Remote Sensing of the Environment
Remote sensing uses measurements from aircraft and satellites to monitor the Earth
and its environmental systems. Remote sensing has unique abilities to bridge spatial
scales ranging from centimeter-sized pixels collected by drone cameras to global coverage
amassed by long-duration satellite missions. Research in the Department of Geography
covers the full spectrum of remote sensing technologies, including drone/UAV imaging,
multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing, radar, and lidar. We apply remote
sensing to a variety of environmental issues, including changes in glaciers and mountain
snowpack in response to climate change, wildfire and vegetation disturbance, and mapping
greenhouse gas emissions. Remote sensing skills are increasingly sought after in a
variety of disciplines, and by many employers in environmental and intelligence fields
Courses and Degrees
Our introductory and methods courses give students a strong background in remote sensing analysis. Advanced Optical Remote Sensing covers advanced theory and methods for multispectral, hyperspectral, and thermal infrared remote sensing. Advanced Active Remote Sensing covers advanced theory and methods for radar and lidar. These courses can be combined within the Remote Sensing of the Environment undergraduate emphasis for the Geography BS.
Faculty
Philip Dennison
Professor, Chair, and Director of URSA Lab -- hyperspectral, multispectral, and lidar remote sensing of terrestrial ecosystems, wildfire and firefighter safety, imaging spectroscopy
Richard (Rick) Forster
Professor, CSBS Associate Dean and Director of Snow and Ice Lab -- microwave remote sensing of the cryosphere, application of radar interferometry to studies of glaciers and ground displacement
Summer B. Rupper
Professor, Director of Graduate Studies. -- glaciology, climate change, modeling glacier mass balance, ice core analysis, glacier geomorphology.
McKenzie Skiles
Assistant Professor -- Mountain hydrology, snow optics and remote sensing, radiative forcing by light absorbing particles in snow and ice, cryosphere-climate interaction.