Timothy - Camp: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:04PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Welcome to the Camp Internet chatroom. We have a great group of teachers in the lab today ready to discuss GIS and National Marine Sanctuaries.

: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:04PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hi everyone! I'm Ben Waltenberger, a Physical Scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I work at the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) here in Santa Barbara. Most of my work involves Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing technology (analyzing satellite and aerial imagery). We use these disciplines to help us in research, educatation, and emergency reesponse in and around the 6 nautical mile boundary of the CINMS. I look forward to talking with you over the next hour and hope to give you some useful information on Geographic Information Science.

: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:05PM PST (-0800 GMT)
To start you all off, here's a location map of the Sanctuary's administrative area:

: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:06PM PST (-0800 GMT)
One of our most active programs is our Sanctuary Aerial Monitoring and Spatial Analysis (SAMSAP) program. We use our aircraft to collect biological and visitor use data within the sanctuary. Here's a pic of the plane, a Lake Renegade Seawolf:

: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:07PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here's a map from the aircraft program showing visitor use in the month of October, 1998. This shows two groups, Urchin fishermen and recreational users. You can see the clear delineation between the two groups. This is the kind of info you can collect and analyze in your own classrooms, using data that is local to your area.

Arlyn wtih CVUSD: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:08PM PST (-0800 GMT)
greetings from terminal 1

Timothy - Camp: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:09PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - if young students want to get involved in Marine Science work what are the most important areas for study?

Mary Fitzgerald Elementary: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:09PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, What does CINMS mean?

Juliette: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:09PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, I understand that technology has advanced your area of science greatly over the last ten years. Where do you see technology moving your science in the next ten years?

Diane of Granview: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:09PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hi Ben! I have a question for you. Are there topo maps from USGS that we can access to use as the first layer for a map we might want to create of, say, our school playground?

Susan@Coachella Valley High School: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:09PM PST (-0800 GMT)
do you have orcas in your territory

Nancy at Camp Internet: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:11PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, What measurements are being taken of the Channel Islands? What layers of information for GIS maps seem to be the most important right now?

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:11PM PST (-0800 GMT)
We are also currently working on ground truthing the coordinates of shipwrecks within the CINMS boundary. Here's an image showing the same shipwreck recorded with 3 different GPS units. The X that's furthest off is two years old and was collected before Selective availibility (used to degrade the GPS satellite signal) was turned off. The X in the lower right was taken with a handheld unit after SA was turned off, and the X in the lower left was taken with a $12,000 survey GPS:

Arlyn wtih CVUSD: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:11PM PST (-0800 GMT)
When is the next whale migration?

MichelleMcC: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:11PM PST (-0800 GMT)
If you want more information about the CINMS visit... button

Diane of Grandview: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:12PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben...Do GPS units show the distance between points in feet /meters so that students might figure the area of a given space?

Diana - Arrowhead: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:12PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hi Ben, Have you had an opportunity to work with GPS or GIS with any Caltrans programs? If so, which ones and how?

Marsha, Lake Arrowhead Elementary: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:14PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hi Ben, what type of education does a physical scientist have to complete to have a career like yours?

MichelleMcC: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:14PM PST (-0800 GMT)
The blue and humpback whales are often in CINMS now, during the late summer months, feeding on krill. Gray whales pass through the CINMS during Jan, for their southern migration, and March for there Northern migration.

Lu at camp internet: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:15PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben .. How are you this afternoon?

Juliette: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:15PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, What is "ground truthing" and how do you do it? What is the purpose of "ground truthing" and how long have people been doing it?

Camp: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:15PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - can you give any examples of GIS used for purposes other than map making.

Mark: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:15PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Why did the government feel it was necessary to take over the northern part of Santa Cruz Island?

Kristy, Camp Internet : . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:15PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hi Ben! How many shipwrecks do you estimate there around the islands?

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:16PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mary: CINMS = Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Juliette: I see the technology moving more and more towards graphical user interfaces that make it easier with those that don't necessarily have a strong computer programing or spatial science background to use the technology. Good evidence of this is real time tracking on electronic charts in recreational GPS units for boats for instance. Diane: Yes there are! www.usgs.gov keeps an inventory of maps on their site that are freely downloadable and can be used in ArcView. Susan: Yes we do! Recently we've seen a whole bunch of them hanging around the islands! Nancy: The image below your question is a good example of measurements we're currently doing.

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:17PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Wow -- you guys are a lively bunch!! Great questions! I'll get to all of them just as fast as I can type! Stand by...

MichelleMcC: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:17PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mark, CINMS only manages the water around the islands, not the actual land

Mary Fitzgerald Elementary: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:21PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, Can we use a program like arc view with an etrex?

Arlyn wtih CVUSD: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:22PM PST (-0800 GMT)
How many layers are there to a GPS map?

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:23PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Diane: Yes they do. You can change units between several different types in most GPS units. Diana: No, I haven't. I mostly work in the marine environment. Marsha: I majored in Geography, focussing on oceanography, GIS, satellite systems, digitasl signal processing, spatial statistics. Lu: I'm very well thank you! : ) Juliette: Gorund truthing is a term used to verify coordinates. TO make sure they are where they are supposed to be. As you can see by the shipwreck GPS image, it's a necessary bit of work to do! Camp: Sure, realestate comes to mind, for people to locaste houses by price for instance. Also public participation GIS where we use GIS to look at background data for public decisions. Of course ALL GIS uses still have some geographic "anchor" to them. Kristy: We have about 200, though wee've only actually found around 25 of them!

Kristy, Camp Internet : . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:24PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben- How did you get involved with GIS?

MichelleMcC: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:24PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mary, yes you can use data from a GPS like etrex with ArcView. There are little connection cables that allow you to dowload the dat into a spread sheet and create points from the readings. You can also build your own table in excel with your etrex latitude and longitude points

Susie Dana Elem: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:24PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben: When would it be the best time to take my students to the Islands on a study trip?

Juliette: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:25PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, How did you become acquainted with Camp Internet? Do you correspond with other similiar organizations? Do you ever meet the people you talk to?

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:26PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Mary: Yes you can. In fact using an extension program called tracking analyst, you can hoo it into a laptop and do realtime tracking in ArcView. Arlyn: GIS maps can have anywhere from one to an unlimited number of layers, though the more you add, the more confusing things can get! THat's why it's good to have some background in database design.

MichelleMcC: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:26PM PST (-0800 GMT)
A GIS can have dozens of information layers or only a few, it all demends on what question you are tyring to answer.

Jennifer @ Cypress Elementary in Highland: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:27PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, what changes have you seen inside the sanctuary?

Nancy at Camp Internet: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:28PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben- Do you use satellite information, with hand-held GPS units to "map" things on or around the islands? Do you get to receive special maps or info from satellites because of the groups that fund your program? Since shipwrecks are off shore, do you use submersible GPS units?

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:28PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Susie: I think the summer-fall seasons are the best time myself. Juliette: Timothy invited me to participate a few years ago and I've been having a great time ever since! I do on occasion get to meet the people I chat with! Just to show some of the other things we do with GIS -- here's some more images coming up: Here is a 3d representation of the Santa Barbara Channel:

Marcy, Camp Internet: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:29PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - will there be changes in the Sanctuary boundaries ahead ? Fishing zones ?

Nancy at Camp Internet: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:30PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben- Do you use satellite information, with hand-held GPS units to "map" things on or around the islands? Do you get to receive special maps or info from satellites because of the groups that fund your program? Since shipwrecks are off shore, do you use submersible GPS units?

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:32PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Jennifer: Well, in recent years we've seen a big kelp die off. THis is still a relic of the last big El Nino event, though we're not sure why it's taking so long for the kelp to recover. Nancy, yes we do. NOAA has it's own satellite division so I get access to to some pretty neat stuff that doesn't get distributed to the public. We don't use submersible GPS nits, but here's a pic of the survey unti that we use:

Nancy at Camp Internet: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:32PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben-Where ever did you get that wonderful 3-D map?

Juliette: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:33PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, That 3d representation of the Santa Barbara Channel is simply great! What part did technoogy play in its creation? What caused the deep valley to the west? What has been found in it?

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:33PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here's a pic of satellite info that we specially processed to show a sediment plume (and the resulting pollution) impacting the islands. THis is a temperature anomoly image from the EL Nino of 1997:

Juliette: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:34PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, When you have done on line chats with students what were some of your favorite questions?

MichelleMcC: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:36PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Bye Ben, hope you are feeling better

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:36PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Nancy & Juliette: That's one I made myself using ArcInfo and ArcView. I've been working on precision modeling of the bathymetry in the Santa Barbara Channel for about the past 8 years. Here's another view from the mountains:

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:39PM PST (-0800 GMT)
My favorite questions are the ones where i have to pull out my books to look for the answer : ) I'm often asked things like, "what were the average Sea temperatures in 19xx" or "How deep is at at point X?" THose are the ones I have to scramble to look for because of course I don't memorize everything! We are also using submersibles to survey the ocean within the sanctuary. They are one person units and can go to 2000 feet. Here's a pic of one:

Carl with Camp Internet: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:40PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, This is Carl. Here at our teacher training we are going to do another exercise and check back in the chat room in a few minutes to review some of the answers your have provided to our questions. So please keep anwsering our questions and we'll be back!

Juliette: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:40PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, I am interested in using a TI-83Plus graphing caculator. Do you have any dieas of data that I could create scatter plots, line plots, etc.?

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:41PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here's an image of some artifacts we recently recovered from the wreck of the Winfield Scott. We survey the site and then add the survey drawings to our GIS:

DeeDee at Camp Internet: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:41PM PST (-0800 GMT)
DeeDee at Camp Internet Hi Ben, I'm interested in bird migration. I live in the San Bernardino Mountains and we have a large variety of birds. Is there any way I can find out where they are coming from?

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:41PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Will do Carl.

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:42PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Juliette: I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the capabilities of that instrument : (

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:45PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Going back a couple of questions: The deep valley is the Santa Cruz Basin. If you look carefully you can see a thin, deep canyon coming off the south side of Santa Cruz Island and leading into it. This basin was once used as a chemical munitions dumping site for the department of defense, so we're kind of afraid of just what we might find there : ) it's a bit over 3000 meters deep.

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:47PM PST (-0800 GMT)
DeeDee: I'm not sure what land-based info is available on birds. We work with a lot of seabird biologists who map out colonies. THey also have been working on migration information using radar to track the birds. This info is easily imported into a GIS to do things like track migration trends over time. I think your best bet for finding data would be to consult with the university nearest you. YOu might also inquire at the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:50PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Though not as fancy as the 3D stuff, this is a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) model of the bathymetry in the area. The areas where you see angular (triangualr) features are where we just don't have a lot of data. This is a good way to visualize "data uncertainty."

Marcy, Camp Internet: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:53PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - are there any plans to remove the chemical munitions? It is amazing that there was a time when people would think such a thing would 'do no harm' ...... Also, I asked above about boundaries and no fish zone changes coming up ... thanks

Carl with Camp Internet: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:56PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, This is Carl. We'll begin now to rejoin you, see what you've posted, and then wrap up this chat.

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 2:59PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Marcy: As of now I think the govt is a bit afraid to look into removal of the munitions. One of the problems is that during that time, private entities also used the basin to dump chemicla and even nuclear waste, and most all the activity was undocumented because permits weren't required at the time. If we start removal, we don't know what kind of Pandora's Box we may open. Also there is the question of where we would transfer the waste! On the reserves question: We are currently involved in two processes: One is a management plan review that is looking at potentially restructuring our boundaries. The other is "no take" reserve zones around the islands to protect habitat. If you look at the 3d image, the yellow rectangles are areas where we are proposing reserves.

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:00PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Okay Carl.

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:02PM PST (-0800 GMT)
For those of you who may have other questions, please feel free to email me at ben.waltenberger@noaa.gov You can find out more about NOAA at button You can find out more about CINMS at button

Trish, Lake Gregory Elementary teacher: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:02PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, Thank you for your time. Isn't there also a dump site off of San Clemente Island?

DeeDee at Camp Internet: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:03PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Thank You Ben for your time. DeeDee

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:03PM PST (-0800 GMT)
As a parting shot so to speak, here's an image of two Blue Whales off San Miguel Island taken from our aircraft:

Juliette: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:03PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, Thank you for all your assistance. I appreciated it a great deal!

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:04PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Trish: Yes, there are several other dump sites off thge coast of California.

mary: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:04PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, Thank you for all the info and wonderful maps!

Susan@ Coachella Valley High School: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:04PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, thank you for your time and wonderful info.

swray Dana Elem: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:04PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben: Thanks for making my first chat so friendly.

Diane of Grandview: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:04PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Bye Ben, and thanks for your help and expertise!

Nancy at Camp Internet: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:04PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben- Many thanks for your patience for answering our inquisitive questions.

Ben/NOAA: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:04PM PST (-0800 GMT)
THanks everyone! As usual I really enjoyed the chat and the great questions! Have fun with the rest of your training!

Jennifer @ Cypress: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:05PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, thank you for chatting with us.

Jennifer @ Cypress: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:05PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben, thank you for chatting with us.

Timothy - Camp: . . . . Mon, Aug 13, 3:05PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Ben - Thanks for some excellent information today. Very good chat session.

t: . . . . Thu, Aug 16, 2:18PM PST (-0800 GMT)
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