Remote sensing is the science and art of collecting and interpreting information about the earth's surface through non-contact methods. Remote Sensing of the Environment teaches the theory and methodology of applied remote sensing technologies. We explore the principles of electromagnetic radiation, as well as the interactions of solar radiation with the earth's atmosphere and the three main classes of surface features--vegetation, soil, and water. The central portion of the course will be devoted to the characteristics of the multi-spectral sensor systems and data products of the earth-resources satellite systems from which data are the most accessible in the U.S.--Landsat , SPOT , and the NOAA Polar Orbiters. Computer processing of digital satellite images will be introduced. The concluding sections of the course will discuss thermal and active microwave (RadarSat and ERS2 ) remote sensing from satellites. New and future satellites will also be discussed including IKONOS , QuickBird Landsat 7 , SPOT 5 , EOS PM (Aqua), EOS AM (Terra), and LightSAR.

A GIS is "an organized collection of computer hardware, software, geographic data, and personnel designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information." The goal of this course is to gain a basic understanding of the concepts and issues underpinning geographic information science including the functional components of GIS, spatial data models and structures, management of geographic information, the implementation of GIS, and use of GIS software for solving spatial problems. The course will be divided into lectures and computer lab sessions. Familiarity with the Internet and the World Wide Web will help you in this course.

Satellite image processing teaches the theory and methods of digital image processing. We will explore the principles of image statistics extraction, radiometric & geometric correction, image enhancement, thematic classification, change detection, and integration of satellite imagery and geographic information systems databases. Computer processing of digital satellite images will be a central part of the course. Many different satellite image data sets will be processed using the ERDAS Imagine image processing software package.

Geography 970:174(g) is an advanced GIS course covering applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and is intended for students who have already acquired an introductory knowledge of the field. The course places a strong emphasis on building hands-on skills as well as advanced theoretical knowledge in spatial analysis. The course includes the theory and methods involved in GIS model building, raster modeling, digital terrain analysis in raster and TIN, spatial interpolation, and geo-statistical analysis. The practical component involves the use of GIS software packages including ArcInfo, ArcGIS Spatial Analyst, ArcGIS 3D Analyst, ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst, and ArcIMS.

The objective of this course is to introduce the basic concepts used in GPS. Emphasis is placed on instrument familiarization, field data collection and processing, real-time and post-differential correction, and GPS-GIS integration. The course will be divided into lectures and computer lab sessions. Familiarity with the Internet and the World Wide Web will help you in this course. There are no formal prerequisites for this class. However, students are expected to come to this class with basic computer literacy including the Windows operating system. Ideally students will have an understanding of GIS software packages such as ArcGIS and also have a basic theoretical understanding of GIS.

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