SHORT ARTICLE Geographic information science and technology at Louisiana State University

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1 Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 2015 Vol. 42, No. S1, S84 S90, SHORT ARTICLE Geographic information science and technology at Louisiana State University Michael Leitner a *, Nina N.S. Lam b, Fahui Wang a, Lei Wang a, Shelley Meng a and Joshua Kent c a Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA; b Department of Environmental Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA; c Center for GeoInformatics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA (Received 22 May 2015; accepted 3 June 2015) Introduction The research and education in Geographic Information Science and Technology (GISc & T) at Louisiana State University (LSU, has been necessitated by its geographical location in the southeastern United States along the Mississippi River and near the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico. The region is full of natural resources and cultural diversity, and yet it has been plagued with natural disasters such as hurricanes, flooding, and land subsidence and specific human issues such as poverty, crime, and poor health indicators. This report provides a short history of the establishment of the Mapping Sciences program in the Department of Geography and Anthropology and the significant past and current research foci in GISc & T at LSU. For the sake of brevity, the contributions of only six core faculty (Drs. Joshua Kent, Michael Leitner, Nina N.S. Lam, Xuelian Meng, Fahui Wang, and Lei Wang) from two different departments and one Center (Geography and Anthropology, Environmental Sciences, and the Center for GeoInformatics) are discussed. Brief history At LSU, the Mapping Sciences program was formalized as one of the three concentrations in the Geography programin1988bydr.ninan.s.lam,whojoinedthe Department of Geography and Anthropology in The Mapping Sciences program offered a full suite of graduate- and undergraduate-level classes and was considered one of the earliest programs in the United States that had such instructional and research capacity. Prior to Lam s arrival, cartography, GIS, and related courses were considered techniques. There was no analytical research or publications in this field originating from the LSU program. Within the next two decades, Lam was able to lead and expand the program, increase student enrollment, seek funding to establish three computer laboratories, and successfully recruit two new faculty members. Drs. Michael Leitner and Andrew Curtis joined the *Corresponding author. mleitne@lsu.edu program in 1996 and 1999, respectively. In 1996, Lam worked with colleagues from multiple disciplines to establish LSU as one of the 25 founding members of the University Consortium on Geographic Information Science (UCGIS). In 2006, Lam moved to the Department of Environmental Sciences and Curtis left for a position at the University of Southern California. The short-term void created by Lam s andcurtis s departures was quickly filled with the additions of Drs. Fahui Wang and Lei Wang in 2007 and of Dr. Xuelian Meng in 2012, bringing the total number of GISc & T faculty in the Department of Geography and Anthropology to four. AftergraduatingwithaPhDin geography from LSU in 2009, Dr. Joshua Kent joined the LSU Center for GeoInformatics, where he contributes to GISc & T in research, education, and application development. The next section highlights the groups research contributions to GISc & T in basic and applied research, as well as in the development of methodology. Basic research and methodology contributions to GIScience One of the most important basic research contributions to GISc at LSU was Lam s work on fractals and scale, which resulted in a number of journal articles and the book, Fractals in Geography (Lam and De Cola 1993). An additional product cumulating from this basic research on fractals, wavelets, and other related spatial indices was the software called Image Characterization and Modeling System (ICAMS) (Lam and Quattrochi 1992). Another important contribution to GISc at LSU was the work on spatial interpolation by Lam (1983). In this article, the author provided a framework for interpolating various types of data, introduced the term areal interpolation, and developed new interpolation methods. The research on disasters and resilience at LSU can be seen as a direct result of Hurricane Katrina, which led to the development of models that assess business return decisions in New Orleans after Katrina (Lam et al. 2012), 2015 Cartography and Geographic Information Society

2 Cartography and Geographic Information Science S85 community resilience, coastal sustainability through coupled natural-human dynamics, and effects of coastal restoration on flood vulnerability. Several GIS and remote sensing image processing methods were proposed by L. Wang and his collaborators, such as an innovative GIS raster data analysis algorithm, which is based on the least cost search strategy (Wang and Liu 2006). This algorithm made it possible to use fine resolution LiDAR DEM for hydrological simulation in large watersheds, due to its significant improvement of the computation efficiency. A spatiotemporally integrated approach to remote sensing image processing was proposed by L. Wang and Yu (2011) to quickly and reliably extract surface snow melt from daily observation of passive microwave satellite images. The introduction of a watershed segmentation image processing method to the land use classification of urban areas has formalized a solution to an existing gap in land use and land cover classification methodology (Tang and Wang 2012). Figure 1. 2SFCA method illustration (from Luo and Wang 2003).

3 S86 M. Leitner et al. Other recent examples of methodological developments with a socioeconomic focus are provided by F. Wang and his collaborators. Their contributions include the development of spatial accessibility measures such as the popular 2 Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) Method that accounts for the supply demand match ratio and their complex interaction across borders of analysis unit (Luo and Wang 2003) (see Figure 1). More recently, these researchers have implemented the design of automated regionalization methods such as the modified scalespace clustering (MSSC) method and the mixed-level regionalization (MLR) method that considers both spatial connectivity and attributive homogeneity (Mu et al. 2015). Their formulation of minimal inequality in accessibility is a new objective in optimization studies to advance location-allocation analysis (Wang and Tang 2013). Leitner and his collaborators in several publications (e.g., Leitner and Curtis 2006) address the interplay between the protection of an individual s geospatial privacy and free access to detailed information through the Freedom of Information Act. Research application contributions to GIScience The major research application areas and their contributions to GISc at LSU are plentiful and diverse (Wang 2015). Environmental health research started at LSU as early as in 1980 with a study of cancer mortality patterns in China which revealed clustered patterns (Lam 1986, 2012). Research on the spread of HIV/AIDS in the United States by the same author was the first to confirm a national trend of HIV/AIDS spread in rural America (Lam and Liu 1994) (see Figure 2). This research has influenced the thinking of subsequent AIDS/HIV research and has brought awareness of regional health disparity, the rural south, and other rural community problems. In more recent health studies, F. Wang was among the first to apply GIS-based accessibility measures to the assessment of healthcare access and the designation of Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) and to examine the impact of geographic disparities of healthcare accessibility on health outcome such as late-stage cancer diagnosis (Wang 2012). The importance of the neighborhood context when using GIS and the general differences found between urban and rural health environments in the context of infant health was discussed in detail by Curtis and Leitner (2006). And finally, in a series of three articles, Leitner and his collaborators examined the relationship between the lithium content in drinking water and suicide mortality in Austria. They examined the impact of altitude and lithium prescriptions on suicide rates (Helbich, Leitner, and Kapusta 2015). The methodology used to study the geography of health is somewhat similar to the research on the geography of crime. It is noteworthy that two of the six core faculty have applied this methodology to spatial crime research. For example, a synopsis of the research progress on the geography of crime and the current geospatial technology used for crime modeling and mapping was addressed by LeBeau and Leitner (2011) and Leitner (2013), respectively. The impact that hurricanes have on crime has also been investigated (Leitner and Helbich 2011; Leitner et al. 2011), as well as the interrelationship between the spatial variability of crime rates and job accessibility (Wang and Minor 2002) (see Figure 3). Figure 2. A three-dimensional view of 1990 cumulative AIDS incidence rates by county in the USA (modified from Lam and Liu 1994).

4 Cartography and Geographic Information Science S87 Figure 3. Time series of ten different crime types for Houston, TX, from 1 August 31 October 2005 (from Leitner and Helbich 2011). One of Louisiana s most recognized environmental challenges is the subsidence of its Gulf coast and the resulting wetland loss. With proposed estimates as great as 62 km 2 per year since 1932, the combined effects of subsidence and global eustasy contribute significantly towards these losses and increases vulnerability to inundation. The Center for GeoInformatics develops strategies for coastal sustainability and hazard mitigation by augmenting traditional GISc methodologies. Examples include global satellite navigation technologies and robust geodetic analysis to model subsidence (Kent and Dokka 2013)(seeFigure 4) and monitor sinkholes (Kent and Dunaway 2013). Figure 4. Interpolated rates of subsidence across coastal Louisiana (from Kent and Dokka 2013).

5 S88 M. Leitner et al. The rapid advancements in image requisition have provided large amount of Earth surface information. These abundant data provide opportunities to understand the coverage and processes on Earth in great detail, but high resolution images also pose challenges to extract useful information. To stratify unfiltered information from high-resolution/density imaging sensors, Meng developed three algorithms to extract targeted layers from airborne photographs and LiDAR data. These include a multi-directional ground filtering algorithm to separate ground features in airborne Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) data for digital terrain modeling (Meng, Currit, and Zhao 2010; Meng, Wang, Silván-Cárdena et al. 2009). Researchers also developed a morphology-based building detection method (Meng, Wang, and Currit 2009), and an approach to identify residential buildings (Meng et al. 2012) (see Figure 5). A computer-aided synthetic LiDAR data generator was used to guide data acquisition for a cost-effective airborne LiDAR data survey of forests (Wang et al. 2013) (seefigure 6). High resolution bare-earth LiDAR Digital Elevation Models were used to measure the three-dimensional geometry of storm water detention basins in developed areas (Wang and Yu 2012). The storage-depth curves of the detention basins are the key to modeling the detention basins for flood hazard relief. Summary The Mapping Sciences program in the Department of Geography and Anthropology at LSU has been led for many years by a single individual, Dr. Nina N.S. Lam, who built the program into one of national prominence. Today, this program has expanded to four fulltime faculty and offers a suite of courses in GISc & T at the undergraduate and graduate levels. This report discusses past and present research highlights from a core group of six faculty four from the Department of Geography and Anthropology, one from the Department of Environmental Sciences, and one from the Center for GeoInformatics. As this report shows, LSU maintains an active and innovative program for new GISc methods and research applications in a variety of themes, including health, crime, disasters and hazards, geomatics, urban, economic, and transportation. As GISc & T progresses into the next generation, LSU is well suited to provide advanced Figure 5. (a) Interpolated grayscale image of the LiDAR first return, (b) ground filtering results, (c) building detection result overlaid on interpolated image, and (d) training and testing sets for land-use classification (from Meng et al. 2012). methodologies and applications that address the complex societal and environmental challenges of our everchanging world.

6 Cartography and Geographic Information Science S89 Figure 6. Effect of LiDAR sampling density (points/m 2 ) for (a) low (10 m 2 /ha) and (b) high (20 m 2 /ha) stands (from Wang et al. 2013). Disclosure statement No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. References Curtis, A., and M. Leitner Geographic Information Systems and Public Health: Eliminating Perinatal Disparity. Hershey, PA: Idea Group. Helbich, M., M. Leitner, and N. Kapusta Lithium in Drinking Water and Suicide Mortality: The Interplay with Lithium Prescriptions. British Journal of Psychiatry. Advance online publication. doi: /bjp.bp Kent, J., and R. Dokka Potential Impacts of Long-Term Subsidence on the Wetlands and Evacuation Routes in Coastal Louisiana. GeoJournal 78 (4): doi: /s Kent, J., and L. Dunaway Real-time GPS Network Monitors Bayou Corne Sinkhole Event. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union 94 (43): doi: /2013eo Lam, N. S. N Spatial Interpolation Methods: A Review. The American Cartographer 10 (2): doi: / Lam, N. S. N Geographical Patterns of Cancer Mortality in China. Social Science & Medicine 23 (3): doi: / (86) Lam, N. S. N Geospatial Methods for Reducing Uncertainties in Environmental Health Risk Assessment: Challenges and Opportunities. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 102 (5): doi: / Lam, N. S. N., H. Arenas, R. K. Pace, J. P. LeSage, and R. Campanella Predictors of Business Return in

7 S90 M. Leitner et al. New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina. PLoS One 7(10): e Lam, N. S. N., and L. De Cola, eds. (1993) Fractals in Geography. Reprint, Blackburn Press, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Lam, N. S. N., and K. B. Liu Spread of AIDS in Rural America, Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 7 (5): Lam, N. S. N., and D. A. Quattrochi On the Issues of Scale, Resolution, and Fractal Analysis in the Mapping Sciences. The Professional Geographer 44 (1): doi: /j x. LeBeau, J. L., and M. Leitner Introduction: Progress in Research on the Geography of Crime. The Professional Geographer 63 (2): doi: / Leitner, M., ed Crime Modeling and Mapping Using Geospatial Technologies. Heidelberg: Springer. Leitner, M., M. Barnett, J. Kent, and T. Barnett The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Reported Crimes in Louisiana: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis. The Professional Geographer 63 (2): doi: / Leitner, M., and A. Curtis A First Step Towards a Framework for Presenting the Location of Confidential Point Data on Maps Results of an Empirical Perceptual Study. International Journal of Geographical Information Science 20 (7): doi: / Leitner, M., and M. Helbich The Impact of Hurricanes on Crime: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis in the City of Houston, Texas. Cartography and Geographic Information Science 38 (2): doi: / Luo, W., and F. Wang Measures of Spatial Accessibility to Health Care in a GIS Environment: Synthesis and a Case Study in Chicago Region. Environment and Planning B-Planning & Design 30: Meng, X. L., N. Currit, L. Wang, and X. J. Yang Detect Residential Buildings from LiDAR and Aerial Photographs through Object-Oriented Land-Use Classification. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing 78 (1): doi: /pers Meng, X. L., N. Currit, and K. G. Zhao Ground Filtering Algorithms for Airborne LiDAR Data: A Review of Critical Issues. Remote Sensing 2 (3): doi: / rs Meng, X. L., L. Wang, and N. Currit Morphology-Based Building Detection from Airborne LiDAR Data. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing 75 (4): doi: /pers Meng, X. L., L. Wang, J. L. Silván-Cárdenas, and N. Currit A Multi-Directional Ground Filtering Algorithm for Airborne LiDAR. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 64 (1): doi: /j.isprsjprs Mu, L., F. Wang, V. W. Chen, and X. Wu A Place- Oriented, Mixed-Level Regionalization Method for Constructing Geographic Areas in Health Data Dissemination and Analysis. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 105 (1): doi: / Tang, Q., and L. Wang Urban Land-Use, Land-Cover Classification Through Watershed Segmentation in the V I S Feature Space. Remote Sensing Letters 3: doi: / Wang, F Measurement, Optimization and Impact of Healthcare Accessibility: A Methodological Review. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 102 (5): doi: / Wang, F Quantitative Methods and Socioeconomic Applications in GIS. 2nd. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis. Wang, F., and W. W. Minor Where the Jobs Are: Employment Access and Crime Patterns in Cleveland. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 92 (3): doi: / Wang, F., and Q. Tang Planning Toward Equal Accessibility to Services: A Quadratic Programming Approach. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 40: doi: /b Wang, L., A. Birt, C. W. Lafon, D. Cairns, R. N. Coulson, M. Tchakerian, W. Xi, S. Popescu, and J. M. Guldin Computer-Based Synthetic Data to Assess the Tree Delineation Algorithm from Airborne LiDAR Survey. GeoInformatica 17: doi: /s Wang, L., and H. Liu An Efficient Method for Identifying and Filling Surface Depressions in Digital Elevation Models for Hydrologic Analysis and Modelling. International Journal of Geographical Information Science 20 (2): doi: / Wang, L., and J. Yu Spatio-Temporal Segmentation and Classification on Passive Microwave Remote Sensing Data. IEEE GeoScience and Remote Sensing Letters 99: Wang, L., and J. Yu Modelling Detention Basins Measured from High-Resolution Light Detection and Ranging Data. Hydrological Processes 26: doi: /hyp.v26.19.