Advanced Environmental Geomatics
11:372:462

Spring 2007

Instructor: David Tulloch

Contact: dtulloch@crssa.rutgers.edu

 

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OVERVIEW

The class will rely on experiences and knowledge from a variety of backgrounds, sophisticated spatial technologies, and exploration of new ideas as means to advance students' understanding of applications and roles for geomatics. Huh? There will be some reading, some writing, some discussion, some thinking, some mapping and plenty of doing. The class will use GIS as a focus for technical and intellectual explorations of New Jersey's rapidly changing environment:

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Class Product

One of the highlights of the semester this year was the development of a new geospatial dataset of over 700 significant places in New Jersey's Revolutionary War history. The map they developed to display those data won three awards at the 20th Annual NJ DEP Map Contest.

In 2006, the primary product was a GreenMap of Elizabeth, NJ and the Elizabeth River/Arthur Kill Watershed.

The Elizabeth GreenMap reflects on both the community of Elizabeth, NJ and the Eliabeth River/Arthur Kill Watershed which shapes the region. Version 1.0 of the GreenMap has already received lots of attention. A great article in the Star-Ledger, 2 awards in the NJ DEP State Mapping Contest (Newbie of the Year, and 2nd in Most Unique) and a mention in the Congressional Record.

 

As with any materials developed by students, these maps should not be used for navigational or legal purposes.

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Class Structure

The class grades will be based on the following breakdown:
20% -- Advanced Arc 9 exercises – Viewshed Analysis, 3d landscapes, routing analysis, MAP Algebra, Model Builder
20% -- Advanced GI/S Theory – Implications of GIS use, Local Knowledge and GIS, Institutional issues, Virtual projects
20% -- GI Communication -- writing and map production that communicate ideas effectively
40% -- Application of Advanced skills and theory -- Projects

Over the course of the semester we anticipate a series of assignments, including:

Advanced exercises in ArcGIS 9. These labs will require individual work in advanced topics like modelbuilding, 3d analysis, and self-directed learning new skills.

Communication GIS Skills. As future GI Science leaders, you will soon be in a position where you are sharing your knowledge of new GIS techniques with others. Each student will explore one technique or skill and develop a tutorial project explaing the skill for novices.

Communicating Geographic Information. There will be multiple opportunites to produce map products for which the design and communication will be a significant crietion. One will be a major educational map product . Some will be part of other assignments. The quality should be sufficient that several can be considered for entry into the April NJ DEP's Annual State Mapping Contest.

Individual Papers. Each student will be required to produce a research paper or project that addresses a topic in Advanced Geomatics. These will be topics chosen in consultation with Dr. Tulloch and will be shared with the entire class. The individual research project could pursue a theoretical topic or incorporate existing data from the library and GIS/RS, and/or newly collected/generated data into an individual project that researches a specific question. Each project will be summed up with a short research paper that can be posted on the web (see previous year's individual papers which are currently online).

Group Project. The group project will evaluate different aspects of the North Avenue Corridor in Elizabeth, NJ. Using techniques taught in class, students will develop a conceptual and technical model describing this area and apply it to this very special landscape. An additional element may come in the communication of these results.

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Class Expectations

You should be flexible so we can make the most of this unusual opportunity. You should come prepared to try new things, with an interest in the class, and a willingness to share your existing skills with the class. The expectations for advanced geomatics students is that they actually remember the geomatics skills that they have already been taught. And when the don't quite remember them, that they exhibit some personal initiative in relearning those old skills so we can focus in class on adding new skills.

We expect that the class will undertake a rigorous investigation of real issues and produce professional quality materials. It is our hope that the class’s effort will have a real and tangible impact on these issues in New Jersey. We also expect that the students in the class will contribute not only to the course work, but also to the course itself. Specifically, students should participate actively in class discussions and decisions and provide guidance throughout the semester for the selection of topics and perhaps even guest speakers.

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Looking Back:
No two years are the same. In 2005, we explored the Intrinsic Values of the Landscapes of the NY/NJ Highlands. In 2003 the class evaluated the Green Infrastructure of the Cook-Douglass campuses. In 2002 the class explored the concept of Landscape Change. In 2001 we conducted an assessment of the New Jersey Highlands. You can still see many of the papers and maps from that class. Much more is available at CRSSA if you are interested. In 2000, we looked at the allocation of 1,000,000 acres of Open Space in New Jersey.