Geographic Information Sciences Commons^™

The Catalyst Effect Of Historic Preservation: A Spatial Analysis Of The Impact Of Historic District Designation On Housing Renovations In New York City, Ali R. Mostafa

Theses and Dissertations

The constraints on property use along with the economic merits of historic districts are critical points in the debate over preservation policies. Improving the existing housing stock is a substantial economic activity and a significant part of the nation’s overall construction industry. The purpose of this study is to present an empirical analysis of the relationship between historic district designation and renovation decisions. The results of the analysis found that historic preservation does not inhibit the renovation activity of single-family homeowners. However, contrary to the claims made by proponents, it does not give a powerful incentive for owners in undesignated …

Native American Occupation Of The Singer-Hieronymus Site Complex: Developing Site History By Integrating Remote Sensing And Archaeological Excavation, Claiborne Sea

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Located on a ridgetop in central Kentucky, the Singer-Hieronymus Site Complex consists of at least four Native American villages. The Native Americans who lived there are called the “Fort Ancient” by archaeologists. This study examined relationships between these villages, both spatially and temporally, to build a more complete history of site occupation. To do this, aerial imagery analysis, geophysical survey, and archaeological investigations were conducted. This research determined there were differences among villages in terms of their size, however other characteristics—internal village organization, village shape, radiometric dates, and material culture—overlapped significantly. Additionally, landscape-scale geophysical survey identified at least three potentially …

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 …

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 …

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. …

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.

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.

Spatial Epidemiology Of Summer Trauma In Scott County, Ia: Use Of Gis To Identify Trauma Incidence In Urban And Rural Areas, Matthew Koch

Celebration of Learning

Traumatic injury is a blanket term referring to acute physical injuries which pose an immediate threat to life and limb, requiring urgent medical care. Unintentional injuries are the fifth-leading cause of death, and fatal injuries cost the American economy over $84 billion annually in lost work and medical costs. Scott County, IA, is a unique environment for trauma research because it served by a single trauma center and features within its 458 square miles distinct urban and rural populations. Patient data from the trauma registry, including age, race, and mechanism of injury (MOI) was combined with the corresponding spatial data …

Using Digital Mapping Techniques To Rapidly Document Vulnerable Historical Landscapes In Coastal Louisiana: Holt Cemetery Case Study, Alahna Moore

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis outlines a technique for rapid documentation of historic sites in volatile cultural landscapes. Using Holt Cemetery as an exemplary case study, a workflow was developed incorporating RTK terrain survey, UAS aerial imagery, photogrammetry, GIS, and smartphone data collection in order to create a multifaceted database of the material and spatial conditions, as well as the patterns of use, that exist at the cemetery.

The purpose of this research is to create a framework for improving the speed of data creation and increasing the accessibility of information regarding threatened cultural resources. It is intended that these processes can be …

Assessment Of The Socio-Environmental Impacts Of The Urban Expansion Using Gis And Remote Sensing In The City Of Guayaquil, Ecuador., Erika P. Jimenez Rivera

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the impacts of the urban expansion from 1990 to 2010 in Guayaquil, Ecuador using geospatial technologies. It incorporates census and land cover data to identify the social and environmental repercussions through Hot Spot Analysis, land cover classification, and Markov chains model.

Creating Web Maps Of Forest Restoration Plots At Iracambi Atlantic Rainforest Research Center, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Daniel Lassila

Sustainability and Social Justice

The purpose of this report is to provide a detailed account, discussion, and analysis of my internship at Iracambi Atlantic Rainforest Research Center in Minas Gerais, Brazil during the summer of 2017, where I worked under the direction of GIS Supervisor Mr. Cliff Jones. The central focus of my work dealt with consolidating existing GIS data on the organization’s rainforest restoration effort into a single normalized database - based on the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact, creating a structure for future forest restoration volunteers including enabling offline field collection using Collector for ArcGIS, then creating an ArcGIS Online web map based …

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 …

Stories Behind The Berlin Wall: Lesson Modules, Nicholas Redmon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

I have grappled with my primary collection just as scholars and popular authors have with bringing these stories together with political histories. My goal is to create a digital map and analysis on specific themes like education and guard duty from the lives lived behind the Wall and their discourse with the government. I would like to explore how the divide impacted lives in 1961, created a GDR Society, and produced a division still felt in Germany today. The target audience of this project is U.S. students in high school and higher education. Students will be able to access timely …

Decisions Set In Stone: Spatial Analyses Of Ozark Rock Art Sites, Elements, And Motifs With Gis, Jordan Lee Schaefer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to spatially analyze rock art distributions in the Salem Plateau section of the Arkansas Ozarks. Statistical tests, such as chi-square and t-testing, are applied to provide an objective view of rock art patterning in relation to the overall landscape. The data collected from these methods allow one to discern the locational preferences for rock art, which potentially reveal cultural details about the people involved with its creation. Multiple analytical perspectives are applied throughout, initially focusing on comparisons with expected values and random points. Later statistical tests use bluff shelter distributions as reference data …

Social Organization And Environmental Patterning At Tel Abu Shusha: An Integrated Spatial Approach To Survey Archaeology, Seth Price

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tel Abu Shusha, located in the Jezreel Valley of Palestine, is a large-scale archaeological site possibly identified as the cities of Biblical Gaba or Roman Gaba Hippaeon/Gaba Philippi. Surface archaeological survey of the surrounding area, conducted by the Jezreel Valley Regional Project during 2017, revealed extensive assemblages of visible settlement features dating primarily to middle and late Islamic periods. This research seeks to answer questions of settlement decision-making and societal organization, by integrating archaeological, textual, environmental, and geospatial data sources. In addition to visual interpretation, Kolmogorov-Smirnov nonparametric tests are used to gain insight on environmental settlement preferences; Ripley’s K analysis …

Get To The “Point”: Improving Location Services In Tippah County Mississippi, Haley Feather

Master's Theses

Point location using geographic information systems (GIS) technology has become integrated into everyday society and daily decision-making by utilizing addresses to provide goods and services. A need exists at a national, state, and local level for an address database. The objectives of this study were to [1] determine the most suitable address data model to be used in Mississippi, [2] determine how positional accuracy changes between urban and rural areas, and [3] determine spatial variations in aerial imagery. Address data model comparisons were conducted using match rates between street, parcel, and point address models. Positional accuracy was determined for urban …

Dixie Tornadoes : A Spatial Analysis Of Tornado Risk In The U.S. South., Joshua L. Sherretz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the years tornados were a feared and respected phenomenon. This phenomenon was traditionally associated with the high plains of the United States for very good reason. More tornados occur in the American high plains than anywhere else in the world, hence the term: Tornado Alley. However, the American Deep South was and remains prone to many tornados too. So much so that parts of the Deep South were and still are referred to as Dixie Alley. The major focus of this study was how the two areas compared as far as risk is concerned.

This study used both geographic …

Towards Quantifying Relevant Land Cover Change: A Case Study In The Central Flyway Of The Monarch Butterfly, Hanna Lenee Ford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 20 years notable decreases in monarch butterfly populations have led researchers to begin evaluating the landscape for changes and seeking out opportunities for enacting conservation programs to better support their survival. The monarch butterfly has recently come under consideration for listing under the Endangered Species Act which has created a need for a more informed view of the landscape through which the migrate and breed, the central United States. In this research three spatially-explicit models are explored using the most applicable datasets currently available to address pressing policy and land manager decisions regarding monarch butterfly and pollinator …

A Geospatial Study Of The Drought Impact On Surface Water Reservoirs: Study Cases From Texas And California, Zachary Asbury

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drought in Texas and California has been a long-term problem. Over the past 60 years reservoir construction has occurred to remedy the situation. Satellite imagery has been used historically to measure and monitor fluctuations in surface water reservoirs. This investigation integrates remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technologies to study the impact of drought on selected surface water reservoirs in San Angelo and Dallas in Texas, and Lake Oroville in California. Expansion and shrinkage over the 2005-2016 period reveal the concrete impact that drought, along with other factors, have on the selected lakes. Fluctuations in reservoir sizes during summer …

Gis Modeling Of The Prominent Geohazards In Arkansas, Kyle Walker Rowden

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The State of Arkansas is prone to numerous geohazards. This thesis is a twofold study of prominent geohazards in Arkansas: the first fold includes a novel triggerless approach for mass wasting susceptibility modeling applied to the Boston Mountains in NW Arkansas, and the second fold is a GIS-based regression modeling of the extreme weather patterns at the state level. Each study fold is presented in this thesis as a separate chapter embracing a published peer-reviewed paper. In the first paper, I have used the analytical hierarchy process to assign preliminary statistical weights to the most cogent variables influencing mass wasting …

U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Summer Fellowship: Gis Study Of Threatened And Endangered Species In Colorado, Jeanie Lai

Sustainability and Social Justice

This report provides a detailed account of my fellowship experience with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Region 6 Office in Lakewood, CO during the summer of 2017 made possible by the Student Conservation Association (SCA) sponsored by Directorate Fellows Program. The internship was completed in the Region 6’s Branch of Decision Support in Ecological Services under the direction of Spatial Ecologist John Guinotte. I was a GIS Technician tasked with work responsibilities involving listed threatened and endangered species relevant to the region. Those work responsibilities included refining spatial Area of Influence (AOI) ranges, updating databases, and creating a …

Congressional Redistricting: Keeping Communities Together?, Kalyn M. Rossiter, David W. S. Wong, Paul L. Delamater

Geography Faculty Scholarship

The process of congressional redistricting, delineating boundaries for districts in which voters elect members to the U.S. House of Representatives, has always been an expensive and controversial process. Congressional districts (CDs) are redrawn due to changes in population reflected by the decennial census to ensure equal representation. Laws and regulations literature identifies eight criteria that may be considered when determining the boundaries of CDs and this article focuses on one of those criteria, maintaining communities of interest (COIs). This criterion requires states to preserve these boundaries when delineating CDs but fails to define a COI. This research proposes and evaluates …

Assessing Land Deformation And Sea Encroachment In The Nile Delta, Egypt, Esayas Gebremichael

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Persistent scatterer interferometric analyses were conducted on a stack of 84 Envisat ASAR scenes spanning 7 years (2004 to 2010) over the entire Nile Delta of Egypt and surroundings to monitor the ongoing spatial and temporal land deformation, identify the factors controlling the deformation, and model the interplay between sea level rise and land subsidence to identify areas and populations threatened by sea encroachment by the end of the 21st century. Findings include: (1) general patterns of subsidence in the northern delta, near-steady (none) subsidence in the southern delta, separated by a previously mapped flexure zone undergoing uplift; (2) high …

Landsat Sentinel Registration Source Codes: Linux, Lin Yan, David P. Roy

Landsat Sentinel Registration Source Codes

• LSReg is open-source software (coded in C) for precise automatic registration of Landsat-8 (L8) Collection-1 and Sentinel-2 (S2) Level 1C products, including L8S2, S2S2 and L8L8.
• Version 2.0 is a Linux version. The main download includes the source codes and manual.The “Additional Files” include the test data and the outputs generated from the test data by LSReg 2.0.

• Major functionalities of the software:
  
  • Flexibility in handling input/output images resolutions and spatial coverages.
  • Image registration supporting translation, affine and 2^nd order polynomial transformations.
  • Classic implementation of least-squares matching (LSM) with up to 0.02 pixel matching accuracy on medium-spatial-resolution optical-wavelength remote …

Place: A Dynamic Geospatial Data Repository, Eleta Exline, Hannah Hamalainen

PLACE Project

Poster presented at University of Massachusetts and New England Area Librarian e-Science Symposium, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, April 5, 2018

Using Gis For Determining Optimal Refugee Camp Placement In Western Thailand, Christopher Pierce

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Refugee camps are often over crowded, which can create security issues and create strain on the camp infrastructure, supplies, officials, and other areas. ‘GIS for Good’ created methodology to determine optimal placement for refugee camps in Uganda using GIS. Their model focused on environmental (ie. Distance to water, land use, etc.) and social factors (population density, distance to education and health facilities, etc.). These factors were reclassified to rank most optimal sites 10 and least optimal sites 1. Factors were also weighted to give more emphasis to distance from water, slope, and food suitability sites compared to other factors. These …

Land-Use And Land-Ownership Changes In Usoma Village, Kenya, Ernest Tan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study attempted to find out how land-use activities and land-ownership patterns have changed since land adjudication in Usoma Village, a peri-urban community on the fringe of Kisumu City. The methods used were photo-observation and geo-tagging based on walkabouts onsite, documentary analysis of maps obtained from the Ministry of Lands, interviews with key authority figures, independent experts and community leaders, and interviews as well as focus-group discussions with community members. In terms of land ownership, it was found that subdivisions of land, both formal and informal, had been common over the period. Land transfers based on compulsory acquisition and investment …

Applying Spatial Literacy To Transform Library Space: A Selected Literature Review, Juliet M. Gray, Melissa Burel, Marlee Graser, Karen Gallacci

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review a selection of articles and books that highlight aspects of spatial theory and literacy from various disciplinary perspectives, along with a review of library space studies.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reviews library literature that uses spatial literacy and its related tools. The authors searched in two databases: Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts, and SCOPUS. The paper records were analyzed to find primary research studies, published between 2010 and 2017, which study patron use of library space using various single and hybrid methodologies.

Findings

The findings of the literature reveal that of …

Deer-Vehicle Collisions In Kalamazoo County, Michigan: A Study Using Gis And Statistical Modeling, Alex Todd Laporte

Masters Theses

Kalamazoo County ranked 15th among 83 Michigan counties in 2015 with 917 deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs). With the white-tailed deer population on the rise, the chances of collisions are also more likely to increase. Most predictive models developed for wildlife-vehicle collisions are used for specific areas and have localized characteristics that are hard to apply to different locations and animal species. By analyzing Kalamazoo County’s specific land cover, weather, traffic, and time variables with locations of deer-vehicle collisions throughout the county, characteristics are identified distinguishing between areas of differing risk. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can locate areas with a high rate …

Understanding 1-D Vertical Flux Dynamics In A Low-Gradient Stream: An Assessment Of Stage As A Control Of Vertical Hyporheic Exchange, Frances Claire Harris

Theses and Dissertations

Little Kickapoo Creek (LKC) is a low-gradient, third-order perennial stream with headwaters in Bloomington, IL. The objective of this study is to characterize vertical one-dimensional (1-D) flux rates in the top 150 cm of the streambed, test the viability of a heat tracing method in a low-gradient area, and determine the relationship between stage and 1-D vertical flux rates. In 2009, six wells were installed along the thalweg of the stream in a 25-meter stretch spaced at 5-meter intervals. Each well recorded temperature at five separate depths logging at 15-minute0 intervals from February 2009 to March 2010: 30, 60, 90, …