Lab #5: Living Atlas Tutorial in ArcGIS

Introduction

In this assignment we learned the basics of how Living Atlas is a vital tool when creating projects in ArcGIS. We started on learn.arcgis.com and looked at different tutorials that interested us. We then started with the tutorial “Getting Started with ArcGIS Living Atlas”. This tutorial went through the basics of Living Atlas and how to implement the geographic information it contains into our ArcGIS projects. Living Atlas contains unique maps, applications, and in-depth data layers.

Figure 1: Living Atlas Tutorial

Exploring Lessons

Investigate Pollution Patterns with Space-Time Analysis
Environmental work and research really interest me. This lesson is about finding regions of the world where pollution patterns are extreme or unusual.

Analyze Fire Preparedness with Enrichment
Being prepared for forest fire is very important and could lead to preventing a massive forest fire outbreak. This lesson determines the adoption rate for smoke detectors in the forested areas of Marin County California.

Estimate Solar Power Potential
This lesson interests me because I love researching and learning more about renewable energy sources to help reduce the carbon footprint. This lesson determines how much electricity could be generated from solar power in a city or neighborhood.

Find Areas at Risk from Aquifer Depletion
This interests me because aquifers are so important to our ecosystem, it creates fresh water not only for humans but all other land animals. The depletion of these fresh water sources could be detrimental. This lesson finds areas that are most reliant on the Ogallala Aquifer.

Fly Through South America in a 3D Animation
Geospatial data collected and turned into a visual experience interests me. I love to play around on google earth and see different parts of the world from my own room. This lesson teaches you how to animate a 3D tour of a famous geographer’s epic journey.

Methods/Assignment

Exploring the Living Atlas website

We started browsing and researching content to do with the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
More than a thousand results are returned. Below the search bar are categories for Trending, Base maps, Imagery, Boundaries, People, Infrastructure, and Environment. These can help you narrow your search.

Figure 2: Exploring Living Atlas

You can also use filters to get the exact layer you are looking for. We ended up finding the GLDAS Soil Moisture 2000-present layer. This layer showed the monthly soil moisture content from 2000 to present and was provided by NASA.

Figure 3: GLDAS Soil Moisture 2000-Present

We then zoomed to the area if the Nile Delta, north of Cairo, Egypt. The soil moisture here is very low.

Figure 4: Soil Moisture in Nile Delta

Explore global water balance in a living Atlas application

Next we looked up one of Living Atlas’s useful applications the Water Balance App.

Figure 5: Water Balance App

We looked up a specific coordinate to find northwestern Ethiopia and its soil moisture and seasonal pattern. We the looked at the soil moisture and seasonal pattern for the Nile Delta and compared.

Figure 6: Soil Moisture Comparison - Ethiopia and Nile Delta

We changed the data from soil moisture to precipitation to look at the amount of precipitation Egypt gets compared to the amount that Ethiopia receives. This allowed us to conclude that if a new dam caused a reduction in water availability downstream, it could create problems for Egypt and Sudan.

Figure 7: Precipitation Map of Africa

Use Living Atlas in ArcGIS Online

We learned how to add layers from Living Atlas to our ArcGIS maps.
We created a map that allowed us to see a population boom in Las Vegas from December 31, 2005 – December 31, 2006.

Figure 7: Las Vegas Population: December 31, 2005 - December 31

Configuring an imagery layer form Living Atlas

We learned how to do a Developed Renderer for an Urbanization map using the USA NLCD Land Cover.

Figure 8: Developed Renderer Options

Figure 9: Urbanization Map of USA NLCD Land Cover

We then navigated the symbology and color ramp to change the layers color to one that would look better on our map.

Figure 10: Symbology Options

Configure a feature layer from Living Atlas

We added a USA counties layer to our previous map. We changed the transparency and colors so this layer could be seen through our previous layer.

Figure 11: USA NLCD with USA Counties Layer

We then learned to save the map on ArcGIS Online so we could later use it in ArcGIS Pro.

Figure 12: Save Map Screen

Find Living Atlas layers in ArcGIS Pro

We searched up a map of the projected path of Hurricane Irma provided by the National Hurricane Center. Next we reset the panes for mapping default and learned to use the Portal to access Living Atlas.

Figure 13: Hurricane Irma Path Layer

Figure 14: Reset Pane Tab

We added a Nursing Homes layer to our Hurricane map and learned how to access the metadata to the summary, description, credits, and use limitations.

Figure 15: Metadata Tab

Figure 16: Hurricane Erma with Nursing Home Layer

Use Living Atlas content in analysis

We used the geoprocessing group and tools too use the summarize within tool. This allowed us to overlay the polygon of the hurricane’s forecast cone with the nursing home layer points and calculate attribute field statistics for those points. We used the Forecast Cone and ran the nursing homes layer, which allowed us to see that 3,523 nursing homes were at risk form this hurricane.

Figure 17: Summarize Within and Forecast Cone Tool

Figure 18: Hurricane Irma Path with Nursing Home Layer and Forecast Cone

My 5 Layer Map

Figure 19: Personal 5 layer California Wildfire Map
Map Created by: Tristan Bungen

Figure 20: California Wildfire Map Legends

1) California Wildland Fire Direct Protection Areas - 2019
-I used this layer because it showed the specific agencies and areas in California that help with fire and wildfire emergencies.
2) California Fire Perimeters 2018
- I chose this layer because it showed the main fire perimeters in California and displays where wildfire hotspots are.
3) USA Wildfire Activity 
-I used this layer to convey that there is a large wildfire area in California, and it also displays other wildfire prone areas in the U.S.
4) Satellite (MODIS) Thermal Hotspots and Fire Activity 
-This layer displays all fire activity and hotspots from a satellite view. This helps locate wildfire locations in California.
5) Public Universities in California
- I wanted to add this layer because I wanted to see how close these wildfires are happening to colleges all around California.

Conclusion

ArcGIS Living Atlas has an abundance of great information that can help support your projects ArcGIS. This tutorial taught me how I can use this tool to explore data that is relevant to whatever project I am working on. I learned how to add new layers, combine different layers together, and use apps and tools to strengthen my ArcGIS work. Now that I know the Living Atlas, I feel more knowledgeable in ArcGIS as a whole.