ArcWatch: GIS News, Views, and Insights
May 2012
GIS Guides Athletes in a Race at the End of the World
By Matthew DeMeritt
Esri Writer
Athletes competing in the Patagonian Expedition Race used maps created with GIS technology to navigate the often dangerous topography of southern Chile in a 10-day, 375-mile contest known as "The Last Wild Race."
During the previous races across the Patagonian wilderness at the southern tip of South America, racers only had a crude, small-scale overview map of the country's topography to guide them as they hiked, biked, and kayaked toward the finish line.
This year, race organizer N�madas International Group wanted to give the competitors a more comprehensive view of the course to help the athletes safely traverse Patagonia's glaciers, rivers, and mountainous terrain.
To do that, the group enlisted its staff cartographers, Jason Blair and Katie Panek, to create maps of the route using Esri's ArcGIS. Read the article.
Blair and Panek's maps also helped with the design of a trail in Patagonia's Karukinka Natural Park that will aid in conserving an area overpopulated by beaver. Read the article.
A kayaker in the Patagonian Expedition Race consults his waterproof map to plan his next course of action. The maps the athletes used were created using Esri ArcGIS.
Tip of the Month
Learn to Use the New Community Planning Web Application
The new Community Planning web application from Esri demonstrates how GIS and the web can provide a collaborative design tool that captures the visual qualities of a design, along with multiple scenarios, and saves the design to a central location. Read this tip to learn how to use the application.
Connect with ArcWatch
ArcWatch is published monthly by Esri and contains GIS news, practical advice, and updates about the company's software and events. To submit article ideas, e-mail editor Carla Wheeler at arcwatch_editor@esri.com.
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Mobile GIS Maps Flooding
Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) used mobile GIS from Esri to map the severe flooding that occurred in Australia in 2010 and 2011. The information collected provided decision makers with valuable intelligence to help them direct the response and recovery efforts. Mobile GIS replaced a slow paper map workflow. "Maps benefited more than just first responders and full-time GIS staff because the timeliness and accuracy of information collected was better than ever before," said Mark Wallace from QFRS. Read the article.Top DevSummit Takeaways
The flow of technical information was fast and furious at this year's Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit). Developers heard about ArcGIS 10.1, the cloud, ArcGIS Online, native application development, and more. What were the main takeaways that will be important for developers in the months ahead? Read this article compiled by the DevSummit team from Esri.Esri Releases 2011 Tapestry Data and More
The 2011 versions of the Consumer Spending, Market Potential, and Tapestry Segmentation databases are now available. Users can access the information by database table in reports and maps from Esri Business Analyst Online and Community Analyst, as well as in the data included in Business Analyst Desktop and Business Analyst Server.
The UN's View From Space
Einar Bjorgo, head of rapid mapping, applications, and user relations with the United Nations (UN) Institute for Training and Research, discusses the importance of satellite imagery in international aid work. Listen to the podcast.
Developers Talk Shop
Developers like Joel Duda and Amy Wright Webber talk about their impressions of the Esri Developer Summit in Palm Springs, California. The summit hosted 72 technical sessions, 36 user presentations, and a large GIS EXPO. Read the article.Dealing with Demand Spikes for Mapping Applications
How well does your organization's computing infrastructure, which supports your mapping application, stand up to a huge spike in demand? Is it time to consider the cloud? Read the article.
Improvements Coming to the ArcGIS Resource Center
Read this blog post about the many updates and improvements that will be made to the ArcGIS Resource Center in conjunction with the upcoming release of ArcGIS 10.1.
Keeping Campuses Maintained
Students and faculty in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) can report graffiti, broken benches, or other repair issues using a smartphone application that is integrated with the district's GIS. Read the article.
Display Your Work in the Map Gallery
Want to display your best digital or printed static maps in the Map Gallery at the Esri International User Conference this summer? Submit your map by June 15, 2012. Read these tips on how to increase the chances that your maps will be selected for the prestigious Esri Map Book.
Mapping the Titanic Disaster
This story map from Esri shows the fateful route of the Titanic, the hometowns of the passengers, who died, and who survived.
Esri UC: Where Ideas Coalesce
You will feel the collective impact of the power of where more than anywhere else in the world at the 2012 Esri International User Conference (Esri UC) in San Diego, California. Join us to see new geospatial technology, learn best practices, and share ideas and solutions. Read the article.Where Diners Fork Out
Where do people spend the most for restaurant meals, and how much do they fork out? You can use Esri Business Analyst Online (BAO) to find out if your community has an over- or undersupply of restaurants and learn how much people spend. See how the technology works and then register for a free trial. With BAO, you can investigate thousands of demographic, economic, competitive, and consumer-spending data variables.
Hone GIS Analysis SkillsDevelop proficiency in location analysis, change over time, geographic distribution, cluster identification, and more with GIS Tutorial 2: Spatial Analysis Workbook from Esri Press. Knowledge in these various spatial analysis methods allows you to extract useful information from your spatial data. The workbook includes ArcGIS 10 for Desktop trial software and maps and data on accompanying DVDs. Buy the book.
Newsroom
Embarking on Enterprise GIS
Officials at the Port of Los Angeles talk about the importance of geospatial technology in policing, situational awareness, and maintenance. Watch the interviews in this video and read the feature story about the port's enterprise GIS.Tutorial: Importing Data from Excel Spreadsheets
Many organizations keep valuable data in Microsoft Excel and comma-separated value (CSV) files. Learn a methodology for importing data kept in Excel and CSV files into ArcGIS. The methodology has been updated for ArcGIS 10 and Microsoft Office 2007/2010.
Lose the Features-Keep the Annotation Properties
Have you ever needed to replace GIS data that has feature-linked annotation? Read this tip on how to avoid duplicating the time and effort that went into creating that annotation.
Select DevSummit Sessions Online
Watch the videos of several technical sessions from this year's Esri Developer Summit, including ArcGIS for Server for Administrators and Developing with Esri CityEngine.
Modeling the Earth's Subsurface in ArcScene
Bringing Photogrammetric Data into a GIS
Which Programming Languages to Learn?
Tip: How to Delete or Remove Raster Pyramids
Spatial Roundtable
Where? The Question Every Warfighter Needs Answered
Eric Patten, the director of defense and intelligence global solutions at Esri, stresses the importance to commanders of asking and answering the 'where' question. He also asks, 'How can your defense organization integrate geospatial thinking into every mission?' Weigh in with your comments at the Spatial Roundtable.GIS Provides Project Oversight
Qatar's public works authority recently implemented Moazanah, an infrastructure management system that uses Esri ArcGIS technology to track project locations. Doing so reduces construction costs and disruption to local businesses and residents. Read the article.
GIS Maps Guide TouristsIn this podcast, Doug Rosenberg from VResorts.com talks about how his travel website uses Esri's ArcGIS to help guide visitors to points of interest around the world and then watch virtual tours. The maps also help people find nearby hotels. View the maps and learn how Rosenberg will also use GIS in online travel guides.
Take Free ArcGIS Online Training
Esri will host the live training seminar ArcGIS Online Subscriptions-Mapping and GIS for Organizations on May 31, 2012. Learn more and subscribe to receive a reminder.
Esri Presents: ArcGIS Workspaces
Want a place where you can collaborate on a good idea with members of the GIS community? Read this blog post about the new workspaces section in ArcGIS Ideas.
Where to Solve Your Biggest Utility Challenges
Bill Meehan, Esri's director of utility solutions, talks about why this year's Esri International User Conference will be a great place for utilities to find solutions that will improve customer service, reliability, and logistics. Watch the video.
Understanding Colors in ArcGIS Symbols
Find out about color models for ArcGIS symbols, defining colors in ArcMap, and working with color in ArcGIS in this post on the ArcGIS Blog.
New Course: Using ArcGIS for Geospatial Intelligence: Data Fundamentals
Free Web Course: GIS for Humanitarian Mine Action
Stanley Cup Fan Map: Vote for the Team You Want to Win
Hardware Offers
Technical Talk
Web Resources and More
Esri offers US customers the new Juno Rugged 3B and 3D devices from Trimble. These new devices come bundled with ArcPad [PDF] or are available in single and multipack deployments for use with ArcGIS for Windows Mobile for ArcGIS for Server [PDF] or ArcGIS for Windows Mobile for ArcGIS for Desktop [PDF]. The new Juno is resistant to dust, water, and shock and comes with more memory to support field-workers and workflows in all kinds of conditions. Learn more about all Esri and Trimble offers.
Visit the Esri Store to find more software and extensions, upgrades, data, books, and hardware bundles.
