• Increased Frequency and Potential Environmental Impacts from Oil Spills After Hurricane Landfalls

  Korgaonkar, Yoga; Scher, Benjamin (The University of Arizona., 2025)

  The increased frequency of oil spills, specifically after hurricanes, can have lingering effects throughout the ecosystem and can cause complexities while restorative efforts are underway. Certain environmentally sensitive areas require different restoration techniques to allow for proper removal of oil with minimal disturbance to the habitat. This project aims to compare oil spills immediately after a hurricane and a non-hurricane event, allowing for a visual representation of increased frequency. Displaying environmentally sensitive areas within the reach of oil spills will illustrate potential impacts of protected and vulnerable land. With numerous sources of publicly available data, we can display where and how much sensitive land may be impacted. Analyzing distance from oil spills, focusing on protected habitats, and concentrating on the most vulnerable and sensitive land will give a precise picture of the lasting impacts of a hurricane. This study looked at two different four-day periods. The first one during normal weather events, and the second was immediately after the landfall of Hurricane Ida. Results show that there was a 600 percent increase in pollution events over a four-day period. This project focuses on one specific hurricane event but provides valuable information. With more time and personnel this process can easily be scaled up to each hurricane that makes landfall in the U.S. Understanding increases in pollution events beforehand, knowing which areas are most vulnerable, and ensuring resources can be deployed easier and faster can allow for less impacts on wildlife and the environment.
• Wildland Fire Risk Analysis on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation

  Korgaonkar, Yoganand; Edwards, Desiree (The University of Arizona., 2025)

  Wildfires pose a significant threat to natural resources, communities, infrastructure like homes on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. This project developed a GIS- based wildfire risk assessment model utilizing available data and analytical tools in ArcGIS Pro. The analysis incorporated key environmental variables including fuel models from LANDFIRE, topographic features derived from USGS Earth Explorer, and proximity to communities. A weighted overlay approach was applied to classify areas into no risk. low, moderate, high and extreme wildfire risk zones. By adapting methodologies like kriging and weighted overlay, this study has ensured a replicable and objective assessment and framework. The final wildfire risk maps are able to support land managers in prioritizing mitigation efforts and resource allocation for planning and emergency response efforts.
• A Modelbuilder Workflow for Automating Contour Generation from High-Resolution Elevation Data in a Mosaic Dataset

  Korgaonkar, Yoganand; Dunn, Amy (The University of Arizona., 2025)

  This project streamlines the topographic-contour generation process for the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR). Historically, the NMBGMR generated contours internally to leverage access to high-resolution elevation rasters and maintain control over the level of detail and smoothness. Creating contours from elevation data involves a multi-step workflow requiring manual input, mosaicking, reprojecting, clipping, appending data, field calculations, and generalization. This work develops an automated geoprocessing tool using ModelBuilder in ArcGIS Pro, replacing manual steps with a simplified, repeatable process. The model uses a mosaic dataset to efficiently manage the multiple raster tiles used to generate contours. Integrated into the tool is the optional capability of unit conversion, allowing for the creation of contours in either meters or feet, automated clipping to a designated map extent, contour creation at designated intervals, appending to an existing feature class, and attribute calculations. Testing on map areas with steep, mountainous terrain confirmed that the model accurately replicates the original workflow while reducing complexity. The outcome is a user-friendly tool that standardizes contour creation and improves the efficiency of GIS specialists/cartographers when building map kits used by field geologists. This advancement allows for consistent and rapid production of accurate, map-scale appropriate contours to provide topographic context for the overlying geologic data and supports the production of high-quality cartographic layouts.
• Automated Evacuation Routing with ArcGIS Network Analyst

  Korgaonkar, Yoganand; Bangs, Michael (The University of Arizona., 2025)

  Efficient and adaptive evacuation routing is essential for public safety during disasters such as wildfires, floods, and debris flows. Many traditional evacuation planning methods lack real-time adaptability and fail to account for road closures, congestion levels, and network constraints. This project develops an automated evacuation routing model using ArcGIS Network Analyst, integrating geospatial analysis techniques to generate optimized evacuation routes based on user-defined evacuation zones. A web-based application enables emergency managers to define evacuation zones by drawing a polygon, which triggers the routing model to compute optimal evacuation routes in real time. The model incorporates road closures, restricted access roads, and functional classifications to ensure that only available and suitable roads are used for evacuation. By analyzing residential parcel densities within the evacuation zone, the system assigns congestion penalties to road segments, dynamically influencing optimal route selection. The script automatically identifies exit points at the boundary of the evacuation zones where roads provide safe egress, ensuring logical and efficient evacuation paths. The model was tested using a road network dataset for Santa Barbara County to evaluate its effectiveness in real-world scenarios. This framework is scalable and adaptable, allowing emergency managers to tailor evacuation planning for various disaster scenarios and apply the model to different geographic regions and network datasets. By leveraging network analysis, GIS automation, and interactive web mapping, this project enhances disaster preparedness and response efforts, providing a flexible, real-time evacuation planning tool that supports data-driven decision-making and ensures safer and more efficient evacuations.
• Detached from Détaché: Availability of Orchestra Programs in a Subset of Public Arizona District Schools

  Korgaonkar, Yoganand; Wielgus, Violet (The University of Arizona., 2025)

  School orchestra programs provide instruction in the bowed string instruments (violin, viola, cello, double bass). Along with band and choir, orchestras comprise one of three main music performance ensembles found in schools. Despite orchestra’s importance in a well-rounded music education, orchestra is not as accessible as band or choir because orchestra is typically found in large, suburban, higher-income schools with majority White students. This study aimed to determine the availability of orchestra in a subset of public Arizona district schools, as well as attributes of the schools, such as student demographics and free and reduced-price lunch (FRPL) percentages. Public datasets containing enrollment and FRPL information were joined to an Arizona schools spatial dataset. The AZ School Report Cards website, AZ Arts Education Data Explorer, and individual school and district websites provided orchestra offering information. The schools were spatially joined to public school districts in Arizona, and finally descriptive statistics were calculated. Maps show where school orchestra programs are found as well as lacking, highlighting inequalities in access. In Maricopa County, public school districts in the east and northeast had the highest percentages of schools offering orchestra, with less representation in west and southwest public school districts. In Pima County, public school districts in and around Tucson had high percentages of schools offering orchestra.

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