Date of Award

8-1-1993

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Geography and Geology

First Advisor

Dr. Jeffrey Peake

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to determine if there had been significant changes in sandhill wetlands between the years 1972 and 1989, as determined by Landsat satellite imagery. Seven satellite images were classified and analyzed to identify wetlands in the study area and described their characteristics. Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) imagery and Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery were used as primary source data for the project. U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFW) National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) map data and existing color infrared photography (CIR) were used to help identify wetland types from the satellite imagery. The image analysis focused on attempting to extract the most accurate wetland designation from each scene to provide the greatest quantitative and qualitative information about each wetland type. The statistical analysis described the significance of the observations, and what, if any, changes have occurred in wetland types, over the 17 year study period. This study is especially timely as degradation of wetlands through human development, compounded by climatic fluctuations, continues in the United States.

Comments

A Thesis Presented to the Department of Geography and Geology and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha. Copyright 1993 Andrew P. Dinville.

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