Using ArcGIS Pro to engage in Value Added Data Analysis

Introduction

For this project, I am to take the following ArcGIS online mini-lessons to calculate pervious and impervious surface area, and then classify an aerial image that determines surface types:

• Segment the Imagery
• Classify the Imagery
• Calculate Impervious Surface Area

Once done, the surface types allow for easy user and consumer delineation of the data for all types of purposes.

Steps

The course allowed me to download all of the data necessary into my student folder. 

To calculate surface imperviousness I needed to complete all of the steps above. 

Segmenting the Imagery

First I needed to prepare the imagery. This task is a 3 step process consisting of segmenting imagery on the fly, reviewing the segmentation, and segmenting the imagery with geoprocessing. Below you can see the extraction of spectral bands into an image with only 3 spectral bands. This process makes classifying the surface area much easier in the next step.

Classifying the Imagery

To classify the imagery, I needed to use ArcMap. There is was able to find like areas such as roofs, driveways, roads, bare Earth, and grass, and use a classification tool to identify them as such. The tools allows me to draw rectangles on those objects. The inside area of those rectangles identify colors of like characteristics in the image and I was able to rename their classes appropriately and assign appropriate colors.

 I then needed to use the reclassify tool to help differentiate natural (pervious), versus man-made (impervious) objects in the imagery.

Calculating the Impervious Surface Area

To calculate the impervious surface area, the lesson had me generate 100 random points and then assign the first 10 pervious (1) or impervious (0).

Next, a confusion matrix was utilized to help determine the accuracy of the raster data.

At this point, the land parcel's impervious areas are ready to be calculated, using the Tabulate the area tool.

 Once tabulated, and joint with the parcels layer, impervious surface analysis imagery is created. I changed the symbology colors to match what was in the lesson.

Map

Conclusion

ArcGIS Pro is the successor to ArcMap. I haven't had much experience with either software, so a comparison wouldn't be appropriate or thorough. Using ArcGIS Pro is a great tool to add value to data and imagery. Again, I've only scratched the surface with the functionality of the software. I can easily see though, how presenting the data in various ways, such as reporting impervious versus pervious surface imagery could be used in commercial applications. I'm excited to see what else it can do!