Revised 05/2025

GIS 255 - Exploring Our Earth: Introduction to Remote Sensing (3 CR.)

Course Description

Introduces material to understand the fundamental physical and mathematical principles and techniques of Remote Sensing. Introduces how each part of the electromagnetic spectrum is used to gather data about Earth. Describes limitations imposed by satellites, aircraft, and sensors. Surveys various methods to access and apply Earth observation/Remote Sensing data. Teaches students to use Remote Sensing software to process and manipulate Landsat, SPOT, photographic, and other imagery in a hands-on approach to Remote Sensing analysis. Lecture 2 hours. Laboratory 2 hours. Total 4 hours per week.

General Course Purpose

This course is designed to meet the needs of students seeking to fulfill the Remote Sensing skills and competencies identified by the U.S. Department of Labor in the Geospatial Technology Competency Model. The course will prepare students for entry-level geospatial positions, as well as continued undergraduate or graduate-level geospatial studies. 

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

Prerequisite: GIS 200

Course Objectives

Upon completing the course, the student will be able to:

  • Describe basic physics concepts on which remote sensing is based (i.e. Electromagnetic Spectrum, etc.).
  • Describe the fundamentals of Photogrammetry.
  • Select appropriate data set for remote sensing application based on spectral, temporal, radiometric and spatial resolution.
  • Describe characteristics of passive and active remote sensing systems (such as multispectral, LiDAR and Radar).
  • Perform basic remote sensing workflows to solve problems (such as acquiring data, feature extraction, change detection, pre- and post-processing, create composite images and image classification).
  • Describe future trends in remote sensing.
  • Apply basic concepts, methods and uses of accuracy assessment and ground-truthing to the results of remote sensing workflows.
  • Interpret, analyze and summarize results of a remote sensing workflow.

Major Topics to Be Included

  • physical principles on which remote sensing is based
  • history and future trends
  • sensors and their characteristics
  • image data sources
  • image classification, interpretation and analysis techniques