Applied Geography Directed Research
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/17202
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Browsing Applied Geography Directed Research by Subject "Applied Geography"
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Item A Case Study of Environmental Justice - Air Quality in Harris County, Texas(2021-05) Yang, Ting Hsuan; Zhan, F. Benjamin; Chow, T. EdwinThis research integrates EJSCREEN data and geographically weighted regression analysis to explore the spatial variation in the relationships between environmental indicators and demographic factors in Harris County, Texas. The results show high levels of the goodness of fit for most of the models in PM 2.5, ozone, NATA respiratory hazard index, and NATA diesel particulate matter, except for traffic proximity. The results provide a clear representation that there is a high level of associations between a higher volume of air pollutants or a higher level of relevant health risk and a higher percentage of populations vulnerable to environmental risks.Item A Case Study of Travis County's Precipitation Events Inspired by a "Hyperlocal" Approach from NWS and CoCoRaHs Data(2020-12) Plunket, William W.; Earl, Richard; Li, YananNo abstract prepared.Item A Comparison of Fine and Coarse Resolution Remote Sensing Platforms for Post Fire Severity(2019-12) Petri, Maximilian E.; Currit, Nathan; Li, Yanan NancyThis study compares Landsat 8 dNBR with Planet dNDVI for burn severity measurement. The sensors were compared to ground reference data using the Composite Burn Index (CBI) and a radiospectrometer. CBI data was collected with 21 field plots from a fire on ranch land in Llano, Texas in the Summer of 2018. dNBR based on Landsat 8 produced higher r2 values (0.742) than dNDVI based on Planet imagery (0.324). Planet imagery at ~3m spatial resolution has finer details of the landscape that can help land managers, fire departments, and landowners to rehabilitate the landscape, but it lacks an MIR band, which explains its lower correlation values. The Landsat system provides better results spectrally, but Planet images can provide finer detail of the landscape and with a more flexible time/date range.Item A Comprehensive Geodatabase of the Freeman Center(2017-05) Wiesner, Jon Scott; Jensen, Jennifer; Huebner, DonNo abstract prepared.Item A Qualitative Content Analysis of Hazard Mitigation Plans in Texas(2019-05) Johnson, Natalie; Blanchard, R. Denise; Devine, JenniferNo abstract prepared.Item A Study of Urban Redevelopment of the Broadway Area in San Antonio, Texas from 2009-2019(2020-05) Gunnells, Laura Megan; Zhan, F. Benjamin; Chow, EdwinNo abstract prepared.Item An Assessment of Cross-Scale Floodplain Policies in Central Texas(2020-05) Landers, Katherine R.; Meitzen, Kimberly; Julian, JasonHumans have been managing rivers and floodplains since ancient times, but our relationship with riverine floodplains has changed over time. In the United States, social movements, natural disasters, and urbanization have driven floodplain policies and implementation. Specifically, this project examined floodplain policy change at four political scales, federal, state, county, and municipal. The State of Texas, Hays County, and the Cities of San Marcos, Wimberley, and Woodcreek were chosen as case studies within the US federalist system. At all scales, floodplains are primarily governed and managed for their relationship to development and flood-control. Levees and dams have been the most common structural floodcontrol strategies nationwide and statewide. However, the long-term costs and adverse environmental impacts have influenced the shift in flood mitigation to favor nonstructural methods. Text mining methods were used to with current policy documents using Atlas.ti (version 8 for Mac OS), a qualitative data analysis software (QDAS). The results show the distribution of floodplains in current regulatory codes and former periods of high and low floodplain policy activities. Trigger events were identified for each governmental scale. At the federal level, national disasters, such as the Great Flood of 1927 and Hurricane Katrina (2005), spurred flood-control policy reform as well as the environmental movement in the 1960s-1970s. The National Environmental Policy Act (1969), Clean Water Act (1972), and Environmental Species Act (1973) set national policies that influenced state and local floodplain management. Severe droughts drove water planning policy change that spread to include floodplains. Texas floodplain policy is changing and being implemented rapidly while the opposite is true at the federal level. The municipalities’ floodplain regulations were impacted most directly by localized floods. Floodplain management has evolved through the 20th and 21st centuries, driven by social movements, natural disasters, and urban and agricultural development. The mismatch of hydrologic and political boundaries produces planning and management challenges. Primarily, floodplains are governed and managed for their relationship to development and flood-control. Text mining techniques were used to assess policy documents using Atlas.ti (version 8 for Mac OS), a qualitative data analysis software (QDAS) to create a historical timeline of floodplain policy change for the United States of America, the State of Texas, Hays County, and the Cities of San Marcos, Wimberley, and Woodcreek. Reviewing past missteps and successes will inform better policy and management decisions for floodplains and other natural resources. With climate change and growing urban populations, proactive management and resilient strategies are more important than ever.Item An Examination of Price Variation in Relation to Median Household Income: Comparing A Regional and International Grocery Store Chains' Pricing of Household Staples in San Antonio, Texas(2016-11) Hedgepeth, Sarita; Blanchard, Denise; Devine, JenniferNo abstract prepared.Item Analyzing Human Interest to Hurricane Harvey Using Location Based Social Media and Tobler's First Law of Geography(2018-08) Bengochea, Adailin Lebron; Yuan, Yihong; Lu, YongmeiNo abstract prepared.Item Anticipating Growth in the Texas Hill Country: Exploration of Potential for Land Application of Treated Wastewater and Further Considerations(2020-05) Stonecipher, Ty; Loftus, Timothy T.; Earl, RichardNo abstract prepared.Item Archaeological Predictive Modeling for Black Mesa Ranger District, Apache-Sitgraves National Forest, AZ(2022-12) Beavers, Matthew H.; Zhan, Benjamin; Krause, SamanthaNo abstract prepared.Item Assessing Potential Impacts from the 2018 California Wildfires on Atmospheric Particulate Concentrations in U.S. National Parks(2021-08) Frost, Tyler; Tiefenbacher, John; Currit, NateUnited States’ national parks offer visitors the opportunity to engage in outdoor recreation. People travel to national parks for many reasons. They enjoy the serene beauty and scenic views of parks while seeking solace from fast-paced lives. One expectation of national parks is that they will provide visitors with pristine and safe air quality in which the natural landscape can be truly appreciated. However, it has been reported that 96 percent of the National Park Service’s protected areas experience significant air pollution problems, 89 percent suffer from atmospheric haze (Kodish et al. 2019). Smoke from fires, both naturally and intentionally occurring, yield significant amounts of particulates. As climates change more dramatically due to continued global warming, wildfire occurrence is expected to increase. With 61 designated national parks and other protected natural areas in the United States classified as Class I air quality protection regions, there are many unique areas in dire need of preservation. As such, this study attempts to answer two main questions: 1) How much did the 2018 California wildfires impact the concentrations of particulate matter (PM) in the national parks and which regions were impacted the worst? and 2) Which national parks in California experienced the greatest number of “action days” and did these events affect park visitation?Item Assessing the Effects of Hydrologic Enforcement Methods in a Central Texas Watershed(2018-05) Pesek, Thomas; Chow, T. Edwin; Meitzen, KimberlyNo abstract prepared.Item Assessing the Impact of Propeller Scars on Sea Grass Fragmentation in South Bay-Laguna Madre, Texas Using UAS Imagery(2019-12) Griffith, Benjamin Tate; Currit, Nate; Jensen, JenniferNo abstract prepared.Item Assessing the range of Houston Toad (Bufo [Anaxyrus houstonensis] relative to soil, geology and vegetation over three decades in Bastrop County, TX(2021-05) Lamberts, Alexis P.; Meitzen, Kimberly; Forstner, MichaelIdentifying the habitat and spatial patterns of endangered species is important for research and management of the species and can also be helpful for identifying the geographical and anthropogenic factors that influence their distributions. The Houston toad (Bufo [Anaxyrus] houstonensis) is an endangered species that is endemic to east-central Texas and is currently only found in nine counties, one of which contains federally recognized critical habitat. The Houston toad’s habitat is extremely susceptible to a variety of threats that currently affect the region, including urbanization, wildfire, drought, agricultural practices, and invasive species. These threats and their impacts on habitat availability and quality may cause changes in population distributions. This research uses a GIS to analyze and compare historical and modern Houston toad detection records for Bastrop County, Texas, in relation to soil, geology, and vegetation classification maps to determine if the species distribution has adjusted to occupy different types of soil, geology and vegetation over time. This proposed investigation aims to quantify if, and how, the patterns of Houston toad detection has changed over the observation period. This research is important because it can help elucidate what environmental and anthropogenic factors may be influencing changes to their habitat use. The results of the study will add to existing knowledge on Houston toad habitat and potentially provide novel information to help explain changes in the distribution of their populations over time. This information can be useful for identifying factors that may be causing changes to Houston toad distributions and that can help inform the conservation and management of the species.Item Baseline Climatology of Sounding-Measured Variates Associated with Atlantic and Gulf Coast Tropical Cyclone Tornado Clusters(2017-05) Hervey, James Nicholas; Dixon, Richard W.; Butler, David R.Radiosonde sounding-measured variates are analyzed for 55 cases of tornado outbreaks associated with tropical cyclones from 1995-2010. We define a tropical cyclone tornado outbreak as six or more tornadoes occurring in a six-hour period. All the tornadoes are associated with a landfalling or post-landfall translating tropical cyclone. Previous studies have examined the role of the atmospheric environment in an individual tropical cyclone or individual tornado. An earlier study of these tropical cyclone tornado clusters produced a baseline climatology of stability and wind shear parameters. The goal of this study is to provide a climatology of sounding-measured variates for each tropical cyclone tornado outbreak. Sounding variates provide information on characteristics of the atmospheric column such as height of standard pressure surfaces, temperature, moisture, and winds. Descriptive statistics for the sounding-measured parameters are presented to document the central tendency and variability of atmospheric conditions associated with these outbreaks. A hierarchical cluster analysis produced three clusters with significant difference in the North/South wind parameter for cluster 3. A principal components analysis revealed that the north/south wind contributed significantly to the occurrence of tornado outbreaks with dew point contributing the least.Item Beach Erosion Impacts on Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Nesting Along the South Texas Coast(2019-05) Wood, Amanda; Dixon, Richard; Butler, David R.Beach erosion is a potential threat to Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nesting populations because of a loss in nesting habitat that is critical to the survival of this endangered species. The Texas coast is experiencing beach erosion due to storms, tidal surges, overwash, and sea level rise induced by climate change. This project focuses on South Padre Island from the cut at Port Mansfield, TX to the Texas- Mexico border, south of Boca Chica. Kemp’s ridley nest GPS data from 2013-2017 is mapped with shoreline change rates to identify where areas of high risk of erosion occur and if these turtles are nesting in these areas. Using GIS, spatial analysis, and statistics, results show that Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are nesting in areas of high risk and very high risk. It is suggested that an interdisciplinary approach and continued monitoring of this species’ nesting is necessary for improving conservation efforts.Item Climate Change in National Environmental Policy Act Analysis(2019-05) Swonke, Carlos; Hagelman, R.; Kucera, NeilNo abstract prepared.Item Comparison of Professional Positions and Duties Between State Park Peace Officers and Game Wardens for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department(2021-05) Powe, Richard G.; Sansom, Andrew; Devine, JenniferThe paper discusses how the conservation officer deals with culture and today's society's duties—learning the behavioral characteristics that distinguish between a state park police officer and game warden for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). A literature review reveals data on game wardens and protection of wildlife and looking more into the data collected from qualitative formats and keeping an eye on identifying emergent themes related to criteria components. Each of these themes will be discussed in greater detail with descriptive, quantitative statistics. To better understand each peace officer experience, interviews for the State Park Police Officers (SPPO) leaders and the Game Wardens (GW) for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The survey's relationship to determine respondents' collections of questions will focus on the information and the decisions they made. This survey will focus on five areas: 1. Green criminology theory, 2. Protecting the Environment (Agency Mission), 3. Peace Officer Roles (Scope of Power and Specialized Training), 4. Volunteer engagement, and 5. Educational background and requirements. Additionally, former interviews of two game wardens and the Law Enforcement Structure of TPWD are investigated to learn how there is a pay variance and how the park police deal more with the human side of how people deal with nature versus the mission to protect the wild places for the future. As the two law enforcement figures move forward, the predominant figure is the tone set by being a game warden.Item Demographic Usage Patterns of Purgatory Creek Park, San Marcos, TX(2017-05) Kraft, Michael; Julian, Jason; Weaver, RussellThis project seeks to make use of methods utilized in previous studies, such as surveys, statistical analysis and literature research, and apply those techniques to Purgatory Creek Park. The findings will be useful to city planners, parks and recreation officials, and city accountants and budget managers, so they can make the best-informed decisions regarding the expenditure of resources on city parks and green spaces. As the city of San Marcos grows, the need for green spaces and leisure areas will grow as well, and creating spaces that appeal to, and have something to offer to as many citizens as possible is certainly a smart and fiscally-responsible goal.