GIS 5050 Module 6 - Georeferencing

 This week's lab assignment was based on Georeferencing. Georeferencing is basically taking an aerial [or raster] image and overlaying it on a basemap in ArcGIS. Once the image has been imported, points on the image can be selected and then matched up with control points on the basemap; this gives the aerial image coordinates where it lies on the Earth. No image is going to be perfect, so this lab assignment focused on Root Mean Square error which is a value that measures the distance between predicted calculated values and the actual, measured value. Generally speaking, the lower the RMSE the better. This is not always true [especially on images that have higher distortion levels], as was the case in the southern image. On this image, 2nd and 3rd Order Polynomial Transformations were used; these transformations bend / warp the image to fit the control points set in the Georeferencing process. During this process, a sacrifice was made on the RMSE value in order to get a more accurate image. After the Georeferencing process was complete, we then created features and added them to existing feature classes. In this case, I made a personal decision to export them to their own feature class so I could make them a different colors and label only those specific objects. Lastly, we created a multiple ring buffer around a Bald Eagle's nest that is located in proximity to the UWF campus. 

The final product of this lab is a map of the University of West Florida campus with three raster images Georeferenced and overlayed on the basemap. The buildings and roads [orange] were used as control points to get the best fit possible. The map also includes the UWF Gym and a portion of Campus Ln [which did not exist at the creation of the shapefiles] and the location of the Bald Eagle's nest with a 330ft and 660ft buffer ring encircling it. I chose this particular basemap because I felt that it provided much contrast against the raster images, but did not clash with the color scheme either. I went with an orange color as a warning of being within 660ft of the eagle's nest, and a red color as a warning of being within 330ft. I used these colors again for the buildings and roads to tie them into a common color scheme, and I used a bright purple color to make the digitized Gym and road [Campus Ln] to really stand out on the map. Overall, I am happy with the quality of the map, and I did not encounter any issues that prolonged the duration of this lab assignment.