9/22/2015

DEMBasedTerrainModeling

Editor'sNote:Thisarticledescribeshowtousesample
1:24,000scale7.5'digitalelevationmodel(DEM)data

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WhatisArcUser?

filestoperformtwodimensionalandthreedimensional
modelinginArcViewGISwiththeArcViewSpatialAnalyst
andArcView3DAnalystextensions.
UsingArcViewSpatialAnalyst,theauthortellshowto
outputagridthemethatcanbeusedtogeneratea
thematictwodimensionalmap,
computeanattractive

WhatYouWillNeed

hillshadedmap,andcreatea

ArcViewGIS3.1

contourlinetheme.Withthe

ArcView3DAnalyst1.0

ArcViewSpatialAnalyst1.1

contourlinetheme,a

60MBoffreeharddrivespace

triangulatedirregularnetwork

suggested.

PentiumclassPCwith64MBRAM

(TIN)modelcanbebuilt.
Next,usingArcView3DAnalysthegivesadditional
instructionsonhowtoproduce
athreedimensionalmodelbydrapingandmodelingtwo
dimensionaldataona3DScene.
Stepsforreducingthesizeoftheareamodeledby
clippingthecontourlinethemearedescribedinthe
accompanyingarticle,"MakingDataMoreManageable."
Thisarticleexplainshowtocreateacustomthemethat
canspeednavigationandimproverefreshrates.Evenif
thecomputerusedformodelingissufficientlyrobustto
renderalargemodel,workingwithasmallermodelwhile
learningthesetechniquesmightbeagoodidea.
VisittheTerrainModelingwithArcViewGISforadditional
resourcesformodelingwithArcViewGIS.
BackgroundandSourcesfor7.5'DEMData
USGS7.5'DEM,arasterdatasetcontainingelevation

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information,has10x10meterdataspacing.Afterconverting
thedata,itcanbeeasilyimportedintoArcViewGIS.Terrain
modelsconstructedfromelevationdatacanbeusedfora
varietyofpurposesincludinglineofsightforecasting,slope
andaspectdetermination,surfacerunoffpatternanalysis,and
drainagebasindelineation.DEMdataatthisscaleis
particularlyusefulbecauseeachdatasetprovidesthesame
largescalecoverageasastandardUSGS1:24,000scalequad
map.Detailsregardingavailablecoveragesandprocedures
fororderingDEMdatasetscanbeobtainedattheUSGSWeb
site.
ThisprojectusesaDEMfiledownloadedfromasourcethat
providesconverted7.5'DEMcoveragesofNewYorkStateat
nocost.AnotherarticleinthisissueofArcUsermagazine,
"ConvertingandUsingSDTSDigitalElevationModelData,"
describeshowtoprepareDEMdatadownloadedfromthe
USGSWebsiteusingafreeutility.Additionalinformationon
convertingandimportingDEMfilesisavailablefromthe
ArcViewGISOnLineDiscussionForumattheEsriWebsite
.

1)

DownloadingandConvertingDEMData
Locatinganddownloadingthesampledatasetisthefirststep
inthisproject.
1. CreateanewfoldernamedDEMWORKtohold
downloadeddatafiles.
2. VisittheCornellUniversity'sGeospatialInformation
Repository(CUGIR)todownloadprojectdatafiles.

Usethemap'sreferencegridto
locateandclickonquadS29
(Homer),thenorthwestquad
inCortlandCounty.

3. ThisbringsupapageshowingthezippedUSGSDEM
filesforthisquad.Selectanddownload29elu.Zand
S29hya.e00.ZtotheDEMWORKfolder.29elu.Zisa
UNIXcompressedUSGSASCIIfilethatis2,443KB.
S29hya.e00.Zisthehydrographyfileassociatedwith
thisquad.
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4. Afterclosingthebrowser,gotoMyComputerandopen
theDEMWORKfolder.Thisfoldershouldnowcontain
bothdownloadedfiles.Because29elu.ZisaUNIX
compressedfile,usetheWinZipdecompressionutility
withtheClassicoptiontoextractthefile.The
decompressedfileshouldbe9,225KB.Renameit
HOMER.dem.
5. Unzips29hya.e00.Z,thehydrographycoverage,and
renameits29hya.e00.UsetheIMPORT71utilitythat
comeswithArcViewGIStoformatthefilesoitcanbe
used.IMPORT71isastandaloneprogramthatconverts
anArcInfointerchangefilecreatedonanyother
operatingsystemintoanArcInfoVersion7.xcoverage
orgrid.IMPORT71appearsasaprogramiteminthe
ArcViewGISprogramgroup.Ifitisnotintheprogram
group,itshouldbefoundwiththeArcViewGIS
programsinthebin32subdirectory.TorunIMPORT71,
doubleclicktheIMPORT71programitemintheArcView
GISprogramgrouptodisplaythedialogbox.

CreateaThematicMapinTwoDimensions
Thedownloadedandprepareddatacannowbeusedfortwo
dimensionalmodeling.
1. StartArcViewGIS,loadArcViewSpatialAnalyst,create
anewproject,andopenaview.
2. ChooseImportDataSourcefromtheFilemenu.If
ImportDataSourceisnotavailablefromtheFilemenu,
loadtheArcViewSpatialAnalystextension.Select
USGSDEMasthefiletypeandclickonOK.
3. HOMER.demshouldappearinthelistofImportUSGS
DEMfiles.SelectitandclickonOK.
4. TheOutputGridboxappearswiththedefaultgridname
imgrd1(ifthisisthefirstoutputgridgeneratedinthis
session).RenametheoutputgridHOMERS29.Allowthe
filetobeplacedintheTempdirectoryandclickOK.Be
patientwhileArcViewGIScalculatesthenewgrid.
5. WhentheImportDataSourceHOMERS29boxappears,
clickYestoaddthenewthemetotheview.Nowsave
theprojectwiththenameHOMERDEMbychoosingFile,
thenSaveProjectAs.

MaximizetheviewandmaketheHOMERS29themeactive
andvisible.UsetheOpenThemeTablebuttontoopenand
examinethefilestructure.SelectthecolumntitledValueand
clickontheSortAscendingbutton.Theelevationvaluesin
thiscolumnshouldrangebetween329and587meters.
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MaketheHOMERS29themeactiveanddoubleclickitslegend
toopentheLegendEditor.SelectGraduatedColorasthe
LegendTypeandchooseValueastheClassificationField.
ClicktheClassifybutton,setthenumberofclassesto10,and
clickOK.TypeintheelevationrangesintheValuecolumnof
theLegendEditor,beginningwith320350.Eachrangeshould
span30meters.Thelastrangeshouldbe590620.Thereare
severalwaystoenhancetheHOMERS29themetobetter
visualizethedata.Ahillshadethemeandacontourmapcan
becreated,andfinally,thehydrographycoveragecanbe
addedtotheview.

2)

CreatingaHillshade
ChooseComputeHillshade
fromtheSufacemenu.Inthe
ComputeHillshadedialogbox,
settheAzimuthat95and
leavetheAltitudeatthe
defaultvalue,clickOK,and
waitwhiletheHillshadeof
HOMERS29themeiscreated.
Makeittheonlyactivetheme
anddisplayit.

3)

GenerateaContourLine
Theme
Thegridthemeusedtocreate

Thegridthemecanbeusedtocreate
bothhillshadeandcontoursthemes.
Boththemesareshownhere.

thehillshadethemecanalso
beusedtocreateacontourlinetheme.
1. MakeHOMERS29theactivethemeandchooseCreate
ContoursfromtheSurfacemenu.
2. IntheContourParametersdialogbox,settheContour
Intervalto10,leavetheBaseContoursetto0,and
clickOK.DisplaytheContoursofHOMERS29theme.
3. Addthehydrographycoverage,29hya,asathemein
theviewanddisplayit.Savetheprojectagain.
Nowexaminethemodel.Notetheroundedhillsandpartially
filledvalleys.Thisisaglaciallysculpturedlandscape.During
thelastIceAge,valleysinthisareawerefilledwithglaciers
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morethan300metersdeep.Attheendofthisperiod,
outwashconditionscreatedanabundanceofsandandgravel
deposits.
ThequadnortheastoftheHomerquad,theTullyquad,maps
anareathatincludestheTullyterminalmoraine.Drainage
fromtheareamappedbytheHomerquadflowstothesouth,
eventuallyjoiningtheSusquehannaRiver.TheFingerLakes
arelocatedwestofthisarea.Thesouthernendsofthese
lakesareblockedbysubstantialmoraines,anddrainagefrom
theselakesflowsnorthwardtoLakeOntario.

4)

CreatingaTopographyTIN
TheContoursofHOMERS29themecreatedintheprevious
procedurecannowbeusedtobuildaTIN.
1. MaketheContoursofHOMERS29themeactive,choose
CreateTINfromFeaturesfromtheSurfacemenu.Make
sureArcView3DAnalystisloaded.
2. IntheCreateNewTINdialogbox,setHeightSourceto
Contour,InputAstoMassPoints,leaveValuesetto
<none>,andclickOK.AdditionalinformationonTIN
creationoptionsisavailablebyclickingontheHelp
buttoninthedialogbox.
3. TheOutputTINNamedialogboxopens.Namethenew
themeHOMERTIN,allowittobesavedtotheTemp
directory,andclickOK.Theprogressbaratthebottom
oftheviewshowstherateofTINcreation.Bevery
patient.WhentheTINiscomplete,itslegendwill
appearintheview.
4. ModifytheappearanceoftheTINbydoubleclickingon
thelegendfortheTINthemetoinvoketheTINLegend
Editor.
5. IntheTINLegend
Editor,clicktheEdit
buttonintheFaces
sectiontoeditthe
elevationrange.Use
theClassifybuttonto
changethenumberof
classesto10,andset
therangesat30meter
intervalstomatch
HOMERS29.

UseTerrainElevation#1forthecolor
ramp.RemembertoclickonApply

6. TurnofftheContoursof beforeclosingeachLegendEditor
window.
HOMERS29theme.
MaketheHOMERTIN
themeactiveandturniton.Triangulatedpolygonswill
slowlybuildintheview.
ModelingTwoDimensionalDataina3DScene
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TheTINjustconstructedcanbeusedinArcView3DAnalystto
createa3DScene.
1. MakesureArcView3DAnalystisloadedandmakethe
projectwindowactive.
2. Clickonthe3DScenesicon,locatedatthebottomof
theprojectwindowbelowScripts,thenclicktheNew
button.Twowindowsopenthe3DSceneViewer
windowandthe3DLegendwindow.Neitherwindowcan
beminimized,butbothcanberesizedandmoved.Size
andpositionbothwindowssothatthetwodimensional
viewwiththeTINthemeisaccessible.
3. Fromthe3DScenemenuchoosePropertiestoopenthe
3DScenePropertieswindow.SetMapUnitstometers,
VerticalExaggerationto3,andtheBackgroundColorto
lightblue.SetSunAzimuthto95andSunAltitudeto
45.ClickonOK.
4. Makethetwodimensionalviewactiveandmake
HOMERTINtheonlyactivetheme.Turnitoff.Choose
Edit,thenCopyThemes.Makethe3DSceneViewerthe
activewindow,andchoosePastefromtheEditmenu.
5. Usethesameproceduretocopythehydrographytheme
tothe3DSceneViewer.Toconvertthehydrography
themetoa3Dshapefile,makeitactiveandselect
Convertto3DShapefilefromtheThememenu.Inthe
firstdialogboxselectSurfaceforGetZValuesFrom,
andintheseconddialogboxuseHOMERTINforChoose
ThemetoUseasSurface.Namethenewtheme
s29hyd3Dandaddittotheview.Choose3DProperties
fromtheThememenutosettheOffsetHeightsoption
to5.
6. Beforestartingthe3Drenderingprocess,setthetheme
drawingprioritiestoasimplerhydrographyscenewhen
navigating.Makethehydrographythemeactive,choose
Theme,then3DPropertiestoinvokethe3DProperties
dialogbox.ClicktheAdvancedbuttontobringupthe
Advanced3DPropertiesdialogbox.Uncheckthesecond
boxnexttoDrawThemeWhenNotInteracting.Exit
bothdialogboxesbyclickingOK.
7. BecausetheHomer3DSceneismoredetailed,usethe
oppositeAdvancedsettingforit.MakeHomer3Dthe
activetheme,chooseTheme,then3DProperties,click
ontheAdvancedbutton,checktheDrawThemeWhen
NotInteractingbox,andunchecktheDrawThemeWhen
Interactingbox.
8. Makeboththemesactiveandstartthethree
dimensionalrenderingprocessbyturningonthe
hydrographytheme.Whenitisdisplayed,turnonthe
HOMERTINtheme.Theprocesswilltakeseveral
minutes.Bepatient.Afteradmiringthismodel,turnthe
3Dthemesoffandsavetheproject.

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Summary
Thesestepsshowhowtoproduceveryattractive
andhighlydetailedthree
dimensionalterrainmodels
withminimumeffort.The
USGS7.5'DEMdatafilesused
inthistutorial,availablefrom
theCornellUniversityWeb
site,provideagoodstart
workingwithDEMdatafor
Aportionofthemodelrenderedin
ArcView3DAnalyst

twoandthreedimensional
modelingsincetheyarefree,

donothavetobemassagedwithaconversionutility,andcan
beloadeddirectlyintoArcViewGISwithArcViewSpatial
AnalystorArcView3DAnalyst.

Forfurtherinformationcontact
Dr.DavidMiller
GeographyDepartmentGISLab
SUNYCollegeatCortland
P.O.Box2000
Cortland,NY13045
Tel.:6077532996
Email:Millerd@snycorva.cortland.edu

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