<p>The most common software for creating and modifying maps is ArcGIS (commercial but you can get free trial for a month) or QGIS (open source).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-06T09:11:53.293Z
Could you specify how it works in ArcGIS (particularly, if and which toolboxes are needed) or QGIS?
daniel.heydebreck
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-14T15:21:14.110Z
Thanks. I was afraid of "we don't recommend software" responses.
Stepan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-06T09:04:27.363Z
2017-12-06T09:04:27.363Z
Gabija
<p>I am looking for a tool to sketch changes to Earth. It should start with a geoid or an Earth model, rise/lower/flood selected areas. "Heal" boardersk: if an island is added in an ocean height shouldn't abruptly change from 0 $m$ to $-$1000 $m$. It should also measure distances between points, allow labeling and export maps of selected images as raster graphics (jpg image). </p>

<p>So far I could do two things:  </p>

<ol>
<li>Start with Google Earth, prepare necessary shapes using flooding, paste results as layers in Gimp/Photoshop [fast and ugly]</li>
<li>Import data in Matlab, define rules for modified regions, export [manual rule definitions is slow, no way to smart select, drag and drop regions] </li>
</ol>

<p>What is the standard approach to do this? For instance, how people display flood plains, draft a channel or a new island project?</p>

<hr>

<p>Windows/Mac/Linux/doesn't_matter? Windows preferred, Linux is OK. 
GUI or also command line? GUI, or GUI+CLI batching. CLI only is undesired.
Go you want to use a GIS? I didn't know about GIS. Looking into in.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-06T09:01:31.980Z
Could you specify: Windows/Mac/Linux/doesn't_matter; GUI or also command line? Are you familiar with command line tools and netCDF files? You want some generic solution and don't want to use a GIS? If the usage of a GIS is fine, I would suggest to ask the question at [GIS.SE](https://gis.stackexchange.com/).
daniel.heydebreck
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-06T09:10:52.650Z
What I would do (since I don't have GIS experience): (a) download a land elevation data set as netCDF file (e.g. a global product like [GMTED2010](http://www.temis.nl/data/gmted2010/)) and (b) plot only data with an elevation above X m elevation (X m is my water level rise). However, this approach is not necessarily correct because humans build stuff like dikes ... . For the plotting I would use a tool/language of my choice: [GMT](http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/) or [R](https://www.r-project.org/). Processing of the netCDF file could be done via [cdo](https://www.mpimet.mpg.de/cdo/).
daniel.heydebreck
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-06T09:18:18.583Z
My suggestion includes a lot of hand work! Therefore, I post it only as a comment and not as an answer. Adding islands etc. I would do in R oder Python.
daniel.heydebreck
<mapping>
Software to draw maps based on Earth
Stepan
# Software to draw maps based on Earth

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-12-06)

I am looking for a tool to sketch changes to Earth. It should start with a geoid or an Earth model, rise/lower/flood selected areas. "Heal" boardersk: if an island is added in an ocean height shouldn't abruptly change from 0 $m$ to $-$1000 $m$. It should also measure distances between points, allow labeling and export maps of selected images as raster graphics (jpg image).

So far I could do two things:

1. Start with Google Earth, prepare necessary shapes using flooding, paste results as layers in Gimp/Photoshop [fast and ugly]
2. Import data in Matlab, define rules for modified regions, export [manual rule definitions is slow, no way to smart select, drag and drop regions]

What is the standard approach to do this? For instance, how people display flood plains, draft a channel or a new island project?

---

Windows/Mac/Linux/doesn't\_matter? Windows preferred, Linux is OK.
GUI or also command line? GUI, or GUI+CLI batching. CLI only is undesired.
Go you want to use a GIS? I didn't know about GIS. Looking into in.

**Tags:** mapping

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Could you specify: Windows/Mac/Linux/doesn't_matter; GUI or also command line? Are you familiar with command line tools and netCDF files? You want some generic solution and don't want to use a GIS? If the usage of a GIS is fine, I would suggest to ask the question at [GIS.SE](https://gis.stackexchange.com/).  
> **username_1**: What I would do (since I don't have GIS experience): (a) download a land elevation data set as netCDF file (e.g. a global product like [GMTED2010](http://www.temis.nl/data/gmted2010/)) and (b) plot only data with an elevation above X m elevation (X m is my water level rise). However, this approach is not necessarily correct because humans build stuff like dikes ... . For the plotting I would use a tool/language of my choice: [GMT](http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/) or [R](https://www.r-project.org/). Processing of the netCDF file could be done via [cdo](https://www.mpimet.mpg.de/cdo/).  
> **username_1**: My suggestion includes a lot of hand work! Therefore, I post it only as a comment and not as an answer. Adding islands etc. I would do in R oder Python.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-12-06. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

The most common software for creating and modifying maps is ArcGIS (commercial but you can get free trial for a month) or QGIS (open source).

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Could you specify how it works in ArcGIS (particularly, if and which toolboxes are needed) or QGIS?  
> **username_0**: Thanks. I was afraid of "we don't recommend software" responses.  

---

