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Geography

Western Kentucky University

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Measurement Of The Effects Of Food Preparation Activities On The Microclimate Of The Snowball Dining Room Area Of Mammoth Cave, Kelly Kaletsky Jun 1992

Measurement Of The Effects Of Food Preparation Activities On The Microclimate Of The Snowball Dining Room Area Of Mammoth Cave, Kelly Kaletsky

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The stability of Mammoth Cave’s microclimate has never undergone extensive investigation. The Snowball Dining Room area was chosen to measure the microclimate of the cave and to determine if food preparation, human presence and surface temperature variations alter this microclimate. Three portable weather stations containing a temperature / humidity probe, datalogger and microbarograph were placed in various locations along three passageways leading away from the dining room. Readings were taken 24 hours per day for four months. Plotting temperature readings in graph form show a correlation between temperature of the passageway and distance from the dining room.


East Urban Area Corridor Analysis Daviess County, Kentucky, Laura Pace Apr 1991

East Urban Area Corridor Analysis Daviess County, Kentucky, Laura Pace

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The need for improved highway facilities in the east urban area of Daviess County, Kentucky, is analyzed in this study. The study focuses upon the need for alternative highway routes, due to the increased travel demands generated by a new Ohio River Bridge in eastern Daviess County. Also, the east urban area is forecasted to experience population and employment growth in the next decade, further necessitating the need for improving existing highways or constructing new corridors in the area.

Various alternative alignments for an expressway are examined. The feasibility of upgrading existing highways in the east urban area is also …


Radon Contamination Of Residences In A City Built Upon A Karst Landscape Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky, James William Webster Dec 1990

Radon Contamination Of Residences In A City Built Upon A Karst Landscape Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky, James William Webster

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 8 to 12% of U.S. homes have radon concentrations that equal or exceed 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/l). A statewide screening of Kentucky by EPA resulted in an average residential radon concentration of 2.8 pCi/l with 17% of the homes at or above 4 pCi/l. EPA requires routine monitoring and maintenance or worker health records in mines and caves having radon daughter concentrations at or above 0.30 working levels (WL).

Bowling Green is a city located in a karst region of south central Kentucky. Residents of Bowling Green have been subjected …


Factors Affecting Wood Fuel Consumption And Environmental Impacts In Warren County, Kentucky, Barry Vann Aug 1990

Factors Affecting Wood Fuel Consumption And Environmental Impacts In Warren County, Kentucky, Barry Vann

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this research is to identify factors that contribute to wood fuel consumption as a space heating source and estimate a county-wide proportion for wood fuel consuming households. In addition, environmental problems associated with deforestation such as erosion and loss of wildlife habitat are delineated; moreover, air pollution resulting from wood fuel emissions are discussed.

An exhaustive literature review provided the basis for the study. Data on Warren County wood fuel consumption patterns were derived from a mail survey. Proportion estimates were tested by using a classical two-tail test of hypothesis. Subsequently, factors were identified and used in …


A “Drastic” Evaluation Of The Ground-Water Pollution Potential Of Karst Terrain: Lost River Ground-Water Basin, Warren County, Kentucky, David Baize Apr 1990

A “Drastic” Evaluation Of The Ground-Water Pollution Potential Of Karst Terrain: Lost River Ground-Water Basin, Warren County, Kentucky, David Baize

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Karst terrains, such as the Lost River Karst Ground-Water Basin, are extremely vulnerable to ground-water contamination. Seven physical factors: depth to water, recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, impact of the vadose zone, and hydraulic conductivity, are evaluated using the DRASTIC system to determine the ground-water pollution potential of the study area. A numerical value is calculated for each of the seven factors, and a map layer for each factor is produced. These layers are then “added” together to produce a DRASTIC ground-water pollution potential map. The effectiveness of each factor in evaluating the pollution potential of karst terrain is …


Karstification Of The Pennyroyal Plain Behind The Retreating Chester Escarpment: Warren, Simpson & Logan Counties, Kentucky, Anthony Able Nov 1986

Karstification Of The Pennyroyal Plain Behind The Retreating Chester Escarpment: Warren, Simpson & Logan Counties, Kentucky, Anthony Able

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Hydrogeologic investigations were conducted on the drainage systems of an area of the Pennyroyal sinkhole plain of south central Kentucky. The degree of karstification of five area streams was studied to develop an understanding of the evolution of drainage as the landscape changes from a sandstone caprock plateau to a limestone sinkhole plain. The Chester Upland, capped by the Big Clifty Sandstone, possesses predominantly surface drainage and the Pennyroyal Plain, formed on Mississippian limestones, possesses considerable subsurface drainage. As the Chester Upland Escarpment retreats and surface streams are onto the limestones, the streams evolve to become subsurface streams. The five …


The Lower Reaches Of Long Creek, Kentucky: A Karst Anomaly In Allen County, Doral Conner Jun 1976

The Lower Reaches Of Long Creek, Kentucky: A Karst Anomaly In Allen County, Doral Conner

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A field study of the lower reaches of the Long Creek drainage area in southeastern Allen County, Kentucky, established the karst character of that area. The area heretofore had been described as a non-karst area. Four swallow holes, which individually or collectively totally pirate Long Creek, were identified. Two major resurgences of the pirated flow were located and described. A detailed study of a portion of the Long Creek drainage area revealed thirty-four springs, all of which were pirated at least once, and no flow from these springs reached Long Creek by surficial routes. The field survey also revealed dolines …


Geomorphology And Land Use Of A Tropical Wet-Dry Environment Santander, Columbia, Joseph Ray Dec 1975

Geomorphology And Land Use Of A Tropical Wet-Dry Environment Santander, Columbia, Joseph Ray

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study deals with the Holocene environmental dynamics experienced by a seasonally wet-dry landscape of tropical Columbia. In light of a high ecological sensitivity, the study area is also analyzed as the resource of man. This is done by intensive study area reconnaissance, mapping, altimeter survey, and radiocarbon dating of fluvial landforms. Also, samples of soil, pasture, and water were collected for later study, and several interviews were completed with local residents.

The study area is a tropical lowland of northcentral Columbia at about 7 ½° north latitude. A maximum local relief about 600 m is maintained by a rather …


A Study Of The Recreational Impact On Nolin Flood Control Reservoir In West Central Kentucky, Afolabi Adedibu May 1975

A Study Of The Recreational Impact On Nolin Flood Control Reservoir In West Central Kentucky, Afolabi Adedibu

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purposes of this study are: (1) to consider factors that influenced the creation of Nolin Reservoir, and the selection of its recreation sites, (2) to consider the growth and the variations in attendance and participation in activities as a function of quantity and quality of available facilities and accessibility, and (3) to trace the changes that the creation of the reservoir has brought on the surrounding land use, value and ownership. Through the use of questionnaires, interviews and field investigations, the purposes were accomplished.

Nolin Reservoir was constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers. After extensive study, the cost …


The Feasibility Of Annexation: A Cost-Revenue Approach For Bowling Green, Kentucky, Jeanne M. Dibble May 1974

The Feasibility Of Annexation: A Cost-Revenue Approach For Bowling Green, Kentucky, Jeanne M. Dibble

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The United States is becoming a country of urban dwellers. Much of this urbanization is occurring outside of the legal city in what is called the urban fringe. Among the solutions advanced to deal with the problems of urban sprawl is the annexation of such areas by the central city. Before annexation can become a reality, its feasibility from a cost-revenue approach must be assessed. This was accomplished by dividing the urban fringe of Bowling Green, Kentucky, into nine study areas and investigating the costs incurred by the city for the provision of services associated with annexation as compared to …


Geographical Analysis Of The State-Administered Roads In Kentucky, 1920 To 1970, Sudesh Singla Dec 1972

Geographical Analysis Of The State-Administered Roads In Kentucky, 1920 To 1970, Sudesh Singla

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

There are several problems in the study of the growth and analysis of roads and highways. The first purpose of the study is to determine the stages of expansion in the State Highway System of Kentucky with respect to the density and the types of roads in Kentucky. A comparison has been made with other states of the nation with regards to percentage of roads paved and the total road mileage during the same stages.

The second purpose of the study is to determine the structure of growth, locational pattern of roads and major nodal points. The third purpose of …