Geography 59 / Earth Science 77(177): Environmental Applications of GIS

Winter 2016

Environmental Applications of Geographic Information Systems

Geography 59 / Earth Sciences 77: Winter 2016

Instructor James Dietrich, 009B Steele

Email: james.dietrich@dartmouth.edu
Office Hours: X-hour, Tues 12:00 1:00 pm (or by appointment)
Teaching Assistant Lucy Kammer Woolsley, 115 Fairchild Hall (inside 116 Fairchild), 646-6443
Email: Lucy.Kammer.Woolsey@dartmouth.edu
Office Hours: Mon 1:00 2:00 pm (or by appointment)
Lecture Mon, Wed, and Fri 11:15 am 12:20 pm (213 Fairchild)
Lab Mon or Tue 2:00 4:00 pm (RAHR Lab, 013 Fairchild)

Course/Lab Website canvas.dartmouth.edu

Prerequisites Geography 50; or Earth Sciences 65 / Geography 51; or permission of instructor.
Reading materials There is no required textbook for this course. Individual reading materials will be posted on
the canvas.

Course description and objectives:

This course focuses on the application of the Python computer programming language to
scientific data analysis and will explore both technical/scientific computing (data analysis and
display) and geoprocessing (spatial data analysis and manipulation). Python is a widely used open
source, general-purpose, and high-level programming language. It is easy to read and easy to learn.
Python is increasingly being used for data analysis in scientific research for everything from basic
statistics to complex computer models. The scientific community using Python and
technical/scientific computing ecosystem are growing fast. The coding skills you learn in Python
will also be directly transferable to a multitude of other programming languages and environments.
This course is included among the Quantitative Analysis of Earth Systems group of courses in the
Earth Sciences curriculum. Concepts and skills common to all courses in the group include:
(1) Simplification/modeling of complex systems for quantitative analysis;
(2) Quantitative analysis of earth systems;
(3) Limits of data/knowledge.
Expected learning outcomes from this course include the following:
(1) Understanding of the principles and concepts used in Python programming, as demonstrated
by the students ability to discuss those principles and concepts clearly.
(2) Familiarity with the process of code writing and quantitative analysis of data. These skills will
be practiced and evaluated in weekly exercises and laboratory assignments.
(3) Experience in designing and implementing a research project involving the use of Python to
address a data analysis or data display need.

Geography 59 / Earth Science 77(177): Environmental Applications of GIS

Winter 2016

Course requirements and grading:

Code Academy Units (10%): As part of the course, you will be completing a variety of exercises through the
website Code Academy. These exercises are meant to help you become more fluent in Python.
Labs (30%): There will be six weekly labs, beginning in the first week of the course. Lab reports are due one
week after each lab session, at the beginning of the following weeks lab. All lab submissions should be
printed (hardcopy) prior to your lab time.
Python Advanced Library Presentation (10%): Students are expected to prepare a 10-15 minute presentation
or demonstration of an external Python library of their choosing to be presented during Week 8.
Final project (50%): Students will design and conduct research projects. Some in-class time will be made
available for work on the project, and students will have access to the Rahr Lab outside class hours.
Project Presentation (10%): A brief project oral presentation outlining the project and the associated
code will be given during Week 10.
Final Project (40%): Students will submit their finalized code along with the associated project
documentation.
Grades will be earned on the following scale: A (100-90%), B (89-80), C (79-70), D (69-60), E (<60)
Late Work: If you have circumstances that will make it difficult to turn in an assignment on time please
contact the instructor or teaching assistant in advance. Without this advance permission, assignments handed
in late will receive no credit.
Accommodations for students with disabilities:
Students with disabilities, including invisible disabilities (such as chronic illnesses or learning disabilities)
are encouraged to contact the Student Accessibility Service office and the instructor to discuss appropriate
accommodations. Please do so before the end of the second week of the term. All inquiries and discussions
about accommodations will remain confidential.
Religious observances:
Some students may wish to take part in religious observances that occur during this academic term. If you
have a religious observance that conflicts with your participation in the course, please meet with the instructor
before the end of the second week of the term to discuss appropriate accommodations.
Academic honor principle:
You should be aware of, and follow, the Dartmouth Honor Code. In terms of this course, the academic honor
principle means that:
All work on the exam must be your own. You should not give or receive assistance during the exam. No
books, notes, or other materials are permitted during the exam without permission from the instructor.
You are encouraged to discuss lab assignments with others, but all work handed in must be your own.
Your written report should be expressed in your own words, and any quotations, figures, graphs, or other
materials based on anothers work must be explicitly identified with a source citation.
Final projects may involve collaboration among students and/or with individuals from outside the course.
Such collaborations are strongly encouraged; however, the results of the project must be your own work.
In the written proposal, the two presentations, and the final paper, any materials (graphics or text) that are
based on anothers work must be explicitly identified with a source citation.
If you have questions about how the academic honor principle applies to this course, please contact the
instructor.

Geography 59 / Earth Science 77(177): Environmental Applications of GIS

Winter 2016

Course Schedule
The following schedule should be regarded as tentative. Changes may be made as the term progresses.

WEEK

DATE
Mon

Lab
Wed

06-Jan

1: Intro to Code Academy

Getting acquainted with Python
(Variables and Math)

Fri

08-Jan

Scripts and Conditional Statements

Mon

11-Jan

Control Loops, Debugging

2: Pseudocode for Lat-Long Distance
Calculator

Lab
Wed

13-Jan

Fri

15-Jan

Breaks, Iteration
User input, Combining conditionals and
control loops

Mon

18-Jan

MLK DAY - NO CLASS, Monday lab will

meet

Lab

3: Lat-Long Distance Calculator

Wed

20-Jan

Functions, Code Organization

Fri

22-Jan

Exceptions, Error Handling

Mon

25-Jan

Libraries, Intro to SciPy

Lab

4: Project Proposals, Data Choices

Wed

27-Jan

Objects, classes

Fri

29-Jan

Basic File Input/Output (I/O)

Mon

01-Feb

Numpy Arrays

Lab

04-Jan

Topic(s)
Introductions, Getting Started with
Python

5: Project Data I/O

Wed

03-Feb

Array types, array manipulation

Fri

05-Feb

Data I/O with Numpy

Mon

08-Feb

Plotting data with Matplotlib

Lab

6: Plotting project data

Wed

10-Feb

Matplotlib (con't)

Fri

12-Feb

Advanced plotting

Code Academy (CA)

Deadlines

UNIT 1: PYTHON SYNTAX

UNIT 2: STRINGS AND
CONSOLE OUTPUT

UNIT 3: CONDITIONALS
AND CONTROL FLOW
UNIT 4: FUNCTIONS

UNIT 5: LISTS &

DICTIONARIES
UNIT 6: STUDENT BECOMES
THE TEACHER
UNIT 7: LISTS AND
FUNCTIONS

UNIT 8: LOOPS
UNIT 9: EXAM STATISTICS
UNIT 10: ADVANCED TOPICS
IN PYTHON

UNIT 12: FILE INPUT AND

OUTPUT

CA - UNITS 1 & 2

CA - UNITS 3 & 4 /
Lab 2

CA - UNITS 5,6,7 /
Lab 3

CA - UNITS 8,9,10 /
Lab 4

CA - UNIT 12 / Lab 5

Geography 59 / Earth Science 77(177): Environmental Applications of GIS

Mon
7

15-Feb
Lab

SciPy Statistics
7: Project data statistics

Wed

17-Feb

Stats and Data Analysis

Fri

19-Feb

Project Progress Meeting

Mon

22-Feb

Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs)

Lab

Project Work

Wed

24-Feb

Python Advanced Library Presentations

Fri

26-Feb

Python Advanced Library Presentations

Mon

29-Feb

Project Progress Meeting

Lab

Winter 2016

Lab 6

Lab 7
Python Advanced
Library Presentations
Python Advanced
Library Presentations

Project Work

Wed

02-Mar

TBD - Advanced Topics/Libraries

Fri

04-Mar

TBD - Advanced Topics/Libraries

Mon

07-Mar

Final Project Presentations

Final Project
Presentations

Fri

11-Mar

FINAL EXAM PERIOD, 8 AM

Final Projects Due by

10 AM

10