With increasing resources for geospatial dataset and advances in computing technology, conducting environmental-related research can now be accelerated. In this course, students will learn the importance and advanced yet simple methods to conduct geospatial analysis. Using GIS tools and programming, students can explore environmental and socio-demographic conditions such as land reclamation, population growth, and even the monitoring of spread of diseases such as COVID-19.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
(1) Learn the basic concepts and modern techniques of geospatial analysis.
(2) Investigate and visualize an issue using GIS and programming.
(3) Be more aware and resourceful of up-to-date widely available information.
Geographic Information System (GIS); Geospatial Analysis; Cloud Computing; Programming; Visualization
✔ Specialist skills | Intercultural skills | Communication skills | ✔ Critical thinking skills | ✔ Practical and/or problem-solving skills |
Online hands-on lecture with discussion.
Course schedule | Required learning | |
---|---|---|
Class 1 | Course Introduction: Overview, purpose, and definitions | Students will understand the importance of acquiring the skill of conducting geospatial analyses in both their researches and future career. The purpose of geospatial analyses and basic definitions and terminology will be discussed. |
Class 2 | GIS mapping: Vectors and Rasters | Students will experience QGIS and its features for visualizing geospatial datasets. QGIS is an open-source tool for visualizing and analyzing geospatial data. |
Class 3 | Quantifying urban population and changes from raster data. | Students will learn how to acquire geospatial information from multiple raster files using QGIS and python programming. |
Class 4 | Visualizing, resampling, and processing DEMs through QGIS and programming. | Students will learn how to visualize and process Digital Elevation Model (DEM) dataset and learn the importance of DEM in urban planning and environmental studies. |
Class 5 | Geospatial analyses using Google Earth Engine: reclamation trends in Jakarta | Students will explore the Google Earth Engine framework and learn how to process satellite information to display changes of the land surface. |
Class 6 | Visualizing tabular data through Pandas: day-to-day cases of COVID-19 by country | Students will learn how to use Pandas, a powerful module for processing tabular data. They will learn how to automatically construct time-series from table and publicly available online dataset, such as the daily cases of COVID-19. |
Class 7 | Global mapping of COVID-19 cases and other tabular data | Continuing from the previous lecture, students will learn how to map the day-to-day changes in COVID-19 globally. |
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Communications will be conducted through T2Schola.
Handouts will be distributed through T2Schola.
Manuals:
QGIS: https://docs.qgis.org/2.18/en/docs/user_manual/
Python: https://www.python.org/about/gettingstarted/
Conda: https://docs.conda.io/projects/conda/en/latest/user-guide/getting-started.html
Installation processes:
QGIS for Windows (https://youtu.be/Cj1OrCP4ld0)
QGIS for MacOS (https://youtu.be/JsMBLjB7rig)
Python conda (https://youtu.be/R6Unq5jvAFY)
Pyton modules conda (https://youtu.be/DTxfQ3jiu2E)
Registering to cloud tools:
Kaggle: https://www.kaggle.com/
Getting started with Google Colab: https://towardsdatascience.com/getting-started-with-google-colab-f2fff97f594c
Signup for Google Earth Engine: https://signup.earthengine.google.com/
Individual report submissions after each class. (100%)
None
Students must utilize Windows 10 OS PC, macOS, or Ubuntu Computer during the lecture.
Additional instructions for set-up may be provided outside of lecture on consultation basis. All meetings will be conducted via Zoom.