VCGI Web Services Expanded – Documentation Posted

VCGI, in collaboration with VT’s Enterprise GIS Consortium (EGC), has developed a portfolio of “web services” which allow users to bring map layers and imagery into their GIS projects or map mashups without actually downloading any data. By connecting to the service of choice via the internet (a live internet connection is required in order for the images to appear in your GIS project) users can access a variety of resources.

VCGI provides Web Map Services (including a basemap and contours), Imagery Services (black and white, color, infrared, various ages and resolution levels), and Geocoding Services. Services are often available in two forms: 1) cache and 2) non-cache. Cached services (*_CACHE) are designed to be used in browser or mobile web applications which utilize imagery at specific scales and need the fastest rendering performance. Non-cache services (*_NOCACHE) render the imagery to the client application dynamically; this allows clients such as ArcGIS Desktop to ask for the data in different ways (eg: different stretch or band combinations). Many of the services are also available in VT State Plane or Web Mercator projection/coordinate systems.

Services available and information on how to connect is available at the VCGI website: http://vcgi.vermont.gov/warehouse/web_services

2011 Bedrock Geologic Map of Vermont Now Available

April 11th, 2012

The Vermont Geological Survey at the Agency of Natural Resources, the United States Geological Survey, and University of Vermont have participated since the early 1980′s in a cooperative venture to produce the new bedrock geological map of Vermont. The map has a 2011 publication date which is 150 years (sesquicentennial) since the first 1861 geologic map of Vermont and 50 years since the 1961 Centennial Geologic Map of Vermont.

The map incorporates 30 years of new approaches to geologic mapping and the technologies that support it. As a fundamental data layer, it is a show piece of the present understanding of Vermont geology. The map will be the geoscience base for years to come, helping us to address Vermont’s environmental issues and informing our interaction with and protection of our natural resources.

More about the GIS data, accessing PDFs of the Map, etc. Here: http://ow.ly/aBQEa

Map Morsels IX

Jonathan Frishtick, GPS/GIS Mapping

As always, please let me know if you like one of these entries.

1.  Put learning Mandarin on the back burner and learn how to code. You have put it off long enough. You’ve been thinking about it for years. You know it will help you in whatever discipline you are in. It’s time to dive in. http://www.codecademy.com/#!/exercises/0

2. Threats from sea level rise and storm surge to all 3000+ coastal towns, cities, counties and states in the Lower 48.  http://sealevel.climatecentral.org/

3. Fonts in ArcGIS symbols, from Aileen Buckley, ESRI Map Center.                                                                               http://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2012/03/28/fonts-in-arcgis-symbols/

4.  Google Earth Where in the World.             https://sites.google.com/site/sightseerwhereintheworld/

5.  Google Search Features.                                http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features.html

6.Google Voice Search.                                  http://www.google.com/insidesearch/voicesearch.html

7.  World Bank Announces Its Crowdsourced Map Data Will Be Free for the Crowd  http://techpresident.com/news/21989/world-bank-announces-its-crowdsourced-map-data-will-be-free-crowd, via the Spatial Law and Policy blog.

8.  The National Archives and Records Administration has made individual records from the 1940 Census available to the public for the first time. http://www.census.gov/1940census/

9.  From Google Maps Mania:The Outlook is Cloudy on Google Maps

Plane Finder, the real-time plane tracking website, has added options to view both the cloud layer and the weather layer on its Google Map.   To view the new weather layers on Plane Finder select ‘Map Options’, ‘Map’ and then select the ‘cloud’ and / or ‘weather’ check buttons. Martin Kleppe of Ubilabs has created a rather beautiful example of the cloud layer in action on a styled Google Map. This example map uses dark map tiles which contrast nicely with the new fluffy white clouds.

Map Morsel VIII

Jonathan Frishtick, GIS/GPS Mapping

 

LiDAR Mapping Helps Archeologists                                                                                                                                    http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/archeology-lidar-mapping/

Japanese disaster imagery one year later                                                                                                          http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2012/03/japanese_disaster_imagery_one_year.html

WeatherMob, a Social Network Around the Local Forecast http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/sxsw-weathermob-a-social-network-around-the-local-forecast/.                                                                                 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weathermob/id463729367

A Skeptic’s Lament: James Randi on the American psyche.                                                                                         http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/opinion-randi-maya-skeptic

Real time twitter feeds in a Google map interface:                                                                                                             http://tweereal.com/

Do you want to receive an email when Google updates a particular location’s imagery? https://followyourworld.appspot.com/

In the wake of the Tohoku-oki tsunami, scientists now know that seafloor topography affects the strength and height of a tsunami even in the deep ocean and at great distances.                                                                           http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=77331

Where has Aaron been?   Maybe he is just a tad obsessive.                                                                                          https://geoloqi.com/blog/2012/03/data-portraits-powered-by-3-5-years-of-data-and-2-5-million-gps-points/

Map pages show threats from sea level rise and storm surge to all 3000+ coastal towns, cities, counties and states in the Lower 48.                                                                                                                                                           http://sealevel.climatecentral.org/

Pareidolia: I see faces…                                                                                                                                                          http://urbanhonking.com/ideasfordozens/2012/01/14/machine-pareidolia-hello-little-fella-meets-facetracker/

Lyme Disease Surge Predicted for Northeastern US, Due to Acorns and Mice, Not Mild Winter                          http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120316094452.htm

New hardiness zones show warming trend in Vermont http://vtdigger.org/2012/03/15/new-hardiness-zones-show-warming-trend-in-vermont

Time-Lapse Video Shows Stars and Earth From Space Station                                                                                  http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/stars-time-lapse-space-station

Will 2012 be the year of the Open Map?                                                                                                                http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/daily-report-some-sites-bypass-google-maps/               https://plus.google.com/u/0/118383351194421484817/posts/foj5A1fURGt

Strange Days: NASA Earth Observatory’s land surface temperature anomaly map. Noted in the article was that Climate Central reported that in Rochester, Minnesota the overnight low temperature on March 18 was 16.6°Celsius (62°Fahrenheit), a temperature so high it beat the record high of 15.5°Celsius (60°Fahrenheit) for the same date.                         http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=77465                                                                              The Doors: Strange Days  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NSz-9qqgKE

Anything Frank Jacobs writes is worth reading.                                                                                   http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/all-hail-sealand/

U.S. Defense Department Develops Map of Future Climate Chaos                                               http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=us-defense-department-develops-map-future-climate-chaos

Map Morsels VII

This is the 7^th post of hopefully, interesting geo-map-earth-tech related stuff which I have posted. It is amazing how much material is out there floating around in the cloud or more likely, on Google servers in The Dalles, Oregon and other locations. (See: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/21973).

Because of the large volume of information bombarding us, I have pared down the descriptions so I can get this list of links out before it becomes stale. Check  out the Vermont geo contest at the end of the post.

If you see something you particularly like, please let me know.

Jonathan Frishtick, GIS/GPS Mapping

Use the Google Maps API for images other than maps.  Very cool!                                                  http://blog.mikecouturier.com/2011/07/create-zoomable-images-using-google.html

Fly through an ice rift in Antarctica. Cheaper than going there in person.                                       http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/earthmatters/2012/02/29/a-little-more-on-that-ice-rift-in-antarctica/

Where did you do it?  Mapping safe sex.                                                                                                  http://www.wheredidyouwearit.com/index.php/map/

Know your nuclear facilities.                                                                                                                                                http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/11/map-nuclear-bombs-power-weapons

Nokia and Microsoft take a fresh look at maps.                                                                                            http://www.vector1media.com/spatialsustain/nokia-and-microsoft-take-a-fresh-look-at-maps.html

Video of patterns of daily life in the Netherlands. Genieten van.                                                                             http://flowingdata.com/2012/02/22/patterns-of-daily-life-in-netherlands-from-above/

Use Google Docs in your ArcGIS Online maps.                                                                                                                    http://blogs.esri.com/Support/blogs/arcgisonline/archive/2012/02/21/using-google-docs-in-your-arcgis-online-maps.aspx

Google to sell heads-up display glasses by year’s end.                                                                                http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/google-to-sell-terminator-style-glasses-by-years-end/

The London Mugging Map.                                                                                                                           http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2012/02/london-mugging-map.html

My photos of the northern lights don’t look anything like this.                                                                                 http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/rocket-launched-aurora/

If you are not taking advantage of the ArcGIS Resource Center, especially the Mapping Center, you should be!      http://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2012/02/21/updating-the-mapping-center-web-site/

All things lake ice related. Good for next year’s winter.                                                                             http://lakeice.squarespace.com/about/

This is true.                                                                                                                                                   http://thedoghousediaries.com/3438

Tell Garmin where to go…I mean what to do.                                                                                                              http://www8.garmin.com/contactUs/ideas/

Garmin’s 4^th quarter earnings beat all estimates.                                                                                   http://www.gpsbusinessnews.com/Garmin-Q4-Earnings-Growth-in-all-Segments-Beats-all-Estimates_a3486.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

You want to take a good look at this one. Simply beautiful images of Earth from space.                                      http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/envisat-anniversary/

This is a great way to use Google Earth in a cross disciplinary fashion in the classroom. Do the latest JPL Where on Earth geoquiz.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/quizzes/?ImageID=345

CONTEST! REWARD!                                                                                                                                                                                                 Do you know the significance of this mysterious marker? http://bit.ly/xnhQYp. Send your response  to me at:  gis.gps.mapping@gmail.com.  One winner will be randomly selected from the correct responses and an award will be sent to you.

VT GIS Update – February 2012

Leslie Pelch, VCGI

Coming Up

Webinars (all free)

Scheduled (click here for details and to register):

• Free Online Mapping with ArcGIS Online: March 6, 2012, 10:30 AM
• E911 PMF Map and Website Overview: March 13, 2012, 10:30AM

 

Ignite Spatial Vermont: Student Showcase

The event will be held in the evening on April 17, 2012 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier, VT; Cash bar and appetizers will be provided.  The “Ignite” format provides speakers the opportunity and the challenge to tell their spatial story in only 5 minutes! The quick pace means that participants can learn about a multitude of projects and then network and follow up on topics that caught their interest. In 2012, we invite students of Vermont’s colleges and universities to submit abstracts to participate in this exciting event along with  professionals from a wide range of private, non-profit, and public organizations that use GIS.

Visit the web page to learn more about this event, and to submit a lightning presentation abstract or register to attend (for free!): http://www.vcgi.org/commres/?page=./events/ignite/default_content.cfm

 

VT College and University Student Map Contest

VCGI and a coalition of academic institutions in VT are pleased to present the first VT Map Contest (in a number of years, anyway). Any and all digital maps (dynamic or static) can be submitted! The only limitations are that the map must be viewable by the general public via a web link (URL – VCGI can provide a place to post the map if it is a PDF or image file) without the need to pay for special software, and the author(s) of the map need to be current full or part-time students at a VT institution of higher learning. Deadline for submission is April 1! Winner will be announced at April 17 Ignite event (see above).

Visit the map contest web page for more information and instructions on how to submit your map! http://www.vcgi.org/commres/?page=./map_contest/default_content.cfm

 

Introduction to ArcGIS 10 Training in Randolph, June 11-13

This 3-day training is still being planned, but the location and dates are set! Keep an eye on the front page of VCGI’s web site for details and registration link. The training will be conducted by UNH Extension in partnership with VCGI and the fee will be $350 (nonprofit, school, public enployees) or $495 (private sector).

 

NEARC Spring Conference – call for papers

The NEARC Spring Conference will take place Tuesday, May 22 at the Smith College Campus Center in Northampton, MA. Submit your “presentation proposal” by March 23!   See the schedule of the day and link to the submission form here: http://www.northeastarc.org/html/springnearc.shtml

There are many different ways that you can participate in this fun and dynamic event: Extended Talk (45-60 Mins.), Panel (45-60 Mins.), Standard Talk (20-30 Mins.),   Workshop (60 Mins.), Lightning Talk (5 Mins.), Video Poster, Poster.

Other Features of the NEARC Spring Conference include Lightning Karaoke, the Pub Social and more!

 

Data/Maps

 

BNDHASH Updated! – Steve Sharp ( steves@vcgi.org )

BNDHASH has been updated and is available for download here.

http://www.vcgi.org/dataware/?layer=BNDHASH

Significant Boundary Changes – Summary (2011A)
———————————————
1) Saint George / Shelburne Town line.  Adjusted to match Survey “Town Line Agreement between Towns of: Shelburne & St. George Chittenden County State of Vermont” conducted by a licensed land surveyor employed by Civil Engineering Associates, Inc. and dated March 9, 2011.  Boundary codified by VT Legislature in 2011 H. 452 (ACT 0015).  Recieved copy of survey boundary in shapefile format from CCRPC.

2) Braintree / Rochester town line.  Adjusted based on latest matching Braintree/Rochester parcel data provided by TRORC.

3) MA / VT boundary.  Adjusted MA / VT boundary based on survey point data provided by MassGIS http://www.mass.gov/mgis/townssurvey.htm which was derived from 68-volume MA “Harbor and Lands Commission Town Boundary Atlas”.

Minor Updates (2011A)
———————
1) Tweaked Norwich/Harford boundary based on the latest parcel data to correct a problem.

2) Updated LEPC boundaries based on new information.

3) Adjusted boundaries for several villages to match 2011 boundary information provided by VTrans from their HMS system.

 

VTrans County/Town Maps Updated, Sara Moulton, GISP

An updated set of the County-Town Map Series has been posted online and is available from the Mapping Unit Publications web page

http://www.aot.state.vt.us/Planning/Documents/Mapping/Publications/mapping_pubs.htm

The major change is the note in the legend identifying that Minor Collectors are not Federal Aid eligible.  Other changes included small cartographic changes plus the road centerline data that has been updated since the previous map set was produced in September-October 2010.

 

Links to the Past

 

Webinars Recorded and Posted (click here to access):

• Web Mapping Made Easy I – Leslie Pelch, VCGI, February 2, 2012
• Linking Parcel Maps/Data and Grand List Data – Pete Fellows, Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission, January 12, 2012

 

ESRI Seminar Materials re: ArcGIS Online

http://www.esri.com/events/seminars/extend-your-reach/index.html

 

Municipal and Irene Mapping Conference Presentations Posted

Click here to go to the Event Archive where all conference presentations are posted (as they come in, check back if they one you want isn’t posted yet!)

 

News

From Jonathan Frishtick:

• Big news. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that police must get a search warrant before using GPS technology to track criminal suspects. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/supreme-court-says-search-warrants-needed-when-police-use-gps-devices-to-track-suspects/2012/01/23/gIQA7wL1KQ_story.html

• From GPS TrackLog:”The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) wrote the FCC yesterday (PDF) saying they had concluded “that LightSquared’s proposed mobile broadband network will impact GPS services and that there is no practical way to mitigate the potential interference at this time.” Shortly thereafter, the FCC announced that they would “(1) vacate the Conditional Waiver Order, and (2) suspend indefinitely LightSquared’s Ancillary Terrestrial Component authority to an extent consistent with the NTIA letter.” http://gpstracklog.com/2012/02/fcc-kills-lightsquared.html

Holiday Gifts for Map Geeks

Leslie Pelch, VCGI (with help from Jonathan Frishtick!)

Churchill Globe – mentioned at GIS Lounge (see below)

 

Here are some resources for those seeking unique gifts for lovers of maps and geography:

“If you’re trying to figure out the ideal gift for the GISer or geographer on your list, check out these great ideas for your Christmas and holiday gift shopping. This list will be updated as new deals and unique geography themed gifts are discovered for the 2011 season.” http://gislounge.com/gifts-for-geographers-and-gis/

Scrambled States of America Puzzle and Book – Read the book, then do the puzzle! In the hilarious illustrated paperback story The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller, you’ll learn all about how the 50 States were bored and tired of staying in their same spots all the time. So they threw a party, and decided to trade places.

Charting the World: Geography and Maps from Cave Paintings to GPS with 21 Activities (For Kids series)

“As soon as early humans began to scratch images on cave walls, they began to create maps. And while these first drawings were used to find hunting grounds or avoid danger, they later developed into far more complex navigational tools. Charting the World tells the fascinating history of maps and mapmaking, navigators and explorers, and the ways that technology has enhanced our ability to understand the world around us. Richly illustrated with full-color maps and diagrams, it gives children an in-depth appreciation of geographical concepts and principles and shows them how to unlock the wealth of information maps contain. It also features 21 hands-on activities for readers to put their new skills to the test.”

Even better, a list of cool map-related books at Amazon. The list author says: “I love reading maps created for literary worlds. I also enjoy reading books that are illustrated with maps (like Barbara Hodgson’s novels) and any books with unusual map trivia.”

Please share your gift ideas in the comments area below!

Beautiful Volcanoes

Contributed by Jonathan Frishtick

Beautiful Destruction: 11 Gorgeous Geological Maps of Volcanoes from Wired Science

“It’s not always obvious what it is that scientists find beautiful about a graph, microscope slide, soil sample or some other aspect of their work. It just looks like numbers, blobs or dirt to the rest of us. But sometimes a scientific result or product is so visually appealing, anyone would want to hang it on their wall as art.

Geological maps are often in this category. And some of the most beautiful geological maps are of volcanoes.”

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/geological-maps-of-volcanoes/

2011 Town Highway Maps Complete

Sara Moulton, VTrans

The Year 2011 Town Highway Maps have been completed.  There are 94 new maps.  We generated new maps only for the towns that reported changes during the 2011 Mileage Certificate process.  The maps from the years 2003-2010 are still valid for the towns that did not have changes.

The PDF version of these new maps can be accessed through the Mapping Unit website at:

http://www.aot.state.vt.us/Planning/mapgis/town_maps1.htm

The changes incorporated into the maps are detailed in the “2011_AllChanges” document located at:

http://www.aot.state.vt.us/Planning/Documents/HighResearch/Publications/2011_AllChanges.pdf

FOR GIS FOLKS: The VTrans road centerline data layer (TransRoad_RDS)  that was posted at the VGIS Data Warehouse (http://www.vcgi.org) in August 2011 reflects the changes incorporated in this year’s town highway maps.

Questions? Contact me at 802-828-2109 or Sara.Moulton@STATE.VT.US

Map Morsels VI

Jonathan Frishtick, GIS/GPS Mapping

1.  Create Custom Google Maps for Android

“The app lets you quickly create a custom map for your Android phone from any map image or photo file. The image can be a photo or scan of a paper map. It could even just be the photo of a map posted at the beginning of a trailhead or at the entrance to an amusement park, which you can capture with your smartphone camera.” http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2011/10/create-custom-google-maps-for-android.html

2. Searching the Earth for Art From Google Earth Blog

Searthing was created by Mack Lazarus and Tim Schmauch, who are behind the similar EarthArtWorld.com site. The two site both focus on artistic-looking imagery, but Searthing is designed in a blog format to show off much more of it.

3. Occupy Wall Street on Google Maps from Google Earth Blog

The Daily Kos has created a Google Map of over 200 Occupy Wall Street events and Facebook pages throughout the United States.

4. State halts work on Lowell Mountain Wind Project.

From VTDigger.org

Construction on the Kingdom Community Wind Project is temporarily on hold after the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources issued a stop-work order.

Green Mountain Power, the utility that is building the project, violated part of its Clean Water Act permit when it failed to comply with part of its sediment control plan.

5. Strange Agricultural Landscapes Seen From Space

From Wired Science

My favorite is the Bolivian soybean fields. They look like snowflakes.

6. Find out where the Google Street View cars are currently on the road

7.  Best Mars Images From Orbiter’s First 5 Years

From Wired Science

Truly phenomenal photos. You can actually see the Mars rover Opportunity in some of the photos.

8. New ArcGIS Online Basemaps

“We added an entry for the new Light Gray Canvas basemap which provides a neutral basemap that makes your thematic data really stand out… We renamed the  ‘Physical’ basemap to ‘Physical and Ocean’ and added the Ocean basemap into this as a layer. “

9. Sea Ice Extent Animation updated for 2011

From Google Earth Blog: As they’ve done for the past few years (here is 2010), the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has produced their annual Sea Ice Extent data

While 2011 wasn’t a record year for ice loss, it came close, ending just slightly above the mark set in 2007. You can view the data for yourself by loading this KMZ file .

10.  The Guardian newspaper has created a Google Map showing Murder rates Around the World. The map was created using data from the UNODC.

11. Running for Mayor,  Ed Lee uses Google Earth to show his plan for San Francisco Job  Growth

From the Google Earth Blog:

“I don’t know the details of Ed Lee’s political agenda, and that information is irrelevant for this post, but he’s recently used Google Earth in a very creative way. In one of his recent TV ads, Ed made great use of Google Earth to help show off his plan for creating new jobs across the San Francisco area. Details on how the video was created aren’t available, but it appears that they simply took some carefully-planned Google Earth footage and then added all of the labels and highlights in a video editing suite like Final Cut Pro. As such, no KML or tour are available.”

12. Google partnered with NASA, ESA and JAXA to launch a new YouTube channel called Space Lab. Commander Mike Fossum, from the International Space Station, invites you to come up with a science experiment for space and upload a video explaining it to YouTube.

13. Display Real Time Lightning Strikes in GE

From Google Maps Mania:

“Blitzortung.org works with a community of users, who have built their own lightning receivers, to automatically display live lightning data on a Google Map.”

14. Yipes! From WIRED Threat Level blog:

California Gov. Jerry Brown is vetoing legislation requiring police to obtain a court warrant to search the mobile phones of suspects at the time of any arrest.

“The Sunday veto means that when police arrest anybody in the Golden State, they may search that person’s mobile phone — which in the digital age likely means the contents of persons’ e-mail, call records, text messages, photos, banking activity, cloud-storage services, and even where the phone has traveled.”

15. From Spatial Sustain:

“Boston Rare Maps, a specialist dealer in rare and unusual antique maps, has launched AmericanMapmaking.com, an online exhibit of maps of America from 1782-1800. The exhibit was originally hosted at the Harvard Map Collection, and illustrates an evolution in the country and its mapmaking ability.”

If you particularly like an item or have comments, please email me, gis.gps.mapping(at)gmail.com