Geographic Information Sciences Commons^™

Food Deserts: Usda Report Review, Christopher Rahm

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

The purpose of this Capstone will be to provide city, county, and eventually state, entities with the knowledge to better identify those areas which would fall under the auspice of the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, as laid out in a report by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Council on “Food Deserts.” Food deserts are those areas in which access to nutritious foods is limited by distance, by lack of transportation, or both. Food deserts have also been linked to obesity in children and adults, with the attendant health problems. With this knowledge, starting at the local level, …

Crowdsourcing Global Wastewater Data, Don Mosteller, Sam Cohen, Cory Nestor, Angel Hsu, Omar Malik

Yale Day of Data

No time to waste: Crowdsourcing global wastewater treatment data

Worldwide, over 80 percent of wastewater is discharged into water bodies without undergoing treatment, severely impairing human well-being and ecosystem vitality along the way. National performance on wastewater treatment is difficult to quantify and is poorly understood due to a lack of common definitions, poor data collection standards, and limited historical data. To address this, the Yale Environmental Performance Index (EPI), a research group that produces a biennial ranking of country-level environmental performance, developed a first-of-its kind national wastewater treatment indicator.[1]

The indicator assesses wastewater treatment performance for 183 countries, …

Evapotranspiration In The Nile Basin: Identifying Dynamics, Trends, And Drivers 2002-2011, H. Alemu, A. T. Kaptué, G. B. Senay, M. C. Wimberly, Geoffrey Henebry

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Analysis of the relationship between evapotranspiration (ET) and its natural and anthropogenic drivers is critical in water-limited basins such as the Nile. The spatiotemporal relationships of ET with rainfall and vegetation dynamics in the Nile Basin during 2002–2011 were analyzed using satellite-derived data. Non-parametric statistics were used to quantify ET-rainfall interactions and trends across land cover types and subbasins. We found that 65% of the study area (2.5 million km2) showed significant (p < 0.05) positive correlations between monthly ET and rainfall, whereas 7% showed significant negative correlations. As expected, positive ET-rainfall correlations were observed over natural vegetation, mixed croplands/natural vegetation, and croplands, with a few subbasin-specific exceptions. In particular, irrigated croplands, wetlands and some forests exhibited negative correlations. Trend tests revealed spatial clusters of statistically significant trends in ET (6% of study area was negative; 12% positive), vegetation greenness (24% negative; 12% positive) and rainfall (11% negative; 1% positive) during 2002–2011. The Nile Delta, Ethiopian highlands and central Uganda regions showed decline in ET while central parts of Sudan, South Sudan, southwestern Ethiopia and northeastern Uganda showed increases. Except for a decline in ET in central Uganda, the detected changes in ET (both positive and negative) were not associated with corresponding changes in rainfall. Detected declines in ET in the Nile delta and Ethiopian highlands were found to be attributable to anthropogenic land degradation, while the ET decline in central Uganda is likely caused by rainfall reduction.

Improving Web Discovery With Maps, Rachel S. Evans

Articles, Chapters and Online Publications

Embedding GIS coordinates into websites enables visual mapping and information linking in new and interesting ways.

Building A Better Model: Variable Selection To Predict Poverty In Pakistan And Sri Lanka, Marium Afzal, Jonathan Hersh, David Newhouse

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Numerous studies have developed models to predict poverty, but surprisingly few have rigorously examined different approaches to developing prediction models. This paper applies out of sample validation techniques to household data from Pakistan and Sri Lanka, to compare the accuracy of regional poverty predictions from models derived using manual selection, stepwise regression, and Lasso-based procedures. It also examines how much incorporating publically available satellite data into the model improves its accuracy. The five main findings are that: 1) Lasso tends to outperform both discretionary and stepwise models in Pakistan, where the set of potential predictors is large. 2) Lasso and …

Women Workin’ It In Gis: A Mixed Methods Study Of Underrepresentation And The Gendered Experience Among Female Gis Practitioners, Livia M. Betancourt Mazur

Theses and Dissertations

Through novel empirical research, this thesis explores the experience of women working in the professional field of geographic information systems (GIS), adding to GIS literature, as well as to academic geography and wider science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) discourses, addressing gaps in these bodies of knowledge.

Transportation And Sanitation Drivers Of Land Use/Land Cover Change: Loss Of The Jamaica Bay Wetlands, Margaret Joy Cytryn

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an analysis (1830-2014) of the historical events of land use/land cover change in the Jamaica Bay estuary, identification of the agents of change, and a perspective on the potential drivers of transportation and sanitation in land use/land cover change.

Image Interpretation-Guided Supervised Classification Using Nested Segmentation, A. V. Egorov, M. C. Hanson, David P. Roy, A. Kommareddy, P. V. Patapov

GSCE Faculty Publications

We present a new binary (two-class) supervised non-parametric classification approach that is based on iterative partitioning of multidimensional feature space into variably-sized and nested hyper-cubes (partitions). The proposed method contains elements of active learning and includes classifier to analyst queries. The spectral transition zone between two thematic classes (i.e., where training labels of different classes overlap in feature space) is targeted through iterative training derivation. Three partition categories are defined: pure, indivisible and unlabeled. Pure partitions contain training labels from only one class, indivisible partitions contain training data from different classes, and unlabeled partitions do not contain training …

The Foundation Of Cistercian Monasteries In France 1098-1789: An Historical Gis Evaluation, Jon Eric Klingenberg Rasmussen

Masters Theses

Historical geography focuses upon those relationships which have shaped the evolution of place and landscape over time. One fundamental approach used to achieve this objective is the set of theories associated with spatial diffusion. This includes the spatial and chronological paths, the periodicities and rates of spread, as well as the identification of areas of void or avoidance. An emerging trend in historical geography is the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A GIS provides the researcher with the necessary tools to re-evaluate and challenge long-standing interpretations of any given event, historical or otherwise, as well as develop new insights …

Les Rues Des Tableaux. Géographie Du Marché De L'Art Parisien (1815-1955), Léa Saint-Raymond, Félicie De Maupeou, Julien Cavero

Artl@s Bulletin

Continuation of a first socioeconomic analysis of the "art dealers" in Paris between 1815 and 1955 (Artl@s Bulletin 2, no. 2), this paper presents the results of a spatial study of the Parisian art market at that time. Departing from serial geographical data given by a homogeneous source, the Bottin du commerce, we mapped a 140 years spatial evolution of the "art dealers", using a geocoding system with composite locators. The article exposes the spatial dynamics of this market and studies them in a multi-scalar way, making the connection between the global evolution of the Parisian economy and …

A Research-Based Model For Digital Mapping And Art History: Notes From The Field, Paul B. Jaskot, Anne Kelly Knowles, Andrew Wasserman, Stephen Whiteman, Benjamin Zweig

Artl@s Bulletin

Most digital mapping in art history today divides the research process from the visualization aspects of the project. This problem became the focus of a summer institute that Paul Jaskot and Anne Kelly Knowles ran at Middlebury College with the support of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Our article both reports on the institute and suggests how research questions can complement digital mapping methods. We conclude with three case studies of spatial questions in art history and discuss the Fellows’ use of GIS to explore examples from Qing Dynasty China, medieval Gotland, and contemporary New York City.

Place Matters: New Social Indicators, Mimi Abramovitz, Jochen Albrecht

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Spatial Patterns Of Drought Persistence In Xinjiang (A.R), China, Guzhaliayi Sataer

Masters Theses

Droughts have become one of the crucial hazards affecting Xinjiang, Northwest China, the biggest agricultural province and an important area for the grazing husbandry industry in China. Investigations about droughts in Xinjiang have been conducted from various perspectives by previous researchers. However, there are very few studies that focus on drought persistence and seasonal drought frequency. These issues are particularly important as they influence water resource management and forecasting, crop yields, agricultural development and energy consumption. Seasonal drought persistence describes how well drought conditions persist from one season to next season and is expressed as probability of persistence. In this …

Evaluation Of Web Gis Functionality In Academic Libraries, Ningning Kong, Tao Zhang, Ilana Stonebraker

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The rise of web-based GIS resources has expanded the scale and scope of spatial information seeking in most, if not all, academic libraries. Even without formal GIS training, users can search for spatial information, create customized maps, as well as perform simple spatial analysis. However, few systematic evaluations have been conducted to summarize common web GIS functionalities as GIS moving from traditional desktop applications to the web. In this study, we evaluated and assessed the major functionalities of web GIS applications and their potential value for information discovery and access, using six most popular applications in the academic libraries. In …

Using Spatiotemporal Methods To Fill Gaps In Energy Usage Interval Data, Kristin K. Graves

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers analyzing spatiotemporal or panel data, which varies both in location and over time, often find that their data has holes or gaps. This thesis explores alternative methods for filling those gaps and also suggests a set of techniques for evaluating those gap-filling methods to determine which works best.

Network Analysis Of The Walkability Of Denver’S Light Rail And Bus Rapid Transit Network And How This Can Be Improved, Ryan Ferriman

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This study evaluates how well the existing and proposed light rail and bus rapid transit lines in Denver serve residents who want to get by without a car. The number of residents and jobs within half mile and one mile walking distances of stations are calculated using network and buffer analysis methods. Results are compared to determine the accuracy benefit of conducting a network analysis rather than the more common buffer analysis. The study looks at ways to boost the number of residents and employees within walking distance by maximizing access around each station. It also quantifies the available land …

Creation Of Weighted Theissen Polygons Using Python, Colin Spohn

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Abstract:

This project is an exploration into creating and manipulating Thiessen polygons. Thiessen polygons are zones created around points to show the area closer to each point than any other point in the set. Thiessen polygons are used to extend climate data from individual stations across areas. After creating the new procedure applications of the algorithm were considered.

The manipulation explored in the project focused on allowing the borders of traditional Thiessen polygons to be shifted based on values among the points. These manipulated Thiessen polygons have been dubbed weighted Thiessen polygons.

These weighted Thiessen polygons were created using the …

Structure And Composition Of The Kennesaw State University Arboretum: Past And Present, Stephanie A. Roper

Symposium of Student Scholars

The purpose of this study is to determine the trends in composition and structure of the Kennesaw State University (KSU) Arboretum, located on the Kennesaw Campus. To assess the trends, we identified the tree species, and measured the diameter (dbh) and locations of all stems including new growths (i.e. greater than 1cm dbh) in the permanent plot during the summer of 2014. Density, dominance, and frequency values were calculated and all trees were plotted from data collected in 2008, 2010, and 2014. Findings show that there have been an increase in Fagus grandifolia (beech), a significant decline in Cornus florida …

Monitoring Invasive Plant Species: Summer Internship At Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, Belmont, Massachusetts, Holly M. Zanoni

Sustainability and Social Justice

Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Belmont, Massachusetts is a dynamic suburban sanctuary that effectively upholds Mass Audubon’s three-part mission of advocacy, conservation, and education. Invasive plants threaten ecological integrity; however, proactive measures are taken to mitigate further encroachment. This is accomplished by surveying and taking inventory for presence of invasive species, then prioritizing them, and finally by incorporating high priority species into the immediate management strategy. Four invasive plants were formally analyzed using geographic information science during the 2014 growing season: Garlic mustard, Black swallowwort, Japanese knotweed, and Dame’s Rocket. The resulting density maps detected pattern changes from 2011, 2012, …

Assessing Mesoscale-Equivalent Temperature In Kentucky, Keri Younger

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this research is to investigate mesoscale-equivalent temperatures (TE) in Kentucky and potential land cover influences. Kentucky presents a unique opportunity to perform a study of this kind because of the observational infrastructure provided by the Kentucky Mesonet (www.kymesonet.org). This network maintains 65 research-grade, in-situ weather and climate observing stations across the Commonwealth. Equivalent temperatures were calculated utilizing high-quality observations from 33 of these stations. In addition, the Kentucky Mesonet offers higher spatial and temporal resolution than previous research on this topic. As expected, the differences (TE-T) were greatest in summer (smallest in winter), with an average of …