Digital Commons Network^™

Gis-Based Landscape Prioritization To Guide Invasive Species Survey, Erin R. Mauk

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Utilizing prioritization models gives invasive species managers the capability to systematically target surveying and management toward priority areas, therefore maximizing limited financial resources by increasing the value that management can have on the landscape. In this report, Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques were utilized to produce an invasion risk model and a quality land model. Combining these two models produced a landscape-level prioritization model, which denoted the land quality and associated invasion risk across the study area. High-quality land was commonly distributed within Isle Royale National Park, along Lake Superior’s coastline, and within coastal wetlands and riparian habitats. Areas of …

Image-Data-Driven Deep Learning For Slope Stability Analysis, Behnam Azmoon

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Landslides cause major infrastructural issues, damage the environment, and cause socio-economic disruptions. Therefore, various slope stability analysis methods have been developed to evaluate the stability of slopes and the probability of their failure. This dissertation attempts to take advantage of the recent advancements in remote sensing and computer technology to implement a deep-learning-based landslide prediction method.

Considering the novelty of this approach, this dissertation leads with proof-of-concept studies to evaluate and establish the suitability of deep learning models for slope stability analysis. To achieve this, a simulated 2D dataset of slope images was created with different geometries and soil properties. …

Mapping Historical Archaeology And Industrial Heritage: The Historical Spatial Data Infrastructure, Daniel Trepal, Don Lafreniere, Timothy Stone

Michigan Tech Publications

While a vibrant and growing research literature exists on the value of GIS to archaeology in general, the application of geospatial digital data to the subfield of historical archaeology is less well developed, especially in North America. This is particularly true for the era of industrialization, where the archaeological record is accompanied by a comparatively rich historical record. Historical and industrial archaeology are fundamentally bound up in the interplay between material and historical data, and it is in enhancing the dialogue between these two evidentiary bodies that interdisciplinary geospatial approaches are most fruitful to these subdisciplines. Drawing on recent discussions …

Spatial Analysis Of The Infrastructural Demands Of Integrating 5g Technology: A Case Study In The City Of Detroit, Gregory Putman

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The invention of 5G technology is expected to revolutionize wireless communication, technology, and capabilities. One major challenge in realizing this vision is the actual deployment of 5G nodes and the development of 5G network infrastructure. Higher frequency and shorter wavelengths that are characteristic of 5G technology is expected to decrease signal range radii of 5G nodes, which could have serious implications for the implementation of a 5G network. This study assessed cell signal density and cell signal coverage that could be achieved using existing 4G infrastructure in the city of Detroit. Results indicate that existing infrastructure is not capable of …

Implementation Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uavs) For Assessment Of Transportation Infrastructure - Phase Ii, Colin Brooks, Richard Dobson, David Banach, Thomas Oommen, Kuilin Zhang, Amlan Mukherjee, Timothy C. Havens, Theresa Ahlborn, Rudiger Escobar-Wolf, Chaitanya Ganesh Bhat, S. Zhao, Q. Lyu, Nicholas Marion

Michigan Tech Publications

Technological advances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies continue to enable these tools to become easier to use, more economical, and applicable for transportation-related operations, maintenance, and asset management while also increasing safety and decreasing cost. This Phase 2 project continued to test and evaluate five main UAV platforms with a combination of optical, thermal, and lidar sensors to determine how to implement them into MDOT workflows. Field demonstrations were completed at bridges, a construction site, road corridors, and along highways with data being processed and analyzed using customized algorithms and tools. Additionally, a cost-benefit analysis was conducted, comparing manual …

A Landscape Of Water And Waste: Heritage Legacies And Environmental Change In The Mesabi Iron Range, John Baeten

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation explores the intersection between mining technology, industrial heritage, and environmental history, using iron mining in the Mesabi Range of the Lake Superior Iron District as its core case study. What impact did technological shifts in iron mining and ore processing have on the environment of the Lake Superior basin? How did the environmental changes wrought from low-grade iron ore mining and processing, such as the expansion of open-pits and the production of tailings, affect different communities in Minnesota’s Mesabi Range? And finally, how have the environmental legacies of iron mining been remembered and memorialized, or ignored and forgotten?

Developing A Gis Tool For Infinite Slope Stability Analysis (Gis-Tissa), Jonathon Sanders

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Probabilistic Infinite Slope Analysis model (PISA-m) is a widely used computer program that uses infinite slope equations to calculate the spatially varying Factor of Safety of slopes. ESRI’s ArcGIS software and accompanying geoprocessing tools have become a mainstay in spatial data processing, and received full support for Python with the release of version 10. With many of the geoprocessing tools now available as a Python function, the software can be used for physics-based spatial landslide hazard analysis. A model that mimics PISA-m and its processing of normally distributed soil properties was created using the Python utility as a tool …

Assessing Site Availability Of Aspen And Northern Hardwoods For Potential Feedstock Development In Michigan: A Case Study, Sara Alian, Ann Maclean

Michigan Tech Publications

The importance of wood and wood byproducts as biomass feedstocks is of increasing interest as a source of ethanol and electricity. Second generation woody feedstock sources in Michigan, e.g., hybrid poplar and hybrid willow (Populus spp.), and native forests, particularly aspen and northern hardwoods, are a potential source of woody biomass for these uses. This study provides a geographic information system (GIS) framework for assessing the current spatial extent of aspen and northern hardwoods) and their proximity to roads. Additionally, the potential for expanding the area of these feedstock sources based on pre-European settlement vegetation cover is assessed. Utilizing GIS …

Toward Renewable Eenergy Geo-Information Infrastructures: Applications Of Giscience And Remote Sensing That Build Institutional Capacity, K. Calvert, Joshua M. Pearce, W. E. Mabee

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications

Sustained policy support is necessary in order to drive a transition toward renewable energy (RE). The ability to realize RE policy objectives is constrained by a range of geographic factors related to resource potential, the distribution of resources, land availability/suitability, the absorptive capacity of proximal infrastructure, and local socio-political acceptance. With this in mind, this paper provides a systematic review of how geographic information science and remote sensing techniques have been applied to reduce uncertainties surrounding renewable energy development, with emphasis on policy and planning needs. The concept of a ‘geo-information infrastructure’ is used to bring coherence and direction to …