tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85480448119300096442024-02-07T15:13:37.386-05:00GeographiaA blog about anything Geo and
applying spatial thought to the world!Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-9260753544773412902013-02-15T22:55:00.002-05:002013-02-15T22:55:59.394-05:00Mapping Damascus Over TimeThe city of Damascus has always intrigued me. Maybe because it is the oldest established metropolis in the Levant region and the most continuously inhabited city in the world, or maybe it is because it is in the heart of the Middle East. Regardless of the reason behind this intriguing city, it is interesting to see how the city developed over time from a spatial perspective. I have compiled a list of eight maps to show how the city developed since the Romans occupied the Levant region of the Middle East. The first in the series of maps shows the various empires throughout history that helped shaped the city into its early 20th century boundaries. Then each of the following maps progressively show how Damascus grew over time. Now with the civil war destroying this city, it would be interesting to see how the city will be altered again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eTRTcrztFRIf8cWnQ_1xmPNxFrAoMo_U9C1kqpsYzi1b3DWddd8_oNefpaSmNvtVTd4dvDYqnSSVpS61aBXwDxCyvSE5igZmKJUWMbBct7HWaEwwp6jnzqQ4b7RF_qhJtPb4rnIArDSK/s1600/older_damascus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eTRTcrztFRIf8cWnQ_1xmPNxFrAoMo_U9C1kqpsYzi1b3DWddd8_oNefpaSmNvtVTd4dvDYqnSSVpS61aBXwDxCyvSE5igZmKJUWMbBct7HWaEwwp6jnzqQ4b7RF_qhJtPb4rnIArDSK/s640/older_damascus.jpg" width="472" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Map 1: Urban Evolution of the City of Damascus - Roman Era until the 1960's</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW13vTJMfxXTr1bKuPD1b_LBkgeBUojObyK6eMCSTJbIQTJ3VKWPTagd9SPUQkHkFYtFhb-WL1svncqwo4eigykdbneXhHdrSitBZNY60O6QM9t8ss0DueX16PEg2UtLWti3wghL5-PHAC/s1600/D3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW13vTJMfxXTr1bKuPD1b_LBkgeBUojObyK6eMCSTJbIQTJ3VKWPTagd9SPUQkHkFYtFhb-WL1svncqwo4eigykdbneXhHdrSitBZNY60O6QM9t8ss0DueX16PEg2UtLWti3wghL5-PHAC/s640/D3.jpg" width="413" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Map 2: French cartographic map of Damascus in 1929</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7EWnfZG1Th8qm8LK6lJBbk5LfpOZXAZTNUR5LCt7wQNoojViA_ee0ws5JJD4kYgRTlYQKyz6mU7eBZC3RwPQjCJBURBIEPLSBS8VuYvvulQmJRuqNzug6CzpjNBMInPcfxDmvApupy5Bp/s1600/Old_Damascus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7EWnfZG1Th8qm8LK6lJBbk5LfpOZXAZTNUR5LCt7wQNoojViA_ee0ws5JJD4kYgRTlYQKyz6mU7eBZC3RwPQjCJBURBIEPLSBS8VuYvvulQmJRuqNzug6CzpjNBMInPcfxDmvApupy5Bp/s640/Old_Damascus.jpg" width="386" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">
Map 3: Cultural Map of the city of Damascus in 1936</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0v-2QmmoQGA4wag_2uD7NZIXO_B8lat3lUNaJ1PlF8zif8wxOvLvqRw1PigiGNjrt8PWn5MMcVVLr5TBRALcZosf66-v64sfMYVe4Cl9HfQpFfi5xy-WtyEgUTWrJeW26Ik36B0eY21F/s1600/newerdimashq.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0v-2QmmoQGA4wag_2uD7NZIXO_B8lat3lUNaJ1PlF8zif8wxOvLvqRw1PigiGNjrt8PWn5MMcVVLr5TBRALcZosf66-v64sfMYVe4Cl9HfQpFfi5xy-WtyEgUTWrJeW26Ik36B0eY21F/s400/newerdimashq.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map 4: Growth of Damascus from 1936 to 1994</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieLRbFHCnkibUOog6j9r_xYGU4xgzx1SOQy6FsbJP9cuD_bFfrSJDn8lfogipuVMGetzBvp0QjRFu_NKanHugSvPaBw4basrm8oV69MsdCHIMFpIlCLsc2U3mMvGtLU42E4174SQUALNn3/s1600/200damascus.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieLRbFHCnkibUOog6j9r_xYGU4xgzx1SOQy6FsbJP9cuD_bFfrSJDn8lfogipuVMGetzBvp0QjRFu_NKanHugSvPaBw4basrm8oV69MsdCHIMFpIlCLsc2U3mMvGtLU42E4174SQUALNn3/s400/200damascus.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map 5: Population Growth of Damascus, 1981 to 2000</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNN9lFzL9L3X-qPLk80xaQgMo9uT-Q88DG7d6yG5k6C_Dk8G3TnU4g3m215uoebW5jCQ7_EM5Ks14NSPee1e7YjGIIqFwV5ZYeo5EPobmp7Ym6eV8TpLyfchRTjIySU4f78u9b466Peyv-/s1600/Districts_of_damascus.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNN9lFzL9L3X-qPLk80xaQgMo9uT-Q88DG7d6yG5k6C_Dk8G3TnU4g3m215uoebW5jCQ7_EM5Ks14NSPee1e7YjGIIqFwV5ZYeo5EPobmp7Ym6eV8TpLyfchRTjIySU4f78u9b466Peyv-/s400/Districts_of_damascus.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map 6: The City of Damascus in 2004</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDytOrchJVAb8A9H62LL3T9TE1tBfsKtcXdYOL2WgHADSAqtqhbBXa0Gn3ig3FH9S4N9vY-Z32SBTHcNpy4lhlxdC9ayYRkCj1DEi3OqYA6uEvsHvLVoEX2klVZD62Frm1-Ni0ngbPuGg/s1600/dam_urban.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDytOrchJVAb8A9H62LL3T9TE1tBfsKtcXdYOL2WgHADSAqtqhbBXa0Gn3ig3FH9S4N9vY-Z32SBTHcNpy4lhlxdC9ayYRkCj1DEi3OqYA6uEvsHvLVoEX2klVZD62Frm1-Ni0ngbPuGg/s400/dam_urban.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map 7: The inner-city of Damascus, Present Day</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9epfFZIaSBU-8ognzoUrXbOfTiEDdbJlrjCCMr4YuYbGj3DVqxUh_A7XGDzQv8_mlt7O585HwyMUySuagswu4GM-8_yNCf4OwyZ-M9vpDJe4NLyQCrMukFHpBNwdJMwp4TXzU9a9XVjx/s1600/dam_sat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9epfFZIaSBU-8ognzoUrXbOfTiEDdbJlrjCCMr4YuYbGj3DVqxUh_A7XGDzQv8_mlt7O585HwyMUySuagswu4GM-8_yNCf4OwyZ-M9vpDJe4NLyQCrMukFHpBNwdJMwp4TXzU9a9XVjx/s400/dam_sat.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map 8: Present day satellite imagery of Damascus</td></tr>
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<br />
Map Sources:<br />
<br />
Map 1: Al-Qattan, N. (2002) Litigants and Neighbours: The Communal Topography of<br />
Ottoman Damascus Comparative Studies in Society and History Vol 44 No 3, p 511-533.<br />
Map 2: Bureau Topographique des Troupes Francaises du Levant (1929) Damas available from <br />
http://historiccities.huji.ac.il/syria/damascus/maps/tfl_1929_damascus.html<br />
Map 3: a) Map - Al-Qattan, N. (2002) Litigants and Neighbours: The Communal Topography of<br />
Ottoman Damascus Comparative Studies in Society and History Vol 44 No 3, p 511-533.<br />
b) Religion overlay - Khoury, P.S. (1984) Syrian Urban Politics in Transition: The Quarters of<br />
Damascus during the French Mandate International Journal of Middle East<br />
Studies Vol 16 No 4 p 507-540 (1984).<br />
Map 4: El-Ibrahim, K. (2001) Spontaneous Settlements around the City of Damascus<br />
Damascus: University of Damascus, p 80Map 5: El-Ibrahim, K. (2001) Spontaneous Settlements around the City of Damascus<br /> Damascus: University of Damascus, p. 71<br />
Map 6: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Districts_of_damascus.gif<br />
Map 7: http://www.studio-basel.com/assets/files/files/21_urban_development_of_damascus_web.pdf<br />
Map 8: Astrium Geo. 2012. http://www.imagekind.com/Damascus-Syria--Satellite-Image-art?<br />
IMID=5cd73cc1-6559-42a0-a1c0-b1d745c9d45f<br />
<br />Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com1Damascus, Syria33.5111 36.3063999999999433.4051815 36.145724999999942 33.6170185 36.467074999999937tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-65259349906265007162012-04-02T19:25:00.000-04:002012-04-02T19:25:35.049-04:00The Geography and Natural Resources of Alaska<br />
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<st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state> is <st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place>’s
last frontier. The origin behind this
nickname came from its isolation from the rest of the continental <st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place>. <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state> is a
vast region with rugged terrain and harsh climates, bordered by <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region> and several
bodies of water. Many resources can be
found in this remote land, but one of these resources, oil, has started
controversy among its environmental impact and as a result has plagued this
region. </div>
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Approximately 50 years ago, <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state> was admitted as the 49<sup>th</sup> state of the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region>. Europeans first discovered this land in 1741
when a Danish-born navigator, Vitus Bering, who was serving in the Russian
Navy, was on an expedition around the northern <st1:place w:st="on">Pacific
Ocean</st1:place>. During this
expedition, he sighted land on the southern coast of <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>,
in an area known as <st1:placename w:st="on">Kayak</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Island</st1:placetype>, in addition to the <st1:place w:st="on">Aleutian
Islands</st1:place>. Another vessel,
captained by <span class="navtext2">Aleksei Chirikov, was sailing along side of
Bering’s ship when a storm separated them.
Chirikov continued to explore and traveled to various points along <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alaska</st1:place></st1:state>’s coast until his
crew became ill and the journey could no longer continue. From this point, the Russian’s occupied the
Alaskan territory; however much of it was unexplored. </span>On October
18, 1867, the land was purchased by the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region> for approximately $7.2
million dollars. <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state> has many geographic landscapes within
its boundaries; some of which have helped its economy and others which may it
difficult for settlements to survive.
Gold and oil have had a significant impact on <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>’s geographical landscapes, while the
climate has prohibited development in many places across the vast region. </div>
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<st1:place style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Alaska</st1:place><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">’s
economy has improved over time due to an abundance of resources.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">Timber, oil, sea foods, and tourism have all
contributed to this growth.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">Furthermore,
</span><st1:state style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> was first attracted to Americans by the
gold rushes of </span><st1:city style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Juneau</st1:city><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">, </span><st1:placename style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Circle</st1:placename><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
</span><st1:placetype style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">City</st1:placetype><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">, Klondike, </span><st1:city style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Nome</st1:city><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">,
and </span><st1:city style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Fairbanks</st1:city><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
in the late 1800’s.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">Over 30,000 people
flocked to these areas in the hopes to strike gold; however, with the increase
in population, Congress had to start applying laws to the territory to keep
order.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">After the gold rush had ended, many
of the people who originally migrated to </span><st1:state style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
ended up staying there which resulted in </span><st1:state style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">’s
population quickly increasing.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">Small
settlements grew into big towns, such as </span><st1:city style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Fairbanks</st1:city><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">,
</span><st1:city style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Juneau</st1:city><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">, and </span><st1:city style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Nome</st1:city><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">Also, the development of a railroad system in </span><st1:state style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
was built to connect mines throughout the territory to the </span><st1:placetype style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">port</st1:placetype><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> of </span><st1:placename style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Seward</st1:placename><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">,
located on the southern coast of </span><st1:state style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">,
which allowed the flow of goods and resources to be dispersed.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">The </span><st1:state style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
railroad connected the towns of </span><st1:city style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Fairbanks</st1:city><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">, </span><st1:city style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Anchorage</st1:city><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">, and Seward.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">Eventually, as time progressed, the railway
was growing with the increase of military personnel moving supplies and other
resources in increasing demand.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">The
economic, cultural, and political geography of this land had transformed greatly
after the discovery of gold.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">Economically, the gold rush contributed to a growing economy that
assisted in the establishment of many new settlements during the turn of the
century.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">Culturally, the area of </span><st1:state style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> with gold
deposits was predominately Native Americans.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">The gold rush expanded the culture with the massive amounts of people
migrating to these areas.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">New customs,
religions, and beliefs contributed to the socio-economic way of life that was
originally not available.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">Lastly, the
political geography of </span><st1:state style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
was slowly changing in order to cater to the growing population.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">Congress and the </span><st1:country-region style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">United
States</st1:country-region><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> started recognizing </span><st1:state style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">;
instead of being a vast open land, it was seen as an area of the </span><st1:country-region style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">
with an abundance of resources.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">This
observation provoked many changes in the laws of </span><st1:state style="text-indent: 0.25in;" w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state><span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5W5ZPkT0PoTf360fsoCDV8mNpeyBzhwy4T1EUS2dz3HTQH4vpC-24ojypz3TzPwwIHV6kZWCRgiPrBy8aSjppUYA2CwwoDvPgLd2c10tEXP0SLsPBjSBDAHD87wLgw4LguKHYoCx4hsG/s1600/alaska1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5W5ZPkT0PoTf360fsoCDV8mNpeyBzhwy4T1EUS2dz3HTQH4vpC-24ojypz3TzPwwIHV6kZWCRgiPrBy8aSjppUYA2CwwoDvPgLd2c10tEXP0SLsPBjSBDAHD87wLgw4LguKHYoCx4hsG/s400/alaska1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-indent: .25in;">
Figure 1: Map published in 1898 and covers areas abundant
in gold and coal <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-indent: .25in;">
Another major improvement to <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>’s economy was the opening of vast
oilfields in northern part of the state.
In the 1970’s, the United States authorized a pipeline to be built to
transport the oil from the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe Bay to the Gulf of Alaska at
Valdez. The pipeline, which is called
the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, runs approximately 800 miles between these
two areas and has transported over 15 billion barrels of oil since it was built. In <st1:city w:st="on">Valdez</st1:city>, the
oil is then shipped from the <st1:placetype w:st="on">port</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Valdez</st1:placename> to the mainland of the <st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place> for further
refining. Supposedly, there is also a
great abundance of oil that can be found in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refugee (ANWR), located in northeastern <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>
and other areas of the <st1:place w:st="on">Arctic</st1:place>; however,
environmentalists continually fight the possibility of drilling in this tundra
region. In an article by Mitchell, he
states “much of the debate over whether to drill in ANWR rests on the amount of
economically recoverable oil, as it relates to world oil markets, weighed
against the potential harm oil exploration might have upon the natural wildlife.” Some of the animals, birds, and mammals in
these habitats that would be affected include caribou, polar bears, walrus, and
whales, among other species. In addition
to damaging the habitats of these animals, there is also political and cultural
landscapes affected. Politically, the
Canadian government opposes anytime type of drilling in this area due to the
shared boundary with the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Yukon</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Province</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Two Canadian national parks, Ivvavik and
Vuntut are located in the vicinity of the opposed drilling sites and also
provide refugee for various types of animals, especially caribou. These parks have banned any type of industry
from developing these lands and expect the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region> to treat these lands
with the same respect. Since the
discovery of oil in <st1:place w:st="on">Alaska</st1:place>,
it has become a major revenue of the state, in addition to income for many
Alaskans. The residents of the state
along with the Alaskan government are for the idea of drilling in these
protected lands because it will increase profit and revenue for them from the
oil leasing. The Native Americans of the
geographic region have split views on whether to drill or not depending on
where they live. For instance, the
Inupiat Eskimos who live north of the mountains named Brooks Range, are for
onshore drilling, but oppose to offshore drilling; where as the Gwich’in
Indians, south of the <st1:place w:st="on">Brooks Range</st1:place>, pose the
drilling as a threat to their environment.
Other supporters of the drilling argue that the oil able to be salvaged
beneath northern <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>’s tundra could equate
to many decades of importing oil from the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place>. This would decrease our dependency on oil
from foreign countries and reinvest our money in our own economy vice in a
foreign government. Regardless, of the
aforementioned pros and cons, there still has not been enough research to
determine how the drilling would really affect the geographic landscape of
northern <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>. Many of the geographic landscapes affected by
the extraction of petroleum have had similar results to <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>’s economy as in the gold rush. Petroleum extracts make up the majority of
revenue for the state of <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kG8orMzSeBuuYH49agIjxKNzI2y9ZpyZQMq1NWaLXwvvcZonofWNLoH8LAvFvLrMbJlO58c-CLYnHz7JlYMksXVkMJE1KfWHzFTVUGrTMH9s9kH8z4k1fskoTGn2P37ELBxdXtEFf2FH/s1600/alaska2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kG8orMzSeBuuYH49agIjxKNzI2y9ZpyZQMq1NWaLXwvvcZonofWNLoH8LAvFvLrMbJlO58c-CLYnHz7JlYMksXVkMJE1KfWHzFTVUGrTMH9s9kH8z4k1fskoTGn2P37ELBxdXtEFf2FH/s400/alaska2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin-left: .25in;">
<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1026"
type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:431.25pt;height:252pt'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Brian\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.png"
o:title="gas"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-left: .25in;">
Figure 2: Map published in 1999 by the State of <st1:place w:st="on">Alaska</st1:place>’s Oil and Gas
Division<o:p></o:p></div>
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The physical
geography of <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>
is mostly mountainous with 14 ranges covering the majority of area within the
state, along with hills, valleys, and rivers.
Natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanoes are known to have helped
shape the geography of <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>
over the past millions of years. In
addition, <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state> is surrounded by water on
three of its sides: Arctic Ocean to the North, Bering Sea to the West,
and the <st1:place w:st="on">Pacific Ocean</st1:place> to the South. The total area of these three bodies of water
consists for 43,887 miles of the coastline.
However, most of <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>’s
physical geography is very remote and inhabitable and covers approximately 590,
804 square miles. It is extremely cold
making it very difficult for any type of agriculture, cultivation, extensive
development, or permanent settlement for most people. The largest city, <st1:city w:st="on">Anchorage</st1:city>, does not have more than 300,000
people residing in it. Most of the northern
lands are tundra and permafrost.
Permafrost consumes about 80% of <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>
and impacts the physical infrastructure of <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>.
Constructing buildings over permafrost could cause it to melt resulting
in the buildings to partially sink.
Similarly, roads in permafrost areas can cause the subsurface to melt
resulting in road depressions and expensive repairs. Since it is so inhabitable, the region has not
been explored in great detail; however, in addition to what has already been
found, it is possible there may be even more resources in gold and oil that
have not been found and which would be very beneficial to <st1:place w:st="on">Alaska</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In conclusion, many industries
have been established in <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>. Gold, copper, and coal mines have been
created from the abundance of resources located within or near the various
mountain ranges in this geographic region.
In addition, oil and gas pump stations have been created from various
regions in the north. Since the land is
so remote, railroads and pipelines have been built to transport theses
resources to other parts of the country, mainly through the ports of <st1:city w:st="on">Valdez</st1:city> and Seward. Unfortunately, between the northern and
southern regions of <st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state>,
the land is extremely rugged and unstable, with three mountain ranges,
permafrost, rivers and streams, and many migration paths for animals, in
addition to active fault lines. As a
result, the geological activity between the north and the south has caused many
problems for the pipeline, as well as the railroad, which does not travel as
far north.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com0Alaska, USA63.588753 -154.493061938.468495 165.0772506 88.709011 -114.06337439999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-80793228220941416772012-03-31T20:32:00.002-04:002012-04-01T07:04:18.441-04:00Applying Geographic Information Systems to Real-world Issues - Cell Tower Mapping<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Case Study Proposal:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">PROPSED TITLE: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The identification of 25
potential sites to construct cell phone towers around the Greater Boston
Metropolitan Area<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">ABSTRACT <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This study will examine the potential for a design of a
project in regards to a wireless phone company who is interested in expanding
their communication network to receive better coverage in the Greater Boston
Metropolitan area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The project will consist of sorting through
many datasets available online via <a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/massgis.htm">http://www.mass.gov/mgis/massgis.htm</a>
and then downloading key features that may assist in the creation of
geodatabases. Ultimately, this will
align the various analyses of determining which datasets will reveal ideal
locations for the new cell towers.
Furthermore, new developments have boosted the population in and around
Boston creating a greater demand for communication technologies, especially as
the networks are expanding into 4G standards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">MASS.GOV LAYERS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The following layers will establish a base foundation
dataset in order to perform several different types of analyses. Some of these datasets may be repetitive (i.e.
some of the data will be downloaded for awareness) or may only be used as a
reference and not in the actual analyses (which are located immediately below).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">BACKGROUND LAYERS:<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Aerial photography</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> - </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/colororthos2008.htm">USGS Color Ortho
Imagery (2008/2009)</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Scanned Reference Maps</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> - </span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/im_quad.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">USGS
Topographic Quadrangle Images</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/im_quad_sgbase.htm">USGS 1:24,000
Surficial Geology Topographic Base Map Images</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Vector Files</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> - </span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/townssurvey.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Community
Boundaries (Towns) from Survey Points</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/</span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/counties.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">County Boundaries</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/</span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/outline.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">State
Outlines</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/</span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/eot_layers.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Massachusetts 2000
Urban Boundaries</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/</span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/zn.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Zoning</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/</span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/trains.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Trains</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/</span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/lidarbuildingfp2d.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Building Footprints
(2-D, from Lidar data)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/<a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/census2000.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Datalayers from the 2000 U.S. Census</span></a>:
TIGER Linework (Roads, Railroads, Rivers and Streams, Powerlines, etc.), TIGER
Water Bodies, and TIGER Towns<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8548044811930009644" name="reg"></a><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8548044811930009644" name="misc"></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">RASTER LAYERS <span style="color: #1f497d;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Elevation</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/elev_2005.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Elevation
(Topographic) Data (2005)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/img_elev5k.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Digital
Elevation Model (1:5,000)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/img_shdrel5k.htm">Shaded Relief
(1:5,000)</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">VECTOR LAYERS <span style="color: #1f497d;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Census/Statistical Data</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/census2010.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Datalayers from
the 2010 U.S. Census</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<ul type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Blocks<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Block Groups<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tracts<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ground Suitability Data</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/impervious_surface.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Impervious Surface</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> (raster to vector conversion)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/lus2005.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Land Use
(2005)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/lus.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Land Use
(1951-1999)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/soi.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">NRCS
SSURGO-Certified Soils</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/sg24k.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Surficial
Geology (1:24,000)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/sg.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Surficial
Geology (1:250,000)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/bedlith.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Bedrock
Lithology</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/natveg.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Priority Natural
Vegetation Communities</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/primeforest.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Prime Forest Land</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/intforest.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Interior Forest</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/aq.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Aquifers</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8548044811930009644" name="coast"></a><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8548044811930009644" name="consres"></a><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Conservation/Recreation (merge into one shapefile)</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/osp.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Protected and
Recreational Open Space</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/</span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/acecs.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Areas of
Critical Environmental Concern</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/</span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/scen-inv.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Scenic
Landscapes</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/</span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/natcomm.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">NHESP Natural
Communities</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/</span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/biomap2.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">BioMap2</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8548044811930009644" name="cultres"></a><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8548044811930009644" name="envmon"></a><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8548044811930009644" name="index"></a><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8548044811930009644" name="infra"></a><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Infrastructure</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Transportation</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/eotroads.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">MassDOT Roads</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/census2010.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Census 2010
TIGER Roads</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Other Facilities (merge into one
shapefile)</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/schools.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Schools</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/</span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/colleges.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Colleges and Universities</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8548044811930009644" name="phyres"></a><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Physical
Resources</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Topography</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/elev_2005.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Elevation
(Topographic) Data (2005)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/hp.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Elevation
Contours (1:5,000)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/hp250k.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Elevation
Contours (1:250,000)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/p.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Digital
Orthophoto Elevation Points</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/l.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Digital
Orthophoto Topographic Breaklines</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/dtm.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Digital Terrain
Model (DTM) Files</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/img_elev5k.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Digital
Elevation Model (1:5,000) from DTM Files</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/img_shdrel5k.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Shaded Relief
(1:5,000)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Water Features (Merge into one
shapefile)</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/hd.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Hydrography
(1:25,000)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">/ </span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/wetdep.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">DEP Wetlands
(1:12,000)</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> (formerly 1:5,000 Orthophoto
Wetlands and Streams)/</span><a href="http://www.mass.gov/mgis/majhd.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Major Ponds and Major Streams</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8548044811930009644" name="polit"></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">ADDITIONAL LAYERS<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Additional layers can be found at <a href="http://wireless.fcc.gov/geographic/index.htm">http://wireless.fcc.gov/geographic/index.htm</a>
- it is important to understand the current cell tower infrastructure in
identifying gaps in coverage or where they may lay in regards to more
population density in one area over another.
Also, major thoroughfares need to have consistent connectivity for
travelers as well as be able to handle the influx of users on a cellular
network. This site provides maps showing
FCC licensing data, regulated towers, and market area boundaries. These maps then need to be converted into a
raster file and eventually digitize to extract the generated information on the
map into vector files. Another website I
would extract data from would be <a href="http://www.cloudmade.com/">www.cloudmade.com</a>. There are no guarantees on what type of data
will be available, but cloudmade.com allows you to download various shapefiles
of landmarks, infrastructure, and other user-generated data that has been
uploaded to openstreetmaps.com.
Acquiring traffic data will also be of value for this project in order
to identify high trafficked areas of cars along major thoroughfares.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">METHODOLOGY <span style="color: #1f497d;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are several types of analyses I would use within
ArcGIS in order to conduct this project.
Proximity analysis is useful in several different ways. First and foremost, in this project the
geographic constraint is 25 miles outside of the Boston city limits. I will create an extent polygon in order to
clip out each of the attributes of my shapefiles that fall outside of this
area. This will allow me to use smaller
datasets and not have to be concerned with highways and schools (including
colleges and universities) outside of the constraint, among many other
shapefiles’ attributes. On the other hand, some of the features are
not necessarily that important by themselves.
For example, there are various types of water features or conservation/recreation
layers that do not need to be standalone files.
Merging these various datasets in order to eliminate unnecessary cluster
is important so there is less data to work with. The important factor as a result is that at
least the water features and conservation layers are captured since building a
cell tower is not an option within these locations. Another type of proximity analysis is buffering. In order to identify build zones, a 1 mile
buffer must be conducted around the MassDOT Roads (attribute: highway)
shapefile and then the lines must be dissolved in case several highways are in
close proximity to one another. In
addition, buffering must be done with a radius of 1 mile around all schools. Once the new shapefiles are generated as a
result of the buffering tool, I will overlay each of the buffer files and
delete from the highway buffer, wherever the school buffer file overlaps to
minimize the amount of ideal locations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Besides proximity analysis, other types of analyses will be
useful in finding ideal locations for the new cell towers. Towers need to be located in areas where
population density is higher than normal to cater toward the influx of people
utilizing the network. As a result, a population
density analysis must be conducted based from census data. Elevation data can assist in terrain analysis
in order to identify any hills or peaks above and beyond 250’ above sea
level. Once this area is identified, soil
and hydrographic analysis will be conducted in order to determine the ground
suitability for building the tower to ensure it is placed in a strong
foundation. Lastly, since cell towers
need to be in a close proximity to other cell towers, the next type of analysis
I will conduct is a Line of sight analysis to ensure the newly identified
locations are within a certain distance from other towers and there are no
vertical obstructions and to identify the potential cell coverage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">CONCLUSION </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The results of this project should determine what areas
within the Greater Boston Metropolitan region are ideal in order to build new
cellular towers. The additional datasets
from the FCC website will help to alleviate any overlapping towers in order to
improve the communications network.
Geospatial data of the amount of users per cell towers in and around the
ideal locations would probably improve this study. Since urban and rural areas have different
needs in regards to cell tower use, towers need to be located in ideal
locations, but since cell towers are known to possibly cause health issues,
towers must stand clear of schools and recreational areas.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">LIMITATIONS</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This most anticipated roadblock will be the accuracy of all
of the data. Not all the data in the
files being used has been captured in the past year. Therefore, some of the data may be missing
components crucial to a full and complete analysis of identifying ideal
locations. Further research needs to be
done to confirm the validity of all the data.
For example, have any schools closed down since the shapefiles were
generated or have new school been built would be questions that need to be
answered. Also, an urban legend about cell towers is
often told that they cause cancer and serious health risks. Cellular technology is a relatively newer
technology and the health community is unable to confirm this suspicion as of
yet; however, the public still has some reservations about them being erected
nearby to residential areas. Lastly, the
wireless company may have to pay rent for the location of the tower especially
if it’s close to residential areas because of the depreciation of property that
it will affect the neighborhoods the towers are being built around.</span><o:p></o:p></div>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com0Boston, MA, USA42.3584308 -71.059773242.265070800000004 -71.217701699999992 42.4517908 -70.9018447tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-23017059789524939542012-03-31T20:24:00.001-04:002012-03-31T20:25:15.986-04:00Geographic Conflicts of Land<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Territorial boundaries drawn by past empires, who have had little regard for geographic realities, often become major sources of
conflict.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Throughout history, empires have chosen specific boundaries based on mainly
cultural and physical geographic areas. The
<st1:place w:st="on">British Empire</st1:place>, which controlled many
geographic areas in various continents throughout the world, was notably known
for performing choosing specific boundaries.
Frequently, in the news I see <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>
and its territorial disputes with its neighbors; therefore, I have decided to
focus on <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>’s
sources of conflicts based on its boundaries.
I will begin with a brief geographic history of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> for an
understanding of its current events. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The land now known as <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>
was once called <st1:city w:st="on">Palestine</st1:city>
is considered a holy land to the Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Ancient Hebrews that lived in this region
called the area Caanan. After 1000 B.C.,
this area was split into two different kingdoms which were called <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Judah</st1:country-region> and were invaded by other
empires constantly, some of which were the Egyptians, Macedonians, Romans,
Persians, and the list continues. Most
of the original Hebrews who settled the region were then forced to emigrate
elsewhere. Afterwards, <st1:city w:st="on">Palestine</st1:city>
became a center of Christian pilgrimage after the emperor <st1:place w:st="on">Constantine</st1:place> converted to that faith. Hundreds of years later, the Arabs gained
control of <st1:city w:st="on">Palestine</st1:city> from the <st1:place w:st="on">Byzantine
Empire</st1:place> and Muslims continued to rule this region until the 20th
century. Throughout this period, Hebrews
started to settle back into <st1:city w:st="on">Palestine</st1:city>.
During World War I, British forces defeated the Turks in <st1:city w:st="on">Palestine</st1:city> and governed the area until they
officially withdrew in 1948, which formed the State of Israel. In the following days, Muslim forces from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Jordan</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region>, and <st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place> invaded the new formed
nation. As a result, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> had increased its original territory by
50%, taking western Galilee, a broad corridor through central <st1:city w:st="on">Palestine</st1:city>
to <st1:city w:st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city>, and part of modern <st1:city w:st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city>. Almost a decade later, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region> nationalized the <st1:place w:st="on">Suez
Canal</st1:place> and forbidden Israeli shipping to travel through the newly
created canal. This led <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> to seize the area known as the Gaza Strip
located on the <st1:place w:st="on">Sinai Peninsula</st1:place>. Another decade later, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> made simultaneous attacks against Syrian,
Jordanian, and Egyptian air bases, totally defeating the neighboring Muslim
nations which tripled the size of <st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place>’s territory. The areas controlled by <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> were the Golan Heights, the West Bank of
the Jordan River, <st1:city w:st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city>'s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Old</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place>
and the Gaza Strip.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As a result, the dispute over the territories controlled by <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> has
created a sense of instability in the region.
The land that was provided to the Hebrews from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Great Britain</st1:country-region>
is now in constant turmoil. The Palestinians,
who are of Arab descent, are now looking to regain control of their land. Constant upheavals in the area known as <st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place> continue to
rise. The primary issue that continues
to instigate this conflict is the attempt to maintain an ethnically preferred
state which is inevitable considering the majority of people in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> are now
Jewish. This region once was mainly
settled by Muslims; however, they are now prohibited from returning to their
homes because the state proclaims Judaism.
Furthermore, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>’s
military occupation over the aforementioned regions that were seized prior to
the 1970’s is still burdensome to the Palestinians who have minimal control
over their lives and live in disarray daily.
Peace efforts continue to try to resolve this conflict, but <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> refuses
to give the controlled land back to its rightful owners who were forced out. Obviously, when the original borders were
implemented, no one took into consideration that people would be forced out and
not have anywhere to go. Hopefully in
the future, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> will
resolve this issue by giving back the Gaza, West Bank, and the other areas they
have taken control of especially because it is a constant battle to keep these
lands for <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For the record, I have no bias toward either side; I am just stating my observables.</span>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com0Israel31.046051 34.85161229.314431499999998 32.324756500000007 32.7776705 37.3784675tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-9978478962362790692012-03-30T20:44:00.000-04:002012-03-30T22:00:08.808-04:00Kashmir - The Geography of Terrorism and Nuclear War<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are two main international concerns with respect to </span><st1:place style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;" w:st="on">South Asia</st1:place><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: Terrorism and Nuclear War. Both concerns can be originated from a
mountainous geographic region known as Kashmir, in northern </span><st1:place style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;" w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. I will begin with a short history of the
region for an understanding of its cultural and political geography.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The former state known as Kashmir has been disputed for over
50 years between <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The conflict started shortly after the
British Empire gave independence to <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>
which was around August of 1947.
Immediately following the independence, the Marharaja of Kashmir, Hari
Singh, contemplated which country would be more advantageous for his state to
join. Both, <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region> were divided by
the British due to their religions and <st1:place w:st="on">Kashmir</st1:place>
was left to make a decision to transfer their power peacefully. Singh was torn between his religion, Hindu,
and the majority religion of his people who were mostly Muslim. Since there was a larger Muslim population
than <st1:city w:st="on">Hindu</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>
and the people of Kashmir wished to become part of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>. In addition, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>
feared that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>
would cut off their water supply coming from this region. <st1:place w:st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> has
a diversity of different religions throughout its region. In the 1940’s, the total population was just
over 4 million people, approximately 77% were Muslim, 20% Hindu, 1.5% Sikh, and
1% Buddhist. However, the ruler of <st1:place w:st="on">Kashmir</st1:place>, Hari Singh, practiced Hindu beliefs; therefore,
creating a religious conflict. This
resulted in extensive violence in the region between Hindus and Muslims. Overall, Singh’s conflicting dream was to
continue ruling <st1:place w:st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> as an independent
nation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A few months later, the Pakistani army and Pashtun tribesman
from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region> invaded
Kashmir in hopes to seize the land for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. They pillaged towns, looted, and raped
Kashmiri women. In response, Singh
annexed Kashmir to <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> in
return for military aid from the Indian army which would defend <st1:place w:st="on">Kashmir</st1:place>. Shortly
thereafter, the United Nations ordered a ceasefire at the end of the first <st1:place w:st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> war. As a
result of the invasion, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>
occupied a substantial part of the <st1:place w:st="on">Kashmir</st1:place>
valley, totaling approximately 36,000 square miles. In 1963, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>
ceded an area known as Trans-Karakoram
Tract to <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>;
however, <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> still claims
this area because they do not recognize <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>’s
region of <st1:place w:st="on">Kashmir</st1:place>. Since turmoil continued to affect the region
in two more wars, the United Nations has attempted to resolve the conflict by
enacting new resolutions. However, this
region of <st1:place w:st="on">South Asia</st1:place> has caused much violence
contributing to this conflict, due to its sparse and different cultural
geography. Kashmir is on the brink of a
nuclear war due to this conflict between <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Moreover, many terrorist groups are being
harbored in this region that is also in support of Al Qaeda, among other
groups. This has created much
indifference between <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
resulting in several wars and instability in the region. As a result of the unstableness in this
geographic region, the international community is extremely concerned of what
the outcome might be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Separatist
violence in <st1:place w:st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> has been increasing as time
has progressed. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> continues
to blame Pakistan-based militant groups for many deadly attacks against Indian
civilians, in addition to Indian government security forces. Most of these militants have ties to Islamic
terrorist groups as well. In March 2003,
the chief of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
Defense Intelligence Agency reported that “70 Islamic militant camps are
operating in Pakistani Kashmir. In May 2009, the Indian Defense Minister claimed
that about 3,000 “terrorists” were being trained in camps” on the Pakistani-controlled
region of <st1:place w:st="on">Kashmir</st1:place>. In addition, it is thought that Al Qaeda may
be active in <st1:place w:st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> as well (Kronstadt
2003). Indian authorities are also
urging that the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> and
international community pay closer attention to anti-India terrorism originating
from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
Another international concern between
these two countries is the possibility of nuclear war. In 1998, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
both tested nuclear bombs; thus escalating a minor conflict into a possible
nuclear conflict. Since then, there have
been concerns over if the two countries would resolve the conflict by nuclear
resolution. Both countries also have
their own extensive nuclear policy. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
nuclear policy is “is to act in a responsible manner and to exercise restraint
in conduct of its deterrence policy.”
Their nuclear policy also does not want their capabilities to affect
non-nuclear weapon countries within in the region; therefore, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
nuclear policy seems to allow a nuclear attack only on the defensive. On the other hand, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s nuclear policy stands on
the offensive. Its policy will have
nuclear involvement only if <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
is reacting to a nuclear, biological, or chemical attack that affects their
land or citizens.</span><span style="font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>Kronstadt, Alan. 2003. International Terrorism in <st1:place w:st="on">South Asia</st1:place>. (November 3). <a href="http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:mkeS07y42A4J:www.fas.org/irp/crs/RS21658.pdf+terrorism+intenrational+south+asia&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us">http://74.125.47.132/searchq=cache:mkeS07y42A4J:www.fas.org/irp/crs/RS21658.pdf+terrorism+intenrational+south+asia&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us</a> </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com0Jammu & Kashmir34.1490875 76.825965232.4761685 74.2991097 35.8220065 79.3528207tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-5865970236081760192012-03-27T17:54:00.000-04:002012-03-27T17:54:29.412-04:00Geographic Civilizations - Sumer<br />
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The Sumerians are known in world history as being the first
civilization dating back to around 3000 B.C.
They excelled in many areas for a civilization of that time. Furthermore, they established the basics for socio-economics
and intellect in the area known as present-day <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region>,
nestled in-between the Tigris and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Euphrates</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">River</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Many breakthroughs and inventions assisted in
the foundations of the Sumerian society which lasted for approximately 1000
years.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Their society was headed by a king and divided into four
sets of classes: nobles, clients, commoners, and slaves, which all contributed
in some way to their flourishing culture. The Sumerians were heavily involved in trade, whether it was
with other nearby civilizations or in the <st1:place w:st="on">Persian Gulf</st1:place>. Within their own city-states, citizens were
involved in various types of trades, such as masonry, metalworking, and pottery
to contribute to the culture within, and trade with foreign entities outward. Agriculture was a necessity and therefore led
to an intensive system of irrigation being created by digging canals from the
major rivers. This lead to rich land for
growing food.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Moreover, the Sumerians established a system of writing which
was depicted in several forms: pictographs, ideograms, and phonetic signs. This system of writing bridged the gap
between Sumerian city-states and their following generations. Mathematics, specifically geometry and
trigonometry, played a huge role in assisting the Sumerians in erecting
structures, such as palaces, temples, ziggurats, canals, et cetera. Lastly, the Sumerians also used a system of
medicine to rid citizens of sickness (or rid them of evil spirits). Several different treatments were used to
help cure the sick and these treatments consisted of magic, surgery, and
prescriptions, or even a combination of all three.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All of the aforementioned reasons laid the groundwork for a
flourishing civilization in <st1:place w:st="on">Mesopotamia</st1:place>. Their influence and culture followed onto
other civilizations that conquered in the same geographical region such as the
Semites and the Babylonians. Ultimately,
Sumerian culture helped form political and economic stability in the civilized
world for the following civilizations to come. <o:p></o:p></div>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com0Ur, Iraq33.4173255 44.389841633.364597499999995 44.3108776 33.4700535 44.468805599999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-55048894654344084672012-03-18T16:57:00.000-04:002012-03-30T22:00:02.957-04:00Online GIS information on Map Analysis<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I came across the following site that has a wealth of free information on Geographic Information Systems'(GIS)-related information by Berry & Associates // Spatial Information Systems (BASIS). Map Analysis is a great subject for anyone interested in analyzing maps especially through GIS. A link to the material is </span><a href="http://www.innovativegis.com/basis/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">http://www.innovativegis.com/basis/</a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<pre><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span></pre>
<pre></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are presentation slides in the "<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: center;">Online Books and Materials:</span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: center;"> </span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.innovativegis.com/basis/MA_workshop/">Map Analysis Workshop Materials</a>"</span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: center;"><i> </i></span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; text-align: center;"><i>by Joseph K. Berry </i></span>that go over various topics in the workshops presented such as Introduction and Data Considerations, Spatial Analysis Techniques and Considerations, Spatial Statistics Techniques and Considerations, GIS Modeling Approaches and Considerations , among others.</span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is also a free online book which can be downloaded that covers a wealth of topics such as <span style="line-height: 15px;">Spatial Interpolation Procedures and Assessment, </span><span style="line-height: 15px;">Where Is <st1:stockticker w:st="on">GIS</st1:stockticker> Education?, </span><span style="line-height: 15px;">Analyzing Accumulation Surfaces, </span><span style="line-height: 15px;">Linking Data Space and Geographic Space, </span><span style="line-height: 15px;">Analyzing Landscape Patterns, </span>Applying Surface Analysis, <span style="line-height: 15px;"> Human Dimensions of <st1:stockticker w:st="on">GIS, </st1:stockticker></span>Overview of Spatial Analysis and Statistics, <span style="line-height: 15px;">Spatial Data Mining in Geo-business and much more.</span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">
</span></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">A link to the book can be found here: </span><a href="http://www.innovativegis.com/basis/mapanalysis/">http://www.innovativegis.com/basis/mapanalysis/</a></span></pre>
<pre></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Happy Reading!</span></pre>
<pre></pre>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-19004576229399565652012-03-13T20:49:00.000-04:002012-03-13T21:13:18.568-04:00The Clash of Civilizations? or the Geography of Power, Greed, Resources, and Territory<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Recently, I came across a book called the Clash of Civilizations by Samuel P. Huntington which takes a look at people's cultural and religious identities and argues that this will be the primary source of conflict in the 21st century.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I believe that the clash of civilizations seems to be a very broad statement in the use of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Huntington</st1:place></st1:city>’s thesis. Personally, I have mixed feelings towards <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Huntington</st1:place></st1:city>’s theory. On one hand, it is possible to picture the validity of the clashing of civilizations; however, on the other hand, I am in agreement with an article by Amartya Sen (2006) titled "What Clash of Civilizations? <span class="h1subhead">Why religious identity isn't destiny" </span>that states that “the increasing tendency to overlook the many identities that any human being has and to try to classify individuals according to a single allegedly pre-eminent religious identity is an intellectual confusion that can animate dangerous divisiveness.” When comparing civilizations, a civilization can be reduced down to a small scale, it doesn’t necessarily have to be compared to historic civilizations such as Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, <st1:place w:st="on">Mesopotamia</st1:place>, and so on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When comparing people from different parts of the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region> such as Texans, Californians, New Englanders, and Georgians, all who are classified as Americans; however, each has their own distinct cultures within the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region></st1:place>. But what is an American? An American is not only somebody from the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region>, but somebody in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region>, or <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Costa Rica</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Back in 2005, I had taken a trip to Costa Rica to immerse in the culture. One thing I noticed from the people there is that they were offended when Americans were only referred to the people of the United States. With that said, single classifications can be very misleading. If civilizations are divided by particular cultures, then Iraq, a majority Islamic state, could be broken up into three different cultures: The Kurds, Sunni Muslims, and Shiite Muslims, but <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> is also home to other minorities such as Christians (Chaldeans), among many other ethnic groups. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Huntington</st1:place></st1:city> to state that the world is divided into nine different civilizations is a misnomer. The truth is that <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Huntington</st1:place></st1:city> uses only one type of classification which is based off of religion; however, the different cultures within religious groups, classes, societies, and beliefs are other classifications that can be used to distinctly separate people from one another. In many nations or states throughout the world, conflict usually arises within their own political boundaries as a result of some sort of clash. It can usually be defined as cultural differences, but not all conflicts are solely violent. Some may be political or even economical. I do not believe <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Huntington</st1:place></st1:city> is wrong for his ideology, but he is only looking at conflicts within global politics as one possible perception and is not looking outside the lines of religious/cultural classifications. This sort of realignment that <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Huntington</st1:place></st1:city> predicts has occurred throughout history. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">More recently, globalization is now mixing the various different cultures and civilizations throughout the world together and leading these different cultures and religions to share many commonalities than ever before. On a separate note, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Huntington</st1:place></st1:city> discusses clashes between western civilizations and Islamic civilizations. The majority of people in western civilization are Christians; therefore, in my opinion, Huntington goes on to discuss the conflicts between these two cultures as a future problem that needs to be considered in foreign policy. I disagree with his views on this because Christians and Muslims have been fighting for thousands of years and it should already be in our foreign policies. This is not only a future issue, but a past and present issue as well.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I believe all factors will come into play when conflict occurs, not only cultural factors like Huntington states. Every year, the world is becoming more and more global with technology, especially the internet. Many cultures that were once isolated years ago are now sharing many traits with other cultures because it is becoming the "norm" globally. Immigrants that live in repressed or poor regions of the world are now increasingly migrating to Western countries because they believe it will lead them to more opportunities and a better life. The mixing of cultures is becoming more and more acceptable; however, tensions of cultures worldwide will always have some sort of conflict. Huntington's thesis is inaccurate when it breaks the world into eight different civilizations. Many states and nations within these "8" civilizations have conflicts daily and even within their political boundaries. Therefore, I believe the world is becoming more economical and countries of different cultures are now uniting with other countries of the world for these reasons. The main conflicts will be more of an internal conflict than a worldwide conflict of cultures.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFa01vMoDgBrDzVmz93IXAySj1KMzTJVWfSyxS2VJ80TJVjFl9oi2rMmYkwllfzq1EY1tCQiXJpki-AuTuijvPgYk4rHeVaTQt2cGprk_BJS4VpVCTWN-bwqmfDPB6pxgDvwIlgNODM1lO/s1600/clash2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFa01vMoDgBrDzVmz93IXAySj1KMzTJVWfSyxS2VJ80TJVjFl9oi2rMmYkwllfzq1EY1tCQiXJpki-AuTuijvPgYk4rHeVaTQt2cGprk_BJS4VpVCTWN-bwqmfDPB6pxgDvwIlgNODM1lO/s320/clash2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So let's take a step back for a moment at all the major conflicts since the 21st century. Afghanistan War, Iraq War, Sudanese Civil War, <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Russo-Georgian War, Arab Uprising revolutions, and radical Islamist jihads. With the exception of radical Islam, none of these other conflicts were really based on religious ideology. They were either political, economic, or over territory in my opinion. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Islamist radicalists can blend in with any society, no matter where it is to cause harm toward others. In Huntington's thesis, they are mostly concentrated as one civilization, "Islamic civilization." Regardless, there are no boundaries to these non-state actors and they have developed cells all over the world in many other civilizations than the Islamic one. I would think this would be the closest example that would tie into the thesis. Yet still, they also fight within their own "civilization" and against other Muslims. Their interpretation of Islam is very different than other interpretations within the culture. Not all Muslims believe what these radical Islamists believe in; Islam is supposedly a peaceful religion, this just comes to show that it is not possible to divide the world into civilizations. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">I welcome everyone's thoughts and comments on this posting. I would like to initiate a respectable discussion.</span></span></div>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-46203400237481208522012-03-10T23:59:00.000-05:002012-03-30T23:14:43.640-04:00Applying Geographic Information Systems to Real-world Issues - Urban Sprawl<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Case Study Proposal:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">PROPSED TITLE: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Population Growth in Prince
William County, Virginia and its Implications on the Environment.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">ABSTRACT <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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This study will examine the continuous urban sprawl and
suburban development in Prince William County, Virginia. Prince William County is located in the
region of Northern Virginia, which is a part of the Washington DC Metropolitan
greater region. Urban development
disrupts hydrological and ecological systems, in addition to isolating and
degrading local natural habitats. Over
the past few decades, Prince William County has transformed from a rural area
with two main population centers, Manassas and Woodbridge, to a thriving
society. Today, these two population
centers now are interconnected with a steady stream of roads and
neighborhoods. 20 years ago, this area
was quiet and had quite a lower population. In 20 years, the population has
almost doubled from approximately 216,000 in 1990 to approximately 402,000 in
2010. In addition the county is projected to grow to approximately 555,000 in
another 20 years; the county had nearly doubled its population every 20 years
since 1950 (population was 22,000 in 1950).
The growth of this county has led to a decline in agriculture and an
increase in pollution. These constraints
from growth and development have ultimately resulted in several ecological
issues that this study will attempt to address. Furthermore, this study will identify the
spatial patterns associated with the growth and how it has grown over the
years. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">RASTER LAYERS <span style="color: #1f497d;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Maps (i.e. Historic, topographic, pre-1990 census maps) – Any scanned map that has features that can
be digitized to fill in gaps from all other data used.<o:p></o:p></div>
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SRTM – Any type of elevation data needs to be used in order
to explain why certain areas have not been affected by urban sprawl.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Orthorectified Aerial Imagery – This type of imagery will
provide most of the historical data needed to determine foundation data for
comparing the present to the past. Each
image used can be digitized to extract data into vector format.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Satellite Imagery – This type of imagery will allow various
types of sensors to determine changes via comparing two or more images identify
change detection in vegetation, ecology, infrastructure, and other important
features in foundation data.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10pt;">Table 1.
Satellite remote sensing data for ecological research.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Satellite</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Launch</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: double windowtext 1.5pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" width="93"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sensors</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: double windowtext 1.5pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 63.0pt;" width="84"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">spectrum</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: double windowtext 1.5pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 80.5pt;" width="107"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">spatial resolution (m)</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: double windowtext 1.5pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 91.0pt;" width="121"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">temporal resolution (days)</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Landsat</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 52.5pt;" valign="top" width="70"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1972</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">MSS, TM</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 63.0pt;" valign="top" width="84"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">V, IR</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 80.5pt;" valign="top" width="107"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">15-80</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">16</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">SPOT</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 52.5pt;" valign="top" width="70"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1986</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">HRV</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 63.0pt;" valign="top" width="84"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">V, IR</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 80.5pt;" valign="top" width="107"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">10-20</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">5-26</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">IRS</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 52.5pt;" valign="top" width="70"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1988</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">LISS, WiFS</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 63.0pt;" valign="top" width="84"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">V, IR</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 80.5pt;" valign="top" width="107"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">5-200</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #DFDFDF; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-125 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">5-24</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">NOAA</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 52.5pt;" valign="top" width="70"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1970</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">AVHRR</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 63.0pt;" valign="top" width="84"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">V, IR</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 80.5pt;" valign="top" width="107"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1100</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">0.5</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">OrbView</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 52.5pt;" valign="top" width="70"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1998</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">SeaWiFS</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 63.0pt;" valign="top" width="84"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">V, IR</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 80.5pt;" valign="top" width="107"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1100</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Terra</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 52.5pt;" valign="top" width="70"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1999</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">MODIS</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 63.0pt;" valign="top" width="84"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">V, IR</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 80.5pt;" valign="top" width="107"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">250-1000</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border: none; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">2</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #E5E5E5; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">ERS</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E5E5E5; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 52.5pt;" valign="top" width="70"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1991</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E5E5E5; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">AMI</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E5E5E5; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 63.0pt;" valign="top" width="84"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">microwave</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E5E5E5; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 80.5pt;" valign="top" width="107"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">20</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E5E5E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">variable</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #E5E5E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">RADARSAT</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E5E5E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 52.5pt;" valign="top" width="70"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1995</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E5E5E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">SAR</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E5E5E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 63.0pt;" valign="top" width="84"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">microwave</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E5E5E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 80.5pt;" valign="top" width="107"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">20</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #E5E5E5; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-pattern: gray-10 auto; mso-shading: white; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">“</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">IKONOS</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 52.5pt;" valign="top" width="70"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">2000</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">IKONOS</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 63.0pt;" valign="top" width="84"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">V, IR</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 80.5pt;" valign="top" width="107"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">1-4</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">“</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">KOMPSAT</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 52.5pt;" valign="top" width="70"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">2000</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 70.0pt;" valign="top" width="93"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">EOC, OSMI</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 63.0pt;" valign="top" width="84"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">V</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 80.5pt;" valign="top" width="107"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">6-800</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 4.95pt 0in 4.95pt; width: 91.0pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">“</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 8pt;">Source:</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 8pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">http://www.klter.org/EVENTS/Conference00/html/leegusung.htm</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 8pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">VECTOR LAYERS <span style="color: #1f497d;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
LULC (Land use land cover), including current and historical
datasets – This provides an idea of
where the different feature classes of land type and uses are located.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Census: 1990 and newer census tracts, population – Census
data reveals where the population is with any given area.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hydrographic: rivers, streams, lakes, watershed – Hydrographic
features are part of a foundation dataset.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Infrastructure: roads, rails, powerlines, pipelines – Infrastructure
features are part of a foundation dataset.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Environment: Air Quality maintenance area, water quality
monitoring station – Reveals location of areas that monitor changes in the
environment. This allows for the
validity of data acquired in relation to air and water quality data compared to
sensors that capture quality via remote sensing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Boundary: County and cities – Provides an outline for the
areas of interest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">METHODOLOGY <span style="color: #1f497d;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The methodology used for studying the issue of population
affecting the local ecology requires two different datasets themed to a
specific time frame, one pre-1990 dataset and one post-1990 dataset. The area of interest that will be studied is
within the county borders of Prince William County, Virginia, including the
cities of Occoquan, Manassas, and Manassas Park. A foundation dataset based on the
aforementioned criteria is needed to identify changes and challenges that urban
growth has had within the county. GIS
allows this foundation dataset to be overlaid with land cover and other raster
and vector files that have a relation to identifying the affects of increased
population in the county with files that can help determine factors that affect
the ecology such has changes in county infrastructure. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In order to accomplish this, GIS plays an instrumental role
in conducting spatial analysis between feature classes and identifying
relationships among the two topics: population and ecology.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not all datasets are readily available in can be used
immediately for spatial analyses. Most
of all raster files in this project will have to be scanned and inputted into
the system. At this point, each file,
whther it is a photographic image or a map needs to be spatially referenced in
the area it is detailing. Digitizing
these types of files is a necessity once the files are geo-referenced in order
to extrapolate any valuable vector datasets from the map or images, such as
landcover and landuse, vegetation, missing pieces to infrastructure (i.e.
roads, buildings, parks, waterways, et cetera), et cetera. Most of the raster files that are not used
for creating vector datasets will be used for identifying air quality,
pollution, water quality, and most other ecological readings within the county.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Population data acquired from the U.S. Census Bureau and
Aerial Photography will be monitored over the past 60 years, in 5 to 10 year
increments depending on how much the population has changed the landscape of
the county. Each 10 year increment
changes will be identified in GIS and then compared to see the progression of
change temporally. The decrease of
agricultural land will also be identified in GIS via this process.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">CONCLUSION <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The results of this project should determine what areas
within Prince William County have endured more drastic changes than other
areas, as well as what areas need to be protected from any further
development. In addition, this project
will visually and temporally depict the changes over time in regards to population
growth, infrastructure changes, changes in water levels, air quality
animations, and vegetation changes.
Overall, the results will identify spatial patterns that have
directly impacted how the area has grown into what it is today from what it was
60 years ago, while simultaneously affecting the ecology of the area.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">LIMITATIONS <span style="color: #1f497d;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This most anticipated roadblock will be the acquisition of
data needed to fulfill all the requirements in order to do spatial analysis and
observations. Secondary to do this, the
time involved to complete this project will be dependent on the amount of
change and extraction that is needed from the ingestion of maps or photographic
images. The more gaps in the vector
data, the more time needed to extract from the raster files.<o:p></o:p></div>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com0Prince William, VA, USA38.7838939 -77.607786538.3878229 -78.2395005 39.1799649 -76.9760725tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-39589201691190516712012-03-09T21:17:00.000-05:002012-03-10T23:47:54.697-05:00A Geographic History of Islamic States through Maps<br />
Maps can tell a great story without words, especially by showing a temporal depiction of the change of cultures and boundaries. Throughout history though, various empires conquered many lands across most of Asia and left behind many cultural influences that have molded today's ethnic groups and languages in the region.<br />
<br />
There are three main language families in this region depicted in the below map: Semitic (Yellow), Indo-Iranian (Orange), and Turkic (Green).<br />
<br />
Semitic language roots trace back to the days of the Sumerians and Akkadians estimated around 2400 BC. These languages have evolved over time into the most commonly known languages of Arabic (commonly used in all Arab States), Hebrew (commonly used in Israel), Amharic (commonly used in Ethiopia), and Tigrinya (commonly used in Eritrea). <br />
<br />
Indo-Iranian language roots trace back to 6th century BC. Indo-Iranian is most commonly known today as the Persian language family consisting of mainly Kurdish, Farsi, Pashto, Tajik, and Dari. Other Indo-Iranian languages are located in Pakistan and India.<br />
<br />
Turkic language roots trace back to the early Middle Ages (around 8th century AD). Before the Turkic expansion occurred, most Turks were located in the Area known as Mongolia today. In the years following the early Middle Ages, the Turks expanded in all parts of Asia from Siberia to India to Turkey covering a vast land mass and influencing many cultures along the way. Today, Turkish, Azerbaijani, and the languages of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia make up what is part of the Turkic family.<br />
<br />
The following maps are courtesy of the Gulf/2000 Project funded by Columbia University:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFc4w9v0dYyMBbkeNOS-C8mLsFugH8ySJfinbSBG3N9n5TfzW9d3NjhFARBH2m1kroOjae6MZAzEyVfV3JdIr2lMhuW5UdVKI7lQHVg_9TYmriZZrSQmbNQSG2D-XDGpuHYm0iBc5JqQX/s1600/MidEast_Language_Families_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFc4w9v0dYyMBbkeNOS-C8mLsFugH8ySJfinbSBG3N9n5TfzW9d3NjhFARBH2m1kroOjae6MZAzEyVfV3JdIr2lMhuW5UdVKI7lQHVg_9TYmriZZrSQmbNQSG2D-XDGpuHYm0iBc5JqQX/s400/MidEast_Language_Families_sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Linguistic Composition of Southwest Asian States: Present Day</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The following group of maps reveals historic changes as a result of the various conquerors, empires, and cultures from 1450 to 2000 AD. Throughout the years, the only long standing empires have been the Ottoman/Turkey and Persia/Iran.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyw6u9Lxxcu1kEyROymGB1Thj9mkU6KIZhfrwKuhrjMhEYL4qKDAhEUIsCmL3WAlRrY8PW6DKh09F0rHoKqyeRecTmazMrat0ZEAy_p3Vbx_W6LANvTR5F6ZZqCqC3kBE6iMtPRlJNww8W/s1600/Islamic_States_1450_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyw6u9Lxxcu1kEyROymGB1Thj9mkU6KIZhfrwKuhrjMhEYL4qKDAhEUIsCmL3WAlRrY8PW6DKh09F0rHoKqyeRecTmazMrat0ZEAy_p3Vbx_W6LANvTR5F6ZZqCqC3kBE6iMtPRlJNww8W/s400/Islamic_States_1450_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Islamic States ca. AD 1450</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHFo_aPP62JJxeUx3-RGoE1mtMO9qGvY3ozhZ0xPWVlxEQZCdut3ziNjDRg0eRcNWXZPTyHK3HYCSTlTRpLqFd5Y5CnSpzZNU4Y-2S76_Tx6rN5kpyFn0DfqYezmWs8McBPZGzfcQpsnf/s1600/Islamic_States_1510_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHFo_aPP62JJxeUx3-RGoE1mtMO9qGvY3ozhZ0xPWVlxEQZCdut3ziNjDRg0eRcNWXZPTyHK3HYCSTlTRpLqFd5Y5CnSpzZNU4Y-2S76_Tx6rN5kpyFn0DfqYezmWs8McBPZGzfcQpsnf/s400/Islamic_States_1510_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Islamic States ca. AD 1510</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5MW5q2uXy_AKG3iTAJRbJQXLpvshcWL_AWJTOFjU29ziIgMgKZ2I5zUOybhL8tE8KkzqnqGVh53ls9itimHnNmrAndjxvmD1s0d5ceDLYfrFzuOSkoXwCajFj5H8lIfEJLpRUvA2AQVk/s1600/Islamic_States_1550_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5MW5q2uXy_AKG3iTAJRbJQXLpvshcWL_AWJTOFjU29ziIgMgKZ2I5zUOybhL8tE8KkzqnqGVh53ls9itimHnNmrAndjxvmD1s0d5ceDLYfrFzuOSkoXwCajFj5H8lIfEJLpRUvA2AQVk/s400/Islamic_States_1550_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Islamic States ca. AD 1550</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguyg0jQZPrhyzsJZdIscjj45jl82ntmyBy_jpxfO89oX7xaoa6a0Nd9HAXrJ1_dTekKPMawybISxnx3oResMcdHbyrGwUdzJVBzr1G2gnOaPw6Wf5b8uuHMO1b6jLrhoeUUAxSRXTBG1xL/s1600/Islamic_States_1620_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguyg0jQZPrhyzsJZdIscjj45jl82ntmyBy_jpxfO89oX7xaoa6a0Nd9HAXrJ1_dTekKPMawybISxnx3oResMcdHbyrGwUdzJVBzr1G2gnOaPw6Wf5b8uuHMO1b6jLrhoeUUAxSRXTBG1xL/s400/Islamic_States_1620_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Islamic States ca. AD 1625</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTN5_Ka1eP7bVFWLoSPBVXn-e_oK9bfZ1_XJv3WAXOdBm2sskf7frKQjjDmeLFpzUxT7jNOEnQnJBl_PfNK6XIGoOkpkufpD8eEDtr3P9DFIZ3QRCMDsVgxz3EJVCcBry3HBeJ5-kE2TYt/s1600/Islamic_States_1700_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTN5_Ka1eP7bVFWLoSPBVXn-e_oK9bfZ1_XJv3WAXOdBm2sskf7frKQjjDmeLFpzUxT7jNOEnQnJBl_PfNK6XIGoOkpkufpD8eEDtr3P9DFIZ3QRCMDsVgxz3EJVCcBry3HBeJ5-kE2TYt/s400/Islamic_States_1700_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Islamic States ca. AD 1700</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzI4tJdcS7qIFKGgv_aB4LW-FTsvcIethesrCGON_WuCXUg73C1LSZeNdEMEcVmz1-fWmQXxljfZcMIxvFlEiXwa1URHHPQP-qHUjvWHsZEsCNLI2aN9YJwz41bA02viHQtviQpXoZdZN/s1600/Islamic_States_1750_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzI4tJdcS7qIFKGgv_aB4LW-FTsvcIethesrCGON_WuCXUg73C1LSZeNdEMEcVmz1-fWmQXxljfZcMIxvFlEiXwa1URHHPQP-qHUjvWHsZEsCNLI2aN9YJwz41bA02viHQtviQpXoZdZN/s400/Islamic_States_1750_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Islamic States ca. AD 1750</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UMDWhHyVHB3chBDzjSLE65QMwdLAHuRTy9vl_S4j9bgTbUaLxykGwZyr7ihMM8Am0CA_FiCCi4PYVRMVaMrGpoT9PnRiij_soaK-Boqan9USbHBpCrgAkkIUmdb4OVdDUtF76oCpoUZ2/s1600/Islamic_States_1800_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UMDWhHyVHB3chBDzjSLE65QMwdLAHuRTy9vl_S4j9bgTbUaLxykGwZyr7ihMM8Am0CA_FiCCi4PYVRMVaMrGpoT9PnRiij_soaK-Boqan9USbHBpCrgAkkIUmdb4OVdDUtF76oCpoUZ2/s400/Islamic_States_1800_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Islamic States ca. AD 1800</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXk4ofsIwTNH7yUyJ47mKrwz7Qz1mxusJflnMLw2UtWc1r0jOzDkpc7_AfpzOlknjfBGcLdh4lMjyvW8dSaYY7rS_EV7G18T5sBTQMkc_BcEpsgJBaR4bV_en3rn9jUdNaLDJYcNoDl6QF/s1600/Islamic_States_1840_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXk4ofsIwTNH7yUyJ47mKrwz7Qz1mxusJflnMLw2UtWc1r0jOzDkpc7_AfpzOlknjfBGcLdh4lMjyvW8dSaYY7rS_EV7G18T5sBTQMkc_BcEpsgJBaR4bV_en3rn9jUdNaLDJYcNoDl6QF/s400/Islamic_States_1840_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Islamic States ca. AD 1840</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3QU7YFD1F6XAE1igx1kpEQxJQgd7ssQoIQJmwfZU3aQgIovFZtgw0omgKK6CqzLbVnbZqEjbD1Tgk6NJxYJgI4rli6cOj6WhEqwkEYdRUa2but-uAzrLImjpPZy2bfbDthpSPyeluupb6/s1600/Islamic_States_1850_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3QU7YFD1F6XAE1igx1kpEQxJQgd7ssQoIQJmwfZU3aQgIovFZtgw0omgKK6CqzLbVnbZqEjbD1Tgk6NJxYJgI4rli6cOj6WhEqwkEYdRUa2but-uAzrLImjpPZy2bfbDthpSPyeluupb6/s400/Islamic_States_1850_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Islamic States ca. AD 1850</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjezXxWXOryvV2HWaqFxqZJNqqgAx7a5-Q9CUJ_HhWVlV2MHvCoL_APR8UUxQAg5NZDuo-G_WarZdllJ5ElAC-KR9lje15hCke0ozXII1LT5so2YTbAbE_WEZV0hbwdwsmcwRJiDxX2kxiT/s1600/Islamic_States_1900_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjezXxWXOryvV2HWaqFxqZJNqqgAx7a5-Q9CUJ_HhWVlV2MHvCoL_APR8UUxQAg5NZDuo-G_WarZdllJ5ElAC-KR9lje15hCke0ozXII1LT5so2YTbAbE_WEZV0hbwdwsmcwRJiDxX2kxiT/s400/Islamic_States_1900_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Islamic States ca. AD 1900</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cVyqSaGWpgZQinAl9btIqLe-N5x3tx0icgM7nSceEZ_pvA5iXLmwUM9iVLVMN5teUmpc0raGbhDpRyg4UFuwQphrK5bkvzf9lBPyAXLtBG3sfBo7kwi5uMBMt6KhrIJ1QbKn5q7G-RoQ/s1600/Islamic_States_1925_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cVyqSaGWpgZQinAl9btIqLe-N5x3tx0icgM7nSceEZ_pvA5iXLmwUM9iVLVMN5teUmpc0raGbhDpRyg4UFuwQphrK5bkvzf9lBPyAXLtBG3sfBo7kwi5uMBMt6KhrIJ1QbKn5q7G-RoQ/s400/Islamic_States_1925_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Islamic States ca. AD 1925</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvTOfksKoGMmpcu0e0FoSO39ll1Cb7Xs6JaB6KaEuw3lFbSpcdyIvzqcuxS4vGf5zQTf1WhVJ9g9wFZFHI0Ztn26vqmYdhAmOc1gITbXcjNoUEkr10huSJOd_4fD_z58rettbLv4nnxEY/s1600/Islamic_States_1950_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvTOfksKoGMmpcu0e0FoSO39ll1Cb7Xs6JaB6KaEuw3lFbSpcdyIvzqcuxS4vGf5zQTf1WhVJ9g9wFZFHI0Ztn26vqmYdhAmOc1gITbXcjNoUEkr10huSJOd_4fD_z58rettbLv4nnxEY/s400/Islamic_States_1950_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Islamic States ca. AD 1950</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Kj_hCcT_Z5Ygd9UBG9QyWriwpu6r36poz9ifmAmQXAd4ZjYQzaykIjZ-w_7zcmni2OPp7bunC6d2LikDfaaUW_H0aQuu73tKSaP8nSOf9QW_dslxgdbsmor4OAjLlS2hGTFYZDzfWsMe/s1600/Islamic_States_2000_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Kj_hCcT_Z5Ygd9UBG9QyWriwpu6r36poz9ifmAmQXAd4ZjYQzaykIjZ-w_7zcmni2OPp7bunC6d2LikDfaaUW_H0aQuu73tKSaP8nSOf9QW_dslxgdbsmor4OAjLlS2hGTFYZDzfWsMe/s400/Islamic_States_2000_lg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Islamic States ca. AD 2000</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com1Middle East29.2985278 42.550960315.218991299999999 22.3361168 43.3780643 62.7658038tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-68599149870122255832012-03-06T04:11:00.001-05:002012-03-06T04:11:59.817-05:00Climatic Geography and its Effects on Military Operations<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">This will be my last post in
this series of my Military Geography awareness postings. I had fun researching and writing this
topic. In this last posting, I want to
highlight the effects of weather, climate, and terrain on military forces and
how geography plays an instrumental role in this. A couple of years ago, I read book entitled </span><i>Battling
the elements: weather and terrain in the conduct of war</i> by Harold
Winters. This book was not only
intriguing to me, but also interesting at the same time in how it depicts
various scenarios on how geographies played a crucial role in winning or losing
battles. This posting is a
conglomeration of my thoughts with historical facts contained within this book.<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Military operations have
continuously been effected by various climates that have posed many problems
for militaries in foreign lands. Ground,
naval, and air forces each are affected by climate in different ways, but also
have some similarities among them. Those
forces that conduct an offensive battle in another climate have usually
resulted in a decisive loss. In order to
counter the threat that the climate poses in a foreign land, military
strategists and climatologists must do their part to educate their own military
force to be effective. This can be done
by understanding the seasonal changes and how terrain and soil will be impacted
by the temperatures and precipitation.
Though no strategy will be completely perfect since the weather within
the climate may change from year to year, individuals can still study the
historical commonalities over time to establish trends and patterns that will
benefit their military force. The impact
of a climate in a foreign land has had devastating results on the movement and
logistics of a military.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Intruders into a foreign
region may be deceived by the weather in an area and not understand the
long-term climatic effects. Climatic factors
that have affected historic campaigns consisted of temperature and
precipitation as the primary forces.
Ultimately, these effects of nature have disintegrated armies in the
past. In Russia, temperature levels
greatly rise in the summer months, but as the year progresses, the temperatures
fall drastically. In the past 300 years,
three armies attempted to invade Russia regardless of its climate. The Swedes, French, and Germans have all
suffered greatly as a result of Russia’s weather and climate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Temperature can be broken
down into extreme heat and cold. Each
extreme affects military forces in several different ways depending on the
climate the invading country originated from previously. Extreme heat is preferably more favorable
than cold. For example, most military
campaigns against Russia have began in the summer months since the movement of
ground forces was somewhat more formidable than in the winter. The climate in <st1:place w:st="on">Western
Europe</st1:place> relies mainly on air that originates from the nearby ocean
which allows for more moderate temperatures.
This climate is very different than in Eastern Europe, where the ocean
cooling and heating occurs at a slower rate since it is further inland. In addition, Russia is a vast territory in
size which allows for four major climates that affect its physical environment:
tundra, subarctic, continental, and temperate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Moreover, extreme cold
temperatures create hazards for military forces that are unprepared when
traveling from less extreme climates.
For example, the lack of seasonal uniforms that were worn by the Germans
during their invasion of Russia forces major delays in their advancement into
Russia’s heartland, because of their need to warm their troops and equipment. In addition, soldiers can become frost bitten
which allows soldiers to be more susceptible to death, injuries, disease, or
desertion if they are inadequately dressed.
Therefore, climatic temperature can have a great impact on a military
forces’ physical and mental well-being when traveling across great distances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">On the other hand,
precipitation and moisture can cause damage to any military force regardless
whether it’s hot or cold. In summer
months, continuous thunderstorms cause the soil to loosen which results in the
ground turning to mud. Climates that
rapid cooling occurs in leads to temperatures dropping dramatically; therefore,
colder regions of the world endure large quantities of snow. In Russia, the large amounts of snow cover
allows for reflection of the sun’s energy, ultimately prolonging the arrival of
spring. These conditions were quite
different than in <st1:place w:st="on">Western Europe</st1:place>’s winter and
both the German and French armies were not prepared for the Russian winter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The aforementioned climatic
factors have ultimately decided the outcomes of military campaigns. Every military force that decides to invade
or fight against another nation in a different climate needs to understand the
geographic setting and how the weather will impact their mission. In addition, historic military forces
typically have not been prepared with plentiful supplies, resources, and
vehicles in order to carry out their mission in an efficient capacity. A prime example of military forces that have
operated from one climate zone to another during a seasonal change was the
German and French invasion of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. These two military invasions based their
planning and operations during summer and fall months for their movement into
Russia in the hopes for a short battle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCvZNmyIUnl_Q6Xu1IHO20eXVoyxJuBCm7UlMgU9zxa0dfotB5X7NNjkUwZ_otU7wFHMRBv-AtqC-5hEZPc4qVQ_1YOh9JamCcCRAGl2yzFfn2umvStHu0mDx2g5oNC-9-kiFbfwH5rka/s1600/russia1812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCvZNmyIUnl_Q6Xu1IHO20eXVoyxJuBCm7UlMgU9zxa0dfotB5X7NNjkUwZ_otU7wFHMRBv-AtqC-5hEZPc4qVQ_1YOh9JamCcCRAGl2yzFfn2umvStHu0mDx2g5oNC-9-kiFbfwH5rka/s1600/russia1812.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Both militaries expected to
return to their respected home countries prior to the arrival of winter. As a result, each army did not plan for the
harsh winter which became their ultimate demise. Regardless, both armies traveled eastward
during the pleasant weather conditions in Western Europe in the summer months. As the early autumn months arrived, harsh
thunderstorms created mud conditions which drastically slowed down the army’s
trafficability. In 1812, autumn was
shortened by frigid temperatures as well as extreme cold and snowy conditions. In 1941, the Germans encountered a long wet
autumn which then transitioned into similar harsh conditions that the French
faced. Inadequately equipped soldiers
and limited shelter became more damaging to the invaders than any other
force. Overall, both armies were forced
to retreat because the French and Germans were not match for the brutal climate
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Militaries have traveled great
distances into unfamiliar climates throughout history in order to gain
territory or show superiority to another region of the world.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">During a campaign under these pretenses,
militaries encounter dust, mud, frost, chill, and hot conditions.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Each of these climatic factors can weaken
soldiers and their trafficability as well as affecting their logistics.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">These factors also impact the maintenance and
functionality of weapons and equipment.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Visibility can often be impaired by such climatic conditions for ground
and air operations.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Moreover, air
warfare is also impacted by cloud coverage and fog which also contributes to
reduced visibility, especially in geographic regions where this type of atmospherics
are prevelant.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">In combining these
factors along with the terrain, many foreign armies can expect conditions
harsher than in an actual battle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">All climatic factors impact
ground forces’ movement and maneuverability in several different ways. The effects on trafficability change
considerably with the progressions of the seasons. Climates throughout the world vary in the
levels of precipitation that is accumulated over time. Some climates are mainly dry, while others
can be consistently wet or change in the amount of rainfall every year. The physical environment ultimately determines
how a climate will impact military movement.
Constant rainy conditions often cause a muddy setting. Mud almost always reduces travel time, and
stalls machinery, vehicles, and soldiers usually by the unfavorable conditions
mud creates in the ground. This seemed
to be a huge obstacle for the German and French armies when traveling into <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HJ6e47umLp5yNd2Jxnu0QE5eNBTHOKiPy6A3Q4l8okeuiwtk7yvkgrJ70xWLsiBU8sfoH22rKJhSOmZRGkXsGSmUxZp7BAhOx7XBg1lLok3fxNR6aicVxqw3Da-xVQn0YX0XDZiQNmfe/s1600/opbarbarossa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HJ6e47umLp5yNd2Jxnu0QE5eNBTHOKiPy6A3Q4l8okeuiwtk7yvkgrJ70xWLsiBU8sfoH22rKJhSOmZRGkXsGSmUxZp7BAhOx7XBg1lLok3fxNR6aicVxqw3Da-xVQn0YX0XDZiQNmfe/s1600/opbarbarossa.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Operation Barbossa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">In higher latitudes, winter
conditions also effect movement greatly.
Countries located in these climates have an edge because they are used to
the harsh weather. Foreigners that are
not familiar with these types of conditions usually are unprepared in many
ways. Also, these climates have
excessive snow amounts which impede wheeled vehicles and persons especially
when the snowfall exceeds 12 inches.
Either of these conditions can completely halt or slow down movement,
which was the case for the Germans in Operation Barbossa, and were forced to
travel 12 miles in 2 days as a result of the foreign climate. On the other hand, a benefit of higher
latitude climates is when the ground freezes on open terrain, faster movement
will occur because of the hardened soil which is ideal for ground forces.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyl-s-Rg7lOjyWNEwpZCl0px8DqRrCHWNIoQ3ZDfJAvQudSe6XOEXLfDatZwibVr_gqfgpHLhZZi2y7O3Nzft2bkcP2ad5My7NIofzopznGHL2KRU-jWqt0B6anIYH5Us9LDUNkriueJI/s1600/napoleon2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyl-s-Rg7lOjyWNEwpZCl0px8DqRrCHWNIoQ3ZDfJAvQudSe6XOEXLfDatZwibVr_gqfgpHLhZZi2y7O3Nzft2bkcP2ad5My7NIofzopznGHL2KRU-jWqt0B6anIYH5Us9LDUNkriueJI/s320/napoleon2.gif" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Lastly, climatic conditions
also have a huge impact on the logistics of an army. For example, in June 1812, the French army
traveled over the <st1:placename w:st="on">Niemen</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">River</st1:placetype> in modern-day <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lithuania</st1:place></st1:country-region> and became stuck in a
series of prolonged thunderstorms. These
thunderstorms caused the ground to become so muddy that they had to leave behind
many heavy wagons filled with many supplies and equipment needed for the
journey to Russia. Assuming they would
return to France prior to the start of winter, the French also brought a
limited amount of supplies with them and as a result, the late summer and
autumn months became very troublesome.
In the winter months, logistic necessities such as fuel, food, and water
became scarce an armies had trouble acquiring the necessary supplies because of
the harsh conditions and distance from friendly supply depots. In addition, this results in a decrease in
supplies and ammunitions and access to resources. Since the higher latitude conditions are not
favorable in winter months, most foreign armies are forced to retreat. Overall, militaries that do not plan
effective routes and a plentiful amount of supplies usually succumb to the
forces of nature in foreign lands that have significantly different climates
than in their homeland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Lastly, another good book for
anyone interested in getting an overview of military geography is </span><i>Military
geography for professionals and the public </i>by John Collins. <span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com1Russia56.656226493502217 36.210937548.87877749350222 15.996094 64.433675493502221 56.425781tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-23033137900937052952012-03-05T14:59:00.001-05:002012-03-14T22:00:54.485-04:00Military and Human Geography – A Cross-Examination of Essential Knowledge<br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Everything happens for a
reason. At least that is what a mentor
told me years ago when I was just walking into the real world for the first
time. Culture is the basis behind every
action throughout the world. All people do things for a
reason and this has a lot to do where one is raised or lives. In the anthropology field, this is called a
person’s “Worldview” – A person’s worldview ties into their geography
greatly. In addition, this carries over
not only in our everyday lives, but for the militaries across the world. Moreover, Military Geography is </span>not
only used by the military, but also by academics and politicians in order to
understand the geopolitical sphere through a militaristic lens.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Knowledge and expertise of
military geography is a critical factor in analyzing the enemy. Military geography of a specific region is
the discipline regarding geographic aspects that affect military planning and
the execution of operations. In
addition, this discipline is divided into several sub-classes of study:
cultural, economic, political, and physical geography. Each one of the areas of study establishes
the base for knowledge of a region or area.
The more expertise of a geographic region, the better suited an analyst
will be in order to analyze raw intelligence and apply it to an analysis. Outcomes regarding past U.S. conflicts
have been determined by regional knowledge of military geography and have
ultimately formulated standards of knowledge for today’s intelligence to be
successful. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Regional, area, and cultural
expertise is vital knowledge required for understanding an enemy’s intentions
and vulnerabilities. Also, this knowledge
can result in improved battle tactics by understanding the terrain, weather,
soil, and lines of communication that are prominent in an area which may
ultimately effect enemy movement.
Expertise in these areas allows for a commander, decision-maker, or
analyst to establish an overall picture for planning and executing operations. Understanding culture is becoming a more
important factor for military operations across the world. Unlike the days of the Cold War, enemies of
the United States
are now integrating into civilian societies.
These enemies may use certain key locations to take cover that are not
allowed to be bombed or attacked to their advantage such as hospitals, schools,
and mosques. Therefore, the U.S.
military needs to be cognizant of cultural and social norms within a region in
order to identify any anomalies or something that is just not normal within a
foreign society. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Regarding military geography,
cultural friction is one of the more significant causes of surprise in enemy
action. When in conflict with an
opposing force, enemy intentions may be unpredictable, but it may be the
culture of the enemy that is most often misunderstood in this sense. This causes confusion among the friendly
force because they are unfamiliar with the norms of their enemy’s society. The expertise acquired in studying a certain
region, area, or culture will overall determine the course that an operation
must take in order to be successful, but at the same time limit civilian
causalities. In my opinion, regional
expertise is more beneficial for strategic planning than tactical planning. Understanding the military geography of an
area is essential prior to executing enemy forces in a battle. Knowing when, where, and how to attack an
enemy is also influenced by this expertise and has a major effect on the
planning stages of a military operation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">There have been several
examples of this type of expertise not being utilized that have occurred
throughout history. A somewhat recent
example of this took place in the 1990’s in the country of Somalia. Somalia is a very unstable region that is in
a constant state of conflict. U.S. military forces where not very familiar
with certain aspects of the area of Somalia where they were in conflict,
in addition to not having basic knowledge of Somali society. These aspects included the lack of decent
geospatial intelligence. Based on my
overall knowledge of this conflict, I believe our forces attacked our enemy as
ordered, but did not do their research prior to the battles in ensuring a
successful outcome. This opinion is
based on the continuous failures during the conflict in the streets of Mogadishu that U.S. forces endured. Overall, this was probably due to a lack of
expertise in the region known as the Horn of Africa. However, the United
States has been in many other battles that have resulted
in similar consequences that have forced U.S. troops to disband and leave
the area of conflict.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">In order for military forces
to act successfully in a foreign land, they must be mindful of where they are
located. Furthermore, they must be
reliant on intelligence analysts to supply them with accurate
intelligence. This ties into the that
the United States
continues to be involved more with asymmetric conflicts across the world, and fewer
conflicts against political or organized entities similar to the past. Military geography also allows for knowledge
of an area to be applied to certain operations.
Tactical, operational, and strategic planning rely on this knowledge to
avoid any uncertainties and create a successful battle plan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Overtime, regional and
cultural subject matter expertise continues to become a more substantial key
component for intelligence operations.
Education, cultural appreciation, and regional experience of analysts are
often insufficient for providing insight for an understanding of the enemy. Also, there is little knowledge of any
historical aspects that create social norms different than in the United States
or even the language of the local population which can purely affect an overall
analysis of a network’s true intentions.
Overall, this is unsatisfactory and proves why knowledge of military
geography of a specified area is vital in understanding and analyzing the
enemy. This seems to be a common issue
across the world and probably has led to initiatives such as human terrain
analysis also known as human geography and other elements that cater more
towards regional studies in academia.</span></div>
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<a class=" twitter-hashtag pretty-link" data-query-source="hashtag_click" href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23maps" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0084b4; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font: inherit; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" title="#maps"><b style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; font: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></b></a>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com0Mogadishu, Somalia2.0333333 45.3500000000000231.9722477999999999 45.280243500000026 2.0944187999999997 45.41975650000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-82854550602515605732012-03-04T10:33:00.000-05:002012-03-04T10:33:06.497-05:00Geospatial Intelligence in WWII - Terrain Analysis and Aerial Photography<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Have you ever thought how geography was used in military operations before all this fancy technology came online? Here's an example I have drafted up involving geospatial intelligence and geographic analysis about 70 years ago using paper maps and aerial imagery.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Geographic techniques in conjunction with geospatial intelligence
have both played important roles in planning wartime operations. In this post, I will describe the value of this
that contributed greatly toward the Invasion of Sicily during World War II in
July 1943, specifically OPERATION Husky.
Intelligence provided General Patton with several different scenarios
for the execution of tactical operations.
Each scenario was used to give Patton options in order to complete his
missions. Similar to a maze in a
newspaper we used to try to complete as children, Patton would use these
options in order to prevent a dead-end in his tactical operations. If he was to reach a dead-end, the other
scenarios would allow his other options to still achieve success in carrying
out his mission. All of the different
intelligence sources assisted Patton in commanding tactical operations. The intelligence collected by the G-2
provided details on the enemy opposition (such as their capabilities,
intentions, and vulnerabilities).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Furthermore, terrain and weather played a significant role in his
operations by allowing Patton to choose the most desirable route based on
several considerations such as vegetation, terrain, lines of communication,
soil-type, and weather conditions. Each of these considerations determined the
cross-country routes that would be taken in order to achieve his objectives. Unfortunately, Patton did not have the option
to utilize the vast techniques associated with geographic information systems,
but instead, relied on conducting geospatial analysis with paper maps. Intelligence also provided Patton with the
means to go about an invasion no matter where in Europe the invasion would
occur at. For example, where to strike enemy
forces on the beaches of Sicily became vital and was reliant on effective and
accurate intelligence. All of these
factors supported Patton during his execution of tactical operations<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Aerial photography was an integral part of many missions
throughout World War II. In OPERATION
Husky, aerial photography assisted Allied forces in conjunction with General
Patton’s army with a successful invasion of Sicily. The geography of Sicily, especially the
terrain, proved to be challenging for the aircrafts because of the elevation
and ruggedness of the topography. The
imagery collected assisted photo interpreters to generate terrain models which
allowed for visualization of the coastline, in addition to formulating beach
landing zones in Sicily.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The aircraft used in this operation was a modified North American
B-25D Mitchell (also known as an F-10 reconnaissance model) which had all of
its armament and bombing equipment removed.
This aircraft’s main purpose was mapping the landscape in order to
determine enemy order of battle, enemy routes, and determine viable landing
zones for the Allied forces. The
aircraft was modified to equip three K-17 cameras, mounted at several angles:
vertically, horizontally, and obliquely which allowed for various look angles
to be captured on film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Overall, photo reconnaissance provided ample support in order for
an invasion into Sicily to be possible.
There were approximately five aerial missions a day and the processing
of 200 to 600 prints per hour were extracted by analysts located in North
Africa. Lastly, the start of taking
photographs at night began during the operations that were conducted in
Sicily. According to www.dtic.mil, aircraft
dropped flash bombs from 10,000 to 12,000 feet that triggered the camera
shutter. A single exposure covered an area roughly two miles long by four and a
half miles wide. F-10s (modified B-25s) carried a small number of flash bombs,
which normally limited missions to twenty pictures.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I was not able to locate any aerial photography taken during this
operation; however, I was able to locate a planning map that was used to direct
where aerial photography was needed, an actual imagery report disseminated
during this operation, as well as a picture of the F-10.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOzaZsXgl10U5QwhxCMSx-wi3k90hvQsGiYBMqUZg2BcIhimpO5YuIsdDy5pp1hWGsxxWIs4l9dKRiQ649ZvXekhIBIBmkSvn6c7-dPtJYv0-6DzWGTgMLqKDmc_GHsf7nXfxThNY6y-q/s1600/DDAY+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOzaZsXgl10U5QwhxCMSx-wi3k90hvQsGiYBMqUZg2BcIhimpO5YuIsdDy5pp1hWGsxxWIs4l9dKRiQ649ZvXekhIBIBmkSvn6c7-dPtJYv0-6DzWGTgMLqKDmc_GHsf7nXfxThNY6y-q/s320/DDAY+(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Operation HUSKY, Photo Reconnaissance Plan</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEoMwL_-llpH0AgssePLO3_4KrapQBdMTu5xKJyM8dlhyRDyPlfkgrerPq5_wK3Ugaq-5behtsw7AJhwCD6X94XB-KEaefrLut0bnASQJi5-sFi66YhS4w00TRs_e_OSBNhv_vRRGtgVVk/s1600/plane+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEoMwL_-llpH0AgssePLO3_4KrapQBdMTu5xKJyM8dlhyRDyPlfkgrerPq5_wK3Ugaq-5behtsw7AJhwCD6X94XB-KEaefrLut0bnASQJi5-sFi66YhS4w00TRs_e_OSBNhv_vRRGtgVVk/s320/plane+(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">F-10 Photo Reconnaissance Aircraft</span></div>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com0Sicily, Italy37.3979297 14.65878210000005335.7384222 12.795162100000052 39.057437199999995 16.522402100000054tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-37274086889543483922012-03-03T16:08:00.004-05:002012-04-02T19:40:39.845-04:00Understanding Military Geography - The Battle of Manassas/Bull Run Geographic Analysis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I thought I’d begin today with an entry on military
geography, specifically how geography played a huge role and affected the
battles of Manassas/Bull Run during the Civil War era in the United States. In 1861, the
United States broke out into a Civil War between northerners and southerners
that led to many battles and skirmishes which carried on for several
years. This war was based on
geopolitical reasons that led to the South wanting to break away from the <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>. The specific
emphasis of this posting will be on the first and second battles of Manassas. The first battle began in July 1861, and was
one of the main battles with land forces.
It would shape the following battles of the war between the Confederate
(south) and the <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place> (north). The second battle began in August 1862 with
the hopes that the Union could claim victory and take control of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Richmond</st1:place></st1:city>. However, both battles contributed to a
Confederate victory mainly due to the geographic expertise of the involved Confederate
generals; as well as the lack of geographic expertise and poor organizational
skills of the Union generals. Furthermore,
both armies thought these battles would be easy victories that would end the
war early. Historically, this was not
the case, and more battles continued to unfold throughout the following years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It is important to recognize
the geographical factors that assisted in altering both outcomes. Knowing the lay of the land is a very
important factor when engaging in war because it will ultimately determine
planning, operational, and tactical stages of a war. For this to actually matter, generals and
commanders must fully utilize their geographic resources to gain an advantage
over their enemy. The geography of an
area influences choke points, order of battle organization, key routes,
defensive positioning, and offensive positioning. In this posting, I will describe the geographic
basis for both battles; and indentify how key geographic features played an
effective role in determining the course and outcome of both battles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">CIVIL WAR MAP RESOURCES<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For the purpose of this posting,
the Prince William County corridor (between the Bull Run/Pond Mountains and
Bull Run creek) will be the main focus of geographical study, and the main location
for the battles. Nevertheless, the two
campaigns actually began and ended well past these boundaries in the Virginian
counties of Culpeper, Rappahannock, Fauquier, and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Fairfax</st1:place></st1:city>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTAw12KriEdIWn0WjJ2k3QfYsXKd4v027E5HrTaK5aFYQ0pt3hblGKD2Z98lMS622y6n7v0zY9kdw_AppB1BCRizMdYqVfEyQmBO9Ng2HOVo8op8TEUmsaDtWeisV5Q13WqW2zW0boFcLi/s1600/manassas1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTAw12KriEdIWn0WjJ2k3QfYsXKd4v027E5HrTaK5aFYQ0pt3hblGKD2Z98lMS622y6n7v0zY9kdw_AppB1BCRizMdYqVfEyQmBO9Ng2HOVo8op8TEUmsaDtWeisV5Q13WqW2zW0boFcLi/s320/manassas1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> Figure 1. I created this map using ArcGIS 9.3 and it depicts the<br />Prince William Corridor. The significant locations of the the battles are<br />layered over a modern-day topographical map in order to understand the<br />relation between the points. This map uses the WGS1984 datum.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Maps during this era were not
easily obtainable and not well organized compared to today’s standards of
cartography. Most maps used by commanders
during the Civil War were usually hand-drawn and were restricted to specific
areas of interest.<b> </b>This poses potential problems and
benefits for the military. The problems
result from the limited vision of only looking at the immediate area. In order to understand the complete benefits
of a map, an overview is needed to look at the bigger picture. Obstacles may pose threats if they are not
depicted on a map prior to utilizing a route to gain access to the specific
area of interest. Evacuation routes or
choke points may be difficult to plan if a commander is walking into the
unknown and may be surprised by an ambush or a dead-end. In addition, the maps were not always
reliable. Based on my observations, relative
distance was most likely incorporated in to most maps of this time which does
not rely on accuracy because it is not mathematically represented within a
scale or a map projection.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The beneficial part of a map
catering to a specific location is the increased knowledge of a commander to
gain insight on where their offensive and defensive position will be placed in
order to maximize their chance of success.
Although in regards to the aforementioned problems, the maps used for
the battles of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Manassas</st1:place></st1:city>
were mainly guides and were not designed to be taken literally. The Union army presumably recognized these
problems and decided to venture into establishing a balloon corps which would
provide mapping and intelligence to the Union commanders. This type of aerial surveillance provided the
Union commanders with information regarding the terrain, lines of
communication, and Confederate army order of battle/movement in the regions of
Virginia being observed.<b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Union’s first opportunity
to use the balloons was in the first battle of Manassas, where Thaddeus Lowe
launched his first balloon, “Enterprise,” from Alexandria to observe enemy
movement and map out the terrain of Northern Virginia.<b> </b>However, problems arose
with the use of this balloon due to various mechanical problems and lack of
untrained aeronauts. Eventually, in
1862, aerial surveillance became fully operational and was able to examine
geographic areas. This type of
geospatial intelligence may have assisted General John Pope of the Union in
examining Confederate movements around Bull Run; however, due to contradictory
intelligence reports from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city>,
<st1:state w:st="on">D.C.</st1:state></st1:place>, they did not prove to be as
useful as they could have been. As a
result, these various reports most likely created confusion among the Union generals
in the second battle of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Manassas</st1:place></st1:city>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">GEOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The topography of the Prince
William corridor is mountainous in the west and subsides in elevation in the
east. The central and eastern part of
the corridor is consumed by rolling hills, forests, ridges, and farmland. The major mountain range in this region is
the <st1:place w:st="on">Blue Ridge Mountains</st1:place> and has bands
stretching southwest to northeast. The
easternmost band of the mountain range is named the <st1:placename w:st="on">Bull
Run</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype> and
travels from the <st1:placename w:st="on">Rappahannock</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">River</st1:placetype> northeast to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Maryland</st1:place></st1:state>.
The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Bull Run</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype></st1:place> are located at
the western part of the Prince William corridor. The southern portion of the <st1:placename w:st="on">Bull Run</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype>
where the ridgeline descends is called the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Pond</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype></st1:place>. The descent, also known as Thoroughfare Gap,
is the only area for many miles that can be easily passed through the mountain
chain because these mountains have sharp and rugged ridges that are
impassible. Besides the mountains, the
remainder of the corridor consists of smaller, non-protrusive ridges and hills
which do not impede soldier movement significantly. The following key features in this part of
the corridor are as follows: Chinn Ridge, Henry Hill, and Matthew’s Hill which
all have an elevation of approximately 280 feet above sea level, and Stony
Ridge which was approximately 335 feet above sea level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlEjYX-bB8CUbZN5I-8Xkkq6c4rZjRRMnD-04PT-Yx8LUFcpUFvOXrLY9aDTVFD04ZQBUjdgbr_Ks3wWe_hH83kenDG6Ts3qmBpwran8lHM_vZccbmqLJVaWx4fIzvm-yZgDdJOXAvXn6/s1600/manassas2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlEjYX-bB8CUbZN5I-8Xkkq6c4rZjRRMnD-04PT-Yx8LUFcpUFvOXrLY9aDTVFD04ZQBUjdgbr_Ks3wWe_hH83kenDG6Ts3qmBpwran8lHM_vZccbmqLJVaWx4fIzvm-yZgDdJOXAvXn6/s320/manassas2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Figure 2: This photograph was taken from the west side of </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">the Thoroughfare Gap (central). The Bull Run Mountains </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">are on the left and the Pond Mountains are on the right </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">side of the photograph.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The geology of this area has
laid the framework for the terrain and ultimately has allowed each side to take
advantage of concealment techniques. The
majority of the battles were fought in the lower elevations in an area known as
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Culpeper</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Basin</st1:placetype></st1:place>.
At the base of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Bull
Run</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype></st1:place>
is a minor fault line which during the Mesozoic era ruptured and formed a break
in the rocks. This contributed to the
basin changing the landscape from rugged terrains to rolling hills.<b> </b>Sedimentary rocks make up most of the
corridor with siltstone that may be overlaid with red and gray shale. In addition, the sedimentary rocks created
open and smoother terrain which is beneficial for transportation networks and
agriculture. Most of the soil around the
actual battlefield had not been through metamorphosis; therefore it also
created a suitable area for farming and increased trafficability. West of the fault line is diabase, which are
rocks that have many dark and clay minerals providing many nutrients for
vegetation to flourish. These types of
rocks are hard; and have an excellent resistance to erosion which allows rugged
terrain and ridges to be formed.<b> </b>Stony Ridge, which was formed at the end
of the diabase, is extremely important for tactical purposes and lies in a
wooded area. This ridge proved to be a
viable cover for the Confederacy in the second battle of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Manassas</st1:place></st1:city>.
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The hydrography of the area is plentiful and provides
many offensive and defensive tactics for the soldiers of both battles. Mainly fords and creeks were used as barriers,
crossing points, routes; thus providing important, strategic factors for
soldier movement. Most of the creeks ran
southeast towards the <st1:place w:st="on">Chesapeake Bay</st1:place>. The three most significant creeks that influenced
both the Confederate and Union soldiers were <st1:place w:st="on">Bull Run</st1:place>,
Broad Run, and Dogan Run. Fords along
these creeks became key geographic areas for the battles. In my opinion, the troops that controlled the
fords would increase their soldier movement, and optimize their offensive
battle tactics in order to attack their opponents’ flanks with ease.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lines of communication in the Prince William corridor
provided support to the armies of the battle at multiple levels: strategic,
tactical, and operational. There were
several key roads and railways that contributed to the battle. The following lines of communication were
observed upon my field visit to the battlefield. Key roads were used to assist the soldiers on
both sides in their navigation from one point to another point for long
distances. Roads were also used as
reference points to assist troop movement between the different local areas of
battle such as prominent hills and ridges.
Some of these key roads were Warrenton Turnpike (Route 29) which was
located between Thoroughfare Gap and Centreville in an east/west
direction. The <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Manassas-Sudley Road</st1:address></st1:street> was located between
the hamlet of Sudley and Manassas Junction in a north/south direction. Lastly, the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Groveton-Sudley Road</st1:address></st1:street> was located between
Sudley and the hamlet of Groveton in a north/south direction. In addition to the Warrenton Turnpike which
interconnected multiple counties, there were also two prominent railways that
led the armies to the corridor. The
first railroad was the <st1:city w:st="on">Orange</st1:city> & <st1:city w:st="on">Alexandria</st1:city> (O&A) Railroad which ran between Culpeper
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Alexandria</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Virginia</st1:state></st1:place>.
The second railway was the Manassas Gap Railroad which ran between Front
Royal, Virginia and Manassas Junction.
There was a third railway that began construction prior to the war;
however, due to a lack of funding, the railroad was unfinished during both
battles. The unfinished railroad was
located slightly southeast of Stony Ridge and became very beneficial to the
Confederate army in the second battle because of the concealed position it
offered the soldiers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">FIRST <st1:city w:st="on">BATTLE</st1:city> OF <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">MANASSAS</st1:city></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></st1:city></st1:place></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Preparations among <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>
and Confederate commanders were beginning for what would be considered the
first Battle of Manassas. The majority
of Confederate armies traveled slightly north of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Richmond</st1:place></st1:city> to the battlefield area by several routes
and modes of transportation. The
Confederate infantry traveled by train, while the Confederate cavalry and
artillery took advantage of several major roadways to the battlefield site. Other Confederate soldiers traveled from the <st1:place w:st="on">Shenandoah Valley</st1:place> in the west via Manassas Gap
Railroad. The Union armies mostly
traveled west from various locations in <st1:placename w:st="on">Fairfax</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">County</st1:placetype> and along the <st1:place w:st="on">Potomac
River</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Upon arrival to the battlefield on July 16, 1861, the
Confederate army defensively positioned themselves along several key choke
points on the western side of Bull Run because of their familiarity with the
terrain. General P.G.T. Beauregard
sought out these positions based on intelligence reports that Union forces were
headed towards <st1:place w:st="on">Bull Run</st1:place>. Several fords and bridges along an
approximate 2.5 mile radius of <st1:place w:st="on">Bull Run</st1:place> were
then guarded by Beauregard’s forces. One
of the key choke points was <st1:placename w:st="on">Stone</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bridge</st1:placetype> which was a flat bridge that carried Warrenton
Turnpike over <st1:place w:st="on">Bull Run</st1:place>. Just to the south of the bridge were Ball’s
Ford, Lewis Ford, and Island Ford which were all key crossing points from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Fairfax</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">County</st1:placetype></st1:place> into the Prince William
corridor. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Union forces had identified that the barrier Confederate
forces established became an unwanted obstacle for the Union movement;
therefore, they diverted their route in a northwesterly direction to a crossing
point that was not being guarded by the Confederates approximately 2 miles
north of Stone Bridge. This crossing point was known as Sudley Springs
Ford. The geographic prominence of this
point provided an opportunity for the Union to surprise attack the
Confederate’s flank in addition to blindsiding them from the rear since their
attention was faced towards Bull Run. This ford was a slow-moving, shallow
crossing that made it ideal for wagons and artillery to pass through thus
allowing the Union soldiers to stay dry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Confederate forces became aware of the <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>’s
diversion and moved north to intercept them as they were traveling south from
the hamlet of Sudley. Both forces came
to a halt at Matthew’s Hill when the Confederate forces moved into secured
positions about 250 yards from the top of the hill on the southern slope.<b> </b>This
was a key opportunity for the Confederate forces because the reverse side of
the hill provided concealment against enemy fire. When both forces finally initiated the first
battle on Matthew’s Hill, it was then realized by the Confederate generals that
once on top of the hill, the hill did not provide any real geographic advantage
since the top of the hill was open ground.
As a result, the Confederate forces retreated because of the lack of a
geographic advantage and their disorganized lines. They then relocated to Henry Hill, just south
of Matthew’s Hill, in order to regroup.
Meanwhile, the Union soldiers seized Matthew’s Hill and dispersed some
of their forces to an adjacent location named Dogan Ridge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Henry Hill was
situated approximately 1,200 yards west of <st1:place w:st="on">Bull Run</st1:place>. The Confederate armies had a clear view of
the Union forces from here if they attempted to retreat over <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Stone</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bridge</st1:placetype></st1:place>. The foreground of the hill was open fields
that overlooked a creek to the north named Young’s Branch. On the other side of the creek, the terrain elevated
to form Buck Hill, which was only a quarter of a mile from the top of Matthew’s
Hill. Both armies stood their ground on
top of each of the hills in order to regroup.
Once again, the Confederate army’s position on the reverse slope of the
hill provided protection from direct fire.
When the Union forces approached Henry Hill, the Confederate army
encroached onto the higher ground and showered the Union forces with
gunfire. The Confederate leverage over
the <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place> assisted them with a huge vantage
point in the overall battle. The
Confederates continued to hold their position and did not allow Union forces to
charge up the slope of the hill. The
foreground of Henry Hill was open and treeless, but the fluctuation of small
elevation made the Union’s maneuverability difficult because of its uneven
grade. The Confederates also used a tree
line on the hill for concealment; thus leaving 400 yards of farmland and fields
in front of them to devastate the Union army.
Eventually, the Union troops diverted their forces to an adjacent,
higher elevation location, named Chinn Ridge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chinn Ridge provided
more suitable cover for both armies in this part of the battle. The Union forces used the forested lower
level of the ridge named Chinn Branch for concealment when diverting their forces
and the Confederate forces also used them when they were in pursuit of the
Union forces. The purpose of the entire
battle shifting to another key geographic feature was for the <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>
to gain a geographic advantage over the Confederate forces; however, some of the
Confederate forces were still at the base of Henry Hill at the time of the
diversion. This new strategy consisted
of Union forces moving southward on the peak elevation of Chinn Ridge and then
cutting eastward in order to strike the Confederate’s right flank on Henry Hill.
Subsequently, the Union forces were not
aware of where the Confederate lines were specifically located. This became the <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>’s
ultimate failure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Due to disorganization in the Union forces, the majority
of Confederate forces had shifted their position from Henry Hill and pursued
the <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place> as they climbed uphill on Chinn
Ridge. This pursuit surprised the Union
forces on the ridge and then forced the Union forces to reverse their line
northwest of their previous position. Unfortunately,
the Union strategy to attack the Confederate’s on Henry Hill by forming a line
in the forests of Chinn Branch and Bald Hill never happened. The result was a Union army that retreated
back to Centreville (located on the eastern side of <st1:place w:st="on">Bull
Run</st1:place>), and lost this battle.
The Confederate army positioned themselves nearby to Stone Bridge in
order to cut off the retreating Union forces; however, the Union retreated back
to their entry route via Sudley Springs Ford.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">SECOND <st1:city w:st="on">BATTLE</st1:city> OF <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">MANASSAS</st1:city></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></st1:city></st1:place></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nearly a year after the first Battle of Manassas, another
battle in the same area was brewing.
Confederate armies began to set up their strategic plan of attack with
the use of geographic intelligence gathered by General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. He was able to determine exactly where to
establish a defensive line. The
Confederate and <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place> armies advanced to the
Prince William Corridor, from multiple directions. The Confederates mainly traveled through the
Blue Ridge Mountains from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Richmond</st1:place></st1:city>. This strategic area provided concealment and
allowed for a safe trip to the battlefield site. They traveled on paths through forests, open
fields, and mountainous terrain until the reached Thoroughfare Gap. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first Confederate force, led by General Jackson,
passed through the Gap and used Broad Run as a navigational guide to the O
& A Railroad which intersected at Bristow.
The Confederates realized this was a vital choke point for the Union
army and decided to destroy a railroad bridge at the intersection of the
railway and creek, as well as ripping up the tracks to ensure the Union forces
could not use this line of communication.
In addition, these forces traveled several miles northeast along the
railway and demolished the Union supply depot at Manassas Junction. This was a devastating blow to the Union army
because it hindered their military movement, communications, and logistics for
the battle. In the meantime, several
Union forces attempted to travel to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Manassas</st1:city></st1:place>
via the south and east, but were slowed down due to much disorganization. This provided the Confederate forces to
appropriately position themselves in geographic prominent areas within the
Prince William corridor.<b> </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Confederate forces traveled back to Thoroughfare Gap
after the destruction which occurred at Manassas Junction. Since the Gap was located in between the Bull
Run and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Pond</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype></st1:place>, it provided protection for
the Confederate army. The only direction
which the Union forces would be able to approach them was from the east which
left the Union forces without option to attack any of their other flanks. As a result, the Gap became a tactical
advantage and it was realized that whoever controlled the Gap, controlled the
battle. Eventually, more Confederate
forces arrived at the Gap. They
positioned themselves on the western part of the Gap and waited for the Union
forces coming from the eastern opening, while other Confederate forces
continued on to Stony Ridge to the east.
Shortly thereafter, Union forces arrived at the eastern part of the Gap
and barricaded the entrance leading out to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Culpeper</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Basin</st1:placetype></st1:place>. In the wooden areas surrounding the Gap’s
entrance, Union forces cut down trees and made the Gap impassible for
Confederate forces, which ultimately did slow them down. In less than 24 hours later, the Confederates,
along with their artillery, ordnance, and wagons that accompanied them, crossed
through the narrow passage that was barricaded and were able to join their
counterparts at Stony Ridge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The next vital
geographic area in the battle was at Stony Ridge. It is a ridge that runs southwest to
northeast. On its eastern side away from
the Bull Run Mountains, it is protected by dense forests as well as trenches
and banks that make up the railroad bed that was left unfinished prior to the
Civil War. The original Confederate
forces that destroyed the depot at Manassas Junction and left the Gap before
Union forces blocked it traveled to the Stony Ridge area to establish a
defensive line as well as a hideout.
This location was ideal for the soldiers because the forest provided
concealment, and leverage due to the elevation.
Also, an unfinished railroad provided a 100-foot deep depression in the
ground which allowed for a surprise attack against the approaching Union
forces. The Ridge also had diabase which
resulted in hard rock and boulders making it tough for Union forces to rush the
Confederate forces.<b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When the Union forces
finally arrived at the Confederate hideout, the Confederate forces ambushed
them allowing a devastating blow to the Union flanks. The <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>
was eventually forced into an open field around a local citizen’s property
named Brawner’s Farm. At this point the
Confederate forces at the Thoroughfare Gap finally arrived on scene and also
attacked the Union forces by way of Warrenton Turnpike. The open field did not provide any advantage
to the Union soldiers as they were not able to fully engage their enemy. In addition, there were still Confederate
soldiers attacking from the unfinished railroad site, and the higher
elevation. The only assistance that the
terrain offered the Union forces was several shallow depressions encased with
streams that were tributaries of Dogan Run.
The streams provided minimal protection since they were on the lower
ground. Some of the soldiers on both
sides ran out of ammunition and decided to throw superficial, exposed rocks as
a substitute. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As a result, the Union forces were unable to drive the
Confederate forces out from their tactical ground and had no other option but
to pull back further east to <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Manassas-Sudley
Road</st1:address></st1:street>. In an attempt to regroup, the majority of
Union forces formed lines along Chinn Ridge, Matthews Hill, and Henry Hill since
the Union leadership was familiar with these locations from the first battle. Their numbers were so small that the
Confederate forces charged them at every angle.
Subsequently, the Union forces did not have any geographic advantage
over the Confederate forces and finally retreated back towards <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:state> via thick
woods to conceal their departing route; thus the Confederates had achieved
another victory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">CONCLUSION<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Overall, the studying of geographic factors of an area is
essential for planning and executing a battle.
The topography, hydrography, geology, and lines of communication all
integrated together to assist in the outcomes of the battles. Ultimately, the <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>
failed to execute a successful strategy largely based upon the unknown terrain;
yet, it provided an advantage to the Confederacy. In addition, the Confederate army had the
topographical knowledge and the assistance of local farmers as food sources and
guides. The Blue Ridge Mountains
provided a good majority of natural resources needed for war such as coal for
heat, salt for preserving food, and saltpeter for gunpowder which also gave
them an edge towards victory. However,
both sides became victims of fatigue, disorganization, and insufficient
ammunition supply. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Confederate forces used geography to their advantage by
pushing the Union troops back towards a retreat in both battles.<b> </b>On
the other hand, the Union commanders approximated the location of the
Confederate army erroneously which resulted in failing results for the <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>.<b> </b>Victories
are determined by many factors, but the main factor relies heavily on the
geographic prominence and attributes that militaries use for an advantage, as
the battles of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Manassas</st1:city></st1:place>
proved. Lastly, the battles at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Manassas</st1:place></st1:city> set the pace for
modern geographic intelligence through aerial surveillance. This assessment on the geographic factors
that affected the outcomes of the battles is a prime example of what happens to
an army when they do not have accurate information regarding the geography of
an area. It ultimately results in a win
or loss. As a result, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> engineers
embarked on huge mapping projects after the first battle for these reasons in
order to obtain better geographic intelligence.
Today, our nation stands on the forefront of the world by producing the
most vital geographic intelligence because of technological advances in aerial
and space surveillance. For these reasons,
geography played an effective role in determining the course and outcome of
both battles in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Manassas</st1:city></st1:place>,
as well as the battles occurring overseas every day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">References:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN">Boyne</span></st1:place><span lang="EN">, W. J. (2003). <i>The influence of air power
upon history</i>. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Gretna</st1:city></st1:place>:
Pelican Publishing</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Company.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Collins, J. M. (1998). <i>Military
geography for professionals and the public</i>. Washington, DC: National
Defense University Press.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gottfried, B. M. (2009). <i>The
maps of First Bull Run: An atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign,
including the Battle of Ball's Bluff, June-October 1861</i>. El Dorado Hills, Calif:
Savas Beatie.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hennessy, J.J. (2003). <i>First <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Manassas</st1:city></st1:place>:
War’s First Carnage. </i><span class="italic">America's Civil War:</span> <span class="italic">Gods & Generals</span>,8-16. Proquest <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">McElfresh, E. B. (1999). <i>Maps
and mapmakers of the Civil War</i>. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New
York</st1:state></st1:place>: Harry N. Abrams, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Publishers in association
with History Book Club.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">National Park Service.
(2009). <i>The <st1:city w:st="on">Battle</st1:city>
of First <st1:city w:st="on">Manassas</st1:city> (First <st1:place w:st="on">Bull
Run</st1:place>)</i>. http://www.nps. gov/mana/historyculture/first-manassas.htm)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">U.S.Army of Military
History. <i>Overview of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Battle</st1:city></st1:place></i>. http://www.history.army.mil/books/Staff-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rides/2Manassas/2mns-ov.htm
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Walker, A. S., & Zen,
E. (2000). <i>Rocks and war: Geology and the Civil War campaign of Second <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span lang="EN">Manassas</span></i><span lang="EN">. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Shippensburg</st1:city>,
<st1:state w:st="on">PA</st1:state></st1:place>: White Mane Books.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Winters, H. A., &
Center for American Places. (1998). <i>Battling the elements: Weather and <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">terrain in the conduct of
war</span></i><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. <st1:city w:st="on">Baltimore</st1:city>:
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Johns</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Hopkins</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>
Press.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com4Manassas National Battlefield, 6511 Sudley Rd, Manassas, VA 20109-2358, USA38.8130447 -77.52159119999998938.7461657 -77.6383207 38.8799237 -77.404861699999984tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-87806728227997123452012-03-02T23:05:00.000-05:002012-03-02T23:05:15.835-05:00Mapping Human Geography in GIS - Unconventional Practices<br />
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Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications in social
science are becoming more and more frequently used throughout the world in
understanding several sub-fields of geography.
For this posting I will be discussing specifically the human geographic
aspect that concentrates on understanding local populations and the
implications of social change from effects of economic, political, geographic,
and ethnographic issues through the use of GIS. The typical uses or norms of GIS applications
usually include science-related mapping, utility mapping, and/or disaster
response/humanitarian efforts, and last but not least, map-making in general. The social sciences and human geography are
often overlooked and many people that I have encountered in life, school, and
work are doubtful of the possibility of mapping human cultures. This may be because in a global world today,
most cultures are becoming more intermingled than ever before. However, though globalization is beginning to
merge many cultures, the majority of cultures still have unique characteristics
that history has lent to them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In GIS, there are many layers that would assist in
developing spatial relationships among various aspects of human geography. This
application is becoming more and more reliant by the United States government
as a result of the issues with our military not understanding the cultures of
Iraq and Afghanistan before the invasions earlier in the century. Not only do
federal governments have a vested interest in human geographic applications,
but non-government organizations also have their fair share of a need to
understand the world from a social science perspective. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As a proof of concept, the following 3 layers are an
integral part of this overall system, but keep in mind there many layers that
are needed in order to understand the big picture. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ethnicity Layers: These layers would consist of the cultural
groups within say for instance in Iran such as the Azeris, Kurds, Iranians, among various
other smaller cultural groups. A polygon layer would represent the
generalization of where these groups mainly have geographic control over; however, there may be overlap among the
polygon layers in a macroscopic view of the region. This would provide a
baseline for understanding any implications the Iranian government would
enforce on the local population.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBXRqf00ZrpCsHuKPXiQJ7seaDFyF0KvBS3wn9Km74FlsXsIGGT4eUA5k7czOL2-JobNw-fDj0r-3rFSC8izoZV8G18rczEpJJk_yQHaRDAlxJMk4XmkmXBuy3WwyUu22PRD_IazLmVZG/s1600/iran_ethnic_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBXRqf00ZrpCsHuKPXiQJ7seaDFyF0KvBS3wn9Km74FlsXsIGGT4eUA5k7czOL2-JobNw-fDj0r-3rFSC8izoZV8G18rczEpJJk_yQHaRDAlxJMk4XmkmXBuy3WwyUu22PRD_IazLmVZG/s320/iran_ethnic_map.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
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Neighborhood/City Layers: These layers would provide more of
a microscopic view of the parts of the regions, specifically cities or
urbanized areas. Within these urban areas, a mixture of cultural groups may be
present. Identifying the neighborhoods specific to a particular group would
help to isolate groups and provide geographic context to conditions under the
assumption that segregation is prevalent in the city. I have noticed through my studies that even in
a global world, there is still much segregation in neighborhoods because ethnic
groups and religions tend to stick with like people. Also, the mix of ethnicity would be more
visible with these polygon layers, because at larger scales, a GIS user can
begin to see the relationship and isolation of each of the groups. A new technique such as settlement mapping
can also divide formal from informal neighborhoods assisting in identifying
certain demographics of people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6lMcs7HdDk0MS-Oza09kdRTsgNCp-_tDJicObOxqPYD1EozLfzKfMbaZ9-m03b98PkTMJLRFL2CGX2jfMk-HGkYMWAO4EcJirKJbb_tY-JNbunroRtacBN2o0gfeApHuc4ynODUTSxX8/s1600/neighbo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6lMcs7HdDk0MS-Oza09kdRTsgNCp-_tDJicObOxqPYD1EozLfzKfMbaZ9-m03b98PkTMJLRFL2CGX2jfMk-HGkYMWAO4EcJirKJbb_tY-JNbunroRtacBN2o0gfeApHuc4ynODUTSxX8/s320/neighbo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Religious layers: These point layers will help identify any
historic or religious sites across an urban area to assist in the overall
analysis of identifying spatial attributes to a particular group. Examples of
point shapefiles would be churches, mosques, religious sites, relgious
institutions, religious monuments, et cetera.
Alternative to point layers, polygons may also be helpful from a
macroscopic scale for identifying which religions tend to favor certain
geographic areas over others. This may
be from diasporas or history.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9PePPyTLmEdF6aUFjd5aOz7pDy6WnqjJECkJ4wEn23xhloEcXuhXPE8e7ntSPbuAL-WFQ1og5e-XUzNsuceTtz4U8_OohfvZUzOZKcdkw9f_22LrkR8naxNBVFVPTRfbj_SxG8TuguNtX/s1600/Pakistan_Religion_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9PePPyTLmEdF6aUFjd5aOz7pDy6WnqjJECkJ4wEn23xhloEcXuhXPE8e7ntSPbuAL-WFQ1og5e-XUzNsuceTtz4U8_OohfvZUzOZKcdkw9f_22LrkR8naxNBVFVPTRfbj_SxG8TuguNtX/s320/Pakistan_Religion_lg.jpg" width="288" /></a></div>
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Researching human geography can be done and converted into
geospatial information. Another thing to
keep in mind is that geographical text can be extracted and developed into
data, which is one thing in any social science field, is part of the data
collection. One would have to convert text into geographic data, not only
from information with geographic locations, but the surrounding context. There are many ways to go about finding
information. Many anthropologists and other related fields have published
many studies regarding cultures and civilizations. These types of papers
have an abundance amount of geographic insights, references, and data that can
be extracted in to spatial data. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Commerical remote sensing imagers (i.e. Orbview, Geoeye,
DigiGlobe) may also lead a helping hand; many cultures or ethnic groups in the
eastern hemisphere have their own specific characteristics for architecture,
buildings, and homes. Many of these architectural distinctions are
observable from space, especially with a favorable look angle. If the
imaging platform takes a snapshot of an area at nadir, it may be more
difficult. Other ways to find information is through social media sites
that promote collaborative mapping and that may also provide insight into human
geography. Sites like Wikimapia, openstreetmaps, and amateur cartographic
sites provide insight into cultural data. Of course there are many
different sources of information, and it would be someone's job who is involved
in human geographic mapping to analyze all possible layers to establish a final
cartographic map that details the human geography of an area. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Keep in mind, if you are expecting 100 % accuracy on any of
these layers, then you are in the wrong business, as you should always question
the data since nothing is perfect. There are many things to take into
consideration when looking at mapping human geography. You also have to
consider what is the end use or final deliverable for the project. Some
geographic layers that are important to conduct such analyses are terrain,
elevation, roads, buildings, hilltops, rivers, transit zones, local language,
ethnicity, education, and demographics. Where does one get all of this information?
The data can be acquired via remote sensing, various open sources, or other
means. All this data plays into the bigger picture, but most of us take
them for granted. <br />
<br />
Ease of mobility is a huge factor in cultural mapping. In rural areas
across Asia, even if the groups are forced out, they tend to stick
together. Not all populations have the luxury to send their kids to
Tehran University or hop on the highway to go to Kashmir on a nice scenic
vacation. Ethnicity is another hindering factor like race is still an
issue in America. Therefore the infrastructure plays a huge role in
identifying areas where cultures are prevalent. In the United States,
when people emigrate there, they tend to stick together with like-minded and
like-speaking peoples hence why we still see segregation in our urban
cities. It's not much different when cultural groups are forced to flee
their land to another part of a country or to neighboring countries, hence why
you see other ethnicities such as the Turkmens in Afghanistan or Iran even
though there is a country of Turkmenistan. <br />
<br />
Furthermore, there are many factors involved in understanding this and aggregating
information is the key to success. You need to acquire as much data and
information that one can. In addition to data, information is a key
aspect to this in providing context to areas. The world is not as
isolated as it once was and there is a plentiful amount of information and data
that would be suffice for a fairly accurate assessment of an area; you just
need to know where to find it. <br />
<br />
I just wanted to provide a little taste of what could be done more than the
typical GIS applications that everyone knows about. Hope this helps!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Brian G - @geocrusader80<o:p></o:p></div>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8548044811930009644.post-59429555957153283872012-03-01T21:36:00.000-05:002012-03-01T21:36:34.275-05:00What is geography?I thought I'd begin my journey down the blogging road with a video that attempts to explain what is geography and why should you care. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the geographic ride I am about to take all my readers on. Stay tuned...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/CGpas-GPjvQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Geocrusader80http://www.blogger.com/profile/12107373964699389489noreply@blogger.com0