Geographical information system 15 credits

About the course

The course provides advanced knowledge of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), primarily with applications within environmental science, including ecology and geoscience.

The course focuses on theoretical knowledge within GIS, in addition to practical applications of various GIS programs in order to process and analyze various types of spatial data with a focus on raster data and point data to create maps. The course assumes that the student has a basic understanding of the following aspects within GIS: projections and coordinate systems, processing of vector data including selections from attribute tables, editing vector data and attribute tables, digitizing new vector files, georeferencing, and vector analyses. The course focuses on processing and various types of analyses of raster data, including digital elevation models, remote sensing, interpolations, hydrological analyses, etc.

The course is divided into three modules of 5 ECTS each.

Module 1: Practical exercises focus on practical exercises by learning to conduct advanced spatial analyses with a focus on raster data in various GIS software in lectures and lab exercises.

Module 2: Theoretical elements focus on understanding the theory behind GIS analyses and how they are used in scientific studies, through lectures and seminars.

Module 3: Project includes a project where the students obtain their spatial data to answer their questions.

Data will be obtained and handled during the course from various digital databases, maps, orthophotos, and GPS points. Various types of digital data are included as course material, including from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), the Swedish Land Survey (LM, and the Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences (SLU).