Geography Commons^™

Using Deep Learning And Uav Imagery To Detect Elkhorn Coral In St. Croix’S East End Marine Park, Samuel Wyatt

Master's Theses

Elkhorn coral, or Acropora palmata, is an important reef building species that promotes species abundance and other ecological services to the communities in the US Virgin Islands. We captured high resolution imagery of a reef in St. Croix’s East End Marine Park using a Wingtra One UAV. We then used deep learning techniques to detect individual coral colonies. We compared two deep learning models, FasterRCNN and MaskRCNN, and found that the models achieved accuracy shores up to 0.78. These scores improved when examining only larger corals in shallow waters. The model was able to both detect Elkhorn coral and …

Identification Of Poverty Areas By Using Machine Learning Classification Methods From Satellite Imagery In Buraydah City, In The Qassim Region Of Saudi Arabia, Amal Alfawzan

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Saudi Arabia is a wealthy country with its many resources, but it has seen an increase in poverty recently because of a high rate of population growth with a high rate of unemployment. Some estimate that the number of Saudi Arabians living in poverty is between two and four million. This research aims to develop a way to detect poverty through remote sensing. The study area is Buraydah City, the largest city of the Qassim region, an important agricultural center that plays a significant role in the economy of Saudi Arabia. The research hypothesized that there are poor areas within …

Algorithm Performance On The Estimation Of Cdom And Doc In The North Slopes Of Alaska, Monica Weisenbach

Masters Theses

Use of satellite imagery makes environmental monitoring easy and convenient with little of the logistics involved in planning sampling campaigns. Colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is an important component to track as a proxy for the large pool of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). In a world contending with the looming issue of global climate change, the ability to investigate the carbon cycle of inland to coastal environments allows for examination of the magnitude of carbon flowing through the system and potential changes over years. The Arctic region is a critical area for climate change impacts but is a difficult landscape …

A Karst Feature Prediction Model For Prince Of Wales Island, Alaska Based On High Resolution Lidar Imagery, Alexander Lyles

Master's Theses

Investigation into surface karst formation is significant to hazard prediction, hydrogeologic drainage, and land management. Southeast Alaska contains over 600,000 acres of mapped carbonate bedrock, and some of the fastest recorded karst dissolution in the world. The objectives of this study are to develop and compare multiple semi-automated models to map and delineate karst features from bare-earth LiDAR imagery using ArcGIS Desktop 10.7, and to apply a preliminary geostatistical analysis of sinkhole morphometric parameters to highlight potential spatial patterns of karst evolution on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. A semi-automated approach of mapping karst features provides a dataset that minimizes …

Snow-Albedo Feedback In Northern Alaska: How Vegetation Influences Snowmelt, Lucas C. Reckhaus

Theses and Dissertations

This paper investigates how the snow-albedo feedback mechanism of the arctic is changing in response to rising climate temperatures. Specifically, the interplay of vegetation and snowmelt, and how these two variables can be correlated. This has the potential to refine climate modelling of the spring transition season. Research was conducted at the ecoregion scale in northern Alaska from 2000 to 2020. Each ecoregion is defined by distinct topographic and ecological conditions, allowing for meaningful contrast between the patterns of spring albedo transition across surface conditions and vegetation types. The five most northerly ecoregions of Alaska are chosen as they encompass …

Using Unmanned Aerial Systems (Drones) With A Thermal Sensor To Map And Count Deer Population, Maxwell C. Ott

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The number of deer in an area is an important statistic for land managers to know, as overabundance has many negative effects. There are many methods that have been used to count deer in the past, such as using manned helicopters and airplanes, walking on foot, and conducting controlled hunts. UAS (unmanned aerial systems) is a growing field that provides many benefits over traditional methods of counting deer, such as lower cost and missions being less time consuming. Using a thermal sensor attached to a UAS makes it simple to spot any deer during a flight. Two main methods of …

[Introduction To] Collateral Values: The Natural Capital Created By Landscapes Of War., Todd R. Lookingbill, Peter D. Smallwood

Bookshelf

This book explores the unanticipated benefits that may arise after wars and conflicts, showing how the preservation of battlefields and the establishment of borderlands can create natural capital in the former landscapes of war. The editors call this Collateral Value, in contrast to the collateral damage that war inflicts upon infrastructure, natural capital, and human capital. The book includes case studies recounting successes and failures, opportunities and risks, and ambitious proposals.

The book is organized in two sections. The first visits U.S., English, and French battlefield sites dating from medieval England to World War I. The second explores borderlands located …

Remote Sensing Of Avalanche Paths In Glacier National Park, Montana, Morgan Voss

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Snow avalanches are the common form of mass wasting in the high mountain environments of Glacier National Park (GNP), Montana. These natural disturbances play important roles in mountain ecosystems by regularly disturbing montane systems, providing critical habitat for some species, transporting debris, and influencing vegetation and fire dynamics. Since the 1900s, natural avalanche-related activity recorded along important transportation corridors within the park has frequently disrupted transportation.

While many of the steep slopes of GNP are susceptible to avalanching, formal inventories exist only for small, critical portions of the park and they vary substantially from one another. GNP’s protected status does …

Object-Based Supervised Machine Learning Regional-Scale Land-Cover Classification Using High Resolution Remotely Sensed Data, Christopher A. Ramezan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

High spatial resolution (HR) (1m – 5m) remotely sensed data in conjunction with supervised machine learning classification are commonly used to construct land-cover classifications. Despite the increasing availability of HR data, most studies investigating HR remotely sensed data and associated classification methods employ relatively small study areas. This work therefore drew on a 2,609 km2, regional-scale study in northeastern West Virginia, USA, to investigates a number of core aspects of HR land-cover supervised classification using machine learning. Issues explored include training sample selection, cross-validation parameter tuning, the choice of machine learning algorithm, training sample set size, and feature selection. A …

Sustainable Intensification Of Agriculture: Opportunities And Challenges For Food Security And Agrarian Adaptation To Environmental Change In Bangladesh, Aaron Michael Shew

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates three unique aspects of sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) in the context of Bangladeshi rice production. The first article presents a qualitative analysis of SAI and farmer surveys in the embanked polder region of coastal Bangladesh. The second article investigates the global food security and environmental impacts of already adopted High Yielding Variety (HYV) rice and double-cropped rice systems in Bangladesh using a spatial partial equilibrium trade model and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The final article demonstrates a remote sensing methodology for monitoring dry season rice production at 30 m resolution in Bangladesh using a harmonic time …

Time Series Analysis Of Modis Ndvi Data With Cloudy Pixels: Frequency-Domain And Sizer Analyses Of Vegetation Change In Western Rwanda, Ephraim Robert Love

Masters Theses

Remote sensing is a valuable source of data for the study of human ecology in rural areas. In this thesis, I attempt to analyze the presence of a long-term trend indicative of post-resettlement adaptation in the vegetation signals of Western Rwanda. There is a dearth of research utilizing medium resolution imagery to study difficult environments, such as tropical-montane regions, where complex topography and cloud cover diminish image accuracy. I attempt to add to the extant literature on frequency-domain smoothing methods as well as the literature on human-environment interaction in tropical-montane regions by applying a harmonic filtering and smoothing algorithm to …

Station Exposure And Resulting Bias In Temperature Observations: A Comparison Of He Kentucky Mesonet And Asos Data, James Kyle Thompson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Station siting, exposure, instrumentation, and time of observations influence longterm climatic records. This thesis compared and analyzed temperature data from four Kentucky Mesonet stations located in Fayette (LXGN), Franklin (LSML), Clark (WNCH), and Bullitt (CRMT) counties to two nearby Automated Surface Observation Systems (ASOS) stations in Kentucky. The ASOS stations are located at Louisville International Airport (Standiford Field - KSDF) and at Lexington Airport (Blue Grass Field - KLEX). The null hypothesis states that there is no significant difference in temperature measurements between the two types of stations. To quantify the differences in temperature measurements, geoprofiles and the following statistical …

Spatial Analysis Of Post-Hurricane Katrina Thermal Pattern And Intensity In Greater New Orleans: Implications For Urban Heat Island Research, Aram P. Lief

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina’s diverse impacts on the Greater New Orleans area included damaged and destroyed trees, and other despoiled vegetation, which also increased the exposure of artificial and bare surfaces, known factors that contribute to the climatic phenomenon known as the urban heat island (UHI). This is an investigation of UHI in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which entails the analysis of pre and post-hurricane Katrina thermal imagery of the study area, including changes to surface heat patterns and vegetative cover. Imagery from Landsat TM was used to show changes to the pattern and intensity of the UHI effect, …

Land Cover Change And Its Impacts On A Flash Flood-Producing Rain Event In Eastern Kentucky, William N. Rodgers

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Eastern Kentucky is a 35-county region that is a part of the Cumberland Plateau of the Appalachian Mountains. With mountaintop removal and associated land cover change (LCC) (primarily deforestation), it is hypothesized that there would be changes in various atmospheric boundary layer parameters and precipitation. In this research, we have conducted sensitivity experiments of atmospheric response of a significant flash flood-producing rainfall event by modifying land cover and topography. These reflect recent LCC, including mountaintop removal (MTR). We have used the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for this purpose. The study found changes in amount, location, and timing of …

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 …

Eastern Deciduous Forest Phenology And Vegetative Vigor Trends From 2000 To 2013, Mammoth Cave National Park, Ky, Sean Taylor Hutchison

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Global climate change is predicted to affect environmental systems at the midlatitudes, but the scope, severity, and outcomes of these impacts are yet to be fully understood. This study focuses on the implications of short-term climate variability for forests in central Kentucky. Using a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) calculated from MODerate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument data, the photosynthetic activity of vegetation at Mammoth Cave National Park (MACA) is tracked from 2000 to 2013. Three methods were employed to examine the changes and climate influences in vegetation over the study period: 1) aggregating the NDVI of the Park by year …

Proximal Sensing As A Means Of Characterizing Phragmites Australis, Travis Yeik

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Phragmites australis is an invasive wetland weed found throughout much of the United States. Documenting and mapping the growth and spread of this emergent macrophyte can be an important step in developing and implementing successful management strategies. Characterizing the phenology of a vegetation species with a sensor capable of hyperspectral resolution, positioned at close proximity to the canopy of interest, is often a first step necessary for understanding the basic species-specific reflectance patterns, and for quantifying the manner in which light interacts with the plants comprising particular communities. Spectral data over a P. australis canopy were collected during 22 field …

The Detection Of Forest Structures In The Monongahela National Forest Using Lidar, Dominique Norman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The mapping of structural elements of a forest is important for forestry management to provide a baseline for old and new-growth trees while providing height strata for a stand. These activities are important for the overall monitoring process which aids in the understanding of anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Height information recorded for each discrete point is key for the creation of canopy height, canopy surface, and canopy cover models. The aim of this study is to assess if LiDAR can be used to determine forest structures. Small footprint, leaf-off LiDAR data were obtained for the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia. …

Assessing Seasonal Features Of Tropical Forests Using Remote Sensing, Roberto Bonifaz-Alfonzo

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Tropical forests are key components of the biogeochemical cycles, complex in structure, diversity and dynamics, also, tropical regions have been deforested and modified by human activities particularly for agriculture. Understanding the inter-annual and intra-annual variation dynamics of tropical regions could give valuable information on temporal characteristics of ecosystems behavior which is important for mapping and monitoring. This dissertation assesses seasonal and inter-annual changes in the tropical land cover that may be related to changes in the natural environment and/or human activities. Research was focused on the Mayan forest located in southern Mexico and Northwest Guatemala, one of the northern-most important …

Design Of A Comprehensive Geographic Information System For The Administration Of El Camino Real De Los Tejas National Historic Trail, Jeffrey M. Williams

Faculty Publications

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture’s (ATCOFA) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Laboratory were engaged by the National Park Service (NPS) National Trails System-Intermountain Region to provide GIS services supporting the NPS’s development of a Comprehensive Management Plan for El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail (ELTE). The scope of work was completed under an agreement with the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit sponsored by the Texas AgriLife Research Program at Texas A&M University. ATCOFA assisted the NPS in the coordination of local landowner and other local stakeholder contacts, conducted archival research …

Application Of Remote Sensing And Gis Techniques In Mapping Fadama Farming Areas, Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin, Sunday Ishaya

Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

The importance and scarcity of fadama land as well as the needs for their sustainable development and management, mapping of potentials areas is likely to be the reliable step towards effective and efficient way in securing the food needs of the populace and as well as developing the rural areas in Nigeria. This study used Remote Sensing and GIS techniques to identify potential land use areas for fadama farming and then produce map. Four steps were followed in mapping these areas: (i) topographic map of the study area was scanned and imported into the ILWIS GIS software, which was then …

Application Of Geoninformatic Technology In Evaluating Urban Agriculture And Urban Poverty In Lokoja, Nigeria, Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin, Salihu Danlami Musa

Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

The role of urban agriculture in the food supply of cities and towns, as a complement to rural agriculture is becoming an important issue in a globalizing world economy. The developing countries see it as a way to alleviate urban poverty. Remote sensing and GIS techniques were used to assess areal extent of urban agricultural land in Lokoja. Questionnaires were also used to evaluate the contributions to urban agriculture to food security and income generation among the urban poor in Lokoja. The result revealed that urban agricultural land had increased, thereby implying that urban agriculture is supporting many urban poor …

Application Of Remote Sensing And Gis Techniques In Mapping Areas Favourable For Fadama Farming In Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeira, Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Because of the important and scarcity of fadama land as well as needs for sustainable development, mapping of areas favourable for fadama farming is likely to be reliable step towards effective fadama farming and rural development in Gwagwalada area. In this study Remote Sensing and GIS techniques were utilized to map out areas that can be favourable for fadama farming. Four steps were followed in mapping areas that are favourable for fadama farming (i) the vector maps were first scanned into Microsoft word software from where it was transferred into the ILWIS GIS software and were digitized on-screen to generate …

Applicability Of Satellite Remote Sensing And Gis Techniques And Ground Data In Watershed Planning: The Case Of Kubili, Nigeria, Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Watershed land and hydrology are resources that are very important in agricultural development. Adequate and proper land use planning and management of these resources is of ultimate importance in sustainable development. In this study remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques were used to generate information on the current status and utilization potentials of the Kubili watershed and generate local specific micro watershed development plans for the area. The study revealed that about 33.25 per cent of the land cover is used for rain fed agriculture that lacks sufficient soil and moisture to support good yield. The drainage density …

Gis Aided Archaeological Research Of El Camino Real De Los Tejas With Focus On The Landscape And River Crossings Along El Camino Carretera., Jeffrey M. Williams

Faculty Publications

Many generations of indigenous pathways through the forests of eastern Texas have their origins obscured in antiquity. Utilized by early European explorers, these pathways became modified through heavy use and the expansions and improvements needed to accommodate easy passage of European horses and carts and finally the heavy wagons of Anglo-American settlers. The first road through Texas, El Camino Real de Los Tejas, utilized portions of these early trails.

El Camino Carretera (known as the cart road) is an early segment of El Camino Real de los Tejas that crossed the Sabine River at the boundary between Texas and Louisiana. …

Large Seasonal Swings In Leaf Area Of Amazon Rainforests, Ranga B. Myneni, Wenze Yang, Ramakrishna R. Nemani, Alfredo R. Huete, Robert E. Dickinson, Yuri Knyazikhin, Kamel Didan, Rong Fu, Robinson I. Negron Juarez, Sasan S. Saatchi, Hirofumi Hashimoto, Kazuhito Ichii, Nikolay V. Shabanov, Bin Tan, Piyachat Ratana, Jeffrey L. Privette, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Eric F. Vermote, David P. Roy, Robert E. Wolfe, Mark A. Friedl, Steven W. Running, Petr Votava, Nazmi El-Saleous, Sadashiva Devadiga, Yin Su, Vincent V. Salomonson

GSCE Faculty Publications

Despite early speculation to the contrary, all tropical forests studied to date display seasonal variations in the presence of new leaves, flowers, and fruits. Past studies were focused on the timing of phenological events and their cues but not on the accompanying changes in leaf area that regulate vegetation–atmosphere exchanges of energy, momentum, and mass. Here we report, from analysis of 5 years of recent satellite data, seasonal swings in green leaf area of ~25% in a majority of the Amazon rainforests. This seasonal cycle is timed to the seasonality of solar radiation in a manner that is suggestive of …

Land Cover Classification And Economic Assessment Of Citrus Groves Using Remote Sensing, Jennifer Gebelein

Jennifer Gebelein

The citrus industry has the second largest impact on Florida's economy, following tourism. Estimation of citrus area coverage and annual forecasts of Florida's citrus production are currently dependent on labor-intensive interpretation of aerial photographs. Remotely sensed data from satellites has been widely applied in agricultural yield estimation and cropland management. Satellite data can potentially be obtained throughout the year, making it especially suitable for the detection of land cover change in agriculture and ...

How Earth Remote Sensing From The International Space Station Complements Current Satellite‐Based Sensors, Jennifer Gebelein, Dean Eppler

Jennifer Gebelein

The International Space Station (ISS) will provide an Earth‐and space‐observing platform that will support sensors built by 16 different countries and deliver data and images for local, regional and global research. When complete, it will be an exceptional platform for conducting remote sensing of the Earth, astrophysics, and space physics research programmes. Additionally, the ISS will operate as a testbed for engineering studies and complex technological developments that will benefit future Earth‐observing capabilities. ...

A Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Conifers Using Remote Sensing And Gis, Michael Koon

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Two sets of remotely sensed images, 1986 Landsat Multispectral Scanner and a 2000 Landsat Thematic Mapper +, were used in a change detection study to determine decline and growth of conifers in Grant and Tucker Counties. The images were registered, preprocessed for atmospheric effects, ratioed using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and categorized. A thematic change calculation was performed indicating growth and decline of vegetation. The resulting information was combined with ancillary data for GIS spatial analysis. The results showed an overall increase in vegetation and specifically on abandoned mine lands. Statistical tests showed decline occurred on steeper slopes, but was …

Handbook Of Remote Sensing Imagery Of Connecticut, Daniel L. Civco, William C. Kennard, Michael Wm. Lefor

Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station

No abstract provided.