NAIP Imagery for Texas

AmericaView members have been sharing information about USDA National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) Imagery Viewers. This blog post shares information about such a viewer established for Texas statewide imagery.

The Texas Natural Resources Information System (TNRIS) recently launched an OGC-compliant Web Mapping Service (WMS) that features a variety of orthoimage datasets. Currently, the WMS includes the following image catalogs:

Statewide - one catalog per UTM zone per each dataset ¹:

• NAIP 2004 1 meter (1m) Color Infrared (CIR)
• TOP 2008 & 2009 50cm Natural Color (NC) & CIR ²
• NAIP 2010 1m NC
• Geologic Atlas of Texas 250K

Regional

• Texas Forest Service 2008 1m CIR - 13 East TX counties
• HPIDS 2009 Galveston 6in NC & CIR ³
• HPIDS 2010 Bexar, Guadalupe, and Comal Co.'s 6in NC
• HPIDS 2010 Smith 6in & 1ft NC
• USGS 2008 30cm Amarillo, Lubbock, & McAllen NC
• USGS 2008 30cm Border NC
• CAPCOG 2009 6in NC (Central Texas)

¹Texas straddles three Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) zones: z13 N, z14 N & z15 N

² Note that for 2009, zone 14 has partial coverage and zone 13 has none.

³ High Priority Imagery and Data Sets (HPIDS), a State of Texas procurement process that uses a master contract.

Instructions for accessing the WMS in ArcGIS and ERDAS Imagine:

ArcGIS 10 instructions:

1. In ArcMap, choose Add Data > GIS Servers > Add WMS Server
2. Insert the URL http://raster.tnris.org/lizardtech/iserv/ows?request=GetCapabilities&service=WMS& and click OK.
3. Either add all image catalogs at once using raster.tnris.org:80 or drill down to add individual datasets.

ERDAS Imagine 2011 instructions:

1. Choose Open > Files of type: Web Mapping Service (*.wms) > Connect
2. In GeoServices Explorer, choose Add Service
3. GeoService Type: Web Mapping Server
4. Insert the URL http://raster.tnris.org/lizardtech/iserv/ows?request=GetCapabilities&service=WMS& and click OK.
5. Back on the main Imagine window, right-click in the Retriever space > Open GeoService
6. Find raster.tnris.org:80 from the Select a Server dropdown menu & select OK.
7. Expand the WMS and drag desired image catalogs onto the View.

The WMS is compatible in AutoCAD and Microstation.

Issues? Questions? Use this form for inquiries and issues related to TNRIS GIS and LiDAR data and the WMS image service.

Posting to the AmericaView Blog

The purpose of this post is to provide guidance on posting to this blog for AmericaView members.  Blog posts are a simply, yet effective means for getting information out in a timely manner.  It's far easier than updating a web page and because the AmericaView Blog is replicated through Planet Geospatial, it is seen by a broad audience.

Step1: Become a blog contributor
Simply get in touch with Mike Battaglia and ask him to add you as a contributor.  As the AmericaView Blog runs off of Blogger, which is owned by Google, you will need to provide Mike with your Google/Gmail account ID (e.g. landsatfan@gmail.com).  If you don't have a Google/Gmail account, signing up for one is easy.

Step 2: Create a new post
From the AmericaView Blog main page click on New Post in the upper right corner.

This will take you to the Posting > New Post window where you can start your blog post.

The Blogger toolbar allows you to inset hyperlinks and images.

Step 3: Preview your post
At any time you can preview your post to see what it will look like when it gets published.  Simply click on the Preview button at the bottom of the Posting window.  This will launch a new browser window that you can close once you have finished.

Step 4: Add labels
Label, or tags, made it easier for others to find relevant information in the AmericaView blog, so give some consideration to adding labels to your post before you publish it.  If the label resembles been used before Blogger will give you an auto fill option.  Multiple labels can be separated by a comma.

Step 5: Publish your post
Congratulations, you are now finished!  Simply click on the Publish Post button and your post will be added to the AmericaView blog.  You can always go back into the post and edit it if you notice an error down the road.

USGS EROS Image Gallery

The EROS Image of the Week Gallery assembled by USGS is a wonderful resource for educational outreach.  You can browse and download posters that demonstrate how Landsat satellite imagery is used for everything from monitoring natural disasters to detecting anthropogenic induced land cover change.  The images are very powerful and the descriptions are clear and concise.