Physical and Environmental Geography Commons^™

The Cumberland Plateau Of Eastern Kentucky, Larry C. Simpson, Lee J. Florea

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Caves And Karst Of West-Central Florida, Lee J. Florea, David A. Budd, Robert B. Brinkman

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Biscayne Aquifer Of Southeastern Florida, Kevin J. Cunningham, Lee J. Florea

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Southeastern Coastal Plain: An Overview, Lee J. Florea, H. L. Vacher

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Modeled Red Spruce Distribution Response To Climatic Change In Monongahela National Forest, James Michael Stanton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In Monongahela National Forest of West Virginia, red spruce grows in high-elevation island ecosystems that are particularly sensitive to changes in climatic conditions. The ecological niche modeling application Maxent was used to project the distribution response of red spruce to climatic change for the purposes of conservation planning. Red spruce distribution data was acquired from the United States Forest Service. Three sets of nineteen bioclimatic variables, corresponding to present, 2050, and 2080 conditions, were derived from 1961-1990 monthly temperature and precipitation means and the IPCC A2 emissions scenario of HadCM3. The modeling revealed rapidly diminishing red spruce habitat suitability from …

The ‘Benchmark Glacier’ Concept – Does It Work? Lessons From The North Cascade Range, Usa, Andrew G. Fountain, Matthew J. Hoffman, Frank Granshaw, Jon L. Riedel

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Benchmark glaciers were established in many alpine areas during the 1960s as part of the International Hydrological Decade to represent ‘typical’ mass and energy processes on glaciers in different climatic regions around the world. These glaciers have received new interest in the past decade because they are used to infer the contribution of alpine glacier wastage to global sea-level rise. We compare South Cascade Glacier, the benchmark glacier for the northwest contiguous USA, and four other secondary glaciers, against the topographic, area and mass changes of 321 glaciers in the surrounding region. Results show that South Cascade Glacier is unusually …

Quantifying The Overwash Component Of Barrier Island Morphodynamics: Onslow Beach, Nc, Amy C. Foxgrover

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

A quantification of the role that barrier island overwash plays in the evolution of Onslow Beach, a barrier island located on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, is presented. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and sediment vibracores provide an estimate of the relevant-sand prism above a silty/peat contact underlying the island. The average thickness from the surface, as determined from lidar, to this geologically-defined base, is less than 1 m and equates a total volume of approximately 1.8 ± 1.1 × 106 m3 over the 4.8 km stretch of Onslow Beach from 1 km north of the New River Inlet to …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Lower Murchison River Area, Western Australia, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the lower Murchison River area, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2002 and 2003, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. This survey report presents …

Simulation Modeling Of Karst Aquifer Conduit Evolution And Relations To Climate, John D. Broome

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

ABSTRACT Karst regions of the world that receive relatively similar amounts of precipitation display a wide variety of landscapes. It has been suggested (Groves and Meiman, 2005) that climates exhibiting larger discrete storm events have more dissolving power and consequently higher rates of conduit growth than climates with more uniform precipitation distributions. To study this concept, a computer program “Cave Growth” was developed that modeled the growth of a cross-section of a cave passage under dynamic flow and chemical conditions. A series of 46 simulation datasets were created to represent different climatic conditions. These simulations had the same total annual …

Ecosystem Restoration In The Ouachita National Forest: Evaluating The Pragmatism Of Pre-European Settlement Benchmarks, John Lawrence Davenport

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This paper looks at the intersections of nature and culture through a study of forest ecosystem restoration efforts in the Ouachita National Forest (Arkansas and Oklahoma). Ecosystem restoration goals are often informed by a pre-European settlement (PES) condition, with an implicit (and occasionally explicit) assertion that such conditions are both more natural than and preferable to the contemporary state. In many cases resuming pre-suppression fire regimes remains a key mechanism for achieving this restored condition. This study’s three main objectives include: (1) determining how PES benchmarks arose in restoration thought, (2) examining how the choice to use a PES benchmark …

Variability In Geologic Framework And Shoreline Change: Assateague And Wallops Islands, Eastern Shore Of Virginia, Geoffrey L. Wikel

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Quantifying Twentieth Century Glacier Change In The Sierra Nevada, California, Hassan J. Basagic

Dissertations and Theses

Numerous small alpine glaciers occupy the high elevation regions of the central and southern Siena Nevada, California. These glaciers change size in response to variations in climate and are therefore important indicators of climate change. An inventory based on USGS topographic maps (l :24,000) revealed 1719 glaciers and perennial snow and ice features for a total area of 39.l5 ±7.52 km². The number of 'true' glaciers, versus non-moving ice, is estimated to be 118, covering 15.87 ± 1.69 Km². All glaciers were located on north to northeast aspects, at elevations >3000 m. Historical photographs, geologic evidence, …

Hydrological Response Patterns And Solute Flux In Canadian Shield Basins: Role Of Different Physical Features And Antecedent Moisture Conditions, Jessica Mueller

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Patterns of stream flow in relatively undisturbed Canadian Shield basins are closely linked to their physical and vegetative characteristics and meteorological conditions. The physical characteristics include topography, soil-till composition, depth and structure, slope morphology and bedrock geology. Hydrological flowpaths through, and in-situ chemical processes in the soil-till matrix are influenced greatly by the composition of these features and by the antecedent hydrological conditions preceding a given storm or snowmelt event.

A long term data set, collected by the Dorset Environmental Science Centre, is used to examine eight forested basins within the Muskoka-Haliburton region of south-central Ontario. The basins have a …

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. …

Limnología De Las Lagunas Glaciales En El Páramo Del Chirripó, Costa Rica. (Limnology Of Glacial Lakes In The Chirripó Páramo Of Costa Rica.), Sally P Horn, Kenneth H. Orvis, Kurt A. Haberyan

Geography Publications and Other Works

More than 30 lakes of glacial origin exist within the Chirripó páramo in the Cordillera de Talamanca of Costa Rica. This chapter describes the geomorphic setting and physical and chemical limnology of 19 lakes located between 3450-3570 m elevation in the upper basins of five glaciated valleys. All lakes are clear, dilute, and apparently polymictic. Water chemistry data from 1998, 2000, and 2001 are similar from lake to lake and year to year, and are consistent with sparse prior measurements between 1966 and 1991. However, the lake water temperatures we have measured are much higher than those reported by earlier …

Registros De Sedimentos Lacustres De La Vegetación Del Holoceno Y Historia Del Fuego En El Páramo De Costa Rica. (Lake-Sediment Records Of Holocene Vegetation And Fire History In The Costa Rican Páramos), Sally P Horn, Brandon L. League

Geography Publications and Other Works

We examined pollen, pteridophyte (ferns and fern-allies) spores, and charcoal in a 5.6 m long sediment core from Lago de las Morrenas 1, and charcoal in a 1.1 m long sediment core from Lago Chirripó, to reconstruct postglacial vegetation and fire history in the Chirripó páramo. Lago de las Morrenas 1, the largest lake in the Valle de las Morrenas of Chirripó National Park, is presently surrounded by treeless páramo vegetation and has apparently been so since deglaciation approximately 10,000 radiocarbon years ago. Pollen spectra suggest no pronounced changes in vegetation since ice retreat. Pollen percentages for Gramineae and other …

An Inventory Of Rangelands In Part Of The Broome Shire, Western Australia, W E. Cotching

Technical Bulletins

The inventory of rangelands in part of the Broome Shire in Western Australia was undertaken by DAFWA between 1989 and 1990. It describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The survey of part of the Broome Shire …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Pilbara Region, Western Australia, A M E Van Vreeswyk, K A. Leighton, A L. Payne, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Pilbara region, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia between 1995 and 1999, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed covers about 181 723 km². Seven …

Image Compression And Its Effect On Data, Khaled S. Alkharabsheh

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis is intended to define and study different image compression techniques, software programs, image formats (from early ones such as “GIF” to most recent ones such as “JPEG 2000”), compression effect on compressed data (compressed images), and its effectiveness and usefulness in reducing the file size and its transmission time, as a result.

In many GeoBioPhysical applications, some information inside any image may be the keys to solve different kinds of problems and classify features. This kind of data and information has to be handled with care; i.e. it’s not allowed to be lost during the compression process. On …

Geomorphology’S Role In The Study Of Weathering Of Cultural Stone, Gregpry A. Pope, Thomas R. Paradise, Thomas Meierding

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Great monumental places—Petra, Giza, Angkor, Stonehenge, Tikal, Macchu Picchu, Rapa Nui, to name a few—are links to our cultural past. They evoke a sense of wonderment for their aesthetic fascination if not for their seeming permanence over both cultural and physical landscapes. However, as with natural landforms, human constructs are subject to weathering and erosion. Indeed, many of our cultural resources suffer from serious deterioration, some natural, some enhanced by human impact. Groups from the United Nations to local civic and tourism assemblies are deeply interested in maintaining and preserving such cultural resources, from simple rock art to great temples. …

Radiocarbon Chronology And Δ13c Analysis Of Mid-To Late-Holocene Aeolian Environments, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas, Usa, David Wilkins, Donald Currey

David E. Wilkins

The Red Dunes of Guadalupe Mountains National Park are quartzose sand sheets and dunes stabilized by sparse plant cover. Stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, and δ13C analysis were examined in two of the larger arroyos for correlating evidence of aeolian deposition, which in this basin is taken as an indication of arid conditions. Four quartz-sand lithostratigraphic units, representing intervals of aeolian activity, are identified. Radiocarbon dates provide constraint on the timing of the three youngest quartz-sand units. A mid-Holocene aeolian interval, represented by a single radiocarbon date of 6350± 70 BP, is interpreted as transitional to an altithermal regime. A neopluvial period, …

Description Of The Sections And Subsections Of The Interior Highlands Of Arkansas And Oklahoma, Thomas L. Foti, George A. Bukenhofer

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Sections and subsections of the Interior Highlands of Arkansas and Oklahoma are redefined, mapped and briefly summarized. The map was produced to support the Ozark- Ouachita Highlands Assessment (OOHA), being conducted by the USDA Forest Service. It revises the USDA Forest Service map "Ecological units of the eastern United States, first approximation" by Keys et al. (1995) and the earlier maps of the natural divisions of Arkansas (Foti, 1974; Foti, 1976; Pell, 1983) to reflect new knowledge and to achieve consistency with units recognized in Missouri. Four sections (natural divisions) are defined as opposed to the three of the previous …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Sandstone-Yalgoo-Paynes Find Area, Western Australia, A L. Payne, A M E Van Vreeswyk, K A. Leighton, H J. Pringle, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Sandstone-Yalgoo-Paynes Find area, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 1992 and 1993, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the area’s natural resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed covers about …

Evaluation Of Selected Atmospheric Indices For The Prediction Of Thunderstorms At Omaha, Nebraska, Fred Ladehoff

Open Access Master's Theses (through 2010)

This study examines the values of five stability indices (the Showalter Index, the K Index, the Vertical Totals Index, the Cross Totals Index, and the Total Totals Index) for Omaha, Nebraska during the months of March through September, 1964 through 1973. Index means during thunderstorm periods and non-thunderstorm periods should show a distinct difference. Even though indices can be an important tool, it must be accentuated that indices should never be used as the sole factor in the prediction of thunderstorm or non-thunderstorm occurrences. This study shows that even at the highest skill scores, many mistakes would be made in …

Timing And Extent Of Late Quaternary Paleolakes In The Trans-Pecos Closed Basin, West Texas And South-Central New Mexico, David Wilkins, Donald Currey

David E. Wilkins

The Trans-Pecos Closed Basin is a hydrographically closed region covering 20,000 km centered on Salt Basin, 160 km east of El Paso, Texas. Geomorphic and limnetic evidence have been used to identify four major highstands for Lake King during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Additional geomorphic features from a second, recently identified, paleolake, Lake Sacramento, have been found in the Beargrass subbasin, a nested subbasin approximately 75 km northwest of Salt Basin. Radiocarbon ages of the organic material in Lake King sediments date four abrupt climate changes and rapid lacustrine transgressions during the LGM with a quasi-periodicity of 2000 yr. …

High-Resolution Seismic Stratigraphy Of The Ganges-Brahmaputra River System: Subaqueous Deltaic Progradation On The Bengal Shelf, Beth Michele Levy

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Murchison River Catchment, Western Australia, Peter James Curry, A L. Payne, K A. Leighton, P Hennig, D A. Blood

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Murchison River catchment and surrounds, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture between 1985 and 1988, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed by field work during 1985-88 …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of Rangelands In The North-Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia, H J. Pringle, S A. Gilligan, A M E Van Vreeswyk

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the north-eastern Goldfields, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 1988 and 1990, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed covers about 100 …

Epa's Map Of Radon Zones, Nebraska, Sharon W. White, Lisa Ratcliff, Kirk Maconaughey, R. Thomas Peake, Dave Rowson, Steve Page, Linda C. S. Gundersen, R. Randall Schumann, James K. Otton, Doug Owen, Russell Dubiel, Kendell Dickinson, Sandra L. Szarzi

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

Sections 307 and 309 of the 1988 Indoor Radon Abatement Act (IRAA) direct EPA to identify areas of the United States that have the potential to produce elevated levels of radon. EPA, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Association of, American State Geologists (AASG) have worked closely over the past several years to produce a series of maps and documents which address these directives. The EPA Map of Radon Zones is a compilation of that work and fulfills the requirements of sections 307 and 309 of IRAA. The Map of Radon Zones identifies, on a county-by-county basis, areas of …

Gis Characterization Of Beaver Watershed, H. D. Scott, J. M. Mckimmey

Technical Reports

Beaver Reservoir watershed is located in Northwest Arkansas including portions of Madison, Washington, Benton, Carroll, Franklin and Crawford counties. This watershed is important to the Northwest Arkansas region because it supplies most of the drinking water for the major towns and cities, and several rural water systems. The watershed consists of 308,971 ha with elevations ranging from approximately 341 m to 731 m above mean sea level. It includes the Springfield Plateau and the Boston Mountains provinces within the Ozark Plateau physiographic region. There are approximately 581 km of streams, 532 km of shore line, and 3712 km of roads …