Instructor: Dr. Tom Frank

Department of Geography

School of Earth, Society and Environment

Director, Spatial Data Analysis Lab

tdfrank@uiuc.edu

http://www.sdal.uiuc.edu

Phone: 333-7248

Office: 321 Davenport Hall

The objective of this course is to emphasize techniques for remote sensing image analysis. The course is a laboratory only section which is designed to provide students the opportunity to improve their understanding of remote sensing of the environment, but more so, to develop the tools needed to inventory and monitor terrestrial ecosystems. Group projects will be conducted over the semester, focused on regional and global scale problems, such as land cover, earth surface temperatures, and atmospheric aerosols. Satellite products from NASA’s Earth Observation System (EOS) platforms will be used in this class. Techniques for Remote Sensing Image Analysis has an Inquiry Learning format, focused on student-centered exploration, building on your natural interests. Inquiry Learning allows students to discover course goals and objectives through their own exploration of environmental problems with lab assignments rather than exams.

Spring 2008 project will evaluate global aerosol distributions using satellite observations from NASA’s Terra platform, including Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging SpectroRadiomer (MODIS). Ground observations from Aeronet, and emissions from power plants, among other elements of the landscape will be used to model the spatial and temporal variability of aerosols, with an attempt to attribute human impacts on aerosol distributions.

Introduction to Earth Observation System Science

Spatial Data Analysis Laboratory