Production of a Topographic Map and the Creation of a Six-Layer Geographic Information System (GIS) For A Fifteen Square-Kilometre (15 Km ) Areal Extent of the Gidan Kwano Campus of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

Geological or geophysical surveys must be tied-in to an existing Geographic Information System (GIS) platform and georeferencing of survey stations should be the acceptable norm. It is as a result of these facts that this work was designed in order that proper surveying, topographic, and GIS information for a defined fifteen square-kilometer (15km ) gridded area was executed. The objectives of this project are the creation of a detailed topographic map for the area of study so as to reduce ambiguities in future geoscientific studies at the study area, the implementation of georeferencing protocol at the area of study, the creation of a Geographic Information System (GIS) database for the area of study, and the creation of specific GIS layers for the area of study. These GIS layers define the outcrop, arboreal, economic resource, land use, as well as squatters’ settlements profile of the area of study. The area selected for this study is located at the following co-ordinate grids: N09 30’25.20’’, E006 26’11.34’’; N09 33’07.20’’, E006 26’11.34’’ and N09 30’25.20’’, E006 24’34.14’’; N09 33’07.20’’, E006 24’34.14’’; this area covers the portion of the Gidan Kwano Campus (GKC) where near-term, mid-term, and long-term facility expansion works are expected to be sited. Latitude, longitude, elevation (i.e. x, y, z) information using the Etrex hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) units were collected every 100m along every N-S and E-W axes at the area of study, thus forming a grid of 1581 georeferenced stations of interest for the topographic map generation. X, y, z information-gathering sequence for the GIS layers was a non-gridded, spatial-oriented exercise. The site-specific topographic map for this project work was generated using the Golden Surfer 8 software. In addition, the ArcView GIS was used to create a six-layer Geographic Information System (GIS) for the area of study. The topographic map and GIS database can be considered as a suite of very important reference materials that can be assessed by researchers engaged in future surface and subsurface formation studies in the area of study.