Gary Christopherson

Interests

Research

Archaeology of Jordan, Archaeology of the Near East, General Archaeology, Arizona Sonora Border, Application of GIScience to social science research

Teaching

Geographic Information Science

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• Christopherson, G. -., & Entz, T. K. (2008). Iron Age Settlement in the Tall al-Umayri Hinterland. The Madaba Plains Project: Forty Years Excavating Central Jordan/Equinox Publishing.
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  ;Your Role: Primary Author;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Tisha Entz is co-director of the archaeological survey for the Madaba Plains Project;
• Christopherson, G. -., & Entz, T. K. (2009). Iron Age Settlement in the Tall al-Umayri Hinterland. The Madaba Plains Project: Forty Years Excavating Central Jordan/Equinox Publishing.
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  This chapter was originally accepted for publication in 2008, with a projected publication date of Oct. 2009. This projection was missed, and a new publication date of March 2010 was assigned. Follow this URL to find the Equinox Publications page concerning this book. http://www.equinoxpub.com/books/showbook.asp?bkid=366&keyword=the%20madaba%20plains%20project;Your Role: Primary Author;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Tisha Entz is co-director of the archaeological survey for the Madaba Plains Project;
• Christopherson, G. L., & Entz, T. K. (2012). Where are Those Guys? Iron Age I Settlement in the Tall al-Umayri Hinterland. In The Madaba Plains Project: Forty Years Excavating Central Jordan. London: Equinox.

Journals/Publications

• Reyes-Castro, P., Harris, R. B., Brown, H. E., Christopherson, G., & Ernst, K. C. (2017). Spatio-temporal and neighborhood characteristics of two dengue outbreaks in two arid cities of Mexico. Acta Tropica.
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  Little is currently known about the spatial-temporal dynamics of dengue epidemics in arid areas. This study assesses dengue outbreaks that occurred in two arid cities of Mexico, Hermosillo and Navojoa, located in northern state of Sonora. Laboratory confirmed dengue cases from Hermosillo (N = 2730) and Navojoa (N = 493) were geocoded by residence and assigned neighborhood-level characteristics from the 2010 Mexican census. Kernel density and Space-time cluster analysis was performed to detect high density areas and space-time clusters of dengue. Ordinary Least Square regression was used to assess the changing socioeconomic characteristics of cases over the course of the outbreaks. Both cities exhibited contiguous patterns of space-time clustering. Initial areas of dissemination were characterized in both cities by high population density, high percentage of occupied houses, and lack of healthcare. Future research and control efforts in these regions should consider these space-time and socioeconomic patterns.
• Christopherson, G. -., Morehouse, B. J., O'Brien, S., & Johnson, P. (2009). Integrating values and risk perceptions into a decision support system. International Journal of Wildland Fire.
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  ;Your Role: Contributing Author;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member in unit: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Peter Johnson Works for the City of Tucson, Arizona;
• Christopherson, G. L., Fish, P. R., Fish, S. K., Watson, J. T., & Pietzel, T. A. (2011). TWO VILLAGES ON TUMAMOC HILL. Journal of Arizona Archaeology, 1(2), 185-196.
• Fish, S. K., Fish, P. R., Christopherson, G. L., Pietzel, T. A., & Watson, J. T. (2011). Two Villages on Tumamoc Hill. Journal of Arizona Archaeology, 1(2), 185-196.
• Christopherson, G. -., Morehouse, B. J., O'Brien, S., Christopherson, G. L., & Johnson, P. (2010). Integrating values and risk perceptions into a decision support system. International Journal of Wildland Fire/CSIRO.
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  One of the thorniest challenges to effective wildland fire management is integration of public perceptions and values into science-based adaptive management. One promising alternative is incorporation of public values into place-based decision support technologies that are accessible to lay citizens as well as to fire-management experts. A survey of individuals, including residents, fire and fuels managers, volunteer firefighters, and others living in or near four mountain areas of the US Southwest, identified a set of personal values and perceptions about wildland fire risk that could be spatially represented in a geographic information science-based decision support system designed for wildland fire strategic planning efforts. We define values, in this context, as phenomena that are not necessarily quantifiable but that strongly attract and connect individuals for whatever reasons to particular areas. Inclusion of this type of information into interactive decision tools for fire management may contribute to improved understanding and finer-scale spatial visualisation of public perceptions of fire risk. The integration of such factors in decision support tools offers opportunities for improving interactions between managers and the public involved in strategic planning processes for fire management.;Your Role: Co author on paper and Co-PI on the research;Full Citation: Morehouse, B. J., S. O'Brien, G. L. Christopherson and P. Johnson, 2010, Integrating values and risk perceptions into a decision support system. International Journal of Wildland Fire, Volume 19(1):123-136.;Electronic: Yes;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member in unit: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member at UA: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Peter Johnson is an employee of the City of Tucson;

Proceedings Publications

• Christopherson, G. -. (2010). The Umayyad Period on Jordan: ArcGIS as Story Teller.
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  As GIS technology matures, our understanding of its potential to tell stories continues to grow. This is particularly important in archaeological contexts, where entire histories are built around artifacts that represent a very small part of the lives of ancient humans. This paper uses a series of spatial analyses to tell the story of the Umayyad period in the region of Tall al-Umayri, Jordan. Often characterized as a collapsing culture, the Umayyad period in Jordan is undergoing a retrospective renaissance. This study used ArcGIS to analyze settlement patterns, subsistence strategies, and social relationships during this period. Results suggest a dimorphic economy, split between field agriculture and herding, with closer ties to Byzantine subsistence strategies than many have thought. These results provide an important window on this period of transition between the Byzantine and Islamic worlds in Jordan.;Your Role: Author;Full Citation: Christopherson, G. L., 2010, The Umayyad Period in Jordan: ArcGIS as Story Teller. Paper presented at the 2010 Esri International User Conference, San Diego, CA.http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc10/uc/papers/pap_1309.pdf;Electronic: Yes;
• Christopherson, G. -., Malone, M., D., B., , B. M., & G., L. C. (2010). Developing an Exotic Plant Geodatabase for Saguaro National Park.
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  Management and control of invasive, non-native or exotic plants presents a significant challenge for ecologists at Saguaro National Park in Arizona. In collaboration with park staff, the Center for Applied Spatial Analysis at the University of Arizona has developed an ArcGIS application for the capture and evaluation of spatial and non-spatial data related to exotic plant infestations in the park. The system utilizes ArcPad-equipped GPS receivers to collect spatial and attribute data in the field, and a file geodatabase to manage these data. The Exotic Plants Geodatabase includes historic as well as current data allowing park personnel to monitor change (spatial extent, percent cover, etc.) in exotic plant infestations over time, and to assess the effectiveness of management activities such as herbicide application. Going forward, the use of geodatabase features such as coded value domains will improve both editing efficiency and overall data integrity.;Your Role: Research Director, Grant PI;Full Citation: Malone, M., D. Backer, B. Hontz, B. MacEwen and G. L. Christopherson, 2010, Developing an Exotic Plant Geodatabase for Saguaro National Park. Paper presented at the 2010 Esri International User Conference, San Diego, CA.http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc10/uc/papers/pap_1589.pdf;Electronic: Yes;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Collaborative with Saguaro National Park Employees;
• Meyers, M., Christopherson, G. L., & Buettner, G. (2010). Developing GIS in Small Communities for Wildfire Protection Plans.
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  Throughout the United States, many communities in wildland urban interface (WUI) areas are developing Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP). WUI communities that develop CWPP's are eligible for increased federal funding and assistance for fuel reduction and wildfire management projects. CWPP's must include a database of community assets and risks. Given the spatial nature of these data, a GIS often provides the best database; but because many of these communities are small, access to GIS software, expertise, and infrastructure is a serious challenge. The residents of the mountain community of Summerhaven, Arizona, in cooperation with Pima County, Arizona State Forestry, the USFS, the University of Arizona, local environmental groups, and others developed the Mt. Lemmon GIS as part of their CWPP. Based on their experience, this presentation introduces a methodology for developing a GIS in a small community with limited resources.;Your Role: Co-Author, research director;Full Citation: Meyers, M., G. L. Christopherson and G. Buettner, 2010, Developing GIS in Small Communities for Wildfire Protection Plans. Paper presented at the 2010 Esri International User Conference, San Diego, CAhttp://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc10/uc/papers/pap_1689.pdf;Electronic: Yes;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Collaborator with Glenn Buettner, and Arizona State Forestry Department Employee;

Presentations

• Christopherson, G. L. (2017, November). What Happened when the Tall al-‘Umayri Survey Met Fernand Braudel’s Temporal Hierarchy. 2017 American Schools of Oriental Research Annual Meetings. Boston, MA: American Schools of Oriental Research.
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  During the course of the Tall al-‘Umayri regional survey, multi-temporal strands of data were recovered. Temporal fragments ranging from geographic time to individual events/artifacts rattled around in the back of survey vehicles and in the head of the author. Then one day Bill Dever introduced the fragments to Fernand Braudel’s temporal hierarchy and the rattling stopped. This paper will revisit and evaluate the pros and cons of the multi-disciplinary approach to survey methodology utilized by the Madaba Plains Project and reflect on ways in which what was discovered has impacted understanding of Braudel’s temporal hierarchy - and how Braudel brought order to all those fragments.
• Christopherson, G. L., Elkekli, F. T., Perin, J., Barabe, P., Johnson, P. S., Austin, D., & Morehouse, B. J. (2017, July). Using Mental Maps to Quantify Public Opinion for Planning Purposes. ESRI International User Conference. San Diego, California: Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI).
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  Public opinion is vital for planning purposes, but incorporating opinions in the decision making process is difficult. This research uses mental maps to capture public opinion and ArcGIS to turn opinion into cumulative opinion surfaces (COS). The COS provide ratio scale data that can be incorporated in a wide variety of quantitative planning models. For this paper, examples from a wildfire model in the southwestern USA and an urban conservation project in North Africa are provided.
• Christopherson, G. -., & Adams, D. (2011, 2011-07-01). K-12 Teachers and University Faculty Partnering in GIScience. ESRI International User Conference. San Diego.
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  The presentation explored ways that collaboration between university faculty and middle and high school science teachers could collaborate in research;Your Role: co-author;Submitted: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Don is a High School Science Teacher who collaborated on a Partners in Science grant with me;Type of Presentation: Professional Organization;
• Christopherson, G. -. (2010, 2010-07-01). The Umayyad Period in Jordan: ArcGIS as Storyteller. ESRI International User Conference. San Diego.
  More info

  Also listed as publication part of Conference Procedings;Submitted: Yes;Type of Presentation: Professional Organization;
• Christopherson, G. -., Malone, M., D., B., , B. M., & G., L. C. (2010, 2010-07-01). Developing an Exotic Plant Geodatabase for Saguaro National Park. ESRI International User Conference. San Diego.
  More info

  Also listed as publication part of conference procedings;Your Role: co-author, research director, Grant PI;Submitted: Yes;Interdisciplinary: Yes;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Collaborated with National Park Service Employees;Type of Presentation: Professional Organization;
• Meyers, M., Christopherson, G. L., & Buettner, G. (2010, 2010-07-01). Developing GIS in Small Communities for Wildfire Protection Plans. ESRI International User Conference. San Diego.
  More info

  Also listed as publication part of conference procedings;Your Role: co-author, research director, contract PI;Submitted: Yes;Interdisciplinary: Yes;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Collaborated with Glen Buetner -- Arizona State Forestry;Type of Presentation: Professional Organization;
• Christopherson, G. -. (2008, 2008-05-01). GIS as Story Teller: the Umayyad period in Jordan. World Heritage Media. Bergen, Norway.
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  This conference was part of a research effort called "Global Moments in the Levant" that is funded through the University of Bergen by the state of Norway.I've attached a copy of the letter of invitation that includes information about this specific conference as well as links to grant websites.;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference/Workshop;
• Christopherson, G. -. (2007, 2007-11-01). “Google” Archaeology: data and applications for everybody. Annual Meetings of the American Schools of Oriental Research. San Diego.
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  Current trends in information technologies will cause dramatic changes in how archaeological data are managed and analyzed. The rapid development of cyber infrastructures founded on distributed networks and married to Web-based data and application portals are already affecting the way we view and understand our world. At the forefront of these changes are spatial technologies, like the ubiquitous Google Earth or larger infrastructures like GEON and NEON that incorporate traditional GIS and remote sensing techniques with discipline specific data and applications. It is important to understand these changing technologies because they carry with them both benefits and liabilities for archaeologists. This paper will examine these trends through the lens of a spatial data and application portal for the Madaba Plains Project's hinterland survey. ;Interdisciplinary: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference;

Poster Presentations

• Christopherson, G., & Martin, E. (2015, January). Climate Change and Fire Season Length in the Catalina-Rincon Mountain Complex: Potential Impacts and Future Conditions. Partners in Science Annual Meetings. San Diego: Arizona Research Corporation and the Murdock Foundatioin.
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  This poster examines the following questions: How has fire season length changed over time and at different elevations in the Catalina-Rincon Sky Island Complex? Has fire season lengthened over time? How will future fire season length be affected if current trends in temperature and rainfall continue?

Others

• Christopherson, G. -. (2007). High resolution aerial imaging with remotely piloted vehicles to map fire effects.
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  Extensive research has been conducted using satellite and aerial imagery from manned aircraft to detect and define fire severity on landscape scales. Nonetheless, these platforms have limitations, particularly with regard to cost and limits on spatial and temporal resolution. Remotely piloted vehicles (RPV) are effective, low cost alternatives to satellites and manned aircraft for acquiring high-resolution images. We present the results of a test project acquiring very high-resolution aerial photography (15cm - 30cm pixel resolution) with a RPV to map the boundary of a 0.42 km2 fire area located in southern Arizona. The images were acquired at 600m -1200m above ground level, orthorectified using a 1m Digital Orthophoto Quarter Quadrangle (DOQQ) map and mosaiced using ERDAS Imagine software. The boundaries of the fire area were delineated from the mosaic and ground-truthed on the surface using a Trimble GeoXT GPS receiver. The project achieved a 92.4% correlation between the aerial assessment and the ground truth data. Integrating RPV acquired images with ground based observations, digital imagery, GIS layers and other site specific information can assist in burn severity and intensity mapping, post fire assessments, and prioritizing rehabilitation efforts;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member at UA: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Please specify if you select "Other collaborative" : Vince Jenkins runs a model airplane company in Tucson;Full Citation: Abigail S. Roanhorse, Vince Jenkins, Gary L. Christopherson, and Peter F. Ffolliott, High resolution aerial imaging with remotely piloted vehicles to map fire effects Submitted to International Journal of Wildland Fire;Status: Submitted But Not Yet Accepted;
• Christopherson, G. -. (2007). Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT)..
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  This training program represents a $3,623,877 award from the NSF (http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0221594) to develop a cadre of scientists/archaeologists. Any American citizen graduate student at the University of Arizona is eligible for one of the fellowships offered by the grant. This has led to a variety of departments being represented including GRD (Troy Night).As Senior Personnel on this project I am responsible for mentoring students interested in spatial technologies, for reviewing applicants, and for a very occasional lecture. The following paragraph provides a summary of the project.The University of Arizona's IGERT program is an outgrowth of the emergence of the interdisciplinary field of archaeological science, in which expertise in one or more fields of scientific inquiry is integrated with training in archaeological theory and method. The program will integrate archaeology, geosciences, physics, tree-ring studies, and materials science and engineering into a coherent program of field- and laboratory-based training that will prepare doctoral graduates for employment in academia as well as the public and private sectors. The study of archaeology, and of the environmental contexts within which the human species evolved and diversified, requires the application of multiple techniques drawn from the sciences and engineering. These include techniques for (a) dating archaeological and paleoecological records; (b) reconstructing past climates, plant, and animal communities; (c) locating buried and submarine sites; (d) reconstructing extinct technologies and their impacts on past environments; and (e) identifying past exchange systems by tracing inorganic materials to their geological sources. Graduates of the IGERT program will acquire specific expertise in one or more of these areas, together with a knowledge of the broad range of archaeological sciences, plus a firm grounding in archaeological theory and techniques, blending experiences acquired in classrooms, laboratories and fieldwork. IGERT support will also provide minority undergraduate students and high school science teachers internships in archaeometric laboratories at the University, and will be paired with IGERT-supported graduate students to develop materials for school science curricula. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the multidisciplinary backgrounds and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. In the fifth year of the program, awards are being made to twenty-one institutions for programs that collectively span the areas of science and engineering supported by NSF.;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member at UA: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Please specify if you select "Other collaborative" : Part of this training grant is to incorporate research with partners outside the university, including primary and secondary schools, and contract archaeology firms.;Full Citation: Training a New Generation of GIS Specialists/Archaeologists;Status: Paper in Preparation;
• Christopherson, G. -. (2008). Integrating public values into decision support for adaptive management in the context of wildland fire risk.
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  Paper with Barbara Morehouse, GRD and Primary Author and Sara Jensen, grad student working at Institute for the Study of Planet EarthSubmitted to the Internatioinal Journal of Wildland Fire -- returned with generally positive remarks and a request to refocus the conclusions to better fit the introduction.;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member in unit: Yes;Full Citation: Barbara Morehouse, Sara Jensen, Gary L. Christopherson. Integrating public values into decision support for adaptive management in the context of wildland fire risk. International Journal of Wildland Fire;Status: Under Revision (Revise and Resubmit);
• Christopherson, G. -. (2008). MODELING WILDLAND FIRE FUTURES IN THE U.S. SOUTHWEST: A PARTICIPATORY APPROACH TO A HOT ISSUE.
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  This paper has passed through many hands, it has been modified and redirected at least 3 times in the past 2.5 years. In my opinion, it is very near completion.;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member in unit: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member at UA: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Please specify if you select "Other collaborative" : One of the co-authors is a GRD Ph.D. working for the city of Tucson;Full Citation: Gary L. Christopherson, Barron J. Orr, Susan M. Taunton, Peter S. Johnson, Andrew C. Comrie, Michael J. Crimmins, Thomas W. Swetnam, Barbara J. Morehouse, and Stephen R. Yool; MODELING WILDLAND FIRE FUTURES IN THE U.S. SOUTHWEST: A PARTICIPATORY APPROACH TO A HOT ISSUE;Status: Paper in Preparation;
• Christopherson, G. -. (2008). The Coming of Islan to the Madaba Plain.
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  The paper is a GIS analaysis of material from the Umayyad Period on the Madaba Plain in Jordan. Results indicate two distinct settlement patterns/subsistence strategies during the Umayyad period. One resembling the Byzantine agricultural system and the other a new, nomadic component.;Full Citation: Gary L. Christopherson, The coming of Islam to the Madaba Plain. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research;
• Christopherson, G. -. (2009). MODELING WILDLAND FIRE FUTURES IN THE U.S. SOUTHWEST: A PARTICIPATORY APPROACH TO A HOT ISSUE.
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  This paper has passed through many hands, it has been modified and redirected at least 3 times in the past 2.5 years. I continue to struggle with this paper.;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member in unit: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member at UA: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Please specify if you select "Other collaborative" : One of the co-authors is a SGD Ph.D. working for the city of Tucson;Full Citation: Gary L. Christopherson, Barron J. Orr, Susan M. Taunton, Peter S. Johnson, Andrew C. Comrie, Michael J. Crimmins, Thomas W. Swetnam, Barbara J. Morehouse, and Stephen R. Yool; MODELING WILDLAND FIRE FUTURES IN THE U.S. SOUTHWEST: A PARTICIPATORY APPROACH TO A HOT ISSUE;Status: Paper in Preparation;
• Christopherson, G. -. (2012). Humane Borders Mortality Map.
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  ;Collaborative with faculty member at UA: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Please specify if you select "Other collaborative" : Three of the other authors on this item are at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia working on this;Full Citation: I am not sure if this is the correct place for this, because it is an interactive digital map but I can't find anything more suitable than this. It is the final product of the International Open GIS Initiative for Missing and Deceased Migrants. We will be receiving a Digital Object Identifier (DOI -- similar to a library call number for traditional publications) for in early 2012. This product is part of the final report being prepared for the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner. Preliminary pages can be seen at http://www.humaneborders.info/app/custom_map_bbox.asp and http://www.humaneborders.info/app/custom_map_ml.asp;Status: Under Revision (Revise and Resubmit);
• Christopherson, G. -., Christopherson, G. L., & Clark, A. (2011). Saguaro National Park Cultural Mapping Project - Final Report.
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  This is a technical report submitted to the Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit detailing the creation of a spatial database for archaeological sites in Saguaro National Park.;Your Role: Primary Author;Full Citation: Saguaro National Park Cultural Mapping Project - Final Report;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;
• Christopherson, G. -., Christopherson, G. L., Backer, D., & Malone, M. T. (2010). A Geospatial Exotic Plant Database for Saguaro National Park - Final Report.
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  This is a technical report submitted to the Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit detailing the creation of a spatial database for exotic plant species in Saguaro National Park.;Your Role: Primary Author;Full Citation: A Geospatial Exotic Plant Database for Saguaro National Park - Final Report;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Dana Backer is a Restoration Ecologist with Saguaro National Park;
• Christopherson, G. -., Christopherson, G. L., Backer, D., & Malone, M. T. (2009). A Geospatial Exotic Plant Database for Saguaro National Park - Final Report.
  More info

  This is a technical report submitted to the Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit detailing the creation of a spatial database for exotic plant species in Saguaro National Park.;Your Role: Primary Author;Full Citation: A Geospatial Exotic Plant Database for Saguaro National Park - Final Report;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Dana Backer is a Restoration Ecologist with Saguaro National Park;
• Christopherson, G. -. (2007). Saguaro Mapping Project.
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  This is a technical report submitted to the Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit detailing the research and results of a cactus mapping project in the Saguaro National Park and other public lands in Southern Arizona, USA and Northern Sonora, Mexico.;Your Role: PI for the research and the report writing.;Full Citation: Saguaro Mapping Project;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: This project was a collaboration between myself and the National Park Service;