Trouble in Paradise: Natural Disaster Preparation in Jamaica: Looking at Flooding, Landslides and Human Vulnerability

The above poster was made by Mwahaki King for the GIS at Tufts University Poster Exhibition 2016 (GIS@Tufts) and has also been published on the GIS@Tufts website here: 
https://sites.tufts.edu/gis/files/2016/01/King_Mwahaki_MCM1009_2016.pdf

The purpose of the project was to ascertain high risk areas and thus areas prioritisation in Jamaica during natural disasters; specifically landslides, flooding and hurricanes. High risk areas were determined primarily by weak housing infrastructure, access to hospitals and environmental factors such as the slope of the terrain and proximity to rivers.

The maps were made by Mwahaki King using ArcGIS software and the poster itself was produced using Microsoft Publisher.

Data Sources:

GDAM, DIVA-GIS, CARISKA

• GDAM: http://www.gadm.org/
• DIVA-GIS http://www.diva-gis.org/gdata
• CARISKA (N.B. This website is originally in French) http://ckan.c-read.net/fr/organization/cariska

The accompanying paper can be found below, which further outlines Jamaica's environmental background, conclusions, recommendations and limitations of the project.

China Wind Farm Suitability Analysis

The above maps were made by Mwahaki King in May 2016, using raster data in ArcGIS. Mwahaki King performed by an unweighted and a weighted suitability analysis to determine optimal locations for a wind farm facility in China, north of Beijing. In both suitability analyses the suitability of a wind farm facility was dependent on the following criteria:

1. The site needed to be close to high wind areas
2. It must be close to existing power lines
3. It must be far from the The Great Wall of China so as not to disrupt tourism
4. It must be on fairly level land i.e. a low slope is preferable

In the unweighted suitability analysis, these criteria were assessed on a system of 1 - 5, with the lowest score and thus worst location having a score of 4 and the best location having a score of 20.

In the weighted analysis, these criteria were assessed by importance. Distance to high wind areas was deemed to be the most important and weighted at 50%. Second, was distance to power lines, weighted at 25%. Third, was distance from The Great Wall weighted at 12.5%. The final factor was slope, also weighted at 12.5%. This produced a grid of 1 - 5. One being the least ideal location for a wind farm facility and five being the best.

Data Sources:
ESRI
Gfk (Tufts University GIS has a license for this data and these maps were made as a part of Tufts University GIS coursework)
National Renewable Energy Lab

Ozone Concentration, California

The above map was created by Mwahaki King on April 13, 2016, using ArcGIS Interpolation Tools to demonstrate ozone concentration in California and areas of concern. The most recent data available to the cartographer at the time of the map's creation was from the year 2007. The California data was provided by the California State GIS Department. The ozone dataset was provided by the California Air Resources Board and represents the concentration of ozone measured on September 6, 2007 between 3:00PM - 4:00PM in parts per million (ppm). 

From the ozone point samples (measurements), Mwahaki King produced a continuous surface predicting the value of ozone concentration for every location in the state of California. Often, it is not the actual values of a certain critical health risk that are of concern, but rather whether the values are above a certain toxic level. If this occurs, immediate action should be taken.

For this project, the critical threshold was determined to be any ozone value above 0.09ppm as this is California State's ambient air quality standard for hourly measurements. Any location with an ozone concentrate above 0.09 should be closely monitored.

Data Sources:
California Air Resources Board
California State GIS Department
ESRI Data Maps

Suitable Farm Land, Groton MA

The above map was created by Mwahaki King in March 2016, using vector analysis in ArcGIS software to determine suitable farmland in Groton, Massachusetts.

The Suitability Criteria were as follows:
Farm Land must:
1. Have a minimum lot size of two acres
2. Not be on wetlands
3. Be land that is suitable for agricultural activities
4. Have prime farm land soil that is good for farming

The most recent data available to the cartographer at the time of the map's creation was from the year 2005.

Data Sources:
MassGIS
ESRI