Module GEOG2591: GIS AND REMOTE SENSING

Department: Geography

GEOG2591: GIS AND REMOTE SENSING

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• Geospatial technologies have changed the way businesses and policy makers solve problems and the way scientists understand the dynamics of the environment. They have also become part of our everyday life through applications like Google Earth and portable navigation devices. As such, they have generated new fields of expertise and continue to inspire new applications around the world. This module aims to provide to the students a sound grounding in the theory and application of geospatial technologies.
• The module aims:
• to introduce concepts of spatial representations of the human and physical worlds
• to develop skills in using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing software, and in spatial data analysis
• to understand the role of GIS and Remote Sensing in addressing a range of spatially-related applications

Content

• The module provides grounding in remote sensing, GIS and spatial data analysis. When combined, these three provide powerful analytical skills that underpin research and applications in Geography and other disciplines. Recent advances in internet and mapping devices, combined with advances in imaging the earth from airborne and satellite platforms, highlight the relevance that geospatial technologies have for human and physical Geography specialisations.
• Introduction to concepts and applications of remote sensing systems:
• principles of earth observation
• remote sensing systems, passive and active, remote sensing applications
• digital image processing, display and enhancement, pattern recognition and modelling
• GIS:
• representing geographical data and information
• spatial analysis of human-environment relations
• critical and participatory GIS
• Introduction to concepts and methods for spatial data analysis, including notions of:
• point patterns
• spatial autocorrelation
• spatial prediction
• scale, shape and direction

Learning Outcomes

• Students are expected to:
• Understand some of the key applications of GIS and Remote Sensing in human and physical geography
• Understand the benefits and limitations of spatial information techniques

• Students are expected to:
• Use spatial information software to handle and analyse geographical datasets
• Have practised the use of GIS and Remote Sensing software

• Students are expected to:
• Understand the workflow of a geospatial project
• Be able to work as a team and independently on a basic geospatial project
• Present logical written arguments supported with spatial evidence
• Be able to critically select the geospatial technologies that can be utilised in a given application

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Basic facts, technical information and areas of application will be introduced and explained through lectures.
• Key concepts of spatial information will be introduced and discussed in lectures
• Hands-on tuition in the use of spatial information software will take place during the field class and through practical sessions
• Workshops will be used both to enhance understanding of concepts and techniques and to support individual learning of software
• The field class will introduce students to skills of collecting spatial data in the field. Students will work in small groups to interpret imagery, navigate to survey points and collect a range of geographical information. After the field class, students will learn how to integrate and analyse the data they collected in a subsequent computer-based practical class. Some lectures will build on ideas introduced in the field
• An unseen examination will be used to test knowledge of basic facts and understanding of concepts related to geographical information and spatial information systems
• Student projects will be used to consolidate and develop techniques of data analysis and use of proprietary software

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative feedback will be provided on the Wiki project proposal in Term 1 and the project proposal in term 2.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University