Lab 6

I created the above map in ArcGIS by using various forms of data that I gathered from online. To create the map I needed the following data layers: a NED file, vegetation cover, and a shapefile of where the fire had spread. I obtained the NED file from the USGS server and this allowed me to calculate the hazard of slope in my map. Next, I downloaded vegetation data from the FRAP website to see what type of vegetation cover was in and around the Station Fire. By having this data and looking at the metadata, I was able to perform a reclassification of the vegetation to see which vegetation with high fuel levels were located. Lastly, I downloaded a file from the LA County Enterprise GIS website which contained several shape files of the perimeter of the fire.

To finalize the map, I merged all the fire shape files into one layer and made it transparent to see where and what vegetation were potential hazards. Next I made another data frame where slope was reclassified in respect that a high slope was a high hazard and a low slope was a low hazard. Lastly, I made a combination map of the two in which I used a raster calculator to map both the hazards of slope and vegetation. From my analysis I can see that a steep slope and highly flammable vegetation were both key factors in the burning of the station fire.

A majority of the project went by smoothly however I did face a couple difficulties. For starters, the tutorial threw me off a little bit and I found it somewhat useless. Next, I had some problems with the reclassification when I changed the values into names of what vegetation there was. I found that creating the hillshade was not necessary and that when you created the slope you had to reclassify it because ArcGIS could not read it due to too many values.

Lab 5

The Sustainability exercise provides us with much useful information for projects such as construction. From the exercise, we can see that many factors are taken into account for something simple such as a landfill. We have to look at issues such as the land cover, streams, drainage, distance to the landfills and elevation.

Using the spatial analysis tool in ArcGIS, we can perform the correct analysis given the project at hand. In this case, for landfills, the spatial analysis tool was used in a variety of ways to see the impact of a landfill.

ArcGIS, if not already being implemented, would be a very good tool for politics surrounding the debate over expanding a landfill in central California. Both politicians, environmentalists, and other groups can all use this data.

ArcGIS serves us many purposes for finding and building new facilities such as a landfill. Without ArcGIS, many problems that could have been prevented would occur during the construction of a facility or afterwards. ArcGIS lets us perform spatial analysis and see much more in depth detail.

From performing this lab exercise to implementing ArcGIS in a real life scenario such as the central valley landfill situation, we can see how helpful this software really is when environmental issues arise.

Quiz Midterm Challenge

Recently the LA City Council approved that Medical Marijuana locations need to be 1000 feet away from places where children are present. Places such as schools, parks, and libraries are areas where children are most present. I am in favor of this proposal because marijuana does give off a potent aroma and if the locations are near schools this will make it easier for children to obtain marijuana. However, parks are public places and they are open environments. I would think the LA City Council should see that there is a smoking zone such as in place for cigarettes. Lastly, using GIS to produce the map above. I found out of a sample of ten medical marijuana locations that only about three were in violation of the decision and some were cutting it quite close but the overall majority of medical marijuana locations in LA seem to be far away from parks, schools, and libraries.