Transcript Title

Final remarks – GIS and
Water Quality
AP Environmental Science
Mr. Johnston & Ms. Adkison, Spring 2012
Bob Jones High School & James Clemens High School
Madison, AL
Eric R. Anderson
M.S. Candidate, Earth System Science
Dr. Robert Griffin, advisor
Department of Atmospheric Science
University of Alabama in Huntsville
Explore the GPS points online
Demo:
http://nsstc.uah.edu/~anderse/gisinapes.html
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Bringing GPS into more advanced analysis
with GIS and remote sensing
 GPS information can be used to “train” satellite
data so that we can classify elevation, land cover,
etc. much more efficiently
 Remote sensing allows us to identify not only broad
categories like trees, grass, concrete, water, but we can
also…
 Detect materials based on their chemical compositions,
such as hydrocarbons in paints, precious minerals
 Distinguish synthetic green from natural green
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grass
grass
???
Water quality field sampling
1. Chemical and biological assessments of water
2.
3.
4.
5.
quality (use GPS to keep track of the sites)
What were your DO, pH, nitrate measurements?
Do these agree with what you might expect?
What are some explanations for these
observations?
Determine the area of influence or drainage basin
for these points (using GIS)
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 Which way does the water flow?
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 Which way does the water flow?
Flow direction
 Note the change in resolution!
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Lab:
Determine the area of influence (drainage basin)
 Explore GPS points in ArcMap online and
delineate a drainage basin
 Measure the area of influence and land cover types
 We’ll use a remote sensing product that required field validation
points that were taken in a similar manner that we gathered GPS
points of land cover types around campus… just on a bigger scale!
 http://nsstc.uah.edu/~anderse/gisinapes.html
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Estimate croplands in this drainage basin
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Estimate croplands in this drainage basin
2008
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Estimate croplands in this drainage basin
2008
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Estimate croplands in this drainage basin
2011
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Estimate croplands in this drainage basin
2011
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Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic
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Reviewing… My goals
 Introduce you to GIS, GPS and remote sensing
 Enable you to explore how these tools can help
you understand environmental science
 Focus on water resources, water pollution, and
related topics, while also recognizing the
interdisciplinarity of geography and environment
 Stimulate critical thinking on environmental data,
analysis methods and social-ecological systems
 Help prepare you to get a 5 on your AP test!
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Considerations
 GIS as a tool
 Key water concepts
 Water resources/pollution issues at home and
abroad
 The many applications of GIS and remote sensing
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Why GIS?
 A tool that is used extensively not only in the
environmental field but also
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business
defense / intelligence
education
government
health and human services
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natural resources
public safety
transportation
utilities
communications
 Job market
 “the big picture” and making spatial decisions
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Important concepts
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What is a watershed?
Watershed
boundary
Drainage network
Watershed
Unconfined Aquifer Recharge Area
Evaporation and transpiration Evaporation
Precipitation
Confined
Recharge
Area
Runoff
Flowing
artesian
well
Recharge
Unconfined
Aquifer
Infiltration Water
table
Stream
Well
requiring a
Lake
Infiltration pump
Fig. 14-3, p. 308
Water Pollution Problems in Streams
 Dilution and decay of degradable, oxygen-demanding
wastes and heat in a stream.
Fig. 21-4, p. 497
Returning to…
Human-environment interactions
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Initial MM5 simulation (Oglesby et al. In Press) results
show that a deforested Maya landscape causes
large decreases in rainfall and increases in
temperature.
MM5 Simulated July Temperature Difference
The Maya Agriculture-Deforestation Model links
in greater detail, simulations of land-use practices
with their climatic effects.
MM5 Simulated July Rainfall Difference
(from Gill et al. 2007)
Water Conflicts in the Middle East - A
Preview of the Future
 Many countries in the
Middle East, which has
one of the world’s
highest population
growth rates, face water
shortages.
Figure 14-1
Water Conflicts
in the Middle
East - A Preview
of the Future
Human-environment interactions
 Ancient vs. contemporary
 Try to compare availability of data and information then and now
 Understanding patterns and principles then and now
“Plowed fields have replaced forests, domesticated
animals have dispersed wildlife. Trees are plowed,
mountains smoothed, and swamps drained. There
are as many cities as in former years there were
dwellings… Everywhere there are buildings,
everywhere people, everywhere communities.
Proof of this crowding is the density of human
beings. We weigh upon the world; its resources
hardly suffice to support us. As our needs grow
larger, so do our protests that already nature does
not sustain us.”
Tertullian A.D. 200 (Carthage)
Human-environment interactions
 Ancient vs. contemporary
 As Tertullian postulated, many societies have not been sustained
 Thousands of cultures have existed…
99% have collapsed
Can we appreciate our new perspective?
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Resources
GIS in APES materials
 http://nsstc.uah.edu/~anderse/gisinapes.html
Earth System Science degree at UAHuntsville
 http://nsstc.uah.edu/ess
NASA DEVELOP [paid!] internships
 http://develop.larc.nasa.gov/
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