GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS PROGRAM
AT EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY

James S. Aber, Earth Science Department, aberjame@esumail.emporia.edu
Elmer J. Finck, Division of Biological Sciences, finckelm@esumail.emporia.edu
Emporia State University, Emporia, KS 66801

Table of Contents
Abstract GSA Minor
GSA Courses Software & Data
Opportunties Recommendations
Satellite Images Ft. Leavenworth, KS
Devils Lake, ND Mérida, Venezuela

Abstract

Emporia State University has developed a campus-wide program in geospatial analysis (GSA). The program includes subject matter in cartography, computer mapping, remote sensing, and global positioning system (GPS), all of which are tied together with the technology of geographic information systems (GIS). A full spectrum of curriculum is presented from the introductory undergraduate level to advanced graduate courses. Independent research is strongly encouraged for both graduate and undergraduate students.

The GSA program is multidisciplinary. Students and faculty represent biological, physical, and social sciences as well as other disciplines. Program development is guided by a faculty council from across the campus plus external advisors at other universities and governmental agencies. An undergraduate minor is designed to complement majors in many other subject areas. At the graduate level, students take selected courses to enhance their technical research skills. Several of the graduate courses are available for distance learning via Internet. Among students in the GSA program, about half come from earth science, a third from biology, and the remainder from social science, business, library science, and teacher education.

The focus of the program is the GSA laboratory, which is equiped with state-of-the-art computer hardware, software, and peripheral devices. The GSA lab also includes optical instruments for examination of airphotos and GPS equipment for field research. Kite aerial photography is the latest addition to our capability for acquiring imagery for geospatial analysis. The interdisciplinary nature of the GSA program has allowed us to obtain financial support at the college level, and we have secured significant external funding from various governmental sources (NASA and Kansas state agencies) as well as the private sector (Lowrance Electronics).

Research projects, mostly supported with outside funding, have dealt with various subjects and geographic regions. Examples include wildlife and geologic studies in Kansas, lake hydrology in North Dakota, glacial geology of central United States, geomorphology of Poland, and glaciology in Iceland. Current research focuses on forest cover in northeastern Kansas. This involves a combination of climate, botany, and satellite remote sensing to document forest response to climatic events during the past three decades.

We believe the geospatial analysis program at Emporia State University is an effective means to expand student experiences from a variety of traditional disciplines. This enhancement begins at the undergraduate level and extends through the graduate thesis level. Students in the geospatial analysis program have been quite successful in finding professional employment or pursuing advanced degrees at other universities. For more information about the program, see the ESU geospatial analysis webpage.

http://www.emporia.edu/earthsci/geospat.htm

Minor in GeoSpatial Analysis

An interdisciplinary minor in geospatial analysis (GSA) could be used in combination with any undergraduate B.A. or B.S. major. This minor is especially recommended to enhance majors in biological, physical, and social sciences. Requirements for the GSA Minor are:

Courses in Geospatial Analysis

Software and Data

IDRISI for Windows is the primary software system used for geospatial analysis, image processing, and map display. Also available are ER-Mapper and ArcView software. The GSA Lab has a large collection of conventional maps, air photos, space-shuttle photography, satellite imagery, and GIS databases. New maps and digital databases are acquired continually through the U.S. Geological Survey depository Map Library program.

Opportunities in GIS

Geospatial analysis is a rapidly emerging, inter-disciplinary technology. It combines geography, remote sensing, computers, cartography, and information networks for dealing with practical and scientific problems of the world. Geospatial analysis is now used in many governmental, commercial, educational, scientific, engineering, and military situations.

Recommendations

Shaping the Future recommendations followed in the geospatial analysis (GSA) program at ESU include the following.

  1. Curriculum engaging the broadest spectrum of students.

  2. Technology (GIS) used effectively to enhance learning.

  3. Students learn by direct experience with the methods and processes of inquiry.

  4. Foster interdisciplinary work and reduce organizational rigidities.

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Geospatial Analysis of Satellite Imagery

Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas

Landsat TM false-color composite made of bands 3, 4 and 5, color coded as blue, green, and red. In this composition, active vegetation appears green (forest) and yellow-green (crops, prairie). Purple indicates bare ground and urban areas, and water is blue/black.

Ft. Leavenworth includes deciduous forests in two topographic situations--Missouri valley bottomland and upland bedrock ridges. Growth of trees in these forests is little affected by human activities. The upland study forest site is thought to be particularly susceptible to variations in yearly soil-moisture conditions that fluctuate due to changes in precipitation.

Devils Lake, North Dakota

Standard false-color composite image of Devils Lake, North Dakota, 23 Sept. 1988. Landsat MSS bands 1, 2 and 4 color coded as blue, green, and red. This autumn scene depicts active vegetation in red and pink. Sullys Hill (scene center) is covered by deciduous forest. Note suspended sediment (light blue) in West Bay portion of Devils Lake. This image shows Devils Lake at a high-water stage that existed during the mid-1980s.

Devils Lake, a large natural lake located in northeastern North Dakota, has attracted much scientific interest since the early ninteenth century. Devils Lake is the terminal point of a large enclosed drainage basin that has no surface outlet at present. As a result of its terminal position, the water body of Devils Lake has undergone substantial changes in its area, elevation, salinity, and biomass.

According to established records, the maximum historical lake elevation was attained in the early 1800s, when it exceeded 1440 feet (439 m). After the 1860s, lake level declined until 1940, when it fell to its lowest historical elevation of 1400 feet (427 m), at which time the lake was only 1 m deep. The lake subsequently rose and exceeded 1425 feet (434½ m) during most of the 1980s. Following a slight decline in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the lake is again rising; the water surface surpassed 1442 feet (439½ m) elevation during the summer of 1997. Rising water threatens to flood the city of Devils Lake and other human facilities nearby.

Mérida, Venezuela

Landsat MSS false-color composite image of Mérida vicinity, western Venezuela. The image is created from bands 1, 2 and 4, color coded as blue, green and red. Pico Bolívar stands 5007 m in altitude. Bare rock, soil, snow, ice, urban and clouds appear in white/blue colors. Red indicates forest; light pink shows agricultural fields. Image date: Jan. 13, 1979.

The Sierra Nevada de Mérida is the northernmost end of the Andes Mts. The city of Mérida is located in the valley of the Río Chama. This valley marks the Bocono fault zone, which is the tectonic boundary between the Caribbean and South America plates. Elevations in the area extend from less than 1000 m along the Río Chama valley below Mérida to more than 5000 m on Pico Bolívar. This great range of elevations gives rise to large variations in local climate, vegetation, geomorphic processes, and human land use.

The high mountain peaks supported many glaciers during the Ice Age, and very small glaciers still exist on Pico Bolívar, which is snow covered much of the year. Most rain/snow falls on the southeastern side of the major mountain ridge located to the southeast of Mérida. Annual precipitation exceeds 2½ m in this zone; whereas the Río Chama valley generally has less than 1 m annual precipitation.

Semideciduous forest predominates at lower elevations on wet slopes, and evergreen (siempre-verdes) forest is found at elevations up to around 4000 m. Alpine shrub (páramo) vegetation is developed above 4000 m. Much of the páramo zone is within the Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada. The lower, dry valleys have desert vegetation . Main agricultural crops of the region include potatoes and carrots, which are grown year round; cattle are grazed in high meadows.

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