GIS Internship

Town of Mansfield Ma
Water Department
 
September 2014 - July 2015

1. Hydraulic model edits: Edited existing hydrant, valve and hydrant gate data.
2. Updated hydrant branch and water mains in GIS and created new water features as needed.
2. Updated attribute data from gate and valve testing exercises within GIS.
3. Electronically scanned As-Built engineering plans for use in GIS.
4. Developed a database of all Town wide engineering drawings.*
5. Digitized the drawings utilities and hyperlinked As-Built plans into GIS.

*The system drawing database will continue as an ongoing project which will aid the Mansfield Water Department technicians in the field, they will have quick access of all underground utilities of the town's subdivision and main streets as well as service box locations leading into homes and commercial facilities.  The database will also aid the other town utility departments in accordance to drainage, sewer and conservation/wetland topography.

Does Where You Live Dictate Your Quality of Life?

Cartography Fall 2014, Team project:

The purpose of this project is to analyze the quality of life factors, to  determine if quality of life is improved or compromised depending on where you  live. The elements that will determine the overall quality are health behaviors, healthcare, social & economic and environment.  This study attempts to answer if an association or even correlation can be made between quality of life and geography?   Each of the health factors used to determine quality of life was weighted differently, and when displayed in map form an illustration that showed that the data collected had clear spatial trends and patterns.

Undergraduate Research Project presented at the 2015 AAG Conference, Chicago, IL

 April 20, 2015:

Research Abstract

Increasing global energy needs have demanded an alternative to conventional collection methods for natural gas and oil sources.  Tapping into shale deposits and liberating trapped gas by hydraulic fracturing has created jobs, supplied a rich source of energy, and provided economic stability and independence from the need of foreign product.  Hydraulic fracturing has been met with opposition in terms of socioeconomic concerns, geological disturbances and great repercussions from broad ecological concerns to environmental challenges at the well site and surrounding spatial connections. 

For this topic, we will explore the positive energy gain versus the negative impact of hydraulic fracturing on the environment. The research will investigate the methods, collection practices and production for shale gas drilling, as well as the post-production clean up and management of well sites with a focus on the public health impacts and environmental concerns of hydraulic fracturing practices.  The study will attempt to answer: Is the short term economic and energy independence gain, worth the long-term environmental risk?

Research Methods

Geo-spatial data was collected and analyzed from the U.S. 2010 Census, North Dakota Industrial Commission, Department of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas Division website, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection – Oil and Gas Reporting website.  In addition, data was collected for the areas examined in this study on related seismic activity covering the last ten years, as well as data from public health studies that examined health issues related to chemicals found in fracturing fluid. 

GIS technology was utilized and raw data was imported into ArcGIS 10.1 to create several maps to illustrate real world information based upon hydraulic fracturing operations located in the State of North Dakota and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The maps were enhanced to exemplify the magnitude of fracking within these regions and aid the map reader to the elements that carry significant weight for this study.