Raster Analysis Use Case

NB: This use case is provisional until raster analysis functionality is resolved.

Here's a use case for raster analysis (see below). Students looking to investigate caribou habitiat....

• summaries of habitat quality by selected or user defined region (rasterExtractbyPoly, rasterExtractbyRectangle)
• quantifying potential impact of climate change (rasterReclassbyTable - certain habitat types are more sensitive, basically a reclassification of a (portion of a) raster data set.
• simulating development scenarios (which may disproportionately affect certain landscape types)
• creating elevation profiles along a migration route
• generate habitat effectiveness indicator using more than one layer (habitat quality as a function of landscape type and distance from linear disturbance like road or seismic line).

Certainly, these are functions supported within mainstream GIS (though in ArcMap this requires $patial Analy$t!!), but if they can be simplified (and constrained to make them so) there is merit to providing basic capability in the Atlas.

Another good reason for identifying this as potential, but additional, functionality, is that we can drawn contributions for development from other sources, such as this, or IPY

And, I may be biased, but I'd say the caribou data we have represents one of THE best on the planet for long-term wildlife monitoring (20+ years of satellite collar data, across North Yukon, ANWR and the North Slope of Alaska.) It would be a jewel in the crown if we could support a classroom of keen minds.

!JeffH

-- Main.JeffMcKenna? - 04 Dec 2006