Feature Sources / Map Output Using AutoCAD Map 3D 2013

GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS

R. Konrad Hunter

GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

February 6, 2014 D2 Feature Sources / Map Output

Mike Wallace OLS, OLIP Instructor/Thesis Advisor Niagara College Post Grad GIS - Geospatial Management Niagara College, NOTL Campus 135 Taylor Rd, S.S.#4 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, L0S 1J0

Dear Mr. Wallace, RE: GISC9305 Deliverable 2 Feature Sources and Map Output Please accept this letter as my formal submission of Deliverable 2 Feature Sources and Map Output for GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS. This submission is comprised of technical memorandum outlining the application of feature source data and final map outputs using AutoCAD Map 3D 2013. The assignment required knowledge of AutoCAD Map 3D as well as CAD and Mapping standards applicable to all GIS projects developed by Hunter Geosystems. These mapping standards were followed during the creation of a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of Redding, California. The DEM also included elevation contours and local road networks, which were added to the drawing by connecting to feature sources and draping the vector data over the raster DEM. A 2D Map Book displaying 15 individual sections of the CAD drawing was published to a .dwf file, along with a final layout for the 3D DEM drawing including all cartographic elements. The 3D DEM layout can be found in the appendix of the technical memorandum. If you have any questions regarding these documents or the assignment in general, please feel free to email me at your convenience. Thank you. Sincerely,

R. Konrad Hunter - B.A GIS-GM Candidate Project Manager: Hunter Geosystems RKH Enclosures: i) Technical Memorandum Feature Sources / Map Output using AutoCAD Map 3D 2013

konrad-hunter@hotmail.com Hunter Geosystems 349 Queenston St. St. Catharines, ON L2P 2Y1

GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

Technical Memorandum
Project: GISC 9305 D2 3D Terrain Analysis of Redding, California Mike Wallace, OLS, OLIP Niagara College, Canada

Client:

Prepared By: Konrad Hunter, B.A.

Subject: Date:

Feature Sources / Map Output using AutoCAD Map 3D 2013

20 February, 2014 GISC 9305 D2

1.0

Introduction

This assignment serves as an introduction to the use of AutoCAD Map 3D for the purpose of conducting a 3D terrain analysis of Redding, California. This analysis required a raster DEM (digital elevation model) file of the study area as well as vector layers displaying road and contour data which were draped over the background raster image. A DEM provides an accurate representation of the earths surface, which makes them effective for computing an analysis of regional terrain for a given study area. Because raster images are cell-based, a DEM assigns each cell a specific colour code to reflect the information each cell possess. For this assignment, an appropriate colour scheme provides an accurate visual display of the elevation change within the image. Hillshading was also used to provide a visual display of the aspect characteristics of the surface terrain, enhancing the display of elevation within the image upon setting an appropriate vertical exaggeration. A final map layout was created for the 3D DEM image and a map book was published to display 2D representation of the image, allowing the GIS analyst to focus on specific areas within the DEM. The final layout can be found in the Appendix of this report.

GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

2.0

Study Area

The study area for this assignment is Redding, a town located in the central region of northern California, USA. Figure 1 (below) displays an aerial image of Redding, California. This location provides ideal characteristics for running a DEM due to the location at the base of a mountain range. Assigning an appropriate coordinate is very important to accurately project the image according to the real-world coordinates for Reddings, California. The coordinate system used for this assignment is NAD27 California State Planes, Zone 1 (401) US Foot.

Figure 1 Study Area: Redding, California (Google Earth Imagery)

GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

3.0

Methodology
3.1 Create a New Map Template

Upon running AutoCAD Map 3D 2013, a map drawing was required to begin this assignment. The provided drawing template (map2d.dwt) was applied to ensure any future analysis and/or image enhancement follows a common mapping and drawing standard used by Hunter Geosystems. The DEM raster file REDDINGS_CA.dem was required to begin the terrain analysis and projected using the appropriate coordinate system NAD27 California State Planes, Zone 1 (401) US Foot.

3.2

Connecting Raster Imagery

The DEM file REDDING_CA.dem was provided by Niagara College for this assignment. The image was imported to AutoCAD Map 3D using the Connect to data function within the Display Manager window. Within the Data Connections by Provider window, AutoCAD provides a function for adding a Raster Image or Surface Connection (Figure 2) to the current drawing. This method of importing data using the data connection function is much more effective than simply inserting the raster to the drawing because it increases the performance of the raster, which is important when using raster files that are very large in size. Connecting to raster as a feature source also provides a larger selection of geospatial-based formats and allows the coordinates of the raster to be converted to the coordinate system of the current drawing (Martin & Ellis, 2013). This was important because the coordinate system was to be defined correctly in order to provide an accurate representation of Redding, California.

GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

Figure 2: Connecting Raster as Feature Source

3.3

Style Theme for DEM

An appropriate height based theme palette was applied to the raster image of Redding, California to effectively represent the DEM. AutoCAD Map 3D allows the user to assign colour schemes to the feature source raster within the drawing (Figure 3). When analyzing elevation, it is important for a colour palette to reflect the variance among elevation characteristics within the drawing. Hunter Geosystems applies a standard colour palette for DEM to provide an accurate representation of surface terrain. This is appropriately modeled by the USGS DEM palette theme (Figure 3), which applies seven classes of colour bands to reflect elevation change with brown as low elevation and white as highest elevation.

GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

Figure 3 Colour Palette Selection

3.4

Setting the Vertical Exaggeration

The vertical exaggeration applied to the image will significantly enhance the display of the DEM and can be set according to the nature of the analysis. The goal of setting an appropriate vertical exaggeration is to display elevation characteristics accurately in regards to the characteristics of the study area. For the purpose of this assignment, the vertical exaggeration was set to 4X to effectively display the characteristics of the mountain range around Redding, California. Figure 4 displays a DEM for Redding, California with a vertical exaggeration of 1X. This resulted in a display of elevation change; however it does not effectively distinguish the lower elevation values. Figure 5 displays the DEM with a vertical exaggeration of 4X. When compared to Figure 4, it becomes evident how lower elevations are significantly more distinguishable and the landscape becomes reflective of the actual study area as a result of the increased exaggeration. Therefore, a vertical exaggeration of 4X was applied to the final map layout (Appendix A) and used for a further analysis of the DEM. 5

GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

Figure 4 DEM set to 1X Vertical Exaggeration

Figure 5 DEM set to 4X Vertical Exaggeration

GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

3.5

Applying Hillshade to the DEM

Figure 6 Hillshade Settings

Hillshading refers to the function within AutoCAD that applies shading to 3D surface layers to increase the realistic appearance of a 3D DEM, as well as helping the user to better understand the magnitude of elevation changes within the drawing (Martin & Ellis, 2013). AutoCAD offers the parameters of Sun Settings to be manipulated according to the hillshade characteristics the user wishes to apply. For the DEM of Redding, California the hillshade parameters (sun settings) were set to appear from a South Western direction at 234.42 degrees and the sun angle at 50.06 degrees (Figure 6). This provided the DEM with appropriate shadowing, giving the image a more realistic representation of the surface terrain. The resulting hillshade can be seen in Figure 8, where the terrain is effectively displayed allowing the user to easily distinguish the magnitude of change in elevation within the drawing. Figure 7 shows the DEM without appropriate hillshading. When comparing the two images, it becomes clear how effective hillshading is for providing a realistic interpretation of the changes in terrain elevation for Redding, California.

GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

Figure 7 DEM without Hillshade

Figure 8DEM with Hillshade

3.6

Applying Contours

Contours are linear features within a CAD drawing that represent elevation changes. Contours were added to the map as a feature source to allow the coordinate system to be set accordingly. For this assignment, the contours were set at 20 m th intervals with every 4 contour polyline as a major contour labeled using the provided ElevationIndex attribute. Adjusting the draw order allows the user to place the contour layer above all other features to become actively displayed within the DEM. The contour polylines were stylized using red as the line colour so they stand out as important features within the drawing also displaying major contours as thick polylines to enable the user to distinguish between the major and minor contours. Figure 9 and

Figure 10 show how the contours are displayed in both the 2D and 3D views.

GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

Figure 9 2D view of Contours

Figure 10 3D view of Contours

3.7

Road Networks

The road network represented vector features that were added to the DEM as feature source layers. The road features were imported to AutoCAD Map 3D using the Connect to data function within the Display Manager window. Within the Data Connections by Provider window, AutoCAD provides a function for adding SDF connection. Figure 11 displays the window for adding SDF feature sources to the drawing. Adding the road network as a feature source allows the coordinate system to be defined according to the current drawing. The road network was added to the drawing and draped over the raster image. The draw order was set to have the Road features above the DEM raster, allowing them to be visible within the drawing. It was also important for these features to stand out from the other elements in the drawing. Figure 12 displays the result of the road network vector data draped over the DEM. The road network was stylized to help distinguish these features from others, therefore the line style was set to black to contrast well with the other colours used within the DEM.

GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

Figure 11 Adding Road Network SDF

Figure 12 Road Network Draped over DEM

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GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

Figure 13 Road Network Data Table

The road network data table (Figure 13) displays the criteria used to classify the road network for Redding, California. The data table shows how the each road is defined by several field names including: street name, street type, ID, length, Prefix, Name, type and suffix. This follows the CAD drawing standard applied to all projects for Hunter Geosystems, providing compatibility with other projects using different GIS platforms.

4.0

Results
4.1 Final Map Layout for 3D DEM

A map layout for the 3D DEM of Redding, California was created using the layout function in AutoCAD Map 3D. The final layout is displayed in the Appendix of this report (Appendix A). It was crucial that the final map layout maintain all the mapping elements outlined by the common mapping and CAD standard applied by Hunter Geosystems. The map elements included a north arrow (adjusted to reflect true north), scale bar (set to imperial measurement), legend, coordinate system, date, author and data source. By adhering to Hunter Geosystems mapping standard it allows the resulting map layout to maintain common features to be applied to future GIS projects, allowing other departments or firms to effectively understand the information presented in the final layout.

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GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

4.2

Creating and Publishing a Map Book

Due to the overall size of the drawing, it is important to break up the map into sections which can be used to further analyze specific features within the data set. A map book provides a series of tiled maps that represent the entire study area (Martin & Ellis, 2013). Each map book section represents a detailed section of the map, providing a better representation of the information displayed within each area. The map book was created using the Map Book tab in the task pain and selection New > Map Book. The Map Book Sheet Template.dwt was used and the layout parameters were set to 11x17 (Figure 14). The scale factor was set to 1000. The tiling scheme was set up By Area, and the user selected the area of the raster displayed within the model view in AutoCAD with the Select Areas to Tile function.

Figure 14 Map Book Template Selection

Once the map book was created, it displayed 15 separate layouts representing each of tiles (grid) breaking up the map drawing. The basic map elements followed by Hunter Geosystems mapping standards were applied to the resulting map book image. The final map book was published to a final .dwf file (Figure 15), following the proper naming convention used by Hunter Geosystems.

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GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

Figure 15 Map Book Layout

5.0

Conclusion

This assignment required the use of raster and vector data to produce a Digital elevation model of Redding, California using AutoCAD Map 3D 2013. Connecting to the raster and vector data as feature sources rather than simply adding the data as layers to the CAD drawing significantly improved the performance of the data and allowed the coordinate systems for each to be set according to the existing data frame. Draping the vector layers over the existing raster DEM as .SDF files allowed for these feature to follow the magnitude of elevation changes within the drawing, effectively showing the true characteristics of these feature. The application of various functions such as hillshade and vertical exaggeration significantly improved the display of the surface terrain for the study area, producing a successful DEM of Redding, California. The final layouts of both the 3D DEM and the 2D Map book followed specific Mapping and CAD standards applied by Hunter Geosystems.

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GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

Works Cited
Martin, R., & Ellis, R. (2013). A Practical Guide to AutoCAD Map 3D 2014. Cadapult Software Solutions Inc.

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GISC9305 AutoCAD and GIS Feature Sources and Map Output

Appendix A: 3D DEM of Redding, California