Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Bathymetry Data For Lakes Azuei And Enriquillo, Michael Piasecki, Mahrokh Moknatian

Publications and Research

This data set supports and forms the basis for the development of Digital Bathymetry Models (DBM) for Lakes Azuei (Haiti) and Enriquillo (Dominican Republic). Bathymetric Data is typically acquired using Sonar devices that measure the depth at specific points along a boat track and for which the longitude and latitude is recorded. From the resulting point cloud one develop a seamless representation of the floor of the lake on either a raster set (which is what we have done) or try to use a contour (vector representation) model in which the depth contours appear as polygons or -lines. The raw …

Systematic Approach To Identifying Deeply Buried Archeological Deposits, Anthony L. Layzell, Rolfe D. Mandel, Courtney L. Ziska, John R. Bozell

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This project is designed to assist cultural resource specialists involved in Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) project planning and development. The goal was to develop Geographic Information System (GIS) data layers that spatially delineate different landform-sediment assemblages (LSAs) and depict the associated geologic potential for buried cultural deposits in select watersheds in Nebraska. The Nebraska Buried Sites GIS resource will allow planners and cultural resource specialists to determine whether future project areas are likely to be free of deeply buried sites or whether subsurface exploration is necessary.

Land Suitability Analysis For Emergency Medical Services Posts Along State Highways: A Case Study Of California, Ernest Tufuor, Laurence Rilett, Yunwoo Nam, Antonio Hurtado Beltran

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

The response time of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to road accidents can be the difference between life and death. The California strategic highway safety plan highlight the need to improve the response time and recognizes that: 37% and 8% of the fatal crashes are 30 or more miles away from a trauma center in rural and urban areas respectively.

The paper seeks to: (1) demonstrate the viability of using spatial multi-criteria analysis in road safety management, and (2) provide a good scientific justification in selecting optimal counties for EMS posts. The goal is to propose areas that are close to …

Analysis Of Traffic Collisions In Dublin Using Gis Based System, Jagteshwar Singh, Niamh O' Reilly

Conference papers

This study aims to analyse traffic collisions in the Greater Dublin Region between the period 2006-2012, using GIS to identify hotspots and examine the relationship between collisions and a range of contributory factors including vehicular speeds, traffic volume, road curvature, road category and distance from intersection that could enable prediction of traffic collisions. To this end, Road Safety Authority (RSA) collision data for Dublin Region geocoded as point events, road profiles, traffic flow characteristics on which these occur are spatially merged using ArcGIS and FME software to establish if a significant relationship exists between collision frequencies on road links and …

Snow And Ice Removal Route Optimization In Kentucky, Benjamin L. Blandford, Erin Lammers-Staats, Eric R. Green

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Each year the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) spends $40-$80 million removing snow and ice from the state’s roadways. Snow and ice removal are accomplished through a system of snow and ice removal routes that are designed to account for location and the attributes of trucks, facilities, materials, and roadways. To identify strategies that will improve and optimize KYTC’s snow and ice removal operations, Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) researchers used ArcGIS and its Network Analyst extension to study the performance of the Cabinet’s current routing procedures. Building from this investigation, researchers developed optimized snowplow routings for four counties located in KYTC …

Streambank Erosion Mapping On The Nottoway River Using Gps-Based Above-Water Video, Emine Fidan

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

This project concerns the development of streambank erosion maps on military installations utilizing GPS-based above-water video mapping and image georeferencing techniques. The river mapped was the Nottoway River at the Fort Pickett military installation on October 10-11, 2015. Kayak-mounted above-water cameras were utilized to capture georeferenced images of streambank erosion. These GIS-based erosion classifications were utilized to develop erosion maps for determining streambank erosion conditions along the river. Areas of high erosion were identified as about two percent of the river (2167 ft. of streambank length). These maps allow for the opportunity to revisit the sites to determine changes in …

Corrosion Map For Metal Pipes In Coastal Louisiana, Sanjay Tewari

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Transportation agencies often allow metal pipes as an option for cross drains under/along roads and highways. Metal culverts can corrode over time at various rates based on their environmental conditions (e.g., corrosive nature of coastal soils, high water table, and saltwater intrusion).

This project was focused on applying available soil data, such as spatial distribution of soil types and soil characteristics (e.g., pH and conductivity), towards creating a Geographic Information System (GIS) based map to identify corrosion zones in coastal Louisiana. The effect of the soil characteristics (pH and conductivity) was incorporated in to the published corrosion models for calculating …

Vulnerability Of Coastal Connecticut To Sea Level Rise: Land Inundation And Impacts To Residential Property, Rebecca Andreucci, Can B. Aktas

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Vulnerability indices at the global or national scales require considerable data aggregation where local economic and social impacts remain unnoticed. The goal of this study was to analyze the extent of inundated land from sea level rise and its economic impacts to residential property in coastal communities. Geographic data were integrated with economic and social data at parcel level resolution through GIS. Cumulative land inundation in seven coastal municipalities was calculated as 15 and 25 km², while direct economic costs to residential property was estimated to be $1.3 billion and $2.2 billion for 1 and 2 m sea …

The Former Asarco Demolition Fallout, A Post Study On Lead Soil Concentrations And Environmental Agents Of Redistribution In El Paso, Texas, Stephanie A. Robinson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The former El Paso ASARCO Smelting and Refining Co. operated between 1877 and 1999, the pyrometallurgic activity was estimated to have discharged excess of a 1,000 tons of lead (Pb) into the atmosphere from 1969-71. It was estimated 96 tons of (Pb) were emitted on an annual basis from the standing ore and fluid beds. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that lead (Pb) is the heavy metal of the highest concentration within the vicinity of the smelter. After the smelter production ceased, flash flooding common to the southwest, such as the 2006 historic flood, increased transportation of superficial contaminants …

Laboratory Exercise – Frontrunner Extension, Meeya Apelu, Jordan Arrowchris, Joseph Browning

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

The Utah Transit Authority’s (UTA) FrontRunner is a commuter rail line that runs 89 miles through Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, and Utah counties. There are 16 different stops along this line which are: Pleasant View, Ogden, Roy, Clearfield, Layton, Farmington, Woods Cross, North Temple, Salt Lake Central, Murray Central, South Jordan, Draper, Lehi, American Fork, Orem and Provo (UTA 2017). Using the FrontRunner is easy and is very convenient. The popularity of this transit system is increasing and UTA has announced their future plans to continue the rail line. UTA is exploring ways to go forward with this plan and …

Laboratory Exercise – Calculating Runoff Over Land Parcels, Wade Bozeman, Steven Evans, Ryan Selee

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

When developing land, most municipalities will require that all runoff from the site be retained on site or flow into a storm water conveyance system. In the near future, new regulation will require that all runoff be retained on site. For this reason, it is important to know how much runoff can be expected to flow over a potential development site. In this lab, you will use ArcMap ModelBuilder to predict the amount of flow which can be expected over a land parcel in a storm event.

Final Group Project - Optimal Route Finding, Jason Biesinger, Levi Burr, Tyson Terry

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Emergency response teams are always preparing rescue plans and protocols so they may respond quickly to various incidents. Fire trucks and ambulances need to arrive at the scene of the incident rapidly to mitigate injury, and avoid more damage to property in the case of a fire (Kolesar et al. 1973). Holidays are times of high incidence, and officials always plan for potential risks that surround large events. The network analysis toolbox can be used to find and map out the quickest route from a variety of locations. The network analysis toolset in ArcMap makes it possible for us to …

Laboratory X - Autonomous Vehicle Application, Nate Lant, Matthew Strong

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Autonomous vehicles are currently the newest and hottest technology and show tremendous potential in making current transportation much more efficient. GIS is a key element in providing different mapping solutions and satellite assistance to support the cars in addition to their LIDAR and camera systems. Over the last few decades, different technologies have been integrated into cars to make them more user friendly--more autonomous. Recently, cars have been given a standardized range to categorize them into different levels of autonomy. The levels range from 0 to 5. Level 0 has no capacity of any autonomous technology; level 1 has cruise …

Laboratory Exercise - Calculating The Volume Of Material Displaced By Mount St. Helens Eruption Of 1980, Donald Anderson, Alex Fisher, Ken Lippold

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

There are several active volcanoes in the state of Washington. On May 18, 1980, one of these volcanoes, Mount St. Helens, erupted. On March 1, 1980, the University of Washington set up a seismograph in the area to monitor the volcano’s activity. On March 20, a minor earthquake was recorded under Mount St. Helens and the entire area was put on alert. Thanks to this warning, the locals were able to evacuate before the mountain erupted. Before fully erupting, some steam and ash was seen billowing out of the top, and on May 18, the volcano was ready to blow. …

Laboratory Exercise – Possible Zara Locations In Utah, Garlick Alyssa, Whitney Robison, Olivia Sorenson

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

GIS ModelBuilder can be used well for site selection. For this exercise, we will build a model that will automate the process of creating a map for the best locations in Utah to open a new Zara store. The principles presented here can easily be extrapolated to another state, country, or dataset to automate the process of site selection for retail stores.

Laboratory Exercise - Ideal Stargazing Locations Background, Michael Adamson, Brandon Walker, Nicholas Smith

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Astrophotography is a specialized type of photography for recording photos of astronomical objects, celestial events, and large areas of the night sky. Astronomical photography employs long exposures so film or digital imaging devices can accumulate light photons over long periods of time. Urban areas produce light pollution so equipment and observatories doing astronomical imaging are often located in remote areas to allow long exposures without the film or detectors being swamped with stray light. Astrophotography is a popular hobby among photographers and amateur astronomers. Images of the night sky can be obtained with some of the most basic film and …

Laboratory Exercise – Saratoga Springs Temple Site Locator, Jordi Berrett, Josh Gibbons, Tyler Mickelson

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

On April 2, 2017, President Thomas S. Monson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) announced that the LDS Church would build a temple in Saratoga Springs, Utah. The temple will be the eighteenth LDS temple built in Utah and the fifth in Utah County. It is anticipated that the temple will serve church members in Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain, Lehi, and other surrounding areas. The LDS Church carefully chooses optimal sites for their temples. LDS temples tend to be view-able from the surrounding area, usual. Temples are also usually near major highways and in areas that …

Zombie Shelter Location, Shanna Carroll, Tyler Lindsay, Hannah Rasmussen

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

One common use of GIS is determining ideal locations for projects. This is because GIS makes it very easy to combine and analyze spatial data in a customized way. In this exercise, assume that there has been a recent zombie outbreak in Utah, USA. To determine the ideal hideout location, data that indicates a safe location must be acquired and combined with geography that is conducive to wilderness survival. Once the data is gathered, spatial analysis using GIS overlay tools must be conducted to determine the ideal location for an anti-zombie hideaway hut. In this exercise, multiple tools will be …

Laboratory Exercise - Temple-View Least- Cost Mountain Bike Trail, Brad Wells, Jacob Wilcock

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) has created several guidelines that are used when locating and building new mountain bike trails. A GIS is can be used to generate possible locations for mountain bike trails while following guidelines given by the IMBA. These guidelines include maximum allowable slopes, avoiding fall lines, avoiding flat areas, and seeking areas that include control points such as viewpoints, water, or other attractions. One way to determine the most appropriate placement of a mountain bike trail is to create and run a model in ArcMap that has the necessary input parameters defined within the model. …

Final Laboratory Exercise - Amazon Hq2 Site Selection, Jared Lillywhite, Travis Mcstraw, Marco Rosas Rodriguez

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

GIS is often used by major corporations around the world to help manage processes such as shipping, inventory, sales, and expansion. GIS is specifically used in expansion to help determine suitable site locations for new stores, Headquarters, warehouses and other assets to a given corporation. This exercise is based on a real case study. On September 12th, 2017 Amazon announced that it would be opening up a second headquarters that would be equal in operation and size to its Seattle Headquarters. The company is currently taking proposals from different cities, however they are trying to determine which U.S. cities would …

Laboratory Exercise: Calculating Hobble Creek 100 Year Flow Using Arcmap, Micklane Farmer, Saul Ramirez, Riley Vane

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

GIS is used extensively in watershed analysis. In previous labs, students have determined a watershed from DEM data. Calculating flow can be very useful in many engineering aspects. With the correct data, GIS can be used to develop a hydrologic model to calculate the flow from a watershed. The purpose of this lab is to develop a model to calculate the flow for the Hobble Creek 100 year event.

Studies Of Air Pollutants And Their Impact On Respiratory And Cardiovascular Diseases In The El Paso Del Norte Region With Emphasis On Mobile Emissions, Juan Gustavo Arias Ugarte

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Air pollution may cause different diseases, such as cardiovascular and lung diseases. Traffic is a major source of mobile emissions causing air pollution. Exhaust emissions from mobile sources (Emissions of Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxides and Hydrocarbons) and Non-exhaust (Brake and Tire) are complex mixtures of gases and dust, including a large number of ultrafine particles, especially in areas with high traffic density. Recent studies have shown high rates of morbidity and mortality in people exposed to these types of emissions because the fine and ultrafine particles can be transported from the respiratory airways to the organs, thus contributing to increase …

Modeling Algae Powered Neighborhood Through Gis And Bim Integration, Florina Dutt, Steven Jige Quan, Erik Woodworth, Daniel Castro-Lacouture, Ben J. Stuart, Perry Pei-Ju Yang

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper aims to propose a modeling method for algae powered neighborhoods through GIS-BIM integration. In the first part of the paper, the applicability of different types of algae systems in an urban neighborhood are studied. The various systems of algae provide different strengths and weakness that affect their performance and suitability for given urban scenarios. Through extensive literature review, the variables that affect the performance of the micro-algae in the built environment are identified, with a focus on flat-panel photo bio-reactors and tubular photobioreactors. A previous GIS model for data management, performance analysis and design of the algae systems …

An Evaluation Of The Safety Of The Cycling In Dublin City For Dit Students, Niamh O' Reilly

Articles

Cycling as a mode of transport offers many benefits including a cheap, cost effective, healthy, fast, mainly congestion free and environmentally friendly means of getting to and from places of employment and education. Given the central location of Technological University Dublin campus buildings this would seem an ideal option for its third level students, but on the contrary, a DIT online travel survey conducted in March 2014 found that only 7% of students chose cycling as their primary mode of transport. Concerns about cyclist safety were a major factor cited by students who chose alternative modes of transport. Based on …

Hydraulic And Hydrologic Properties Of The Sabine River, Annie L. Bryant

Civil Engineering Theses

The Sabine River is located in Northeast Texas and is home to many threatened and endangered species as well as a growing human population. It is important to understand channel properties and flow characteristics of rivers in order better manage these important natural resources. The Sabine was monitored for hydraulic and hydrological properties as this is a poorly understood river at this point in time.

Hydraulic modeling was conducted to determine channel velocities and shear stresses during different storm frequencies. It was found that velocity and shear stress had a direct relationship at lower velocities. A comparison of existing Geographic …

Guidance Index For Shallow Landslide Hazard Analysis, Cheila Cullen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Rainfall-induced landslides are one of the most frequent hazards on slanted terrains. They lead to considerable economic losses and fatalities worldwide. Intense storms with high-intensity and long-duration rainfall have high potential to trigger rapidly moving soil masses due to changes in pore water pressure and seepage forces. Nevertheless, regardless of the intensity-duration of the rainfall, shallow landslides are influenced by antecedent soil moisture conditions. To the present day, no system exists that dynamically interrelates these two factors.

This work establishes a relationship between antecedent soil moisture and rainfall expressed in the form of a Shallow Landslide Index (SLI) at 1km …

Bathymetric Survey For Lakes Azuei And Enriquillo, Hispaniola, Michael Piasecki, Mahrokh Moknatian, Fred Moshary, Joseph Cleto, Yolanda Leon, Jorge Gonzalez, Daniel Comarazamy

Publications and Research

The two largest lakes on the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola, Lake Azuei in Haiti and Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic, have experienced dramatic growth and surface area expansion over the past few years leading to severe flooding and loss of arable land around the lake perimeters. In order to better understand the reasons for this unprecedented rate of expansion and the resulting consequences a multi-disciplinary team comprised of researchers from Haiti, the DR, and the US have embarked on an extensive data collecting and hydrologic and climatological modeling campaign. While the sensor deployment entails stations that measure climatological data …

Quantifying Transit Access In New York City: Formulating An Accessibility Index For Analyzing Spatial And Social Patterns Of Public Transportation, Maxwell S. Siegel

Theses and Dissertations

This paper aims to analyze accessibility within New York City’s transportation system through creating unique accessibility indices. Indices are detailed and implemented using GIS, analyzing the distribution of transit need and access. Regression analyses are performed highlighting relationships between demographics and accessibility and recommendations for transit expansion are presented.

Assessment Of The Co2 Capture Potential From Irreplaceable Industrial Sources, Peter Psarras, Jennifer Wilcox

CO2 Summit II: Technologies and Opportunities

The industrial sector represents approximately 20% of total US CO₂ emissions.¹ These emissions can be further categorized as direct (accountable on-site, e.g., stationary combustion), indirect (assigned to electricity purchased for power) and process (CO₂ liberated as a reaction by-product). For example, steel and cement production both involve processes that directly emit CO₂ as a by-product (via the oxidation of metallurgical coke and conversion of calcium carbonate to lime, respectively). While climate change mitigation efforts have the potential to reduce direct and indirect emissions through the adoption of best practice technologies and low-carbon energy sources, process emissions …

Estimating The Probability Of Vegetation To Be Groundwater Dependent Based On The Evaluation Of Tree Models, Isabel C. Pérez Hoyos, Nir Y. Krakauer, Reza Khanbilvardi

Publications and Research

Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs) are increasingly threatened by humans’ rising demand for water resources. Consequently, it is imperative to identify the location of GDEs to protect them. This paper develops a methodology to identify the probability of an ecosystem to be groundwater dependent. Probabilities are obtained by modeling the relationship between the known locations of GDEs and factors influencing groundwater dependence, namely water table depth and climatic aridity index. Probabilities are derived for the state of Nevada, USA, using modeled water table depth and aridity index values obtained from the Global Aridity database. The model selected results from the performance …