Digital Commons Network^™

Atlas Of Maine: Density Of Wells Per Town, Isa Berzansky

Atlas of Maine

This map shows the number of wells in Maine towns. The number of wells is indicate by a gradient ranging from yellow to dark blue. The lighter colors correspond to fewer wells. The purple polygons indicate the above ground public drinking water supply. This map was projected using the NAD 1983 UTM Zone 19N datum and coordinate system. The Maine Office of GIS provided the data for the wells, public drinking water, and towns.

Using Gis To Assess Recreational Access To The High Peaks Of Maine, Soren Denlinger

Atlas of Maine

Maine's High Peaks region, in the west-central mountains of Maine, provides extensive recreational opportunities. However, trailheads in the High Peaks region of Maine are scattered across both public and private land on a road network with varying levels of maintenance. These factors, in combination with long drive times and unplowed roads often keep potential visitors away from hiking centers (Clawson and Knetsch, 2011). The objective of this study is to analyze the region’s accessibility via road. Specifically, I wanted to know which trailheads were publicly owned and accessible in winter as well as how much driving time is required to …

Atlas Of Maine: Deer Wintering Areas And Conserved Lands In Maine, Keller C. Leet-Otley

Atlas of Maine

This map shows the distribution of deer wintering areas (DWA) in relation to conserved lands of Maine, hillshade, mobility corridors, and water bodies. Data were obtained from the Maine Office of GIS (MEGIS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and projected using NAD 1983 UTM Zone 19N. The deer wintering areas, shown in red, were determined by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and published by MEGIS on November 21st, 2013. The conserved land data, shown in yellow, were last updated on January 23^rd, 2018 by MEGIS. The green hillshade layer was published on April 8 …

Mapping Big Game Harvests In Maine, Iain Kurry

Atlas of Maine

Maine’s big game are harvested each year all across the state. Hunters have relished the opportunity to bag a deer, moose or bear for years and this project sought to find the best location to hunt if someone wanted to harvest each species. Using 2016 harvest data, the locations of these successful hunts were mapped and then combined to create an overall ranking. This combined data was put into RStudio and analyzed to explore the significance of the data. No significant results were found at the township scale, but analysis of Wildlife Management Districts yielded a result that Wildlife Management …

Using Gis To Model Bike Routes In Waterville And Bike Storage Facilities At Colby College, Corin S. Balan

Atlas of Maine

This project focuses on establishing a bike route and storage facility system at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. This is in part prompted by the USGBC requirement for the Leed v4 sustainability certification.

Determining Potential Risk Areas For Minnesota Water Features, Mariel R. Ferragamo

Atlas of Maine

There are many important water features in Minnesota, but some are under potential threat due to the increase in agricultural pollution of air and groundwater, and infiltration of aquatic invasive species (AIS) (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 2018). This study analyzes these risk factors and the existing biodiversity of Minnesota’s water sources to identify potential high risk water features. Using a model that is scaled from 0-24 (low to high risk) it was discovered that over 95% of all water features have some level of threat regarding their natural state, while 15% are at a high risk of invasive species infiltration …

Identifying Lyme Disease Risk In Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, And Vermont, Isa Berzansky, Keller C. Leet-Otley

Atlas of Maine

Lyme disease is a tick-borne zoonosis that infects upwards of 26,000 people annually, making it the most common vector-borne disease in the United States (CDC 2017). The etiologic agent of Lyme disease is Borrelia burgdorferi, which relies on the deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, to complete its complex life cycle (CDC 2015). An increasing global temperature may have implications for incidence of Lyme disease (Ogden 2014). We examined ecological and epidemiological factors that influence Ixodes scapularis to create a model of Lyme disease risk in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We included the average number of days above …

Atlas Of Maine: Water Bodies And Pesticide And Fertilizer Use In Maine, Rachel L. Benway

Atlas of Maine

This Atlas of Maine map displays the location of natural bodies of water - vernal pools, lakes, and ponds, and shows the relative amount of pesticide and fertilizer use on the farms in each county. By combining these sets of data, I hope to illustrate where aquatic freshwater ecosystems could have a higher potential for negative impacts resulting from run-off of these pesticides and fertilizers. The water bodies are dark blue and the vernal pools are indicated by lighter blue dots. The level of pesticide use in each county is indicated by a graduated color ramp of 6 classes, where …

Modeling Salmon Habitats In Penobscot River, Maine, Curtis Zhuang

Atlas of Maine

This study uses the existent salmon data in 2016 to try to find the factors that impact habitat choices in the Penobsoct River area of Maine.

Wind Turbine Siting In Maine, Blaise Foley

Atlas of Maine

The State of Maine has considerable potential for renewable wind energy, and represents the greatest amount of current wind power in New England (U.S Wind Industry, 2017). Creating a statewide wind turbine siting map could help government officials, private landowners, and land surveyors better understand wind turbine potential, and allow further analysis of particular areas.

Using Gps Data To Map And Model Colby Student Public Transit Efficiency, Madeline Partridge, Mara V. Mcdonough

Atlas of Maine

The goal of this project is to determine inefficiencies in the current transportation system that could be used to improve how students and faculty living in the Downtown Dorm, as well as the rest of the campus community, are able to access transportation. Key locations in Waterville were identified by mapping Jitney and Shuttle GPS data. We created a route including all frequently visited locations from both vehicles identified from the GPS data.

Atlas Of Maine: Coastal Maine Shellfish Aquaculture And Fishery Sites, Eric Walton

Atlas of Maine

This is a map of the locations of shellfish aquaculture and fishery within the state of Maine. The sites of the shellfish fishery are only for American oysters and blue mussels, but the aquaculture sites are for all shellfish aquaculture not distinguished by species.

Atlas Of Maine: Change In Population From 2000 To 2010, Dawon Lee

Atlas of Maine

This atlas of Maine depicts the change in population from 2000 to 2010. The population difference for over 500 towns of Maine was computed. The change in township population ranged from -967 to 2240 people. Green indicates a decrease in population, and red indicates an increase in population. An adjusted equal interval was used to encompass the entire range and to clearly classify the breaks in population change. The map also outlines major cities, railroad, routes, highways, and counties.

Metadata includes the Minor Civil Divisions/ Census County Division – Census 2000 and the Minor Civil Divisions/ Census County Division – …

Atlas Of Maine: Overlap Of Lobster Fisheries And Atlantic Right Whale Habitat In The Gulf Of Maine, Caroline Winslow

Atlas of Maine

This map depicts the critical habitat areas for Atlantic Large Whales and North Atlantic Right Whales, as well as the critical fishery zones of lobster fisheries in the Gulf of Maine. The areas of dark blue represent the critical habitats and regulated waters implemented for the protection of the North Atlantic Right and Atlantic Large Whales. These critical zones for whales are overlapped by the lobster gear areas. Additionally, the inset map of the Maine coastline shows the waters exempt from the minimum traps per trawl requirement, and waters exempt from the Maine state American Lobster Permits. The existence of …

Atlas Of Maine: The Surficial Geology Of Mount Desert Island, Maine, Alyson Churchill

Atlas of Maine

My map, titled Surficial Geology of Mount Desert Island, Maine, depicts the surficial geology recorded on Mount Desert Island, as well as measurements of the geologic attitude of various features, and the locations of dikes, faults, and linear glacial features. Different lithologies are distinguished by various hues and saturations, with a solid line marking known or certain contacts and a dotted line marking approximate contacts. Geologic attitude variables that are represented include the strike and dip of beds, strike of vertical beds, strike and dip of foliation, strike of vertical foliation, strike and dip of flow layering, strike of …

Atlas Of Maine: Maine State Senate Voting Districts & Median Household Income, Emily Geske

Atlas of Maine

This map highlights regions in Maine that vote Democratic and Republican as well as shows the income distribution throughout the state by county. In addition, it displays the relationship between County median household income and the percentage of votes that a Republican Maine State Senate candidate received in the 2014 election. ArcGIS was used to create this map incorporating GIS layers from the Maine Office of GIS and used data from Ballotpedia to create additional layers. The map uses the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) and the Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 19N projection.

Developing A Brownfield Index In Vermont, Andrew Fumarola

Atlas of Maine

There are 165 brownfield sites in the state of Vermont. This map aims to show a newly devised brownfield index for each town in the state, using information such as water sources and brownfield proximity and density.

The Impact Of Sea Level Rise On Coastal South Carolina, Alyson Churchill

Atlas of Maine

This project aims to examine the effect of varying levels of sea level rise on the residents of South Carolina, particularly within the coastal communities, and provide rough estimations for the impact of sea level rise for use of classroom analysis. Regions along the coast continue to be popular destinations and living areas, despite the increasing prominence of rising sea levels, flooding events, and strong weather events triggered by climate change. This poses a great risk to those living near or on the coast, as almost 40% of the U.S.’s population live in densely populated areas near the coast despite …

Cellphone Towers And Service Coverage In Maine, Brian Levenson

Atlas of Maine

This map shows the distribution of cell phone towers across the state of Maine, as well the service areas that they serve. This map was created using an elevation map as a base map. On top of this map is a hillshade file that accentuates the perception of height in the mountains. On top of these layers are vector files showing the location of each cell phone tower in Maine, along with the corresponding service area. I found this map to be particularly interesting because it is able to show population density in an indirect way. Additionally, it highlights how …

Susceptibility Of United States Ski Resorts To The Effects Of Climate Change, Greyson M. Butler

Atlas of Maine

Across large regions of North America, warming global temperatures are expected to detrimentally reduce mountain snowpack accumulation and duration during the winter months. Mountain resorts are reliant on snowpack to generate a significant portion of their income through the ski industry. By 2100, experts have predicted that many alpine ski resorts could lose up to 70% of natural snow cover, leaving many resorts needing to turn to expensive, artificial snowmaking to supplement natural snowfall.

This study attempts to model the potential impact climate change will have on US ski resorts’ abilities to generate snowpack during the winter months in 2070 …

Atlas Of Maine: Risk Of Habitat Degradation, Dams, And Atlantic Salmon Habitat In Maine, Yue Yu

Atlas of Maine

This map shows the relationship between human impacts on waterbodies and salmon habitat locations in Maine. I used both a general assessment - the Stream Habitat Condition Index (HCI) conducted under the 2010 National Fish Habitat Action Plan - and dam locations to reflect human influences. The primary data sources are USGS GIS Data and Maine Office of GIS Data. The map is projected in the NAD 1983 UTM Zone19N coordinate system.

Atlas Of Maine: Overlap Of Atlantic Salmon Habitat And Dams In Maine, Katherine A. Donchik

Atlas of Maine

This map displays the relationship between Atlantic salmon habitat range and the location of dams in Maine. All data were gathered through the Maine Office of GIS. Data includes point data for the dams/impounds. Linear data are represented as the Atlantic Salmon Habitat and the rivers and streams. Hillshade and county outlines are also included on this map. The map is displayed using the UTM Zone 19N projections.

Proximity As A Driver For Local Seafood Consumption, Eric Walton

Atlas of Maine

Researched whether or not a farm to school program's proximity to large commercial ports affects their definition of local seafood. 214 farm to school programs and 128 US commercial ports are GIS mapped on the continental US, and two separate maps are created looking at Maine's and Alaska's farm to school programs and commercial ports. This poster was presented at the 2017 Colby Liberal Arts Symposium.

Distribution Of Native Tree Species Richness In Maine, Katherine A. Donchik, Tom Kiffney

Atlas of Maine

In this study we ask what parts of Maine have the highest number of different native tree species. Additionally, we investigate whether development is increasing in the areas with highest species richness. Shifts in population location can lead to more development, patch creation, and put strain on an ecosystem.

Forecasting Lava Flow: Analysis Of Potential Lava Flow Paths From Mauna Loa Volcano, Hi, Caroline Winslow, Julia Saul

Atlas of Maine

The island of Hawaii, located in the Hawaiian Island chain (Figure 2), is home to an active volcano, Mauna Loa, which has the potential of putting local populations at risk in the case of an eruption (Hawaii Center for Volcanology, 2015). In the last 150 years, Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times and twice, the lava flows have covered land that is now a part of Hilo, the most populated census-designated place (USGS). In areas with high population densities, lava flows are dangerous and destructive. This project aims to forecast potential lava flows in the most populated census blocks so …

Spread Of The Invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, Zoe C. Dickerson, Joanna L. Keel

Atlas of Maine

We created three maps using Arc GIS and projected them using the USA Contiguous Albers Equal Area Conic projected coordinate system. The first depicts the spread of the hemlock woolly adelgid since its introduction to the United States. The second shows areas that are most at risk to future spread according to a model we created. The final map serves to test our model for predicting future spread.

Distribution And Accessibility Of Public Green Space In Waterville, Me, Yue Yu, Ruofei Jia

Atlas of Maine

This project shows the distribution and accessibility of public green space in the city of Waterville, ME. Green space is important in urban areas because it encourages interaction between residents and nature, builds social ties, enhances spatial network, provides public spaces for recreation, and benefits physical and mental health. The city of Waterville does not have accurate GIS data that shows a complete network of green spaces in the city. A 2004 National Land Cover Database classifies areas with vegetation. Waterville city zoning data classifies the land into functional zones. However, previous to our project, the land cover and zoning …

Atlas Of Maine: Colleges & Universities Of Maine, Greyson M. Butler

Atlas of Maine

This map depicts the location and enrollment of colleges and universities based in Maine. Locations and enrollments of schools are compared to the underlying population of the state of Maine. Counties and major highways are displayed for spatial reference. All data projected in NAD1983 UTM Zone 19N.

Atlas Of Maine: Potential Catastrophic Sea Level Rise In Acadia National Park, Henry Dodge

Atlas of Maine

According to the US Geological Survey, worldwide sea levels would rise by 14.61 meters if the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets were to melt due to global climate change. The red area demonstrates the land that would be under water near and around Acadia National Park if this catastrophic scenario were to occur.

Stargazing In Maine: Best Places For Colby Students To See The Stars, Zac R. Mondschein

Atlas of Maine

Using a GIS and information about variables that influence night sky visibility, I created a suitability model for stargazing in Maine. Additionally, using information about terrain and land cover, I created least cost paths from Waterville to three designated viewing areas. The model corroborates the overall high quality of stargazing throughout Maine.