GEOG 3170 - Geospatial Field Methods: GPS and Drones

Meets with GEOG 5170. Graduate students should enroll in GEOG 5170 and will be held to higher standards and/or more work. This field based course is a hands-on introduction to geospatial field methods. Course content will focus on Global Positioning Systems (GPS)/Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and unmanned aerial systems (UAS; commonly referred to as drones), but will also broadly cover the various tools and resources geospatial scientists employ to gather, process/analyze, and visualize/present geospatial field data. Prior to the field session class room lectures will cover the basics needed to successfully understand field collection and analysis, including projections and coordinate systems, remote sensing, georeferencing, digital surface/elevation models, and basic spatial analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). In the field, students will learn safe field practices, field note taking and metadata collection, how to write up field reports, and will get guided hands on experience with geospatial data field instrumentation including surveying equipment, GPS, and UAS, and will independently collect data for their course projects.