04-04-2022

Análise e Tratamento de
Dados Geológicos
Sistemas de Informação Geográfica na Cartografia Geológica
Aula 5
Joana Cardoso Fernandes

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Objectives
• Develop digital cartography skills in a GIS environment
• Digitize raster maps
• Import punctual georeferenced information acquired in the field
• Automatically generate contour lines
• Employ correct and appropriate geological symbology
• Create a ready to use final geological map

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I need to create a map…Now what?

• There are two possibilities:
• Use a digital cartography system (CAD - Computer Aided Design)
• Use a geographic information system (GIS)
• The advantage that sets GIS apart from CAD is the ability to analyze data. This ability
presupposes the existence of suitable alphanumeric data and a topologic structure of special
data.
• The primary difference between CAD and GIS is topology. In a CAD environment, the objects
(lines, polylines, points, etc.) have no relationships between them.
• GIS allows to establish relationships between geographical objects and data.
• GIS involves using a database to store attributes about the spatial data.
• GIS makes use of spatial data while CAD is all about drawing of models using coordinates
relative to the objects.

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Intro to ArcMap

Theme
drawing
area

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Digitize over the image

• GIS programs allow insertion of images. The
image must be georeferenced.
• The operator creates vector points and lines
manually over the elements that the
operator identifies in the image.
• In the end, only the vector entities will
remain.
• The operator simultaneously sees the
document and the lines being created.

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Digitization errors
• Point digitization does not causes problems.
• When digitizing lines that correspond to networks
(roads, water lines, etc.) it is necessary to guarantee the
connectivity of the lines (topological relationship).
• SNAP function: it is possible to activate a way to “grab”
points close to where we place the cursor, as long as it
is less than a previously defined tolerance.
• This avoids errors at the time of digitazing.

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Polygon digitization
• How to deal with common boundaries between
adjacent polygons? Should they be scanned twice?
• This would force the exact same points to be repeated,
which could lead to digitization errors such as those in
the figure on the right.
• GIS programs provide very functional tools to
overcome this difficulty in digitizing polygons.
Example: “Auto complete polygons” function in
ArcMap.
• The user digitizes, for a polygon adjacent to an
existing one, only the missing line. The common part
is repeated exactly.

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Improper representation of lines

What not to do:
• Scan water lines by
their outer
contours
• Include the water
lines in the same
shapefile where
you are digitizing
the geology

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Wrong digitization of geological formations

What not to do:

• Breaking polygons
according to
geological faults

What to do:
• Digitize the same
lithology in a single
continuous polygon

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Wrong digitization of geological formations

What not to do:

• Digitize veins as
polygons

What to do:
• Vein- or dyke-like
structures must
be represented
individually in a
shapefile of lines

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Wrong digitization of geological formations

Only digitize alluvium (a) Do not scan Douro River
What not to do:
• Unless there is a
lithology
associated with
the waterline (eg
alluvium) these
should not be
included in the
shapefile where
you are digitizing
the geology

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Attribute table
Fields Attribute type:
• Integer
(Short, Long)

• Real number
(Float, Double)

• Text (string)

Records
One for each geographic
entity represented

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Example: how to digitize your field map

• Analyze your data
• Which structures you need to digitize
• How will they be represented in GIS
• Which attributes will be stored in the
shapefile
• Georeference your base map

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Example: how to digitize your field map

• You can digitize your contacts first in a
line shapefile and covert it to polygons
latter.
• Useful when you want to represent
different types of contacts
(Probable, Inferred, Sedimentary,
Igneous, Discrete, Gradational, etc.).
• In alternative, you can just digitize the
lithological units as polygons.
• For each case, you need to create the
shapefile and define the attribute
columns to fill.

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Example: how to digitize your field map

DIGITISING CONTACTS
• Start editing by going to Editor>Start editing or by
right clicking on the feature you want to edit and choose
Edit Features>Start editing. ArcGIS may
prompt you to choose a file to edit.
• You should see a Create Features dialog box on
the right hand side. If you don’t then click on the
Create Features icon on the Editor Toolbar.
• Click on Contacts shapefile in order to edit contacts.
• Down the bottom of the create Features box you will see
Construction Tools. Make sure Line is selected.
• Digitize your contacts.
• Save your edits by going to Editor toolbar>Save
Edits.

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Example: how to digitize your field map

DIGITISING CONTACTS
• Add your attribute data. Right click on
contacts>Open Attribute table.
• Start editing the contacts layer (required to edit
attribute table).
• Use the select tool and select a contact line.
• The line you selected will show up blue in the attribute
table. Set the accuracy field. Solid = accurate,
dashed = approximate.

TIP 1: You might find it easier to set these attributes at the

same time you are drawing in the future.

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Example: how to digitize your field map

DIGITISING CONTACTS
• Shift click to select contact lines with the same
accuracy.
• Filter for selected records in the attribute table.
• Then right click on the Accuracy column and
select Field Calculator.
• Then put in the text that should appear in
quotations: e.g. “Approximate”.
• Turn off the filter in the attribute table.
• Save your edits.

TIP 2: Apply attributes in bulk using the field calculator.

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Example: how to digitize your field map

SYMBOLISING THE CONTACTS
Next step: change the symbology for the contact lines.
• Right Click on Contacts Layer>Properties.
• Go to Symbology tab
• Change type to Categories>Unique values.
• Set the Value Field to ‘accuracy’.
• Click on Add All Values; uncheck <all other values>
• Double click on Accurate and set to solid 1 pt line.
• Double click on Approximate and set to black line 1pt.
• Then click on Edit symbol, switch to Cartographic
Line Symbol type.
• In the template tab, move the grey box over and fill in
some black squares to create a dashed line.

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Example: how to digitize your field map

GENERATING POLYGONS FROM CONTACTS
• Open the Search box via Menu bar>Windows>Search.
• Search for Feature to polygon and click on the tool.
• Choose contacts as the input feature via the dropdown box (dropdown box is for layers in the map).
• Save the feature class as ‘units.

If there are any issues with not all the polygons being drawn it
will be due to some of the lines not being connected properly.
If so, go back and edit the lines and re-run the script.

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Example: how to digitize your field map

ADDING ATRIBUTES TO UNITS
Generate an attribute field for unit code.
• Exit the Edit mode and open the polygon attribute table.
• Click on the top left drop down menu and go to Add Field.
• Set name as unit_code and type Text.
Now populate the unit code by looking at our scanned map. The
approach is similar to how we set the attributes for contacts.
• Start editing and click on the polygons.
• Set code in attributes table.
TIP 1: set the fill color for the polygons to blank or adjust the transparency
so you can see the scanned map.

TIP 2: Select rows in the attribute table then read the unit code off the map.

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Example: how to digitize your field map

SYMBOLISING THE UNITS
Using the same approach we used for the contacts.
• Right click on any symbol>Properties for all symbols.
• Go to Outline Color and select None.
• Go to Units> Properties> Labels tab.
• Turn on labels and set field to ‘Unit code’.

Análise e Tratamento de Dados Geológicos | 2021/2022

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Example: how to digitize your field map

DIGITISING UNITS
• Start editing by going to Editor>Start editing
or by right clicking on the feature you want to edit
and choose Edit Features>Start editing.
• Click on the Create Features icon on the
Editor Toolbar.
• Click on Contacts shapefile in order to edit contacts.
• Down the bottom of the Create Features box
you will see Construction Tools. Make sure
Polygon or Auto Complete Polygon is
selected.
• Digitize your polygons.
• Save your edits by going to Editor
toolbar>Save Edits.

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Example: how to digitize your field map

Appropriate symbology
• You available in the course discipline page a
document USGS_GeoMap_Symbols.pdf that
describes in detail the numerous mapping
points, lines, and polygons used by the
United States Geological Survey (USGS).

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Example: how to digitize your field map

Appropriate symbology
• ESRI also has available a set of geological symbols called ‘Geology 24K’ that you can download.

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Example: how to digitize your field map

Appropriate symbology
• ESRI also has available a set of geological symbols called ‘Geology 24K’ that you can download.

Análise e Tratamento de Dados Geológicos | 2021/2022

10:44

Example: how to digitize your field map

Appropriate symbology
• ESRI also has available a set of geological symbols called ‘Geology 24K’ that you can download.

Análise e Tratamento de Dados Geológicos | 2021/2022

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