Physical and Environmental Geography Commons^™

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Reducing Uncertainty In Sea-Level Rise Prediction: A Spatial-Variability-Aware Approach, Subhankar Ghosh, Shuai An, Arun Sharma, Jayant Gupta, Shashi Shekhar, Aneesh Subramanian

I-GUIDE Forum

Given multi-model ensemble climate projections, the goal is to accurately and reliably predict future sea-level rise while lowering the uncertainty. This problem is important because sea-level rise affects millions of people in coastal communities and beyond due to climate change's impacts on polar ice sheets and the ocean. This problem is challenging due to spatial variability and unknowns such as possible tipping points (e.g., collapse of Greenland or West Antarctic ice-shelf), climate feedback loops (e.g., clouds, permafrost thawing), future policy decisions, and human actions. Most existing climate modeling approaches use the same set of weights globally, during either regression or …

Learning From Public Spaces In Historic Cities, Cody Josh Kucharski

Symposium of Student Scholars

Successful public spaces in cities are key for enhancing social cohesion and improving health and safety. Learning from historic cities involves the development of representational and analytical tools aimed at capturing their essence as places of human interaction. The research reports findings of the spatial analysis of twenty Adriatic and Ionian coastal cities, which addresses the question of how the network of public spaces calibrates different degrees of spatial enclosure necessary for creating successful social interactions. Cities in the littoral region include well-preserved historic centers that are renowned for the successful integration of urban squares into the urban fabric. For …

Lake Huron Shoreline Analysis, Shubham Satish Nandanwar

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Lake Huron is a popular tourist destination and is home to several businesses and residents. Since the shoreline is dynamic and is subject to change over the years due to several factors such as a change in water level, soil type, human encroachment, etc., these locations tend to encounter floods due to increased water levels and wind speed. This causes erosion and loss to the properties along the shoreline.

This study is based on two areas of interest named Pinery Provincial Park and Sauble Beach which are located on the shoreline of Lake Huron where Pinery Provincial Park is a …

Monitoring Mammals At Multiple Scales: Case Studies From Carnivore Communities, Kadambari Devarajan

Doctoral Dissertations

Carnivores are distributed widely and threatened by habitat loss, poaching, climate change, and disease. They are considered integral to ecosystem function through their direct and indirect interactions with species at different trophic levels. Given the importance of carnivores, it is of high conservation priority to understand the processes driving carnivore assemblages in different systems. It is thus essential to determine the abiotic and biotic drivers of carnivore community composition at different spatial scales and address the following questions: (i) What factors influence carnivore community composition and diversity? (ii) How do the factors influencing carnivore communities vary across spatial and temporal …

Association Between Stream Impairment By Mercury And Superfund Sites In The Conterminous Usa, Karessa L. Manning

Masters Theses

Mercury is a natural element that can cause harm to the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system, especially to fetuses developing in the womb. Many natural and anthropogenic factors contribute to mercury in the environment, such as geologic deposits, landfills, gold and silver mining operations, cement production, and atmospheric deposition. Mercury has been identified as a contaminant of concern at many National Priority List (NPL) sites, however, studies on contamination at NPL sites are often only conducted on a local level. This study was to analyze the potential connection between mercury-contaminated NPL sites and the presence of mercury impaired …

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 …

The Long-Run Effects Of Tropical Cyclones On Infant Mortality, Isabel Miranda

Master's Theses

In the United States alone, each tropical cyclone causes an average of $14.6 billion worth of damages. In addition to the destruction of physical infrastructure, natural disasters also negatively impact human capital formation. These losses are often more difficult to observe, and therefore, are over looked when quantifying the true costs of natural disasters. One particular effect is an increase in infant mortality rates, an important indicator of a country’s general socioeconomic level. This paper utilizes a model created by Anttila-Hughes and Hsiang, that takes advantage of annual variation in tropical cyclones using annual spatial average maximum wind speeds and …

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 …

Accounting For Spatial Autocorrelation In Modeling The Distribution Of Water Quality Variables, Lorrayne Miralha

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Several studies in hydrology have reported differences in outcomes between models in which spatial autocorrelation (SAC) is accounted for and those in which SAC is not. However, the capacity to predict the magnitude of such differences is still ambiguous. In this thesis, I hypothesized that SAC, inherently possessed by a response variable, influences spatial modeling outcomes. I selected ten watersheds in the USA and analyzed them to determine whether water quality variables with higher Moran’s I values undergo greater increases in the coefficient of determination (R²) and greater decreases in residual SAC (rSAC) after spatial modeling. I compared non-spatial ordinary …

Spatial Modelling And Wildlife Health Surveillance: A Case Study Of White Nose Syndrome In Ontario, Lauren Yee

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Wildlife data is often limited by survey effort, small sample sizes, and spatial biases associated with collection and missing data. These factors can create unique challenges from a surveillance perspective when trying to extract spatial patterns of habitat suitability and disease distributions for conservation and management purposes. This thesis examined data quality from a wildlife health database in the context of spatial analysis of wildlife disease. Spatial analysis of the data to predict habitat suitability of bats and white nose syndrome afflicted bats was examined by using the MaxEnt modelling method. Methods to reduce spatial bias were examined and specific …

Quantifying Transit Access In New York City: Formulating An Accessibility Index For Analyzing Spatial And Social Patterns Of Public Transportation, Maxwell S. Siegel

Theses and Dissertations

This paper aims to analyze accessibility within New York City’s transportation system through creating unique accessibility indices. Indices are detailed and implemented using GIS, analyzing the distribution of transit need and access. Regression analyses are performed highlighting relationships between demographics and accessibility and recommendations for transit expansion are presented.

A Vegetation Analysis On Horn Island, Mississippi, Ca. 1940 Using Characteristic Dimensions Derived From Historical Aerial Photography, Guy Wilburn Jeter Jr.

Master's Theses

Horn Island is part of the MS/AL barrier island chain in the northern Gulf of Mexico located approximately 18kn off the coast of Mississippi. This island’s habitats have undergone many transitions over the last several decades. The goal of this study was to quantify habitat change over a seventy year period using historical black and white photography from 1940. Using present NAIP imagery from the USDA, habitat structure was estimated by using geo-statistics, and second order statistics, from a co-occurrence matrix, to characterize texture for habitat classification. Percent land cover was then calculated to determine overall land cover change over …

Natural Phenomena As Potential Influence On Social And Political Behavior: The Earth’S Magnetic Field, Jackie R. East

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Researchers use natural phenomena in a number of disciplines to help explain human behavioral outcomes. Research regarding the potential effects of magnetic fields on animal and human behavior indicates that fields could influence outcomes of interest to social scientists. Tests so far have been limited in scope. This work is a preliminary evaluation of whether the earth’s magnetic field influences human behavior it examines the baseline relationship exhibited between geomagnetic readings and a host of social and political outcomes. The emphasis on breadth of topical coverage in these statistical trials, rather than on depth of development for any one model, …

Grts And Graphs: Monitoring Natural Resources In Urban Landscapes, Todd R. Lookingbill, John Paul Schmit, Shawn L. Carter

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Environmental monitoring programs are an important tool for providing land managers with a scientific basis for management decisions. However, many ecological processes operate on spatial scales that transcend management boundaries (Schonewald-Cox 1988). For example, adjacent lands may influence protected-area resources via edge effects, source-sink dynamics, or invasion processes (Jones et al. 2009). Hydrologic alterations outside management units also may have profound effects on the integrity of resources being managed (Pringle 2000). The impacts of climate change are presenting challenges to resource management at local-to-global scales (Karl et al. 2009). This potential disparity between ecological and political boundaries presents an interesting …

Spatial Analysis Of Fatal Automobile Crashes In Kentucky, William Nathan Oris

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Fatal automobile crashes have claimed the lives of over 33,000 people each year in the United States since 1995. As in any point event, fatal crash events do not occur randomly in time or space. The objectives of this study were to identify spatial patterns and hot spots in FARS (Fatal Analysis Reporting System) fatal crash events based on temporal and demographic characteristics. The methods employed included 1) rate calculation using FARS points and average daily traffic flow; 2) planar kernel density estimation of FARS crash events based on temporal and demographic attributes within the data; and 3) two case …

A Plotless Density Estimator Based On The Asymptotic Limit Of Ordered Distance Estimation Values, Barry J. Kronenfeld

Barry J. Kronenfeld

Estimation of tree density from point-tree distances is an attractive option for quick inventory of new sites, but estimators that are unbiased in clustered and dispersed situations have not been found. Noting that bias of an estimator derived from distances to the kth nearest neighbor from a random point tends to decrease with increasing k, a method is proposed for estimating the limit of an asymptotic function through a set of ordered distance estimators. A standard asymptotic model is derived from the limiting case of a clustered distribution. The proposed estimator is evaluated against 13 types of simulated generating processes, …

A Plotless Density Estimator Based On The Asymptotic Limit Of Ordered Distance Estimation Values, Barry Kronenfeld

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Estimation of tree density from point-tree distances is an attractive option for quick inventory of new sites, but estimators that are unbiased in clustered and dispersed situations have not been found. Noting that bias of an estimator derived from distances to the kth nearest neighbor from a random point tends to decrease with increasing k, a method is proposed for estimating the limit of an asymptotic function through a set of ordered distance estimators. A standard asymptotic model is derived from the limiting case of a clustered distribution. The proposed estimator is evaluated against 13 types of simulated generating processes, …

A Plotless Density Estimator Based On The Asymptotic Limit Of Ordered Distance Estimation Values, Barry J. Kronenfeld

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Estimation of tree density from point-tree distances is an attractive option for quick inventory of new sites, but estimators that are unbiased in clustered and dispersed situations have not been found. Noting that bias of an estimator derived from distances to the kth nearest neighbor from a random point tends to decrease with increasing k, a method is proposed for estimating the limit of an asymptotic function through a set of ordered distance estimators. A standard asymptotic model is derived from the limiting case of a clustered distribution. The proposed estimator is evaluated against 13 types of simulated generating processes, …

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Transmission Project: Final Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix L, New England Division, United States Army Corps Of Engineers, United States Department Of Energy

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

This draft EIS Supplement describes the environmental impacts of updated transmission plans of the Department of Energy (DOE) for the proposed Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project. Energy produced by the project is to be integrated into the New England electric system if the project is constructed.

Fish And Wildlife Mitigation Report : Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project, Maine, New England Division, Corps Of Engineers, U. S. Army Engineer Division

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The Dickey Lincoln School Lakes Project is a proposed multipurpose project located on the upper reaches of the St. John River in Aroostook County, Maine. Development would consist of two dams with associated reservoirs and hydroelectric generating facilities, five dikes and transmission lines. A more detailed description of the proposed project and its associated impacts is contained within the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed project.

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project Transmission Studies Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix A, United States Department Of Energy

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The U.S. Departments of the Interior and Energy have conducted system planning, location, and environmental studies for the trans-mission facilities required for the Dickey-Lincoln School Hydroelectric Project. These studies of many alternate routes have resulted in iden-tification of a proposed transmission line route, and an environmental impact statement, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. This report, documenting an early phase of the overall studies, was first published by the Department of the Interior in February 1977. It is being republished as Appendix A to the DOE Environmental Impact Statement for the project.

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project Transmission Studies Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix H: Socio-Economic Impact Study, Edward C. Jordan Co., Inc., United States Department Of Energy

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The principal objective of this study is to identify the major types and intensity of social and economic impacts anticipated with the proposed pre-construction, construction, operation and maintenance of the Dickey-Lincoln transmission line. In order to address the types of anticipated impacts it was necessary to first develop a socio-economic profile of the affected area.

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project Transmission Studies Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix D: Transmission Reconnaissance Study, U.S. Department Of The Interior, U.S. Department Of Energy

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

This report (Transmission Reconnaissance Studies) discusses alternative transmission facilities needed to connect the project with the New England grid, and describes the study area involved. It supplements the Transmission System PI anning Study prepared by the Department of Interior (DOI) (February 1977) and the Assessment of Alternative Power Transmission Corridors prepared by VTN Consolidated (VTN) of Boston Mass., for the Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes project.

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project Transmission Studies Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix F: Geotechnical Impact Study, Jordan Gorrill Associates, Edward C. Jordan Co., Inc., United States Department Of Energy

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The U.S. Departments of the Interior and Energy have conducted system planning, location, and environmental studies for the trans-mission facilities required for the Dickey-Lincoln School Hydroelectric project. These studies of many alternate routes have resulted in iden-tification of a proposed transmission line route and an environmental impact statement, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. This report, one of several prepared under contract to the DOE by various consultants, is published as an appendix to that statement. Appendix F, Geotechnical Impact Study (two volumes, the second being a map volume), documents a study performed by E. C. …

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project Transmission Studies Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix G: Land Use Impact Study, Jordan Gorrill Associates, Edward C. Jordan Co., Inc., United States Department Of Energy

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

This report is in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. It is a study of the existing and proposed land use impacts which would likely occur as a result of construction of the Dickey-Lincoln Transmission Line in con-junction with the Dickey-Lincoln Hydroelectric Project at Lincoln School in Northern Maine. This report is organized and follows basically a topical summary as outlined in the National Environmental Policy Act.

Revised Draft Impact Statement Issued For Dickey-Lincoln, New England Division, United States Army Corps Of Engineers

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The revised draft combines data previously published in two separate impact statements prepared by the Corps relating to the dams, reservoirs and Power Plants and by the U. S. Department of Energy for transmission facilities to link the St. John River development to the New England power grid.

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project Transmission Studies Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix I: Visual-Recreation Resources Impact Study, United States Department Of Energy

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The U.S. Departments of the Interior and Energy have conducted system planning, location, and environmental studies for the transmission facilities required for the Dickey-Lincoln School Hydroelectric Project. These studies of many alternate routes have resulted in identification of a proposed transmission line route, and an environmental impact statement as required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. This report, one of several covering various topical areas, is published as an appendix to that statement.

Economic Impacts Summary : Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project, Edward C. Jordan Co. Inc, United States Army Corps Of Engineers, New England Division

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

Objective of this study will be to assess Dickey-Lincoln in terms of its attainment of project objectives. How will this be done? The Water Resources Council in "Water and Related Land Resources -Establishment of Principles and Standards for Planning"' states that: The overall purpose of water and land resource planning is to promote the quality of life, by reflecting society's preferences for attainment of the objectives...

Use Of Remote Sensing To Quantify Construction Material And To Define Geologic Lineations : Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project, Maine, H. L. Mckim, C. J. Merry

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

This report contains Appendixes A and B of Special Report 242, use of remote sensing to quantify construction material and to define geologic lineations.