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Topographic Analysis And Predictive Modeling Using Geographic Information Systems, Steven Hall

All Dissertations

This dissertation describes three GIS models developed to better model topographic features and the occurrence of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) in the southern Appalachian Mountains. The first study presented 'A LiDAR based GIS model to calculate Terrain Shape Index on a landscape scale', attempts to develop a GIS based model to calculate the Terrain Shape Index (TSI). TSI is typically collected in the field using a series of elevation measurements to determine the average elevation change within the study plot. In this study, a GIS model is developed and TSI values compared to those collected using conventional methods. The second …

Comparison Of Caddisfly Species (Insecta:Trichoptera) In The Northern Saluda Watershed Over A Thirty-Seven Year Period, In Correlation With Land Development And Use., Michael Biondi

All Theses

Land use and development in South Carolina has greatly increased in the last 50 years. This study focused on land cover change in Northern Pickens County and changes in caddisfly populations at three sites in three sub-watersheds in the South Saluda River watershed. I collected caddisflies from March 31 to October 20 in 2005 and 2006 and compared them to collections performed at the same sites in the same manner in 1969 by John C. Morse for his Master's thesis. I used a geographic information system to assess the land cover change over this thirty-seven year period and correlated the …

Managing Geographic Data As An Asset: A Case Study In Large Scale Data Management, Clay Smithers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Geographic data is a hallowed element within the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) discipline. As geographic data faces increased usage in distributed and mobile environments, the ability to access and maintain that data can become challenging. Traditional methods of data management through the use of file storage, databases, and data catalog software are valuable in their ability to organize data, but provide little information about how the data was collected, how often the data is updated, and what value the data holds for an organization. By defining geographic data as an asset it becomes a valuable resource that requires acquisition, maintenance …

Linking Health Hazards And Environmental Justice: A Case Study In Houston, Texas, Marilyn Marie Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to extend quantitative research on environmental justice and address methodological limitations of previous studies by: (a) using new indicators of exposure to air pollution and contemporary risk modeling techniques; (b) assessing disparities in human health risks, instead of focusing only on potential exposure or proximity to pollution sources; and (c) using multivariate regression models that consider the effects of spatial dependence. The case study examines racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in the geographic distribution of exposure to airborne toxic emissions from industrial point sources in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria metropolitan statistical area. Industrial pollution sources for this study comprise facilities …

Application Of Remote Sensing Methods To Assess The Spatial Extent Of The Seagrass Resource In St. Joseph Sound And Clearwater Harbor, Florida, U.S.A., Cynthia A. Meyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the event of a natural or anthropogenic disturbance, environmental resource managers require a reliable tool to quickly assess the spatial extent of potential damage to the seagrass resource. The temporal availability of the Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, 16-20 days, provides a suitable option to detect and assess damage to the seagrass resource. In this study, remote sensing Landsat 5 TM imagery is used to map the spatial extent of the seagrass resource. Various classification techniques are applied to delineate the seagrass beds in Clearwater Harbor and St. Joseph Sound, FL. This study aims to determine the most …

An Evaluation Of Energy Consumption And Emissions From Intermodal Freight Operations On The Eastern Seaboard: A Gis Network Analysis Approach, Aaron Falzarano

Theses

As global trade continues to increase, the energy and environmental impacts of freight movement in the US have become more of a concern. As such, the freight transport system needs to consider opportunities to meet customer objectives, while also meeting social goals. In the US there has been legislation enacted to address the growing impact that freight movement has on the environment, but there are limited tools to assist in the implementation of those polices. This research sets forth a process for creating a geospatial intermodal freight transportation (GIFT) model within ArcGIS that can be used to analyze freight movement …

Multi-Scale Evaluation Of Mechanisms Associated With The Establishment Of A Model Invasive Species In Mississippi: Imperata Cylindrica, D Christopher Holly

Theses and Dissertations

Of concern in this research were the ecological parameters associated with the establishment of a model invasive plant species, Imperata cylindrica, across a scale of ecological organization. Specifically, the study addressed the species’ ability to: differentially respond to abiotic and biotic constraints during seedling establishment, exhibit a novel underground competitive interference mechanism, and alter the decomposition dynamics in newly invaded ecosystems. Finally, the last portion of the research was centered around creating a predictive habitat model that will provide information on the most important variables responsible for creating habitat for this species. The population level seedling study indicated that soil …

Subsidized Housing, Private Developers And Place: A Spatial Analysis Of The Clustering Of Low Income Housing Tax Credit Properties In The 25 Largest U.S. Cities, Tara O'Neill

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program is the primary federal program for producing new units of affordable housing. The program provides financial incentives to private developers to develop and operate affordable rental housing. In recent years, evidence has emerged that the program has led to clusters of subsidized housing in some cities. It is hardly surprising that some clustering would exist in a program in which the housing is constructed and owned by private developers. Despite the significant number of units produced by the program and despite the potential tendency for clustering of units built under this program, the …

A Gis-Based Strategy For Managing Levee Simulation Data, Jeffrey R. Handy

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding and improving the state of the nation's levees has become a national priority following the devastating events surrounding Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Federal legislation passed in 2007 created a new national Committee on Levee Safety and spurred the development of the National Levee Database, a central repository of information relating to the location and state of levees across the United States (Water Resources Development Act, 2007). One of the major goals in developing such a database is to improve the safety of America's levees. The National Levee Database, however, does not include features for storing seepage and slope stability …

Businesses As Cultural Icons: Their Application Towards Understanding Urban Morphology, Stephanie Lawrence

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Icons surround us but are so ubiquitous they are difficult to observe. Specifically urban cultural icons are a scientific sub-topic under urban morphology's heading and as well are closely related to economic development issues. This study premises that businesses are urban cultural icons which can be computed into four rankings: local cultural icons, focal, zonal, and global cultural icons. And through using dimensional measurement an index is measured. This index can then be used to assess urban morphology. The data set ranges from businesses opening in 1865 to the present. Some are globally-distributed "big boxes"; others are unique one-store shops. …

Temporal Changes In The Spatial Distribution Of Venture Capital Investment To Biotechnology Companies Within The United States., Rocky Graziano Bilotta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research is to investigate temporal changes in the spatial distribution of venture capital investments to biotechnology companies within the United States. Data included venture capital to biotech investments from 1995 to 2005. Venture capital and biotech data from the Money Tree Report, were gathered, analyzed, and mapped to show if a spatial relationship exists. The research examined venture capital investments at both the individual and the aggregated levels. At the individual level, the research examined whether the amount of investments a biotech company receives are influenced by physical distance to its closest investor, number of venture …

Categorization Of Soil Suitability To Crop Switchgrass At Mississippi, Us Using Geographic Information System, Multicriteria Analysis And Sensitivity Analysis, Eduardo Fernando Arias

Theses and Dissertations

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) has been widely investigated because of its notable properties as an alternative pasture grass and as an important biofuel source. The goal of this study was to determine soil suitability for Switchgrass in Mississippi. A linear weighted additive model was developed to predict site suitability. Multicriteria analysis and Sensitivity analysis were utilized to optimize the model. The model was fit using seven years of field data associated with soils characteristics collected from NRCS-USDA. The best model was selected by correlating estimated biomass yield with each model’s soils-based output for Switchgrass suitability. Pearson’s r (correlation coefficient) was the …

A 17-Year Assesment Of Changes In Biomass In The South Of Chile, Using Landsat Satellite Images, Fredy A. Bernales

Theses and Dissertations

Southern Chile is recognized by different international organizations such as UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), and Conservational International as an ecologically sensitive area. The country of Chile is home to one third of the earth’s remaining temperate forests. Monitoring and assessing land cover changes in these forests is important not only to international organizations but to the people of Chile. The lack of multi-temporal studies that evaluate changes in land cover biomass make this study an important one for increasing awareness of how the evolution of the landscape affects environmental planning and development of legal precedents aimed …

Health Impacts From Diesel Freight Emissions: Development Of A Geospatial Analytical Framework For Policy Evaluation With A Case Study Of Sacramento, Ca, Colin Murphy

Theses

Diesel particulate matter, emitted by many types of freight transport, poses a health risk to populations living near freight activity. Accurate information about the magnitude and location of health impacts would help inform policy decisions at a number of levels. Existing methods, including atmospheric dispersion modeling, epidemiology or air quality measurement can estimate the magnitude of harm experienced by populations but these methods often require resources or expertise beyond the reach of some stakeholders, particularly those at local levels. This thesis describes a framework by which health impact estimation can be carried out utilizing readily available models and methodologies in …

Mechanisms Underlying Frog Occupancy Patterns In A Landscape Mosaic Of Tropical Forest And Pasture, Tanya J. Hawley

Open Access Dissertations

Habitat modification is the primary cause of amphibian population declines worldwide. Some species survive in modified habitats whereas others become restricted to small, isolated forest patches. Although many studies compare species richness and composition between modified and intact habitats, the factors and mechanisms that maintain biodiversity in these landscapes are poorly understood. I asked how life history traits and habitat features influence interspecific variation in frog occupancy patterns in tropical pasture and forest. To identify mechanisms underlying occupancy patterns, I used experiments to examine how abiotic conditions in different habitats influence the vital rates of tadpoles. I also explored whether …

The Spatial Distribution Of Geoprivacy Concerns In Florida: A County Level Analysis, Joshua W. House

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Certain types of spatial data maintained and distributed by counties at taxpayer expense can be used with powerful mapping and analysis software, called Geographic Information Systems (GIS), to compromise an indvidual's locational privacy. The kind of privacy at threat here is referred to as geoprivacy, which is concerned with the rights to prevent disclosure of the location of one's home, workplace, or daily activities. While the availability of accessible and accurate geospatial data has increased geoprivacy concerns in recent years, this threat remains virtually unknown to the general public.

Although previous research has explored various components of the geoprivacy …

The Paleoindian Chipola: A Site Distribution Analysis And Review Of Collector Contributions In The Apalachicola River Valley, Northwest Florida, William D. Tyler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

At the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene, between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, humans began to spread throughout North America and into many areas of Florida. These first Floridians are known as Paleoindians, and their culture is largely defined by their lithic assemblage, which includes the well known Clovis point. As the Pleistocene ice age came to a close glaciers melted, rivers experienced a drastic increase in water volume and the landmass of Florida began to shrink as the sea level in the Gulf of Mexico rose. This event likely submerged many early Paleoindian sites …

Hidden Village (42sa2112): A Basket Maker Iii Community In Montezuma Canyon, Utah, Donald G. Montoya

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT This thesis focuses on the Basketmaker III period of the Ancestral Puebloan culture commonly known as the Anasazi, which means ‘ancient stranger’ or ‘ancient enemy’ in the Navajo language, or as preferred by the Hopi; "Hisatsinom" for "The Ones Who Came Before." I use the terms Anasazi and Ancestral Puebloan interchangeably in this study. My particular focus concentrates on a Basketmaker III settlement (42Sa2112 – Hidden Village) in Montezuma Canyon in southeastern Utah. My thesis presents data and an interpretive hypothesis that village formation and complex social organization emerged earlier than most standard texts (Plog 1997) assume. Analysis of …

The Maya Footprint: Soil Resources Of Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico, Ryan V. Sweetwood

Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural yields in Northwest Yucatán are constrained by climate, thin soils, and low fertility. Despite this, the ancient Maya city of Chunchucmil Yucatán, Mexico, boasted an immense, dense, and wealthy population during the Middle Classic period (ca A.D. 400-700). Soil physical and chemical properties were explored to determine how the ancient Maya of Chunchucmil fed themselves. Soil profiles were collected from various locations within ancient Chunchucmil's suspected sustaining area. The physical and chemical properties, carbon isotopes, black carbon, and coprostanols of soil profiles sampled were compared to ancient rural settlement and remotely sensed images, such as AIRSAR (airborne synthetic aperture …

Development Of A Gis-Based Safety Analysis System, Vidhya Kumaresan

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this study is to develop a safety analysis system that integrates crash data and roadway related information. This system is developed in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. It includes customized user interfaces to support queries to analyze data and to display results either in graphical or tabular formats. The system also affords the capabilities to export such results. The system permits analyses to be performed either at individual locations such as intersections, or for roadway segments. These analyses are based on data fields included in the crash database. The queries may be based on individual attributes …

Landslide Susceptibility Zonation Gis For The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake Affected Region, Benjamin Growley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The October 8, 2005 Kashmir earthquake triggered several thousand landslides throughout the Himalaya of northern Pakistan and India. A spatial database, which included 2252 landslides, was developed and analyzed using ASTER satellite imagery and geographical information system (GIS) technology. A multi-criterion evaluation was applied to determine the significance of event-controlling parameters in triggering the landslides. The parameters included lithology, faults, slope gradient, slope aspect, elevation, land cover, rivers and roads. The results were broken down into four classes of landslide susceptibility. The results indicated that lithology had the strongest influence on landsliding, particularly when the rock is highly fractured, such …

Geomorphological Mapping Of The K2 Area, Pakistan Using Gis And Remote Sensing, Deborah Jeanne Belden

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Geomorphological mapping assists in evaluating the polygenetic role of glaciation, mass movement denudation, and fluvial erosion in landscape development. A series of thirteen 1:100,000 geomorphological maps covering the area between Skardu and K2 were produced using field mapping and photography, GPS measurements, ASTER satellite imagery, and digital elevation model (DEM) analyses. Satellite and morphometric analyses were performed using GIS software. The landforms are described in relation to geology, geomorphological processes, and altitudinal zones. Case studies include flash flood deposits, active landslide areas, sackungen, and rock avalanches. The Skardu Basin has tills preserved on many higher slopes, and sand dunes cover …

Using Geographic Information Systems To Select Sites For Wetland Restoration In West Central Ohio's Agricultural Areas, Janice M. Hartkorn

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The Mississippi River Basin, includes a major part of Ohio has encountered increasing phosphorus and nitrogen loads from agricultural fields since the 1800's when intensive agriculture moved into the Midwest. Agriculture has drained ninety percent of Ohio's native wetlands. A portion of those drained wetlands can be restored to functional wetlands to intercept excess nutrients from non-productive or low yield agricultural fields to improve overall water quality. Little is known about finding potential restoration sites, partly because of the difficulty in locating sites capable of supporting successful restoration.

This study investigated the utility of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a …

Identifying Influences Of Social And Physical Environments On A Child’S Mode Of Travel To And From School, Kristian Larsen

Digitized Theses

This study examined environmental influences on a child’s mode of travel between home and school. Students (n=614) from 21 schools throughout London, Ontario, completed a school-based travel survey. A Geographic Information System was used to link survey respondents to data on environmental characteristics around home and school neighbourhoods, and along the probable route to school. Logistic regression analysis tested the influence of environmental factors on mode of travel to and from school. Over 62 percent of students walked/biked to school and 72 percent home from school. The likelihood of actively commuting was associated with shorter trips, residential density, land use …

Geodatabase Design For Resource And Land Management Gis: Missoula Field Office Blm Case Study, Mark English

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is in the process of improving their geographic information system (GIS). The main intention is to upgrade their data and present their employees with the geospatial means necessary to accomplish their resource and land management responsibilities. Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI„µ) designed the geodatabase model, which provides multiple advantages in organization, management, and maintenance of geographic data. The geodatabase model implements advanced relationships between geospatial features and database tables, creates platforms available in organization and editing, and instills GIS functionality to ensure data integrity. The main goal of this work is to investigate the …

Impacts Of A Teacher Geospatial Technologies Professional Development Project On Student Spatial Literacy Skills And Interests In Science And Technology In Grade 5 – 12 Classrooms Across Montana, Jeffrey Willard Crews

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study utilized participants in a teacher geospatial technologies professional development project. Data was collected on the impact this professional development model, and the corresponding classroom implementation of the curriculum, had on student spatial literacy skills and students' interest in science and technology. Twenty teachers from across Montana with demonstrated competency in the use of geospatial technologies were selected for participation in this project. These twenty teachers were broken into two cohorts, cohort one served as the experimental group and cohort two served as the control group. Students within these classrooms ranging in grades 5 - 12, took two assessments, …

Environmental Justice In Canada: The Statistical Correlation Between Socioeconomic Status And Pollution In Five Major Canadian Cities, Nilima Bhoi

Digitized Theses

This thesis explores the existence of environmental injustice in five Canadian census metropolitan areas (CMA): Edmonton, London, Montreal, Toronto and Victoria. Spatial/distributive environmental injustice refers to situations where specific, already disadvantaged, groups bear a disproportionate share of pollution exposure. Several studies in the United States have found that pollution is often more prevalent in areas that are predominantly low income backgrounds or are visible minorities (UCC, 1987; Mohai and Bryant, 1992; Szasz and Meuser, 1997; Ringquist, 2005). Though there are limitations to the ecological approach typically used in these cases, important lessons from the US research (e.g., Bowen, 2000; Maantay …