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Remote sensing
For Level c.
Basic physics, energy and radiation balances. Electromagnetic
radiation and its interactions with the earth.
Sensors for visible, infrared and microwave wavelengths. Platforms
and vehicles and their limitations. Data characteristics, images and
digital data classification methods. Ground data collection, analysis
and accuracy assessment.
Studies of applications in such fields as land cover, water resources,
geology, mineral exploration, geomorphology, terrain analysis, cartography,
oceanography and meteorology.
For Level b.
As above, but in greater detail and with more extensive practical
work, together with further consideration of satellite orbits, data
manipulation, preprocessing and enhancement, radiometric calibration and
atmospheric correction, geometric rectification, and data classification,
particularly digital methods. Ground data instrumentation. Principles of
geographical information systems, and use of contextual data.
For Level a.
As above, but in greater detail and with a requirement for much more
thorough demonstration and assessment of knowledge and practical
competence of students.
Additional consideration should be given to such topics as data
transmission and acquisition, formatting and dissemination, digital
Classification methods in both spatial and frequency domains. Studies
should be more detailed generally and applications studies should provide
an overall assessment of capabilities in all fields and, in addition, more
detailed study of applications more appropriate to the background and
likely career of individual candidates.
It is again assumed in the above, as for photogrammetry, that
proposed support courses in statistics, computing and cartographic science
provide adequate training at the appropriate level commensurate with
training in remote sensing.
In general, standards of competence in remote sensing expected of
geographers should be rather higher than those in photogrammetry, since
most professional (active) photogrammetrists are from backgrounds other
than geographical, whereas at present there is no single recognised
background for professional remote sensors who may, particularly in the
applications areas, start their careers with a geographical training.
CONCLUSIONS
Geographers are usually trained with a knowledge of a rather wide
range of earth and social sciences. Some areas within this range may
be of detailed, specialised knowledge, while in other areas knowledge may
be more generalised. Because of this, geograpners are found in a wide
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