Hi there,
I am a graduate student and am new to ArcGIS, as well as this site. As my research entails climate science, I recently discovered that the software could be a useful means for me to create a map displaying spatial variations in temperature at a global scale.
I should note that I do have an Excel file containing the necessary data, and this file is organized into latitude/longitude coordinates. For example, column A displays Longitude (titled "lon"), and column B shows Latitude (titled "lat"). ***Please note that my longitude values range from 0 to 360, and for latitude, values range from -90 to 90. Given the nature of the latitude and longitude values, what projection would be most appropriate?
Column C (titled Annual avg.) displays annual temperature changes per degree Celsius of global warming. Columns D and E show simimilar changes in temperatures but are more seasonal (these are not necessary). Please also note that this Excel file is already in .csv format, which, I believe, is a suitable format in ArcGIS.
The idea is to create a shapefile in ArcGIS that displays the temperature changes per degree Celsius global warming using the Excel file. Once done, I would simply like to calculate specific regional averages based on these temperature changes. For instance, once the desired (raster) map is created, would it be possible to calculate the average temperature change over North America (or any specific region)? If so, how?
I would greatly appreciate it if someone could guide me through the necessary steps involved in such a task/process!
Any assistance would surely be valued immensely.
Thank you,
~Trav.~