Course manual 2020/2021

Course content

Remote Sensing includes a powerful set of computational techniques and methods for storing,  analyzing and visualization of information retrieved from satellite imagery, aerial photographs or other means of remote sensing, such as geophysical prospecting. Here, techniques will be introduced to guide students through the basics of remote sensing using the software environment of ArcGIS Pro.

In the self-tuition assignments we offer GIS-based tools and techniques, for example preprocessing techniques, suitability analyses, raster-based analysis, model building,  and path-distance analysis. The remote sensing tools and techniques include, amongst others, supervised classification, change analysis, band-ratio analysis, image enhancement and computing of vegetation and other indices which can be used in food production, land use and land cover change applications.

Images and datasets used are highly diverse and range from Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), Landsat imagery, SPOT imagery, Sentinel imagery,  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 Sahel zone, Land Use and Land Cover change in China, urban areas, and more.

After finishing 10 mandatory assignments, the students continue with a project. This research project is documented in a technical remote sensing report with accompanying digital products.  

Study materials

Literature

  • various scientific papers which will be available via links on Canvas

  • https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/earthsciences/pdf/resource/tutor/fundam/pdf/fundamentals_e.pdf 

Practical training material

  • 10 Quizzes, available on Canvas, datasets, instructive tutorials

Software

  • ArcGISPro - to be installed on own laptops before the course starts

Other

  • Lecture presentation, intro to the project

Objectives

  • The student can explain the basic concepts of remote sensing such as: wavelengths, spatial/temporal/spectral resolution, absorption & reflection, band ratios, NDVI, supervised classification
  • The student can select, download and pre-process satellite images for use in spatial models
  • The student can apply various remote sensing tools and techniques using the GIS software ArcGISPro for the identification, mapping and quantification of Land Use and Land Cover, especially in relation to agricultural areas
  • The student can quantify geodiversity by computing an index based on derivatives from a digital elevation models and thematic datasets (geology, soils) for the island of Hawaii
  • The student can design and execute a remote sensing project and analyze and interpret Land Use and Land Cover variation.
  • The student can write a short technical remote sensing report and manage digital remote sensing data

Teaching methods

  • Lecture
  • Online laptop practical
  • Self-study

An introduction lecture into the course set-up and the theory of remote sensing helps the student to understand the value, relevance , but also the complexity of remote sensing tools and techniques. The lecture and online laptop  practicals raises interest and awareness of fundamental theories behind necessary and the wide application field of remote sensing products.

Learning activities

Activity

Hours

remark

Lecture

4

Necessary to understand course structure, course requirements and remote sensing background; Introduction to the Project

Online Laptop Practical

52

Mandatory: quizzes will guide you through the first 10 modules. Additional 2,5 weeks are for a Project on remote sensing satellite classification

Self study

30

Time to read, prepare and consume information during online laptop practical

Total

84

 

Attendance

Programme's requirements concerning attendance (OER-B):

  • In case of practical sessions, the student is obliged to attend at least of 90% of the sessions and to prepare himself adequately, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. In case the student attends less than 90%, the practical sessions should be redone entirely.
  • In case of tutorials/seminars with assignments, the student is obliged to attend at least 90% of the tutorials/seminars and to prepare himself adequately, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. In case the student attends less than 90%, the course cannot be finished

Additional requirements for this course:

The course is fully online, therefore the presence and absence rules deviate from the  regular situation.

  • Participation in the practical sessions is highly recommended.
  • Presence / absence is registered by the teachers in the online Zoom sessions.
  • You are allowed to miss 1 of the practical sessions, that is: one (1) absence (see OER).
  • If you miss  more than one online laptop seminars, you can be excluded from the whole course.

Assessment

Item and weight Details

Final grade

For each quiz there is a deadline set. After the deadline, submission will be closed. There is a resit possibility for individual quizzes in week 50. Submission on Canvas will be opened for one week, for those who did not meet the first deadline. The maximum grade for each newly submitted quiz is 7.0. In case this resit in week 50 is not met, there will be a resit in February 1, 2021. Two weeks before that deadline submission will be reopened for those who did not meet the resit in week 50. The maximum grade for an individual module is then a 6.0.

Deliverables for the project assignment are 1. a short technical report and 2. a digital map package which will be evaluated. Not meeting the deadline of December 15 means a resit on February 1, 2021. Re-submission will be possible between January 18 and February 1. Maximum grades for the short technical report and the digital map package will be 7.0.

For deadlines, weights and requirements, see course structure, further in the course manual.

Assessment diagram

Leerdoel: Toetsonderdeel 1:
#1.The student can explain the basic  concepts of remote sensing:  wavelengths, spatial/temporal/spectral resolution, absorption & reflection, band ratios, NDVI, supervised classification Quiz  0,1,6,7,9
#2.The student can select, download and pre-process satellite images for use in spatial models Quiz 1,2,5
#3.The student can apply various remote sensing tools and techniques and spatial analysis techniques using the GIS software ArcGIS Pro for the identification, mapping and quantification of Land Use and Land Cover, especially in relation to agricultural areas Quiz  1,3,4,7
#4.The student can quantify geodiversity by computing an index based on derivatives from digital elevation models and thematic datasets  (geology, soils ) for the island of Hawaii Quiz 8
#5.The student can  evaluate Land use and land cover variation, based on satellite processing in important food production areas Quiz 9
#6.The student can write a short technical remote sensing report and manage digital remote sensing data Quiz 0-9, Project

Students that were enrolled in the course in previous years

Not applicable

Inspection of assessed work

Up to 20 days after the announcement of the result students have the right of inspection of their individual work (all forms
of assessment) on Canvas. Feedback is given by means of Canvas (automated tests and standard grading of the these tests). Feedback for each module is placed on Canvas as soon as all students of all groups have done and saved their tests for that module. In the week after the last Module is due, feedback to all of the modules will be disclosed on Canvas so the students can inspect their whole work. During an individual appointment you can discuss the the assessment. For this course we will NOT schedule a Collective Assessment Evaluation. Please note: you loose the right of feedback when you don’t make an appointment within 20 days after the announcement of the results without good reasons.

The quizzes 0-9 are individual assignments. These will mostly be reviewed automatically, partly by staff.

The project is an activity for two students. Details will be posted on Canvas. Inspection of the work can be requested in contact with the coordinator or the group assistant.

Assignments

Individual assignments: 10 quizzes, see for title under Course structure. Detailed descriptions are provided on the Canvas site for each assignment. Feedback is mostly digital within the quizzes.

Team assignment: 1 technical report and a digital geodatabase. Feedback during the laptop practicals.

Fraud and plagiarism

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

Course structure

Week

Activity

Deadline activity

Requirements Weight
44

Lecture: course structure and introduction to Remote Sensing - Seijmonsbergen

Laptop: Introduction to ArcGIS Pro

 

November 1, 23.59

Must be ≥ 5.0, retake allowed last week of the course 5%
45

Laptop: Getting started to Remote Sensing & GIS

November 6, 23.59 Must be ≥ 5.0, retake allowed 5%
45 Laptop: Earthquake analysis November 8, 23.59 Must be ≥ 5.0, retake allowed 5%
46 Laptop: Ecoduct location in a cultural landscape  November, 13, 23.59 Must be ≥ 5.0, retake allowed 5%
46 Laptop: Locating coffee been using the suitability modeler November 15, 23.59 Must be ≥ 5.0, retake allowed 5%
47

Laptop: Living atlas and web services data in earth observation

Lecture: Introduction to Project - Seijmonsbergen

November 20, 23.59 Must be ≥ 5.0, retake allowed 10%
47 Laptop: Flooding in agricultural systems: Bangladesh November 22, 23.59 Must be ≥ 5.0, retake allowed 10%
48 Laptop: Using indices in earth observation November 27, 23.59 Must be ≥ 5.0, retake allowed 10%
48 Laptop: Quantification of geodiversity of Hawaii November 29, 23.59 Must be ≥ 5.0, retake allowed 10%
48 Laptop: Project Land Use and Land Cover Classification China December 4, 23.59 Must be ≥ 5.0, retake allowed 10%
49 and 50 - Laptop: Project 

Project on land use and land cover classification

Week 50: resit of modules

December 15, 23.59 Project must be ≥ 5.5, retake allowed, see resit date

Report: 15%

datasets: 10%

 

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Honours information

not applicable

Additional information

Not applicable

Last year's course evaluation

In order to provide students some insight how we use the feedback of student evaluations to enhance the quality of education, a summary of the evaluation of last year in available on Canvas. The coordinators response of last year:

I am quite optimistic about this first evaluation. This new course required lots of logistics and content-wise decisions that mostly turned out well. However, the following issues need attention/improvement:
- using well-equipped hardware from student side: windows-based computers on which ArcGIS Pro runs smoothly; there were many issues with Apple-based computers, which is not recommended
- pre-installation of the software before the course starts (students were informed on time, but not all did)
- decrease unexpected 'crashes' / error notifications, often unknown errors appeared
- repair many small and some larger issues in the modules: we have kept a record that we will use to improve in the next course.
- I will include an extra lecture halfway to look back on the content sofar and look ahead / instruct more in-dept about the project.
- definitely the size of the project (in Mbs/GBs) should be reduced to handle files more efficient.

Contact information

Coordinator

  • dr. Harry Seijmonsbergen

Staff

  • Harry Seijmonsbergen
  • Thijs de Boer 
  • Jim Groot
  • Emma Polman
  • Sien Snijder