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Bog
Hike, 8th Grade, Feb 2009
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Global
Positioning System (GPS)
data was collected using a Garmin GPS Receiver.
The data was then downloaded to a computer.
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WE CAN
USE THE DATA FROM THE GPS UNIT TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING
Where
did you hike? ...How far? ...How
high? ...How can you view/use GPS
data?
INSTRUCTIONS
Open the
GPS
Visualizer page ( www.GPSvisualizer.com
)
Click
the on 'Browse' button ...
In
the new window that opens, COPY and PASTE the text below into
the 'File name' box and Click 'Open' ...
http://www.crossrivendelltrail.org/Bog6_2-11-09.gdb
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in the 'Get Started now:' box Click |
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WHAT
HAPPENED?
The GPS
data should have been processed and a Google Map should be displayed
with color imagery ( from aircraft
or satellite ) in the background
TRACKS
The GPS
data is displayed as a line -or- track
where the
track is made up of many points that are connected; DIFFERENCE
with Waypoints ?
QUESTION
Where did
we begin the hike?
WORKING
WITH THE INTERACTIVE MAP
This is
an Interactive Map where you, as
user, can change features
Change map features using the map tools
shown in red boxes below
QUESTIONS
What is
the general name for the area where we started ?
What are
the two ways in which you can move ( i.e. Pan
) the map ?
What do
you notice about the track when you zoom-in
?
What would explain the appearance of the track
& track segments ?
How far
do you think we hiked ( round-trip in miles ) ?
How would you estimate distance
traveled on the map ?
Use the
map tools to zoom-in near the top of the track. What do you
see that might impact the number of waypoints
and distance hiked ?
Change
the Map Background to view names
of places & features
What is the name of the stream along the side of the road /
trail ?
Do any of
the map backgrounds show a road
( which ) ?
What do
you estimate was our maximum elevation
( in feet ) ?
How do you
turn the visibility of the track on / off
?
The crosshair
in the center of the image corresponds to the
Latitude and Longitude coordinates
shown in the bottom left
When you
move ( Pan ) the map, the crosshair
is in a new location
Which Map
Background shows the Appalachian
Trail - AND -
What are the coordinates where we crossed this feature ?
View the
satellite imagery map background
( 'G. satellite' ) ...
What kind of human activity is
taking place around Pickeral Ponds ?
DRAW A NEW MAP
Draw the
map again this time using your input ...
Click on
'DRAW A MAP' at the top
of the GPS Visualizer page
On this
new page change Track Options
( ex. color and 'Colorize by' Distance )
In the lower
right of the page you will need to COPY and PASTE the text below
into the field asking for the URL
( i.e. web address ) of the GPS data file
http://www.crossrivendelltrail.org/Bog6_2-11-09.gdb
Then Click
to 'Draw the map' a new window and map should appear
CREATE
AN ELEVATION PROFILE
View Elevation
& Distance GPS data using an
Elevation Profile
Click on
'DRAW A PROFILE' at the
top of the GPS Visualizer page
On this
new page under General Parameters change
Units to
'U.S.'
In the lower
right of the page you will again need to COPY and PASTE the
text below into the field asking for the URL
( i.e. web address ) of the GPS data file
http://www.crossrivendelltrail.org/Bog6_2-11-09.gdb
Then Click
'Draw the profile' and a new window with a profile should
appear
The X-axis
displays 'Distance' in miles
The
Y-axis displays 'Elevation' in feet
QUESTIONS
Why does
the profile appear this way ? Did we walk off a cliff ? ( see
below )
NOW how
far do you think we hiked ( round-trip
in miles ) ?
Is this different than your previous estimate ? Why ?
At almost
4 miles into our hike the elevation data for the GPS unit was
re-calibrated (i.e. reset) to correct for an error. We
need to recalculate
our maximum elevation .... ( which would brings the lines on
the profile together )
Checking
the data file indicates that the unit was reading elevation
values that were 1,571 ft too high until fixed
If the maximum
elevation as shown above is 3,489 ft, how do you calculate the
correct maximum elevation ? What is this value ?
NOW what
was our maximum elevation ( in
feet ) ?
GOOGLE EARTH
You can
also view GPS data using Google
Earth using
a KML file
To use this
file, start the Google Earth program and then select File,
Open
In
the new Open window, COPY and PASTE the text below into the
'File name' box and Click 'Open' ...
http://www.crossrivendelltrail.org/Bog6_2-11-09.kml
The
Google Earth window should zoom-in to the GPS track
You
can also download this file
( not necessary if you used the steps above )
Right-click on the link below and choose to 'Save
Target As' or 'Save
Link As'
KML
file for this hike : Bog6_2-11-09.kml
Note:
clicking on the link above will not open Google Earth
but will let you view the file code - it looks a lot
like web page code (i.e. HTML)
You
would then Open the file once in Google Earth
Why Use
Google Earth ?
There
are many other tools and features available for viewing GPS
data ... can you figure out what these are and how the are
used ?
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