Semester of Graduation

Summer 2026

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Department

The Department of Geography and Anthropology

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The advancement of open-source (OSINT) and geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) has allowed independent researchers to study human conflict in new ways, with tools that were previously reserved only for state intelligence agencies. In order to advance methodologies, researchers must continue to evaluate new tools to study war.  Valued for its accessibility and moderate spatial resolution, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is one such tool that has not been widely systematically tested for its use in an open-source GEOINT investigation of modern conflict. This study tests NDVI as an indicator of military maneuver by leveraging a mixed-method approach against open-source kinetic conflict data from approximately one year of the Israel-Hamas War in the Gaza Strip. This study finds that NDVI generally can serve as a supplementary qualitative indicator of ground maneuver in movements that utilize coordinated bulldozing operations to clear land, but should not stand on its own in a control of terrain analysis. Beyond discussing the outcome of this specific use case, this study affirms that future evaluation into the OSINT/GEOINT use case for multi-spectral imagery must continue, which can only help further democratize the use of remotely sensed methods to open-source researchers of human conflict.

Date

7-13-2026

Committee Chair

Michael Leitner

LSU Acknowledgement

1

LSU Accessibility Acknowledgment

1

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