All of the units represented in this application have and are currently engaged in various research projects. These projects
involve members of multiple units and colleges. Soil scientists from Agronomy have been leading a project, "Soil carbon storage estimation in central hardwood forest watersheds using quantitative
soil-landscape modeling" to establish general relationships between soils, geology, and topography. The objective is to develop quantitative soillandscape models for estimating soil organic carbon
storage based on topographic and geologic variables using digital elevation model data and digitized geologic data. Geologists are using Arc/Info to study subsidence in the Mississippi Delta. Foresters are
using GIS to delineate elk habitats. Other geologists at the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) are involved in several applied research projects, for example, "Atlas of Karst GroundWater Basins in Kentucky."
This project is using GIS to study spring locations, swallets, and groundwater recharge areas. The rural sociology department is engaged in several extension research projects that include public
participatory GIS over the WWW, de-urbanization of Huff's Trade Area Analysis Model, and solar flux budgeting in southeastern Kentucky. Researchers in the Department of Anthropology are using GIS in a study
of the material correlates of the appearance, expansion, and disintegration of Precolumbian chiefdomlevel societies in the central Mississippi River valley near East St. Louis, IL, USA. Temporal, spatial,
and ecological attributes for over 100 floodplain sites have been analyzed and superimposed settlement patterns have been teased apart against the backdrop of a heterogeneous natural environment. Comparisons
of resource availability highlight disparities in local ecological diversity and risks of Precolumbian harvest failures.Members of the University of Kentucky have also participated in various
national and international research projects. Christopher Pool is guiding the Tres Zapotes Archaeological Survey (Recorrido Arqueologico de Tres Zapotes) near Veracruz in Mexico. Francis Harvey has
collaborated with French researchers on developing new overlay algorithm techniques and methods as well as with researchers from the University of Münster, Germany on semantic interoperability (research
project funded by the NCGIA Varenius program). Dr. Harvey is also completing a project with Swiss researchers on social and technical networks of GIS construction. Michael Kennedy has worked on developing
the dot probability paradigm and his research work on GPS has led to a book on integrating GPS with GIS. Scott Sampson is involved in several research related projects including using GPS equipped collars
for tracking elks, determining solar radiation, and developing web based GIS access for local community and economic development. Lisa Aultman-Hull and Lindell Ormsbee currently are responsible for numerous
projects using GIS, including research on intermodal facilities for truck transport, commodity flow analysis for state-wide freight planning, safety analysis of alcohol related accidents, and work on water
quality assessment and modeling for the Commonwealth. Ross Scaife in Classics is developing two GIS for Internet access. One is an ancient Mediterranean world GIS with various themes including at the moment
Campanian villas around the bay of Naples. The other is a GIS for the excavations of Olynthus, a city in northern Greece destroyed by Philip II. These projects are parts of national programs, research
activities, and interdisciplinary projects. Other projects along these lines can be found elsewhere at the university. Geologists at KGS are carrying out research projects in conjunction and as
part of national resource management projects. The "Coal Availability for the Development of Coal" project, funded by USGS uses a raster GIS application to determine impact of competing land use and
technological restrictions to coal mining in Kentucky. The "National Coal Assessment," which is also funded by USGS is compiling coal characterization data into vector GIS for resource analysis. Products are
regional maps and resource estimates. Please refer to UK GIS Web Resources
page for more information |
