Last week, our community delved into several engaging discussions, ranging from the practical application of GIS in combating climate change to tips for newcomers entering the field in 2025. Members shared valuable insights on sourcing nuanced terrain textures, an often-overlooked aspect in GIS projects. The technical aspects of schema locks and cost distance analysis were also hot topics, providing great learning opportunities for both seasoned professionals and newcomers alike.
This Week’s Hot Topics
Turning GIS into climate action
This thread explores how GIS can be leveraged as a powerful tool in climate change mitigation efforts. It’s a must-read for those interested in making a real-world impact through their GIS skills. Read more here
Where to find subtle terrain textures
Finding the right textures can make or break a project. This discussion offers useful tips and resources for locating subtle terrain textures that enhance the realism of GIS outputs. Read more here
Getting into GIS in 2025
For those contemplating a career in GIS, this thread provides insights into the future landscape of the field and advice on how to prepare for it. Read more here
Cost distance for skid trail design
This technical discussion dives into the application of cost distance analysis for designing skid trails, an intriguing read for those involved in land management and forestry. Read more here
I was the schema lock all along
A humorous yet educational thread about troubleshooting schema locks, offering both laughs and lessons for anyone who’s ever been stumped by this issue. Read more here
That’s all for this week’s update. Keep sharing your knowledge and asking questions. See you in the forum!
Killed the zig-zag paths in Cost Distance by setting the snap raster to the DEM and building the cost surface with integer classes first; @marta it also cut runtime about 30% on a coastal flood siting — if you need continuous costs, re-scale after.
For climate action corridors, I’ve had better luck switching from Cost Distance to Path Distance with a linear vertical factor so slope penalizes uphill — felt more realistic than isotropic costs. Setting Environments to an equal‑area projection and using Extent + Mask to the AOI cut runtime about 25% last week on a 10 m DEM. If you can’t use Path Distance, at least reproject and mask, or skim the docs: Path Distance (Spatial Analyst)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation.
When routes can branch, circuit-based modeling like Circuitscape (https://circuitscape.org) has worked well for me — it treats movement like current instead of forcing one corridor. Caveat: I smooth slope (3x3 mean) and add a simple barrier raster for highways/streams so it doesn’t leak across culverts; @sam88 this pairs well with your corridor point.