ERS 186: Environmental Remote Sensing

Syllabus Spring 2006

 

Instructor: Susan Ustin (slustin@ucdavis.edu)

Phone:  752-0621

Office: 115A, the Barn

Office Hours: Monday 10am -12pm

 

TA: Shruti Khanna (shrkanna@ucdavis.edu)

TA: Shawn Kefauver (sckefauver@ucdavis.edu)

Phone: 752-5092

Office Hours: 11:30am - 1:00pm, 1137 PES immediately after lab

                       Tuesday and Thursday

 

Classroom: 1137 PES

Lecture: Tuesday, Thursday 8:00-9:20am

Lab: Tuesday, Thursday 09:30-11:20am (open lab for breaks)

Course listserv: ers186-s06@ucdavis.edu

 

Datasets are available for download on the CSTARS ftp server (ftp://cstars.ucdavis.edu/outgoing/ers-186l-s06)

 

Grading: Midterms (2) 25% each, Final 50%

               Study questions will be provided (ungraded)

           

Text: Jensen, John R. 2000. Remote Sensing of the Environment: An Earth Resource Perspective, First Ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice Hall.

 

You are responsible for reading material, even if it is not covered in class.

 

Date

Primary Topic (s)

Reading Assignment

 

 

 

30-Mar

Introduction

Chapter 1, 2

 

Survey of environmental digital remote sensing

 

 

Wavelength, frequency, energy

 

 

Reflectance, Transmission, Absorption

 

 

Target and path radiance

 

4-Apr

Leaves and Plant Spectra

Chapter 10, 2, 7

 

Plant functions

 

 

Refraction

 

 

Optical Properties of leaves and canopies

 

6-Apr

Vegetation mapping/ spatial patterns

Chapter 10, 2, 7

 

Signatures, Endmembers

 

 

Spatial patterns and scales

 

 

Land use/Changes in ecosystem structure

 

 

and invasive species

 


 

Date

Primary Topic (s)

Reading Assignment

 

 

 

11-Apr

Plant/Ecosystem Function

Chapter 10, 8, 2

 

and Temporal patterns

 

 

Phenological patterns; inter-annual to

 

 

Century-scale patterns

 

 

Temperature relationships:

 

 

Stefan-Boltzmann Law

 

 

Emittance, Wien’s Law, Kirchoff’s Law

 

 

Plant stress indicators

 

13-Apr

Ecosystem 3-d Structure

Chapter 9, 10

 

Biomass, ecosystem function, biodiversity

 

 

Wildlife habitat

 

 

Lidar, radar, and optical methods

 

18-Apr

Soils

Chapter 13

 

Soil moisture, mineralogy

 

 

Organic matter, soil quality and fertility

 

 

Texture, roughness

 

20-Apr

Wildfire detection and mapping

Chapter 9, 10

 

Land cover, biomass, fuel ladders, fuel moisture content

 

 

Fire extent mapping, fire temperature (and emissions),

 

 

Fire risk assessment

 

 

Kinetic heat, temperature

 

 

Review

 

25-Apr

MIDTERM  EXAM  I

 

27-Apr

Water

Chapter 11, 8, 9

 

Spectral properties of phases of water

 

 

Specular, Lambertian (diffuse) reflectance

 

 

Water color, turbidity, sea surface temperature

 

2-May

Water

Chapter 11, 8, 9

 

Passive microwave

 

 

Precipitation, ice, snow

 

 

Surface hydrology, drainage

 

4-May

Weather monitoring

 

 

GOES, POES

 

 

Scattering and absorption in atmosphere

 

 

Radiation and energy budget

 

 

Aerosols and clouds

 

Date

Primary Topic (s)

Reading Assignment

 

 

 

9-May

Weather Monitoring

Chapter 11

 

Severe storms, prediction

 

 

 Evapotranspiration

 

11-May

Climate Change

Handout

 

Greenhouse gases and energy budget

 

 

Biogeochemical cycles

 

16-May

Geology

Chapter 13, 2, 8

 

Mineralogy

 

 

Optical and Thermal signatures

 

18-May

Geology

Chapter 13

 

Geomorphology

 

 

Faults, geologic features

 

 

Radar, interferometry

 

23-May

Geology (continued) + Review

Chapter 13

25-May

MIDTERM  EXAM  II

 

30-May

Urban

Chapter 12, 8

 

Heat islands

 

 

Land use, land cover

 

 

High spatial resolution mapping

 

1-Jun

Disaster prediction/monitoring

handout

 

Fires, floods, Earthquakes,

 

 

Severe Storms

 

 

Security and related issues

 

 

 + review (possibly move to lab period)

 

6-Jun

Lab presentations

 

8-Jun

Lab presentations

 

14-Jun

FINAL EXAM – 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

 

 

 

Web based Information Resources:

 

http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/

http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/index_e.php

http://www.gisdevelopment.net/tutorials/tuman008.htm

http://www.profc.udec.cl/~gabriel/tutoriales/rsnote/contents.htm

http://noaasis.noaa.gov/NOAASIS/ml/education.html

http://www.geog.ubc.ca/vgd/remote.sensing/tutorials/tutorials.html