Geog 460 – Autumn 2007
Final Project Description
Introduction
The capstone of your Geography 460 experience is a final project accomplished in teams of
three. This project will entail GIS data analysis on a topic under the theme of coastal zone
vulnerability in the Puget Sound. It will make use of the techniques and concepts you have
learned throughout the quarter both in lecture and in lab sections.
To help you stay on task, we will be assigning two preliminary deliverables, in addition to an
oral presentation and a formal written report (making a total of four graded deliverables). These
assignments facilitate formation of student teams, development of project concepts and means
for implementation. Done correctly, these assignments can produce drafts for major sections in
your final report, greatly reducing the final writing effort.
The final project concludes with an oral presentation of your work in front of the class and
submission of a formal written report. Your team will be required to formulate a clearly written,
formal research question and design a process – including data acquisition and GIS data analysis
components – to answer that question. You will be expected to use the concepts and the
analytical tools introduced in the lab exercises (Ex1-Ex6) in your final project.
Choice of Topic
Each team will choose its own topic for their project within the following guidelines:
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 Projects’ geographic extent will be limited to the greater Puget Sound region.
 Raster based operations are the primary means to accomplish project objectives.
 Projects are expected to make use of the course sample data set located in
R:\Geog460\Data. Use of data not included in this database is limited to TWO data layers
following approval of a written request accompanied by an assessment of fitness for use.
 Please use the following topics, all based on Coastal Zone Vulnerability, as suggestions
for developing a research question:
o Protect existing habitats and prevent further losses
o Restore the amount and quality of habitat and reduce fragmentation
o Reduce toxics entering Puget Sound
o Reduce pollution from human and animal waste into Puget Sound
o Improve water quality and habitat by managing stormwater runoff
o Provide water for people, fish and wildlife, and the environment
o Protect ecosystem biodiversity and recover imperiled species
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Specific techniques (collection of operations – ESRI sometimes calls them tools):
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Aggregation / resample
Allocation
Arithmetic functions – map algebra
Cost weighted allocation, direction or distance
Data conversion
Distance functions: buffer, setback, nearest neighbor and similar
Focal functions
Generalization
Reference system conversion (crosswalk)
Surface properties: slope, aspect, flow direction, flow accumulation, drain and
hillshade
Hydrologic models
Interpolation: Inverse distance weighted (IDW) and Kriging
Mosiac
Merge
Reclass
Region Group
Overlay
Relational join
Summarize zones
Viewshed / visibility
Zonal statistics
Whatever topic your team chooses for your project, remember that you will need to incorporate
techniques of GIS data analysis taught in the lab component of the course. We realize you have
not been introduced to many of these tools yet. For the first preliminary assignment, we only
expect you to take a stab at creating a methodology. This methodology will develop significantly
as your project progresses.
Final Project Grading
The final project is worth 50 points (25%) of your final class grade. The components of the
project deliverables and the points possible for each piece are as follows:
Assignment description
Points
Preliminary Assignment 1
5
Preliminary Assignment 2
5
Presentation
10
An 8 minute presentation before the course instructor, TAs, and your
classmates that clearly shows what your project was about, how you
accomplished your analysis, and your findings.
Final Report
30
A formal written report on your project, including background,
methods and findings. The report will include maps and process
diagrams to illustrate your project workflow
TOTAL:
50
The two preliminary assignments will be graded by the TAs. The Presentation and Final Report
will be graded jointly by the course instructor and the TAs. Please see the Lab Assignment
Schedule for due dates for each of the Final Project components.