An Internet Map Server (IMS) web site was constructed with the goal of
helping middle- through high-school students learn about ocean processes. This IMS was
developed in conjunction with the activities of the Science & Math Investigative
Learning Experience (SMILE) program, and for eventual use with the Oregon Coastal
Atlas,...
The geologic processes at work in American Samoa have long been a point of scientific debate. Of its numerous volcanic formations, few breach sea level, leaving an enormous proportion of their mass unavailable to traditional observation. This study aims to describe the deep sea geomorphology of American Samoa through compilation,...
Coral reef ecosystems are the most diverse on earth, and their subsistence is being threatened by natural and adverse anthropogenic patterns and processes. In an effort to understand and protect these marine environments, several programs have outlined strategies and initiatives. For example, the United States Coral Reef Task Force’s Mapping...
In response to anthropogenic pressures that have degraded habitat and put marine resources at risk (Leslie et al., 2003; Mumby et al., 2001; Puniwai et al., 2003), there has been a growing interest in the use of marine protected areas (MPAs) as a management tool to help slow, prevent or...
The purpose of this work is to broaden the theoretical foundations of interpolation of spatial data, by showing how ideas and methods from information theory and signal processing are applicable to the the work of geographers. Attention is drawn to the distinction between what we study and how we represent...
Ecoregions are regions of relative homogeneity with respect to specific
ecosystem variables (Bailey 1976; Omernik 1995). There has been an increasing
awareness that effective management of environmental resources must be undertaken
with an ecosystem perspective (Omernik, 1995). Ecoregions serve as a spatial
framework for assessing, managing, and monitoring ecosystems that...
Mount Shasta, the southernmost stratovolcano in the Cascade Range (41.4°N) has
frequently produced lahars of various magnitudes during the last 10,000 yr. These include
large flows of eruptive origin, reaching more than 40km from the summit, and studies have
shown that at least 70 debris flows of noneruptive origin have...
Oregon is the number one producer of cool-season grass seed in the United
States. The center of the grass seed industry of Oregon is located in the Willamette
Valley, where about 470,000 acres of seed are grown. Innovative grass seed growers
of the area are beginning to implement precision agriculture...
Geographic information systems (GISs) offer a useful tool for educators to teach students about local and global communities in various subjects. GISs are increasingly being used in K-12 education, but that growth is hindered due to many teachers’ limited access to time or resources necessary to adequately learn a GIS...
Overfishing of our national marine resources has degraded some of the most productive fishing regions in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, most notably the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. These regions may have shifted from productive trophic regimes to a less than optimal state therefore reducing fishers’ catches and associated...
Geospatial technology is a rapidly growing and changing field. The term geospatial technology (GST) refers to geographical information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), and remote sensing (RS), all emerging technologies that assist the user in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of spatial data. The speed at which new fields...
Web geographic information systems (GISs) and the Internet are now providing the connectivity necessary to support large-scale data access by a wide variety of users, including not just scientific researchers, but also policy-makers and marine resource managers. However, connectivity alone cannot ensure that those who need natural resource information will...
Spatialization is an innovative way to expand searching capabilities for a
marine/coastal reference database by using a metaphorical map framework to establish
a sense of place for non-spatial information. Spatializing the Catalogue of Oregon
Marine and Coastal Information (COMCI), a coastal reference database, enables the
marine and coastal resource community...
The Arc Marine data model is a generalized template to guide the implementation of geographic information systems (GIS) projects in the marine environment. Arc Marine developed out of a collaborative process involving research and industry shareholders in coastal and marine research. This template models and attempts to standardize common marine...
Since their discovery in 1977, hydrothermal vent communities have offered scientists
a unique glimpse into a world that is supported primarily by chemically derived
energy rather than direct energy from the sun. Furthermore, studies of hydrothermal
vent ecosystems have introduced scientists to amazing animals that have successfully
adapted to living...
The EPA’s Western Ecology Division (WED) had been accumulating geographic information system (GIS) data files for up to 20 years. There was no index or catalog for these files; locating data became more difficult over time. More that 4 Tb of data existed on numerous disk volumes in hundreds of...