Geographic Information Sciences Commons^™

Interannual Variation In Biomass Burning And Fire Seasonality Derived From Geostationary Satellite Data Across The Contiguous United States From 1995 To 2011, Xiaoyang Zhang, Shobha Kondragunta, David Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

Wildfires exhibit a strong seasonality that is driven by climatic factors and human activities. Although the fire seasonality is commonly determined using burned area and fire frequency, it could also be quantified using biomass consumption estimates that directly represent biomass loss (a combination of the area burned and the fuel loading). Therefore, in this study a data set of long-term biomass consumed was derived from geostationary satellite data to explore the interannual variation in the fire seasonality and the possible impacts of climate change and land management practices across the Contiguous United States (CONUS). Specifically, daily biomass consumed data were …

Predictive Modeling In The Search For Vertebrate Fossils: Geographic Object Based Image Analysis (Geobia) In The Eocene Of Wyoming, Bryan Bommersbach

Masters Theses

The development and testing of predictive models for identifying productive fossil localities represents a promising interdisciplinary endeavor among geographic information scientists, paleoanthropologists, and vertebrate paleontologists. This thesis analyzed high resolution (2m spatial resolution) commercial satellite imagery from the Worldview-2 satellite of five areas of the Great Divide Basin using a GEographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) technique, which segments the image into spectrally homogeneous, multi-pixel image objects. In addition to allowing statistical analysis of the spectral characteristics of the image objects, GEOBIA techniques also let analysts incorporate expert knowledge and contextual information to improve classification accuracy. The spectral characteristics of the …

Delineating Firewise Communities/Usa® Developing Self-Mapping Techniques For Communities For Wildland Fire Behavior Modeling, Jennifer Muha

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

In an effort to collect boundaries of Firewise Communities/USA® participants in Colorado for academic and professional research, fire prevention efforts of homeowner’s insurance policy holders, and community-level risk planning, an instructional document for Google Maps Engine to self-define was developed. Ten ‘test communities’ were asked to participate, with a 60% response rate. From these responses, no initial problems or difficulties were noted. One boundary was used to model fire behavior in ArcMap, utilizing Spatial Analyst for fuel mitigation and the Wildland Fire Assessment Tool plugin to run behavior models with raster outputs. In conclusion, when Firewise communities worked in conjunction …

Mapping And Analyzing Historical Sanborn Maps Of San Luis Obispo From 1905 And 1950, Troy A. Lawson

Social Sciences

This project was conducted to map, analyze, and determine historical changes in the city of San Luis Obispo, California. Sanborn maps from 1905 and 1950 were drawn showing streets, parcels, creeks, and buildings of the city. These publications had limited use because they were in a physical format without any geographic reference. Here, these maps were digitized into a GIS format to analyze building trends and identify cultural and historical buildings not on the City’s list of Historic and Culturally Contributing Buildings, as well as published online on the City of San Luis Obispo’s website and on ArcGIS Online. Additionally, …

Mapping Landscape Values: Issues, Challenges And Lessons Learned From Field Work On The Olympic Peninsula, Washington, Diane Besser, Rebecca J. Mclain, Lee Cerveny, Kelly Biedenweg, David Banis

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

In order to inform natural resource policy and land management decisions, landscape values mapping (LVM) is increasingly used to collect data about the meanings that people attach to places and the activities associated with those places. This type of mapping provides geographically referenced data on areas of high density of values or associated with different types of values. This article focuses on issues and challenges that commonly occur in LVM, drawing on lessons learned in the US Forest Service Olympic Peninsula Human Ecology Mapping Project. The discussion covers choosing a spatial scale for collecting data, creating the base map, developing …

Where Do Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest Visitors Go And Which Roads Do They Use To Get There? An Analysis Of The Spatial Data From The 2013 Sustainable Roads Workshops, Rebecca J. Mclain, David Banis, Alexa Todd, Mike Psaris

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report provides an overview of the key patterns that emerged from the spatial analyses of the destination and route data collected during the 2013 Sustainable Roads workshops on the Mount Baker Snoqualmie (MBS) National Forest. We excluded the pilot workshop data from the analyses because a somewhat different process was used to collect the mapped data. The data used in the analysis was collected from 262 participants in eight workshops (Bellingham, Sedro-Woolley, Darrington, Monroe, Everett, Seattle, Issaquah, Enumclaw). During the workshops, participants mapped up to eight destinations of importance to them, and in most cases, also mapped the routes …

Powering The Future: Siting Guidelines For Renewable Wind Energy Development In Eastern Colorado, Zach Ancona

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable energies around the world. The United States contains approximately 49,000 active wind turbines and Colorado accounts for less than 3 percent of that number, even though Colorado ranks 11^th in the nation for wind development potential. The siting process for wind development is lengthy, taking from 5 to 10 years, and many facilities that are proposed end up not being built due to complications from inadequate pre-siting techniques. The research in this report aims to identify high priority areas in eastern Colorado through the examination of key variables used in …

Using Gis To Predict Areas Of Cultural Resources Within The Walnut Canyon Study Area Near Flagstaff, Arizona, Laura Pernice

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Predicting locations of cultural resource in the Walnut Canyon Study Area near Flagstaff, Arizona was accomplished by using geostatistical and spatial analysis techniques of Directional Distribution, Kernel Density, and Average Nearest Neighbor. Known cultural resource sites within Walnut Canyon National Monument were analyzed to identify spatial patterns and densities to apply the results to the study area. Cultural resource sites are predicted to be highly clustered within 200 feet of fresh water sources as well as in woodland and shrub land vegetation types. Results can be used for land-use managers to identify areas to survey with high potential of containing …

Potential Impacts To Resident Populations, Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project, Megan Ross

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

In 2014, the Alaska Energy Authority is preparing to construct a hydropower dam on Alaska's Susitna River, known as the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project. Changes to water levels, sediment content, and flow rates are likely to affect the river itself and the salmon that are sustained by the Susitna ecosystem. The potential geomorphological and biological impacts of the dam as they could affect activity in the local communities are studied using currently available data. GIS tools are applied to identify areas of reservoir fill, risk of erosion, and endangerment of salmon habitat; then compare these impact areas to areas used by …

Librarian Out Of Bounds, Rosa Orlandini

The Workshop for Instruction in Library Use

No abstract provided.

Usability Testing: Open Geoportal 2.0, Rob Wolff, Kristin Parker

PLACE Project

The PLACE project team at the University of New Hampshire Library performed usability testing on May 9, 2014 with three participants with GIS experience. Tasks focused on use of Open GeoPortal 2.0 (beta).

Volunteered Geographical Information: An Alternative Solution For Overcoming The Chasm Between Stormwater Management And Community Participation, Yanfu Zhou

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

It is a dramatic challenge to promote public engagement in stormwater management and green infrastructure initiatives. When traditional outreach approaches made important influence on public engagement, their limitations are also obvious. With the development of Web 2.0 technology, Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) has been emerging as one of the most important user-generated geographic contents. The crowdsourcing data that generated by volunteers through geo-web, smartphones, and other geo-devices provides invaluable mass data for decision-making. VGI can provide a better understanding of planning issues and other challenges. The research aims to develop a mobile information platform to allow citizens to report the …

Determining Home Range And Preferred Habitat Of Feral Horses On The Nevada National Security Site Using Geographic Information Systems, Ashley V. Burns

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Feral horses (Equus caballus) are free-roaming descendants of domesticated horses and legally protected by the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, which mandates how feral horses and burros should be managed and protected on federal lands. Using a geographic information system to determine the home range and preferred habitat of feral horses on the federally managed Nevada National Security Site can enable wildlife biologists in making best management practice recommendations. Site suitability was calculated for elevation, forage, slope, water presence and horse observations and were combined in successive iterations into one polygon. Suitability rankings established …

Geologic Factors Affecting Hydrocarbon Occurrence In Paleovalleys Of The Mississippian-Pennsylvanian Unconformity In The Illinois Basin, Jeremy Taylor London

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Paleovalleys associated with the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian unconformity have been identified as potential targets for hydrocarbon exploration in the Illinois Basin. Though there is little literature addressing the geologic factors controlling hydrocarbon accumulation in sub-Pennsylvanian paleovalleys basin-wide, much work has been done to identify the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian unconformity, characterize the Chesterian and basal Pennsylvanian lithology, map the sub-Pennsylvanian paleogeology and delineate the pre-Pennsylvanian paleovalleys in the Illinois Basin. This study uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to determine the geologic factors controlling the distribution of hydrocarbon-bearing sub-Pennsylvanian paleovalley fill in the Illinois Basin. A methodology was developed to identify densely-drilled areas without associated petroleum …

A Spatial Assessment Of The Go Bg Transit Services In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Frank Aryee

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The decision to live in a particular place, accept a job at a distant location, where to go shopping or purchase groceries, and many other similar decisions are all largely influenced by the availability of transportation. As such, it is important that everyone who requires transportation can have access. However, certain population segments, such as low income earners, are less likely to own cars due to the cost involved. There are others who may be impaired physically or have other difficulties that may prevent them from driving. Access to transportation is essential for people of all backgrounds and social statuses. …

Geographic Variation Of Health Care Spending On Heart Failure In Metropolitan Areas, Kevin Mcmillan

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The costs of healthcare have long been a concern in the United States. It is well known that these costs vary geographically, but attempts to explain this variation have been met with limited and varied success. This is partly attributable to the fact that data available have restricted analyses to assessing the issue to using Medicare cost per beneficiary. In June, 2013, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released new Medicare data that detailed the charges and payments made to hospitals throughout the United States in 2011. In this thesis, this new dataset was used to examine costs …

Evacuation And Shelter In Place Modeling For A Release Of Uranium Hexafluoride, Joseph B. Harris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Evacuation and sheltering behaviors were modeled for a hypothetical release of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) from Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) in Erwin, Tennessee. NFS down-blends weapons grade Cold War-era nuclear fuel material and processes highly-enriched uranium occasionally using UF6 onsite. Risk associated with a chemical release to the surrounding residential population was assessed by running 2 scenarios involving an airborne release of UF6 to compare evacuation and sheltering in place actions as effective survival strategies. Risk is minimal and evacuation is recommended for people within a 2-mile radius of the release point. Shelter in place actions are recommended for all critical …

Historical Health Conditions In Major Us Cities: The Hue Data Set, Carlos Villareal, Brian Bettenhausen, Eric Hanss, Jonathan Hersh

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

The Historical Urban Ecological data set is a new resource detailing health and environmental conditions within seven major U.S. cities during the study period from 1830 to 1930. Researchers collected and digitized ward-level data from annual reports of municipal departments that detail the epidemiological, economic, and demographic conditions within each city. They then drafted new geographic information system data to link the tabular records to ward geographies. These data provide a new foundation to revisit questions surrounding the urban mortality transition and the growth of U.S. cities.

Using Census Bureau Data For Current And Historical Gis Research, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides examples of how geographic information system (GIS) data can be used to conduct historical and contemporary research using Census Bureau data and mapping and other resources. Such data and mapping can enhance understanding of historical and contemporary subjects in a multidisciplinary variety of topics.

Response Of Benthic Foraminifera To Ocean Acidification And Impact On Florida's Carbonate Sediment Production, Paul O. Knorr

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2 are in dynamic equilibrium with the oceans. The absorption of CO2 by seawater causes a decrease in seawater pH and calcite saturation state (SS). This process, termed ocean acidification, exerts deleterious effects on marine calcifiers. Studies of symbiont-bearing large benthic foraminifera (LBF) have reported a generally unfavorable response to increased concentrations of carbon dioxide ([CO2]).

Experiments and analyses were undertaken to examine the effect of increased [CO2] on the growth rate, ultrastructure, stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen, as well as Mg/Ca of the high-Mg miliolid Archaias angulatus and the low-Mg rotalid Amphistegina gibbosa. A …

Eeos 406: Git Data Collection And Field Methods, Helenmary Hotz

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

As part of EEOS 406 course work, students located and mapped distributions of an invasive plant, Spotted knapweed, on Nantucket for the Nantucket Conservation Foundation. Once established, the plant continues to spread to surrounding habitat and outcompetes native species. Prior to their field work, Dr. Sarah Oktay (NFS) and Kelly Omand (NCF) briefed the students on the history of the species on Nantucket. Kelly assigned the location for data collection to further support ongoing NCF research of the species.

Factors Of Inclusion And Exclusion To Housing: An Exploratory Study, Jonathan Abbott, Whitman A. Bouton, Jordan Christensen, Brian Dicarlo, Rylan Firth, Erin Mercer, Erica Molina Rodriguez, Andrew Sneddon, Chad Tucker, Brea Walters, Austin Zeitz

Asset Mapping: Community Geography Project

Portland State University: Spring 2014 Senior Capstone Neighborhood Equity Study.

Landsat-8: Science And Product Vision For Terrestrial Global Change Research, David P. Roy, M. A. Wulder, T. R. Loveland, C. E. Woodcock, R. G. Allen, M. C. Anderson, D. Helder, J. R. Irons, D. M. Johnson, R. Kennedy, T. A. Scambos, C. B. Schaaf, J. R. Schott, Y. Sheng, E. F. Vermote, A. S. Belward, R. Bindchadler, W. B. Cohen, F. Gao, J. D. Hipple, P. Hostert, J. Huntington, C. O. Justice, A. Kilic, V Kovalskyy, Z. P. Lee, L. Lymburner, J. G. Masek, J. Mccorkel, Y. Shuai, R. Trezza, J. Vogelmann, R. H. Wynne, Z. Zhu

GSCE Faculty Publications

Landsat 8, a NASA and USGS collaboration, acquires global moderate-resolution measurements of the Earth's terrestrial and polar regions in the visible, near-infrared, short wave, and thermal infrared. Landsat 8 extends the remarkable 40 year Landsat record and has enhanced capabilities including new spectral bands in the blue and cirrus cloud-detection portion of the spectrum, twothermal bands, improved sensor signal-to-noise performance and associated improvements in radiometric resolution, and an improved duty cycle that allows collection of a significantly greater number of images per day. This paper introduces the current (2012–2017) Landsat Science Team's efforts to establish an initial understanding of Landsat …

A Spatial Analysis Of Crime In The City Of San Luis Obispo Using Free And Open Source Gis Software, Chad Bunn

Social Sciences

A study of crime in the City of San Luis Obispo using FOSSGIS programs including CartoDB and QGIS. The study was for the perio of January 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013.

Imls Place Grant: Press Release Abstract 3, Place Project Group

PLACE Project

Press release describing the PLACE (Position-based Location Archive Coordinate Explorer) project that is funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services. The University of New Hampshire (UNH) library partnered with the UNH Earth Systems Research Center to develop a geospatial interface that is searchable by geospatial coordinates.

Includes IMLS Logo and Statement.

Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (Inaa) Of Shell-Tempered Ceramics In The Ancestral Caddo Region: Rethinking Methods, Robert Z. Selden Jr., Timothy K. Perttula

CRHR: Archaeology

The geochemical analysis of shell-tempered ceramics in the ancestral Caddo region has been a matter of confusion since the mid-1990s. While Caddo archaeologists have long perceived most or all of the shell-tempered ceramics in East Texas to have originated from two different areas within the Red River basin, the geochemical data and interpretations remain inconsistent with that idea. This poster takes another look at this dataset, and considers an approach that was initially put forth by MURR, and then seemingly abandoned. Using only the geochemical data from shell-tempered sherds, we take a closer look at the contributions of calcium (Ca), …

Advances In Documentation, Digital Curation, Virtual Exhibition, And A Test Of 3d Geometric Morhpometrics: A Case Study Of The Vanderpool Vessels From The Ancestral Caddo Territory, Robert Z. Selden Jr., Timothy K. Perttula, Michael J. O'Brien

CRHR: Archaeology

Three-dimensional (3D) digital scanning of archaeological materials is typically used as a tool for artifact documentation. With the permission of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, 3D documentation of Caddo funerary vessels from the Vanderpool site (41SM77) was conducted with the initial goal of ensuring that these data would be publicly available for future research long after the vessels were repatriated. A digital infrastructure was created to archive and disseminate the resultant 3D datasets, ensuring that they would be accessible by both researchers and the general public (CRHR 2014a). However, 3D imagery can be used for much more than documentation. To …

Presettlement Surveyor Bias Estimator, Barry J. Kronenfeld

Maps and Data

Estimates bearing tree selection bias in the General Land Office (GLO) surveys, and similar surveys where distance to the nearest individual (tree) was calculated at each survey location (corner). Developed in Visual Basic.Net using MS Excel functions to calculate ANOVA and student T test.

Geographic Analysis Of West Nile Virus In The Upper Minnesota River Valley: A Gis And Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing Approach, Matthew Moore

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Throughout human evolution civilizations have been faced with implications from infectious diseases caused by various environmental factors. This connection was recognized as far back as the 5th century by Hippocrates and since several key advances have been realized and will be addressed in this an environmental and physical geography of disease. Arthropod or vector-borne viruses are among the most common pathogens introduced into the modern human population. West Nile Virus is considered endemic in most parts of the world and appeared in the United States in 1999 with 62 confirmed cases in an urban New York location. Since its first …

Movement As A Means Of Social (Re)Production: Using Gis To Measure Social Integration Across Urban Landscapes, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Kristin Landau

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

This paper contributes to the archaeological study of movement in urban environments where built forms and natural features worked together to play a key role in structuring human mobility.We propose an analytical method using least cost analysis in a Geographic Information System (GIS) to empirically measure social integration. The method defines mobility as the potential for pedestrian movement, and identifies locations where people were most likely to walk to or through in a landscape. The calculated mobility data are then employed to identify with whom people were most likely to interact and the degree to which they were socially connected …