Earth Sciences Commons^™

Global Digital Elevation Model Accuracy Assessment In The Himalaya, Nepal, Luke G. Miles

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are digital representations of surface topography or terrain. Collection of DEM data can be done directly through surveying and taking ground control point (GCP) data in the field or indirectly with remote sensing using a variety of techniques. The accuracies of DEM data can be problematic, especially in rugged terrain or when differing data acquisition techniques are combined. For the present study, ground data were taken in various protected areas in the mountainous regions of Nepal. Elevation, slope, and aspect were measured at nearly 2000 locations. These ground data were imported into a Geographic Information System …

Unh Library Imls Place Grant News Announcement, Place Project Group

PLACE Project

UNH Library Website News announcement about the IMLS Grant for PLACE, November 7, 2014.

Investigating Risk Factors Of Underground Power Cables In Iceland, Ingunn Gunnarsdottir

Earth and Environmental Sciences Presentations

In designing, installing and managing an underground electric power cable system in Iceland, efficient thermal dissipation in the soil surrounding the cable is critical in preventing thermal breakdown due to high temperatures at cable jackets. Two underground power cables extend from the Nesjavellir geothermal plant to Reykjavik. Previous work has shown that the thermal conductivity of soil is dependent on soil water content. There are various environmental factors that may affect soil water content, causing the soil to dry up. This study identified the various factors that should be considered when dealing with underground power cables, particularly with regard to …

The Application Of Geographic Information Technology And Ground-Penetrating Radar In The Study Of The Evolution Of The Charles River Basin, Lars E. Anderas

Graduate Masters Theses

A two-part study was conducted on the evolution of the shoreline of the Charles River basin on a city-wide scale as well as in finer detail in Magazine Beach Park, along the Cambridge shore of the river. Both parts of the study utilized geographic information technology (GIT) to integrate and analyze data from modern and historical sources, including maps, digital elevation models (DEMs), and orthographic and oblique photography. The city-scale portion of the study produced estimates of the total area of new land made within the study area since Boston's founding in 1630, 14.3 km², of which 6.5 …

Studying The Relationship Between Mud/Salt Flat Habitat And Shorebird Abundance At Two Wetland Areas Using Landsat, Dustin Reagan

Master's Theses

The objective of this project was to determine the degree and direction of association between the amount of mud/salt flat area and shorebird abundance during spring and early summer. This study used Landsat 5 to indirectly measure mudflat and salt flat areas at two wetland complexes within Kansas over a period of several years (1991-2008). These measurements were compared to shorebird surveys conducted by several individuals at both Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area. A correlation analysis showed that significant relationships exist between mud/salt flat area and the abundance of certain shorebird species. Correlation coefficients for individual …

Geoanalytical Analysis Of Speleogenetic Development In The Owl Mountain And Nolan Creek Provinces: Fort Hood Military Installation, Texas (Abstract], Melinda G. Shaw-Faulkner, Kevin W. Stafford, Aaron W. Bryant

Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

Winter Habitat Use By Juvenile Greater Sage-Grouse On Parker Mountain, Utah: Implications For Sagebrush Management, Danny Caudill, Terry A. Messmer, Brent Bibles, Michael R. Guttery

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse) are entirely dependent on sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) for food and cover during winter. Loss or fragmentation of important wintering areas could have a disproportionate affect on population size. We radio-marked and monitored 91 juvenile sage-grouse in south-central Utah from 2008 to 2010. Thirty-four individuals survived to winter (January to March) and were used to evaluate winter habitat use. Resource use was calculated using kernel density estimation of radio-marked individuals and compared to available habitat using a G-test. We found that juvenile sage-grouse used winter habitats characterized by 0 to 5% slopes …

Modeling Bedrock Mining Hotspots Within The Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas, Stephanie H. Mehlhope

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This study, concentrating on the Ouachita Mountain Range in western-central Arkansas, extends prior work on treethrows and their influence on soil development in the region by supplying a method of determining hotspots of bedrock mining by treethrow. Binary logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the abiotic and biotic factors that are highly correlated with the rate of bedrock detachment found in uprooted rootwads from three study sites within the Ouachita National Forest. The produced logistic regression models suggest topographic factors, tree specific characteristics, as well as the local geology and soil characteristics all have a significant effect upon the …

Optimized Correlation Of Geophysical And Geotechnical Methods In Sinkhole Investigations: Emphasizing On Spatial Variations In West-Central Florida, Henok Gidey Kiflu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Sinkholes and sinkhole-related features in West-Central Florida (WCF) are commonly identified using geotechnical investigations such as standard penetration test (SPT) borings and geophysical methods such as ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). Geophysical investigation results can be used to locate drilling and field testing sites while geotechnical investigation can be used to ground truth geophysical results. Both methods can yield complementary information. Geotechnical investigations give important information about the type of soil, groundwater level and presence of low-density soils or voids at the test location, while geophysical investigations like GPR surveys have better spatial coverage and …

Coastal Inundation Due To Sea Level Rise And Extreme Sea State And Its Potential Impacts: Çukurova Delta Case, Özlem Si̇mav, Dursun Zafer Şeker, Cem Gazi̇oğlu

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

With the rising sea level becoming a more pressing issue to coastal areas, a comprehensive analysis has been conducted to assess the vulnerability of the Çukurova Delta under the projected inundation by the end of the century. The level of inundation was estimated from a multimission satellite altimetry sea level anomaly and significant wave height data between September 1992 and February 2012. Superposed to the clear annual oscillation with 6.2 cm amplitude peaking around the beginning of October, the mean sea level signal exhibits a positive trend of 3.4 ± 0.1 mm/year over the altimetric data period. The extreme wave …

Using Gis To Delineate Headwater Stream Origins In The Appalachian Coal-Belt Region Of Kentucky, Jonathan A. Villines

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Human activity such as surface mining can have substantial impacts on the natural environment. Performing a Cumulative Hydrologic Impact Assessment (CHIA) of such impacts on surface water systems requires knowing the location and extent of these impacted streams. The Jurisdictional Determination (JD) of a stream’s protected status under the Clean Water Act (CWA) involves locating and classifying streams according to their flow regime: ephemeral, intermittent, or perennial. Due to their often remote locations and small size, taking a field inventory of headwater streams for surface mining permit applications or permit reviews is challenging. A means of estimating headwater stream location …

Approaching Cave Level Identification With Gis: A Case Study Of Carter Caves, Brianne Jacoby, Eric Wade Peterson, John C. Kostelnick, Toby J. Dogwiler

Eric Wade Peterson

Cave passages that are found at similar elevations are grouped together and called levels. The current understanding is that passages within a level are speleogenetically linked to a common static baselevel or stratigraphic control. Cave levels have provided an interpretive framework for deciphering cave development, landscape evolution, and climatic changes. Cosmogenic dating has been successfully used to interpret levels in Mammoth Cave and the Cumberland Plateau; however, this technique is expensive and there are limited funding resources available. Geographic information systems may be used as preliminary procedures to identify cave levels and constrain the timing of level development. A GIS …