Using data from various sources, colleagues Jamie Lee, Eric Wang and I produced a risk assessment of Vancouver in the event of an earthquake. We include associated disasters such as mass movement (landslides) caused directly by the earthquake, and the effects of a tsunami-like rogue wave should large amounts of rock slip into the Salish Sea. This would cause a ave that could reach approximately twenty meters in height. Work was divided so that each team member was in charge of creating one map. Should a map be finished early, team members would aid in finishing the others. We all detailed what we did individually in the final report. Early in the idea stage of the project, I was required to consult professors in other classes. This helped me determine plausible disasters that related to earthquakes and had a simple enough analysis so that it could be completed within the time given. In order to make the landslide map, I needed to use tools not covered in class such as slope, in order to determine areas that would slip. I also needed to determine a logical way to determine the average distance that the landslide would propagate (this turned out to be ~100m), and an elevation proxy for bedrock as surficial geology maps were unavailable in the format needed to function in arcGIS. The team also felt that autonomy over individual maps saved large amounts of time. This method could introduce some extra degree of error, however as the team was in constant communication this was mitigated. We found with the Earthquake map that data is not always available for public use across an entire study area. This is one reason that the Building Footprints data only appears in the second Earthquake Risk map. Otherwise, we would be approximating the relative Mercalli index across the entirety of Metro Vancouver.
This course helped me learn many essential functions and processes in arcGIS software, as well as important elements in map making. I really enjoy working on large projects (see my "creations" tab), and map making may become a new hobby of mine that I am able to practice at university. I enjoyed exploring the various applications of GIS software used in course labs. I hope that I will be able to use this skill in future careers as a Geologist.
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