GIS 540 Final Project

Initial Steps for Generating NOAA Acoustic Trawl Survey Fish Species Biomass Estimates 

Project overview

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) annually surveys the coastal pelagic species (CPS) in the California Current Ecosystem using the Acoustic Trawl Method (ATM). The ATM uses species composition and length data from trawl catches to apportion echosounder acoustic data. Echosounders emit pulses of sound into the water column and record the echoes from animals and the seabed. From the trawl catch data and acoustic backscatter (i.e., echoes), scientists generate CPS biomass estimates and stock distributions which inform commercial fisheries policy.
This project downloads the NOAA vessel navigational and trawl haul species data from the internet, clean the data, and map the initial analysis steps. I download the data from NOAA’s ERDDAP (easier access to scientific data) tabledaps by coding a url link. Then, I only download navigational transect data recorded during the desired survey dates. Also, I remove data collected before sunrise and after sunset. I remove trawl clusters with zero catch and create a new table where each row is a trawl haul and only includes the key CPS weights. Lastly, I calculate the distance from each acoustic interval to the nearest trawl cluster, and I draw Voronoi polygons around each trawl cluster to visually display the nearest acoustic transects to each trawl.

Project Description Video

smdolan_Pres1.mp4

Code Run-through Video

smdolan_Pres2.mp4

Screenshots of Project Progress

GIS 510 Final Project

Potential New Polling Site Locations in Wake County, NC:

Project overview

Introduction: Wake County will add 10 voting sites to prepare for the next election. Wake County has determined the new sites (1) will need to be within 0.5 miles from a GoRaleigh Bus stop to be accessible by public transportation. New sites need to be (2) further than 0.5 miles from a current polling site to ensure new sites are placed in site desserts. The proposed polling places must be (3) within a census tract with a social vulnerability score of 0.5-1; the most vulnerable areas have a score of 1, which indicates a need for greater government support. The areas which meet the above criteria will be assessed on how many Wake public buildings—colleges, public schools, fire stations, and libraries—fall are in each segment. Ideal poll sites are within the largest continuous areas which meet the above criteria and contain public buildings that can be used as polling sites.Problem statement: The goal of this project is to determine the areas in Wake County that are in the most need of a new voting site (meet the first three criteria) and also have the infrastructure in place to set up a voting site (public buildings) to ensure the Wake County communities can safely and reasonably exercise their right to vote. 

Project Description Video

smdolan_GIS510_finalvideo.mp4

ArcGIS Pro Model

smdolanQ1.pdf

Final Map Layout

smdolan_FinalLayout.pdf