Geography electronic theses and dissertations (MU)
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The items in this collection are the theses and dissertations written by students of the Department of Geography. Some items may be viewed only by members of the University of Missouri System and/or University of Missouri-Columbia. Click on one of the browse buttons above for a complete listing of the works.
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Item The recreational resources, facilities, and activities of Vermont(University of Missouri--Columbia, 1963) Thomas, Inge"Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to survey the major and associated outdoor recreational activities of Vermont and to present to the reader the immeasurable qualities inherent in the recreation industry. An attempt has been made throughout the study to show the importance of recreation to the state. This study was undertaken because of the lack of information on recreational geography and because of the importance of outdoor recreation to the economy of Vermont. A full explanation of all available resources and activities is not intended. Attention is instead focused on selected activities. This thesis presents some more insight into the entire topic of outdoor recreational geography as applied on a state-wide basis. It analyzes the recreational resource base of Vermont, the major and associated activities, the number of guests and their place of origin, the amount of money received from the recreation industry in Vermont, and the question of accessibility. Vermont was chosen as the area of study because of its recreational importance in all seasons of the year and because of the great part the tourist industry plays to the economy of Vermont. Vermont was also accessible to the author in the summers of 1959, 1960, and 1961. It is hoped that this study will help explain some of the major aspects of recreational geography on a state-wide basis and open the door to further studies."--Page 5.Item Deep learning for impervious surface segmentation from high resolution aerial imagery(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2024) Batmunkh, Anar; Blodgett, ClaytonThe rapid urbanization of landscapes presents significant environmental and ecological challenges, which necessitates the precise mapping of impervious surfaces. This study aims to leverage the capabilities of deep learning, specifically U-Net architectures, for the semantic segmentation of impervious surfaces from high-resolution aerial imagery. Our approach enhances the conventional U-Net architecture to improve its efficiency and accuracy in handling the spatial complexity of urban landscapes. We utilized a dataset comprising aerial images from urban and suburban areas within the city limits of Columbia, Missouri. The datasets are annotated for training, validation, and testing. The models evaluated include U-Net, Residual U-Net, Attention U-Net, Attention Residual U-Net, scSE U-Net, and scSE Residual U-Net. The models were trained and validated under different conditions, with performance metrics calculated for the overall testing datasets. Our results from the 2017 (leaf-on conditions) and 2019 (leaf-off conditions) test sets indicate improvements. The scSE Residual U-Net model achieved the highest IoU of 88.0 percent, precision of 93.6 percent, recall of 93.6 percent, F1 score of 93.6 percent, and pixel accuracy of 94.6 percent. These results underscore the effectiveness of advanced U-Net models in delineating impervious surfaces with high precision and highlight their potential in remote sensing applications for urban planning and environmental monitoring.Item Interpreting the narratives and themes in the memorials and markers commemorating the Santa Fe Trail(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2024) Terhune, Michael; Foulkes, MatthewBetween March and July 2021, I traveled the routes of the Santa Fe Trail from Franklin, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, documenting the memorials and markers placed to commemorate the trail's use from 1821 until 1880. Photographs of the markers and memorials were taken, and their locations were recorded by GPS. Finally, written information on the memorials and historical markers was extracted to identify the common themes visible to tourists. Three major themes emerged: Physical Landscape, Economics, and Government Involvement. The physical landscape theme documents physical features that affected the trail's routing, traversing, and hardships endured. The economics theme relates to the trail being primarily used for commercial trading and the industries founded to support the logistics of trail movement. Government involvement describes military and regulatory efforts that aided in conducting trade operations with a foreign power and interactions with indigenous peoples. Each theme will be briefly explored with historical context and the implications of their significance for remembering the past along the Santa Fe Trail.Item Variability in timing of oak and maple autumn tree phenology across oak-hickory stands in Rock Bridge State Park, Columbia Missouri(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2024) Thomas, Tara Alyssa; Elliott, GrantTree phenology research provides evidence and indications of forest ecosystem dynamics and species environmental response to phenomena such as global climate change. The current literature has explored the various drivers of spring tree phenology among deciduous forests globally, however, fall seasons have seen less research studies. While there is abundant research available on fall phenology's influence on wildlife seasonal responses, there is not significant advancement in understanding what factors play into the timing of individual tree response to phenological change in end of season (EOS). In this study, three key phenophases of autumn leaf senescence were observed and compared annually at a species and community level in the Gans Creek Natural area of Rock Bridge State Park, Columbia, MO. Over a 5-year period (2018-2022), the day of year values and duration (in days) intervals of white oak (Quercus alba), red oak (Quercus rubra), and sugar maple (Acer saccharum) were collected using high-resolution-ground-based observation methods. Data was analyzed using multiple statistical techniques to compare mean values of the three phenophases duration and day of year intervals of interspecific and intraspecific samples. The data showed that intraspecific insignificant variability exists at the community level of oak to oak and maple to maple, but the interspecific variability of oak to maple yields a much stronger significant relationship. Coupling the autumn leaf senescence with green period over the 5-year interval showed that sugar maple produced a shorter green period annually than white oak and red oak species and produced an earlier and shorter end of season progression. These results can be used in the future to further examine tree phenology patterns at a local scale.Item Using the elaboration likelihood model to predict the effects of interactive data visualizations about STI testing(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2024) Frost, Sarah Elaine; Guhlincozzi, AidaHuman trafficking is a clandestine topic whose ramifications for victims can be lifelong. Rather than take a "front end" approach to trafficking research by mapping the risk or occurrence of trafficking, this project analyzes the "back end" of trafficking by examining spatial patterns of resources that assist trafficked persons exit their trafficking situation. Ultimately, interest is in how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to depict and analyze such arrays of exit-assisting resources--introduced in this research as "exit landscapes"--with Missouri data explored as a case study. Common GIS techniques of spatial autocorrelation, hot spot analysis, and overlay analysis are used to identify clustering and distribution patterns as well as juxtapose resource data with social vulnerability data. Guided by feminist legal geographic theory, this research uses community geography methodology to leverage the expertise of anti-trafficking organizations in comparing existing resources to needed resources across Missouri. Findings suggest that while Missouri has an exit landscape, it is sparse in rural areas and in terms of specific needs such as LGBTQ+-friendly services, enhanced training among law enforcement, and reproductive health services. Geographic Information Systems is found to offer a useful but incomplete visualization of an exit landscape, that is perhaps more useful in identifying shortcomings than strengths of a given exit landscape.