GIS and Environmental Modelling

44M0554

Master

English, German

5.0

only winter term

1 semester

This module does not include GIS software training in the traditional sense. Sufficient basic GIS knowledge is a prerequisite for access to this module. Online teaching materials are available, with the help of which sufficient basic knowledge can be acquired autodidactically before the start of the module.

Digital working methods as well as GIS-based analyses and modeling are a natural part of almost all applications in landscape and environmental planning, climate adaptation and other complex transformation processes.

Here, GIS based processing has the particular task of determining and visualizing the current state of the relevant environmental media. Based on this, forecasts of future developments are to be conceived and their spatially concrete effects are to be shown. On this basis, planning concepts for future action are developed, which in turn have an influence on spatial development and are to be modeled in GIS.

In short: the module teaches skills on how to digitally model ecological or other spatially effective change processes and thus visualize future development states before they occur in the real world.

Students learn the process of model building, i.e. the transformation of real-world phenomena such as ecosystems, habitats, landscape structures into digital models, by means of case studies. On the one hand, knowledge of the "real world" is required for this, on the other hand, GIS-supported methods of modeling. Both components are developed into a valid digital model and its informative value for planning processes is estimated.

In each case, the focus is on a concrete case study from the thematic complex of climate adaptation, climate resilience in the context of water availability, coping with climate hazards, preservation and development of biodiversity or other complex issues. All phases of modeling in GIS will be addressed based on the particular case study. 

The total workload for the module is 150 hours (see also "ECTS credit points and grading").

• Homework / Assignment or
• Field work / Experimental work or
• Written examination or
• oral exam or
• Project Report, written

Standard form of examination is a homework assignment: ArcGIS-StoryMap. Any deviation from this will be announced at the start of the module.

Homework assignment [HA]: multimedia WebGIS presence (e.g. ArcGIS-StoryMap) to an appropriate extent for the semester assignment

alternative examination form: two-hour written exam

Sufficient basic GIS knowledge is a prerequisite for access to this module. Online teaching materials are available, with the help of which sufficient basic knowledge can be acquired autodidactically before the start of the module.

• broader understanding of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) principles
• Introduction to environmental modelling techniques and applications
• Overview of spatial data collection and management
• Exposure to various types of environmental models and their uses
• Familiarity with GIS software and tools for environmental analysis
• Knowledge of key concepts in spatial analysis and geostatistics
• Understanding the of GIS in environmental decision-making processes
• Awareness of emerging trends and technologies in GIS and environmental modelling

• Advanced spatial analysis and geoprocessing techniques using GIS
• Proficiency in developing and applying complex environmental models
• In-depth understanding of GIS data structures and spatial databases
• Capability to conduct detailed geostatistical analyses for environmental data
• Expertise in the use of GIS for simulation and scenario development
• Critical assessment of model outputs and their implications for environmental management
• Ability to customize and automate GIS processes using scripting languages, such as Python
• Knowledge of integration of remote sensing data with GIS for enhanced environmental modelling

Acquisition of competencies required for the processing of new complex tasks and problems as well as for the independent control of processes in a strategy-oriented professional field of activity. The requirement structure is characterized by frequent and unpredictable changes.

Students possess specialized technical or conceptual skills for solving even strategic problems in a professional field of activity.

Students will be able to design models as digital representations of real spatial development processes and to use them to support decision-making in planning processes. These are key competencies for coping with current transformation processes in a wide range of spatial and temporal scales.

Students have skills in weighing alternatives even when information is incomplete.

Students have skills to develop, apply, and evaluate new ideas or processes using a variety of assessment standards.

• Taeger, Stefan

• Taeger, Stefan