Special Topics in Archaeology Student Spotlight!!

GIS4990 Special Topics in GIS Archaeology, Dr. Scott Palumbo

Scythian Burial Mounds: Report and Publication

Lab description - In this module students ran a regression analysis and examined the output statistics. The final output combines landscape archaeology and recent theory with the project results for online publication. Students will also start thinking about their final project and consider new cases to pursue in the near future.

Student Learning Outcomes:

• Run a regression analysis on your data
• Interpret statistical results
• Express your predictions statistically
• Publish your data to ArcGIS online
• Begin designing a landscape archaeology final project

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT AWARDS

The following student was chosen for their exceptional work on the Scythian Landscapes Report week lab assignment:

Shana Dooley 

About Name: Shana lives on a small sand spit in the Republic of the Marshall Islands; if you don’t know what that is, just picture sand, sand, and well more sand!  This dot of land is located west of Hawaii in the middle of a vast blue ocean.  Residing on an Army base, she works as an archaeologist for 2 of the islands which are both WWII National Battlefields.  Originally from the desert, Shana has made the best of island life taking up snorkeling, SCUBA diving, and sailing; all of the hobbies helped her expand the size of this dot of land considerably.  Shana is a member of the Archaeology tract and is interested in 3D mapping as she expands the skillset!  Welcome back to the spotlight Shana!

What we like: Shana's analyses represent the culmination of a three week landscape archaeology project. In this module, earthen mounds in central Russia are believed to represent the burial locations of the Scythian culture (roughly 8th century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D.). Students were required to determine if the size or patterning of the mounds was non-random. Over the course of two weeks, Shana noted associations between mound locations are environmental features like elevation, aspect and slope. She then used this information to run an Ordinary Least Squares Regression Model (or OLS) that compared the associations between randomly generated points and site locations to quantify the relationship between the mounds and the environmental factors. She also ran a "hotspot" analysis to identify areas where her model might be overly optimistic. Shana was chosen because she conducted these analyses with distinction and produced a clean and intelligible map layout that conveys this information.

Photo Interpretation and Remote Sensing Student Spotlight!!

GIS4035 Photo Interpretation and Remote Sensing, Dr. Brian Fulfrost

Spectral Enhancement and Band Indices

Lab description - For this laboratory exercise, students examined an image of forest surrounding the Olympic Mountains in Washington State. They learned to use the different bands – or layers – of satellite imagery to better study the image. They also learned to calculate an index that will allow them to easily distinguish between vegetation and other features. 

Student Learning Outcomes:

• Explore Image Histograms
• Operate the Inquire Cursor
• Interpret histogram data in images
• Utilize the “Help” menu effectively to locate ERDAS functions
• Identify features by interpreting digital data

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT AWARDS

The following student was chosen for their exceptional work on the Spectral Enhancement and Band Indices lab assignment:

Stuart Fricke 

About Stuart: Stuart hails from the Pacific Northwest, currently residing in Pasco, Washington.  After completing a degree in economics in 1984, Stuart went on to finish a second BA in Finance by 1986 from Washington State University.  He decided to pursue the UWF Graduate Certificate program to enhance his technical capabilities and better his current business.  Since 1992, Stuart has been managing White Shield Inc. which specializes in surveying and mapping, environmental services, and quality control.  The business has been in the family since 1978, and they have additional offices in Bellevue, WA, and New Town, ND.  While his business takes up most of his time, Stuart makes plenty of room for his wife and two sons, church, and an occasional fishing or camping trip!  For all the time in between, Stuart can be found with a book or eReader in his hands!  Welcome to the Spotlight Stuart!!

What we like: Stuart's maps looks really good and demonstrated effective band combos. We like how the band combinations really made the feature stand out and how Stuart identified the specific feature on the map and included an inset map. He also included a written description of what was being highlighted on each map.  Way to go Stuart, keep up the excellent work!

Special Topics in GIS Spotlight!!

GIS5935 Special Topics in GIS, Dr. Paul Zandbergen

TINs and DEMs

Lab description - In this lab we examined TIN and DEM elevation models. We compared these two data models for elevation, as well as examined some of their properties. We also practice creating and modifying a TIN.

Student Learning Outcomes:

• Create 3D visualizations of elevation models. 
• Create and modify a TIN using various input datasets 
• Compare TIN and DEM elevation models in terms of their properties and derivatives

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT AWARD

The following student was chosen for their exceptional work on the TINs and DEMs Lab assignment:

Laura Simpkins 

About Luara: Laura lives in Wild, Wonderful, West Virginia with her husband and 2 kitties. She has an undergraduate degree in environmental science from University of Mary Washington in Virginia. Laura has interned with the park service at Grand Canyon NP and worked for the WV dept. of environmental protection in watershed management. Currently she is an environmental educator at a children's museum. She loves working with kids, but is ready for a new adventure. Laura joined this GIS program to gain some technical skills to help her set out on a new path hopefully in environmental resource management. She is interested in native plants, wetlands, rivers, streams, creeks, cricks, and playing in the woods. Welcome back to the spotlight, Laura!

What we like: Laura provided a solid comparison of elevation models in TIN and DEM formats and created strong visualizations to support her comparisons.  Pairing the visualization with a  great a symbology those sought after ski runs are now easier to see than ever!  Great job Laura, keep up the excellent work!

Internship Student Spotlight!!

GIS4944/5945, GIS Internship, Instructor, Mrs. Leah Lewis, GISP

GIS Internships - Let's get to work!

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT AWARDS

The following student was chosen to highlight their current GIS internship experience.  

Jelly Riedel 

About Jelly: Jelly is currently enrolled in our graduate level certificate program were she is pursuing her true interests in environmental science.  She recently left the Navy with almost a decade of service and holds a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics.  Her first step after wrapping up her service including following her passion and enrolling in the GIS program here at UWF.  From there, she plans to move on to a master's program in environmental studies.  Outside of school, Jelly is married, with a busy 2.5 year old.  She also has two pet parrots (one true parrot, the other is a cockatiel), who are very demanding creatures. Her spare time involves a lot of reading, hiking, and zumba/dance fitness.

Jelly is currently interning with national DEVELOP program with NASA at Langley Research Center in Virginia.  At NASA, Jelly is working on the Coastal Mid-Atlantic Water Resources Project.  What an amazing opportunity for you!  Way to go and welcome to the spotlight. Working with NASA has the Celsius thermometer off the chart.  Astronaut helmets off to you!

Photo Interpretation and Remote Sensing student spotlight!

GIS4035 Photo Interpretation and Remote Sensing, Dr. Brian Fulfrost

Ground Truthing and Accuracy Assessment

Lab description - Last week, students honed their skills of recognizing features on the ground using a natural color aerial photograph. They digitized an area of Pascagoula, MS, creating a land use/land cover map. Students identified features on the ground based on size, shape, color, pattern, shadows, associations, etc. This week In this lab, students investigated areas of their LULC maps to verify their classification schemes from last week’s lab. This is a way for them to gauge their skills of aerial photo interpretation that they have been learning. 

Student Learning Outcomes:

• Construct an unbiased sampling system
• Locate and identify features using Google Maps street view
• Calculate the accuracy of a Land Use / Land Cover classification map

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT AWARDS

The following student was chosen for their exceptional work on the Ground Truthing and Accuracy Assessment assignment:

Shana Dooley

About Shana: Shana lives on a small sand spit in the Republic of the Marshall Islands; if you don’t know what that is, just picture sand, sand, and well more sand!  This dot of land is located west of Hawaii in the middle of a vast blue ocean.  Residing on an Army base, she works as an archaeologist for 2 of the islands which are both WWII National Battlefields.  Originally from the desert, Shana has made the best of island life taking up snorkeling, SCUBA diving, and sailing; all of the hobbies helped her expand the size of this dot of land considerably.  Shana is a member of the Archaeology tract and is interested in 3D mapping as she expands the skillset!  Welcome to the spotlight Shana!

What we like: We like that Shana updated her original land use map based on feedback from the previous week. She was able to choose an unbiased sampling method and fully grasped the idea of ground truthing her points using Google Maps. Her sampling points gave her a 90% overall accuracy of her map, and in her discussion she was able to justify why she marked a point as correct or incorrect. Way to go, Shana!