Remote Sensing and Geographical Information system - Course Project

EVSP322 

Remote Sensing & GIS - - Course Project

The objective of the course project is twofold. First, students will interpret remotely sensed
imagery. Second, students will apply image interpretation, remote sensing technology, and data
analysis to complex problems in environmental management and/or land use planning.
Students will select a geographic area of interest (AOI) for this assignment, choosing an area you
are familiar with or any area in which you have an interest. Note that imagery of the lower 48
states may be the easiest to acquire, though students interested in imagery of Alaska, Hawaii, or
international areas are encouraged to seek out appropriate materials. Select a feature or AOI that
is identifiable from the satellite imagery such as we have been viewing on the homework
assignments throughout the term, since you will be acquiring the imagery from those sites among
others on the web.
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Within the geographic AOI, students must select a minimum of three ground control points
(GCPs). See our course for further details on acceptable GCPs.
Next, students should acquire a minimum of six different remotely sensed images for their
selected geographic AOI. Appropriate images may include, but are not limited to, aerial
photography, LANDSAT imagery, radar images, and/or lidar images. Some images may be
available from the same data source (e.g. LANDSAT) showing different portions of the
electromagnetic spectrum.

Listed below are suggested websites for image acquisition. Also refer to the GIS viewers we
used throughout the homework assignments, including GLOVIS, Wetlands Mapper, GIS Direct,
and Radarsat-2.
NASA http://www.nasa.gov/
MODIS http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/
European Space Agency http://www.esa.int/esaCP/index.html
Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/
Weather Underground http://www.wunderground.com/
Remote Sensing Data and Information http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rsd/RemoteSensing.html
Satellite Meteorology http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/%28Gh%29/guides/rs/sat/home.rxml
USGS Earthshots http://earthshots.usgs.gov/tableofcontents
Terra-Server USA http://terraserver-usa.com/
Remote Sensing Imagery and Data http://www.indiana.edu/~climate/336/rsdata.html
Note that some of the sites listed above present both remotely sensed images and GIS layers.
Students may present GIS layers of the geographic AOI, but these will not count toward the
minimum of six remotely sensed images. Students are also encouraged to explore city, county,
state, or federal environmental resource management websites that cover their selected
geographic AOI, as these organizations, as well as private and non-profit conservations groups,
often have imagery available. The list above is in no way comprehensive or all-inclusive. Our
course textbook also provides websites for image acquisition throughout the text and the course
syllabus lists other possible resources.

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2
Students must properly document from where they acquire each image. Note that it is not
the intent of this project that students purchase remotely sensed imagery, as students will find
free remotely sensed imagery on the web, given sufficient exploration. In addition, because this
course format does not support GIS software, students should seek out JPG, GIF, TIF, or similar
format images that can be viewed using standard software already available to them on the
computer they are using.
In a 15+ slide presentation (e.g. Microsoft PowerPoint, OpenOffice.org Impress), students will
present their finding. A sample project outline is presented below. Each number represents a
section that should be included in the presentation.
1 COVER SLIDE
Title, student name, course, date
2 DESCRIPTION OF AOI
Information presented may vary based on selected area but should include information
such as city, county, state, country, latitude and longitude, township, range, section,
political boundary, geographic description, etc. This information should be sufficient for
someone unrelated to the project to locate the AOI.
3 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT CONTEXT
Reason to select the AOI in the context of environmental management and/or land use
planning. Information presented will vary, but the reasoning behind selection should be
clear. Example questions to answer include: Is it an area of historic significance? Has
there been significant environmental change in the past? Is there expected to be
significant environmental change in the future? What is the presenter’s experience with
or interest in the geographic AOI? Is this an area of environmentally sensitive land (e.g.
does it host listed species)? What is the predominant land use within the geographic AOI?
Clearly all questions will not be relevant to each project, but an explanation of the
selection of the geographic AOI in the context of environmental management and/or land
use planning is expected.
4 GROUND CONTROL POINTS (GCPs)
Description of GCPs, with a minimum of three. What features distinguish the GCPs
and how will you use them for identification to register the different remotely sensed
images acquired for the project?
5 IMAGERY
A minimum of six different types of remotely sensed images each displaying the
geographic area of interest, the GCPs, and a description of the image to include data
source, date acquired, passive or active sensors used, portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum used. See sample PowerPoint slide below.
3
6 SUMMARY TABLE
A table presenting details of the different images acquired for this project and a column
providing an explanation of the utility of each in addressing the environmental
management and/or land use planning as outlined in section 3 above.
7 DISCUSSION
Discussion of project including applications of remote sensing technology to
environmental management and/or land use planning.
8 SUMMARY
Project summary
9 REFERENCES
List of references used, presented in APA citation style. See course syllabus or Course
Materials folder for further information on APA citation style. BE SURE THAT EACH
IMAGE IS CITED ON THE SLIDE ITSELF. Then, list the complete reference citation
here in the references list. You *must* properly document the source of the imagery and
information presented.
It is always a nice idea to include professional images in such a presentation for visual appeal.
Note that sometimes these images will be rather large and the APUS system limits file upload
sizes. Students can compress images within PowerPoint or if need be convert the final
presentation to a pdf file format for submission (if their computer has that capability), which
often decreases file size. Be sure to properly cite the sources used in preparing the presentation in
a final references slide and use appropriate citations throughout the presentation for each image,
fact, or figure shown. Be sure to edit your final presentation for typos, and to maintain a
scientific and professional tone throughout.
Note that the intent of this project is to encourage students to understand and apply what they
have learned in remote sensing to the field of environmental science and to appreciate the
application and limitations of technology in the field of remote sensing. Students should find the
project both challenging and rewarding.

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