Field Activity #8: ArcPad Data Collection

Introduction

This weeks activity involved gathering micro climate data using a Trimble GPS unit and temperature gauge, then mapping the information by using ArcMap.  The class was divided into groups of two and the task was to gather points in an area on the campus of University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire.  The activity called for collecting temperature, dew point, relative humidity, snow depth, wind direction, as North, South, East and West, and also azimuth 0-360 degrees, wind speed, time, and any notes to help better the collection.  After all the groups collected data for their area the points were compiled into one geodatabase ready to be used to map out the results.  

Methods

The first step of this activity is getting the GPS unit and ArcMap ready for the collection.  Two weeks ago, see field activity #6 blog, a domain was created for this assignment and was placed, along with a raster image of UWEC's campus into ArcMap.  To load the domain, or feature class, and raster image on to the GPS or ArcPad these steps need to be taken.  In ArcMap click on customize>extensions> and check ArcPad Data Manager, this will allow you to use that tool.  Next add the toolbar to ArcMap by clicking Customize>Tool bars> ArcPad Data Manager.  Then click the first button as figure 1 displays to start adding the data to the trimble unit.  

Figure 1: Click on Get Data for ArcPad

After clicking this button a box will appear and click next from the welcome screen.  Hit the action menu and choose all Geodatabase layers, and also click on the raster image and click export as background TIFF.  Then in the next screen under specify a name type 'micro_yourusername' this will create a folder for all the information.  Also change the path of where the file is stored by clicking on the little folder and put in the folder you wish to store the ArcPad data information.  Then in the next window click on create the ArcPad data on this computer and finish.  Once the project is created, copy the folder and paste it for backup in case there is an error in the process or out on the field.  

The next step is to put the new feature class and tiff image onto the ArcPad GPS unit.  Connect the trimble unit with a USB port, and once the Trimble unit is in the computer and files can be viewed copy and past the newly created folder into the storage card of the Trimble unit.  After this is done disconnect the trimble and click the button top right corner labeled ArcPad 10 as you can see in figure 2 below.  Next hit open new map and choose the new folder that created for this process, figure 3.

Figure 2: ArcPad 10

Figure 3: Choose new map to open

After these steps and with the raster image loaded to the device you are ready to go out into the field and collect data.  Using the Trimble GPS unit, figure 4, a compass, meter stick, and the Kestral device collecting the data should run quite smooth.

Figure 4: Trimble GPS unit.  When first turning on the trimble make sure the GPS is getting a signal or fix,
to allow for the GPS to know your exact location of the points created. 

Figure 5: Kestrel device, can read temperature, dew point, relative humidity, and wind speed.  

Once out in the field and in the study you and a partner can work as a team to collect the data quickly.  In trimble unit find the green circle button that collects a point and allows you to enter the information for temp, dew point, wind speed, etc.  Use the meter stick to measure snow depth, compass to find the wind azimuth and direction and the arrows on the kestrel unit will allow to move across the different elements of temperature.  Once collecting all the information move onto the next point, since this is a micro-climate activity it is wise to collect points that are relatively close to each other, about 20 or 30 yards.  

Figure 6: My partner and I study area and the 23 points we collected.  As you can see we collected
points on the eastern side of campus.  After looking at the points collected
we could have done a better job at collecting more points to gather more information. 

Figure 7: Image of UWEC's campus and the class's study area.  A total
of 268 points were collected. 

After enough points are collected the next step is to take the trimble unit back to the computer and upload the points on to ArcMap.  This is done by going back to the ArcPad Data Manager and clicking on the fourth button 'get data from ArcPad.  In the box hit the green plus arrow navigate to the new folder with points and click import graphics or check in. After this is done the new feature class containing the points with the micro climate information will appear in the geodatabase created for this activity.  The next step is to merge all of the groups information into one feature class so the information can be mapped.  The step for this can be found in Tim Condon's blog, a classmates of mine, found here.  

The next step of the activity is to create a series of map's that display the information collected.  This was done by adding the merged feature class of the all the groups.  Then using the feature class's symbology to display different types of information.  To create continuous maps of temperature, dew point, snow depth, and relative humidity the arc tool box > 3D analyst tools and the interpolation technique of natural neighbors was used to map the data.  Also one of the assignments was to create a map that showed the wind speed and direction this was done in symbology> quantities> graduated colors> advanced> rotation and rotating it by wind direction azimuth.  An arrow symbol was used to show the direction of the wind as you can see in figure 8 below.  

Results

Figure 8: Map of Wind Speed and Direction, the wind were rather calm on this day only 3 reaching
over 10 mph, also the wind direction seemed to trend as a NW wind ,coming from, making the temps colder.

Figure 9: Relative Humidity Map, increased from west to east.  

Figure 10: Snow Depth Map of the Snow depths on campus in centimeters.  The snow levels
were rather low unless some snow was shoveled or plowed making the levels higher

Figure 11: Temperature map of Eau Claire, this is an interesting map as the
only real high temps came in one circle, it could have been a group error or located near a
heater. 

Figure 12: Temperature and Relative Humidity Map, there seems to be no trend
between relative humidity and temperature.  

Figure 13: Map of temperature and wind speed + direction.

This map shows that colder temperatures are associated with higher wind speeds, which makes sense.  However there is a wind speed of 10-11 in the warmest spot which is interesting to me.  It makes me believe that there was a heater or error by the group collecting the data.  

All of the maps do a good job of representing the data collected and some patterns can be seen.  There were some errors by group 3 and points had to be deleted between Murray and Towers Hall.  Somehow the points got placed near the equator which is very strange.  These points were deleted to make the interpolation techniques work.  

Conclusion

I thought this activity was very fun to complete.  I enjoyed making the maps to find the results of all data collected and I am very happy of how my maps turned out.  I wish I would know more about weather so I can make connections and see patterns more easily.  For example, the relationship between temperature, dew point, and relative humidity and how they effect each other.  In all it was a great learning experience for the class and a skill that is going to be very useful for the future.  

Field Activity #7: Introduction to UAV's

This week the class was introduced to different types of UAV's carrying cameras.  The goal of this week was to introduce and familiarize the class with using different types of UAV's to capture images.  2 drones, 1 kite, and 1 rocket were used to demonstrate how they work.  Dr. Hupy and his friend Max displayed their drones to class demonstrating how they fly and capture images.  Also Dr. Hupy used his personal touch by creating devices on a kite and rocket to capture aerial images.  Below will feature images of the different types of UAV's that were used to demonstrate to the class.

Figure 1: Dr. Hupy's drone next to the remote which controlled it.  This drone had a flight time of 15 minutes, meaning it could not travel to far away from the person controlling it. 

Figure 2: This is the camera attached to drone in figure 2, it was set to take pictures every 5 seconds.  The camera was placed on a device that keeps the camera always facing down and steady. 

Figure 3: Max is preparing to fly the first drone, roto copter.  Both drones are linked to a GPS.  The copter will automatically go back to the place it took off from if anything goes wrong.  This is very important in case the copter travels to far a way or there is a malfunction in the device.

Figure 4: This is an image of Max's drone which he created.  It uses six propellers compared to figure 1 having 3.  This drone also has a flight time of 15 minutes and is linked to a GPS.  This drone seemed to be more steady compared to the drone is figure 1, maybe because of the six propellers.

After both of the roto copters were brought into the air they had to be calibrated.  The calibration took about 3 minutes and is key into getting the copter to cooperate with the remote and fly straight and steady.

Figure 5: This is an image of the kite our class used to capture images.  The lines you can see coming off the string is a camera help up by a device that keeps the camera steady in the wind.  The kite is a less expensive way of capturing aerial images, however the wind needs to be in ideal conditions to be in use. 

Figure 6: Classmate, Blake is handling the kite with care letting it capture images every five seconds.  The camera can be set at any intervals, this day it was set to take a image every five seconds.

Figure 7: Two cameras were attached to this rocket which was launched into the air by an electrical circuit.  Only one of the engines was fired which cut out the flight time.  This technique was the least successful of three because of the short flight time and failure to launch properly.  This rocket was designed by Dr. Hupy and it will continue to be edited and made more efficient. 

Field Activity #6: Microclimate Geodatabase Construction for deployment to ArcPad

Part 1

This week in class we learned how to develop a geodatabase domain and then create a feature class out in our personal geodatabase later to be used next week when collecting data using a GPS. The task of the week was to decide what belongs in the feature class, creating the feature class, and then importing it along with a raster background image into ArcMap.  

The first step of the process was deciding what fields were going to be created inside the features class.  As a class we followed these questions to come up with our data: What is the purpose of the event?  What are you trying to examine?  What are the ranges you are going to be looking at?  What is the type of data you will be recording?  Pre-planning for what goes into a geodatabase when collecting data in a field is very important.  Because when out in the field you want to have everything set up perfectly to collect data.  For example when collecting a survey of temperature you could run into a technology problem.  If the GPS or temperature gage is failing it is important to enter into your notes field that problems occurred, therefore when looking back at the collected data it will be easy to remember what went wrong. Staying one step ahead when out in the field is critical in having a clean and efficient way of collecting data. More information of what to add to the geodatabase can be found here.

Next week the class will be collecting temperature data around University of Wisconsin Eau Claire's campus mall. Therefore the fields used in the collection will all relate to components of temperature.  The fields the class decided on were: temperature, wind speed, wind direction (azimuth in terms of degrees and direction; North, South etc), relative humidity, dew point, snow depth, time, group number, and notes.  All of these fields contribute to temperature and it is important to gather the data their information when displaying our results.  The wind speed and direction is critical to the temperature of the air.  Faster winder speed leads to colder temperatures and the direction of the wind will lead to warmer or colder coming into Eau Claire. If the wind is blowing to the south this means that the wind will be coming from Canada leading to colder temps in Eau Claire.  Also relative humidity and dew point are other important factors to the temperature.  If the air is very humid the air will be thicker and hotter compared to when the relative humidity being low the air will be thin and cooler.  Time will have also have a great effect on the temperature, the coldest temperatures of the day usually occur around 6 am and the warmest around 2 or 3 pm.  This will be important because groups may collect their data at different times of the day.   Snow depth was a personal choice for the class and does not relate the current temperate.  The notes field will be used to take any important notes during the collection.  Things like, "standing next to a building heater" or "the wind was blocked by buildings" will be important when reading the results of the data. 

 

Part 2

The next step after pre determine what will go into our personal geodatabase is to create the geodatabase.  To do this open up ArcCatalog and connect to the folder you wish to use when creating the goedatabase. To do this click the connect to folder button seen in figure 1.

 

Figure 1:The connect to folder button is shown in the image above.  It is the folder
with the plus sign in the corner.  This will let you connect to the folder you wish
to create the geodatabase in. 

 

Then after connecting to the folder desired, right click on it and choose new personal goedatabase.  This will create a geodatabse and the name of the geodatabase can be edited.

 



Figure 2: In ArcCatalog find the folder you wish to create the geodatabase and right click and
choose new personal geodatabse.  The new geodatabse should appear under the folder like
the image above shows the geodatabse mc_borgen_gdb

The next step is to edit the domain to set up the feature class.  This step is very important because you be setting the range of the domain along with the field type, short integer, float, or text.  Temperature, dew point, and relative humidity were set to float.  Notes and wind direction using north, south, east and west were set to text and the rest were set to short integers.  To see the domain right click on your personal geodatabase and click on properties and then domains.  Figure 3, should be seen on the screen and the domain is ready to be edited. 

Figure 3: When editing the domain this image should appear on the screen.
 You can set the domain name, field type, and range.

After editing the domain the next step is to create the feature class containing the different fields.  To do this right click on the geodatabase then followed by new and feature class.  The steps can be seen in figure 4 below.  Next set the class to a point feature class and choose a coordinate system seen in figure 5.  For this exercise UTM Zone 15N was used because Eau Claire fall within that zone.  More about UTM zones can be found here. 

Figure: 4: To create a feature class right click on your database followed by new and feature class.
The figure above should lead the way

Figure 5: For our study area the class used NAD1983 UTM Zone 15N.
The city of Eau Claire is falls in Zone 15.  

After choosing the coordinate system click next until you reach the image similar to figure 6.  Here you can edit the field name choose the data type and the domain type.  In the field name enter in each separate field, temp, dew point, wind speed, etc.  Then choose either float, short integer, or text for the data type and match it the domain entered earlier.  After entering the field name, data type, and matching it to the correct domain the feature class can be finished. 

Figure 6: An image similar to this should appear when creating a new feature class.
The field name, data type, and domain will have to be edited to create the feature class.

Also a background image should be imported into ArcMap for use when importing the collected data next week.  To do this follow the steps in figure 7 and import a raster image desired.   After the raster image is loaded into the geodatabase it, along with the feature class, is ready to imported into ArcMap.

Figure 7: Importing an raster image is rather simple, right click on the geodatabase,
then import, and raster datasets.  Then importing finding the raster desired
and placing it in the correct output folder it will appear in the geodatabase

To do this open ArcMap and click the add data button, which can be seen highlighted in figure 8.  Then connect to your geodatabase you created in ArcCatalog by clicking the connect to folder button seen earlier in figure 1.  Navigate your folder and add the feature class and raster image to ArcMap.

Figure 8: This figure is showing the box that appears when adding data.
The add data is the same button in figure 1, then by connecting the
folder containing the geodatabase add the data you want on your map.

If these steps are followed correctly your screen should be similar to figure 9 below.  The raster image appearing and the feature class and raster details appearing in the data frame.  You have now prepared a geodatabase with the correct fields ready to collect data and enter it on to ArcMap.

Figure 9: The image is the final result of creating the geodatabse, editing the domain,
creating the feature class, and adding the data to ArcMap.  

Field Activity #5: Development of a Field Navigation Map and Learning distance/bearing Navigation.

Introduction 

This week involved gaining knowledge of how to navigate on our feet using only a compass and map.  In the upcoming weeks our class will be assigned to navigate a point course set up by our professor Joe Hupy and Al Wiberg, a instuctor at UWEC environmental center.  It involved finding our walking pace, using a compass to find the azimuth a destination, and prepparing a grid map on ArcMap of the UWEC priory's location. 

Methods

 

The first objective of the week was to find our walking pace.  To do this the class measured out a straightline 100 meters and walked down the line counting every other step.  This was done twice counting steps on the way there and the way back and taking the average of the two.  Find the walking pace will be very useful when navigating the point course at the priory.  My walking pace ended up being 61 paces and therefore knowing that my pace will be 61 steps for every 100 meters it will help when navigating the distance between points. 

 

The next step of gaining knowledge on how to navigate using distance bearing, is knowing how to use a compass.  Al Wiberg taught the class how to find the azimuth reading using a map.  When using a map and a compass, in order to get from one place to another the compass must be place on a straight line from one point to the other.  Then using a pencil draw a line between the two dots and face the compass north.  Once it is completly straight witht the north arrow point straight north and the azimuth will be known.  Then by holding the compass directly infront of the chest, the compass can be read to find the straight line distance to the point.   However, when navigating the magnetic declination should be taken into account.  The magnetic declination is the force the magnetic pole has on the compass and the compass should be rotated a certain amount of degrees, depending on your location, to account for the declination.  

The last objective of the week was to create a grid map of the priory area made by Joe and Al.  This will be the classes area of study when trying to navigate using compass and map.  The first step was to pick background images of what to map and use two different coordinate systems.  The first map I created used a Universal Tranverse Mercator (UTM).  UTM projectes the world by dividng sections in 6 degrees of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere.  Eau Claire falls into UTM zone 15, which was used by me in the first map as you can see in figure 3.  The next coordinate system used for the second map was the state plane coordinate system for central Wisconsin.  The projection divides each state into sections and in this case Eau Claire falls in the central plane system.  The UTM used meters when alligning the grid and the state plane system used decimal degrees to allign the grid. 

The next step to create the grids was to choose a images of the priory.  Figure 2 below shows the background image I choose to grid. 

Figure 1: The square outline in black is the area of the priory

the red lines represent elevation and represeting them by using contour

lines.  The aerial image was taken from USGS and is of Eau Claire.

 

Figure 2: I choose to use the countour lines to show the elevation

that our class will encounter when navigating.  Each line represetns

5 meters of elevation. 

 

 

After choosing the background images the next step was to set up a grid systems.  This can be done by following view>data frame properties>grid>new grid.  The first grid map, figure 3, was set up by ever 50 meters and using the UTM coordinate system.  The grid was then edited to format the labels and intervals which can be done in grid properties.

 

Figure 3:  Grid map of thep priory area in Eau Claire.

This area will be navigated by our class in the upcoming weeks using

a compass and a map.  The map can be edit by choosing properties and

extended properties, for the label and intervals.

 

 

Figure 4: This image is showing the main

menu to create a grid

 

 

Figure 5: The next map using the central state system for Wisconsin and was mapped in decimal degrees. 

 

Figure 5 : Very similar to figure 3 but maped in decimal degrees

and using the central state system for Wiscons.

 

 

 

 

Disscussion/ Conclusion

 

Taking the first steps in learning how to navigate using a compass and map to find the bearing distance between two points is going to be very helpful when navigating the field.  This is also going to be helpful in the real world if I ever get lost and need to find my way to safety.  I am looking forward to navigating with my group to see how successful our skills will be.  This is an important step for a geographer, instead of just using a GPS to naviagate and realying on our critial thinking skills to find our way, because "technology will fail you".