MICRODEM GIS Course

GIS involves a mixture of education and training:

Education in basic principles which would apply to any GIS software.
- Map projections
- Data characteristics, including scale
- Operations with geographic data
Training in the specifics of a particular software package, which will not apply directly to other software, or even to the next release of the same software package.

This course, taught regularly at USNA as SO432, uses the MICRODEM program (what do you expect for something integrated in the program's help file?), which is free and reasonably powerful. If you really understand what you are trying to do and the concepts behind it, you should be able to find directions for other programs to perform the tasks you want. Google can usually find any number of directions from college GIS courses--simply enter the name of the GIS program and a few words describing what you want to do. It helps to know the correct GIS terminology. The same thing works with Matlab programming (and probably other programs)--Google can be as easy to use as the program help files, and leads to directions from instructors with great experience in student problem areas.

The lab directions will not be complete step by step directions, particularly in the later labs. You must learn to think like a GIS program, so that you solve the next problem you will encounter, which will be different, but will involve the same building blocks.

Coverage. You should read every page in this column. Each of the pages will have links, which you can follow but which will not be directly testable, unless they also appear in this column.	Labs	Key concepts
Introduction and overview of GIS GIS definition Importance of data Metadata Computer data types GIS data types Database basics Database filtering Key map elements Basics of running MICRODEM General Windows computer suggestions Scientific figures GIS Project Management	Lab 1: Introduction to GIS and Mapping	GIS definition Data types (string, integer, float) Table, Field/attribute, record DEM, Land Cover KML/KMZ format Shapefile US Mapping Agencies
Basics of computer mapping Earth shape Map scale Scale changes with digital data Latitude and longitude Vector and raster data Horizontal datum introduction Datum shifts Map projection basics Map projection gallery Tissot indicatrix theory UTM UTM zones MGRS	Lab 2: Projections and Horizontal Datums	Conformal maps Projected versus geographic coordinates Lat/long coordinates NAD27, NAD83, WGS84 Grids and graticules UTM and MGRS coordinates Tissot indicatrix Mercator projection Conical projections
Types of digital data Vector and raster data Data categories Data format interoperability Land cover data Gazetteers DEMs Bounding box Buffering Compressed data Generalization Metadata Projection and datum shift calculations	Lab 3: Maps of your home county	Vector and raster data Shapefile Geotiff Masking/clipping a dataset Buffering a dataset Reproject data set Reclassify NLCD: National Land Cover Dataset 3DEP: 3D Elevations Program, formerly NED World files Differentiate tiled and seamless downloads
Vector GIS basics Join/Link databases Database filters	Lab 5: Vector GIS--joins and computations	Generalization Joins Geometric computations (length, area) Metadata Missing data
Map algebra Map algebra Focal operations DEM Considerations Slope Reflectance map Grid creation LIDAR and Sonar point clouds DTM/DSM Data set dimensionality	Lab 6: Raster GIS, map algebra	LAS format
Database design and creation Designing a database EXIF data	Lab 8: Vector GIS--create a database	Geotag Photos
GIS and remote sensing Troubleshoot data import Projection encoding Vertical datums Landsat Thematic Mapper The Geoid	Vertical datums and Landsat
Digitizing DEM Grid and file sizes Urban GPS	Lab 9--How Long is the Path Atop the Cliff?
Redistricting and gerrymandering	Lab--Redistricting
	Fire base camp
Viewshed Line of sight	Sensor Coverage
GIS and the internet Address geocoding Point in Polygon IP address geography Map versus data coordinates WMS	Lab 9: Web services	DRG: Digital Raster Graphic, a scanned map. DOQ or DOQQ: Digital ortho quarter quad: Bounding box
Final project OpenStreetMap GIS Project Management	Your final deliverable will be a paper and map layer, combined into one KMZ file Suggested primary data sources. Complete list. Turning your paper into a KML file. This will appear on the Google Earth map. KML export map image KML database export Clean up KML exports prior to final saving. This make the final product friendly to a non-GIS literate person. You should verify that this KMZ file contains what you think it does. The best way to do this would be be send it to a classmate, and have them critique it. You can also email to yourself, and open on a different computer.

Labs below will not be done, but cover some other interesting topics
Digitizing Image registration Digitizing	Lab 7: Vector GIS--registration and digitizing	Triangulation (Delaunay triangulation, Voronoi diagram, Thiessen polygons) Affine transformation Quadrangle SRTM
Applications US Mapping Agencies County maps, different projections DEM Grid and file sizes Spring Break Prep Lab Views of California. Multiple DEMs at a variety of scales.
Supervised classification. Unsupervised classification Digital filtering Contrast Enhancement. Remote sensing fundamentals (read all links on this page)

Last revision 4/19/2017