Geography Commons^™

Lithological And Geotechnical Characterization Of Casablanca’S Urban Subsoil, Morocco, Imane Fahi, Fouad El Kamel, Toufik Remmal, Halima Jounaid, Fouad Amraoui, Houssine Ejjaouani

The Geographical Bulletin

Morocco’s largest city, Casablanca, is expanding rapidly, but geotechnical characteristics related to the region’s subsoil are rarely taken into consideration during construction/building projects. Using field studies, along with a significant database established from civil-engineering work, this study focuses on the lithological and mechanical characterization/behavior of Casablanca’s subsoil in order to gain a clearer interpretation of Casablanca’s (sub)soil. Lithology maps and cross-sections show the variation of Quaternary cover thickness, which is controlled by the shape of the synclines and anticlines in the folded Paleozoic bedrock. The texture of surface soils was described by percentage of gravel, sand, silt, tuff, and clay, …

Naming Venus: An Exploration Of Goddesses, Heroines, And Famous Women, Kavya Beheraj

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Humans have been observing and romanticizing Venus for more than 5,000 years. However, mapping its surface has nearly always been impossible, since the planet is shrouded in thick clouds. A breakthrough came just fifty years ago with the invention of radar imaging, leading to the discovery (and naming) of hundreds of new features in a relatively short length of time.

The rapid naming of Venus is a case study on the impact of planetary nomenclature — the process of naming features on other worlds. While the act of naming streamlines communication and humanizes alien landscapes, it is subject to bias, …

Geologic Mapping Of The Sparta 7.5-Minute Quadrangle In Northern Mississippi Via Remote Sensing, Traditional Geologic Survey, And Applied Geospatial Information Systems Methods, Rayford Dean Parnell

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional geologic mapping involves substantial time and labor in the field as geologic contacts are manually examined and interpreted. The processes of mapping geologic contacts can be condensed into a quicker and less laborious process using advances in remote sensing and GIS (geospatial information systems), including increased resolution and computerized data management and interpretation. Application of these advances reduces the costs and time of geologic mapping. The Sparta 7.5-minute quadrangle provides a mostly unaltered view of regional Paleocene and Upper Cretaceous geology due to its rural locale, lack of development, and stream topography. Recently LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) survey …

Orbital Mapping Of Seasonal And Yearly Changes In Co2 And Water Ice On The Southern Polar Cap Of Mars, Victoria Michell Ann Karnes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research exhibits a new foundation for the rates of change in CO2 and water ice on the southern polar cap of Mars, where the annual precipitation cycles are known to fluctuate seasonally between the north and south pole, based on observations from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer (CRISM). The conventional belief is that both CO2 ice and water ice on the southern polar cap condenses and evaporates over the course of a Martian year (MY), condensing during the Martian spring and summer and evaporating during the Martian fall and winter. With this theory in mind, CO2 and water ice …

Poverty In New York City: Social, Demographic And Spatial Characteristics, 1990-2019, Marco Castillo

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction:

This report analyzes trends in poverty in New York City over a period spanning from the year 1990 to 2019, including maps of poverty hot spots in the city.

Methods:

This report uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, …

Mapping The Covid-19 Pandemic In Staten Island, Vincenzo Mezzio

Student Theses

COVID-19 has had diverging effects in New York City. Out of the five boroughs, Staten Island has one of the largest percentages of COVID-19 cases relative to population. This research examines key social and spatial factors that contribute to the increase in COVID-19 cases in Staten Island). It asks: Which parts of Staten Island have higher rates of transmission of COVID-19? Which parts of the borough have higher population who are more vulnerable to COVID-19? What is the relationship between the location of vaccination centers with the rates of COVID-19 cases? Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), this research examines the …

From Orthodoxy To Enlightenment: Discourse, Territory, And Settler Colonialism In Siberia, 1670-1740, Jonathan Noah Adsit

Theses and Dissertations

Though many scholars argue that settler colonialism did not firmly come into practice until the late 18th century in Russia, through an analysis of both 17th century historical chronicle narratives and 18th century explorer accounts, I argue that settler colonial discourses and knowledges are already present, laying the groundwork for later settler practices. In the 17th century, chronicle narratives portrayed Siberian territory as a darkened wasteland turned radiant paradise by the presence of Russian Christians and the expulsion of indigenous non-Christians. In the 18th century, discourse changed to produce the increasing view of Siberia as an object of knowledge, great …

Trustworthy Maps, Amy L. Griffin

Journal of Spatial Information Science

Maps get used for decision making about the world's most pressing problems (e.g., climate change, refugee crises, biodiversity loss, rising inequality, pandemic disease). Although maps have historically been a trusted source of information, changes in society (e.g., lower levels of trust in decision makers) and in mapmaking technologies and practices (e.g., anyone can now make their own maps) mean that we need to spend some time thinking about how, when, and why people trust maps and mapmaking processes. This is critically important if we want stakeholders to engage constructively with the information we present in maps, because they are unlikely …

Using Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles For Identifying The Extent Of Invasive Phragmites Australis In Treatment Areas Enrolled In An Adaptive Management Program, Colin Brooks, Charlotte Weinstein, Andrew Poley, Amanda Grimm, Nicholas Marion, Laura Bourgeau-Chavez, Dana Hansen, Kurt Kowalski

Michigan Tech Publications

Higher spatial and temporal resolutions of remote sensing data are likely to be useful for ecological monitoring efforts. There are many different treatment approaches for the introduced European genotype of Phragmites australis, and adaptive management principles are being integrated in at least some long-term monitoring efforts. In this paper, we investigated how natural color and a smaller set of near-infrared (NIR) images collected with low-cost uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) could help quantify the aboveground effects of management efforts at 20 sites enrolled in the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework (PAMF) spanning the coastal Laurentian Great Lakes region. We used object-based image …

Digital Earth: The Impact Of Geographic Technology Through The Ages, Mishka Vance Huq

Theses and Dissertations

Geographic technology encompasses a wide range of geographic knowledge, concepts, processes, and artifacts. Because of its interdisciplinarity and integration with other technologies, the paper examines the diffuse impacts of geographic technology within the evolving relationship between technological and societal developments over time.

Framing The Border: Liminality In The Network Narratives Of Alejandro González Iñárritu, Muhammad Muzammal

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis explores liminality conveyed as displacement before death in the network narrative films of Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu. Due to their depiction of existential crises and possibly fatal scenarios of several characters in different countries and regions, these network narrative films are colloquially referred to as the “Death Trilogy.” Therefore, rearranging the many strands of death-related abstractions and notions in these films around liminality becomes a jumping-off point to explore deeper layers of these works. Through interdisciplinary yet markedly film studies excavations, this thesis projects the liminal spaces of Iñárritu’s films onto border spaces. With borders considered as sites of …

The Quest For Greener Pastures: Evaluating The Livelihoods Impacts Of Providing Vegetation Condition Maps To Pastoralists In Eastern Africa, Elia Machado, Helene Purcell, Andrew M. Simons, Stephanie Swinehart

Publications and Research

The survival of millions of pastoral households in Eastern Africa has become increasingly at risk. Due to mounting socioeconomic and climatic stressors, pastoral households are faced with making migration decisions under increasing uncertainty about resource availability and limited coping strategies. We assess the potential of providing vegetation condition maps to support the migration decision of pastoralists in Ethiopia and Tanzania and the effect of map usage on their herd condition and size. The maps were generated from remotely sensed data using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a proxy for vegetation condition and overlain with pastoralists’ preferred grazing areas. …

Editorial: Openstreetmap Research In The Covid-19 Era, Marco Minghini, Serena Coetzee, A. Yair Grinberger, Godwin Yeboah, Levente Juhasz, Peter Mooney

GIS Center

No abstract provided.

Digital Mapping Of Togo’S Soil Fertility: Savannah Region, Aminou Saibou

English Language Institute

A soil assessment was carried out in the savannah region of Togo in 2018, aiming at drawing the digital map of Togo’s soil fertility and making fertilizer recommendations. Soil samples were taken from geo-referenced GPS points and were analyzed for parameters such as water pH, Organic matter, available phosphorus and exchangeable potassium. Thematic maps have been drawn using an ArcGIS package. The results showed that the soils of the Savannah region in Togo are mainly (84%) not very acidic (pH = 5.5 to 6.5), overall poor to very poor (84%) in organic matter (<2% OM), essentially poor to very poor (86%) in available phosphorus (<15 mg/kg of soil) and mostly very poor (87%) in exchangeable potassium (<90 mg / kg of soil). These results allowed the agricultural research institute of Togo to make fertilizer use recommendations and to develop, in partnership with Morocco, a digital platform (fertitogo.tg ) for decision making in crop fertilization.

Mapping And Describing Geospatial Data To Generalize Complex Models: The Case Of Littosim-Gen, Ahmed Laatabi, Nicolas Becu, Nicolas Marilleau, Cécilia Pignon-Mussaud, Marion Amalric, Xavier Bertin, Brice Anselme, Elise Beck

International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research

For some scientific questions, empirical data are essential to develop reliable simulation models. These data usually come from different sources with diverse and heterogeneous formats. The design of complex data-driven models is often shaped by the structure of the data available in research projects. Hence, applying such models to other case studies requires either to get similar data or to transform new data to fit the model inputs. It is the case of agent-based models (ABMs) that use advanced data structures such as Geographic Information Systems data. We faced this problem in the LittoSIM-GEN project when generalizing our participatory flooding …

The Geographical Distribution Of The Latino Population Of The New York City Metropolitan Area, 2018, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report investigates where all Latinos lived in the New York City Metropolitan area, including the Northern Suburbs, Long Island, and selected New Jersey counties. The six largest Latino nationalities are mapped by census tract for a very precise visualization of the data.

Methods:

This report uses one-year sample data for 2018 from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, and the 2014 – 2018 five-year sample data at the census-census tract level. The ACS dataset is reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota and is available at IPUMS USA (https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V10.0) and …

The Public And The Personal: Mapping The Nyc Subway System As An Urban Memoryscape, Soledad O. Tejada

Library Map Prize

No abstract provided.

Visualization And Analysis Of Environmental Data, Sean Macdonald

Publications and Research

The virtual exploration of place has been employed in a variety of learning environments across many disciplines, creatively expanding upon the experience of place. This chapter explores the value of mapping environmental data as a tool that can enhance students’ virtual exploration of place as they investigate local environmental policies and problems within their own urban surroundings. This visualization project engages students in making meaningful connections between the theoretical study of local and global environmental problems and the “observation” and investigation of these data using mapped data. The virtual learning environment is viewed as one that is interactive, exploring how …

The Guns Of Fort Monroe, Chris Fox

Student Posters: GIS Day

The objective of this research project is to analyze the interlocking fields of fire from the field artillery positions around the Bastion known as Fort Monroe located in Hampton Virginia. The research project will allow for the visualization of the artillery positions around the fort in one overview, as well as line of sight analysis from each artillery position within the moat. An analysis and line of sight for the artillery positions outside of the fort was also conducted. The 12 Inch M1895 and M1900 disappearing guns were the largest guns used at the fort and fired a projectile that …

Category 4 Storm Surge City Of Norfolk, James Mclees

Student Posters: GIS Day

Map displays the type and number of structures impacted by flood water from a Category 4 hurricane.

Vegetation Classification And Mapping, Niobrara National Scenic River, Tom Baldvins, Matt Ley, Joe Stevens, David Jones, Hannah Pilkington

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The vegetation inventory project at Niobrara National Scenic River (NIOB) classified and mapped vegetation within the park administrative boundary and estimated thematic map accuracy quantitatively. The project was conducted over a four year period from the summer of 2015 to the winter of 2019. Located in north-central Nebraska, approximately 76 miles of the park is designated as a wild and scenic river. The vast majority of land within the NIOB administrative boundary is private or state-owned.

The project follows guidance provided by the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program. The overall process includes initial planning …

Visualizing Election Results With Arcgis, Ryan Day

Purdue GIS Day

In 2018, Porter County, Indiana held its municipal elections concurrent with the national midterm elections. Using ArcGIS, the election results for the fourway race for the Duneland School Board at-large seat are mapped. These results are compared to other area election results, voter characteristics, and previous election results to try to visualize the correlation between factors affecting the race, including candidate ideology, geographic base, area demographics, turnout, and national electoral trends. This project serves as a demonstration of how GIS software can improve the understanding of what influences voters and election outcomes.

The Relationship Between Forest Management And Stream Discharge In Mazumbai And Baga Ii Forest Reserves, Tanga Region, Tanzania, Shannon Duffy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Deforestation is known to alter hydrology by reducing interception, transpiration and infiltration capacity, and increasing runoff which all leads to higher stream discharge. For rural Tanzanian communities, surface water resources are crucial for meeting basic needs, so the integrity of headwater catchments need to be maintained to ensure their reliability. The objectives of this study were to a) map the streams in the two forests because none currently exist and b) determine the effect of deforestation on discharge variability. Over fifteen days of data collection, this study analyzed variability of discharge and the degree of correlation between discharge and rainfall …

Rock Glaciers Of The Beartooth And Northern Absaroka Ranges, Montana, Usa, Zachary M. Seligman, Anna E. Klene, Frederick E. Nelson

Geography Faculty Publications

Six hundred sixty‐one rock glaciers in the northern Absaroka and Beartooth Ranges of south‐central Montana were digitized and evaluated using geographic information systems technology and an array of topographic and environmental parameters. Beartooth rock glaciers are larger, occur at higher elevations, receive more precipitation, and are subject to lower temperatures than northern Absaroka rock glaciers. Elevation is strongly correlated with rock glacier activity. Comparative analysis of these adjacent mountain ranges indicates that Beartooth geomorphic landscapes are shifting from predominantly glacial to periglacial regimes, and that the northern Absarokas have largely completed this transition. Because glaciers are declining in response to …

North Sea Poems: Birds Of The North Sea, Caa'in, Summer Ferry, Lesley Harrison

Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language

These poems reflect the practical, human, immersive processes of self-orientation and self-location within the coastal and island landscapes round the North Sea. In both recording and bringing about this process, the poet maps herself onto her surroundings and brings her surroundings to bear on herself. The interplay of graphic, linguistic and other forms of description are destabilised by the contingency of their usefulness, and by their meaningless to each other. In the end, the generative poetic voice is the principle by which the 'map' is made.

Using Gis And Mapping Tools To Access And Visualize Archival Records: Case Studies And Survey Results Of North American Archivists And Historians, Tom Belton

Western Libraries Publications

Online map interfaces and GIS software are means of accessing and visualizing archival holdings associated strongly with places. This article investigates the possibility of an interest among at least some archivists and historians in finding records based on place names and maps. A review of recent tools and case studies on map-based methods of seeking and visualizing information in archives and special collections provides a current overview. A 2015 survey gathered additional information from archivists as to whether they place a high priority on, and are comfortable with, map-based methods, as well as to what extent their patron groups might …

The Digital Knowledge Economy Index: Mapping Content Production, Sanna Ojanperä, Mark Graham, Matthew Zook

Geography Faculty Publications

We propose the construction of a Digital Knowledge Economy Index, quantified by way of measuring content creation and participation through digital platforms, namely the code sharing platform GitHub, the crowdsourced encyclopaedia Wikipedia, and Internet domain registrations and estimating a fifth sub-index for the World Bank Knowledge Economy Index for year 2012. This approach complements conventional data sources such as national statistics and expert surveys and helps reflect the underlying digital content creation, capacities, and skills of the population. An index that combines traditional and novel data sources can provide a more revealing view of the status of the world’s digital …

Framework For Evaluation Of Flash Flood Models In Wildfire-Prone Areas, Brian Cunningham, David Benepe, Bryan Cikatz, Evangelos Giakoumakis

SMU Data Science Review

Abstract. In this paper, we present an innovative framework for evaluating the increased risk of flash flooding in areas that have been subjected to wildfires. Wildfires cause large-scale damage to an area’s soil and vegetation thus increasing both the likelihood and severity of flash flooding. Utilizing remote sensing to analyze aerial imagery of areas that have been affected by wildfires, we can investigate how much a landscape has changed and how that may adversely affect downstream areas in the event of a flash flooding event. There are currently no established frameworks from which downstream local officials can quickly assess the …

Machine Learning For Ecosystem Services, Simon Willcock, Javier Martínez-López, Danny A.P. Hooftman, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Stefano Balbi, Alessia Marzo, Carlo Prato, Saverio Sciandrello, Giovanni Signorello

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Recent developments in machine learning have expanded data-driven modelling (DDM) capabilities, allowing artificial intelligence to infer the behaviour of a system by computing and exploiting correlations between observed variables within it. Machine learning algorithms may enable the use of increasingly available ‘big data’ and assist applying ecosystem service models across scales, analysing and predicting the flows of these services to disaggregated beneficiaries. We use the Weka and ARIES software to produce two examples of DDM: firewood use in South Africa and biodiversity value in Sicily, respectively. Our South African example demonstrates that DDM (64–91% accuracy) can identify the areas where …

Mapping Energy Access In Rural Tanzania: 2017 Summer Internship With The World Resources Institute, Naramena Mccray

Sustainability and Social Justice

This report details my 2017 summer internship experience; both the report and the internship being requirements of the GIS for Development and Environment Graduate Degree at Clark University. My internship was hosted by the World Resources Institute, an international non-profit organization in Washington D.C. As implied by my position title, “Energy Access-GIS Intern”, I spent the duration of my internship (14 weeks) applying my geospatial expertise to address the topic of energy access which is an issue effecting rural areas of many developing countries. I was given the responsibility of creating an interactive map application of Tanzania accessible by energy …