Arc Collector Project

Introduction
The purpose of this assignment was to give students the freedom to create their own project using ArcCollector.  For this assignment in particular, the goal was to understand how the Eau Claire and Chippewa River have an effect on air temperature in relation to proximity.  This student gathered 65 individual data points concentrated in the Phoenix Park area.  Four domains were recorded for each point, these include temperature, windchill, wind speed, and land cover.

Study Area
The area these measurements were conducted on was Phoenix Park, everything between the shoreline out to Riverfront Terrace.

Figure 1: Satellite View of Phoenix Park

Methods
Before recording the data in the field, a geodatabase was constructed in ArcCatolog.  Four domains were chosen in this database.  These included land cover, temperature, wind chill and wind speed.  For land cover, coded values were assigned to classify different types of land surfaces.  These included shoreline, grass, concrete (walking trails) and trees.  Shoreline was a significant factor because temperatures at the shore of water bodies tend to be cooler compared with temperatures more inland (at least when the water is cooler than the air).  Being in close proximity to trees can also have an impact on temperatures as well as increased wind friction.  Concrete tends to store heat from solar radiation and could potentially have an effect on surface temperature.  As for the other domains, wind chill and wind speed are correlated with one another when temperatures are below 50 degrees Fahrenheit and have speeds over 3 mph.  The student looked to see if wind speeds had any influence on wind chill.

Figure 2: Text fields where domains were established 

Once domains were created, they were almost ready to be published to ArcGIS online in order to be used on the ArcCollector app.  From Publish New Service the UWEC Geography page is connected and the service editor requires a brief summary of the project at hand before allowing one to publish.     

Figure 3: Publishing in progress after filling out required item description

Once the geodatabase is successfully uploaded to ArcCollector, the student is ready to go out to the field to start collecting.  Accompanying him are a Bad Elf GPS and Kestrel 3000 pictured below.  The Bad Elf was linked to an iPhone via Bluetooth to ensure the highest spatial accuracy for data collection.  The Kestrel was used to measure wind speed, wind chill and temperature.   

Figure 4: Kestrel 3000

Figure 5: Bad Elf GPS unit

Figure 6 shows what ArcCollector looks like in action with punching in the four attributes.

Figure 6

Results/Discussion
Figure 7 below shows a map of the temperature distribution.  65 points were recorded in total, and it can be observed by the temperature map below that the southern tip of Phoenix Park is a few degrees cooler than along the trail leading up to the bridge.  The areas leading up to the bridge and beyond also seemed to be locations that were much higher above the river than the southern side, which slopes toward the Chippewa.  Despite these temperature variances, the deviation was not as high as expected.  To see a higher distribution of temperature ranges, the student probably could have plotted points more inland.  Windchill also was equal to the air temperature.  Perhaps this was due to the fact that it was over 50 degrees Fahrenheit and wind speeds never exceeded 3 mph, which are basic criterion for windchill measurements.

Figure 7. Temperature map

The next map (figure 8) displays the distribution of windchill throughout Phoenix Park.  The results are essentially identical to temperature, something that was not originally anticipated in the planning of this project.  The fact that the temperatures were so high for this occasion likely was the reason there was a lack of deviation between windchill and temperature.

Figure 8. Wind Chill map.

This interactive map below shows each and every individual domain value.  By clicking on each point, one can observe wind speed, wind chill, temperature and land cover type.

 


Conclusion
It is important to have proper research questions when undertaking a project such as this one.  This study was unique in that one of the factors (wind chill) simply was irrelevant because temperatures were too high (surprising, for November).  The idea of this project was to show that the river has a significant cooling effect on air temperature and wind chill.  On this occasion, the resulting data didn't quite meet the expectations the student had.  It was a very warm November evening, but on a more typical November night the data would likely paint a more vivid picture of how the river has an impact on windchill and temperature.  Overall, ArcCollector proves to always be a trusted app to use if one seeks to plot meaningful data.

Lab 8: Navigation with GPS, Map & Compass

Introduction:
The purpose of this lab was to have students navigate a study area using two different methods.  This included a Bad Elf GPS device with coordinates and also a UTM map and compass.  Utilizing these two different methods provided students with multiple skills in navigating through challenging environments.  The area being traversed was the Children's Nature Academy in the UWEC priory.  It is a wooded area found on the Southwest side of Eau Claire, WI.  Figure 1 below displays an aerial map of the study area.

Figure 1: Site Map of UWEC Priory& Children's Academy

Methods:

There were two different methods performed for navigation during this exercise.  The first one involved using a Bad Elf GPS unit to find specified latitude/longitude coordinates.  Below are the following coordinates provided for one of the groups.  

Group Three:

1)      617708.815999999640000, 4958257.839600000500000

2)      617930.692499999890000, 4957946.946799999100000

3)      617619.799700000320000, 4958049.249099999700000

4)      617852.304999999700000, 4958136.936799999300000

5)      617695.530000000260000, 4958123.650800000900000
Each group tracked their path to the given coordinates using a Bad Elf GPS unit, which gathered the path students walked in pursuit of each point.  At the given locations, trees were marked, displayed in figure 2 below.  

Figure 2

Aiding the students during their tracking was the Bad Elf iOS app.  The GPS device was linked to an iPhone via Bluetooth and live coordinate updates were accessible on an iPhone displayed on figure 3 below.   

Figure 3: Coordinate point displayed on Bad Elf iOS app

Once all 5 points were recorded, students moved on to the next sequence of the exercise, which involved navigating to 3 points only using a navigation map and compass to guide them.  A GPS was only used to track the location in order to see how close they were to the actual coordinate point.  Each group had a pace counter, an azimuth control and a leap frogger.  The pace counter's job was to stay in a straight line while keeping count of his/her pace in order to measure distance.  The azimuth control was there to guide and ensure that the pace counter was in a straight line.  The leap frogger simply stood at landmarks that were passed in order to enable the azimuth control to navigate straight shot to another land mark.  

Results: 

Figure 4 below displays group three's path in pursuit of each coordinate point.  The squiggly lines show the slight struggle in both navigating the terrain and finding the direct path to the coordinate points.  Despite the slight difficulty this particular group had, they were still able to come within 15 meters of each location point.  The blue trail represents navigation with aid of the Bad Elf GPS, and the orange represents navigation with use of just a navigation map and compass. 

Figure 4

Figure 5 represents all the groups' collective routes during this field outing.  Notice that each group had success in navigating to their given coordinate points.  The paths that are more "off beat" typically were the ones that used the GPS and not the compass.  Utilizing the compass provided groups with a more straight path, especially with the aid of a leap frogger and azimuth control. 

Figure 5

Conclusion:
The Bad Elf GPS is obviously much more precise than a conventional map and compass for location accuracy.  Knowing how to use a compass is still important as a backup when technology fails.  The above maps show that each navigation technique was quite successful overall.  The most challenging part of this exercise seemed to be navigating through the terrain, as you can tell group 3 took strange paths to get to various coordinate points as they struggled through the thick brush.  One thing that helped them determine their path as the continued on was the use of the contour lines on the UTM maps they had provided.  It enabled them to see where there would be areas of steep terrain that could be avoided. 

Sources:

 https://nhtramper.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/wilderness-compass-navigation-primer/

https://education.usgs.gov/lessons/compass.html