SFR 406 Remote Sensing, Image Interpretation, and Forest Mapping Spring Semester 2015 Course Description: Vertical and horizontal measurements from aerial photos, orthophotos, and topographic maps. Fundamentals of image interpretation, forest stand mapping, and forest disturbance monitoring from aerial and satellite-derived imagery. Laboratory training includes both manual and digital image interpretation, measurements and mapping methods. Prerequisites: MAT 122 or SFR 208, Cr.3. Course Website: Blackboard Website: Lecture Period: Lab Periods: http://umaine.edu/mial/courses/sfr-406/ https://www.courses.maine.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp 11:00 AM 12:15 Pm Tuesday & Thursday (254 Nutting Hall) Monday: 12:10-2:00 PM; 2:10 4:00 PM (254 Nutting Hall) Instructor: Steve Sader Email: sasader@maine.edu Office Hrs: Open/walk in Office: 260A Nutting Hall Teaching Assistant: Dave Sandilands Email: david.sandilands@maine.edu Office: Nutting Hall Rm. 260 Required Text: Paine, D.P. and J.D. Kiser. 2012. Aerial Photography and Image Interpretation for Resource Management, 3 nd Ed. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., NJ. 629 pp. Required Supplies: Calculator, Staedtler (white mars plastic) soft eraser, masking tape, No. 2 pencil, 2 oil-based permanent Staedtler pen S point or pilot Sc-UF (black or blue), 3 mil clear acetate (overlay material) 3 sheets cut to 9x9 (or 8x9) inch, engineer scale (3-sided and calibrated in 1/10 to 1/60, NOT 1/4, 1/8 inches etc.). Available in bookstore, art, or office supply stores. Course Goals & Objectives: The principal focus is on the fundamentals of forest photogrammetry, image interpretation, forest stand mapping and forest disturbance monitoring from aerial and satellite derived imagery. Laboratory training includes both manual and digital image interpretation and mapping methods. The primary goal is to provide students with working knowledge of how to handle, acquire, interpret, and derive measurements and forest type information from aerial photos and prepare stand maps from processing of digital images. A major objective is to present practical information about aerial and satellite remote sensing systems and applications in mapping and monitoring of forests. Learning Objectives: Progressing toward the completion of the course, students will be expected to: 1. Understand the theory, methods and techniques of photographic and non-photographic remote sensing, especially as applied to tree or stand measurement and mapping. 2. Understand basic characteristics of digital image data and image processing, and how the data are interpreted and integrated for spatial analysis of forest landscapes. 3. Become proficient in taking measurements on aerial photos and maps using scale relationships.
4. Understand the tradeoffs of different types of remote sensing systems, their resolution, costs and suitability for various levels of forest monitoring and management applications. 5. Become experienced with ERDAS IMAGINE raster software for developing forest cover maps and assessing their accuracy. 6. Become experienced with ArcMap for preparing professional quality map products and data output. 7. Understand the advantages and limitations of remote sensing based analysis approaches Attendance: All lectures should be attended because information presented will supplement the text and the PowerPoint slides available for download that will be essential for exams. Pre-lecture quizzes will be given prior to almost every lecture on the class Blackboard web page. You get two attempts at each quiz to improve your score, if not perfect after the first attempt. They need to be completed prior to class that day at which time it will lock out and not allow you to take it. If you don t come to lecture you will only get ½ of that class s pre-lecture quiz points (unless you have a good excuse). No make-up quizzes will be allowed except in the cases of pre-excused absences or medical documentation. Attendance is required for all laboratory exercises. Only students with excused absences will be allowed to make up a lab. Twenty five (25) points are deducted for each unexcused lab absence. Two unexcused lab absence is grounds for an L grade (failure) for non-attendance. Please do not confuse pre-lecture quizzes (blackboard web site prior to lecture) and lab quizzes (in lab) these are separate! Academic Honesty: Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism and all forms of misrepresentation in academic work, and is unacceptable at The University of Maine. As stated in the University of Maine s online undergraduate Student Handbook, plagiarism (the submission of another s work without appropriate attribution) and cheating are violations of The University of Maine Student Conduct Code. An instructor who has probable cause or reason to believe a student has cheated may act upon such evidence, and should report the case to the SFR Director for appropriate action. Class Civility and Use of Computers: Students should refrain from excessive or loud talking, and any distracting behavior once the formal lecture and lab begins. Cell phones must be turned off. Students with laptops on, or access to desktop computers should only be viewing course related material and should refrain from using e-mail, Facebook, or internet sites not related to the immediate course content or activities. Assessment & Evaluation: The course grade will be determined from 2 written exams, lecture assignments (assignments, pop quizzes, pre-lecture questions), lab quizzes, weekly lab exercises and a term lab project that includes preparation and evaluation of forest maps derived from digital analysis of satellite imagery and visual interpretation of aerial photography. Late assignments will be marked down in grade. Exams 1+2 = 20% each (total 40%) Letter Grade (-/+) Lecture Assignments and Quizzes = 20% A = 90-100% B = 80-89.9% Lab Project = 20% C = 70-79.9% D = 60-69.9% Lab Quizzes (4) = 20% E = <60% Total course = 100% * If you wish to request an accommodation for a disability, please notify the instructor or Ann Smith (1-2319) as early as possible this semester
Date LAB 1-2 Jan12 13-Jan 15-Jan No Lab 2015 Tentative Lecture and Lab Topics LAB: Stereoscopy/photo orientation and flight line location (Bring your lab supplies, pens, and overlays) Introduction & forest remote sensing historical perspective Orientation of aerial photos, cameras, photo points Martin Luther King Day Reading Assignment Page# xi-xii, 1-2, Web assignment 10-14, 27-35,44-53,59-65 LAB 3 Jan19 20-Jan Scale relationships, focal length & flying height, distance measures 68-83 22-Jan Area measurements, object displacement on vertical aerial photos, types of maps LAB: Map reading and scale 86-101,145-147,162-163,169-171 27-Jan Height measurements, formulas and examples 105-130, 583-586 29-Jan Electromagnetic spectrum, photographic wavelengths, energy interactions in atmosphere and earth surfaces 3-10, 523-531 LAB 4 Feb 2 LAB: Photo/map measurements 3-Feb Film types, resolution, film/filter combinations 245-248, 256-276 5-Feb Acquisition of aerial photos, orthophotos 131-144, 592-598 LAB 5 Feb 9 LAB: Height measurements Quiz #1 10-Feb Principles of photo interpretation (PI), Land cover classification, 280-298, 358-366; PI minimum mapping unit 12-Feb 212-215, 405-417, 475- Forestry applications, forest PI keys, stand type mapping, aerial 492, forest mapping photo mensuration LAB 6 Feb 16 LAB: Orthophoto, Google Earth, Introduction to Erdas-Imagine 17-Feb Interpretation of B&W, normal color and color infrared air photos. Review for Exam 1 353-366, 386-403 19-Feb Exam 1 125 pts See on web site LAB 7 Feb 23 24-Feb 26-Feb LAB: Erdas-Imagine Landsat 8 imagery exploration Overview of Orono/Old Town Forest and Land Cover Mapping Project Guest Carter Stone 3/2-3/13 SPRING BREAK Have a Nice Break!
LAB 8 Mar 16 17-Mar LAB: Landsat 8 TM unsupervised forest and land cover mapping Intro. to nonphotographic systems, digital images, pixels, Landsat satellites, Interpretation of Landsat 8 TM color composite 14-21, 534, 566-577, Landsat color composite 19-Mar LAB 9 Mar 23 24-Mar 26-Mar 28-Mar LAB 10 Mar 30 31-Mar 2-Apr LAB 11 Apr 6 LAB 12 Apr 13 Digital land cover classification methods, Unsupervised classification LAB: Landsat 8 TM Supervised forest and land cover mapping; orthophoto interpretation, Quiz #2 (Take home Glovis/Landsat) Supervised land cover classification Medium ( 5-80 m) and coarse spatial resolution (250-1100m) sensor comparisons advantages and disadvantages ** FIELD TRIP** (Ground Checks for Forest Mapping) LAB: NAIP orthophoto forest type interpretation and mapping Intro to high resolution multispectral imagery (1-5 m ) ground pixel resolution, and hyperspectral imagery Evaluation of unsupervised and supervised classification results, Accuracy assessment LAB: Forest & land cover classification accuracy assessment (Quiz 3) Natural Resources - Canada Remote sensing tutorial web pages NR Canada tutorial web pages NR Canada tutorial web pages, 566-577 465-472, Notes 7-Apr Maine s Future Landscape Mapping Tool Spencer Meyer (Guest) Web site application 9-Apr Thermal imagery (passive) and forest research application 560-567, Notes 14-Apr LAB: Continue with the completion of mapping products from Labs 8-11 Radar (active), data collection and image interpretation 536-549, Notes & handout 16-Apr Lidar systems (active), data collection and image interpretation 550-556, Hayashi Paper LAB 13 Apr 20 21-Apr 23-Apr LAB 14 Apr 27 LAB: Stereo Height Demo (1/2 hr); Complete map products from Labs 8-11; Quiz 3 practice examples available in lab Remote Sensing of forest change (last lecture); Exam 2 sample questions Exam 2 125 pts LAB: QUIZ 4 (Photogrammetry/PI mini lab practicum- 25 pts); course evaluation; Lab Products Due tomorrow (4/28/15) Note: Last Pre-lecture quiz; See exam 2 on web site See Map Products Deliverables- Lab Web 28-Apr Help session for completion of lab project, if needed Lab Products Due 4pm 30-Apr No lecture course completed
**Saturday field trip 3/28/15 will be 9 am - 1 pm (check with instructor), Meet in Nutting Hall parking lot by 8:50 am. Vehicles leave at 9 am sharp Additional Notes: * Course syllabus, web assignments, PowerPoint lectures, lab exercises and will be available to download on the MIAL website. * Students should print out the lab exercises and bring the hard copy to lab or view it on computer * In the event of an extended disruption of normal classroom activities, the format for this course may be modified to enable its completion within its programmed time frame. In that event, you will be provided an addendum to the syllabus that will supersede this version of the syllabus.