The main part of this project introduces raster maps, overlay and buffer analyses, raster-vector conversions, etc.  Some of the tasks in this project can be done in any of several ways.  Rather than have you follow a bunch of step-by-step instructions, I want you to explore the Spatial Analysis tools and think through your own strategies for completing this analysis as efficiently as possible.  Be creative!

Open a blank Arc map. Activate the Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst extensions (Customize--Extensions, check the boxes); then add the Spatial Analyst toolbar (Customize--Toolbars). Specify a proper coordinate system for the data frame: Predefined--Projected--State Plane--NAD 1983 HARN (meters)--Delaware.

Now download and unzip the project geodatabase to your USB drive. Specify proj2data.mdb as your default geodatabase.
Display its six layers:
    dem is a 30-meter resolution Digital Elevation Model raster with elevation (Z) values in feet.
    lu07 is a 2007 land-use/land cover polygon layer; its symbology is based on the LULC1 field in the attribute table.
    county is the county boundary polygon.
    roads are clipped from a statewide USGS roads layer; the symbology is based on the CFCC (Census Feature Classification Code) field.
    railroads are clipped from a statewide USGS layer.
    streams are clipped from a statewide USGS hydrology layer, with dams, weirs and non-visible water boundaries omitted.

Under Geoprocessing--Environments--Raster Analysis, set the cell size to 30 (meters). Optionally, you can use the county polygon as a mask; this will clip all your output rasters to just the area inside the county boundary.

A. Terrain Modeling:

1. First, set the symbology of the DEM to one of the "stretched" elevation color ramps, with the background value (zero) displated in blue (water). Experiment with the alternative stretch types: minimum-maximum, standard deviations and histogram-equalize: which works best for this terrain? Save a PNG image of the DEM itself with the streams overlaid.

2. Now use the Spatial Analyst--Map Algebra--Raster Calculator tool to identify the terrain that would be flooded by a 10-foot sea-rise event. The Raster Calculator expression ("dem" > 0) & ("dem" ≤ 10) will create a binary (0-1 or TRUE-FALSE) raster where 1 indicates elevations between 1 and 10, and 0 indicates elevations of zero (water) or greater than 10. Display this flood zone raster, with the 0 (unflooded) cells transparent and the 1 (flooded) cells in red, overlaid on the DEM. Save a PNG image of the DEM and superimposed flood zone, with streams, roads and railroad features overlaid.

   Now use Spatial Analyst's Surface Analysis tools to create the following maps from the DEM.

3. Create a Hillshade surface raster from the DEM, with the "Model Shadows" box checked.  You can increase its contrast by specifying a higher Z-factor in the Slope tool, or by using a "histogram equalize" Stretch type Symbology when you display the hillshade map. Display the hillshade raster underneath the DEM in the legend. Display the DEM with 40 or 50 percent transparency overlaid on the hillshade. Save a PNG image of just the hillshade map, and another PNG of the semi-transparent DEM and the streams overlaid on the hillshade map.
   

4. Create a Slope raster from the DEM. Note that while the X-Y coordinates of the DEM are in meters, the elevation (Z) values are in feet (1 foot = 0.3048 meters).  So you need to use a Z-factor of 0.3048 to obtain correct slope values. Use an appropriate color scheme to display 8 slope categories: 0-0.5, 0.5-1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-5, 5-10, 10-15 and 15-99 degrees. Save a PNG image of the slope map.

5. Create an Aspect raster from the DEM; the default color scheme is ok. Save a PNG image of it.

6. Create a 25-foot-interval elevation contour shapefile derived from the DEM; use an elevation color ramp to symbolize these by their CONTOUR values. Save a PNG image of the contours.

B. Habitat Analysis:

Suppose you are hired to identify prime habitat areas for the endangered pickled strumpet (Trollopensis bibulosa) in New Castle County.  Field biologists have given you the following habitat criteria:

1. slope of 2 degrees or less,   and
2. either freshwater wetland (LULC1=6) with elevation > 16 feet   or
   forest (LULC1=4) within 250 meters of streams,   and
3. at least 200 meters from primary roads (select CFCC categories up to A36 plus A63 highway on-off ramps)   and
   at least 100 meters from all other roads (switch the selection)  and
   at least 100 meters from all rail lines. 

Use Spatial Analyst tools map each of these three criteria, then map the areas that satisfy all of the criteria. The logic calculation that combines all these criteria should yield a raster map of suitable habitat clumps (1's) on a background of zeroes. Save a series of PNG images detailing the steps you took to obain this map.

Hints/comments: 

• Convert the landuse polygon shapefile to a 30-meter resolution 7-category raster using the LULC1 field.
• Use the Euclidean Distance tool to create distance rasters from the streams, major roads, minor roads and railroad features. When using this tool, do not specify a maximum distance. Then a Raster Calculator expression like "EucDist_Stream" <= 250 yields a binary map of stream corridors (1's) on a background of 0's.
• You can't get both 200m distances to primary roads and 100m distances to secondary roads from a single distance map. You will need to select the major roads and run Euclidean Distance on them; then switch the roads selection and re-run Euclidean Distance on the minor roads.
• The Raster Calculator's expression parser is easily confused. Create your Raster Calculator expressions with the mouse to minimize errors. You will need to use the Raster Calculator's logic operators, like ("lu_raster" == 6) & ("dem" >= 16).  Note the double equals sign.  "&" means AND (logical intersection);  "|"means OR (logical union).

We will define "core" cells as more than 60 meters (2 raster cells) in from the nearest clump edge. Use the Spatial Analyst Neighborhood--Focal Statistics tool to sum all the habitat map 1's and 0's in the 5x5 neighborhood around each cell. Any habitat (1) cell that has a 5x5 neighborhood sum of 25 is entirely surrounded by habitat cells at least 2 deep. Select the "25" category from the attribute table of the Focal Statistics map, and convert these core clumps to shapefile polygon features.

Open the core polygon shapefile's attribute table. If you don't already have Areas and Perimeters calculated, create these fields and use Calculate Geometry to calculate them. Then create a double-precision (not integer!) Compactness field and use the Field Calculator to calculated compactness as 12.56637 (4π) times Area divided by Perimeter squared. This unit-free compactness index will range from near zero (approximating a true fractal) to one (a perfect circle). 

Select the biggest 10 to 15 core polygons, export them to a separate shapefile, and display them in a distinctive color.  You should see one cluster of large core polygons something like the red features here.

Since funding for habitat protection is limited, you need to prioritize the core areas based on their potential habitat value. Create a numeric ranking of these cores based mainly on their size, but also considering compactness, potential connectivity to nearby core areas, potential for expansion into adjacent forest or wetland areas, etc. Create a "RANK" field in the attribute table and use the Editor to input the rank numbers for each of the biggest core polygons.

Use Spatial Analyst's Zonal Statistics as Table tool to extract the mean elevation of each of these large core areas from the DEM. Join the zonal statistics table to the core polygon shapefile (you will need to examine the tables to see which fields to match on). In the layer's Properties--Labels tab, label the major core polygons with their priority ranks as well as their mean elevations. You can combine text and field values with a label expression like this: "Rank=" & [RANK] & vbNewLine & "Elev=" & Int([MEAN]) & "ft".  Save PNG images of the best two or three individual cores.

Use Add-Data--GIS servers to access the datamil.delaware.gov GIS data server. (If you don't see datamil.delaware.gov listed, click "Add ArcIMS Server" and type in the URL.) Add the "DE_aerial07" orthophoto to your project as a background image on which to display your analysis layers. Overlay the core areas and the biggest cores.

Create a final habitat protection strategy map with the largest cores labeled and adding additional text identifying potential connectivities or expansion areas. Label the roads and streams with their names. Add other map annotations as appropriate. Once you get a really nice habitat protection strategy map, save a large (>1,000 pixels wide) image of it.

Write up a brief consultant's report outlining your procedures and explaining your rankings. Do a little research into land protection programs in Delaware: what agencies or programs might support this protection effort? What protection strategy would you recommend--legal prohibitions on disturbing the habitat? tax incentives for conservation? state purchase of prime habitat areas? buying conservation easements from landowners? How much would your strategy cost to implement?

C. Raster 3D Viewing:

Make sure the 3D Analyst extension is activated (Customize--Extensions), and add the 3D Analyst toolbar to your Arc session. Start up an ArcScene window (icon in 3D toolbar) and add the DEM to it. In the layer's Properties, pick an appropriate Symbology; in the Rendering tab, check the "shade areal features..." option; in the Base Heights tab, select "floating on custom surface," set the raster resolution to match the DEM (30x30) and experiment with some custom elevation conversion factors. (Do not check the "Use hillshade effect" opton in the Symbology tab.)

Try out the navigation tools (tilt/rotate, flyover, etc.) to get a good oblique view of the piedmont region.

Add the hydrology layer, and optionally the roads layer (these shapefiles work best if they're in the same coordinate system as the DEM) to the ArcScene Table of Contents. Use the same Base Heights settings. to overlay them on the DEM.

Now try draping the land-use layer or some orthophotos on the DEM. Your objective here is simply to make some really sweet eye-candy! 

Export a visually-appealing oblique-angle view of the piedmont region of the county as a 2D PNG or JPEG image (not as a 3D VRML file).  

If you're really ambitious, right-click on the toolbar and add the Animation tools. Then try making a video capture of a brief flyover, zoom or pan like this. (Caution: these files can get ridiculously big!)

"You know, I have one simple request, and that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads. ...Throw me a bone here! What do we have?" ...
"They're mutated sea bass."
"Are they ill-tempered?"
"Absolutely."