Course Syllabus: Spring 2010
Time: 11:20 am - 12:10 pm
Days: M W F
Building: WMS Room: 2414 (CALS GIS Laboratory)
Instructor: Dr. Jeffrey
G. White, Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Soil Science.
WMS 3207. Tel.: 5 2389; E-mail: jeff_white@ncsu.edu.
Office hours by appointment.
1. Course goals and objectives:
The overall goal is for students to develop a comprehensive
understanding of remote sensing principles and methods and their
applications in soil science and agriculture. Secondary objectives are:
development of strategies for incorporating remote sensing in students’
research and related areas; and introduction to some practical,
hands-on skills for processing, analysis, display, and discussion of
remote sensing data with applications in soil science and agriculture.
Other objectives include development of skills and experience in
reviewing relevant literature, preparation and panel evaluation of
proposals for research or applied projects integrating remote sensing;
and completion of individual and class remote sensing research
exercises and projects.
2. Specific Learning Objectives:
At the end of this course, a student will be able to:
- Explain what remote sensing is (and is not), outline its
history and evolution, and display appropriate vocabulary in explaining
the physical principles upon which it is based, i.e., electromagnetic
radiation and its interaction with matter.
- Describe and explain the broad range of remote sensing
techniques, instruments, data acquisition formats, systems, and
platforms that have applications in soil science and agriculture,
including black and white, color, and color-infrared film and digital
photography/imaging; multispectral and hyperspectral sensors;
electromagnetic induction measurement (EMI) of soil electrical
conductivity (EC); ground penetrating radar (GPR); synthetic aperture
radar (SAR); thermal infrared imaging/thermography; lidar; passive
microwave radiometry; passive gamma-ray spectrometry; and ground,
aerial, and satellite/space platforms.
- Outline and explain the basic principles of acquisition,
storage, transmission, processing, and analysis of remotely sensed
data, to include the derivation of vegetation and soil indices,
unsupervised and supervised image classification and spectral signature
development, shape and pattern recognition.
- Outline and explain how remote sensing has been applied in
the past, and may be applied in the future, to soil science and
agriculture: past, current, and future applications of remote sensing
in soil science and agriculture.
- Display a working knowledge of the historic and current
literature of remote sensing, including the principle journals
publishing in the field.
- Formulate strategies for incorporating remote sensing into
the student’s research or area of interest (and in their careers), and
write a research or applied project proposal incorporating remote
sensing.
3. Textbook:
There is no single textbook for this course. Students will be
referred to texts and journal articles on print and electronic reserve
at Hill Library, posted on the class website, to other websites, and to
software tutorials and documentation.
4. Course organization and scope:
- Course Overview
- What is remote sensing? History, evolution, and basic
principles and vocabulary.
- Electromagnetic radiation and its interaction with matter:
the foundations of remote sensing.
- Common principles of remote sensing.
- Remote sensing techniques with applications in soil science
and agriculture:
- Black & white, color, and color-infrared film and
digital photography/imaging;
- Multispectral and hyperspectral sensors;
- Electromagnetic induction measurement (EMI) of soil
electrical conductivity (EC);
- Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR);
- Thermal infrared imaging/thermography;
- Lidar (light detection and ranging)
- SAR: Synthetic Aperture Radar;
- Passive microwave radiometry;
- Passive gamma ray spectrometry; etc.
- Ground, aerial, and satellite/space platforms.
- Remote sensing applications in soil science and
agriculture:
- Soil characterization (e.g., mineralogy, moisture,
organic matter) and mapping
- Land use/Land cover (LULC)
- Crop acreage reporting
- Crop biomass/yield, status/stress: nutrient deficiency,
toxicity, moisture, weeds, insects, and diseases
- Precision Agriculture: site specific nutrient, pH,
weed, insect, and disease management.
- Topographic mapping
- Wetland restoration
- Water quality;
- Onsite waste disposal
- Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS)
- Post-harvest processing applications: sorting, grading,
quality evalution, numeration.
5. Projected schedule of reading assignments:
Specific
reading assignments will be made periodically during the
semester from the following materials, among others, which will be
on print and electronic reserve at Hill Library:
1. Aerial photography and remote sensing for soil
survey. White, L. P. (Leslie Paul)
2. Aerial-photo interpretation in classifying and mapping soils. United
States Soil Conservation Service.
3. Derivation of Leaf-Area Index from Quality of Light on the Forest
Floor. Jordan, Carl. Source: Ecology 50 (4): 663-666 (1969). Available
Online: Full text online - pdf (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
4. Introduction to remote sensing. Campbell, James B.
5. Quantitative Remote Sensing of Soil Properties. Part 1 of 4.
Ben-Dor, E. Source: Advances in Agronomy 75:173-243 (2002). Available
Online: Full text online - pdf (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
6. Quantitative Remote Sensing of Soil Properties. Part 2 of 4.
Ben-Dor, E. Source:
Advances in Agronomy 75:173-243 (2002). Available Online: Full
text online - pdf (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
7. Quantitative Remote Sensing of Soil Properties. Part 3 of 4.
Ben-Dor, E. Source: Advances in Agronomy 75:173-243 (2002). Available
Online: Full text online - pdf (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
8. Quantitative Remote Sensing of Soil Properties. Part 4 of 4.
Ben-Dor, E. Source: Advances in Agronomy 75:173-243 (2002). Available
Online: Full text online - pdf (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
9. Remote sensing in soil science. Mulders, Michel Adrianus.
10. The Tasselled Cap--A Graphic Description of the Spectral-Temporal
Development of Agricultural Crops As Seen By Landsat. Kauth, R.J. and
G.S. Thomas. Source: Proceedings on the Symposium on Machine Processing
of Remotely Sensed Data, pp. 4B-41 - 4B-51. Available Online: Full text
online - pdf (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
11. Modern Aerial Gamma-Ray Spectrometry and Regional Potassium Map of
the Conterminous United States. Duval, Joseph S. Source: Journal of
Geochemical Exploration 39: 249-253 (1990). Available Online:
Full text online - pdf (Requires Adobe Acrobat
Reader).
6. Coursework: Exams, presentations, papers, projects:
Two hour exams and one final that will cover material
presented in the course. Each student will research a mutually agreed
upon remote sensing technique(s) and its applications in soil science
and agriculture. This will culminate in the development of a brief
course module (reading assignments, lecture, exercises, seminar
discussion of relevant articles, etc.) for the class.
Development of a brief research or applied proposal for incorporating
remote sensing in the student's graduate research, in other research of
interest, or an appropriate application, to include an objective that
will potentially become the basis of an individual course research
project. Each student will give a brief presentation on their proposal,
with the class acting as a proposal review panel. If time permits, this
may lead to a brief individual remote sensing research project to serve
primarily as a hands-on exercise to introduce students to remote
sensing data acquisition, processing, analysis.
Class research exercises/project: To develop familiarity with remote
sensing data acquisition, processing, and analysis software, students
will complete several exploratory exercises in class and for homework
using Geographic Information System (GIS) and image processing
software: ArcGIS and Leica’s Image Analysis for ArcGIS (potential
for exposure to Leica/ERDAS Imagine).
At the end of the course, students are requested to complete
the standardized NCSU course evaluation as well as a comprehensive
course-specific evaluation questionnaire that I will provide. During
and after the course, I welcome any suggestions that you may have for
improving course content and facilitating learning.
7. Grades, relative value of the various evaluation
components of the course, i.e., the portion of the grade that derives
from quizzes, tests, final exam, projects, attendance, etc.:
Attendance and class participation: 10%
Hour exams: 30%
Research/Class Module: 15%
Research Proposal 15%
Homework/Class Exercises/Project: 15%
Final Exam: 15%
Letter grades will be assigned on a percentage basis: 96.7-100 = A+;
93.3-96.6 = A; 89.9-93.2 = A-; 86.5-89.8 = B+; 83.1-86.4 = B; 79.7-83 =
B-; 76.3-79.6 = C+; 72.9-76.2 = C; 69.5-72.8 = C-; 66.1-69.4 = D+;
62.7-66 = D; 59.3-62.6 = D- and < 59.3 = F.
8. Policies on incomplete grades and late assignments:
Deadlines are a reality. To help prepare you for your
transition from graduate school into the real world, unexcused late
assignments will NOT be accepted. Partial credit for partial work will
be given, but only for that work submitted by the deadline.
9. Policies on absences (excused and unexcused) and
scheduling makeup work:
Class attendance is required. Students should discuss
prospective (planned) absences with the instructor beforehand whenever
possible, and as soon as possible after unplanned absences in order to
schedule makeup work.
10. Course prerequisites or restrictive statements:
SSC 200 or equivalent (basic soils); PY212 College Physics
II: Electricity, and magnetism, light, modern physics, or equivalent.
Basic familiarity with production agriculture. Students with concerns
about course prerequisites should discuss them with the instructor.
11. Academic Integrity Statement:
NCSU
policy on academic integrity resides in the Code
of Student Conduct (found in NCSU Policies Rules, and
Regulations).
By participation in this course, students acknowledge tacitly
the utilization and implication of the Honor Pledge: “I have neither
given nor received unauthorized aid on this test or assignment.”
It is the instructor's understanding and expectation that the
student's signature on or submission of any test or assignment means
that the student neither gave nor received unauthorized aid. For
additional information, please visit the website of the Office of Student
Conduct
From the NCSU Policies, Rules, and Regulations, “Code of Student
Conduct”:
“7. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
7.1 The free exchange of ideas depends on the
participants' trust that they will be given credit for their work.
Everyone in an academic community must be responsible for acknowledging
their use of others’ words, research results, and ideas, using the
methods accepted by the appropriate academic disciplines. Since
intellectual workers' words and ideas constitute a kind of property,
plagiarism is like theft.
7.2 Furthermore, as a reader you may want to follow
other writers' paths of research in order to make your own judgements
about their evidence and arguments. You will depend on those writers'
accuracy and honesty in reporting their sources. In turn, your readers
will depend on yours.
7.3 The free exchange of ideas also depends on the
participants' trust that others' work is their own and that it was done
and is being reported honestly. Intellectual progress in all the
disciplines demands the truthfulness of all participants.
7.4 Plagiarism and cheating are attacks on the very
foundation of academic life, and cannot be tolerated within
universities.”
Section eight (8) of the Code defines academic dishonesty and
provides information on potential sanctions for violators of academic
integrity.
12. NCSU Policy on Students with Disabilities:
Reasonable
accommodations will be
made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order to take
advantage of
available accommodations, students must register with Disability
Services for Students on-line or at 1900 Student Health Center,
Campus Box
7509, 515-7653. For more information on NC State's policy on working
with
students with disabilities, please see the Academic
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Regulation (REG02.20.1)
13. Statement on Laboratory Safety and Risk Assumption
All students are expected to exercise proper safety
precautions in the classroom/laboratory. Safety guidelines will be
reviewed during the first class, and as required during the semester.
In this laboratory, the primary safety concerns are ergonomics and
electricity. Our classroom, the CALS GIS Laboratory, contains numerous
computer workstations. While this classroom is not expected to present
any hazard beyond which might be expected in a normal classroom, this
equipment is valuable, fragile, and must be treated accordingly. There
is a great deal of electrical energy coursing through this classroom,
so students should exercise the same and ordinary prudence afforded any
electrical device. There is the potential for two optional field trips
within the Raleigh/RTP area, in which students participate at their own
risk.
14. Statement on "pass through" charges:
There may be two optional field trips to sites within the
Raleigh/RTP area. There may be nominal charges to offset some direct
expenses of these field trips. Students will not be penalized if unable
to participate.
15. Student Conduct:
The NCSU Code of Student Conduct describes the kind of student
behavior that disrupts and inhibits the normal functioning of the
University and the actions that the University will take to protect the
community from such disruption. It is your duty as a member of the
University community to read, understand, and adhere to the Code of
Student Conduct: http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/student_services/student_discipline/POL11.35.1.php
North Carolina State University is committed to providing all students
with an educational experience and background that will serve as a
platform for success in future professional and personal endeavors. A
learning environment that fosters professionalism is central to
accomplishing these objectives. For this reason, activities such as
drinking, eating, sleeping, tobacco chewing, smoking, or reading of non
class materials or any other activities that are disruptive to the
classroom or laboratory learning environment will not be tolerated. You
can be asked to leave the class for the remainder of the class period
if these rules are violated. In addition, it is important to recognize
that the equipment and classroom facilities used in our teaching
endeavors are the property of the tax payers of North Carolina and as
such, will be treated with respect.
16. Educational Philosophy:
This course will be conducted utilizing principles of
collaborative, participatory learning. What does that mean? Learning by
teaching yourself, learning by doing, learning from others, learning by
teaching others, guided discovery, with me, your fellow students, and
guest lecturers as guides. One of my goals is to minimize the amount of
time that I speak in the classroom, and maximum the time that you, the
students, speak. This will be accomplished by you asking questions and
delivering course modules, prepared presentations of literature
research, research proposals, and participating in research proposal
evaluation. You will be responsible for discussing (and in some cases
developing PowerPoint presentations on): yourself, your background, and
interests; your thesis/dissertation research; your understanding of
what remote sensing is and what it might mean to your research and your
career; a selected remote sensing technology and some of its
applications; your remote sensing research proposal; evaluation of
several research proposals; and, potentially, development/execution of
an individual remote sensing research project.
We will attempt to make this as “paperless” a course as possible. With
some exceptions, students should submit all assignments in digital
form, either via the website or email, as directed. Most lectures and
exercises will be posted to the website as the course progresses.
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