HAWASSA UNIVERSITY

Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources

Department of GIS

Course title: Spatial Analysis and Modeling

Course code: GISc 3114

Reading material
Compiled by
Serawit Mengistu
2023
3/16/2023 1
Contents to be covered

1. Spatial Data Concepts

2. Geospatial Data Examination

3. Spatial Analysis

4. Advanced Spatial Analyses

5. Three-Dimensional (3D) Analysis

6. GIS Model Building

 Chapter-1:

Spatial Data Concepts

1. What is Spatial Data?

• It is the data that identifies geographic location and

boundaries of features on the Earth surface , i.e.

natural or man-made, oceans , and more.

• Spatial data is a data that can be mapped and usually

stored as coordinate and topology.

• Sources of Spatial data/ Who produces spatial data?

o National agencies eg., ……..??

o Military organizations

o Remote sensing companies (aerial photography, satellite

imagery)

o Utility companies

o Climatologists, geologists, hydrologists, ecologists, etc.

Types of geographic phenomena representation:

• Geographic phenomena can be represented by 2 way:

i. Geographic field, and

ii. Geographic object

 What is a geographic field?

 A field is a geographic phenomenon where, for every point

in the study area, a value can be determined (continuous

surface). E.g. Temperature, Rainfall, Elevation, etc.

 What is a geographic object?

 Geographic objects populate the study area, and usually well

distinguished as discrete and bounded entities.

 The space between them is potentially empty or

undetermined.

• E.g. Land use types , soil classification, tree species,

telecom line, etc

 What is Spatial Analysis?
• The first attempts of spatial data analysis date back to the

1960s and belong to Canada. The earliest objective for

GIS applications was the systematization of the country’s

natural resources. Spatial analysis in GIS has expanded

worldwide ever since. It is difficult to imagine a single

entrepreneur or a super-industry that does not benefit

from georeferencing in this or that way.

• Spatial analysis allows determining if the selected

area is suitable for particular business activities,

detecting changes, identifying tendencies, assessing

risks, outlining possible outcomes, and preventing

losses.

• Up-to-date tools and spatial analysis techniques

provide more accurate analytics than decades ago.

 What is Spatial Analysis?
• The term analysis refers to data manipulation

and data querying.

• It’s an exploratory process whereby we

attempt to quantify the observed pattern and

then explore the processes that may have

generated the pattern.

• Spatial analysis is a process in which: you model

problems geographically, derive results by computer

processing, and then explore and examine those

results.

• Spatial analysis is the process of geographically

modeling a problem or issue, deriving results, and then

examining and interpreting those model results.

 Spatial analysis is a quantitative procedure employed in the

spatial arrangement of features (points, lines, polygons and

surfaces).

 It is a technique that enable the:

– representation,

– description,

– measurement,

– comparison and

– generation of spatial patterns.

• It is the process of examining the locations,

attributes, and relationships of features in

spatial data through overlay and other

analytical techniques in order to address a

question or gain useful knowledge.

 Select SNNPR_region
Ethio_regions boundary
(SNNPR)

Example of spatial analysis with ‘select’ operation tool

• Spatial operations, including spatial joins between vector

datasets and local and focal operations on raster datasets,

are a vital part of geocomputation.

• Vector attribute manipulation provides the basis for

understanding its spatial equivalent, namely spatial

subsetting.
• Spatial operations on raster objects include subsetting and

merging several raster ‘tiles’ into a single object. Map

algebra covers a range of operations that modify raster

cell values, with or without reference to surrounding cell

values. Global map algebra operations, which generate

summary statistics representing an entire raster dataset,

and distance calculations on raster's,.

• Geospatial analysis provides a distinct perspective on the

world, a unique lens through which to examine events,

patterns, and processes that operate on or near the surface

of our planet.

• It makes sense, then, to introduce the main elements of

this perspective, the conceptual framework that provides

the background to spatial analysis, as a preliminary.

• The domain of geospatial analysis is the surface of the Earth,

extending upwards in the analysis of topography and the atmosphere,

and downwards in the analysis of groundwater and geology.

• In scale :

– it extends from the most local, when archaeologists record the

locations of pieces of pottery to the nearest centimeter or property

boundaries are surveyed to the nearest millimeter, to the global, in

the analysis of sea surface temperatures or global warming.

• In time:

– it extends backwards from the present into the analysis of

historical population migrations, the discovery of patterns in

archaeological sites, or the detailed mapping of the movement of

continents, and into the future in attempts to predict the tracks of

hurricanes, the melting of the Greenland ice-cap, or the likely

growth of urban areas.

• Methods of spatial analysis are robust and capable of operating

over a range of spatial and temporal scales.

• Ultimately, geospatial analysis concerns what happens

where, and makes use of geographic information that

links features and phenomena on the Earth’s surface to

their locations.

• In reality, some analysis techniques are simpler, more

useful, or more insightful than others.

• Spatial analysis exists at the interface between the human and the

computer, and both play important roles.

• The concepts that humans use to:

– understand,

– navigate, and

– exploit the world around them are mirrored in the concepts of

spatial analysis.
Functions of Spatial Analysis

‾ Recognizing where things are or where activities take place

‾ Taking measurements of items' sizes, shapes, and distributions.

‾ Examining interrelationships and interactions between locations.

‾ Choosing the best sites for facilities

‾ Patterns between items are detected and identified.

‾ Making forecasts based on patterns and correlations that exist

• Eg. Analyzing distribution of college buildings

1. Where and what types of buildings do we have?

• Cafeterias, dormitories, college community residency, offices, library, laboratories

– collecting location information (X, Y coordinates) for all them

– Displaying the map of each buildings

– Adding road shapefile to see the network

– Measuring distance from center to each building categories

– Calculating the distance between them

– Mapped as point or as polygon by digitizing each building

• For example,

– you record location of each tree in defined study area.

– You then map the location of each tree (a GIS task).

– At this point, you might be tending to make inferences about the

observed pattern like:

• Are the trees clustered or dispersed?

• Is the tree density constant across the study area?

• Could soil type or slope have led to the observed pattern?

– Those are questions that are addressed in spatial analysis by using

different techniques.
• So, spatial analysis allows you to solve complex

location-oriented problems and better understand

where and what is occurring in your world.

• It goes beyond simple mapping to let you study

the characteristics of places and the relationships

between them.
• In general: Spatial analysis allows you to:

– solve complex location-oriented problems

– find patterns, assess trends, and make decisions

– Determine relationships

– Understand and describe locations and events

– Detect and quantify patterns

– Make predictions

– Find best locations and paths

 Spatial data analysis indicate………

• What to analyze

• Where to analyze

• Who analyze

• The duration of the analysis

• The frequency of analysis

• The cost of analysis

• How data will be recorded and analyzed

• How will resulting information be used/presented

• Examples of spatial analysis include:

– measuring distances and shapes,

– setting routes and tracking transportations,

– establishing correlations between objects, events,

and places via referring their locations to

geographical positions (both live and historical).

• The results of data analysis may be used for

Spatial problem solving

Decision making or

As input for further spatial analysis and

modeling.
How Does Spatial Analysis Work?

– Data collection: is fundamental for the spatial analysis process. It includes

data gathering from various sources such as LiDAR and airborne systems.

– Data analysis: the collected data is analyzed to derive results.

– Data presentation: Post-analysis data presentation can be time-consuming

as one needs to highlight crucial elements that reveal the findings. Such tasks

are made easier with data visualization tools that use tables, charts, and

graphs to project relevant data and communicate with concerned

stakeholders.

– Provides comprehensive data view

– Enables visual mapping

• Types of Spatial Analysis

1. Queries

2. Measuring distance and connectivity

3. Topological Analysis

4. Network Analysis

5. Reclassification

6. Neighbourhood Analysis
1. Queries

• The geospatial analysis has the ability to ask and answer

questions about geographic features and their attributes and the

relationship between them. This is known as a Query or selection.

• Query is a question to database

• No changes occur in the database and no new data are

produced.
 Attribute Query (Boolean Selection)

• Attribute query is based on contents(description) recorded by attribute

table. So you look for records in attribute table and make queries.

 It involves picking features based on expressions, which use

 Boolean algebra (and, or, nor),set algebra (>, <, =, >=, <=),

 arithmetic operators (=, -, *, /),

 GIS compares the values in an attribute field with a query expression that you

define.

• Eg. ‘Select’ areaha greater than 1. ‘select’ areaha less than or equal 5.

• ‘Select’ stream type all-season, ‘select’ land use type forest

• Select landuse type ‘equal’ forest ‘and’ areaha greater than 1.

Spatial Selection (Spatial Searches/query)

 While attribute queries select features by sorting through records in a data

file/table, spatial selection chooses features from the map interface. In most

cases, it selects features from one layer that fall within or touch an edge of

polygon features in a second layer.

 patial queries allows you to select features in a layer by their spatial

relationships (intersect, contain, touch etc.) with features from another layer. In

QGIS, this functionality is available via the Select by Location and Extract

by Location Processing tools.

 • QGIS

•
•
Select points which overlay with polygon

ArcGIS
2. Measuring distance and connectivity

• are simple numerical values that describe aspects of geographic

data. Include both simple and complex measurement operations.

• Distance measurement used to calculate straight line and/or

network distance.

• They include measurement of simple properties of objects, such as

length, area, or shape, and the relationships between pairs of

objects, such as distance or direction.

 we might want to know the total area of a parcel of

land,

 distance between two points, or

 the length of a road, in principle all of these

measurements are obtainable by simple calculations

inside GIS.
Measuring Distance

• There are many ways to measure distance.

 Most GIS programs have a ruler button that allows you to measure

distances across a map.

 After clicking the button, you point on the map where you want to

begin your distance measurement and then click at the ending point

(or intervening points that define the path you want to measure).
 Measurement
5 KM
X Y
Distance
B
A D
C

Perimeter

Area/size 10 km2

Distance unit can be in measurement units of distance

  Measurement on raster
 Measurement on raster is simple because of regularities of cells.

 It is determined by resolution.

 How the area size of a selected part of the raster is calculated?

 Eg. The area of 1pixel of Landsat imageries? Resolution is 30m

 1500pixels in landsat 8 image?

 What is the area of 1 pixel of 1m resolution aerial

photo/satellite image?
3. Topological Analysis

• Topological analysis focus on relationship among features. Topology questions

ask about how geometric features, i.e. points, lines and polygons are spatially

related.

• Topological analysis include questions such as:

– Do they share boundaries?

– Do they cross? Do they overlap?

– Is one contained within another?

– Are they clustered around a central feature?

– Are they one side or the other?

 o Topological Errors
There are different types of topological errors and they can be grouped

according to whether the vector feature types are polygons/polylines.

Topological errors with polygon features can include :

 unclosed polygons,

 gaps between polygon borders or

 overlapping polygon borders.

42
4. Network analysis

– It is another important area of spatial analysis. Network consists

of interconnected outlets.

– The connectivity permits movement of resources through the

network. Therefore, the analysis is based on a set of connected

linear features.

– Network analysis are made to simulate real-world networks to

model the movement of resources.

• Network is a system of interconnected elements, such as

edges and connecting junctions, that represent possible

routes from one location to another.

• A network refers to a structure representing a group of

objects and relationships between them.

• Topological properties of networks are:

o connectivity, adjacency, and incidence. These properties serve as

a basis for analysis.

• A network structure consists of nodes and edges that represent routes upon

which people, goods, etc. can travel.

• Nodes represent objects we are going to analyze while edges represent the

relationships between those objects.

• Types of networks that can be modeled in GIS

‾ Utility networks: including water mains, sewage lines, and electrical

circuits.

‾ Transportation networks: including roads, railroads, and flight paths.

‾ Networks based on social connections.

• By modeling potential travel paths with a network, it is possible to

perform analyses related to the objects movement.

• The most common network analysis is finding the shortest path between

two points.
• EXAMPLE:

•Which houses are within five minutes of a fire station?

•Which road is best to rich to hospital?

•Which ambulances can respond quickest to an incident?

Elements of a Network

• The network consists of different elements and each is associated

with an attribute defining the characteristics of the element.

• The elements in the network are:

– links,

– turns,

– stops,

– barriers and

– centers.
 5. Reclassification Analysis

 Classification is the procedure of identifying a set of features as

belonging to a group and defining patterns.

 When you perform a classification, you group similar features

into classes by assigning the same symbol to each member of the

class.

 But reclassification is identifying a set of characteristics to group

that classified objects together.

 Once a map has been reclassified, it is dissolved

• Reclassification provides new patterns/relationship without changing

geometry.

E.g. population densities classified as 'sparsely populated' or

'overcrowded' classes * soil types and farmland values etc.

* generalising land use pattern, Parcel classification.

1. Residency
2. Green area
2 4 3. Park
5
4. Commercial
1
5. Real state
3 6
Reclassify as residential, commercial and park 6. Guest-house
Classification provides new patterns/relationships

URBAN URBAN
RESIDENTIAL URBAN
INDUSTRIAL

RURAL
AGRICULTURE
RURAL
RURAL
FOREST

Original Classification Generalized Classification

*Generalization (downscaling) - geometry is simplified

6. Neighbourhood Analysis

• These involves assigning values to location according to

characteristics of surrounding region.

• It calculates output value at a location from the values at nearby

locations as determined by a moving-window. The size of window

depend on your choice, i.e. either 3 by 3, 5 by 5 or 7 by 7 window.

• Requires 4 parameters

– Target locations , Distance units, Function for calculation on

distance, and Location to be analyzed.

To perform neighborhood analysis, we must

1. State which target locations are of interest to us, and what is

their spatial extent,

2. Define how to determine the neighbourhood for each target,

3. Define which characteristic(s) must be computed for each

neighbourhood.

4. These functions either modify existing features or create new

feature by the distance from existing features

 – Geographic questions related to spatial analysis
• So far, you have learned:

– Why geographic data are unique, ??

– How information differs from data,?? and

– How various forms of geographic information can be

represented and communicated to human beings.

• Let us now consider the types of questions we can ask

related to spatial analysis.

• Such questions include:

i. Questions about space

i. Where is the entity located?

ii. What is its extent?

ii. Questions about attributes

i. What are the attributes of the entity located there?

ii. Do its attributes match one or more criteria?

iii. Questions about time

i. When were the entity's location, extent, or attributes measured?

ii. Has the entity's location, extent, or attributes changed over time?
iv. Questions concerning multiple geographic entities

– Do the entities contain one another?

– Do they overlap?

– Are they connected?

– Are they situated within a certain distance of one

another?

– What is the best route from one entity to the others?

– Where are entities with similar attributes located?

• Spatial Pattern Analysis

• Spatial patterns are the distribution of something in space.

They can be found in nature, such as the placement of

trees in a forest, or in man-made objects, such as the

design of a city.

• Spatial pattern analysis involves identifying, describing,

and measuring the shape, arrangement, location,

configuration, trend, or relationships in geographic data.

• The spatial pattern of a distribution is defined by

the arrangement of individual entities in space and

the geographic relationships among them.

• The capability of evaluating spatial patterns is a

prerequisite to understanding the complicated

spatial processes underlying the distribution of a

phenomenon.
• Pattern is the geometric or regular arrangement of

something in an area.

• Linear Pattern- Straight pattern such as houses on a

street.

• Centralized Pattern- Clustered or concentrated at a

certain place.

• Random Pattern- A pattern with no specific order.

Pattern of urban blocks and forest compartment
• Understanding spatial patterns is important

for many reasons, including planning and

designing efficient systems and predicting

how something will behave over time.

• How the object exist on the real world,

Pattern/arrangement
• Spatial Trend Analysis

• Spatial trend concept is very useful in order to describe the systematic

variations of the phenomenon concerned over a region based on

geographical locations through time.

Trend of landcover change: Graph

Trend of landcover change: map
• A spatial trend is a regular change of one or more

non-spatial attributes when spatially moving away

from a start object.

• Therefore, spatial trend detection is a technique

for finding patterns of the attribute changes with

respect to the neighborhood of some spatial object.

• Through spatial analysis you can interact with a GIS to:

– answer questions,

– support decisions,

– reveal patterns and trends

– As input for further spatial analysis and modeling

• Spatial analysis is in many ways is the root of GIS, because it includes

all of the transformations, manipulations, and methods that can be

applied to geographic data to turn them into useful information.

 Chapter 2:

Geospatial Data Examination

• Query in GIS

• One of the defining characteristics of GIS is, the

ability to ask questions and get answers in a

spatial context.

• Queries are expressed in a formal way using

structured query language (SQL).

• Queries/question to database

• The geospatial analysis has the ability to ask

and answer questions about geographic

features and their attributes and the

relationship between them. This is known as a

Query or selection.
• A query chooses a subset of records from the database.

• Queries may be simple, only searching for one

feature, or more complex, selecting a group of

features.

• Basic query operations may be combined to select

complex sets of information.

 Types of Query

• There are two types of query, these are:

– Spatial and

– Non-spatial query
Spatial Query

• It refers to the search for spatial features based on their

spatial relations with other features and are used to

answer spatial questions.

• Spatial query refers to the process of retrieving a data

subset from a map layer by working directly with the

map features.
• Spatial queries, or questions, come in several

forms.

• Spatial queries allows you to select features in

a layer by their spatial relationship with

features from another layer.

• All spatial queries ask spatial, or geometric, questions of a

dataset.
• There are three broad categories of spatial questions:

– Direction, Distance and Topology

• Direction questions ask about the orientation of features on a

map.

• They include questions such as:

– Which towns are west of Addis Ababa?

– Which direction do flooding/hurricane travel?

– Which rivers are north of 40 degrees latitude?

• Distance questions ask about features within a given

distance of other features.

• These questions/queries are also referred to as distance

relations.

• Distance questions can also be thought of as proximity,

or how close is one object to another.

• They include questions such as:

– How far is it from AA to Hawassa?

– How far is the entoto park from AA?

– How many cities are within X distance of an

earthquake?
• Topology questions ask about how the geometric features, i.e.

points, lines and polygons are spatially related.

• They include questions such as:

– Do they share boundaries?

– Do they cross?

– Is one contained within another?

– Do they overlap?

– Are they clustered around a central feature?

– Are they one side or the other?

• Spatial Query rules

• The rule is configured to execute the existence of spatial relationships

among features.

• Some of spatial query rules that are found on the software:

– Intersect
– Are within a distance of
– Contains
– Are within
– Have a boundary that touches
– Share a line segment with

• To add a Spatial Query rule to a template, run the Add Spatial

Query Rule tool.
 Non-spatial query
• Non-spatial data in a GIS are presented in tables that

make up a database linked to the map.

• Non-spatial query is a request for records of features

in a table based on their attribute values.

• Attribute queries select features by sorting through

attribute records.
• Attribute queries ask for information from the tables associated

with features or from standalone tables associated with the GIS.

• Attributes can be:

– Numeric values

– Text strings

– Boolean values (true or false)

– Dates

• The features related to the records selected by process are

highlighted on the map as well as in the table.

• To meet multiple search criteria, several

attribute can be combined using logical

operators such as ‘’AND, OR, LIKE and NOT’’

to find records based on several criteria in two

or more attribute fields.

 Selection
• In Spatial query, it allows you to select features in

a layer by their spatial relationship with features

from another layer.

• Selection may be done by:

– Select by location and

– Select by attribute
• Select by attribute

• This operation creates new vector layer that only

contains certain features from an input layer.

• The criteria for adding features to the resulting

layer is defined based on the values of an attribute

from the input layer.

• Select by Location

• This operation creates new vector layer that only

contains certain features from an input layer.

• The criteria for adding features to the resulting

layer is defined based on the spatial relationship

between each feature and the features in additional

layer.
 Methods of selection in QGIS
• Beyond selecting features with the mouse, you can perform

automatic selection based on feature’s attribute using tools available

in the attribute table toolbar, such as :

• Select By Expression…

• Select Features By Value…

• Deselect Features from All Layers

• Select All Features

• Invert Feature Selection

 Select Features By Value…

Select By Expression…
Spatial Joining

• Joining two non-spatial datasets relies on a shared ‘key’ variable.

• Spatial data joining applies the same concept, but instead relies on spatial

relations. As with attribute data, joining adds new columns to the target object

(the argument x in joining functions), from a source object (y).

• The process is illustrated by the following example: imagine you have ten points

randomly distributed across the Earth’s surface and you ask, for the points that

are on land, which countries are they in? Implementing this idea in a reproducible

example will build your geographic data handling skills and show how spatial

joins work. The starting point is to create points that are randomly scattered over

the Earth’s surface:

Spatial joining by QGIS
Join Vs Relate

• What’s the difference between “relate” and “join” for tables in

ArcGIS?

• When you have matching unique IDs in two tables, you can

create a table relate or table join.

• A table join appends all the columns from one table into the

other table based on the unique ID.

• But a table relate creates an entirely new table.

• So when you select the record(s) in one table, it

will create a temporary table based on all the

matching unique IDs.

• When do you use relate? And when do you use

a “join”? Let’s learn with 2 examples.

• Join Example with 1:1 Relationship

• Joins are suitable for 1:1 relationships. So when you

have a single record that matches in both tables, this is

an appropriate time to use a join.

• Method, First, click the table drop-down button and

select “Joins and Relates” > Join. From here, you have

to select the fields from both tables with the unique

identifier.
• Relate Example with 1: M Relationship

• When one record has multiple matching IDs in another

table, this is a one-to-many relationship (1-M). And it’s

best to use “relate” for 1-M relationships.

• For example, let’s say we have a list of football teams and

players. There are multiple players per team and each

team is unique. So this means that it’s 1-M.

• As with attribute data aggregation, spatial data

aggregation condenses data: aggregated outputs have fewer

rows than non-aggregated inputs. Statistical aggregating

functions, such as mean average or sum, summarize

multiple values of a variable, and return a single value

per grouping variable.

 Chapter-3

Spatial Analysis
 GIS Analysis Functions

This chapter is organized to take you from data to

information and ultimately to decision-making.

It covers some of the options in GIS for data analysis.

It is where one can start to find answers to some of

his/her questions, and use GIS to help to develop new

questions for research.

Once the data input process is complete and your GIS layers are

preprocessed, you can begin the analysis stage.

GIS analysis functions use the spatial and non-spatial

attribute data to answer questions about real-world.

Analyzing geographic data requires critical thinking and

reasoning.

When use GIS to address real-world problems, you will come up

against the question that which analysis function you want to use and

to solve the problems.

The main GIS analysis functions include;

1. Overlay,

2. Extract and

3. Proximity operations.
1. Overlay analysis

o Is Combination of different data layers. (Both spatial and

attribute data is combined)

• New dataset/layer is created when a set of features is overlaid

with another.

• All overlay operations involve joining existing sets of features

into a single set of features to identify spatial relationships

between the features.

 Overlay is one of the most common and powerful GIS functions.

 This operation combines the geometries and attributes of two feature layers

to create output.

Overlay Analysis

o Combination of different data layers

o Both spatial and attribute data is combined

o Requires that data layers use a common coordinate system

o A new data layer is created

Overlay operation can be classified/grouped as:

Point-in-polygon overlay

Line-in-polygon overlay

Polygon-on-polygon overlay

10
3
 Point-in-polygon overlay

Line-in-polygon overlay

4
10

Polygon-on-polygon overlay
Examples of overlay analysis functions

• Intersect

• Union

• Identity

• Erase

• Symmetrical Difference

• Update

• Spatial Join
1. Intersection tool

• This tool builds new feature from the intersecting features common

in both feature classes.

• The features that are common to all inputs will be written to the

Output Feature Class.

• The inputs can be combination of any geometry types (point, line,

polygon).
• The output geometry can only be of the same geometry as the

input feature class.

• It preserves only those features that fall within the area extent

common to the inputs

• Available with any ArcGIS license.

• Intersect uses the ‘AND’ connector

ii. Union tool

• This tool builds a new feature class by combining the

features and attributes of each feature class.

• The output features will have the attributes of all the

input features that overlap.

• Combines all of the inputs together to generate output.

• Union uses the OR connector.

• The output features will have the attributes of all the input

features that overlap.

• Union preserves all features from the inputs

• The input layers may contain different feature types

although in most cases one of them is a point, line or

polygon.
• All polygons from both coverages will be split at

their intersections and preserved in the output

coverage.

• Available with any ArcGIS license.

• iii. Identity tool

• This tool combines the portions of features that overlap the identity

features to create a new feature class.

• Discovers geometric relationships (overlap) between the input features

and the identity features.

• Input Features that overlap Identity Features get the attribute information

from the Identity Feature and are written to the output.

• Requires an ArcInfo license.

iv. Erase

• This tool creates a feature class from those features or

portions of features outside the erase feature class.

• The part overlap with erase feature is removed from output.

• Requires an ArcInfo license.

v. Symmetrical Difference

• This tool creates a feature class from those features or portions of

features that are not common to any of the other inputs.

• In other words symmetrical difference is opposite to intersect in terms of

the outputs area extent

 Symmetrical difference requires polygons for both inputs

 Requires an ArcInfo license.

vi. Update

• This tool updates the attributes and geometry of an input feature class or

layer by the Update feature class that they overlap.

• Replaces the input with the update coverage polygons using a cut and

paste operation.

• The new data is added to older one and the output include both of them.

• Requires an ArcInfo license.

or
Dissolve Function

• Aggregates features based on specified attributes.

• In case of raster, it generalize pixel to greatest value.

• In case of vector, it generalize into larger class

Reading assignment

• Go through with “ARC-TOOLBOX” functions

2. Extraction Tools

 Extracting portions of data helps to isolate specific areas for further

processing or analysis.

 Used to create a new subset from the input features based on spatial or

attribute query.

 Similar to queries and selection sets, extraction functions can reduce the

size of datasets and/or facilitate more complex interpretation.

 Extraction techniques differ in that these portions of data are isolated in a

permanent way - through the creation of new data layers

• The operations/tools used for spatial data extraction include;

– Clip

– Select

– Split

– Table Select
 i. Clip
• Extract features from input feature class that overlap with a clip

feature class.

• The Clip tool is similar to the Intersect tool, however, Clip tool

does not transfer any attributes from the clip feature class to the

output.

• Cookie cutter approach

• Bounding polygon defines the clipped layer.

 Clip
• The Clip tool is similar to the Intersect tool, however, Clip tool does not transfer

any attributes from the clip feature class to the output.

• Bounding polygon defines the clipped layer.

• Clip is useful for developing a subset of features from a series of existing data

layers to match a common boundary.

• Available with any ArcGIS license.

• Eg. Assume that the city street network including

surrounding zones. Clipping would be useful in

order to permanently extract the street features

matching the extent of the city boundary.

 ii. Select
• Extracts features from input feature class and stores in new output

feature class.

• The output feature class may be created with a subset of features

based on Structured Query Language (SQL) expression.

• The selection may be based on attribute or location.

Select
Select

 Extracts features from an input feature class or input feature layer, typically using a

select or Structured Query Language (SQL) expression and stores them in an

output

 Extracts features from input feature class and stores in new output feature class.

 The selection may be based on attribute or location.

• Eg. Urban planner might wish to look at only double-line streets in the particular
municipality of interest. In this case, he or she would execute a selection query to extract
only those desired features to a new layer
 iii. Split
• This tool split portion of the input feature class into multiple feature

classes.

 split is used to divide an input layer into two or more independent

layers: based on geographically corresponding features in a split

layer

• Divides the input into different classes based on criteria.

• Requires an ArcInfo license.

Input output
• The split feature dataset must be polygons
iv. Table Select

• Extracts selected attributes from input table,

based on query and stores them in the output

table.

• Available with any ArcGIS license.

 3. Proximity Operation Tools
In proximity computations, we use geometric distance to define the

neighborhood of one or more target locations.

Identify features that are closest to one another and

calculate the distances around and between them.

All GIS programs provide some neighborhood analyses, which

include buffering, interpolation, Theissen polygons, and various

topographic functions.
• Proximity operation identify features that are closest to one

another and calculate the distances around and between them.

• The proximity analysis operation include,

1. Buffer

2. Theissen polygon

3. Multiple Ring Buffer

4. Near

5. Point Distance
1. Buffer

• Buffering works based on proximity concept

• It Creates a new area within a user-defined distance of an existing

entity.The construction of area by extending outward features over

specified distance.

• Supports are normal vector examination instruments used to

address inquiries of nearness in a GIS and can be utilized on

focuses, lines, or polygons.

• Used to examine proximity constraints

• Feature for buffering may be points, lines or polygons

• Buffering around point create a circle, Around lines a

series of elongated buffer zones around each line

segment, A buffer around a polygon creates an extended

area from the polygon boundaries

• Buffering uses distance measurements from selected features

• We must know the measurement unit of features we are dealing with.

• eg. Buffer point, Road and lake with 30 meters. Question that can be answered

• What exist 30m away from selected location?

• What exist 30m away from road to the left and right side?

• What exist 30m away from lake on all sides

• Example:

– Identify potential customers within 1km of shop

– Identify parks within 10km of main Highway

– Identify schools within 3 km of industrial zone

– Landuse around river or main road…..

Point Line

Area/Polygon
 2. Thiessen Polygons Analysis
 It Creates Thiessen polygons from point input features.

 Each Thiessen polygon contains only a single point input feature. Any location

within a Thiessen polygon is closer to its associated point than to any other

point input feature.

• This tool is used to divide the area covered by the point input features into Thiessen

or proximal zones. These zones represent full areas where any location within the

zone is closer to its associated input point than to any other input point.
 3. Multiple Ring Buffer
• Creates a new feature class of buffer features using a set of buffer

distances. The new features may be dissolved using the distance

values.

Eg. To know the effect of factory waste discharge on community living around.
1. 50m buffer from the factory… more severely affected
2. 100m buffer from the factory… affected
3. 150m buffer from the factory ….less affected
4. 200m buffer from the factory …not affected
You can try another examples that can be analyzed by using multiple ring buffer
 4. Near
• Computes the distance from each point in a feature

class to the nearest line or point in another feature

class.
5. Point Distance
• Computes the distances between point features in one

feature class to all points in a second feature class that are

within the specified search radius.

3.2. Advanced Vector-based Analyses

• Network analysis

• Hot Spot analysis

• 3D analysis
Advanced Vector-based Analyses

• Vector data analysis uses the geometric objects of point, line,

and polygon.

● The accuracy of analysis results depends on the accuracy of

these objects in terms of:

• Location

• Shape

• Topology
Network Analysis

• Network is a system of interconnected elements, such as edges and

connecting junctions, that represent possible routes from one

location to another.

• In network analysis edges represent lines and junctions represent

points.

• Network consists of a set of connected vertices and edges.

• A network refers to a structure representing a group of objects and

relationships between them.

• Topological properties of networks are:

o connectivity,

o adjacency, and incidence. These properties serve as a basis for

analysis.

• A network structure consists of nodes and edges that represent routes

upon which people, goods, etc. can travel.

• Nodes represent objects we are going to analyze while edges represent the

relationships between those objects.

 ii. Hot Spot Analysis

• The term hotspots refers to concentration of events limited to a

particular geographic area that occur over a specific time period.

Hotspots are also referred to as clusters or concentrations.

• Hotspot analysis is a spatial analysis technique interested in the

identification of clustering of spatial phenomena. These spatial

phenomena are illustrated as points in a map and refer to locations

of events or objects.
• The hot spot analysis tool assesses whether high or low values of

events like:

• number of crimes,

• areas with high concentrations of crime stand out.

• accident severity,

• Death due to specific disease

• dollars spent on sporting goods, etc. cluster spatially.

• CrimeStat is a spatial statistical program used to analyze the

locations of crime incidents and identify hot spots.

• The Given incident points or weighted features

(points or polygons), creates a map of statistically

significant hot and cold spots using the statistic.

• It evaluates the characteristics of the input feature

class to produce optimal results.

• Hot Spot Analysis tool identifies trends in your data to find new:

• intensifying,

• diminishing, and

• Sporadic/irregular hot and cold spots,

• It will also check the Analysis Field to confirm that the values have

at least some variation and outliers.

• Outliers are features that are much far away from neighboring

features than the majority of features in the dataset.

• Methods for determining hotspots:

– Graduated color maps

– Map grids

– Ellipses

– Kernel density interpolation

 iii. 3D Analysis
• The 3D Analyst is an extension that adds support for 3D

shapes, surface modeling, and real-time perspective viewing to

ArcGIS.

• 3D Analysis helps you to create and visualize spatial data using a

third dimension.

• Three-dimensional GIS data incorporates and extra dimension a z-

value into its definition (x,y,z).

• 3D data capture is the process of gathering information

from the real world, with x, y, and z coordinates, and

making it digital.
3.3. Raster-based Analyses
 Raster-based Analyses
• Raster data analysis is based on cells and can be

performed at the level of individual cells, or groups of

cells, or cells within an entire raster.

• Some raster data operations use a single raster; others use

two or more rasters.

• Raster analysis identify, quantify, and visualize spatial

patterns in data.
• It is known as cell by cell combination or operation.

• It is computationally less demanding than vector.

• Computationally & conceptually much simpler than

vector overlay

• Overlay of Raster datasets combine Pixel-based

calculations or Map Algebra.

i. Terrain Analysis

• Terrain analysis is the use of 3D data to perform landscape or terrain

evaluation.

• Terrain Analysis is the analysis and interpretation of topographic features

through geographic information systems.

• Such features include slope, aspect, viewshed, elevation, contour lines, flow,

upslope flowlines and downslope flowlines.

• The intention is to build abstraction of surface terrain in order to delineate or

stratify landscapes and create an understanding of relationships between

ecological processes and physical features.

• Terrain analysis employs elevation data, usually in

conjunction with other geospatial information to

describe the landscape for:

• basic visualization,

• modeling, or

• to support decision making

 ii. Map Algebra And Raster Calculator
• The term ‘map algebra’ was coined in the late 1970s to describe

a “set of conventions, capabilities, and techniques” for the

analysis of geographic raster and (although less prominently)

vector data. In this context, we define map algebra more

narrowly, as operations that modify or summarize raster cell

values, with reference to surrounding cells, zones, or statistical

functions that apply to every cell.

• Map algebra basically involves doing math with

maps.

• But the key difference is that it only applies to

raster data. That’s why we also call it raster

math.
• Map algebra operations tend to be fast, because raster datasets only

implicitly store coordinates. The location of cells in raster datasets can

be calculated by using its matrix position and the resolution and origin

of the dataset. For the processing, however, the geographic position of a

cell is barely relevant as long as we make sure that the cell position is

still the same after the processing. Additionally, if two or more raster

datasets share the same extent, projection and resolution, one could treat

them as matrices for the processing.

• This is the way that map algebra works with the terra package.

– First, the headers of the raster datasets are queried and (in cases

where map algebra operations work on more than one dataset)

checked to ensure the datasets are compatible.

– Second, map algebra retains the so-called one-to-one locational

correspondence, meaning that cells cannot move. This differs

from matrix algebra, in which values change position, for

example when multiplying or dividing matrices.

 Types Of Map Algebra
• Map algebra (or cartographic modeling with raster data) divides

raster operations into four subclasses, with each working on one or

several grids simultaneously:

• Here are the types of map algebra operations that you can use:

– Local

– Focal

– Zonal

– Global
 1. Local Operations
• The simplest approach is map algebra on a cell-by-cell basis.

• This operation adds each cell one-by-one.

• The Output value of each cell is a function of the corresponding input

value at each location

• Local operations are based on point-by-point or cell-by-cell analysis.

• Raster algebra is a classical use case of local operations – this includes

adding or subtracting values from a raster, squaring and multiplying

raster. Raster algebra also allows logical operations such as finding all

raster cells that are greater than a specific value

Example of Local operation
• The cell-by-cell operations are termed as location

specific overlay.

– ***Reclassification and selection are examples of

local function
 2. Focal Operations
• Focal operations are spatial functions that compute an output value

of each cell using neighborhood values.

• It uses the topological relationship of adjacency between cells in the

input raster layer to create a new layer.

• This operation assumes that the value of particular cell is affected

by the value of the neighboring cell.

• It uses convolution, kernel, and moving windows are focal

operations.
• While local functions operate on one cell, though possibly from

multiple layers, focal operations take into account a central

(focal) cell and its neighbors. The neighborhood (also named

kernel, filter or moving window) under consideration is

typically of size 3-by-3 cells (that is the central cell and its

eight surrounding neighbors), but can take on any other (not

necessarily rectangular) shape as defined by the user.

• A focal operation applies an aggregation function

to all cells within the specified neighborhood,

uses the corresponding output as the new value

for the central cell, and moves on to the next

central cell. Other names for this operation are

spatial filtering and convolution.

• MOVING WINDOW: is a rectangular arrangement of cells that

shifts in position.

• The value of the output cell may be the average of all the cells of

the moving window, or the central cell of the window or the

median value of the window.

 3. Zonal Operation
• Just like focal operations, zonal operations apply an aggregation

function to multiple raster cells. However, a second raster, usually

with categorical values, defines the zonal filters (or ‘zones’) in the

case of zonal operations, as opposed to a predefined neighborhood

window in the case of focal operation presented in the previous

section. Consequently, raster cells defining the zonal filter do not

necessarily have to be neighbors.

• Zonal operations apply a math function to a group of cells within a specified

zone. Generally zone is defined as the area with homogeneous

characteristics. A zone is all the areas/cells with the same value.

• It is defined as the collection of cells that exhibits the same attribute

characteristics. It calculate a statistic within the zones for each cell in a raster.

• Finally, the result of a zonal operation is a summary table grouped by zone

which is why this operation is also known as zonal statistics in the GIS

world. This is in contrast to focal operations which return a raster object.

 4. Global Operations
• Global operations are a special case of zonal operations with the entire

raster dataset representing a single zone. The most common global

operations are descriptive statistics for the entire raster dataset such as the

minimum or maximum .

• The output value of each location is a function of all the cells in input

grid.

• globally in a raster.
• Aside from that, global operations are also useful for the computation

of distance and weight raster. In the first case, one can calculate the

distance from each cell to a specific target cell. For example, one

might want to compute the distance to the nearest coast. We might

also want to consider topography, that means, we are not only

interested in the pure distance but would like also to avoid the

crossing of mountain ranges when going to the coast. To do so, we can

weight the distance with elevation so that each additional altitudinal

meter ‘prolongs’ the Euclidean distance.

• Visibility and viewshed computations also belong to

the family of global operations.

• Global functions compute an output as a function of

all the cells in the input raster datasets.

• For example, Euclidean distance is an example of a

global operation. By calculating the closest distance

away from a source, it applies the function.

• Mathematical Functions

• Here are examples of operations that you can use for map algebra:

‾ Arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division)

‾ Statistical operations (minimum, maximum, average, median)

‾ Relational operations (greater than, smaller than, equal to)

‾ Trigonometric operations (sine, cosine, tangent, arcsine)

‾ Exponential and logarithmic operations (exponent, logarithm)

 QGIS

ArcGIS
 Viewshed Analysis
• Viewshed analysis is a computational algorithm that delineates the

area visible from a given location based on terrain.

• A viewshed is the area visible from a specific location.

• The analysis uses the elevation value of each cell to determine the

visibility from a particular cell or observation.

• A view shed is the geographical area that is visible from a specified location which

includes all surrounding points that are in line-of-sight with that location and

excludes points that are beyond the horizon or obstructed by terrain and other

features (e.g., buildings, trees).

• Each cell in the output raster receives a value that indicates how many observer

points can be seen from each location.

 Questions Can Be Answered By Viewshed Analysis
• Which areas can be seen from a fire lookout tower that is 15 meters high?

• How frequently can a proposed disposal site be seen from an existing

highway?

• Where should the next communications repeater tower be located?

Application areas of viewshed analysis

o Urban Planning

o Cell phone tower placement

o Location for wind turbines

o Conservation projects

o Military purpose
 Density And Distance Analysis
• Distance Measurement

• ArcGIS contain functions to calculate the distance between features

within the same layer or between different layers.

• Distance analysis helps to answer questions like:

• who will be impacted,

• what is nearest, and

• what path is most efficient.

 Euclidean Distance

• Euclidean distance gives the distance from each cell in the raster output

to the closest source (vector input).

• Calculates the shortest straight distance from each cell to its nearest

source cell.

• Assigns each cell the value of its nearest source cell (Euc-Allocation)

• Calculates the direction from each cell to its nearest source cell (Euc-

Direction)

• Example what is the distance to the closest hospital.

EucAllocation EucDirection
• Euclidean Allocation

– Euclidean allocation identifies the cells that are to be

allocated to a source based on closest proximity.

– Example: what is the closest hospital?

• Density Analysis

– Enable the calculation of the density of input features within a

neighborhood around each output raster cell.

– This calculation describes the spreading of values (of input

feature class) out over a surface.

– The magnitude at each sample location (line or point) is

distributed throughout the study area, and a density value is

calculated for each cell in the output raster.

• Density surfaces show where point or line features are concentrated.

• For example,

– you might have a point value for each town representing the total

number of people in the town, but you want to learn more about

the spread of population over the region.

– Since all the people in each town do not live at the population

point, by calculating density, you can create a surface showing

the predicted distribution of population throughout the landscape.

• The following graphic gives an example of a density

surface. When added together, the population values of

the cells equal the sum of the population of the original

point layer.
 3.4 Site Selection Analysis
• Site selection or suitability analysis is a type of analysis

used in GIS to determine the best place or site for

something.

• Site selection is the process of examining multiple options

and assessing their relative advantages and disadvantages.

Site selection comes after the needs assessment is

completed.
• Site selection analysis is used in GIS to select the best

location or site for a facility.

• When performing site selection analysis, travel time

information can help us find the locations that are the

most reachable, or those that optimize coverage of key

services, such as healthcare.

• When performing site selection analysis users must set

various criteria from which the GIS software can rate the

best or ideal sites.

• Weighted site selection analysis allows users to rank

raster cells and assign a relative importance value to each

layer (ESRI). The result is a suitability surface which

ranks potential sites.

• Example:

– Sites with a value of 1 are least suitable and those

with a value of 5 are most suitable. Weighted site

selection is an important site selection method

because it includes options for viewing next-best sites

(those with a value of 4) should the ideal sites not

work.
• Potential sites used in suitability analysis can include the

location of a:

• new hospital,

• store or school

• Stadium

• Market site

• Hotels

• Agricultural products suitability among many others.

Multi Criteria Evaluation

• Multi Criteria Evaluation (MCE) in GIS is to investigate the

allocation of land to suit a specific purpose based on a variety of

attributes that the selected areas have. MCE makes it possible to

generate compromise alternatives and rankings of alternatives

according to their attractiveness.

• MCA provides a systematic approach for supporting complex

decisions according to pre-determined criteria and objectives.

• MCDA is used to logically evaluate and compare multiple

criteria that are often conflicting to make the best possible

decision.

• MCA gives a logical, well-structured process to follow so

different factors can be clearly identified and prioritized.

• It allows the alternative solutions being considered to be

ranked in order of suitability.

• Spatial MCA is used for decisions with a geographical

element, most often in site selection processes where

multiple factors need to be considered. Eg.:

– Site location

– Land use

– Distance to areas of pollution

– Proximity to transport and road infrastructure

– Environmentally sensitive areas

• In order to use weighted site selection there is a standard workflow

that should be followed.

• This workflow usually begins with:

– defining a problem or criteria

– gather data and create raster surfaces to be used in the analysis

– reclassifying the layers,

– weighting them

– overlaying the output layers with other information maps to see

the best potential sites.

• Eg. Suitable site selection for School and Teff for multi-criteria analysis

• In case of school, you may need data:

• Exisitng school data, Elevation data, Land use data, Population data

 Criterias (distance from existing school, distance from waterbody, distance

from road, slope greater or less than x,)

• In case of Teff

• Soil type, Soil ph, Soil salinity, Soil nutrient contents

• Rainfall, Temprature, Slope

• After defining data to be used, you going to assign weight based on criteria set. Eg.

Incase of teff, the rainfall below expect, as expected and above expected should get

different weight.
4. Advanced Spatial
Analyses
• 4.1. Spatial Interpolation

• 4.2. Cost-distance analysis

• 4.3. Local, Neighborhood Operations Regional analysis

4.1. Spatial Interpolation
• Interpolation is a process of using points with known values to estimate

values at unknown points.

• It is a prediction of values for whole from a limited number of sample of

points

• It can be used to predict unknown values for any geographic point data's: like

• elevation,

• rainfall, temperature

• chemical concentrations,

• noise levels,

• and so on can be computed using interpolation.

• Visiting every location in a study area to measure the height, magnitude or

concentration is usually difficult or expensive.

• Instead, dispersed sample point locations can be predicted and value can be

assigned to all other locations.

• Spatial prediction methods are used to estimate values at un-sampled locations.

• Not all locations can be sampled due to:

 Time, Money

 An infinite or a large number of samples.

 Locations are difficult or impossible to get to.

 Missing data.
Types of interpolation Models

• There are two basic types of interpolation models these are:

• Deterministic and statistical Models

1. Deterministic models:

• These are models that predict and produce surface only considering

distance.

• The model include:

– Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW),

– Natural-neighbours and

– Spline.
2. Statistical Methods

• Statistical methods are based on statistical models that include autocorrelation (statistical relationships

among the measured points). Not only produce a prediction surface, but can also provide some measure

of the accuracy of the predictions.

• Statistical models include:

– Ordinary Kriging, assumes there is no trend in the data,

– Simple Kriging: defined as a variety of Kriging that assumes that local means are relatively

constant and equal to the population mean, which is well known. The population mean is used

as a factor in each local estimate along with the samples in the local neighborhood.

– Universal Kriging: assumes that there is an overriding trend in the data.

– splits the random function into a linear combination of deterministic functions, known at any point

of the region, and a random component, the residual random function. For example, you may

know that there is a prevailing wind or a gently sloping hillside across your study area.
Deterministic models:

 Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW)

– IDW technique computes an average value for un-sampled locations using

values from nearby weighted locations.

– In this method, sample point influence declines with distance from unknown

point.

– IDW assumes that each input point has influence that diminishes with

distance.

– It weights the points closer to the processing cell greater than those further

away.

– The Inverse Distance Weighting is usually applied to highly variable data.

Inverse Distance Weighted-for generating surface:
• The closer a point is to the cell being estimated, the more influence, it has in the

averaging process.

• The term "inverse distance“ is about, the weight is inversely proportional to the

distance.

IDW

• The performance of interpolator can be summarized by computing root-mean of

squared residuals(RMSE).
• The node value is calculated by averaging the weighted sum of all the points.

• Data points that lie progressively farther from the node influence the computed

value far less than those lying closer to the node.

• Advantages

• Can estimate extreme changes in terrain such as: Cliffs, Fault Lines.

• Dense evenly space points are well interpolated (flat areas with cliffs).

• Can increase or decrease amount of sample points to influence cell values.

• Disadvantages

• Cannot estimate above maximum or below minimum values.

• Not very good for peaks or mountainous areas.

• Natural Neighbourhood Interpolation

• It is a geometric estimation technique that uses natural neighbourhood regions

generated around each point in the dataset.

• Like IDW, it is a weighted-average interpolation method.

• It works well with clustered scatter points.

• Natural Neighbor interpolation selects the closest nodes to interpolate point.

• It is most appropriate where sample data points are distributed with uneven

density.

• The method thereby allows the creation of accurate surface models from data

sets that are very sparsely distributed or very linear in spatial distribution.
• Natural Neighbour makes use of area-weighting technique to determine new value

for every grid node.

• Natural neighborhood region is first generated for each data point.

• The new grid value is calculated as the average of the surrounding point values

weighted according the intersecting area of each point.

• Advantages

• Handles large numbers of sample points efficiently.

Natural Neighbourhood Interpolation

 Spline Interpolation

• Spline estimates values using a mathematical function that minimizes overall

surface curvature, resulting in a smooth surface that passes exactly through the

input points.

• These method estimate values by minimizing surface curvature, resulting in a

smooth surface.

• Conceptually, it minimize the total curvature of the surface.

• This method is best for gently varying surfaces, such as:

• elevation,

• water table heights or

• pollution concentrations.
• There are two spline interpolation methods

i. Regularized Method

• This method creates a smooth, gradually changing surface with values that may

lie outside the sample data range.

• In regularized spline interpolation, the higher the weights, the smoother the

surface.

ii. Tension Method

• It creates a less-smooth surface.

• The higher the weight, the coarser the generated surface.

• The more input points you specify, the more each cell influenced by distant

points and the smoother the resulting surface.

• Advantages

• Useful for estimating above maximum and below minimum points.

• Creates a smooth surface effect.

• Disadvantages

• Cliffs and fault lines are not well presented because of the smoothing

effect.

• When the sample points are close together and have extreme differences in

value, Spline interpolation doesn’t work as well.

• This is because Spline uses slope calculations (change over distance) to

figure out the shape of the flexible rubber sheet.

2. Statistical techniques

1. Kriging interpolation technique

•Kriging is a geostatistical interpolation technique that consider both

distance and degree of variation between known points.

•The weights are based on the over all spatial arrangement among the

measured points.

•Kriging is based on statistical models that include autocorrelation.

•
Weights are based on:

A. Distance between measured points and predicted location

B. Overall spatial arrangement among the points.

•kriging considers spatial autocorrelation between points

during interpolation. Correlation is usually thought of as

the tendency for two types of variables to be related.

• In geostatistics, the information on spatial locations allows you to compute

distances between observations and to model autocorrelation as a function of

distance.

• The speed of execution is dependent on the number of points in the input dataset

and the size of the search window.

• Low values within the optional output variance of prediction raster indicate a

high degree of confidence in the predicted value. High values may indicate a

need for more data points.

• Kriging allows to derive result in optimal and unbiased estimates.

• It minimize the error and set the mean prediction errors to zero.
• There are no over-or under-estimates during kriging.

• Kriging provides estimation of the error at each interpolated point.

• Three different methods of Kriging interpolation exist; these are:

-Ordinary Kriging:

-Simple Kriging, and

-Universal Kriging
• Three step procedure is recommended during interpolation:

1. Evaluate the sample data

 Do this to get an idea on how data are distributed in the area,

 This may provide hints on which interpolation method to use.

2. Apply interpolation method which is most suitable to both sample data and study objectives

 When you are in doubt, try several methods, if available.

3. Compare the results and find the best result and the most suitable method.

 This may look like a time consuming process at the beginning. However, as

you gain experience and knowledge of different interpolation methods, the

time required for generating the most suitable surface will be greatly reduced.
4.2. Cost-distance Analysis
Cost Distance Analysis

• This analysis used to determine the least costly path to reach a source for each

cell location in the Analysis window.

• The least cost and path determined for each-cell.

• The cost distance tools calculates the actual distance from one location to

another.

• The cost distance tools determine the shortest weighted distance (travel cost)

from each cell to the nearest source location.

• These tools apply distance in cost units, not in geographic units.

• Cost Distance explores the movement of a traveler over a landscape.

• Cost weighted distance analysis is used to find accumulative cost of each

cell to its nearest source.

• It is contrary to Euclidean distance, Because under some situation, the

straight line distance might not be the best route to go.

• So, weighted distance analysis includes the shortest distance and cost.

• The shortest path is the process of finding a path between two vertices.

• Shortest path algorithms are applied to automatically find directions

between physical locations.

• Some example: problems solved by cost distance analysis

– Identify the cheapest route to construct a new road to a proposed school.

– Find the shortest path through a street network between two places

– Connect the best habitat areas for wildlife species to move between the patches.

– Locate a new pipeline to connect petroleum fields to a factory.

– Determine the fastest way to reach injured climber in a remote area.

– Move a military tank to a distant over a landscape with no road network

Eg. If you asked to design new road from Wondo Genet to Hawassa?, cost-distance analysis

looks for: (where the new road passes? Through mountain, watershed, farmland, settlement or

openland? According payment for compensation, which one is least cost? Is that better through

mountain/ farmland, etc incase of both cost and distance? This is how cost distance is done.
 The cost distance tools are the following:

• Cost Distance: gives the distance to the nearest source for each cell based on the

least-accumulative cost.

• Cost Back Link: identifies accumulative cost for each cell to return to closest

source location,

• Cost Allocation: gives the nearest source for each cell, based on least-

accumulative cost over a cost surface.

• Cost Path: gives the path with the least cost from a source to a destination.

• Cost Connectivity: gives least-cost connectivity network between two or more

regions.
4.3. Different spatial Operations

• There are 4 kinds of spatial operations. These are:

– Local

– Neighborhood:

– Zonal

– Regional
1. Local Operations Overview

• These kind of operations are based on point-by-point or cell-by-cell

analysis.

• Can be done using single or multiple raster/vector data

• In the raster based analysis either the logical or arithmetic operators are

used. Logical overlay use operators AND, OR, and XOR (exclusive OR).

• Arithmetic operators are addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication.

• “No-data"cells not included in calculations

• Eg. Reclassification, change detection studies, predicting and overlays

2. Neighborhood (focal) Operations

• Neighbourhood operations modify pixel values based on values of near by pixels.

• Convolution and Correlation are fundamental neighborhood operations.

• Convolution

• It is used to filter images for specific reasons like; to remove noise, to remove

motion blur, to enhance image features, etc.

• Correlation is used to determine the similarity of regions of image to other

regions of interest. It used in pattern recognition and image registration.

• “No-data”cells are not included in analysis

 Can produce summary statistics like:

• Min & max, mean & median

• Range -highest value minus lowest value in the neighborhood

• Standard deviation, of values in the neighborhood

• Majority -cell value encountered the most times in the neighborhood

• Minority -cell value encountered the fewest times in the neighborhood

• Variety -how many different types of cell values in the neighborhood)

• Use values for the cells within the neighborhood to calculate the value for the

focal cell.

• The simplest and most common neighborhood is a 3 by 3 rectangle window

• Common shapes used for neighborhood analysis: rectangle, circle, etc.

Common Applications

– Data simplification

– Terrain analysis

– Image processing

– Site selection
3. Zonal Operations

• Involves group of cells with the same values or similar features

(zones)

• Operations performed using zones (groups of cells having the same

value)

• Can be used with a single raster or with two rasters

Applications

– Landscape ecology analyses

4. Regional Operations

• Operations performed using homogeneous regions which is broader

than zone.

• Generally a region is defined as the area with homogeneous

characteristics.

• In raster model it has been defined as the collection of cells that

exhibits the same attribute characteristics.

UNIT-5: Three-Dimensional (3D) Analysis

• Terrain Analysis;

• Slope gradient,

• DEM,

• TIN,

• Contour generation and interpretation

i. Terrain Analysis

• Terrain analysis is the use of 3D data to perform landscape or

terrain evaluation.

• Terrain Analysis is the analysis and interpretation of topographic

features through geographic information systems.

• Terrain analysis is defined as the study of the nature, origin,

morphological history and composition of land forms, the result

of which is a land form or land component map.

• Terrain analysis employs elevation data, usually in conjunction

with other geospatial information to describe the landscape for:

• basic visualization,

• modeling, or

• to support decision making

• The intention is to build abstraction of surface terrain in

order to delineate landscapes and create relationships

between physical features.

• Terrain analysis is used to understand how physical

geography affects.
• Terrain analysis is a system for the in-/output, modeling, management,

processing, analyzing and visualization of geoscientific data.

• Terrain analysis function includes:

• slope,

• aspect,

• view-shed,

• contour-lines,

• upslope flowlines and down slope flow lines

• Watershed delineation analysis.

•Slope

• slope is defined as the rise and fall of the terrain surface, also

known as its inclination or gradient. The slope of a line

describes its steepness, incline, or grade.

• It is the measure of steepness of feature relative to the

horizontal plane.

• Slope represents the rate of change of elevation for each digital

elevation model pixel.

• Slope represents the rate of change of elevation for each digital

elevation model pixel. A higher slope value indicates a steeper

incline.

• Slope describes both the direction and steepness of the surface.

Slope has magnitude and direction

• May be expressed in either degrees or percent of slope.

slope stability is important evaluation method that helps to reveal potential indicators for

slope failure, including:

•Topography: Measuring the slope’s height differences at all points in the terrain

•Material Strength: Determine which building methods will be appropriate for proposed slope

•Soil Water Content: Planning for proper irrigation & storm-water mitigation around the slope

•Vegetation: How the area’s trees, shrubs, and grass contribute to overall stability

• slope stability is a measure of how resistant a natural

or man-made slope is to failure due to collapse or

sliding.

• Eg. To construct new building, you have to analyze slope, soil water content, vegetation

around the area, etc.

Slope is important for

• Landslide potential

• Storms

• Erosion

• suitability analysis

• predictive modeling and

• predicting potential hazards.

• Mapping slope is very important for:

• Analyzing the terrain slope of a given location plays an important

part in fields such as :

• hydrology,

• site planning,

• conservation, and

• infrastructure development.

• Slope can be calculated from a Digital Elevation Model

 • Aspect

• Aspect defined as the horizontal direction of slope of topographic feature.

Aspect can be thought of as the slope direction.

• The values of the output raster will be the compass direction of the

aspect, represented by a hue (color).

• Aspect is the compass direction that a slope faces.

• It helps to identify slope direction or the compass direction a hill faces.

• Determines exposure of a slope to sun and other weather conditions (wind)

• Flat slopes have no direction and are given a value of -1.

• Aspect determines the compass direction a slope is facing; a strong

tool with applications in various fields of analysis. Applications of Aspect

can be found in Risk Management, Land Use Studies, Ecology and

Biodiversity studies.

• An aspect-slope map simultaneously shows the aspect (direction) and

degree (steepness) of slope for a terrain (or other continuous surface).

Steepest downhill direction

Direction a slope faces

Direction a
slope faces
 Viewshed Analysis

•A view shed is the visible area by a human eye from a given

location.
Digital Elevation Model (DEM)

– It is the digital representation of the land surface elevation with

respect to any reference datum.

– It’s a gridded representations of the surface of the Earth where

each pixel in the grid contains an elevation value.

– DEM is frequently used to refer to any digital representation of

a topographic surface.

– DEM is the simplest form of digital representation of

topography.
• DEM is a representation of the bare ground (bare earth) topographic

surface of the Earth excluding:

• trees,

• buildings, and

• any other surface objects.

• DEMs are files that contain either points (vector) or pixels (raster),

with each point or pixel having an elevation value.

• Technically a DEM contains only the elevation

information of the surface:

• free of vegetation,

• buildings and

• other non ground objects with reference to a datum

such as Mean Sea Level (MSL).

– A DEM (Digital Elevation Model)

 Represents the bare-Earth surface, removing all natural and built

features;

– A DSM (Digital Surface Model)

 captures both natural and built/artificial features of the

environment;

– A DTM (Digital Terrain Model)

 typically augments a DEM, by including vector features of the

natural terrain, such as rivers and ridges.

DEM, DTM and DSM
 Levels of DEM

1. Global Digital Elevation Models

•Covers world wide.

•The highest resolution DEM data set for the entire world has ground resolution of

~1 km.

2. National Digital Elevation Models

•Only bounded for that country

•For much of US, National Elevation Dataset contains of ~30 m and 10 m, resolution

data.

•SRTM1 with 2km DEM data are also available for the United States.
3. Regional Digital Elevation Models

 Covers some regions to provide DEM data

 High-resolution DEMs are available for small

regions within the US.

 LiDAR airborne scanners used for this level.

The following are most useful Parameters generated by using DEM:

1.Slope: Displays the grade of steepness expressed in degrees

or as percent slope.

2.Aspect: Identifies the down-slope direction.

3.Shaded topographic relief or hill-shading: This image

represents relief by simulating the effect of the sun's

illumination on the terrain.

4. Flow direction: Shows the direction of flow by finding

the direction of the steepest descent or maximum drop.

This DEM derived surface depicts the drainage.

5. Basin/ Watershed: Function that uses a grid of flow

direction (output of flow direction) to determine the

contributing area/accumulation catchment.

Quality of DEM

o The quality of a DEM is a measure of how accurate elevation is at

each pixel absolute accuracy.

o Several factors play an important role for quality of DEM-derived products:

• terrain roughness;

• sampling density (elevation data collection method);

• grid resolution or pixel size;

• Interpolation algorithm;

• terrain analysis algorithm;

Common uses of DEMs include:

 Watershed delineation

 Stream channel, drainage network

 Extracting terrain parameters for geomorphology

 Modeling water flow for hydrology or mass movement

 Rendering of 3D visualizations

 Creation of physical models (including raised relief maps)

 Reduction (terrain correction) of gravity measurements

--------------Common uses of DEMs include---------

 Terrain analysis in geomorphology and physical geography

 Engineering and infrastructure design

 Line-of-sight analysis

 Base mapping

 Archaeology
 Commonly Used Terrain Variables
Variable Description Importance

Elevation Height above a base Temperature, vegetation, visibility

Slope Rise relative to a horizontal Water flow, flooding, erosion, travel time, construction

distance suitability, geology, insolation, soil depth

Aspect Downhill direction of steepest Insolation, temperature, vegetation, soil characteristics and

slope moisture, visibility

Upslope area Watershed area above a point Soil moisture, water runoff volume and timing, pollution or

erosion hazards

Flow length Longest upstream flow path to Sediment and erosion rates

a point

Visibility Site obstruction from given Utility location, viewshed preservation

viewpoints
 Contour Lines

• A contour survey illustrates the elevation differences across your land,

in regular intervals, from the lowest point to the highest point.

• A contour line is an imaginary line containing points of equal

elevation .

• A Contour Line is a line on a map that connects places of equal

elevation.

• Contour Lines used to show elevation and land shape.

Understanding contour

• Steep and flat topography

• Every fifth contour line is often darker and has the

elevation marked on it.

• Index Contour- a contour line that is numbered with the

elevation.

• Contour interval is the difference in elevation between two

consecutive contour lines/Vertical distance between lines

The vertical distance between any two successive contours is known

as contour interval.

The contour interval is kept constant for a contour plan. Otherwise

interpretation of contour will be difficult.

The contour interval depends on:

(i) Nature of the ground,

(ii) Scale of the map.

(iii) Purpose and extent of survey,

(iv) Time and expense of field and office work.

The contour interval should be small when the ground is flat.

The contour interval may be large when the ground is of steep slope.
characteristics of Contour

– Concentric closed contours that increase in elevation represent hills

– Evenly spaced contours indicate uniform slope.

– Widely spaced contours indicate a gentle slope

– Irregular contours indicate uneven surface.

– Close together contours indicate a steep slope, wall or cliff.

– Similarly a single contour cannot split into two lines

– Contours can never branch into 2 contours of the same elevation

• Approximately concentric closed contours with increasing values

towards Centre indicate hills.

• Contour lines with U-shape with convexity towards lower ground

indicate ridge (below)

• Contour lines with V-shaped with convexity towards higher ground

Hills
indicate valley
Methods Of Locating Contours

 There are two principal methods of locating contours

1.Direct method also known as trace contour method;

2.Indirect method also known as controlling point

method.
The direct method,

o The contour to be plotted is actually traced on the ground

o Locations directly measured by the field

o This method is slow, tedious but accurate.

o It is suitable for small areas.

o This method of plotting contours is accurate and is useful for

an engineering study
Indirect method,

• The contours are located by determining the elevations of well

chosen points from which the positions of points on the contours

are determined by interpolation.

• Done by interpolating known point elevation values for unknown

locations.

• Contours will be interpolated by topographer from experience and

by judgment.
How contour is made practically on the ground?

1. The land is surveyed to find the elevation.

2. Contour interval is chosen based on how steep the land is.

3. Lines are drawn connecting places with equal elevation.

 Watershed analysis
• Watershed delineation is a process for creating a boundary that

represents the contributing area for a specific water outlet.

• It is used to calculate the direct catchment area or sub-basin from

a user selected input location or pour point.

• watershed delineation means is that you're drawing lines on a

map to identify a watershed's boundaries. These are typically

drawn on topographic maps using information from contour lines.

• The tool also calculates the following catchment

properties: area (hectares) mean annual precipitation

(MAP) (mm/a) mean annual runoff (MAR) (mm/a and

m³)
• watershed is defined as any surface area from which runoff

resulting from rainfall is collected and drained through a common

point. A watershed may be only a few hectares as in small ponds

or hundreds of square kilometers as in rivers.

• The word was originally a geographical term describing the area

from which water sources drain into a single river or a ridge.

• The delineated boundaries form the basis around which

the management efforts such as:

– land use,

– land change,

– soil types,

– geology and

– river flows are analyzed and appropriate conclusions drawn.

• A drainage basin is any area of land where precipitation collects

and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or

other body of water.

• The flow direction value for each pixel is the direction in which

water is flowing over that pixel as it makes its way downstream.

• Flow direction determines which direction water will flow in a

given cell.

• The flow accumulation value for each pixel is the sum of all flows

from upstream of that pixel, that is the accumulated value, or

magnitude of the stream that flows over that pixel.

 Unit 6
GIS Model Building
• One of the main uses of GIS is as a tool to help us make decisions.

• Specifically, we often want to know:

– the best location for a new facility,

– the most likely sites for mosquito habitat, or

– perhaps identify areas with a high risk of flooding so that we can formulate

the best policy for prevention.

– In using GIS to help make these decisions, we need to represent some part of

the real world as it is, as it was, or perhaps as we think it will be. We need to

restrict ourselves to ‘some part’ of the real world simply because it cannot be

represented completely.
• The fact that we can only represent parts of the real world teaches

us to be humble about the expectations that we can have about the

system: all the data it can possibly generate for us in the future will

be based upon the information which we provide the system with.

Often, we are dealing with processes or phenomena that change

rapidly, or which are difficult to quantify in order to be stored

in a computer. It follows that the ways we collect, organize and

structure data from the real world plays a key part in this process.
Spatial analysis and Modeling

Cartographic modelling

– Set of interacting, ordered map operations that act on raw data as well as

derived and

– intermediate data, to simulate a spatial decision making and analysis process

– Usually presented in graphic form

– Organization tool that helps you think

– Depicting the complete analysis process as a diagram or graphic is useful, to

help planning and organizing a complex analysis

– Helps documenting the state of an analysis sequence

The basics

– Analysis steps are structured by using a combination

of symbols, labels and descriptions

– Spatial analysis follows a step by step approach and

transforms spatial info from one subset to the next

– Transformations are tools

• A good model has

– Has just the right amount of detail to understand the

analysis

– Complements the description of methodology

– Shows the point where the analysis starts/ends and uses

arrows to track the analysis path

– Uses distinct symbology

• In other fields of human endeavor, most of the datasets one wants

to analyze are naturally made up of numbers. What are the

statistics relating to the grades of students in the sophomore class?

Numbers. How many parts-per-million carbon monoxide

molecules may be safely tolerated by different types of air-

breathing animals? Numbers. But the chief way of storing spatial

data for most of human history has been the map—whether paper,

Mylar, or computer image.

• Maps use symbols also, but they are not nearly so well

behaved. For example, symbolizing a road may result in a

wavy line 2 feet long.

• Also, the map has been the primary way of both storing

and displaying spatial data. One of the major advantages

of a computer-based GIS is that we separate the storage

function from the display function.

6.1. Modeling

• ‘Modelling’ is a term used in many different ways and which has many different

meanings. A representation of some part of the real world can be considered a

model because the representation will have certain characteristics in common

with the real world.

• Modelling is the process of producing an abstraction of the ‘real world’ so that

some part of it can be more easily handled.

• Specifically, those which we have identified in our model design. This then

allows us to study and operate on the model itself instead of the real world in

order to test what happens under various conditions, and help us answer ‘what if’

questions.
• We can change the data or alter the parameters of the model,

and investigate the effects of the changes.

• In the field of GIS, modelling provide understanding of the

way the world works with sufficient precision and accuracy

to allow prediction and confident decision making.

• Modeling concern the way in which analyses are carried out

using standard functionality.

6.1. Modeling Spatial World

• A model is a representation of reality

• It is a simplified and manageable view of reality.

• This Models facilitate the automation of complex or repetitive tasks.

• Models are workflows that run together sequences of geoprocessing tools,

feeding the output of one tool into another tool as input.

• Spatial Modelling is Manipulation of geographic information in multiple

steps

• Models help you to understand, describe, or predict how things work in

the real world.

Figure : Representing relevant aspects of realworld phenomena inside a GIS
to build models or simulations.
• Given the complexity of real world phenomena, our models can by

definition never be perfect.

• We have limitations on the:

– amount of data that we can store,

– limits on the amount of detail we can capture, and

– (usually) limits on the time we have available for a project.

• It is therefore possible that some relationships that exist in the real

world may not be discovered through our ‘models’.

• Spatial modeling is an important instrument to conduct

geospatial analysis to understand the world and guide

decision-making. In GIS, spatial models are formal

languages to express mechanisms of geographic

processes and design analytical workflows to understand

these processes.
• Spatial Modeling refers to the process of using spatial

characteristics of a single or multiple variables as key

attributes in the analytical process. Such processes can

reveal spatial patterns, relationships, area, location, as

well as other potentially important findings that may have

otherwise gone unnoticed

• Spatial modeling is an analytical process conducted in

conjunction with a geographical information system (GIS) in

order to describe basic processes and properties for a given

set of spatial features.

• The objective of spatial modeling is to be able to study and

simulate spatial objects or phenomena that occur in the real

world and facilitate problem solving and planning.

• With the development of GIS and computer

science, various types of spatial models and

modeling techniques have become available,

which endows the term of “spatial model” with

different meanings.
• Spatial modeling is an analysis methodology; it produces information

based on spatial relationships of geographic features. One of the key

elements of spatial modeling is the ability to predict or forecast the

condition of a geographic area based on certain spatial

criteria/relationships.

• One of the classic examples of this methodology is the current spatial

data usage between an invasive plant species and prediction on areas of

potential invasiveness which is based on known attributes or common

features to current known information (e.g., soil requirements, preferred

elevation or moisture, etc).

• Model Builder

• ModelBuilder provides a visual canvas to create

geoprocessing models that automate GIS workflows.

• ModelBuilder has been called a visual programming

language. You can think of ModelBuilder as a tool to

map a geoprocessing workflow. A model is a workflow

map.
• ModelBuilder is an application you use to create, edit, and manage

models. Models are workflows that string together sequences of

geoprocessing tools, providing the output of one tool to another

tool as input. ModelBuilder can also be thought of as a visual

programming language for building workflows.

The development of a model follows a series of steps.

1. First step is to define the goals of the model

2. What is the phenomenon to be modeled?

3. Why is the model necessary?

4. What spatial and time scales are appropriate for the

model?
• There are 2 types of Data Modeling.

• Representation modeling

• Process modeling

1. Representation Modeling

• Represent the objects of real world through a set of layers (Data Models).

• They are Common data models/descriptive models.

• Show Spatial relationships within an object.

• Model the attributes of the objects (who owns each object).

 2. Process Modeling
• Describe the interaction or processes of objects of real world, which are modeled in

the representation model, by using map calculation

• Process model – is Predictive and dynamic,

• This Model used for:
• Used for modelling Growth or accumulation like • Suitability modeling:
where should I put it?
– urban growth,
• Distance modeling:
– climate change, how far is it?
• Hydrologic modeling:
– sea level rise where will the water flow
to?
– spatial interaction, • Surface modeling:
– gravity model, what is the pollution
level?
– location-allocation
• Process Models

• A process model integrates existing knowledge about the

environmental processes in the real world into a set of relationships

and equations for quantifying the processes.

• Environmental models are typically process models because they

must deal with the interaction of many variables including

physical variables such as climate, topography, vegetation, and

soils as well as cultural variables such as land management.

• 6.2. Introduction to ModelBuilder

• ModelBuilder in ArcGIS Pro allows you to do the following:

– Build a model by adding and connecting data and tools.

– Iteratively process every feature class, raster, file, or table in

a workspace.

– Visualize your workflow sequence as an easy-to-understand

diagram.
• Throughout your GIS education, you've performed several

geoprocessing tasks

• You have used geoprocessing tools in sequence to analyze GIS

data

• ArcGIS allows you to link tools together to create a workflow

• ModelBuilder is application used to create, edit, manage and

document models.

• ModelBuilder can also be visual programming language for

building workflows.
Example: ModelBuilder
Framework of Model builder
• ModelBuilder is an application you use to create, edit,

and manage models. Models are workflows that string

together sequences of geoprocessing tools, providing the

output of one tool to another tool as input. ModelBuilder

can also be thought of as a visual programming language

for building workflows.

• Model Builder is a graphical interface that allows users

to easily create models using existing tools and data.

• It doesn’t Requires programming experience.

• Models can be saved to a toolbox for reuse, and can be

executed as needed.
• While ModelBuilder is useful for constructing and

executing simple workflows, it also provides

advanced methods for extending ArcGIS

functionality by allowing you to create and share

your models as tools.

• ModelBuilder can even be used to integrate ArcGIS

with other applications. The following is an example:

 example
• The above model is used by a municipality
to send email notifications to all addresses
within 1 mile of an address for which a
building permit application is filed. The
model starts with a feature class of multiple
point locations.

• This feature class is fed into an iterator that loops over each individual point and feeds the point

into the Select Layer By Location tool, where all addresses (parcels) within 1 mile of the point are

selected. These addresses are then passed to a custom script tool, Generate Mailing List in HTML

format. Finally, the mailing list is fed to another custom script tool, Send Email Notifications,

which runs a custom executable that sends email notifications and produces a success code.
 The benefits of Model Builder are:

• It is easy for creating and running workflows containing sequence of tools.

• Model Builder is a way to integrate ArcGIS with other applications.

• It provide an easy way to interpret visual representation of the data and

workflow.

• Models can be reused and shared, and are easy to modify if necessary.

• Models are much more convenient than running many tools individually

• It automate common tasks.

• Helps to Document and distribute complex workflows.

 Why Use Modelbuilder?
• Document the processing steps (workflow) that you carried out

– You will forget

– You may need to do it again

• Re-run the analysis to experiment with different parameters to see how results

are affected

– rerun the analysis if you find a mistake

– carry out repetitive, multi-step tasks

• Provide other users (e.g. operations staff) with an exact workflow that they

can replicate
 The Elements of ModelBuilder
• Model diagram window
– Input variable
– Tool
– Derived data variable
• Toolbar
– Add Data or Tools
– Layout
– Zoom and Pan
– Add connection
– Run
 6.3. New Integrated Model Window
It contains:

1. ModelBuilder
1.1. Graphic interface

1.2. Elements

• Inputs (blue ellipses)

• Outputs (green ellipses)

• Processes (gold rectangles)

2. Drag and drop tools (processes) from ArcToolbox

• Fill in parameter values in dialog boxes

Input

• Input data can be any of the ArcGIS data types:

– Coverages

– Shapefiles

– Geodatabase feature classes

– Grids

– Other ESRI formats

Eg. groundwater protection model in Model Builder
 Building a model: constructing
• Create a new model

• Drag tool into model

• Drag data into model or onto a tool

• Link data and tool

 Building a model: running and documenting

• Save and rename the model

• Run model

• Document the model

 Element States
• Not ready to run
(parameters not set)

• Ready to run

• Has been run

(note the grey shadow)
How ModelBuilder Works

• Drag layers you want to participate into the model

• Drag tools you want to use into the model

• Output layers, tables, objects shown in green

• Connect the features using arrows

• Order matters to certain tools

 ArcGIS Data Models

• The ArcGIS Model Builder is a tool that used to process a large

number of files in an automated fashion.

• It Facilitate a process with the user community

• It Build a database design template that works well with ArcGIS

• To open a new ModelBuilder document, either choose ModelBuilder

from the Geoprocessing menu, or click the shortcut on the Standard

Toolbar.

• A new ModelBuilder window should open look like below.

 Model Validation
• In the Model drop down menu in the ModelBuilder window, you

have the option to “Validate the Entire Model.”

• This checks that all of your model parameters are correct and that

your input data can be found.

• It also checks if there is error before running the entire model.

Running the Model

320
 ModelBuilder Design Principles
• Classification

– Partitioning, typing, and naming of classes

• Attribution

– Feature description, including time series

• Association

– Relating features using key attributes

• Navigation

– Following movement from feature to feature

 Goals of Model-builder
• Create a new geoprocessing model.

•Validate a model to ensure that all of its tools will run properly.

•Set model parameters to allow the model to run with different data or

criteria.

•Prepare a model for sharing.

• ArcGIS modelbuilder may be used for analyzing:

– Suitability analysis

– Watershed delineation

– Simple overlay, proximity and extraction analysis

– It supports from simple to complex spatial data

analysis with single to multiple layers

• Example: suitable site for new school
Suitability analysis for Solar site
Eg. Deriving slope rank from point data by using model builder.

• Input is point data

• Elevation from point data through interpolation

• Slope from elevation

• Slope ranked from 1 to 4

END OF COURSE