Methodology
For a Cartographic Model of this project click here
The weather maps were downloaded as PDF files. I zoomed into the appropriate area and saved the frame I needed as a TIFF file. This file was imported into ArcGIS and geo-referenced to a vector map of BC. Once the image files got the correct spatial attributes, the digitizing began within ArcMap. I created an empty map to draw the polygons onto in ArcCatalogue. The digitizing process took a long time as the weather maps contains polygons within polygons and complicated boundaries. The final digitized product was exported as a shape file from ArcMap. Switching to IDRISI, the shpaefile was imported using the SHAPEIDR - Shapefil / Idrisi conversion. Now in IDRISI, the maps were reclassed because the specific ID's made in ArcMap did not tranfer. The maps were reclassed to match the original PDFs.
I needed to create an average of the maps I imported and converted to use in a MCE. Using the MacroModeler in IDRISI, I overlayed all 5 map rasters to one map using addition. Then I used a scaler module and devided the final map by 5 for an anerage of wind speeds over the 5 samples called Final_Average.
From the GVRD dem file, a GVRD Slope image was created using the slopes module. This image was one of the factors for the MCE. Building a wind turbine on a steep slope is very difficult, however, wind speeds are high on steeper slopes so there has to be a balance.
Another layer used was a GVRD_Landuse. In ArcMap, I used the 'Select by attributes' tool to select only Agricultural land, and Open/Undeveloped land. This selection was extracted and imported into IDRISI as a shapefile and imported in IDRISI using the ShapeIDR tool.
I also needed a boolean base map of all the land area in the GVRD. I used the GVRD_Landuse file again. Once in IDRISI I simply reclassed all land values as 1, and everything else as 0 (GVRD_Landarea). For further interpretation, I switched these vales so to create a map of only water area in the GVRD (GVRD_waterarea).
Decision Wizard and the MCE: The only constraint I had originally was that it had to be on land. For this I used the GVRD_Landarea map. The factors were slope and wind speed. Wind speed had a Monotonically Increasing suitability (linear) up to its maximum value. The second factor, slope, had a symmetric sigmoidal shape and Increased from just above 0 (to diminish the fuzzy boundary), up to 30%, then decreasing suitability to 80%. I weighted the wind availability as 0.8, and the slope as 0.2 and chose not to include an Ordered weighted average.
Once the above map was created, I then overlayed it with the raster image of Agricultural and Open/Undeveloped area in the GVRD using the overlay module.
Alternatively, iIoverlayed the MCE image with the GVRD_WaterArea created in the same manner. This will show the wind availability over the water.