Chapter 1.14: Geospatial Analyses
Over the past several decades, a growing wealth of available satellite imagery and processing tools have given us the ability to examine ecosystems on a global scale in ways that are not possible on the ground. While many of these tools require specific software or training, the public’s demand for a “bird’s eye view” of the Earth has given us many tools that are accessible to the general user. More and more government agencies are also making their spatial data publically available through online web portals. Here we offer some additional information that will help you make the most of what these tools have to offer.
Background Materials:
A “gentle introduction” to geospatial concepts, which is really an incredibly detailed catalog of GIS basics: http://docs.qgis.org/2.0/ca/docs/gentle_gis_introduction/
What GIS is from the industry leader: http://www.esri.com/what-is-gis
The GIS lounge highlights many new applications of GIS technologies: https://www.gislounge.com/
To download and install Google Earth, visit: https://www.google.com/earth/
Google Earth how-tos and tutorials: http://gelessons.com/lessons/
Textbook References and Links:
The US Census Bureau online data visualization tool to examine population size and trends across the US in a geospatial format. https://www.census.gov/dataviz/visualizations/maps/
Downloadable data and files: NA
