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Geomorphology

2019

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Physical and Environmental Geography

Integrating Geochronologic And Instrumental Approaches Across The Bengal Basin, Elizabeth L. Chamberlain, Steven L. Goodbred, Richard Hale, Michael S. Steckler, Jakob Willinga, Carol Wilson Nov 2019

Integrating Geochronologic And Instrumental Approaches Across The Bengal Basin, Elizabeth L. Chamberlain, Steven L. Goodbred, Richard Hale, Michael S. Steckler, Jakob Willinga, Carol Wilson

OES Faculty Publications

Constraining time is of critical importance to evaluating the rates and relative contributions of processes driving landscape change in sedimentary basins. The geomorphic character of the field setting guides the application of geochronologic or instrumental tools to this problem, because the viability of methods can be highly influenced by geomorphic attributes. For example, sediment yield and the linked potential for organic preservation may govern the usefulness of radiocarbon dating. Similarly, the rate of sediment transport from source to sink may determine the maturity and/or light exposure of mineral grains arriving in the delta and thus the feasibility of luminescence dating. …

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The Importance Of Landscape Position Information And Elevation Uncertainty For Barrier Island Habitat Mapping And Modeling, Nicholas Matthew Enwright Aug 2019

The Importance Of Landscape Position Information And Elevation Uncertainty For Barrier Island Habitat Mapping And Modeling, Nicholas Matthew Enwright

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Barrier islands provide important ecosystem services, including storm protection and erosion control to the mainland, habitat for fish and wildlife, and tourism. As a result, natural resource managers are concerned with monitoring changes to these islands and modeling future states of these environments. Landscape position, such as elevation and distance from shore, influences habitat coverage on barrier islands by regulating exposure to abiotic factors, including waves, tides, and salt spray. Geographers commonly use aerial topographic lidar data for extracting landscape position information. However, researchers rarely consider lidar elevation uncertainty when using automated processes for extracting elevation-dependent habitats from lidar data. …

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Lidar-Based Sinkhole Detection And Mapping In Knox County, Tennessee, J Clint Shannon, David Moore, Yingkui Li, Cathy Olsen Jul 2019

Lidar-Based Sinkhole Detection And Mapping In Knox County, Tennessee, J Clint Shannon, David Moore, Yingkui Li, Cathy Olsen

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

Sinkholes are one of the major causes of damage to roads, buildings, and other infrastructure throughout the US. Sinkholes near or on roads are especially costly and occasionally deadly. Knox County and much of East Tennessee are located within karst areas (comprised of porous and soluble limestone and dolomite), deeming it at risk for sinkholes. Currently, Knox County uses contour maps to manually identify sinkholes. Supported by a geographic information system (GIS), we developed a streamlined model to identify the locations and extents of potential sinkholes using 1.3-ft resolution LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data and applied it to the …

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A Tourism Impact Index For Water-Based Natural Attractions Field-Tested In Subarctic And Maritime Climates, Jason Fox Jul 2019

A Tourism Impact Index For Water-Based Natural Attractions Field-Tested In Subarctic And Maritime Climates, Jason Fox

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Tourism in cold and cool-climate regions is largely characterized by recreational and sightseeing activities at water-based natural attractions such as beaches, coastal cliffs, and waterfalls. While the economic benefits of the tourism industry can contribute to a sustainable future for these regions, the environmental implications of a hastilydeveloped industry cannot be ignored given that cold-climate and cool-climate landscapes are at risk of rapid environmental change from a warming climate and other environmental concerns. This study consisted of the development of the Tourism Impact Index for Water-Based Natural Sites, the first of its kind, and its application and refinement in the …

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Detecting Coastal Marsh Change From Aerial Imagery Using Spectral And Textural Methods: Pascagoula River Estuary, Mississippi, 1955-2014, Margaret Claire Bell Waldron May 2019

Detecting Coastal Marsh Change From Aerial Imagery Using Spectral And Textural Methods: Pascagoula River Estuary, Mississippi, 1955-2014, Margaret Claire Bell Waldron

Master's Theses

As sea level rise accelerates, coastal marsh ecosystems are increasingly vulnerable. Vertical accretion rates must exceed or keep pace with rates of sea level rise to prevent transition to open water or inland migration of marsh vegetation. While some marsh systems along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast have remained stable, others, e.g., the marshes of the Louisiana Gulf Coast, have experienced high rates of conversion to open water. This study examined the historical extent of intertidal marsh at the mouth of the Pascagoula River in Jackson County, Mississippi to determine whether marsh extent changed during the period 1955-2014 and …

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Vulnerability Of Industrial Facilities In The Lower Mississippi River Industrial Corridor To Relative Sea Level Rise And Tropical Cyclone Storm Surge, Joseph Blake Harris Mar 2019

Vulnerability Of Industrial Facilities In The Lower Mississippi River Industrial Corridor To Relative Sea Level Rise And Tropical Cyclone Storm Surge, Joseph Blake Harris

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Relative sea level rise (RSLR) and tropical cyclone-induced storm surge are major threats to the Lower Mississippi River Industrial Corridor (LMRIC) which has approximately 120 industrial complexes located within the corridor. Spatial interpolation methods were applied to the 2004 National Oceanic and Atmospheric published Technical Report #50 subsidence dataset and cross-validation techniques were used to determine the accuracy of each method. Digital elevation models (DEMs) were created for the years 2025, 2050, and 2075, based on these predictive surface of subsidence rates. Future DEMs were utilized to model RSLR and determine the extent of storm surge on the LMRIC by …

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Short Communication: Challenges And Applications Of Structure-From-Motion Photogrammetry In A Physical Model Of A Braided River, Peter Ashmore, Pauline Leduc, Sarah Peirce Jan 2019

Short Communication: Challenges And Applications Of Structure-From-Motion Photogrammetry In A Physical Model Of A Braided River, Peter Ashmore, Pauline Leduc, Sarah Peirce

Geography & Environment Publications

For extending the applications of structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry in river flumes, we present the main challenges and methods used to collect a large dataset ( > 1000 digital elevation models, DEMs) of high-quality topographic data using close-range SfM photogrammetry. Automatic target detection, batch processing, and considerations for image quality were fundamental to the successful implementation of the SfM technique on such a large dataset, which was used primarily for capturing details of gravel-bed braided river morphodynamics and sedimentology. While the applications of close-range SfM photogrammetry are numerous, we include sample results from DEM differencing, which was used to quantify morphology change …

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Middle To Late Holocene (7200-2900 Cal. Bp) Archaeological Site Formation Processes At Crumps Sink And The Origins Of Anthropogenic Environments In Central Kentucky, Usa, Justin Nels Carlson Jan 2019

Middle To Late Holocene (7200-2900 Cal. Bp) Archaeological Site Formation Processes At Crumps Sink And The Origins Of Anthropogenic Environments In Central Kentucky, Usa, Justin Nels Carlson

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Though some researchers have argued that the Big Barrens grasslands of Kentucky were the product of anthropogenic land clearing practices by Native Americans, heretofore, this hypothesis had not been tested archaeologically. More work was needed to refine chronologies of fire activity in the region, determine the extent to which humans played a role in the process, and integrate these findings with the paleoenvironmental and archaeological record. With these goals in mind, I conducted archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations at Crumps Sink in the Sinkhole Plain of Kentucky. The archaeological record and site formation history of Crumps Sink were compared with environmental …

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Cliff-Top Dunes In The Lower Chippewa River Valley Of West-Central Wisconsin, Jason Millett Jan 2019

Cliff-Top Dunes In The Lower Chippewa River Valley Of West-Central Wisconsin, Jason Millett

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to investigate recently identified cliff-top sand dunes located within the Lower Chippewa River Valley (LCRV), Wisconsin, USA. Research within the LCRV notes the existence of a variety of aeolian deposits, but a comprehensive explanation of their complete spatial distribution, genesis, age, and paleoenvironmental significance does not exist. In particular, stabilized cliff-top dunes with a parabolic form remain poorly understood. This problem is exacerbated by a lack of clarity in the literature regarding the genesis of dunes in a cliff-top position. Therefore, this thesis begins by reviewing the literature concerning sand dunes in cliff-top …

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Mass Wasting Investigation And Assessment In The Midwest: Case Study Of The Minnesota River Valley, New Ulm To St. Peter, Minnesota, Usa, Melissa Kohout Jan 2019

Mass Wasting Investigation And Assessment In The Midwest: Case Study Of The Minnesota River Valley, New Ulm To St. Peter, Minnesota, Usa, Melissa Kohout

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Many mass- wasting studies have been conducted worldwide, however, investigations have focused in mountainous or coastal regions. This has proven problematic in areas lacking those features yet are experiencing mass wasting. Several anthropogenic risks, economic loss, and environmental issues are associated with mass wasting such as destruction of property, loss of life, and sediment pollution. The midwestern USA, is generally considered a low relief region, therefore limited data exist for mass wasting occurrence. Within the last decade, however, several events have occurred across Minnesota with little understanding of the ongoing hillslope processes leading to failure. The Minnesota River valley is …

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