ArcGIS EXERCISES

Read Carefully before you begin.

There are 12 exercises in this section mostly focused on solving geoenvironmental problem. Clicking on each exercise section will guide you to the exercise page where you will see the link to the data and instructions to complete the exercise. You may have to send me a request to access the instruction.

If you are a student, you cannot request all exercises at once. You have to start with the first one. Once you complete one, you will be given access to the next one.

If you are an instructor, you may request all exercises at once. But, please do give the credit, if you use it for teaching.

Bottom of the page has a block to submit your work. If you are a student, you have to submit your work using the submission form. Again, you cannot proceed to the next one unless you complete the first one.

Exercise 1: MAP READING

Introduces you the maps elements and help you to read a geological map. (The exercise is modified from Dr. Jeffrey Marsh's GIS exercise)

Exercise-4:​ ​Organizing​ ​Data​ ​using​ ​Arc Catalog.

ArcCatalog​​ ​is​ ​the​ ​tool​ ​for​ ​browsing,​ ​organizing,​ ​distributing,​ ​and​ ​documenting​ ​an​ ​organization's GIS​ ​data​ ​holdings.​ ​The​ ​Catalog​ ​tree​ ​on​ ​the​ ​left​ ​side​ ​of​ ​the​ ​​ArcCatalog​​ ​window​ ​is​ ​for​ ​browsing and​ ​organizing​ ​your​ ​GIS​ ​data.

Part​ ​1:​ ​Reading​ ​metadata(Data​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Data)

In​ ​this​ ​section,​ ​you​ ​will​ ​study​ ​the​ ​metadata​ ​of​ ​your​ ​dataset​ ​using​ ​ArcCatalog.​ ​Before​ ​starting​ ​any analysis​ ​in​ ​the​ ​ArcGIS​ ​system,​ ​you​ ​should​ ​always​ ​study​ ​the​ ​metadata.​ ​This​ ​way​ ​you​ ​know​ ​which dataset​ ​is​ ​useful​ ​for​ ​your​ ​purpose.​ ​It​ ​will​ ​also​ ​provide​ ​you​ ​the​ ​information​ ​about​ ​data​ ​producer, projections,​ ​data​ ​type​ ​etc.

Part​ ​2:​ ​Making​ ​a​ ​geodatabase

In​ ​this​ ​section,​ ​you​ ​will​ ​learn​ ​how​ ​to​ ​make​ ​a​ ​​​geodatabase.​ ​The​ ​geodatabase​ ​is​ ​not​ ​just​ ​to​ ​store data,​ ​it​ ​makes​ ​data​ ​easily​ ​accessible.​ ​In​ ​ArcGIS​ ​geodatabase,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​store​ ​both​ ​spatial​ ​and temporal​ ​data.​ ​However,​ ​temporal​ ​data​ ​are​ ​stored​ ​in​ ​a​ ​geodatabase​ ​as​ ​tabular​ ​data,​ ​and​ ​they​ ​are connected​ ​to​ ​the​ ​spatial​ ​data​ ​by​ ​a​ ​link​ ​known​ ​as​ ​relationship​ ​class.

Exercise​ ​6​ : Making and MANIPULATING geodatabase

Tabular​ ​information​ ​is​ ​the​ ​basis​ ​of​ ​geographic​ ​features,​ ​allowing​ ​you​ ​to​ ​visualize,​ ​query,​ ​and analyze​ ​your​ ​data.​ ​In​ ​the​ ​simplest​ ​terms,​ ​tables​ ​are​ ​made​ ​up​ ​of​ ​rows​ ​and​ ​columns,​ ​and​ ​all​ ​rows have​ ​the​ ​same​ ​columns.​ ​In​ ​ArcGIS,​ ​rows​ ​are​ ​known​ ​as​ ​records​ ​and​ ​columns​ ​are​ ​fields.​ ​Each field​ ​can​ ​store​ ​a​ ​particular​ ​type​ ​of​ ​data,​ ​such​ ​as​ ​a​ ​number,​ ​date,​ ​or​ ​piece​ ​of​ ​text.

Feature​ ​classes​ ​are​ ​just​ ​tables​ ​with​ ​special​ ​fields​ ​that​ ​contain​ ​information​ ​about​ ​the​ ​geometry​ ​of the​ ​features.​ ​These​ ​include​ ​the​ ​Shape​ ​field​ ​for​ ​point,​ ​line,​ ​and​ ​polygon​ ​feature​ ​classes,​ ​and​ ​the BLOB​ ​field​ ​for​ ​annotation​ ​and​ ​dimension​ ​feature​ ​classes.​ ​Some​ ​fields,​ ​such​ ​as​ ​the​ ​unique identifier​ ​number​ ​(ObjectID)​ ​and​ ​Shape,​ ​are​ ​automatically​ ​added,​ ​populated,​ ​and​ ​maintained​ ​by ArcGIS.

Task​ ​to​ ​complete

Exercise​ ​10: Raster analysis

Part​ ​1:​ ​Suitability​ ​analysis:​ ​Making​ ​thematic​ ​cost​ ​raster​ ​(15​ ​pts)

In​ ​Exercise​ ​9,​ ​you​ ​have​ ​mapped​ ​the​ ​suitable​ ​locations​ ​for​ ​the​ ​resort​ ​using​ ​used​ ​hard​ ​criteria. However,​ ​your​ ​analysis​ ​does​ ​not​ ​show​ ​any​ ​relative​ ​suitability.​ ​In​ ​this​ ​exercise,​ ​using​ ​the​ ​same dataset​ ​you​ ​will​ ​be​ ​producing​ ​a​ ​suitability​ ​map​ ​for​ ​making​ ​new​ ​resort-​ ​you​ ​will​ ​rate​ ​the locations.​ ​This​ ​method​ ​is​ ​known​ ​as​ ​“Weighted​ ​Overlay​ ​Analysis”​ ​or​ ​“Multi-Criteria​ ​Evaluation”. In​ ​this​ ​method,​ ​you​ ​will​ ​weight​ ​each​ ​and​ ​every​ ​dataset.​ ​The​ ​final​ ​result​ ​is​ ​represented​ ​on​ ​a​ ​map which​ ​is​ ​known​ ​as​ ​a​ ​cost​ ​raster.

Part​ ​2:​ ​Temperature​ ​Calculation(85​ ​pts)

As​ ​a​ ​remote​ ​sensing​ ​GIS​ ​specialist,​ ​you​ ​are​ ​appointed​ ​to​ ​measure​ ​the​ ​temperature​ ​of​ ​lakes.​ ​You have​ ​the​ ​thermal​ ​bands-​ ​one​ ​from​ ​Nov​ ​2010,​ ​and​ ​other​ ​from​ ​Jun​ ​2009.​ ​You​ ​have​ ​been​ ​asked​ ​to compare​ ​the​ ​thermal​ ​scenes​ ​and​ ​compare​ ​the​ ​temperature​ ​of​ ​some​ ​Lakes.​ ​Considering​ ​the​ ​fact that​ ​Landsat​ ​band​ ​6​ ​captures​ ​infrared​ ​thermal​ ​radiation​ ​at​ ​night,​ ​it​ ​can​ ​be​ ​used​ ​to​ ​detect​ ​the temperature​ ​of​ ​the​ ​object​ ​on​ ​the​ ​earth,​ ​and​ ​it​ ​is​ ​only​ ​possible​ ​if​ ​the​ ​transmissivity​ ​of​ ​that​ ​object is​ ​know.​ ​However,​ ​water​ ​has​ ​such​ ​high​ ​transmissivity​ ​that​ ​the​ ​thermal​ ​band​ ​accurately​ ​map surface​ ​water​ ​temperature.​ ​Water​ ​also​ ​has​ ​the​ ​high​ ​capacity​ ​to​ ​store​ ​heat.​ ​​​Thus,​ ​thermal​ ​band six​ ​has​ ​been​ ​used​ ​to​ ​monitor​ ​the​ ​lake​ ​water​ ​temperature.​ ​In​ ​this​ ​exercise,​ ​you​ ​will​ ​calculate Minnesota​ ​lake​ ​temperature​ ​and​ ​compare​ ​between​ ​June​ ​and​ ​November​ ​scene.

Final Project: If you would like to do a complete gis project email me.