Physical and Environmental Geography Commons^™

Using Palaeobotanical Techniques To Guide Peatland Restoration. A Case Study From Byron Bay, Australia, Kathryn H. Taffs, Jeffrey F. Parr, Keith G. Bolton

Jeffrey Parr

No abstract provided.

Water Quality Impacts From Agricultural Land-Use In The Karst Groundwater Basin Of Qingmuguan, Chongqing, China, Ted W. Baker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Karst regions are composed of soluble rock, often limestone, which leads to the formation of fissures, sinkholes and water flow conduits such as caves. Pollutants in karst waters tend to be quickly directed and concentrated into these subsurface conduits. As a result of this and other factors, water resources are especially sensitive to contamination and pollution in karst areas. Pollutant concentrations going into fluvial systems travelling through the subsurface in karst areas are often very similar to the concentrations arriving at outlets such as springs. Areas connected by karst conduit flows must be distinctly determined and special attention should be …

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 …

Using Palaeobotanical Techniques To Guide Peatland Restoration. A Case Study From Byron Bay, Australia, Kathryn H. Taffs, Jeffrey F. Parr, Keith G. Bolton

Dr Kathryn H Taffs

No abstract provided.

Muis News: Maps And User Imagery Services @ Fiu Green Library Vol. 2, Issue 1 2008, Jill V. Krefft

MIUS News

Florida International University's Fall 2008 Map and User Imagery Services Newsletter.

Western Juniper (Juniperus Occidentalis) Ecology With An Exercise In Remote Sensing Techniques, Elizabeth A. Goralski

Geography Masters Research Papers

Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis) has been expanding its biogeographic range since the mid-1800's, resulting in decreased biodiversity, altered wildlife habitat, increased soil erosion, reduced stream flows and reduced forage production. The direct causes of western juniper aforestation are unclear but appear to be related to altered fire regimes, over grazing, and climatic shifts.

This study seeks to determine how Landsat images combined with Digital Orthoquads (DOQs) can be used to examine the geographic distribution of western juniper. Satellite imagery has yet to be applied to the large scale mapping of western juniper aforestation, resulting in the lack of …

Gregory Veeck, Margaret Von Steinen

International Faculty Researchers

Dr. Gregory Veeck, professor of geography, has completed extensive international research specializing in economic geography, agriculture, rural development and rural environmental/ecological issues in the United States, China, Japan, and Korea. Veeck has been conducting field research for 29 years.

Gregory Veeck's website

Comparing Pixel- And Object-Based Classification Methods For Determining Land-Cover In The Gee Creek Watershed, Washington, Tyler Vick

Geography Masters Research Papers

This study analyzes land-cover types in the Gee Creek Watershed of southern Washington using the pixel-based and object-based image analysis approaches. Landsat imagery has traditionally been used for pixel-based classification and change detection in land-cover studies. In recent years, the availability of high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery have enabled for land-cover classification to occur at scales not possible using traditional Landsat imagery. High-resolution aerial imagery of 1 meter or greater has become readily available for free. Yet, commonly found black and white (or panchromatic) aerial imagery is without the multiple spectrum bands found in Landsat imagery, thereby limiting the accuracy …

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 …

Overfishing And Environmental Justice In Marine Fisheries, Kristin Novak

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This thesis focuses on the depletion of marine fisheries, as a resource, from a geographical perspective. The decline and collapse of abundant fisheries worldwide has serious, though largely unaddressed, social implications, and should be considered as an issue of environmental justice. I analyze the processes that have lead to fisheries collapses all over the world, as well as the governance structures, management strategies, and political and economic forces involved. This is examined through two case studies: one, the collapse of cod stocks in Newfoundland and New England in the 1990s after centuries of intensive fishing, and two, the currently stressed …

The Hope Of A New College Town At Western Michigan Through Mixed-Use Development And Creation Of A Student Consumer District, James Paul Eichstaedt

Masters Theses

My research will start with investigations into what an American college town is, what are the uses of Smart Growth and Mixed-Used Development in college towns, and the real estate development practices of universities in The United States and one Canadian university. The four case studies in the thesis are The Ohio State University, The University of Norte Dame, The University of Connecticut, Victoria University at The University of Toronto. Other data was collected from survey respondents of close to 200 hundred students at Western Michigan University. The purpose of the survey was to determine what amenities and housing styles …

The Effects Of Climate Change And Urbanization On The Runoff Of The Rock Creek Basin, Jon J. Franczyk

Dissertations and Theses

Climate changes brought on by global warming are expected to have a significant affect on the Pacific Northwest hydrology during the 21^st Century. Current research anticipates higher mean annual temperatures and an intensification of the hydrological cycle. This is of particular concern for highly urbanized basins, which are considered more vulnerable to changes in climate. Because the majority of previous studies have addressed the influences of either climate or urban land cover changes on runoff, there is a lack of research investigating the combined effect of these factors. The Rock Creek basin (RCB), located in the Portland, OR, metropolitan …

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 …

West Indies, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Shelly Kannada

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Caribbean, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Shelly Kannada

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Characterization And Analysis Of Hailstorms In The Northern Great Plains, Thomas Sando

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

Hail is a meteorological occurrence that appears frequently during spring and summer across the Northern Great Plains. This paper first characterizes patterns associated with reported hail events occurring within a five-state region (North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska) from 2000-2006 using records taken from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) Severe Storms database. Patterns of interest include the seasonality of hail activity for each state and across the region, observational bias in the reporting of hailstone size, and temporal trends in the number of hail reports across the region and in each state. This paper then explores a …

Suitability Mapping Of Sesame Cultivation In Nigeria, Charles Alegbe

Charles Alegbe

Nigeria as a microcosm of the sub-Saharan Africa has agriculture as her mainstay which provides employment and source of livelihood for the increasing population. Sesame also known as beniseed, which is a very sensitive cash-crop to environmental factors such as rainfall, temperature and soil types; is not an exception as it has become one of the foreign exchange earners for Nigeria. The objective of this project is to use Geographical Information Systems (GIS) as a decision making tools to solving the spatial problems of sesame suitability mapping in Nigeria. Basic GIS operations ranging from spatial to aspatial search, reclassification and …

An Application Of Geoinformatics For Estima Ting Surface Temperature In A Rapidly Developing Urban Area Of Kogi State, Nigeria, Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

This study used remote sensing techniques to estimate surface radiant temperature of Lokoja town from LandSat ETM satellite imagery of 2001. The research was conducted in the phases of Pre-fieldwork, fieldwork and post fieldwork. Data generated from the field and satellite imagery were integrated, analysed, interpreted in a GIS environment. The result indicated that built-up area (336.14 K) and vacant land (321.63 K) exhibit the highest surface radiant temperature, while vegetated surfaces (301.23 K), water bodies (303.06 K) and cultivated land (307.56K) recorded the lowest radiant temperature respectively. Specifically, the resulting land surface temperature was 313.06K. Generally, this approach was …

Geostatistical Approach To The Control Of Typhoid Fever In A Part Of Kogi State, Nigeria, Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Typhoid fever is a common ailment affecting many resident especially the inhabitants of Anyigba. The problem is spatially related to the lack of portable water. The Human Health Risk Analysis methods of SADA (Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance) software was used to evaluate the health impact of water source. Maps of Anyigba were converted into digital form using Idrisi GIS software and the resulting coverages included hydrological Features, wards, population and environmental pollution in Anyigba. The Water sources were categories into A and B based on the cumulative scores < 5 for A and > for B based on the perceived vulnerability to various contamination. T-test …

A Satellite Remote Sensing Based Land Surface Temperature Retrieval From Landsat Tm Data., Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Land Surface Temperature (LST) of Lokoja town were retrieved from LandSat TM imagery of 1987. The NDVI and land emissivity were estimated from visible and near infrared bands, while the effective satellite temperature was estimated from the thermal infrared band. The Qin et al's mono-window algorithm was employed to obtain the land surface temperatures of the different land use/cover types in Lokoja town. The result indicated that vacant land and built-up have the highest LST values of 331.13K and 329.82K, and vegetation, water bodies and cultivated land having the least with 294.03K, 296.76K and 306.06K respectively. The average retrieved LST …

Remote Sensing And Gis Applications In Urban Expansion And Loss Of Vegetation Cover In Kaduna Town, Northern Nigeria, Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Anthropogenic drivers such as the urbanization and economic dependence have being a major force shaping various landscapes. Kaduna town is no exception of such landscapes. This study uses remote sensing and GIS techniques with survey to identify the various land uses, their various transformations over the a period of 11 years (1990-2000)and to measure the rate of urban expansion and loss of vegetation cover in the study area. The study revealed that built-up area is expanding at about 167.86 hectares annually vegetation covers declining at a faster rate of 297.5 hectares annually. It also revealed that bare land a component …

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 …

The Spatial Pattern Of Commercial Banks In Kogi State Of Nigeria, Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin

This study examines the relationship of commercial banks distribution across geographic space and the socio-economic potentials therein. Ground truthing and socio-economic survey were employed to ascertain the number of banks available in each senatorial district of the state and to ascertain the socio-economic profile of the users of these banks respectively. Statistical technique was use in the analysis of market segmentation through factor and cluster analysis, and GIS techniques for spatial analysis. It was discovered that the major factor responsible for the spatial variation in the clustering of banks is the distribution of government owned parastatals and Industries in the …

The Relationship Of Globalization In The Development And Success Of The Chilean Wine Industry, Jeanette Kripas

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis considers the economic geography of location, distribution and spatial organization of activities across the earth by focusing on the aspects of international trade and development. This will be accomplished by examining the process of globalization within the Chilean wine industry. This research explores several themes: 1) Globalization as a process, including the effects such as interdependence and global brands; 2) The role of globalization in the development of the wine industry; and 3) Whether or not the development of the wine industry accounts for generally positive attitudes toward globalization in Chile. Data analysis includes an examination of how …

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, …

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.

Trade Winds, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Shelly Kannada

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Virgin Islands, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Shelly Kannada

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Reconstruction Of Peace River Flood Frequency And Magnitude For The Past ∼600 Years From Oxbow Lake Sediments, Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada, Suzanne Jarvis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Ice-jam flooding in the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) is an important hydrological process for the replenishment of shallow perched basins that support a highly productive northern ecosystem. The PAD is also used by nearby First Nations communities for traditional lifestyle occupations such as hunting and trapping. Previous research on laminated sediments collected from two oxbow lakes periodically connected to major Peace River distributaries has resulted in a 300-year record of flood frequency. In an effort to extend this record and broaden the understanding of the relationships among climate variability, Peace River hydrology, and delta hydroecology, a series of vibracores and gravity …

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 …