*Annotated Bibliography

 

Aspinall, Richard, Diane Pearson. 2000. Integrated geographical assessment of environmental condition in water catchments: Linking landscape ecology, environmental modeling and GIS. Journal of Environmental Management. 59, 000–000 doi:10.1006/jema.2000.0372. http://www.idealibrary.com

 

This article focuses on using GIS as a tool for identifying indicator variables from landscape ecology and fluvial geomorphology that can be incorporated into decision-making support models.  The geographic unit of focus involves the watershed catchment scale, with the Upper Yellowstone as the case study area. GIS serves as an integrating tool to manage data and provide more applicable interpretations of scientific data to the process of meaningfully informing policy.  An environmental model using various data sources including remote sensing was combined with GIS in ArcGIS with the goal of extending spatial and temporal extents of both tools such that trends and patterns could be better captured and described.  Landscape ecological metrics, land cover metrics, and hydrologic metrics including discharge, sinuosity, riparian vegetation and land cover change were incorporated and statistically correlated to determine the interrelationships and indication potential of these factors.  The general focus was on the outputs needed from the model rather than the modeling process itself.  The resulting output demonstrated that indicator variables were not surprising, but more importantly, models that incorporate GIS for data management and interpretation allow broader, and often more meaningful, interpretation of the data.  They also increase the flexibility and options for unique analyses.  Finally, by integrating data, the appropriate temporal and spatial scales can be identified for decision-making and management processes.

 

Clark, Michael J. 1998. Putting water in its place: a perspective on GIS in hydrology and water management. Hydrological Processes. 12:823±834. 

 

GIS is utilized in hydrology and water management where it often involved modeling and asset management.  However, the usefulness of the results is often hindered by the resolution of the data, which in turn brings to the forefront its own set of challenges and problems. This study considered the use of high-resolution spatial data for flood applications.  While science tends to focus on GIS priorities in hydrology as they pertain to modeling, resource managers have a different need and use for the tool.  While the constraints of GIS often entail the issue of spatial resolution and data quality, there are professional and ethical implications beyond those of technical merit.  The flood insurance market illustrates trade-offs involved in determining optimal data scale and resolution, such that identified high risk customers may be deemed uninsurable, and low-risk customers could decide to opt-out from perceived lack of risk.  High resolution data can therefore complicate the difficulty of linking premiums to risk.  Towards these types of ends, a professional code has been suggested in the application of GIS that clarifies the error, resolution, statistical probabilities, etc. that are inherent in the data utilized in the application decision process.   Furthermore, the social implication of increased data and information must be considered, as the application of GIS as a science and decision-support tool has ramifications beyond the development of improved models.

 

Doerfliger N., P.-Y. Jeannin, F. Zwahlen. 1999. Water vulnerability assessment in karst environments: a new method of defining protection areas using a multi-attribute approach and GIS  tools (EPIK method). Environmental Geology. 39 (2). Springer-Verlag

 

In order to more effectively protect groundwater resources in karst landscapes such as Switzerland, groundwater protection zones that correctly correlate with vulnerable catchment basins must be established. Models like EPIK assess the sensitivity of a formation based on its hydrogeologic and geological characteristics.   Four particular karstic attributes were identified and applied to various potential contamination sites in Switzerland such that new boundary recommendations were developed.  Due to the complex nature of aquifer systems, the criteria for establishing pertinent protection areas are often less suitable than desired.  Utilizing a weighting mechanism and multiple attributes, the conceptual model EPIK was applied on a basin scale.  This involved: identification of boundaries; attribute measurement, characterization, and assessment; mapping; and interpretation of the resulting zones of vulnerability.  GIS was utilized for several of these processes.  The St. Imier catchment was chosen as a test-catchment on which this model approach was tested.  The model proved useful and feasible, though more research was warranted with regards to the complexity of infiltration rates and the heterogeneity of the landscape itself.

 

McKinney, Daene C., and Ximing Cai. 2002. Linking GIS and water resources management models: an object-oriented method. Environmental Modeling & Software. 17: 413–425. www.elsevier.com/locate/envsoft

 

            Using an object-oriented approach, this paper employed GIS to a river basin water allocation problem.  Conceptual methodology was applied to assist in creating tighter linkages between the users’ interfaces with the model.  The object-oriented approach the authors advocate consisted of spatial objects and thematic objects interacting.  Thematic objects represent methods and topics related to the spatial objects.  Methods are applied to objects.  The authors also distinguish between loose and tight coupling of GIS and models depending on the sharing or source of the database information.  This paper mostly dealt with the proper representation, topology, and integration of the data within the model.  It also Some of the programming directions were also illustrated.  These applications were then applied in a case study model of the Kashkadarya Basin in Central Asia.  Overall, the main thrust of this article was focused on methodology for topology creation and less on water resource management in general.  This is a very technical piece suitable for someone interested in modeling and the technical computing language side of GIS.

 

Nath, Shree S., John P. Bolte, Lindsay G. Ross, and Jose Aguilar-Manjarrez. 2000. Applications of geographical information systems (GIS) for spatial decision support in aquaculture. Aquacultural Engineering 23: 233–278. www.elsevier.nl:locate:aqua-online

 

            Authors make the case for more application of GIS capabilities in the field of aquaculture, which has been relatively slow in deploying such spatial decision support structures.  The particular focus is on the constraints in application to aquaculture.  There is also an overview of GIS terms, and analytical tools, and methodology that is somewhat useful for non-technical readers.  This portion is basically GIS 101 for this field, but is a very useful summary of the capabilities of GIS.  Four case studies were also presented in detail to illustrate the application potential for GIS.  Some of the applications included predictions of weather patterns, development potential, and assessments of the suitability of site locations.  The authors then proceed to discuss the trends they see in GIS regarding fleeter software development, visualization techniques, and data availability.  Overall, this is a very detailed piece covering the basics of GIS and very specific application methodologies.

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Nunes Correia, Francisco, Maria Da Graça Orreia, Marai Saraiva, Fernando Nunes Da Silva, and Isabel Ramos. 1999. Floodplain Management in Urban Developing Areas. Part II. GIS Based Flood Analysis and Urban Growth Modeling. Water Resources Management 13:23 37.

 

This article is the second in a series analyzing the use of models for evaluating floodplain management and urban growth processes.  GIS provides one framework to address the need for decision-support by allowing technical, scientific information to be conveyed in a participatorier manner during the floodplain management process.  GIS provides the integrating platform for flood policy formation.  The combination of GIS and modeling was evaluated in an urban growth case study located in the Livramento River Basin.  Land use patterns were investigated with regards to the floodplain so that several urban growth scenarios could be quantitatively characterized.  By the proper utilization of GIS, the outcomes and potential scenarios could be better conveyed to the general public.

 

Parisi, Domenico, M. Taquino, S. M. Grice, and D. Gill. 2003. Promoting Environmental Democracy Using GIS as a Means to Integrate Community into the EPA-BASINS Approach. Society and Natural Resources. 16:205–219. DOI: 10.1080/08941920390178784

 

A GIS methodology was integrated into the Environmental Protection Agency’s Better Assessment Science Integrating Point Source and Nonpoint Sources (BASIN), which is a multipurpose environmental analysis that combines various analytical means for conducting catchment studies.  While this framework incorporates physical and ecological factors that influence water quality and quantities, the authors argued that the human dimension of the watershed must be included to achieve the goal of holistic and sustainable watershed management.  Using a GIS based methodology on two watersheds in the Upper Pearl River Basin of the Mississippi, communities were identified, measured, and compared across the watersheds.  Results seemed to indicate that higher percentages of communities were rural in the upstream reaches of the watershed relative to those areas downstream.  The economic characteristics also seemed higher and more favorable to downstream communities.  These human patterns and differences must be considered in basis planning, as this could affect the social resistance to or acceptance of operations or practices associated with higher environmental risk.  Integrating human and community dimensions into the BASIN approach via the GIS methodology of the authors would improve decision making capabilities that better identified the processes that resulted in patterns of water quality illustrated by the BASIN approach.  Ultimately, the authors saw this approach as supporting what they called environmental democracy which included more representative stakeholders and associations on the management of watersheds.

 

Richards, Carl, and George Host. 1994. Examining Land Use Influences on Stream Habitats and Macroinvertebrates:  A GIS Approach.  Water Resources Bulletin. 30:4, 729-738.

 

            This paper dealt with using GIS as a tool for assessing relationships between land use patterns, the physical habitat, and the macroinvertebrate fauna of streams in eleven similar watersheds.  GIS contributed a new (relative to the time of the article) way of quantifying spatial information relative to evaluating distributions and patterns in the landscape. Authors used land use patterns to quantify critical components of stream habitat and to assess their impacts on macroinvertebrate assemblages.  Sample streams all drained into Lake Superior’s North Shore.  Field samples of habitats and fauna were conducted and collected, and then statistical correlations were evaluated between the field data and the existing land use patterns.  While relationships between sediment, woody debris, and substrate were notable, the predictive ability of GIS was related to scale and watershed level data resolution.  The authors conclude that utilization of GIS as base layers for further study and as an extension of analysis when field study was unfeasible were promising possibilities.

 

Shim, Kyu-Cheoul, Darrell G. Fontane, and John W. Labadie. 2002. Spatial Decision Support System for Integrated River Basin Flood Control. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management. May/June: 190-201.  DOI: 10.1061/~ASCE!0733-9496~2002!128:3~190!

 

These authors created a prototype spatial decision support system (SDSS) for use in flood control on the Han River Basin in Korea.  GIS, relational database management, monitoring stations, artificial neural networks, and a model simulator were combined to achieve spatially distributed forecasts that the user interfaces with graphically.  This model was intended to assist in the operations of flood control within a system that included reservoir storage.   The model was tested using only the information available at the time in a simulation of a 1995 flood that actually occurred and caused major damage.  This article is very technical and goes into comprehensive detail about how components of the model work and fit together, as well as the assumptions and limitations that constrain the model.  The model worked well for the simulated real-time flood of 1995 in improving the integrated operation of flood control systems.  GIS played a key role in minimizing computational time in the spatial analysis of precipitation data.

 

Wang, Xinhao, and Zhi-Yong Yin. 1997.  Using GIS to Assess the Relationship Between Land Use and Water Quality at a Watershed Level.  Environment International. 22:1, 103-114. 

 

USGS daily water quality data was analyzed for electrical conductivity as a water quality indicator in the Great Miami River of Ohio.  Conductivity has a linear relationship with total dissolved solids in the water.  Using GIS, this data was combined with land use and elevation data so that spatial variation and relationships could be investigated.  Statistical techniques were employed to determine if significant correlation between land use and water quality in the catchment existed. Results indicated that conductivity was not only related to land use and urban development, but also to the cumulative impacts from upstream sources.  Authors concluded that conductivity therefore might not be the most sensitive indicator of nonpoint pollution sources.  Though conductivity demonstrated a pattern of increase downstream, the correlations with land use were weaker with the exception of the correlation between urban land use and conductivity.

 

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* Water Related Links of Interest

 

http://www.willamette-riverkeeper.org/index.htm

 

http://www.fsl.orst.edu/lter/

 

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1413&fuseaction=topics.home

 

http://www.watereuse.org/Foundation/index.html

 

http://www.iwlearn.net/

 

http://www.wildsalmoncenter.org/

 

http://waterpartners.geo.oregonstate.edu/

 

http://water.oregonstate.edu/index.htm

 

http://www.bcwaternews.com/PNW/PNWnews-1116.htm

 

http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/

 

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