Geography Commons^™

Caribou Migration And Non-Local Hunting In Northwest Alaska: A Gis Analysis Of Hunting Activity And Its Relationship With Caribou Migration Corridors, Brittney L. Jiménezszabo

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Indigenous Alaskans rely on subsistence hunting for food, with Barren-ground caribou making up approximately 27% of their diet. It is believed by subsistence hunters that non-local hunting is forcing a change in caribou migration behavior. This study examined non-local harvesting records from 2013 – 2025 in the northwest and interior Game Management Units (GMU) and Alaksa’s Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH) migration range data to answer the question, is there a spatial relationship between non-local harvests and WACH migration behavior. Mixed methods included spatial autocorrelation and local statistics. Findings led to the rejection of the null hypothesis which will help …

The Role Of Urban Forests In Mitigating Flooding Effects: A Case Study In Savannah, Georgia, Gillian Bush

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Flooding in coastal communities is shaped by the interaction between natural systems and urban development. Chatham County, a low-elevation region in the Savannah, Georgia metropolitan area along the eastern coast of the United States, is prone to coastal storms and frequently affected by flooding. It serves as a useful case study to better understand the factors behind flooding and the areas that are most at risk. This study uses GIS-based analysis to examine the overlap between flood risk, urban forest cover, and impervious surfaces. The results indicate elevated vulnerability along major transportation corridors and barrier islands, where high-risk flood zones …

The Palm Farm Next-Door: Land Concessions, Livelihoods, And Nutrition In Plantation-Adjacent Communities, Julia Entwistle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Large-scale land concessions have reshaped agrarian landscapes globally, yet their implications for community land tenure, livelihoods, and nutrition remain unevenly understood. This dissertation examines how plantation agriculture and foreign investment have transformed land access, labor relations, and food systems in Liberia, a country with one of the highest proportions of land under concession globally. Guided by a political ecology framework, the study employs a mixed-methods design integrating policy analysis, in-depth interviews, and household surveys across two palm oil concession sites. The findings show that ambiguous land policies historically facilitated dispossession, while recent legal reforms have enabled communities to strategically mobilize …

Quantifying Terrain Controls On Satellite-Based Snow Water Equivalent Estimation: A Spatially Explicit Machine Learning Approach, Brant Giovannetti

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Terrain variables are widely incorporated into machine learning Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) models but are rarely evaluated for their independent contribution relative to spectral predictors. Using a four-tier stepwise Random Forest framework with Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 imagery and Airborne Snow Observatory LiDAR ground truth, this study isolates the contribution of elevation, slope, northness, and eastness across Peak and Ablation snowpack regimes in the East Taylor River Watershed, Colorado. During peak snowpack, adding terrain improved R² by 0.214, with elevation alone accounting for 42.8% of model importance. During ablation, full-dataset terrain gains were modest, increasing R² by only 0.036. However, when …

Geospatial Governance Failures In The Department Of Defense: Contractor Noncompliance, Ai Adoption, And The Parallel Treatment Of Gis And Cybersecurity, Lyndsey Olmstead

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

The Department of Defense's treatment of geographic information systems and cybersecurity as parallel rather than integrated policy domains produces geographically predictable vulnerability patterns across its global military installation footprint. This capstone investigates that conclusion through original spatial analysis, constructing a five-variable composite geospatial vulnerability index across the six U.S. Combatant Command regions using publicly available unclassified data. EUCOM ranked highest overall, driven by GPS/PNT spoofing density, commercial satellite coverage, and cyber incident frequency; CENTCOM ranked second, driven by OSINT exposure incidents and governance risk. The null hypothesis of random geographic distribution is rejected. Findings confirm the structural governance gap documented …

Tracing The Flow Of Value In Ecotourism: A Case Study Of Lekki Conservation Center, Lagos, Nigeria, Queen Oluwatobi Olafadehan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the flow of value in ecotourism at Lekki Conservation Center (LCC) in Lagos, Nigeria, using a political ecology framework to analyze how economic benefits, participation opportunities, and environmental impacts are distributed among different community groups. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 16 community members, participant observation, and photographic documentation, the study investigates how surrounding communities perceive and experience ecotourism, how revenue is understood to be distributed, and in what ways communities are included in or excluded from conservation decision-making. The findings reveal that ecotourism at LCC generates benefits that are unevenly distributed, that community participation in governance remains …

Visualizing Ozone Pollution In The Denver Metro Area Using A Bioindicator Garden, Ella K. Mathews, Hillary Hamann, Julie Morris, Erica L. Larson

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Since the industrial revolution, widespread fossil fuel combustion has significantly increased atmospheric pollution. The combustion of fossil fuels releases nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which form tropospheric (ground-level) ozone when exposed to sunlight. Ozone directly harms plants by disrupting their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and carry out photosynthesis. Bioindicator species are plants that have visible responses to environmental conditions, such as ozone, and can act as “canaries in the coal mine,” indicating the health of their environment. In this study, we used a garden of ozone bioindicator species (ozone garden) as a cost-effective tool …

King Of The Jungle: Comparative Analysis Of The Geopolitical Narratives Surrounding Fordlandia And A Proposed Resort Park In El Mirador, Rachel Jaeger

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Environmental geopolitics is a field of study in which narratives about the environment are analyzed to reveal the underlying motivations and objectives they support. Using Shannon O’Lear’s (2020) framework of environmental geopolitics, I conduct a comparative analysis of the narratives surrounding two distinct development projects: Henry Ford’s historical company town in the Brazilian Amazon, Fordlandia, and a proposed ecotourism resort park in El Mirador, Guatemala. Analysis of Fordlandia reveals a narrative of American frontierism and a man-versus-nature perspective that served to paint the environment as belligerent and thereby justify corporate control and Indigenous assimilation. Narratives surrounding El Mirador differ, representing …

A Visualization-Supported, Hierarchical, Action-Learning Model For Driving Behavior In A V2x Environment, Xuantong Wang, Jing Li, Jecca Bowen

Geography and the Environment: Faculty Scholarship

Understanding human driving decisions is crucial for intelligent transportation research. Most existing studies focus on individual vehicles in limited contexts, which restricts broader applicability of results. Leveraging Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) infrastructure, this study introduces a machine learning framework to model driving actions and detect outliers across diverse environments. This approach features a semantically enabled clustering method that groups similar driving behaviors based on speed and actions. It also adds a time-series learning model to identify typical driving behaviors across various contexts, thereby enabling detection of abnormal driving actions. A suite of visual tools has been developed to help interpret driving patterns, …

From Red To Green: Using Gis To Examine Colorado’S Inequitable Housing Patterns In Urban Greenspace Accessibility, Jessica Howard Karr

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Urban greenspaces provide numerous benefits to the mental and physical health of nearby people who access these locations for physical recreation, social interaction, and contemplation. Discriminatory urban planning policies from the past, such as redlining, have ensured that greenspace access is not always equitable for communities with diverse racial and socioeconomic compositions. This project utilizes Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to determine relationships between tree cover canopy, greenspace percentage within a census tract, and greenspace accessibility within a graded census tract system based on demographics and historic redlining locations in the Colorado cities of Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo. The results …

Box Elder County Tourism Adventure Passport: Pilot Program Geospatial Analysis, Evaluation, And Next Steps., Janessa Knotts

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

The Box Elder County Tourism Office created the Tourism Adventure Passport Program and launched a pilot program in July 2025. GIS was used to engage and encourage visitors and locals to visit some or all sites listed and submit information, including GPS points, to participate in the program. To promote tourism in Box Elder County, the program highlights well known sites like the Golden Spike National Historic Park, along with other, less-known sites. The pilot program data was used to create a geospatial analysis and an analysis of the number of visits each site received and number of visitors were …

Mobility Disrupted: Geospatial Analysis Of Accessibility On The Mbta’S Orange And Red Lines Using Generalized Linear Poisson Regression, Maura Forde

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This research analyzes the spatiotemporal relationship between explanatory variables and the frequency of downed elevator/escalator alerts at train stations on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Orange and Red lines. The data is from 2023. The null hypothesis is that there is no spatiotemporal pattern to the frequency/distribution of alerts. Generalized Linear Poisson Regression is used to model relationships across four time periods – the entire 2023 calendar year, Spring (January-April), Summer (May-August), and Fall (September-December). Results indicate that the null hypothesis can be rejected for all variables in Summer and Fall models but cannot be rejected for all variables …

Archaeological Predictive Meta-Modeling In Pre-Columbian Mexico, Peter Stamm

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Archaeological Predictive Modeling stands firmly as an important tool for Archaeologists to predict undiscovered sites from civilizations all across the globe. While powerful, this methodology is not without its own set of qualms. Striking a balance between pure a data-driven approach while also observing leading expert theories can be a complicated task. Going further, deciding on the specific domain of features to emphasize or overlook can be a challenge within itself, as one misstep can drastically change the output of model, sometimes for the worst. In addition, creating models that can expose their reasoning process can be rather difficult to …

Du Undergraduate Showcase Abstracts: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Kabe Aberle, Nadia Kako, Kateri Mcrae, Brooke Agulnek, Sky Palmon, Yasmine Ramirez, Francisca Aguirre Beltran, Ashley Juarez, Bridget Kim, Tessa Appel, Sterling Kerr, Spencer Ingley, Gabe Meyer, Robin Tinghitella, Dale Broder, Lily Baeza, Chloe Beers, Julia Coakley, Whitney Kelsey, Sydney Gainforth, Gabi Wing, Audrey Martin, Aaliyah Amore Berry, Brooke Watley, Kiruthika Venkatesan, Rachel Bienstock, Annabella Brotherston, Madison Bryant, Mia Burgener, Emma P. Lieb, Rachel A. Johnson, Jennifer L. Hoffman, Kania Campbell, Kiena Campbell, Courtney Cassidy, Sage Krzyzkowski, Maddox Jones, Skylar Abookire, Luke Hawkins, Sunnah Yoon, Andrea Chu, Yan Qin, Nyah Cubbison, Brian Gearity, Daniel Mcintosh, Mariely Cruz, Edward Garrido, Grady Dionne, Nicole Doris, Lyndsie Salvagio, Ann-Charlotte Granholm-Bentley, Anna Dymov, Hannah Eckert, Gabrielle Welsh, Erica Larson, Charlie Ernst, Anna Zhou, Sarah Watamura, Larissa Fedorovich-Klein, Georgie Fields, Kimberly A. Guevara, Aven Mccall, Ben Peltier, Feruz Yahia, Patrick Flores, Jadyn Floyd, Sophia Forcier, J. Von R. Monteza, Peter Sokol-Hessner, Gwendolyn Geiger, Scott Nichols, Camryn Gunter, Kendal Hengst, Charlie Bednarz, Issy Garside, Addison Baker, Rachel Mina, Brooke Hermanson, Amanda Klingler, William Highfill, Sydney Jaques, Kerstin Lewey, Allison Grossery, Daniel Linseman, Ethan Lim, Jagger Livengood, Owen Mantelli, Gabby Pappas, Abby Mcdonald, Madeleine Dierking, Eve Miller, Emma Loeber, Anna Marlow, Michael Kerwin, Ella Mathews, Hillary Hamann, Khadija Mohamed, Vivian Nguyen, Gabri Notov, Ifunayachi Ogbonna-Ukuku, Sunil Kumar, Charles Baysah, Sarah Olson, Don Sullivan, Anna Paradiso, Jay Parrish, Mira Pronobis, Alisha Pravasi, Kerstin Haring, Diego Ramirez, Christopher Reardon, Juliana Ramirez, Casey Doherty, Ella Kestner, Teagan Weindel, Cate Billings, Pablo Torre-Walter, Lucy Rand, Samantha Reynolds, Mark Siemens, Khadeeja Rashid, Laine Satterlee, Piper Heilbronner, Lily Pound, Ben Whitehurst, Anna Respet, Lizzie Lesoing, Sydney Hertel, Aya Saad-Masri, Brooke Ballenger, Max Proske, Hannah Rosenberg, Ellia Nakahara, Sophia Espinoza, Ivan Woolhouse, Simon Ruland, Gorkem Er, Timothy Sweeny, Melaku Saketa, Michela Schenk, Maren Lynch, Madi Hamm, Grace Schroeder, Michelle Rozenman, Rana Seif, Jackson Hall, Marisela Simental, Daniel Paredes, Aaron Mena, Preston Spaan, Evelyn Stovin, David Andrew Swartz, Anh Tran, Daniel Pittman, Luke Farchione, Emily Boyer, Ukari Verner, Lacey Conrad, Jonathan Velotta, James Weiner, Jagger Gossett, Noah Sherry, Sam Proud, Ben Block, Avi Narayana, Zoey Weiss, Alyssa Wilson, Gabrielle Walsh, David Zonana, Keely Wright, Kena Riveria, Lillybelle Deer, Jena Doom, Elysia Davis, Isabelle Yaremenko, Caitlyn Young

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Abstracts from the DU Undergraduate Research Showcase.

Elemental Analysis Of Sediments In Johnson County, Kansas: Applications In Fluvial Suspended Sediment Tracing, Kiena Campbell

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This exploratory study investigates whether bulk elemental analysis of sediment samples using inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) can reveal chemical signatures that identify anthropogenic contributions to sedimentation and increased fluvial suspended sediment loads, and whether these contribution sources can be identified. Human activity, urbanization, and changes in land use increase erosion, resulting in higher-than-natural suspended sediments (SS) in waterways and increasing sedimentation in reservoirs across the state of Kansas. These threats to freshwater storage capacity are especially urgent given the projected rise in freshwater demand in the Great Plains region driven by climate change. Understanding the origin of anthropogenic SS …

Analyzing Human - Nonhuman Primate Conflict Mitigation Techniques In Mto Wa Mbu, Northern Tanzania, Lil Adams

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Human-wildlife conflict is a widespread challenge faced by those living in regular contact with wildlife that can have profound impacts on livelihood outcomes for humans, wildlife, and their shared environment (Barua et al., 2013; Blackie, 2023). Human – non-human primate conflict is particularly crucial due to primates’ high capacity to live among human populations (Chapman & Chapman, 1990; Alberts & Altmann, 2006; Reader et al., 2011; Sinha & Vijayakrishnan, 2017), and is currently on the rise due to increasing contact between human and non-human primates (Hockings, 2016; Uddin et al., 2020). To characterize and analyze techniques currently being used to …

A Spatial Analysis Of Residential Photovoltaic Adoption In New Jersey: Focusing On 2020 With Trends Through 2025, Brandon Mcalister

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This capstone project seeks to find the relationship between socioeconomic and demographic variables and their relationship to residential photovoltaic installations across New Jersey. The study consists of Geographic Weighted Regression Analyses to construct and socioeconomic index indicating the likelihood of photovoltaic adoption in New Jersey zip codes. Then using the index to predict future photovoltaic adoption across the state. The study found that socioeconomic and demographic variables can predict photovoltaic adoption within one year, but when placed in an index and used to predict future adoption trends, the model under predicts and extremely over predicts. While socioeconomic status is a …

Political Ecologies Of The Livestock Industry, Jecca Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States today, livestock production is dominated by an intensified, industrialized production paradigm whose growth in recent decades has utterly transformed the logistical realities and community impacts of animal agriculture. This dissertation investigates the effects of this production paradigm on livestock producers—whose decision-making is shaped by multi-scalar and often contradictory forces—as well as residents living near these large operations. To do so, I draw upon mixed-methods fieldwork, including in-depth interviews, spatial analysis, and field odor measurements in Weld and Morgan Counties in northern Colorado. I also use political ecologies of emotion, embodiment, and health to examine the complex …

Utilizing Spatial Criteria To High-Grade Wyoming Eor Opportunities Along Proposed Pipeline Corridors: A Value Driven Approach, Jack Borski

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Oil and gas development has played a critical role in human civilization, and continues to bring drive economies around the world. One such economy is the state of Wyoming that has seen oil and gas production generally decline of the last several decades due to the depletion of high volume conventional reservoirs. A proven secondary technique such as CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) may serve as a method to arrest declining production, and increase economic activity. Wyoming has recognized this opportunity, and has attempted decrease the barriers of entry for oil and gas operators to invest in field-level CO2 EOR …

Object-Based Image Analysis And Artificial Intelligence Identification Of Anthropogenic Disturbance On Lesser Prairie Chicken Habitat In Cheyenne County, Colorado, Tara Hoelzer

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Renewable energy projects often require extensive landcover for their operations. When one of these projects encroaches into territory of threatened species, such as Lesser Prairie Chickens, an analysis of habitat suitability and human disturbance is required to proceed. Traditionally, this involved manually reviewing aerial imagery within a 6-mile radius, digitizing features, and interpreting them using a human technician—an approach that was time-consuming and prone to human error. By using pretrained AI models within Model Builder™, the identification of roads and structures was automated, making the process faster and more consistent than manual visual analysis. As AI and technology continue to …

Pilgrimage, Trade And Empire: A Gis Investigation Of Pre-Hispanic Roads In The Ocoña And Chorunga Valleys Of Peru, Geri Evilla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines Inca imperial expansion into the Ocoña and Chorunga Valleys, through an investigation of precolonial roads and trails. It focuses on the Middle to Late Horizons (700 BCE-1534 CE), with specific attention to the last 100 years, when the region was occupied by the Inca state and experienced a rapid increase in population and architectural development. Data collected in excavations, and pedestrian, and drone surveys were used in geographic information systems, to map pre-Hispanic road systems. A combination of Least Cost Path and viewshed analyses were used to investigate land use patterns and tie this region into the …

Toward Sustainable Human Well-Being: A Multidimensional Assessment In Colorado, Uma Umut Baysal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Evaluating progress in human well-being is essential for guiding effective policy and promoting sustainable development. Traditional approaches often emphasize economic and social dimensions while overlooking ecological indicators critical to long-term sustainability. This research addresses that gap by proposing a layered, scalable local framework for county-level analysis and bottom-up decision-making, integrating multiple objective indicators to assess and compare well-being outcomes across regions.

The first goal of this dissertation is to measure human well-being in Colorado counties by developing a Human Well-Being Index (HWBI). This index combines a newly developed Built Environment Index (BEI) comprising five sub-indices: accessibility, housing affordability, transportation, …

Community Land Governance In Liberia: Implications For Tenure Security And Land Concessions, Julia R. Entwistle, Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong

Geography and the Environment: Faculty Scholarship

Throughout rural Africa, the intersection of customary traditions and statutory governance has often led to overlapping jurisdictions and conflicts over community land rights. In Liberia, this dynamic is particularly evident in the rise of commercial land concessions. This article examines the Liberian government’s approach to community land rights and its impacts on land tenure security, especially in the context of these concessions. This study employs a discourse analysis of Liberian land use policies alongside qualitative data from in-depth interviews with community members living near large-scale plantations. Despite historical erosion of community land rights, Liberian communities have adapted statutory frameworks to …

How Short-Term Rentals Impact Summit County, Colorado, Spatially And Economically: A Gis Analysis, Hanna Gilhooley

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Summit County, Colorado, is experiencing a housing crisis influenced by the rise of short-term rentals (STRs). This project investigates how STRs spatially and economically impact the county. STRs are regarded as a reason for the housing crisis as they take away long-term housing from locals and increase housing market prices. Locals are forced to look for housing in neighboring counties such as Clear Creek, Eagle, Grand, Lake, and Park. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to analyze the spatial and economic impact of STRs in Summit County. Total population, median household income and STR locations are analyzed in ArcGIS …

A Comparative Gis Analysis Of United And Southwest Airlines Route Networks, Robert Brown

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This GIS project explores the relationship between airline route networks and flight delays for two U.S. Airlines. Using data obtained from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), route networks were created for United and Southwest Airlines showing all flights that each carrier reported in 2023. The airlines of interest were selected due to their opposing route network types; commonly referred to as a hub-and-spoke (HS) and a point-to-point (PTP) route network, respectively. Link charts were created to calculate centrality metrics quantifying these networks, and flight delay data were manipulated and summarized to develop an ArcGIS Dashboard with which any ArcGIS …

Wolverine Habitat Suitability Analysis In Lake County, Colorado, Using Gis, Jake Hostnik

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This project explores the reintroduction of the wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) to Colorado’s mountainous regions, where the species has been extirpated due to habitat destruction and human activities. The study uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to identify optimal habitats for wolverine reintroduction, considering factors like snowpack duration, prey availability, and human disturbance. By creating a GIS-based habitat suitability model, this research will guide conservationists in selecting reintroduction sites. The project addresses the species' role in maintaining alpine ecosystem balance and contributes to the broader understanding of biodiversity restoration in the face of climate change. Results will inform future conservation planning …

Key Largo Mangrove Population Monitoring: A Remote Sensing Analysis And Classification Methodology Review, David Lackajs

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Mangrove forests are some of the world's most bio-diverse habitats, providing essential services to the surrounding coasts. Removal of these habitats has a devastating impact on the ecosystems within them. The Florida Keys are some of the last areas in the United States with extensive mangrove populations. One specific area, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, has been under state protection since 1959. For that reason, mangrove forest habitats there are less fragmented. This study uses remotely sensed imagery to quantify and analyze mangrove populations in this area using two methods: sub-pixel analysis and supervised classification. The …

Evidence Of Climatic Influence On Subsistence Strategies At Sage Hen Springs, Nevada, Andrew Rogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Models of settlement patterns in the northwest Great Basin describe a decrease in residential mobility, intensified use of upland spring ecozones, and an increase in diet breadth during the Middle and Late Archaic. Here, I present data collected from the Sage Hen Springs site in northwestern Nevada during a Phase II testing project conducted by the BLM and an analysis of these data focusing on patterns of subsistence and mobility strategies throughout the Archaic. Results of this analysis support existing models of lifeways in the northwest Great Basin at the small scale and point to climatic factors as influences on …

Paradoxes And Potential Of Tourism Development In Nicaragua, Cody J. Silveira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research evaluates the successes and challenges of tourism integration and expansion as both a broad human development strategy and a catalyst for local populations to achieve greater economic and social opportunities. The country of Nicaragua serves as the primary case study for such an evaluation due to its relatively recent promotion and expansion of tourism through government led incentives and oversight. As a case study, Nicaragua is a country whose tourism industry remains nascent, yet commands great economic potential and influence, which can serve as an example for future tourism development initiatives for developing countries in the region …

A Geospatial And Machine Learning Framework For Forecasting Ground Level Ozone Pollution, William J. Keenan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The major detrimental health effects of ground-level ozone (GLO) pollution make it imperative that both policy makers and ordinary citizens have access to high accuracy, high-resolution forecasts of their local area. Recently, advancements in computing power have made it possible to apply artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to a variety of big data modelling problems, including GLO forecasting and estimation. Of these AI methods, deep neural networks (DNN) have demonstrated the highest accuracy due to their ability extract non-linear relationships from high dimensional, noisy data inputs.

This research effort uses novel data sources, namely NOAA’s High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) meteorology …