Field Exercise 6 - ArcPad Data Collection Part 1

INTRODUCTION

          In the previous blogpost (Field Exercise 5 - Microclimate Geodatabase: Working with Domains) I created a geodatabase as well as a feature class that contained relevant microclimate fields. For this exercise I will be deploying the microclimate geodatabase onto a Trimble Juno 3 Handheld global positioning system in order to collect microclimate data in the field. Although I will be deploying the geodatabase and collecting microclimate data  using the handheld Juno unit, This exercise is only a trial run to work out all the kinks in the deployment and collection processes.
          The program utilized on the handheld Juno unit was ArcPad because it is one of the programs that is compatible with the many Arc platforms. Although the microclimate data was recorded using the handheld Juno unit, the actual measurements were taken using a small gizmo called a Kestrel weather meter. For this reason seven groups of two were created so that while one partner was taking the actual measurements, the other was recording the data. The methods for deploying the geodatabase onto the Juno unit as well as microclimate data collection methods using the Kestrel unit will be discussed in detail below.

Study Area

          As always every field exercise has a study area or area of interest (AOI). The AOI for this particular exercise is the small area on which my partner and I collected our five microclimate test points which was just off the corner of UW-Eau Claire's Schneider Hall. The AOI as well as the five test points can be viewed in figure one below.

Figure 1: shows the broader study area, which is the UW-Eau Claire campus, the AOI, which is outlined in red, and the five test points, which are depicted by green dots. 

METHODS

Deploying the Microclimate Geodatabase

          The first step in the deployment process was to add the geodatabase to ArcMap and add the point feature class that contained the microclimate fields. Next a base map of the area of study should be added so it can be viewed while collecting data. This is not necessary but makes it easier to see where data is being recorded on the fly. The point feature class and base map added to ArcMap can be seen in figure two below.

Figure 2: shows both the microclimate point feature class (Data_Deploy) and the base map (ortho) 

- The next step was to add the ArcPad data manager tool to ArcMap which is shown in figure three   below.

 Figure 3: Adding the ArcPad Data Manager Toolbar  is done by clicking the customize bar on the top of the screen, extensions, and checking the ArcPad data manager toolbox.

- Once the ArcPad Data Manager Toolbar is displayed click on the Get Data for ArcPad button to display the window in figure four below.

Figure 4:  First click the action button at the top of the window. Next select checkout all geodatabase layers in order to export the microclimate point feature class onto the handheld Trimble Juno unit. Lastly set the raster data set to Background TIFF.

 - The next step is to save the file to an appropriate folder. For our classes purposes we made a copy of this folder in case the original one became corrupted during data collection. The last step is to copy the created folder over to the Trimble Juno's SD card. The handheld Juno unit pictured in figure five below is now ready to record and collect microclimate data in the field.

Figure 5: shows a Trimble Juno 3 handheld global positioning system (GPS) unit

 - Once the data has been collected out in the field connect the Juno into a USB port and navigate back to it's storage card. Once here copy the folder with the desired data and place it into the correct folder. Now using the ArcPad Data Manager Toolbar in ArcMap click on the Get Data from ArcPad tool to import the data from the Juno unit. 

The Kestrel Weather Meter

          As stated above the Kestrel weather meter was the piece of equipment used to measure the microclimate data. The Kestrel 3000, which is the model that I used, has the ability to measure a plethora of climate conditions including wind speed, air water and snow Temperature, and relative humidity. For a full read-up on the Kestrel 3000 click here. For my purposes the Kestrel had to be able to measure every field I added into my microclimate point feature class which were as follows: wind speed, wind direction, humidity, dew point, surface temperature, temperature at two meters, and wind chill. In order to take accurate measurements with the Kestrel make sure it has been acclimated to the elements (let it sit out in the weather it will be measuring), and don't allow the readings to be affected by external errors such as body heat. Reading the Kestrels measurements is quite easy, simply understand the weather symbols that tell the user what they are currently measuring. A Kestrel 3000 is pictured in figure six below. 

Figure 6: shows a Kestrel 3000 weather meter.

DISCUSSION

          After deploying the microclimate geodatabase onto the Juno and becoming familiar with the Kestrel, my partner and I actually collected and recorded some climate data from our area of interest. We only collected five points, but five was all that was necessary to see if there were any problems with our geodatabase and collection methods. Figure one above shows the AOI as well as the five test points we recorded. At this point my partner and I could have created some very small scale microclimate maps with the five data points we collected. Below in figure seven is one such map which shows the temperature range of the five data points.



Figure 7: shows a map of the five surface temperature points as well as an interpolated range of temperatures in between the recorded points. This was done using the IDW interpolation method on ArcMap. The IDW interpolation method is described in my field exercise two blog. Considering this map only contains five data points it is not very useful or accurate. 

CONCLUSION

          My partner and I had no problems deploying our geodatabase and microclimate point feature class onto the Trimble Juno 3 handheld GPS unit, however, we did encounter issues when transferring data from the Juno to the desktop. In my opinion there was really no rhyme or reason for the difficulty in transferring the data other than technology can act up sometimes. After rebooting the Juno and re-plugging it in to the desktop it successfully transferred the data.