GIS TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND EARTH SCIENCES

Contents

1. General Overview of GIS .............................................................................1

What Is GIS? .....................................................................................................1

GIS Data .............................................................................................................2

Freeware/Shareware Metadata Tools ......................................................4

Commercial Metadata Tools ......................................................................5

Coordinate Systems and Projections .......................................................... 10

Spatial Data and Metadata Standards and Relevant Guidelines ............ 18

GIS History ..................................................................................................... 18

Major GIS Software Products .......................................................................27

Major Open-Source GIS Software Products ..........................................27

Major Commercial GIS Software Vendors and Products ....................45

GIS Technology Widely Used in Environmental and Earth Sciences ....47

2. Collecting Field Data More Ef ciently with GIS and GPS 

Technologies .................................................................................................. 57

Trimble GPS Path nder Of ce and TerraSync Software Packages ........57

Garmin Handheld GPS Navigators and GPS Utility Software ...............60

ESRI ArcPad Software ................................................................................... 61

Case Study 2.1: Field Data Collecting, Processing and Mapping for 

Former Camp Sibert ......................................................................................66

Case Study 2.2: Data Collecting, Processing, Managing and 

Mapping for Three Large-Scale Regional and Nationwide MMRP 

Site Inspections (SI) Related Projects (Total: 1063 Sites) ...........................72

Project 1: FUDS MMRP Site Inspections (SI), SE and SW 

Regions (Total: 625 Sites) .......................................................................... 74

Project 2: U.S. Army National Guard Bureau NDNODS Site 

Inspections (SI), Eastern Region (247 Sites) ...........................................75

Project 3: Nationwide Chemical Warfare Materiel (CWM) 

Scoping and Security Study (Total: 91 Sites) .........................................77

Case Study 2.3: Locating and Destroying Final Two Caches of 

Chemical Weapons in Libya .........................................................................86

3. Processing and Analyzing Data to Extract Useful and 

Meaningful Information............................................................................. 91

Case Study 3.1: Statistically Analyzing Existing Geophysical Survey 

Data to Predict Possible Anomalies in Adjacent Unknown Areas ........... 92

Case Studies 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5: Analyzing Recent, Historical 

Aerial Photos/Drawings and LiDAR to Identify and Delineate 

Environmentally Impacted Areas ...............................................................96

Case Study 3.2: Recent Aerial Photo Analysis ......................................96

Case Study 3.3 (Site 2A of Former Camp Sibert) and 3.4 

(Tanapag Fuel Farm): Analyzing Historical Aerial Photos and 

Drawings ....................................................................................................98

Case Study 3.5: Analyzing High-Resolution LiDAR Data ................ 102

Case Study 3.6: Topographic Slope Analysis ........................................... 103

Case Study 3.7: Geophysical Anomaly Density Analysis ...................... 107

Case Study 3.8: Chemical Concentration Analysis ................................. 113

Case Study 3.9: Analyzing Groundwater Elevations and Flow 

Directions with GIS ..................................................................................... 116

Case Study 3.10: Virgin Islands National Park General 

Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement ........................... 121

Alternative A ...........................................................................................125

Alternative B ............................................................................................ 131

4. Mapping and Analyzing Geology Data with GIS ............................... 133

Case Study 4.1: Geologic Mapping ............................................................ 133

Case Study 4.2: Creating 3D Maps and Studying Them with 

Virtual Reality (VR) Technology ............................................................... 144

Case Study 4.3: Processing and Mapping Geologic Data More 

Ef ciently with GIS ...................................................................................... 147

5. Data Modeling and Visualization ........................................................... 151

EquIS .............................................................................................................. 152

Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) .................................................... 154

Environmental Visualization System (EVS Pro) ..................................... 157

RockWorks .................................................................................................... 159

Case Study 5.1: Modeling and Visualizing a Contaminated 

Groundwater Plume in NASB .................................................................... 161

Case Study 5.2: Modeling and Visualizing a Contaminated 

Groundwater Plume at an Industrial Site in Bloom eld, Connecticut....172

Case Study 5.3: Modeling and Visualizing the Contaminated Soil 

at Site 2A, Inside the Former Camp Sibert ............................................... 182

Case Study 5.4: Modeling and Visualizing the Contaminated Soil 

in Bronx Criminal Court Complex, New York City ................................ 189

Other Data Displaying and Visualizing Techniques ..............................203

Using Tags, Pie Charts, and Color-Shaded Contours to Display 

Chemical and Geologic Data .................................................................203

Linking Pictures, Water Well Diagrams, Geologic Cross 

Sections, Graphics and Other Information to Spatial Features in 

a GIS Map .................................................................................................209

6. Sharing GIS Data and Maps through the Internet .............................. 215

Examples of Some Popular Geospatial Data and Mapping 

Websites and FTP Sites of the UN, EU, National and Local 

Government Agencies, Industries and Institutions ................................ 216

Case Study 6.1: A GIS Web-Based Application Developed for the 

Environmental Investigations at the Former Camp Sibert ....................223

Commonly Used Acronyms in GIS and Environmental Science ............233

Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 243

Index ..................................................................................................................... 245

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GIS TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND EARTH SCIENCES