Introduction to Remote Sensing

Introduction to Remote Sensing GEOG 372 - Fall 2008 Sections 101 and 102 (3 credits) Instructor: Dr. Eric S. Kasischke, Department of Geography Room 1153 LeFrak Hall, Tel: (301) 405-2179, E-mail: ekasisch@umd.edu Office Hours: Tues/Thurs: 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm or by appointment Lab Instructor: Alyssa Whitcraft Email: allysakw@umd.edu Class Times: Lectures - Room 2166 LeFrak, Tues/Thurs, 12:30-1:45 p.m. Lab - Room 1138 LeFrak Section 101: Room 1138 LeFrak, Thu, 9:00 to 12:00 am Section 102: Room 1138 LeFrak, Fri, 9:00 to 12:00 am See http://www.geog.umd.edu/academic/courses/fall.html for updated information as the term progresses. Goals of the Course: This course is intended to provide an introduction to remote sensing of the environment, specifically focusing on systems that are used to monitor the earth’s land surfaces and oceans. It will introduce the basic principles of image interpretation, remote sensing, and digital data processing in relation to optical, thermal, and microwave (including imaging radar) remote sensing systems. Examples of remote sensing applications will be presented along with methods for obtaining quantitative information from remotely sensed images. The lab sessions will focus on introduction of techniques used in computer-aided analyses of remotely sensed data (e.g., digital image processing), with an emphasis on the study of spatial and environmental relationships. Target Audience: This course is intended for those who want to learn more about remote sensing either as a termination for a more general program or as a gateway to 400 level classes in Geography, especially GEOG472. Non-Geography students or undeclared majors are welcome. Overlaps: This course has no overlaps with others inside or outside the Department of Geography. Prerequisites: This course does not have any pre-requisites, but GEOG 306 is highly recommended. 1 Enrollment limit: 25 students per section. Geography Major Program Information: This course counts as a gateway course for Geography majors. See GEOG advisers in LeFrak Rm. 2108 (Tel. 301-405-4073) for further information on course selection. Course Structure: Class to include 2 lectures plus 1 laboratory per week. Text Book: Campbell, J.B., Introduction to Remote Sensing, 4 th edition, The Gulford Press, 2007. Assessment: The grading for this course will be based on, two hourly exams, a comprehensive final exam, laboratory assignments, and four pop quizzes. Four pop quizzes will be given during the term. These quizzes will count for 10% of the student’s grade. The two hourly-exams will each cover 1/3 of the lecture material and will not be cumulative in nature. Each exam will count for 19% of the final grade (38% total). The comprehensive final will include material from the last 1/3 of the course (approximately one-half of the exam) and from the entire course (approximately one-half of the course). The comprehensive final will count for 24% of the student’s grade. The exams will cover material presented in the lecture as well as assigned readings, except where noted. The laboratory assignments will count for 28% of the student’s grade. Each laboratory assignment will be worth 10 points and will be due at the beginning of the next class. Unless a valid excuse is presented, lab assignments not turned in on time do not receive full credit, based on the following scale: Up to 4 days late – 8 points maximum 5 to 7 days late – 6 points maximum 8 to 11 days late – 4 points maximum 12 to 14 days late – 2 points maximum > 14 days late – 0 points Final Exam: The time for the final exam for this course is scheduled for Friday, Dec 19, 2008, 1:30pm-3:30 p.m. If you have a conflict with this time, please contact the instructor. Honor Code: The University has a nationally recognized Honor Code, administered by the Student Honor Council. The Student Honor Council proposed and the University Senate approved an Honor Pledge. The University of Maryland Honor Pledge reads: "I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment/examination." 2 Unless you are specifically advised to the contrary, the Pledge statement should be handwritten and signed on the front cover of all papers, projects, or other academic assignments submitted for evaluation in this course. Students who fail to write and sign the Pledge will be asked to confer with the instructor. Student Conduct Students are expected to treat each other with respect. Disruptive behavior of any kind will not be tolerated. Students who are unable to show civility with one another, the teaching assistants, or the instructor will be subject to being referred to the Office of Student Conduct or to Campus Police. You are expected to adhere to the Code of Student Conduct. Medical Absences Campus Senate policy requires students who are absent due to illness/injury to furnish documentary support to the instructor. For this course, I require students to contact me by email or by phone prior to class time in which you indicate that you have an illness or an injury, or as soon as possible if the treatment by medical personnel conflicts with this requirement. You must provide written documentation verifying your illness/injury immediately upon your return to class. You will not be allowed to turn in missed assignments or make up quizzes, tests, papers, etc. if you have not provided this documentation. Documentation not presented to me in a timely manner will not be accepted. In addition, if it is found that you have falsified the documentation provided, I will refer you to the University’s Student Conduct Office. Disabilities I will make every effort to accommodate students who are registered with the Disability Support Services (DSS) Office and who provide me with a University of Maryland DSS Accommodation form which has been updated for the Fall 2008 semester. This form must be presented to me no later than 15 September 2008. I am not able to accommodate students who are not registered with DSS or who do not provide me with documentation which has been reviewed by DSS after 15 September 2008. Religious Observance By September 15, 2008, students must provide me in writing a request for a make up exam if I have indicated a date on this syllabus that you are unable to make due to a specific religious observance (specify) on a specific date. In addition, written requests must also be made for turning in a lab assignment late because of a specific religious observance. Please refer to the Online Undergraduate Catalog Policy on Religious Observance Class Notes All the lectures for this course will be presented in Powerpoint. While in the past, I have posted a complete set of my lectures on the class web site, I am changing this practice. For this class, I will post copies of all figures and tables that I present in my lectures on the class web site, but I will not post the written material. 3 Structure of the Course In the past, this course had adopted a course structure where there were two 50 minute lectures and 2-hour lab each week. This structure presented challenges to the students because it was difficult to familiarize students through lectures with the materials being covered in the weekly lab sessions. To overcome this problem, I have re-structured the course this fall. During the first month (September), there will be no lab sessions, and the class will meet for two 75 minute lectures each week. Beginning in October, there will only be one lecture per week (on Tuesdays) that will last between 50 and 75 minutes. The labs will also begin in October and continue through the first week of December (total). This change in course structure results in no changes to the amount of lecture and lab time the student will experience in the course. The change in structure will allow the student to gain a perspective on the field of remote sensing prior to engaging in the lab exercises. The longer individual lab sessions will also allow students more time to develop an understanding of the concepts being introduced. Keys to Success: This course is challenging for many students because of the highly quantitative nature of the field of remote sensing and the use of computer-based software. In developing this course, I have tried to balance out two competing needs of the students. The students in this course fall into two general categories: (a) Geography Majors who are required to successfully complete 3 credits of quantitative coursework; and (b) students seeking Geographic Information Science Minor or those desiring advanced training in quantitative geographic methods. In order to assist all students in GEOG 372, I have identified several areas for you to consider: 1. Attend all lectures and labs – each are critical components of this class. 2. Read the assigned text chapters/sections prior to class. 3. During lectures, focus on listening to the material being presented and synthesizing this information by taking notes that summarize the key points. Don’t try to copy down verbatim what is being presented on the Powerpoint presentations – note the pertinent figure/table numbers for later reference and review (these will be posted on the web at the end of each lecture). In addition to posting the tables and figures to the web site for each lecture, I will also list the key terms and concepts for each that I believe are important. 4. At the end of each week, review your class notes and assigned readings to be sure that you understand the key terms and concepts introduced in the lectures that week. You might consider forming a study group with several of your classmates to assist in this activity. 4 5. Ask questions. At the beginning of each lecture, I will offer the opportunity for questions from the previous lecture. Or, visit me during my office hours. If you cannot come during regular office hours, contact me to set up an appointment. 6. Attend all labs and turn in your lab assignments on time! This portion of the class represents 28% of your grade. Doing well in the lab assignments will significantly improve your final grade. 5 Lecture/Hourly Exam Schedule and Assigned Readings This is a tentative schedule – Check the class web page for updates to the schedule Week Date Lecture Part I - Remote Sensing Basics 1 2 3 4 02-Sep 04-Sep 09-Sep 11-Sep 16-Sep 18-Sep 23-Sep 25-Sep 30-Sep 02-Oct 07-Oct 09-Oct 14-Oct 16-Oct 21-Oct 23-Oct 28-Oct 30-Oct 04-Nov 06-Nov 11-Nov 13-Nov 18-Nov 20-Nov 25-Nov 27-Nov 1 2 3 4 5 6 Exam 7 8 9 10 11 Exam 12 13 Land applications with VIS/NIR imagery Land applications with VIS/NIR imagery Part III - Remote Sensing with Thermal and Microwave Radiation Thermal IR Remote Sensing 9 Passive microwave remote sensing Introduction to Remote Sensing Principles of EM radiometry and basic EM theory Atmospheric influences on EM radiation Photographic Systems/Image Interpretation Applications with aerial and space photography The digital image 1 Tatum et al. 2 2 3,5 4,10 Chapter 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Part II - Remote Sensing using Reflected Visible and Infrared Radiation Surface reflectance - Land surfaces 17.2,17.3 Surface reflectance - Water bodies 19.1-19.6 Detection of EM Radiation by a Vis/IR Radiometer Multispectral Remote Sensing Systems Multispectral Remote Sensing Data Analyses 6,21 12,17.9-17.10 12 13 14 15 6 14 15 02-Dec 04-Dec 09-Dec 16 17 Active microwave remote sensing Remote sensing of the oceans 7 7 Lab Schedule Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Dates 4/5 Sept 11/12 Sept 18/19 Sept 25/26 Sept 2/3 Oct 9/10 Oct 16/17 Oct 23/24 Oct 30/31 Oct 6/7 Nov 13/14 Nov 20/21 Nov 27/28 Nov 3/4 Dec 11/12 Dec Lab Topic Introduction Lab Meets From 10:30 to 12:00 – Introduction to computer lab No Lab No Lab No Lab 1 Introduction to ENVI – manipulation of digital imagery 2 Contrast stretching and DN to reflectance conversion in ENVI 3 Visual Analysis and High Resolution Visual Analysis 4 Reflectance Spectra compared to RS images and Vegetation Indices 5 Image classification 6 Multi-temporal change detection 7 Spectral indices and burned area estimation 8 Thermal Remote Sensing – Active Fire Detection Thanksgiving Week - No Labs 9 Image Mosaicking No Lab 8