Coral Reefs of Aceh, Sumatra in Indonesia

Map 1. The Island of Aceh in Indonesia: http://www.reefcheck.org/PDFs/reefcheck_aceh_jan2006_web.pdf

The coral reefs surrounding the island of Aceh in Indonesia are essential to the well-being of the Aceh people. The reefs are composed of a variety of coral, and serve as the homes to many different species of fish and marine life. The large amounts of fish surrounding the reefs provide the island’s local inhabitants with the subsistence required for their survival. The diversity of fish inhibiting the reef are also crucial to the island’s economy due to the fact that exotic fish are valuable trading commodities in the international market, as either a form of sustenance or as domesticated pets. The beautiful reefs surrounding Aceh also serve as the island’s main tourist attraction, enticing thousands of people from all over the world each year to visit and explore the reefs. Aceh’s booming tourism industry also provides substantial employment opportunities for its inhabitants, which further enhances the province’s economy. Additionally, the coral reefs surrounding Aceh act as a buffer for the island's coasts by absorbing the destructive impact of storms and by “[facilitating] the growth of mangroves and seagrasses…[which] help prevent shoreline erosion” (Burke, Selig, and Spalding, 2002: 9). However, in recent decades, coral bleaching, “unrestrained fishing and the dumping of toxic waste” have lead to the degradation of the richness of the island’s coral reefs by deteriorating the health of the reefs, as well as decreasing the amount of diversity among animal and plant species ("AsiaNews.it").

Map 2. Coral reefs at risk in Aceh, Sumatra in Indonesia: http://pdf.wri.org/rrseasia_full.pdf

As destructive fishing malpractices continue to be employed, the magnitude of the ecosystem’s deterioration increases accordingly. In particular, the practice of blast fishing has proven to be exceptionally malignant for the well-being of the ecosystem. Blast fishing is a process in which explosives or gun shots are sent into the reefs to stun or kill schools of fish, thus making them easier to catch. While blast fishing is an effective method for catching fish, the shock waves emitted during the process are often fatal for both the targeted prey and the marine organisms located nearby. Furthermore, the blasts often inflict irreparable damage upon the coral reefs themselves. Cyanide fishing is another strategy used to capture fish that is harmful towards the environment. During this process, cyanide is deployed towards areas of coral that are occupied by fish. The poison disables and disorients the fish, thus making them easier to capture. However, the cyanide often has a lasting effect in the areas where it has been injected, leading to the ailment of surrounding organisms. Overfishing is another process that has increased the degradation of the ecosystem. Overfishing depletes species of fish, which derails the natural workings of the ecosystem, as well as causing a shortage of exports that reduces the prosperity of the economy. Coral bleaching is another contributing factor to the degeneration of the ecosystem. Coral bleaching is a result of global warming that entails the removal of zooxanthellae, a type of algae vital to the existence of coral, from polyps. Due to the symbiotic relationship between the zooxanthellae and the polyps, once the algae dissipates, the polyps lose their vitality and whither away into skeletal remains. Consequently, the environment is no longer habitable to its native marine organisms. Lastly, human pollution disrupts the organic state of the ecosystem by depositing pollutants that are toxic to the environment and its inhabitants. Sources of pollution include sewage, human waste, runoff motor oil, and large-scale accidental oil spillages. Through these particular kinds of contamination, the ecosystem is thrown off balance, producing an overabundance of algae – which in turn, deprives the coral of the oxygen necessary for its survival.

Figure 1. Coral reef off the coast of Aceh, Sumatra in Indonesia in 2005 and 2010

Figure 2. An example of blast fishing: http://midfield.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/coral-reef-blasted.jpg

Chart 1. Threats to reefs in Indonesia: http://pdf.wri.org/rrseasia_full.pdf

Table 1. Net losses to society over a 20-year period from overfishing, blast fishing, and upland activities in Indonesia (US$ million)

The degradation of Aceh’s coral reefs will continue to take place so long as the Aceh people prolong their destructive habits. Although the island’s coral reefs have become marine protected areas in which unrestrained fishing practices are prohibited, fisherman still employ the harmful fishing methods in order to earn them a larger profit. The vastness of the island’s coastline prevents local authorities from averting the use of the banned fishing methods as well. Some local officials of the province even allow fisherman to utilize the outlawed fishing techniques in exchange for a share of their yield. Coral bleaching will also remain a serious threat to the reefs so long as significant changes in salinity and temperature continue to occur as a consequence of global warming. The natural state of the ecosystem will continue to be adversely affected by human pollution as well until Aceh invests in a more advanced sewage system and its inhabitants begin practicing more sustainable waste methods. The coral reefs of Aceh will continue their downfall until they cease to exist, unless the island’s inhabitants make some serious changes in their lifestyles.

In order to improve human impacts on the coral reefs of Aceh, firstly, residents of the island need to be better informed about the reefs and their current condition. The people of Aceh are well aware of the plethora of resources the reefs provide them with. However, much of the island’s population is unaware of exactly how vulnerable the reef ecosystem is to environmental disturbances. Information should be readily available to inhabitants of the island so that they are well aware of the potential effects that they have on the ecosystem and how to prevent further contamination of the reefs. Also, the reefs need to be properly patrolled in order to stop fisherman from employing illegal fishing techniques. Harsher consequences need to be forced upon those who are caught using the outlawed fishing practices as well. Aceh’s sewage system and its inhabitant’s waste disposing practices also need improvements in order to prevent further contamination of the reefs.

References:

Burke, Lauretta, Elizabeth Selig, and Mark Spalding. Reefs at Risk of Southeast Asia. Washington: World Resources Institute, 2002. eBook. .

"Coral reefs survive tsunami, endangered by pollution." AsiaNews.it. AsiaNews C.F., 09 Jul 2008. Web. 24 Nov 2011. .

Muhammad Nasir, M. Sc, First. Community-driven coral conservation in Aceh, Indonesia. . University of Syiah Kuala, 2007. Web. .

O'Hara, Riley. Fishing Industry’s Effects on Coral Reefs. . University of Michigan, 2006. Web. .

Podger, Corinne. "Pollution, fishing 'killing tsunami-hit Aceh reefs'." ABC News. ABC, 09 Jul 2008. Web. 30 Nov 2011. .

"Troubled Water: Massive Coral Bleaching in Indonesia." Wildlife Conservation Society. Wildlife Conservation Society, 17 Aug 2010. Web. 30 Nov 2011.

Mapping the Station Fire in ArcGIS

The Station Fire in Los Angeles, California was the tenth largest wildfire in California’s history and was the largest wildfire in Los Angeles County’s history. It lasted over a month and a half and burned 160,577 acres. Because it took such a long period of time for California firefighters to gain control of the fire, when the fire was finally contained and completely extinguished six weeks after it first began the California fire department’s methods for fighting wildfires were called into question. The California fire department determined the cause of the fire was arson. The arsonist responsible for starting the fire has never been apprehended.

The Station Fire began on August 26th, 2009 around 3:30 pm. It was first ignited near a USFS ranger station on the Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2) in the Angeles National Forest. Despite the beginning wildfire’s close proximity to a ranger station as well as a fire station, the fire quickly became uncontrollable as the flames grew at an alarming rate. The Station Fire even acquired its name due to its close proximity to the ranger station and fire station.

During the Station Fire’s course, it was responsible for the deaths of 2 firefighters, injured 22 people, destroyed 89 residences, damaged 13 residences, destroyed 26 commercial properties, and damaged 22 commercial properties. The Station Fire caused several highways to close down due to its close proximity to the roads, such as Highway 2 and Highway 39. The resources involved in extinguishing the flames were 647 emergency response workers, 5 helicopters, and 27 fire engines. The wildfire was fully contained on October 16th, 2009 around 7:00 pm following moderate rainfall in the San Gabriel Mountains.

In the figure above, the first map depicted is a map showing the Station Fire at its full extent and its proximity to the major highways running through Los Angeles County. As shown in the map, the fire was extremely close to Highway 210 and Highway 14. The fire’s close proximity to Highway 210 resulted in several parts of the highway being closed off.

The second map depicted in the figure above displays the Station Fire in relation to Los Angeles County’s various bodies of water and groundwater basins. The bodies of water are classified as various lakes and ponds located in Los Angeles County. The groundwater basins represent the groundwater basins and sub-basins as defined by the California Department of Water Resources. Groundwater basins are designated on the basis of geological and hydrological conditions, these usually being the occurrence of alluvial or unconsolidated deposits (http://egis3.lacounty.gov/dataportal/?cat=12). The basins provide water for the public’s use in Los Angeles County. The “LA County Station Fire and Nearby Water Sources” map was included in the figure above, as I was curious to see how close Los Angeles County’s public water sources were in relation to the fire. Being that it took such a long period of time for the Los Angeles fire department to gain control of the Station Fire, I’m puzzled to find that the fire was in very close proximity to Los Angeles County’s ground water basins. Upon further research, I found that the reason the ground water basins close proximity to the fire’s location was not a very helpful factor in extinguishing the flames was because the basins weren’t especially full due to a dry season with little rainfall. The Station Fire was finally fully contained due to heavy rainfall in October.


References:
1. http://egis3.lacounty.gov/dataportal/?cat=12
2. http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=7484272&rss=rss-kabc-article-7484272
3. http://interwork.sdsu.edu/fire/resources/StationFire.htm
4. http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1856/
5. http://inciweb.org/incident/article/9640/
6. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-la-fire-map-html,0,7464337.htmlstory

Census 1990/2000

The map titled “Number of People, 2000” shows the numbers of people present in the United States in the year 2000. The various population values are broken up according to amount which is represented by several different colors. The values for this map were calculated by the census of that year. The color ramp selected to represent the kind of data shown in this map was best because the colors are all in the same color family, each just a slightly darker or lighter color then the color above or below it. The darkest color represents the highest value and the lightest color represents the lowest value which makes sense to the map reader.

The map titled “Difference, 1990 to 2000 Number of People” shows the amount the population changed by in the United States from 1990 to 2000. The various population change values are broken up according to amount which is represented by several different colors. The values for this map were calculated by subtracting the number of people present in the year 1990 from the number of people present in the year 2000. The color ramp selected to represent the kind of data shown in this map was best because it is logical to the map reader. The three highest values of the data are all colors of the same color family. The highest of these three values is the darkest color, while the lowest is the lightest. The two lowest values of the data, which are both negative, are lighter and darker versions of the same color as well. The color that represents the first values that aren’t negative in the data is a dark gray color, which is a good representation because it’s a sensible way to let the audience know the values are no longer negative.

The map titled “Percent Change, 1990 to 2000 Total Population” shows the percentage the population changed by from 1990 to 2000. The various values are broken up according to amount which is represented by several different colors. The values for this map were calculated by subtracting the number of people present in the year 1990 from the number of people present in the year 2000, dividing that by the number of people present in the year 1990, and then multiplying it by 100. The color ramp selected to represent the kind of data shown in this map was best because it is logical to the map reader. The highest values of the data are represented by dark colors, while the lowest values are represented by light colors which makes sense to the map audience.

The map titled “Population Density, 2000” shows the density of the total population in the year 2000. The values for this map were calculated by dividing the total number of people living in the given area by the total land area. The color ramp selected to represent the kind of data shown in this map was best because it is logical to the map reader. The highest and lowest values of the data are in dark contrasting colors. The lowest middle values of the data are in similar light colors which represent a large majority of the map. The highest and lowest values of the data are easy to spot on the map because they greatly contrast the lightly-colored majority of the map.

DEMs in ArcGIS

The area I selected to base the following images upon is an area of Colorado Springs, CO. I chose this area because it contains a lot of mountainous terrain as the Rocky Mountain Range runs through it. The area of Colorado Springs, CO depicted in these images is located at 38.8338889, -104.8208333. The datum used in creating these images was GCS NAD 1983 and the UTM zone of the datum is zone 12. The projection used in creating these images was a transverse mercator.

Image #1: Shaded Relief Model

Image #2: Slope Map

Image #3: Aspect Map

Image #4: 3D Projection

Map Projections in ArcGIS

Projection #1: GCS WGS 1984/Mercator

WGS 84 is a global datum complete with a horizontal and vertical datum. It defines the shape of the earth and is complete with latitude and longitude coordinates. The Mercator projection is a cylindrical projection that preserves the direction and shape of features on a map. The WGS 84 differs from the Mercator projection as the WGS 84 isn't a map projection, it's a datum which just defines the origin and orientation of a map. Selecting the datum is the first step in creating a map projection. WGS 84 could be used in portraying a Mercator projection.

Projection #2: Cylindrical Equal Area/Sinusoidal

In the Cylindrical Equal Area projection, the area is preserved while the shape and distance is heavily distorted. It is made using a cylinder and compresses north-south latitudes. In the Sinusoidal projection, the area is also preserved while the shape is heavily distorted and the distance is preserved along parallels. It is a psuedocylindrical projection and a cylinder is also used. In the Sinusoidal projection, the north-south scale and the east-west scale are the same throughout the map. In both of these map projections, the features are relatively similar as they get stretched and distorted towards the north and south. The Sinusoidal projection, however, portrays the features at a much smaller scale than the Cylindrical Equal Area projection.

Projection #3: Equidistant Conic/Equidistant Cylindrical

In the Equidistant Conic projection, distance is preserved while shape and area is distorted. It is made using a cone and has constant parallel spacement. In the Equidistant Cylindrical projection, distance is also preserved while shape and area is distorted. It is made using a cylinder and north-south distances are neither stretched or compressed. In the Equidistant Conic projection, features seem to be compressed, while in the Equidistant Cylindrical projection, features seem to be stretched south a bit.

Neogeography

View A Great Way to Spend a Night in Hollywood in a larger map
     Neogeography allows ordinary people to access maps created by others like themselves via the World Wide Web. It can either be extremely useful or completely useless; it all depends upon how knowledgeable the author of the map is. If the map has been created by someone very familiar with the area being mapped, then it will most likely be a trustworthy and useful form of navigation. However, if the map has been produced by someone unfamiliar with the subject, then it will most likely be a very poor representation of the area and will not be able to be used for accurate navigation. It is extremely important to make sure the author of the map is a trustworthy source who seems to be very well-informed about the area being mapped. This will insure that your map is in fact accurate.
     I created the map above, “A Great Way to Spend a Night in Hollywood”, because the area I chose to map is one in which I’m very familiar with. I knew the exact location of every point, polygon, and line I chose to include on the map, so I was certain I’d be able to provide the reader with an accurate representation of that area of Hollywood. I’m also knowledgeable on each of the entities included on the map, so I knew I’d be able to provide the reader with accurate geotags.

USGS Topographic Maps

1. Beverly Hills Quadrangle
2. Canoga Park Quadrangle, Van Nuys Quadrangle, Burbank Quadrangle, Topanga Quadrangle, Hollywood Quadrangle, Venice Quadrangle, and Inglewood Quadrangle
3. 1966
4. National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929, North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27), and North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)
5. 1:24,000
6.
a) 1:24,000
   (1:24,000)5
     5 cm:120,000 cm
     100 cm in 1 m, so 5/100:120,000/100
    .05 m:1200 m
     5 cm on the map is equivalent to 1200 m on the ground
b) 1:24,000
   (1:24,000)5
    5 in:120,000 in
    63,360 in in 1 mi, so 5/63,360:120,000/63,360
   .0000789 mi:1.894 mi
    5 in on the map is equivalent to 1.894 mi on the ground
c) 1:24,000
    x:1 mi
    x:63,360 in
    x = 63,360in/24,000
    x = 2.64 in
    2.64:63,360
    1 mi on the ground is equivalent to 2.64 in on the map
d) 1:24,000
   (1:24,000)3
    3:72,000
    3km:72,000km
    x:3 km
    3 km = 300,000 cm
    x = 300,000cm/72,000
    x = 4.17 cm
    3 km on the ground is equivalent to 4.17 cm on the map
7. 20 ft
8.
a) 34°04'30" N 118°26'15" W
    34+.067+.008   118+.43+.004
    N 34.0678° W 118.434°
b) 34°00'25" N 118°29'50" W
    34+.00+.007   118+.48+.014
    N 34.007 W 118.494
c) 34°7'25" N 118°24'30" W
    34+.17+.007   118+.4+.008
    N 34.177° W 118.408°
9.
a) 560 ft
    1 m = 3.2808399 ft
    560 ft/3.2808399
    171 m
b) 140 ft
    140 ft/3.2808399
    43 m
c) 620 ft
    620 ft/3.2808399
    189 m
10. 11
11. 3763, 362
12. 10,000 ft x 10,000 ft = 100,000,000 sq ft
      100,000,000 sq ft/3.2808399
      30,480,000 sq m
13.

14. Difference between the geographic north pole at 0°48' E and the magnetic north pole at 14° E
      Magnetic declination = 13°12' E
15. The stream is flowing south
16.

Three of my Favorite Maps

Map 1: Active Volcanoes of the World http://pinknpurplelizard.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/fault-line-map.gif
I find this map helpful because it provides a simple and informative image of the various plate boundaries and volcanoes located on the Earth. It also provides the reader with information regarding what kind of plate boundary is located between each plate which I find helpful as well. I really enjoy this map because it's very easy to read and understand. When I've studied maps regarding Earth's plate boundaries and active volcanoes in the past, I've found them rather hard to read as they've been too complex.

Map 2: Agricultural Map of South America http://go.grolier.com/map?id=mtlr038&pid=go
I've recently become very interested in South America as I took a course about it last quarter, and have really enjoyed studying the various agriculture coming out of its countries. I really like this map because it provides the reader with an easy to read and informative illustration of how different kinds of South American land are best suited for different kinds of agriculture.

 Map 3: Starbucks Center of Gravity, Manhattan http://infosthetics.com/archives/starbuckscenterofgravity.jpg
This map illustrates the number of Starbucks located in Manhattan and specifically points out the center of the city as containing the most. I really enjoy this map because it's amazing to see how close together the coffee franchise decides to build their stores.