PRESTON CHAMBERLIN

800813877
GEOG 4131
LAB 2 ENVIRONMENTAL DATA ACQUISITION AND INTEGRATION
2/28/2017

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INTRODUCTION
The goals of this lab focus around environmental data acquisition and implementation within GIS
software. In three main sections, the objectives are:

1. To understand how to use a professional GPS receiver to collect data in the field.
2. To learn how to generate thematic maps using remote sensing classification.
3. To learn how to integrate GPS and remote sensing data for GIS analysis.

Through completion of these assigned goals, a better understanding of how data is collected in the field,
analyzed, and then processed to provide a readable output, should be evident.

METHODS
The location for Lab 2 is UNC Charlotte campus and the surrounding area. The urban research
university is located in North East Charlotte, North Carolina. Remotely sensed data has been provided by
the National Agriculture Imagery Program.

SECTION 1
Broken up into 3 main objectives, section 1 of the lab focused on GPS data acquisition. Participants
were provided with a Garmin eTrex 20 GPS receiver. Before gathering data, GPS receivers were adjusted
to have accuracy higher than 30m and 5m respectfully. The first main step was centered on field point
extraction. It was assigned to plot waypoints around the Fretwell building on campus, the football
stadium, five deciduous tree plots, and five evergreen tree plots. Waypoints were saved through the
eTrex 20s waypoint menu. It was required to wait a few seconds after establishing a position for the
software to accurately locate a point on your position.

Once the points were established in the Garmin System, some steps to output the data were
carried out. An application called DNRgps was downloaded and installed, which works with the GPS
receiver to interpret the receivers .GPX files. The software then converted the waypoints into tracks,
which are paths connecting the various positions that were plotted. The waypoints and tracks were then
exported as .kml files (Google Keyhole Markup Language). Tracks also had an additional option to be
exported as .kml polygons. These new files were then loaded into Google Earth and screenshotted with
optical imagery as a background, as seen in figure 1. The area of the polygons, provided by the track data,
was then computed using online software which utilized the .kml files source code.

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 Figure 1. Waypoints in Google Earth.

SECTION 2
Section 2s objective was to perform some remote sensing image analysis. Using ENVI software,
an unsupervised classification was undertaken on the imagery provided by the National Agriculture
Imagery Program. No image pre-processing was performed, just the classification tool. A K-Means
classification was performed, with 5 classes.

Figure 2. K-Means window in ENVI.

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As the name infers, unsupervised classification techniques require no human intervention. While not as
accurate as a supervised classification method, this technique can be very efficient in analyzing larger
areas of data.

The next step within section two was the supervised classification, utilizing the maximum
likelihood method. This method requires human made ROIs, or regions of interest, to be created. To do
this, vectors are created which encircle various features on the base imagery. For example, one would
create a vector over a section of land which is covered in forest, and would save this vector layer. These
vector layers become your classes for use with the classification method. Common classes involve water,
forest cover, vegetation, man-made surfaces, and so on. Once all your classes have a substantial amount
of vector samples made, the classification could be started. Figure 3 below shows the 5 classes made
being utilized for the classification.

Figure 3. MLC window in ENVI, showing the classes being used.

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 Lastly, for section 2, two thematic maps were made showcasing our two classification methods.
One for the K-Means result, and the other for the Maximum Likelihood method. Figures 12 and 13
showcase the results.

SECTION 3
Section 3 concentrated on performing some GIS analysis. Part 1 asked to calculate a shortest route
between two locations on campus. Two points were provided, but had to be marked within ArcMap. A
street map shapefile was provided by the department for use as our road network, on top of our imagery
from section 2. The network analyst tool was used within ArcCatalog to create a new Network Database
from the road shapefile. Next, the network location toolbars solve feature carried out all the calculations
for us, calculating the shortest route from the given roads.

Part 2 of the last section focused on extracting information from the new shortest route that was
just created. A 50m buffer around our new route was created, using the buffer tool. Trees within this
buffer were then determined and calculated for total area. A buildings shapefile was also provided by the
department, and within the buffer, any school buildings were also identified. Data for the buildings was
then summarized in a table. These results can be found below, in the results section.

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 RESULTS

Figure 6. Stadium polygon area.

Figure 7. Evergreen tree plots polygon area.

Figure 8. Deciduous tree plots polygon area.

Figure 9. Fretwell Building polygon area.

Figure 10. Waypoints within Google Maps.

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Figure 11. Stadium waypoints within Google Maps.

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Figure 12. K-Means Thematic Map.

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Figure 13. Maximum Likelihood Thematic Map.

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Figure 14. Route Map Section 3.

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Figure 15. Building attribute table.

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DISCUSSION
The lab brings up many questions which are important in understanding how to analyze the lab
results.

The positions and satellite geometries for the two conditions within the eTrex GPS vary
throughout the globe. The eTrex 20 sports the option of receiving data from GLONASS and GPS. GLONASS
is the Russian equivalent of GPS. GLONASS has less satellites and ground stations than GPS, however it
retains similar accuracy overall. It can be useful when you want to boost your reception due to weak or
nonexistent GPS coverage.
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Figure 16. Garmin eTrex 20 GPS+ GLONASS

satellite screen & explanation.

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GARMIN etrex 10 / 20/20x / 30/30x. Tramsoft. 2017. http://www.tramsoft.ch/gps/garmin_etrex2_en.html

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 The building of Fretwell was the easiest for me to plot using the GPS. For one, the building has a
lot of straight edges to it, which makes corners quite distinct. The building is also small compared to the
stadium which was also plotted. The stadium seemed to result in the most error, as it was so large,
collecting points became tedious. It was noted that a few positions didn't end up saving from the route I
plotted, whether it was human error or a system malfunction, is unknown.

The waypoints and tracks data have various attributes, as shown below.

Besides the obvious type identifier, there is a column called Ident which is the names the user has
given for each individual waypoint from when they were plotted in the GPS. Next there are a latitude and
longitude columns, each with their own respected x and y projection values, which seem to be the same
as the latitude and longitude. Theres an attribute for any comments made in the GPS system when the
points were plotted as well. A symbol column shows the visual icon that was used in the GPS software. An
altitude attribute is available, simply showing the altitude of the plotted positions. Lastly, there is a column
indicating the date and time of when the points were plotted.

I believe it is better to have more information than needed, especially when each field has its own
purpose. There are many attributes for the waypoints and tracks that are not filled in using the techniques
that we used for this lab, however they have their own specific tasks. For scientific research, organization
is key, so while some of the data, such as the symbol characteristics, may seem not very useful, you never
know when a situation may arise wherein such information is the only thing that can solve your problem.
Also, the x_proj and y_proj attribute columns in the DNRgps application seem redundant, as the data is
the exact same as the latitude and longitude, but the DNRgps application actually lets you project your
data to different coordinate systems. So while this lab didn't utilize this function, it is highly useful for
other projects.

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 There are some errors in the measurements taken using the GPS around campus. This is expected
however, based on how many points are taken, and since the tracks are drawn using straight lines. For
example, the stadium has some curved edges, and due to the amount of points that were taken, some of
the paths cut through part of the structure. As far as the actual points themselves having errors, this could
be due to satellite interference. However, the points plotted in this lab seem fairly accurate to their real
world locations. The GPS software also isnt the fastest system, so for a point to be plotted accurately it
requires the user to not move for at least a few seconds after registering the location. Due to the amount
of points being plotted consecutively, human error, along with hardware limitations, such as storage space,
could account for a small percentage of negative results in some cases.

Figure 18. Red Circle shows where a missing waypoint should be located.

To improve accuracy for future measurements, it is suggested to take even more samples. A
feature of the eTrex 20 is waypoint averaging. According to the owners manual, by selecting a waypoint
and then starting the process, a confidence bar will appear. When the bar reaches 100%, the GPS has
averaged your various samples for that location.2 This method can give you more accurate results for a
specific spot, but takes more than one sample and isnt very time efficient. Labeling your points is also a
good idea, which was carried out for this lab and increased efficiency when managing the data.

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Garmin eTrex Owners Manual. static.garmincdn.com/pumac/eTrex_10-20-30_OM_EN.pdf

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 Five classes were used for the Supervised Classification method, as shown below.

The first class represents fake turf. This was chosen due to the amount of athletic fields in the study area
of the University. Without identifying this, they would show up as shadows. The second class shows barren
earth, which can be found at construction sites, and generally consists of loose soil or sand. Throughout
the viewing area, there are numerous construction projects, so this was a needed layer. Class 3 is a general
vegetation class. This includes trees, grass, and shrubs. Looking back, a separate layer for grass and forest
cover would have been useful. Class 4 is a basic water layer. There arent too many bodies of water around
the campus, but there were enough that I thought this class was worth including. Lastly, there is a class
for impervious surfaces, such as building roofs, roads, and parking lots.

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 Numerous things could have been done to improve the classification accuracy. To start, making
more explicit classes for various features in the study area would have helped greatly. For example, a class
for deciduous and evergreen trees, along with a separate class for grass cover. Comparing different spectral
signatures could have accomplished this task. Overall, gathering more samples for the class vectors would
have improved accuracy. One example where this was an issue was with parking lots, shown below.

Figure 20. Image showing error in classification

Some parts of the lots would be identified as impervious surfaces as it should be, while the rest
of it was considered part of the water class, even despite multiple vectors being created within the lots to
ensure shadow covered regions and white paint, for example, were considered part of the impervious
surface class. More delineation between the water samples was needed.

Some possible errors from the GIS analysis performed were that the tiff images did not accurately
line up with the street_centerline shapefile. Making sure the projections are the same for the two layers
is an important step. Tiff images are also very volatile in ArcMap. When performing projections or other
tools on some .tiff files, they would stop working and appear blank, despite file integrity.

CONCLUSION
Lab 2 discussed important topics in the field of Environmental Modeling. Through hands on field
data gathering using the Garmin eTrex 20 GPS system, experience making our own data was achieved.
The section on remote sensing and classification methods also reinforced our data gathering techniques.
Being able to understand how field tests can help manage data virtually in a lab environment is extremely
helpful. Lastly, GIS software was used to provide experience using route mapping tools, along with basic
data management tactics. Through a combination of all these steps, a better understanding of a few of
the tools modelers can utilize was gained.

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REFERENCES
1. GARMIN etrex 10 / 20/20x / 30/30x. Tramsoft. 2017.
http://www.tramsoft.ch/gps/garmin_etrex2_en.html

2. Garmin eTrex Owners Manual. static.garmincdn.com/pumac/eTrex_10-20-30_OM_EN.pdf

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