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Unit of study_
GEOS3014: GIS for Land and Coastal Management
2024 unit information
The critical role of geospatial science in major disturbance events, such as bushfires, coastal monitoring and mapping spatio-temporal trends in NSW COVID-19 cases, has placed GIScience at the forefront of policy agendas, information sharing and community engagement. The disruptive nature of this field is clear and demand for expertise in GIS, Earth observation, spatial data analytics and location intelligence has grown. However, this expertise needs to be backed by an understanding of the science, conceptual principles and ethics that underpin these enabling technologies. We will incorporate the transformative potential of GIScience driven technologies demonstrated by disturbance events. This unit content will expose you to a breadth of analytical capabilities within GIS, various applications to complex environmental and coastal issues and ethical considerations in using and disseminating geographical information and knowledge. The fundamentals of GIS, spatial modelling and Earth observation will be introduced in the context of environmental and coastal management. You will build on these foundational concepts through problem-based learning in which GIS methods will be applied to address issues relating to fire and biodiversity, acid sulphate soils, coastal processes and water security. This unit is co-taught with ENVX3001. GIScience, spatial reasoning and Earth observation in the context of environmental and coastal science and management is core to the learning objectives of both units.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Science
| Study level | Undergraduate |
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| Academic unit | Geosciences Academic Operations |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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Either 12 credit points of Intermediate Geoscience units or [(GEOS2115 or GEOS2915) and (BIOL2018 or BIOL2918 or BIOL2024 or BIOL2924 or BIOL2028 or BIOL2928)] |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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GEOS3914 or ENVX3001 |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. adopt principles of geographical reasoning and analysis in resolving complex social and environmental problems
- LO2. define the basic terms associated with geographic information science, including technologies, systems and studies
- LO3. differentiate between spatial data and spatial information
- LO4. source geospatial data from government and private agencies
- LO5. understand the importance of spatio-temporal scale and design in constructing and working with spatial data sets
- LO6. apply advanced spatial analysis methods and develop GIS based decision support models
- LO7. decipher various air-borne and space-borne sensors and their carriers
- LO8. apply geo-image analytical techniques for land resources assessment and management
- LO9. apply conceptual models of spatial phenomena for practical decision-making in, for example, coastal and land management and planning
- LO10. apply critical analysis of situations to apply the concepts of spatial phenomena to solve environmental resource problems
- LO11. reflect on how the outcomes of GIS-based models can inform environmental decision making and management
- LO12. communicate results of scientific investigations effectively through various means such as oral, written and essay formats, use major GIS and remote sensing software packages, e.g. ArcGIS™ and Google Earth Engine.
Unit availability
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