Geography 362: "Image Analysis"

Geography 362 is a course designed to introduce students to the field of remote sensing. Modern remote sensing is a multi-disciplinary and many-faceted subject encompassing knowledge from a broad array of areas. Remote sensing has steadily grown in importance since the early 1970s and continues to expand as sensing technology improves, as imagery becomes cheaper, as coverage becomes more widespread and as good software for processing the data become readily available. This course is not meant to be an exhaustive treatment of remote sensing. Rather, it is designed to provide an overview of the field.

The field of remote sensing is vast and includes several inter-related themes. Remote Sensing as a science primarily involves the extraction of information contained within energy. The engineering component of remote sensing involves the design and construction of instruments and systems capable of capturing and recording energy from a target. Remote Sensing as a vital tool is expressed in myriad applications, from land cover change analysis to weather forecasting.

This course will be administered in two parts;

• The first seven weeks of the semester will focus on three broad topics (Fundamental Principals of Radiative Transfer and Energy-Matter, Remote Sensing Systems, and Applications). This part of the course will expect student to grasp the major laws describing the energy-matter interactions. Recitations will be devoted to reviewing homework problems designed to solidify understanding of radiation concepts central to the construction of remote sensing imagery.

• The remainder of the semester will be devoted to image analysis with an emphasis on digital remote sensing, i.e. analyzing data in digital form using computer software. This aspect of the course will have a practical focus on using imagery to analyze land cover and to construct land cover maps, with the expectation that students will be able to become proficient in the handling and processing of remote sensing imagery. Consequently, laboratory work will play a major role in this component of the course.

Professor: Derrick Lampkin