Spatial Data Analyst Boulder, Colorado

City of Boulder OSMP
November 2016 - March 2019

DUTIES

  • Provide complex geospatial data analysis, LiDAR (bare & full earth / raster & point cloud) analysis, database maintenance, FGDC metadata compliance and development of templates, AGOL web map products, and spatial data visualizations for all divisions within the city of Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks.

  • Utilize ESRI ArcGIS 10.4, ArcPro 2.2, Model Builder, Python 2.7, LP360 (LiDAR software), SQL Management Studio, and AGOL to engage in spatial data analysis, data visualizations and database management.

  • I was responsible for wildlife, trails, wildfire, and ranger/regulatory data stewardships which included management and maintenance of numerous SDE feature class & raster datasets.


PROJECTS

Forestry & Fire Planning Tool & Sensitivity Analysis – working directly with the Open Space (OSMP) Forest Ecologist, I created a web-based land assessment tool that was used to guide forest treatment and planning operations, as well as trails planning and emergency response/preparedness within the OSMP land base. To create this web-based geoprocessing service, I used ArcGIS 10.4 Model Builder, and Python to manipulate and combine over 30 distinct natural, cultural and economic SDE feature classes into a single raster dataset. Not only did this raster allow me to quantify and qualify the land-based concerns of OSMP, but it provided a platform from which to run SQL queries against to derive sensitivity datasets related to; fire retardant, ground disturbance, cultural resource protection, and burn sensitivity.

LiDAR (bare earth) Soil Loss Model – I used Python, Model Builder Spatial Analyst in ArcGIS 10.4 Model Builder and ArcPro 2.2 to reveal a key measure of trail stability for OSMP. After mosaicking 400 raster tiles into a seamless, bare earth LiDAR dem I created a set of models and scripts that identified (1) Average % slope of a hydrologic basin connected to a generated “pour point” at 200ft intervals along OSMP trail network, (2) Angle between the trail segment at “pour point” and the (avg) angle of the connected basin. While my model was computationally expensive, it facilitated the development of a stability assessment report that was infeasible through traditional field work. My approach to this solution relied on spatial analyst hydrology tools to identify connected hillslope basins.

LiDAR (full earth) Lowest Branch – I resolved the lowest branch for 1.5 million trees within the OSMP land base using; full earth lidar point cloud, auto generated tree canopy polygons, and a 2ft pixel resolution bare earth Lidar dem. I processed over 300gb of LiDAR full earth point cloud data through a single ArcPro Model Builder project. This project required consistent consultation with OSMP forest ecologist, and 2 field visits to parameterize input point cloud data, 1 field visit to gain an understanding of where my model was underperforming, and one last field visit to validate a correction that I applied to fix anomalies in my results. This modelling effort was a resounding success in that in allowed our forest ecologist to run fire modelling scenarios that would now represent ladder fuel climbing from ground-based fuels, to canopy fuel supply. Portfolio

LiDAR (bare earth) Wetland Restoration – Using ArcGIS Model Builder 10.6, I calculated volume estimates for 8 ponds and the fill available on site for use in this wetland creation project. Bathymetric point data was interpolated with care to provide best available pond volume estimates, while I used our 2” pixel lidar based DEM for local fill volume estimates. Phase 1 of the model was to interpolate bathymetric data into a raster that snapped to my lidar DEM, Phase 2 was the pile volume estimates and Phase 3 will be to integrate groundwater elevations into the surface volume estimates. The groundwater observations will be used to adjust the elevation parameters of the surface volume tool to produce estimates closer to the desired outcome of wanting groundwater to be within 1 foot of ground surface. Portfolio

Spatial & Temporal Analysis - Fire Rings - Utilizing Python and ArcGIS 10.4 Model Builder I integrated 4 years of point data that identified fire ring occurrence on OSMP managed lands. My model produced spatial and temporal trend products that were used to parameterize drone based, night time detection of fire, as well as to facilitate enforcement of fire bans.

Bathymetric Modelling - Utilizing Python, ArcGIS 10.4 Model Builder & ArcScene and AGOL I interpolated bathymetric point data to raster for 15 lakes within OSMP managed lands. These lake rasters were then mosaiced into an altered version of 2” lidar DEM for display in ArcScene as well as in AGOL as a web scene. These renderings were used to visualize fishing potential and helped to secure grant funding for a visitor use project.