Graduation Year

2024

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Environmental Analysis

Reader 1

Colin Robins

Reader 2

Wallace Meyer

Rights Information

© 2024 Kushnerniva Laurent

Abstract

Drought exists as a natural hazard and cascading hazard, with significant threats to social-ecological systems and the natural environment. Drought’s impacts stand to increase, due to the to the growing ramifications of climate change, alongside drought’s interaction with wildfires in certain landscapes. In this study, drought incidence is examined in a selected region of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, USA from August 2022 to August 2023, with the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Investigation (EMIT) hyperspectral imaging spectrometer. Three spectral absorption indices (SAI) were selected to assess average reflectance as an ecological drought proxy, utilizing imaging spectroscopy. Results for all SAI indicate drought incidence changed significantly over an intra-annual scale, but not during the annual study period. Findings bolster support for multi-modal drought assessment, alongside the consideration of type-conversion in regional fire management.

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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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