Converting Raster Data to Vector for use in Overlay Analysis

Raster and vector analysis differ when one considers that rasters are comprised of cells that represent a continuous surface, while vector data is comprised of points, lines and polygons that represent discrete locations or values. What this means from an analytical perspective is that many geoprocessing tasks suitable for raster data will not be suitable for vector, and vice versa. In cases where you need to perform vector analysis on a raster data set (or vice versa), there are tools available in ArcGIS that will allow you to convert from one format to another. The procedure below outlines how to convert a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) to vector format in order to overlay it with a vector polygon layer for further analysis. The DEM used in this example was taken from the Canadian Digital Elevation Data set available free of charge through GeoBase (www.geobase.ca). Step 1 Convert raster surface to features

Open ArcMap (Program menu > ArcGIS > ArcMap) and open a new, blank map. Click Customize > Extensions and ensure there is a check mark beside 3D Analyst. This enables the 3D Analyst extension for use. Click View > Toolbars and place a check in the box beside 3D Analyst. The toolbar will appear on your map. Click the drop down arrow beside 3D Analyst on the toolbar and select Convert > Raster to Features as shown below.

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Click the Input Raster drop down arrow and choose the raster data set you wish to convert Click the Field drop down arrow and select the field you wish to copy to the output features Click the Output Geometry Type drop down arrow and select the type of vector feature you want to create from your raster data (polygon). Specify a name for the output feature or leave the default to create a temporary data set in your working directory. Click OK.

A vector file that represents the DEM will be generated. The GRIDCODE field in the attribute table provides discrete elevation values for each polygon. Step 3 Isolate desired altitude intervals

In this case, we wish to calculate glacial area at specific altitudes that is, the total area of glaciers existing at 0 to 100 m above sea level, 101 to 200 m above sea level, and so on. In order to do this we will use an attribute query to isolate each altitude interval from the others. Click Selection > Select by Attributes and, depending on your data and the intervals/conditions you wish to analyze, enter an expression similar to the one below:

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Software: ArcGIS 10

This expression instructs the software to select features from the vector layer you've created in which the elevation value (GRIDCODE) lies between 0 and 100. The use of the AND operator indicates that you wish to select only those values for which both conditions are true. The associated features will be selected on the map. Right-click the layer name in the table of contents and select Data > Export Data. Choose to export selected data to your workspace and provide a descriptive name. Click Yes when prompted to add the layer to the map. Repeat the selection steps to isolate the remainder of your intervals and export each interval to a new shapefile.

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Software: ArcGIS 10

Step 3

Overlay processes

There are a number of different overlay processes designed for different situations. In this case, we wish to overlay glaciers with each altitude interval on an individual basis so we will use the Intersect tool. The diagram below hypothetically shows a portion of the polygons generated for altitude interval 101 to 200 metres outlined in grey, and glaciers in blue.

The Intersect tool generates an output file that includes only the features that are common to both input layers. Therefore, with the glacier layer and our altitude interval as the inputs, the output feature polygons will represent only those altitude polygons that are overlapped by glacier polygons. The results are shown in the diagram below:

As you can see, the output provides a file containing only those features that occupy the same areas in space; the glacier polygons have been split where required. Follow the steps below to achieve these results: Open ArcToolbox and choose Analysis Tools > Overlay > Intersect Enter the glacier feature layer and the desired altitude interval layer as your inputs and provide a directory and descriptive output name. Click OK.

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The new output can now be used to calculate the total area of glaciers at this altitude interval. Open the attribute table of your output and click Options > Add Field. Call the field AREA and choose to make it a double. Keep Precision and Scale as 0 and click OK.

If the Editor toolbar is not on your screen then click View > Toolbars > Editor. On the toolbar, click the dropdown arrow and select Start Editing. You wish to edit the output layer generated in your overlay step, so ensure the directory is set properly. Then open the attribute table of your intersect layer and scroll to the AREA field you created in the last step. Right-click on the field heading and select Calculate Geometry.

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In the resulting dialog, choose Area as the Property to be calculated and choose the rest of the options according to your data and coordinate system. Note that if your data is not projected you will be unable to calculate the area; you must have a relevant coordinate system and units applied to your data before these calculations can be performed.

Click OK. The area will be calculated and entered into the AREA field in your attribute table. To determine the total area of all features in the layer, right click the field heading once again and choose Statistics. This will display general statistics of the field in question, including the total sum of all area values.

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Rev 04/2012

Software: ArcGIS 10