Callie's GIS Blog

This week we were asked to complete 4 Esri courses through the ArcGIS online website in relation to this week's topic of visibility analysis. I have learned there are two general types of visibility analysis: line-of-sight analysis and viewshed analysis. Both of these functions may be similar but have different outputs. Line-of-sight analysis has an output of a map with visible segments along a set of lines answering the question of what segments are visible along a specific straight line. Viewshed analysis has an output map of visible areas answering the question of what areas of a landscape are visible from an observer point. Below is my recap of my learning progress from the Esri courses relating to this week's modules and topics. ************************************************************************************************************ Introduction to 3D Visualization  In the first part of this course, I learned that you could link 2D and 3D views so you can view each sid...

This week our assignment was focused on LiDAR (light detection) and ranging. The data used for this assignment was intended to help us understand the forest canopy and terrain of our example. Our main objectives were to determine the height and density of the canopy and terrain in the Shenandoah National Park.  Over the course of this assignment, I enjoyed learning new techniques with LiDAR and ranging. There were some learning curves to overcome with working with such a large dataset. One of them was being patient with working with such a large dataset resulting in the system working VERY slowly. This assignment was a great reminder to frequently save your work during your progress as a preventative of a system crash. Also, it has been some time since I made any type of layout so that was a great refresher. Overall, this has been one of my favorite GIS assignments so far.      

  Based on the instruction (because I know my work is wrong) I would say the best for predicting future homicides is Moran’s 1 because you get the largest response on the map. Once I added the 2018 data to my map, the Moran’s example from the assignment instructions proved to be the best at predicting future homicide as it was closest related to the 2018 data. To be completely honest, I am not sure how to answer this question. I took and extra few days trying to complete this assignment working everyday but I was and still am completely lost and confused by this assignment. The analysis steps used here were from the assignment instruction and the parameter settings used were what I was instructed to do in the assignment to my level of understanding. I honestly do not what is meant by analysis steps and parameter settings.

Currently I am Senior at the University of West Florida pursing a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science of Environmental Management. I gained an interest in GIS once I started making decent progress in my degree, learning what GIS is all about. I then discovered I could pursue a GIS certification with the University on top of earning my degree, fulfilling my elective credits with the GIS certification classes at the same time. (I wanted to go a step further than the GIS minor.) As a result, I am pursing this GIS certification to compliment my bachelor's degree because I have realized GIS is a valuable skill in the environmental field. This will be a big change from my previous career path of business management, but I feel skills from both career choices will take me far. Link to Story Map: https://arcg.is/0qLOf   Quick Link to my story map:  My Story (arcgis.com)