The needs and markets for aerial photography have grown
steadily with the increasing demands for improved resource
management (Kodak, 1985, 2 & Simonett, 1983, 1). Aerial
photography within the Willamette Valley could provide researchers
and professionals with a broad range of data in disciplines such as
agriculture, forestry, geology, and...
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...
Vegetation change is an important factor affecting the global carbon cycle, land-atmosphere interaction, and terrestrial ecology. The study of vegetation change on a global scale can be used to evaluate the impact of global climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. Satellite remote sensing can monitor vegetation change at the global scale,...
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...
El Niflo and La Nifia are oceanographic and atmospheric phenomena that have been
catalogued for well over a centuly. In El Nifio years, Peru's otherwise thy west coast is
subjected to torrential rainfall. Higher ocean temperatures off the coast are deemed the
culprit. Attempts to quantify this began in the...
Agricultural land conversion is a complex process that involves a
matrix of decisions and decision-makers. This study examines the
nature and relative significance of spatial factors that influence the
decisions of farmers who either sell farmland to developers for urban
use or retain it for agricultural use. The conceptual model...
The collection, evaluation, and organization of spatial information is instrumental to the successful development and execution of planning policies and management programs. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide the technology to integrate varying informational needs into a single relational database for ease in data retrieval and analysis. The use of a...
The identification and mapping of surface cover types
within Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, has been effectively
completed through the utilization of LANDSAT digital
data and NASA U-2 color infrared aerial photography. Classification
of LANDSAT data for surface cover type identification
and mapping was accomplished through use of the
Interactive...
The Klamath Basin of Oregon and California has been the scene of extensive ecosystem restoration activities in recent years. The need for restoration is based on changes in land use that have adversely affected water quality and wildlife habitat. Many different kinds of restoration projects are occurring at many different...
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...
Dot mapping is a traditional method for visualizing quantitative data, but current automateddot mapping techniques are limited. The most common automated method places dotspseudo-randomly within enumeration areas, which can result in overlapping dots and verydense dot clusters for areas with large values. These issues affect users’ ability to estimatevalues. Graduated...
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 (COMC1), a coastal reference database, enables the
marine and coastal resource community...
Cirque aspects and elevations in the major highlands of Oregon indicate a pattern of climate during the Pleistocene similar to that of today. Mean cirque floor elevation increases toward the drier interior. Concentrations of cirques facing northeast, and steep gradients of cirque floor trend surfaces to the southwest, indicate a...
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...
Coastal wetlands provide basic linkages between productive estuarine and freshwater ecosystems. Throughout the Mexican coast, rates of wetland loss and change are unknown. This project developed wetland inventories for 1973 and 1991, including ecological functions and values, and human activities in and around the wetlands. Data was integrated by use...
Situated off the west coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand, Phu Quoc archipelago and its waters are well-known for their rich natural resources, especially the bounty of fishery resources. Under increasing pressure from the growing population, fishing, and tourism development, there is a strong need to formulate an...
Conventional soil maps represent a valuable source of information about soil
characteristics, however they are subjective, very expensive, and time-consuming to
prepare. Also, they do not include explicit information about the conceptual mental
model used in developing them nor information about their accuracy, in addition to the
error associated with...
Groundwater resources have become seriously threatened
due to improper use by industrial, municipal, and even public
sectors. Widespread contamination of aquifer systems has
jeopardized human health and the environment and methods for
restoring these systems are needed. Biological and chemical
in situ remediation, where contaminants are degraded within
the natural...
In recent years confinement requirements for concrete columns have increased in seismic regions. Steel jackets are one way to confine reinforced concrete columns. The increased confinement provides additional strength and ductility for the columns during seismic events. For reinforced concrete columns with steel jackets, there are different section properties in...
This thesis deals with the archaeological investigations of an 1897-1898 gold rush
structure in the town of Dyea, Alaska. Little is known about this structure (Feature 96) from the historical records. A three year project was conducted to investigate Feature 96 in order to determine the function of the structure,...
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...
Google Earth has given internet users the power of a virtual globe at their fingertips. It is
a free, easy to use tool that avoids the need for technical training, and uses a simple,
intuitive interface. For this reason, Google Earth appeals to general and more specialized
users. This project...
The development of new technologies in science is a balance between existence and use. There are three versions of this duality – something is built and users come, something is built and users don’t come, and, finally, potential users show up but the ballpark has not yet been built. In...
Dramatic declines in several groundfish populations have occurred along
the U.S. West Coast during the last decade (PFMC 1999, Sampson 1997,
Ralston 1998, Bloeser 1999). One problem exacerbating these declines is
insufficient stock assessments, especially for species of west coast rockfish
(Family Scorpaenidae, Genus Sebastes) which comprise the core of...
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...
Corvallis has been growing steadily in terms of
population and functions of the city while the biotic resources
of the immediate environs have declined. This
study sought to examine land use changes of North Corvallis
rural-urban fringe area between 1963 and 1978 by interpreting
the changes from aerial photographs. The...
Once considered the largest wetland in Central Asia, the Mesopotamian Marshlands of Southeastern Iraq have nearly disappeared. Various hydrological projects by the Iraqi government and dam construction in the region have nearly destroyed these once rich freshwater wetlands by over 90%. With the launching of Operation Iraqi Freedom recent attempts...
The objective of this study was to examine vegetation and vegetation change in Eritrea over a period from the mid 1980s to 2002 using satellite remote sensing, and relate observed changes to the recent history of drought and war in the region. Specific objectives were (1) to examine vegetation change...
This study delineates and characterizes the distribution of montane meadows in the Willamette National Forest, identifies encroachment patterns in relation to topographic features and proximity to trees in the Chucksney-Grasshopper meadow complex, and examines tree species and age distributions in relation to distance from forest edges or isolated tree clusters...
Geographical data and information are virtually unlimited in their
quantity and are oftentimes scattered throughout a multitude of locations and stored
in various formats on a wide variety of platforms. The Oregon Coast Geospatial
Clearinghouse (OCGC) is a web-based central repository for metadata (data about
data) corresponding to collected data...
This research paper focuses upon subsurface flow because of
its dominant influence on the other types of hilislope water flow
processes. The basic theory of water movement is quickly discussed in
order to build the reader's general background knowledge. With this
background, the journey starts into the poorly understood realm...
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...
Forest road planning is importaht in logging operations, because it can affect feasibility and cost of forest operations. Due to rapid advances in computer hardware, GIS software, and remote sensing techniques, computer forest road planning models using GIS are becoming practical. DEM data at 30 meter resolution are common and...
In recent times, public policy debates in the United States have been very contentious and dysfunctional. To help improve this situation, a multi-discipline research effort was conducted to look at "solution papers" as a form of public participation. Specifically, the roles of objectivity and mutual respectfulness were under consideration. Foundational...
The overall objective of this study is to propose a framework or model for
comprehensive management model of coastal development in Quintana Roo (Quintana
Roo's Coastal Management Program-QRCMP), using a regional approach.
Abstract Watershed-scale fate/transport modeling of contaminants is a tool that scientists and land managers can use to assess pesticide contamination to stream systems. The Catchment Modeling Framework (CMF) is a catchment-scale fate/transport modeling tool. It was developed to help scientists and land managers assess the effects of possible land-use decisions...
Soil erosion is a natural physical process. However
it can become a detrimental force when factors such as
infertile soils, steep topography and poor farming
practices are combined. An important initial aspect of
resource planning and/or soil conservation involves
locating areas where such potentially hazardous
combinations occur in the field....
The process of land acquisition for the conservation of plants or wildlife habitat
can raise controversial issues, issues often perceived differently by the individuals and groups
involved. After the land acquisition process is completed, there is rarely an opportunity to
analyze the differing perceptions of the issues and their relative...
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...
The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami raised concern among marine park managers and
hazard mitigation professionals about the significant impact of major coastal hazards
on marine park natural resources and ecosystems. The main reason for this concern is
the strong linkage of marine parks and their rich assortment of ecosystem services...
This thesis explores the genesis of the ecoregion concept,
examines the conceptual development of ecoregion classification
systems, investigates applications of ecoregion classification
systems for a broad range of purposes, and discusses the prospects
for the further evolution of this concept. An ecoregion is an area
that exhibits patterns of homogeneity...
One of the most pressing concerns in the Geographic Information Science community is the distribution of spatial datasets over the Internet. Two projects of the Department of Geosciences at Oregon State University are in the process of distributing data. The Oregon Coast Geospatial Clearinghouse was implemented with the goal of...
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,...
Dramatic declines in many species of demersal fishes off the West Coast have resulted in the designation of nine commercially important species as being overfished. While the causes of those declines are not clearly understood, the fact remains that a paucity of life history and abundance data exists for many...
The North Unit irrigation District of Central Oregon,
a water project developed under the guidelines of the
Bureau of Reclamation, is characterized by limited water
and the need for efficient utilization and control of the
irrigation system. To manage the limited water resource,
irrigators need a timely and economical method...
