Intro to GIS - Module 6 - Georeferencing, Editing, & 3D

 

This week's lab module focused on georeferencing, editing, and 3D. In the initial portion, we were introduced to the georeferencing process which involved taking two aerial photos of the University of West Florida campus and georeferencing them to a raster base map within ArcGIS Pro. This involved identifying and creating "control points". Features such as street corners or building corners were then chosen identifying common points on the unknown/unreferenced layer with the known/referenced layer. The goal is to get as close as possible with your control points which then moves the unreferenced raster layer in line with the control points on the known/referenced raster layer. As we established our control points we were mindful to inspect the Control Point Table so that our RMS error was as low as possible (below 15). 

Second, we used the skills we learned by georeferencing the aerial photos to georeference a survey drawing document for the UWF Heritage Hall building. I found that getting the initial control points for the image was a little more challenging than the previous aerial photographs. However, after establishing a few points it went smoothly. The biggest difference that I would note is that due to the smaller size of the survey drawing there were fewer features to establish control points on.

After completing the georeferencing portion we created two new features. The first was a new polygon feature for the UWF Gymnasium and then a new line feature for Campus Lane. After creating the new features we used the Multiple Ring Buffer tool to create a conservation easement for an eagle's nest located on campus property so that expansion efforts would not disturb it. Using the Multiple Ring Buffer tool we created a 330 ft and 660 ft conservation buffer around the eagle's nest. The above map depicts the features described.

In the final portion of the lab module, we created a 3D scene which can be viewed in the above map. This process involved converting our UWF_Lidar.lasd to a DEM (digital elevation model) raster using the LAS dataset to raster tool. We then added some of our previous feature layers adjusting our Buildings layer to max height for a 3D effect. Although I was running short on time I believe I covered most if not all the requirements.