Closing Down

The giarchaology blog will be closing from the end of December 2012 as I am leaving the University of Birmingham.  

Landscape MA and PGDip students will find all the latest course content on webCT (weblearn.bham.ac.uk) and you can continue to follow my occasional postings on landscape, gi technology and visualisation on my Second Site blog  secondsiteresearch.blogspot.com.

My new contact details from 1st January are:

Department of Archaeology

The King's Manor

University of York

York YO1 7EP, UK

Keith.Challis@york.ac.uk

Getting to Grips with ArcGIS 10

ESRI's ArcGIS 10 desktop GIS software is a core component of our teaching throughout the PGDip/MA landscape archaeology and GIS programme.  If you have a computer at home you'll want to get a copy of ArcGIS of your own that you can install on that machine.  UK based students can download a copy of the software from mysoftware.bham.ac.uk.  To use this service you must be on campus and connected either to the University's wireless network of logged on to a University machine.  If you aren't planning on visiting the University any time soon you can request off-campus access to this service by going to www.itservicedesk.bham.ac.uk -> Login -> Make A Request -> Make A General Request (on the right) -> Choose mySoftware from the first drop down box and the select External Access from the second box -> Enter your details and the reason why you would like external access.

You should state that you require access to download ArcGIS 10 as you are studying towards the   GDip/MA in Landscaape Archaeology and GIS with the IAA and about to commence a module of intensive instruction in ArcGIS.

Non UK based students will need to contact their local ESRI office to order a student licence (see http://www.esri.com/about-esri/offices).  You may need proof of student status to secure your student licence.

ArcGIS is a complex, multi-faceted product that takes a while to get to grips with, so I recommend you get your copy as soon as you are able and get it installed so that you are familiar at least with the look and feel of the software by the time we get to serious use in module 2.  You might want to take a look at the technical specification of your machine as well, you are going to need a recent multicore processor, 2-4GB of RAM, and Windows 7 to get things working, and a good graphics accelerator to allow ArcScene to work effectively.

If you have problems buying or installing ArcGIS contact me (Keith) directly, as among other things I am one of the University's ESRI technical representative, so should be able to help you out.

Module 4: GIS & Spatial Analysis Assignment Data

Data for the two options for the module 4 assignment for distance learning students is available for download now. 

• Stonehenge: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11088638/Stonehenge.zip (40mb) 
• Bolton Abbey: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11088638/Bolton%20Abbey.zip (420mb)

Essential reading for visibility analysis:

Llobera, M. 1996. Exploring the topography of mind: GIS, social space and archaeology. Antiquity 70, 612-22.

Llobera, M. 2001. Building past landscape perception with GIS: understanding topographic prominence. Journal of Archaeological Science 28, 1005-14.

Ogburn, D.E. 2006. Assessing the level of visibility of cultural objects in past landscapes. Journal of Archaeological Science 33, 405-13.

and for lidar: 

Kincey, M. and Challis, K. 2010. Monitoring fragile upland landscapes: The application of airborne lidar Journal for Nature Conservation, Volume 18, Issue 2, Pages 126-134

Module 4: GIS and Spatial Analysis

Second Year students taking Module 4: GIS and Spatial Analysis can now access new lecture content on Remote Sensing, comprising five lecture groups on satellite and airborne techniques and image processing, on webCT.  The new content also includes further non-assessed exercises the results of which can be report on and shared with colleagues on the collaborative gianswers blog.

Module 1: Landscape Archaeology

Year 1 students taking module 1, Landscape Archaeology, now have access to content on techniques in landscape archaeology including map regression, the use of historic documents, historic landscape characterization and GIS, which together form the second part of the module.

Module 1: Landscape Archaeology

Year 1 students taking module 1, Landscape Archaeology, now have access to Dr Henry Chapman's lecture on working with aerial photographs.

Saga GIS

Second year students taking GIS and Spatial Analysis should now be beginning to get to grips with some of the more complex aspects of spatial analysis.  You should by now be becoming familiar with working with multiple raster data sources, performing terrain analysis and undertaking more complex landscape analysis such as least cost path.  So, now is a perfect time to break the bonds of ArcGIS and explore some of the other (free) software tools on offer.

One of the best is SAGA GIS (System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses) an open source, cross platform GIS, designed largely for analysis of raster data, and originally developed by a small team of researchers from the Dept. of Physical Geography, Göttingen.

SAGA is a free download and runs on relatively modest hardware.  For Arc users it presents something of a different look and feel.  The software is modular with multiple modules, arranged in thematic groups, themed around functions such as data import and export, grid calculation, terrain analysis, etc.  Outputs from the functions can be visualized in a 2D or 3D display window and separate windows can display data attributes, properties and messages from the various modules. 



While all of this takes a little getting used to for the average Arc user, and the desktop can end up feeling a little cluttered, there is undoubtedly considerable power lurking beneath the surface in SAGA.  Particular strengths lie in terrain analysis  and the ability to perform a whole suite of analytic tasks on  a single elevation model automatically.  Look out also for less common but useful elevation model derivatives like sky-view factor and wind effects  which have useful archaeological applications and are not available in Arc.  There is much here to detain us.



Also of particular note are the vast array of grid analysis routines, including  useful implementations of convolution filters, again not native to Arc, and simulation models, for example for spread of wildfire, which can be adapted for simulating archaeological phenomena.

SAGA is able to work with a variety of grid formats, including those native to ArcGIS and Surfer and to export data to formats compatible with Arc.  Overall, SAGA is a hugely powerful piece of free software that no serious spatial analyst can afford to ignore, if nothing else it extends the suite of analytic tools available to the Arc user into useful new directions and for this reasons it repays the relatively little time required to become familiar with it.

You can download SAGA from here together with a comprehensive user guide in PDF format.

Module 4: GIS and Spatial Analysis

Second Year students taking module 4: GIS and Spatial Analysis can now access new lecture content on Spatial Analysis on webCT.  The new content also includes two further non-assessed exercises the results of which can be report on and shared with colleagues on the collaborative gianswers blog.

Module 1: Landscape Archaeology Downloads

A surge of new lecture content comprising Dr Henry Chapman talking on theories of landscape and fieldwork in landscape archaeology and Dr Simon Fitch on the submerged prehistoric landscapes of the North Sea is now available for first year students taking the module Landscape Archaeology.  

Because of  some technical difficulties with delivery of lectures for this module via the embedded flash viewer  in webCT I have made versions of each lecture available for download as a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.  Each lectures is available via the "download" link on webCT and comprises a zipped archive containing the lecture slides and narration.  These can be played within PowerPoint, or using the free Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer and (probably) within Open Office Presenter.  Download links for each are below.  As always please report any problems.

• Microsoft Office 10 (60 day trial)
• Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer (Free)
• Open Office (Free)

Landscape Archaeology

New lecture content comprising Dr Henry Chapman talking on Landscapes of Belief is now available for first year students taking the module Landscape Archaeology.  Note that I have also fixed an error in the lecture on River Valleys and added an additional lecture on Environmental Archaeology to the content already available.

Surfer

Golden Software's Surfer surface modelling package is a great piece of software, now fully mature and with a slick, sophisticated and windows compliant interface far removed from its original DOS heritage.  Version 11 (the current release available for download as a demo) is cosmetically different to version 9, which the teaching materials cover, but the underlying functions are little changed.

Download the demo and work with the supplied data, plus that we provide for the exercises, to get to grip with this great product.  There are two ways of thinking of surfer when working in conjunction with ArcGIS (or any other GIS product).  You might simply choose to use the greater control that surfer gives over the generation of continuous surfaces from point data (more interpolation methods, better control, especially when using custom variograms) in which case you will be exporting your completed grid files to a format that Arc can handle and doing little else with Surfer.  Doing this might miss the features of what has now become a powerful visualization tool, able to integrate various sources of data and far better at scaled visualization of 3D terrain data than ArcScene; Surfer provides for sensible profiling, creation of block diagrams, scaling of 3D views with scale bar, orientation and legend, all absent from ArcScene.  My advice is explore the full potential of visualization of you data in Surfer as well as exploiting its excellent modelling facilities.

If you enjoy Surfer take a look at other products from the Golden Software stable, in particular Voxler for true 3D voxel modelling, we'll come back to this in the Virtual Landscapes module later in the year.

New Lecture Content

There is new lecture content available for Year 1 and 2 DL students on webCT. Year 1 students taking Landscape Archaeology now have access to lectures by Andy Howard on Drivers of Environmental Change and River Valleys and Wetlands. Year 2 students taking GIS and Spatial Analysis have access to lectures on Surface Modelling with Surfer, Variogram Modelling and using ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst.

Different Flavours of Software

As part of the learning process for Module 4, GIS and Spatial Analysis, we will be exploring a range of different flavours of GIS software beyond ArcGIS, much of it opensource, and therefore free, and some of it in its freely available demo version.  

The aim is to both broaden your experience of GIS softwares and explore some of those (few) things at which Arc is not so good. At various points, either in the lectures and exercises, in supplementary material or in this blog, we'll be using Surfer, Landserf and 3DEM for surface modelling, and exploring Quantum GIS, SagaGIS, GRASS and Opticks as supplementary GIS and image processing packages.  I'll explore each of these in more detail in due course in dedicated blog posts, but for now you might care to download and install each on your local system so as to be prepared.  

Links for the homepage/download site for each are listed below:

Surfer  http://www.goldensoftware.com/products/surfer/surfer.shtml

Landserf  http://www.landserf.org/

3dem http://www.hangsim.com/3dem/

Saga GIS http://www.saga-gis.org/en/index.html

Quantum GIS  http://www.qgis.org/

GRASS http://grass.fbk.eu/intro/index.php

Opticks http://opticks.org/confluence/display/opticks/Welcome+To+Opticks

Module 4 Data Package

The data for all of the non assessed exercises that form part of module 4, GIS and Spatial Analysis is available for download as a zipped archive from:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11088638/Module%204%20Data%20Package.zip.

The archive contains folders with data for each numbered exercise.

I'll be adding further details of and links to some of the software we will be exploring as part of this module shortly.

Welcome

Welcome to the PGDip/MA programme in Landscape Archaeology GIS and Virtual Environments 2012-13.  

My name is Keith Challis and I am a research fellow in remote sensing in the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity.  I'll be supporting Dr Henry Chapman, the programme leader, by coordinating content and delivery for distance learners in Semester 1 (until the Christmas break) so think of me as your first point of contact and please come to me with questions, problems and inquiries as you have need.  I'll also be teaching a fair part of core content, particularly in the GIS and Virtual Landscapes modules.

You should by now find that your are enrolled on webCT (weblearn.bham.ac.uk) with access to your relevant modules (for continuing students this is module 4: GIS and Spatial Analysis, for new students this is module 1: Landscape Archaeology).  

Teaching begins on Monday 24th September, and webCT content will appear at timetabled intervals from Monday.  In the meantime you should also find that you have access to an induction/administration section on webCT with some information about the course structure, student handbook, etc.

Can I invite you all to read through this material and get back to me with any questions.  I'd also like to invite you to tell us all a little about yourself (continuing students you might want to update the information you gave us last year).  We'll be using a collaborative blog (gianswers.blogspot.com) to discuss and share views and information this year.  You should shortly receive an invitation to register as an author on the blog, once you have done so you will be able to upload and edit content. Use this space frequently to keep us all up to date with your study, learning experience and questions to which others can respond.

Please bear with us over the first few weeks of term as we iron out technical and administrative glitches.  I hope you have an enjoyable learning experience over the next year or two, remember if you have any immediate questions or problems, or as the course progresses, I am just an email or phone call away.

Surveying with the Global Positioning System

If you are planning on carrying out a GPS-based piece of survey work, Trimble's planning software, mentioned in the lecture this morning, could be helpful.  The software, which is a free download  allows visualization and analysis of the satellite constellation from any given point on the earth's surface, entered as latitude, longitude and elevation.  So it is possible in advance to determine satellite visibility and the optimum time to undertake your work, particularly useful in GPS-marginal areas like some uplands where poor sky view limits satellite visibility.

In a slightly different vein, if you are working with a humble handheld GPS then GPSUtils a free "an easy-to-use application that allows you to manage, manipulate and map your GPS information" is for you.  

Simple download, co-ordinate manipulation and mapping and compatible with a wide variety of handheld GPS; works like a dream with my humble Garmin handhelds.

Snuffler, Free Software for Processing Geophysical Survey

If you are working with geophysical survey data from the field school at home, you might care to have a look at Snuffler, a piece of completely free software for processing geophysical survey data.

In the words of its creator, "Snuffler can be used for any set of resistivity or magnetometry data in electronic or paper format, and most importantly it is FREE."


Its Current Features include:

• Enter data from keyboard or text files
• Import from RM15 & TR Systems resistivity meters, FM18/36 magnetometers, Arc-Geo logger, Bartington GRAD601 and EPE Resistivity Meter
• Export of data to text files
• Previews of data sets
• Image view in Grey Scale, Dot Density and Relief
• Display range clipping
• Data and selection statistics
• Printing of images with image info
• Export of images to PNG (Portable Network Graphic) image files and VRML
• Metadata Storage
• Continuously sampled data processing
• Filters, including :
• Despike
• Direct modification of data in a selection
• Interpolation
• Geological Flattening
• Sharpen
• Edge correction
• Destripe
• Clip Data
• Destagger

Download Suffler as a zipped archive from here.

Visualizing Geophysical Survey

Two and three dimensional geophysical survey data need good visualization tools.  Golden Software's Surfer and Voxler products are two fine examples. Surfer provides tools for interpolation of continuous surfaces from sample data using a variety of interpolation tools and with a range of outputs from contours to 3D terrain models.

More interestingly, for working with 3D geophysical data such as time-sliced GPR, Voxler provides tools  for 3D interpolation of volumes and modeling and visualization using a variety of methods, including voxels (hence the name) volumetric models, etc.

Save disabled trial versions are free downloads, not time limited and provide an excellent way to get to grips with sophisticated modelling and visualization of geophysical survey data.

Lumion 3D

I've just stumbled upon Lumion 3D visualization software, courtesy of the Digital Urban blog.  The free version of Lumion produces stunning output and can import greyscale heightmaps (from ArcGIS) and building and object models in collada format, exported from SketchUp. Output is in the form of high quality still images or rendered movies, the free version of the software adds a watermark in the top left corner.  

Above is a great example of the results achievable with the free version, this movie won the 2011 Lumion competition gaining a prize of $I0000 and a free copy of the software.  I have yet to see an easier to use piece of visualization software and I recommend immediate download and playing in time for the 2012 competition!

Learning ArcGIS 10

Year 1 distance learning students begin part two of the Introduction to GIS module this week with an intensive look at ESRI's ArcGIS 10.  Content will appear on webCT over the next two weeks, and there will be opportunity to take courses from ESRI's Virtual Campus.

Data for the non-assessed exercises for this module are now available as a single download from dropbox, here.

Note that the majority of the lectures for this part of the module are delivered as Microsoft PowerPoint shows, if you don't possess PowerPoint a free viewer can be downloaded from here.