Geological Applications of GPS Geodesy
Guoquan Wang
, guoquan.wang@upr.edu
University of Puerto Rico
a Public four-year institution, primarily undergraduate
.Summary
This course provides an overview of the major space geodetic techniques and focuses on the theory and practice of the Global Positioning System (GPS). The course also provides hands-on experience using GPS data to address scientific problems in the Geosciences. The labs provide hands-on experience in data processing techniques, including programming a simple GPS data processing software, Topcon Tools. Students as a team will work on a landslide GPS monitoring project. Knowledge of Matlab/Fortran and Unix/Linux is not pre-required but will help.
Course Size:
15-30
Course Context:
This is an elective course for geology majors, no pre-requirement. The course is designed to introduce Global Positioning System (GPS) as a modern tool in geosciences and to use GPS in real-world research and engineering applications.
Course Goals:
The main goals are to:
- implement understanding of the principles of GPS geodesy,
- address scientific problems in the earth sciences with GPS, and
- to practice and enhance knowledge in computer science.
How course activities and course structure help students achieve these goals:
Most students can independently do a GPS surverying (data collecting and processing) after finishing this class.
Skills Goals
- to address data and information literacy;
- to enhance critical thinking;
- to build teamwork;
- to improve student writing.
How course activities and course structure help students achieve these goals:
Improved writing, critical thinking, and cooperating in a team.
Attitudinal Goals
- Increasing student excitement/personal wonder about learning about the Earth and new technologies.
How course activities and course structure help students achieve these goals:
Students tend to love more about earth sciences because of implementing new and advanced technology.
Assessment
Students are assessed through homework assignments.
Syllabus:
GPS Geodesy Course syllabus (Microsoft Word 50kB Mar7 10)