1. GEOG2750 Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment 20 Credit Level 2 Module
Louise Mackay & Steve Carver
Module Information
See also
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

2. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Module Outline
Runs Semester 1 & 2.
Semester 1: Earth Observation of the Physical Environment – Louise Mackay
Semester 2: GIS of the Physical Environment – Steve Carver
Two complimentary technologies for monitoring & understanding the Earths physical environment
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

3. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
GIS Aims
On completion of semester 2 students should have:
Knowledge of the use of GIS across a range of applications in physical geography including terrain analysis, hydrology, landscape evaluation and environmental assessment;
Familiarity with the use and application of the ArcGIS package; and
Knowledge of environmental data sources, skills in the interpretation of spatial environmental data and an awareness of specific problems and issues relating to data quality, spatial data models and methods of interpolation.
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

4. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
GIS Objectives
Identify principles and functional issues pertaining to physical geography applications of GIS;
Examine and review specific application areas where GIS is a useful tool;
Investigate techniques provided by GIS which have particular relevance to physical geography applications and problem solving; and
Identify and address problem areas such as data sources, modelling, error and uncertainty.
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

5. Overall Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module students should be able to:
Demonstrate a clear knowledge and understanding of the key concepts concerning the application of Earth observation and GIS to problems in physical geography;
Critique and evaluate the applicability of Earth observation and GIS in relation to physical geography applications; and
Demonstrate a high level of skill in the application of Earth observation & GIS software to the solving of environmental problems.
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

6. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Dates & Times
GIS – Semester 2:
10 x 1hr lectures, Monday 10-11am, Geography Lecture Theatre
10 x 2hr practicals, Tuesday 3-5pm or Friday 9am-1pm, Textiles G34 Computer Lab
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

7. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Module Assessment
Semester 2 - GIS
5 practical worksheets contributing 5% each to the final module mark
1 x 1hr exam (short answer) at the end of the semester (2 questions from 5) contributing 25% of module mark
Overall assessment based on:
10 Practicals = 50% of final module mark (5 x Earth Observation = 25% done already last semester)
2 exams = 50% of final module mark (Earth Observation = 25% done already last semester)
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

8. GIS Syllabus – Semester 2 (Weeks)
14. Introduction to GIS for environmental applications
15. Spatial & Temporal variability and environmental data
16. Error & Uncertainty
17. Interpolation of environmental data
18. Principles of grid-based modelling
19. Terrain modelling: the basics
20. Reading week
21. Terrain modelling: applications
22. Hydrological modelling
23. Environmental assessment
24. Making Decisions
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

9. Lecture 11 Introduction to GIS for environmental applications
Outline
what makes physical geography applications of GIS different?
environmental science and management
the role of GIS?
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

10. What makes physical geography applications of GIS different?
The natural environment is…
extremely complex
highly variable (space and time)
complicated further by human action
Understanding of natural systems
very basic
multiple approaches to natural science
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

11. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
From this…
…to this
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

12. Spatio-temporal variation
Range of variability over a range of spatial and temporal scales
variation depends on the scale of observation
e.g. vegetation (species, community, ecosystem)
sliding scale to represent both spatial and temporal variability
i.e. space from infinitesimal (zero) to infinite
i.e. time from the instantaneous to ‘for ever’
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

13. Spatio-temporal scales of operation
Variety of spatial and temporal scales:
micro scale - meso scale - macro scale
e.g. Hydrology
Micro : runoff plots, infiltrometer, hillslope
Meso: sub-catchment, headwaters, reach
Macro: whole catchment, region, watershed
now - sec - min - day - year - century - etc.
e.g. Climatology
Seconds: Wind speeds
Minutes: Incoming solar radiation
Day: Anabatic/katabatic winds
Year: Annual temperature variation
Millennium: Glacial/interglacial periodicity
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

14. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Complexity
Complex nature of environmental systems makes possibility of realistic modelling seem remote
Frustrated by lack of understanding
e.g. influence of human activity
Variations in complexity:
most GIS applications model only 1 or 2 processes with assumptions/simplification
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

15. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Question…
How can sampling strategies be matched to spatio-temporal scales?
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

16. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Sampling theory
Sampling spatial processes:
the sampling frequency needs to be small enough to record local variations without undue generalisation of spatial pattern but coarse enough so as to avoid data redundancy
Sampling temporal processes:
in order to record variations in temporal processes sampling frequency needs to be about half the wavelength of the process to avoid measurement bias and too much detail
Sampling dependent on process(es) operating
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

17. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Sampling theory
DEM
Cell size 1
Cell size 2
1 wavelength
Rate
amplitude
Time
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

18. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Question…
How do we choose appropriate sampling frequencies?
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

19. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Advantages of GIS
GIS is good at…
handling spatial data
visualisation of spatial data
integrating spatial data
framework for:
analysis and modelling
decision support
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

20. (dis)Advantages of GIS
GIS is not so good at…
handling temporal data
visualisation of temporal data
integrating spatial and temporal data
framework for:
analysis and modelling of time dependent data
volumetric analysis
uncertainty
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

21. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
GIS alone is not enough
Integrated systems:
limited ‘off-the-shelf’ spatial analysis and modelling
framework for developing better integrated systems
GIS - image processing systems
GIS - modelling systems
GIS - statistical software
facilitated through
specialist programming languages (e.g. AML and Avenue)
universal programming languages (e.g. Java and Visual Basic)
access to source code (e.g. GRASS)
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

22. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Integrated systems
Combined (symbiotic) systems
Example:
NERC/ESRC Land Use Programme (NELUP): decision support for land use change in UK
GRASS GIS
models: hydrological (SHE), agricultural economics and ecological
Graphic User Interface (GUI)
Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS)
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

23. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
NELUP
Image: NELUP graphic
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

24. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Conclusions
The physical world is complex and our understanding simple
environmental data is highly variable
implications for GIS applications
GIS has important role to play in environmental science and management
handling and analysing spatial data
problems with temporal data
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

25. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Practical
Spatial variability in environmental data
Task: Investigate the spatial variability in terrain datasets and determine the effects of a) sampling strategy, and b) resolution on the data.
 Data: The following datasets are provided for the Leeds area
10m resolution DEM (1:10,000 OS Profile data)
50m resolution DEM (1:50,000 OS Panorama data)
10m interval contour data (1:10,000 OS Profile data)
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

26. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Practical
Steps:
Display both elevation datasets in ArcMap and look for visible differences - do these result from differences in sampling strategy or resolution or both? Use the IDENTIFY tool to interrogate the images.
Calculate the slope (gradient) from both the 10m and 50m data – is there any ‘striping’ in the slope data and what might this be due to? (use the slope tool in ArcMap or ArcGRID to calculate slope)
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

27. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Learning outcomes
Familiarity with scale issues especially resolution and sampling in relation to spatial variation in environmental data
Experience/practice in use of analysis and display functions in ArcMap
Familiarity with OS terrain model products
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

28. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Useful web links
NELUP web site
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment

29. GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment
Next week…
Spatial and temporal variability and environmental data
general characteristics of environmental data
environmental data sources
toward integrated databases
Practical: Using Digimap to access OS data products
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GEOG2750 – Earth Observation & GIS of the Physical Environment