Digital Commons Network^™

Coalesced Cherokee Communities In The Eighteenth Century: A Spatial And Elemental Analyses Of The Ceramic Assemblage At Mialoquo (40mr3), An Overhill Cherokee Town In Monroe County, Tennessee, Christian Allen

Masters Theses

I use the ceramic assemblage from the Mialoquo site, an eighteenth-century Historic Cherokee community (A.D. 1760-1780), to study the social formation of Cherokees from different Cherokee town areas at the site. The assemblage is composed of at least two Historic Cherokee types, the Overhill and Qualla ceramic series. Three methods were used to evaluate the ceramics from the Mialoquo assemblage: morphological, spatial, and elemental. Morphological analyses (namely temper and surface treatment) of these sherds were used to examine ceramic variability of the assemblage. Spatial analyses, using ArcGIS, were used to identify patterns between ceramic series present. Finally, elemental analysis, using …

Potable Water Leakage Prediction And Detection Using Geospatial Analysis, Jacob Tittle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to increasing water treatment costs and conservation needs, traditional water loss analysis and acoustic leak detection methods are becoming heavily scrutinized by water utilities. This study explores water loss in Johnson City, Tennessee and how geospatial data analysis techniques improve water loss mitigation. This project uses sample water system pressure data and ordinary kriging spatial interpolation methods to identify leakage areas for further investigation. Analysis of existing geographic information system (GIS) water utility datasets with interpolated hydraulic grade values at sample water pressure points produce manageable survey areas that pinpoint areas with possible water leakage. Field detection methods, including …

Improving Hydroshare And Web Application Interoperability Through Integrated Gis And His Data Services, Kenneth Jack Lippold

Theses and Dissertations

HydroShare is a collaborative online system being developed by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science Inc. (CUAHSI) with the goal of facilitating the dissemination, visualization, and publishing of hydrologic data and models. External web applications serve a key role in extending HydroShare's capabilities, so robust application programming interfaces (APIs) are a vital component of HydroShare's architecture. Hydrologic data stored on HydroShare are defined by a data type, and much of these data are either geospatial or time series data. Although HydroShare's API provides ways to upload and download files, as well as access certain metadata, it …

Analyzing The Relationship Between Perception Of Safety And Reported Crime In N Urban Neighborhood Using Gis And Sketch Maps, Yelena Ogneva-Himmelberger, Laurie Ross, Thomas Caywood, Marina Khananayev, Casey Starr

Sustainability and Social Justice

This study analyzes the perception of safety among residents of Main South neighborhood in Worcester, MA, USA and compares it to reported crimes. This neighborhood is the focus of a community-based crime reduction project funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the policy development arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. We collected social disorder and violent crime data from the Worcester Police Department and conducted 129 household surveys to understand residents’ perception of safety in the neighborhood and trust in community institutions. The surveys included a map on which residents indicated where they felt unsafe. The goal of this …

Soil Erosion Analysis Of The Monroe County’S Watersheds In Indiana, Danielli De Melo Moura, Jie Shan

Purdue GIS Day

This study was carried out to spatially predict the amount of soil loss (tons/ha/year ) of Monroe County’s watersheds using Geographic Information System (GIS). Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was used to estimate potential soil losses by using information such as rainfall data for calculating the rainfall erosivity (R) , soil map for calculating the soil erodibility (K), digital elevation model for obtaining the topography factor (LS) and vegetation/cropland cover for calculating the cover management factor (C) and support practice factor (P). The result of the analysis depicted that the soil loss rate in Moroe’s watersheds ranges from 0 …

The Value Of Open Gis In Higher Education, Christina Hupy

Purdue GIS Day

Open source software has become increasingly popular in geospatial research and industry. Despite this trend, higher education has less readily adopted open source in GIS curriculum which has been dominated by proprietary systems for decades. This presentation will discuss the value of bringing open source into GIS curriculum. The discussion will focus on several aspects including GIS curricular standards and competencies, employer demand, generational interest (millennials), pedagogical benefits, and general societal benefits. Strategies for encouraging the adoption of open source in GIS curriculum will be identified.

Seeing A Better World From Space, Carly Sakumura

Purdue GIS Day

Understanding change is essential to addressing our most pressing global challenges. Organizations need actionable insight to make critical decisions that affect communities, economies, and national security. As a global leader of advanced geospatial and space-based technology solutions, Maxar has an unprecedented ability to observe, analyze, and monitor these global changes. In this talk, I’ll discuss the cutting-edge research, technological capabilities, and imagery products and analytics we develop at Maxar to unlock the power of geospatial data to understand and navigate our changing world.

Measurement Of Changes In Forest Fragmentation Caused By Road Construction Between 2000 And 2014 Using Gis In St. Johns County, Florida, Ahmet Karatas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Forests play a crucial role in maintaining the natural balance. They have essential features and structures used in the protection of flora and fauna. Human activities such as road construction disrupt ecosystems and negatively impact natural habitats. Roads cause forest fragmentation, and as a result of this, fragmentation has various negative effects on the natural habitat. These effects lead to loss of biological diversity, road mortality, habitat loss, fragmentation, and air pollution. The major goal of this study was to analyze changes in forest area, forest fragmentation, and forest road impacts using GIS for St. Johns County, Florida, between the …

Deformable Part Models For Automatically Georeferencing Historical Map Images, Nicholas Howe, Jerod Weinman, John Gouwar, Aabid Shamji

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Libraries are digitizing their collections of maps from all eras, generating increasingly large online collections of historical cartographic resources. Aligning such maps to a modern geographic coordinate system greatly increases their utility. This work presents a method for such automatic georeferencing, matching raster image content to GIS vector coordinate data. Given an approximate initial alignment that has already been projected from a spherical geographic coordinate system to a Cartesian map coordinate system, a probabilistic shape-matching scheme determines an optimized match between the GIS contours and ink in the binarized map image. Using an evaluation set of 20 historical maps from …

Climate Change And Dissolved Organic Matter In Subarctic Lakes: Relevance To Methylmercury Bioavailability, Kyra Lyn Simone

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

One of the first steps of methylmercury (MeHg) bioaccumulation, uptake by phytoplankton, is regulated by dissolved organic matter (DOM). Methylmercury binds strongly with DOM, especially high-molecular weight (HMW) compounds containing reduced sulphur; this binding decreases MeHg bioavailability. Climate-induced changes were measured at the landscape level using ArcGIS; land-cover changes between 2005-2010 were assessed around lakes in Mackenzie Valley, NWT. The observed changes, a 10% increase in forest-classified area and up to 15% decrease in wetland area, will likely increase delivery of HMW DOM and MeHg to lakes. Partitioning experiments were conducted to examine effects of DOM ligand quality on MeHg …

Identification Of Mined Areas That May Contribute To Water Quality Degradation At Hobet Coal Mine, West Virginia, Brian P. Murphy

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Spatial Data To Open - Access National Archaeological Databases And The Development Of Paleodemography Research, Erick Robinson, Christopher Nicholson, Robert L. Kelly

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

With generous support from the National Science Foundation, we have spent the past four years developing an archaeological radiocarbon database for the United States. Here, we highlight the importance of spatial data for open-access, national-scale archaeological databases and the development of paleodemography research. We propose a new method for analyzing radiocarbon time series in the context of paleoclimate models. This method forces us to confront one of the central challenges to realizing the full potential of national-scale databases: the quality of the spatial data accompanying radiocarbon dates. We seek to open a national discussion on the use of spatial data …

Precision Agriculture Gis Technologies For Mississippi, 1st. Edition, Amelia A.A. Fox

College of Agriculture & Life Sciences Publications and Scholarship

Precision agriculture is meant to improve on-farm efficiency in hopes of ultimately increasing profitability while also protecting the environment. However, this difficult process almost always includes the proper management and interpretation of data. Therefore, it is imperative that those individuals involved in making such decisions are educated on these processes. In a data-driven world, this textbook is a great resource for those wanting to learn how to utilize their data in hopes of making better informed on-farm decisions.

Automation Of State Climate Office Processes & Products: Developing Efficient Approaches For Data Dissemination, Michael Shoop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

State Climate Offices (SCO’s) in the United States are critical conduits for improving weather and climate data in local communities. Two states do not have a state-recognized SCO: Tennessee and Massachusetts. Efforts are underway at East Tennessee State University to develop the Tennessee Climate Office (TCO). Currently, climate services and products are severely lacking across Tennessee. This thesis provides an improved methodology for an existing TCO product and outlines the development of a new product using Python scripting. Daily storm reports within the monthly climate report are automated and a Weather Forecasts Hazard Index (WFHI) web application is developed. Both …

Of Fire, Mammals, And Rain: Mechanisms Of Plant Invasions, Tara Boyce Bishop

Theses and Dissertations

Biological invasions are driving environmental state changes on a global scale. Exotic plant species must be successful at passing several abiotic and biotic filters to establish and disrupt the native plant community assembly. Understanding where exotic plants are on a regional scale and being able to characterize how exotic plants are generally interacting with their environment is crucial information for exotic species management (chapter 1). In the western United States human-related activities are augmenting the spread of exotic plant species by increasing the ignitions of wildfire. Wildfire can lead to nutrient pulses through the removal of intact native communities and …

Greenway Trail Viewshed Characteristics: Planning Applications Using Gis And Remote Sensing, Aric Addison Beehler

MSU Graduate Theses

This study applies theoretical findings relating greenway trail viewshed characteristics to a proposed greenway trail. Utilizing geographic information systems and remote sensing techniques, this study compares the viewshed characteristics of two proposed routes to connect an existent greenway trail system to Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield in Greene County, MO. Light Detection and Ranging data is then used to map the viewshed of each route and calculate the openness and interconnectedness of each viewshed. High-resolution multispectral imagery is then used to calculate the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index measuring the “greenness” within each viewshed. Finally, parcel-level land use data is used to …

The Applications Of Gis On Lithic Raw Material Source Analysis, Sydney James, Carolyn Dillian

Honors Theses

Raw material sourcing has long been used to identify patterns of trade and exchange in archaeological research. More recently, geographic information systems (GIS) have provided other ways for archaeologists to identify these patterns through data visualization and various spatial statistical analyses. While these methods are frequently used individually, the combined use of these methods has potential to more closely examine the relationships between raw material sources and archaeological sites; this should be considered a necessary measure for methods of spatial analysis. This research applies existing raw material source data to quantitative GIS analysis as a way to demonstrate this claim.

Development Of Digital Bathymetry Maps For Lakes Azuei And Enriquillo Using Sonar And Remote Sensing Techniques, Michael Piasecki, Mahrokh Moknatian, Fred Moshary, Jorge Gonzalez

Publications and Research

This article presents an improved algorithm for optimization and development of a digital bathymetric model (DBM) for Lake Azuei (LA) (Haiti) and Lake Enriquillo (LE) (Dominican Republic) using the ANUDEM method. Both sonar data and contour lines of the lakes’ layout extracted using Landsat imagery were compiled for bathymetry development. We show that the performance of the ANUDEM method was strongly dependent on the density and irregularity of the spatial distribution of the data. Changing the resolution of the output grids and deriving auxiliary topographically corrected contours improved the ANUDEM performance and minimized the systematic errors of the method. Statistical …

Repairing Landsat Satellite Imagery Using Deep Machine Learning Techniques, Griffin J. Lane, Patricia Goresen, Robert Slater

SMU Data Science Review

Satellite Imagery is one of the most widely used sources to analyze geographic features and environments in the world. The data gathered from satellites are used to quantify many vital problems facing our society, such as the impact of natural disasters, shore erosion, rising water levels, and urban growth rates. In this paper, we construct machine learning and deep learning algorithms for repairing anomalies in the Landsat satellite imagery data which arise for various reasons ranging from cloud obstruction to satellite malfunctions. The accuracy of GIS data is crucial to ensuring the models produced from such data are as close …

Examining Mosquito Abundance, Composition, And Distribution Before And After Hurricane Irma In Miami-Dade County, Florida, Qian Huang

Open Access Theses

Flooding events such as hurricanes have become common throughout the world, yet our understanding of how these events affect the spatial and temporal distribution of disease vectors such as mosquitoes is limited. This knowledge can guide development of effective and timely strategies for mitigating mosquito-borne disease outbreaks in the aftermath of flood disasters. This study examined the influence of weather and socio-demographic factors on the spatial and temporal distribution of mosquitoes before and after Hurricane Irma in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Adult female mosquitoes were collected from August 15 through October 15, 2017 using CDC light traps (n= 30 traps) and …

Analyzing Trends And Patterns In Adverse Birth Outcomes In Massachusetts From 2000-2014, Madeleine Haynes

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This study explores spatio-temporal trends and patterns in adverse birth outcomes (ABO) in the state of Massachusetts from 2000-2014. ABO include low birth weight (< 2500 g) and preterm deliveries (gestational age < 37 weeks). This research evaluates if there are areas in Massachusetts that have experienced statistically significant increases or decreases in ABO throughout the study period. Birth data was obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and only singleton, live births were included for the analysis. The data were aggregated to census tracts, and the total number of births and the number of ABOs were calculated for each census tract for each year. In total, 1478 census tracts were included in this analysis. Births to non-Hispanic black mothers and births to non-Hispanic white mothers were separated to evaluate if trends in ABO are similar regardless of race as previous literature has identified a much higher rate of ABO in births to non-Hispanic black women. Trends and patterns of ABO were evaluated using the Space Time Cube and the Mann-Kendall statistic and a multivariate regression was conducted to identify potential correlations between socioeconomic factors and prevalence of ABO. Results of this study can be used to identify areas that are experiencing an increase in ABO to potentially allow for more effective, targeted intervention methods.

Geographical Analysis Of Offender Vulnerability: Modeling Coastal Hazards And Social Disorganization In Southern Mississippi, Ashleigh Nicole Price

Master's Theses

Hazards research continually examines how specific groups are affected by damaging events and how their unique sociodemographic characteristics contribute to variations in resilience and recovery. Studies have shown that underprivileged communities suffer more adversely and take longer to recover from hazard events. Probationers and parolees are uniquely disadvantaged regarding demographics and economic opportunity, both of which contribute to increased vulnerability and reduced resilience. Numerous legal restrictions and widespread discrimination towards former criminals means offenders are often relegated to underserved, criminogenic neighborhoods. Given such severe social and financial limitations, offenders have little capacity to prepare for or recover from disasters.

The …

Anthropogenic Landscapes Of Amazonia : A Spatial Analysis Of Landscape Modification And Settlement Organization At Macurany, Brazil., M. Grace Ellis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anthropogenic landscapes are the product of complex human-environment processes that form distinct features in the landscape, which materially preserve and reflect human behavior. Anthropogenic landscapes in Amazonia likely date back to human colonization of the region around 16,000 BP. Since colonization, humans have been marking, modifying, managing, and engineering the landscape resulting in a mosaic of anthropogenic landscape features across Amazonia. The diversity of ancient landscapes documented in Amazonia reflects the cultural heterogeneity that existed in the past. This research explores the complex human-environmental processes that form distinct, identifiable, lasting features on the landscape and what these features can illuminate …

Potential Fossil Yield Classification (Pfyc) Survey Of Nevada Surficial Geology, And A Multi-Sensor, Remote Sensing, Change-Detection Study Of Land-Use/Land-Cover Urbanization Impacting The Las Vegas Formation Located In Northwestern Las Vegas Valley, John Jayson Medema

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis is a combination of two separate but related projects. The first project is a Potential Fossil Yield Classification (PYFC) survey. The PFYC is a Bureau of Land Management funded survey designed to synthesize paleontologic information into a geographic information system (GIS) as a distributable geodatabase. The database is designed to represent surficial geologic deposits contained in a polygon shapefile. Throughout the State of Nevada each polygon represents a mapped geologic unit at a scale of at least 1:250 k. Each mapped geologic unit is then assigned a “potential fossil yield classification”, a numerical ranking value of 1-5 based …

After The Literature Review And Before The Manuscript - Supporting The Middle Of The Research Lifecycle With Data, Gis, And Digital Scholarship Services, Annelise Sklar, Stephanie Labou

Digital Initiatives Symposium

Traditional library advisory services focus on the beginning and end of the research lifecycle, but what about students and researchers who need help with the steps in the middle? This talk will highlight UC San Diego's public service support for data collection, management, analysis, and visualization. In particular, we will highlight our Data & GIS Lab; Digital Media Lab; Digital Scholarship services, including KNIT, our digital commons; Software/Data Carpentry and other workshops; and consultation services for students and researchers.

Porphyry Copper Prospectivity Mapping Using Fuzzy And Fractal Modeling In Sonajeel Area, Nw Iran, Zahra Yazdi̇, Alireza Jafari̇ Rad, Mehraj Aghazadeh, Peyman Afzal

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

Main purpose of this research is to present a local scale GIS-based mineral prospectivity model for prospecting Cu porphyry mineralization, and to validate the produced model by field observation, surface sampling and drilling data. Sonajeel area which is the subject of this study is a part of Arasbaran mineralization belt, NW of Iran. Constructing a mathematical exploratory algorithm based on a mineralization type is a complicated and interdisciplinary task. For this purpose, results from processing and interpreting different data sets including geology, geochemistry and remote sensing were considered. A comprehensive exploratory integration model was built up considering the exploration stage …

(Mis)Communicating With Geographic Information System Mapping: Part 1--Choosing Units Of Representation, Rodrigo Cantarero, Maria Deguzman, Sarah Taylor, Soo-Young Hong, Jeong-Kyun Choi

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

Extension professionals are increasingly using geographic information system (GIS) technology to develop and inform programs and services. In this article, we use a mapping exercise to demonstrate how the unit of data can be applied and inadvertently misrepresented in GIS mapping. We contrast the use of counts, percentages, and location quotients with the same data and the resulting divergence in maps. The discussion addresses ideal circumstances for using each unit of data. Overall, the article illustrates the need for Extension professionals to be cognizant of the benefits and limitations of various units of data to avoid miscommunication when using GIS …

Land Use Changes And Zoning Alternatives In Auburn, Maine's Agriculture And Resource Protection District, Signe Lynch, Emerson Krull, William Anderson

Community Engaged Research Reports

In an effort to protect natural resources and promote agricultural productivity, the City of Auburn established the Agriculture and Resource Protection (AGRP) zoning district in 1964. The “Ag Zone,” as we will be referring to it in this report, is still a critical component of Auburn’s landscape, making up 45% of the city’s total acreage (Ad Hoc Committee, 3). Since the creation of the Ag Zone in the early 1960’s, Auburn’s farming and forestry culture have changed and the population has declined.. In recent years, several committees and consultants have considered these shifting trends and have noted that amendments are …

(Mis)Communicating With Geographic Information System Mapping: Part 2—Determining Data Cutoffs, Rodrigo Cantarero, Maria Deguzman, Sarah Taylor, Soo-Young Hong, Jeong-Kyun Choi

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

The increasing use of geographic information system (GIS) technology in various fields suggests the need for professionals, including those in Extension, to be mindful of communicating data accurately and effectively. This article examines approaches to creating classes or groupings within data as well as the weaknesses of each approach. Data break units discussed in the article include equal intervals, quantiles, and units resulting from natural breaks. Ideal situations for each type of data break are presented. The article emphasizes the need for Extension professionals to consider the effects of data grouping to avoid miscommunication when using GIS mapping.

From Gis To Uavs: Emerging Opportunities For Drone Support Services In Academic Libraries, Jessica Davila Greene, Warren Roberts

Library Staff Publications and Research

In 2015, The Claremont Colleges Library purchased a drone for its Emerging Technology Loan program. At the time, Federal Aviation Administration regulations were still in their infancy in regards to drone use in public and for teaching and research –lending wasn’t even a consideration. After three years of waiting for the regulations to catch up with the demand, The Claremont Colleges Library GIS Specialist was able to pilot a drone lending program that circulates both the drone and the GIS Specialist for course integration. This paper outlines the history of GIS at The Claremont Colleges Library, its evolution toward drone …