Volunteer instructors:  All Docents, Murray Brown

In Saga, a good general-purpose GIS system, the user can make or modify all available grids and shapes (i.e. vectors).  Students will focus on the same global area for classroom exercises, but are encouraged to create a personal map project in parallel. 

• Basic concepts/definitions for Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

• Vector and grid objects that can be mapped

• Where to find desired m-ap objects online or from published digital sources

• Necessary conversions between native data formats and formats required by GIS

• Major collections of GIS data, and catalogs of collections

• Making “base maps” from coastline and global relief data (vector or gridded)

• Adding desired socio-economic, physical, and cultural features to base maps

• Adding polygons of named marine “regions” to maps, from published sources

• Adding vector arrow visualizations of winds and currents to GIS collections

• Finding and adding climatological data to maps:

  • Hydrosphere

  • Geosphere

  • Atmosphere

  • Biosphere

  • Etc.

• Finding and adding synoptic data to maps, when available

• Methods to edit global data layers down to desired “area of interest” polygons

• Methods to create new, high resolution vector layers for coasts and other important physical features

• Methods to find an assimilate remote-sensing imagery into GIS collections

• Making “standard” products for publications and dissertations

• Additional topics in operational oceanography, as time permit

• Synthesis of ensemble GIS products into coherent PPT presentations that meet marine community standards for legibility and understandability

Required Software (latest versions; Windows and Mac; 32-bit and 64-bit):  Saga, GEBCOLite (if GEBCO not available)

Please just try to get through this list before the course.  They are not long, nor very technical.  You don't need to follow the many links in the articles, unless you are curious about the subtopic.

2.  Integration of Marine Data Resources - Click on the map to see a larger version

Marine data management, quite simply, is a balancing act between the 3 major concepts:  Formats, Software and Data.  You need to become familiar with major resources in all categories, and how they work together.  In years gone past, scientists had to slog through numerous format conversions (including writing necessary code) to make connections.  But in recent years a small family of flexible formats, powerful computer programs and flexible online data sources have brought everything together.

This chart seems terribly complicated at first, but it will be explained during the course.  And at several points the instructor will show you where you are on the chart. In this course we'll be using

• Software

  • Ocean Data View (ODV) -left side

  • Saga - in the middle

  • Google Earth - right side

  • HDFView - upper middle

• Data Sources

  • World Ocean Database/WOD (left side) - in ready-to-use ODV collection

  • Online data archives/mixed formats - upper middle

  • Others, as time permits

• Formats - As displayed

You will become hopelessly lost within the short span of this course (1 or 2 weeks) and even in your own personal data collections, unless you adopt good data management practices.  We strongly recommend the constant use of these elements:

• Folder Structure - Basic list of topics developed over 20 years of DM training.  Author has 10 BG and ~4000 files just for Liberia training
• "Long" File Names
  • parameter_
  • date/time_
  • depth/height_
  • location_
  • originator_
  • provider_
  • extras_
• No spaces, no hyphens, no caps (except T), include format in extras, if zipped

• 1 Computer Basics
• 1.1 Folder Structure

This section deals with setting up an Area of Interest (AOI) map, based on:

• Coastline
• National boundaries
• Relief - bathymetry and topography
• Environmental factors - circulation & ecosystems
• Anything else of concern

Defining the AOI with with signed decimal degree values

• Top latitude (not "north")
• Bottom latitude (not "south")
• Left longitude (not "west")
• Right longitude (not "east")

Making important auxiliary layers

• Graticule - lat/lon lattice
• Line and polygon frames - outer edge of AOI
• Grid templates - to control data gridding

• 2.1 Saga Preliminary Setup
• 2.2 Project Area
• 2.3 Creating a Project Map in Saga

• 2.4 Creating Graticules and Frames in Saga

• 2.5 Creating Grid Templates in Saga

Just a good set of standard methods for making and modifying shapes.

• 2.8 Adding Administrative Boundaries and Coastline to a Project Map in Saga

• 2.9 Adding Marine Regions to a Project Map in Saga
• 2.12 Cutting a Shape to the Project Map Extent in Saga

• 2.26 Digitizing High-Resolution Borders and Coastlines in Google Earth

• PACIFIC OPTION: 2.13 Creating a 0-360˚ Map System in Saga for Pacific-Centered Analyses & Products

The method to grid data in Saga is very general and applies to most GIS systems:

• The data are first loaded into Saga as a data table
  • TXT, tab-separated is best
• Convert the table in the GIS to a "point shape"
  • Other shapes you should know are "line shapes" and "polygon shapes"
• Use any one of many available algorithms in Saga
  • Make tests to see which work best with your data, and also experiment with the gridding parameters for each algorithm
• Once you have the grid, you can make any of several very important "standard" products for use in publications, theses and websites

• 5.1 Converting a Data Table to a Point Shape in Saga
• 5.2 Gridding Point Shapes in Saga
• 5.3 Creating "Standard" Grid Products with Saga
• OPTION: Handling Classified Grids with Saga: Global Land Cover Facility's (GLCF) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Classifications

Just a good collection of standard methods to make and manipulate grids.  Expect the instructor to modify this list based on student requests.

• 2.6 Adding GEBCO Depth Contours to a Project Map in Saga
• 2.7 Adding a Sediment Thickness Grid to a Project Map in Saga
• 5.3 Resampling Gridded Data to the Project Map Extent with a "Dummy" Grid
• 7.1 Working with the GEBCO 08 Global Relief Grids
• 7.2 Creating Vector Contours from Grids: GEBCO 08 Shelf Estimations
• LAND OPTION: 7.3 Estimating Topographic Contours in Saga from SRTM Data
• DEEP SEA OPTION: 5.4 Masking Methods for Depth- or Height-Limited Grids in Saga
• 2.31 Importing Satellite SST and Sea Ice Climatologies into Marine GIS: NODC LAS -  Use only the SST method; if your own country or personal project is near-polar, then also use the sea ice method

There are basically 2 types of natural data:

• SCALARS - Values of a parameter that can be complete expressed as a numerical value and its units (when existing).  For example temperature in degrees Kelvin, or salinity (no units).
• VECTORS - Values of a parameter that 2 numerical values to be expressed, for example winds and currents:
  • COMPONENT VECTORS:  Most common method requires vector components in the east-west direction (commonly called the U component), and the vector component in the north-south direction (commonly called the V component).
  • DIRECTION VECTOR AND SPEED:  Less commonly used method (nowadays) requires a scalar quantity expressing simple speed, and a vector of unit length that expresses direction.

There are 3 ways to express vector directions:

• COMPONENT VECTORS - direction already uniquely defined by components; use geographic direction to describe the result
• GEOGRAPHIC DIRECTION - clockwise "rose"
  • North = 0º or 360º according to user's conventions
  • East = 90º
  • South = 180º
  • West = 270º
• MATHEMATICAL DIRECTION - counter-clockwise "rose" beginning at 0º ("East")

Meteorology versus Oceanography

• Met data often display "direction from which" for wind vectors
• Oc data often display "direction toward which" for current vectors
• You need to look after this on a case-by-case basis to make sure you have the right data and the right display method

• 6.2 Plotting Vector Arrows from U and V Component Grids with Saga
• 6.3 Plotting Vector Arrows from the Global Drifter Program 0.5-Degree Climatology