“ArcGIS | Main” ​Arcgis.com​, ​www.arcgis.com/features/index.html​. Web. 25 Oct.

2017

ArcGIS is the tool that I am currently using to model ocean current and wind data
globally. Because this website is dedicated entirely to the ArcGIS software, they do have
some documentation pertaining to the special features not available on other GIS
softwares. However, the main benefit of this website is ArcGIS online, which allows for
access to various examples of data plotted from servers. Because I myself do not have an
ArcGIS account, I need to use my Mentor’s login information in order to use the software
and gain access to the services available from ArcGIS online. Because of this, if I ever
want to use ArcGIS’s online services whenever my mentor is not nearby, I unfortunately
cannot. When I am able to logon to the ArcGIS servers, however, there is a wealth of
information. I am able to find examples of maps people made using ArcGIS and directly
import them into my own projects. As a result, I am able to figure out how certain things
were done, such as accessing data from servers and plotting it as a layer of vectors all
across the oceans,
So far, I have used the ArcGIS website for multiple services, and I anticipate
needing those services in the future. In particular, their portal service allows for easy
access to data from servers, which comes very much in handy when I need to plot data
from HYCOM, OSCAR, or any of my other sources of raw data. There are ways to get
data from servers using other methods, but I wasn’t able to do so after experimenting for
a little bit. That was, until I found an example of someone using it to plot vectors for
ocean surface currents using HYCOM servers. This was almost exactly what I wanted to
do, so by following their example, I as able to accomplish the task myself.

Cole, John R, and Amy J Lapin. “Interview of Amy Lapin.” 9 Nov. 2017.

Mrs. Lapin was the one who gave me my interview for the ASPIRE internship in
the summer. As I was away at the Philmont Scout Ranch when she originally wanted to
schedule the interview, my mother corresponded with her to schedule the meeting for the
following week. Her idea of a project for me involved changing an android application
developed by another intern to be able to put the data entered into the app in a good
format so that it could be easily understood by those who wanted to use the data. At the
time, however, I did not have any experience with developing Android applications, and I
found the project Mr. McGarity had for me interesting, so I was assigned to him instead.
However, she told me that I could always come to her for questions I had with regards to
my project.
 Mrs. Lapin has been a very good source of guidance and information for me
during my time at APL. Because she was the one that gave most of my interview to me,
she understands my strengths and weaknesses, and so is able to give me valuable
guidance if I have a problem and my mentor is unavailable at the time. On Thursdays, my
mentor is at the Johns Hopkins University, so whenever I have questions, I come to her.
On November 9th, I asked her questions about what resources she would recommend
using for research, and she suggested that asking other interns what methods they used
for their research would be a good idea. Since I was moved into a room with other
interns, I believe that I will be able to do this more frequently.

Esri: GIS Mapping Software, Spatial Data Analytics & Location Platform​,
www.esri.com/en-us/home​. Web. 25 Oct. 2017

ESRI is the Environmental Systems Research institute, and it is ​an international

supplier of geographic information system (GIS) software, web GIS and geodatabase
management applications. Their line of GIS software is called ArcGIS. ArcGIS is a tool
that I have already become familiar with in the development of my project. In particular,
I have used ArcMap, ArcGIS Desktop, and ArcGIS Pro. On its website, ESRI has much
documentation with regards to using these products. In addition, user with an account can
gain post maps that utilize a specific feature or accomplish a specific purpose. For
example, one such application involves plotting ocean surface currents using vectors
sourced from HYCOM.
ESRI may prove to be a valuable source in the development of my project, as one
of my eventual goals is to have my project up and running in ArcGIS Pro or ArcMap.
Being the company that created those software products, their website contains lots of
documentation on the special features separating products like ArcGIS Pro from other
GIS software. I have already read some of their documentation pertaining to modeling
raster layers, receiving data from web servers, and creating vector layers from tables of
data. However, as I start coding my web tool, I will probably start using ArcGIS less and
less in favor of Python and Matlab documentation. Given that one of the specific
examples of using ArcGIS involves plotting data on ocean surface sourced from
HYCOM, it has been a valuable resource with regards to getting me started with plotting
real life data onto my maps. It is very likely that I will continue to use this website as a
valuable source of information in the future.
“HYCOM.” ​HYCOM​, hycom.org/ Web. 25 Oct. 2017

HYCOM refers to the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model. It is a multi institutional

effort sponsored by the National Ocean Partnership Program as a part of the U.S. Global
Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment. It combines the ocean modelling techniques of
isopycnal coordinates and terrain following coordinates to model an accurate
representation of the ocean, whether the ocean at some point is shallow (requiring terrain
coordinates) or deep (requiring isopycnal coordinates). The ocean prediction system of
HYCOM runs daily at the Navy DoD Supercomputing Resource Center, and provides
near real-time data accessible to the public by means of a THREDDS server, and
OPeNDAP server, or an FTP server. It has been in existence since 2013, when it replaced
the Naval Oceanographic Office Global Navy Coastal Ocean Model. Due to it being
relatively new compared to other government data collection projects, many examples of
it being used by recent GIS softwares are online. One such example is an official one
done by ESRI that plots vectors of surface ocean currents onto a map of the world, which
I have already used for my project.
I anticipate that this organization will be a very valuable resource for me in
creating my project. So far, I have used it to model the strength and direction of ocean
currents using a vector layer in ArcMap. Because the data is updated regularly, I get
accurate data that does a good job of representing the current time. In addition to the web
servers that supply data, HYCOM also offers access to multiple web tools that represent
the data is a variety of formats, so those could be good to eventually model my own web
tool off of. Also, HYCOM is widely used across the GIS world, so there is lots of
documentation for maps in ArcGIS that utilize data from HYCOM, so if I run into any
problems, I will be able to research the problem. In addition to using it as a source for my
ocean surface current plots, I have also been figuring out how to use it a potential source
for wind data, although there are other sources for wind data online, so I may not use it
for that. Nevertheless, it has been extremely helpful thus far and will, in all likelihood,
continue to be a valuable source of information. By connecting the ESRI example of
using HYCOM data to my own map on ArcGIS, I was able to plot all of the ocean
current vectors onto my map. I plan to use the data even further when I eventually use it
to develop my tool. Then, I will use the vectors from the HYCOM data in conjunction
with other factors such as wind speed to determine the paths of least resistance for a ship
travelling a given route, in order to find the path that will maximize fuel efficiency while
also being a short route. All in all, the HYCOM data servers, as well as its website, will
continue to be a valuable source for me in the future.
Law, Michael, and Amy Collins. Getting to know ArcGIS pro. Esri Press, 2016.

ArcGIS Pro is a software program developed by ESRI to allow GIS users to

accomplish more than they ever could before. This includes being able to map 3D scenes
instead of 2D maps, as well as analyze the meaning of data imported into a user’s
projects. ​Getting to know ArcGIS Pro​ is a book designed to teach users of the software
how to use it to its full potential, providing the reader with many exercises
That reinforce the knowledge they have just learned so that they may apply it to their
own projects. It begins with the assumption that the reader is completely new to the
software, but covers advanced topics such as analyzing raster data and using scripts in the
later parts of the book. It is one of several books from the ESRI published ​Getting to
Know​ series that I am reading to familiarize myself with the tools I will need to
accomplish my project.
As someone completely new to using GIS software of any kind, this book is
something of a breathe of fresh air. It covers the basics of using the software and does not
assume that the reader knows how to perform a specific task unless that task was taught
earlier in the book. I have become much more knowledgeable regarding ArcGIS as a
result of reading this book, but I know that I am far from experienced. I have yet to do the
most difficult tasks I will have to do in ArcGIS, so I will almost certainly be coming back
to this book in the future. Interestingly enough, there are multiple copies of this book at
APL, but one of them was on an outdated version of ArcGIS, so a new one was ordered.
However, there are still some discrepancies between the version of ArcGIS presented in
the book and the version of ArcGIS that I actually have. The differences are minimal, so I
will be able to continue using this book as a resource, but it is something to be cautious of
in the future.

“MathWorks - Makers of MATLAB and Simulink.” ​MathWorks - Makers of MATLAB

and Simulink​, www.mathworks.com/.

Mathworks is the company behind the creation of Matlab, a programming

language that I will be using to develop my project, a web tool that will be able to
calculate the most fuel efficient route for a ship to take from point A to point B. Matlab is
centered around modeling data using multidimensional arrays such as matrices. Because
Johns Hopkins University already downloaded Matlab onto the laptop that I use for work,
I already have access to the software. Matlab is not a programming language in the way
that the term is normally used, because it is centered around mathematical operations. As
a result, performing a complex mathematical operation is much simpler relative to other
programming languages, but the syntax also becomes difficult to understand for anyone
not already very familiar with the mathematical operations in question.
Mathworks provides a lot of documentation on using Matlab, which is good
because while I have seen it used before in professional and college settings, I have yet to
use it myself. Using Matlab in conjunction with developing my project will be very
useful for me, as the data I will be working with is based upon a coordinate system,
which Matlab is specifically designed to model. As of yet, I am unsure how to do this, but
using the documentation provided by Mathworks as a starting point, I am sure that I will
eventually find out how. Also, the Mathworks website contains many tutorials that detail
how to get started with using the programming language as well as how to perform more
advanced functions, so I will be able to get lots of help from those. Eventually, I’d like to
find a guide on how to import data from an external source such as HYCOM into Matlab.
Hopefully, that will be soon.

McGarity, Micajah. Personal interview. 30 Sept. 2017

Mike McGarity is my mentor at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics

Laboratory. In 2009, he graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with his
Bachelor’s in Industrial and Systems Engineering. Following his graduation, he began
attending Johns Hopkins University, where he obtained his masters in Computer Science
once he graduated. He decided to keep living in the area, and so he came to begin
working at APL. He assigned me my project of using online databases to develop a
system for efficiently routing ships because he thinks that it would be a useful tool for
APL to have, considering that shipping companies pay for this kind of software.
However, he knows that the development of an entire web tool that is capable of using
ocean currents, winds, and other information to calculate a more efficient ship route is an
extremely large task, so the progress I make could be passed onto the next intern if I
don’t end up finishing the entire project.
So far, Mike has helped me out so much on developing a working model for my
web tool. He has taught me much about using mapping software, has given me a great
array of sources to seek guidance from, and gives me enough independence as to make
sure that I learn just as much from my own experiences as I learn from him as a mentor.
He is a very intelligent man, and I am sure that he will continue to be a valued source of
both information and guidance for me in the future. In addition to guiding me through
processes I have never done before, such as getting data from HYCOM servers into GIS
software, he also provides me with most of the books I have been using to learn GIS
software, and if he doesn’t have a book on a particular software, he buys it. Though I am
trying to learn mainly through my experiences at APL, I know that he will continue to be
a valuable source of guidance for me in the future.

Mearns, Ben, et al. QGIS Becoming a GIS Power User. Packt Publishing, 2013.

QGIS was the first GIS that I came to know. It is a free, open-source Global
Information System. It doesn’t have as many features as ArcGIS, but it is useful when
you’re just beginning your tenure with GISs. ​Becoming a GIS Power User ​is a book
designed to take a reader with some experience with QGIS and make them a
fully-fledged master of it. There are some aspects of QGIS the reader is expected to be
already familiar with, but these skills are relatively basic. Some topics covered in the
book are manipulating raster data, presenting maps, using the geoprocessing tools, and
making a legend and key for maps.
Because this book already expects a certain level of experience with QGIS, I am
unable to take full advantage of the knowledge the book has to offer. However, there are
still useful things I was able to learn from it, such as how to plot raster data.
Unfortunately, I do not plan on using QGIS for too much longer, so I doubt that this book
will continue to be a valuable source of information for me unless my mentor decides that
he wants my project to be done in QGIS as well. I may still use QGIS if I need to figure
out how to do something basic and the tools in ArcGIS Pro or ArcMap are too much. In
that case, having this book around may turn out to be helpful after all.

“MIT Libraries.” ​MIT Libraries​, libraries.mit.edu/. Web. 25 Oct. 2017

MIT is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is a private research

university often ranked as one of the world’s best colleges. Because MIT is a university
dedicated to research, they have a lot of information available in their online libraries.
Some of it is even available to non-students, though not all of it. Documents that they
have available to the public include guides on how to import CSV files into ArcGIS, as
well as several articles involving accessing data from WPS servers and putting those into
applications using ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro, tow variants of ArcGIS that I am currently
using.
 So far, I have used some resources from the MIT libraries for some documentation
referring to plotting X-Y events as a layer in ArcGIS, but I do not anticipate using it as a
resource very much. Most of the resources on the website are only available if you are an
MIT student, and even if I was able to obtain online access somehow, there is the matter
of many books only being available from the physical libraries.

“NASA.” ​NASA​, NASA, www.nasa.gov/. Web. Oct. 25 2017

NASA is the National Aeronautics Space Administration. It is an independent

agency under the executive branch of the federal government, and has been responsible
for the civilian space program, as well as Aerospace research and Aeronautics research.
As an agency under the federal government, NASA is directly connected to some of the
other government agencies that I have used as a source, such as NOAA.
I do not anticipate using NASA very much as a source in developing my project,
as most of their research pertains to aerospace and aeronautics, while I am more focused
on research pertaining to web tool development, oceanography, and meteorology.
However, because they are responsible for the space program, they do have some data
pertaining to global atmospheric conditions, so I may be using their website to get access
to that.

“National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.” ​National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration​, ​www.noaa.gov/​. Web. 3 Oct. 2017

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a government agency

within the U.S. Department of Commerce that dedicates itself to obtaining data related to
the ocean and atmosphere. Using this data, they are able to accurately predict weather
patterns. Contained within NOAA’s data is OSCAR (Ocean Surface Current Analysis
Real-Time). Which provides real-time data on ocean surface currents all over the world.
NOAA has several specific goals: it acts as a supplier of environmental information
products, it provides environmental stewardship services, and it is a leader in applied
scientific research. In addition to filling these roles for the U.S. Government and its
customers, NOAA has five additional “fundamental activities”. These include monitoring
and observing Earth systems with instruments and data collection networks,
understanding and describing Earth systems through research and analysis of that data,
assessing and predicting the changes of these systems over time, engaging, advising, and
informing the public and partner organizations with important information, and
Managing resources for the betterment of society, economy and environment. With an
estimated budget of 5.6 billion US$, it is one of the largest oceanic research organizations
in the world.
NOAA, and OSCAR in particular, is going to be a very valuable source for
information relating to my project. Not only do they make public data that will be
essential to creating a web tool utilizing current and wind information, but they also have
web tools of their own which I can base mine off of. Because it contains data that is vital
to my project, I anticipate using NOAA as a source quite often. NOAA runs many
projects that make its data available to the public, such as NCOM, the Navy Coastal
Ocean Model. However, that example in particular may be a bad one, because it was
replaced by HYCOM in 2013, although the data from it is still there for use and analysis.
A large part of my project has been researching how to integrate data from resources such
as NOAA into the GIS software on my laptop. Thankfully, NOAA itself has some
documentation detailing how to use its servers, either through OpenDAP or through other
means. NOAA will definitely be of help when it comes to getting wind speed data. Not
many other sources offer much information in terms of wind speed data from oceans and
other bodies of water all of the world. NOAA does have some win data, although if it
turns out to be insufficient for how I hope my project to develop, then I am sure that I
will be able to find another source. For now, however, NOAA has been a very valuable
source and I believe that it will continue to be a valuable source of data for me in the
future.

“National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Home Page | NREL.” ​National

Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Home Page | NREL​, ​www.nrel.gov/​. Web.
25 Oct. 2017

NREL is the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Their mission is to research

efficient ways to harness the energy of renewable resources such as wind and sunlight so
as to solve the energy problems of the nation and the world. Because much of their
research involves atmospheric conditions such as wind, they have some data publicly
available pertaining to it.
Because the research I will be conducting involves trying to find the most fuel
efficient paths for watercraft, the NREL will be useful to some extent. However, as their
main mission is the development of energy systems, I do not anticipate using them as a
source very much. While HYCOM provides me with a reliable source of information
pertaining to ocean currents, NREL has some data pertaining to meteorological
conditions such as wind, but not much.

Ormsby, Tim. ​Getting to know ArcGIS desktop:​ESRI Press, 2010.

Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop​ by Tim Ormsby is a book meant to educate its
readers on how to begin using the ArcGIS software for desktop. It highlights many of the
available features that separate it from other versions of GIS, but also provides basic
information about GIS to those who are only just beginning to use it. Many of the
examples presented within the book involve applications that utilize real life data. Unlike
the other books in the ​Getting to Know​ series, this one doesn’t presume that the reader is
an experienced GIS user to begin with, and provides detailed step-by-step information
regarding doing basic things within ArcGIS, such as importing data from WPS servers
and Excel spreadsheets, both things I have had to do in the course of my project. The
examples that the book uses to provide applications for the features in ArcGIS use data
that is available on their portal, so I can follow along if I wish.
My mentor recently gave me this book so that I could begin testing a model of my
web tool that I built using Microsoft Excel. He got me started, but he knew that I could
not ask him to do everything for me, so he provided me with this book. So far, it has been
a great resource for me to get started. I have never used any version of GIS before
starting my project, but it is a great tool that can be effectively used for modeling data
and making conclusions based off of that data. The book itself has been useful for
learning the basics of GIS and ArcGIS such as creating maps and plotting data using
layers, but I will be using both ArcGIS desktop and ArcGIS Pro, and the differences
between the two can be clearly seen. In addition, the version of ArcGIS presented within
the book is from 2010, whereas I am using the most recent version, so the more recent
features are devoid of any acknowledgement. In addition, while it has been useful for
covering the basics of ArcGIS, it does not have too much information on the specific
variant of ArcGIS I am using, ArcGIS Pro. Also, it does not delve too deep into Python
scripting in ArcGIS. However, I have books pertaining to both of these subjects, so I still
have sources of information.
Smith, Stephen M., et al. "Hypsometry of Cape Cod Salt Marshes (Massachusetts,
U.S.A.) and predictions of marsh Vegetation responses to sea-level rise." Journal
of Coastal Research, vol. 33, no. 3, 2017, p. 537+. Science in Context,
link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495577766/SCIC?u=elli29753&xid=7cabf600.
Accessed 11 Nov. 2017.

This article from the Journal of Coastal Research details a study on how the
structure and functioning of salt marsh ecosystems are being impacted by sea-level rise.
Digital elevation models were constructed as a part of this experiment. By using a
comprehensive real-time kinematic global positioning system, several conclusions were
made from the data gathered at four salt marshes at Cape Cod National Seashore. One
was that CCNS marshes sit low within their tidal frames, another was that high marsh
areas will be most affected with sea-level rise, with 90-100% losses under both 50 cm
and 100 cm sea-level rise scenarios, and finally, total marsh losses of up to 30% could
ensue with 100 cm of sea-level rise.
While salt marsh ecosystems are not particularly relevant to my project, this article
was helpful to me in several ways. First off, it gave me an idea of how tools such as
ArcGIS are used for data extrapolation in the real world outside of APL. Because I am
now aware of what others use GIS programs for, I can have a better idea of what I want
the end goal of my product to be. While that was the primary assistance that reading this
article gave me, it was also interesting to see how sea rise could have such a devastating
effect on coastal ecosystems.

“Welcome to Python.Org.” ​Python.org​, www.python.org/. Web. 25 Oct. 2017

Python is an open-source high-level programming language created by Guido van

Rossum and first released in 1991. It has a very large and comprehensive library, and has
been used by more and more companies as their language of choice to develop programs.
Because it has such a large user base, a lot of documentation and many examples of
programs utilizing features are available on the website. Python is a very powerful
language because it can be used for both scripting and programming. Its popularity as a
scripting language is clear because many GIS programs, including ArcGIS, use it as a
means of providing the user with a greater sense of control over the maps. The Python
website has lots of useful information with regards to the basic syntax and creating files
and the like using Python, but I have better sources when it comes to the specific
information I need for my information, namely using Python as a scripting language in
conjunction with ArcGIS.
I will need to use Python to develop my web tool. In ArcGIS, a Python console is
already built in, so if I am able to script my web tool in the form of a Python Program,
then I will be able to integrate it into my ArcGIS map very easily. Although I have some
experience with Python, I will need to learn much more before I am able to develop an
entire web tool with it. As a result, the documentation available on the website will be a
valuable resource for me. While I have had some experience with using Python outside of
school, namely just learning it for fun, this will be the first time that I use it to actually
develop something useful. Additionally, I will need to learn not only its basic syntax,but
also how to utilize it as a scripting language and a tool for manipulating geographic data,
as in ArcGIS.

“Safari, the world's most comprehensive tech & business learning platform.” ​Safari​,
safaribooksonline.com/. Web. 17 Oct. 2017

Safari Books Online is a digital library featuring many books on all facets of
technology, including software development, electrical engineering, and hardware
configuration. Normally, being able to access the information contained within it would
require me to pay for a subscription, but because Johns Hopkins University as a whole
has a subscription to it, I am able to access it for free. I was able to create a personal
account for it on the Johns Hopkins University Network, so I am able to continue reading
up on Python, Matlab, ArcGIS after I leave APL, so I can concentrate my time there on
doing things that I would not be able to do unless I was connected to the Applied Physics
Laboratory network, such as working on the ArcGIS Pro maps that I have on my laptop.
Its wide range of books guarantee its spot as one of my more valuable resources.
So far, I have not used information from any of the books contained within Safari,
but as the development of my project requires skills that I have not yet attained, such as
Python scripting and modeling data using Matlab, I will anticipate needing it in the
future. The database contains hundreds of books relating to very specialized aspects of
software development, so finding something to help me with learning programming
languages such as Python or Matlab should be a cinch. However, while it is extremely
useful to have such a large source of guidance on programming languages, it is somewhat
limited with regards to how to use GIS software such as ArcGIS. Thankfully, I have
several physical books at my disposal when I run into a problem with problems specific
to ArcGIS, so I will be fine.
“The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.” ​The Johns Hopkins
University Applied Physics Laboratory​, ​www.jhuapl.edu/​. Web. 3 Oct. 2017

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is a research facility

where I work as an intern in the Force Projection Sector. It is also the workplace of my
mentor, Micajah McGarity, a computer scientist. Since it was founded during World War
II, APL has been dedicated to inventing technologies that push human advancement.
Much of the work they are contracted to do comes from the government, specifically the
Navy. As a result of this, the project I have been assigned to undertake has to do with
aquatic navigation. On their website, APL has information relating to their mission areas,
which including Air and Missile Defense, Civil Space, Cyber Operations, Homeland
Protection, National Health, National Security Analysis, National Security Space,
Precision Strike, Research and Exploratory Development, Sea Control, Special
Operations, and Strategic Deterrence. They also have information on new and
publications relating to discoveries or inventions at APL.
While I do not anticipate the APL website having much information pertaining to
my project specifically, I can gather information on other tasks being performed at APL
to give me an idea as to what the end result of my project should look like. I am currently
working on a web tool that will automatically find the most fuel efficient route for
unmanned ships to take from point A to point B, taking into account the shape of the
Earth, currents, winds, and storms. The APL website does not have much data pertaining
to the ocean on their public website, so for that reason, I do not plan on using this as a
source very often. However, because the website has information relating to ongoing
projects at APL, it may be a useful reference for me if I ever want to compare what I am
doing to the other happenings at APL. Also, the mission statement pages offer
information as to what the goal of each division of APL is. My project is most closely
related to the Sea Control mission area, and the current research topics include advanced
algorithms, so if and when I need help with algorithms, the website will become a good
resource.
Veness, www.movable-type.co.uk Chris. “Movable Type Scripts.” ​Calculate distance
and
bearing between two Latitude/Longitude points using haversine formula in
JavaScript​, ​www.movable-type.co.uk/scripts/latlong.html​.

Movable Type is a website from the United Kingdom dedicated to providing

developers with a great array of programs and scripts for multiple programming
languages. Such scripts include ones that can calculate the distance in between two points
on the globe along a great circle path, as well as calculating the bearing needed to get
from one point to another. Further, the site includes a lot of examples where people post
their problems with code and those who have potential solutions to the problems will
share them. I have used their documentation a lot to solve any problems I run into with
Microsoft Excel, such as creating a macro for one of their tools. While they do have
limited information regarding GIS software such as ArcGIS and QGIS, there are better
sources for that kind of information. They also have good information with regards to
using Javascript, because they put most of their scripts into that language as well as into
Excel syntax.
Of all of the scripts available from movable type, I have only used the ones
pertaining to calculating latitude and longitude, but it has been a great resource. The
formulas used in their scripts involve a lot of trigonometry that I could do on my own, but
some of them require the use of functions that I was previously unfamiliar with, such as
an arctangent function that uses two parameters instead of one to obtain a more precise
result. As I have already made use of their scripts in the development of my project, I am
uncertain as to whether it will continue to be a valuable source for me in the future, but so
far, it has been great. It has given me helpful guidance when I endeavored to do things
such as create custom tools using macros in Microsoft Excel. If I end up continuing to
use their scripts in the later stages of my project, then I will be sure to credit them further.

Walther, Laura, et al. “Modeling and Optimization Algorithms in Ship Weather

Routing.”
International Journal of e-Navigation and Maritime Economy, vol. 4, 2016, pp.
31–45., doi:10.1016/j.enavi.2016.06.004.

This article analyzes multiple approaches to modeling the problem of finding the
most energy efficient, safest, and fastest route for a ship to take, as well as giving an
analysis of the multiple ways in which this problem can be solved, highlighting the
circumstances each would likely be used under, and which circumstances should be
avoided by users of that solution. The weather routing problem can be described as either
a single-objective or multi-objective optimization problem. It can be modelled as a
constrained graph problem, a constrained nonlinear optimization problem or as a
combination of both. Depending on which objective(s) you are trying to fulfill, you can
select among a variety of approaches, ranging from dynamic programming to Dijkstra's
algorithm. While a solution utilizing Dijkstra’s algorithm would be able to find the
shortest path between two points, that does not mean that it is the most fuel efficient one.
As for dynamic programming, it would be able to find the most fuel efficient route, but
would be subject to a very large number of control variables.
My project is very relevant to the topics discussed in this article, as it revolves
around finding the most efficient route for a ship to go from point A to point B. It gives
me insight as to the great variety of ways that I could approach this optimization problem.
Do I want speed, efficiency, or safety? Depending on my answer, I would want to use
different methods of calculating the optimal route. One possible solution would find me
the objectively shortest route while sacrificing smoothness. Another would give me fuel
efficiency but would take longer to calculate and may not necessarily be the fastest route.
The possibilities are endless, and choosing any one option in particular would be a hard
decision for me to make. Overall, this is a very thought provoking article, I believe that it
will be a valuable resource for me to look over, especially in the later stages of my
project.

Zandbergen, Paul A. Python scripting for ArcGIS. Esri Press, 2015.

Python scripting for ArcGIS​ is a book designed to help experienced ArcGIS users
write scripts to automate tasks that they have to perform frequently. It briefly goes
through the various tools that are available to ArcGIS users, but the bulk of the writing is
focused on using Python as a scripting language in conjunction with ArcGIS, and ArcPy,
which is a Python library built by ESRI especially for ArcGIS scripting with Python.
Within its contents is information describing what kind of language Python is, basic
Python syntax, Geoprocessing using Python, describing spatial data using Python,
creating custom tools in Python, working with geometries, working with rasters, sharing
tools, and debugging. It does not concern itself very much with programming in Python,
but rather focuses on Python as a scripting language capable of being executed line by
line. In addition to the information contained within the book, there are also many
exercises designed to give readers a chance to apply their new knowledge to situations in
ArcGIS, as well as a CD designed to supplement the text.
This book was only very recently shipped to the Applied Physics Laboratory, but
so far, it has been invaluable in getting me started with Python. Before beginning this
internship, I did have some experience with Python, so I wasn’t completely lost when I
had to begin scripting with it, but this book has been a great guide nevertheless. One
drawback that prevents me from taking full advantage of it, however, is its assumption
that the reader is an experienced ArcGIS user well practiced in the Geoprocessing tasks
Python scripting is meant to automate. As a novice user, I find myself frequently having
to consult other books before I can move on with the scripting task I want to accomplish.
That does not diminish the value of the book, however. I still consider it to be a valuable
source of information, and have taken it home so that I am better prepared to continue
working on my project when I return to APL.

Zhang, Qiang, et al. “Design of Course-Keeping Controller for a Ship Based on

Backstepping and Neural Networks.” International Journal of e-Navigation and
Maritime Economy, vol. 7, 2017, pp. 34–41., doi:10.1016/j.enavi.2017.06.004.

This article from the International Journal of e-Navigation and Maritime Economy
is focused on how neural networks can be used to design a controller that corrects ships
that stray off course. It accomplishes this by using recent advancements in adaptive
control theory, as well as the backstepping method. The adaptive law is designed to
estimate the unknown time-varying environmental disturbance. Because neural networks
learn from each iteration of a scenario, combining it with the backstepping method would
likely result in a very successful course-keeping controller.
This article in itself does not relate to my project very much. However, the concept
of using a neural network as a way to plot the course of a ship is intriguing. If I am able
to run a simulation of a ship among varying routes and then discern the most efficient
route based on those runs, that would be very good. My skill in computer science does
not yet allow me to create advanced neural networks, but I found the content in this
article to be interesting enough to warrant a place in my annotated source list.