Geography Commons^™

Applied Climate-Change Analysis: The Climate Wizard Tool, Evan H. Girvetz, Chris Zganjar, George T. Raber, Edwin P. Maurer, Peter Kareiva, Joshua J. Lawler

Faculty Publications

Background: Although the message of "global climate change'' is catalyzing international action, it is local and regional changes that directly affect people and ecosystems and are of immediate concern to scientists, managers, and policy makers. A major barrier preventing informed climate-change adaptation planning is the difficulty accessing, analyzing, and interpreting climate-change information. To address this problem, we developed a powerful, yet easy to use, web-based tool called Climate Wizard (http://ClimateWizard.org) that provides non-climate specialists with simple analyses and innovative graphical depictions for conveying how climate has and is projected to change within specific geographic areas throughout the world. Methodology/Principal Findings: …

The Changing Landscape Of A Rural Region: The Effect Of The Harry S Truman Dam And Reservoir In The Osage River Basin Of Missouri, Melvin Arthur Johnson

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Harry S Truman Dam and Reservoir project is of immense size. Many thousands of tons of raw materials were required to complete the construction of the dam and relocations. Millions of dollars were spent to acquire land, compensate those who were displaced, and to pay those who were employed in the planning, purchasing, coordinating, defending, and managing the myriad of contractors, contracts, and legal defenses. The affected area of the project is not only complex physically but also socially and economically. It is, therefore, not surprising that the counties studied (Benton, Henry, and St. Clair) would react in different …

Remote Sensing To Detect The Movement Of Wheat Curl Mites Through The Spatial Spread Of Virus Symptoms, And Identification Of Thrips As Predators Of Wheat Curl Mites, Abby R. Stilwell

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The wheat curl mite (WCM), Aceria tosichella Keifer, transmits three viruses to winter wheat: wheat streak mosaic virus, High Plains virus, and Triticum mosaic virus. This virus complex causes yellowing of the foliage and stunting of plants. WCMs disperse by wind, and an increased understanding of mite movement and subsequent virus spread is necessary in determining the risk of serious virus infections in winter wheat. These risk parameters will help growers make better decisions regarding WCM management. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the capabilities of remote sensing to identify virus infected plants and to establish the potential …

Creation Of Soil Liquefaction Susceptibility Maps For San Luis Obispo & Marin Counties Using Geographic Information Systems., Amelia M. Lowman

Earth and Soil Sciences

Liquefaction of soils in response to earthquake shaking is a pressing issue in the state of California. Using Geographic Information Systems, Geological and lithology layers, along with criteria in order to separate out the data into four risk categories, a liquefaction risk assessment map was created for San Luis Obispo and Marin Counties. The accuracy of these maps was then assessed using liquefaction occurrences for San Luis Obispo County, and it was determined that while the map is somewhat accurate, in order to obtain a greater amount of accuracy and increase the usefulness of these maps, more data would need …

Using Conservative And Biological Tracers To Better Understand The Transport Of Agricultural Contaminants From Soil Water Through The Epikarstic Zone, Brian Ham

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Agriculture contamination is very common in karst systems due to the vulnerability of these aquifers. Animal waste is often spread across crop land to enrich the soil with nitrates and phosphates. Herbicides and pesticides are also applied to the crops. The transport of these pollutants through the soil and epikarst is a difficult process to monitor due to the complex, heterogeneous behavior of the groundwater as it makes its way down to the aquifer below.

An experimental site at Crumps Cave lended a unique opportunity to monitor the vadose zone at a waterfall in the cave below. A previous dye …

Social Behaviors Of Modern And Indigenous Peoples Impacting The Ecology Of The Amazon Rain Forest In Brazil, Josef W. Schaffer

Earth and Soil Sciences

Human induced disruption of the environment is prevalent in every culture. In Brazil, the effects of massive deforestation have become apparent since the nineteen eighties. However, along with deforestation, and a coinciding loss in an economic resource for the country, is a significant loss of natural habitat and species extinction. The Amazon in Brazil contains a large proportion of the world’s species diversity that is threatened by the socio-economic activities of modern Brazilian culture. Historically and presently, indigenous groups have contributed to insignificant levels of ecological disruption and are themselves threatened by the activities of modern Brazilians. The effects of …

Analysis Of Mammoth Cave Pre-Park Communities, Matthew Brunt

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Before the creation of Mammoth Cave National Park, this area was home to numerous communities, each with a sense of identity. To prepare for the creation of the National Park, all residents living within these communities were relocated, and many of these communities were lost to the passage of time. Today, public memory of these lost communities is being fostered by the descendents of the pre-park area.

Through the use of a Historical Geographic Information System, 1920 Edmonson County manuscript census data, and statistical analysis, the demographic composition of these lost communities was explored. This project not only brought to …

Detection And Measurement Of Water Stress In Vegetation Using Visible Spectrum Reflectance, Arthur Zygielbaum

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

At any scale, from a single microbe to the planet that nurtures us, water defines our place in the universe. It provides the hydraulic forces needed to give plants structure, and the medium enabling photosynthesis, the basis for most life on Earth, to occur. Knowledge of plant water status is vital to understanding the state or condition of vegetation, information which is essential to disciplines as diverse as agriculture, geography, and climatology. Non-destructive and remote sensing of plant water status allows the gathering of such information across wide geographic extents and over long periods of time. Monitoring vegetation remotely requires …

A Tri-Disciplinary Analysis Of Religion, Alicia Wallace

Social Sciences

This paper analyzes religion using a multi-disciplinary approach. Studying the Social Sciences exposes one to an opportunity not just to learn a single discipline, but three, and this unique learning experience can teach one to look at the world’s phenomena with a multi-perspective view. Using a tri-disciplinary approach when exploring topics can broaden ones outlook on how there are many ways to explore and investigate a topic in greater detail. By using Anthropological, Sociological and Geographical theoretical perspectives one can understand a topic more fully by using a multi-perspective approach when exploring this diverse world culturally, socially and physically.

Breaking The Chains: A Dissection Of The Caribbean's Tourism Mirage, Megan Nellis

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Driving Forces And Resultant Effects Of Global Food Crises: Development Reconsidered In A Time Of Need, Quinn Lewis

Social Sciences

A number of factors led up to the global food crisis of 2008, culminating in the latest spike in worldwide hunger levels. Such a crisis needs to be understood from a structural perspective; relevant information must be taken into account to design adequate responses, and certain mechanisms need to be put in place to bolster the most vulnerable groups from the terrible scourge of hunger. This paper examines the latest global food crisis, looking at the problem from a number of angles: supply-and-demand forces, socio-economic factors, and the effects of international trade policies on global hunger levels. Hunger is a …

Tattoos: A Marked History, Audrey Porcella

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Rhode Island's Greatest Natural Tragedy, Stephanie N. Blaine

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

The infamous hurricane of 1938 accelerated the ongoing transformation of Rhode Island’s way of life.

The Cartography Of National Humiliation And The Emergence Of China’S Geobody, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Maps are an important site of the production and consumption of the national image. This essay examines modern Chinese maps to show how the very material borders between foreign and domestic space are the outgrowth of the symbolic workings of historical geography and the conventions of Chinese cartography. These maps do much more than celebrate the extent of Chinese sovereignty; they also mourn the loss of national territories through a cartography of national humiliation. The goal of this essay is to shift our attention from the diplomatic issues of international borders to examine what Chinese maps of China can tell …

Lower Tropospheric Temperature Variability Over The Usa: A Gis Approach, Souleymane Fall, Dev Niyogi, Gilbert L. Rochon

GIS Day

We use the high resolution North American Regional Analysis (NARR) dataset to build for the United States a Temperature Change Index (TCI) based on four contributing variables derived from the layer-averaged temperature and lapse rate of the 1000mb - 700mb layer (near-surface to 3000 meters) for the 1979-2008 period. The analysis uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) methods to identify distinct regional patterns based on aggregate temperature trends and variability scores. The resulting index allows us to identify and compare regions that experience high (low) temperature trends and variability that are referred to as hot spots (cold spots). The upper Midwest …

A Multidisciplinary Conference On The Challenges & Opportunities For Sustainable Development In Ethiopia & The Greater Horn Of Africa

International Conference on African Development Archives

No abstract provided.

Ethnosymbolism And The Dismemberment Of The State In The Horn Of Africa: The Ethiopian Case Of Ethnic Federalism, Assefa Mehretu

International Conference on African Development Archives

The paper has three major objectives. The first is to do a critical review of the current largely antagonistic narratives of ethnic instrumentalism in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa that have ultimately led to the balkanization of the state and caused serious political instability and fratricidal conflicts with traumatic and costly consequences in the region. The second is to do a critical review of the policy of the current Ethiopian government to implement ethno-territorial formations under the rubric of killils (Amharic for territorial enclosures), and to demonstrate how this may seriously vitiate national integration along compatible cultural and economic …

Acid Rain: The Effects, Torrey Mortimer

Social Sciences

In a world experiencing increasing population, urbanization, and developing nations looking to compete on a global market with post-industrial nations, the effects of acid precipitation require greater consideration. As the world’s energy demand rises, and with the cheapest and most abundant source of energy being coal, the occurrence of acid precipitation is on the rise.

The goal of my project is to research and report on the effects of acid deposition on humans, animals and the environment that surrounds them. When I have completed my project, I hope to be able to explain the impacts that acid deposition has on …

Water As A Complex System: Understanding The Dynamics In A Changing Environment, Heejun Chang

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

The water resources system is constantly evolving over space and time at a range of scales. Human-induced climate change and land development are probably two major driving forces of water resource system changes. However, the impacts of such changes are region specific, which depend on watershed characteristics such as topography and geology. Numerical simulation models are useful tools for understanding the system dynamics by allowing the multiple interactions of system components. I will introduce case studies of the Pacific Northwest that examine how changing climate and population growth affect regional water resources at multiple spatial and temporal scales and explain …

Doing Collaborative Community Based Research: On The Ground In Kingston, Audrey Kobayashi

Migration and Ethnic Relations Colloquium Series

No abstract provided.

Reanalysis Data Underestimate Significant Changes In Growing Season Weather In Kazakhstan, C. K. Wright, K. M. De Beurs, Z. K. Akhmadiyeva, P. Y. Groisman, G. M. Henebry

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

We present time series analyses of recently compiled climate station data which allowed us to assess contemporary trends in growing season weather across Kazakhstan as drivers of a significant decline in growing season normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) recently observed by satellite remote sensing across much of Central Asia. We used a robust nonparametric time series analysis method, the seasonal Kendall trend test to analyze georeferenced time series of accumulated growing season precipitation (APPT) and accumulated growing degree-days (AGDD). Over the period 2000–2006 we found geographically extensive, statistically significant (p < 0.05) decreasing trends in APPT and increasing trends in AGDD. The temperature trends were especially apparent during the warm season and coincided with precipitation decreases in northwest Kazakhstan, indicating that pervasive drought conditions and higher temperature excursions were the likely drivers of NDVI declines observed in Kazakhstan over the same period. We also compared the APPT and AGDD trends at individual stations with results from trend analysis of gridded monthly precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) Full Data Reanalysis v4 and gridded daily near surface air temperature from the National Centers for Climate Prediction Reanalysis v2 (NCEP R2). We found substantial deviation between the station and the reanalysis trends, suggesting that GPCC and NCEP data substantially underestimate the geographic extent of recent drought in Kazakhstan. Although gridded climate products offer many advantages in ease of use and complete coverage, our findings for Kazakhstan should serve as a caveat against uncritical use of GPCC and NCEP reanalysis data and demonstrate the importance of compiling and standardizing daily climate data from data-sparse regions like Central Asia.

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 …

Change And Persistence In Land Surface Phenologies Of The Don And Dnieper River Basins, V. Kovalskyy, G. M. Henebry

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

The formal collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991 produced major socio-economic and institutional dislocations across the agricultural sector. The picture of broad scale patterns produced by these transformations continues to be discovered. We examine here the patterns of land surface phenology (LSP) within two key river basins—Don and Dnieper—using AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) data from 1982 to 2000 and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data from 2001 to 2007. We report on the temporal persistence and change of LSPs as summarized by seasonal integration of NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) time series using accumulated …

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 …

A Study Of The East African Slave Trade In Bagamoyo, Jake Salyers

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of my study was to learn about the east African Slave trade and its relationship to the town of Bagamoyo. Bagamoyo was an important trading town on the coast of Tanzania during the peak of the Arab run slave and ivory trade. Slavery was only abolished in Tanganyika in 1922, so there are still many monuments and memories remaining in the town concerning the slave trade. I had two main methods of collecting information about the town, interviewing the descendants of slaves and slave owners and researching the history of Bagamoyo. I was able to get three different …

American Treasures (Exhibit Guide), Osher Map Library And Smith Center For Cartographic Education

Osher Map Library Miscellaneous Publications

American Treasures (Exhibit Guide). October 18, 2009 to August 21, 2010

Maps offer such compelling insights into the past that anyone, regardless of age or educational level, can enjoy and learn from them. To celebrate OML's renovation and expansion, this exhibition explores the library’s rich and varied collections and its mission to preserve those collections and make them accessible.

Curated by Matthew Edney.

Norumbega News, No.13 (Fall 2009), Osher Library Associates

Friends of OML, Occasional Publications

Issue No.13, Fall 2009

Osher Map Library and the Smith Center for Cartographic Education

Portland, Maine

Long-Term Agricultural Land-Use Trends In Nebraska, 1866–2007, Tim L. Hiller, Larkin A. Powell, Tim D. Mccoy, Jeffrey J. Lusk

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

Although landscape changes from anthropogenic causes occur at much faster rates than those from natural processes (e.g., geological, vegetation succession), human perception of such changes is often subjective, inaccurate, or nonexistent. Given the large-scale land-use changes that have occurred throughout the Great Plains, the potential impacts of land-use changes on ecological systems, and the insight gained from knowledge of land-use trends (e.g., to compare to wildlife population trends), we synthesized information related to land-use trends in Nebraska during 1866–2007. We discussed and interpreted known and potential causes of short- and long-term land-use trends based on agricultural and weather data; farm …

Modeling The Influence Of Water Waves Upon Remote Sensing Imagery: The Underwater Radiance Distribution And Shape Factors, Charles R. Bostater, Luce Bassetti, Lisa H. Huddleston

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper describes the results of modeling the water wave surface and underwater light field as influenced by water waves using a Monte Carlo model (MCHSIM). Model and sensor data related to water column properties and benthic properties that influence the light upwelled from below the water - as observed from a sensor looking from below or above the water surface is presented. Synthetic image results using Monte Carlo techniques show the influence of water waves upon subsurface shape factors and these factors can be used in shallow water remote sensing algorithms that are based on underlying analytical models. The …

Precision Navigation Using Pre-Georegistered Map Data, Frederick C. Webber

Theses and Dissertations

Navigation performance in small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is adversely affected by limitations in current sensor technology for small, lightweight sensors. Because most UAVs are equipped with cameras for mission-related purposes, it is advantageous to utilize the camera to improve the navigation solution. This research improves navigation by matching camera images to a priori georegistered image data and combining this update with existing image-aided navigation technology. The georegistration matching is done by projecting the images into the same plane, extracting features using the techniques Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) [5] and Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF) [3]. The features are matched …