Academic Year 2022/2023
- Docente: Duccio Rocchini
- Credits: 6
- SSD: BIO/03
- Language: Italian
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Bologna
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Corso:
Second cycle degree programme (LM) in
Sciences and Management of Nature
(cod. 9257)
Also valid for Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Geology and Territory (cod. 9073)
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from Mar 02, 2023 to May 30, 2023
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, each student will gather knowledge on the main principles shaping remote sensing from both a theoretical and practical point of view, with specific applications to Geology and Ecology. In particular, each student will be able to: • understand the main components related to satellite imagery (spatial radiometric, spectral and temporal resolutions), •
gather suitable data for the main theme of interest and the scale of the study, • locate the main sources of remote sensing data, • interpret satellite images with respect to their spectral resolution, •
calculate geological and ecological indices for characterising landscapes,
• use free and open source software for managing and analysing remote sensing data, by implementing open source code.
Course contents
- The roots of remote sensing: introduction to the basic concepts related to remote sensing
- Reference systems: introduction to the main coordinate systems
- A matter of scale: main issues related to the analysis of remotely sensed data at different spatial scales, hierarchy theory, upscaling e downscalng
- Spatial data and Free and Open Source Software: how to obtain free spatial data and software on the web
- Visualising multi- e hyper-spectral data
- Satellite data pre-processing: radiometric correction; how to clean satellite images from atmospheric effects
- Spectral indices extracted from satellite imagery
- Generating land cover maps from remotely sensed data
- Land use change in space and time
- Continuous information of land cover
- Time Series Analysis:
multitemporal analysis, analysing changes based on map overlay
- Spatial pattern analysis by landscape metrics
- Species distribution modelling by using remotely sensed data
During the course we will make use of free and open source software such as R and GRASS GIS, which implement modules specifically dedicated to remote sensing. At the end of the program students will be able to analyse remote sensing data, by directly coding their own analysis. The Professor will also make two seminars on "scientific writing for lazy people" on the use of LaTeX for saving time and energy and let the computer do the job!
Crucial note (!): no preliminary knowledge on
geo- o eco-informatics is needed. We will start from scratch!
Readings/Bibliography
# Books
- Jensen, J.R. (2015). Introductory Digital Image Processing: A Remote Sensing Perspective. Pearson College.
- Wegmann, M., Leutner, B., Dech, S. (2016). Remote Sensing and GIS for Ecologists: Using Open Source Software. Pelagic Pub Ltd.
# Interesting journals:
- GEO-: Computers & Geosciences: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/computers-and-geosciences
- ECO-: Ecological Informatics: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-informatics
Teaching methods
The Course has a profoundly practical components. Few words, a lot of code, a lot of amusement... R rules!
Assessment methods
Students will prepare a personal project in R, by presenting it during the exam, together with the used code.
Teaching tools
- Free satellite images
- Free software
- Online presentations
- Online PDFs on the code produced
Office hours
See the website of Duccio Rocchini