December 12, 2013, UA SUMC, Level 3, Tucson Room

 

Start Time	End Time	Name	Title
6:00	6:20	William Gerdes	Investigating Distribution and Significance of Maintenance Performed on a Portion of Public Sanitary Sewer in Pima County, Arizona
6:20	6:40	Lindsay Guidry	Using WebGIS and Crowdsourcing to Identify an Invasive Species in Pima County, Arizona
6:40	7:00	Balaji Viswanathan	Campus 360 – A responsive Enterprise Web GIS application for University of Arizona
7:00	7:15	Break
7:15	7:35	James Dorough-Lewis	Spatial Econometrics of Marriage Equality in the United States
7:35	7:55	Linda Coon	Comparing Residential Property Values to Economic Trends in Tucson, Arizona from 2006-2012

 

 

 

December 16, 2013, UA SUMC, Level 3, Tucson Room

 

Start Time	End Time	Name	Title
6:00	6:20	Marla Kostuk	Hydrological Modeling to Access Recovery Time of Watersheds in Chiricahua National Monument
6:20	6:40	Tommy Noble	The Role of the Aspen Fire in Restoring a Bighorn Sheep Population to the Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area
6:40	7:00	Jakeb Prickett	Developing a Method for Mass-Identification of Historical Wildfires from Landsat Imagery
7:00	7:15	Break
7:15	7:35	Jacob Hauptman	Movements and Habitat Use of the Tiger Rattle Snake from 2002-2012, Stone Canyon Neighborhood and Golf Course, Oro Valley, Arizona
7:35	7:55	Brad Snider	Higher Education’s Role in Metropolitan Economics and Brain Drain in the Midwest and Northeastern Seaboard
7:55	8:15	Kevin Culbert	Creating Web Maps for the First Battle of Bull Run
8:15	8:30	Break
8:30	8:50	Vernon Dempsey	Implementation of ArcServer and Arc Spatial Database Engine for the Waste Regulatory and Compliance Department of the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency.

 

 

 

 

December 17, 2013, UA SUMC, Level 3, Tucson Room

 

Start Time	End Time	Name	Title
6:00	6:20	Alin Flore	Havasu Trail Web Map
6:20	6:40	Michael O’Brien	Modeling Trend and Alternative Urban-Growth Scenarios for South Central Arizona to the Year 2050
6:40	7:00	Spencer Padgett	Buffelgrass Growth within Urban Sub-Habitats Using High Resolution Aerial Photography
7:00	7:15	Break
7:15	7:35	Brittany McKnight	The Effects of Climate Change on Wildlife Corridors in the Sky Islands
7:35	7:55	David Penton	Using Habitat Modeling to Search for a Desert Tortoise Sanctuary on the Tohono O’odham Nation
7:55	8:15	Bret Vandevoort	Detection of Swimming Pool Features for Wildfire Suppression
8:15	8:30	Break
8:30	8:50	Taylor Lundeen	Analysis of Wildfire Vulnerability and its Impact on Future Development in San Diego County
8:50	9:10	Trisha Hernandez	Ethnic Minority Segregation and Proximity to Public Facilities in Florida

 

 

 

December 18, 2013, UA SUMC, Level 3, Catalina Room

 

Start Time	End Time	Name	Title
6:00	6:20	Kenneth Richards	Distribution of Oil and Gas Well Data through a Web Based Map Application
6:20	6:40	Ryan Keller	From the GPS to the Web: The Process of Campsite Data Collection to Web Map Creation
6:40	7:00	Elizabeth Vinson	Predictive Modeling of Hexalectris colemanii in Southeastern Arizona
7:00	7:15	Break
7:15	7:35	Michele Tartaglia	Groundwater Pollution Potential in Pinal County, Arizona using DRASTIC Methodology
7:35	7:55	Michael Golden	Poverty and Foster Care Recruitment in Pima County, Arizona
7:55	8:15	Jordan Dicksen	Using Drug and Violent Crimes with People and Place Based Demographics to Analyze Areas of Crime in Tucson
8:15	9:00	Wrap Up

 

2013 UA MS-GIST

Master’s Project Presentations

Abstracts

 

 

Title: Suitability Modeling for Access to Food and Recreation Resources in the Sunnyside School District

 

Author: Liz D’Arcy, edarcy@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: Suitability Model, Food Desert, Recreation, Access, Network Analysis

 

Abstract: Studies attempting to qualify and quantify food deserts are plentiful, notably those relating urban food deserts to low-income, low-mobility populations. Also common, but perhaps less prolific, are studies reviewing access to recreation for low-income, low-mobility populations. Lack of access to quality food and recreational resources can contribute to obesity, diabetes, cancer and other health issues, making this research all the more relevant and significant. Most studies address food and recreational resources separately.  Further, past studies on healthy food or recreation resources were at the census tract level and integrated Euclidean distance calculations. This study expands and improves upon previous research by creating a suitability model that will describe levels of access to both recreational opportunities and healthy, affordable food available to people living within the Sunnyside Unified School District. Additionally, this study uses a more fine-grained and spatially accurate approach, with address points as the unit of origin, and network distance as the travel measurement. This analysis employed two separate but complementary methods to create the final suitability model. The first method creates a cost matrix from the address points to given destinations using Network Analyst. The second method expands upon the logic presented in Mari Gallagher’s “food balance score”, which was modified for this project to incorporate address points and network distance. Combining these methods into a final suitability surface provides a functional, evidence-based framework to visualize, locate and identify areas by level of access. The results of this analysis indicate that a more refined analysis, using address points and a network distance measurement, provides a better indication of access levels than previous research was able to obtain.

 

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Title: Burn Severity Trends and Elevation: A Temporal Analysis from 1984-2011 in Arizona and New Mexico

 

Author: John Danloe, jdanloe13@gmail.com

 

Keywords: Wildfire, Elevation, Severity, MTBS, Climate, Arizona, New Mexico

 

Abstract: In the American Southwest, recent years have yielded wildfires that vastly eclipse their historical counterparts in terms of area burned and typical burn severity observed. Fires of this type have become more frequent, posing increasing magnitude of repercussions in regards to overall environmental and social stability. Many of these fires have propagated in higher elevations that historically have only seen fire sporadically during multi-decadal spans. First, this study analyzes burn severity trends in Arizona and New Mexico from 1984-2011 to determine if burn severity area has increased in relation to elevation gradient on an annual scale. Specific attention is focused on “moderate” and “high” burn severity areas, which potentially hold the greatest ramifications for ecological health and stability. This analysis is carried out utilizing Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) data and digital elevation model (DEM) data. Aligning the data on a pixel by pixel basis allows for extraction of variables with GIS tools to test against possible drivers of burn severity trend behavior. Second, this analysis includes climate data from PRISM Climate Group to attempt to explain trend in burn severity over the 1984-2011 period in the Arizona-New Mexico study area.

 

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Title: Using climatic constraints to model the discontinuous distribution of the Sonoran Desert endemic, Carnegiea gigantea (Cactaceae; saguaro)

 

Author: Kandres Halbrook, halbrook@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: habitat suitability, GIS, Maxent, niche model

 

Abstract: Understanding the environmental factors that underlie a species’ geographical and ecological distribution is a necessary first step in assessing conservation needs and strategies for the organism. The saguaro cactus, Carnegiea gigantea (Engelm.) Britton & Rose, is emblematic of the Sonoran Desert and is the centerpiece organism of Saguaro National Park, AZ, USA. Its large size, endemism, long lifespan, cultural significance, and ecological role make it a priority species for conservation. Environmental disturbance, such as that associated with climate oscillations, has been shown to impact saguaro establishment, persistence, and abundance. Understanding the geography of suitable habitat for saguaro would greatly facilitate its conservation and management.

 

A variety of modeling methods have been developed to predict locations of suitable habitat that can be projected to future environmental conditions. These approaches are dominated by results from correlative modeling techniques, which involve construction of multivariate models (“ecological niche models,” ENM) using contemporary patterns of known species occurrence and environmental variables in a GIS. Saguaro occupies a wide range of habitats and has a highly discontinuous distribution. It might be expected to occupy a range of distinct environments each of which could be described by its own ENM. I identified three separable saguaro environment types using hierarchical cluster analysis of five principal components derived from nineteen bioclimatic variables (WorldClim: 1950–2000) from 30 arc-sec grids associated with 2,163 occurrences of mature saguaro plants (>2 m in height) in Arizona and Sonora, MX. Within each type, I developed a “current” ENM using Maxent software.

 

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Title: Do Solar Farms Impact On-site and Nearby Temperatures?

 

Author: Allen Scully, allen.scully73@gmail.com

 

Keywords: Solar Power, Temperature, Remote Sensing, Landsat, Marana AZ, Emissivity, Radiance

 

Abstract: As the role of solar power in commercial energy generation increases, the impacts of solar power generation will come under increased scrutiny.  For residents and commercial interests located near these facilities, one concern is that they may generate excess heat.  The new Avra Valley Solar Project in Marana, Arizona came on-line at the start of 2013.  It is situated next to low-density residential, agricultural and desert scrub land use areas.  Establishing whether an active solar farm adjacent to these areas impacts temperatures at a local scale is an important step for the future of commercial solar power. Remote sensing imagery enables us to capture a continuous phenomenon like land surface temperature over space and time.   Calculating top of atmosphere temperature from the thermal band digital numbers, while taking into account emissivity of the different types of land cover gives us radiance values at the pixel level.  Comparing these values is a means of identifying any statistically significant differences in temperature between on- and off-site areas. With only 10 months since completion, the Avra Valley Solar Project does not show a significant impact on temperature over time.  However, the methodology established here can be used and updated as more time passes and sample size increases.

 

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Title: Investigating Distribution and Significance of Maintenance Performed on a Portion of Public Sanitary Sewer in Pima County, Arizona

 

Author: William Gerdes, wgerdes@email.arizon.edu

 

Keywords: Pima County, Wastewater, Public Work Maintenance, Point Density

 

Abstract: The maintenance of a public sewer system is an integral part of supporting a community’s infrastructure and public health.  The physical structures of manholes and pipes that flow to a final destination at a treatment facility comprise a sewer conveyance system.  Analyzing where areas of high frequency of maintenance occur is important for effective designation of Preventative Maintenance.  Using work order data from Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department (PCRWRD), an area north of Speedway Boulevard and East of Alvernon Avenue in Tucson, Arizona will be studied.  This project will use a point pattern analysis using Kernel density and Hot Spot analysis to demonstrate spatial distribution and significance of any data clustering over the course of one year.  Point data are based on the upstream sewer manhole associated with each sewer pipe studied.  The results of analysis will show areas where a higher frequency of maintenance work is being done and whether the area is of statistical significance that can be helpful in determining a designation for preventative maintenance. 

 

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Title: Using WebGIS and Crowdsourcing to Identify an Invasive Species in Pima County, Arizona

 

Author: Lindsay A. Guidry, lguid23@gmail.com

 

Keywords: Crowdsourcing, Buffelgrass, Invasive Species, Pima County, WebGIS

 

Abstract: Buffelgrass is an invasive species found throughout Southern Arizona.  Not only does buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) threaten native plant species in the Sonoran desert, it also provides a fuel for the spread of wildfires.  Because of this there is a need to identify locations of buffelgrass.  The purpose of this project is to locate the presence of buffelgrass in eastern Pima County through the use of a web mapping application. Using Pima County parcel data, an editable map was published using ArcGIS Online that depends on crowdsourcing to survey eastern Pima County for buffelgrass.  The web application is monitored by the Southern Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center to identify where buffelgrass has spread.  Individuals report the parcels they surveyed and if buffelgrass was present or absent within the observed parcel.  The web map is promoted through email, social media sites, and the SABCC website (http://www.buffelgrass.org/).

 

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Title: Campus 360 – A responsive Enterprise Web GIS application for University of Arizona

 

Author: Balaji Viswanathan, bviswanathan@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: CampusMap, HTML5, ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS Javascript API, jQuery Mobile

 

Abstract:As technology evolves, so are our requirements. The ability to view and analyze GIS datasets anywhere anytime is the need of the hour. This project focuses on design and development of a GIS web map application as part of the University of Arizona’s Enterprise GIS program (EGIS). EGIS had previously produced GIS web maps, however, as mobile devices have proliferated in the last few years, it became necessary to create a mobile-responsive version of EGIS desktop browser application. The application is responsive to various devices as well as various users who will have access to different information based on their privileges. The architecture is built on top of ArcGIS Server, serving data in the form of services via REST API. These services are then consumed in a web application using ArcGIS Javascript API with HTML5 and CSS3. jQuery Mobile is used for designing the front-end of the application. Any user interaction with the web server is done by Python, which is also used for automating the process of publishing the services to GIS Servers. A Table of Contents is included to allow users to analyze/view different campus layers along with tools to search, print, measure and share the map with social networks. Advanced functionalities like Identify tool, Campus building inventory information, Project web cams and many more are planned to be available for different user groups including: Emergency response; Utilities and Infrastructure; and Admin Analysis (requires login using UA Centralized Authentication System). The application can be accessed from here: http://maps.arizona.edu/EnterpriseMobile

 

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Title: Spatial Econometrics of Marriage Equality in the United States

 

Author: James D. Dorough-Lewis, Jr.,. jamesdoroughjr@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: Spatial Econometrics, Marriage Equality, Same-sex Households, United States

 

Abstract: Starting in 2010, a variety of polls began to demonstrate a shift in public opinion across all members of the political spectrum favoring marriage equality for same-sex couples, a shift that has accompanied an increase in pro-marriage equality laws, with fourteen states now permitting same-sex couples to marry legally. While spatial econometrics emerge as an important tool for examining how space, distance, and proximity influence the diffusion of public policy, it has yet to be applied to the greater issue of marriage equality, or to the specific issue of how the presence of same-sex households affects a state’s likelihood to adopt marriage equality. In this research, I explore spatial relationships between same-sex households at the county level and the adoption of state marriage equality laws in the United States to determine the contribution of these relationships to public policy innovation. Using a spatial autoregressive model to data from the American Community Survey (ACS) from 2005 (the year after Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize marriage equality) to 2012 (the most recent year for which ACS data is available), we can determine whether a statistically significant relationship exists between the geographic distribution of same-sex households and that of states with marriage equality.

 

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Title: Comparing Residential Property Values to Economic Trends in Tucson, Arizona from 2006-2012

 

Author: Linda L. Coon, lindac1@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: Tucson, Housing, Residential Property, Property Valuation, Economy

 

Abstract:  The housing market is an integral part of the greater economy in the metro Tucson area.  This project looks at property values in the metro Tucson, Arizona area from 2006 to 2012 which span the occurrence of the Great Recession.  The purpose is to look for a correlation between changes in the economy at large and changes in assessed residential property values in the greater Tucson, Arizona area.  The method involves comparing property values before, during, and after the Great Recession. For each year, from 2006 to 2012, assessed residential property valuation data is matched to the parcel data. The property values are normalized to census blocks.  The result is depicted in a series of heat maps, one for each year, of the normalized residential property values. The map series demonstrates the changes that occurred to residential property values from 2006 to 2012.  A trend analysis compares the changes in property values with the economic indicators timing the Great Recession.  The results of this project show that there is a correlation between residential property values in Tucson, Arizona and the Great Recession.  However, property values were already on the decline before the Recession occurred and they had not fully recovered at the end of this study.

 

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Title: Hydrological Modeling to Access Recovery Time of Watersheds in Chiricahua National Monument

 

Author: Marla D. Kostuk, Marlak@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment, Normalized Burn Ratio, Vegetation recovery, Soil erosion, Chiricahua National Monument

 

Abstract: In 2011 the Horseshoe 2 fire burned 223,000 acres and the loss of vegetation is causing serious impacts to the hydrologic systems in the Chiricahua National Monument. The substantial amount of soil erosion and run off disrupts natural ecosystems and flooding has become more prevalent at the campgrounds, visitor center, and headquarters. In this paper I will analyze the impacts of the Horseshoe 2 fire on hydrologic systems using the Normalized Burn Ratio and the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment model. Fire severity is demonstrated through the Normalized Burn Ratio delineating the burn scar resulting from the wildfire. The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment model is performed to detect the watersheds affected by the disturbance and simulates hydrologic changes resulting from the Horseshoe 2 wildfire. Using Landsat TM satellite imagery, vegetation recovery of the watershed is based on the 1994 Rattlesnake fire in the Chiricahua Mountains. Land facets are classified by slope, aspect, and elevation to predict post fire behaviors of the Horseshoe 2 fire. Mean values of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index for each land facet guides the ten year watershed recovery period. Results of the analysis on the hydrologic changes will designate locations vulnerable to flooding to assist in preparative measures for the current conditions and future fires.

 

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Title: The Role of the Aspen Fire in Restoring a Bighorn Sheep Population to the Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area

 

Author: Tommy Noble, thnoble@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: dNBR, NDVI, Slope, Wildfire, Habitat Restoration, Bighorn Sheep, Santa Catalina Mountains

 

Abstract: Bighorn sheep were last observed in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area of the Santa Catalina Mountain range in 1997.  Predators had an advantage due to an overgrowth of vegetation which provided cover for them to stalk their prey undetected and eventually over predation by mountain lions caused the population to be reduced to unsustainable levels. In 2003, the Aspen Fire burned in the eastern half of the Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area and reduced the amount of overgrown vegetation significantly. The reduction in overgrown vegetation enabled the reintroduction of bighorn sheep to the area in late 2013. In my analysis, I will be investigating whether or not the fire improved access to bighorn sheep escape routes and how that access has changed since the fire. Using a 30 meter Digital Elevation Model, I conducted a slope analysis to identify areas which have a slope of 60 degrees or greater and applied a 400m buffer to assess accessibility to these areas. I used the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio model to show vegetation loss immediately after the fire and the Normalized Differenced Vegetation Index to show vegetation change in the following years. I assessed the outcomes of these variables in relation to the preferred slope for escape routes to show how the bighorn sheep’s habitat has been altered.

 

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Title: Developing a Methodology for Mass Identification of Historical Wildfires in Northern Mexico through Landsat Imagery

 

Author: Jakeb K. Prickett, jakeb.prickett@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: Mexico, Differenced Normalized Burn Ratio, Sky Island, Madrean Archipelago, Fire Mapping

 

Abstract: The southwest region of the United States has experienced an increase in wildfire frequency and burn severity during the last several decades. Currently, there is interest within the scientific community to determine how much of an individual and combined influence land management and climate change practices have on this phenomena, particular in sky island areas. In order to begin measuring these variables, an area not subject to United States land management policies, but similar in terrain, climate, and phenological characteristics is necessary to act as a control. Northern Mexico meets these requirements, however, there is not currently an established database of wildfire activity in the region. This study develops a methodology for mass post-fire identification of historical wildfires using Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper data from 1984-2010 in Northern Mexico. Through an experimental approach of combining three differenced normalized burn ratio images covering different seasonal timeframes, I have attempted to bypass the usual scene matching restrictions associated with single differenced normalized burn ratio products. The resulting images are then filtered to pull out specific threshold values identified as possibly representing post-fire locations. Following location identification, raster values are converted to polygons, allowing for archival and comparison against original Landsat images for positive or negative validation of fire occurrence. Preliminary results show that this method is successful in identifying fires throughout a very large temporal and geographic dataset. However, false positives appear in rugged terrain, and some fires are missed. Further research and refining of methods is necessary to establish overall effectiveness of this approach.

 

 

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Title: Movements and Habitat Use of the Tiger Rattle Snake from 2002-2012, Stone Canyon Neighborhood and Golf Course, Oro Valley, Arizona

 

Author: Jacob F. Hauptman, hauptmanjf@gmail.com

 

Key Words: Ecology, Conservation, Habitat, Movements, Kernel Densities (KDE), Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP), Tiger Rattlesnake, Radio-Telemetry, Supervised Classification, Geospatial Modeling Environment (GME), ArcGIS, Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS)

 

Abstract: Understanding habitat use and the effects of anthropogenic changes on our diverse desert eco system is a strategic step towards developing recovery and management practices.  The aim of this project is to study the spatial ecology for a population of tiger rattlesnakes in the Stone Canyon neighborhood and golf course located in Oro Valley, Arizona.  The goal is to contribute meaningful information towards future management of habitat for this species, examining habitat use/characteristics at multiple scales to determine what type of decisions male and female tiger rattlesnakes make at an annual and seasonal scale.  Radio-telemetry has been used to track, locate, and record rattlesnake positions over an eleven year period (2002-1012), resulting in over 8,000 specific point locations.  This data was used to calculate two home range statistics, a minimum convex polygons (MCPs) used to identify the boundaries of a home range, and .95 .50 kernel densities (KDEs) identifying the distribution of points across the study area.  This data was also used to describe movement characteristics, broken down by total distances moved per annual/seasonal period, mean distance moved per day, and mean distance moved per radio-telemetry track.  A habitat model was designed to describe if there were any specific landscape variables that the tiger rattlesnake preferred, point locations were combined with the variables of elevation, slope, aspect, and land cover used to run a logistic regression and compare it to a random sample.  This study provides a comprehensive analysis of tiger rattle snakes habitat selection and movement characteristics over multiple scales.

 

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Title: Higher Education’s Role in Metropolitan Economics and Brain Drain in the Midwest and Northeastern Seaboard

 

Author: Bradley Snider, brad@bradleyjsnider.com

 

Keywords: Brain Drain, Midwest, Northeast, Northeastern Seaboard, Higher Education, Rust Belt, Economics, Skilled Workforce, Educational Attainment

 

Abstract: Human capital flight, commonly referred to as brain drain, is plaguing many American Rust Belt cities.  Brain drain is the mass migration of highly educated and skilled (and often young) individuals, depleting cities and regions of their skilled workforce.  This phenomenon is positively correlated with economic hardship, population loss, and urban decay.  Using geographic regression techniques, this project examines the gross domestic product and skilled workforce in major US metropolitan areas with their higher education institutions to determine the severity of brain drain in America’s financial centers.  The findings of this research indicate that brain drain is highest in the Rust Belt region of the US, while the Northeastern regions of the US are benefiting greatly from this phenomenon.  Therefore, Rust Belt cities must find ways to attract and maintain highly educated individuals in order to benefit from the resources spent on higher education and grow their economies.

 

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Title:  Creating Web Maps for the First Battle of Bull Run

 

Author:  Kevin Culbert, kculbert@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords:  Civil War, First Battle of Bull Run, Web Maps, Historic Geography

 

Abstract:  For over 150 years historians and scholars have been researching and studying the American Civil War.  Much of this research has led to the creation of maps to provide a visualization of the individual battles.  Using digital cartography and web-resources a battle can be represented and described in a way that otherwise would require dozens of static maps.  The First Battle of Bull Run was the first major battle of the Civil War and occurred on July 21^st, 1861 in Manassas, Virginia. To help user’s better visualize and understand the First Battle of Bull Run a series of interactive web maps were created using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  These maps will show users key movements, strategies, landmarks, and participants of this battle.  By using GPS locations, digitizing historic maps, aerial imagery, and reading historical accounts, these web maps were created and published on the Internet.   The creation of this resource will help with the further education and research of those interested with the First Battle of Bull Run.

 

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Title: Implementation of ArcServer and Arc Spatial Database Engine for the Waste Regulatory and Compliance Department of the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency.

 

Author: Vernon Dempsey, vdempsey@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: Waste Regulatory and Compliance, Fuel Storage Tanks, Tank Inventory, Web-based Mapping, Geodatabase, Relational Database Management System

 

Abstract: The study area for this project is the Dine (Navajo) Nation located in northeast corner of Arizona, northwest corner of New Mexico, and the southeast corner of Utah.  Currently, the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency, Waste Regulatory and Compliance department use a Microsoft access database to store all data for their fuel storage tank program.  This project used the Microsoft access data and site location data and loaded it into the Arc Spatial Database Engine (ArcSDE).  This was done to enable spatial and database editing capabilities after the data is published as a service in ArcServer.  ArcGIS Application Programming Interface (API) for FLEX was used to build applications that interact with the data in ArcSDE.  By using ArcSDE and ArcServer technology the Waste Regulatory and Compliance department will be able to streamline their data updates and data management processes.  By integrating these technologies the department will be able to efficiently manage their limited time and resources.  Integration will also allow the department to maintain the safety of storage tanks and their related environmental concerns and enable information to be disseminated to tribal members via web-based services.

 

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Title: Havasu Trail Web Map

 

Author: Alin Flore, aflore@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: GPS, Track, Waypoints, ArcGIS online, Web GIS

 

Abstract: The purpose of this project was to create a web map for the Havasu Canyon hiking trail. Thousands of hikers use this trail yearly as an access route to majestic Havasu Falls, located on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, Coconino County, Arizona. As opposed to all the different online maps previously made of the Havasu trail, this map will provide users with a detailed layout of the campgrounds and the Supai village which is the capital of the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the most remote community in the continental United States. GPS coordinates will be collected and used to map the trail, major points of interest, drinking water locations, campgrounds and village layout. This application will also provide tourists with coordinates and elevation values that will help them better prepare their trips.

 

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Title: Modeling Trend and Alternative Urban-Growth Scenarios for South Central Arizona to the Year 2050

 

Author: Michael O’Brien, mgobrien1@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: urban growth, urban density, redevelopment, Phoenix, Tucson

 

Abstract: Between 1992 and 2006, Arizona’s Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal Counties—home to Phoenix, Tucson, and Casa Grande, respectively—added more than 2,000,000 residents and developed some 200,000 acres.  The Arizona Office of Employment and Population Statistics (AOEPS) estimates that this region will add another 4.6 million residents between 2006 and 2050, raising a number of urban-planning and environmental concerns.  These include the cost of new infrastructure and the loss of agricultural and natural lands.  To approach these issues proactively, the region’s officials and residents will require estimates of how much and where urban growth is likely to occur.  In this study I project the quantity and location of trend urban growth in Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal Counties from 2006 to 2050, and I model a few potentially more efficient alternatives.  These models are based on (1) county-level AOEPS projections of population growth, (2) county-level estimates of recent development’s density, (3) a regression analysis that identifies predictors of urban growth’s location, and (4) a “development mask” that blocks off areas where development cannot occur.  Based on these inputs, I estimate that approximately 440,000 acres will develop in the region between 2006 and 2050 in the trend scenario, requiring $22 billion in new infrastructure and consuming considerable agricultural and natural acreage.  However, I also show that by increasing the density of new development and by encouraging redevelopment, the region can realistically reduce this growth footprint by as much as half, decreasing public expenditure and protecting farms and natural areas.

 

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Title: Buffelgrass Growth within Urban Sub-Habitats Using High Resolution Aerial Photography

 

Author: Spencer Padgett, spadgett@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: Buffelgrass, Aerial Imagery, Supervised Classification, Image Difference, Growth Rate.

 

Invasive non-native plant species are one of Southern Arizona’s biggest threats to the successful land management of our natural resources. Buffelgrass is a high priority species for management because of its fire-prone characteristics to ruin the Sonoran Desert resources and the communities around it.  Land managers need to seek alternative containment and mitigation efforts in order to curb the spread of this species.  The scope of this report used high resolution aerial imagery over a 9 year timeseries to detect, classify and map buffelgrass change in certain sub-habitats within the Tucson International Airport (TIA).  The airport was broken down into 4 sub-habitats to help identify environmental variables that may contribute to buffelgrass growth or loss.  The resulting sub-habitats each underwent a supervised classification and accuracy assessment for the years 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2011.  These classifications were then georeferenced to surveyed vector polygon data of buffelgrass patch locations within the airport boundaries that was collected in March, 2013.  Buffelgrass was then isolated in each classification using conditional statements and then simple image difference change detection was performed on each of the sequential year sets. The results from this project will determine if buffelgrass growth can be correlated to certain sub-habitats within the TIA for long-term land management decision making.

 

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Title:  The Effects of Climate Change on Wildlife Corridors in the Sky Islands

 

Author:  Brittany McKnight, bmcknigh@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords:  Climate change, Habitat connectivity, Sky Islands, Wildlife corridors

 

Abstract: Today more than ever, wildlife populations are placed under greater pressure to adapt to changes in the landscape caused by increased human impacts and intensified climate change. Wildlife populations are often forced to adjust their geographic ranges to remain in areas with suitable habitat characteristics. Therefore, it is essential for wildlife planners to not only protect current areas that are utilized by wildlife but to also try and preserve areas of potential use so that populations can persist in an ever changing environment. The focus of this project was to assess the impacts of climate on current and future wildlife habitat connectivity throughout the Sky Island Region of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Through the use of ClimateWNA, mean annual temperature grids were created for the Sky Island Region. Ecologically-sound, cost-distance, climate-gradient corridors were then mapped to describe current (2011) and future (2050) habitat connectivity throughout the region and were compared to highlight significant areas of change. The results of this analysis will provide insight into current and future wildlife patterns, which can be used by local wildlife planners to make informed decisions to preserve native populations.

 

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Title: Using Habitat Modeling to Search for a Desert Tortoise Sanctuary on the Tohono O’odham Nation

 

Author: David Penton, dpenton@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: Desert Tortoise, Constraint Model, Suitability Model, Zonal Statistics

 

Abstract: In response to the steady decline in Desert Tortoise populations this project seeks to identify the optimal site for an enclosed Desert Tortoise sanctuary within the Tohono O’odham nation. Using a total of 9 different variables ranging from elevation to predator domain a constraint model and suitability model were created. The constraint model focused on making the best possible habitat model based on avoiding variables that hinder the Desert Tortoise from thriving.  In contrast, the suitability model assigned values to the variables based on least to most favorable Desert Tortoise habitat. Zonal statistics were performed on the outcomes of the two models in order to locate optimal Desert Tortoise habitat. Following this, a region group analysis was performed to further refine the possible location of the Desert Tortoise sanctuary. This method could serve as a means to guide future planning of a Desert Tortoise sanctuary within the vast Tohono O’odham nation.

 

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Title: Detection of Swimming Pool Features for Wildfire Suppression

 

Author: Bret W. Vandevoort, bretvan@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords:  Wildfire, Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Feature Extraction, Swimming Pools, Multispectral

 

Abstract: In the battle against wildfires, time is crucial to the fate of homes and lives. In examples from Spain and Portugal, skilled pilots have filled their helicopter’s water baskets with water from local swimming pools as a source to fight wildfires. The strategic use of swimming pools in firefighting can cut travel times when located in proximity to a wildfire. This project is designed to efficiently create a database of water surface features to provide firefighting aviation units with a timely option to suppress wildfires. In order to locate surface water features, the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) is used among high resolution multispectral imagery. A database of pool features is then created off the existing framework from land parcel data. For this project, the methodology is tested on data for the northeastern extent of Tucson, Arizona. From this methodology, it highlights the efficiency of feature extraction in comparison to manual digitization. The final product from this project will allow firefighting aviation units to receive the location data for the swimming pools nearest to a wildfire.

 

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Title: Analysis of Wildfire Vulnerability and its Impact on Future Development in San Diego County

 

Author: Taylor Lundeen, taylor19125@yahoo.com

Keywords: Wildfire, Burn Intensity, Risk Model, Vegetation, Development

 

Abstract: Rapid population growth and urban sprawl throughout the West has meant that there are more areas of development vulnerable to wildfire which increases the potential for property loss. The goal for this project is to model fire risk and use this model to analyze how vulnerable planned future development is to wildfire. The study area is San Diego County, California, an area that over the last decade has experienced extensive burning and significant property loss due to wildfire. For this study fire risk is calculated as a combination of average fire interval and burn intensity. In order to calculate fire risk, burn intensity was correlated with vegetation characteristics for a set of sample fires. Then, the correlation results were used as the basis for a burn intensity model to calculate potential burn intensity for the entire county. The results of this model were combined with an average fire interval raster. The results showed significant fire risk within areas of future development.  Since wildfire vulnerability will have major implications for future land-use planning in San Diego County, it is important to create accurate and timely fire risk models.

 

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Title: Ethnic Minority Segregation and Proximity to Public Facilities in Florida

 

Author: Patricia Hernandez, ph0308@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: Dissimilarity Index, Buffer, Regression, Chi-Squared, Social Justice, Florida

 

Abstract: Despite the milestones achieved in the past four decades with regard to racial and minority equality and the advancement of the historically marginalized populations in the United States, a significant and pervasive gap still exists between ethnic/racial minorities and the majority “Anglo” class—especially those classified as middle and upper middle income groups.  This is particularly evident in terms of the characteristics associated with socioeconomic status.  Today, minorities exhibit lower levels of education and income than their non-minority counterparts.  The reasons behind this phenomenon have been the subject of extensive research.  Some suggest that unintentional minority segregation—residential segregation based on income level—is the number one culprit for this situation.  Minorities tend to be found clustered in areas of generally lower socioeconomic status and, therefore, do not enjoy the same benefits as do other sections of the population living in higher income areas.  This project compares the relationship between minority clustering and segregation and access to quality healthcare, and educational facilities in the state of Florida.  Evidence of undesirable living conditions is measured by proximity to correctional and hazardous waste facilities.    This relationship is studied using demographic and infrastructure data retrieved from the Florida Geographic Data Library and analyzes the spatial relationship between race/ethnicity and proximity to the aforementioned facilities.

 

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Title: Distribution of Oil and Gas Well Data through a Web Based Map Application

 

Author: Kenneth Richards, kennethtrichards@yahoo.com

 

Keywords: Web Map, Arizona Geological Survey, JavaScript, Oil and Gas, Rocky Mountain Carbon Capture and Sequestration (RMCCS)

 

Abstract: The Arizona Oil and Gas Commission in conjunction with the Arizona Geological Survey have collected a large amount of data for the oil and gas wells in the State of Arizona. The data covers over 1,000 wells that were drilled from the 1940s to present. This data includes copies of permits, location information, scanned copies of well logs and digitized versions of the well logs in .las file format. These files have been difficult to distribute efficiently because of an unfriendly web user interface. The purpose of this project is to give the Arizona Geological Survey a way to distribute the oil and gas well data through an effective web application. The web application will leverage existing web services at the Arizona Geological Survey. To create this map I used the Esri JavaScript API. In this application the users can select multiple wells by clicking and dragging over the well heads they want. This will then display the metadata in a grid along with hyperlinks to the available files for those wells. This data will be primarily used by companies involved with carbon sequestration or others seeking information for geological exploration.

 

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Title: From the GPS to the Web: The Process of Campsite Data Collection to Web Map Creation

 

Author: Ryan Keller, rkeller310@gmail.com

 

Keywords: Data Collection, Camping, Tucson, Web Mapping, ArcGIS Online

 

Abstract: The Tucson metropolitan area is filled with great hiking and camping for the most novice of campers to the most experienced backpackers, but information on regional campsites is lacking. In the desert, knowledge of your destination before arrival insures a good experience as well as your survival. This project will detail the process of data collection, map organization, and web-map building, to create an accurate and informative online map detailing the campsites in Saguaro National Park and the Santa Catalina Mountains.  The data collection area encompasses the Rincon Mountains within the boundaries of the National Park, and the campsites along the Santa Catalina Highway on Mt. Lemmon. Data was collected with a Trimble Juno handheld GPS using the NAD 1983 and UTM Zone 12N coordinate system. The data was then overlaid on Pima Association of Governments’ 6-inch orthophotos to validate GPS accuracy. Following this field data was mapped onto ArcGIS Online. The web map will allow the user to click on a campsite and see important amenity details as well as show an image of the site to aid in the preparation of the user.

 

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Title:  Predictive Modeling of Hexalectris colemanii in Southeastern Arizona

 

Author:  Elizabeth K. Vinson, evinson@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords:  Predictive Model, Southeastern Arizona, Orchid, Linear Regression

 

Abstract:  Hexalectris colemanii is part of a myco-heterotrophic, non-photosynthetic genus of orchids that only bloom periodically above ground.  There have been multiple petitions to list the orchid as a threatened or endangered species from 2007-2010.  No final ruling has been made, but the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service considered Hexalectris colemanii warranted for further analysis in 2010.  The orchids are found in relation to white oak, and between 4500-5620 feet in elevation, however further surveys conducted 2010-2013 show there is a wider variety of habitats where the orchids have been found than previously believed.  In 2010, Hexalectris colemanii was located in only five canyons in southeastern Arizona.  Currently the orchid has been located in seventeen canyons in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.  Hexalectris colemanii is difficult to find as it is spread out over such a large geographic area and flowers irregularly only from mid-May to mid-June.  Without a better understanding of its rarity, it will be difficult for a federal ruling on the orchid to be made.  Establishing correlations or negating them, between orchid habitat and local terrain could potentially be helpful in locating orchid populations.  By creating a predictive model using statistically significant variables, linear regression, and testing the efficiency of the model, a greater understanding of the orchid’s habitat may be established.  This may help accelerate a decision regarding the species status as threatened or endangered. 

 

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Title: Groundwater Pollution Potential in Pinal County, Arizona using DRASTIC Methodology

 

Author: Michele C. Tartaglia, mtartaglia@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: DRASTIC, Groundwater Pollution, Pinal County, Hydrology, Soil

 

Abstract: Pinal County, Arizona is home to agriculture, landfills, and both commercial and residential sectors. To ensure that pollution from these sources does not enter the groundwater, land must be classified by its pollution potential before development can begin. The DRASTIC methodology was designed by the Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate land by a numerical ranking system (or index) that determines whether an area is suitable for a particular type of development. Each letter of the acronym ‘DRASTIC’ stands for a different hydro-geologic component of the classification equation (depth to water, net recharge, etc.). I compiled these components into separate maps and evaluated their features based on established methodology. I then placed these map layers into the DRASTIC index through a raster calculator to determine their final DRASTIC rating. This study seeks to determine a numerical ranking for land in Pinal County on a smaller scale than previous studies of the same area, as well as publish this information for public use through ArcGIS Online. Results will show the groundwater pollution potential for land parcels as small as 30m² and will be a resource for landowners looking to develop their property.

 

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Title: Poverty and Foster Care in Pima County, Arizona

 

Author: Michael Golden, mgolden1@email.arizona.edu

 

Key Words: Arizona, Pima County, Foster Care, Poverty, Child Welfare

 

Abstract: Over the past several years, efforts to recruit new foster homes in Pima County, Arizona have proven difficult.  The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between poverty, foster care recruitment, and child welfare within Pima County, Arizona.  The poverty data used for this analysis comes from the 2007-2011 5 Year American Community Survey. Foster home locations and child removal information are point in time data, as of March 31, 2013, which was received at the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) level from the Department of Economic Securities’ Division of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). I used an ordinary least squares regression to identify the nature and significance of the relationship.  The analysis determined that there is a negative relationship between poverty and foster home locations and a positive relationship between poverty and child removals; that is to say that as poverty increases the number of foster homes decreases while the number of child removals increases. The results in this paper are expected to help the staff at DCYF better understand how poverty might be impacting their ability to recruit new foster homes in Pima County.

 

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Title: Using Drug and Violent Crimes with People and Place Based Demographics to Analyze Areas of Crime in Tucson

 

Author: Jordan Dicksen, jdicksen@email.arizona.edu

 

Keywords: Spatial Regression, Tucson, Crime, Density Mapping

 

Abstract: Crime is something that plagues every area of every city, no matter the level of income, education, average housing cost, or many other factors. The amount of crime certainly depends on some of these factors, which can potentially be used to predict areas at risk for increased crime rates. In this paper, I will look at the spatial relation of violent and drug-related crimes in Tucson in the year 2000 using person-based (income, race, education) and place- based (housing vacancies, average housing cost, and housing type) demographic statistics. I will identify clustering and hot spots of crime around Tucson and identify the demographic factors that may influence the crime rate. The final maps in the presentation will identify these areas with similar characteristics to predict crime. Also, a time-series of crimes throughout the year will identify what times of the year around Tucson are more susceptible to higher rates of crime.