Module 6 - Reprojections, Defining Projections, locating data all while maintaining a calm, pleasant demeanor

This week’s lab certainly put us through our paces for projection/definition of coordinate systems.  I feel it did a good job of explaining the material as we worked through the guided sections.  I did have trouble with the missing step of projecting the aerials from NAD 83 State Plane… to NAD 83 (2011) State Plane in the initial exercises.  Also the lack of described geographic transformation in the drop down as shown for step 7 was a problem.  I used the following link to view the ArcGIS 10.3.1 Geographic Transformation Tables to determine the best transformation

http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/003r/pdf/geographic_transformations.pdf

I followed the spatial reference check instructions for each piece of data which I defined or projected and feel that my results are correct although I would like to know why the geographic transformation shown in step 7 of the lab was not available since all my entered information matched the example in the lab so that I can avoid potential pitfalls in the future.

Here's how I kept my thoughts in order (I like outlines because they keep me focused!):

I.                Part 3 Process Summary Details

A.     Obtain Data and Project/define as needed

a.      Aerial Imagery from Labins.org

                                                    i.     Quad 5560, Bay Springs

1.      2004 RGB State Plane, Units in Feet, MrSid format

2.      Coordinate System NAD_1983_StatePlane_Florida_North_FIPS_0903_Ft_US

3.      Lambert_conformal_conic Projection

4.      Project to NAD_1983_2011_StatePlane_Florida_North_FIPS_0903_Ft_US

a.      Confirmed spatial reference by inserting in a new map and verifying the Data Frame Properties/Coordinate System Tab/Layers and Projection as well as inserted a base map to confirm alignments.

b.      County Boundary Information from FGDL.org

                                                    i.     U.S. Census Bureau’s Florida County Boundaries – Statewide July 2011

1.      Coordinate System GCS_North_American_1983_HARN

2.      Albers Conical Equal Area Projection

3.      Project to NAD_1983_2011_StatePlane_Florida_North_FIPS_0903_Ft_US

a.      Apply Geographic Transformation.  The one in the lab document “NAD_1983_To_HARN_Florida” was not in the options.  I used the ArcGIS 10.3.1 Geographic Transformation Tables to determine the best transformation (http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/003r/pdf/geographic_transformations.pdf).  I selected NAD_1983_HARN_To_NAD_1983_2011, area of use USA (all states)

b.      Confirmed spatial reference by inserting in a new map and verifying the Data Frame Properties/Coordinate System Tab/Layers and Projection as well as inserted a base map to confirm alignments.

c.      Major Roads Information from FGDL.org

                                                    i.     FDOT RCI Derived Major Roads – Statewide – January 2016, MAJRDS_Jan16

1.      Coordinate System GCS_North_American_1983_HARN

2.      Albers Conical Equal Area Projection

3.      Project to NAD_1983_2011_StatePlane_Florida_North_FIPS_0903_Ft_US

a.      Apply Geographic Transformation.  I used the ArcGIS 10.3.1 Geographic Transformation Tables to determine the best transformation.  I selected NAD_1983_HARN_To_NAD_1983_2011, area of use USA (all states)

b.      Confirmed spatial reference by inserting in a new map and verifying the Data Frame Properties/Coordinate System Tab/Layers and Projection as well as inserted a base map to confirm alignments.

d.      Quad Index information from FGDL.org

1.      Coordinate System GCS_North_American_1983_HARN

2.      Albers Conical Equal Area Projection

3.      Project to NAD_1983_2011_StatePlane_Florida_North_FIPS_0903_Ft_US

a.      Apply Geographic Transformation.  I used the ArcGIS 10.3.1 Geographic Transformation Tables to determine the best transformation.  I selected NAD_1983_HARN_To_NAD_1983_2011, area of use USA (all states)

b.      Confirmed spatial reference by inserting in a new map and verifying the Data Frame Properties/Coordinate System Tab/Layers and Projection as well as inserted a base map to confirm alignments.

e.      Using the provided EscambiaSTCM.xls, add the required columns and formulas to convert to decimal degrees.

                                                    i.     Add xy data to a blank map by choosing the sheet and assigning values of xcoord for x field and ycoord for y field

1.      Correct the unknown coordinate system by defining GCS_WGS_1984

                                                   ii.     Add points to map and export to shp file.

1.      Shp file needs to be Projected to NAD_1983_2011_StatePlane_Florida_North_FIPS_0903_Ft_US

a.      Apply Geographic Transformation.  I used the ArcGIS 10.3.1 Geographic Transformation Tables to determine the best transformation.  I selected WGS_1984_(ITRF00)_To_NAD_1983_HARN, area of use USA (all states) + NAD_1983_HARN_To_NAD_1983_2011, area of use USA (all states)

b.      Confirmed spatial reference by inserting in a new map and verifying the Data Frame Properties/Coordinate System Tab/Layers and Projection as well as inserted a base map to confirm alignments.

B.     Create mxd containing the aforementioned data sets

a.      Insert all items into the mxd

b.      Confirmed spatial reference by inserting in a new map and verifying the Data Frame Properties/Coordinate System Tab/Layers and Projection as well as inserted a base map to confirm alignments.

c.      Adjust layer hierarchy to improve visibility.

d.      Adjust symbology to improve visibility

e.      Create bookmark of quad extents for quick access

f.       Take required screenshots and save mxd