New dataset - Localized Vector Ruggedness Measure at 10 meter Scale for Nevada

 

I've made 10 meter VRML (localized Vector Ruggedness Measure) data available for download HERE.The new localized version of Vector Ruggedness removes some issues in which smooth ridgelines and smoother drainage ways might be confused. For example, the top left image shows the original VRM layer for a mountain range in southern Nevada and the lower left image shows VRML for approximately the same area. Note that the line features are very apparent in VRM but not so much in VRML. We plan to submit a paper on this approach in the upcoming weeks. For the 10 meter Nevada data I've used a 9 county tiling scheme in which smaller counties are merged with larger ones (see below).

Outside of Nevada the National Topographic Ruggedness Map for the conterminous USA at 90 meter scale using VRML is available by clicking HERE. A 30 meter dataset is available for the western USA on request.

New tool - Create Available Points Toolbox for ArcGIS

I have a new tool out that can be used to generate background/available points for habitat modeling (resource selection functions) in ArcMap.  It should work in ArcGIS Pro as well since it is entirely built within ModelBuilder and doesn't rely on any python. The user provides 1) their used points (e.g. occurrences), 2) a buffer from which available points can be selected, and 3) the ratio of used to available points. The tool will also combine multiple files into a single file using the filename to differentiate. This tool would be useful to wildlife biologists and others who work with radio-collar data and want a simple tool that runs in GIS. You can download the tool at https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=f5515ef257774ed790b9b64cf5d50fc5.
 

GIS Day poster - Topographic ruggedness indices in ecology: past, present and future

 

Here is a screenshot of my 2021 GIS Day poster also available HERE. You can also download the National Topographic Ruggedness at 90 meter resolution for the USA by clicking HERE.

New paper - Geomorphic Sensitivity and Ecological Resilience of Great Basin Streams and Riparian Ecosystems

 

There is a new(ish) report available on Research Gate - "Geomorphic Sensitivity and Ecological Resilience of Great Basin Streams and Riparian Ecosystems. Part I. Sensitivity and Resilience Concepts, Components, and Categories Part II. Assessment Protocol." You can access the report by clicking HERE. There is also a data publication that goes along with this report.  It is "Geospatial data for Great Basin perennial montane watersheds - geomorphology, hydrology, vegetation, disturbance and species" and it is available by clicking HERE.

New dataset - northern hemisphere day length rasters for each day of the year at 5 km resolution

 New day length rasters are available at:

 https://nevada.box.com/s/igy01odvcpa7wkoyd6at11h2s25hqw9l

These canned rasters can be used in place of the Day Length Tools for ArcGIS, which isn't as well suited for latitudes greater than 60 degrees. The new data are derived by extrapolating NOAA spreadsheet calculations - https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/calcdetails.html.

New paper - Governing Ecological Connectivity in Cross-Scale Dependent Systems in Bioscience

Happy to announce that we have a new paper "Governing Ecological Connectivity in Cross-Scale Dependent Systems" published in Bioscience.  The paper came about from a meeting in February of 2020 held by the Delta Stewardship Council  in Davis, CA led by Annika Keeley.  I'm thrilled to have gotten to participate in this very interdisciplinary meeting.  You can view the paper by clicking HERE.  The full citations is:

Keeley, A.T.H., Fremier, A.K.,  Goertler, P.A.L., Huber, P.R., Sturrock, A.M., Bashevkin, S.M.,  Barbaree, B.A., Grenier, J.L., Dilts, T.E., Gogol-Prokurat, M., Colombano, D.D., Bush, E.E., Laws, A., Gallo, J.A., Kondolf, M., Stahl, A.T. (2022) Governing Ecological Connectivity in Cross-Scale Dependent Systems, BioScience, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biab140

New idea - Esri should create a searchable website showing which updates are introduced with each version

I posted this idea for a searchable website showcasing when new geoprocessing tools are introduced with each version of ArcGIS. You can view the idea by clicking HERE.