Reference no: EM132224688
Maps, Satellites and the Geospatial Revolution Laboratory Assignment - Mapping Nunavut Communities and Populations
Introduction -
On April 1st, 1999, Nunavut became Canada's third northern Territory, under the Nunavut Act. Nunavut is the least populated of the three northern territories and encompasses a vast area of northern Canada. Many Canadians are surprised by the number of small communities that exist throughout Nunavut, and few could identify more than one or two of them by name! The purpose of this assignment will be to create a map showing communities of Nunavut Territory that communicates their population sizes and population changes since 2006. In addition to working with map projections, you will be introduced to some typical challenges associated with cartographic communication and thematic map symbolization.
Objectives -
1. To continue developing your cartographic skills in ArcMap using map layouts.
2. To learn how to work with spatial data from multiple sources to create a thematic map.
3. To gain additional experience working with map projections in ArcMap including producing maps of northern Canada with and without proper projections applied.
4. To continue learning about thematic map symbolization strategies for point data.
5. To learn how to work with labels in ArcMap and gain experience communicating more than a single variable at once.
6. To learn how to produce an inset map.
Part A - Getting the Nunavut community data into ArcMap as a shapefile
GIS mapping and analysis involves working with different types of source data, and often requires some "pre-processing" steps. One common way of creating a points shapefile is to import a table with x and y (longitude and latitude) coordinates and then export it as a shapefile. The data you have been provided in the file "communities.xlsx" contains latitude and longitude in the "Location" field but it is not formatted in a way that will work for this. You need to use an excel formula to parse this data into useable data and you have been given an example of how to do this for the latitude column (see the current formula in the formula bar at position I2). Now, reuse and update this formula to parse out the longitude data. Once complete, you should have latitude and longitude coordinates in decimal degrees. Save the excel file and then save again as a Unicode Text (.txt) format.
Open ArcMap and add this .txt file in the same way you normally add spatial data. Right click the table in the TOC and choose Display XY data. Choose the proper fields for your x (longitude) and y (latitude) coordinates. Set the current coordinate system to WGS 1984. Right click the "events" layers you just created and choose Data->Export Data and export this layer to a shapefile (accepting the default option to use the same coordinate system as the layer's source data and choose Yes to add to the map as a layer.
Part B - Working with map projections
Q1 requires you to apply a proper projection to your map, so do that now. Right-click the Layers data frame in your TOC and choose properties. Choose the Coordinate System tab and set the coordinate system as seen in attached figure.
You should see a big change in your data view at this point! Later on, you will be switching back to a geographic coordinate system for one of the questions. Consider including the "Canada.shp" shapefile in your map composition but try to choose a colour scheme that causes it to fade into the background .
Part C - Map symbolization and labelling
Now you need to start making the map described in Q1. Start symbolizing your data layers and producing a map in Layout View with all required elements listed in Q1. You will symbolize the communities based on the Population field using graduated symbols as in Assignment 1. This time, you will choose the number of classes and the classification method. Try different classification methods and decide on which one you think is best.
Continue producing your map layout and adding all necessary map elements as requested in Q1. For the extent indicators ("map within a map") refer to helpful hints for guidance. You will also be shown how to do this in class. Lastly, you should label the communities with their English names and showing the % population change since 2006. E.g. "Pond Inlet (17.8%)". You may also wish to try to include the Inuktitut name (in syllabics). Students that are successful in this additional labelling effort will be rewarded in their grade for Q1 but it is not required. The components of the label (name and % population) come from the attribute table and you will be shown how to produce such a label in class using "label expressions" (see also "helpful hints").
Questions -
Q1) Print your final, properly projected map showing Nunavut communities, community names, population sizes (as graduated symbols) and % population change since 2006 (as part of the label). Your map should include a title, legend, north arrow, scale bar, an inset map showing the location of Nunavut in Canada, and a note explaining where the data used in the map come from.
Q2) What classification strategy did you choose to represent populations of Nunavut communities with graduated symbols, and how do you think different approaches could affect map readers in their interpretation of Nunavut community populations?
Q3) Print a second map, exactly the same as in Q1, after converting the projection to a geographic coordinate system (i.e. no projection!).
Q4) Describe the differences between your projected vs unprojected maps. What is the name of the projection used in Q1 (i.e. the proper projection)? What type of projection is it and what are its qualities?
Q5) Based on your two maps, how might the use of a geographic coordinate system (as used in Q3), rather than the projected coordinate system used in Q1, affect a map user's impression of Nunavut and/or Nunavut communities, in geographic terms? Be as specific as possible.
Please hand in a typewritten document with your answers to the questions above including colour maps for Q1 and Q2.
Attachment:- Assignment Files.rar