Date of Award
10-31-2011
Document Type
Masters Capstone Project
Degree Name
M.S. in Geographic Information Science
Organizational Unit
College of Natural Science and Mathematics, Geography and the Environment
First Advisor
Steven R. Hick
Second Advisor
Andrew Goetz
Keywords
Reclaimed coal-mine areas, Vegetation growth, Topsoil distribution
Abstract
A necessary precursor to ensure proper vegetation growth on reclaimed coal-mine areas is even distribution of topsoil. This capstone discusses development of surface models to describe the accurate determination and visualization of the distribution of topsoil. Prediction surfaces from topsoil-depth point samples were created using the surface interpolation methods, Inverse Distance Weighted and Kriging. The validity and accuracy of each method was assessed to determine the best method to evaluate actual topsoil distribution at a coal mining site. The model can be utilized by non- spatially trained personnel working in the mining arena as an aid in assessing how appropriately the topsoil has been distributed over newly reclaimed mine areas.
Copyright Date
10-31-2011
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Janine Ferarese
Provenance
Received from author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
61 pgs
File Size
1.3 MB
Recommended Citation
Ferarese, Janine, "Surface Modeling Topsoil Distribution on a Reclaimed Coal-Mine Site at Blackmesa Mine Complex, Kayenta, Arizona" (2011). Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones. 16.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/geog_ms_capstone/16