Digital Commons Network^™

Automatic High-Fidelity 3d Road Network Modeling, Jie Wang

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Many computer applications such as racing games and driving simulations frequently make use of 3D high-fidelity road network models for a variety of purposes. However, there are very few existing methods for automatic generation of 3D realistic road networks, especially for those in the real world. On the other hand, vast road network GIS data have been collected in the past and used by a wide range of applications, such as navigation and evaluation. A method that can automatically produce 3D high-fidelity road network models from 2D real road GIS data will significantly reduce both the labor and time needed …

Gis And Web Technologies For Assessing Sediment Pollution From Abandoned Developments, Joshua Werts

All Theses

The economic crisis that occurred at the time of this research left numerous residential developments in the Southeastern United States in various stages of construction, creating a potential source of sediment runoff to waterways. Sediment runoff is potentially damaging to aquatic ecosystems and lakes. The objectives of this research include identifying these developments in upstate South Carolina through GIS/remote sensing analysis and implementation of an integrated webGIS framework. Residential development locations with significant bare soil areas were identified through GIS analysis involving Landsat 5 TM classification and aerial photograph verification. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was used in …

Extent Of Gully Erosion In An Agricultural Field In Northeastern Nebraska At Section 35 Township 29 North Range 1 West In Cedar County, Crystal Starkel

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

My thesis project examined a gully within Section 35 Township 29 North Range 1 West. This gully has been noticed for five years and has grown substantially in those five years. The extent and causes of gully erosion were examined by considering the soil, the climate, the land management history, by measuring the gully physically, by using GIS, and by using an economic support tool was estimate soil loss. Appropriate recommendations were developed to reduce gully erosion.

Using A Geographic Information System To Define Regions Of Grape-Cultivar Suitability In Nebraska, Ting Chen

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The thesis was undertaken to develop a methodology and digital tool, based upon the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, for delineating specific regions within the state of Nebraska that are suitable for the cultivation of two selected grape hybrids. The successful cultivation of grapes for producing wine requires knowledge of the physical and environmental conditions characterizing the local landscape. GIS technology allows the integration of multiple layers to be analyzed simultaneously, which
can provide prospective grape growers with necessary information upon which to base their management decision. In the study, nine GIS variables/layers including growing degree days, length …

Cottonwood Riparian Site Selection On The Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, Julie A. Thorstenson, Diane Rickerl, Janet H. Gritzner

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

The construction of the Oahe Dam on the Missouri River eliminated thousands of acres ofriparian and floodplain lands on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Restoration is needed to replace wildlife habitat. This study focused on site selection for native cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr. Ex Marsh. ssp. Monilifers (Ait.) Eckenwalde) restoration to help mitigate this loss. Geographic information systems technologies were used to develop a suitability model for cottonwood restoration. Tribal lands were extracted from a digital dataset oflandownership. Those touched by or included in a 46 m border of the Moreau River were candidate sites. Of …

Prehistoric Roads Of New Mexico: A Synthesis Of Gis And Remote Sensing Techniques, Natalie Heberling

Geography ETDs

The existence of ancient road networks in the Chaco Canyon region of New Mexico is well documented, but roads have also been found in other Southwestern locations, as well as at other prehistoric sites all over the world. The identification and subsequent analysis of road networks can strengthen our understanding of the structure and function of prehistoric cultures. Researchers have begun utilizing different GIS and remote sensing technologies in the study of ancient road networks worldwide, but use of these technologies in archaeological research is just beginning. This research explores which GIS and Remote Sensing techniques best predict the locations …

Determining Historic Ethnic Changes In Sierra County And New Mexico 1870-2000, Destiny Mitchell

Geography ETDs

Sierra County and New Mexico share similar settlement patterns, however they are ethnically dissimilar in the present day. Using the methodology of surname analysis applied to historic census data, this thesis explores Sierra County and New Mexico in 1870 and 1930 to illustrate the differences between the past and the present. Results are displayed in tables and maps and show the ethnic differences between the counties in New Mexico and the precincts in Sierra County.

Utilization Of Geographic Information System For Research, Management, And Education In The Natural Resources Management Department At California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, David In Yun

Master's Theses

Geographic Information System (GIS) is “an organized collection of computer hardware, software, geographic data, and personnel designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information” (ESRI, 1997a). The Natural Resources Management Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, hereafter NRM, was one of the early users of GIS technology. Although GIS was primarily used as an educational tool, it was also used for cataloging and displaying resource information for management planning and research projects. As the computing technology advanced, GIS became more powerful and easier to use. NRM faculty and …

Gis-Based Estimation Of Housing Amenities: The Case Of High Grounds And Stagnant Streams, Shibashis Mukherjee, Arthur J. Caplan

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

We use GIS and econometric methods to estimate the marginal implicit values of environmental amenities associated with residential land parcels in the mountain town of Logan, Utah. Amenities include proximity to open spaces (such as parks, golf courses and lakes), commercial zones, major roads, streams, and general visibility of surrounding topography in the valley as determined by the elevation of the land parcel. The amenity value estimates are corrected for spatial autocorrelation. We find spatially dependent relationships between (1) a parcel’s value and its elevation, and (2) a parcel’s value and its adjacency to a stagnant stream. To our knowledge, …

Essentials Of Geographic Information Systems, Jonathan E. Campbell, Michael Shin

Textbooks

This is the required textbook for ENVR 370 at Liberty University.

Assessment Of Soil Loss Using Wepp Model And Geographical Information System

Journal of Spatial Hydrology

Severe soil erosion has generally been regarded as a major cause of land degradation in arid and semi arid regions. A quantitative assessment of soil loss intensity is still scanty for developing appropriate soil erosion control measures in these regions. This article used the combined Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) and Geographic Information System (GIS) models to estimate the average soil loss in the Halahijan watershed in Khuzestan Province, one of the priority areas for soil erosion control in Iran. Also, the sediment yield estimated by the WEPP was compared with that estimated by Modified Pacific Southwest Interagency Committee (MPSIAC) …

The Relationship Between Proximity To The O-Train Stations And Property Values In The City Of Ottawa, Christopher Macdonald Hewitt

Digitized Theses

Many studies have demonstrated the relationship between proximity to urban rail transit (URT) stations and the value ofresidential property. Most, however, do not employ either a spatial model or a cartographic depiction of their results. This represents a problem insofar as property values tend to vary spatially. To help address this deficiency, this study will examine the relationship between proximity to URT (O-Train) stations in Ottawa, Ontario and property values specifically utilizing a spatial approach. This will

be undertaken through the use of spatial and geographically weighted regression (GWR), techniques in a Geographic Information System (GIS). This study is contributing …

Mapping Time, Edward L. Ayers

History Faculty Publications

Our tools for dealing with terrestrial space are well-developed and becoming more refined and ubiquitous every day. GIS has long established its dominion, Google permits us to range over the world and down to our very rooftops, and cars and cell phones locate us in space at every moment. It is hardly surprising that geography and mapping suddenly seem important in new ways. Historians have always loved maps and have long felt a kinship with geographers. The very first atlases, compiled six hundred years ago, were historical atlases. But space and time remain uncomfortable—if ever-present and ever-active—companions in the human …

The Potential And Possibilities For Utilizing Geographic Information Systems To Inform School Library As Place, Melissa P. Johnston, Bradley Wade Bishop

Information Science Faculty Publications

Teacher librarians often consider their students and the internal school environment in planning programs and services but ignore the larger community from which learners originate. The purpose of this study was to provide a review of the ongoing discussions related to the school library in the community context and provide implications for utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) to inform the idea of the “school library as place.” This preliminary exploration, a thematic literature review, indicated multiple possibilities for implementing GIS in school libraries that may enable teacher librarians to better facilitate students’ development of a sense of place, support their …

Determining Exurbia: Is It Really Its Own Entity Or Merely An Extension Of Americas Growing Suburbia, Thomas A. Green

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose for studying exurbanization is to evaluate the spatial spread of metropolitan areas into their immediate hinterlands through remote sensing satellite imagery. This includes addressing scholar's inability to define exurbia, along with plausible reasons people move into exurbia. In addition, determination will include consideration on the possibility that exurbia has become an extension of America's growing and increasingly independent suburbia or; recognize that exurbia exists, but within various geographic locations. In return to the former, an analytical approach was taken to investigate scholar's inability to provide a definition to this phenomena; as well as inconsistent results on the push …

Site Identification, Delineation, And Evaluation Through Quantitative Spatial Analysis : Geostatistical And Gis Methods To Facilitate Archaeological Resource Assessment, James Scott Cardinal

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This thesis presents a brief overview of quantitative spatial analysis in archaeology with a discussion of the theoretical and methodological issues involved, and describes a set of methods for using Geographic Information System (GIS) software and spatial statistics for the assessment of archaeological resources. GIS has become a nearly ubiquitous and indispensable tool in many fields of resource management including archaeology. It is, however, applied by archaeologists most frequently for basic cartographic representations, large-scale regional analyses, or resource management data warehousing. Such applications underutilize the scale-independence of GIS, which is equally potent for intra-project data assessment. This thesis describes a …

Introduction To Gis Using Open Source Software, 1st Ed, Frank Donnelly

Open Educational Resources

This tutorial was created to accompany the GIS Practicum, a day-long workshop offered by the Newman Library at Baruch College CUNY that introduces participants to geographic information systems (GIS) using the open source software QGIS. The practicum introduces GIS as a concept for envisioning information and as a tool for conducting geographic analyses and creating maps. Participants learn how to navigate a GIS interface, how to prepare layers and conduct a basic geographic analysis, and how to create thematic maps. This tutorial was written using QGIS version 1.5 "Tethys", a cross-platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) desktop GIS software package.

Comparisons Between Educational Map Software Displaying Soil Data, Laura A. Kocur

Department of Computer Graphics Technology Degree Theses

The use of technology in the classroom is becoming more widespread, and the area of agronomy is no different. Utilization of various mapping technology is more common in instructional components in the classroom, although the impacts of software usability have not yet been explored. Maps available over the Internet are identified as an area in which usability is not known, nor are there any fixed standards or conventions to govern the display of them. The recently developed mapping prototype is intended to increase accessibility to map data used in class, as well as make it easier to use the data. …

Web-Based Spatial Decision Support System And Watershed Management With A Case Study, Yanli Zhang, Matthew W. Mcbroom, J. Degroote, R. L. Kauten, P. K. Barten

Faculty Publications

In order to maintain a proper balance between development pressure and water resources protection, and also to improve public participation, efficient tools and techniques for soil and water conservation projects are needed. This paper describes the development and application of a web-based watershed management spatial decision support system, WebWMPI. The WebWMPI uses the Watershed Management Priority Indices (WMPI) approach which is a prioritizing method for watershed management planning and it integrates land use/cover, hydrological data, soils, slope, roads, and other spatial data. The land is divided into three categories: Conservation Priority Index (CPI) land, Restoration Priority Index (RPI) land, and …

The Influence Of Environmental Variables On Predicting Rare-Plant Habitat In The Nez Perce National Forest, Thor Burbach

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Habitat suitability modeling is widely-used in both biogeography and ecology to characterize the biophysical requirements and distribution of plant and animal species. Many of these modeling efforts use different variants of essentially the same topo-climatic variables (elevation, slope, aspect, precipitation, and temperature). However, these commonly used variables may not sufficiently explain the distribution of rare-plant species, which may have additional habitat needs. The aim of this project was to determine guidelines for selection of variables to include in statistical modeling efforts to predict suitable rare-plant habitat. Additionally, how background extent, data resolution, sample size, and various ranking criteria effect environmental …

An Integrated Geographic Information Systems (Igis) Analysis And Definition Of The Tectonic Framework Of Northern Mexico, Carlos Manuel Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Crustal rupture structures reactivated in the course of the tectonic history of northern Mexico are the surface expressions of planes of weakness, in the form of simple or composite rectilinear features or slightly curved, defined as lineaments. Unless otherwise defined as strike-slip faults, lineaments are part of parallel and sub-parallel oblique convergent or oblique divergent tectonic zones cross cutting the Sierra Madre Occidental and northern Mexico, in a NW trend. These shear zones are the response to the oblique subduction of the Farallon plate beneath North America.

Kinematic analysis of five selected sites in northern Mexico, three basins and two …

Diffuse Minewater Pollution: Quantification And Risk Assessment In The Tamar Catchment, Alison Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Abandoned metal mines in the Tamar catchment, south west England, represent a significant threat to surface water quality via generation of acid mine waters. Currently the River Tamar fails environmental quality standards (EQS) established under the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) for dissolved Cu (x ̅ = 0.19 ± 0.05 μmol L-1) and Zn (x ̅ = 0.19 ± 0.06 μmol L-1, both 1997-2007) downstream of historic mining area of Gunnislake. The aim of this study was to quantify the risk to surface water quality by diffuse drainage generated by mine waste tips. For the first time, a GIS model was …

The Clash Of Heritage And Development On The Island Of Roatã¡N, Honduras, Alejandro J. Figueroa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines the spatial relationship between archaeological sites on the island of Roatán, Honduras and their topographical and biophysical location, as well as how these relationships are and continue to be impacted by the island's current socioeconomic context. Despite several studies and explorations conducted on the island's history, archaeology, and geography since the early twentieth century, little is known of its place and role within the larger cultural and socioeconomic spheres of interaction in this region: Mesoamerica and the Intermediate Area. Previous archaeological research has shown that hilltops on Roatán were chosen in prehispanic times for the location …

Locating Mineral Exploration Targets Using A Geographical Information System, Finnian O'Connor

Conference papers

This paper outlines the research and development of a complete open source geographic information system (GIS) that offers real-time geoprocessing over the Internet. The premise of the geoprocessing is to locate mineral exploration targets that have high potential for success based on parameters chosen by the end-user of the system.

Components integrated in the system include a spatial database PostGIS, a GIS processing engine GRASS, a GIS server GeoServer, a web server Apache, and front-end technologies OpenLayers and GeoExt. Appropriate data was sourced from the Geological Survey of Ireland to be used for the geoprocessing.

With all the components of …

Opening Black Boxes And Following Traces: An Exploration Of The Coalition For A Livable Future's Regional Equity Atlas Actor-World, 2003-2007, Meg Merrick

Dissertations and Theses

Maps have longed been recognized as instruments of power and persuasion. With the recent proliferation of maps in the media and on the Internet has come an increasing desire among groups advocating for environmental and social change to have access to maps (the product) and mapping (the process) to more effectively promote their agendas. However, this is not as simple as it seems. Far from being neutral conduits of "truth," maps are constructed by a myriad of social interactions among heterogeneous actors (human and technical) that left unacknowledged can lead to an untapped potential of the power of maps. Adopting …

An Agent-Based Simulation Model For Business Reopenings In New Orleans Post Hurricane Katrina, Helbert Arenas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The empirical study of business responses to disasters is relatively scarce, despite that they are a fundamental part of the cities, providing services, jobs and, taxes that are essential for urban sustainability. This dissertation develops an agent-based simulation model to represent and understand the businesses reopening process in a dynamic environment in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The objectives are two-fold: 1) To identify the main reopening predictors involved and estimate their relative importance through time, using an empirical data set collected from another study; 2) To represent the business reopening process through a computer simulation model, using the parameters …

A Contour Tree Based Spatio-Temporal Data Model For Oceanographic Applications, Yuliang Chen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

To present the spatio/temporal data from oceanographic modeling in GIS has been a challenging task due to the highly dynamic characteristic and complex pattern of variables, in relation to time and space. This dissertation focuses the research on spatio-temporal GIS data model applied to oceanographic model data, especially to homogeneous iso-surface data. The available spatio-temporal data models are carefully reviewed and characteristics in spatial and temporal issues from oceanographic model data are discussed in detail. As an important tool for data modeling, ontology is introduced to categorize oceanographic model data and further set up fundamental software components in the new …

Park Access And Distributional Inequities In Pinellas County, Florida, Kyle Ray Hirvela

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although environmental justice research has traditionally focused on environmental disamenities and health hazards, recent studies have begun to examine social inequities in the distribution of urban amenities such as street trees and parks that provide several direct and indirect health benefits to local residents. This thesis adds to this knowledge by evaluating distributional inequities in both distribution and access to parks in Pinellas County, the most densely populated and one of the most racially segregated counties in Florida. An important objective was to determine if neighborhoods with lower levels of park access are more likely to contain a significantly higher …

Food Deserts' And 'Food Swamps' In Hillsborough County, Florida: Unequal Access To Supermarkets And Fast-Food Restaurants, Dana Beth Stein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that the suburbanization of supermarkets has created `food deserts', defined as areas where socially disadvantaged individuals lack access to nutritious food outlets. Additionally, the growing presence of fast-food restaurants has created `food swamps', or areas where socially disadvantaged individuals encounter an overabundance of unhealthy food outlets. While previous studies have analyzed either `food deserts' or `food swamps' using conventional statistical techniques, a more comprehensive approach that includes samples of both healthy and unhealthy entities and considers the variety of available food options is necessary to improve our understanding of the local food environment and related disparities.

This …

Integrating Custom Mapping And Structure Preplanning With Gis For Emergency Responders, Zachary M. Hittie

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Accurate information can mean the difference between life and death for emergency responders and the people they serve. At the Harrisonburg Fire Department, laptops with customized databases for street maps and building preplans are one source of information for first responders. Another available resource is a Geographic Information System for the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. However, ESRI’s ArcGIS® software is far from user-friendly in a mobile atmosphere. The objective of this research is to develop new software that integrates the ArcGIS® tool suite with custom street map files and structure preplan databases into a single application on a …