Change detection is amongst the most effective critical examination methods used in remote sensing technology. In this research, new methods are proposed for building and vegetation change detection using only LiDAR data without using any other remotely sensed data. Two LiDAR datasets from 2009 and 2013 will be used in this research. These datasets are provided by the City of Surrey. A Parcel map which shows parcels in the study area will be also used in this research because the objective of this research is detecting changes based on parcels. Different methods are applied to detect changes in buildings and vegetation respectively. Three attributes of object –slope, building volume, and building height are derived and used in this study. Changes in buildings are not only detected but also categorized based on their attributes. In addition, vegetation change detection is performed based on parcels. The output shows parcels with a change of vegetation. Accuracy assessment is done by using measures of completeness, correctness, and quality of extracted regions. Accuracy assessments suggest that building change detection is performed with better results.

Today, the transport sector is responsible for nearly one-quarter of global energy-related direct carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions and is a significant contributor to air pollution [1]. In the United States, the transportation sector has the highest share (28%) in the mix of green-house gas (GHG) sources [2]. Some of the more developed nations across the globe are now committed to improve the climate and air quality. Countries like China, Europe and the United States are front runners in introducing ambitions policies to incentivize the production and adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV’s). Along with the expected benefits of PEV uptake, large scale deployment poses a challenge for the electric grid, especially at the distribution level, since the charging load of an PEV is substantial. This load is dependent not only on the characteristics of the PEV, but also on its use and charging habits of its user(s). Since a PEV can be directly plugged into the grid at any available point, which may be spatially anywhere in the utility’s service area, it is important to model its accurate use and charging behavior of the users. Having precise knowledge of the load profile, the utilities can have a better economic solution to balancing the supply and demand. In this dissertation, an agent-based model is developed that estimates the impact of charging load of PEVs on the grid. It is based on reasonably realistic diverse human behavior pertaining to day-to-day driving patterns and charging practices and their effect on each other. The model portrays the heterogenous, spatial and temporal nature of this load, which depends on the habits and the interaction among different agents. The model mimics the heterogeneity of choices made by human drivers and its effect on the charging choices of other drivers, which is an important element to consider when depicting human behavior. The model uses travel statistics of conventional personally owned vehicles (POVs) from the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) conducted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) across different states of the United States from 2016 – 2017. The travel needs are modified to incorporate the effect of EV’s limited range and charging time requirements. A modified GIS map of Collinsville, IL, is used to implement the spatial requirements of travel, with, which highlight exact load points. The agent’s travel and charging choices are modelled with heterogenous rules of engagement with the environment and other agents. Common psychological effects of limited range, long charging times, and range anticipation are applied heterogeneously to all agents to create a macro environment. The resulting charging load is superimposed on existing substation transformer load and voltage profile is analyzed to study the impact of different charging strategies and charging infrastructure availability. Different case studies are analyzed to investigate the effect of the aggregated load of multiple charging points in the respective service areas of the distribution transformers.

No description available.

The advent of faster, cheaper, and more powerful computer hardware has led to the widespread integration of GIS technologies into decision making processes within local governments. Most GIS literature has focused on the models and benefits that the technology can produce and not on the impacts that GIS has on the organization. This research explores the political and administrative implications of utilizing a GIS to address a resource allocation problem within the Fire Service Administration of the City of Norfolk, VA. A network model is employed to allocate rescue resources throughout the city in various configurations. The goal of NFPS (Norfolk Fire and Paramedical Services) is to be able to cover the entire City of Norfolk within five minutes of travel time. City and NFPS administrators evaluate various models based upon a provided questionnaire that focuses on the administrative and political viability of each of the models produced. / Master of Science

Geophysical and Archaeological Investigations of Enslaved Peoples at Cannons Point Preserve, Georgia Amy Sowers Collins1, Dr. Eileen G Ernenwein1, and Dr. Lindsey Cochran2, Department of Geosciences1 and Department of Sociology and Anthropology2, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee Cannons Point Preserve at St. Simons Island, Georgia was the site for the 2022 East Tennessee State University archaeological field school. The study area was believed to have once housed enslaved peoples at the plantation. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry surveys were performed at the preserve. These geophysical surveys are a common first step in archaeological research, because they can detect and map buried historic and prehistoric features prior to excavation. A real time kinematic (RTK) global navigation satellite system (GNSS) instrument was used to place stakes in the ground demarcating 10m x 10m grids for data collection. GPR data were collected using a GSSI-SIR-4000 system with a 400 MHz center-frequency antenna in south-north traverses spaced 0.5m apart. The system was set to record 100 scans per meter, 512 samples per-scan, using a 50 ns range. Magnetometry data were collected using a Bartington Grad601-2 fluxgate magnetometer in south-north traverses every 0.5m. Magnetometry collects eight readings per meter along transects. GPR data were processed using GPR-Slice software and magnetometry data were processed with ArchaeoFusion. Magnetometry anomalies that could be archaeological features were detected on the west and north side of the survey site. Two rectangular features were detected at 1-1.10m below the surface with GPR. Several linear features were also detected with GPR in the central and southeastern sections of the site. Although no test units were excavated deeper than 0.6m, some of the anomalies in the 0.3m-0.4m GPR slice were verified by excavation. Excavations in focused areas detected with magnetometry yielded ferrous (iron-containing) materials, burned pottery sherds, and burned bricks, as expected at a historic site. GPR and magnetometry successfully mapped buried archaeological features and helped direct excavations. Insight into the material possessions and living conditions of enslaved peoples on the island helps tell the history of those who were not recorded in the written record.

Meandering rivers across the globe present a striking similarity in their alignment, and this pattern has intrigued scientific curiosity for almost a century. However, still very little is known about ‘unconventional’ river meanders with a “zigzagging” planform appearance, but which occur in rivers from the temperate to the tropic regions. In order to compare the characteristics of flow, morphology and morphodynamics of conventional (‘round’ and ‘fat’) and unconventional (‘sharp’ and ‘angular’) river bends, I studied the Prut (Romania/Moldova), one of the last remaining freely meandering lowland rivers of Europe. The Prut is a clay-bed river that meanders for about 585 km of channel length in its lower section, with an average discharge of c. 90 m3 s-1 and channel width ranging from 39-84 m. For the analysis of long-term channel dynamics (chapter 2), bend morphometry, morphodynamics and temporal trajectories were determined for a section of Prut that included multiple replicates of each bend type. Data were extracted from historical maps and imagery for a c. 250 km long section of the Prut River spread over a 90-year period (1915-2005). For that, I used a geographical information system (GIS) and state-of-the-art software PyRIS to derive measures of bend-scale morphometry and migration features for a total of 118 simple and back-traceable river bends, after exclusion of compound bends and bends that cut-off during those 90 years. Normalized bend curvatures (CmaxB) ranged from 0.01 to 1.44 (as for 2005). Sharp bends were distinguished from round bends and angular bends from fat bend geometries by width normalized bend curvature, CmaxB threshold (round < 0.5 and sharp > 0.5) and the maximum to mean bend curvature ratio, Cr threshold (fat < 3 and angular > 3), respectively. Over the 90 year period, studied bends (N=118) displayed a gradual narrowing and homogenization of channel width (median= 72 m and interquartile range (IQR)= 63-86 m in 1915; median = 52 m and IQR = 50-57 m in 2005), a reduction of migration rates (mean= 0.038 widths/yr, SD=0.028 in 1915-1960 to mean= 0.015 widths/yr, SD = 0.011 in 1980-2005) and a slightly increase of sinuosity (from 1.41 to 1.63). Sharp and angular bends tended to stabilize over longer periods (20-90 years), and concomitantly displayed more unchanged shape transitions (for sharp bends: 1915-1960= 49%; 1960-1980= 61%; 1980-2005= 57%, N=49) compared to their conventional counterparts (for round bends: 1915-1960= 37%; 1960-1980= 22%; 1980-2005= 22%, N=49). These results provide new insights into the formation and maintenance of unconventional bends (sharp and angular), which on the Prut are mainly due to autogenic processes. In unconventional bends, special patterns of erosion and deposition create features like deeper pools or zones of flow separation, with fallen trees possibly acting as additional allogenic factor. These interrelationships among bend form, flow and river bed features in unconventional meanders were then investigated in detail fora set of 14 bends (chapter 3). Boat operated ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) field surveys enabled detailed records of 3-D velocity and depth distribution along these bends.This dataset enabled for the first time to systematically compare flow characteristics of unconventional with that in conventional meanders under field conditions. The studied set of bends comprised at least 2 bends of each simple bend shape types (see chapter 2) i.e. angular, sharp, round and fat bend shapes. A significant linear increase in the lateral extent of the Inner-Bank Flow Separation zone (IBFS) at the bend apex with increasing bend curvature was recorded (IBFS = 6.1+ 45.8 CmaxB + 8.2; R2= 0.55; p < 0.001; N=14). In angular bends, hydraulics was influenced by a locally eroded point bar and a steep sloping upstream riffle to pool transition. This was reflected by the significant increase in depth ratio (ratio of apex pool depth to upstream riffle depth) with stronger bend angularity, as defined by curvature ratio (ratio of maximum to mean of bend curvature) (Hratio = 0.83 + 0.41 Cr; R2 = 0.44; p < 0.005; N=14). These morphological features influenced the extent of the horizontal recirculation occurring within the IBFS zones at the bend apex, and were further associated with the formation of two separate IBFS zones in fat bends compared to a singular zone in angular bends. Pool depth (Hp) displayed an increasing trend with higher curvature but then to stabilize at bend curvatures greater than c. 0.5, suggesting the existence of a negative autogenic feedback at high bend curvature, as pool depth is also weakly related to the IBFS size (IBFS = -14+ 10.3 Hp + 10.2; R2= 0.30; p<0.02; N=14). The observed interdependence between flow patterns and planform shape in angular and fat bends partially explains their different morphodynamics, too. While fat bends are prone to develop multilobing or a delayed cut-offs, angular bends may display increased temporal stability and even inward migration. Hence, this thesis demonstrates for the first time the different characteristics of conventional and unconventional meanders in terms of their morphometry and hydraulic geometry based on the study of bends from a real meandering river, and complemented by documentation of the long-term morphological trajectories of these meander types during a nearly centennial period. Thus, this thesis provides new insights into the so far poorly explored linkages between forms and processes of river bends, and indicates field-based explanations on the formation and relative stability of unconventional bend forms over extended time periods.

This thesis used geographic information systems and remote sensing to measure expansion of aquaculture Northwest Mississippi. A feature extraction technique was used to identify aquaculture from satellite imagery. Variations in well water depth were examined in relation to the changes in aquaculture to explore its affects on the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVA) aquifer. A soil moisture index was used to investigate preferential expansion of aquaculture onto soil moisture types. This study found that aquaculture expanded from 66,000 acres in 1984 to 142,000 acres in 2001. Total acreage of individual counties from the Feature Extraction is higher than estimates provided by the Mississippi Agriculture Statistics Service. It was found that aquaculture expansion covered more acres of wet soil classes than dry soil classes and the volumes of expansion onto moist soils depth time series were highly variable across the study area and showed no conclusive relationship to aquaculture expansion.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.