UWEC's spring 2014 semester now comes to a close and it's time to take a look back at the semester and recap all the methods and techniques I have learned by taking Geospatial Field Methods. In general, my technical geospatial knowledge has increased dramatically because not only was I taking this course, but GIS I and Remote Sensing as well. This class, however, has given me hands-on field experience that the other two did not, or only did slightly.
The semester started with Field Activity #1 and Field Activity # 2. In these activities, students built a miniature landscape in the snow, constructed a coordinate system for the landscape, and developed models to visualize the landscape. Students were expected to research and make these models themselves with little guidance. As a result, I was able to learn quite a bit about the different methods to create surfaces available in ArcMap and really just how to use ArcMap in a general sense.
Activity #3 was the most open ended activity of the semester and was meant to get students familiar with UAV technologies for later in the semester. Though this activity I learned the basics about UAS and the similarities and differences between rotocopters and fixed wing crafts. Having to research UAV's online was helpful later on during the equipment day and for completing Field Activity # 9.
The first survey of the semester was accomplished in Field Activity #4 when students preformed a distance azimuth survey in an area of their choosing. During this activity, the concepts of azimuth and magnetic declination were explored and the proper use of a laser rangefinder was learned.
Activity #5 taught students how to preform distance bearing navigation, essential for later on in the semester during Field Activity #10. Not only were the navigation techniques learned, but the maps used for Field Activity #10 were also created. More ArcMap knowledge was gained during this activity as multiple grids needed to be made for the different coordinate systems needed.
The basics of creating a geodatabase with proper domains was the focus of Activity #6. Here students needed to construct multiple domains to collect microclimate data later in the semester. The geodatabase created during this activity was used for Field Activity #7.
In Field Activity #7, students collected microclimate data around the UWEC campus area and each groups data was combined to create one microclimate map for the entire campus. Through this activity, I learned how to import, collect, and export data from a GPS unit.
The second survey of the semester was accomplished with the use of a Topcon Total Station and GMS-2 GPS unit in Field Activity #8. Elevation data was collected for the newly developed campus mall area on UWEC's lower campus and a DEM was created in ArcMap by drawing on knowledge from Field Activity # 2. This activity helped to cement the process of using a Total Station to conduct a survey into my brain as I had used one before.
Multiple class periods were spent at Bollinger Fields testing different UAV platforms which is detailed in Field Activity #9. After different imagery was collected, it was up to the students to figure out how to embed locational data into images and mosaic them together.
In Field Activity #10 and Field Activity #11 the navigation course at the Priory in the Town of Washington, WI was completed through different means. At first the course was partially completed though use of traditional means, a map and compass. Then the course of fully completed through use of a GPS unit. This let students compare the two approaches while also learning how to navigate rough terrain.
My favorite activities of the semester were the ones where the result felt the most rewarding. These activities were the ones were students needed to go out, collect data, and make models from the data. Collecting data for the microclimate maps was not enjoyable because of the bitter cold winds that day but the resulting maps of Field Activity #7 were worth it. Examining precipitation and wind patterns on campus was interesting and the wind direction map is definitely my favorite. Making the DEM through Field Activity #8 was greatly rewarding because the whole process was the most involved of the whole semester and the final result modeled the landscape very well. Remote sensing technologies and aerial imagery analysis has become my favorite topic as the semester has progressed and as a result, Field Activity #9 was the most enjoyable for me. Mosaicking the imagery collected as a class into one seamless image was surprisingly rewarding and really got me thinking about the applications of such techniques.
Overall, I feel I have learned an incredible amount this semester and the hands-on approach of this class helped a great deal. Taking this class is a requirement for obtaining the Geospatial Technique Certificate offered at UWEC but even if it wasn't, I would still recommend the class to any Geography major or anyone interested in a job which involves field work in the future.
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