Geography 609B, Fall 1999
Ralph Dubayah Dr.
Michelle Hofton
Office: 1149 Lefrak Hall Office:
1151 Lefrak Hall
Office Phone: 301-405-4069 Office Phone: 301-405-8543
Email: rdubayah@geog.umd.edu Email:
mhofton@geog.umd.edu
Office Hours: TBD Office
Hours: TBD
Class discussion list: geog609b-0101@coursemail.umd.edu
Geography 609B is a seminar on the theory and
application of lidar remote sensing and laser altimetry for characterization of
the land surface. Lidar is potentially
a breakthrough technology for measurement of the three dimensional structure of
the Earth's forests, topography, ice sheets and waters. The planned deployment of the Vegetation
Canopy Lidar Mission, the ICESAT Mission, Shuttle Laser Altimeters, as well as
recent advances in airborne laser altimetry and lidar imaging will open a new
era of remote sensing.
Course Format:
The class will be in a
seminar format. Reading and web
materials will be assigned each week that will form the basis of the next week’s
discussion. There will be several guest experts in lidar who will present
material and lead discussions. The class will meet most, but not, every
Thursday during the semester (see the table below). Note that there will be an
all day field trip in September in place of Thursday classes. There will be a
class website, as well a class email list. All information will be exchanged
via the website and email, so its important to check these frequently.
Course Requirements:
Regular class attendance is
required for a seminar class. Students
will be assigned specific readings and expected to lead a discussion on those
readings (probably in groups). There will be one or two assignments using
actual lidar data. Students will have a choice of either writing 4 critical abstracts
of the class readings in a particular area, or, a final project, the form of
which will be determined later (e.g. development of web materials, analysis of
lidar data, critical review of a selected topic, etc). Final grades will be
determined from all of the above.
Course Topics
Theory of Lidar
-
Physics
of radiation
-
Fundamentals
of sensor design
-
Types
of sensors and sensor simulation
Applications of Lidar
-
Forest
structure
-
Change
detection (ice sheets, volcanoes, coastal erosion, faults)
-
Biomass
and carbon modeling
-
Biodiversity
-
Aerodynamic
roughness and climate modeling
-
Reflectance
and BRDF
-
Hydrology
-
Commercial
uses
The VCL Mission
-
Science
and mission overview
-
Multi-beam
Laser Altimeter (MBLA)
-
VCL
Data System
-
VCL
Control Center
-
Calibration
and Validation
Calendar Weekly readings Weekly summaries