5/2/2017 GIS Skills Portfolio

Shaelyn Reanne Langlois

ASSINIBOINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Table of Contents
Cartographic Design .................................................................................................................................. 1
Database Design, Creation and Management .......................................................................................... 1
Written Instructions .................................................................................................................................. 7
Spatial Analysis & Spatial Statistical Analysis.......................................................................................... 10
JavaScript Programming ......................................................................................................................... 13
GPS / In Field Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 15
................................................................................................................................................................ 16
Aerial Photo Interpretation, Image Processing and Remote Sensing ..................................................... 17
GIS Project Management & Presentation ............................................................................................... 19
................................................................................................................................................................ 23
Cartographic Design
This portfolio demonstrates my cartographic abilities throughout all components and projects. Maps
were produced in the best way possible to eliminate white space and map abstracts, graphs, charts and
inset maps were included when necessary for the situation. With my knowledge of cartography skills
increasing, the unique products will only keep improving.

Database Design, Creation and Management

This representation of my work displays the database knowledge that I have acquired throughout the
GIS course at Assiniboine Community College. As an assignment within a Database Management course,
I created my own database from scratch with fake data that would represent a database that a blood
bank may use in reality. The database was created and edited with Microsoft Access 2010 and included
5 different tables, 2 queries, 5 forms and 3 reports. All tables within the database were connected with
one to many relationships do reduce data redundancy within. Forms were created to limit the freedom
the user and to have the most accurate data files possible. This format may take longer to prepare but
lessens the time of cleaning and sorting the data later on producing excellent time management
practices. The reports within the Blood Donor database were produced to be published to the public, if
this was reality. The reports were formatted in a professional and aesthetic manner and included key
components; such as the blood donor quantity report that is displayed below, calculates how much
blood a certain individual donated on a specific date and calculates a total for quick and convenient
total.

Figure 1- Blood Bank Relationships

Figure 2- Donor Form within the Blood Bank Database

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 Figure 3- Donor Table within the Blood Bank Database

Figure 4-Blood Bank Table within the Blood Bank Database

Figure 5-Blood Bank Table within the Blood Bank Database

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 Figure 6-Blood Donor Quantity Report from the Blood Donor Database

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 Figure 7- Nurse Job History Report within the Blood Bank Database

Figure 8- A query that executed all blood donors by alphabetical last name

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Written Instructions
The written instructions below are key components in completing the geoprocessing for a model in QGIS
software. The model was based off of finding the best quality of habitat for caribou in northcentral
Manitoba. Based on the criteria given, the caribou like to avoid areas of disturbances, which would be
the road features. While any other area within the map would be ideal, the caribou only thrive in areas
that are greater than 10.2 square kilometers. Therefor the steps below go through basic querying of the
records to sort the data, buffer the data to the designated distance, remove the disturbance areas from
the northcentral Manitoba area and delete all areas that are less than 10.2 square kilometers. As QGIS is
a very new software of ACCs GIS students, online resources and research played a role in completing
the following tasks.

Core Security Area Written Instructions:

a) Separate data into Road (Paved Divided) - Not Elevated - 1 Lane Each Way at 800m, Road
(Gravel Undivided) - 2 Lanes at 500m and All other features at 300m. Do so by querying the data
and exporting into separate .shp files.
b) Add the Area shape file to QGIS by clicking the Add Vector Layers and choose browse to find
within the data structure.

c) Click the Vector Geoprocessing Tools Fixed Distance Buffer Run as Batch Process
Choose all necessary input files and output names and locations. I chose to use 1 segment with
dissolved buffers.

*Any geoprocess that is run must be renamed in the legend*

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 d) Click the Vector Data Management Tools Merge Vector Layer and this creates a merged
file of all the buffers

e) Click the Vector Geoprocessing Tools Clip. Add the input of the buffers and the clip feature
of the Area boundary.
f) Click the Vector Geoprocessing Tools Difference. Add the input of Area and the difference
layer of ClippedBadAreas. I have created a SCRATCH file where all geoprocessing output have
been saved.
g) In ArcMap, I added the layer with the buffer areas extracted and used the multipart to single
part data management tool to separate the polygons. I added a field of a double type and
named it area, where I used the Calculate Geometry button to create a numeric value in square
kilometers for each of the polygons. I exported the layer as a shapefile into my scratch file
where I then brought it back to QGIS to finish the analysis. I explored both single part to
multipart and multipart to single part in QGIS and none of the geoprocesses seemed to split the
polygon for me.
h) To get all areas less than 10.2km, I double clicked on my multipart to single part layer that was
created in ArcGIS and that took me to layer properties. Under the General tab I selected the
Query Builder and created a query that stated Area<10.2 which resulted in returning 131 record.
Another way to filter areas less than 10.2 square kilometers is to open the attribute table and
click the filter button and entered 10.2 into the area field, and changed the operation to less
than and hit the filter features button and then the apply button. If you then switch back to the
table view and manually select the records that were filtered it will give you a final result. It
filtered out 131 records also.

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 i) In the layers panel right click the newest layer (Multipart to Single Part) and save as but check
save only selected features box. Name the file and save it in the specified location.
j) Go back to the attributes table and toggle edit features to allow for the selected features to be
deleted. The selected features were trashed, leaving a final product that only has suitable areas.
k) Change all necessary names in the legend and color schemes to create a final map product of
suitable areas.

Final Product from Written Instructions:

Buffered Roads Buffer Roads Removed

Areas Less than 10.2 km2 Removed and Buffered Roads- All Final Map Product for MB Caribou
Suitable Areas Remaining

Figure 9- Final product from Written Instructions

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Spatial Analysis & Spatial Statistical Analysis
The accuracy of the data is unknown as the data points for narcotic arrests would be collected from
police and police cruiser GPS units. The accuracy may not be exact but the area would be general to
display the general area where drugs are most common.

The study area displays multiple drug arrests within a single month, as the data is being compared by
January 2015 and July 2015. The data is clustered within the study area for both months and has a
consistent pattern for so called drug hotspots.

Exploratory analysis that was done on the map to determine whether or not average net worth was
related to drug use in an area included collect events tool, voronoi maps and the hotspot analysis tool.

Geoprocesses that were incorporated within the Crime Analysis project included clips, as the hotspot
and voronoi diagrams were clipped to the boundary of the City of Chicago.

The collect events tool is represented on the top data frame for both months of data. The data was
taken to use the ICOUNT tool to symbolize how many arrests were taken at a location. Most data points
represented 1 arrest but there were few points that had represented a repeated area for hard narcotic
offences. Results showed that January had locations which held 4-5 arrests at a single spot where as July
data had more dispersed narcotic action. January 2015 data held about 952 records or arrests while July
2015 held 850 records.

The hotspot analysis tool created an interpolation surface that displayed the data points as hot or cold.
The data was manipulated to show a very hot spot to have 99% confidence while a very cold spot to
have 99% confidence as well. Data points labelled not significant have no influence whether the area is
hot or cold. Hotspot analysis is great for crime analysis as it displays areas with high amounts of crime
and areas that still have crime but not as heavy. The hotspots for January 2015 data was located on the
western edge of the city, while July had the same locations. July results showed data to be more
confidence in the hotspots while January seemed to be only about 95% confident. With addition to the
data of the Average net Worth of a ZIP code shows that the most common areas for narcotic arrests are
in areas that have the lowest net worth on average. The correlation seems to display positive as the
citys low net worth areas are most at risk for narcotic action. Further analysis could go into detail to
question if the net worth is dependent on the drug offences that happen in those areas.

The voronoi maps are useful to back up the hotspots and the voronoi displays an interpolated surface
that visually depicts the Z-score values. The higher the Z-score the more confidence there is in the drug
activity that is occurring in the area as the areas with high Z-scores are being cross referenced to the
same area that there are hotspots. The low or negative Z-scores represent high confidence that there
are less drug offences in that area. Results of both months show that the western region of the city
have high amounts of narcotic arrests while the other areas few to none. The voronoi and hotspot can
be combine to predict where more legal supervision should be put in place or the areas to be aware of.
The data for the hotspots in the field GiZScore is not distrusted normally for both months. The data is bi-
modal and does not represent a bell curve in the histogram.

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In conclusion, I found that the narcotic activity is related to the least value net worth areas in Chicago.
Higher value net worth in the city is closer to confidently saying that there is less drug activity and it is a
safer area within the City of Chicago.

Figure 10- Spatial Statistics Histogram to visualize a not normal trend in the data set.

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 Figure 11- Final Map product comparing community drug action and net worth

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JavaScript Programming
Creation of HTML and JavaScript code in addition to widgets with API ArcGIS coding, the code displayed
below has been created through a tutorial with API for ArcGIS with addition to personal widgets and a
personalized zoom level. The widgets added within the code include the scale bar, which is displayed in
the bottom left of the map window and adjusts when the map changes zoom level. The scale bar
includes the dual type and involves both miles and kilometers. The overview map widget has its own
map window in the top right of the screen and displays a generalized area of the map center and where
it is located. The zoom level is different for the overview map to display a larger area for a more precise
sense of location. The basemap is topo type and remains the same for the original and the overview
map for easier comparison of the areas.

Figure 12- Final Map product from Javascript/ HTML code

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 Figure 13- Code used to produce an ArcGIS API program

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GPS / In Field Data Collection
Data of Assiniboine Community Colleges North Hill Campus Cemetery was collected with an EM38
electrical conductivity machine in March 30th, 2016 to determine the conductivity levels of the soil. The
data was exported from the EM38 and into a CSV file to excel, where then the X and Y data could be
displayed in ArcMap. The data was collected by ACC first year environmental technologies call with help
of instructor Pam Wilson. The data was collected at two different depth, 50 centimeters deep and 100
centimeters deep. The conductivity values varied between the two depths and even had spikes within
the cemetery area. During the data collection process, preventative measures were taken to ensure
accurate data, due to the conductivity measurements, metal products were discarded from EM38 users
before it was even powered on. Data interpolation included symbolization within ArcMap to display any
outliers or any strange action that may have occurred within the data collection. As the time of year, the
data could be slightly inaccurate if there was frost in the ground, or if the ground was slightly wet. As the
cemetery existed while ACC was not at the North Hill, there are no headstones located at the north hill,
and strange activity could have located near the spiked locations.

Figure 14- Attribute Table from Data collection with the EM38.

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 Figure 15- Projected EM38 data points collected on the North Hill Campus

Figure 17- Closer look at EM38 spikes in the dataset.

Figure 16- Symbolized Legend for the EM38

North Hill Data Points

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Aerial Photo Interpretation, Image Processing and Remote Sensing

Using Landsat 7 & 8 Images from Earth Explorer that were already georectified to do a mini case study
on the Potash Corp mine located near Rocanville Saskatchewan. I determined the size expansion of the
mining site from July 2002 to August 2014 as an expansion project occurred on the site starting in 2008.
I will be using a temporal analysis in remote sensing to determine if the expansion was large enough to
visualize using remote sensing techniques.

While using 2 different Landsat satellites, I created a true color composite image for both images. 2002
image includes the bands 1,2,3,4 and 8 for pan-sharpening while the 2014 image required bands 2, 3, 4
and 5 to create the composite. I am analyzing with a true color image as the sites land cover would be
considered urbanization, and I wouldnt need false color to determine health of vegetation. I did not
need to consider mosaicking an image as the land area being analyzed is so small. Image enhancement
features would not benefit the images due to the state they were downloaded in, the brightness and
contrast are determined and the DRA is off. I included band 8 for the Landsat 7 image in 2002 to be able
to pan sharpen the image to decrease pixel size and create a clearer image when zoomed in to the mine
site.

As I have stated before, the main focus of this project was to visually depict the development the mine
has gone through with expanding; supervised and unsupervised classifications are not necessary
because the area being analyzed is clear and surrounding land cover is not needed to be specified.

The industry this data is used for is the mining industry where GIS is used in different aspects to analyze
many different situations. Data integration I used included multi temporal change detection, multi
sensor and multi resolution data. The imagery I used was previously georeferenced with the coordinate
system of UTM NAD 84 Zone 14N therefore the multi data types was irrelevant. The multi temporal
change detection was represented by having two images of different years where the change is
noticeable and easy to read on a map. The multi sensor part appeared as the time difference between
images was greatly different, Landsat 7 imagery was found in the archives folder of Earth Explorer while
the 2014 image was new and found with the Landsat 8 sensor. Multi resolution was incorporated when I
pan sharpened the 2002 image and brought Band 8 into ArcMap to combine with my composite I
created earlier in the project to combine resolutions and produce a clearer image when zoomed in
because the pixels where made smaller and more definitive.

In conclusion, the mine had developed greatly in size over the years, which I had originally assumed
before using remote sensing to prove it. Remote sensing has many properties in the world as seeing the
difference in an area is only a fraction of the power it holds within. My project may not have the clearest
imagery that shows details within the mine area, but I only needed to see the outlining features
compared to the land underneath to determine how much it has developed in 12 years. My assumption
would be that in 12 years, the mine has easily doubled in size as production and demand for the product
increases as well.

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 Figure 18- Rocanville Mine Temporal Analysis Final Map Product

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GIS Project Management & Presentation
Previously in an assignment, I was allocated to manage a project to find a suitable habitat for Spragues
Pipit to reside, with many criteria of where it thrives most. The project includes time management of
myself, employees and project success through a Gantt chart organizational method, while also having
my own tasks to complete for the team. The scope of the project included the request for proposal to
accumulate offers for bidders to take on the project for the most suitable company at the cheapest cost.

This project was also to recognise 6 important areas within several Manitoba municipalities that
included Sprague Pipit habitat characteristics such as non-protected areas, pasture and natural
grasslands and areas that had greater than 330 hectares of land available. Issues that may delay or limit
completion could include old or dirty data. Outdated data may not offer the most accurate results to the
SOSP. To accumulate newer data, personal surveys may be completed or inherit data from
municipalities in the area, which may take time for municipalities to retaliate. Technologic issues such
as software issues can limit success. Computer freezing, crashing of software and computer, loss of data,
etc.

The first step was to complete an estimation of how the project would work. My estimation of the work
breakdown started as such:

1.0 Planning
1.1 Budget/Cost Management
1.2 Timeline/Schedule Management
2.0 Project Execution
2.1 GIS Software Training
2.2 Project Research
2.3 Partnerships
2.3.1 Collection of Data
2.3.2 Agreement of Data Usage
3.0 Project Close-out
3.1 Project Evaluation
4.0 Administration Evaluation

The work breakdown structure was then altered as changed were needed throughout the project. The
following Gantt chart was also updated throughout for the most accurate noting of project timelines.

Figure 21-Data Documentation of metadata of the working data files for the project.

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 Figure 19- Final copy of Gantt chart

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 Figure 20- Final copy of Gantt chart

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 Figure 22- Budget Estimation for the Spragues Pipit Project

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 Figure 23- Draft for the Final Map product of Suitable habitat areas for the Spragues Pipit

Figure 24- Final Map Product with complete instructions from final project criteria

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