Advanced GIS and Spatial Analysis

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Analysing, synthesising and summarising information critically, including prior research
• Applying knowledge and understanding to complex and multidimensional problems in familiar and unfamiliar contexts
• Recognising and using subject-specific theories, paradigms, concepts and principles

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The processes which shape the natural world at different temporal and spatial scales and their influence on and by human activities
• The contribution of environmental science to the development of knowledge of the world we live in
• The contribution of environmental science to debate on environmental issues and how knowledge of these forms the basis for informed concern about the Earth and its people
• Issues concerning the availability and sustainability of resources, for example, the different value sets relating to the Earth's resources as commodities and/or heritage
• The terminology, nomenclature and classification systems used in environmental science
• The need for both a multi-disciplinary and an interdisciplinary approach in advancing knowledge and understanding of Earth systems, drawing, as appropriate, from the natural and the social sciences
• Methods of acquiring, interpreting and analysing environmental science information with a critical understanding of the appropriate contexts for their use

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Collecting, recording and analysing data using appropriate techniques in the field and laboratory
• Referencing work in an appropriate manner
• Planning, conducting, and reporting on environmental investigations, including the use of secondary data

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Preparing, processing, interpreting and presenting data, using appropriate qualitative and quantitative techniques and packages including geographic information systems
• Using the internet critically as a means of communication and a source of information
• Appreciating issues of sample selection, accuracy, precision and uncertainty during collection, recording and analysis of data in the field and laboratory
• Solving numerical problems using computer and non-computer-based techniques
• Developing the skills necessary for self-managed and lifelong learning (e.g. working independently, time management and organisation skills)
• Communicating appropriately to a variety of audiences in written, verbal and graphical forms

Advanced technical skills will be assessed through two detailed projects: modelling the present and future distributions of a species subject to global climate change; and using GIS to assess the potential impacts of natural hazards.

Species distribution modelling (SDM) has grown from a research approach practised by a few specialists just 20 years ago, to a mainstream activity in biodiversity conservation and disease risk forecasting. New software, data layers and high speed computers now make it easy to build models - and equally easy to misunderstand and misuse the outputs. The focus of this assessed project is therefore on understanding and incorporating the uncertainties in the model-building process.

Spatial models are often complex and some users do not have the specialist skills needed to build them from scratch. In the second project, you will therefore develop a tool that non-specialists can use to assess the impact of natural hazards on populations.

This module uses lectures followed by double practical slots (where the principles learned are applied on the computer) as its principal mode of delivery. Independent learning will be supported by recommended text books, original scientific papers and internet resources. Feedback will be obtained weekly through practical exercises, through direct and e-mail contact with the lecturer and demonstrators, and through information placed on Blackboard.

Self-directed practical training will be by completion of the exercises set in each practical class, building towards the assessed reports.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.