Geography Commons^™

Ethnoecology, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Ethnoecology – the study of cultural explications of nature – generates insights into the interface between peoples and the more-than-human world. Ecology is the scientific study of the interrelationships between plants, animals, and the environment, and it has developed into the study of interdependent communities of organisms and their environments. But while most ecologists have been trained to seek knowledge solely from scholarly books or nonhuman nature, tremendous environmental information is stored in the minds, cultures, and arts of indigenous peoples.

Geophilia, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

Extrapolated from E. O. Wilson's concept of biophilia, geophilia asserts that humans have an organic propensity to find wildlands emotionally compelling. It exists as a human tendency to emotionally connect with natural landscapes.

Winds Of Change?: Projections Of Near-Surface Winds Under Climate Change Scenarios, S C. Pryor, Justin T. Schoof, R J. Barthelmie

Publications

Changes in near–surface wind speeds due to global climate change may have profound geophysical and societal impacts. However, Global Climate Models (GCMs) are unable to replicate the historically observed magnitude and spatial variability of wind speeds, so we apply a downscaling technique to generate probability distributions of wind speeds at sites in northern Europe for historical periods (1961–1990 and 1982–2000) and two future periods (2046–2065, 2081–2100). Projections for the twenty-first century (C21st) indicate no evidence of substantial evolution relative to the end of the twentieth century (C20th), although there is increased divergence of results from downscaling of different GCMs toward …

Oxygen Demand Trends, Land Cover Change, And Water Quality Management For An Urbanizing Oregon Watershed, Michael Karl Boeder

Dissertations and Theses

In-stream aquatic habitat depends on adequate levels of dissolved oxygen. Human alteration of the landscape has an extensive influence on the biogeochemical processes that drive oxygen cycling in streams. Historic datasets allow researchers to track trends in chemical parameters concomitant with urbanization, while land cover change analysis allows researchers to identify linkages between water quality trends and landscape change.

Using the Seasonal Kendall's test, I examined water quality trends in oxygen demand variables during the mid-1990s to 2003, for twelve sites in the Rock Creek sub-watershed of the Tualatin River, northwest Oregon. Significant trends occurred in each parameter. Dissolved oxygen …

Lives, Livelihoods, And Landscapes: A Study Of Land Use And Social Change In Northeastern Nepal, Jennifer Leigh Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the forces of change in lives and landscapes that have altered the Lamosangu-to-Everest route in northeastern Nepal and shows how a transect in photographs and conversations across the east-central Himalaya allows us insight and a greater understanding into the processes and consequences of this change.

Three forces of change over the last twenty-five years dominated discussions with local informants: the rise of the "People's War"-Nepal's Maoist Insurgency beginning in 1996; the Democratic Revolution of 1990; and dependence on tourism for livelihood after the establishment of Sagarmatha National Park in 1976. Understanding the cultural-historical context for these forces …

An Analysis Of Community Forest Implementation In British Columbia, Canada, Ryan C. Bullock

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The community forest is increasingly seen as an alternative to industrial forestry for its perceived potential to mitigate conflict in forest resource management and planning. Theoretically, a community-based approach affords the chance to assert local values, provide local benefits, and manage resources differently than established top-down approaches. Yet practical examples of community forest initiatives in Canada reveal a host of constraints. This research uses a multiple case study design to investigate the motivations for and challenges to implementing community forests in British Columbia, Canada. Observations are drawn from four case studies (Denman Island, Malcolm Island, Cortes Island, and Creston) in …

An Assessment Of The Impacts Of Climate Change On The Upper Clackamas River Basin With A Distributed Hydrologic Model, David Graves

Dissertations and Theses

The Pacific Northwest is dependent on seasonal snowmelt for water resources that support a significant portion of its economy. Increased temperatures resulting from higher concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases may cause disruptions to these resources because of reductions in the annual snowpack and variations of the timing of snowmelt. This study reconstructs and applies a GIS-based distributed hydrologic model at a monthly scale to assess the effects of future climate change on runoff from the Upper Clackamas River Basin (located near Portland, Oregon). Historic flow data and snow measurements are used to calibrate and test the performance of the hydro …

Fire-Induced Albedo Change And Its Radative Forcing At The Surface In Northern Austrailia, Y. Jin, David P. Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

This paper investigates the impact of fire on surface albedo and the associated radiative forcing over 56% of continental Australia encompassing the fire-prone northern tropical savanna. Fire-affected areas and albedos are derived for the 2003 fire season using daily Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) surface reflectance data. Near-infrared and total shortwave albedos are observed to generally decrease after fire occurrence. Regionally, the total shortwave albedo drops by an average of 0.024, with increasing reductions as the dry season progresses and larger reductions in grasslands than woody savannas. These fire-induced albedo changes exert a positive forcing at the surface that increases …

Ambivalent Landscapes: An Historical Geography Of Recreation And Tourism On Mount Hood, Oregon, Ryan Franklin Mitchell

Dissertations and Theses

Mount Hood is an Oregon icon. The mountain has as long and rich a history of recreation and tourism as almost any other place in the American West. But contemporary landscapes on Mount Hood reveal a recreation and tourism industry that has struggled to assert itself, and a distinct geographic divide is evident in the manner in which tourism has been developed. Why? In this study I chronicle the historical geography of recreation and tourism on Mount Hood. I examine the evolution of its character and pattern, and the ways in which various communities have used it to invest meaning …

Forest Resource Use, Land-Use, And Ecotourism In The RíO PláTano Biosphere Reserve, Honduras, Christina Marie Friedle

Dissertations and Theses

The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, a tropical rainforest reserve in the northeastern corner of Honduras, is home to several subsistence-based indigenous groups, including the Miskito, Pech and Garifuna, as well as the non-indigenous Ladinos. Communities within the reserve depend on forest resources, swidden agriculture, marine resources and/or small-scale ranching as the foundations for local economies. Regulations placed on these subsistence practices, after establishment of the biosphere reserve in 1980, have created unique and new pressures and resulted in a blend of traditional and innovative resource use. A notable result is the promotion of ecotourism as a solution for meeting the …

Wither The Fruited Plain: The Long Expedition And The Description Of The "Great American Desert", Kevin Z. Sweeney

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

The view from Pikes Peak is breathtaking. Situated where the Great Plains meets the Rocky Mountains, one feels as if the whole nation is laid out before you. It is the perfect vantage point from which to write an inspirational anthem to the environmental magnificence of the United States. In the summer of 1893, Katherine Lee Bates, a Wellesley College English professor, sat on the summit of Pikes Peak, inspired by the panorama to pen the words to "America the Beautiful." Her poem was set to the tune "Materna" by Samuel Augustus Ward two years later to become one of …

Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Relations And The Social Production Of Space In Isabella County, Michigan, Bryan Thomas Swanson

Masters Theses

This thesis focuses on how the historical and cultural geography of the Saginaw Chippewa tribe of Mount Pleasant, Michigan and specifically on through their Soaring Eagle Casino reshaped the physical and cultural landscape of Isabella County. For this research I utilized documentary/archival evidence such as local histories, newspapers, plat maps and I also conducted field surveys. The research findings indicated that through the Soaring Eagle Casino the Saginaw Chippewa tribe has changed Isabella County, as well as their own social standing. Since 1993 the tribe has used casino revenues to purchase 1185 acres of land to add to the Isabella …

Empirical Downscaling Of Wind Speed Probability Distributions, S C. Pryor, Justin T. Schoof, R J. Barthelmie

Publications

This paper presents a novel approach to developing empirically downscaled estimates of near-surface wind speed and energy density and results from application of the technique to multiple stations in northern Europe. The downscaling takes a probabilistic approach in that it uses the mean and standard deviation of relative vorticity at 500 hPa and mean sea level pressure gradients computed using output from the ECHAM4/OPYC3 atmosphere-ocean general circulation model as the predictors and parameters of the wind speed probability distribution at surface stations as the predictands.We demonstrate that this approach generates accurate depictions of the wind climate during the conditioning period …

The Major Vernacular Regions Of Tennessee, James Curtis Barker

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This research project delineates and examines the relative strength of the major vernacular culture regions of Tennessee. Vernacular regions are delineated by recording and mapping businesses and organizations whose identities contain a key element of a regional label, such as: East Tennessee auto sales, Delta awning, etc.. Data are collected using a popular internet telephone directory.

The number of listings occurring in each county is recorded for each regional label. The county totals for each region are used to generate population-weighted county index values (CIV). Maps of county index values (CIVs) display core and periphery tendencies within vernacular regions. The …

An Inventory Of Rangelands In Part Of The Broome Shire, Western Australia, W E. Cotching

Technical Bulletins

The inventory of rangelands in part of the Broome Shire in Western Australia was undertaken by DAFWA between 1989 and 1990. It describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The survey of part of the Broome Shire …

The Impact Of Non-Stationarities In The Climate System On The Definition Of "A Normal Wind Year": A Case Study From The Baltic, S C. Pryor, R J. Barthelmie, Justin T. Schoof

Publications

Wind speeds over the Baltic significantly increased over the second half of the 20th century (C20th), with the majority of the increase being focused on the upper quartile of the wind speed distribution and in the southwest of the region. These changes have potentially profound implications for the wind energy resource. For example, based on the National Centers for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP–NCAR) reanalysis data it is shown that, owing to this non-stationarity, using the normalization period of 1987–98 to determine the wind resource (as in the Danish wind index) leads to overestimation of the wind energy …

Methods For Correcting Topographically Induced Radiometric Distortion On Landsat Thematic Mapper Images For Land Cover Classification, David Michael Rosen

Geography Masters Research Papers

Satellite imagery is commonly used to study land-use, land-cover change in mountainous areas. Classification of land-cover types is particularly difficult in this type of terrain because topography affects the spectral response of surface features. Several techniques have been developed to help compensate for this topographic effect and to increase classification accuracy.

The purpose of this study is to compare topographic correction methods to determine which produces the most accurate results. Method 1 does not use any topographic correction, serving as a control. Method 2 is based on the Lambertian model, and uses topographical data as variables in an equation. Method …

Comparing Twenty-Four Years Of Forest Change In Two Communities Of Mexico's Meseta PuréPecha Using Multi-Spectral Satellite Imagery, Kevin Scott Martin

Dissertations and Theses

The Meseta Purépecha, a volcanic plateau in the Mexican state of Michoacan, is home to one of the most species-rich pine forests in the world. Recent increases in demand for forest products has put added pressure on these resources. Though existing research has suggested significant deforestation in the Meseta, there is little information identifying specific areas of decline. This study focuses on two indigenous communities in the Meseta--Pichátaro and Sevina. Both communities have long relied on wood as an economic resource. However, the two communities have reacted differently to increased demand for forest resources. The purpose of this study is …

National Identity And The British Empire : The Image Of Saint Paul’S Cathedral, Rebecca Pierce

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This paper considers the historical geography of place and identity construction through the case of English Nationalism and the British Empire as encapsulated in London’s Saint Paul’s Cathedral. The research explores several themes: 1) the British Empire’s use of Saint Paul’s Cathedral as a representation, both physically and symbolically, of the ideals and power of the empire; 2) the British Empire’s employment of the Cathedral as the emotional and ideological center of national identity and imperialism in the English population; and 3) the British Empire's manipulation of the image of Saint Paul’s Cathedralas a national and religious landmark. Data analysis …

A Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Conifers Using Remote Sensing And Gis, Michael Koon

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Two sets of remotely sensed images, 1986 Landsat Multispectral Scanner and a 2000 Landsat Thematic Mapper +, were used in a change detection study to determine decline and growth of conifers in Grant and Tucker Counties. The images were registered, preprocessed for atmospheric effects, ratioed using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and categorized. A thematic change calculation was performed indicating growth and decline of vegetation. The resulting information was combined with ancillary data for GIS spatial analysis. The results showed an overall increase in vegetation and specifically on abandoned mine lands. Statistical tests showed decline occurred on steeper slopes, but was …

Image Compression And Its Effect On Data, Khaled S. Alkharabsheh

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis is intended to define and study different image compression techniques, software programs, image formats (from early ones such as “GIF” to most recent ones such as “JPEG 2000”), compression effect on compressed data (compressed images), and its effectiveness and usefulness in reducing the file size and its transmission time, as a result.

In many GeoBioPhysical applications, some information inside any image may be the keys to solve different kinds of problems and classify features. This kind of data and information has to be handled with care; i.e. it’s not allowed to be lost during the compression process. On …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Pilbara Region, Western Australia, A M E Van Vreeswyk, K A. Leighton, A L. Payne, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Pilbara region, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia between 1995 and 1999, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed covers about 181 723 km². Seven …

Effective Planning For Seismic Risk: Case Of Kobe, Japan, Mami Itamochi

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis discusses the city of Kobe’s recovery from the Great Hanshin Earthquake from the perspective of city planning. The earthquake and fire devastated many established parts of the city, impacting housing, businesses, and community institutions, resulting in a need for coordinated planning of of rebuilding. The purpose of this research is to investigate effective planning techniques for seismic risk, using Kobe, Japan as a case study. My research examines a neighborhood where a new plan was developed after the earthquake. It also describes how Kobe is dealing with the massive loss of housing and town resources. After this devastating …

Bear River Watershed, Robert J. Johnson, R. Douglas Ramsey

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

A map outlining the drainage basin of the Bear River, Utah with topography and a satellite image as the base layers. This was produced by the Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory, Department of Wildland Resources, Quinney College of Natural Resources in support of research conducted by faculty in the Department of Environment and Society in the same college.

Utah's Southwest, Robert J. Johnson, R. Douglas Ramsey

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

This map of Utah's Southwest features a cartographic illustration created by draping four cross-blended hypsometric tint ramps over a grayscale hillshade. A hypsometric tint ramp is essentially a blend of one or more colors that is associated with an elevation range. A cross-blended hypsometric tint derived image consists of two or more color ramps with at least one ramp presenting the terrain in a "dry" condition and the other in a "moist" or vegetated condition. The addition of a satellite image derived vegetation index allows vegetation colors to appear where the terrain is vegetated irrespective of elevation.

Circulation Mapping Of The North Atlantic Ocean During The 1990'S And From 1974 To 1984 As Determined From The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (Woce) Eulerian Current Meter Moorings, Roger Palmini

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Study of the ocean presents many challenges due to its vast size and the difficulty in representing such a system with the availability of few data measurements. The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) is the largest oceanographic experiment ever conducted. Data collection has been completed and we are now in the analysis, interpretation, modeling and synthesis phases (AIMS). An analysis and interpretation of the North Atlantic Ocean was conducted using a subset of the WOCE data. In the pre-WOCE period between Apr-11-74 and Sep-03-84 a total of 272 records were obtained having a spatial range of 23.2˚- 60.2˚N and …

Review Of Tourism: Between Place And Performance, Edited By Simon Coleman And Mike Crang, Alexandra Ganser

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

No abstract provided.

Soil Survey Enhancement Of Landsat Thematic Mapper Delineation Of Wetlands: A Case Study Of Barry County, Michigan, Rosemary Ann Anger

Masters Theses

The Landsat Thematic Mapper Satellite system has provided a unique platform for the study of natural and man-made features since 1972. This suite of sensors has become an important tool in assessing vegetation type and health over large areas of the earth. This paper reviews the Landsat Thematic Mapper’s ability to categorize wetlands using an unsupervised classification scheme. A preliminary exploration of an unsupervised classification of wetlands using soil engineering characteristics from the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s soil survey as a pseudo bandwidth is described. The result of this project suggests that when compared to the National Wetlands Inventory, a …

Assessing The Acceptance Of The New Environmental Paradigm In Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Jaclyn Rose Burke

Masters Theses

Since the first Earth Day in 1970, there has been an expanding popular movement to protect the environment and a growing consciousness that humans are an integral part of nature. The New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) is a worldview that emphasizes the relationship that exists between humans and the environment. The purpose of this Master's Thesis is to assess Kalamazoo County, Michigan residents' attitudes on the environment based on their acceptance of the NEP. The acceptance of the NEP by Kalamazoo County residents was evaluated by residents' responses on a survey developed to measure their environmental attitudes. Kalamazoo County was found …

Das Zeitalter Der Knappheit – Ressourcen, Konflikte, Lebenschancen, Isidor Wallimann, Michael Dobkowski

Books

Michael N. Dobkowski and Isidor Wallimann establish a disturbing but realistic scenario of the disastrous future that awaits humankind as surplus populations collide with dwindling resources. Authors consider a number of cause-and-effect situations on industrialization, biophysical limits, exponential population growth, and genocide, to name a few. This volume is a critical contribution to the field and will serve as an ideal introduction to courses in the environment, population, resources, genocide, and social conflict.