Archives for July 2020

My name is Jae Sung Kim and I started the position Open Source Geospatial Analyst in Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information at Penn State University Libraries from this July. Before I came to Penn State University, I worked in research positions at multiple academic organizations, where I researched and built various GIS applications in environmental science, hydrology, and agriculture using open source geospatial and software technologies. These experiences made me enthusiastic about open source geospatial technologies because of their flexibility, reliability and efficiency in implementing research projects. Open source geospatial technologies are getting more sophisticated these days. Also, the application area of open source geospatial technologies is broadening. With my experience in implementing complex tasks using open source geospatial technologies, I provide academic consulting services regarding open source geospatial technologies to the members of Penn State University.

Currently at Penn State University Libraries, I am researching and building photogrammetric applications using open source software technologies to maximize automation of georeferencing procedures for aerial photographs. Related to this, I am interested in applying my approach to historical aerial photographs collection. Historical aerial photographs are very popular collection in library archives because of their importance in science. However, they tend to be in analogue format, and have different features than the current ones. It makes georeferencing or orthorectification of historical aerial photographs more complicated and less accurate in modern computing environment. Therefore, I am interested in improving the accuracy of georeferencing historical aerial photographs by addressing and solving those problems.

My backgrounds are Geomatics (Ph.D., M.S.C.E., Civil Engineering, Purdue University), Water Resources Engineering (M.E., Civil Engineering, Korea University) and Civil Engineering (B.E., Civil Engineering, Korea University).

Basic cartography requires a substantial amount of data to build accurate and informative maps, from files for building a map to the data being represented. The following compilation of resources includes GIS data and helpful directions for cartography projects, specifically creating custom basemaps for reference maps and other data-driven projects. This list is by no means all encompassing, but includes free data available for public use.

DATA

Natural Earth | Cultural, Physical, & Raster Data

Natural Earth provides access to cultural, physical, and raster data, including political boundaries, coastline and hydro data, and land cover and relief data. The data is free to download and available at a variety of scales to fit the needs of various projects.

The National Map | Various Data

This tool, provided by the USGS, contains a variety of cultural and physical data from the United States, including political boundaries, topographic information, and hydrology. The web tool allows users to search, select, and download the data.

World Hillshade | Hillshade Data

This layer, provided by ESRI, includes a global hillshade. The data used to create the hillshade was compiled from a number of sources, and covers the globe. Data scale varies depending on the region displayed. 

ESRI Open Data Hub | Various Data

This data hub, hosted by ESRI, includes a variety of data suitable for both basemaps and maps showcasing data. Data is stored from a variety of sources, and can be searched with filters.

ESRI Data and Maps | Cultural & Physical Data

This collection of feature layers, published by ESRI, includes a variety of data that can be downloaded and used in ArcGIS. Data includes political boundaries at various scales worldwide, road data, and topographic/other physical data.

OpenTopography | Topographic Data

OpenTopography includes topographic data in a variety of formats from different sources. The available data is mostly for the United States, but there is some data available abroad. Data classes available include point cloud data, DEMS, and imagery from Google Earth.

Centre County Open Data | Local Boundaries, Infrastructure, & Other Data

This open data site includes various GIS data from Centre County, including environmental data, boundary data, location data, and infrastructure data. Local open data websites are often good places to find road data, parcel data, zoning boundaries, and other local political boundaries. Most localities – often counties – have open GIS data sites where you can find similar data.

US Census Cartographic Boundary Files | US Political Boundaries

The US Census Bureau provides boundary files for various US boundaries. This data encompasses a variety of boundaries, including state boundaries, county boundaries, legislative districts, census geographies, zip codes, school districts, and urban areas.

Open Street Map | Various Data

Open Street Map is one of the largest sources of community-driven, crowd-sourced data. While not always entirely cleaned or accurate, Open Street Map provides a plethora of data for regions worldwide. Data available on Open Street Map is free for use for any purpose, and can be helpful for helping to map areas without other available GIS data.

OTHER RESOURCES

ArcGIS Blog | ESRI Resources, including cartography specific

The ArcGIS Blog from ESRI contains a variety of posts regarding ArcGIS specific information. While the blog contains a wide variety of information about ESRI products, some posts are geared specifically towards cartography and design using the ESRI software suite. Blog author John Nelson’s pieces are particularly helpful for beautiful cartography-specific design tips and tricks.

Get Started With ArcGIS Pro | Online Lesson

This basic introduction to using ArcGIS Pro is an approximately 30 minute online tutorial. The tutorial engages the ArcGIS Pro application, for beginner users interested in learning to navigate and use the software.

ArcGIS Pro Quick-Start Tutorials | Online Tutorials

This post contains a variety of short tutorials on ArcGIS Pro, ranging from approximately 10 – 60 minutes in length and covering a variety of topics. The tutorials require ArcGIS Pro and engage users with various parts of the software.

Post written by Milan Liu.