6 EC
Semester 2, period 4
5264GRSE6Y
GIS and RS include a powerful set of computational techniques and methods for storing, retrieving and analysis of spatial and temporal distributed geographical data. Techniques will be introduced for the analysis of environmental problems. The course modules cover topics for new users of GIS and RS, but also for users with experience.
The Earth Science master has three tracks, GED, EM and FPES. We stimulate flexibility in your choices to select GIS/RS techniques/skills and topics that closely fit to your personal study plan. Therefore you are, to a certain extent, free to select modules from an available set and you may formulate your own GIS/RS project, in close cooperation wth the coordinators.
In the self-tuition assignments we offer GIS visualization tools and techniques such as, weighting and ranking, suitability analyses, raster-based analysis, least-cost pathways, Web-services, model building, hydrological tools, python scripting and path-distance analysis. The remote sensing tools and techniques comprise amongst others supervised classification, change analysis, object-based image segentation and classification, band-ratio analysis, image preprocessing and computing vegetation indices.
The software uses is ArcGIS Pro, eCognition and the Google Earth Engine Environment.
Images and datasets used are highly diverse and range from Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), LiDAR data, Landsat imagery, SPOT imagery, Sentinel imagery, Radar bands, orthophotos to thematic layers such as digital soil, geomorphological, Land Use Land Cover and other data.
The techniques and skills are applied in the assignments to a wide variety of landscapes and environmental and to diverse situations and/or topics such as flooding in Bangladesh, desertification in the Sahell zone, predictions of hummingbirds in the Andes, Land Use and Land Cover change in China, India and the Netherlands, urban areas, food production in the Mekong delta and more.
After finishing a selection of assignments, the student starts an individual topic. A maximum 2 A4 large research outline is written, which has to be agreed by both the student and the staff. The research project is documented in a technical GIS report with accompanying digital products . Students are encouraged to use their own (master) research data, although there are pre-fabricated topics available as well.
Will be published on Canvas
ArcGISPro, eCognition, Google Earth Engine
Assignments, tutorials, datasets, literature, quizzes and other relevant information is published on Canvas.
Lecture:
One lecture that will introduce the set-up of the course and provide a general overview of assignments.
Assignments/Modules:
Students without pre-knowledge: a collection of 17 self-tuition modules (assignments) is offered (total 6EC) which should be finished before the end of the course. The content of the modules is described elsewhere in this document.
Students with pre-knowledge: a collection of 9 self-tuition modules (assignments) is offered (total 3EC) which should be finished before the project starts. The content of the modules and the project is described elsewhere in this document.
Self-study:
Dates according to the official course schedule, but students are free to work during other days in the GIS-studio, within the projected period (February - March). You can assign your name to a computer via the reservation system via: https://www.gis-studio.nl/index.php?page=reservations
Project:
Students with GIS/RS experience decide on a two weeks project (3EC), depending on their interest and in agreement with the coordinators. After confirmation on the topic, the student prepares a short project plan (max 2 pages) in which the project is described, a work plan is made, the data is described (availability / metadata / format) and a workflow is presented in which the proposed techniques and processing steps in the software are visualized, and the foreseen deliverables are outlined.
|
Activity |
Number of hours |
remark |
|
Lecture |
2 |
presence recommended |
|
Module assignments |
83 or 166 |
self-tuition |
|
Project |
0 or 83 |
self-study |
|
Total |
168 |
|
This programme does not have requirements concerning attendance (TER part B).
Additional requirements for this course:
You have the opportunity during this course to use the computers in the GIS-studio. We made collective reservations in the GIS-studio for you already. If you need additional reservations, you can do so via http://www.gis-studio.nl, see separate paragraph on GIS-studio regulations, near the end of this course manual. Thijs de Boer (w.m.deboer@uva.nl) is manager of the GIS-studio, and can provide you with necessary information. Within the 8 weeks period you should be able to finish the course, perhaps earlier than the deadline. The course is self-tuition, which means minimum contact with the coordinator/teacher, because the modules are self-explanatory. In summary, you do not need to be present in the GIS-studio, if you use the eCognition software (only available in GIS-studio) then a computer there is necessary. For ArcGIS Pro student licenses are available. Contact Thijs de Boer for further information or consult the course page on Canvas.
| Item and weight | Details |
|
Final grade |
No pre-knowledge: Quizzes: 100% final grade.
With pre-knowledge: Quizzes 50% and project: 50% of final grade (of which 25% datasets and 25% technical report)
Although quizzes may vary in time and complexity, no weighting is applied this year. All quizzes should be graded with 5.0 or higher. The project should be graded 5.0 or higher. The final grade should be 5.5 or higher to pass the course.
If students do not finalize the course within the allocated time, there is a resit possibility (see DataNose schedule). Maximum scores for missing quizzes are then maximized to 7. All individual scores remain valid for a period of 1 year.
Contact the course coordinator to make an appointment for inspection.
The course is self-tuition; students are encouraged to work on their own. First consult HELP from the help-functions, 'google' about any problem you are confronted with, the teachers are available 1 hour during the scheduled periods as published on DataNose. You may make separate appointments per email.
Graded individual assignment, with automated feedback. ESRI training module for new users. You learn the basics of ArcGISPro and end with a exam resulting in a certificate.
Introductory module. Graded individual quiz, with automated feedback.
Graded individual quiz, with automated feedback.
Graded individual quiz, with automated feedback.
Graded individual quiz, with automated feedback.
Graded individual quiz, with automated feedback.
Graded individual quiz, with automated feedback.
Graded individual quiz, with automated feedback.
Graded individual quiz, with automated feedback.
Graded individual quiz, with automated feedback.
Graded individual quiz, with automated feedback.
Graded individual quiz, with automated feedback.
Graded individual quiz, with automated feedback.
Graded individual quiz
Graded individual quiz
Graded individual quiz
Graded individual quiz
non-graded quiz
Graded individual quiz
Graded individual quiz
Graded individual quiz
Full descriptions and explanation elsewhere in this course manual and/or on Canvas
Selection of assignments
The assignments are mostly designed by IBED staff members and (former) master students. The assignments should be finished, preferably in the order as listed below: each assignment will take you about a full day to finish, with some exceptions, that could take a bit longer. Within this course, the student will be able to progress and finish along 3 possible ‘routes’:
In all 3 routes: start and finish the modules in the proposed sequence!
The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl
| Students | Activity | Start | End | Hand in |
| Without pre-knowledge | 17 modules |
February 3 |
March 27 | Quizzes in Canvas |
| With pre-knowledge | 9 modules |
February 3 |
March 3 | Quizzes in Canvas |
|
With pre-knowledge |
Project |
March 3 | March 27 |
Assignment in Canvas: - datasets - technical report |
The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.
Not applicable
Getting started in the GIS-studio of IBED
Computers
The computers should be turned off after your work is done. Also the monitors can be turned off.
GIS accounts
To use the computers you need an account and a password. Staff, postgraduates and PhD students of IBED can use their own (UvA-) account. Students enrolled in a course can use their student login name or number. If you do not have a login name or number, you will receive a guest account from the manager of the GIS-studio Thijs De Boer.
Network drives
After you have logged in and have opened My Computer on your desktop you might see:
The network drives are back-uped every night. This is not the case for the local drives (C:), (D:) and (E:).
Any GIS computer in the GIS-studio that you log in to with your account will connect to your personal share and open your profiles. This personal share has a default capacity of 10 Gb which is enough for most GIS and RS purposes.
On Canvas you can find the exercises, examples, tutorials and manuals that you will need. Of course you have read/write access to your personal share on the network so you can copy the files that you have worked on and want to keep for later use to this share (and be assured of a back-up). You MUST first copy the module files that you need to a self-named folder (usually with your name in it) to the D drive.
A normal working scheme is as follows:
Locate the files you need from Canvas and copy them to a new self-named folder (usually with your name in it) on the local D-drive (NOT on the C-drive !).
Printing
There is an printer in the IBED pantry (red block with also a kitchen and toilets). See the whiteboard in the GIS-Studio for information on how to connect to this printer.
Tutorials
Tutorials for ArcGIS can be found on the ArcGIS Resource Center: http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/
Another fine reference is the online Help system in ArcGIS. It is located under the Help menu. There are two options:
Software