University Of Arkansas, Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences, Departments of Anthropology & Geosciences

ANTH/GEOG 4553: INTRODUCTION TO RASTER GIS (RASTER 1)

Syllabus, Fall, 2005 (Download PDF)

Instructor: Kenneth L. Kvamme, Professor
Class Meetings: Tu 5:00-8:00, Ozark 208
Office hours: M 2:30-5, W 2:30-5,or by appointment
Office: Ozark 207/Main 335; phone: 575-4130;
e-mail: kkvamme@uark.edu

New Office Hours: M, W: 2:30-5 pm

Synopsis: This course introduces elementary and advanced aspects of raster geographical information systems technology (GIS).  Emphasis is placed on applied, real-world applications of raster GIS, with some focus on data from the field of archaeology.  With this class students will be able to conduct their own GIS projects in a wide variety of applications.

CLASS REQUIREMENTS. Five class projects (about 2-3 weeks each) involving the use of GIS (about 600 points); 3 short quizzes (150 pts.); mid-term exam (100 pts., on Nov. 8); term project of student’s choice involving use of a raster GIS in any application area (150 pts). Students will present projects orally to the class in a Power Point presentation in the last meeting on December 6 (25 points). Late projects cannot be accepted. Undergraduate students may drop two lowest grades.

TERM PROJECT DETAILS. Students must create a GIS database with at least 3 primary data layers and use them to address a problem orientation in their field. The project’s GIS operations should be summarized in a flow diagram, with complete project details given in a Power Point presentation with text and figures (Due Dec. 6). A project title and 100 word abstract are due on Nov. 8 (25 points). A flow diagram showing tentative data layers, processing steps, and bibliography is due on Nov. 22 (25 points).

Full project rules available here

READINGS

Required Text:

1.       Peter A. Burrough and Rachael A. McDonnell (1998). Principles of Geographical Information Systems. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Other readings:

  1. Extensive, but short (2-3 pg), readings are required from: Berry, Joseph K. 1996, Spatial Reasoning for Effective GIS, GIS World, Inc. This book is held on reserve at the reserve desk in the university main library.
  2. Additional readings listed with the course topics are held on reserve.
  3. Students might find the following article useful. It presents the professor’s basic ideas on the subject:   Kvamme, K. L. (1999). Recent Directions and Developments in Geographical Information Systems. Journal of Archaeological Research 7(2): 153-201, available on line through the library.
  4. Optional: Photocopied package of course materials.

SOFTWARE. This class will utilize ESRI’s ArcGIS 9 and IDRISI-Kilimanjaro, developed by Clark University.  Other raster software will include SURFER by Golden Software. The class will utilize the CAST GIS labs located in Ozark Hall 208 & 209.

ATTENDANCE. Regular attendance of class is expected.

GRADING. A: 90-100%; B: 80-90%; C: 70-80% D: 60-70%; F: below 60% of points. Late assignments are unfair to classmates. Late projects will receive a 10% reduction in score per week past the due date. Final term projects may not be late. Attendance is required. Students who miss more than two classes will have their grade reduced by one step.

ACADEMIC HONESTY. Academic dishonesty of all kinds, including submitting other’s work as your own, will not be tolerated.  Consult the Fulbright College statement on academic dishonesty.

Lab Use: Ozark 208 & 209

Installing a printer for lab users.

Click “Start”, “Printers and Faxes”, “Add a printer”, “Next”. Insure the button marked “A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer” is selected, and click “Next”. Select “Connect to this printer”, and type the name of the desired printer in the “Name:” box. Printer names to type in the box are as follows:

Course Topics, Schedule, Readings

(B=Book article or chapter at library reserve desk; PDF=available on class website; O=on-line article)

1.  INTRODUCTION (Aug. 23). Class overview.

(Burrough and McDonnell: Ch. 1; Berry: Introduction & Ch. 21)

(1) Hall, S. S. (1992). Latitude, Longitude, Infinitude: Scientific Mapping and the Reinvention of Geography, in Mapping the Next Millennium, by S.S. Hall, pp. 3-28. (B)

(2) Maguire, D. J. (1991). An Overview and Definition of GIS, in Geographical Information Systems: Principles and Applications, Vol. 1, D.J. Macguire, M.F. Goodchild & D.W. Rhind, eds., Longman Scientific & Technical. (B)

2. BACKGROUND CONCEPTS (Aug. 30).  The layer concept; primary & derived layers; resolution issues; measurement scales & maps; hardware, color models, points, lines, areas & surfaces; vector-raster conversion; vector-rakster comparison.

(Burrough and McDonnell: Ch. 2, Ch. 3, pp.35-41; Berry: Ch.4, 8, 23)

(3) Unwin, D. (1981). Ch.2, A Typology of Maps, in Introductory Spatial Analysis, by D. Unwin, pp. 15-26. (B)

(4) Dangermond, J. (1990). A Classification of Software Components Commonly Used in Geographic Information Systems, in Introductory Readings In Geographic Information Systems, Peuquet, D. J., and D. F. Marble (eds.), pp. 30-51. (B)

(5) Zeiler, M. (1999). Cell-based modeling with rasters (ch. 9). In Modeling our world: The ESRI Guide to Geodatabase Design. ESRI Press, pp. 147-157. (B)

*** Project 1 ***

3. ACQUISITION OF DATA (Sep. 6).  Making a raster; creating raster data sets in-house; digitizing/scanning; public, private & commercial sources.

(Burrough and McDonnell: Ch. 4)

 (6) Chang, K. (2001). Raster Data (Ch. 7), in Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, by K. Chang, pp. 117-133. (B)

4. RASTER DATA STRUCTURES (Sep. 13).  Data types & file types; storage formats; data compression; picture compression.

(Burrough and McDonnell: Ch. 3, pp.51-57, 70-74; Berry: Ch. 17-20.)

(6-continued) Chang, K. (2001). Raster Data (Ch. 7), in Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, by K. Chang, pp. 117-133. (B)

***Project 2***

5. REGISTRATION OF MAP & IMAGE DATA (Sep. 20).  Coordinate systems; registration points & RMS error; the trigonometry of cartographic transformation; rubber sheeting. QUIZ 1 TONIGHT!

(7) Chang, K. (2001). Map Projection and Coordinate System (Ch. 2), in Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, by K. Chang, pp. 15-30. (B)

 (8) Maling, D. H. (1973). (Chapter 2). Coordinate Reference Systems on the Plane, in Coordinate Systems and Map Projections. George Philip and Son, London, pp. 18-30. (B)

6. RASTER GIS & DATABASE LINKAGES (Sep. 27).  Linking raster GIS to relational database files; GIS-to-DBMS links; Structured Query Language (SQL); DBMS-to-GIS queries.

(Burrough and McDonnell: Ch. 3, pp. 44-51)

(9) Farley, J. A., W. F. Limp, and J. Lockhart (1990). The Archaeologist’s Workbench: Integrating GIS, Remote Sensing, EDA, and Database Management, in Interpreting Space: GIS and Archaeology, Allen, K. M. S., Green, S. W., and Zubrow, E. B. W., eds., pp. 141-164. (B)

*** Project 3 ***

7. FUNDAMENTAL RASTER OPERATIONS (Oct. 4).  Reclassification & overlaying; map algebra; boolean operations; neighborhood operations; distance surfaces & buffers; combining operations.

(Burrough and McDonnell: Ch.7, pp. 162-179, Ch. 8, pp. 183-185; Berry 22)

(10) Kvamme, (n.d.). Fundamental GIS Operations. (PDF)

(11) Eastman, J. R. (1989). Pushbroom Algorithms for Calculating Distances in Raster Grids, in Auto-Carto 9 : Ninth International Symposium on Computer-Assisted Cartography, Baltimore, Maryland, April 2-7, sponsored by American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, Falls Church, VA, pp. 288-297. (B)

8. RASTER GIS, REMOTE SENSING, & IMAGE PROCESSING (Oct. 11-18).  Basic concepts; the EM spectrum; sensors & platforms; image classification; change detection; image processing.

(Burrough and McDonnell: Ch. 8, pp. 186-189; Berry: Ch. 13, 28)

(12) Hall, S. S. (1992). Ch. 2, Landsat Maps and the Remote-Sensing Revolution, in Mapping the Next Millennium, by S.S. Hall, pp. 52-70. (B)

(13) Limp, W. F. (1989). Ch. 2, Multispectral Digital Imagery, in The Use of Multispectral Digital Imagery in Archeological Investigations, by W.F. Limp, pp. 5-29. (B)

(14) Schowengerdt, R.A. (1983). Chapter 2, Digital Image Processing, in Techniques for Image Processing and Classification in Remote Sensing, by R.A. Schowengerdt, pp. 57-96. (B)

*** Project 4***

9. THE DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL (DEM) & INTERPOLATION (Oct. 25).   Point vs contour data; interpolation from points; interpolation from contours; TIN models; filtering & smoothing; interpolation defects.

(Burrough and McDonnell: Ch.5, pp. 98-102, 113-131; Berry: Ch. 5, 6)

(15) Kvamme, K.L. (n.d.). The Digital Elevation Model. (PDF)

(16) Kvamme, K. L. (1990). GIS Algorithms and Their Effects on Regional Archaeological Analysis, in Interpreting Space: GIS and Archaeology (Allen, K. M. S., Green, S. W., and Zubrow, E. B. W., eds.), pp. 112-125. (B)

10. DEM DERIVED PRODUCTS (Nov. 1).  Slope, aspect, surface illumination; ridges, drainages, pits & peaks; watersheds; terrain roughness & texture; intervisibility & viewsheds.

(Burrough and McDonnell: Ch.8, pp. 190-204)

(17) Chang, K. (2001). Terrain Mapping and Analysis (Ch. 12), in Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, by K. Chang, pp. 218-242, (B)

(18) Kvamme, K.L. (1992). Terrain Form Analysis of Archaeological Location through Geographic Information Systems, in Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology, 1991, edited by G. Lock & J. Moffett, pp. 85-88. (B)

(19) Wheatley, D. (1995). The Use of GIS to Understand Regional Variation in Earlier Neolithic Wessex, in Archaeology and Geographical Information Systems: A European Perspective, Lock, G., and Stancic, Z., eds., pp. 171-185. (B)

*** Project 5 ***

*** Nov. 8, MIDTERM EXAM ***

***Nov. 8, TERM PROJECT TITLE & ABSTRACT DUE***

11. SPATIAL ALLOCATION & COST-SURFACES (Nov. 15).  Concepts of territoriality & area partitioning; distance surfaces, circular catchments & Thiessen polygons; cost-of-movement surfaces.

(20) Stancic, Z., J. Dular, V. Gaffney, and S. Tecco-Huala (1993). A GIS-Based Analysis of Later Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in Dolenjska, Slovenia, in Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology, 1993, edited by J. Wilcock & K. Lockyear, pp. 161-164. (B)

(21) Lock, G. R., and T. M. Harris (1996). Danebury Revisited: An English Iron Age Hillfort in a Digital Landscape, in Anthropology, Space and Geographic Information Systems, Aldenderfer, M., and Maschner, H. D. G., eds., pp. 214-240. (B)

(22) Anderson, D. G., and J. C. Gillam (2000). Paleoindian Colonization of the Americas: Implications from an Examination of Physiography, Demography, and Artifact Distribution, American Antiquity 65(1):43-66. (O)

(23) Madry, S. L. H., and L. Rakos (1996). Line-of-Sight and Cost-Surface Techniques for Regional Research in the Arroux River Valley, in New Methods, Old Problems: Geographic Information Systems in Modern Archaeological Research, Maschner H. D. G., ed., pp. 104-126. (B)

***Nov. 22,  FLOWCHARTS & BIBLIOGRAPHIES DUE***

12. RASTER MODELING (Nov 22).  Modeling point patterns; location choice models; weighted additive models; boolean methods; model validation.

(Burrough and McDonnell: Ch. 8, 205-219; Ch. 9; Berry: Ch. 16, 24-26)

(24) Kvamme, K.L. 2005. Archaeological Modeling with GIS at Scales Large and Small. (PDF)

13. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS (Nov 29).

(Burrough and McDonnell: Ch. 12; Berry: Epilog)

(25) Goodchild, M. F. (1996). Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis in the Social Sciences in Anthropology, Space and Geographic Information Systems, Aldenderfer, M., and Maschner, H. D. G., eds., pp. 241-250 (B)

14. STUDENT TERM PROJECT PRESENTATIONS (Dec 6).