Geographic Information Sciences Commons^™

Maternal Proximity To Mountaintop Removal Mining And Birth Defects In Appalachian Kentucky, 1997-2003, Daniel B. Cooper

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Background: Extraction of coal through mountaintop removal mining (MTR) alters many dimensions of the landscape, and explosive blasts, exposed rock, and coal washing have the potential to pollute air and water with substances known to increase risk of developmental and birth anomalies. Previous research suggests that infants born to mothers living in MTR coal mining counties have higher prevalence of most types of birth defects.

Objectives: This study seeks to examine further the relationship between MTR activity and birth defects by employing individual level exposure estimation through precise satellite data of MTR activity in the Appalachian region and maternal residence …

The Food-Energy-Water Nexus, Embodied Injustices, And Transboundary Sustainability, Sonya Ahamed

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Intersections of food, energy, and water systems (the FEW nexus) pose many sustainability and governance challenges, including risks to ecosystems, inequitable distribution of benefits and harms across populations, and reliance on distant sources for food, energy, and water. Nexus-based approaches can offer more holistic pathways for societal transitions to FEW systems that are just and sustainable, but tend to focus narrowly on inputs (e.g. water ‘for’ energy) in ways that do little to address the historical roots and structural underpinnings of current system inadequacies, thus risking their perpetuation.

This dissertation widens the FEW nexus in two contexts in which the …

Spatial Disparities In Access To Veterinary Care: Problems, Politics & Policies, Sue Neal

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Access to veterinary care is a complex and wicked social problem. The problem is multidimensional in nature, comprised of a number of barriers ranging from financial to cultural to physical. The Multiple Streams Framework is used to provide a theoretical foundation for the analysis. Subsequent chapters identify the problem, politics and policy streams surrounding this issue. This research examines the issue of access to care as a spatial construct by identifying and analyzing the geographic distribution of the ratios of veterinary staff across the United States to the number of households and predicted companion animal populations. It uses spatial statistics …

Examining Patterns And Drivers Of Spatial And Temporal Variability In Playa Hydroperiod In The High Plains Region Of Western Kansas, Luis Lepe

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Playa wetlands are some of the most important natural features of the High Plains of the central United States. Playas provide a range of ecosystem services such as groundwater recharge, surface water storage, and wetland habitat. However, playa functions are declining due to land cover change, climate change, and playa and watershed modifications. There are only a few studies that have examined the variability and controls on playa water storage. This project aims to determine how playa and watershed morphology, watershed land cover, and precipitation patterns affect timing and duration of water storage in 92 playas distributed throughout a 10-county …

A Survey Of And Site Treatment Plan For The Belle Creek Mounds Archeological Site, 21gd0072, In Goodhue County, Minnesota, Alexander T. Anton

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The Prairie Island Indian Community (PIIC) recently purchased property, on which a portion of a prominent archeological site, encompassing 67 formerly documented burial mounds, resides. In order to better protect the burial mounds and other culturally significant material on the site, as well as on sites residing on the remainder of their new property, the PIIC enlisted the support of Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Earth Science, Archeology, Resources, and Terrestrial Hazards (EARTH) Systems Research Laboratory in developing a site treatment plan. Developing a useful site treatment plan necessitated conducting a geoarcheological survey of a portion of the archeological site, known …

A "Warm" Or "Cold" Early Mars: Evidence From Valley Networks, Xuezhi Cang

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Although Mars is cold and dry today, many lines of evidence suggest that ancient Mars had large amount of water and surface fluvial processes. However, climate modelers have encountered difficulties in modeling such early warm and wet conditions with an above freezing temperature, mainly due to the Martian orbit being further away from the Sun and the faintness of the young Sun. The main purpose of this dissertation is to test the ancient Martian climate hypotheses by investigating the spatial pattern of valley network (VN) properties that can survive post-formational modification (i.e., the robust characteristics) and by analogizing the Earth …

A Study Of Geographic Information System-Based Watershed Processing For Hydrologic Analysis Of Ungauged Watersheds, Philip Adanbe Adalikwu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increasing application of geographic information system (GIS) technology in watershed modeling makes is necessary to further evaluate its impacts on runoff characteristics as a basis for improved hydrologic analysis in ungauged watersheds. Experts in the field of water resources and hydrology have recommended the practice of subdivision when modeling a watershed, and the use of observed data from hydrologically similar watershed to calibrate and validate an ungauged watershed’s model. However, previous studies have failed to adequately address the issues of watershed heterogeneity, spatial and temporal variability in physical parameters, GIS data resolution issues, including artifacts in automated extraction of …

Evaluating St. Catherines Island's Shoreline, Vegetation Line, And The Locations Of Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nests, Sydney O. Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

St. Catherines Island is a highly dynamic barrier island on the Georgia coast that is also federally listed critical nesting habitat for loggerhead sea turtles. Understanding how St. Catherines’ shoreline and vegetation is changing over time is geographically important as a potential template for other barrier islands. Measuring sea turtle nest locations will provide insight into their natural patterns and how they adjust those locations on a changing barrier island. Analyzing Moving Boundaries Using R (AMBUR) is implemented in this research to assess the movement of the vegetation and shorelines from 2005-2017 using the End Point Rate (EPR) and Linear …

Three Essays On “Energy , Environment, And Developmental Economics”, Bolarinwa Ajanaku

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation examines topics related to renewable energy development and investment planning, energy markets, environment degradation and economic development. The substantial ecological costs of deforestation are well known and considered globally important due to biodiversity loss, land degradation, soil erosion, and contributions to climate change. The first essay focuses upon understanding the tradeoff between development and deforestation in Africa. In the second essay, spatial analysis and Geographic Information System (GIS) are applied to determine potential locations for wind farms development in the state of West Virginia. Lastly, the third essay examines the role of wind power penetration on wholesale electricity …

A Systematic Method For Measuring Gentrification Using Building Permits Data: A Washington D.C Case Study, Andey Fomil

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Gentrification can significantly alter the socioeconomic, demographic, and commercial aspects of a city. It is a complex process that transforms the characteristics of entire neighborhoods, modifying not only the observable physical aspects, but also the community structure. Traditional quantitative gentrification measurement approaches assess the process through analysis of Census demographic indicators coupled with field visit analysis of the physical built environment. This study proposes a new gentrification measuring approach that combines traditional Census indicators with a new indicator in the form of City Building Permits. Two GIS spatial analysis techniques are utilized to evaluate the effectiveness and accuracy of the …

A Hand-Held Structure From Motion Photogrammetric Approach To Riparian And Stream Asseessment And Monitoring, Joseph M. Dehnert, Joseph Dehnert

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Two of the biggest weaknesses in stream restoration and monitoring are: 1) subjective estimation and subsequent comparison of changes in channel form, vegetative cover, and in-stream habitat; and 2) the high costs in terms of financing, human resources, and time necessary to make these estimates. Remote sensing can be used to remedy these weaknesses and save organizations focused on restoration both money and time. However, implementing traditional remote sensing approaches via autonomous aerial systems or light detection and ranging systems is either prohibitively expensive or impossible along small streams with dense vegetation. Hand-held Structure from Motion Multi-view Stereo (SfM-MVS) photogrammetric …

Mapping Ethnophysiographies: An Investigation Of Toponyms And Land Cover Of Missoula County, Montana, Emily L. Cahoon

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis investigates the ethnophysiography of Missoula County, Montana via place names. Toponyms and landscape have been observed to have a relationship that can be studied through many lenses. Ethnophysiography, the study of how language and landscape relate to each other via human conceptualization, is a lens that was applied to this thesis because it recognizes the embodied information that toponyms carry and investigates landscape accordingly. Thus, the following research seeks to understand if ethnophysiographic diversity exists between toponyms in the Salish and English languages of Missoula County, Montana by analyzing place names and land cover in GIS and analyzing …

Putting Policy In Its Place: Policy Enactment And Engagement Through A Multiscalar Policy-Shed Framework, Barbara L. Maclennan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The objective of this research is to examine the spatial components integral to policy formation, implementation, and evaluation. The research uses solid waste as a case study to explore a multiscalar GIS policy-shed framework. To this end, the goal of this dissertation is to examine the spatial nature of public policy. The research applies spatial concepts and multiscalar methodological applications embedded within GIS and geovisualization to explore the complex spaces surrounding public policy implementation and evaluation.

Ensemble Encoder-Decoder Models For Predicting Land Transformation, Pariya Pourmohammadi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In studying dynamic and complex processes which are influenced by a system of inter-connected driving variables, it is crucial to apply models that can learn the complexity of the interactions. Land transformation is one of such complex processes, prediction of which can help to mitigate severe climate situations and improve the resiliency of communities. In this study, a multi-spectral set of data cubes is used to capture various characteristics of a geographic region. Based on the data cube, a feature space is constructed using socio-economic attributes, terrain characteristics, and landscape traits of the study region. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional convolutional neural …

Advancing The Spatial Turn In History Through Deep Mapping: Ghost Maps, Neogeography, And Frederick Jackson Turner, Jessica L. Mathai

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The permeation of the spatial turn into the humanities, and in particular history, has both imbued scholarship and opened up new areas for research. This dissertation examines the conceptual and theoretical implications of advancing the spatial turn in history and evaluating existing approaches such as Historical GIS and ghost mapping as a foundation for deep mapping. The resulting deep map developed in this study utilizes Neogeography and web technology in the form of JavaScript Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to develop a prototype that overcomes many of the limitations that occur when simultaneously integrating multiple sources of data and software functionality, …