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Spatial Odyssey 2003 Dec 1-5, 2003Poster & Demo Presentations |
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Poster, Demo, & Vendor booth floorplan Table of Contents
Poster Area D Measuring Terrain Ruggedness: A GIS Approach for Animal Habitat Analysis Mark Sappington, Kathy Longshore and Daniel B. Thompson Wildlife biologists have developed a number of methods to quantify terrain ruggedness for animal habitat analyses. However, many of these methods are based on indices and most are highly correlated with other terrain measures, such as slope. For animals dependant on steep, broken terrain for escape from predators, such as desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni), a better understanding of the role individual terrain components play in determining escape terrain may improve conservation efforts. Using a Geographic Information System (GIS), we developed a measure of terrain ruggedness based on vector dispersion techniques. Using this measure, we examined its relationship to slope and other measures of terrain at different landscape scales in three mountain ranges within the Mojave Desert. We then used springtime bighorn ewe locations in each of the ranges along with various measures of terrain to model sheep habitat and examine the importance of terrain components in determining escape terrain.
The Pacific Island Network (PACN) is one of 32 NPS Inventory & Monitoring Networks established based on geography and shared natural resource characteristics. I&M program guidance encourages use of an unequal sampling probability approach—prioritizing areas of special interest based on physical characteristics and sampling them disproportionate to their availability in order to insure adequate sample sizes. We use statistical clustering techniques in our GIS (classification of abiotic data such as terrain, substrate, rainfall, and temperature based on similarities) to develop sampling strata for ecologically diverse PACN parks. This technique significantly reduces bias, produces strata criteria that are stable over time, and allows the PACN to use some of the ecological principles underlying an ecoregional map, such as those that exist at appropriate large scales for the rest of the NPS system, but have not been produced for the entire PACN geographic region except at global scales.
Poster Area E Comparison of Coral Cover and Sample Design on Reefs Around Virgin Islands National Park Britton Wilson Some of the longest data sets on Caribbean coral reefs come from Virgin Islands National Park (VIIS), St. John. Under the National Park Service . US Geological Survey (USGS) Inventory and Monitoring program coral reefs are being monitored at several sites around Buck Island Reef National Monument (BUIS) and VIIS. Here we describe the results from two methods used to quantify benthic cover annually from 1999-2002 at two fringing reefs in St. John, US Virgin Islands and discuss an innovative approach to random sampling on coral reefs.
Yellowstone has good maps of forested vegetation, but needs better information about non-forested and riparian vegetation types. The existing maps are study-specific and only cover a small are or were designed for a specialized purpose. This study will produce information about non-forested and riparian vegetation across the entire Northern Range that will be useful across many disciplines. Monitoring change in vegetation over time is also included in the study design. In addition, the methods have been designed so that the maps can be maintained and updated at low cost. This poster is focused on methodology, both for image analysis and field methods.
Poster Area F
Satellite imagery and existing aerial photography have been used to identify linear ridges located in south Florida, primarily within the boundaries of Everglades National Park. The rock reefs are arguably the most noticeable and curious geological feature in Everglades National Park and south Florida. The enigmatic ridges have been observed to pond surface water on their north sides and affect spatial distribution of plants. The karst topography along the flanks of the ridges contains solution holes and small caverns providing water and habitat for wildlife, including alligators, during times of drought. The narrow ridges (10 to 100 m wide) are many kilometers in length and may also inhibit subsurface water flow toward the south, especially during periods of minimal precipitation. GIS is one of many tools used in the interpretation of the subsurface and surface geology of the rock reefs in order to understand the geomorphology of the linear ridges.
"The benefits of naturally functioning tidal salt marshes can be enjoyed by present generations of National Seashore users through carefully phased restoration programs including assessment, modeling, restoration and monitoring. Estuaries on Cape Cod in various stages of restoration include Hatches Harbor (Provincetown), East Harbor (Truro) and Herring River (Wellfleet). Steps have included topographic mapping with survey-grade GPS, vegetation and water quality inventories, predictive hydrologic modeling, community consultation and scientific oversight, reconstruction of tidal culverts and staged re-introduction of tidal influence. Post restoration monitoring is underway at Hatches Harbor and East Harbor and pre-restoration assessment at Herring River."
Poster Area G
Geologic maps provide information that is useful for land-management decisions, hazards assessments, and other issues of relevance to National Parks. To help support the needs of the Parks, and of scientific researchers, decisionmakers, the private sector, and the general public, the Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 mandates development of a National Geologic Map Database (NGMDB) and the standards necessary to support its implementation. Numerous standards are nearly ready for use, including: 1) a conceptual geologic map data model developed in cooperation with the North American Data Model Steering Committee (NADMSC) and intended to become a Federal standard; 2) a standardized terminology for describing rocks and sediments (again, in cooperation with the NADMSC); 3) various policies and guidelines for publishing digital geologic maps; and 4) a cartographic standard for symbolizing geologic maps and for specifying the locational accuracy of geologic features shown on the map (intended to become a Federal standard under the aegis of the Federal Geographic Data Committee). The NGMDB also provides a suite of resources and databases to, for example, help people find published geoscience maps and view or download them, and find information about geologic names and their type sections. Please see http://ncgmp.usgs.gov/ngmdbproject/ for links to the databases and standards. Agency affiliation:David R. Soller (U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA) Thomas M. Berg (Ohio Geological Survey; State Geologist) Nancy R. Stamm (U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA)
Spatial information (remotely sensing data and GIS), field data, and spatial statistical modeling are currently used to assess landscape-scale-ecosystems atGrand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), Utah; Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO), Colorado; Theodore Roosevelt National Park (THRO), North Dakota;and Cerro Grande Fire Site, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Each of the foursites represents a complex landscape of plant diversity and covers an area of about 1.92 million ha for GSENM, 107,200 ha for ROMO, 28,510 ha for THRO, and 19,000 ha for Cerro Grande. Key biological parameters can be estimated using multi-scale sampling with multi-phase design to provide unbiased estimates of vegetation and soil characteristics. We evaluated the vulnerability of various habitats to invasion by exotic plants over the entire GSENM, ROMO, THRO, and Cerro Grande sites. This poster will provide updatedexampleson cryptobiotic crust cover, invasive plants, and environmental variables related to the landscapes of the GSENM, ROMO, THRO, and Cerro Grandesites. A multi-phase sampling design (i.e., double sampling) and nested multi-scale plots design were used to collect field data for the four sites. For modeling large-scale and small-scale variability to predict the distribution, presence, and pattern of cryptobiotic crust cover, invasive plants, and soil characteristics, we integrated remotely sensed data, GIS, field data, and spatial statistics. These models are based on trend surface analysis and stepwise regression. In this poster, will show results of trend surface models that describe the large-scale spatial variability. Models with small variance were selected. In addition, the residuals from the trend surface model were then modeled using regression classification trees (RTC). The final surfaces were obtained by combining the trend surface model with the RTC.s. Our research program is using these new tools for forecasting the landscape-scale at different levels. In addition, these new models and spatial mapscan be used for better resource management for suchlarge areas like the GSENM.ROMO, THRO, or other national parks in the USA.
Poster Area H
Poster details the steps entailed in transforming a paper geologic map to a user-friendly digital geologic map and database. In short the paper geologic map is scanned and the resulting image is georeferenced, providing a background for the digitization (capture) of geologic features. In accordance with the NPS Geology-GIS Data Model, the spatial and geologic feature types present are captured into appropriate GIS coverages and attributed as per the Data Model. These data are then incorporated into the NPS GIS Theme Manager that facilitates the presentation of the GIS data along with any FGDC metadata and accompanying help files that display textual data from the original paper source map. Any source map graphics (e.g. geologic cross sections) are and hotlinked to a coverage on the digital geologic map. These data are then posted on the NPS I&M GIS FTP Website for user access and download.
Poster details the steps entailed in transforming a paper geologic map to a user-friendly digital geologic map and database. This process begins with identifying existing data and getting it into a digital format. In the hopes of preserving all aspects of the original paper map, features are attributed and presented to the extent possible using ArcView 3.X. Each map covering a portion of a park unit is edge-matched to adjacent maps, and appended to create a compiled map. GIS analysis is facilitated for our data using attributes such as unit names, feature types and field measurement values. A relational database is established to allow more robust, geospatial analysis. In addition to this database, a help file is linked to GIS data to provide detailed textual information from the original map(s) as well as keyword searchability. FGDC compliant metadata completes the package containing reference and geospatial information.
Poster Area I
The purpose of this project was to generate estimates for various air quality parameters at Inventory and Monitoring parks (examples: Ozone, NO3, SO4, PM10, Visibility, etc.). Data used included NPS monitoring data and other national monitoring networks. Co-Factor data (elevation, temperature, UV, rainfall, etc.) was also used. Products such as Geo-referenced pollutant data sets as maps and tables as well as Geo-referenced estimates of air quality parameters demonstrated that spatial interpolation of air quality data from the existing monitoring networks can provide reasonable estimates of pollutant concentrations. The Inventory and Monitoring Networks can also use the AirAtlas values as a starting point in the assessment of current conditions.
Atmospheric deposition is routinely measured at approximately 200 wet and ~ 70 dry monitoring stations in parks and other dispersed locations in the US. Rates of deposition of pollutants and nutrients to the extensive areas between monitoring stations are variable, and can, in part, be predicted by major landscape features (e.g., elevation, aspect, vegetation type). We measured indices of deposition at > 300 locations in each of two National Parks within PRIMENET (Park Research and Intensive Monitoring of Ecosystems Network): Acadia and Great Smoky Mountains. We derived regression equations to determine the landscape features that control deposition within these parks, and then using readily available GIS data layers we scaled up point measurements to the park landscapes, based on the spatial distribution of these primary controlling terrain features. We have identified hotspots of deposition up to 9 times greater than at the monitoring stations at these parks.
Poster Area J
Distribution in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Abstract: A detailed spatial characterization of Great Smoky Mountains National Park ozone concentrations was needed to better understand the representativeness of the existing fixed-location stations. Weekly sampling with passive ozone samplers is an inexpensive and reliable method to get ozone concentrations. However, walking into to a large number of sites was beyond the staff time available. Volunteers were obtained from local organizations interested in the park. Over 300 people volunteered to join the project; 50 were chosen based on availability and access to the trails. Over 50 sites were selected, mostly along drainage transects, to cover a significant portion of the park. The locations and data were entered into a Geographic Information System (GIS) so that interpolated data maps could be obtained for the seasonal spatial distribution of ozone. Data from other monitoring stations surrounding the park were obtained for AIRS to supplement the in-park data. The key product from the project was to be the ozone distribution maps that could be used with overlays of other ecosystem factors such as vegetation, sensitive species, elevation, etc.
Air quality is a major concern at many national parks, including those in the Puget Sound Basin where Mount Rainier National Park is especially hard hit. The National Park Service cooperated with the University of Washington’s Center for Environmental Visualization to create a three-dimensional animation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) spreading through the Puget Sound Basin on a typical summer day, causing nitrogen deposition and resultant resource impacts. The animation shows how pollutants are reaching the park during weather periods when ozone build-up is most likely, leading to further resource damage. During Spatial Odyssey the animation would run on a continuous cycle on a laptop computer during the period of the poster session when someone is attending the booth. Hard copy materials would be available when the booth is not occupied.
Poster Area K
The Cultural Resource GIS Facility (CRGIS), the only organization dedicated to applying GIS and GPS technology to cultural resources within the NPS, has been providing technical support services to National Park units, State/Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and other cultural resource professionals for the past 14 years. During this period, CRGIS has helped park units and states generate and update their GIS databases, provided GIS/GPS training classes for over 350 students, and undertaken a variety of resource management GIS projects. Through a table-top exhibit, CRGIS will display products from our various GPS and GIS projects. Additionally, we will showcase our current projects, such as the National Historic Preservation Inventory Network, the Revolutionary War/War of 1812 Preservation Study, the Cane River Heritage Area spatial database, our Whitesbog documentation project, and our Covered Bridges web-based GIS portal.
Since 1997, Glacier Bay has used hyperlinked pages to help large resources inventory and monitoring projects track their work, data and reports. This demo will show several project organizers and discuss the pros and cons of implementation, directory structure, page layout and link complexity.
Poster Area L
Hands on demonstration of AlaskaPak for ArcGIS, NPS Theme Manager for ArcGIS, and ArcGIS to Access linking tool.
Interagency experience in identifying high priority fuels treatment areas highlighted the need for a tool to evaluate a wide variety of datasets and analytical products from a variety of agency and planning perspectives. An ArcView 3.x Spatial Analyst extension, the Asset Analyzer was developed to provide this decision support. It is easy to use, available to agencies with limited GIS resources, and quickly allows evaluation of multiple analysis alternatives.
Poster Area M
The poster highlights an online NPS website with a suggested workflow for using GPS technology to populate a GIS database. The site’s purpose is to help National Park Service parks and park personnel of all GPS and GIS skill levels create quality GIS data with GPS technology. The website is not specific for a single GPS unit or manufacturer, but is based on ESRI GIS technology. Nine broad steps are introduced in separate WebPages to illustrate a GPS data collection project from start to finish. Each step is discussed briefly in the DISCUSSION section, followed by a WATCHOUT section highlighting common problems or pitfalls and then a GLOSSARY OF TERMS section. The bottom of each webpage has a LINKS section providing step by step instructions (divided out by GPS receiver types if applicable) created by different agencies, organizations and parks.
The advent of moderately priced, high-quality GPS units provides units of the National Park Service with a way of collecting and updating basemap data such as roads, trails, parking lots, overlooks, and campgrounds. Data collected with GPS eliminates Park units’ reliance on GIS data derived from infrequently updated secondary sources like Digital Line Graphs or paper maps. A case study for Badlands National Park illustrates the differences among GPS data and data from other sources. The Park’s GIS staff collected GPS data for hiking trails and selected roads. Staff also derived roads data from 1:24K DLGs and 1:100K TIGER/Line files. Comparing the GPS data with the data derived from secondary sources shows how differences in scale and age of source material manifest themselves in the location of linear features. The results hopefully will push Park units to pay close attention to the source and scale of its GIS data.
Poster Area N
The GTAG (Geospatial Training Advisory Group) oversees two interagency training courses hosted by the BLM National Training Center: The GIST course and the GPS for Fire Management course. The GIST course trains personnel with basic to advanced GIS skills to act as a GIS Technical Specialist (GIST) on a Incident Command Team. The GPS for Fire Management course trains fire personnel and others who support fire activities in the use of GPS in support of all aspects of fire management activities.
Burn Severity of the Wolf Complex and Gin Flat prescribed fire (2002) and Hoover Fire (2001) in Yosemite National Park was conducted using Differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (DNBR) and Composite Burn Index (CBI) methods. EROS USGS developed DNBR data from pre- and post-fire Landsat TM images. Yosemite Fire Effects Crew performed burn severity validation the field using the CBI method of measuring the magnitude of change in the vegatative community from pre-fire conditions. Guided by DNBR data separated into four severity classes (low, moderate-low, moderate-high, high), 63 CBI plots were sampled inside the burn perimeter. Correlation between DNBR and CBI values was high enough to continue pursuing this method of developing burn severity data for future and historical fires. However, CBI methodology may need to be adjusted since it was developed for the northern Rocky Mountains which have different burn severity patterns than the Sierra.
Poster Area O
Yosemite Fire Management conducted a wildland fire risk-hazard-value analysis using the Asset Analyzer Arcview extension developed by the Southern Sierra Geographic Information Cooperative. Asset Analyzer is a decision making tool that calculates weighted classes from normalized inputs. The analysis incorporated input variables of wildland fire risk (probability of ignition based on historical records), hazards (potential fire behavior), and values (cultural and natural resources). Yosemite Fire Management will use the analysis to prioritize fuel treatment efforts and to assign resources during multiple fire starts.
For monitoring natural resources, sound study designs are necessary to allow inferences to be made to larger areas from a relatively small number of sample sites. Critical components of study designs are 1) an explicit definition of the sample area, 2) stratification of the study area, and 3) allocation of samples proportionate to the area of the strata. GIS is an important tool for ecologist to address these critical components. The poster focuses on the role of GIS and GPS in designing and implementing fire effects monitoring at Effigy Mounds NM, Iowa.
Poster Area P
Condition class is being used by congress and managers alike to describe the fuel situation on federal lands. Going beyond condition class we can look at how terrain features, urban interface, and other important characters of the landscape can contribute to modeling areas in need of fuel treatments.
Yosemite Fire Management and the GIS lab conducted a wildland fire risk-hazard-value analysis using the Asset Analyzer Arcview extension developed by the Southern Sierra Geographic Information Cooperative. Asset Analyzer is a decision making tool that calculates weighted classes from normalized inputs. The analysis incorporated input variables of wildland fire risk (probability of ignition based on historical records), hazards (potential fire behavior), and values (cultural and natural resources). Yosemite Fire Management will use the analysis to prioritize fuel treatment efforts and the assignment of resources during multiple fire starts.
Poster Area Q
Poster Area R
Poster Area S
Poster Area T
Illegal off-road vehicle (ORV) use is a major threat to natural resources on public lands in the desert Southwest. Increased soil compaction, greater erosion, and loss of vegetation, including sensitive species, all can result from even minor ORV activity in arid environments. Lake Mead National Recreation Area, with its proximity to Las Vegas, Nevada, is facing increased ORV use from a growing population. To help address management concerns, we used a Geographic Information System along with aerial photographs and field data collection with GPS to map current patterns of ORV use. We then developed a model of potential off-road ORV use based on accessibility, off-road mobility conditions, and current ORV trails. Using this model along with data on soil erosion potential and presence of sensitive species, park managers will be able to more efficiently use limited park resources to prevent damage and concentrate restoration efforts in vulnerable areas.
Poster Area U
In 1998, Yellowstone began a spatial inventory of its geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles. An accurate (within one meter) location for each feature is collected with a GPS (global positioning unit) and converted into a GIS (geographic information system) layer. In addition, digital photographs and measurements of pH, electro-conductivity, and temperature are also collected. This information, along with the .official. name, is entered into a relational database and linked to the GIS point representing each thermal feature. Approximately 1300 new features are added each year, so by November 2003 there will be nearly 8,000 entries in the database. This database allows us to see spatial patterns (pH or temperature), quickly locate features that meet specific criteria (pH, temperature, and distance from a road for example), relocate a specific feature in the field (using X, Y coordinates and photographs), and link to data (geochemistry or thermophile types) collected by other researchers and view its spatial distribution.
The poster will focus on field mapping techniques used to create new water and wastewater facility GIS layers for Yellowstone National Park. Currently, water and wastewater facilities are managed by employee memory or paper drawing that date from 1968 to 1985. There is a low reliability as to where the facilities are actually located in the field. The objective is to locate all of Yellowstone.s water and wastewater facilities with the help of available drawings and employees knowledge of the systems in each area within the park. New layers are being created using GPS and will be managed and maintained within a GIS database. The new layers include manholes, sewer mains, cleanouts, lift stations, valves, water mains, and hydrants. The new data will create more up-to-date maps with accurate and reliable information, as well as assist in management and planning in future projects.
Poster Area V
Stabilization and preservation efforts at Salinas have been on-going for decades. In the past couple of years, the Resource Management Division has developed within its Geographical Information Systems (GIS) detailed maps of pre-historic and historic features in order to automate and manage these resources. Archaeologists and other professionals use the GIS and associated databases to assess and evaluate stabilization techniques and mortar applications to continuously improve long-term preservation of these structures.
Resource extraction in the areas surrounding the Greater Yellowstone Area Network (GRYN: Yellowstone National Park , Grand Teton National Park and Big Horn Canyon National Recreation Area) has the potential to negatively impact the resources that each park is mandated to protect. This project documents the type and location of over 10,000 active mining (gravel extraction and hard rock mining) claims and leases, oil and gas leases, and geothermal leases within 20 miles of each park. Most of the activity is concentrated north of Yellowstone or south of Big Horn Canyon. Until now this information was not available to park managers. Extensive data mining efforts were necessary to determine where the best information was stored. Ultimately, a data dump was obtained of the LR2000 database from the BLM Denver office. The data were imported into Access and a relational database was created. Queries aggregated all of the pertinent information into one table for each state. The tables were then imported into ArcGIS and joined to the PLSS coverages based on township, range and section.
Poster Area W
The tremendous number of aerial photographs found in Regional Offices, Centers and Parks presents several logistical problems for Geographic Information Systems users. The imagery is dispersed across wide areas and functional groups. FGDC compliant metadata is not typically produced and the controlling databases are not traditionally accessed by GIS staff. Further, many of these aerial photographs are not well cared for due to their provenance of being created for short term projects. This poster highlights work in partnership between the Denver Service Center, the Intermountain GIS Center and 9 parks. The end results are that over 12,000 images are archivally stored for the long term; data is available in the GIS environment; and parks get additional information distribution services. All stakeholder.s interests were enhanced.
Traditional survey and documentation form the cornerstone of all preservation work, from bricks and mortar to preservation planning. Applying a strategy to accurately represent large historic landscapes using traditional means of measured drawings and photographs calls for the inclusion of GIS and GPS technologies never before employed in this capacity. Working with the Historic American Landscape Survey (HALS), the Cultural Resource GIS Facility (CRGIS) has undertaken a project to develop a landscape documentation methodology using the 2000 acre historic Whitesbog cranberry bog, in New Jersey. The historic water transportation network, and the engineering features, including dams, canals, bridges, agricultural fields and ancillary structures were mapped with GPS and will be used in a GIS to explain how the landscape functioned during different historical periods. The project will produce a spatial dataset for the use of the Whitesbog Preservation Trust, as well as documentation for submission to HALS.
Poster Area Hall
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