Lab 7, Week 8

The LA County Station Fire happened ----. According to an article in the L.A. Times, "The Station Fire is the largest blaze in Los Angeles County's modern history"(Bloomekatz, 2009). Fire Department Captain Jerry Meehan was quoted in the same article that this fire was the largest, hottest, and most-damaging fire he had yet to see (Bloomekatz, 2009). In total, the fire burned 160,577 acres, destroyed 209 structures (including 89 homes) and also killed two firefighters (Wikipedia). However, we all know that a fire effects more than just the things that it burns down. The effects of a fire spread far and wide through the debris in the air and areas surrounding the fire. On the map above, I focused on some major effects of a fire on the lives of those living nearby.

First off, the effect that a fire has on the water sources near it greatly affects the lives of the people in the area. As you can tell from the map, there were many rivers throughout the area that was burned down by the station fire as well as within a 20 mile radius of it. According to an article published by University of Idaho extension, "Wildfire affects streams and rivers in a multitude of ways" (Barkley, 2010). It increases sedimentation, nutrient and temperature changes, and large woody debris can have its own changes on the stream environment as well. Damaging a county's water supply can be extremely detrimental to the people who depend on that water for everyday use.

Another way that a fire can affect the lives of the people living in the area is by polluting the surrounding air with smoke and debris. This is especially detrimental to those in the surrounding hospitals. During the time of the fire, the air quality ranged from moderate to hazardous in the affected area. It would make sense to assume that patients in hospitals nearby the fire (within the 10 mile buffer) were heavily affected by the fire's impact of the air quality. A weak immune system paired with smokey air does not usually lead to good circumstances. According to an article by Gye Young Park, "[Fire] smoke inhalation has a prolonged, negative effect on pulmonary function. The immediate change in the airway after smoke inhalation is an intense inflammatory reaction" (2002). There were 19 total hospitals (see above) within the 10-mile buffer zone of the station fire perimeter on the fifth day of the fire, which was September 2nd. Of those 19, two hospitals were extremely close and they may have been evacuated. While homes may have been evacuated, evacuating a hospital is an even greater ordeal because of all the special life support units that people need.

A third example of the impact of a wildfire on the lives of the people in the surrounding area is the effect of the debris and air quality on the recreation areas nearby. For example, Dodger's Stadium, which is located just outside the border of the 10-mile buffer, was at the end of its baseball season during the time of the fire. While none of the games needed to be cancelled, there was a possibility that they would have to be delayed if the fire continued to grow. Additionally, the LA Zoo, which is located within the 10-mile radius, is a generally outdoor facility. The debris and air quality most likely affected the zoo animals in a variety of different harmful ways. According to the L.A. Times blog, volunteers arrived with pick-up trucks on August 30th to evacuate the hundreds of exotic animals at the Wildlife Waystation in Little Tujanga Canyon, which was "no simple task" (Pierce & Barnett, 2009).

Overall, the point here is that a wildfire has an impact on the lives of people at a much larger extent than may meet the eye. The smokey air and debris can really affect the way people live during the fire as well as days after the fire. While evacuation centers may be set up, the interruption that evacuation can have on a person's life is in itself difficult. Wildfires affect so many little things. I remember being on the tennis team in my junior year of high school when there was a large wildfire in the nearby area and we could not have tennis practice for over a week. The most unfortunate thing about the 2009 Station Fire is that it is thought to have been deliberately started by a person.

References:

1) Barkley, Y. (2010). Wildfire and its effects on streams and rivers. Retrieved from http://www.extension.org/pages/Wildfire_and_Its_Effects_on_Streams_and_Rivers

2) Bloomekatz, A. B. (2009, Sept. 2). Station Fire is Largest in La County's Modern History. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from "http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/station-fire-is-largest-in-la-countyhistory.html">http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/station-fire-is-largest-in-la-county-history.html

3) California Environmental Protection Agency. (2009). Fire Response and Recovery. Retrieved from http://www.calepa.ca.gov/Disaster/Fire/

4) Park, G. Y. et al. (2003). Prolonged Airway and Systematic Inflammatory Reactions after smoke inhalation. Chest, 123 (2). doi: 10.1378/chest.123.2.475

5) Pierce T. & Barnett L. (2009, Sept. 1). Wildlife Waystation works to evacuate exotic animals from Little Tujunga Canyon. Los Angeles Time. Retrieved from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/09/animals-waystation-fires.html

6) 2009 California Wildfires. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_California_wildfires

Lab 6, Week 7

3-D Image of locationA Slope Map of my location:

An Aspect map of my location:

A Shaded Relief model of the location:

My location is located in Northern United States in Wyoming. It's geographic coordinates are 45.22 N and -115.28 W. The decimal degrees of the location of interest is .00028 degrees. (The projection was in WGS 84; NED in 1 arc second) By looking at the above maps, it is easy to see that this location is very rocky. This is especially seen on the aspect and hillshade maps. However, there is also the flatter, less mountainness area towarsd the top of the location, which is clearly seen in the slope map because that area is generally green there. Additionally, there is also an area of little confusion, which is most likely a small lake. This can be seen in the small gray area at the bottom right corner that can be clearly identified on the shaded relief model.

LAB WEEK 6: Geospatial Data Management

What is the distance from Washington DC to Kabul? By looking at the above maps you would be lost with an answer that ranges from 5,060 miles to 10,153 miles. So what’s the real distance? It is 6,502 miles. The Bonne map projection came closest to this number. However, every map projection has its “issues”.

There are three main types of map projections: conformal, equal-area, and equidistant projections. The 90º angles (right angles) of the longitudinal and longitudinal lines are characteristic of conformal map projections. Conformal maps preserve angles, but not distance. For this reason, you can understand why the distance between the two cities is so incorrect on the projection. The Mercator projection, which is a conformal projection type, has the largest distance. You can also tell that the map itself is distorted because Antarctica is the size of almost the rest of the land mass on the earth, which is definitely not true in reality.

Equidistant map projections are characterized by a uniform distance from the center of the map to all other places on the map. The two equidistant map projections that I choose were Aitoff and Equidistant Cylindrical. As you can tell, they look very different, but both fit in within the guidelines of what qualifies as an equidistant projection. Equidistant projections preserve area from a standard point or line, which is usually the center. However, while this type of projection preserves distances on the map itself, these distances do not closely resemble reality, which is why the measurements between the two cities are so off.

The third type of map projection is known as equal area. An equal area projection attempts to maintain the same proportional relationships to the areas on the Earth that they represent. Because of this, the equal area projections are closest to reality. This explains why the Bonne projection comes closest to the correct Washington DC – Kabul distance. Of all the six map projections I would also have to vote for the Mollweide projection as looking the most realistic. Everything looks more or less laid out to the proper scale, unlike the – projection where Alaska looks like it is as big as Australia.

Overall, I enjoyed this lab. Once I got the hang of it (because I had to keep starting over for different reasons) I could fly through making the projections. I feel like a much better sense of ArcGIS since the last lab. I felt that I could actually maneuver through the program without needing to constantly be referring back to a tutorial. However, if there was a tutorial I would have probably heavily relied on it, which is why it is good that this lab didn’t include one. I felt that this way I learned more.

Lab 4 - ARCGIS TUTORIAL

My experience with ArcGIS was an in challenging at first, but looking back at my life, aren’t most things? It’s all about practice and gaining familiarity. During the first exercise I was constantly flipping back and forth between the tutorial and the program for each single step. The program was brand new to me and I barely could understand how to navigate through it without the step-by-step instructions of the tutorial. I began to think that ArcGIS is really difficult to use and doubted that I would ever be able to even use the program’s simplest applications with ease. However, looking back at other programs that I’ve used, I realized that I felt this way about them too at first. For example, the ticketing system that we use where I work (known as Archtics) was extremely complicated in my eyes when I was first being taught how to use it. I remember thinking, “How am I going to ever get the hang of this?” Now, a few years later, I know the system very well and can easily use it for more complicated tasks as well as train others on how to use it. It’s the same with ArGIS; I just need to give it time and practice, and eventually I’ll hopefully understand it enough to no longer need a tutorial to instruct me every step of the way.
Even though the programming system itself might be difficult to work with, the tutorial did make it very simple. I would have to say that it was probably one of the most helpful tutorials I have ever used because it didn’t miss a step. It would even tell you when to press ‘ok’ on dialogue boxes. Even though it was only a beginner’s tutorial session, I was truly stunned by the type of things that ArcGIS could do. I think it’s pretty awesome how multiple layers can be integrated into one concrete map. Maps are no longer a guide for direction, but with the help of today’s program’s and technology, maps can illustrate a large variety of things.
ArcGIS has a vast amount of potential in the world of geography. By allowing multiple layers to be included in the same map we can be exposed to a variety of different relational data. However, being able to display a lot of information in your map requires skill, and that is the downfall of ArcGIS. A regular person who isn't very familiar with the program will not even know where to begin. Even going through the tutorial for the first time doesn't make someone very proficient with the program. It is very different from neogeography, which allows non-experts to create maps and other interactive spatial data illustrations. ArcGIS requires long hours of training and also a basic backgroun in geography so that they can have a better feel for what they are doing.
Overall, this lab was quite enjoyable. Even though it was long and time-consuming, I did learn a lot and I am excited to get more experience with this program. Before this class I wasn't aware that such a program existed for the average student (with a tutorial ofcourse) and I am proud of my end result.