Digital Commons Network^™

Bonytail (Gila Elegans) May Enhance Survival Of Razorback Suckers (Xyrauchen Texanus) In Rearing Ponds By Preying On Exotic Crayfish, Nathan Lenon, Krystyna Anne Stave, Tom Burke, James E. Deacon

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

This study examined the potential of bonytail (Gila elegans) to enhance survival of young razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) in rearing ponds by serving as a biological control agent for young stages of Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarki). Large populations of crayfish in rearing ponds negatively affect the survival of razorback suckers, through predation and competition for food. Traps made with 6.34 mm (0.25 inch) mesh have been used in an effort to reduce crayfish populations, however crayfish less than 17 mm carapace length (CPL) are able to escape. Juvenile bonytail in experimental trials ate young crayfish ranging in size from …

Scale And Orientation-Invariant Scene Similarity Metrics For Image Queries, James Carswell

Articles

In this paper we extend our previous work on shape-based queries to support queries on configurations of image objects. Here we consider spatial reasoning, especially directional and metric object relationships. Existing models for spatial reasoning tend to rely on pre-identified cardinal directions and minimal scale variations, assumption that cannot be considered as given in our image applications, where orientations and scale may vary substantially, and are often unknown. Accordingly, we have developed the method of varying baselines to identify similarities in direction and distance relations. Our method allows us to evaluate directional similarities without a priori knowledge of cardinal directions, …

Early Spatial And Temporal Validation Of Modis Lai Product In The Southern Africa Kalahari, J. L. Privette, R. B. Myneni, Y. Knyazikhin, M. Mukelabai, G. Roberts, Y. Tian, Y. Wang, S. G. Leblanc

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

We evaluate the operational MODIS Leaf Area Index (LAI) product using field-sampled data collected at five sites in southern Africa in March 2000. One site (Mongu, Zambia) was sampled monthly throughout the year. All sites were along the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme’s (IGBP) Kalahari Transect, which features progressively lower annual precipitation, and hence, lower vegetation productivity, from north to south. The soils are consistently sandy. At each site, we sampled the vegetation overstory along three 750-m transects using the Tracing Radiation and Architecture in Canopies (TRAC) instrument. The resulting plant area index values were adjusted with ancillary stem area data …

Global Products Of Vegetation Leaf Area And Fraction Absorbed Par From Year One Of Modis Data, R. B. Myneni, S. Hoffman, Y. Knyazikhin, J. L. Privette, J. Glassy, Y. Tian, Y. Wang, X. Song, Y. Zhang, G. R. Smith, A. Lotsch, M. Friedl, J. T. Morisette, P. Votava, R. R. Nemani, S. W. Running

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

An algorithm based on the physics of radiative transfer in vegetation canopies for the retrieval of vegetation green leaf area index (LAI) and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR) from surface reflectances was developed and implemented for operational processing prior to the launch of the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the TERRA platform in December of 1999. The performance of the algorithm has been extensively tested in prototyping activities prior to operational production. Considerable attention was paid to characterizing the quality of the product and this information is available to the users as quality assessment (QA) accompanying the …

Multiscale Analysis And Validation Of The Modis Lai Product, Yuhong Tian, Curtis E. Woodcock, Yujie Wang, Jeff L. Privette, Nikolay V. Shabanov, Liming Zhou, Yu Zhang, Wolfgang Buermann, Jiarui Dong, Brita Veikkanen, Tuomas Häme, Kaj Andersson, Mutlu Ozdogan, Yuri Knyazikhin, Ranga B. Myneni

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

The development of appropriate ground-based validation techniques is critical to assessing uncertainties associated with satellite databased products. In this paper, the second of a two-part series, we present a method for validation of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Leaf Area Index (MODIS LAI) product with emphasis on the sampling strategy for field data collection. Using a hierarchical scene model, we divided 30-m resolution LAI and NDVI images from Maun (Botswana), Harvard Forest (USA) and Ruokulahti Forest (Finland) into individual scale images of classes, region and pixel. Isolating the effects associated with different landscape scales through decomposition of semivariograms not only …

Progress On Geoenvironmental Models For Selected Mineral Deposit Types, Robert R. Seal Ii, Nora K. Foley

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Since the beginning of economic geology as a subdiscipline of the geological sciences, economic geologists have tended to classify mineral deposits on the basis of geological, mineralogical, and geochemical criteria, in efforts to systematize our understanding of mineral deposits as an aid to exploration. These efforts have lead to classifications based on commodity, geologic setting (Cox and Singer, 1986), inferred temperatures and pressures of ore formation (Lindgren, 1933), and genetic setting (Park and MacDiarmid, 1975; Jensen and Bateman, 1979). None of these classification schemes is mutually exclusive; instead, there is considerable overlap among all of these classifications. A natural outcome …

Last Interglacial Climates, George J. Kukla, Michael L. Bender, Jacques-Louis De Beaulieu, Gerard Bond, Wallace S. Broecker, Piet Cleveringa, Joyce E. Gavin, Timothy D. Herbert, John Imbrie, Jean Jouzel, Lloyd D. Keigwin, Karen-Luise Knudsen, Jerry F. Mcmanus, Josef Merkt, Daniel R. Muhs, Helmut Muller, Richard Z. Poore, Stephen C. Porter, Guy Seret, Nicholas J. Shackleton, Charles Turner, Polychronis C. Tzedakis, Isaac J. Winograd

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The last interglacial, commonly understood as an interval with climate as warm or warmer than today, is represented by marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e, which is a proxy record of low global ice volume and high sea level. It is arbitrarily dated to begin at approximately 130,000 yr B.P. and end at 116,000 yr B.P. with the onset of the early glacial unit MIS 5d. The age of the stage is determined by correlation to uranium–thorium dates of raised coral reefs. The most detailed proxy record of interglacial climate is found in the Vostok ice core where the temperature reached …

Ocean: An Integrated Curriculum Unit, Institute For The Development Of Gifted Education, Ricks Center For Gifted Children, University Of Denver

Ricks Curriculum Units Series

An integrated curriculum is an instructional approach that connects the disciplines to an underlying theme or topic. Immersing students in an integrated-thematic unit provides the backdrop for experiences to occur across the disciplines. Shaping coursework around integrated themes is especially appropriate for gifted students, however using an integrated-thematic curriculum is appropriate for all learners as it develops students' abilities to make connections, to solve problems by looking at multiple perspectives, and to integrate information from different fields of experience. An integrated-thematic curriculum permits students to be active participants in their own learning as they design their own explorations and take …

Randomness And Optimal Estimation In Data Sampling, Florentin Smarandache, Mohammad Khosnevisan, Housila P. Singh, S Saxena, Sarjinder Singh

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The purpose of this book is to postulate some theories and test them numerically. Estimation is often a difficult task and it has wide application in social sciences and financial market. In order to obtain the optimum efficiency for some classes of estimators, we have devoted this book into three specialized sections: Part 1. In this section we have studied a class of shrinkage estimators for shape parameter beta in failure censored samples from two-parameter Weibull distribution when some 'apriori' or guessed interval containing the parameter beta is available in addition to sample information and analyses their properties. Some estimators …

Navigating The Starless Night: Strategies For Understanding Autobiogeography, Matthew Wolf-Meyer, Davin Heckman

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Ancient mapmakers relied upon the presence of celestial bodies for their conceptualization of the world, for their external knowledge-making tools, as if a far-off body could help to make sense of our terrestrial life/as if it couldn't. Cosmology, as a practice, relied on the construction of an external body of knowledge that the local meaning-maker could situate him- or herself into, and more broadly, their entire society and culture -- the interior is determined by its relationship to the exterior (or the exteriorized). For the ancient Greeks then, the font of Western culture, this cosmology works at once …

Bedrock Geology Of West Fork Quadrangle, Washington County, Arkansas, Jack T. King, Maria E. King, Stephen K. Boss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A digital geologic map of West Fork quadrangle was produced at 1:24,000 scale using the geographic information system (GIS) software Maplnfo. Data regarding stratigraphic relations observed in the field were digitized onto the United States Geological Survey (USGS) digital raster graphic (DRG) of West Fork quadrangle. The geology of West Fork quadrangle consists of sedimentary rocks of the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian systems. The Fayetteville Shale and Pitkin Formation represent the Mississippian system. The Hale, Bloyd, and Atoka Formations represent the Pennsylvanian System. Each of these formations consists of members that were mapped at 1:24,000 scale, and this mapping effort represents …

Revised Bedrock Geology Of War Eagle Quadrangle, Benton County, Arkansas, Robert A. Sullivan, Stephen K. Boss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A digital geologic map of War Eagle quadrangle (WEQ) was produced at the 1:24000 scale using the geographic information system (GIS) software ArcView® by digitizing geological contacts onto the United States Geological Survey (USGS) digital raster graphic (DRG). The geology of WEQ consists of sedimentary rocks of Ordovician (Cotter, Powell, and Everton Formations), Devonian (Clifty Formation and Chattanooga Shale), and Mississippian (St. Joe-Boone, Batesville, and Fayetteville Formations) systems. Impoundment of Beaver Lake in 1966 inundated most Ordovician rocks cropping out in WEQ, but all three formations were present in isolated outcrops along the present shoreline of the lake. The St. …

Environment-Based Education: Policy, Practice, And Place, Eric N. Wickwire

All Master's Theses

The policies of the environment-based education movement are benefiting teachers and students participating in several model programs operating in the United States. Place-centered learning enhances the interdisciplinary practice of Essential Academic Learning Requirements, and actively engages students in local issues. The study of cultural landscapes encourages a sense of place within the Lower Columbia River Gorge, and fosters student connections with the Dalles Mountain Ranch. Policy recommendations are made for environment-based learning in Washington State's public schools. An example place-centered curriculum is outlined for practice at the Dalles Mountain Ranch, and a residential environmental learning center is proposed in the …

Glacial Deposits, Vol. 30, 2001-2002, Department Of Geography-Geology

Glacial Deposits

Newsletter of the Department of Geography-Geology

A Comparison Of Storm Hydrographs From Small Urban Watersheds With Different Land Use Patterns In Baton Rouge, Josey Wade Walker

LSU Master's Theses

Statistics gathered by FEMA indicate that nine of ten federal disasters are related to flooding. Research has demonstrated that increases in flooding can be contributed to urbanization or the construction of new residential and commercial developments (Anderson, 1970; Arnold & Gibbons, 1996; Putnam, 1972). New development has two main problems associated with it. First is the increase in impervious surfaces due to new parking lots, buildings, and streets (Booth & Leavitt, 1999; Seaburn, 1969). Second is the elimination of natural vegetation, which reduces evapotranspiration and lowers the soil’s ability to absorb precipitation (Hewlett, 1982). This study first demonstrates the relationship …

Modis Snow-Cover Products, Dorothy K. Hall, George A. Riggs, Vincent V. Salomonson, Nicolo E. Digirolamo, Klaus J. Bayr

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

On December 18, 1999, the Terra satellite was launched with a complement of five instruments including the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Many geophysical products are derived from MODIS data including global snow-cover products. MODIS snow and ice products have been available through the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) since September 13, 2000. MODIS snow-cover products represent potential improvement to or enhancement of the currently available operational products mainly because the MODIS products are global and 500-m resolution, and have the capability to separate most snow and clouds. The MODIS snow-mapping algorithms are …

First Operational Brdf, Albedo Nadir Reflectance Products From Modis, Crystal B. Schaaf, Feng Gao, Alan H. Strahler, Wolfgang Lucht, Xiaowen Li, Trevor Tsang, Nicholas C. Strugnell, Xiaoyang Zhang, Yufang Jin, Jan-Peter Muller, Philip Lewis, Michael Barnsley, Paul Hobson, Mathias Disney, Gareth Roberts, Michael Dunderdale, Christopher Doll, Robert P. D’Entremont, Baoxin Hu, Shunlin Liang, Jeffrey L. Privette, David P. Roy

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

With the launch of NASA’s Terra satellite and the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), operational Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and albedo products are now being made available to the scientific community. The MODIS BRDF/Albedo algorithm makes use of a semiempirical kernel-driven bidirectional reflectance model and multidate, multispectral data to provide global 1-km gridded and tiled products of the land surface every 16 days. These products include directional hemispherical albedo (black-sky albedo), bihemispherical albedo (white-sky albedo), Nadir BRDF-Adjusted surface Reflectances (NBAR), model parameters describing the BRDF, and extensive quality assurance information. The algorithm has been consistently producing albedo and NBAR …

Early Holocene Change In Atmospheric Circulation In The Northern Great Plains: An Upstreamview Of The 8.2 Ka Cold Event, Walter E. Dean, Richard M. Forester, J. Platt Bradbury

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Elk Lake, in northwestern Minnesota, contains numerous proxy records of climatic and environmental change contained in varved sediments with annual resolution for the last 10,000 years. These proxies show that about 8200 calendar years ago (8.2 cal. ka; 7300 radiocarbon years) Elk Lake went froma well-stratified lake that was wind-protected in a boreal forest to a well-mixed lake in open prairie savanna receiving northwesterly wind-blown dust, probably from the dry floor of Lake Agassiz. This change in climate marks the initiation of the widely recognized mid-Holocene “altithermal” in central North America. The coincidence of this change with the so-called 8.2 …

Baseline Limnology And Nutrient Study Of Basin Head Lagoon, Prince Edward Island, With Management Implications, Karen Connolly

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Knowledge of physical and chemical process ongoing within an environment is an important step towards proper environmental management. Basin Head, Prince Edward Island is in the process of becoming a Marine Protected Area (MPA) and therefore a comprehensive management plan will need to be completed. The area contains a unique strain of Irish Moss (Chrondrus crispus Stackhouse) that is an important marine plant used in various industries. A study was conducted during the summer of 2000 to assess the basic physical and chemical conditions within the Basin Head Lagoon and surrounding stream inputs. The purpose of the study was to …

Structural And Sedimentary Characteristics Of The Tsergo Ri Rockslide Breccia, Langtang, Nepal, Himalaya, Mark B. Carpenter

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The high magnitude Tsergo Ri landslide (c. 100ka), Langtang Himal, with a volume in excess of 15km^3 and a vertical displacement of more than 1500m remains the largest crystalline rockslide in Nepal Himalaya. The Quaternary landslide affected rocks in gneissic fancies of the High Himalayan Crystalline Sequence adjacent to the Tibetan Sedimentary Series. Depositional characteristics from exhumed transport slope sites were analysed at both the macroscopic and the microscopic scale to investigate (i) localised fracture in terms of orientation and density, and (ii) petrography of slide induced host rock deformation. Fracture orientation analysis indicate the spatial orientation of preexisting discontinuities …

River Basin Ecosystem Restoration: A Comparison Of Conservation Authority Efforts (Ontario), Wilfred Gregory Tschirhart

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis reviews a series of river basin ecosystem restoration/enhancement projects carried out under the direction of three individual southern Ontario conservation authorities in their respective river basins. The three authorities are the Grand River Conservation Authority, the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority, and the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority. A review from the published literature dealing with river basins, ecosystems, and environmental management supports the analysis of restoration projects. The criterion by which the literature articles were selected was that they have relevance to the type of environmental issues that are common to the river basins in the study areas. …

Ecosystem Health And Sustainable Livelihoods: Exploring The Prospects In Community-Based Resource Management In The East Mamprusi District, Ghana, Wuni P. Dasori

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Institutional processes, social and economic trends play a role in defining the outcomes of people’s interaction with and use of their ecosystems. The resource use decisions of households influence the livelihood and health dimensions of ecological change. This thesis identifies community assets and activities, and examines how they both affect human and ecological health, productivity and community sustainability. It studies the relationship between changing biophysical conditions and community well-being in terms of health and livelihood by examining how agro-ecosystem based resource use systems influence community environmental change and vulnerability to health and livelihood problems inherent in their ecosystem. Three communities …

Seiche Events At The Slave River Delta And Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories: An Assessment Of Process And Impact, James Tobias Gardner

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Seiche events are important hydrodynamic processes that impact the Slave River Delta, during the late summer and autumn. Given the scarcity of previous research on seiche events at river deltas and the physical dimensions and orientation of the Slave River Delta, this location at the southern shore of Great Slave Lake is ideal to study the occurrence and impacts of seiche events at a river delta. Seasonal changes to long-term water level trends and water level variability on Great Slave Lake, correspond to changes to the Slave River flow potentially associated with the impacts of regulation of the Peace River. …

Investigating Spatio-Temporal Variability Of Hydrological Components In The Canadian Rockies (Alberta), Christopher Dennis Hopkinson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis addresses two questions related to the broad topic of mountain hydrology: 1) How do interannual hydrological balancee and pathway components vary in complex temperate high mountain environments at various spatio-temporal scales? 2) a) Is it possible, using dedicated hydrological models, for significant errors in simulated runoff components despite good hydrograph recreations (i.e. right results for wrong reasons)? b) If so, what kinds of errors are encountered? The first question was addressed by undertaking a hydrological tracer and hydrometric study at three basin scales (Banff —2200 km2, Lake Louise —400 km2 and the headwaters —30 km2) within the Bow …

Cave Breakdown By Vadose Weathering, R. A. L. Osborne

International Journal of Speleology

Vadose weathering is a significant mechanism for initiating breakdown in caves. Vadose weathering of ore bodies, mineral veins, palaeokarst deposits, non-carbonate keystones and impure, altered or fractured bedrock, which is intersected by caves, will frequently result in breakdown. Breakdown is an active, ongoing process. Breakdown occurs throughout the vadose zone, and is not restricted to large diameter passages, or to cave ceilings. The surfaces of disarticulated blocks are commonly coated, rather than having fresh broken faces, and blocks continue to disintegrate after separating from the bedrock. Not only gypsum, but also hydromagnesite and aragonite are responsible for crystal wedging. It …

Dune Morphology Response To Water Level Change, Pinery Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Michael C.A. Bitton

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis describes the geomorphological changes to a trough blowout in Pinery Provincial Park's sand dunes. The Park is located on Lake Huron’s southeastern shore where, due to rapid changes in Lake Huron water levels, a study could be completed examining the changes to blowout morphology based on the change in beach sediment supply. The study took place during relative low Lake Huron levels (1999-2000) and was compared to data collected during a period of relative high Lake Huron levels (1994-1995). Field research included erosion pin measurement to monitor and verify morphological change through the throat of the blowout, aeolian …

Impact Of Land Use Change On Hydroelectric Power Generation In Cameron Highlands, Fook Kun Choy

Student Works (2000-2009)

This study assesses the impact of land use changes on annual energy production of the hydro stations of Cameron Highlands Hydroelectric Scheme. Land use affects sediment load and streamflow of Sungai Telom and Sungai Bertam, which influences power generation and energy production of the several hydro stations in Cameron Highlands. Data of rainfall, streamflow, suspended sediment load, land use and energy output for the period 1964 to 1998 were collected, processed and analysed. Regression analysis, double mass curve method and double ratio technique were used in the assessment. The suspended sediment load and annual runoff of Sungai Telom and Sungai …

Application Of Gis As An Environmental Monitoring Tool For Ambient Air Quality, Poh Aun Tan

Student Works (2000-2009)

The purpose of this study is to utilize Geographic Information System tool for the purpose of developing a customized Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Tool (AMAQUM). A PC based ArcView GlS software was chosen for the purpose of constructing a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI). This application was customized using an extensive Avenue scripting language associated with Dialog Designer in the ArcView environment. The AMAQUM developed consists of three main components or interfaces i.e. air quality modelling, ground level concentration and monitored ambient air quality. Firstly, the air quality modelling interface has the capability of running the ISCST3 air quality model …

A Study On The Sustainable Development Of Cameron Highlands, Jin Hooi Chan

Student Works (2000-2009)

Cameron Highlands, located in the mountain area of tropical forest of Peninsular Malaysia, is a popular tourist destination and is also suitable for tea and vegetable farming. It has also been developed for hydroelectric power generation. Development activities have recently been intensified creating enormous stress to the environment. This thesis investigates the sustainability of the development in Cameron Highlands. It adopts a holistic approach based on the Pressure-State-Response framework. The methodology adopted is mainly library research, with supplementary environmental data processing and calculation. The pressure of the development of agriculture, tourism and hydropower generation on the environment is analyzed. Then, …

Effects Of Cattle Grazing On Woodlands In Central Iowa, Cathy Mabry

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Iowa's forests have undergone a dramatic decline in area since settlement by Europeans. Most of the remaining forests have been degraded by an assortment of human impacts, with cattle grazing the most prominent among them. Using a matched pairs study designed to control for environmental differences among plots, I examined the impact of cattle grazing on the forest understory, canopy trees, and tree regeneration. There were distinct groups of understory species associated with ungrazed and grazed plots. Species associated with ungrazed plots were all native and tended to be perennial herbs with fleshy roots. Ungrazed plots also had species preferring …