SYLLABUS Remote Sensing in Geosciences Geog 361 Instructor Teaching Assistant Dr Andrew G Klein Office O M 707D Email klein geog tamu edu Tel 979 845 5219 Office Hours Tuesday and Thursday 3 00 4 30 pm or by appointment Mr Billy Hales Office O M 707G Email billy hales neo tamu edu Tel 979 458 0864 Office Hours Tuesday 1 2 pm Thursday 9 30 10 30 am Friday 1 30 2 30 pm or by appointment Course Description Introduction to the physics behind and technical issues surrounding the acquisition and utilization of remotely sensed airborne and satellite images for the study of physical and human landscapes Techniques for analyzing and interpreting images for studying biological geological hydrological and oceanographic processes as well as human activities will be emphasized Meeting Times and Location Lecture Tuesday and Thursday 12 45 2 00 Labs 501 Thursday 3 00 5 00 and 502 Wednesday 12 40 2 40 O M 103 Teague B009C Lecture Texts Required Lillesand T M Kiefer R W and Chipman J W 2008 Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation 6th ed New York John Wiley Sons 756 pp Recommended Jensen J R 2007 Remote Sensing of the Environment an Earth Resource Perspective 2nd ed Upper Saddle River NJ Prentice Hall 592 pp The Remote Sensing Core Curriculum http www r s c c org The Remote Sensing Tutorial http rst gsfc nasa gov 1 Web Site http geography tamu edu class aklein geog361 Lab Software ENVI 4 X http www ittvis com envi Software Guides ENVI 4 X User s Guide 2003 Edition Research System Inc RSI 1083p ENVI 4 X Tutorials 2003 Edition Research System Inc RSI 658p Grading Your grade in this class will be based on the following A Exams 40 3 2 midterms and 1 final Makeups for the Exams will be allowed only for excused absences as covered in section 7 of the Texas A M University Student Rules http student rules tamu edu B Lab Exercises 50 Late labs will receive reduced credit unless evidence of a university excused absence is provided C Inquiry Exercises 5 The class will have two inquiry projects which will be done in small groups D Lecture and Lab Participation 5 Students are expected to not only attend lecture and lab but also be active participants All Grades will be assigned according to the following scale A B C D F 90 80 89 70 79 60 69 60 2 Class Attendance The university views class attendance as the responsibility of the individual student However as stated in the student rules http student rules tamu edu rule07 Students are expected to attend class and to complete all assignments It has been my experience that failure to attend class especially labs is a major cause of poor performance in the class Cellular Telephones As a courtesy to the instructor and other students please turn off all cellular telephones and two way pagers before the class begins I find it extremely impolite to be interrupted by a cellular telephone when I am lecturing Email All Texas A M students should use their neo email accounts when emailing the instructor and teaching assistants I may also send out class announcements via the university s email system as well It is your responsibility to check your neo email account regularly Copyright and Plagiarism Policy All materials used in this class are copyrighted These materials include but are not limited to syllabi quizzes exams lab problems in class materials review sheets and additional problem sets Because these materials are copyrighted you do not have the right to copy the handouts unless permission is expressly granted As commonly defined plagiarism consists of passing off as one s own the ideas words writings etc which belong to another In accordance with this definition you are committing plagiarism if you copy the work of another person and turn it in as your own even if you should have the permission of that person Plagiarism is one of the worst academic sins for the plagiarist destroys the trust among colleagues without which research cannot be safely communicated If you have any questions regarding plagiarism please consult the latest issue of the Texas A M University Student Rules http student rules tamu edu under the section Scholastic Dishonesty 3 Aggie Honor Code The Honor Code based on the long standing affirmation that An Aggie does not lie cheat or steal or tolerate those who do is fundamental to the value of the A M experience Know the Aggie Code of Honor Aggies don t lie cheat or steal nor tolerate those that do http www tamu edu aggiehonor Student Support The Americans with Disabilities Act ADA is a federal anti discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities Among other things this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation please contact Disability Services in Cain Hall Room B118 or call 845 1637 For additional information visit http disability tamu edu Services for Students with Disabilities Room B118 of Cain Hall 845 1637 or on the web at http disability tamu edu There are numerous other student support organizations on campus including Student Counseling Service Henderson Hall 845 4427 or on the web at www scs tamu edu Please do not hesitate to ask me if you have any problems or if you are having any trouble in the class see me before it becomes a problem 4 Learning Objectives This course aligns its content with learning objectives in the Geographic Information Science Technology Body of Knowledge that has been produced by the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science UCGIS and published by the Association of American Geographers AAG In particular it meets many of the objectives GD10 Aerial imaging and photogrammetry and GD11 Satellite and shipboard remote sensing The overarching learning objective of the course can be summarized as follows 1 Students will be able to articulate the basics of how electromagnetic energy enables remote sensing and be able to describe why different wavelength regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are useful for different types of remote sensing as well as why various portions of the electromagnetic spectrum cannot be used for remote sensing 2 Students will be able to explain the concepts of spatial spectral radiometric and temporal resolution and how they how they impact the selection of the most appropriate data source s for a particular analytical task Students will also be