Lab 2 Final Analysis

Q: Describe how to fix misaligned and/or improperly referenced spatial data:

When data layers are projected with different coordinate systems it is impossible to make meaningful spatial analyses because certain properties will be distorted between layers. When projected anything from 3D to 2D, cartographers must choose the properties they wish to keep more accurate, and which they are not so worried about. This includes preserving distance, area, shape and direction. If layers are in different coordinate systems, objects will not line up and these different properties will be distorted in different ways for each layer. Furthermore, this will impede your ability to make calculations because they will not be accurate.

In order to fix this, we much transform the data layers to match the desired coordinate systems which reflects the properties you want to preserve. This involves going into the data layer’s properties and manually selecting the preferred coordinate system and creating a new version of the layer.

Q: Discuss the advantages to using remotely sensed Landsat Data for geographic analysis:

Landsat Data has been collected since 1972 when the program first began scanning the earth’s surface, which makes the use of this data geared very much towards comparisons. Additionally, Landsat Data uses the energy and radiation from the sun and the wavelengths to create  raster images. The satellites can scan the same space every 16 days, and makes for tracking changes very easy.  You can also select the bands (wavelengths) that you want to work with rather than everything.