Unknown's avatar

About socalgovgis - Michael Carson

Michael Carson, GIS Manager (retired) for the City of Burbank and President of Southern California Government GIS User Group. Currently teaching GIS at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita.

Early Earthquakes in LA Area May Have Been Man-Made

A new study from the USGS suggests that some early 20th century earthquakes in southern California might have been induced (man-made) by past practices that were used by the oil and gas industry.

In the new study, scientists evaluated the likely cause of several significant earthquakes within the Los Angeles Basin between 1900 and 1933, together with consideration of available oil industry records over this period.

They found that several damaging earthquakes, Continue reading

Free GPO Webinars

Check out these free, educational webinars from the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), taking place this November.

Beyond Google – Another Look at Finding Government Information, November 9, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Eastern): https://www.fdlp.gov/about-the-fdlp/fdlp-events-calendar/event/220-beyond-google-another-look-at-finding-government-information

OSHA’s Web Pages: A Wealth of Occupational Safety Information, November 10, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Eastern): https://www.fdlp.gov/about-the-fdlp/fdlp-events-calendar/event/223-osha-s-web-pages-a-wealth-of-occupational-safety-information

Measuring America Series: Accessing International Data, November 16, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Eastern): https://www.fdlp.gov/about-the-fdlp/fdlp-events-calendar/event/221-measuring-america-series-accessing-international-data

U.S. Naval War College Information Resources: Maritime, Naval History, Geopolitical, and Educational Treasures, November 17, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Eastern): https://www.fdlp.gov/about-the-fdlp/fdlp-events-calendar/event/222-u-s-naval-war-college-information-resources-maritime-naval-history-geopolitical-and-educational-treasures

Science Soup: Mix Your Way through the Ingredients of Some Major Science Databases: Science.gov, PubMed, and WorldWideScience, November 29, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Eastern): https://www.fdlp.gov/about-the-fdlp/fdlp-events-calendar/event/226-science-soup-mix-your-way-through-the-ingredients-of-some-major-science-databases-scitence-gov-pubmed-and-worldwidescience

Using the BEA Interactive Data Tool to get Local Data, November 30, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Eastern): https://www.fdlp.gov/about-the-fdlp/fdlp-events-calendar/event/224-using-the-bea-interactive-data-tool-to-get-local-data

Presenters from GPO, other Federal Government agencies, and from Federal depository libraries across the Nation will present on topics related to Federal Government information and the Federal Depository Library Program. All sessions are presented virtually through GPO’s FDLP Academy: https://www.fdlp.gov/about-the-fdlp/fdlp-academy.

Attendees will receive a Certificate of Participation from GPO for each webinar they attend. Closed captioning is available for all webinars. Registrants will be sent access information upon registering. View their complete archive of recorded webinars and webcasts at http://login.icohere.com/public/topics.cfm?cseq=1172.

Dead Man’s Island of San Pedro

There once was a tiny island at the entrance to the San Pedro harbor named Dead Man’s Island, which was named for the shallow graves dug into its flat top.  The small island measured at least 800 feet long and 250 wide and rose 55 feet above the sea, separated from the San Pedro bluffs with almost a mile of open water between.

As part of a program of extensive harbor improvements, Continue reading

Creation of Digital Contours That Approach the Characteristics of Cartographic Contours

The capability to easily create digital contours using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software has existed for decades. Out-of-the-box raw contours are suitable for many scientific applications without pre- or post-processing; however, cartographic applications typically require additional improvements. For example, raw contours generally require smoothing before placement on a map. Continue reading

Fall Foliage Prediction Map 2016

What many people love most about the fall are the vibrant colors that mark the transition from summer to winter. Temperature, the amount of sunlight, and precipitation all affect how quickly the foliage will change from green to red, yellow, or orange. This interactive tool illustrates where autumn colors are peaking across the United States.

The map uses data from NOAA precipitation forecasts, daylight and temperature forecasts, historical precipitation data for this year, as well as other government and private data sources to visually indicate the foliage change between August and November, noting seven degrees of change. In addition to helping users plan a weekend getaway to enjoy fall’s many colors, the site offers some science trivia about what causes leaves to be certain colors and why leaves fall.  Check it out!

fallfoliage

Brief Survey About GIS Analytics

My name is Jordan Sugar and I am a student with the UCLA Anderson School of Management in Los Angeles. As part of my Master’s Thesis, I am working with a team of MBA students to provide consulting services for a company that provides usage and performance analytics and capacity testing for spatial web services (like a Google Analytics for web-based maps). The company is interested in expanding operations to the United States, and our goal is to determine if an expansion would be successful and to provide a relevant recommendation.

We have put together a brief survey about GIS analytics, and I wanted to see if you would be willing to share it with your members. As an extra incentive, one lucky respondent will receive a $50 Amazon gift card! Here is a link to the survey: http://ucla.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_8oaJPWRYqoqwRDv.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. Thank you for your time and assistance!

Jordan Sugar
UCLA Anderson, Class of 2017
jordan.sugar.2017@anderson.ucla.edu

ArcGIS 10.5 Pre-release and ArcGIS Pro 10.4 Alpha

For those of you that keep your ArcGIS maintenance current, the ArcGIS 10.5 pre-release is available for you to download from your ESRI account.  This includes ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Enterprise, and ArcGIS Engine.

Note that existing ArcGIS 10.1-10.4.1 authorization numbers will continue to work with ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Engine 10.5.  At 10.5, ArcGIS Server is renamed to ArcGIS Enterprise.  ArcGIS Enterprise requires ArcGIS 10.5 authorization numbers.  When upgrading to 10.5, you will need to reauthorize for use.

ArcGIS Pro 1.4 is currently in alpha and continues to build towards functional equivalency with ArcMap while bringing its own innovations to desktop GIS and providing greater support for Web GIS. It features an improved and innovative user experience for processing and analyzing imagery; a new, secure, cross-platform scripting language for rendering and labeling; and greater capabilities for creating and using vector tiles. For those of you that have current ArcGIS maintenance, your account manager should have email from ESRI on how to participate in the alpha software testing program.

Test Drive ArcGIS Online’s Analysis Tools

This course is for people who know something about spatial analysis and want to learn what ArcGIS Online has to offer. You’ll get free access to the full analytical capabilities of ArcGIS Online during the course. Course at a glance:

  • Hands-on exercises, short video lectures, quizzes, case studies, and discussion
  • Six weeks, two to three hours of study per week
  • Certificate of completion and awards
  • Course dates: November 9 – December 20, 2016

esrispatialcourse