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The Gulf Coast Region (GCR) of the United States holds immense ecological and cultural value. However, constant environmental changes, from sea-level rise and hurricanes to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, threaten many of the values that define the region. Additionally, recent financial settlements from civil and criminal penalties of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill have created an unprecedented opportunity to fund conservation throughout the region. With such a large area of interest (over 700,000 km2) and so many conservation priorities throughout the GCR, there is a great need to strategize which lands are most efficacious for conservation to optimize the protection of ecological and socioeconomic values. Given the importance of ecologically sound data to informing conservation planning, I directed my dissertation to develop gulf-wide datasets to be used in a geospatial tool to support land conservation actions in the GCR. My dissertation addresses three fundamental objectives: 1) assessing how landscapes are associated with estuarine biotic health; 2) mapping hydrologic response to changes in land-use; and, 3) creating indices of land conservation value with regards to modeled associations (from objective 1) with estuarine biotic health. For objective 1, I constructed three hierarchical models across 33 GCR estuaries and their associated watersheds. I estimated the expected number of fish and shrimp species observed in a trawl sample based on temperature, salinity, and runoff volume per catchment area across six different land-use/land-cover (LULC) classes. These models can provide a quantitative basis for assigning offsite values to lands for conservation potential within the GCR. For objective 2, I assessed associations of different LULC classes with hydrologic changes, measured by peak flow (cfs), from 1996-2016 within each GCR watershed, which can be valuable to conservation planning that seeks to focus on preserving or restoring more typical flow regimes. For my 3rd objective, I developed an index of conservation value which incorporates relationships among LULC, hydrologic connectivity, and estuarine biotic health for lands within the GCR. These elements will help address lesser understood land conservation needs in the GCR to better enable conservation planners to protect the values of this region in the face of inevitable change.

Statistics show that chronic heat exposure and extreme heat waves are the leading cause of death amongst natural disasters in urban spaces across the United States, outpacing the likes of more notable phenomena such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Heat in urban spaces is not distributed equally due to the urban heat island effect, a phenomenon which significantly elevates temperatures due to the various absorption characteristics of built environment features. Historical discriminatory mortgage lending schemes and planning practices that targeted communities of color have intensified that issue, endangering the health and well-being of marginalized neighborhoods to this day. Although generating feasible design solutions to mitigate the impact of heat in urban spaces represents a substantial challenge, utilizing readily available data sources to garner the social and political support required for actionable change is likely the more complex issue. Because youth are typically less jaded by external social and political influences and will either enjoy the benefits or suffer the consequences related to the built environment for their entire adult life, they possess a unique potential to serve as a vehicle for generating community momentum for the implementation of heat resilience solutions. This thesis explores the spatial distribution of heat throughout neighborhoods in Roanoke, Virginia by exploring both land surface temperature and air temperature discrepancies by Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) classification and census tract. I find that HOLC polygons not labeled "A" possess a considerably higher average temperature than the most "desirable" classification, and that there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between mean land surface temperature (aggregation of Landsat raster files) and census tract socio demographic characteristics such as median household income and percentage of residents aged 65 and over. This thesis also examines the potential of youth-focused science education programs to catalyze the political will necessary to enact resilience planning efforts that no single governmental agency is responsible for. I analyzed the various impacts that artifacts produced by a 2021 science education program conducted with Roanoke City middle school students inflicted on a 2022 focus group comprised of influential Roanoke public officials. I show the reasoning which supports that four primary opportunity and challenge categories – Breaking Down Silos, Spreading Awareness, Places and Venues, and Resources and Funding – can serve as foundational discussion components for heat resilience planning panels in the future. This thesis advances the awareness of disproportionate exposure to heat in urban spaces and contributes to theories attempting to trigger heat resilience planning efforts. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning / Extreme heat presents a deadly threat to people, particularly those who live in cities. Heat is not distributed evenly throughout urban areas, with some places being hotter than others. Climate change is a force which will make that problem worse. As a result, it is important for planners and other leaders to implement strategies to solve that issue. Engaging youth in the planning process is one way to speed that process up. This thesis explores whether neighborhoods in Roanoke, Virginia experience different levels of heat stress. I find that areas which have historically been deemed by the government to be "most desirable" are typically cooler than others. This research also examines the ability of youth education programs to compel relevant decision makers to act on an issue. Through an analysis of a focus group discussion, I show that the experiences and ideas of Roanoke City middle school students encouraged Roanoke City public officials to respond to their concerns. Four major themes related to heat resilience opportunity and challenge areas emerged – Breaking Down Silos, Spreading Awareness, Places and Venues, and Resources and Funding.

According to former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director, William Webster, "The only way any coordinated efforts can succeed in combating drug trafficking, organized crime, terrorism, or even bank robberies is through the timely and candid exchange of intelligence data on criminal activities." This paper proposes an approach to creating geographic products that could be used in fighting the war on illegal drug trafficking. Products such as likely trafficking routes, border crossing observation points, and potential processing plant locations represent combinations of geographic and intelligence data which would be assets in drug interdiction. The approach described in this paper is significant in that it addresses the four primary phases of drug interdiction: cultivation, processing, smuggling, and distribution. The digital data sets and computer technologies required to create the products are discussed including topics such as fusion by common coordinates of imagery and feature data, and dynamic segmentation using textual and feature information. This approach towards managing intelligence and environmental data and creating products for drug interdiction will help maximize the effectiveness of law enforcement assets. / Master of Science

This thesis demonstrates the value of integrating electrical distribution engineering analysis with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The 37-Node IEEE Feeder model was used as the base distribution system in this study. It was modeled separately, both in software capable of unbalanced load-flow and in an industry-standard GIS environment. Both tools utilized were commercially available, off-the shelf products indicative of those used in academia and in basic GIS installations. The foundational data necessary to build these models is representative of information required by a variety of utility departments for a multitude of applications. It is inherent to most systems within an enterprise-level, business-wide data model and therefore can be used to support a variety of applications. In this instance, infrastructure information is assumed to be managed and housed with the GIS. This data provides the required information as input for load-flow calculations. The engineering analysis is performed within DistributionSystem 4.01 and its output is passed back to the GIS in tabular format for incorporation. This thesis investigates the transfer of information between GIS and DistributionSystem 4.01 and demonstrates the extended display capabilities in the GIS environment. This research is implemented on a small scale, but is intended to highlight the need for standardization and automatic integration of these systems as well as others that are fundamental to the effective management of electrical distribution systems. / Master of Science

Over the last decade, an increase in earthquake occurrence in Oklahoma and Kansas has been linked to oilfield wastewater injection disposal, particularly into the regionally underpressured Arbuckle Group. The Arbuckle is hydraulically connected to Precambrian basement through an extensive fracture system, which transmits pressure perturbations from wastewater injections to seismogenic depths. Previous studies have convincingly attributed induced seismicity to pore pressure diffusion and solid elastic stressing, both resulting from fluid waste injection. Recent work adds to the physical understanding of injection-induced seismicity by demonstrating that the density differential between injection fluids and formation brines may also drive fluid pressure into the seismogenic basement. In this thesis, variable density groundwater flow is modeled in a numerical simulation comprising parts of the Anadarko Basin, the Anadarko Shelf, the Cherokee Platform, and the Nemaha Fault Zone as well as injection data from 2006-2018. Results show buoyancy forces interacting with regional stratigraphic dip to force density-driven pressure transients into the deep Anadarko Basin, aligning with previously unexplained earthquakes in that region. / Master of Science / Increased earthquake activity in Oklahoma and Kansas over the last decade is linked waste disposal related to hydrofracking. Oil and gas produced in the fracking process is often mixed with large amounts of water that is too salty to be used for public or industrial purposes, thus this water is disposed of via injection into deep rock layers in the upper portion of the Earth's interior, or crust. This injection disturbs the crust to trigger earthquakes where none have been historically observed. Previous studies examining this phenomenon assume that the rock layers of the crust lie flat and level; simplify the nature of major faults, or cracks, in the crust; and do not consider differences in water chemistry between injected water and water that already occupies the crust. The study developed in this thesis considers the effect of these three factors with regard to how they influence the extent of the linkage between waste water injection and earthquakes in Oklahoma and Kansas.

The purpose of this exploratory collective case study is to discover how geospatial education can meet the geospatial workforce needs of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the emerging intelligent web mapping era. Geospatial education uses geographic information systems (GIS) to enable student learning by increasing in-depth spatial analysis and meaning using geotechnology tools (Baker & White, 2003). Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy theory and geography concept of spatial thinking form an integrated theoretical framework of spatial cognition for this study. Data collection included in-depth interviews of twelve geospatial stakeholders, documentation collection, and supporting Q methodology to determine the viewpoints of a total of 41 geospatial stakeholders. Q methodology is a type of data collection that when used as a qualitative method utilizes sorting by the participant to determine their preferences. Data analysis strategies included cross-case synthesis, direct interpretation, generalizations, and a correlation matrix to show similarities in participants' preferences. The results revealed four collaborative perceptions of the stakeholders, forming four themes of social education, technology early adoption, data collaboration, and urban fundamentals. Four strategies were identified for higher education to prepare students for the emerging geospatial workforce trends. These strategies are to teach fundamentals, develop agile faculty and curriculum, use an interdisciplinary approach, and collaborate. These strategies reflect the perceptions of stakeholders in this study on how higher education can meet the emerging drivers and trends of the geospatial workforce. / Published version / Doctor of Philosophy in Instructional Design and Technology

Road construction and maintenance throughout the country continues to be one of the largest contributors of sediment pollution to aquatic systems. Though impacts of road networks on aquatic systems can be potentially severe, little work has been performed to evaluate the effect that road spatial location within a watershed has on water quality. To address this issue from a quantitative perspective, a "Road Impact Factor" protocol was designed to identify potential erosion-prone segments of road networks based on road gradient, spatial location based on hydrologic flow length, surface composition, and water control installations. The protocol was developed for two regions in Central Idaho and Eastern Oregon. We then used the hydrologic travel time procedure, developed for use in the Hydrologic Engineering Center Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) runoff and routing model, in order to characterize the spatial distribution of potential road runoff impacts within the study areas. Ten macroinvertebrate metrics sensitive to sedimentation (i.e. % Intolerant Taxa, Hilsenhoff Biotic Index, etc.) were analyzed to test the significance of the spatial distribution of Road Impact Factors. These 10 metrics were analyzed under the hypothesis that values will be lower for those study areas that have a higher degree of road impact and a lower distance between the road segments and stream reaches. Results of a quadrant analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis showed hypothesized trends for several metrics in Idaho, though the trends were not strong. No trends were observed in Oregon. The variability in results is likely due to limitations of the input datasets. / Master of Science

published_or_final_version / Geography and Geology / Master / Master of Philosophy

This project explores the design of a rail-trail in the Midwest utilizing visual preference methods with ArcGIS and 3D visualization technologies. It has been found that visually preferred environments are more enjoyable, more frequently used places that positively influence overall health of individuals and communities. Aesthetic attributes of environments, in particular, are directly related to overall physical, social, and mental health. Research conducted on environment, behavior, and human preference suggests that environmental settings can influence perceptions of quality of life, sense of place, and mental states, which affect stress levels, which are physically manifested in the body (Kaplan 1982, 1987, 1995, 1998; Lusk 2002; RWJF 2006; Shafer 2000).One way of providing healthier environments is by improving aesthetics according to the visual characteristics that promote understanding and exploration of the environment, specifically perceptual values of smoothness, density, and landcover type (Kaplan and Kaplan 1998; Brown 1994). This technique allows social issues such as public opinion and health benefits to be integrated with environmental and cultural issues to thoroughly address design and management solutions, especially in recreation areas. Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst extensions facilitated the analysis by adapting the United States Forest Service visual analysis framework to the visual preference research to assess the use of GIS and 3D technology in a design oriented application. This included the addition of a 3D element to allow the designer to experience how a scene changes through space and time. Use of 2D, 3D, and animation capabilities of ArcGIS assisted in the visualization of landscape preference from the trail-user's point of view to assess the perceptual qualities of the landscape along the Cardinal Greenway.The project findings outline the capabilities of ArcGIS 3D Analyst and Spatial Analyst for mapping and measuring these perceptual and physical landscape qualities. The resulting design concepts reflect the findings of this study. It is anticipated that the process followed could be adapted and applied to recreation areas in similar geographic regions, and thereby advance daily recreation and lifestyle change for healthier individuals and communities. / Department of Landscape Architecture