Making the switch from personal to virtual networking at conferences.
Cartography
…always something new to learn.
Despite the world slowing down as a result of the recent pandemic, GIS technologies and their myriad applications continue to rapidly evolve. That is why I am always learning the latest and greatest through intensive training courses offered by ESRI.
I just completed a 6-week cartography course on applying the latest ArcGIS Pro 2D and 3D map design tools to produce engaging maps that communicate with impact.
Spatial data can be viewed in a more natural way with 3D maps. In one course exercise, the goal of the map below was to take a City’s GIS data and turn it into a 3D thematic view to be shared online. I used building attributes from LiDAR data (light detection and ranging) to conduct extrusion, a process where I stretched flat 2D shapes vertically to create 3D building shapes. I also configured procedural symbols for facade rendering and other symbology properties, such as size, number of floors, and rotation.
Before
After
For another exercise, I used a small multiple layout to depict a single phenomenon (earthquakes) as a collection of multiple small maps. Below, each segment illustrates a seismic class of earthquakes around the world. A small multiple layout is static, allowing readers to compare and contrast maps at their own pace, or to allow readers to make connections with maps that would otherwise be neighboring in a conventional animation.
However, adding animation to a map and producing a video is another great tool for communicating a specific storyline. For example, I created a looping 3D fly-through to illustrate dramatic change in topography after a tragic mudslide occurred in the Steelhead Haven community, near Oso, Washington. In the animated GIF below, you can see where houses were located before, and the resulting aftermath of the mudslide. Videos created with ArcGIS Pro can be exported as multiple file formats, allowing the customization for sharing across multiple platforms (i.e., Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, embedded into websites) to reach a broader audience.
There are many ways to tell your story using 2D, 3D, static and animated maps. I’m excited to continue applying the latest and greatest mapping tools to build customized maps that communicate with impact!
Creating Artistic Maps with ArcGIS Pro
One of my favorite ways to combine art with science is through cartography. I've been exploring compelling ways to illustrate data with ArcGIS Pro while participating in this #cartoMOOC course and am having so much fun with it!
With a view of the South Pole, the map below illustrates the occurrence of each hurricane since the mid 1800s. The goal of this map was to visualize the natural phenomenon of the equator's weak Coriolis force and a hurricane's inability to form within 5 degrees of it.
It's not just the data that tells the story here. The map's projection played a huge role in accomplishing my goal. This bottoms-up approach highlights the hula-hooping nature of these storms around the Earth's equator.
Some of the aesthetic components include the firefly-esc symbolization over the dark NASA satellite imagery, overlayed with a soft grid and vignette frame. I love that I can expand my artistic flares with ESRI's ArcGIS Pro! #science #data #cartography #arcgispro #cartoMOOC #GIS #mapping #sciencecommunication
New Fire Layers! A Must-Have for Wildfire Maps
Wildfire season is officially here, which is why I’m writing about the release of these two valuable fire map resources (thanks to ESRI’s ArcGIS Blog).
The USA Current Wildfires layer presents the best-known point and perimeter locations of wildfire occurrences within the United States over the past 7 days. It is sourced from the Integrated Reporting of Wildland-Fire Information and National Interagency Fire Center database.
The Global Thermal Hotspot and Wildfire Detection layer is from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), a sensor that has 375-m resolution, greater thermal sensitivity with fewer false positives, and higher quality of data across the entire scan width than MODIS.
Be fire safe and stay current with fires near you!