Lab 7

The 2009 California Station fire was one part of the greater California wildfires.  From late July to early November, a series of 63 wildfires burned in California.  Over 336,020 acres were burned, destroying thousands of structures and killing two people.  The largest of these 63 wildfires was the Station Fire, which burned in the Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles.  The Station Fire burned in late August, and continued burning until October 16th. It was responsible for the death of two firefighters on August 30th.  Cities threatened by the Station Fire included La Canada Flintridge, Glendale, Acton, and Altadena.  By itself, the Station Fire was responsible for the destruction of 160, 577 acres.  

The map directly above shows the temporal projection of the fire from late August to early September.  Each different colored area shows the perimeter of the fire for a specific date.  The map shows the growth of the fire and how it shrank as it was contained.  Many residents filed complaints that the fire was not contained as well as it should have been within the first 48 hours, and this progression shows that in fact, the fire grew dramatically within the first few days. 

The index map shows the area of the fire layered on top of a map of California.  This enables the map user to see where the fires were with respect to the California geography.  This is most helpful for people who are unfamiliar with California or where the county of Los Angeles is in California.  The index map helps create a visualization in a broader context.

The thematic map included shows the temporal projection of the fire, layered on a map of california with all of the major health facilities in the area.  It is interesting ti note that there are numerous health facilities near or just outside the perimeter of the Station Fire. This implies that although there were many facilities available for those affected by the fire, it also was a fire that placed many people and important structures in danger.  In fact, over five dozen homes were destroyed in the fire. 

Geographic information systems have made it possible to create visual representations of the extent of the fire, its perimeter given different dates and times, and the different facilities that it was near and potentially endangered, among other things.  In this particular context, they could potentially aid in better fire fighter responses.  In addition, it could become apparent through GIS what types of geographic areas were more predisposed to being involved in the wildfires that spread through California in 2009.  

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_California_wildfires

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-08-31/us/california.wildfires_1_mike-dietrich-firefighters-safety-incident-commander?_s=PM:US

http://blog.flickr.net/en/2009/09/03/station-fire-los-angeles/

http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_16024995

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/09/wildfires_in_southern_californ.html

Lab 6

Aspect Model

Slope Model

3D Model

Hillshade

The portion of land is the big island of Hawaii.  

Lab 5

Projection: World_Equidistant_Conic
Distance from Kabul to Washington, D.C.: 6,972.48 miles

Projection: World_Equidistant_Cylindrical
Distance: 5,065.05 Miles

Projection: Equal Area Cylindrical
Distance: 10,115.52 Miles

Projection: Sinusoidal (Equal Area)
Distance: 8059.66 Miles

 Projection: Mercator (conformal)
Distance: 6,934.47 miles

Projection: Gall Stereographic (conformal)
Distance: 7,156.45



Different map projections use different ways of projecting the three dimensional world onto a two dimensional surface.  Because of this, every form of map projection is distorted in some way.  Equidistant maps are maps where all points on the map are the same distance from the middle of the projection.  Equal area maps are maps that maintain relative sizes.  Conformal maps are maps that maintain angular relationships and accurate shapes over small areas.  Different types of maps are useful for different purposes.  Equidistant maps and conformal maps are used for navigation, while equal area maps are used for mapping distributions.  In addition, a cylinder, cone, or plane may be used to translate the three dimensional sphere onto a two dimensional surface.  This is done by using a shape that can be flattened out.

As shown by the maps above, different map projections account for the same distance differently.  The distance from Washington, D.C. to Kabul, Afghanistan varies depending on what projection is used.  The purpose of the projection must be considered when deciding which projection is most useful.  For example, the equidistant conic projection is best used for navigation, because distances are equal.  However, it provides very little detail, so it would potentially be more useful for flight path navigation versus navigating a very specific area.  The equidistant cylindrical map preserves also preserves distance but looks completely different than the conic version.  Shape and area are presented differently, and areas that are larger are not necessarily shown true to size.  It is also interesting to note that the distances vary even for two equidistant maps.

The cylindrical equal area map preserves area but distance and shape are distorted, and it is clear that european region is distorted in terms of shape.  The sinusoidal equal area map shows the entire globe and is better for representing information on a larger scale.  The conformal maps presented look similar, and the distance from Washington D.C. and Kabul on these two maps are very close.

Having different ways of projecting the 3D world onto a 2D surface is useful for different mapping purposes.  However, it is problematic because someone who uses a map may be misinformed if they are not aware of the projection they are using.  In addition, it creates confusion as to what is the "real" distance, shape, or area.