A. Get outside – enjoy the beauty of the earth and mark your observations. Consider joining a citizen science project such as Nature’s Notebook or GLOBE observer Tree Challenge.
C. Learn some new GIS skills with resources from AmericaView members: Google Earth Engine (GeorgiaView), QGIS (WestVirginiaView), or ArcGIS Pro (VirginiaView).
Below is the poster that IowaView staff displayed at the virtual 2021 Iowa Water Conference, April 6-8, 2021. Click on the image below to explore the poster.
“I have seen further by standing on the shoulders of giants.” ~ Sir Isaac Newton
This week is the virtual American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) conference. At today’s conference, the ASPRS Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Virginia T. Norwood.
Virginia Norwood is known as the “Mother of Landsat.” When interviewed by Laura Rocchio for a NASA Landsat Science article, Ms. Norwood was asked if she is comfortable with this title and she replied, “Yes. I like it, and it’s apt. I created it. I birthed it; and I fought for it.” In recognition of her contributions to satellite communications and optics for over 40 years, including the design, building, promotion and operation of the first multspectral scanner (MSS) on-board Landsat-1, Ms. Norwood was awarded the 2021 ASPRS Lifetime Achievement Award.
This year IowaView Staff are presenting their research at a virtual university research conference. Staff built a poster using a tool called iPoster. Click on the poster below to interact with the virtual poster (available for a limited time, through March 2021).
March is Women’s history month. Below are a few resources to begin exploring the contribution of women in GIS and related fields (cartography, remote sensing.)
GIS Lounge has a Women in GIS Networking Groups page which highlights a number of groups that provide peer support for women in GIS: https://www.gislounge.com/women-in-gis/.
Another webinar and storymap to view from the 2020 ESRI User Conference, “Women in GIS/ The New Analyst” which feature seven women in GIS who discuss their career paths, obstacles they’ve overcome, and the transformative role of GIS. Here’s the link for the webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9K3ZDT7KOk
IowaView staff have launched a study to understand the current use of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) software and technology in K-12 public school classrooms across the state as well as to gauge interest among non-users. The study has two surveys: one for superintendents and one for K-12 teachers. These surveys will provide a snapshot of GIS in K-12 education as well as identify barriers and opportunities for the use of GIS technology among non-users.
The 2021 Map Competition for Iowa students is now underway.
Students in grades 4-12 are invited, with their teachers, to participate in this year’s mapping contest sponsored by Esri, the Iowa Geographic Information Council (IGIC), and William Penn University. This year’s theme is Mapping Unique Iowa Features.
How to participate: Use the Story Map application to tell a story about a unique feature site using a map and pictures.
There will be $100 cash prize and a certificate for the top five middle school (grades 4-8) and top high school (grades 9-12) map entries. The top entry from each state will be submitted to the national competition hosted by Esri.
Schools must submit their winners to the state for judging by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Iowa GIS professionals will judge the entries so Iowa awards may be announced, and send winning entries on to Esri for the national competition.
Are you interested in learning more about remote sensing but have a limited budget? This February, OhioView will be presenting , “Remote sensing on a shoestring,” and will guide you through how to begin using freely available software and data to perform remote sensing analysis.
Topics for each of the workshops (and their skill level) are as follows:
February 5, 2021, 9am – 1pm (EST):
Earth Science Missions Imagery using Google Earth Pro (beginner level)
Normalized Difference Calculations with Sentinel-2 using Multispec (intermediate level)
Land cover classification of Sentinel-2 images using QGIS (beginner level)
Use this link to register for the February 5 workshop: https://forms.gle/Z269biTar4vU23DU7 The last day for registration for the February 5 workshop will be January 28, 2021.
February 26, 2021, 9am – 1pm (EST):
Classification Using Google Earth Engine (intermediate level)
Ground validation using the GLOBE Observer app (beginner level)
Estimating Evapotranspiration with Landsat using QGIS (intermediate level).
Use this link to register for the February 26 workshop: https://forms.gle/HkRGQ3fn8S81443U6. The last day for registration for the February 26 workshop will be February 18, 2021.
Today, Mike Daniels from the University of Arkansas will be presenting about how the Arkansas Discovery Farm is reducing nutrient loss, defining and building soil health, improving irrigation efficiency and edge-of-field monitoring of runoff. His statewide Extension efforts encourage agricultural producers to adopt conservation practices to protect natural resources and improve agricultural sustainability.
