Geography Commons^™

Humans As Sensors: The Influence Of Extreme Heat Vulnerability Factors On Risk Perceptions Across The Contiguous United States, Forrest Scott Schoessow

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Extreme heat events are the deadliest natural hazard in the United States and will continue to get worse in the coming years due to the effects of climate change. As a result, more people will experience deadly heat conditions. This highlights the need for decision-makers to develop better strategies for preventing future losses. How badly individuals are affected by extreme heat depends on many circumstances, such as how high temperatures actually are, weather conditions, and location. For example, a dry 90 °F day in Phoenix is probably more tolerable than a humid 90 °F day in New Orleans for most …

Estimation Of The Relationship Between Satellite-Derived Vegetation Indices And Live Fuel Moisture Towards Wildfire Risk In Southern California, Kristen Whitney, Seung Hee Kim, Shenyue Jia, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Southern California possesses a Mediterranean climate having semi-arid to arid characteristics and contains shrubland areas at high risk to wildfire. To assess wildfire danger, fire agencies have been monitoring the moisture of vegetation, called live fuel moisture (LFM), using field-based sampling. Unfortunately, spatial and temporal resolution of live fuel moisture data are significantly limited because sampling is labor intensive. Remote sensing satellite data has been used to monitor vegetation moisture content and health of shrublands. Therefore, a potential approach to overcome the limitations of manual measurements of live fuel moisture is to use vegetation indices (VIs) derived from satellite data. …

The Energy Yield Of Global Crops 1961-2016, Quinn Montana

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is often suggested that world food production must increase by 70%-100% or more by the year 2050 if we are to feed the anticipated world population at that time. To evaluate this claim, global crop production from 1961 to 2016 was inventoried using publicly available data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). To determine the adequacy of global crop output for humanity, annual global food crop production data (T y-1) were converted to energy yield in kilojoules (KJ y-1). These data were then compared to the annual metabolic energy requirement of the global human population. The …

The Impact Of World War One On The Forests And Soils Of Europe, Drew Heiderscheidt

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

The First World War was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history thus far. With the human toll being over eight million deaths, and millions more wounded, and as such it has taken hold in peoples imaginations for over a hundred years. However, one overlooked impact of the war is the environmental impact it had. The forests of Europe were significantly changed, going from being diverse ecosystems pre-war to monocultures after the war, dominated by single species of trees. The soil was also affected, more heavily in some places, becoming contaminated with heavy metals, as well as becoming entirely …

Transformation Of Post-Authoritarian Rural Development In Indonesia: A Study Of Farmer Breeder Community Development In West Bandung Regency, Rahmalia Rifandini

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

The idea of post-authoritarian rural development is seen as the transformation of rural development since it no longer places the village as an object of development characterized by the demand for the preparation of rural development instruments. However, in practice, the development instruments do not result in the improvement of agricultural and livestock productivity as it happened in Kampung Pasir Angling, Suntenjaya Village, West Bandung Regency, West Java. Using a critical development perspective, the study argues that rural development transformation may apply if not limited to changes in public policy strategies, but rather to the social change in various sectors …

The Allure Of Violence In Social Media, Geger Riyanto

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

No abstract provided.

Ya No Tengo Vecinos: Local Understandings Of Neighborhood Change In Cusco, Peru, Kalyn Mae Finnell

Architecture and Planning ETDs

This thesis involves the San Blas neighborhood in the Historic Center of Cusco, Peru. It aims to better understand local effects of the changes that San Blas has undergone since the 1990s and to explore possibilities related to improving the qualities of life of long-term residents (vecinos) who have lived in San Blas for at least two generations. It has two principal objectives: 1) Make recommendations to present to various public and private entities who have a presence and influence over the San Blas neighborhood to improve the likelihood that vecino demands are heard, 2) Illuminate the ways that vecinos …

Re-Reading The Map Of Middle-Earth: Fan Cartography's Engagement With Tolkien's Legendarium, Stentor Danielson

Journal of Tolkien Research

J.R.R. Tolkien provided an elaborate textual history for his writings about Middle-earth, but did not do so for his now-iconic maps. This paper examines how this difference, in concert with the general tendency of readers to treat maps as objective records of geography, has manifested in Tolkien's work and fan works based upon it. An examination of fan cartography shows a strong tendency to treat the published maps as records of geographical fact rather than historical documents from within Middle-earth.

Impacts Of Agricultural Expansion (1910s-2010s) On Water Cycle In The Songneng Plain, Northeast China, Lijuan Zhang, Cuizhen Wang, Xiaxiang Li, Hongwen Zhang, Wenliang Li, Lanqi Jiang

Faculty Publications

Agricultural expansion is one of the primary land use changes on the Earth’s surface. The Songnen Plain in Northeast China is renowned for its Black Soil and is one of the most important agricultural regions of this country. In the last century, its population increased 20-fold and excessive areas of grassland were cultivated. Based on a series of decadal land use/land cover data sets in the plain (1910s–2010s), this study simulated the water balance in each decade using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and assessed the water effects of centurial agricultural expansion. Six variables were simulated to explain …

Non-Gnss Smartphone Pedestrian Navigation Using Barometric Elevation And Digital Map-Matching, Daniel Broyles, Kyle J. Kauffman, John F. Raquet, Piotr Smagowski

Faculty Publications

Pedestrian navigation in outdoor environments where global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are unavailable is a challenging problem. Existing technologies that have attempted to address this problemoften require external reference signals or specialized hardware, the extra size,weight, power, and cost of which are unsuitable for many applications. This article presents a real-time, self-contained outdoor navigation application that uses only the existing sensors on a smartphone in conjunction with a preloaded digital elevation map. The core algorithm implements a particle filter, which fuses sensor data with a stochastic pedestrian motion model to predict the user’s position. The smartphone’s barometric elevation is then …

Forewarned Is Forearmed: Review Of Curbing Catastrophe: Natural Hazards And Risk Reduction In The Modern World By Timothy H. Dixon (2017), Jason Makansi

Numeracy

Timothy H. Dixon. 2017. Curbing Catastrophe: Natural Hazards and Risk Reduction in the Modern World. (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press) 300 pp. ISBN 978-1108113663.

Curbing Catastrophe for the most part lives up to what is claimed in the foreword: “…a compelling account of recent and historical disasters, both natural and human-caused, drawing on common themes and providing a holistic understanding of hazards, disasters, and mitigation for anyone interested in this important and topical subject.” This is a pretty thorough treatment of an extraordinarily complex subject, and the gaps identified in this review should be considered explications more than …

Understanding The Perceived Effectiveness Of Applying The Visitor Experience And Resource Protection (Verp) Framework For Recreation Planning: A Multi-Case Study In U.S. National Parks, Jessica Fefer, Sandra M. De Urioste-Stone, John Daigle, Linda Silka

The Qualitative Report

The Visitor Experience and Resource Protection (VERP) framework is a planning framework developed by the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) to help guide visitor use planning and decision-making in U.S. national parks. The research reported here highlights the perceptions of park practitioners about major successes and challenges associated with visitor management and recreation planning using the VERP framework. We used a qualitative multiple case study design to explore three (3) national parks that have applied the framework. We conducted 16 semi-structured interviews with park managers, park planners, and recreation scientists, and used thematic coding to categorize the data to capture …

Mapping Creative Spaces In Omaha, Ne: Resident Perceptions Versus Creative Firm Locations, Bradley Bereitschaft

Geography and Geology Faculty Publications

In an era increasingly shaped by automation and globalization, industries that rely on creativity, innovation, and knowledge-generation are considered key drivers of economic growth in the U.S. and other advanced capitalist economies. This study examines the spatial distribution of creative firms and how they might align with perceptions of creativity in Omaha, Nebraska, a mid-sized U.S. urban area. Utilizing a survey, participant mapping exercise, and geospatial analyses, the primary goal was to identify formal and informal spaces of creative production and consumption, and determine to what extent the location of creative firms (both arts/mediaand science/technology-focused) may shape perceptions of creativity …

Using Mobile Eye-Tracking To Inform The Development Of Mass Tourism In Iceland Towards The Principles Of Ecotourism, James Tyler Graham

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Since the late 20th century, nature-based tourism, an alternative to mass tourism with a focus on natural environments, has steadily grown in popularity. Nature-based tourism areas are considered a platform for informal education and exemplify principles of environmental stewardship and conservation. Iceland, an island nation in the North Atlantic, is one area of the world that has seen dramatic growth in its nature-based tourism industry in recent years; tourists are drawn to Iceland in numbers five times the total population of the Country. The pressures of economic development have resulted in the continued promotion of Icelandic tourism, and, subsequently, the …

A Climatology Of Convective And Non-Convective High-Wind Events Across The Eastern United States During 1973-2015, Victoria Murley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

High-wind events (HWE) occur across every region of the United States (U.S.) and result in hundreds of fatalities, as well as thousands of dollars in damages annually. HWEs are classified as sustained high-winds or high-wind gusts and can be generated from convective or non-convective weather systems. This study investigates high-wind observations across the eastern U.S. during a 43-year climatological period (1973-2015) for spatial and temporal variations in wind speed and direction. Hourly surface wind observations were gathered from the National Centers for Environmental Information Data Center Integrated Surface Database (NCEI-ISD). This dataset includes qualitycontrolled wind observations from 391 first-order weather …

Exploring Sustainability Through Campus Landscapes, Abbie Winter, Dalton Stewart

Student Project Reports

No abstract provided.

Subjectivity And Methodology In The Arch‘I’Ve, Elizabeth J. Vincelette

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

This article explores methodologies from the fields of library archival science, human geography, composition and rhetoric, and established editorial practices in English studies. By elaborating on the role of a researcher’s subjectivity in archival creation, this work expands the conversation regarding methodology and archives, especially how archives present us with new ways of seeing and making narratives during the editorial decision-making involved in their creation. Writing about my own experience, I privilege the researcher’s point of view with a narrative about my construction of a digital archive. With archival research, we should promote the revelation of methods and methodology to …

Place, Memory, And Archive: An Interview With Karen Till, Karen Till, Emily Kaufman, Christine L. Woodward

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

Dr. Karen Till is Professor of Cultural Geography at Maynooth University, director of the Space & Place Research Collaborative (Ireland), and founding co-Convener of the Mapping Spectral Traces international network of artists, practitioners, and scholars. Till’s 2005 book, The New Berlin: Memory, Politics, Place, explores German memory and modernity, showing how places and spaces exemplify the contradictions and tensions of social memory and national identity. Her current book in progress, Wounded Cities, is based upon geo-ethnographic research in Berlin, Bogotá, Cape Town, Dublin, Minneapolis, and Roanoke. It highlights the significance of placebased memory work and ethical forms of care …

Natural Resource Condition Assessment, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Reilly R. Dibner, Nicole Korfanta, Gary Beauvais, Jonathan Bowler, Kit Freedman, Kelli C. Trujillo, Victoria H. Zero

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

In collaboration with the National Park Service, the University of Wyoming Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources and the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database completed the Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) for Scotts Bluff National Monument (NM). The purpose of the NRCA is to provide park leaders and resource managers with information on resource conditions to support near-term planning and management, long-term strategic planning, and effective science communication to decision-makers and the public.

Scotts Bluff NM was established in 1919. The purposes of the park include protecting and preserving the Mitchell Pass portion of the Oregon Trail and …

Subjectivity And Methodology In The Arch'i'Ve, Elizabeth J. Vincelette

English Faculty Publications

This article explores methodologies from the fields of library archival science, human geography, composition and rhetoric, and established editorial practices in English studies. By elaborating on the role of a researcher’s subjectivity in archival creation, this work expands the conversation regarding methodology and archives, especially how archives present us with new ways of seeing and making narratives during the editorial decision-making involved in their creation. Writing about my own experience, I privilege the researcher’s point of view with a narrative about my construction of a digital archive. With archival research, we should promote the revelation of methods and methodology to …

Resources, Society, And The Environment (Vsu), Jia Lu, Jessica Taylor

Geological Sciences and Geography Grants Collections

This Grants Collection for Resources, Society, and the Environment was created under a Round Nine ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal
• Final Report

Biotime: A Database Of Biodiversity Time Series For The Anthropocene, Maria Dornelas, Laura H. Antão, Faye Moyes, Amanda E. Bates, Anne E. Magurran, Dušan Adams, Asem A. Akhmetzhanova, Ward Appeltans, José Manuel Adam, Frank P. Day

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.

Main types of variables included: The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains …

Simultaneous Regional Detection Of Land-Use Changes And Elevated Ghg Levels: The Case Of Spring Precipitation In Tropical South America, Armineh Barkhordarian, Hans Von Storch, Ali Behrangi, Paul C. Loikith, Carlos R. Mechoso, Judah Detzer

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

A decline in dry season precipitation over tropical South America has a large impact on ecosystem health of the region. Results here indicate that the magnitude of negative trends in dry season precipitation in the past decades exceeds the estimated range of trends due to natural variability of the climate system defined in both the preindustrial climate and during the 850–1850 millennium. The observed drying is associated with an increase in vapor pressure deficit. The univariate detection analysis shows that greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing has a systematic influence in negative 30-year trends of precipitation ending in 1998 and later on. …

A Comparative Study On Coastal Zone Changes And Anthropogenic Impacts Between Tampa Bay, Usa, And Xiangshan Harbor, China, During The Last 30 Years, Qiandong Guo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently, the U.S. and China are the two largest national economic entities in the world. However, it is noticeable that the two countries have considerably different strategies for economic development, environmental protection and land supply in coastal zones. In order to understand the coastline dynamics, land use land cover (LULC) changes and land management policies in the U.S. and China, a case study of the Tampa Bay (TB) watershed, Florida, U.S., and Xiangshan Harbor (XH), Zhejiang Province, China was conducted. The two areas possess similar humid subtropical climate and dense population, but experienced different anthropogenic impacts. TB sat at a …

Drone Photography Vs. Light Detection And Ranging (Lidar) Data - Which Source Is Best Utilized In 3-Dimensional Modeling Applications?, Austin Valentine

Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Drone Photography vs. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Data — Which Source is Best Utilized in 3-Dimensional Modeling Applications? is an evaluation essay comparing the analysis and modeling of both drone photography and LiDAR data. This paper gives a brief introduction into my choice of utilization between these two techniques, both of which were applied to 3-dimensional modeling of the Kincaid Mounds Archaeological site in southern Illinois. Thus, illustrating some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with both methods.

Spatial Assessment Of Water Quality With Urbanization In 2007-2015, Shanghai, China, Huixuan Li, Cuizhen Wang, Xiao Huang, Andrew Hug

Faculty Publications

Shanghai, as one of the megacities and economic centers of China, is facing critical water quality challenges. This study analyzed the impact of urbanization on the water quality in Shanghai, from 2007 to 2015, using remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. Five measurements of water quality were employed: total discharged wastewater volume, general water quality levels, dissolved oxygen (DO), permanganate, and ammonia nitrogen. The impacts of urban land-use changes on water quality were examined. An urban index was extracted from satellite image classification and was used to quantify the anthropogenic activities. In the watershed level, unit watersheds …

African Savanna Vegetation Model, Christoffer Axelsson

Graduate Student Datasets and Models

The project aimed at creating a model that can simulate the effect of environmental factors on trees and grasses in an African savanna landscape. It enables simulating the growth of woody and herbaceous vegetation in an African savanna landscape, where the user can define the environmental conditions. Input to the model includes:

• Monthly precipitation
• Fire regime
• Grazing pressure
• Soil type
• Slope
• Attributes of the woody species, such as maximum crown size and sensitivity to light conditions, drought, and fire.

Complete Issue

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

The complete issue 1 of volume 8, Landscapes Journal.

Crop Residue Burning In Northern India: Increasing Threat To Greater India, S. Sarkar, Ramesh P. Singh, A. Chauhan

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Crop residue burning (CRB) is a recurring problem, during October–November, in the northwestern regions (Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh) of India. The emissions from the CRB source regions spread in all directions through long-range transport mechanisms, depending upon the meteorological conditions. In recent years, numerous studies have been carried out dealing with the impact of CRB on the air quality of Delhi and surrounding areas, especially in the Indo-Gangetic Basin (also referred to as Indo-Gangetic Plain). In this paper, we present detailed analysis using both satellite- and ground-based sources, which show an increasing impact of CRB over the eastern …

International Energy Geopolitics, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Overview of international energy geopolitical trends. Emphasizes the importance of the Persian Gulf, South China Sea, East China Sea, Russia, and the Arctic to U.S. and international economic and strategic developments. Stresses the continuing importance of fossil fuels in domestic and international energy consumption, the variety of energy sources being used by various global regions, the potential for military conflict over access to natural resources, and how emerging energy leaders will determine global energy, environmental, and international security developments.