Applied Remote Sensing: Land Use in Sub-Saharan Africa

Satellite images are indispensable for mapping forest cover, agriculture, and other land uses. Off-the-shelf products struggle to capture features in complex landscapes, such as fine-scale forest changes, urban sprawl, or small agricultural fields. In this course we will focus on sub-Saharan Africa to investigate select land uses with remote sensing techniques, discuss their social contexts, and practice novel approaches for generating land use maps. Students will be actively engaged in carrying out analyses and critical interpretations throughout the semester. Their work will culminate in a web-based portfolio, which will provide an opportunity to learn effective communication of research findings. (GEOG150 or GEOL0222 or by instructor permission) GEOG 120 is recommended 3 hrs. lect./3hrs lab.