDVI) and after (September NDVI) to portray the loss of vegetation in the most simplest way possible. My map is oriented in a way that frames the before and after data of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index because it shows how the fire burned through the vegetation and caused the NDVI to shift. It is easily identified that the shift was from high NDVI to low NDVI from the stark color change. The two maps show the change that the fire caused. There is a large difference between the NDVI as can be seen from the large color change within the fire perimeter. From the two images one can see that there is a huge loss of vegetation. I also added a little comment about what NDVI is and what the different values mean because it might be confusing the people who are no familiar with the index and the way the data was collected.

I also chose to make an extent map that displayed where the fire was in relation to California but also on the smaller extent to show where the fire within Amador- Calaveras county. I assumed that this map would be only viewed by Californians because it is one specific fire within California during this year. This helps the readers of the map locate exactly where the fire was in relation to where they are. It is obvious that the fire burned a very large area within Amador-Calaveras County, over 70 thousand acres burned. It will take many years until the area will be back to its state before the fire. The topography of the area did not help with containing the fire due to the terrain.

Lab 5 Digitizing

 Exercise 13A 

Exercise 13B

Definitions of the Key Words from Chapters 11, 12. 13

Feature Dataset- a dataset that has related feature classes that can be grouped together

For example, we have a shapefile with streets and we combined that dataset with a shapefile that has all stop signs as points. This would create a new feature dataset.

Attribute Domain- established and enforces valid values or ranges of values for an attribute field

This would be used to fix the correct values that can be inputted for a attribute. For example, if we were talking about computers being occupied the two domains would be occupied or vacant and no other values could be put into the attribute.

Digitizing- drawing on top of maps, aerial, or satellite images with digital devices

For our class, we use digitizing on the computer and trace on aerial photographs, scanned maps, and other spatial data.

Vertex- points that define a line or a polygon

An example of this would be when we are tracing polygons, we plot vertices around the polygon to create a shape.

Endpoints- points that mark the end of a line segment

We use endpoints when we are drawing lines such as streets from point A to point B. Endpoints are also used when polygons are drawn using the editing tool.

Edge- segments between vertices

The edge is used when we are drawing polygons. They are also the sides of the polygons.

Edit Sketch- this is before a feature is saved when drawing a polygon or during an edit session

This is when the polygon you have drawn is highlighted in blue in ArcMap.

Edit Session- when you click start editing and in this mode one can add features or modify features

Edit session is used when we want to trace around features for example in these lab exercises we used it to trace around playgrounds.

Snapping- editing operation where points or features within a specified distance are moved to match with each other’s coordinates

We use snapping to only show features where we are currently working or looking at. For example, during chapter 12 we were only looking at streets that were relevant to what we were doing.

Map Topology-temporary set of topological relationships between parts of simple features on a map that will behave as if they are connected

We used map topology in chapter 13 when we changed the boundaries of the neighborhoods because when we moved that edge it changed the shape of both polygons where the edge was touching.

Geodatabase Topology- arrangement that constrains how point, line, polygon, features share geometry, allows you to enforce rules within and between feature classes

You can use this to manipulate maps to be exactly how you want by enforcing rules. An example would be that you want all your lines to be connected. This is a faster way to ensure that your map will be the product you want.