Geography Commons^™

Roadside Memorial Practices: An Examination Of Landscapes Of Commemoration In Warren County, Kentucky, Michael Briggs

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Roadside memorials commemorating the death of automobile crash victims are scattered throughout the Kentucky landscape. This persistent cultural practice contains symbolic elements oftentimes indicative of religious connotations. Because there is a constitutional separation of church and government in the United States, these memorials can prelude controversy if located on state-maintained rights-of-way. This study examines Warren County, Kentucky, and analyzes the spatial distribution of these memorials on the landscape and the cultural implications to society because of their ties to death and dying. Scientific research in various fields of psychology, sociology, folk studies, geoscience, and religious studies was analyzed, including religious …

Understanding Perceptions Of Accessibility And Mobility Through Structuration Theory, Mark Graham

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Structuration theory in geography states that social systems are reproduced through the relationships between systems, structures, actors and their perceptions. Therefore, understanding the modes through which social systems are reproduced will allow for a clearer understanding of the nature of society. However, much of the relevant social theory has not been empirically tested. Thus, by empirically examining general perceptual differences between different built environments, on a macro and a micro level, it is hoped that the links between perceptions, social structures, and the built environment can be more fully understood. A better understanding of these links will, in turn, allow …

A Spatial Analysis Of The Impact Of Development On Wetland Habitat In Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Jenna Medlin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In response to growing concerns over wetland habitat loss and the associated impact on water resources, federal and state legislation has been enacted to protect vulnerable wetland habitats from the impacts of humans. In order to examine the efficacy of current coastal resource policy and its implementation, a study was conducted in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, a coastal city of the Atlantic, focusing on the quantification of wetland habitat change over time within a specific area of interest. The study incorporated an assessment of the effects of escalating population pressures and subsequent urban development on local wetland habitats due to …

Geographic Information System Methodologies To Evaluate Relationships Between Land Use And Groundwater Quality In South Central Kentucky, Rhonda Pfaff

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The development of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology has provided techniques for a holistic approach to the study of karst groundwater contamination. While karst groundwaters supply water to a large percentage of the earth's population, its complex environments often have lacked the scientific examination and conservation measures typical of non-karst regions. In this study, GIS methodologies were explored to examine the relationships between land-use and water quality in karst watersheds. Eight watersheds throughout southern and western Kentucky were examined. The study areas included the Mammoth Cave Karst Aquifer, which is the watershed that drains the Mammoth Cave System, and seven …

Estimating Population Numbers Of Black Bears (Ursus Americanus) In Eastern Kentucky Using Microsatellite Analysis, Kelly Vowels

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Black bears (Ursus americanus) occur sporadically in eastern Kentucky, and there is some evidence that a breeding population exists. In order to establish management practices to enhance the black bear population in Kentucky, information about this population is needed. However, until recently, no population size estimate has been available. Gathering information on black bears is difficult because black bears are elusive animals. The development of new molecular methods has made it easier to track and gather information on black bear populations, including estimates of population size. Molecular markers are particularly useful in that they do not require physical contact with …

The Evolution Of A Commercial Landscape: A Case Study Of The Motels Along U.S. Highway 31-W, Jill Brown

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The cultural landscape is shaped by human imprints on the natural environment. Many decisions are made that have rippling effects over time. One type of development that changes the landscape is transportation innovation. As improved transportation links are introduced, people change their movement to include the quicker, more efficient route. As movement changes due to increased accessibility, roads that were once traveled by all now have fewer travelers. The rippling effects of the decision to add new infrastructure start at the opening of the innovation. New businesses will spring up at crossroads and common stopping areas. The long established businesses …

The Progression Of Recycling In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Susan Marklin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Recycling is an important issue when dealing with solid waste. It keeps many tons of garbage out of our landfills and prolongs landfill life. Although many people in the Bowling Green area participate in the mandatory recycling program, there are still many who do not. The number of people who participate in the program has steadily grown over the past five years; however, there are still many people who need to get involved. This research argues that much effort has been put into recycling in recent years at the global, national, and local level. However, it also argues that even …

Park And Ride Feasibility Analysis For The Evansville, Indiana, Metropolitan Area, Brian Howard

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Congested roadways and declining air quality standards are major concerns for many communities faced with the challenges of suburban growth and city decay. How each community chooses to fight the problems created by urban sprawl depends greatly on individualized characteristics of the community. Analyzing and understanding unique values of each community provides a sound foundation for measures designed to promote sustainable growth initiatives. The Evansville, Indiana, region is experiencing many of the growing pains associated with increased residential, commercial, and industrial development. Many roadways are currently strained near capacity, and traffic problems are anticipated to increase over the next 20 …

A Model Of Precipitation Rates In Kentucky, 1965-1996, Kevin Cary

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Hourly precipitation data from thirty cooperative stations in Kentucky from 1965 to 1996 were used to determine the diurnal distribution of precipitation rates. Descriptive summaries for the diurnal distribution for each climate division in Kentucky and for Kentucky as a whole were calculated. In each case, the trends were similar. Precipitation rates increased into the afternoon and then decreased until sunrise. A stochastic model was developed to estimate mean seasonal precipitation rates in Kentucky by using regional and localized parameters. More than half of the variation (r2 = 0.57) in precipitation rates can be explained by the following variables: 1) …

Place, Disease And Mortality: Trimble County, Kentucky 1849-1894, Nancy Demaree

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This researcher describes the characteristics of place...physical, cultural and human...of a small Kentucky county and looks at the incidence of disease and dying that occurred in that place in the last half of the nineteenth century. The impact of death on particular subsets of the general population was given a closer evaluation. Very young, females and the slave/Black communities were investigated individually. The overall site and situation of all aspects of Trimble County, Kentucky were viewed in an effort to support the notion that it is the manner in which man interacts with this environment that causes disease and death …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Interstitial Fluid-Chemistry And Limestone Dissolution Rates Within The Clastic Sediment Of A Karst Aquifer Conduit, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, Kevin Vaughan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Many active stream conduits within karst aquifers transport and deposit non-carbonate, clastic sediment. However, little is known about how these sediments impact conduit development and enlargement rates. For example, can dissolution take place at the sediment/bedrock interface beneath a flowing stream? If not, cavern enlargement might be dominated by flood conditions when the bare rock of the walls and ceiling are in contact with the dissolving fluids. An approach using limestone tablet weight loss experiments, along with water sampling and geochemical modeling, has been undertaken to understand the nature of fluid movement and chemistry with the sediment beneath an active …

Seasonal Effects On The Geochemical Evolution Of The Logsdon River, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, Darlene Anthony

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The following research describes the collection and evaluation of geochemical data from the Logsdon River, an open-flow conduit that drains a portion of the Turnhole Spring drainage basin within the Mammoth Cave karst aquifer of south-central Kentucky. This spatial survey of nearly 10 km of continuous base-level conduit included seasonal sampling of carbon dioxide partial pressures (Pco2)> dissolved ions, and saturation indices for calcite (SIcal). The highest PC02 values are found at the upstream site, closest to the Sinkhole Plain recharge area, which creates under-saturated conditions. Rapid outgassing of C02 into the cave atmosphere creates oversaturated conditions for several thousand …

Measuring The Applicability Of The Seville Strategy To The Mammoth Cave Area Biosphere Reserve, Debra Kreitzer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The dominant paradigms of the past decade involve the preservation of biodiversity through the use of landscape corridors and buffer zones, as well as the integration of economic growth through sustainable use. The International Biosphere Reserve (IBR) program, as defined in the Seville Strategy, encourages locations already involved in conservation to continue to protect biodiversity and foster harmonious relationships between humans and their environment through sustainable development. An excellent example of an IBR is the Mammoth Cave Area Biosphere Reserve (MCABR) in south-central Kentucky. In order to measure the significance of the implementation of the Seville Strategy in the MCABR, …

The Bicycle As A Transportation Vehicle: An Assessment Of Bicycle Suitability In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Ryan Gordon

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Today automobile-related problems of congestion, air pollution, and aesthetic pollution are an ever-increasing concern for urban and suburban areas. In this thesis the researcher examines the bicycle as a viable alternative transportation mode. Research examines levels of bicycle transportation around the world and in the United States. A brief historical analysis of bicycle transportation in the United States revealed that bicycling was an important mode of transportation in the late 1800s. Bicycles regained popularity in the 1970s, and many cities began to develop plans in order to handle the sudden increase in bicycling. Case studies of both foreign and domestic …

Exploring Social Polarization In Jefferson County, Kentucky: An Analytical Approach, Jason Finley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study is to explore the processes of social polarization, an increasing gap between the rich and poor, in Jefferson County, Kentucky, to determine the spatial characteristics involved and to investigate useful methodological tools. I argue that social polarization processes are evident in Jefferson County, and I attempt to describe and analyze the emerging spatial characteristics of polarization in the study area. The study area comprises the thirteen market areas of Jefferson County, which were broken down into 3 socioeconomic regions based on the natural breaks of market area median household income. Each market area is analyzed …

Measuring The Momentum Of Throughfall Drops And Raindrops, Paul Kimble

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The methods previously used to determine the momentum and kinetic energy of throughfall drops in the field do not account for the drop's shape at impact or for the variations of the drop's velocity caused by chaotic air currents. The drop's shape at impact is critical because it influences the drop's measurable momentum, kinetic energy, impact force, and the amount of soil that can be displaced by the falling water drop. Since the momentum and kinetic energy of raindrops and throughfall drops are used as indices of soil particle displacement the most accurate momentum and kinetic energydata would be required …

Weighting Landsat Digital Data According To Land Cover Emissivity For Surface Temperature Mapping, Thomas Polanski

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Regional urban planning and natural resource management problems require efficient and accurate data concerning land use/land cover and temperature gradients for informed decision making. Remotely-sensed data provide a method for acquiring such information in a dependable and efficient manner. Regular data acquisition and a synoptic view make the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) an excellent resource for entities needing land cover and surface temperature information. Landsat 5 TM digital data (1985) are used to classify land cover in the vicinity of New Orleans, the study area encompassing approximately 185 square kilometers. The maximum likelihood, minimum distance to means, and the parallelepiped …

Hydrogeological And Hydrochemical Characterization Of The Matozinhos-Pedro Leopoldo Karst, Brazil, Augusto Auler

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Matozinhos-Pedro Leopoldo limestone area is a tropical karst located near the metropolis of Belo Horizonte, East Central Brazil, in an area undergoing rapid urbanization and land degradation. Qualitative dye tracing experiments have determined the groundwater routes and catchment areas in the two major drainage basins in the area, Samambaia Basin and Palmeiras-Mocambo Basin. Other drainage basins were identified, but not traced due to the absence of related swallets. Fluorescein and optical brightener had a poor performance as tracers under tropical climate. Dilution due to the existance of lakes at some swallets prevented some dye traces. The water that flows …

Measurement Of The Effects Of Food Preparation Activities On The Microclimate Of The Snowball Dining Room Area Of Mammoth Cave, Kelly Kaletsky

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The stability of Mammoth Cave’s microclimate has never undergone extensive investigation. The Snowball Dining Room area was chosen to measure the microclimate of the cave and to determine if food preparation, human presence and surface temperature variations alter this microclimate. Three portable weather stations containing a temperature / humidity probe, datalogger and microbarograph were placed in various locations along three passageways leading away from the dining room. Readings were taken 24 hours per day for four months. Plotting temperature readings in graph form show a correlation between temperature of the passageway and distance from the dining room.

Regional Temperature Trends & Variations In The Contiguous United States From 1935 To 1986, Fahad Alkolibi

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The temperature trends and variations of the contiguous United States as a whole and ten designated regions were investigated from 1935 to 1986. To obtain reliable results, 263 stations of the Historical Climate Network (HCN) were used. The HCN stations are corrected for many non-climatic factors which may bias the data. The data for the contiguous United States reveals that the annual, summer, and winter temperatures are free of clear positive or negative trends. Unlike the annual and summer data, winter temperatures exhibit relatively strong variations.

Each region was then studyed individually. The summer temperatures for all the ten regions …

East Urban Area Corridor Analysis Daviess County, Kentucky, Laura Pace

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The need for improved highway facilities in the east urban area of Daviess County, Kentucky, is analyzed in this study. The study focuses upon the need for alternative highway routes, due to the increased travel demands generated by a new Ohio River Bridge in eastern Daviess County. Also, the east urban area is forecasted to experience population and employment growth in the next decade, further necessitating the need for improving existing highways or constructing new corridors in the area.

Various alternative alignments for an expressway are examined. The feasibility of upgrading existing highways in the east urban area is also …

Radon Contamination Of Residences In A City Built Upon A Karst Landscape Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky, James William Webster

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 8 to 12% of U.S. homes have radon concentrations that equal or exceed 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/l). A statewide screening of Kentucky by EPA resulted in an average residential radon concentration of 2.8 pCi/l with 17% of the homes at or above 4 pCi/l. EPA requires routine monitoring and maintenance or worker health records in mines and caves having radon daughter concentrations at or above 0.30 working levels (WL).

Bowling Green is a city located in a karst region of south central Kentucky. Residents of Bowling Green have been subjected …

Factors Affecting Wood Fuel Consumption And Environmental Impacts In Warren County, Kentucky, Barry Vann

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this research is to identify factors that contribute to wood fuel consumption as a space heating source and estimate a county-wide proportion for wood fuel consuming households. In addition, environmental problems associated with deforestation such as erosion and loss of wildlife habitat are delineated; moreover, air pollution resulting from wood fuel emissions are discussed.

An exhaustive literature review provided the basis for the study. Data on Warren County wood fuel consumption patterns were derived from a mail survey. Proportion estimates were tested by using a classical two-tail test of hypothesis. Subsequently, factors were identified and used in …

A “Drastic” Evaluation Of The Ground-Water Pollution Potential Of Karst Terrain: Lost River Ground-Water Basin, Warren County, Kentucky, David Baize

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Karst terrains, such as the Lost River Karst Ground-Water Basin, are extremely vulnerable to ground-water contamination. Seven physical factors: depth to water, recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, impact of the vadose zone, and hydraulic conductivity, are evaluated using the DRASTIC system to determine the ground-water pollution potential of the study area. A numerical value is calculated for each of the seven factors, and a map layer for each factor is produced. These layers are then “added” together to produce a DRASTIC ground-water pollution potential map. The effectiveness of each factor in evaluating the pollution potential of karst terrain is …

Mapping The Desertification Process In Southern Morocco Using Remote Sensing Data, Abdellah Benkhalti

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Desertification is a problem occurring in arid and semiarid zones all over the world. It is a consequence of mismanagement of the land. Human activities and livestock pressure on such fragile ecosystems lead to a deterioration of the soil by increasing its salinity, lessening its moisture, and covering it with sand and dust. Aerial photographs and satellite images constitute a tool for mapping and monitoring the desertification process. Multispectral data can assist in detecting the indicators of desertification in early stages in order to plan adequate action.

The improvement of the resolution of satellite images and the fact that they …

Karstification Of The Pennyroyal Plain Behind The Retreating Chester Escarpment: Warren, Simpson & Logan Counties, Kentucky, Anthony Able

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Hydrogeologic investigations were conducted on the drainage systems of an area of the Pennyroyal sinkhole plain of south central Kentucky. The degree of karstification of five area streams was studied to develop an understanding of the evolution of drainage as the landscape changes from a sandstone caprock plateau to a limestone sinkhole plain. The Chester Upland, capped by the Big Clifty Sandstone, possesses predominantly surface drainage and the Pennyroyal Plain, formed on Mississippian limestones, possesses considerable subsurface drainage. As the Chester Upland Escarpment retreats and surface streams are onto the limestones, the streams evolve to become subsurface streams. The five …

Man & The Environment Of The Llanos Orientales Of Colombia, William Watts

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The investigation of the problem in this paper dealt with performing an examination of the landscape of the humid tropical wet-dry savanna region of the Llanos of Colombia, in an attempt to record a cultural imprint of man in the twentieth century in that environment. Fieldwork involving two summer traverses of the Llanos yielded an inventory of fresh factual documentation about how man has adapted to and utiliizes this environment.

Implementing the ecosystem concept as expressed by Barrows and Hegen, both man and the physical environment were studied to gain as complete a picture of the Llanos as possible. Data …

A Simplified Surface Analysis For The Detection Of Outflow Boundaries From Mesoscale Convective Complexes, Gregory Powell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A simplified surface analysis was developed to detect thunderstorm outflow boundaries that emanate from Mesoscale Convective Complexes (MCCs). The analysis consisted of the interpretation of visible and enhanced infrared satellite imagery, radar observations, and a limited number (10-12) of surface observations. Thirty MCCs were interpreted by the simplified analysis; nine produced identifiable outflow boundaries.

Pre-boundary Cloud Cover (PCC) and radar echo intensities were analyzed to determine if a correlation existed between mean sky cover and thunderstorm intensity. Research established that no correlation exists between PCC and radar echo intensity.

Recommendations were made for future research into outflow boundary identification by …

A Case Study: Neighborhood Ii Conservation Plan, Alice Brooks-Giles

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was initiated to demonstrate how declining neighborhoods can be revitalized through the cooperation and Partnership of local residents, financial institutions, and local government. The Neighborhood II Conservation Plan assumes that interested and informed residents can plan their own environment just as they plan their own family affairs and budget their incomes. The plan further assumes that residents working together as a team can revitalize their neighborhood at the point of decline. This study pursues various approaches to neighborhood preservation which may be useful to other cities.

School District Performance In Erie County & Buffalo, New York: The Socio-Spatial Dimensions Of Educational Quality, Jeffrey Ewell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The educational quality of Erie County and Buffalo, New York, as represented by school district performance was examined and the relationship between school district performance and the social environment was analyzed. Socioeconomic status, social stability and race were all found to be strongly correlated to school district performance. Within Erie County, Buffalo has the poorest school performance levels while Snyder and Williamsville, two high status suburban districts, have the highest school performance levels. The overall spatial pattern of school district performance based on the PEP test results for 1974 reveal a strong correspondence between school district performance and the social …