Using QGIS, to view, validate, & clean up localities in an accession in Arctos
Channel: ARCTOS
Date: 2019-07-03

Spatial data related to voucher specimens are fundamental for biodiversity research. These data come in many formats, from textual descriptions of locations to latitude/longitude coordinates or Well-Known Text (WKT) representations of coordinate reference systems. Curators and managers of museum collections incorporate spatial data when cataloging new specimen records, and validation of such data is essential for ensuring and improving data quality and discovery. This webinar will discuss some workflows for viewing, validating, and cleaning locality data prior to integration into a collection management information system. Specifically, we will present ways of cleaning Excel spreadsheets (e.g., when coordinate data are in variable formats), and will talk about how to use opensource GIS tools to map and validate locations. Although our focus is on Arctos (https://arctosdb.org), these workflows can be applied more broadly to help improve the quality of spatial data available for biodiversity research.

We recommend installing a free download of QGIS (LongTermRelease version) so that participants can follow along during the webinar

Presenters: Michelle Koo (Biodiversity Informatics and GIS Staff Curator) and Carla Cicero (Staff Curator of Birds) at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, UC Berkeley.

More info: https://arctosdb.org/learn/webinars/using-qgis/