Catastrophic Environmental Events (CCE) that are becoming more common i this time of global environmental change and it is essential that today's students be equipped with the knowledge and skills to be leaders as we, as a society, understand the upheaval that these CCEs are causing. Students will examine how CEEs shape human society and ecosystem from the interdisciplinary perspective afforded by the field of Geography. Students will use the latest geographic science concepts and techniques in exploring these events.

A systematic introduction to the processes and associated forms of the atmosphere and earth's surfaces emphasizing the interaction between climatology, hydrology and geomorphology.

Concepts and principles of Earth observation and remote sensing in relation to photographic, thermal infrared and radar imaging. Methods of obtaining quantitative information from remotely-sensed images. Interpretation of remotely-sensed images emphasizing the study of spatial and environmental relationships.

Contact department for information to register for this course.

Contact department for information to register for this course.

Characteristics and organization of geographic data; creation and use of digital geospatial databases; metadata; spatial data models for thematic mapping and map analysis; use of geographic information system in society, government, and business. Practical training with use of advanced software and geographic databases. (Technical)

Introduces conceptual and practical aspects of programming for geographic applications. The main focus is on developing a solid understanding of basic programming techniques irrespective of the specific programming language including variables, looping, conditional statements, nesting, math, strings, and other concepts. In addition, students will develop a proficiency in applying these basic programming principles to manipulating spatial data sources within the Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

The issues of climate change and land use change as two interlinked global and regional environmental issues and their implications for society and resource use are explored.

Analytical uses of geographic information systems; data models for building geographic data bases; types of geographic data and spatial problems; practical experience using advanced software for thematic domains such as terrain analysis, land suitability modeling, demographic analysis, and transportation studies.

Introduction to remote sensing and geographic information systems. Topics include methods of obtaining quantitative information from remotely sensed images, interpretation of remotely sensed images for spatial and environmental relationships, characteristics and organization of geographic data, including spatial data models for thematic mapping and map analysis and use of GIS in society, government, and business. Practical experience with remote sensing software and GIS.

Multivariate statistical method applications to spatial problems. Linear and non-linear correlation and regression, factor analysis, cluster analysis. Spatial statistics including: trend surfaces, sequences, point distributions. Applications orientation.

Intermediate course designed to teach students the techniques for Web development, particularly creating dynamic and data-driven Web applications. Introduces a high-level, object-oriented programming language such as VB.Net and the designing, coding, debugging, testing, and documenting for the development of Web-based applications. Other popular Web development tools such as DHTML, CSS and PHP are also covered.

Each student must undertake a project as a demonstration of his/her competence in geospatial science and technologies. The data and materials for this project can originate from an internship (internal or external to the department), or from relevant work experience at the student's current employer. The Department of Geographical Sciences will work with each student individually to determine the best mechanism for obtaining the necessary data and experience.