Final Project

     For my final project, I chose to focus on the shipwrecks within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.  This particular area spans 2,408 square nautical miles off of the coast of Washington State. The weather conditions of the coastline are known to be fierce and contain extremely rugged terrain. 

"The combination of fierce weather, isolated and rocky shores, and heavy ship commerce established, early on, the Olympic Coast as a graveyard for ships. More than 180 wrecks have been historically documented in the vicinity of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, an amount proportional to the commercial development in the region and the region's significance in the economic lives of the United States and Canada. However, due to the destructive forces of wave and current, very few ships remain intact, particularly near the shore" (NOAA.gov).

     For the purpose of this project, I will focus on the 19 remaining wrecks in the sanctuary and try to show any correlations that suggest that the terrain of the area has influenced shipwrecks as well as show any areas that should be further researched.

Map #1 shows the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Boundary. I chose this particular ocean basemap, as it highlights differences on the ocean floor. 

Map #2 shows both the sanctuary boundary and the 19 shipwrecks found within. 

 Map #3 is a digitized Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC), boundary, and shipwrecks. 

Map #4 is a basic map with a 300m buffer zone added around the shipwrecks. It was hard to show the buffers with such a large space.

 Map#5 is a digitized historical map from 1853.

Map #6 is a benthic map.  I had a tough time locating this data, but had some luck after contacting USGS. They were able to provide me with everything necessary to continue my project.   Most of the shipwrecks were found in the areas classified as nearshore and shelf.   These areas contain most of the rugged anomalies found along the coast and prove extremely hazardous for any ships passing in the area. 

Map #7 is a benthic reclassification.  I found it interesting that the shelf is at the highest range on the map.  

Map #8 shows a weighted overlay.  Weighted overlays can help provide useful information that depicts areas that are more likely to have shipwrecks. Red and orange areas should be further researched, green areas are unlikely to hold any wrecks. 

 Map#9 shows a 25m contour map that has been clipped to the park boundary. 

Map #10 displays a Kernel Density map.  The densest areas of shipwrecks are found near the shoreline. This area is known to have many dangerous obstacles that would prove to be too much for vessels traveling in harsh weather conditions that are known to plague the area.

The final project was definitely time-intensive, but I enjoyed using the skills I learned to perform data analyses. 

Biscayne Bay – Analyze Week 9

This week we continued our work on shipwrecks within Biscayne Bay.  The first map shows buffer of 300 meters around each of the 5 known wrecks.  We also created and clipped benthic bottom types that show various types of bottoms in the 300 meter buffers. 

The second map explores benthic bottom and bathymetric layers and shows them as newly reclassified layers. 5 groups were shown in each map that depict the likelihood of wrecks as well as depths. 

The last map was the creation of a combination of two reclassified layers. Additionally, we weighted one layer showing 30% weight in bathymetric and 70% in benthic bottom type.   The benthic bottom type shows areas that are more likely to have wrecks. Areas highlighted in red should be further explored. 

Module 8 Biscayne Shipwrecks Preparation

For Module 8 we worked on preparing data for a three part Biscayne Bay Shipwrecks lab.  This module is particularly interesting to me, as I am a maritime studies student. I always enjoy seeing what GIS can do in the maritime field. We collected data through several websites including a DEM and a historical chart map that required digitization.  The map includes a modern-day nautical chart, historical chart, and bathymetry data. You will see additional information regarding shipwreck locations and the Biscayne National Park boundary.

Scythian Landscapes - Report

For the final Scythian mound lab we were tasked with creating a final predictive result based on our previous work over the last two weeks.  We looked at spatial distribution of burial mounds in the nearby region of Tuekta, Russia. Three secondary coverages were created for statistical analysis showing elevation, slope, and aspect. Additionally, we combined a shapefile showing known burial mounds and random points then followed that with an OLS regression analysis.

The results for the analysis showed an R-squared value of 0.714636, which suggests that the three surface variables of the analysis account for roughly 71.4% of the sites in the predictive model. The coefficient for elevation was 0.633116, the coefficient for slope was 0.073404, and the coefficient for aspect was 0.076252.  Because the coefficients for each variable are positive and not near zero, indicates the variables are contributing to the model.   Spatial Autocorrelation results show a z-score of 14.811686 and a p-value of 0.00.  A high z-score indicates a normal distribution of data. The p-score indicates that there is less that 1% likelihood that the clustered patern could be the result of random chance.

Because the results show clusters with valleys, it may be beneficial to add a variable showing access to waterways/hydrography. Further analysis could be done to confirm that the model is producing tangible data by adding additional variables, ground-truthing, and perhaps additional regression models.

http://arcgis.com/explorer/?open=195a401048ad4f51a49970fc5e8938ba&extent=9544873.05706802,6549970.40297947,9624367.56646057,6592469.39069318

Scythian Landscapes - Analyze

This week we continued our work on Scythian landscapes.  We used last weeks primary data and expanded the datasets to show secondary coverages as seen above in the contour, reclassified slope, reclassified elevations, reclassified aspect, and georeferenced map with point files showing locations of mounds.

Model 5: Scythian Landscapes

In model 5 we began our work with modeling of scythian landscapes. We were required to create a mosaic of ASTER images as the DEM background for the study area.  I then created an separate data frame showing the georeferenced aerial basemap. This is just the beginning, as we will continue our work on the scythian landscapes for the next few weeks. 

Module 4 - Predictive Modeling

In module 4 we began with a DEM (digital elevation model) of Tangle Lakes in Alaska.  We used information  such as the ice mass and streams and rivers in order to create additional rasters using several tools in arcmap. The end resulted in finding the slop, aspect, dem and final stream/river and compiling them into a weighted overlay with specific % influence.  The map now highlights areas of greater archaeological interest where habitable areas most likely occurred. Areas of greater interest are shown in green, less likely in yellow, and least likely in red.

This lab was most enjoyable and filled with great tools for future mapping. 

Identifying Maya Pyramids: Analysis and Report

For our final week of Identifying Maya Pyramids our lab involved using different visualizations of aerial images and our supervised classification that we created last week. We used the convert map to KML tool that gave us the ability to transfer the file into Google Maps. This was a pretty challenging lab and I ran into a few difficulties.

Identifying Maya Pyramids: Data Analysis

This week we continued our work on El Mirador and surrounding pyramids.  We started with an NDVI (normal difference vegatation index) which highlights biomass base on NIF and IF spectral bands.  The second map shows a composite band using bands 4, 5, 1 RGB. The last map is a supervised classification of the surround area using the training sample manager (TSM) in the image classification tool.  Polygons were drawn and combined to show each respective class. By utilizing the TSM we are able to highlight different classes of the area given. 

I noticed a few glitches in ArcMap, most likely caused by using large files.  There was periods of lagging and a few where I needed to restart.  Additionally, there may be a need to use higher resolution images. I struggled with locating pyramids and found it to be highly pixelated. With the use of the base map and the swipe feature I was able to narrow it down. 

Maya Week 1- Finding Mayan Pyramids

Aerial images enclosed show the site of El Mirador, a large Mayan settlement in Northern Guatemala, and area around the site. The large image is a panchromatic Landsat Band 8 (15m resolution) image of El Mirador and surrounding area. The smaller images are zoomed in to show the site of the El Mirador mound.  One map shows a natural color image of surrounding vegetation in spectral bands 1, 2, and 3.  The other is a false color image shown with spectral bands 2, 3, and 4.

First Day of My Last Semester!!

A couple more months to go before graduation with my B.A. in Maritime Studies and Cert. in GIS.  So excited!!

Dream Job Search

My dream job was found through usajobs.gov.  Department of Agriculture, Forest Service has an opening for an Archaeological Technician in California.  The job focuses on Archaeological fieldwork and utilizes GIS skills through the cataloging and inventorying of data into GIS maps.

To qualify for a GS07 position the following qualifications are required "Specialized experience is defined as experience using a compass, topographic maps, aerial photos, and a Global Positioning System (GPS) to locate sites and survey areas. Conducting archaeological surveys and identifying archaeological artifacts and features in the field. Recording archaeological sites to determine potential project effects on cultural resources. Performing library and archival research using a variety of reference materials. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) programs, such as ArcGIS, for database entry. Producing site and survey maps. Assisting higher level archaeological personnel in preparing and/or writing technical reports".

All of the classes offered through the GIS cohort could be beneficial for this position, but the archaeological track courses help zone in on specifics of tasks that may be required with this job. 

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/361960800