ArcGIS Benthic Terrain Modeler version 1.0, released April 2005 - these notes updated October 2010 Dawn J. Wright, Emily R. Lundblad, Emily M. Larkin, Ronald W. Rinehart Oregon State University Davey Jones Locker Seafloor Mapping/Marine GIS Lab (project background at http://dusk.geo.orst.edu/esri04/p1433_ron.html) Joshua Murphy, Lori Cary-Kothera, Kyle Draganov NOAA Coastal Services Center We ask that you please use the following citation for this software: Wright, D. J., E. R. Lundblad, E. M. Larkin, R. W. Rinehart, J. Murphy, L. Cary-Kothera, and K. Draganov. 2005. ArcGIS Benthic Terrain Modeler, Corvallis, Oregon, Oregon State University, Davey Jones Locker Seafloor Mapping/Marine GIS Laboratory and NOAA Coastal Services Center. Accessible online at: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/products/btm/ . The conceptual framework for the software is also presented in: Lundblad, E., Wright, D.J., Miller, J., Larkin, E.M.,Rinehart, R., Battista, T., Anderson, S.M., Naar, D.F., and Donahue, B.T., 2006. A benthic terrain classification scheme for American Samoa, Marine Geodesy, 29(2): 89-111. ---- The NOAA Coastal Services Center's GIS Integration and Development program worked in cooperation with the Oregon State University Davey Jones Locker Seafloor Mapping/Marine GIS Lab to develop the Benthic Terrain Modeler (BTM), an ArcGIS 8.x/9.x extension. BTM functions as an interactive toolbar within ArcMap, and relies on a methodology developed by former graduate students Emily Lundblad, Emily Larkin, and Ron Rinehart under the direction of Dr. Dawn Wright, to analyze benthic terrain from input multibeam bathymetry in ESRI's GRID (raster) format. The BTM toolbar contains a set of tools that allow users to create grids of slope, bathymetric position index (BPI, similar to the TPI developed by Andrew Weiss), and rugosity (based on Jeff Jenness' 3.x extension) from an input data set. An integrated XML-based terrain classification dictionary gives users the freedom to create their own classifications and define the relationships that characterize them. A unique feature of the tool is its wizard-like functionality that steps users through the processes involved in benthic terrain characterization, and provides access to information on key concepts along the way. More experienced users can access the various tools contained in the BTM for ArcGIS directly from the toolbar. In addition to the BTMSetup.exe installer program, the ZIP file also contains three sample data dictionaries, and an ArcInfo grid of sample bathymetry from the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary in American Samoa. Once you've successfully run the BTMSetup.exe program and installed the BTM Tool, simply click on View --> Toolbars within ArcMap and select the Benthic Terrain Modeler toolbar. Once the toolbar is active, you will have access to the entire tool functionality and the help documentation. This documentation will provide more background on the tool and the methods employed therein. If you have a previously installed beta version of the tool on your system, please use the Add/Remove Programs dialog in the Windows Control Panel to uninstall the previous version before installing this public version. AS A SPECIAL NOTE TO ARCGIS 9.X USERS, **PLEASE** MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE AT LEAST SERVICE PACK 3 FROM ESRI INSTALLED! Failure to do so will cause some show-stopping errors to occur, as the core ArcGIS 9.0 release does not allow for modal forms. ArcGIS 8.x users will not encounter this issue. There may also be important differences between ArcGIS 9.3.0 and ArcGIS 9.3.1. We hope that installing the latest service pack will help. Also, BEWARE OF VISTA, as that operating system still poses problems for ESRI 9.x users. We recommended sticking with Windows XP and Windows 7 for now. Unfortunately, we do not yet know if BTM is compatible with ArcGIS 10. Our hope is to some day port the entire extension to Python so that BTM can be used in a Model Builder environment, which is persisting through ArcGIS 10, but have not yet been able to garner the resources for such a project as yet. I'll post to the BTM listserv if we achieve success there. Please feel free to join the BTM listserv http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/btm We appreciate your interest in the tool, and if you have any additional problems, please don't hesitate to contact our team below via Josh or Dawn. ________________________________________________________ Josh Murphy Spatial Analyst / GIS Instructor I.M. Systems Group (IMSG) NOAA Coastal Services Center ph: 843.740.1246 2234 South Hobson Avenue fax: 843.740.1315 Charleston, SC 29405-2413 Joshua.Murphy@noaa.gov http://www.csc.noaa.gov Dawn Wright Professor of Geography and Oceanography Department of Geosciences Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 9733-5506 dawn@dusk.geo.orst.edu / http://dusk.geo.orst.edu