Main  |   News  |   Mission  |   Research  |   Resources  |   People  |   Contacts  |   Site Map  |   Links

GIS  |   GPS  |   Ground-truthing  |   Mapping Online  |   Remote Sensing  |   Spectra

Tutorials

We are developing tutorials about using remote sensing, GIS and GPS. Many are specific to CalSpace research projects, but some are of more general interest such as the demonstration of the power of online mapping tools.

To give viewers a quicker-loading option, the PowerPoint presentations on these pages can be accessed in two formats - as Adobe pdf's or as Flash movies. Files > 1 Mb have been labeled so that you can allow for a longer download time.

1. Please download a free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view Adobe PDF files on this page.
   
2. Download a Macromedia Flash Player which is available for free at the Macromedia website to view Flash presentations.
   

An Introduction to GIS given by Karen Beardsley Willett of the Information Center for the Environment on GIS Day 2003 is a nice overview of Geographic Information Systems. View movie or 4.3 Mb pdf. [We will be adding audio to this Flash movie soon.]

Joshua Johnson of the Information Center for the Environment spoke about the Global Positioning System during this year's GIS Day activities at UC Davis. He gives an overview of the technology and its applications. View movie or pdf.

Collecting additional data on the ground (or in the water) at a remotely sensed site is called ground truthing or validating. Ground truth data are critical for researchers to have to soundly interpret spectra from sensors on planes and satellites. Read more about ground truthing and validating imagery.

Remote sensing and GIS are powerful tools with which to detect and quantify temporal and spatial changes in relatively large landscapes. However, the software, computers, imagery, data, and training needed to use these tools can constitute a significant investment of both time and money.

For those not employed in a discipline utilizing remote sensing/GIS analysis tools (and who do not have appropriate software installed on their computers), CalView provides an opportunity to try similar analyses online and free-of-charge. Spatial analysis professionals also can use CalView to preview areas of interest before purchasing more specific data for their projects.

Collaborating with the California Resources Agency, NASA, and USGS, CalSpace researchers have cataloged remote sensing imagery of California and made it available online through the California Spatial Information Library (CaSIL). CalView is an online mapping tool utilizing Maplicity. It gives users with access to the internet an opportunity to analyze Landsat 7 Thematic Mapper imagery of California. Visit CalView's website.

1. Remote Sesnsing: Pivotal Technologies for Environemntal Sciences - Dr. Susan Ustin's powerpoint presentation as the key note speaker for the annual meeting of the Forensic Engineers and Scientists Socciety in February 2001, gives an introduction into the uses of remote sensing in environmental sciences. Also available as a PDF.
2. Remote Sensing - the Basics presented 19 November 2003 by Nathaniel Roth of the Information Center for the Environment for GIS Day at UC Davis. View 5.4 Mb PDF.
3. Weed ID with Remote Sensing - a SERDP Workshop presented 12-13 November 2003 at CalSpace at UC Davis. View movies under construction - explanatory audio will be added to these tutorials soon.

Management, analysis of field spectra - Spectral Analysis & Management System, SAMS User's Guide (pdf).