Final Lab

        One of the major factors that affect the expansion of a wildfire is the topography of the surrounding terrain. The slope of a hill can give indications as to how fast a fire will spread as well as telling direction. Elevation can also be very significant in telling where different fuels for the wildfire are located, wether grass or trees. As can be seen in my project, the behavior of fire greatly depends upon changes in elevation, and fire tends to spread more quickly uphill. This information is very useful because it allows for more accurate prediction of fire spread. 

        In the case of the Station Fire in 2009, one of the primary and most obvious reasons for the fire spreading uphill is the fact that it started at the base of the Angeles National Forest. Looking at my reference map, it is clear that the fire started at a low elevation and somewhat close to a local road, which is a clue that the fire was possibly started by man. What is more important that can be inferred from the elevation of the initial fire is that it's direction can be predicted. Because plant life located at a higher elevation on the same slope of a fire gets dried out faster because of the rising heat, the fire will be able to use that fuel much more quickly than plant life below it, causing it to spread faster uphill (Fitzgerald). Due to the characteristics of fire and heat transfer, fires starting at lower elevations have a tendency to move to higher elevations.

        Another factor that had a great impact on the spread of the station fire, and all fires in general, is slope of terrain. There is a direct relationship between the slope of a hill and the rate of fire spread (Rothermel 24). The greater the slope of a hill is, the faster a fire will spread up that slope (Ntaimo 491). This phenomena can be clearly seen on the digital elevation model provided above. When comparing the fire perimeter on August 29 to the perimeter of August 30, the greatest expansion occurs where there is the greatest change in elevation, where the slope of the terrain is greatest. The same can also be seen when comparing the perimeter of August 30 to September 2. The most rapid expansion of the fire perimeter occurs when elevation is increasing.

        Slope and elevation are also critical in determining which fuels are available to be burned and how that effects the spread of the fire. When a slope is very steep it prohibits the growth of long-lasting fuel sources like pine trees but not fast igniting sources like sage brush. When a slope exceeds 60% incline, there is much less available fuel to burn (Mermoz 2709). This allows fire to spread very quickly up steep slopes but also means that an area will not remain on fire for a long time due to lack of fuel. The type of fuel that can be burned also depends on elevation. When reaching a certain elevation and the type of fuel changes from a fast igniting material like grasses to a slow igniting and burning material like pine, the rate of expansion will slow (McKelvey). The type of fuel that can be burned is very dependent on the slope and elevation of the fire area. 

        Topography is one of the primary factors that determine how a fire will burn. The expansion of the fire perimeter can be more predictable when considering the elevation and slope of the terrain, as well as what types of fuel the topography allows. Although other factors like wind speed and direction are much more variable and difficult to predict, knowing the topography of a fire region can greatly increase accuracy when predicting its expansion.

References

Fitzgerald, Stephen. "The Effects of Topography, Weather, and Fuel on Fire Behavior."      oregonstate.edu. Oregon State University, n.d. Web. 21 Mar 2013. <http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/19402/pnw618zappendixb.pdf?sequence=30>.

McKelvey, Kevin, and Kelly Busse. United States. United States Department of the Interior.Twentieth-Century Fire Patterns on Forest Service Lands. Davis: University of California Davis, 1997. Print.

Mermoz, Monica, Thomas Kitzberger, and Thomas Veblen. "Landscape Influences on Occurrence and   Spread of Wildfires in Patagonian Forests and Shrublands."Ecology. 86.10 (2005): 2705-2715. Print.

Ntaimo, Lewis, Bernard Zeigler, Maria Vasconcelos, and Bithika Khargharia. "Forest Fire Spread and Suppression in DEVs." Simulation. 80.10 (2004): 479-500. Print.

Rothermel, Richard. United States. United States Department of Agriculture. Mathematical Model for Predicting Fire Spread in Wildland Fuels. Ogden: , 1972. Print.

Week 8 Lab Assignment

I found the map of the Black population in the continental United States to be the most interesting of all the population maps for several reasons. First of all, the majority of the Black population is in the South, primarily Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina. This is very significant because it shows a trend that can also be found in the other population maps. This trend shows that in general, the population does not stray far from its area of immigration. However, in the case of African-Americans, immigration is not the correct word, as they were brought to the United States as slaves (primarily the South) against their will and were viciously exploited by White Americans so that the cotton industry could flourish. This map is a geographical depiction as well a reminder of some of the darkest times in the history of the United States.

Although the map of the Asian population in the continental United States is not as revealing as the Black population, it still shows a trend of staying close to the area of immigration. For example, Hawaii, the state with the largest Asian population is the highest for two reasons. First is its geographical position and how close it is to Asia, and could be though of as a stepping stone to the U.S, and second, because of the booming sugar cane industry and need for workers during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The next step, and for many the only logical option for Asian-Americans was the west coast of the U.S. The majority of Asian immigrants passed through Angel Island in San Francisco, California and as the map shows, Santa Clara, San Francisco, and Alameda Counties all have very high Asian populations. The west coast of the United States clearly has the largest Asian Population.

A somewhat similar trend can be observed with what the Census Bureau has called “Some Other” population, which I assume to be the Hispanic population for a number of reasons. First of all, the highest concentrations of the population appears to be in the American Southwest, in the regions bordering Mexico like California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. It can also be observed that the population tends to be higher in agricultural areas. For example, in California there is a large population of  “Some Other” in Imperial, Kern, Tulare, Kings, Merced and Madera Counties, which are heavily agricultural. Similar to the Black and Asian populations, the “Some Other” population is more dense in the areas that are closer to the points of immigration; for Hispanics in the Southwest, for Asians in Hawaii and the Pacific Coast, and for African-Americans, the South. I feel that it will take several more decades for populations to become dispersed more evenly throughout the United States. 

Week 7 Lab Assignment

Extent:

Top: 39.8291666661

Left: -105.788888889

Right: -104.969444445

Bottom: 39.3838888883

Spatial Reference:

Linear Unit:

Angular Unit: Degree (0.0174532925199433)

Datum: D_North_American_1983

Week Six Lab Assignment

           

          Different map projections serve different purposes and each one cannot be perfect in every regard. Some projections are meant to be accurate in only some ways and therefore useful in only certain circumstances. However, when projections are very accurate in some areas, they tend to be inaccurate in others. But this does not mean that they are not useful. Geographers and other people that use maps frequently will use projections that best suit their needs. Map projections are not perfect but very useful.

            Map projections are significant for a number of reasons. First of all and most importantly, having a variety of projections to choose from means that you can have more accurate data, depending on what you are studying or trying to accomplish. For example, conformal maps preserve angles and direction, so they would be useful for navigation. Sailors would much rather use a Mercator projection than a map that does not preserve angles, like a Bonne equal area projection. Having a variety of projections means that people can be more accurate with data in the areas that they are interested in.

            Being very accurate in one respect means sacrificing accuracy in others, and that is exactly the case with map projections and is one of their perils. For example, an equidistant cylindrical projection will not preserve area at all, and an equal area projection like the Goode Homolonsie Projection will not preserve direction well. Each map has its trade-offs. Another issue with map projections is that areas are greatly distorted, which is simply the result of rendering the three-dimensional Earth onto a two-dimensional surface. When looking at a projection like the Plate Carree projection, it is clear that all the land towards the poles are greatly stretched and the areas near the equator are not. The only projection that I used that had the least distortion was the Stereographic projection. Every map projection has a purpose and a strong point, but each one also has its own flaws.

            As mentioned earlier, map projections have great significance as well as having a lot of potential. They allow for people to choose which projection best suits their needs so that they may have more accurate data. Sailors are able to navigate easier with conformal maps, distances are more accurate with equidistant projections, and area is represented more accurately with equal area projections. The possibilities in GIS are almost infinite when people choose the map projections that are best for what they are investigating.

Week Four Lab Assignment

           GIS software is a very useful thing that has many advantages and has huge potential in the real world. However, like most things life it is not without its flaws and has some minor pitfalls that make the experience a bit more difficult. My first experience with ArcMap was a mixed experience, but mainly yielded positive results.

            The amount of negatives in my experience with ArcMap is few but it exposes some of the possible pitfalls of GIS. One of the main problems that I encountered with the program was that there was some redundancy when it came to doing certain functions. For example, there would be several ways to perform a function and one would not really be more efficient than the other. The multiple ways of achieving the same function could result in confusion between the user and the program and possibly result in inaccurate data as well as being difficult for the user to gain a commanding knowledge of the program. My experience with ArcMap uncovered some pitfalls of GIS.

            Using ArcMap allowed me to uncover much more potential in GIS rather than pitfalls. Although the program could be very confusing at times, mainly because of the enormous amount of functions there are, it made me appreciate just how many possibilities there are to visually display critical and relevant information for an area. In addition, there is almost an infinite amount of data that can be represented through GIS programs that could benefit humanity in general. The potential of GIS far outweighs the pitfalls simply because of the limitless versatility and possibility of the software.

            My experience with ArcMap made me realize several things about GIS in general. First off, I noticed the difficulties that came with learning new software that has so many different ways of completing functions, and I found that to be frustrating and thought of it as inefficient. However, reflecting on the experience makes me accept that the complications that come with learning the program is simply a by-product of the limitless potential GIS has and the diversity of data that it can represent. Working with ArcMap helped me visualize the vast potential that GIS has for society. 

Week Three Lab Assignment

View Los Angeles Art Museums and Bus Stops near UCLA in a larger map

      The reason I this map is very simple. Being an art major, I have to and want to go visit art galleries on a frequent basis. However, not having a car on campus means that I need to take the bus and find certain bus stops in order to go to the museums. This was my motivation in creating this map of bus stops near UCLA and a couple of art museums in Los Angeles. 
      Neo-geography is a new and exciting field that gives people the opportunity to create and share their own unique maps with the world. It allows people to create highly-specialized maps that usually would not exist on their own, and many people can take advantage of the new and useful information these maps give. For example, if you really like Mexican food and live in the Los Angeles area, somebody has probably created a map that shows where all the good Mexican restaurants are in the LA area. This kind of map would be very useful to a select number of individuals. The introduction of neo-geography has vastly increased the amount of maps with specialized topics.
      Although the introduction of neo-geography has brought about maps that can be very useful at times, they are, however, not without their flaws. One of the major problems with neo-geography is credibility. There is no guarantee that  a map will be geographically accurate in terms of locations or directions, or even if the creator of the map had good intentions when making it, and was just playing some kind of joke. Even if the creator of a map did have good intentions when creating it, the map may still have inaccuracies. Maps could be mislabeled, not to scale, or may contain the creators preferences, for example, somebody else's idea of a good restaurant may be different from your idea of a good restaurant. Even though neo-geography maps can be very helpful at times, they cannot be trusted completely due to the lack of a credible source.

Week Two Lab Assignment

1. The name of the quadrangle is "Beverly Hills Quadrangle".

2. The names of the adjacent quadrangles are:
      1. Canoga Park
      2. Van Nuys
      3. Burbank
      4. Topanga
      5. Hollywood
      6.
      7. Venice
      8. Inglewood
3. 1966
4. Datums of 1927, 1929, and 1983.
5. The scale is 1:24000
6.
      a) 1cm/24000cm = 240 m x 5 = 1200 m on the ground
      b) 1in/24000in = 2000 ft x 5 = 10000ft/ 5280 = 1.89 miles on the ground
      c) 5280ft x 12 = 63360 in/ 24000 = 2.64 in on the map
      d) 3km x 100 = 3000m x 100 = 300000cm / 24000 = 12.5cm on the map
7. The contour interval is 20 feet.
8.
      a) 34°04' 30'' N or 34.075° N , 118°26'00'' W or 118.43° W
      b) 34°00'45'' N or 34.0125° N , 118°30' 10'' W or 118.525° W
      c) 34°07'45'' N or 34.13° N , 118°24' 45'' W or 118.4125° W
9.
      a) 560 ft or 170.68 m
      b) 140 ft or 42.67 m
      c) 780 ft or 237.74 m
10. UTM zone 11
11. 3763000 m N, 361500 m E
12. 1000000 m
13.

14. 14°/249 mils
15. South
16.