For my mapping project, I decided to use the map of Northfield in 1905 and layered it on top of the classic world map zoomed into the Northfield area. I tried to reference some similar regions relative to the river for my points. My map was not wholly accurate, but generally, it’s close or partially close. Northfield’s layout has mostly stayed the same for over one hundred years.
With this georectified map, it could be possible to see how Northfield has changed over the years. With a more detailed map, seeing how Cannon River has changed over the century would be very interesting. You could then find a pattern between those changes and the climate changes happening in Northfield over the century with climate change. In a broader view, this mapping process can be used to identify trends in urbanization and terraforming over long periods.
Some things could be improved with georeferencing. One of the significant problems and considerations is that all maps have some bias. The world map has all the problems with the Mercator projection, and other maps have their own decisions made about their creation that change the map. Additionally, maps from different periods tend to have different standards. Older maps may highlight landscape details more than modern digital maps. Even digital maps make decisions based on how detailed certain areas are and what period they choose to stress, which could massively change the map depending on location or region.
This method would only be appropriate for projects with precise spatial data or references. The data needs to have some empirical component for an accurate point of reference between a world map and another map. Additionally, a rapidly changing landscape might not be ideal if the landscape loses a consistent point of reference between the two maps. It becomes challenging to georeference accurately, so the method loses much of its value.
This project helped me understand the considerations surrounding spatial DH projects. I am more confident in my ability to make spatial DH projects. Georectification is a helpful method for constructing these projects, and I hope to use it more.
