The project

Remote sensing

Satellite sensors

Remote sensing is "the science and art of obtaining information about an object, area, or phenomenon through the analysis of data acquired by a device that is not in contact with the object, area, or phenomenon under investigation" (Lillesand and Kiefer 1999). Remote sensing including ground, aerial and satellite sensing platforms, allows one to study the Earth as a system trough major themes and fundamental principles of biology, chemistry, physics and math, such as respiration, photosynthesis, the interaction of energy and matter, conservation of energy, wave theory, algebra and others. The Department of Geography, Geology, and Planning at SMSU offers several courses that explore different venues within the field of remote sensing.

GRY360: Interpretation of Aerial Photography
~ Building Fundamental Skills ~
The stepping stone to image interpretation techniques. Students work with high resolution film and digital aerial photography datasets to detect, identify, and analyze features such as land cover, forestry, geology, and agriculture for various applications.

RPL551: Remote Sensing
~ Expanding Scientific Opportunity ~
Students are introduced to the principals of remote sensing, interactions of electromagnetic energy with the atmosphere and earth's surface, satellite systems and sensors (electro-optical, thermal, RADAR and LIDAR), interpretation of remotely sensed imagery, and introduction to digital image processing including enhancements, corrections and classification routines. Emphasis is placed on regional and global environmental studies through the application of remotely sensed imagery and geospatial technologies.

GRY552: Digital Photogrammetry (Course website)
~ A Different Perspective ~
Students utilize aerial photographs and digital imagery to obtain accurate stereo models for topographic maps and geospatial stereo feature extraction using 3-D digital displays. Recognition and identification of photographic features is followed by precise measurements and computations regarding the size, shape, and position of these features.

GEO655: Applications of Geospatial Sciences
~ Tying It All Together ~
Students select a research area and use the multidimensional approach of geospatial sciences to examine and monitor aspects of the environment such as land use/land cover mapping, landscape ecology, agriculture, forestry, resource planning, geology, and soils.