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This course will introduce graduate and undergraduate students to major unanswered questions in Earth science and to the analytical tools necessary to undertake exploration of ‘big data’ from a suite of sensors. This course aligns with Earth Lab , a new initiative of the university’s Grand Challenge efforts to use our expertise in space-based observation and exploration to address our world’s most pressing problems. For 50 years, CU-Boulder has been a leader in Earth and Space sciences. We have sent instruments to every planet in our solar system and are among the world's leading public universities in producing astronauts. We...Read more »

Are you ready to bring your GIS skills up to the next level? This course introduces the theoretical concepts and advanced use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It focuses on the nature of geographic information, the management of geospatial data and available methods for geographic analysis and geoprocessing to perform advanced and complex modeling in a GIS environment. Lectures focus on the theoretical basis of GIScience, the understanding of spatial algorithms and the development of a critical attitude toward GIS operations and model outputs. During lab sessions students will be able to apply the concepts and techniques presented in lectures...Read more »

The context, perspective, and scale provided by remote sensing observations have made them an invaluable source of data for understanding the Earth System. In the prerequisite introductory course, Remote Sensing of the Environment (GEOG/GEOL 4093/5093), students learned some of the basic physical principals underlying remote sensing and were introduced to some of the key remote sensing capabilities and how they work. This class is designed to build on that foundation by delving deeper into the physics of remote sensing and examining image analysis techniques for extracting the maximum amount of information from remotely sensed imagery. This course will enable in-depth...Read more »

Climate change is projected to alter the physical environment in ways that will affect human health globally, regionally and locally. The choices that society makes to respond to climate change also have health implications. The course will explore the scientific evidence to date of the health impacts associated with a changing climate. We will begin with a brief overview of climate science and will learn about the variety of epidemiological, risk assessment, and statistical methods used to evaluate the impacts of climate change on health locally, regionally, and globally. The public health implications, positive and negative, of efforts to mitigate...Read more »

Did your first GIS class create an interest in learning more advanced skills? Are you getting ready to start an undergraduate or graduate research project that requires spatial modeling and analysis, but you’re not sure how to get started? This class is for you! You’ll extend skills and principles, gain confidence in your GIS knowledge, and get hands-on technical experience with the full spectrum of GIS modeling. You will learn to implement line-of-sight models, proximity models, design hydrologic and terrain analyses, and work with point interpolation and kriging, dasymetric small area estimation, weighted criteria estimation, sensitivity analysis, and modeling landscape...Read more »

The Arctic region plays a key role in regulating global climate and is in the midst of rapid change, with impacts on physical, biological and human systems both within and beyond the region. This comprehensive assessment of the Arctic climate system begins with an overview of the Arctic's basic physical characteristics and climatic features. Attention then turns to the atmospheric energy budget, the atmospheric circulation, the surface energy budget, the hydrologic cycle, and the fascinating interactions between the atmosphere, Arctic Ocean and its sea ice cover. Following an overview of numerical modeling of the Arctic system, we explore Arctic climate...Read more »

This course is an all-out, in-depth exploration of why, how, when, and where (from/to) people migrate, especially those moving out of their country of birth. We will delve into several theories that aim to understand the economic, social, environmental, and policy "drivers" of different kinds of migration, and how migration stems (or not) from globalization and development processes. We will pay special attention to the current global refugee crisis as well as to the older question of why people oftentimes migrate "illegally." Finally, we will also look at the ways in which migration changes sending areas and destinations. Among these...Read more »

Do you want to enter the job market as a competitive GIS modeler with programming skills? This course will help you get there. It focuses on the extension of geographic information systems (GIS) through programming as well as on the development of algorithms for spatial analysis and information extraction in vector and raster data. We will cover different concepts, principles and techniques of programming that help you to solve a variety of spatial problems in physical and human Geography. You will learn how to work with Python for Geoprocessing in ArcGIS as well as for spatial programming in gridded data...Read more »

Are you interested in forest ecology and in getting hands-on field experience for a future career in the environment? Have you ever wondered how trees grow so large and live so long? Are you curious about how disturbances such as bark beetles and fire impact our Colorado forests? If you answered yes, then you should register for Forest Geography! In Forest Geography, we combine a mixture of field trips, in-class labs, critical thinking, and lectures to give you a strong foundation in forest ecology. When possible, we try to hold class outside because it is easier to learn about trees...Read more »

This course is an overview of the human dimensions of water: the law, policy, economics, management, and valuation of water in the western United States. The West has a completely different legal structure than the East for the administration of water, and a culture that has developed different methods of management and organization around the role of water in our daily lives. We regularly feature working professionals to broaden the range of discussion as we look at the effects of water use, climate change, population, and agriculture on this fascinating, and important, resource. See the University Catalog for specifics, recommendations,...Read more »

In this course we will discuss various qualitative methodologies and methods for research in human geography. The readings will provide various techniques and tools for collecting qualitative data. We will discuss the connection between theory and methods and how to critically analyze qualitative research. This course includes a practical engagement with data collection in order to help students develop a nuanced understanding of various methods. Research ethics will be discussed including the role and importance of ethics for research with populations in various locations in and outside the United States. This will include developing strategies for critical self-reflection at all...Read more »