Geospatial Data Analysis

Tools such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Google Earth are utilized to interpret geologic and environmental data. This course introduces earth and environmental science students to applications of geographic information systems, emphasizing hands-on field experience in collecting spatial location data and in mapping geologic and environmental data using GIS software. Topics include: geodesy; spherical and plane coordinate systems; spatial data concepts, including error, accuracy, and precision; location measurement technologies including GPS: vector and raster GIS data structures and file types, basic GIS operations, including georeferencing of raster files and editing of vector files; assembly of field data over a base map; analysis of spatial relationships using GIS tools; symbology and methods of map presentation.

029067