Final Poster

I'm very happy with how my poster came out! This was definitely an interesting experience and such a great semester. :)

Blog Post 8

The feedback I got from class about my draft was very helpful. I'm currently working on changing some small things that were suggested during class that will make the poster neater. Can't wait to see how it finally comes out!

Blog Post 7

Rough draft of the map!

Blog Post 6

So far mapping is going well. I have the coordinate points for each well site of the water district. I was able to get them by comparing the map I have from the water district and where the points are on that map with the addresses on the water district website. The website didn't have specific addresses, just the street names, so I had to "guestimate" where exactly to put the points using Google Maps. But comparing what I have now to the map from the water district, I'd say they're pretty close!

I finished going over chapter 12 and am pretty familiar with editing now so my next task is to use the editing tools to draw a polygon for the approximate area of the chemical plume. My map will not be a replication of the map that I received from the water district because that map was created in 2010 and the plume has migrated since then. Since there is no updated map of what the plume looks like, my map will be an estimate of what the plume looks like currently. 

Blog Post 5

The meeting I had with the superintendent of the Bethpage Water District went pretty well. He was able to give me a lot of information about the work they're doing to monitor and clean up the chemical plumes present and even showed me maps that had been made a few years ago. He even gave me some ideas of mapping the plume as a solid polygon or using contour lines (but not actually contour lines) to show the different depths of the plume throughout Bethpage. However he was not able to give me an actual data set of the location of the plume. He had given me maps from 2010 and had suggested to draw up one of them, but expanding on it because the plume has expanded and migrated a significant amount since 2010. I am a little unsure of how I will be able to simply just draw an outline for a polygon to create this map. Also, this week is extremely busy and packed with tests and assignments so I am really unsure of how much of this project I will get done this week. Hopefully next week won't be as hectic and I will be able to spend a lot of time working on this map.

Blog Post 4

Yesterday I had spoken with Michael Boubis, the superintendent of the Bethpage Water District. We discussed what my project is about and he had invited me to the administrative building for the water district to discuss my project in person! Unfortunately, that means that I will have to wait until after Easter break to come up with a full draft of my map. But I am really excited for this experience to see a real life application of GIS. Today in class I did more research to find locations of the water wells in Bethpage. I found out that there are eight wells and their locations in Bethpage but I could not find specific coordinates for them. I will try to find coordinates to map them for the works-in-progress presentation next week. For the rest of this week I will also be working on getting a presentation together for next week.

Blog Post 3: Revised Project Proposal

Introduction
During the 1930's Northrop Grumman and the United States Navy had gained land in the town of Bethpage, New York. Their work ranged from engineering and administrative operations to research, developing, testing, and manufacturing. The site, which is 605 acres, was also used for chemical waste treatment, along with other dumping sites close to the site. The chemicals from the waste ended up contaminating the onsite water wells which caused an environmental investigation of the site. Word had gotten to the Bethpage Water District about the investigation which had started an investigation of the town's water wells. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation had gotten involved to run some tests and had discovered carcinogenic chemicals in the water and soil. The cleanup process had begun in the early 90's but concerns were still raised about the health issues these chemicals may have caused on some of the citizens of Bethpage.

Objective
To create a map of the chemical plumes located in Bethpage and to see if they overlap with any of the water wells that provide drinking water to the town.

Methodology
Research will be conducted to collect information on the location of the chemical plumes and the coordinates of the water wells. The chemical plumes and coordinates will be mapped using ArcGIS.

Deliverables
This project will be able to provide a map that shows possible water wells that are highly impacted by chemical plumes in Bethpage that contain carcinogenic chemicals. This may be able to help explain any health issues that had arisen since the pollution occurred.

Data Sources

• ArcGIS online
• Bethpage Water District
• Massapequa Water District 

Work Plan
3/16 - Gather data from the water districts
3/23 - Work on map
3/30 - Prepare for Works-in-Progress presentation
4/2 - Easter Break
4/6 - Continue work on map
4/13 - Finish work on map
4/20 - Prepare for poster presentation

Blog Post 2: Change of Project

Well.... this is a little awkward now considering I named my blog after the solar panel project. I did some research on industrial chemical dumping sites in my hometown and found out that the locations of a few chemical plumes in Bethpage had been mapped before so I thought it would be cool to try and replicate that map. Or possibly improve it. Last week I had emailed the Bethpage Cancer Project, which is a citizen activist group to get Northrop Grumman to clean up the chemical mess they made. I had found the map on their site and I was hoping to get some data from them. So far I have not gotten a response so I plan on sending another email; I will try and find the contact of an actual person that can help me rather than a group. In the meantime I will try to find any information or even some data online that I can use.

Course Project Proposal

Introduction
The use of solar energy has been a growing field throughout the world for any years now. There have been many advances within the field of solar and there are still advances trying to be made. The main type of solar cell used is the photovoltaic (PV) model. This model is an assembly of connected solar panels and is used widely for residential and commercial purposes. PV cells are used to collect the natural energy from the sun to generate and supply electricity to many different places.

Objectives
To observe the growth of solar power usage in New York state.

Methodology
First research will be done to collect existing data on solar panel usage in New York State. This data will be used to create a map using ArcGIS to map the major areas in New York where solar is very evident and a key energy supplier within the community.

Deliverables
This project will provide a map displaying where solar energy is used the most in New York State and will possibly show areas in the state that could benefit from solar panels.

Data Sources

• ArcGIS online
• nrel.gov

Work Plan
3/3 - Collect data from sources
3/10 - Find base map from ArcGIS
3/17 - Transfer data into ArcGIS
3/24 -  Create map
4/2 - Easter Holiday
4/9 - Identify major areas of solar use in New York
4/16 - Clean up map
4/23 - Poster Presentation