STANDARD COURSE OUTLINE (11/05/03)
College of Liberal Arts
Department of Geography
I.
General Information:
A. Course Number: Geography 575
B. Title: Topics in Applied Remote Sensing
C. Units: 4
D. Prerequisites: Geography 140, Geography 160, Geography 473, and
Geography 474 (or permission)
E. Course Classification: 3 units at C-5 and 1 unit at C-13
F. Responsible Faculty: Lee, Laris
G. Terms Offered: spring
H. Prepared by: Lee and Rodrigue
I. Date of Submission/revision: 11/11/03
II.
Catalogue Description:
Prerequisites: GEOG 140, 160, 473, and 474. Focuses on remote sensing
applications. Students will be introduced to sophisticated imagery and analysis
techniques, as applied to weather and fire modeling, arid lands environmental
problems, or the urban environment. Traditional grading only for Majors/Minors.
Repeatable once with permission of advisor (Lecture 3 hours, lab activities 2
hours.)
III.
Expected Outcomes:
A. Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:
B. understand the basic concepts of geographic remote sensing
C. understand the basic resolution characteristics of available airborne and
satellite imagery and their appropriate use
D. discuss the federal government initiatives to standardize spatial data formats
E. understand the various resolutions and formats of digital elevation models
(DEMs) and the appropriate application of each
F. understand the concept and techniques for using maps as testable
hypotheses
G. understand the structure and programs of the main remote sensing imagery
providers
IV.
Course Outline:
A. Geographic Applications of Remote Sensing 1-(2 weeks)
a. Mapping, monitoring, and modeling
b. Morphometric analysis
c. Temporal Analysis
d. Cause and effect analysis
e. Fuctional and ecological systems analysis
f. Biophysical analysis
B. Sensor Systems (1-2 weeks)
a. Landsat
b. SPOT
c. AVHRR
d. MODIS
e. Ikonos
C. Resolution Considerations (1-2 weeks)
a. Spatial
b. Spectral
c. Temporal
d. Radiometric
D. Data Standards (1-2 weeks)
a. National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI)
b. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)
E. Imagery Overview
a. Digital Orthophotography
b. High spatial resolution sensors
c. High temporal resolution platforms
F. Digital Elevation Models
a. LIDAR
b. IFSAR
c. STRMM
d. uncertainty issues
G. Applications (one or more of these four applications at discretion of instructor)
a. NASA applications
i. Earth Science Enterprise
ii. Planetary science
b. Fire hazard applications:
i. Southern California Wildfire Hazards Center
ii. Fire management in West Africa
c. Applications in urban environments
i. Land use planning
ii. Transportation analysis
iii. Brownfield remediation
iv. Utility lifeline management
v. Port facility mapping
d. Applications in arid and semi-arid environments:
i. Vegetation change in southwest deserts
ii. Delineating physiographic provinces
iii. Bedouin raidfed agriculture in Egypt
iv. Famine early warning systems: Africa
v. Groundwater and vegetation analysis: Tanque Verde
V.
Methods of Presentation (A through C required, D at discretion of instructor)
A. Lecture
B. Discussion
C. Laboratory exercises and demonstrations
D. Outside labs and/or field activities
VI.
Methods of Evaluation (A through C required)
A. Exams (graduate students must write at least one more essay)
B. Laboratory Exercises (graduate students must do at least two more)
C. Project (graduate students are expected to undertake a larger project)
Bibliography
Abdelsalam, M.E., C. Robinson, F. El-Baz, and R.J. Stern, 2000. Applications of orbital
imaging radar for geologic studies in arid regions: The Saharan testimony,
Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol.66, No.6, pp.717-726.
Asrar, G., and J. Dozier, 1994. Science strategy for the Earth Observing System,
American Institute of Physics, Woodbury N.Y., 119p.
Countryman, C, and W. Dean, 1979. Measuring moisture content in living chaparral.
PMS 814. NFES 2142. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. 27p.
Cowen, D.J., and J.R. Jensen, 1998. Extraction and modeling of urban attributes using
remote sensing technology. People and Pixels: Linking Remote Sensing and Social
Science. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., pp. 164-188.
EOS Science Steering Committee, 1991. From Pattern to Process: The strategy of the
Earth Observing System, EOS Science Steering Committee Report, 140p.
Farr, T.G. and O.A. Chadwick, 1996. Geomorphic processes and remote sensing
signatures ofalluvial fans in the Kun Lun Mountains, China, Journal of Geophysical
Research 101:23,091-23, 100.
Forester, B.C., 1985. An examination of some problems and solutions in monitoring
urban areas from satellite platforms, International Journal of Remote Sensing, 6:139151.
Glenn, E.P., C.T. Lee, R. Felger, and S. Zengel, 1996. Effects of water management on
the wetlands of the Colorado River delta, Mexico. Conservation Biology, Vol. 10,
No.4, pp.1175-1186.
Glenn, E.P.; Lee, C.T.; and Valdes-Casillas, C. 2001. Introduction: Colorado River Delta.
Journal of Arid Environments 49 (special issue): 1-4.
Hutchinson, C.F., 1978. The digital use of Landsat data for integrated land resource
survey: A study in the eastern Mojave Desert, California. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, University of California, Riverside, 267p.
Hutchinson, C.F., P.T. Gilruth, R.T. Hay, S.E. Marsh, and C.T. Lee, Geographic
Information Systems applications in crop assessment and famine early warning.
Arizona Remote Sensing Center Report 92-l, January, 1992, 57p.
Jensen, J.R. (editor), 1983. Urban/suburban land use analysis, Manual of Remote
Sensing, Second Edition (R.N. Cowell, editor), American Society of Photogrammetry,
Falls Church, Virginia, pp. 1571-1666.
Jensen, J.R., 1995. Issues involving the creation of digital elevation models and terrain
corrected orthoimagery using soft-copy photogrammetry, Geocarto International,
10:1-17.
Jensen, J.R., and D.L. Toll, 1983. Detecting residential land use development at the
urban fringe, Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 48:629-643.
Jensen, J.R., D.C. Cowen, J., Halls, S. Narumalani, N. Schmidt, B.A. Davis, and B.
Burgess, 1994. Improved Urban Infrastructure Mapping and Forecasting for
BellSouth Using Remote Sensing and GIS Technology, Photogrammetric
Engineering & Remote Sensing, 60:339-346
King, M.D. and R. Greenstone (eds).1999 EOS Reference Handbook, EOS Project
Science Office, Code 900, NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, Greenbelt Maryland,
361p.
King, M.D. (ed) 1999. EOS Science Plan, EOS Project Science Office, Code 900, NASA
Goddard Spaceflight Center, Greenbelt Maryland, 397p.
Laris, Paul. 2003. Grounding environmental narratives: The impact of a century of
fighting against fire in Mali. In African Environment and Development: Rhetoric,
Programs, Realities, ed. William G. Mosely and B. Ikubolagheh Logan, pp. 63-86.
Aldershot, UK: Ashgate (forthcoming in December).
Laris, Paul. 2002. Burning the seasonal mosaic: Preventative burning strategies in the
wooded savanna of southern Mali. Human Ecology 30, 2: 155-186.
Lee, C.T. and S.E. Marsh, 1995. The use of archival Landsat MSS and ancillary data in
a GIS environment to map historical change in an urban riparian habitat.
Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol.61, No.8, pp.999-1008.
Lee, C.T., P. Johnson, and R.A. Hay, 1998. Mapping vegetation dynamics in the lower
Colorado River Delta using archival Landsat MSS satellite imagery. Proceedings of
the Fifth International Conference on Remote Sensing: October 5-7,1998, San
Diego, California. Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI,
pp.207-219.
Lo, C.P., 1995. Automated population and dwelling unit estimation from high-resolution
satellite images: A GIS approach, International Journal of Remote Sensing, 16:1734.
Lo, C.P., D.A. Quattrochi, and J.C. Luvall, 1997. Application of high-resolution thermal
infrared remote sensing and GIS to assess the urban heat island effect, International
Journal of Remote Sensing, 18(2): 287-304.
Marsh, S.E., J. Walsh, C.T. Lee, L. Beck, and C.F. Hutchinson, 1992. Comparison of
multi-temporal NOAA-AVHRR and SPOT-XS satellite data for mapping land-cover
dynamics in the West African Sahel. International Journal of Remote Sensing,
Vol.13, No.16, pp.2997-3016.
McCarthy, L.E., C.T. Lee, and S.E. Marsh, 1996. Identification of disrupted surfaces due
to military activity at the Fort Irwin National Training Center: An aerial photograph
and satellite image analysis. Proceedings of the Eleventh Thematic Conference on
Geologic Remote Sensing: Practical Solutions for Real World Problems, February
27-29,1996, Las Vegas, Nevada. Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, Ann
Arbor MI, pp.236-246.
Roberts, D.A.; Dennison, P.E.; Gardner, M.; Hetzel, Y.L.; Ustin,S.L.; and Lee, C. 2003.
Evaluation of the potential of Hyperion for fire danger assessment by comparison to
the Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer. IEEE Transactions on
Geoscience and Remote Sensing 41: 1297-1310.
Roberts, D.A., P.E. Dennison, M. Morais, M.E. Gardner, J. Regelbrugge, and S.L. Ustin.
Mapping wildfire fuels imaging spectrometry along the wildland urban interface,
Proceedings of the 1999 Joint Fire Science Conference and Workshop, June 17-19,
Boise Idaho, 13p.
Roberts, D.A., R.O. Green and J.B. Adams, 1997. Temporal and spatial patterns in
vegetation and atmospheric properties from AVIRIS, Remote Sensing of
Environment, 62: 223-240.
Warner, W.S., R.W. Graham, R.E. Read, 1996. Chapter 15: Urban Survey, Small
Format Aerial Photography, Wittles Publishing, Scotland, pp.253-256.
Zebker, H.A., P.Rosen, S. Hensley, and P.J. Mouginis-Mark , 1996. Analysis of active
lava flows on Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, using SIR-C radar correlation measurements,
Geology, 24:495-498.
VIII.
Justification
The Department of Geography has identified three core areas in geography as
emphases, one of which is the geospatial techniques. It has hired four faculty within the
last three years with expertise in this critical disciplinary area (Laris, Lee, Rodrigue, and
Wechsler) and is expanding its curricular offerings in this area. The proposed course fits
into this initiative, serving as an advanced specialty course in the application of remote
sensing to various problems in the natural and social sciences. It is meant to serve as a
culminating experience in the remote sensing area, with introductory courses in physical
and human geography, statistics, and map reading serving as basic grounding, followed
by a course in remote sensing (Geog 473) and a more specialized course in digital
image processing (Geog 474).
The course was formed by combining three extant applications courses. It was felt that
they could not all be offered on a three year rotation, given the low enrollments produced
by the sequence of increasingly specialized courses that are necessary as prerequisites.
Given that the particular applications to be discussed will change with the very rapid
development of remote sensing technology, it is appropriate to allow students to repeat
this course once, after securing approval of the appropriate advisor, whose responsibility
is to confirm that two separate offerings of the course are sufficiently distinct in terms of
applications discussed..