Geography Commons^™

Accuracy Of Boulder County’S Gis Parcel Mapping: An Examination Of Gis Cadastral Mapping Compared To Land Surveys, Kayce D. Wohlman

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This research outlines land surveying in the State of Colorado and discusses the formation of parcel maps in the state. GIS continues to grow in various industries and government entities since it is able to best streamline copious amounts of geospatial information. Following suit, County Assessor Offices throughout the country have benefited from the use of a GIS to organize their data. The cost, implementation and maintenance of a GIS is a costly endeavor however it benefits both the County, State and the general public. County Assessor Office GIS systems have directly influenced the field of Land Surveying both positively …

Projected Surface Raidiative Forcing Due To 2000-2050 Land-Cover Land-Use Albedo Change Over The Eastern United States, Christoper A. Barnes, David P. Roy, Thomas R. Loveland

GSCE Faculty Publications

Satellite-derived contemporary land-cover land-use (LCLU) and albedo data and modeled future LCLU are used to study the impact of LCLU change from 2000 to 2050 on surface albedo and radiative forcing for 19 ecoregions in the eastern United States. The modeled 2000–2050 LCLU changes indicate a future decrease in both agriculture and forested land and an increase in developed land that induces ecoregion radiative forcings ranging from −0.175 to 0.432 W m−2 driven predominately by differences in the area and type of LCLU change. At the regional scale, these projected LCLU changes induce a net negative albedo decrease (−0.001) and …

Sensitivity Analysis Of The Gems Soil Organic Carbon Model To Land Cover Land Use Classification Uncertainties Under Different Climate Scenarios In Senegal, Amadou M. Dieye, David P. Roy, N. P. Hanan, S. Lui, M. Hansen, A. Toure

GSCE Faculty Publications

Spatially explicit land cover land use (LCLU) change information is needed to drive biogeochemical models that simulate soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. Such information is increasingly being mapped using remotely sensed satellite data with classification schemes and uncertainties constrained by the sensing system, classification algorithms and land cover schemes. In this study, automated LCLU classification of multi-temporal Landsat satellite data were used to assess the sensitivity of SOC modeled by the Global Ensemble Biogeochemical Modeling System (GEMS). The GEMS was run for an area of 1560km2 in Senegal under three climate change scenarios with LCLU maps generated using different Landsat …

Geospatial Tools And Techniques For Watershed Management Using Swat 2009, Naresh Pai

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, geospatial tools and techniques were developed to support specific aspects of watershed pollution management, such as quantifying land-use change (LUC) impacts, prioritizing subwatersheds, and communicating field-scale impacts, using the soil and water assessment tool 2009 (SWAT 2009) model.

For the land-use change objective, a geospatial tool titled SWAT2009_LUC was developed that enables SWAT modelers to prepare specific input files for simulating concurrent land-use changes during the SWAT 2009 model simulations. Testing of the tool for the Illinois River Drainage Area in Arkansas (IRDAA) watershed showed that the tool accurately represented temporal land-uses within the model. Model simulations …

Continuity Of Landsat Obersvations: Short Term Considerations, Michael A. Wulder, Joanne C. White, Jeffrey G. Masek, John Dwyer, David P. Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

As of writing in mid-2010, both Landsat-5 and -7 continue to function, with sufficient fuel to enable data collection until the launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) scheduled for December of 2012. Failure of one or both of Landsat-5 or -7 may result in a lack of Landsat data for a period of time until the 2012 launch. Although the potential risk of a component failure increases the longer the sensor's design life is exceeded, the possible gap in Landsat data acquisition is reduced with each passing day and the risk of Landsat imagery being unavailable diminishes for …

Exploiting The Power Law Distribution Properties Of Satellite Fire Redaiative Power Retrials: A Method To Estimate Fire Radiative Energy And Biomass Burned From Sparse Satellite Observations, S. S. Kumar, David P. Roy, L. Boschetti, R. Kremens

GSCE Faculty Publications

Instantaneous estimates of the power released by fire (fire radiative power, FRP) are available with satellite active fire detection products. The temporal integral of FRP provides an estimate of the fire radiative energy (FRE) that is related linearly to the amount of biomass burned needed by the atmospheric emissions modeling community. The FRE, however, is sensitive to satellite temporal and spatial FRP undersampling due to infrequent satellite overpasses, cloud and smoke obscuration, and failure to detect cool and/or small fires. Satellite FRPs derived over individual burned areas and fires have been observed to exhibit power law distributions. This property is …

From Lakes To Plants: Spatial Assessment Of Vegetation Dynamics Along 52 Disappearing Lakes In The Boreal Forests Of Alaska From 1984-2009 In The Yukon Flats Wildlife Refuge, Steve Ewest

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

A spatial assessment of vegetation change along the areas of shrinking lakes was conducted in 2011. The analysis utilized Landsat TM/ETM imagery bands 3 and 4 to calculate NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) from 1984 to 2009 and applied cell and zonal statistics to measure the change as well as create an animation of the change. Also, three 30 meter bands and the zonal averages for the maximum values were assessed. The band in the 60-90 buffer bands has the greatest ratio amount of the maximum vegetation values when compared to the 0-30 meter and the 30-60 meter buffered bands. …

Farm Fragmentation: Mapping The Status And Trends Of Agricultural Lands In Colorado, Gabrielle Friedman

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Statistical spatial analysis was used in this research to assess the factors contributing to the downsizing of farms as well as overall farm size choice in Colorado. The areas of research focus will be the spatial effects and the economic landscape. This work will challenge the common belief that large, corporate farms are swallowing up small farms in a consolidation effort. Further, the analysis will quantify and visualize the status of agricultural lands in Colorado. The research will help to inform the theoretical understanding of agricultural decision processes within the context of economic and spatial factors.

High School Graduation And Dropout Rates In The Pikes Peak Region Of Colorado: A Spatial Analysis Of School Proximity To Military Installations, Rachel Orlicky

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

The purpose of this project was to examine graduation and dropout rates for high school students to determine if a correlation could be found with respect to the relative school distance from a military installation in the Pikes Peak region. Spatial analysis and Ordinary Least Squares analysis were used to build a linear regression model to predict student graduation and dropout rates. The results for the total student population for graduation rates and for dropout rates showed no statistically significant correlation with respect to the relative proximity to a military installation. Detailed analysis revealed that several minority and gender subgroups …

Blue Lines, Greenbelts, And The Effects Of Growth Management: The Geographical Effects Of Growth Management Policies In Boulder, Colorado, Anna Talucci

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluates and describes the effects of growth management policies, established by the city of Boulder, Colorado, for the city and the surrounding region. A variety of techniques contribute to this evaluation, including remote sensing analysis of land-use change for the region, mapping of commuter flow patterns, and analysis of the distribution of housing values, housing units, number of jobs, and income values. Growth management policies focus on planning for development to ensure continuous, adjacent growth, while preventing haphazard, leapfrog development. In cases such as Boulder, when planning is implemented unilaterally by a city as opposed to on a …

Mapping In Philanthropy: Exploring The Use Of Mapping In Foundation Grantmaking, Jim Casey

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Foundations provide grants to nonprofit organizations in our communities, who then provide services locally. Choosing which nonprofit to fund, and which not to fund is difficult. This study examines current uses and upcoming uses of mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as part of funding decisions made by foundations. Foundations engaged in strategic funding, especially that which targets specific populations are more likely to use GIS and geospatial analysis in funding decisions. Grantmaking in response to proposals requires less strategic analysis and calls for mapping much less by comparison. As a field, nationally foundations and nonprofits have identified many uses …

Developing Tornado Climatology In The Southern Great Plains Per Phases Of Prominent Oceanic Oscillations, Nicholas M. Fillo

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Meteorologists are continually working toward a greater understanding of which atmospheric environments are most conducive for tornado development. This Capstone project analyzed tornado occurrences across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana during the period 1950 through 2009 to determine if any correlation exists between the location and frequency of tornado activity and the phases of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. While it was determined that no phase of any of the oscillations studied was significantly more dominant over the other(s) concerning frequency, this project does identify some spatial shifts in tornado activity depending …

Strategies For The Fusion Of Satellite Fire Radiative Power With Burned Area Data For Fire Radiative Energy Derivation, Luigi Boschetti, David P. Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

Instantaneous estimates of the power released by a fire (Fire Radiative Power, FRP) are available with satellite active fire detection products. Integrating FRP in time provides an estimate of the total energy released (Fire Radiative Energy, FRE), which can be converted into burned biomass estimates needed by the atmospheric emissions modeling community. While straightforward in theory, the integration of FRP in time and space is affected by temporal and spatial undersampling imposed by the satellite sensing and orbit geometry, clouds, and active fire product omission errors. Combination of active fire FRP estimates with independently derived burned area maps provides the …

Dual Scale Trend Analysis Distinguishes Climatic From Anthropogenic Effects On The Vegetated Land Surface, K. M. De Beurs, C. K. Wright, G. M. Henebry

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

We present a dual scale trend analysis for characterizing and comparing two contrasting areas of change in Russia and Kazakhstan that lie less than 800 km apart. We selected a global NASA MODIS (moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer) product (MCD43C4 and MCD43A4) at a 0.05◦ (∼5.6 km) and 500 m spatial resolution and a 16-day temporal resolution from 2000 to 2008. We applied a refinement of the seasonal Kendall trend method to the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) image series at both scales. We only incorporated composites during the vegetative growing season which was delineated by start of season and end …

Using Geographically Weighted Regression Models To Analyze Crash Harm, Libin Zheng

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Society pays a high cost for collisions in terms of property damage, injuries and loss of life. This paper has two objectives. One is to examine various factors associated with harm caused by highway collisions. Both global OLS and local GWR models are provided to identify specific variables influencing crash harm. Another objective is to demonstrate the use of a Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) method in this complex safety problem, which can estimate models for each crash location and show spatial variation. The results show that the GWR model is a significant improvement on the OLS model; the test for …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Widely Available 3-D Visualization Tools In Support Of Public Participation, Laxmi Ramasubramanian, Jennifer L. Weeks, Tim Case

Publications and Research

There is a persistent need for improved tools and techniques to facilitate public involvement in transportation decision making. Despite continuous improvements in increasing public involvement at all phases of transportation decision making, transportation agencies are still seeking more affordable, accessible, and effective means of communicating with a wide range of stakeholders. The report documents a survey of a wide variety of transportation agencies on their use of interactive 3-D visualization for public involvement using an electronic survey. Supplemental qualitative data was generated through telephone interviews with selected survey participants. It concludes with three case studies illustrating applications of interactive 3-D …

Vision-Aided Cooperative Navigation For Multiple Unmanned Vehicles, Jason K. Bingham

Theses and Dissertations

In the recent past, a shift has taken place from manned to unmanned Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. This shift has lead to an increase in the number of unmanned vehicles (UV) operating in a theater. Additionally, removal of the crew allows for a reduction in vehicle scale, which leads to an increased ability to operate in GPS degraded environments. With the loss of GPS signals the vehicles must rely on Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) which when reduced to an appropriate size are inherently inaccurate. This research endeavors to exploit three attributes of increased UV use for ISR missions. …

Modeling Geographic Population Dispersion Utilizing Geospatial Information System Environment Agents In An Agent Based Model, Karl D. Liebert

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

New capabilities in agent based model (ABM) environments are opening the door to the creation of ABM that may incorporate high-quality, real world environment data in the form of Geospatial Information System (GIS) files . In the past, GJS environments were only possible through extensive software development efforts focused on specific model applications.

This thesis explores the value and issues of using GIS data to provide an ABM environment. It examines the ability of ABM development environments (DE) to support GIS environment data. The selected ABM DE is then used to model population behavior in an environment defined by authoritative …

Spatial Analyses And Repletion Of Gargathy Coastal Lagoon, Loreto Herraiz Gomez

OES Theses and Dissertations

Coastal lagoons and bays vary in shape and size in response to antecedent topography, geologic processes and sea level rise. Variations in shape and environmental conditions of coastal basins are believed to influence the distribution of benthic sub-environments and the exchange of water with the ocean and other adjacent coastal systems. Gargathy Inlet and its coastal lagoon vary spatially from the inlet, where the greatest depths are observed, to the mainland, dominated by shallow intertidal areas, colonized by marsh. Hypsographic and hydro-hypsographic analyses of Gargathy's coastal lagoon were the primary techniques applied to understand the relative distribution of the benthic …

Defining A Fire Year For Reporting And Analysis Of Global Interannual Fire Variablility, Luigi Boschetti, David P. Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

The interannual variability of fire activity has been studied without an explicit investigation of a suitable starting month for yearly calculations. Sensitivity analysis of 37 months of global MODIS active fire detections indicates that a 1-month change in the start of the fire year definition can lead, in the worst case, to a difference of over 6% and over 45% in global and subcontinental scale annual fire totals, respectively. Optimal starting months for analyses of global and subcontinental fire interannual variability are described. The research indicates that a fire year starting in March provides an optimal definition for annual global …

Radiative Forcing Over The Conterminous United States Due To Contemporary Land Cover Use Albedo Change, Christopher Barnes, David P. Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

Recently available satellite land cover land use (LCLU) and albedo data are used to study the impact of LCLU change from 1973 to 2000 on surface albedo and radiative forcing for 36 ecoregions covering 43% of the conterminous United States (CONUS). Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snowfree broadband albedo values are derived from Landsat LCLU classification maps located using a stratified random sampling methodology to estimate ecoregion estimates of LCLU induced albedo change and surface radiative forcing. The results illustrate that radiative forcing due to LCLU change may be disguised when spatially and temporally explicit data sets are not used. …

Mechanistic Home Range Models And Resource Selection Analysis: A Reconciliation And Unification, Paul R. Moorcroft, Alex Barnett

Dartmouth Scholarship

In the three decades since its introduction, resource selection analysis (RSA) has become a widespread method for analyzing spatial patterns of animal relocations obtained from telemetry studies. Recently, mechanistic home range models have been proposed as an alternative framework for studying patterns of animal space-use. In contrast to RSA models, mechanistic home range models are derived from underlying mechanistic descriptions of individual movement behavior and yield spatially explicit predictions for patterns of animal space-use. In addition, their mechanistic underpinning means that, unlike RSA, mechanistic home range models can also be used to predict changes in space-use following perturbation. In this …

Wal-Mart Versus Meijer: A Spatial And Economic Analysis Of Supercenter Competition In Michigan, Christopher J. Washebek

Masters Theses

My research will examine the spatial and demographic strategies of supercenter firms in the State of Michigan, namely those operated by Meijer, Inc. and Wal-Mart, Inc. The competitive nature of retailing in Michigan shifted heavily in 2000 when Wal-Mart brought its Supercenter format to Michigan, making it a direct competitor to Meijer, who has operated in Michigan since 1962. Within seven years, Wal-Mart expanded its Michigan Supercenter operations from one in 2000 to forty-five in 2007. In many cases, small towns throughout the state are supporting both Meijer and a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Heavy competition of this nature between two supercenter …

Spatial Analysis Of Great Lakes Ferry Transit Systems, Joe Lane

Masters Theses

This thesis will explore the feasibility of a cross-lake ferry on Lake Michigan between Metropolitan Chicago and Southwestern Michigan. Two potential origins have been chosen in Northeastern Illinois (Evanston and Downtown Chicago) and two potential destinations have been chosen in Southwestern Michigan (St. Joseph/ Benton Harbor and South Haven).

The introduction includes historical information on Great Lakes Ferry Systems, information about Great Lakes ports, routes and locations along with the operation requirements for a ferry system. The Methodology includes In-Depth interviews that were done with maritime experts of the Michigan Department of Transportation. This is in order to illustrate a …

Large Seasonal Swings In Leaf Area Of Amazon Rainforests, Ranga B. Myneni, Wenze Yang, Ramakrishna R. Nemani, Alfredo R. Huete, Robert E. Dickinson, Yuri Knyazikhin, Kamel Didan, Rong Fu, Robinson I. Negron Juarez, Sasan S. Saatchi, Hirofumi Hashimoto, Kazuhito Ichii, Nikolay V. Shabanov, Bin Tan, Piyachat Ratana, Jeffrey L. Privette, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Eric F. Vermote, David P. Roy, Robert E. Wolfe, Mark A. Friedl, Steven W. Running, Petr Votava, Nazmi El-Saleous, Sadashiva Devadiga, Yin Su, Vincent V. Salomonson

GSCE Faculty Publications

Despite early speculation to the contrary, all tropical forests studied to date display seasonal variations in the presence of new leaves, flowers, and fruits. Past studies were focused on the timing of phenological events and their cues but not on the accompanying changes in leaf area that regulate vegetation–atmosphere exchanges of energy, momentum, and mass. Here we report, from analysis of 5 years of recent satellite data, seasonal swings in green leaf area of ~25% in a majority of the Amazon rainforests. This seasonal cycle is timed to the seasonality of solar radiation in a manner that is suggestive of …

Visual Signatures In The Irish Neolithic Landscape: A Wider Perspective On Irish Passage Tombs, Frank Prendergast

Conference Papers

Arising from archaeoastronomical surveys undertaken as part of continuing doctoral research on Irish passage tombs by the author, extended tomb intervisibility has emerged as a frequent and potentially significant cultural factor, warranting further investigation and analysis. This new data type is discussed in terms of its potential to contribute towards a broader understanding of the motivation and symbolism behind the siting of these Neolithic monuments.

Evaluating The Long-Term Metacommunity Dynamics Of Tree Hole Mosquitoes, Alicia M. Ellis, L. Philip Lounibos, Marcel Holyoak

Dartmouth Scholarship

Four different conceptual models of metacommunities have been proposed, termed “patch dynamics,” “species sorting,” “mass effect,” and “neutral.” These models simplify thinking about metacommunities and improve our understanding of the role of spatial dynamics both in structuring communities and in determining local and regional diversity. We tested whether mosquito communities inhabiting water-filled tree holes in southeastern Florida, USA, displayed any of the characteristics and dynamics predicted by the four models. The densities of the five most common species in 3–8 tree holes were monitored every two weeks during 1978–2003. We tested relationships between habitat variables and species densities, spatial synchrony, …

People, Pixels, & Weights: Some Novel Applications Of Remote Sensing And Geographically Weighted Regression For Evansville, Indiana, Eric W. Lafary

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The exploration of urban-environmental changes and how those transformations co-vary with observed socio-economic realities is currently a major research initiative in geography. To that end, this thesis develops an urban-environmental assessment regime that examines how environmental change co-varies with observed socio-economic conditions. Research has demonstrated existing linkages between observed conditions in regard to socio-economic status (SES) and a particular greenness index, as represented by, normal difference vegetation index (NDVI). However, a gap within the literature has been identified concerning the current methodologies that propose to predict SES using remotely sensed data. Therefore, this thesis addresses this gap within the related …

Spatial Autocorrelation Of Deer-Vehicle Accidents In Vigo County, J. Scott Horn

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Deer-vehicle accidents (DV As) are a problem in many areas. They cause millions of dollars in property damage, personal injury, and loss of life each year. This thesis examines whether DVAs in Vigo County, Indiana during the year 2000 were spatially autocorrelated; and whether DV As selected by deer habitat were spatially autocorrelated. Specifically using Moran's I to test for spatial autocorrelation this study determined if and to what degree spatial autocorrelation existed among these DVAs. A Moran's I value of .0023 shows that the accidents occurred randomly. These DV A data were then used to plot a map which …

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 …