Geographic Information Sciences Commons^™

Advancing Estuarine Shoreline Change Analysis Using Small Uncrewed Autonomous Systems, Thomas R. Allen, Devon Eulie, Mariko Polk, George Mcleod, Robert Stuart, Alexandra Garnand, A. J. Manning (Editor)

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Estuarine shorelines face the threats of accelerating sea-level rise, recurrent storms, and disruptions of natural sediment and ecological adjustments owing to historic human interventions. The growing availability and technical capability of uncrewed systems (UxS), including remote or autonomous aerial and surface vessels, provide new opportunities to study and understand estuarine shoreline changes. This chapter assesses the state of the technology, interdisciplinary science and engineering literature, and presents case studies from the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, and coastal North Carolina, USA, that demonstrate new insights into coastal geomorphic processes and applications to managing complex and dynamic estuarine shorelines. These technologies enhance the …

Comparison Of Water Column Properties Derived From An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle And Satellite Based Sources In Lake Michigan, David Bennion

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are an emerging technology increasingly being employed in geoscience and ecosystem research in the Great Lakes, capitalizing on their ability to sample large areas fitted with a variety of sensors. Previous to AUV use, chlorophyll measurements were either collected at discrete locations accessed by boats or derived from satellite remote sensing data. An advantage of AUVs is the ability to detect the presence of subsurface formations such as a deep chlorophyll layer or directly measure features such as the extent of the photic zone, which provides the opportunity to compare these in situ measured features to …

Using Gis To Better Understand The Cracker Community Of Pat's Island In The Ocala National Forest, Florida, Nicholas Kopp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

This research uses GIS methods to contextualize a Florida Cracker community in the Ocala National Forest. My case study is drawn from two seasons of fieldwork and supporting desktop surveys associated with Pat's Island, the home of multiple Cracker families. Cracker culture is historically categorized by its efforts to avoid modernization and prevent the commercialization of traditional lifeways in the quickly shifting society of late-19th and early 20th-century Florida. The geospatial expressions of these Cracker values are an emphasis on semi-remote living, adaptations to a unique environmental context, and the development of a semi-self-sufficient community. This research evaluates how GIS …

Structural Analysis And Interpretation Of Deformation Along The Keweenaw Fault System From Lake Linden To Mohawk, Michigan, Nolan G. Gamet

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Keweenaw fault is likely the most significant and most studied fault associated with the Midcontinent Rift System. The fault roughly bisects the Keweenaw Peninsula and places Portage Lake Volcanics (~1.1 Ga) over much younger Jacobsville Sandstone (~1.0 Ga). Published bedrock geology maps with cross sections from the 1950s show the fault as a single continuous trace that is locally associated with smaller cross faults and splays. The accompanying cross-sections show hanging-wall volcanic strata having a well-defined, listric geometry with dip decreasing away from the fault to the northwest.

This M.S. thesis presents a structural analysis and interpretation of the …

Modeling Debris Flow Hazard Risk Post Wildfire In Northern Colorado: A Spatial Approach, Ashleigh Boyd

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

The 2020 Cameron Peak Fire, the largest in Colorado’s History, impacted over 200,000 acres of land, including vital watersheds close to population centers in Colorado, such as the towns of Estes Park and Loveland. Runoff and debris flows are a continuous hazard for approximately five years post-fire. This study takes a spatial approach to modeling runoff potential of the Big Thompson Subbasin Watershed, using curve number methodology to approximate runoff potential by combining land cover, soil data, slope, and burn severity. Field work indicated possible uncertainty in the model due to discrepancies with field sample soil hydro groups compared to …

A Lack Of Inclusive Playgrounds And How Gis Can Bridge The Gap: A Case Study In Metro Denver, Brittny N. Wagner

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Inclusive and accessible playgrounds are a vital component to a sustainable and healthy community. These types of playgrounds encourage interactions between children of all abilities, which is a key component of social, emotional, and physical development. Playgrounds are often outdated or built without considering the needs of different types of community members. This is often due to lack of research about what it means to build an accessible playground and lack of awareness of the need for this type of play coming from city officials and park planners. Many parents and caregivers are left wondering where accessible playgrounds are located, …

Understanding Delays And Improving Emergency Response With Gis - Evergreen Fire Department In Evergreen, Colorado, Adrien Hoff

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

It is expected that both the PSAP and the responders in the field react quickly and arrive on the scene to emergency events as soon as possible. Fire agencies have been held to standards set in place reflective of where the emergency occurs and how quickly responders are expected to reach that location. Calls that experience delays in meeting these standards should be carefully examined and learned from for future events. Utilizing National Fire Protection (NFPA) population zone recommendations, population zones previously established with 2010 census data and unknown methods were recreated for Evergreen Fire Protection District. Then, utilizing SQL …

Village Of Grand Ridge Gis Utility Mapping: Effective Decision Making And Cost Benefits, Nick Harsted

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

According to Worldpopualtionreview.com, “As of 2018, there are 19,495 incorporated cities, towns and villages in the United States. Of those, 14,768 have populations below 5,000. Only ten have populations above 1 million and none are above 10 million. There are 310 cities considered at least medium cities with populations of 100,000 or more.” According to the U.S Census Bureau stats, “about 80% of the United States population lives in urban areas.” Within these cities or towns are underground utility infrastructures such as water lines and sewer pipes. For years cities have stored in files and boxes these construction plans explaining …

Structural Analysis And Slip Kinematics Of The Keweenaw Fault System Between Bête Grise Bay And Gratiot Lake, Keweenaw County, Michigan, Daniel J. Lizzadro-Mcpherson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Keweenaw fault is perhaps the most significant geologic structure on the Keweenaw Peninsula, with an estimated 7-11 km of reverse slip juxtaposing volcanic strata of the ~1.1 Ga Portage Lake Volcanics above ~1.0 Ga Jacobsville Sandstone. The fault has been interpreted as a rift-bounding normal fault later inverted by compressional pulses of the Grenville Orogeny or, more recently, as part of a detached thrust fault system unrelated to an earlier normal fault. The fault is shown on published maps as a single continuous fault trace whose sinuosity implies multiple fault segments and complex slip dynamics. Mapping along Bête Grise …

Quantifying The Carbon Stored And Sequestered By The Trees On Pomona College’S Campus, Paola A. Giron-Carson

Scripps Senior Theses

We are experiencing a climate crisis that must be confronted with strategic mitigation. Pomona College contributes to the climate crisis through its emissions for which there is a baseline record. However there is no baseline record of the climate mitigation currently performed by the trees on Pomona’s campus through carbon storage. This study seeks to determine a current baseline quantity of carbon stored and sequestrated by Pomona’s trees as well as possible courses of climate mitigation for Pomona College to take. Initial information gathering was conducted through interviews with several stakeholders. This study was conducted using data collected prior to …

The Relationship Between Climate Social Vulnerability And Asthma, Diane Nunez

Master's Theses

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects millions of people worldwide, the incidence and severity of asthma is influenced influenced by various factors, including air masses, and weather conditions. Asthma can also disproportionately affect different sociodemographics groups, leading to inequalities and injustices. This study used statistical analysis and GIS to analyze the spatial distribution of asthma calls and their relationship to sociodemographic traits in Wichita, KS, Tulsa, OK, and Oklahoma City, OK, and the seasonal distribution of asthma calls and their relationship to air masses. Results show that the relationship between asthma prevalence is higher among certain sociodemographic groups, …

Using Extended Two-Step Floating Catchment Area To Map Children’S Level Of Access To Physical Books In West Virginia, Heather A. Maxey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The state of West Virginia lacked a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the availability of physical books across the state. Access to reading material is vital to a child’s educational development as well as lifelong learning beyond childhood. To guide policy decisions and planning for outreach which addresses reading levels and beyond, I mapped levels of access stemming from socioeconomic barriers, spatial barriers, and an integrated index of both types of barriers. To map spatial access, I utilized a modified Extended Two-Step Floating Catchment Area model, deriving techniques from Hong et al’s 2023 article addressing access for health care in WV. …

Production, Best Management Practices, And Market Impacts Of Forest Biomass Harvest And Collection In The Mid-Atlantic Region, William E. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Time motion studies were conducted at five mid-Atlantic sites that spanned various operations in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The harvest systems included integrated harvests where chips were produced in the forest, roundwood systems where only roundwood was produced, and a centralized chipping system. The study collected overall productivity and machine utilization data at the various harvesting operations. The cost per green ton of woody biomass ranged from $18.46 to $39.8 resulting in an average of $30.33 among the five systems. Hauling had the highest average price per green ton at $9.10, while loading had the lowest at $1.73 per …

Developing A Standardized Gis Model Capable Of Identifying Areas To Implement Wind Power Generation Infrastructure, Namidu Vishwanath De Silva

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This project involves the use of multi-source GIS data, suitability analysis, and spatial modeling techniques to identify the most suitable areas for improving renewable energy infrastructures, primarily focusing on wind energy, within a given region. Previous literature conducted on the subject matter shows research being done in isolated areas or states. The primary objective of this project is to develop a GIS model and scripting tool that has the capability to test any input region to find the most suitable area within the given region that would be ideal for implementing new wind power infrastructure. The success rate of the …

Development Of 3d And 360 Gis-Based Models To Visualize Projected Sea Level Rise In Coastal Virginia, Candice M. Vinson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Science communication is a skill that can be strengthened with practice. Like any skill, it helps to know what you need to practice in order to get better at it. When presenting information to an audience, the skill of science communication comes into play as early as the first draft of a presentation. As you think about how you will tell your story to the audience, you likely consider including text on slides, images, graphs, maps, or even videos. However, it is crucial to remember that accessibility barriers are something we must often consciously work to rid our presentations of, …

The Influence Of Urban Forms And Street Infrastructure On Pedestrian-Motorist Collisions, Taylor J. Foreman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unwalkable cities are afflicted by serious issues such as increasing rates of pedestrian traffic accidents, public health concerns, and the denied right to have an accessible city. This study examines how different types of urban forms and street infrastructure contribute to the prevalence of traffic accidents in two major metropolitan cities in the United States: Atlanta, Georgia, and Boston, Massachusetts. This study utilizes geospatial analysis through the Average Nearest Neighbor and Optimized Hot Spot Analysis tools to determine the spatial distribution of traffic accidents throughout both cities. Additionally, statistical tests were conducted to explore the relationships between the number of …

Mapping Landcover Change And Population Displacement Of Lakshmipur District, Bangladesh Due To Riverbank Erosion From 2001-2021: A Geospatial Approach, Israt Jahan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to the geographical setting, the Lakshmipur district of Bangladesh experiences adverse effects of global climate change that include but are not limited to natural disasters such as tropical cyclones, storm surges, coastal flooding, and riverbank erosion. While riverbank erosion is an implicit impact of climate change, it directly affects human settlements, agricultural activity, and the overall livelihoods of people in this area. Examining the spatiotemporal changes in land cover and population due to riverbank erosion in this region could help us better understand the dynamics of human-environmental relations. This study aimed to classify land cover for every five years …

Development Indicators Of Health Services Using Geographical Information Systems In Beit Lahia, Gaza, Saleh Abu Amra

Journal of the Arab American University مجلة الجامعة العربية الامريكية للبحوث

The study aimed to identify the health services and contribute to solving their problems in Beit Lahia, Gaza in light of urban indicators in terms of quantity, type and the efficiency and effectiveness of spatial distribution. To achieve this, the population of the study was studied in terms of its size, growth and sustainable development of health services. The results showed that the population was growing at a high rate as it multiplied about 25, 8 times in an estimated period of (50) years with poor health services. That is, the health services constituted 0,06% of the total concern as …

Defining A Region: The Great River Road In Missouri, Evan Arthur Telle, David R. Perkins Iv

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The Great River Road (GRR) is an established roadway along both the east and west banks of the Mississippi River which serves to connect people to the geography of this area. In this study, the socio-economic characteristics present in Missouri are analyzed to determine if a more formal GRR region exists in Missouri. County-level data from five-year estimates (2014 – 2018) conducted by the United States Census Bureau are used to give greater insight on any unifying characteristics the GRR may have in Missouri. Social, economic, housing, and demographic information combined with spatial pattern analysis help identify evidence of a …

Geologic Mapping Of The Sparta 7.5-Minute Quadrangle In Northern Mississippi Via Remote Sensing, Traditional Geologic Survey, And Applied Geospatial Information Systems Methods, Rayford Dean Parnell

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional geologic mapping involves substantial time and labor in the field as geologic contacts are manually examined and interpreted. The processes of mapping geologic contacts can be condensed into a quicker and less laborious process using advances in remote sensing and GIS (geospatial information systems), including increased resolution and computerized data management and interpretation. Application of these advances reduces the costs and time of geologic mapping. The Sparta 7.5-minute quadrangle provides a mostly unaltered view of regional Paleocene and Upper Cretaceous geology due to its rural locale, lack of development, and stream topography. Recently LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) survey …