Spatial Science Commons^™

Modeling Geographic Population Dispersion Utilizing Geospatial Information System Environment Agents In An Agent Based Model, Karl D. Liebert

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

New capabilities in agent based model (ABM) environments are opening the door to the creation of ABM that may incorporate high-quality, real world environment data in the form of Geospatial Information System (GIS) files . In the past, GJS environments were only possible through extensive software development efforts focused on specific model applications.

This thesis explores the value and issues of using GIS data to provide an ABM environment. It examines the ability of ABM development environments (DE) to support GIS environment data. The selected ABM DE is then used to model population behavior in an environment defined by authoritative …

Spatial Analyses And Repletion Of Gargathy Coastal Lagoon, Loreto Herraiz Gomez

OES Theses and Dissertations

Coastal lagoons and bays vary in shape and size in response to antecedent topography, geologic processes and sea level rise. Variations in shape and environmental conditions of coastal basins are believed to influence the distribution of benthic sub-environments and the exchange of water with the ocean and other adjacent coastal systems. Gargathy Inlet and its coastal lagoon vary spatially from the inlet, where the greatest depths are observed, to the mainland, dominated by shallow intertidal areas, colonized by marsh. Hypsographic and hydro-hypsographic analyses of Gargathy's coastal lagoon were the primary techniques applied to understand the relative distribution of the benthic …

Defining A Fire Year For Reporting And Analysis Of Global Interannual Fire Variablility, Luigi Boschetti, David P. Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

The interannual variability of fire activity has been studied without an explicit investigation of a suitable starting month for yearly calculations. Sensitivity analysis of 37 months of global MODIS active fire detections indicates that a 1-month change in the start of the fire year definition can lead, in the worst case, to a difference of over 6% and over 45% in global and subcontinental scale annual fire totals, respectively. Optimal starting months for analyses of global and subcontinental fire interannual variability are described. The research indicates that a fire year starting in March provides an optimal definition for annual global …

Radiative Forcing Over The Conterminous United States Due To Contemporary Land Cover Use Albedo Change, Christopher Barnes, David P. Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

Recently available satellite land cover land use (LCLU) and albedo data are used to study the impact of LCLU change from 1973 to 2000 on surface albedo and radiative forcing for 36 ecoregions covering 43% of the conterminous United States (CONUS). Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snowfree broadband albedo values are derived from Landsat LCLU classification maps located using a stratified random sampling methodology to estimate ecoregion estimates of LCLU induced albedo change and surface radiative forcing. The results illustrate that radiative forcing due to LCLU change may be disguised when spatially and temporally explicit data sets are not used. …

Mechanistic Home Range Models And Resource Selection Analysis: A Reconciliation And Unification, Paul R. Moorcroft, Alex Barnett

Dartmouth Scholarship

In the three decades since its introduction, resource selection analysis (RSA) has become a widespread method for analyzing spatial patterns of animal relocations obtained from telemetry studies. Recently, mechanistic home range models have been proposed as an alternative framework for studying patterns of animal space-use. In contrast to RSA models, mechanistic home range models are derived from underlying mechanistic descriptions of individual movement behavior and yield spatially explicit predictions for patterns of animal space-use. In addition, their mechanistic underpinning means that, unlike RSA, mechanistic home range models can also be used to predict changes in space-use following perturbation. In this …