GIS/MEA 582 Course Syllabus
Course Title and Description
Geospatial Modeling, a 3 credit course, explains digital representation and analysis of geospatial phenomena and provides foundations in methods and algorithms used in GIS analysis. Special focus is on terrain modeling, geomorphometry, watershed analysis and introductory GIS-based modeling of landscape processes (water, sediment). The course includes analysis from lidar data, coastal change assessment and 3D visualization.See slides and video which introduce the course in more depth.
Instructor
Helena Mitasova, see her MEAS page| Office hours: | by appointment, please email to hmitaso@ncsu.edu |
Prerequisites
Knowledge of GIS principles at an introductory level or strong computational background is recommended.Class structure and educational approach
This course consists of lectures, readings, hands-on exercises, homework assignments, and a major project.
GIS/MEA582-001 sections are on-campus, face-to-face class sessions.
GIS/MEA582-601 sections are asynchronous with materials available on-line.
Schedule and Learning materials
- Course Schedule web page provides links to the weekly topics material (lectures, assignments) along with due dates and suggested project activities.
- Moodle is used to access the recorded videos, upload your assignments, read our feedback, post your questions to forum and discuss your projects.
- Course logistics web page provides links to software (GRASS GIS and ArcGIS Pro) and data used in the assignments and describes the structure of assignment papers.
Textbooks
No required textbook, on-line material is used. You may find the following titles helpful for some topics:- Neteler, M. and Mitasova, H., 2008, Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach. Third Edition. Springer New York Inc, p. 406. Available free as e-book through NCSU library, click on eBook link on the grassbook website from a computer registered at NCSU.
- Smith, Goodchild, and Longley: Geospatial Analysis (free access)
- Hengl, T. and Reuter, H. I., 2008, Geomorphometry: Concepts, Software, Applications, Elsevier, and a related web site, get free access through NCSU Library
- Wilson, John P. 2018. Environmental applications of digital terrain modelling. 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
- Petrasova A, Harmon B, Petras V, Tabrizian P, Mitasova H., 2018, Tangible Modeling with Open Source GIS. Second edition. Springer International Publishing. Available free as e-book through NCSU library.
Grading policy
40% homeworks, 20% midterm, 40% project. 100 points is the maximum number of points (total + extra credits) achieved in class. Extra credits are given for innovative solutions, creativity in problem solving and extensions to given tasks. Points are taken off for late submissions.| Grade | Course and each HW |
|---|---|
| Max | 100 |
| A+ | 97 |
| A | 93 |
| A- | 90 |
| B+ | 87 |
| B | 83 |
| B- | 80 |
| C+ | 77 |
| C | 73 |
Topics
-
Geospatial Data Acquisition. Open Source GIS
- mapping natural phenomena
- coordinate reference system, projections, transformations
- introduction to open source concepts
-
Geospatial Data Models and Visualization
- concept of continuous fields and discrete sampling
- raster and vector data representation, raster-vector conversions and resampling
- geospatial formats, conversions, geospatial data abstraction library
- display of continuous and discrete data, use of color to extract spatial patterns
- 3D visualization: single and multiple surfaces
- visualization for data analysis (lighting, zscaling, transparency, cutting planes, animations)
-
Geospatial Analysis
- foundations for analysis of continuous and discrete phenomena
- zonal and neighborhood operations
- analysis and modeling with map algebra
- proximity analysis and buffers
- cost surfaces and least cost path
- Spatial interpolation and approximation (gridding)
- definitions, principles and applications of spatial interpolation
- selected methods and their properties
- smoothing spline interpolation
- evaluating interpolation accuracy
- trivariate interpolation of volumes and topo-climatology
-
Geomorphometry: Terrain Modeling and Analysis
- terrain and bathymetry mapping
- digital representations (point clouds, contour, raster, TIN)
- DEM, DTM and DSM, working with multiple return lidar data
- basic topographic analysis: slope, aspect and curvatures
- mapping landforms and terrain features
- time series of elevation data, analysis of coastal change
-
Viewsheds and solar irradiation
- line of sight, viewshed and cumulative viewshed analysis
- solar radiation: components and dynamics
- solar irradiation in complex terrain, cast shadows
-
Flow Modeling and Watershed Analysis
- methods for flow routing and flowaccumulation
- extraction of stream networks and watershed boundaries from DTM
- introduction to GIS-based modeling of geospatial processes
- basic hydrologic and erosion modeling
- Project
- Academic integrity
- Overview, Code of Student Conduct
- Attendance policy
- in on-campus section, attendance is recommended.
- Accommodation of students with disabilities
- Disability Services Office
- Large Language Model (LLM) (i.e., ChatGPT, Bard, etc..) policy
- The use of LLMs in this course is permitted for the purposes of completing assignments and projects. However, the use of LLMs for the purposes of completing exams is strictly prohibited. Students are also required to cite the use of LLMs in their assignments and projects. Failure to do so will result in a violation of the courses academic integrity policy. Students are also to be aware that the use of LLMs in this course is not a substitute for learning the material. Assignments and projects must be properly cited and contain no plagerized materials. (The policy was created with the aid GitHub CoPilot)