NEARC Fall 2017

AUTHORS: David Szczebak, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife

ABSTRACT: The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has provided anglers and boaters with maps showing pond and lake bathymetry since the 1940s and 1950s. Technology has changed a lot since that time. To create new pond maps, biologists use GPS sounders to record depth measurements and GPS coordinates. This information is imported into GIS and run through several interpolation techniques to produce depth contours.While the original pond maps were created using anywhere between 50 and 150 data points, new maps often incorporate 8,000 to 12,000 points. The new statistical and data collection techniques, combined with a roughly 100-fold increase in the amount of data, result in pond maps that are far better representations of actual bathymetry.

AUTHORS: Caroline A. Curtis*, Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Valerie J. Pasquarella, Postdoctoral Fellow, Northeast Climate Science Center, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Bethany A. Bradley, Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst

ABSTRACT: Non-native pines are established in plantations throughout the southern hemisphere and, in many areas, have escaped and spread into the surrounding ecosystem. These invasive populations alter ecosystem function and threaten native species. In Chile, some studies have quantified land cover change relative to non-native pines and have generally found a decrease in native forest and an increase in non-native pine since the 1980’s. However, in measuring land cover change, these studies fail to differentiate increasing plantation size and invaded areas, which is an important distinction for conservation and management of native ecosystems in Chile. The large spatial extent and high detectability of non-native pines provides a unique opportunity to apply remotely sensed data to quantify current land cover and model land cover change through time. I downloaded all high quality Landsat images for scenes in Chile in which invasion occurred. For each scene, I created reference data and identified invaded areas based on Google Earth images. I used time series models to quantify spatiotemporal patterns of land cover change and the Random Forest algorithm to classify images and create land cover maps. By separating plantations from invaded areas, I can better understand how non-native pines impact native ecosystems and how dispersal proceeds across the landscape.

AUTHORS: Nick Napoli, NROC; Jenna Ducharme*, RPS ASA; Jeremy Fontenault*, RPS ASA; Ben Fish, RPS ASA; Kelly Knee, RPS ASA; Emily Shumchenia, NROC; Daniel Martin; NOAA

ABSTRACT: The Northeast Ocean Data Portal is an online data and information system developed by a consortium of private, nonprofit, and governmental organizations to support ocean planning in the Northeast. The portal provides access to cloud-based data products and interactive web maps that characterize marine resources and the use of ocean space, while also harnessing and providing access to a range of ocean management and planning resources within, and outside of, the region. This year, multiple datasets on the Portal have undergone updates, and there has been exciting new functionality added to give the user more control over the data viewing environment. This presentation will highlight some of the recent major updates. It will also demonstrate the new ability for users to view hundreds of individual fish, marine mammal, and bird species data layers with other data that supports ocean planning. Finally, this presentation will discuss how to access, interpret, and make decisions based on usage statistics for hosted ArcGIS Server map services that are publicly available. In addition, it will discuss ways these capabilities have helped shape decisions made by the Northeast Ocean Data Portal working group.

AUTHORS: Drew Meren GISP, Quantum Spatial

ABSTRACT: Quantum Spatial has provided thermal infrared (TIR) data for a breadth of applications both aquatic and terrestrial.  TIR imaging supports a wide range of projects in:

• Biological studies in stream environments
• Urban and facility energy efficiency
• Groundwater discharge detection
• Stream temperature dynamics
• Subsurface thermal vents
• Geothermal energy exploration
• Illicit discharge detection
• Forest fir mapping

In addition to the applications listed above, of TIR, this presentation will focus on the acquisition and interpretation of airborne TIR.

AUTHORS: Caroline Alves, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets

ABSTRACT: Water quality degradation in Lake Champlain and its tributaries has necessitated stricter regulations for the farming community in Vermont. Previously, floodplain farm fields had fewer restrictions placed on them in terms of cropping and nutrient application. Flat topography causes these areas to be considered “non- highly erodible”. Continuous corn can be grown in floodplains over many years. Heightened public awareness and advocacy by environmental groups has put pressure on regulators to formulate new rules to lessen sediment and nutrient loss in agricultural floodplains. Mapping out a spatially defined area of flooding risk has proved challenging. Farmers need to know exactly where they are expected to implement a higher level of management. _x000D_
In time, statewide lidar data and its derivatives will provide this detailed information. Where lidar is currently available, creating maps that show different degrees of flooding offer a starting point in conversations with farmers. New rules require adjustments in cropping, nutrient management and construction plans - all of which impact financial decisions. This talk will cover a variety of mapping approaches focused on how to delineate the unpredictable risk of flooding.

AUTHORS: Peggy Minnis, Senior Lecturer, Pace University

ABSTRACT: An inventory of the urban forest could be the basis for many planning functions in a municipality. Learning the species, age and conditions of the trees can help predict maintenance needs and opportunities for new tree plantings. This project is about planning an inventory for Norwalk, Connecticut, where trained volunteers will collect within a 37.5 foot radius of one to two hundred randomly-distributed points. These data will be entered into the i-Tree tool ECO program. Some of the outputs for ECO analyses are: species condition and distribution, carbon sequestration and storage, pollutant removal, pest risk analysis. GIS is used in the planning and data will be collected on mobile devices using an app specific to this program.