Introduction
Data collection in the field should be as efficient as possible in order to make the most of time and money, and still achieve an accurate and satisfactory result. So creating a geodatabase in ArcMap with the fields you will be studying, allows you to out the information you collect straight in to an organised and workable format.
This task was preparing us for some fieldwork data collection we would be doing in order to make a micro climate map of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus. For us to collect the various datum about the climate we had to create a geodatabase in ArcMap, with feature classes withing that geodatabase that would relate to the various climatic factors we would be measuring. Appropriate domains fo each feature set needed to be stated also.
Methods
When creating a geodatabase for use in the field it is important to consider that there will more than likely be various different attributes included in the data, each with their own characteristics and unit of measurement. So, one must set pre-defined domains to each different attribute in order to make sure that the data is recorded in a way specified by an employer or project leader and will be within a format that is applicable to that type of data and so can be related to other features.
It also means that results and datum are more easily adjusted, and can be compared with each other and trends noticed and queried whilst in the field. You want the geodatabase to be as easy to use as possible for as many different users as possible s fieldwork can be carried out in groups and data added to the same standards as each other. It allows fieldwork to be undertaken more quickly also. Other users of the ESRI products may also be able to use the data in a way they can understand and edit and add to.
For a climate map such as the one we were to be creating for this geodatabase's use, the attributes that can be recorded include; temperature, wind speed, wind direction, dew point, the relative humidity, snow depth, the time of the data collection as well as any notes on the data that are felt appropriate. Attributed can contain domains with short or whole integers, or float integers. Short and long domains are used for datum whose values contain whole numbers, and float integers are used when those values contain decimal figures.
In order to create our geodatabases we used the ArcCatalog program, where we directed through the University server to make a folder connection to our own personal class folders. Right clicking on this folder and hovering the cursor over "New..." in the drop down menu, and then selecting "New File Geodatabase", allowed us to create a blank geodatabase.
Clicking twice on this un-named geodatabse slowly, meant we could change the name to something more appropriate e.g. Campus Microclimate. Right clicking on this newly named geodatabase and selecting "Properties..." from the bottom of the drop down menu, opened up the properties window. We then clicked on the "Domain" tab at the top. Here we could add the features we wanted to the table in the window and set the appropriate domains for each.
Clicking on an empty cell in the first column allows you to add a title for a feature, this was repeated for all the desired features. In the second column a description can be given once necessary. When a row is highlighted a second table appears below, and can be used to set the domains. The integer type can be chosen from the drop down menu in the first row, and where a range is necessary for the value this can be typed in to the cell next to the "Range" cell.
For use with the Juno the devices we will be using during our fieldwork a new feature class had to be created. This is done by going back to the "New" option this time in the named database menu and feature class clicked on. Opening the properties of this feature class enabled us to set up the fields in the table in the "Fields" tab, the field was typed in to the rows again and the domains added.
A raster hat had been previously created for the class was imported in tot the geodatabase by right clicking to get the drop down menu, hovering over 'Import...", then selecting the raster file from a folder. Both the feature class and the raster we added to a new map in ArcMap, by dragging them over from ArcCatalgoue, atnd this map was saved ready to input the data post fieldwork.
Conclusions
Creating geodatabses and map documents prior to carrying out fieldwork, can then enable data to be inputted straight to the geodatabse with the use if a handheld digital fieldwork device. Making both the data collection and analysis afterwords more efficient. Data sets can have many different features that require domains to be preset to assure accuracy.
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