Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Merging Volunteered Geographic Information Systems, James Mcandrew

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This project determines how two different systems based on geographic user-generated content can work together to allow the content to be made more accessible. This project’s objective is to determine the technical and social issues involved with allowing information to be transferred between systems.

Specifically, this project works with information from two volunteer systems: 1) The United States Geological Survey’s National Map Corps, 2) A global volunteer mapping project called OpenStreetMap.

This project discusses the history of both systems and how they have dealt with importing data in the past. It reviews what has worked well with previous imports and …

A Model Of The Effects Of Deforestation On Local Climate In The North Cascades, Monica R. H. Jasper

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Changes in areal extent of land cover types may lead to alterations in the surface energy budget that contribute to anthropogenic climate forcing. This study examines the effects of deforestation in the Cascade Range on local temperature. Temperature sensors were installed in 14 forest stands, taking measurements for one year. Estimated tree age, circumference, and species were recorded to calculate stand density index. Satellite imagery was used to calculate shade fraction from spectral mixture analysis, which is a proxy for canopy structure and density. These data were used to construct seasonal cycles of temperature to model variation with stand density …

Gis Mapping For Peace Corps, Jeremy Huey

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

International volunteerism programs, such as the Peace Corps, find interested, educated men and women to live abroad in order to help local communities in need of assistance. The goal of this project is to create maps intended to enhance the training of those volunteers. When volunteers leave training programs and head to their prospective service communities, a certain period of time is needed in order to obtain a full grasp of the terrain, boundaries, weather, climate etc. A more effective training program, which incorporates maps of regional climates, environments, landscapes, cultures and resources, will lead to more effective volunteerism. By …