Active Microwave & LiDAR (Ch7: 204-243)

1. What are two unique capabilities of active radar sensors?
2. What are two unique capabilities of SLAR?
3. A synthetic aperture radar operates on the principal that objects within a scene are illuminated by the radar over an interval of time. True/False?
4. Why is the notion of "spectral signatures" difficult to apply in the context of radar imagery?
5. Lidar can accurately record what three components that allow creation of an image-like array representing variation of elevation?

1. Radar imagery is a distinctive form of remote sensing. What are some advantages of acquiring imagery using active microwave sensors and how have these advantages been applied to improve other interpretations?
2. Define: depression angle, far-range & near-range side of the image, slant-range distance, ground-range format, and the concepts of ground-range domain & Slant-range domain.
3. Discuss wavelength as it relates to the nature of the radar image; explain further resolution and antenna length in a real aperture system and the implied design limitations.
4. Relate the advantages and disadvantages of using a Synthetic Aperture System. Briefly explain the defining characteristic of the SAR system.
5. What advancements have recently made it possible to develop remote sensing LIDAR for the collection of surface imagery? Briefly explain. How has LIDAR data been applied and what unique property can it reveal regarding vegetation? Briefly explain.

Land Use & Land Cover (Ch19: 554-586)

1. What is land use? What is land cover?
2. What are mapping unit descriptions? How are mapping units defined?
3. Name two LULC datasets that are based on MRLC data.
4. What are the ways of doing land-use/cover change detection?
5. What are change magnitude and direction in spectral change vector analysis?

Vegetation Mapping For Change Detection On An Arid-Zone River

1. What are the main deficiencies of the Anderson-Ohmart classification system?
2. What was the method used to quantify land cover classes within polygons?
3. How did the authors estimate plant height?
4. What was the main characteristic of plant associations that was used to distinguish the primary land cover classes?
5. NDVI values could not be used to accurately separate plant types. However, NDVI values were proven to differentiate an important characteristic in the images. What did the authors find that could be differentiated by NDVI values? Why the differentiation?

A remote sensing and GIS-based model of habitats and biodiversity in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

1. What did the authors cite as a weakness in traditional GAP analyses procedures?
2. Why did the authors select plants as one of their study groups?
3. Explain how these seemingly small details could have affected the findings of this research?
4. Why did the authors choose butterflies as a study group?
5. Why did the authors chose the Yellowstone Ecosystem?