Search Results

Analysis of Interrelationships between Climate Change and Cotton Yield in Texas High Plains

Description: The Texas High Plains produces the most substantial amount of cotton in Texas. The region is a semi-arid area with limited precipitation, and it is, therefore, susceptible to climate change. Cotton production in the Texas High Plains is mostly dependent on irrigation to increase yield. The overall goal of this research was to study the interrelationships between climate change and cotton yield using correlation analysis and also to study how climate has changed in the region using trend analys… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Sarbeng, Lorenda
open access

An Analysis of UNT Commuting Patterns

Description: Academic institutions have recently organized to address their campus' greenhouse gas emissions. Along those lines, the University of North Texas (UNT) pledged to minimize the campus' environmental impact, and conducted a transportation survey in May 2009. The analyses confirm that commuting to campus was the second highest source (29%) of UNT's greenhouse gas emissions, following purchased electricity (48%). Students, faculty and staff drive over 89 million miles per year, 84% of which comes f… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Waskey, Susan L.
open access

Analyzing Tuberculosis Vulnerability and Variables in Tarrant County

Description: Over 9 million new cases of tuberculosis (TB) were reported worldwide in 2013. While the TB rate is much lower in the US, its uneven distribution and associated explanatory variables require interrogation in order to determine effective strategies for intervention and control. However, paucity of case data at fine geographic scales precludes such research. This research, using zip code level data from 837 confirmed TB cases in Tarrant County obtained from Texas Department of State Health Servic… more
Date: December 2016
Creator: McGlone, John Francis
open access

Archaeological Proteomics: Method Development and Analysis of Protein-Ceramic Binding

Description: The analysis of protein residues recovered from archaeological artifacts provides a unique opportunity to reveal new information about past societies. However, many scientists are currently unwilling to accept protein-based results due to problems in method development and a basic lack of agreement regarding the ability of proteins to bind to, and preserve within, artifacts such as pottery. In this paper, I address these challenges by conducting a two-phase experiment. First, I quantitatively e… more
Date: May 2010
Creator: Barker, Andrew L.
open access

Archaeological Site Vulnerability Modeling for Cultural Resources Management Based on Historic Aerial Photogrammetry and LiDAR

Description: GIS has been utilized in cultural resources management for decades, yet its application has been largely isolated to predicting the occurrence of archaeological sites. Federal and State agencies are required to protect archaeological sites that are discovered on their lands, but their resources and personnel are very limited. A new methodology is evaluated that uses modern light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and historic aerial photogrammetry to create digital terrain models (DTMs) capable of i… more
Date: August 2015
Creator: Helton, Erin King
open access

Are Streams Protected? Outcomes of Environmental Regulation

Description: Urban areas experience the loss of natural stream channels through conversion to artificial conveyances. This process tends to target headwater and other low order streams. The purpose of this study is to determine the patterns of stream loss in Denton, Texas, and explore the regulatory structure that manages these streams. Historic and current maps and stream data are used to map Denton's streams and categorize them according to their vertical connectivity as: 1) "intact", streams that are … more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Rowen, Zachary

Assessing Agricultural and Hydrologic Potential of Ancestral Puebloan Community Centers using Open Source Data

Description: The Pueblo III period marks a critical shift in settlement location of Ancestral Puebloan people within the Mesa Verde region. Community centers during the Pueblo I and Pueblo II periods were built on mesa tops, whereas canyon-rims and alcoves became the preferred settlement location during the Pueblo III period. Beginning in the Pueblo I period, community centers consisted of linear roomblock villages. By the late Pueblo II period great house community centers influenced by the Chaco culture … more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Zarzycka, Sandra Elzbieta
open access

Assessing Rainfall Interception by Urban Tree Canopies in Denton, Texas

Description: Rainfall interception is one mechanism by which tree canopies can reduce surface runoff in urban areas. The objectives of this research were to: 1) quantify rainfall interception by urban tree canopies, and 2) determine the influence of vegetation and microenvironmental factors on rainfall interception rates. In the city of Denton, Texas, 30 mature post oak (Quercus stellata) and blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) trees were selected for study. Trees were assigned to one of three categories… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Edington, Patrick

Assessing the Potential Effects of Climate Variability on Reservoir Water Volume in North-Central Texas Using GIS and Models: A Case Study of Ray Roberts Lake.

Description: Assessing the impact of climate variability on water resources is one of the difficult tasks in planning the future growth of North-Central Texas. This study defined twelve extreme climate scenarios. Data from each scenario was input to a hydrological model (HEC-HMS) to calculate watershed runoff to Lake Ray Roberts. Model parameters are determined using Geographic Information System (GIS). The water balance was calculated for current and future water demand and resulting change in the volume a… more
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Date: December 2005
Creator: Osei-Adjei, Peter
open access

Assessing the Role of Smaller Format Retailers on the Food Desert Landscape in Dallas, Texas

Description: Many policy and business decisions regarding food deserts in the U.S. are based on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) definition of a food desert. This definition only includes large/national chain grocery retailers, based on the assumption that these major retailers are the only affordable sources of food contributing to balanced diets. As alternative distribution channels, including smaller stores, start to include groceries in their product offering, the need to consider the … more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Regan, Amanda D.
open access

Assessment of Post-earthquake Building Damage Using High-resolution Satellite Images and LiDAR Data - a Case Study From Port-au-prince, Haiti

Description: When an earthquake happens, one of the most important tasks of disaster managers is to conduct damage assessment; this is mostly done from remotely sensed data. This study presents a new method for building detection and damage assessment using high-resolution satellite images and LiDAR data from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. A graph-cut method is used for building detection due to its advantages compared to traditional methods such as the Hough transform. Results of two methods are compared to unders… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Koohikamali, Mehrdad
open access

An Assessment of Riparian Buffer Effectiveness in the Upper Hickory Creek Watershed: A GIS Approach Using the Riparian Buffer Delineation Equation (RBDE) and the Buffer Improvement Potential Percentage (BP)

Description: As population increases and urbanization occurs, watershed management will be critical in the protection of water resources in North Central Texas. By 2040, Denton County will nearly double its 2010 population. The Upper Hickory Creek Watershed lies west of Denton and empties into Lake Lewisville. Lake Lewisville provides drinking water for Denton, Dallas, and other neighboring cities. Mitigation of non-point source pollutants as a result of urban and agricultural practices is essential to prot… more
Date: May 2019
Creator: Yesildirek, Monica Veale
open access

Assessment of Sediment Runoff from Natural Gas Well Development Sites.

Description: Storm water sediment runoff from disturbed landscapes has the potential to impair aquatic environments. Small construction sites of 1-5 acres in the United States are currently regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to minimize storm water runoff damages to the environment. Gas well construction sites are similar to other construction sites in how the landscape is altered, but are not similarly regulated. This study identified sediment runoff from gas well development si… more
Date: May 2007
Creator: Havens, David Loran
open access

Assessment of Transportation Emissions for Ferrous Scrap Exports from the United States: Activity-Based Maritime Emissions Model and Theoretical Inland Transportation Model.

Description: Industrial ecology is a field of study that encourages the use of closed-loop material cycles to achieve sustainability. Loop closing requires the movement of materials over space, and has long been practiced in the iron and steel industry. Iron and steel (ferrous) scrap generated in the U.S. is increasingly exported to countries in Asia, lengthening the transportation distance associated with closing the loop on the iron and steel life cycle. In order to understand the environmental cost of… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Caldwell, Amanda
open access

Automated Tree Crown Discrimination Using Three-Dimensional Shape Signatures Derived from LiDAR Point Clouds

Description: Discrimination of different tree crowns based on their 3D shapes is essential for a wide range of forestry applications, and, due to its complexity, is a significant challenge. This study presents a modified 3D shape descriptor for the perception of different tree crown shapes in discrete-return LiDAR point clouds. The proposed methodology comprises of five main components, including definition of a local coordinate system, learning salient points, generation of simulated LiDAR point clouds wit… more
Date: May 2018
Creator: Sadeghinaeenifard, Fariba
open access

Automated Treetop Detection and Tree Crown Identification Using Discrete-return Lidar Data

Description: Accurate estimates of tree and forest biomass are essential for a wide range of applications. Automated treetop detection and tree crown discrimination using LiDAR data can greatly facilitate forest biomass estimation. Previous work has focused on homogenous or single-species forests, while few studies have focused on mixed forests. In this study, a new method for treetop detection is proposed in which the treetop is the cluster center of selected points rather than the highest point. Based on … more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Liu, Haijian
open access

Comparison of IKONOS Derived Vegetation Index and LiDAR Derived Canopy Height Model for Grassland Management.

Description: Forest encroachment is understood to be the main reason for prairie grassland decline across the United States. In Texas and Oklahoma, juniper has been highlighted as particularly opportunistic. This study assesses the usefulness of three remote sensing techniques to aid in locating the areas of juniper encroachment for the LBJ Grasslands in Decatur, Texas. An object based classification was performed in eCognition and final accuracy assessments placed the overall accuracy at 94%, a significant… more
Date: December 2009
Creator: Parker, Gary
open access

Contribution of Hurricane Ike Storm Surge Sedimentation to Long-term Aggradation of Coastal Marshes in Southeastern Texas and Southwestern Louisiana

Description: Coastal marshes and wetlands are vital natural resources that offer habitats for plants and animals, serve as ecological filtration for soil and water pollutants, and act as protection for coastlines. Fishing, both commercial and sport, has a large economic impact in the study area – the Gulf Coast between Galveston Bay, TX and Oak Grove, LA. The objective of this research was to determine the contribution of Hurricane Ike storm surge sedimentation to long-term marsh aggradation in Texas and … more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Denlinger, Emily E.
open access

County Level Population Estimation Using Knowledge-Based Image Classification and Regression Models

Description: This paper presents methods and results of county-level population estimation using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images of Denton County and Collin County in Texas. Landsat TM images acquired in March 2000 were classified into residential and non-residential classes using maximum likelihood classification and knowledge-based classification methods. Accuracy assessment results from the classified image produced using knowledge-based classification and traditional supervised classification (maxim… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Nepali, Anjeev
open access

Crisis, New Imperialisms, and Accumulation by Dispossession: The Case of the Pakistan Railways

Description: My research examines the three interrelated concepts of crisis; new imperialisms, spatial-temporal fix and accumulation by dispossession (ABD) stemming from the work of David Harvey as a way to understand the contested history of the Pakistan Railways. For the first thirty odd years after Pakistan's inception in 1947, the railways, a state-owned institution, was the primary mode of transport for the public, cargo, and workers. Alongside basic infrastructure, the railways had a vast network of h… more
Date: August 2020
Creator: Khan, Sher Ali
open access

Decoding the Formation of a Retail Giant: the Evolving Geography of Costco’s Store Network

Description: Although Costco operates over 580 warehouse stores throughout North America, their location strategy remains relatively unexamined in the economic geography literature. A cursory examination of Costco’s network makes it clear that the firm chooses to locate primarily in the suburbs of major cities, where income levels are somewhat higher than the national average. However, what is not clear is the extent to which other demographic and geographic factors adequately account for Costco’s store loc… more
Date: December 2015
Creator: Testa, Peter
open access

The Descriptive Paleontology and Applied Ichthyoarchaeology of the Ponsipa Fauna

Description: The archaeology of the Northern Rio Grande region of New Mexico has recently received an increased amount scholarly attention. In particular, understanding past trends in demographics, agricultural productivity, violence, and social networks have been primary goals of archaeological research. Understanding patterns in animal exploitation has, however, received far less attention due to a small yet growing regional zooarchaeological database. Through the identification of animal remains from a s… more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Dombrosky, Jonathan
open access

Determining the Suitability of Functional Landscapes and Wildlife Corridors Utilizing Conservation GIS Methods in Denton County, Texas.

Description: Denton County's unique cultural and natural landscape has undergone dramatic transformations during the past two centuries due to agricultural, urban and suburban processes which accelerated the loss and removal of native habitat and wildlife. This research sought out to identify the remaining natural areas which retain their natural features and support wildlife. Research methodology included fundamental principles of Conservation Planning, Geographical Information Systems, and Habitat Evaluat… more
Date: August 2007
Creator: Sales, Joshua
open access

Developing a Soil Moisture-Based Irrigation Scheduling Tool (SMIST) Using Web-GIS Technology

Description: Software as a service (SaaS) is a primary working pattern and a significant application model for next generation Internet application. Web GIS services are the new generation of the Software as a service that can provide the hosted spatial data and GIS functionalities to the practical customized applications. This study focused on developing a webGIS based application, Soil Moisture-Based Irrigation Scheduling Tool (SMIST), for predicting soil moisture in the next seven days using the soil moi… more
Date: May 2018
Creator: Nikfal, Mohammadreza
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