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The Use of Geographic Information System Technology to Compare the Environmental Impacts of Human Development on Mobile Bay, Alabama, and Galveston Bay, Texas

by Pasquale F. Roscigno, Minerals Management Service, New Orleans, United States,
Marcia E. McNiff, Minerals Management Service, New Orleans, United States,
Mary C. Watzin, Minerals Management Service, New Orleans, United States,
Wei Ji, Minerals Management Service, New Orleans, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Coastal Zone '93

Abstract:

Geographic information systems (GIS) can synthesize information rapidly and efficiently from many different sources. GIS-generated maps, which integrate multiple information layers, can provide managers with regional assessment of the impacts associated with development. Inn this study, information for Mobile Bay, Alabama, and Galveston Bay, Texas, was processed by using ARC/INFO to produce a regional synthesis of environmental impacts on fish and wildlife resources. The two ecosystems were then compared for similarities and differences in responding to these cumulative impacts. Analyses indicated that while each ecosystem experiences stresses from industrialization and urbanization, the magnitude and duration of these stresses differ. The ecosystems' different responses result from differences in sediment mineralogy, freshwater inflows, salinity patterns, and other factors.

Subject Headings: Information systems | Geographic information systems | Bays | Ecosystems | Information management | Stress analysis | Human and behavioral factors | United States | Alabama | Texas

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