Line of Sight Analysis

One of the big problems that the wind indusrty has run into in developing wind farms is that people do not want to see the towers.  You can use some very expensive software to do a viewshed analysis, but I have found a very afforable alternative.  Global Mapper has a built in function to be able to download elevation data from the web and then with a simple puch of a button to run the analysis.  You can customize the variables for the tower height and even look at the terrain in 3D.  I use have the expensive software (I am sure you know which one I mean) and it is not this easy to perform a line of sight.  Global Mapper also has many other great features and the ability to work with a huge variety of file formats, mainly ESRI shapefiles, KML, and Mr. SID imagery.  If you think that Global Mapper could be useful, you can download it free to try it.

The National Map Seamless Server

The National Map Seamless Server has a lot of useful GIS data.  One of the best aspects is that they have ortho imagery that you can download in various formats so that you do not have to convert images if you do not have the ability to view a specific format.  This is very useful to those that are using open source GIS software and do not have mr. sid viewers.  Here is some links to the GIS data that is available for download.

1 meter Orthoimagery
Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Roads
Digital Raster Graphic (DRG)
High Resolution Orthoimagery
Landsat Mosaic Orthoimagery
List of High Resolution Orthoimagery Areas
LP DAAC MODIS
Modis NDVI Direct Broadcast
National Atlas

National Elevation Dataset (NED)
1 Arc Second
1/3 Arc Second
1/9 Arc Second
National LandCover Dataset (NLCD)
1992
2001
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)
1 Arc Second
3 Arc Second

Online KML to Shapefile converter

If you ever have had a client say that they have data that they want you to incorporate into a mapping project but it is in KML format.  It is gettign easier to use these consumer formats, and convert them into shapefile for use in professional GIS software.  I recently came across the new online version of KML2SHP.  WIth this handy online converter you do not even have to download and install software.  Simply upload and check the right boxes for the data that you uploaded and you are ready to add the data right into arcGIS software.  This tool is part of Zonum Solutions KML Toolbox which has some very useful tools for working with KML file formats.  With these new tools it is becoming even easier to use Google Earth as a more complete GIS package.  Another benefit could be that you simply tell a client to start a project outline right in Google Earth and they have nice background imagery to look at and start constructing things that they will want in their finished product and you can import them into your professional software and send someone to the field to update the locations and they already have a list of data points so they can easily find the infrastucture that they need to collect data on.  I think we are seeing that converting KML to shapefiles can be very useful and will only become easier as many of the professional GIS software companies are adding the ability to read/write or import KML file directly into their GIS package.