what considerations are important to determine a fuels suitability?

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Overview of Weighted Site Choice and Suitability Assay

| January 12, 2020 April x, 2014 | Spatial Analysis

Site selection or suitability analysis is a blazon of analysis used in GIS to determine the best identify or site for something. Potential sites used in suitability analysis can include the location of a new hospital, shop or school amongst many others. When performing site selection assay users must gear up various criteria from which the GIS software tin can charge per unit the best or ideal sites. Site selection assay can be performed with vector or raster information just i of the about widely used types of site selection, weighted site pick, uses raster data.

Weighted site selection analysis allows users to rank raster cells and assign a relative importance value to each layer (ESRI). The outcome is a suitability surface which ranks potential sites from 1 to 5. Sites with a value of 1 are least suitable and those with a value of v are nigh suitable. Weighted site selection is an important site selection method because it includes options for viewing next-all-time sites (those with a value of 4) should the platonic sites not piece of work.

How to Utilize Weighted Site Selection inGIS

In order to utilise weighted site selection there is a standard workflow that should be followed. This workflow usually begins with defining a trouble or criteria such as locating some potential sites for a new ski resort. The next step is to gather data and create raster surfaces to be used in the analysis. This step is followed past reclassifying the layers, weighting them and so overlaying the output layers with groundwork information such as a map of topography to see the best potential sites.

Reclassification is important in weighted site selection because it is used to simplify the estimation of raster data by changing a single input value into a new output value (ESRI). It tin as well be used to group ranges of cell values into a single value. For example you lot can assign a value of 1 to a set of values that range from one-50 and 2 to values that range from 51-100. This simplifies weighted site selection because different types of raster data will have different values based on what they testify (ESRI). By using reclassification they are all based on the same ranking scheme that can be used to compare and rank the least and most suitable sites.

Weighting layers is another critical stride in weighted site choice because it allows the user to identify varying levels of importance on different factors such equally proximity to a major highway and sunday exposure (ESRI). Weights are ordinarily determined by a panel of experts on the subject beingness tested and they are based on specific criteria for the analysis. Weights are assigned equally different percentages that must add together up to 100%.

When to Use Weighted Site Selection inGIS

Weighted site pick or suitability assay is best to utilise with raster information when a user needs to find a site based on a number of criteria such as the following problems explained by the ESRI Virtual Campus course "Using Raster Data for Site Selection":

When one needs to find the rankings of suitability for cells in a raster dataset
When one needs to find side by side-best site options in addition to finding an platonic site
When information has a distinct boundaries and other levels of certainty
When the user determines where something will become based on specified criteria
When the user wants to rank different criteria as more or less important in finding an ideal site

Map showing results of site selection analysis. Red indicates areas with the highest matching criteria and blue shows areas that rank lowest in meeting all the criteria. — Map showing results of site option assay. Scarlet indicates areas with the highest matching criteria and blue shows areas that rank lowest in coming together all the criteria.

Weighted Site Selection Example

I example of a common weighted site choice problem is locating the best site for a new business such every bit a vineyard. This is a good instance because vineyard operators have a number of unlike criteria that are needed to successfully grow grapes and these criteria can exist ranked or weighted to find the best potential sites. These factors could exist slope, height, sun exposure and distance to major freeways. In conducting a weighted site selection analysis all of these will be ranked based on their overall importance. For example, lord's day exposure could be weighted equally twoscore% considering grapes will not grow properly with too little or too much sunday. Slope is xxx% while superlative would be twenty% because if the vineyard is besides high, the temperatures will be too common cold and in that location could be too much moisture for the grapes. Altitude to freeways would be 10% considering although important for visitors, without the right growing weather there could be no vineyard at all.

In addition, a vineyard will accept a distinct boundary, the developer will cull the final site (i.eastward.- the vineyard can't movement itself like an animal would) and adjacent-best site options are necessary should the platonic site not work.

This is simply 1 example of many potential weighted site option projects and because of its versatility, weighted site selection is an important tool in GIS.

References

ESRI. (n.d.). "Using Raster Data for Site Choice." ESRI Virtual Campus. Personal Notes. (Course Taken 2 April 2014).